Tension Rod

• US 20120285914A1
• Filed: 05/09/2011
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDesign Incorporated
• Original Assignee: InterDesign Incorporated
• Inventors: Carney, John R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,479,932 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 211/123
• CPC Class Codes: A47H 1/022 extensible
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/32501 Cam or wedge
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/5726 Axially biased end portions

Abstract

A tension rod comprising in its preferred form an outer tube and an inner tube in a telescoping arrangement. The outer tube has an expansion joint structure which can engage the inner surface of the outer tube to hold it in place. A spring stem-wedge-rod structure has a wedge portion with a threaded rod extending therefrom for being threaded through a nut held in the expansion rod structure. The spring stem-wedge-rod structure has a stem extending through a coil spring, and a spring retainer is fixed both to the stem and to the inner tube. Twisting of the inner tube causes the wedge portion to effect the expansion joint structure to be fixed in the outer tube, and the coil spring provides the tension to mount the tension rod between a pair of opposing wall surfaces.

Claims

1. A tension rod for being mounted between opposing support surfaces separated by a distance, said tension rod comprising:

an outer tube;

an inner tube disposed partially within said outer tube in a telescoping arrangement;

a compressible biasing device for establishing a tension force for urging said inner tube apart from said outer tube;

a biasing device support structure being initially movable in said outer tube and activatable to be fixed at a predetermined location within said outer tube;

a fixing structure for being actuated to activate said biasing device support structure and fix said biasing device support structure at a predetermined location within said outer tube; and

a fixing-structure actuating device for actuating said fixing structure to fix said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location within said outer tube and for compressing said compressible biasing device;

wherein the length of said tension rod is initially adjusted to be longer than the distance separating the support surfaces, said fixing-structure actuating device being movable to fix said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location within said outer tube, and to compress said inner tube and into said outer tube in a compressed state to compress said biasing device between the support surfaces, and said inner and outer tubes being releasable from the compressed to allow said biasing device to force said inner tube and said outer tube against the respective support surface to mount said tension rod between said support surfaces.

2. A tension rod according to claim 1 wherein said fixing-structure actuating device is fixed to said inner tube, and rotatable in response to the rotation of said inner tube.

3. A tension rod according to claim 1 wherein said biasing device support structure comprises an outer tube engagement device for engaging an inner surface of said outer tube in response to the actuation of said fixing structure to fix said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location.

4. A tension rod according to claim 3 wherein said outer tube engagement device comprises at least one expansion member for engaging the inner surface of said outer tube in response to the actuation of said fixing structure to fix said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location.

5. A tension rod according to claim 4 wherein said at least one expansion member is a set of expansion members for being collectively moved against the inner surface of said outer tube in response to the actuation of said fixing structure to fix said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location.

6. A tension rod according to claim 2 wherein said biasing device support structure further comprises an initial locating device for initially locating said biasing device support structure within said outer tube in response to the initial adjustment of the length of said tension rod.

7. A tension rod according to claim 6 wherein said initial locating device is at least one resilient member for engaging the inner surface of said outer tube in response to the initial adjustment of the length of said tension rod to initially locate said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location.

8. A tension rod according to claim 7 wherein said at least one resilient member comprises a set of expansion leaves for engaging the inner surface of said outer tube in response to the initial adjustment of the length of said tension rod to initially locate said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location.

9. A tension rod according to claim 8 wherein said tension rod and said biasing device support structure have a common longitudinal axis, and said set of expansion leaves for engaging the inner surface of said outer tube comprises a set of resilient members extending in a longitudinal direction and forming a free end of said biasing device support structure, said set of resilient members being equidistant from said longitudinal axis and being pivotable with respect to said longitudinal axis.

10. A tension rod according to claim 1 and further including a control device for controlling the activation of said biasing device support structure, said biasing device support structure containing a part of said control device.

11. A tension rod according to claim 10 wherein said part of said control device is a threaded rod-receiving nut, and said biasing device support structure includes nut holder for containing said threaded rod-receiving nut.

12. A tension rod according to claim 1, and further including a control device for controlling the activation of said biasing device support structure, and wherein said biasing device support structure is an expansion joint structure, said expansion joint structure being initially movable within said outer tube and having a longitudinal axis, said expansion joint structure comprising:

expansion leaves for initially locating said expansion joint structure in said outer tube in response to the initial movement of said inner tube with respect to said outer tube when said tension rod is being mounted between the opposing support surfaces;

expansion members for being collectively moved against the inner surface of said outer tube in response to the actuation of said fixing structure to fix said expansion joint structure at the predetermined location in said outer tube; and

a nut holder for holding part of said control device.

13. A tension rod according to claim 12 wherein said expansion joint structure comprises at least two separable expansion joint structure components, and said tension rod further includes a connecting member for connecting said expansion joint structure components into said expansion joint structure.

14. A tension rod according to claim 13 wherein said connecting member is an O-ring, and said expansion joint structure includes an annular recess for receiving said O-ring.

15. A tension rod according to claim 1 wherein said fixing structure comprises:

an activation device for activating said biasing device support structure; and

a biasing device support member;

wherein said activation device activates said biasing device support structure in response to being activated by said fixing structure.

16. A tension rod according to claim 15 wherein said biasing device support structure comprises an outer tube engagement device, and said activation device comprises an expanding device for urging said outer tube engagement device against the inner surface of said outer tube to fix said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location.

17. A tension rod according to claim 16 wherein said expanding device is a wedge portion being widened from a narrow portion proximal the free end of said outer tube to a wide portion proximal the free end of said inner tube, said wedge portion moving towards the free end of said outer tube in response to said wedge portion being actuated by said fixing structure actuating device to move said outer tube engagement device against the inner surface of said outer tube.

18. A tension rod according to claim 16 wherein said expanding device is a cam structure being rotatable in said outer tube, and having an outer tube engagement portion relatively close to the inner surface of said outer tube, said outer tube engagement portion engaging said outer tube engagement device to move said outer tube engagement device against the inner surface of said outer tube, in response to the rotation of said cam structure being actuated by said fixing structure actuating device.

19. A tension rod according to claim 18 wherein said fixing structure actuating device is fixed to said inner tube.

20. A tension rod according to claim 17 wherein said compressible biasing device is a compressible coil spring having a uniform spring force regardless of compression, and said structure is a spring stem-wedge-rod structure, and wherein said biasing device support structure comprises a spring stem extending through said compressible coil spring and being connected to said wedge portion, wherein said fixing structure actuating device both urges said spring stem-wedge-rod structure towards said biasing device support structure to cause said wedge portion to move said outer tube engagement device against the inner surface of said outer tube, and sequentially compresses said compressible coil spring.

21. A tension rod according to claim 20 wherein said biasing device support structure is an expansion joint structure comprising a nut holder for holding thread-engagement nut, wherein said outer tube engagement device includes a set of expansion members, and wherein said spring stem-wedge-rod structure further comprises a threaded rod for being threaded into said thread-engaging nut, said spring stem-wedge-rod structure being twistable in response to actuation of said fixing structure actuating device to cause said wedge portion to move said expansion members against the inner surface of said outer tube.

22. A tension rod according to claim 21 wherein said expansion joint structure has a longitudinal axis, and said set of expansion members are respectively radially movable about said longitudinal axis.

23. A tension rod according to claim 1 wherein said fixing-structure actuating device is fixed to both said inner tube and to said fixing structure;

movement of said fixing-structure actuating device actuates said fixing structure to activate said biasing device support structure to fix said biasing device support structure at the predetermined location in said outer tube.

24. A tension rod according to claim 23 wherein said compressible biasing device comprises a compressible coil spring, said biasing-device support structure comprises an outer-tube engagement device for engaging the inner surface of said outer tube, said fixing structure comprises at least one expansion member for engaging the inner surface of said outer tube, and said fixing structure actuating device comprises a spring retainer fixed with respect to at least one expansion member and having spring-engaging structure, said spring retainer moving said at least one expansion member against the inner surface of said outer tube in response to the twisting in a selected direction of said inner tube with respect to said outer tube, and said spring retainer compressing said compressible coil spring in response to the movement of said inner tube further into said outer tube.

25. A tension rod according to claim 24 wherein said fixing structure is a spring stem-wedge-rod structure comprising a wedge portion having a relatively narrow end proximal the free end of said outer tube and a relatively wide end proximal the free end of said inner tube, a spring stem extending through said compressible coil spring and being fixed relative to said spring retainer, a threaded rod extending from said wedge portion and a thread-engaging nut;

and said biasing device support structure comprises an expansion joint structure wherein said outer tube engagement device comprises a set expansion member engageable by said wedge portion, a nut holder for holding said thread-engaging nut and a set of expansion members;

said spring retainer being fixed to said inner tube and to said spring stem, said spring retainer effecting the movement of said expansion members into engagement of the inner surface of said outer tube in response to the twisting of said inner tube with respect to said outer tube in the direction to effect said latter movement, and compressing said compressible coil spring without changing the spring force of said compressible coil spring in response to the moving of said inner tube further into said outer tube.

26. A tension rod according to claim 1 wherein said compressible biasing device establishes said tension force without changing the biasing force of said compressible biasing device.

27. An expansion joint structure for a tension rod comprising an inner tube and an outer tube in a telescoping arrangement, the expansion joint structure initially holding said expansion joint structure in the outer tube and thereafter locking said expansion joint structure in the outer tube, said expansion joint structure having a longitudinal axis, a first free end for being proximal a closed end of the outer tube and a second free end for proximal a closed end of the inner tube when said expansion joint structure is installed in the inner tube of a tension rod, said expansion joint structure being formed from a pair of expansion structure components, said expansion joint structure components collectively forming said expansion joint structure, said expansion joint structure comprising:

a support portion having at least one leaf support surface in a plain perpendicular to said longitudinal axis;

a set of resilient leaves extending from said leaf support surface, said set of leaves being generally parallel to and equally spaced from said longitudinal axis, said set of resilient leaves forming said first free end and extending away from said longitudinal axis for contacting the inner surface of the outer tube when said expansion joint structure is installed in a tension rod;

a nut holder for holding a threaded nut, said nut holder being concentric with said longitudinal axis; and

a set of expansion members being generally parallel to and equally spaced from said longitudinal axis, said set of expansion members forming said second free end and being movable away from said longitudinal axis and into engagement with the inner surface of outer tube when said expansion joint structure is installed in a tension rod.