Patent ID: 8371359

Claim:
A track assembly supporting a fabric on a wall or ceiling surface under tension, comprising: a base track including a first half of a hinge defined by a curved member having an outer surface and an inner surface defining a cavity, a first half of a snapping clamp spaced apart from the first half of the hinge and a base plate extending between the first half of the hinge and the first half of the snapping clamp for contact with the surface; an upper track including a second half of the hinge defined by a curved member at least partially insertable into the cavity and rotatable within the cavity of the first half of the hinge member so as to cooperatively form a hinge, and a second half of the snapping clamp releasably lockable with the first half of the snapping clamp to cooperatively form a snapping clamp for releasably locking the fabric therebetween, and an upper plate extending between the second half of the hinge and the second half of the snapping clamp; an elongated strut disposed intermediate the second half of the hinge and the second half of the snapping clamp and extending at one end thereof from the upper plate at a non-perpendicular angle with respect to the upper plate away from the snapping clamp and towards the outer surface of the first half of the hinge facing the snapping clamp; wherein after securement of the base track to the surface, the upper track is hinged to the base track with the coupling of the first and second halves of the hinge, the upper track then swingable about the hinge away from the surface to facilitate placement of the fabric over the second half of the snapping clamp and subsequent swinging of the upper track towards the base track causing the first and second halves of the snapping clamp to secure and releasably lock the fabric therebetween; and wherein in the presence of forces applied to the track assembly by the fabric, the strut extends between the upper track and the outer surface of the first hinge member of the base track to resist opening of the snapping clamp and distortion of the track assembly due to the fabric tension forces.