AU618074B2

AU618074B2 - Shade cloth connectors

Info

Publication number: AU618074B2
Application number: AU30062/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ronald Leonard Thallon
Original assignee: Kruger Enterprises Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Kruger Enterprises Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1988-02-22
Filing date: 1989-02-16
Publication date: 1991-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 2008-02-22
Also published as: AU3006289A

Description

a I; i. 1 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1952

,A,

~j Ic RONALD LEONARD THALLON

I

I'

r+ro c~rn~ r .r rrr r rrr r~ D o o r r r r r .r r r rr rr r r r

I:

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED:- "SHADE CLOTH CONNECTORS" (DIVISIONAL OF PETTY PATENT APPLICATION NOS. 15809/88, 16364/88 AND 12083/881 I m The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:e This invention relates to connectors for shade cloth and the like fabric.

Shade cloth is used in various applications such as in shade houses to assist in the control of the environment within the shade house and as covering for outdoor areas to provide both a reduction of the sun's intensity and protection against insects.

Shade cloth is normally supplied in relatively wide continuous lengths and in use it is secured to spaced supporting frame members by securing one edge to one frame member with nails or pressed metal fasteners or the like and then stretching the cloth to the opposite frame prior to fastening the cloth thereto. This can be a difficult task as the framework for the shade cloth frequently does not provide adequate support for a workcer and the r, ~use of spaced connectors makes it difficult to obtain an even 15 stretch along the cloth.

Furthermore, because of the nature of the available fastenings it is difficult to secure shade cloth to a frame in a

S.

neat and effective manner. Difficulty may also be experienced in connecting panels of shade cloth together in an edge to edge 20 relationship or in an overlapping or overlying relationship.

S This invention aims to alleviate the abovementioned disadvantages and to provide shade cloth connectors which will be reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter become apparent.

For the purposes of this specification, the term "fabric" is to be taken to mean any flexible membrane-like material including woven materials and continuous films such as plastics film and 3 the like. Reference herein to a face portion extending substantially longitudinally along a strip is to be understood as also embracing a reference to a curved face portion having a sector chord which extends substantially longitudinally along the strip.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a connector assembly for securing fabric stretched between spaced frame members to at least one of said frame members, said connector assembly including2an elongate mounting strip having an elongated crosssection providing opposed major faces which constitute a fabric r contacting face and an opposing frame mounting face, and opposed *000 r o :eeo .minor faces which constitute the longitudinal edges of said mounting strip; securing means whereby said mounting strip may be secured to the frame member; 0a plurality of substantially identical fabric hooks extending in a common direction from said fabric contacting face, said fabric hooks extending transversely across said mounting strip and being spaced regularly therealong; said hooks each being formed from a tapered portion of said mounting strip which is disposed inwardly of said longitudinal edges and which extends across a major portion of the width of said mounting strip, each said tapered portion having a base part which remains integral with the mounting strip and side edges struck from said mounting strip which converge away from said base part towards respective apex parts of said hooks and each tapered portion extending upwardly from the plane of said fabric contacting face and returning over said base part to form a said fabric hook.

It is also preferred that the bars be formed such that the opposed side edges thereof do not engage with the fabric such as shade cloth whereby they cut into the cloth. For this purpose the fabric hooks may also be curved in a longitudinal direction relative to said mounting strip whereby the intermediate section of said hooks disposed between the struck said side edges and intermediate said base part and said apex part is spaced closer to said apex part than the side edge portions which are in longitudinal register with said intermediate section.

S. The hooks may be arranged in rows along the strip and 15 preferably the hooks are arranged in groups including laterally spaced hooks. The hooks may be spaced equally along the strip, but it is preferred that they be arranged in hook groups at either side of securing means such as apertures for nails, or screws or the like. Hook groups may be equally spaced along the 20 strip and may contain any desired number of hooks, such as two or three hooks. Suitably, the hooks in a hook group may be spaced approximately four millimetres apart, and a distance of forty millimetres may be provided between hook groups to permit striking of the securing nails with a hammer. The hooks in each group may be placed alternately adjacent opposite edges of the strip. Of course the spacing between hook groups may be reduced when screws or rivets are used or when no securing means are provided, the securing means being for example external clamps or clips or the like.

In one embodiment of the invention, the mounting strip is a metal strip provided with a series of hooks spaced therealong and pressed or struck therefrom, and intermediate apertures between each or selected spaced pairs of hooks or hook groups through which a fastener such as a nail or a screw or the like may pass.

If desired, a plurality of intermediate apertures may be provided spaced along the strip between a selected pair of hooks or hook groups whereby a fastener may be passed through an aperture S adjacent a cantilevered cut end of a strip such that support for the cantilevered cut end is maximised. These apertures oo* ~constitute the securing means as may the apertures from which the hooks are pressed.

Suitably, the strip has a width of about twelve millimetres and the hooks extend transversely and have a base width in the longitudinal direction of the strip of between one and five millimetres and a length in the transverse direction of the strip which is approximately four to eight millimetres. It is 20 preferred that the strip extend transversely away from the tips of the slots from which the hooks are pressed to an inner edge by a distance which is less then the spacing between hooks in a hook pair such that a secure corner joint may be made between a pair of strips by cutting a first strip with a hook pair at its end and placing a second strip across the end of the first strip with the first hook of a hook pair on the second strip passing through a slot and the second hook of a hook pair adjacent the inner

IW-

0

TAT

6 edge.

Preferably the hooks taper to a point at their outer ends.

It is also preferred that the hooks form the upper-most projections beyond the mounting strip such that shade cloth or the like may be drawn across the strip and readily engaged with the hooks, In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate typical embodiments of the present invention and wherein:- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the retaining hooks re S°illustrated in Fig. 1; FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an application of the invention, and FIGS. 4 to 6 illustrate further embodiments of the invention.

As shown in FIG, 1 the connector strip 10 is in the form of Cl 20 a strip of galvanised steel 11 approximately twelve millimetres wide by zero point six millimetres thick and provided with spaced mounting apertures 12 at intervals of between twenty and fifty millimetres. A retaining hook 13 is pressed from the mounting strip at a position substantially centrally between each mounting aperture 12. The hooks 13 extend transversely of the strip and substantially in a common plane and form the only projections which extend above the top surface 14 of the strip 11. As can z 7 been seen in detail in FIG. 2, each hook is formed as a tapered hook having a narrow base of two to three millimetres and a length of approximately six millimetres.

Each hook 13 has a curved cross-sectional configuration as illustrated and is bent back upon itself to form a hook having an abutment face 15 which is curved both transversely and longitudinally so as to provide a retaining face which will minimise damage to the shade cloth when the latter is tensioned such as between a pair of opposed connector assemblies 10 as illustrated In use, as shown in FIG. 3 shade cloth 16 or the like is o• supported on a frame 17 by firstly nailing the connector assembly oere 10 along the spaced members 18 of the frame 17 with the hooks 13 of the respective connector assemblies 10 opposing one another.

.o er One edge portion 19a of the shade cloth is then placed along one connector assembly 10 and the hooks 13 are pushed through the S shade cloth 16 to retain it at regularly spaced intervals along o its length The other side 19b of the shade cloth 16 may then be pulled tight and lowered to be engaged by the opposing hooks 13 04 S S 20 and held thereby be held tensioned between the frame members 18.

The hooks may then be hammered downwardly to retain the cloth or they may be left in their inclined attitude to enable further adjustment to be readily provided at a later date.

Preferably, the free outer portion of the shade cloth at each edge is doubled back onto the hooks and engaged thereon prior to the latter being hammered to a locked position about the edge of the shade cloth. The remaining free portion of the shade i 8 cloth may be trimmed by running a knife along the frame through the shade cloth with the blade guided by the outer-most edge of the mounting strip so as to provide a neat termination along the edge of the frame.

The strips 10 may be formed in any desired lengths such as in two metre lengths for use by home handymen and the like or in short lengths for providing spaced connections intermediate the edge connections of the cloth. Of course short lengths may be used at spaced intervals to secure the edge of the cloth.

Preferably however, the connector assembly is coiled into a storage coil from which it may be withdrawn axially from the coil oo S0. or longitudinally by rotating the coil. For this purpose °o suitable mounting means may be provided to support the coil to rose 0o.o°0 enable the connector assembly to be withdrawn therefrom or the 0* 94~ S 15 coil of connector strip can be supported within a cardboard S carton having an aperture in one corner thereof through which a selected length of strip may be withdrawn, causing the concealed c° e coil to rotate.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG, 4, the strip 20 is 20 provided with a first set of hooks 21 extending from the 9 underside of the metal strip for securing the strip to a timber frame and a second set of hooks 22 extending upwardly from the strip for securing the shade cloth or other material such as insect screen or plastics sheeting.

The connector strips 10 and 20 may be provided with a series of retainers formed therein, engageable with complementary retainers on a cover strip adapted to overlie the connector strip I 1~ II I ra; 2: 4£ .4 4 4.

SI I it

:I

A LI to conceal the gathered edge of cloth secured by the connector strip. Suitably the complementary retainers are adapted for push on engagement with one another and if desired the cover strip may be provided with a side flange which covers the side edge of the strip. Furthermore the strip could be in the form of an angle member whereby it may be retained about the corner section of the frame member.

A preferred connector strip 23 is illustrated in FIG. 5. In this embodiment there are provided hook pairs 24 separated by a series of mounting apertures, namely a central mounting slot and outer circular mounting apertures 26. Bend/brake ribs 27 are formed across the strip 23 at opposite sides of the elongate slot The hooks 24 are inclined at approximately forty-five degrees to the strip face 28 and are formed with a curved cross section, as illustrated, to provide central load bearing sections 29 intermediate the hook edges The connector strip 31 illustrated in FIG. 6 is adapted to join adjacent fabric panels 32 and 33 together, either above a 20 frame member or in suspension. The connector includes groups of four hooks 34 pressed from tapered slots 35 which extend across the strip 31. The alternate slots are opposed to one another whereby alternate hooks project upwardly at right angles from the common outer face 36 of the strip 31 and adjacent opposite edges 37 and 38 of the strip. The hooks are so formed that they can be easily bent to an inclined position after they have penetrated the overlapped edges of the shade cloth sheets 32, 33 to retain the shade cloth thereon as illustrated and thus join them together.

It will of course be realised that the above has been given only by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is defined in the appended claims.

a. o .44

I

Q m

Claims

2. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fabric hooks are curved in a longitudinal direction relative to said mounting strip whereby the intermediate section of said hooks disposed between the struck said side edges and intermediate said base part and said apex part is spaced closer to said apex part than the side edge portions which are in longitudinal register with said intermediate section. VI 3. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said securing means are apertures spaced along said strip. I 9 ii 4. A connector assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein ot f< .said apertures are disposed between groups of said hooks. !l 5. A connector assembly as claimed in any one of the j preceding claims, wherein said elongate mounting strip is a thin j S metal strip having a rectangular cross-sectional configuration. I. 6. A connector assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said mounting strip is formed with a Splurality of joining hooks substantially identical to said fabric hooks and extending from said fabric contacting face oppositely S. to said fabric hooks.
7. A connector strip substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS Twenty-third DAY OF September, 1991 RONALD LEONARD THALLON A BY hPIZZEY COMPANY PATENT ATTORNEYS