Quick loading curtain track for an aircraft cabin
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsRick E. Shepherd, Ian M. Piper, Robert B. Lanfear
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A curtain track for an aircraft cabin enables curtain sliders to be quickly loaded into the curtain track. The curtain track is constructed of an elongate channel with a first end fitting on a first end of the channel and a second end fitting on a second end of the channel. There is a unique cutout in the bottom surface of the first end fitting that forms a curved slot surface that enables curtain sliders to be loaded into the channel of the curtain track through the cutout to quickly load the curtain onto the curtain track without disassembling any of the parts of the curtain track or removing the curtain track from its attachment to the aircraft cabin.
Claims20
A track that suspends sliders for sliding movement of the sliders on the track, the track comprising:
- a bottom surface of the track, the bottom surface extending along a length of the track;
- a slot in the bottom surface of the track, the slot having a length extending along the length of the track;
- a first slot surface extending through the bottom surface of the track adjacent the slot, the first slot surface extending along the length of the track;
- a second slot surface extending through the bottom surface of the track adjacent the slot, the second slot surface extending along the length of the track;
- the first slot surface and the second slot surface being on opposite sides of the slot and being parallel;
- and,
- a curved slot surface extending through the bottom surface of the track adjacent the slot, the curved slot surface being an extension of the first slot surface and being on an opposite side of the slot from of the second slot surface.
A track that suspends sliders for sliding movement of the sliders on the track, the track comprising:
- a bottom surface of the track, the bottom surface extending along a length of the track;
- a slot in the bottom surface of the track, the slot having a length extending along the length of the track, the slot separating a first ledge at a bottom of the track and a second ledge at a bottom of the track;
- the first ledge having a top surface and an opposite bottom surface, the top surface of the first ledge and the bottom surface of the first ledge being parallel;
- the second ledge having a top surface and an opposite bottom surface, the top surface of the second ledge and the bottom surface of the second ledge being parallel;
- a first slot surface extending between the bottom surface of the first ledge and the top surface of the first ledge adjacent the slot, the first slot surface extending along the length of the track;
- a second slot surface extending between the bottom surface of the second ledge and the top surface of the second ledge adjacent the slot, the second slot surface extending along the length of the track;
- the first slot surface and the second slot surface being on opposite sides of the slot and being parallel;
- and,
- a curved slot surface extending between the bottom surface of the first ledge and the top surface of the first ledge adjacent the slot, the curved slot surface being an extension of the first slot surface and being on an opposite side of the slot from the second slot surface.
A method of suspending sliders for sliding movement of the sliders along a length of a track, the method comprising:
- passing a head of each slider through a slot in a bottom surface of a track by engaging necks of the sliders that depend from the heads of the sliders against a curved slot surface extending through the bottom surface of the track adjacent the slot while passing the heads of the sliders through the slot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.