Abstract:
A one-piece bracket for mounting the headrail of a covering for an architectural opening comprises a generally L-shaped piece having a system for retaining the headrail on the bracket and restricting movement of the headrail on the bracket.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to European patent application No. 04077208.9, filed Aug. 2, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference as fully disclosed herein.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to a mounting bracket for a head rail of a covering for an architectural opening. The invention particularly relates to a single piece mounting bracket that is hardly visible from the front of the covering and allows for easy mounting and dismounting of the head rail.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Numerous mounting brackets are known for head rails of architectural coverings. Typical mounting brackets are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,857, U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,560 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,130. Each of these brackets is suitable for mounting a head rail that is generally U-shaped rail and has longitudinally extending front, rear and bottom walls.  
         [0006]     One of such headrails is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,857. In this headrail the top edge of the front wall  24  of the head rail  20  is provided with a longitudinal front headrail lip  25  that extends horizontally and inwardly from the front wall towards the rear wall  21 ; the top edge  23  of the rear wall  21  of the head rail has a similar longitudinal rear headrail lip  22  that extends horizontally and inwardly from the rear wall  21  towards the front wall  24 . Additionally the rear wall of the bracket is provided with a longitudinal mounting rim  26  that extends horizontally and rearwardly from the rear wall.  
         [0007]     The headrails of the other prior art publications are generally the same. Each of these headrail is suitable for being mounted in the bracket of the invention.  
         [0008]     The prior art bracket from U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,857 is a generally L-shaped bracket and comprises a top plate  41  and a rear plate  42 . The top plate has a ramp portion  43  extending downwardly and at an angle away from front edge  44 . A front bracket lip  46  for engaging the lower surface of the front headrail lip  25  extends horizontally and outwardly from the front edge  45  of the ramp portion  43 . A spring arm  47  extends downwardly from the front edge  44  of the top plate  41  and towards the rear plate  42  for engaging by its end portion or restraining lip  48  the top of the rear head rail lip  22 . A bottom ledge  49  extends horizontally outwardly from the rear plate  42 , from the ledge a hook barb  51  extends upwardly for engaging the mounting rim  26  of the head rail.  
         [0009]     The headrail is mounted to the bracket by urging the headrail up at an angle toward the corner  53  formed by the intersection of the rear plate  42  and the top plate  41 . This forces the rear headrail lip  22  up into contact with the restraining lip  48  of the spring arm, and also allows the hook shaped mounting rim  26  to pass over the hooked restraining barb  51 . Upon release the recoil of the spring arm  47  forces the rear headrail lip  22  and the rear wall  21  down, thereby allowing the hook rail  26  to engage the restraining barb  51 . The hook barb  51  in combination with the hooked mounting rim  26  prevents any movement from the head rail horizontally either toward or away from the rear plate  42 . In a different embodiment in  FIG. 10  the hook feature is moved by having a hooked front head rail lip  29 ,  30  in combination with a hooked front bracket lip  51   c.  The bottom ledge  49  extends horizontally without hooked barb.  
         [0010]     A drawback of this prior art bracket is that general large vertical displacement is needed to mount and dismount the bracket, because the hooked barb and/or hooked front bracket lip has to be cleared before the headrail is mounted or can actually be moved free of the bracket. This requires a delicate manoeuvring and for large blinds with a number of brackets spaced along the headrail a considerable and carefully co-coordinated force is needed. The other prior art bracket as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,130 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,560 have the same drawbacks caused by hook-shaped engagement members, even though these brackets are different in some other details.  
         [0011]     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a bracket with the same general characteristics as the bracket of U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,857 but to which a headrail can be more easily mounted.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     It is also an object of the invention to provide a bracket without the hooked restraining barb and/or hooked front bracket lip that have to be cleared, but including an alternative restraint means against any movement from the head rail horizontally either toward or away from the rear plate  42 .  
         [0013]     It is also an object of the invention to provide a bracket from which the headrail can be more easily dismounted.  
         [0014]     Tolerances in the production process of head rails can result in a head rail of which the height of the front and rear walls are more or less than the bracket was designed for. This could than result in a headrail that fits too tight or too loose. It is therefore also an object of the invention to provide a bracket that allows for such a height tolerance of the headrail in relation to bracket.  
         [0015]     According to the invention there is provided a generally L-shaped, single piece mounting bracket for mounting a headrail of an architectural covering to a fixed surface such as a wall or a ceiling, said bracket comprising a horizontal top body portion; a vertical rear body portion extending perpendicular from a longitudinal rear edge of the top body portion; support means at the rear body portion for restricting said headrail from downward movement when mounted to the bracket; at least one spring arm at the top body portion for urging said headrail, when mounted to the bracket, into engagement with the support means; at least one restraining flange for restricting movement of said headrail, when mounted to the bracket, horizontally toward or away from said rear body portion; characterized in that the at least one restraining flange is integrally formed at the at least one spring arm at the top body portion of the bracket.  
         [0016]     According to another aspect of the invention the top bracket portion of the bracket of the invention comprises a front edge and a pair of lateral left and right side edges, and wherein the at least one spring arm extends generally rearwardly and downwardly from one of the lateral side edges adjacent the front edge toward the rear body portion  
         [0017]     According to another aspect of the invention the at least one spring arm of the bracket of the invention comprises an outer and an inner lateral side edge and the at least one restraining flange depends from either the lateral outer side edge or the lateral inner side edge.  
         [0018]     According to yet another aspect of the invention the restraining flange of the bracket of the invention comprises a vertical rear edge adjacent the rear bracket portion, a horizontal bottom edge extending below and parallel to the lateral side edge of the spring arm from which the restraining flange depends, and an forwardly and upwardly sloping front edge extending towards the lateral side edge of the spring arm from which the restraining flange depends.  
         [0019]     According to yet, yet, yet another aspect of the invention the support means of the bracket of the invention is a resilient spring leg comprising a support member for headrail. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]     Further aspects of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description below of particular embodiments and the drawings thereof in which:  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of a headrail suitable to be mounted to the bracket of the invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view of the front of the bracket of the invention;  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is a schematic perspective rear of the front of the bracket of the invention; and  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is an end view the bracket of invention to which the headrail of  FIG. 1  is mounted, the headrail is shown in cross-section. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]     In  FIG. 1 a  headrail  1  is shown in cross-section as it is mounted to the bracket  31 . The bracket is best visible in all three  FIGS. 2-4 .  
         [0026]     The headrail  1  is a generally elongated U-shaped profile, with an elongated front wall  3 , an elongated bottom wall  5  and an elongated rear wall  7 . The top edge  9  of the front wall  3  is provided with a front wall lip  11  that extends horizontally and rearwardly from the front wall towards the rear wall  7 . Likewise the top edge  13  of rear wall  7  is provided with a rear wall lip  15  that extends horizontally and rearwardly from the rear wall towards the front wall  3 . Additionally the rear wall  7  is provided with a mounting bead or rim  17  that extends generally horizontally and rearwardly away from the rear wall  7  and having at least a horizontal bottom portion  19  for engagement to the bracket. The interior cross-section of the headrail as shown in  FIG. 1  is provided with a number of rims or flanges  21  that do not relate to the invention but are typical for a headrail that is suitable for mounting a pleated blind. These rims  21  do not relate to the bracket and are therefore not further described. Also the headrail shown in  FIG. 1  is provided with a downwardly open bottom channel  23 , which is also not related to the invention and not further explained but is typical for a headrail that is suitable for mounting a pleated blind.  
         [0027]     The headrail as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4  is only an example of a headrail that can be mounted to the bracket of the invention. Almost any type of U-shaped channel-like headrail can be mounted in the bracket of the invention as long as it is provided with a front and rear headrail lip and a mounting rim.  
         [0028]     The bracket  31  is a single piece, generally L-shaped bracket having a top plate  33  and a rear plate  35  at generally right angle to each other, in that the rear plate  35  extends perpendicular from rear body edge  34  of the top plate  33 . The top plate  33  is preferably general rectangular in shape and further includes left and right outer lateral side edges  33 L and  33 R.  
         [0029]     The top plate  33  has a ramp portion  37  extending downwardly and at an angle away from front edge  39 . A front bracket lip  41  for engaging the lower surface of the front headrail lip  11  extends horizontally and outwardly from the front edge  43  of the ramp portion  37 . The ramp portion  37  and front bracket lip  41  ensure that once a headrail is mounted to the bracket there are no engagement parts of the bracket to the front wall of the headrail that are visible. A pair of left and right spring arms  45 ,  45 ′ extend downwardly from either lateral side edges  33 L,  33 R of the top plate  33  near the front edge  43  thereof and towards the rear plate  35  for engaging, by its end portion  47 ,  47 ′, the top of the rear headrail lip  15 . The spring arms  45 ,  45 ′ each include generally parallel opposite lateral outer and inner side edges  87 ,  87 ′,  89 ,  89 ′. The lateral outer side edge  87 , 87 ′ is co-extending with respectively the left and right lateral side edges  33 L,  33 R of the top plate  33 . In this respect the bracket is identical to the bracket of U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,857.  
         [0030]     In accordance with the invention the left and right spring arms  45 ,  45 ′ each are provided with a downwardly extending spring arm flanges  49 ,  49 ′. The spring arm flanges  49 , 49 ′ extend from the outer lateral side edges  87 , 87 ′ of the spring arms  45 , 45 ′. The spring arm flanges each have a vertical downwardly extending rear edge  51 ,  51 ′, a horizontal forwardly extending bottom edge  53 ,  53 ′, an upwardly and forwardly sloped front edge  55 , 55 ′ and a horizontal top edge  57 ,  57 ′. The horizontal top edge  57 ,  57 ′ co-extends with the lateral outer side edge  87 , 87 ′ of the spring arm  45 , 45 ′. The sloped front edge  55 ,  55 ′ runs from the front corner  59 ,  59 ′ of the bottom edge  53 , 53 ′ of the spring arm flange towards the front corner  61 ,  61 ′ of the top edge  57 , 57 ′. The function of the spring arm flange is explained below in relation to  FIG. 4  where a headrail is mounted to the bracket.  
         [0031]     As can be best seen from  FIG. 3 , the rear plate  35  of the bracket is provided with a pair of left and right forwardly extending side flanges  63 ,  63 ′, which limit movement of the rear wall  7  of the headrail during installation. They also ensure that the rear headrail lip  15  comes into engagement with the left and right spring arm end portions  47 , 47 ′ when the headrail is mounted to the bracket.  
         [0032]     Conventional resilient support means are provided on the rear plate  35  of the bracket for engaging the bottom portion  19  of the mounting rim  17  of the headrail to support the headrail and restrict downward movement of the headrail. Such a support means as best visible in  FIGS. 3 and 4  is preferably a spring leg  65  extending from the rear plate  35 . The spring leg  65  extends generally downwardly at a forward angle and is biased in forward direction. The spring leg  65  comprise a leg portion  67  and a support member  69 . Preferably the spring leg  65  is position generally in the middle of the rear plate  35 . The support member  69  is a generally C-shaped member having a base  71  and a pair of left and right ears  73 ,  73 ′. The base  71  is generally rectangular and includes an outer edge  75  and a parallel opposite inner edge  77 . The support member  69  is attached to the back of the spring leg portion  67  by its inner edge  77  and its base  71  extends rearwardly and downwardly at angle of bottom section of the leg portion  67 . The ear portions  73 ,  73 ′ extend from inner edge  77  of the base  71  and on either side of the spring leg  67 . The ears  73 ,  73 ′ also extend at an angle but forward and upwardly relative to the leg portion  69  of the spring leg  65 . The front rims  79 ,  79 ′ of the left and right ears  73 ,  73 ′ will engage the bottom portion  19  of the mounting rim  17  of the headrail upon assembly of the headrail to the bracket.  
         [0033]     The rear plate  35  is divided into left and right rear wall mounting portions  81 ,  81 ′, each provided with openings  83 ,  83 ′ suitable for receiving fastening means for fixing the bracket to a wall.  
         [0034]     In this respect the pair of left and right forwardly extending side flanges  63 ,  63 ′ each extend from the respectively left and right outer lateral side of the respectively left and right wall mounting portions  81 ,  81 ′.  
         [0035]     The top plate  33  of the bracket is provided with openings  85  suitable for receiving fastening means for fixing the bracket to a ceiling.  
         [0036]     After the bracket has been secured to a fixed surface such as a wall or a ceiling, the headrail can now be easily mounted to the bracket, as their are no hooked parts that have to be cleared. The headrail is mounted to the bracket by placing the front headrail lip  11  over the front bracket lip  41  and subsequently urging the headrail forward and particularly the mounting rim  17  and its bottom part  19  into engagement with the support member  69  of spring leg  65 . As this is done the spring arm flange  49  is urged slightly upwards by the rear headrail wall and lip  13 ,  15  passing the flange. The sloped front edge  55  and the upward flexing of the spring arm flanges  49 ,  49 ′ both ease the passage of the headrail. At the same time the movement of pushing the headrail and its mounting rim  17  into engagement with the spring leg  65  and its support member  69 , the spring leg  65  flexes slightly rearwardly. After the rear headrail lip  15  passed the spring arm flanges  49 ,  49 ′ the spring leg will recoil back and the spring arm end portion will rest on top of the rear headrail lip  15 . At the same time the spring leg support member  69  will engage the bottom part  19  of the mounting rim of the headrail. Upon release of the headrail, which is now in place, the recoil of the spring arms  47 , 47 ′ forces the rear headrail lip  15  and the rear wall  7  down, thereby more firmly engaging the spring leg support member  69  preventing downward movement from the headrail relative to the bracket. At the same time the rear edge  51 ,  51 ′ of the spring arm flanges  49 ,  49 ′ prevent any movement from the head rail horizontally either toward or away from the rear plate  42 .  
         [0037]     Another advantage of the bracket of the invention becomes clear at dismounting the headrail from the bracket. A screwdriver or similar tool can be used to unlatch the support member  69  from the mounting rim  17 . Once unlatched, the downwardly biased spring arms  45 ,  45 ′ and their end portions  47 ,  47 ′ will eject the headrail from the bracket by the downward force they exert on the rear headrail lip  15 .  
         [0038]     Tolerances in the production process of head rails can result in a head rail of which the height of the front and rear walls are more or less than the bracket was designed for. This could than result in a headrail that fits too tight or too loose. The resiliency of the spring leg  65  and the spring arms  45 ,  45 ′ allow for such a height tolerance of the headrail in relation to bracket.  
         [0039]     This invention is, of course, not limited to the specifically described embodiment. This embodiment can be modified without departing from the scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its advantages. In this regard, the terms in the foregoing description and the following claims, such as “rear”, “front” “rearwardly”, “forwardly”, “downwardly”, “horizontally”, “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “top” and “bottom”, have been used only as relative terms to describe the relationships of the various elements of the bracket of the invention as shown in the Figures.  
         [0040]     In this respect the spring arm flange  49 , 49 ′ which acts as a means for restricting any movement of the head rail horizontally relative to the rear plate  42 , is shown to depend from the lateral outer side edges  87 ,  87 ′ of the spring arms  45 ,  45 ′. The flanges  49 , 49 ′ can however also depend from the lateral inner side edges  89 ,  89 ′ of the spring arm  45 , 45 ′ and have the same function.  
         [0041]     Also the spring arms  45 , 45 ′ have been depicted as extending on the outer lateral sides  33 L, 33 R of the top plate  33 . However, it is feasible that the spring arms depend from the top plate  33  at a location removed from the outer lateral sides.  
         [0042]     Also, it is clear that in the embodiment of the bracket as shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , the front edge  64 ,  64 ′ of the side flanges  63 ,  63 ′ of the rear plate  35 ,  35 ′ also helps to limit any movement of the head rail horizontally relative to the rear plate  42 . However the side flanges are not necessary for the spring arm flanges  49 , 49 ′ to limit this type of movement. When no side flanges are available, the spring arm flange may have to be positioned somewhat closer to the rear plate, or they have to be laterally longer. The space remaining between the front edge of the rear headrail lip  15  and the rear edge  51 ,  51 ′ of the spring arm flanges  49 ,  49 ′ must be smaller than the overlap of the front headrail lip  11  on the front bracket lip  41 .  
         [0043]     Also, although not shown in the Figures, in an alternative embodiment the bracket could be provided with only a single spring arm, and a single spring arm flange.  
         [0044]     Also the support means, although shown to be a resilient spring leg and a support member, could be a flange extending horizontally and forwardly form the rear bracket plate, such as is shown in e.g. FIG. 10 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,857.