Decorative Valance

Various valances have heretofore been made for concealing vertical or horizontal blind headers and drapery rods, in which one or more decorative face members are removably attached to the valance to enable changing the decorative appearance of the valance. In many prior valance constructions having removable face members, portions of the valance base or valance mounting brackets remained exposed to view when the decorative face members were installed, and this adversely affected the overall appearance of the valance. Some valances with removable decorative face members were difficult to assemble because they required sliding of the long decorative face members into grooves or recesses in the valance base or valance brackets. Further, in some prior decorative valance constructions, the decorative face members could not be attached or removed from the valance after the valance was installed adjacent a ceiling or other overhead.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art valances with removable decorative face members by providing a valance having an improved construction for detachably mounting the decorative face members on the face of the valance panel, and which allows the decorative inserts to be attached from the front of the face panel and which does not require endwise sliding of the decorative face members; in which the decorative inserts effectively conceal the front panel of the valance from view when the decorative face members are mounted; and in which the decorative face members can be readily attached and removed from the valance even when the valance is installed adjacent the ceiling or other overhead.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a valance embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the plane 2--2 of FIG. 1 and illustrating mounting of a decorative member on the valance base;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the plane 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view taken on a plane 4--4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the plane 5--5 of FIG. 3.

The decorative valance is generally adapted for use to conceal the headers of a vertical or horizontal venetian blind or a drapery rod or curtain rod fixture. The valance includes a valance base having a front panel 10 and a top panel 11 extending rearwardly from adjacent the upper edge of the front panel. In the preferred embodiment shown, the valance also includes end panels 10' having a top wall portion 11' extending laterally from adjacent the upper edge of the end panel. Any suitable mounting means may be provided for mounting the valance adjacent a window opening and, as shown in FIG. 1, the valance is conveniently mounted on brackets 12 attached to the header 13 of a venetian blind or other drapery fixture. The bracket 12 has upper and lower wall portions 12a and 12b adapted to receive a rear edge portion of the top panel 11 of the valance base to support the valance thereon. The bracket 12 also has hook portions 12c and 12d to engage rails on the header 13 to mount the bracket on the header. As is conventional, header mounting brackets (not shown) are used to mount the header 13 either on a wall or a window casing or on the ceiling.

Upper and lower decorative valance face members 15a and 15b are adapted to be detachably mounted on the front panel 10 of the header, and decorative valance face members 15a' and 15b' of similar cross-sectional configuration, are adapted to be detachably mounted on the end panels 10'. For this purpose, an upper rail 21, an intermediate rail 22 and a lower rail 23 are formed integrally with the front panel 10 and similar upper, lower, intermediate rails 21', 22' and 23' are provided on the end panels 10'. The upper rails 21 and 21' each define a downwardly projecting upper lip 21a extending lengthwise of the upper edge of the associated panel. The lower rails 23 and 23' each define an upwardly projecting lower lip 23a extending along the lower edge of the associated panels 10, 10'. The intermediate rails 22 and 22' each define an upwardly extending lip 22a spaced a preselected distance below the upper lip 21a on the associated panel, and a downwardly projecting lip 22b spaced a preselected distance above the lower lip 23a on the associated panel.

The upper and lower valance face members 15a, 15b and 15a', 15b', are advantageously of like cross-sectional configuration. The decorative face members each include a front all 25, herein shown of generally C-shaped cross-sectional configuration, and having a first and second rear edges 27 and 26. The valance face members are each formed with a reentrant channel 28 inwardly of the rear edge 27, and a lengthwise extending hook portion 29 disposed internally of the front wall and inwardly of the second rear edge 26. The reentrant channel 28 on each upper valance face member 15a, 15a' is adapted to receive the upwardly projecting intermediate lip 22a on the associated panel, and the internal hook portion 29 on each upper valance face member is adapted to receive the downwardly projecting upper lip 21a on the associated panel. Similarly, the reentrant channel 28 along the rear edge 27 of each lower valance face member 15b is adapted to receive the downwardly projecting lip 22b on the associated panel and the hook portion 29 on each lower valance face member 15b is adapted to receive the upwardly projecting lower lip 23a on the lower edge of the associated panel. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower valance face members 15b, 15b' have a portion that extends rearwardly from the associated hook portion 29 below the lower edge of the associated panel to effectively conceal the lower rail and the lower edge of the panel from view when the valance is viewed from a position below and in front of the valance. Similarly, the upper valance face members 15a, 15a' have a portion that extends rearwardly from the hook portion 29 and which is adapted to overlie the upper edge of the upper rails 21a, 21a' of the associated valance panel 10, 10'. The decorative face members are formed of a resilient deformable material such as PVC plastic and are constructed and arranged so that they are resiliently compressible to allow the hook portion 29 on the upper and lower valance face members to snap over the respective upper lip 21a and lower lip 23a on the associated panels. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hook portions 29 of the decorative valance members are spaced inwardly from the rear edge 26 a distance sufficient to allow the hook portions to snap over the upper and lower lips 21a and 23a. The reentrant channels 28 on the valance face members receive the upper lip 22a and lower lip 22b on the intermediate rail and are arranged so as to extend contiguous to each other as shown in the drawings, when they are mounted on the front panel 10 and end panel 10'. The upper and lower valance face members can be colored, coated or covered to provide a desired decorative finish. When installed the valance face members effectively conceal from view the front panel and the rails 21, 22, 23 thereon and the upper and lower edges of the front panel 10. The top panels 11, 11' are advantageously joined to the associated front panel 10 and end panel 10' by an offset portion designated 11a, 11a' and such that the upper rear edges 26 of the upper valance face members 15a, 15a' are disposed generally coplanar with the associated top panel 11, 11' when the valance face members are installed.

The valance is advantageously constructed so that the valance face members 15a, 15b and 15a', 15b' can be cut or formed coextensive in length with the associated panel 10, 10'. The valance face members 15a, 15b on the front and the end panels 10, 10' have adjacent ends disposed in relatively transverse planes and the corner members 16a and 16b are arranged to extend between the adjacent ends of the valance face members. The corner members 16a, 16b are of like construction and each include an intermediate portion 30 and end portions 31 and 31' extending from the intermediate portion and adapted to be telescopically received in the ends of the valance face members on the front and end panels respectively. The portions 31, 31' of the corner members 16a, 16b extend closely adjacent the inner wall of the associated valance face member and have edge portions that extend alongside the reentrant channel 28 and hook portions 29, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. The intermediate portion 30 of the corner members are preferably formed with an external configuration that merges and blends with the external configuration of the associated valance face members 15a, 15b and 15a', 15b' so as to form a smooth transition therewith. As will be seen from FIG. 5, the front and end panels 10 and 10' have ends 10a and 10a' that are spaced from each other and the corner members 16a, 16b abut against the ends of the panels 10 and 10'. The top panel 11' on the end panel 10' is dimensioned so that its edge 11b' abuts against the end 11b of the top panel 11. In the embodiment disclosed, the corner members 16a, 16b are supported by the valance face members 15a, 15b on the front panel 10, and the corner members 16a, 16b with end panels 10' support the valance face members 15a', 15b'.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and installation of the valance system will be readily understood. The valance face members can be cut or formed to the same length as the associated front and end panels and the valance face members can be snapped in place on the associated panel and do not require slidable insertion from the ends of the panels. The corner members 16a, 16b are mounted by inserting the telescoping end portions 31, 31' into the ends of the associated valance face members and the corner members complete the corner between the ends of the valance face members. When installed, the valance face members conceal the associated panel in the rails thereon.