AU2003100293C4 - Shutter roller - Google Patents

Description

P/001012 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: "SHUTTER ROLLER" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:

TITLE

SHUTTER ROLLER FIELD OF THE INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to a roller for shutters as typically used in cabinets, cupboards and other storage enclosures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Roller shutters are commonly used in openings of cabinets, cupboards, storage rooms, pantries, vanity units and other storage enclosures. Roller shutters provide ready access to the contents of storage enclosures such as described above and, when closed, neatly hide the stored contents within the storage enclosure.

Typically, a roller shutter comprises a roller mounted by way of brackets in the door opening, onto which is mounted a shutter, such as a tambour door comprising a plurality of slats, or any other door or screen that can be wound around the roller. A modification of this typical system is provided in Australian patent 672562 where a support member that prevents sagging of the shutter is mounted forward of the roller.

A problem associated with roller shutters is that when the shutter is wound onto the roller, such as when raising the shutter to open a storage enclosure, the height of the first layer of shutter slats wound onto the roller causes a noticeable "bump" when the next layer of shutter slats winds onto the first layer. This "bump" detracts from the operational feel of the shutter and thereby detracts from the market appeal of the shutter.

2 This problem has been partly addressed by United States Patent 5,351,743 which describes a roller shutter assembly comprising a roller having a roller core or body mounted between end blocks. Each end block has a peripheral cam-shaped surface that facilitates even winding of the shutter door. However, the three-piece construction of this roller creates a bulky, cumbersome roller that is expensive to manufacture and difficult to install for persons other than tradesmen.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a roller for a shutter door that overcomes or ameliorates at least one of the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a first aspect, the invention provides a roller shutter assembly comprising: a tambour door roller; (ii) a tambour door windable onto the roller; and (iii) at least two mounting brackets to which the tambour door roller is mountable, said at least two mounting brackets mountable to a storage enclosure to which the tambour door is to be mounted; wherein the tambour door roller is of unitary construction comprising a roller body having at least one ramp which forms at least part of a surface of said roller body upon which said tambour door is windable.

Preferably, said at least one ramp extends at least partly around the outer circumference of said roller body.

Preferably, said roller body has at least two ramps.

In a preferred embodiment, said roller body has two ramps respectively located adjacent each end of said roller, each of said two ramps extending at least partly around the outer circumference of said roller.

Throughout this specification, unless otherwise indicated, "comprise", "comprises" and "comprising" are used inclusively rather than exclusively, so that a stated integer or group of integers may include one or more other non-stated integers or groups of integers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a roller for a shutter door; and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a roller for a shutter door, wherein the shutter door is wound onto the roller.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to an embodiment described in FIG. 1, roller 10 comprises roller body 11 with surface 12 on which are located respective ramps 13A, 13B extending around surface 12 of roller body 11. In this embodiment, ramps 13A, 13B are respectively located adjacent each end 18A, 18B of roller body 11. Ramps 13A, 13B may be mounted to roller body 11 such as by adhesion or through use of fasteners such as screws. In an alternative embodiment, ramps 13A 13B may be integrally formed with roller body 11. Roller 10 also has spindle 17 to assist mounting to brackets (not shown). Roller 10 further comprises shutter 14 mounted thereto, which in this embodiment is a tambour shutter comprising a plurality of slats 15. Shutter 14 is mounted to roller body 11 so that face 16 of slat 15A abuts ramps 13A and 13B in the manner shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 2, shutter 14 is wound onto surface 12 of roller body 11, so that shutter 14 winds smoothly onto ramps 13A, 13B without a noticeable "bump", this smooth winding facilitated through slat 15A being guided over slat by ramps 13A, 13B.

Throughout this specification, the aim has been to describe the preferred embodiments of the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features. Various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described and illustrated herein without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention. In particular, the number of ramps 13A, 13B may be varied. For example, a single ramp 13 is contemplated which extends along a substantial length of roller body 11. It will also be readily apparent that the shutter roller 10 of the invention may be used in any roller shutter assembly mountable to an opening of a cabinet, cupboard, storage room, pantries, vanity unit or other storage enclosure. A preferred roller shutter assembly employs a support roller located forward of roller 10 to prevent shutter 14 sagging, such as described in Australian Patent 672562 which is incorporated herein by reference. Such an assembly may also provide a bracket that allows shutter roller 10 to be varied in height relative to the position of the support roller.

The present invention therefore provides, in a preferred embodiment, an essentially one-piece or unitary shutter roller of relatively simple construction that is easy to manufacture and install and that provides smooth winding of the shutter onto the roller.

Claims (3)

1. 2. The roller shutter assembly of Claim 1, wherein said roller has at least two ramps respectively located adjacent each end of said roller body.
2. 3. The roller shutter assembly of Claim I, wherein said roller has two ramps respectively located adjacent each end of said roller body, each of said two ramps extending at least partly around the outer circumference of said roller.
3. 4. The roller shutter assembly of Claim I, further comprising a support roller for supporting said tambour door and which is mountable to said at least two mounting brackets. A roller shutter assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. ID 7 O O t 00 DATED this twenty eighth day of June 2006 JCBH PTY LTD and TVW Pty Ltd by its Patent Attorneys FISHER ADAMS KELLY