Abstract:
A multiple drapery rod supporting structure, comprising mounting brackets having cantilevered posts extending from the wall, and rod mounting clips which have extending tongue portions which are engaged within the ends of the rod to provide support and have a clip portion which easily snaps onto the support mounting posts. The rod is therefore supported between the posts of the mounting brackets. Several rods are able to be simultaneously supported, and alternate rod mounting clips permit rear rods or blinds to be located below the level of the front rod, such that the tops of rear curtains or blinds are hidden from view from within the room.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to drapery rods, and more specifically relates to mounting support structures for drapery rods and the like.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Curtain and drape rod brackets capable of supporting two rods, in order to be able to provide a window covering having a translucent rear curtain and an opaque front drape for example, are well known in the art.  
           [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,889, 2001, Chang, for example, teaches a support bracket for two curtain rods which have a simple rod retention means. Chang discloses a rod support with retaining fixtures, located on cross members protruding from the wall, having sliding locating members which lock the rod within the retaining fixtures. The locating members have inclined inner slide slot surfaces and have a slight recess which mates with a groove in the fixture wing plates to allow the locating members to be clipped in place. This permits two rods, mounted one behind the other, to be easily secured to the support bracket.  
           [0004]    Adjustable brackets for curtain rods shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,927,762, 1960, Owsiak, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,790,258, 1931, Boye, similarly discloses support brackets for a plurality of curtain rods, but also having a simple adjustment for permanently spacing at least one of the rods in a predetermined arrangement and having a single adjustment for quickly altering the spacing of the rods when desired. While the Owsiak bracket permits the rods to be fixed with a desired spacing, the design itself limits the number of rods possible, and once installed, no further rods can easily added. The Boye bracket comprises a channel-shaped bracket arm with a drape rod support on its outer end. A clip-in curtain rod support disposed within the bracket arm allows an internal curtain to be supported at a fixed distance from the support wall. The distance of the outer drape rod can be varied, the adjustable mechanism comprising a clamp screw in the inner bracket arm and a slot in the outer bracket arm which receives the end of the drape rod.  
           [0005]    Therefore, while many variations on support brackets for multiple drapery rods exist in the prior art, none address certain shortcomings of traditional drapery rod mounting attachments. Namely, the inability to easily add or remove additional rods when the bracket is installed on the wall, the inability to easily vary the spacing between multiple rods and between the rods and the wall, and the inability to mount additional rods at different heights from a primary rod without requiring additional support brackets.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved drapery rod support fixture assembly.  
           [0007]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a drapery rod support fixture assembly capable of accepting a plurality of rods.  
           [0008]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a drapery rod support fixture assembly which allows additional rods to be added and their spacing to be varied following installation of the support fixture.  
           [0009]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a drapery rod support fixture assembly which permits supporting multiple rods at various heights without requiring additional support fixtures.  
           [0010]    Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a rod supporting structure, comprising: at least a first tubular rod having an outer surface and having an inner surface defining at least hollow end portions; at least a first and second mounting bracket, each having a cantilevered post member fixed at a first end to a mounting surface and extending generally perpendicularly from said mounting surface; and at least two clip elements adapted to support the rod from the mounting brackets, each clip element comprising at least a horizontally extending coupling portion for forming a load bearing axial connection with the end portions of the rod, and a clip portion for frictional engagement with the post member while permitting horizontal displacement of said clip elements on said post member. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 a  is a top perspective view of the drapery rod support fixture assembly of a first embodiment of the present invention having only one rod.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 b  is an exploded perspective view of the mounting bracket elements of the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 a  is a top view of the support clip and rod of the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 b  is a side elevation view of a support clip and rod of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 a  is a side elevation view of an end support clip for a rod of the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 b  is a side elevation, partly sectioned, view of an end support clip for additional rods or blinds of the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 c  is a top plan view of the rear end support clip shown in FIG. 3 b.    
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 a  is a side elevation view of an intermediate support clip for a rod of the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 b  is a side elevation view of an intermediate support clip for additional rods of the present invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the present invention having a plurality of rods mounted using the drapery rod support fixture assembly.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the present invention, wherein two rods are mounted using a drapery rod support fixture assembly having a rear rod fixed lower than the front primary rod.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 7 a  is a vertical sectional view taken through line  7   a - 7   a  of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 6.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 7 b  is a vertical sectional view of an alternate embodiment, having blinds mounted behind a front primary rod.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 c  is front vertical sectional view taken through line  7   c - 7   c  of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 b.    
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is front elevation view of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 6.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of an alternate embodiment showing the mounting bracket elements fastened to the ceiling. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0028]    Referring to FIG. 1 a  showing the most basic embodiment of the present invention, wherein an end mounting bracket element  20  supports a single drapery or curtain rod  14  which is fixed to the mounting bracket element  20  with a end clip element  10 . All components of the present invention are preferably made of heat treated annealed spring steel, however other materials, including plastics, are equally possible.  
         [0029]    The mounting bracket element  20  shown in FIG. 1 b  comprises a central post  18  which is fixed to a wall or window frame at a first end having a wall mounting attachment  40 . The surface mounting attachment  40  comprises a base member  42  comprising a flat circular plate  44  having a centrally extending threaded pin  43  and mounting holes  43  for screwing the plate  44  to a wall or other mounting surface, and a disc cover  41  to conceal the base member  42 . The post  18  has internal threaded holes  21  at either end, and is screwably engaged onto the threaded pin  43  of the surface mounting attachment  40 . At the second remote end of the post  18  is a decorative rosette  22 , or other end cap, which, while acting to prevent rod mounting clips on the post  18  from coming off, serves primarily as decoration to conceal the mounting bracket element  20  and the end clip element  10  which attaches to the drapery rod  14 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIGS. 2 a  and  2   b  show the end clip element  10  in more detail. A protruding coupling element, or tongue portion,  12  extends into the end of the drapery rod  14  and is frictionally retained within the hollow rod  14 . A semicircular mounting clip  16  of the clip element  10 , is dimensioned to clasp the post  18  of the mounting bracket element  20 . The clip element  10 , therefore, serves to vertically support the drapery rod  14  while still permitting forward and backward slidable displacement of the clip element  10  on the post  18  of the mounting bracket element  20 , which permits varying the distance between the drapery rod and the mounting wall quickly and easily. Therefore, once installed, the distance of the drapery rod from the wall or window can be varied in situs, without requiring any unfastening and refastening of attachments.  
         [0031]    In an alternative installation method as shown in FIG. 9, the mounting bracket elements  20  can be fastened to the ceiling, rather than the wall, above a window. The mounting clips  16  generally hold tightly enough to the post  18  of the mounting bracket elements  20  to support the rod and curtain, however should additional support be required, a post-end face plate  38 , of larger diameter than the post  18 , can replace the decorative rosettes  22  and be used to vertically support the rod if required.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 3 a  shows such a end clip element  10  for a primary drapery rod. The semicircular mounting clip  16  fits over and frictionally clasps the post  18 , which has an axial vertical center line  29 . The vertical center line of the extending tongue portion  12  is co-linear with the vertical center line  11  of the primary drapery rod  14 . The vertical center lines  29  and  11  are therefore co-planar. The bent tip portion  13  of the tongue  12  helps to ease the mating engagement of the tongue into the drapery rod and quickly locates it in place. As the attachment system between the rods and their mounting brackets of the present invention does not require any fasteners, additional drapery rods can therefore be quickly and easily added to the mounting bracket elements  20 . This, therefore, permits multiple drapery rods located one behind the other to be possible.  
         [0033]    Additional drapery rods can quickly and easily be added or removed when the support brackets are installed in place on the wall, ceiling or window frame. This permits significant design and decoration flexibility as it permits curtains, drapes, or blinds to be added or removed from around the window without requiring moving, adding or removing the support mounting brackets.  
         [0034]    Additional rods mounted behind a front primary rod are often used to hang translucent curtains or vertical Venetian blinds behind a front drape, for example. For aesthetic reasons, traditionally mounted rear curtains or blinds are often attached separately to the wall to allow fixing them at a point below the front drape supports, such that the tops of the rear curtains or blinds are not visible from within the room. Therefore, in the present invention, a rear end clip element  30 , shown in FIG. 3 b  and FIG. 3 c,  is used for additional rear rods or blinds in order to fix them at a point below the vertical center line of the front primary rod. As per the functionality of the front end clip element  10 , a semicircular mounting clip  33  of the rear end clip  30  clasps the post  18 , which has a vertical center line  29 , of the mounting bracket element  20 . Edges  19  of the semicircular mounting clip  33  are flared to permit an easier snap fit of the mounting clip  33  onto the post  18 . All semicircular mounting clips are similarly flared. A tongue portion  31  of the clip element  30  extends from the clip at a point below the center vertical line  29  of the post  18 . This creates a vertical center line  27  of rear rods  28  below that of the front rod, and which can be seen assembled in FIG. 7. This allows rear rods to be located below the front primary rod and therefore, improves the aesthetic appearance of drapes and curtains hung using the present invention.  
         [0035]    Blinds hung behind a front primary rod similarly use the rear end clip elements  30  such that they can be suspended lower than the front drape. A hole  34  in the tongue portion  31  of the clip element  30  provides a fastening point for attaching the top bracket  37  of blinds using a nut and bolt  36 , or other equivalent fastener. An advantage of using rear end clip elements  30  in this way, is that it permits blinds fastened to the clips to be installed across multiple supports. For example, a single rear blind can be fixed to mounting bracket elements  20  at either end of the window, even if a third middle mounting bracket element  20  is required to support the front primary rod. This is shown in FIGS. 7 b  and  7   c.    
         [0036]    For large windows requiring long rods, additional support of the drapery rods may be necessary. As such, an additional center mounting bracket element  20  may be required between the two end mounting bracket elements  20 . This, therefore, necessitates two sets of drapery rods on either side of the center mounting bracket element  20 . Additionally, a modified clip element is required to support rods on either side of the central mounting bracket element. FIG. 4 a  shows such a ‘butterfly’ front middle clip element  24 . The front middle clip element  24  is substantially similar to the front end clip element  10 . However, it additionally comprises a second tongue  26  horizontally opposed to the first tongue portion  12 . This permits the semicircular mounting clip  16  to frictionally grasp the post  18 , and the tongue portions to be inserted into the ends of each drapery rod  14  on either side of the central mounting bracket element  20 . For the front drapery rods, the rod elements  14  and the post  18  have a common vertical center line  29 .  
         [0037]    The ‘butterfly’ rear middle clip element  32 , shown in FIG. 4 b,  is intended to permit the rear rods  28  to be mounted below the front primary rods  14 . The semicircular mounting clip  33  of the rear middle clip element  32  similarly clasps onto the post  18  of the middle mounting bracket element  20 . The rear middle clip element  32  is substantially similar to the rear end clip  30 , however, as per the front middle clip element  24 , having a second tongue portion  35  horizontally opposed to the first tongue portion  31 , therefore permitting the lower vertical center line  27  of the rear rods  28 .  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the present invention where three drapery rods are supported. Up to four individual rods can be supported using the present fixtures. While FIG. 5 shows three front drapery rods  14 , and therefore three rods at the same elevation, any combination of front and rear drapery rods and blinds at any combination of heights, can be used.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 6 shows a top view of an assembly having front and rear rods and a central mounting bracket element  20 . The mounting bracket elements are fixed to the mounting surface  23 . The two end mounting brackets support the front and rear clip elements  10  and  30  respectively which clip to the posts  18  of the mounting brackets. The two front primary drapery rods  14  have a vertical center line  11  common with the vertical center line  29  of the posts  18 . The lower rear rods  28 , supported at either end by the two rear end clips  30  and in the center by the rear middle clip  32 , have a vertical center line  27  below that of the front drapery rods  14  and the support posts  18 . This height difference between the front rods  14  and the rear rods  28 , can be readily seen in FIG. 7. While a height difference of about half a rod diameter is shown, it is to be understood that any elevation difference between rods is possible, and dependant only on the form of the rod mounting clips. The tongue portions  12  and  31  of the front and rear end clips  10  and  30  respectively, can be dimensioned for the size of rod required for any particular application such that they are retained within the rods by frictional engagement with the interior circumferential surface  15  of the rods.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 8 shows the front view of an embodiment as shown in FIG. 6 having two rods, a front primary drapery rod  14  and a lower rear rod  28 . Decorative rosettes  22  hide the mounting bracket elements  20  and the rod mounting clips. The assembly is shown, as an example, fixed to a wall  23  above a window  25 . However, the mounting bracket elements  20  can equally be fixed a window frame or to surrounding decoration.  
         [0041]    The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.