Abstract:
Some embodiments of the invention provide curtain carriers that are attachable to a top portion of a curtain and slidably engageable with a curtain rod for draping the curtain from the curtain rod. The curtain carriers are slidably removable from the curtain rod such that the curtain together with the curtain carriers attached therewith can be removed from the curtain rod. This allows the curtain together with the curtain carriers attached therewith to be washed. A clean curtain with curtain carriers attached therewith can be slidably attached to the curtain rod. In this manner, a dirty or contaminated curtain can be replaced without any hooking or unhooking of the curtain from hooks that are used in existing approaches to drape curtains. Therefore, difficulties traditionally associated with replacing a dirty or contaminated curtain can be mitigated or avoided.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of previously filed U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/118,458 filed on Nov. 27, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE  
       [0002]    This disclosure relates to curtains, and more particularly to curtain carriers used to drape a curtain from a curtain rod. 
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]    A curtain is a piece of material that is typically hung from a top portion so that the curtain drapes over a given area. Curtains can be used for a variety of different purposes. As a first example, a curtain can be used to cover a window in order to block or obscure light. As a second example, a curtain can be used to separate areas in order to provide privacy. As a third example, a shower curtain can be used to prevent water from leaving a shower stall. Other uses for curtains may be possible. 
         [0004]    A curtain is made of material that can vary depending on the intended use of the curtain. Unfortunately, the material used in the curtain can become dirty or accumulate contaminates that can potentially be harmful to humans. Therefore, in some instances, it is important for a curtain to be washed from time to time. This is especially true for situations in which the curtain is used in hospitals, for example to separate patient beds. Such curtains can become contaminated with drug-resistant bacteria and could play a role in spreading germs in hospitals. 
         [0005]    Some existing curtains such as those used in hospitals are draped from a curtain rod using several hooks that hook into corresponding holes or sleeves located in a top portion of the curtain. Unfortunately, in order to clean the curtain to remove dirt or contaminates, the curtain is removed by unhooking the curtain from all of the hooks. Once this is completed the curtain can be washed. A clean curtain is then draped from the curtain rod by individually inserting each hook directly into the clean curtain or into a respective hole or sleeve in the top portion of the clean curtain. Unfortunately, this whole process can be tedious and time consuming. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE  
       [0006]    Some embodiments of the application provide curtain carriers that are attachable to a top portion of a curtain and slidably engageable with a curtain rod for draping the curtain from the curtain rod. The curtain carriers are slidably removable from the curtain rod such that the curtain together with the curtain carriers attached therewith can be removed from the curtain rod. This allows the curtain together with the curtain carriers attached therewith to be washed. A clean curtain with curtain carriers attached therewith can be slidably attached to the curtain rod. In this manner, a dirty or contaminated curtain can be replaced without any hooking or unhooking of the curtain from hooks that are used in existing approaches to drape curtains. Therefore, difficulties traditionally associated with replacing a dirty or contaminated curtain can be mitigated or avoided. 
         [0007]    According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a curtain carrier for draping a curtain from a curtain rod, the curtain carrier comprising: at least one first member that is slidably engageable with the curtain rod; and at least one second member having an open state for receiving the curtain and a closed state for attaching to the curtain. 
         [0008]    According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a curtain set comprising a plurality of curtain carriers as summarized above. 
         [0009]    According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of draping a curtain from a curtain rod, the curtain having attached therewith a plurality of curtain carriers as summarized above, the method comprising: sliding the curtain carriers into the curtain rod while the curtain carriers are attached to the curtain. 
         [0010]    According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of removing a curtain that is draped from a curtain rod using a plurality of curtain carriers as summarized above, the method comprising: sliding the curtain carriers out of the curtain rod while the curtain carriers are attached to the curtain. 
         [0011]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of washing a curtain that is draped from a curtain rod using a plurality of curtain carriers as summarized above, the method comprising: removing the curtain together with the curtain carriers attached therewith by sliding the curtain carriers out of the curtain rod; and washing the curtain together with the curtain carriers attached therewith. 
         [0012]    Other aspects and features of the present disclosure will become apparent, to those ordinarily skilled in the art, upon review of the following description of the specific embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    Embodiments will now be described with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a schematic featuring a plurality of curtain carriers draping a curtain from a curtain rod; 
           [0015]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are schematics featuring one of the curtain carriers depicted in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0016]      FIGS. 4 and 5  are schematics featuring another curtain carrier. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0017]    It should be understood at the outset that although illustrative implementations of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are provided below, the disclosed apparatus and/or methods may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary designs and implementations illustrated and described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents. 
         [0018]    Referring first to  FIG. 1 , shown is a schematic featuring a plurality of curtain carriers  10  draping a curtain  20  from a curtain rod  30 . It is to be understood at the outset that the curtain carriers  10 , the curtain  20 , and the curtain rod  30  are shown with specific features for exemplary purposes only. Each curtain carrier  10  is attached to the curtain  20  through a respective hole or slit  21  in a top portion of the curtain  20 . The curtain carriers  10  are slidably engageable with the curtain rod  30 . The curtain carriers  10  can be slid into the curtain rod  30  in order to drape the curtain  20  from the curtain rod  30 . The curtain carriers  10  can later be slid out of the curtain rod  30  in order to remove the curtain  20  together with the curtain carriers  10  attached therewith. 
         [0019]    Note that the curtain  20  can be draped from the curtain rod  30  without any hooking of the curtain  20  onto hooks (not shown) that are used in existing approaches to drape curtains. Likewise, the curtain  20  can be removed without any unhooking of the curtain  20  from hooks (not shown) that are used in existing approaches to drape curtains. This is because the curtain carriers  10  remain attached to the curtain  20  and can be slid in and out of the curtain rod  30 . 
         [0020]    In some implementations, the curtain carriers  10  are formed of a material suitable for washing with the curtain  20 . In this manner, the curtain carriers  10  can remain attached to the curtain  20  when washing the curtain  20 . By allowing the curtain carriers  10  to be washed with the curtain  20 , time is saved by not having to remove the curtain carriers  10  from the curtain  20 . There are many possible materials suitable for washing with the curtain  20 . The curtain carriers  10  can be formed of any suitable material, for example nylon. Alternatively, the carriers  10  can be formed of plastic. 
         [0021]    In alternative implementations, the curtain carriers  10  are formed of a material that is not suitable for washing with the curtain  20 . For such implementations, the curtain carriers  10  might be removed from the curtain  20  prior to washing the curtain  20 . 
         [0022]    Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , shown are schematics featuring one of the curtain carriers  10  depicted in  FIG. 1 . It is to be understood at the outset that the curtain carrier  10  is shown with specific features for exemplary purposes only. The curtain carrier  10  has rollers  11 , a body  12 , and a movable flange  13 . The movable flange  13  is pivotally connected to the body  12  as indicated at  14 .  FIG. 2  shows the curtain carrier  10  in a closed state in which the movable flange  13  has an abutment with a notch  17  of the body  12 . In this state, the notch  17  resists the movable flange  13  from opening away from the body  12 .  FIG. 3  shows the curtain carrier  10  in an open state in which the movable flange  13  has no abutment with the notch  17  of the body  12 . 
         [0023]    A user can manipulate the orientation of the movable flange  13  as depicted by arrow  16 . The user manipulates the orientation of the movable flange  13  when attaching or removing the curtain carrier  10  from a curtain. For example, to attach the curtain carrier  10 , the user might insert a lower portion of the body  17  through a hole or slit in the curtain  20  while the curtain carrier  10  is in the open state. The user can subsequently manipulate the moveable flange  13  so that it moves past the notch  17  of the body  12 . At this point the curtain carrier  10  is in the closed state and is attached to the curtain  20 . 
         [0024]    In the example presented above, the curtain carrier  10  attaches to the curtain  30  using a combination of the body  12  and the moveable flange  13  pivotally connected to the body  12 . Other implementations are possible that might not use such a moveable flange. More generally, embodiments provide at least one member having an open state for receiving the curtain and a closed state for attaching to the curtain. Thus, the curtain carrier is able to close in order to keep the curtain from falling off the curtain carrier. Other embodiments provide a curtain carrier that can attach to a curtain using any appropriate means. 
         [0025]    The rollers  11  allow the curtain carrier  10  to be slidably engageable with the curtain rod  30  by rolling along the curtain rod  30 . The rollers  11  are connected by a shaft (not shown) that traverses the body  12 . The shaft can rotate through the body  12  thereby allowing the rollers  11  to roll. In alternative implementations, in lieu of having the rollers  11 , the curtain carrier  10  is provided with flanges (not shown) fixed to the body  12  and formed to slide in the curtain rod  30 . More generally, there is provided at least one member that is slidably engageable with the curtain rod  30 . 
         [0026]    Referring back to  FIG. 1 , it can be seen that all of the curtain carriers  10  are in the closed position and attached to the curtain carriers  10 . However, if the curtain  20  were pulled hard enough, then the curtain  20  might slip out of the curtain carriers  10 . In particular, for each curtain carrier  20 , the abutment between the body  12  and the movable flange  13  can become undone due to force exerted by the curtain  20  thereby rendering the curtain carrier  10  into the open state. This problem can be more prevalent if the curtain  20  is pulled and it is positioned such that it exerts force nearest to the abutment between the body  12  and the movable flange  13 . One possible approach is to arrange the curtain carriers  10  so that they alternate in orientation such that a portion of the curtain carriers  10  have the movable flange  13  on one side of the curtain  20  while the other curtain carriers  10  have the movable flange  13  on the other side of the curtain  20 . In this configuration, it is less likely for the curtain  20  to be arranged so that it exerts force near each abutment. Rather, the curtain  20  might exert force near some of the abutments while exerting force farther away from the other abutments. In this manner, the curtain  20  might be less likely to slip out of the curtain carriers  10 . 
         [0027]    Another embodiment provides a curtain carrier configured to lock in the closed state and remain locked in the closed state even when force is exerted from a curtain being pulled. An example of this will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
         [0028]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , shown are schematics featuring another curtain carrier  40 . It is to be understood at the outset that the curtain carrier  40  is shown with specific features for exemplary purposes only. The curtain carrier  40  has rollers  41 , a body  42 , and a movable flange  43 . The movable flange  43  is pivotally connected to the body  42  as indicated at  44 .  FIG. 4  shows the curtain carrier  40  in a closed state in which a hooked flange  47  of the body  12  engages with a corresponding hole  48  in the movable flange  43 . In this state, the hooked flange  47  resists the movable flange  13  from opening away from the body  42 . Note that downward force exerted by a curtain causes the hooked flange  47  to lock the movable flange  43  in the closed state.  FIG. 5  shows the curtain carrier  40  in an open state in which the movable flange  43  is disposed away from the hooked flange  47 . 
         [0029]    A user can manipulate the orientation of the movable flange  13  as depicted by arrow  46 . The user manipulates the orientation of the movable flange  43  when attaching or removing the curtain carrier  40  from a curtain. In order to do this, the user also manipulates the hooked flange  47  as appropriate for locking the curtain carrier  40  into the closed state and for unlocking the curtain carrier  40  from the closed state. 
         [0030]    The rollers  41  allow the curtain carrier  40  to be slidably engageable with a curtain rod as similarly described for the curtain carrier  10  shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 . Alternative implementations are possible as similarly described for the curtain carrier  10  shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 . 
         [0031]    Numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practised otherwise than as specifically described herein.