US2916246A - Head bracket for venetian blinds - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 8, 1959 A. A. RADEL 2,916,246

HEAD BRACKET FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed June 24, 1958 INVENTOR AARON A RADE L BY 54W ATTORNEY United States Patent HEAD BRACKET FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Aaron A. Radel, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Globe Venetian Blind Corporation, a corporation of Maryland This invention relates to brackets for venetian blinds and particularly sheet metal brackets that enable the head-rail of venetian blinds to be readily held securely in position on a window jamb or frame against accidental displacement and yet readily released and removed when desired.

Many forms of such brackets have been proposed and used in the prior art. These brackets have frequently been poorly designed so that head-rails become displaced and drop out of position to damage the blind or to cause injury to persons nearby. Other forms designed to avoid such accidental displacement have proved expensive to manufacture or in some cases rather complex in structure so that the manipulation for removal or replacement cannot be readily accomplished by one person.

In addition such brackets are usually required in pairs of right-handed and left-handed completed forms which L bear mirror image relationship to each other and hereto: fore required complete structures adapted to one or the other form which are not interchangeable. This required manufacture and storage of two separate and distinct forms of brackets.

Among the objects of this invention is the production of a venetian blind bracket that is safe in use, securely holds the head-rail in position, may be readily utilized for simple placement therein and removable therefrom of the head-rail, and which obtains a multiple cooperating the more detailed description given below, it being understood that such more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In connection with that more detailed description, the drawing shows the following.

Figure 1 is an isometric view internally of the bracket of this invention.

Figure 2 is a side view thereof.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view thereof. I

Figure 4 is an isometric view rearwardly of the bracket.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail of the structure.

In accordance with the present invention, a bracket for the head-rail of a venetian blind is produced from two essential sheet metal parts, one being an end member adapted to receive and support such head-rail, and

the other being a wing member pivoted on the end member to hold the rail thereon for ready replacement and removal while insuring against accidental displacement. In addition, the two essential components of the bracket are so constructed that they may be assembled together to form either right-handed or left-handed brackets by using a single form of end member with a wing member only in rightand left-handed forms; since such brackets must be used in pairs, this invention greatly simplifies the manufacture of such brackets and eliminates the "ice necessity for difierent sets of end members'useful for only one of such pairs of brackets.

To secure the rail in assured but releasably locked position, the component parts of the bracket of this invention are interrelated, so that there is a positive locking action and not merely frictional contact, the latter also being used, however, .to hold latched parts together in what may be called a three-fold securing action. Also, such structures utilize component parts so that. a single form of receiving member includes a plate element on which the wing component may be pivoted, the wing member only being in right-handed and left-handed forms.

The end member may be constructed to cooperate with the wing member to give the three-fold locking and securing cooperation without necessarily including the structures which make rightand left-handed brackets obtainable. For example, for this purpose the bracket may be produced with an end member component which utilizes a plate, preferably square in contour, on which flanges are placed along only two edges of the plate. The wing member is then pivoted on the plate to swing into position along a third edge of the plate so that the head-rail rests on or within the channel formed by the flanges and wing member. But preferably, the end member utilizes flanged portions along three edges of the plate, the fourth edge being guarded by the wing member to give all of i flanges along at least two edges and preferably at three edges, such flanges extending outwardly from plate 10, substantially at right angles thereto to form bottom flange 11, side flange 12 and top flange 13 which flanges may if desired be joined together as at 14, extending flange 12 around as at 15 into juxtaposition to flange 11 and flange 13 for example, with a prong 16 struck out of corner 15 into engagement with wall 17 of recess 18 in bottom flange 11; flanges 12 and 13 being similarly joined to gether.

Bottom flange 11 is partially cut away at 19 immedi ately adjacent lower corner 20 of plate 10' to form clearance space 21 into which the wing member may enter as explained below, and remaining edge 22 of bottom flange 11 is turned angularly to form latch mem' ber 23 for locking engagement with the free end of the wing member as set forth below. When upper flange 13 is employed as in the preferred case shown in the drawing, it is similarly provided with cut-away portion 24 to form clearance 25 immediately adjacent upper corner 26 of plate 10, and is turned angularly to form latch member 27 for purposes more particularly described below. A perforation 23 is provided adjacent the corners 20 and 26 of the free edge of the plate 10 to serve to hold a rivet 29 which acts as a pivot for the wing member. Plate 10 is also cut away at 30 adjacent clearance space 21 and also, when the three flange structure is used, at 31 adjacent clearance 25. Con-' sequently plate It) and flanges 11, 12 and 13 with their structural elements form a symmetrical end member having a plane of symmetry running through the center of plate 10 parallel to flanges 11 and 13. Perforations 32 on plate 10 and flanges 11, 12 and 13 are used con ventionally for attaching the end member to a window jamb by screws etc.; filler 33 serves to position the headrail at a small distance from flange 12 for clearance,

outer face of plate and moved into closed position, the wing member and outer face of plate 10 will form a substantially continuous surface.

Wing member 37 is mounted for radial movement on pivot 29 carried in perforation 28 when a left-handed bracket is desired as shown in drawings. But a similar mirror image wing member may be similarly turned around and mounted in the other perforation 28 when a right-handed bracket is desired. The use of a symmetrical end member accordingly offers the great advantage of permitting a single end member to be used to con struct both forms of brackets without duplication of the end member in mirror image form.

' Wing member 37 has side flange 38 at substantially right angles thereto to form a closure along the edge of the plate opposite to flange 12 when moved to closed position as shown in Figure 4. Bottom end 39 on side flange 38 of wing 37 is turned at substantially right angles inwardly, toward bottom flange 11, to form extension 40, said extension having transverse recess 41 therein for reception of latch member 23 when extension 40 moves along flange 11 until latch 23 is spring pressed by its spring metal substance into recess 41. To guide the parts together, inner corner 42 of extension 40 is bent inwardly to form a cam-shaped element 43 that engages against extension 44 on plate 10 and forces the latter into clearance space 45 between extension 40 and Wing member 37 at the same time that cam-shaped element 43 engages against the wall of cut-away portion 19 on flange 11, such movement continuing in this way until latch member 23 drops into recess 41. Desirably edge 46 on extension ltl is turned outwardly (except at camshaped element 43) so that edge 22 on lower flange 11 will be guided up on extension 40 toward recess 41.

a In this way the parts are held quite rigidly together in a' triple locking function with the latch seated in the recess, the lower corner of the plate being wedged in the clearance space between the wing member and its right angular extension, and the cam-shaped corner pressing against the lower corner of plate 10, the location of the parts in this way preventing accidental displacement of a headrail of a venetian blind when positioned in the bracket; When it is desired to release the wing member to open it to remove or replace the head-rail it is only necessary to press upwardly on lower flange 11 until latch 23 clears recess 41 and move wing flange 38 radially away from flange 11.

While wing member flange 38 is shown mounted on the outer face of plate 10, it may if desired be mounted on the inner face of plate 10 but superior interlocking of parts in a triple locking function is obtained when the parts are associated together as shown.

The symmetrical end member and the wing member may be used in other structures.

What I claim is:

l. A sheet metal bracket for venetian blinds comprising an end member having a plate and flanges along at least two adjacent edges of the plate at substantially right angles thereto to form side and bottom support members for a venetian blind head-rail when placed thereon, the bottom flange being partially cut away immediately adjacent the plate to form a clearance space, the remaining edge of the bottom flange being turned angularly to form a latch member, the plate outer corner opposite to the side flange having a perforation, and a sheet metal wing member pivoted in said perforation. for movement, the wing member having a side flange at substantially right angles thereto to form a closure along one edge of the plate when rotated on the pivot to closed position, the bottom end of the side flange on the wing member being turned inwardly to form an. extension'at substantially right angles facing toward the bottom flange on the plate, said extension having a recess therein for reception of the latch, the extension having its inner corner adjacent the plate cam-shaped 4 to ride into the cut away portion on the bottom flange of the plate to guide the latch to ride over the extension into the recess therein to releasably lock the latch in position to hold the wing member securely in place and to hold a head-rail when positioned therein against accidental displacement.

2. A head bracket as' set forth in claim 1 in which the wing member is pivoted on the outer face of the plate, the side flange on the wing member is cut away at the pivot end to form a clearance space into which the plate edge may move upon rotating of the wing member, the extension on the wing member side flange is separated from said side flange to form a clearance space so that the bottom corner of the plate may move into the clearance between the wing and extension while the extension carrying the cam-shaped corner may move into the cut-away portion on the bottom flange whereby the parts are rigidly secured together in a triple locking function of the latch seated in the recess, of the lower corner of the plate wedged in the clearance between the wing and extension, and of the cam-shaped corner of the back plate to prevent accidental displacement of a head-rail when positioned in the bracket.

3. A head bracket as set forth in claim 2 in which the plate has a third flange along the top edge thereof to provide a top support member for a venetian blind head-rail when placed thereon, the top and bottom flange members being substantially parallel and symmetrical each being partially cut away immediately adjacent the plate to form a clearance space, the plate outer corners each having a perforation, adapted for reception of a pivot, whereby the wing member may be pivoted in either of said perforations depending on whether a righthanded or left-handed bracket member is desired.

4. A head bracket as set forth in claim 1, in which the plate has a third flange along the top edge thereof at substantially right angles thereto to form a top support member for a venetian blind head-rail when placed thereon, the top and bottom flange members being substantially parallel and symmetrical each being partially cut away immediately adjacent the plate to form clearance space, the remaining edge of each top and bottom flange being turned angularly.

5. *In a sheet metal head bracket for venetian blinds, an end member comprising a four-sided plate having flanges along three edges of said plate at substantially right angles thereto to form a support along three edges of a venetian blind head-rail when placed in said end member, two opposite flanges being substantially parallel, the outer end of each of the parallel flanges being partially cut away immediately adjacent the plate to form a clearance space, the remaining edge of each such outer end being turned angularly to the plane of the flange on which it is carried, each outer corner of said plate adjacent the unflanged edge thereof each having a perforation adapted for reception of a pivot whereby a wing member may be pivoted in either of said perforations depending on whether a right-handed or left-handed bracket is desired.

6. In a sheet metal bracket as set forth in claim 5 in which the plate adjacent its unflanged edge is offset inwardly, the offset portion carrying the pivot perforations whereby a wing member may be pivoted on the outer face of the plate and when moved inwardly will lie flush with the unoffset outer surface of the plate.

7. In a sheet metal bracket for a venetian blind headrail comprising a head-rail end member comprising a plate portion having inwardly directed flanges along the top and bottom edges thereof and a wing member pivoted on the outer surface of the plate portion of said end member to hold a head-rail in position when placed thereon, said plate portion having a pair of perforations symmetrically arranged adjacent the outer corners thereof and into either of which the wing member may be pivoted to form a right or left hand bracket as desired,

said Wing member having a side flange at substantially right angles thereto, to form a closure along one edge of the end member When rotated on the pivot to closed position, the bottom end of the side flange on the wing member being turned inwardly to form an extension at right angles facing toward the end member, said extension having a recess therein for reception of a latch on the end member, the extension having its inner corner adjacent the end member cam-shaped to force the latch into the recess.

8. In a bracket as set forth in claim 7, in which the extension on the Wing member is separated from the latter to form a clearance space for a portion of the end member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,555,473 Deaton June 5, 1951 2,670,167 Nelson Feb. 23, 1954 2,792,999 Lorentzen May 21, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 8,447 Great Britain 1902

Images