Currently, there are numerous commercial solutions for hanging curtains, drapes, or other materials (referred to as “hanging material”) for use as a room divider, to create an enclosed space, or otherwise provide privacy in various applications. The hanging material may comprise any type of textiles, fabrics, cloths, or other flexible materials. Depending on the particular application, the hanging material may be referred to as a cubicle curtain, a hospital curtain, a privacy curtain, a shower curtain, or more generally as a curtain or drape (collectively referred to as “privacy curtains”).
For example, hanging movable curtain systems are commonly used in nursing homes, extended care facilities, doctor offices, and other medical treatment facilities to provide patient privacy. The privacy curtains are typically hung using a track system. A track comprising an extruded aluminum or other channel may be attached to a conventional or dropped ceiling, which forms a path around the desired privacy area. Alternatively, the track may be coupled/fastened to a wall, such as, but not limited to, dry-wall.
A typical ceiling-mounted track and curtain system employs a series of rollers or gliders that move within the track. A hook may be attached to each roller with, for example, a chain. To drape the privacy curtain around the area defined by the track, each hook is attached to a series of grommets disposed on an upper portion of the privacy curtain. After the hooks have been attached to the grommets, the privacy curtain hangs from the ceiling-mounted track. An individual may pull the privacy curtain to slide it along the track and thereby open and close the privacy area.
Despite their widespread use and commercial success, ceiling-mounted track and curtain systems have many disadvantages. The ceiling-mounted track must generally follow a path that does not block ceiling obstacles (e.g., lights, vents, fire sprinklers, etc.), which may limit the location for optimal use of the rooms and increase custom installation costs. Furthermore, these types of systems may be difficult to install, use, and maintain. Due to the height of the ceiling-mounted track, it may be difficult to repair and clean the track system. Furthermore, a ladder may be required to take down the privacy curtain for maintenance, replacement, and/or cleaning. Because privacy curtains tend to be large in height and length and, therefore, relatively heavy, they can be very cumbersome to hang and take down.
Existing track designs typically use entry and exit points at one or both ends of the track for insertion and removal of the rollers and the curtain. For example, if one roller breaks in the sequence of rollers, all the rollers and the entire curtain up to that point need to be removed from the track in order to replace the broken roller. As shown in the art, the rollers may have a relatively short life span due to buildup of materials within the track system. When one or more rollers begin to malfunction, the privacy curtain may no longer smoothly traverse the track, which may cause the privacy curtain to catch or bind and lead to tearing of the hanging material.
Another problem with existing curtain hanging systems is that the hook-to-grommet method tends to fail when hooks are not correctly installed through the grommets. Improperly installed hooks may cause sagging of the hanging material, which can lead to an installer inadvertently failing to connect a hook to the corresponding grommet. In such cases, the privacy curtain may get caught in the track and lock.
Another problem with existing curtain hanging systems is that they often can obstruct doors and corresponding doorways. That is, with ceiling mounted systems, such systems are often difficult to take down and/or dismantle if large objects such as medical equipment must be moved into a room through a doorway.
Accordingly, despite the widespread availability and commercial success of privacy curtains, there remains a need in the art for improved systems, methods, and devices for attaching and/or supporting privacy curtains.
Briefly, the present disclosure is related to a system and method for supporting a privacy curtain that includes a swing arm wall mount, tubular swing arm, a swing arm end stop cap and end stop cap support attached to the wall. The swing arm wall mount and end stop cap support can be used with a curtain support & swivel assembly that couples to the privacy curtain. The swing arm wall mount system is designed to work with both a left and right opening door within a wall, where the swing arm can be rotated/flipped so it swings in an opposite direction relative to a right or left opening door.
Specifically, a system and method for supporting a privacy curtain may include a swing arm wall mount and a tubular swing arm, a swing arm end stop cap and wall mounted end stop cap support. The wall mounted swing arm support may be coupled to the tubular swing arm and the end stop cap on the end of the swing arm. The end stop cap may engage the end stop cap support when the swing arm is in a closed position. The swing arm wall mount allows the swing arm to rotate when the swing arm is in an open position and when the swing arm end stop cap is not engaged with the end stop cap support.
The end stop cap engages the end stop cap support when the swing arm is in the closed position. And the end stop cap does not engage the end stop cap support when the swing arm is in an open position. The swing arm wall mount may comprise of a pin at one end, wherein the pin engages the swing arm wall mount.
The pin may engage a pin support member that is part of the swing arm wall mount. A privacy curtain may be suspended from the swing arm. At least one curtain support and swivel assembly may be used to couple the privacy curtain to the swing arm.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In the Figures, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise indicated. For reference numerals with letter character designations such as “102A” or “102B”, the letter character designations may differentiate two like parts or elements present in the same Figure. Letter character designations for reference numerals may be omitted when it is intended that a reference numeral encompass all parts having the same reference numeral in all Figures.
The term “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects.
Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure only, and not for purposes of limiting the same,
The swing arm wall mount 20 functions as a hinge so that the tubular track 24 may rotate/move around the mount 20 as shown by dashed directional arrows A1 & A2 of
Both the end stop cap support 22 and wall mount 20 may be positioned above the floor at a height H1 which is generally a little less or equal to the height of the door With these relative spacings/relative dimensions, the door 60 may open towards a privacy curtain 604 (see
It is noted that the two walls 50A, 50B may also form angles less than or greater than ninety-degrees without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The tubular track 24 may need to be increased or decreased in its relative length depending upon the angle formed by the two walls 50A, 50B (i.e. depending if the angle is acute or obtuse).
The wall mount 20 allows the tubular track 24 to be separated from the end stop cap support 22 when it is necessary to move the privacy curtain 604 and or tubular track 24 significantly far/distanced from/away from the door 60 (i.e. when moving bulky objects into a room that may have heights much greater>>than H1, such as, but not limited to furniture, medical equipment, etc. that may enter through the doorway 80.) That is, the tubular track 24 may be pushed out of the way in the direction of directional arrow A2 in order to move the track 24 away from the door 60, as needed, such that the track 24 and/or the privacy curtain 604 (see
Referring now to
In other words, the door 60 could be present in/hinged to the second wall 50B (not shown). In that situation/setup where door 60 is hinged to the second wall 50B (not shown), the end stop support 22 could be moved from the first wall 50A to the second wall 50B, and the arm wall mount 20 may be moved from the second wall 50B to the first wall 50A. The tubular track 24 would then be flipped so that its hinged/pinned end would fit into the arm wall mount 20. As noted above, a privacy curtain 604 (see
While the system 101 works well with a door 60, in other exemplary embodiments (not illustrated), the system 101 may work well with just a corner 70 formed by two walls and without any door 60 in either wall 50A/B. For example, if a privacy curtain 604 (see
Referring now to
As noted previously, while the end stop cap support 22 is illustrated on the right side of
Referring now to
The end stop cap 302 may further comprise a mid-section 303 which is between the stop end engaging portion 304 and a track end engaging portion 306. The track end engaging portion 306 may comprise an angled portion/tapered portion that directly contacts the tubular track 24.
The end stop cap 302 generally has cross-sections the mirror the cross-sectional geometry of the tubular track 24. That is, the stop cap end engaging portion 304, the mid-section 303, and the track end engaging portion 306 may all have cross-sectional geometries taken along the sectional line S-S that match the cross-sectional geometry of the tubular track 24.
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
The track end engaging portion 306 of the end stop cap 302 may further include an edge 612. This edge 612 may directly contact and couple with the tubular track 24.
The wall facing portion 312 and front wall 308 of the end stop 22 may define a spacing S1 between the two elements such that stop end engaging portion 304 of the end cap 302 may fit between the wall facing portion 312 and front wall 308 of the end stop cap support 22. Generally, this spacing S1 is greater in size relative to the thickness of the stop end engaging portion 304.
The end stop cap support 22 may further comprise two apertures (i.e. holes) 314 (See
Referring now to
Meanwhile, the mid-section 303 of the end cap 302 may have a cross-sectional area/profile/perimeter that is greater than the cross-sectional area/profile/perimeter of the tubular track 24, but less than the cross-sectional area/profile/perimeter of the stop end engaging portion 304.
And the track end engaging portion 304 may comprise an edge 612 that directly couples with the tubular track 24. The edge 612 may comprise a perimeter that is substantially equal and/or matches the outer perimeter geometry of the tubular track 24 (See
Referring now to
As illustrated in
Referring now to
The integral pin 802 is formed such that it directly couples with the tubular track 24. According to one exemplary embodiment, the integral pin 802 and track 24 are formed by welding the aluminum pin 802 to the hollow, aluminum tubular track 24 three-hundred sixty degrees around the tubular track 24. The integral pin 802 may be made from solid aluminum, or it can be hollow aluminum.
Referring now to
The first pin support 902A may receive and couple to a portion of the pin 802 (illustrated in
The pin supports 902 hold the pin 802 in place such that the tubular track 24 may rotate around the pin 802 as shown by directional arrows B1 & B2 in
Referring now to
Specifically, the aperture 910A of the first pin support 902A receives a first portion of the pin 802. Similarly, the aperture 910B of the second pin support 902B receives a second portion of the pin 802 so that the pin 802 may rotate within the first and second apertures 910A, 910B.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The privacy curtain may couple with a curtain support and swivel assembly 602. The curtain support and swivel assembly 602 is further described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 10,264,908 issued on Apr. 23, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference. The curtain support and swivel assembly members 602 allow the privacy curtain 604 to slide along the track 24.
Referring now to
The curtain support & swivel assembly 602 may include a support rod 1302, a stop member 1304, a longitudinal opening 1306, a curtain attachment member 1308, and a lip 1310 disposed within the longitudinal opening 1306. A “C”-shaped hook portion 1307 may be present at an end section of the rod 1302 for coupling and receiving the tubular track 24.
Referring now to
As noted previously, the tubular track or swing arm 24 as well as the integral pin 802 may be made from metal, such as, but not limited to, aluminum. Other metals are possible and are included within the scope of this disclosure.
Meanwhile, other parts such as the pin supports 902, wall contacting plate 904, end stop cap 302, and end stop cap support 22 may be made from plastic. However, other materials and/or combinations of the materials noted above are possible and are included within the scope of this disclosure as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Certain steps in an exemplary method described illustrated by the several drawing figures naturally precede others for the invention to function as described. However, the invention is not limited to the order of the steps described if such order or sequence does not alter the functionality of the system and method of the present disclosure. That is, it is recognized that some steps may be performed before, after, or parallel (substantially simultaneously with) other steps without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
Alternative embodiments for the system and method of the present disclosure will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, although selected aspects have been illustrated and described in detail, it will be understood that various substitutions and alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20240016328 A1 | Jan 2024 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63473553 | Jun 2022 | US |