US3321003A

US3321003A - Hanging drapery assembly

Info

Publication number: US3321003A
Application number: US570117A
Authority: US
Inventors: Oscar F Boerner
Original assignee: Chemetron Corp
Current assignee: Allied Healthcare Products Inc
Priority date: 1966-07-18
Filing date: 1966-07-18
Publication date: 1967-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 1984-05-23

Description

0. F. BOERNER HANGING DHAPERY AS SEMBLY May 23, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Aug. 13,

INVENTOR. OSCAR F BOERNER FIG? ATTORNEY 0. F. BOERNER HANGING DRAPERY ASSEMBLY May 23, 1967 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Original Filed Aug. 13,

INVENTOR. OSCAR F BOERNER ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,321,003 HANGING DRAPERY ASSEMBLY Oscar F. Boerner, Doylestown, Pa., assignor to Chemotron Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Dela- .ware Continuation of application Ser. No. 3tl1,717, Aug. 13, 1963. This application July 18, 1966, Ser. No. 570,117 2 Claims. (Cl. 160-237) This is a continuation of United States patent application Ser. No. 301,717, filed Aug. 13, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates to draperies and in particular to a drapery assembly which is adapted for use in hospitals, doctors offices and the like.

It is conventional to provide draperies for hospital and related uses which include drapery material extending vertically from the floor to near the ceiling, with the entire drape being composed of a material for preventing vision therethrough, for example tightly woven cloth. Conventional draperies have certain disadvantages, namely, the drape must be pulled or drawn aside in order for an attendant to be able to view the patient. This has a tendency to disturb the patient. Moreover, conventional drapes have the disadvantage of preventing free flow of air to and from the patient and the transmission of outside light to the patient. In addition, the patient may become uncomfortable or apprehensive because the conventional drape may tend to give him a closed in feeling.

It is one of the features of the invention to provide a drape for a drapery assembly having a clear vision upper drape portion preferably detachably connected to a vision preventing lower drape portion, wherein the lower drape portion extends upwardly sufficiently to insure privacy but terminates at an upper end below eye level of an attendant. The patient is thus able to be viewed by the attendant, and yet patients lying in adjacent beds, visitors passing through corridors, and so forth, are unable to view the patient. The lower drape portion is capable of being detached, cleaned and replaced, or detached and disposed of. Since the lower drape portion ordinarily undergoes far more handling than does the upper drape portion, it is apparent that washing or disposal and replacement of the lower drape portion alone insures substantial cleanliness of the drape.

, In accordance with certain embodiments of the invention, the lower drape portion of the drape is composed of a washable vision preventing material, for example tightly woven cloth; the lower drape portion is detachable from the upper drape portion, permitting the lower portion to be removed, laundered, and thereafter replaced; in addition, the drape is constructed to insure privacy. In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a drape having a lower drape portion composed of aninexpensive material, for example flame-proofed paper, which is disposable and yet insures privacy.

It is a feature of the invention to provide a drape having a clear vision upper drape portion, which in one embodiment is composed of a transparent plastic material and which in another embodiment may be composed of an open-mesh material, and a vision preventing lower drape portion, wherein the lower drape portion extends upwardly suificiently to insure privacy but terminates below eye level of an attendant and wherein the lower drape portion extends downwardly only sufiiciently to insure privacy.

It is another feature of the invention to provide a drape having a clear vision upper drape portion and a vision preventing lower drape portion, wherein the upper end of the lower drape portion is capable of being detachable connected to the upper drape portion at one and another vertical locations or positions.

It is another feature of the invention to provide a drape having a clear vision upper drape portion and a vision preventing lower drape portion wherein a lower marginal end of the lower drape portion is capable of being held in an inversely folded position so that the lower drape portion is capable of terminating, in effect, either at the place of an inverse fold or at the lower end of the lower drape portion.

The above features are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a drapery assembly in accordance with one embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partly cutaway side elevational view of the embodiment of the drapery assembly shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing the manner in which the drapes are mounted;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing a manner in which a lower end of the clear vision upper drape portion is detachably connected to an up per end of a vision preventing lower drape portion;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a drape in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing another embodiment of a lower drape portion in a folded or drawn position;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIGURE 6 but showing the lower drape portion in a substantially entirely extended position;

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional elevational view showing another embodiment of the drapery assembly of the invention, with a lower drape portion being shown in a horizontally inversely folded position;

FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional elevational view similar to FIGURE 8, but showing the lower drape portion in a horizontally unfolded position;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing in detail a manner in which the lower drape portion is attached to an upper drape portion and showing a manner in which the lower drape portion is detachably held in an inversely folded position;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a portion of the upper drape portion also shown in FIG- URES 8 through 10;

FIGURE 12 is a broken away, fragmentary elevational view showing the lower drape portion also shown in FIGURES 8 through 10.

In FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown a fragmentary portion of a corner of a room having vertically extending walls 10 and 11, a ceiling 12 and a floor 1.3. A bed indicated at 14 is shown to be situated on the floor 13.

Referring now in particular to the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 through 4, there is shown a drapery assembly generally indicated at 15. The drapery assembly 15 is shown to include a pair of vertically extending drapes generally indicated at 16 and 17 which are shown to extend at right angles with respect to each other. Although the drapery assembly 15 is shown to include two drapes, it is readily apparent to one skilled in the art that an enclosure can be formed by employing one drape of continuous extent, or by employing more than two drapes. The drape 16 is shown to have a clear vision upper drape portion 13 and a vision preventing lower drape portion.

19, and the drape 17 is shown to have a clear vision upper drape portion 20 and a vision preventing lower drape portion 21. In the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4, the clear vision upper drape portions 18 and 21) are shown to be composed of a suitable transparent clear plastic material which is flexible enough to be folded when the drape is drawn or pulled aside, for example, flexible, transparent polyvinyl chloride is employable. The lower drape portions 19 and 21 are so constructed that they block or prevent human sight and insure privacy. The lower drape portions 19 and 21 are of a character to be composed of both flexible translucent and opaque mate rials as well as flexible transparent materials which have been coated or printed upon with a suitable coating or printing ink to block sight. Woven fabric is the material preferably employed for the lower drape portions 19 and 21. The material can instead be a non-woven fabric made from synthetic or natural fibers. The non-woven fabric can take the form of paper, if desired. Whatever material is employed, it is preferably treated to render it fiameproof.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4, the lower drape portions 19 and 21 are shown to be composed of a substantially opaque cloth. The expression clear vision drape portion refers to a drape portion which enables one to look through and beyond the drape portion in the same manner as one would look through a window, while the expression vision preventing drape portion refers to a portion of a drape which prevents one from looking through and beyond the drape in the same manner as ones vision or sight through a translucent or opaque material is blocked. The lower drape portions 19 and 21 have

upper ends

22 and 23, respectively, which extend upwardly sufficiently to insure privacy but terminate below eye level of an attendant. It will be appreciated that attendants, including doctors, nurses and the like, differ considerably in height. The upper ends of the lower drape portions of this and the other disclosed embodiments are therefore constructed to extend upwardly to slightly below eye level of a relatively short attendant. By way of example but not limitation, the upper end of each of the lower drape portions disclosed in this application extend upwardly to within a range of about four to five feet about the floor and extend downwardly to within a range of about one and one-half to two and one-half feet from the floor. Lines of sight Is and Is indicate typical lines of sight from the eyes of such an attendant. It is readily apparent that observation of the patient while lying or sitting on the bed 14 or while standing on the floor 13 within the enclosure is possible, provided the attendant is in fairly close proximity to one of the lower drape portions 19 or 21.

The lower drape portions 19 and 21 terminate at

lower ends

24 and 25. The

lower ends

24 and 25 extend downwardly toward the floor 13 only sufficiently to insure privacy of the patient, for example while he is lying or sitting on the bed 14 or standing within the enclosure defined by the walls and 11 and the

drapes

16 and 17. The top surface of the bed 14 is shown to be slightly above the lower ends 24 and 25. Air is therefore free to circulate beneath the lower drape portions 19 and 21 and thus air is able to find its way to and from the patient. The lower ends 24 and 25 of the lower drape portions 19 and 21, respectively, are shown to be inversely bent and sewn in place.

Lower ends 26 and 27 of the see-through

upper drape portions

18 and 20 are shown to be detachably connected to the upper ends 22 and 23 of the lower drape portions 19 and 21, respectively, by snap fasteners 7. One of the snap fasteners f is shown in detail in FIGURE 4 of the illustrative drawings. Each snap fastener f is comprised of a male portion 28 and a female portion 29 of conventional construction. The male portions 28 are suitably secured to a horizontally extending strip 30 which is suitably secured, for example adhesively or by sewing, to the lower end 26 of the clear vision upper drape portion 18 for example, while the female portions 29 are suitably secured to a horizontally extending strip 31 which is suitably secured, for example adhesively or by sewing, to the upper end 22 of the lower drape portion 19, for example.

Although conventional snap fasteners f are shown to be the preferred construction, any suitable arrangement for detachably connecting'the clear vision

upper drape portions

18 and 20 to the vision preventing lower drape portions 19 and 21 are employable. For example, the upper ends 22 and 23 of the lower drape portions 19 and 21 are of a character to be provided with spaced eyelets (not shown) which would receive hooks or hangers (not shown) which would also be receivable in adjacent spaced eyelets (not shown) in the lower ends 26 and 27 ofthe clear vision

upper drape portions

18 and 20, respectively.

Upper ends 32 and 33 of the clear vision

upper drape portions

18 and 20 are shown to have eyelets 34 for receiving hangers or books 11. The hangers h are shown to be hooked for sliding movement partially around a continuous generally horizontally extending rod or rail generally indicated at 35. The rail 35 is shown to have

rail portions

36 and 37 which extend at substantially right angles to each other and which are joined at a continuous bend portion .38. The rail 35 is shown in FIGURE 3 to take the form of a tube as is conventional. The rail 35 is supported at spaced intervals along its length from the ceiling 12 by brackets 39. The rail 35, the hangers h, and the

upper drape portions

18 and 20 are considered to be the means for suspending the lower drape portions 19 and 21, respectively. The hooks h are able to be slid along the rail 35 so that the

drapes

16 and 17 are able to be completely drawn or pulled to one side from their extended positions. The flexibility of the materials of which the

drapes

16 and 17 are composed enables the drapes to be folded into a generally accordian-type fold.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 5 of the drawings, like reference characters are employed to designate components having the same general construction, function, and relative location as employed in the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4, with the addition of letter a. Only a fragmentary portion of a drape is shown in the embodiment of FIGURE 5 and hence the reference char.-'

acters corresponding to the drape 16 are employed. A drape generally indicated at 16a is shown to have a clear vision upper drape portion 18a detachably connected by snap fasteners fa to a vision preventing lower drape portion generally indicated at 19a. The lower drape portion 19a is identical to the lower drape portion 19 of the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4. The upper drape portion 18a is shown to be constructed of an open-mesh material or netting 40 having horizontal cords 41 attached to vertical cords 42, composed for example of nylon. The lower end of the clear vision upper drape portion 18a is suitably secured for example by sewing to a horizontally extending strip of material 31a which carries the female portions of the snap fasteners fa. The upper end 32a of the clear vision upper drape portion 18a is shown to be secured to a horizontally extending strip of material 44 having spaced eyelets 34a. The openmesh material or netting 40 enables the attendant to observe the patient and at the same time the netting 40 offers little hindrance to the passage of air to and from the patient and the transmission of light to within the enclosure.

It is readily apparent that instead of an open-mesh material having horizontal and vertical cords, vertical cords alone are employable to form the clear vision upper drape portion. In all other respects the embodiment of FIGURE 5 is identical to the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 6 and 7, like reference characters are employed to designate components having the same general construction, function, and relative location as the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 4 of the drawings, with the addition of letter 1). Only a fragmentary portion of a vision preventing lower drape portion 19b of one drape is shown in FIGURES 6 and 7,,

and hence reference characters corresponding to the vi- URES 1 through 4 with the addition of letter sion preventing lower drape portion 19 are employed. The lower drape portion 19b of a drape 16b has an upper end 22b having a horizontally extending strip of material 31b, which carries female portions of snap fasteners fb. The clear vision upper drape portion (not shown in FIGURES 6 and 7) of the drape 16b can be like either the upper drape portion 18 or the upper drape portion 18a. The strip of material 31b is suitably secured to one side of the upper end 22b. The clear vision lower drape portion 19b is composed of a disposable material such as non-woven fabric or paper which has perferably been rendered flame proof. When the lower drape portion 19b is considered to need replacement, the lower drape portion 19b is simply detached from the upper drape portion. The lower drape portion 19b is then disposed of and a new, clean, similar lower drape portion is employed as a replacement. When the lower drape portion is composed of a flexible though relatively stiif material as, for example, with some types of paper, spaced vertically extending fold lines or plaits 45, formed for example by kinking are employed to facilitate the drawing of the drape. In all other respects, the lower drape portion 11% of the embodiment of FIGURES 6 and 7 of the drawings is identical to the

lower drape portions

19 and 19a of the embodiments of FIGURES 1 through 4 and FIGURE 5, respectively.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 8 through 12, like reference characters are employed to designate components having the same general construction, function and relative location as employed in the embodiment of FIG- c. In the embodiment of FIGURES 8 through 12, there is shown a drapery assembly generally indicated at 15c including a clear vision upper drape portion 180 composed of a transparent plastic material and a vision preventing lower drape portion 190 composed of cloth. Hooks he, only one of which is shown in each of FIGURES 8 and 9, hang the upper end of the upper drape portion 18c from a rail 350. The upper drape portion 180 and the lower drape portion 19c are shown to be detachably connected by fastening means generally indicated at in. The fastening means fc are shown to include a plurality of spaced female snap fastener portions 50 secured to a horizontally extending strip of material 51. The strip of material '51 is suitably secured, for example by sewing, with an adhesive, or by chemical sealing to lower end 260 of the upper drape portion 18c. Spaced vertically and upwardly from the female snap fastener portions 50 are a plurality of spaced female snap fastener portions 52 of the fastening means fc which are secured to a horizontally extending strip of material 53. The strip of material 53 is preferably composed of a transparent material, for example the same material of which the upper drape portions 180 is composed, and is preferably secured adhesively or by chemical sealing to the upper drape portion 18c. The upper end 220 of the lower drape portion 190 is secured to a horizontally extending strip of material 54 which carries a plurality of spaced male snap fastener portions 55. The male snap fastener portions 55 of the fastening means fc are selectively connectable to the female snap fastener portions 50 and the female snap fastener portions 52 as shown in FIGURES 8 and 9, respectively. It is readily apparent that by this construction the upper end 220 is capable of being disposed either in one vertical position or another in accordance with the desire of the attendant. At either position, however, the upper end 22c is below the eye level of the attendant.

The lower drape portion 19c is also shown to have fastening means generally indicated at 56. The fastening means 56 is shown to include a plurality of male snap fastener portions 57 suitably secured to lower end 24c of the lower drape portion 19c. The male snap fastener portions 57 are secured to a strip of material 58 which in turn is secured to the end 240 of the lower drape portion 190. Spaced vertically and upwardly from the male snap fastener portions 57, as shown in FIGURES 9 and 12, are a plurality of spaced female snap fastener portions 59 suitably secured to a strip of material 60' which in turn is suitably secured to the lower drape portion 190. There is thus defined a lower marginal end 61 which extends from an inverse, U-shaped fold 62 to the lower end 240. The lower marginal end 61 is preferably about as long as the vertical distance between centers of the female

snap fastener portions

50 and 52 so that in the event the lower drape portion is adjusted from the position shown in FIGURE 8 to the position shown in FIGURE 9, the detachable fasteners 56 are simply detached and the marginal end 61 falls so it then extends vertically downward as shown in FIGURE 9. It is to be noted that the lower drape portion 19c can be raised from the position shown in FIGURE 8 to the position shown in FIGURE 9 and yet in each position to the lower drape portion extends downwardly to the same extent, namely, sufliciently to insure privacy and yet permit the free circulation of air as in the other embodiments of the invention.

The

lower drape portions

19 and 21, 19a, 19b, and 190, and the upper drape portion 18a of the foregoing embodiments are preferably treated so as to render them flameproof. The expression flameproof denotes the inability to propagate a flame. Materials suitable for flame proofing are tetrakis (hydroxy-methyl) phosphonium chloride sold by the Hooker Chemical Corp, Niagara Falls, NY, and compounds disclosed for example in United States Patent No. 2,83 0,964.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various disclosed clear vision upper drape portions and vision preventing lower drape portions are of a character to be arranged to suit the need of the user; for example, the

drapes

16 and 17 can each have a lower drape portion 19b substituted for their respective

lower drape portions

19 and 20, and the

drapes

16 and 17 can each have an upper drape portion 18a substituted for their respective

upper drape portions

18 and 20.

Other embodiments and modifications of this invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. All such of these as come within the spirit of this invention are included within its scope as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a hanging drapery assembly: a flexible drape having a clear vision upper drape portion and a vision preventing lower drape portion, said lower drape portion having an upper end and a lower marginal end terminating at a lower end, means for detachably connecting said lower end of said upper drape portion and said upper end of said lower drape portion, said lower marginal end capable of being in an inversely folded position, and means for detachably connecting said lower marginal end in the inversely folded position, said lower marginal end being detachable for unfolding to increase the vertical extent of said lower drape portion.

2. In a hanging drapery assembly: a flexible drape having a clear vision upper drape portion and a vision preventing lower drape portion, first fastening means for detachably connecting said upper drape portion and said lower drape portion, said first fastening means including a first fastener portion at a lower end of said upper drape portion, a second fastener portion spaced upwardly from said lower end of said upper drape portion, and a third fastener portion secured to an upper end of said lower drape portion, said first and third fastener portions and said second and third fastener portions being selectively connectable to enable said upper end of said lower drape portion to be disposed at one and another vertical posi- 7 8 tions, said upperend of said lower drape portion extend- References Cited by the Examiner ing upwardly sufiicientiy to insure privacy but terminating UNITED STATES PATENTS V at an upper end below eye level of an attendant at both 1 983 046 12/1934 Picco 160 237 of said positions, and second fastening means disposed on 2/1937 Coleman said lower drape portion, said second fastening means 5 2,500 074 3 1950 il 1 0 330 including a first fastener portion at a lower end of said 3,035,275 5/1962 Strebeigh 160-237 lower drape portion and a second fastener portion spaced D AVID l WILLIAMOWSKY 1 dry Examinen from and connectable With said first fastener portion of HARRISON R. MOSELEY Examiner.

said Second fastening means 10 P. M. CAUN, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A HANGING DRAPERY ASSEMBLY: A FLEXIBLE DRAPE HAVING A CLEAR VISION UPPER DRAPE PORTION AND A VISION PREVENTING LOWER DRAPE PORTION, SAID LOWER DRAPE PORTION HAVING AN UPPER END AND A LOWER MARGINAL END TERMINATING AT A LOWER END, MEANS FOR DETACHABLY CONNECTING SAID LOWER END OF SAID UPPER DRAPE PORTION AND SAID UPPER END OF SAID LOWER DRAPE PORTION, SAID LOWER MARGINAL END CAPABLE OF BEING IN AN INVERSELY FOLDED POSITION, AND MEANS FOR DETACHABLY CONNECTING SAID LOWER MARGINAL END IN THE INVERSELY