Patent Publication Number: US-2011067221-A1

Title: Drapery rod bracket

Description:
The invention relates generally to window coverings such as draperies and more particularly to an improved bracket for a drapery rod. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In a typical drapery rod installation the drapery rod consists of an elongated substantially cylindrical pole that is supported at or near its ends by brackets. Depending upon the type of drapery, the desired aesthetic look, the structure to which the rod is to be mounted, and other factors, different types of brackets are used to mount the rod in different installations. For example, the brackets may be mounted to a vertical surface such as a wall (wall mount), to a horizontal surface such as a ceiling (ceiling mount) or to the inside of a surface such as a window casement (inside mount) where each mounting arrangement requires a different type of bracket having a structure particularly suited for the type of installation. 
     The necessity of providing different mounting brackets can make the sale and installation of drapery rods unduly complicated and expensive. Manufacturers and retailers are required to stock different types of brackets and customers are required to purchase the type of bracket particularly suited for the type of installation. For do-it-yourself installations, the customer often is uncertain of the type of bracket that is required for the particular installation at the time of purchase leading to frustration and wasted time and effort. Moreover, drapery rods and brackets may be sold as kits where the rod and brackets are sold together complicating both the purchase decision of the customer and inventory and supply issues for the manufacturer and retailer. 
     Thus an improved drapery rod bracket is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The bracket of the invention comprises an adjustable support arm that can be mounted to either a vertical surface such as a wall or a horizontal surface such as a ceiling. A rod supporting member such as a ring or hook is removably attached to the arm and is adapted to receive and support the drapery rod. The rod supporting member can be removed from the support arm and attached directly to a surface to provide an inside mount for the rod. A separate mounting clip may be used to mount the rod supporting member to the surface. The mounting clip may be provided with a rod engaging element for centering the rod and a surface engaging element for fixing the position of the rod supporting member on the surface. A rod may be supported by the bracket in the wall mount, ceiling mount and/or inside mount positions. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the bracket of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the bracket of the invention with the components in a disassembled condition. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the rod supporting member and separate mounting clip in a disassembled condition. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the rod supporting member and separate mounting clip in an assembled condition. 
         FIG. 5  shows the bracket of the invention used as a wall mount. 
         FIG. 6  shows the bracket of the invention used as a ceiling mount. 
         FIG. 7  shows the bracket of the invention used as an inside mount. 
         FIG. 8  is a rear perspective view of the rod supporting member and mounting clip. 
         FIGS. 9 through 11  show alternate embodiments of the bracket of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The bracket of the invention is shown generally at  1  in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and comprises an adjustable support arm  2 . Arm  2  has a first arm portion  2   a  and a second arm portion  2   b  where arm portion  2   a  can slide relative to arm portion  2   b  to adjust the length of the arm  2 . Arm portion  2   b  is formed with a mounting flange  8  where flange  8  includes holes  12  for receiving screws or other fasteners  10 . The fasteners  10  are inserted through the holes  12  and are secured to a surface such as a wall or ceiling to mount the arm to the surface. Mounting flange  8  may be made integrally with arm portion  2   b  or it may be a separate component attached thereto. 
     Arm portions  2   a  and  2   b  are formed with mating tracks  5  that allow the arms to reciprocate relative to one another in a telescoping manner to adjust the length of arm  2 . Arm portion  2   a  is formed with a through hole  7  for receiving a fastener  4  such as a threaded screw. Arm portion  2   b  is formed with a plurality threaded holes  6  that can be selectively engaged by fastener  4  such that arm portion  2   a  can be fixed in position relative to arm portion  2   b . The use of discrete threaded holes  6  rather than continuously adjustable members enables the bracket  1  to be used as a ceiling mount bracket as shown in  FIG. 6 . When a bracket is mounted to a ceiling or other horizontal surface the weight of the rod  11  and drapery  9  will tend to pull arm portion  2   a  from arm portion  2   b . If continuously adjustable members are used to provide the adjustment where friction is relied on to fix the relative positions of the arm portions, the weight of the rod and drapery on the arm  2  may eventually cause the arm portions to slip relative one another and expand the bracket. Using the discrete adjustment where the fastener  4  mechanically engages one of the threaded holes  6 , the position of the arm portions is fixed and the weight of the rod  11  and draperies  9  is supported. 
     A hole  14  is formed in face  16  arranged at the end of arm portion  2   a . In the illustrated embodiment surface  16  is bounded by a wall  18  to create a recessed area  20  that receives a mating protrusion  24  formed on rod supporting member  22 . Rod supporting member  22  defines an interior space  23  in which the rod is located. In  FIGS. 1 through 9  and  11  the rod supporting member  22  is a ring that surrounds the rod and in  FIG. 10  the rod supporting member  58  is a hook that partially surrounds the rod. Other constructions of the rod supporting member are possible. Protrusion  24  has a threaded hole  25  ( FIG. 3 ) that is arranged coaxially with hole  14 . A threaded fastener  26  such as a screw is inserted through hole  14  and into threaded hole  25  to releasably secure the rod supporting member  22  to the arm  2 . While a separate fastener is shown it is to be understood that either rod supporting member  22  or arm  2  may be provided with an integral fastener. 
     To mount the bracket as either a ceiling mount ( FIG. 6 ) or a wall mount ( FIG. 7 ), the assembly shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  is used. The arm  2  is secured to the surface using fasteners  10  in either a vertical orientation (ceiling mount) or a horizontal orientation (wall mount). Arm portion  2   a  can be adjusted relative to arm portion  2   b  to create an arm  2  of the desired length. The mechanical engagement of fastener  4  with discrete mating receptacles  6  fixes the arm portions  2   a  and  2   b  relative to one another in both a wall mount installation and a ceiling mount installation. 
     To use the bracket of the invention as an inside mount, the rod supporting member  22  is removed from arm  2  by unfastening fastener  26 . Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  7  a mounting clip  30  is attached to rod supporting member  22  using fastener  26 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the fastener  26  is used to secure rod supporting member  22  to arm  2  and to secure mounting clip  30  to rod supporting member  22  although separate fasteners may be used. Moreover mounting clip  30  or rod supporting member  22  may be provided with an integral fastener. Mounting clip  30  includes a first flange  30   a  that extends substantially perpendicular to the surface to which it is mounted and has a first through hole  32  formed therein. A second flange  30   b  is arranged at approximately a right angle to flange  30   a  and includes a second through hole  34 . The second flange  30   b  extends to the interior space  23  of the rod supporting member  22 . A rod centering member such as post  36  may be provided on flange  30   b  that extends into rod supporting member  22 . Post  36  extends into an aperture formed along the longitudinal axis of rod  11  to center the rod on the rod supporting member  22 . Fastener  26  is inserted through hole  32  of mounting clip  30  and is threadably connected to threaded hole  25  on rod supporting member  22 . Rod supporting member  22  is provided with a notch  38  along the edge  39  thereof that faces the surface to which member  22  is secured in the inside mount installation. Notch  38  is dimensioned to receive the mounting clip  30  such that the edge  39  of rod supporting member  22  is flush with the surface to which the member  22  is mounted. The notch  38  may be omitted if a flush mount of the rod supporting member  22  to the surface is not desired. A fastener  40  such as a threaded screw may be inserted through hole  34  to attach mounting clip  30  to a surface. As best shown in  FIG. 8 , a projection  42  may be provided on the surface of the flange  30   b  that faces the surface to which the rod supporting member  22  is mounted. Projection  42  may include a sharp point or edge that can be pressed into the surface to prevent the rod supporting member from rotating about fastener  40  when member  22  is secured to the surface. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , to mount a rod  11  to a ring-shaped rod supporting member  22  for an inside mount, the mounting clip  30  is secured to the surface at the desired location. The rod  11  is inserted into ring  22 . The ring  22  is then secured to the mounting clip  30  using fastener  26 . The opposite end of the rod is mounted in the same manner. If the rod supporting member comprises a hook such as shown in  FIG. 10 , mounting of the hook could be done as previously described. Alternatively, the hook-shaped rod supporting member  58  could be secured to the mounting clip first and both of these elements could than be mounted to the surface. The rod  11  could then be inserted into the hook  58  after the mounting clip  30  and hook  58  are mounted to the surface. 
     An alternate embodiment of the mounting clip  30  and rod supporting member  22  is shown in  FIG. 9  where the mounting clip  30  is secured such that flange  30   b  is arranged extending outside of rod supporting member  22  rather than into the interior space of rod supporting member  22 . Rod centering member  36  may be eliminated. 
     Another embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 10  where the arm  50  is comprised of discrete segments  50   a  and  50   b  that can be connected to one another and to wall mount flange  53  to vary the effective length of the arm. While the illustrated embodiment discloses two arm segments, a greater or fewer number of segments may be used. Each arm segment and the wall mount flange include a threaded male member  52  that engages a threaded hole  54  of the adjacent segment. The final segment can be threaded to rod supporting member  58 . In such an arrangement, an additional threaded member  56  is used to connect the mounting clip  57  to threaded hole  59  of rod supporting member  58 . Threaded member  56  may be integral with the mounting clip  57  as shown or it may be a separate fastener as described with respect to the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 through 4 . In the illustrated embodiment the rod supporting member  58  is a hook that extends for a portion of the periphery of rod  11  such that it can support the rod in both the ceiling mount and wall mount installations. Mounting clip  57  and mounting flange  53  are provided with through holes  55  for receiving fasteners (not shown) for mounting the bracket to a surface. 
     Another embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 11  where arm  60  includes a first segment  62  telescopically connected to a second segment  64 . Segment  62  is connected to wall mount flange  80  that is provided with through holes  82  for receiving fasteners (not shown) for mounting the bracket to a surface. Segment  62  telescopically slides within a longitudinal channel formed in segment  64  and is maintained in position by a fastener  66  that is inserted through one of a plurality of aligned holes  68  and mechanically engages a threaded hole formed on member  62 . The rod supporting member  70  is connected to arm  60  by a fastener  72  that is inserted through hole  74  formed on the arm  60  and mechanically engages threaded hole  76  formed on a flange  78  extending from the rod support element  70 . For an inside mount, the rod supporting member  70  can be attached to the surface by a fastener engaging hole  76  such that a separate mounting clip need not be used. 
     While embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention has other applications in other environments. Many embodiments are possible. The following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention to the specific embodiments described above.