NL2009077C2

NL2009077C2 - Rotatable curtain rail support.

Info

Publication number: NL2009077C2
Application number: NL2009077A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Raymond Johannes Augustus Klinkenberg
Original assignee: Thomas Regout B V
Priority date: 2012-06-28
Filing date: 2012-06-28
Publication date: 2013-12-31
Also published as: DE102013010847A1; DE102013010847B4

Description

Titel: Rotatable curtain rail support

Field of the invention

The present invention is directed to a curtain rail support for mounting a curtain rail to a carrier surface, such as a ceiling, the support comprising: a fixing hole for fixing the support to the carrier surface and for 5 enabling a pivoting action of said support about an axial direction through said fixing hole; a mounting section for enabling the mounting of the rail; and a handle for allowing said pivoting of the support about said axial direction by a user; wherein dimensions of the mounting section are such as to allow receiving of the mounting section in between opposing support 10 members of said rail in a first pivot position of said support relative to said rail and to allow a clamping action of said mounting to said rail in a second pivot position relative to said rail for mounting said rail to the carrier surface.

15 Background

The present invention relates to a curtain rail support as mentioned above. Curtain rail supports as described above are particularly useful for fast mounting and unmounting of curtain rails, while providing a solid and robust fixing of the curtain rail to a carrier surface, e.g. a ceiling 20 The curtain rail supports of this type require the drilling of suitably aligned holes, after which the curtain rail can be mounted to the ceiling very efficiently by fixing the support to the ceiling (by means of e.g. a screw), and by inserting the mounting section of the support into a mounting slot of the rail in a first position, pivoting and the support into the second position for 25 fixing of the curtain rail to the ceiling.

Mounting of the curtain rail to the curtain rail support is enabled by a clamping action between the rail support and corresponding members 2 of the curtain rail. To this end, the curtain rail support usually comprises a mounting section having a clamping member substantially parallel to the ceiling in use, and forming a clamping region parallel with and in between the clamping member and the ceiling. The curtain rail comprises a 5 corresponding member which fits the clamping region in the second, clamped position. When the mounting slot of the curtain rail is placed over the mounting member of the curtain rail support in the first position, the curtain rail support is rotated into the second position wherein the curtain rail is clamped in the clamping region formed in between the ceiling and the 10 mounting member.

Curtains suspending from a curtain rail are usually relatively heavy in terms of their weight. The curtain rail support fixing the curtain rail to the ceiling must provide a strong enough mounting of the curtain rail to the ceiling in order to prevent the curtain rail from falling from the 15 ceiling in use, e.g. during handling of the curtains. As a result, curtain rail supports are made of metal. A corresponding part of the curtain rail at the mounting slot of the rail is clamped in between the metal parts of the support that provide the clamping region. The force required to pivot the curtain rail support from the first into the second position may be rather 20 large. As a result, the fixing of the curtain rail to the support usually causes damage to the curtain rail, such as the paint from the rail coming off, deformation, or scratching the rail near the clamping region. As will be appreciated this is not desired. Moreover, if a curtain rail is to be fixed to the ceiling, and taken off again repeatedly, the curtain rail as a result will 25 have a limited technical life span. This may be the case when curtain rails are used for the construction of a stand on a fair.

In addition to the above, it is usually desired that curtain rails are fixed to the ceiling in such a manner that the fixing means, i.e. the curtail rail support itself, is invisible. The metal parts of the curtain rail support in 30 the fixed position will be hidden from the view. As a result, handling of the 3 support for pivoting it back in the first (unmount) position is difficult, since handling means are hidden while at the same time being stuck with great force. Often this requires the use of a screwdriver or the like for use as a cantilever in order to open up the curtain rail support and remove the 5 curtain rail. This again may cause damage to the curtain rail and as will be appreciated, is rather cumbersome. Also, the traditional rotatable curtain rail supports are prone to tolerance errors during fabrication thereof, having a negative effect on their usability, ease of use and mounting force.

10 Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to resolve the above mentioned problems and disadvantages of the prior art, and to provide a curtain rail support as defined above which is easy to handle, allows the quick and efficient mounting of curtain rails without damage thereto. The 15 curtain rail support must be light to handle, while at the same time provide a robust mounting of the curtain rail to the carrier surface.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in that there is provided a curtain rail support for mounting a curtain rail to a carrier surface, such as a ceiling, the support comprising a fixing hole for 20 fixing the support to the carrier surface and for enabling a pivoting action of said support about an axial direction through said fixing hole; a mounting section for enabling the mounting of the rail; and a handle for allowing said pivoting of the support about said axial direction by a user; wherein dimensions of the mounting section are such as to allow receiving of the 25 mounting section in between opposing support members of said rail in a first pivot position of said support relative to said rail and to allow a clamping action of said mounting to said rail in a second pivot position relative to said rail for mounting said rail to the carrier surface; wherein the support is formed of a material having a material flexibility larger than a 30 material flexibility of the rail; and wherein the mounting section comprises 4 two opposing clamping surfaces facing away from said fixing hole for enabling clamping of the mounting section against the opposing support members, wherein in use the clamping action is provided by elastic deformation of the mounting section at the clamping surfaces in between 5 the opposing support members.

In the curtain rail support of the present invention, in order to prevent damage to the curtain rail, use is made of a material having a flexibility larger than the material flexibility of the rail. This prevents scratching and deformation of the rail upon mounting thereof to the carrier 10 surface. At the same time, this leads to the new challenge of providing a mounting which is strong and robust enough to carry the (relatively heavyweight) curtains suspending from the rail in use. As will be appreciated, it is not desired to increase the number of current rail supports required for mounting the curtain rail in order to provide a strong and 15 robust enough mounting. The curtain rail support must of itself provide a mounting force which is sufficient for mounting the curtain rail using the same or a similar amount of supports as is usual in the prior art.

In the present invention this is achieved in that the mounting section comprises two opposing clamping surfaces facing away from said 20 fixing hole for enabling clamping of the mounting section against the opposing support members, wherein in use the clamping action is provided by elastic deformation of the mounting section at the clamping surfaces in between the opposing support members. The invention is based on the insight that a sufficiently strong mounting may be achieved by pressing the 25 opposing clamping surfaces of the mounting section against opposing support members of the curtain rail. The clamping action between the curtain rail support and the curtain rail caused by pressing of the clamping surfaces to the opposing support members of the curtain rail is achieved by elastic deformation of the mounting section.

5

The above may for example be achieved by constructing the mounting section such that the distance between the opposing clamping surfaces of the mounting section is slightly larger than the distance between the opposing support members of the curtain rail, in accordance with an 5 embodiment of the invention. In that case, suitable dimensioning of the distance between the clamping surfaces of the mounting section in relation to the distance between the support members of the curtain rail enables properly dimensioning of the mounting force of the curtain rail support in the second position. Therefore in accordance with an embodiment, the 10 distance between the clamping surfaces of the opposing ends of the mounting section is larger than a distance between the opposing support members of the rail, such as to allow the clamping of the mounting section in the second pivot position by the elastic deformation thereof. The difference between the distance between the clamping surfaces and the 15 distance between the opposing support members may be within a (nominal) range of 0,1 to 0,5 millimeter. This difference or tolerance will be dependent on the size of the mounting slot or mounting track (i.e. the distance between the support members), in the sense that larger mounting slots require the difference to be larger as well. The above difference range is determined for 20 a 10 mm sized mounting slot (between the support members).

According to a further embodiment of the invention, each of the clamping surfaces of said mounting section comprises at least one corner extending across the mounting section substantially parallel to said axial direction, wherein the corner forms a transition between the clamping 25 surface and a further side surface of said mounting section, and wherein said further side surface extends in a different tangential direction than said clamping surface, said corner providing in use tactile feedback to said user upon pivoting the support between the first and second pivot position. As will be appreciated, some embodiments of the invention may lack the 30 above mentioned corner, e.g. for example comprising an oval shaped 6 mounting section. However, if in accordance with the above mentioned embodiment the mounting section comprises a corner as defined, upon pivoting of the curtain rail support from the first to the second position, the support snaps into position as soon as the corner slides past the support 5 member. This causes the user to experience a tactile feedback (the snapping of the support into position) which informs him that the curtain rail support has moved into the second (locked) position. This prevents incorrect mounting of the curtain rail to the carrier surface, increasing confidence of the user upon mounting the rail to the carrier surface. As will be 10 appreciated, the corner may be formed by a sharp edge or may be provided by means of a rounded or tapered corner. The strongest intensity of tactile feedback will be experienced by using a sharp edge, but a rounded or tapered corner may probably be more convenient while it still provides the desired tactile feedback to the user.

15 According to a further embodiment of the invention, the mounting section extends from the fixing hole at least in two opposing radial directions relative to said axial direction through the fixing hole in between the clamping surfaces, said support further comprising a slotted section extending in said radial direction in use parallel to the carrier surface and 20 in between the carrier surface and the mounting section, wherein the slotted section is arranged for receiving at least one further support edge extending from at least one of the support members of the rail for supporting the rail in use. The slotted section, which allows for receiving a further support or further support edge of the curtain rail, provides additional support to the 25 mounting of the curtain rail to the carrier surface in the second position of the curtain rail support. As will be appreciated, the slotted section prevents accidental release of the curtain rail, for example when an unexpected sudden force is exerted on the curtains. The slotted section receiving the further support section of the curtain rail provides an additional safety 30 measure.

7

In addition to the above, and in accordance with a further embodiment, the mounting section in between at least one of the clamping surfaces and the fixing hole comprises one or more deformation slots. These deformation slots increase elastic deformation of the mounting section near 5 the clamping surfaces. In particular, when in accordance with one of the embodiments described above a corner between the clamping surface and a further surface of the mounting section passes between the opposing support members of the curtain rail, the deformation slot makes it lighter for a user to push the curtain rail support from the first into the second 10 position. The deformation slots allow two of the corners to temporarily deform upon the support being rotated, enabling the rotation.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the curtain rail support further comprises a base plate section which in use is contiguous to the carrier surface. The base plate section prevents direct contact between 15 the curtain rail and the carrier surface. This not only prevents damage to the curtain rail due to possible stretching of surface elements on the ceiling, but it also allows for smooth moving of the curtain rail support of the first into the second rail support position and back.

According to a further embodiment, the handle extends 20 substantially parallel from the base plate section in a radial direction relative to the actual direction through the fixing hole. In particular, in use the handle extends from the base plate section across the outer region of the curtain rail, such that it is visible for a user in any position of the curtain rail support. Moreover, according to a further embodiment the handle 25 extends from the base plate section from a different axial position such as to form a slight spacing in use between the carrier surface and the handle.

This prevents the handle from blocking the movement upon encountering an unexpected surface element or unevenness in the support surface.

The curtain rail support according to the present invention may be 30 formed of a plastic that is minimally susceptible to stress relaxation, for 8 instance a thermoplastic such as a polyoxymethylene (POM). In particular, the support may be made of Duracon CP-15X®. In selecting a suitable material, the skilled person may in particular take account of material properties such as flexibility and durability. The support may be a single 5 integrally formed part. This may for example be achieved in case the support is a molded object, e.g. formed by means of an ejection molding process. According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assembly of one or more curtain rail supports according to any of the embodiments disclosed here and above, and a curtain rail configured 10 to be connected to the support.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will further be elucidated by description of some specific embodiments thereof, making reference to the attached drawings, 15 wherein:

Figure 1 discloses a top view of the curtain rail support according to the present invention;

Figure 2 discloses a side view of a curtain rail support according to the present invention in accordance with Figure 1, in cross section; 20 Figure 3 illustrates an enlarged view of the mounting section of a curtain rail support according to the present invention;

Figure 4a discloses an assembly of a curtain rail support member of a corresponding curtain rail wherein the curtain rail support relative to the curtain rail is in a first position; 25 Figure 4b discloses the same assembly as in Figure 4a, wherein the curtain rail support relative to the curtain rail is in the second position;

Figure 5a schematically illustrates the orientation of the curtain rail support and a curtain rail when the support is in the first position; 9

Figure 5b illustrates schematically the curtain rail support of the present invention and its orientation relative to a curtain rail when the curtain rail support is in the second position;

Figure 6 illustrates an assembly of a curtain rail and two curtain 5 rail supports in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed description

Figure 1 illustrates a curtain rail support according to a first embodiment thereof in top view. The curtain rail support 1 comprises a base 10 plate section 15 and a handle 10 for moving the curtain rail support from the first into the second position. The curtain rail support 1 further includes a mounting section 9 which comprises two opposing clamping surfaces 12 and 13. The mounting section 9 further comprises a fixing hole 5 arranged for receiving fixing means such as a screw. The skilled person will 15 appreciate that any fixing means that allows for pivoting of the curtain rail support 1 around the axis 7 through the fixing hole 5 can be used for fixing the curtain rail support to the carrier surface. The invention is not limited to the use of a screw for this purpose, and identification of any alternative fixing means is considered to be part of the standard knowledge of the 20 skilled person.

Figure 1 further illustrates schematically the direction of the z-axis 22 which extends from the paper perpendicular thereto (in the upward direction). Figure 1 further illustrates two radial directions at 0° and 90° indicated with reference numerals 23 and 24 respectively.

25 Figure 2 illustrates a cross section of the curtain rail support illustrated in Figure 1 across the line A-A indicated in Figure 1. Figure 2 illustrates the handle 10 which extends from the base plate 15 with arm 26 in the radial direction. In addition, figure 2 illustrates the mounting section 9 comprising two opposing clamping surfaces 12 and 13 for mounting of a 30 curtain rail (not shown in figure 2). The mounting section 9 further 10 comprises the fixing hole 5 arranged for receiving the fixing means. Also axis 7 in the axial direction through the fixing hole is visible in figure 2. The axis 7 is parallel to the z-axis 22 also illustrated in figure 2. A bending cavity 6 increases, in use, the extend of elastic deformation possible for the 5 mounting section 6, i.e. the extend at which the mounting section 9, and in particular near the clamping surfaces 12 and 13, may deform reversibly (without the deformation resulting in permanent damage). Such a cavity 6, although it provides increased flexibility, is optional to the design.

In between the base plate section 15 and the mounting section 9, 10 there is provided a first and a second slotted section 30 and 31. In use, the slotted sections 30 and 31 allow for receiving a further support section of a curtain rail, when the curtain rail support relative to the curtain rail is in the second position. This will be illustrated herein below in connection with figure 4b and 5b.

15 As can be seen in figure 2, the arm 26 extending in the radial direction having the handle 10 at its end is slightly thinner then the base plate section 15 creating an edge 28 and forming in use a small space between the arm 26 and a carrier surface. When the curtain rail support is moved from the first into the second position or back, the small spacing 20 allows for any surface elements or unexpected unequal parts of the carrier surface to maintain underneath the extension arm 26 and handle 10 such as to not obstruct the movement of the arm 26. The base plate section 15 itself is preferably as thin as possible such as to reduce as much as possible the distance between the curtain rail (50 in fig. 4A and 4B) and the carrier 25 surface (e.g. a ceiling, reference numeral 67 in fig. 4A and 4B), such as to render a slit between the curtain rail and the ceiling invisible.

Handle 10 may, in some embodiments, be fixed to the arm 26 in a detachable or removable manner. This is for example illustrated in the embodiment shown in perspective view in figure 6. In figure 6, a curtain rail 30 support 80 and a curtain rail support 85 (both 80 and 85 are curtain rail 11 supports of a similar type) are attached to a curtain rail 81. In reality, this would of course not be a practical manner of attaching curtain rail 81 to a carrier surface (not shown in figure 6), but the illustration demonstrates that dependent on the application, either side of the rail 81 may be used for 5 mounting the rail to e.g. a ceiling. The rail 81 may thus be used at both sides, at the preference of the user. This is made possible due to the fact that a curtain rail support (80, 85) may be attached to either side of the curtain rail 81, as illustrated in figure 6. Although arm 82 of support 80 would be hardly (or not at all) visible for a viewer standing beside the rail 81 10 once it is mounted to a ceiling, this is different for handle 88 of support 85 which extends such as to be visible. This is of course caused by the fact that support 85 will be mounted closer to the edge of rail 81 than support 80.

Only part of support 85 is visible, i.e. only the handle 88 and the arm 86 of the handle. The arm 86 is similar to arm 82 of support 80. The 15 arm 86 comprises a breaking groove 87 which allows for detaching the handle 88 from arm 86. In order to allow unmounting of the curtain rail 81 after breaking off the handle 88 from the arm 86, the arm further comprises a handling slot 90 which allows for receiving the end of a screwdriver or other tool for handling the curtain rail support without damaging it. By 20 breaking off the handle 88, the support 85 becomes hidden from a view standing near the curtain rail, as is often desired by users. In addition to the above, the handle 88 also comprises a further handling slot 89, also allowing it to be handled using a screwdriver or other tool in use.

Figure 3 illustrates an enlarged view of the mounting section of the 25 curtain rail support of figures 1 and 2. The mounting section 9 comprises the opposing clamping surfaces 12 and 13. The direction of the z-axis 22 is indicated as a reference for the viewer.

In addition to the clamping surfaces 12 and 13, the mounting section comprises further side surfaces 42 and 43. The side surface 42 also 30 comprises 42’ and 42”, but is interrupted by deformation slot 35 and 37 12 separating sections 42’ and 42” from the main section of the further side surface 42. Similarly, further side surface 43 comprises also the further side surfaces 43’ and 43”. However, the further side surface 43 is interrupted by deformation slots 36 and 38, separating the sections 43’ and 43” from the 5 main section.

Clamping surface 12 extends perpendicular to further side surface 42 and further side surface 43. A transition between clamping surface 12 and further side surface section 42’ is formed by corner section 40 which is shaped as a rounded corner. Corner section 40 extends in the direction 10 parallel z-axis 22. Similar corner sections 40 are present forming the transition between clamping surface 12 and surface section 43’ of the further side surface 43, and between clamping surface 13 and surface sections 43” and 42” of the further side surfaces 43 and 42. The corners are similar and each extend in the direction parallel to the z-axis 22.

15 As will be appreciated by the skilled person, the mounting section as illustrated in figure 3, and in particular the corners 40 and the deformation slots 35-38 may be implemented differently. In particular, deformation slots 35-38 may be absent in other embodiments, while the corner sections 40 may for example be replaced by flattened sections such as 20 to flatten out the transition between the clamping surfaces 12 and 13 and the further side surfaces 42 and 43 of the mounting section. Although such modifications to the design are considered to be within the scope of the invention, it will be appreciated that a design having flattened corners (without deformation slots) would have a slight disadvantage over the 25 preferred embodiments, in that the size of the clamping surfaces 12 and 13 would have to decrease in order to make room for the flattening sections. The decreased size of the clamping sections would result in a decrease of the mounting force of the curtain rail in the second position of the curtain rail support. Of course this may be compensated by making the mounting 30 section larger thereby increasing the contact surface of the clamping 13 surfaces, however as will be appreciated this may not be preferred. A benefit of the design illustrated in figures 1-3 is that it provides for a mounting section which is relatively small, while still providing the required mounting force for securely mounting the curtain rail to the curtain rail support, i.e. to 5 the carrier surface.

Figures 4a and 4b illustrate an assembly of a curtain rail support and a curtain rail in use. In figure 4a, there is illustrated a ceiling 65 having a ceiling surface or carrier surface 67. A curtain rail 50 is to be securely mounted to the carrier surface 67 by means of curtain rail support 1.

10 Curtain rail support 1 is first fixed to the carrier surface 67 by means of a screw 66 through the fixing hole of the curtain rail support 1.

The curtain rail support comprises a base plate section 15, and handle 10 extends from the curtain rail support to the area outside the curtain rail 50, such as to be visible for the user. Figures 4a and 4b also illustrate the 15 direction of the z-axis for reference to the reader.

The curtain rail 50 comprises a first rail section 51 and a second rail section 52 for suspending curtains therefrom (not shown). This may be enabled by use of curtain rail runners which are generally known to the skilled person and are therefore not illustrated in the present figures. The 20 curtain rail 50 further comprises a mounting slot 55 on its back side (the side facing the ceiling in use). A mounting slot 55 (also called mounting track in industry) comprises two opposing support walls 57 and 58 forming the support members of the curtain rail in accordance with the present invention.

25 Figure 4a illustrates the curtain rail support in the first position thereof relative to the curtain rail. The curtain rail support 1 comprises the mounting section 9 and the further side surfaces 42 and 43. The curtain rail 50, in particular the mounting slot 55, comprises two further support sections 59 and 60 on either side of the mounting slot 55. The opening 30 formed in between the ends of the further support sections 59 and 60 has 14 dimensions such as to receive the mounting section in the first position thereof, preferably in close fit. This means that the distance between the ends of the further support sections 59 and 60 of the mounting slot are slightly larger than the distance D1 (as illustrated in figure 3) between the 5 further side surfaces 42 and 43 of the mounting section 9. This allows the rail 50 to be placed over the mounting section 9 in the first position of the curtain rail support 1 relative to the rail 50.

Figure 4b illustrates the same curtain rail support 1 and the rail 50, with the curtain rail support 1 in the second position relative to the rail 10 50. As can be seen in figure 4b, the clamping surfaces 12 and 13 are pressed on to the opposing support members 57 and 58 of the rail 50. The pressing force or clamping force is provided by elastic deformation of the mounting section 9, in particular near the clamping surfaces 12 and 13 of the mounting section 9. This is possible due to the fact that the material 15 flexibility of the curtain rail support is larger than the material flexibility of the rail material itself. For example the curtain rail maybe constructed from metal, while the curtain rail support is formed from a suitable polymer material, for example polyoxymethylene (POM). Since the distance D2 (see figure 3) is slightly larger than the distance between the support members 20 57 and 58 of the rail, this results in elastic deformation upon mounting.

As can be seen in figures 4a and 4b, a small spacing is present in between the ceiling surface 67 and the handle 10, indicated with reference numeral 68. The spacing 68 allows for movement of the handle 10 from the first into the second position and back.

25 In figures 5a and 5b, the first and second position of the curtain rail support of the present invention relative to the opposing support members and further support sections of the mounting slot of the curtain rail is schematically indicated. In figure 5a, the curtain rail support of the present invention is illustrated in its first position relative to the curtain 30 rail. Schematically, the vertical lines 70, 57, 60, 59, 58 and 71 illustrate the 15 various parts of the curtain rail 50. The outer wall sections forming the outer limits of the curtain rail are indicated schematically by lines 70 and 71. As can be seen, handle 10 at the end of extension arm 26 extends outside wall section 70 such as to be visible to a user. For convenience, the 5 orientation of the z-axis 22 is indicated in figures 5a and 5b.

In the first position indicated in figure 5a, the mounting member 9 fits in between the further support sections 60 and 59 such that the curtain rail can be placed over the mounting section. The user may then mount the curtain rail to the curtain rail support 1 by moving the handle 10 in the 10 direction indicated with arrow 75. The position of the handle 10 in the first position of the curtain rail support, i.e. the open position, is indicated with letter O.

In figure 5b the trajectory of the handle 10 is indicated by arrow 75. In figure 5b, the handle 10 is moved from the open position to the locked 15 position (indicated with reference L) by moving the handle 10 across the trajectory 75). As can be seen, the clamping wall 12 and 13 of the mounting section 9 are now pressed against the support members 57 and 58 of the curtain rail 50. The curtain rail is locked in its position by the clamping walls pressing against the walls 57 and 58. The force between the walls 12 20 and 57 and between 13 and 58 is determined by the extend of elastic deformation of the mounting section 9 near the clamping walls.

Also indicated in figure 5b is point F along the trajectory 75 near the locked position L. The point F indicates the point on the trajectory 75 where the user experiences the tactile feedback which is caused by moving 25 the corners of the mounting section past the walls 57 and 58. Once the user has received the tactile feedback, the curtain rail support is locked in its position L.

As is also clear from figure 5b (and figure 4b) is that the clamping walls 12 and 13 extends across the end points of the further support sections 16 59 and 60, thereby providing an additional security which prevents the rail from accidental release from the ceiling.

The advantages of the present invention over the prior art have been described above. Not only allows this curtain rail support the mounting 5 of a curtain rail to e.g. a ceiling without damaging the rail or ceiling, this also can be done very fast and efficient. As a further advantage, the curtain rail support of the present invention, due to its flexibility and manner of mounting, imposes less stringent restrictions on tolerances with respect to the extend of alignment of the drilling holes in the ceiling for mounting the 10 curtain. This provides ease to the user of the support of the invention, in particular where the user is not a professional user.

The present invention has been described in terms of some specific embodiments thereof. It will be appreciated that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described here and above are intended for illustrative 15 purposes only, and are not by any manner or means intended to be restrictive on the invention. The context of the invention discussed here is merely restricted by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

An assembly of a curtain rail and at least one curtain rail support (1) for attaching a curtain rail (50) to a support surface (67), such as a ceiling, the support (1) comprising: a fixing hole (5) for fixing the support (1) on the support surface (67) and for releasing a rotational movement of the support (1) around an axial direction (7) through the fixing hole (5); a mounting part (9) for releasing the mounting of the rail (50); and a handle (10) for releasing the rotational movement of the support 10 (1) around the axial direction (7) by a user; wherein the dimensions of the mounting member (9) are such that they release reception of the mounting member (9) between opposite support members (57, 58) of the rail in a first pivotal position of the support relative to the rail, and for releasing of a clamping action of the fixing part (9) of the rail in a second pivotal position with respect to the rail for fixing the rail to the support surface (67); wherein the support (1) is made of a material with a flexibility greater than a material flexibility of the rail; 20 wherein the mounting part (9) comprises two opposite clamping surfaces (12, 13) facing away from the fixing hole (5) for releasing the clamping of the mounting part (9) against the opposite supporting parts (57, 58), wherein in use the clamping action is provided by elastic deformation of the fastening part (9) at the clamping surfaces (12, 13) between the opposite support parts (57, 58); and wherein the attachment member (9) comprises at least one of the deformation slots between at least one of the clamping surfaces (12, 13) and the fixing hole (5) for releasing the elastic deformation of the attachment member (9) at the at least one clamping surface .

An assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the clamping surfaces (12, 13) of the fastening part (9) comprises at least one angle that extends over the fastening part (9) substantially parallel to the axial direction, wherein the angle forms a transition between the clamping surface and a further side surface of the mounting member (9), and wherein the further side surface extends in a different tangential direction than the clamping surface, the angle in use providing tactile feedback to the user when rotating the support ( 1) between the first and the second turning position.

3. Assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the angle is formed by at least one of an edge which extends in an axial direction, a rounded corner, or a flattened corner.

4. Assembly as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the fixing part (9) extends from the fixing hole (5) at least in two opposite radial directions relative to the axial direction (7) through the fixing hole (5) between the clamping surfaces (12, 13), wherein the support further comprises a slotted portion which extends in the radial direction in use parallel to the carrier surface (67) and between the carrier surface (67) and the mounting portion (9), in which the slotted portion is arranged for receiving at least one further support edge which extends from at least one of the support parts of the rail for supporting the rail in use.

Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the distance between the clamping surfaces (12, 13) at opposite ends of the fixing part (9) is greater than a distance between the opposite support parts (57, 58) of the rail (50), for enabling the clamping part (9) to be clamped in the second pivotal position by means of elastic deformation.

An assembly according to claim 5, wherein a difference between the distance between the clamping surfaces (12, 13) and the distance between the opposite support members (57, 58) is in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 mm.

7. Assembly as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, further comprising a base plate part which, in use, abuts against the carrier surface (67).

An assembly according to claim 7, wherein the handle (10) extends substantially parallel to the base plate portion in a radial direction relative to the axial direction (7) through the fixing hole (5).

9. Assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the handle (10) extends from the base plate part from another axial position to form a space between the carrier surface (67) and the handle (10) in use.

An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle (10) is detachably connected to the curtain rail support (1).

An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support (1) is made of a plastic that is minimally sensitive to stress relaxation, for example a thermoplastic material such as polyoximethylene (PON), such as Duracon CP-15X.

12. Assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the support (1) is a single integrally formed part.

An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support (1) is a cast object, preferably an object formed by injection molding.

Curtain rail support for use in an assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, the support (1) comprising: a fixing hole (5) for fixing the support (1) to the support surface (67) and for releasing a rotational movement of the Support (1) around an axial direction (7) through the fixing hole (5); a mounting part (9) for releasing the mounting of the rail (50); and a handle (10) for releasing the rotational movement of the support (1) around the axial direction (7) by a user; 10 wherein the dimensions of the mounting member (9) are such that they release reception of the mounting member (9) between opposite support members (57, 58) of the rail in a first pivotal position of the support relative to the rail, and for releasing a clamping action of the fixing part (9) of the rail in a second pivotal position relative to the rail for fixing the rail to the carrier surface (67); wherein the support (1) is made of a material with a flexibility greater than a material flexibility of the rail; wherein the fastening part (9) comprises two opposite clamping surfaces (12, 13) facing away from the fixing hole (5) to release the clamping of the fastening part (9) against the opposite support parts (57, 58), wherein in use the clamping action is provided by elastic deformation of the fastening part (9) at the clamping surfaces (12, 13) between the opposite support parts (57, 58); and wherein the attachment member (9) comprises at least one of the deformation slots between at least one of the clamping surfaces (12, 13) and the fixing hole (5) for releasing the elastic deformation of the attachment member (9) at the at least one clamping surface .