US3805873A

US3805873A - Lock bar type edge fastener for flexible covers

Info

Publication number: US3805873A
Application number: US00249966A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Bloomfield
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-05-03
Filing date: 1972-05-03
Publication date: 1974-04-23
Anticipated expiration: 1991-04-23

Abstract

A fastener for flexible covers utilizing a channel for receiving a locking member and for holding the cover securely when the flexible cover is under tension.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Bloomfield I I 45 A 23, 1974 [54] LOCK BAR TYPE EDGE FASTENER FOR 3,064,724 11/1962 Nowell 160/387 x FLEXIBLE COVERS 2,823,721 2/1958 Svec et al 24/201 C UX 3,181,598 5/1965 Schneider 160/403 [75] Inventor: Roge oo Jackson, y 3,489,085 1/1970 Kirkpatrick 160/395 x 2,164,414 7/1939 Long 24/243 K UX [73] Asslgnee- Werner Jackson 3,273,497 9/1966 Rosema et a1. 160/395 x [22} Filed: May 3, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 249,966 Primary Examiner-Mervin Stein Assistant ExaminerPhi1ip C. Kannan 7 A F. J h & 52 US. Cl. 160/392, 24/243 K, 160/395 Ammey 51 Int. Cl A47h 13/00 m n [58] Field of Search 160/392, 393, 394, 395, 160/396, 397, 387, 400, 403, 371, 354; 24/201 c, 243 K, 243 M, 243 N, 245 FF, 245 7 ABSTRACT- 245 R A fastener for flexible covers utilizing a channel for [56] References Cited receiving a locking member and for holdingthe cover UNITED STATES PATENTS securely when the flexible cover is under tension.

3,225,407 12/1965 Daniels 160/392 X 10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to edge fasteners for flexible covers.

2. Prior Art Various types of edge fasteners have been advanced for holding flexible members or covers to position with respect to other covers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,085 issued Jan. 13, 1970 to A. C. Kirkpatrick shows a device for holding the edge of a printing blanket in place and which utilizes a generally channel shaped securing member with a mating insert member on the blanket. This fastening device is configured so that the blanket mating member would be extremely difficult to remove if the printing blanket was under tension.

Other edge fastener devices, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,401 issued May 20, 1952 to W. R. Swanson utilize a flat strip in a groove of a holding member. This type of device is not readily adapted for low cost, easy manufacture of the rigid channel or other holding structure.

Another locking device using a flat strip edge fastener is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,524,491 issued Aug. 18, 1970 to C. G. Olson, but this requires sliding the locking structure onto the flexible member from one edge. It is therefore unusable for fastening large cover panels or the like onto a swimming pool or machinery or for other large equipment covers.

Another locking member for attaching panels is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,788 issued Sept. 1, 1 959 to H. K. Fitting, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,407 issued Dec. 28, 1965 to H. B. Daniels shows a clip for holding flexible sheets of material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION" The present invention relates to an easily manufactured fastener for fastening flexible sheets or panels in 7 place onto a structure utilizing a rigid or -semirigid channel that is fixed onto the structure. The flexible member has a flat, relatively stiff strip around its mar ginal edges where the fastening is'to take place. The strip and the fabric attached thereto fit into the channel member, and lock inv place. The channel has opposite upstanding walls provided with concave surfaces which provide the locking action so that theflexible sheet is held in place until an outer edge of the lock strip is released. from. the concave surface which forms a detent for the strip.

The strip is attached to the flexible cover or sheet material along one edge of the strip so that when the flexible sheet is under tension the loadcauses the strip to be held securely against one concave wall but at the same timepermits relatively easy release of the outer opposite edge of the strip from its detented position, which permits release of the entire cover or flexible member being held.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cover assembly using an. edge fastener made according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the edge fastener assembly of FIG. 1 in locked position;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of th edge fastener of FIG. 2 showing the fastener partially out of a lock channel;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a modified. form of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a further modified form of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a modified fastener having a pull tab thereon; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a lock strip which is formed to be flexible for ease of rolling of the flexible cover.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown, the edge fastener assembly is used for attaching a flexible sheet or cover 10 onto an object or structure 11 that is to be covered, through the use of a lock channel mamber 12. The lock channel 12 can be rigid or semirigid, and may be attached permanently to the member 11 or can be removable, if desired. For example, the structure 11 could be a boat which needed a cover over the top,a swimming pool, a truck box, or anything else that might need some type of a temporary, semipermanent, or even a permanent cover that was weatherproof but which is removed from time to time.

The flexible cover 10 has a hem or edge portion 13 that contains a relatively flat locking bar 14 that is sewn into place in the hem. The hem is stitched as at 15 at the inner edge of the lock bar to hold the bar 14 in place and to provide a coupling through which tension loads from the cover are transferred to the lock bar 14. The bar 14 can be of plastic material of the desired transverse stiffness but may be flexible in longitudinal length as will be explained.

The lock channel as shown has a base member 16, a first load wall 17 that has a part cylindrical concave inner lock surface 18 and a tangent surface 18A joined thereto. The lock wall has a lip 19 that has a rounded end. An opposite side wall 22 of the channel 12 has a part cylindrical concave detent surface 23 that is positioned to the outside of the lock bar 14. This concave The opening in the channel is narrower than the width of lock bar 14. The bar 14 is fastened into place in the hem, portion to keep the bar from slipping so that the stitching 15 does not turn with respect to the bar or strip 14, but rather staysalon'g one marginal edge. The pull from the cover or sheet 10 isthen at one edge of the lock bar. v

'When the lock bar is in the lock channel, and the cover 10 is under tension, the curved end surface of lip 19 forms a radius reasonably which the flexible sheet or cover 10 will slide. This forces the opposite or outer edge ofthe bar 14 against the detent'surface 23 as the edge by stitching l5 slides up along surface 18. The bar 14 adjacent the stitching 15 is pulled upwardly toward the lip 19 andthe resultant forcing of the outer edge of bar 14 against the detent surface 23 causes a tight lock so that the flexible cover 10 cannot be pulled out of the channel under tension from the cover. The contact of the cover against the roundedend 19*forms a resonably good weather seal without special provisions.

Removal of the lock bar is extremely simple and easy. The outer edge of lock bar 14 engaging the detent surface 23 is lifted upwardly by finger pressure right at the edge or by a sewn in pull tab. The bar 14 will then flip out releasing the flexible cover 10. The concave detent surface 23 is not deeply concave, as shown by arrows 25, so that this minimizes the amount of force necessary to release the lock bar. While the ability of the fabric to slide around the lip 19, when it is under tension thereby lifting the inner edge of the bar 14 adjacent stitching 15 insures that the lock bar will be tightly locked in the channel, but will also be releasable relatively easy. The surface 18, as shown, is part cylindrical, and then has a tangent straight surface portion 18A up to the lip 19. The part cylindrical surface 18 is less than 180, from a general reference plane along the base 16 of the locking channel.

The wall 22 has other outwardly inclined surface 22A at its upper edge, which as shown in FIG. 3, provides a ramp that the outer edge of the cover and lock bar engage when the edge fastener is being assembled. The ramp surface helps in assembly because downward pressure on the outer edge of the bar 14. forces the outer edge under surface 18A as the outer edge moves along the ramp surface.

In FIG. 4 a modified form of locking device is shown using the same form of locking channel 12, wherein a flexible cover 35 is slipped in between an upper leg 36 and a lower leg 37 ofa single piece of folded over plastic material that is relatively rigidq forming a lock bar. Then the edge of the cover 35 is sewn into place between these upper and lower legs 36 and 37, so that the unit is held in position; When the tension is applied to the flexible cover 35, it will lift the inner edge of the lock bar and force the opposite folded edge of the U- shaped lock bar against the detent surface 23 to thereby hold the lock bar in the channel and fasten the flexible cover securely. A small tab such as that shown at 38 can be molded integrally with the plastic U shaped lock bar, in order to make the bar more easily removable from the channel.

Referring to FIG. 5, the lock channel 12 is shown with a different type of lock bar arrangement. In this instance, the flexible cover 30 is laid across the channel and a flat, loose lock bar 31 is pressed over the cover into the channel. The bar and cover are locked into position in the channel. The tension on the flexible member 30 causes the cover or fabric to slide over the outer surfaces ofthe lip 19 and lift the inner edge of bar 31 (toward the main part of thecover), and force the outer edge of the strip 31 toward the opposite detent surface 23 of the lock channel. The cover is pinched between the surface 23.and the lock bar and held in place.

The arrangement shown in FIG. also is adaptable for ue with a lock bar that is fastened to the top surface of a flexible cover. The cover could terminate along the outer edge of the lock bar or have a small flap for a pull tab (where it engages surface 23) and which is stitched, glued or otherwise fastened to the lock.

FIG. 6 shows a modified construction of the edge locking assembly using the lock channel 12 with a flexible cover 60 that has a lock bar 62 sewed in the hem portion thereof. In this instance an edge tab 61 is also formed to the outside of the outer edge of lock bar 62. The tab 61 projects above the wall 22 and makes it easier to remove the edge of lock bar 62 from the concave detent surface 23.

The tab 61 could extend for the entire length of the peripheral edge of the cover member, or could be kept relatively short. A number of short tabs could be positioned at intervals around the cover.

FIG. 7 is a typical showing of a lock bar 46 in plan view, modified by including a series of notches or recesses 45 extending into the bar from opposite side edges of the bar 46. When the bar 46 is attached to an edge of a flexible cover or sheet as shown in the previous figures, it makes the cover easy to roll in its longitudinal direction of the bar so that the cover can be folded or rolled. The partial transverse slots do not adversely affect the holding ability of the lock bar.

The lock bars and channels can be provided to extend continuously on all peripheral edges of the covers or can be formed in sections spaced as desired along the edges of the cover. The lock channel can be integrally formed into a structure if desired. The detent for the outer edge of the lock bar can also be short in longi tudinal length and still operate.

The movement of the flexible cover around wall 17 results in a force on the bar in direction toward the detent surface 23 almost equal to the tension force in the flexible cover. The wall 17 provides a fulcrum for movement of the flexible cover and the end 19 acts as a snubber surface to hold the cover securely.

The ability of the cover to transfer detent force to the outer edge of the lock bar by sliding along the snubber surface provides a high holding capability. The lifting of the inner edge against

surface

18 and 18A when the outer edge of the lock bar contacts surface 23 forms a tight lock even under reverse tension.

As shown the lock assembly retains thecover in place I throughout a wide angle of load direction, even straight up and reverse pulls if the lock bar is transversely stiff enough to support the reverse load without collapsing.

What is claimed is:

1. A locking assembly for locking a flexible cover in place on a structure comprising a first channel shaped member mounted on the structure and having a base, and first and second spaced apart generally coextensive upright walls disposed on opposite edges of said base, said first upright wall having a first concave surface facing said second wall, and said first upright wall having a rounded upper edge surface extending along the length thereof, said second wall having an upper edge portion defining an opening in cooperation with said rounded edge, a cover sheet of flexible material, a generally flat lock bar having first and second edges and being of thickness to fit within said concave surface and having a width between said first and second edges greater than the width of said opening but less than the maximum dimension between the upper edge portion of said second wall and the concave surface, said sheet of flexible material extending in direction away from said second wall and being forced toward the concave surface of said first wall and into engagement with the rounded edge surface by movement of said first edge of said lock bar toward the concave surface, whereby the second edge of said lock bar clears the upper portions of said second wall and is movable downwardly toward said base, said second wall having a second concave detent surface facing said first wall, said detent surface being shallow in relation to the first concave surface,

said rounded edge surface forming a sliding surface whereby tension in said sheet under load in a direction away from said second wall and toward said first wall causes said sheet to slide around said rounded edge surface and force said second edge of said lock bar into said seconddetent surface to prevent said second edge of said lock bar from lifting above the upper edge portion of said second wall, said second detent surface being sufficiently shallow to permit the second edge of said lock bar to be manually lifted above the second wall without causing substantial sliding movement of said sheet around said rounded edge.

2 The combination specified in claim 1 wherein said lock bar is fixed to said cover sheet adjacent the peripheral edge of said cover sheet.

3. The combination specified in claim 2 wherein said lock bar comprises a generally flat bar substantially wider than its thickness, and said means to fix said lock bar to said cover sheet comprise a hem portion of said sheet folded over to form a pocket, said lock bar being positioned inside said pocket and fixed there with respect to said cover sheet.

4. The combination specified in claim 3 wherein said cover sheet is attached to pull on said lock bar adjacent the first edge of said lock bar.

5. The combination specified in claim 6 and tab means on said lock bar to lift one edge portion of said lock bar to clear'said detent means.

6. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said lock bar comprises a generally flat bar having side edges extending along the length thereof, and means defined in said bar reducing the resistance to rolling said bar into a roll in direction along the length thereof.

7. The combination as specified in claim'6 wherein said means defined in said bar to reduce resistance to rolling comprises a plurality of recesses defined in said bar extending transversely to said bar and spaced from each other along the length of said lock bar.

8. The combination specified in claim 1 wherein said lock bar comprises a pair of legs defining a U shaped lock bar, and said cover sheet of flexible material is positioned between the legs of said U shaped lock bar.

9. in combination a flexible cover sheet having a gen erally flat, elongated locking bar member attached thereto and carried thereby, and a lock channel for said locking bar member, said lock, channel comprising a pair of upstanding walls having upper edges, a base supporting said upstanding walls, said. walls including facing concave surfaces, a first concave surface on a first wall being substantially more concave than a second concave surface on a second opposite wall, said second concave surface having a concave distance with respect to a plane normal to the base of the channel and passing along an upper edge of said second concave surface less than the height of the upper edge of the second concave surface above the base, the upper edge of said first wall being rounded, said flexible cover sheet extending in direction away from said second wall toward the first wall and thence around the rounded edge, said first and second walls defining an opening of width less than the width of said locking bar, and said first concave surface on the first of said walls beingsufficiently deep to permit said locking bar to move intothe recess defined by said first concave surface and clear the second opposite wall to move to position between the walls, said rounded edge permitting said sheet to slide under tension exerted in a direction away from said second wall and around said rounded edge to urge said lock bar toward the second concave surface with a force which is a function of the tension in the sheet.

10. The combination specified in claim 9 wherein said second opposite wall includes a surface facing upwardly positioned above the second concave surface, and inclined toward the base of said channel member and inwardly toward the opening to provide a ramp surface for forcing the first edge of saidlock bar toward said concave surface by downward pressure on the lock bar when assembling the bar into said channel.

Clflli'll FICATIL 01* (IORRILC .l ION Patent No. 3 ,805 ,873 Dated April 23J 1974 Inventor(s) Roger D, Bloomfield It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

rm Column 2, line 3 "th" should be--the--; Column 2, line 67 "resonably" should be-- reasonably-- Column 3, line 31 "rigidq" should be--rigid,--. Column 4, line 24 before "bar" insert- -lock Column 5, line 26 'claim 6" should be--claim l- Column 6, line 4 after "combination" insert--a comma Signed and sealed this 17th day of September 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY b. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN v V Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

Claims

1. A locking assembly for locking a flexible cover in place on a structure comprising a first channel shaped member mounted on the structure and having a base, and first and second spaced apart generally coextensive upright walls disposed on opposite edges of said base, said first upright wall having a first concave surface facing said second wall, and said first upright wall having a rounded upper edge surface extending along the length thereof, said second wall having an upper edge portion defining an opening in cooperation with said rounded edge, a cover sheet of flexible material, a generally flat lock bar having first and second edges and being of thickness to fit within said concave surface and having a width between said first and second edges greater than the width of said opening but less than the maximum dimension between the upper edge portion of said second wall and the concave surface, said sheet of flexible material extending in direction away from said second wall and being forced toward the concave surface of said first wall and into engagement with the rounded edge surface by movement of said first edge of said lock bar toward the concave surface, whereby the second edge of said lock bar clears the upper portions of said second wall and is movable downwardly toward said base, said second wall having a second concave detent surface facing said first wall, said detent surface being shallow in relation to the first concave surface, said rounded edge surface forming a sliding surface whereby tension in said sheet under load in a direction away from said second wall and toward said first wall causes said sheet to slide around said rounded edge surface and force said second edge of said lock bar into said second detent surface to prevent said second edge of said lock bar from lifting above the upper edge portion of said second wall, said second detent surface being sufficiently shallow to permit the second edge of said lock bar to be manually lifted above the second wall without causing substantial sliding movement of said sheet around said rounded edge.

2. The combination specified in claim 1 wherein said lock bar is fixed to said cover sheet adjacent the peripheral edge of said cover sheet.

5. The combination specified in claim 6 and tab means on said lock bar to lift one edge portion of said lock bar to clear said detent means.

7. The combination as specified in claim 6 wherein said means defined in said bar to reduce resistance to rolling comprises a plurality of recesses defined in said bar extending transversely to said bar and spaced from each other along the length of said lock bar.

9. In combination a flexible cover sheet having a generally flat, elongated locking bar member attached thereto and carried thereby, and a lock channel for said locking bar member, said lock channel comprising a pair of upstanding walls having upper edges, a base supporting said upstanding walls, said walls including facing concave surfaces, a first concave surface on a first wall being substantially more concave than a second concave surface on a second opposite wall, said second concave surface having a concave distance with respect to a plane normal to the base of the channel and passing along an upper edge of said second concave surface less than the height of the upper edge of the second concave surface above the base, the upper edge of said first wall being rounded, said flexible cover sheet extending in direction away from said second wall toward the first wall and thence around the rounded edge, said first and second walls defining an opening of width less than the width of said locking bar, and said first concave surface on the first of said walls being sufficiently deep to permit said locking bar to move into the recess defined by said first concave surface and clear the second opposite wall to move to position between the walls, said rounded edge permitting said sheet to slide under tension exerted in a direction away from said second wall and around said rounded edge to urge said lock bar toward the second concave surface with a force which is a function of the tension in the sheet.

10. The combination specified in claim 9 wherein said second opposite wall includes a surface facing upwardly positioned above the second concave surface, and inclined toward the base of said channel member and inwardly toward the opening to provide a ramp surface for forcing the first edge of said lock bar toward said concave surface by downward pressure on the lock bar when assembling the bar into said channel.