EP0291579A2

EP0291579A2 - A blind for commodity goods

Info

Publication number: EP0291579A2
Application number: EP87118726A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gillis Lundgren
Original assignee: Inter Ikea AS
Current assignee: Inter Ikea AS
Priority date: 1987-05-18
Filing date: 1987-12-17
Publication date: 1988-11-23
Also published as: DK251487A; DK155378C; DK251487D0; EP0291579A3; DK155378B

Abstract

A blind (10) for commodity goods, such as furniture, cupboards, tables and bread bins. The commodity goods are provided with two guide rails (6) wherein the blind moves. On its side parts (2, 3) the blind has resilient projections (4, 5). The purpose thereof is to reduce friction between the blind and the guide rails wherein the blind moves.

Description

The present invention relates to a blind for commodity goods, such as furniture, for instance cupboards and tables, said commodity goods having two guide rails wherein a blind moves, and said blind having a middle part and two side parts, each side part co-operating with its guide rail.
US-PS no. 3.645.597 discloses a table with a blind. The blind and the parts of the table are held together by each bar in the blind being provided with solid, flat locking projections. These projections are perpendicular to the surface of the blind and in engagement with a guide rail in the table parts. When the blind is pulled into a closed position the blind and the guide rails are locked together. This blind does not work completely satisfactorily, since it is rather complex and requires manufacturing with small tolerances.
Furthermore, the US-PS no. 2.869.955 discloses an arrangement for reducing friction between the side of a blind and its corresponding guide rail in connection with a cupboard. The blind may be made of one piece of plastic , but possesses no elastic projections.
The object of the invention is to provide a blind of the above type, said blind being easy to manufacture, suitable for mass production, with comparatively large tolerances and showing an improved performance, since the friction in the guide rails is considerably reduced.
The blind according to the invention is characterised in that the middle part and the side parts are manufactured in one piece of thin, flexible sheet material, such as plastic , and that each side part is provided with small, resilient projections. Thus the blind is easy to manufacture and suitable for mass production. Should the side parts of the blind turn out not to fit especially well into the guide rails the friction between the side part and the guide rails is comparatively small, since the small projections eliminate the tendency of the side parts to get stuck in the guide rails.
Furthermore, the projections extend according to the invention outwardly from the planar portion of the side parts. This allows large tolerances of the diameter of the guide rails.
Moreover, the projections are according to the invention hollow, thus obtaining a better yield.
According to the invention, the projections are in the same plane as the side parts, thus allowing large tolerances of the mutual distance between the two side parts.
According to the invention, the projections when seen in the longitudinal direction of the side part are arranged so that they alternately project from both sides of the planar portion of the side part. Thus an additional increase of the yield of the blind in the guide rails is obtained.
Additionally, according to the invention, between the part of the side part farthest away from the middle part and the middle part there is a weak point in the sheet material, for instance in form of a hole or a reduced thickness of the sheet material, thus obtaining an improved yield of the blind in its plane.
Moreover, the projections are according to the invention arranged along a curve, such as a straight line or a wavy line. Thus it is easier to check the wear of the guide rails.
Furthermore, the projections are according to the invention arranged in groups, thus enabling the blind to be exposed to larger loads when operated.
In addition the blind is according to the invention made of non-transparent plastic , and the thickness of the sheet material is approximately 0.5-1.5 mm. Thus a suitable flexibility of the blind is obtained and the latter is usable for the closing of many kinds of furniture.
Finally the blind is according to the invention made of transparent plastic . Thus the blind is especially suitable for closing all types of boxes, such as bread bins or display cases for open sandwiches, where it is desirable to see the content.
The invention is described in greater detail below and with reference to the accompanying drawings, where

Figure 1 is a planar view of a blind in which the projections of the side parts extend upwardly and downwardly relative to the plane of the blind,
Figure 2 is a section along the line II-II of Figure 1 on a larger scale,
Figure 3 is a section through the side part of a blind in a guide rail,
Figure 4 is a planar view of another embodiment of the blind, where the projections are in the same plane as the sheet,
Figure 5 is a planar view of a blind, where the projections are arranged along a wavy line, and
Figure 6 is a planar view of a blind, where the projections are arranged in groups.

Figure 1 shows a blind 10 comprising a middle part 1 and two side parts 2 and 3, each side part being provided with resilient projections 4 and 5 alternately projecting from one and the other side of the planar portion of the side parts. The blind is used for commodity goods, such as furniture, cupboards, letter tray arrangements, bread bins and display cases for ,for example, open sandwiches or the like. The common characteristic for all these commodities is the presence of two parallel guide rails and a need for closing a space inside said commodities.
Figure 2, showing a section along the line II-II of Figure 1, illustrates, that the thickness g of a projection 4 pointing downwards is considerably thinner than the thickness t of the blind. The thickness of the cross section t depends mainly on whether the middle part 1 is provided with profile sections or whether it is just a planar piece slightly displaced upwards or downwards in relation to the guide rails. The middle part may also be provided with decorations. The shape of the middle part is not part of the present invention. The projection 4 is preferably hollow, i.e. the thickness g is roughly the same for the whole blind, cf. Figure 2.
Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the blind 10, comprising, as in Figure 1, a middle part 1 and two side parts 2 and 3. The side parts 2 and 3 are provided with hollow projections 4 and 5. The projection 5 extends in an upward direction and the projection 4 in a downward direction with respect to the side part 2. The projections may be arranged in a straight line along the side part. The projections may also be arranged in such a way as to alternately project from both sides of the plane of the side part. The projections may additionally be arranged such as to project alternately with two or more projections to one side of the side portion and two or more projections to the other side. Furthermore, the projections may be arranged in groups. The side part 2 is movable in relation to a guide rail 6, said guide rail being either fastened to or an integral end part of the commodity. Both the guide rail 6 and the side part 2 are made of a material ensuring low friction between the guide rail 6 and the side part 2.
Figure 4 shows a blind 10 with side parts 2 and 3, where the latter has projections 14 in the same plane as the side parts, i.e. the outer edge has the shape of a wave. In order to obtain a suitable yield of the wave-shaped edge 15 the most outward part of the side part is weakened between the middle part 1 and said outward part by compressing the material so as to decrease its thickness. Another possibility is to make a hole 7 in the side part. Thus the yield of the projections is controllable.
Figure 5 shows a blind where the projections are arranged along a wavy line 9. The advantage of this embodiment is that each projection does not have the tendency to grind a narrow straight track in the guide rail, but grinds a considerably wider track, thus spreading the wear in the guide rails.
Figure 6 illustrates how the projections are arranged in groups. The groups are arranged along a straight line or along a wavy line. The number of projections in the individual group may in principle vary from one to many.
Regardless of whether the projections are in the same plane as the blind or whether they extend in an outward (perpendicular) direction to said plane, the blind is made of transparent or non-transparent plastic . The choice of material depends on whether one is interested in seeing the goods behind the blind or not. If the blind in question is used with a desk, it will be most suitable to use a non-transparent material, thus being able to hide the things behind the blind. If the blind is used for a display case for open sandwiches, it is most suitable to use a transparent material so that either the customers or the people choosing an open sandwich may see which pieces they are interested in and then open the case containing the sandwiches. It has been found suitable to manufacture the sheets with a thickness of 0.5-1.5 mm, but the thickness is, of course, dependent on the stiffness of the sheet material and on what kind of bending it is exposed to.
The blind 10 may be manufactured in many different ways. All these manufacturing methods result in a final product requiring no finishing treatment, the sheet material of said product being rather thin and its cross section comparatively thick, cf. Figure 2. Examples of manufacturing methods are vacuum forming, calendering or hot-pressing.
The invention is not limited to the above embodiments and may be varied in many ways without deviating from the scope of the invention. It is thus possible that the sheet material consists of thin metal plates instead of plastic.

Claims

1. A blind (10) for commodity goods, such as furniture, for instance cupboards and tables, said commodity goods having two guide rails (6) wherein a blind moves, and said blind having a middle part (1) and two side parts (2, 3), each side part cooperating with its guide rail, characterised in that the middle part (1) and the side parts (2, 3) are manufactured in one piece of thin, flexible sheet material, such as plastics, and that each side part is provided with small, resilient projections (4, 5, 14).

2. A blind (10) as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the projections (4, 5) extend outwardly from the planar portion of the side parts.

3. A blind (10) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the projections (4, 5) are hollow.

4. A blind (10) as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the projections (14) are in the same plane as the side parts (3).

5. A blind (10) as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the projections (4, 5) when seen in the longitudinal direction of the side part are arranged so that they alternately project from both sides of the planar portion of the side part.

6. A blind (10) as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that between the part of the side part (2, 3) farthest away from the middle part and the middle part (1) there is a weak point in the sheet material, for instance in form of a hole (7) or a reduced thickness of the sheet material.

7. A blind (10) as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 5, characterised in that the projections are arranged along a curve, such as a straight line or a wavy line.

8. A blind (10) as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7, characterised in that the projections are arranged in groups (8).

9. A blind (10) as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-8, characterised in that the blind (10) of non-transparent plastics, and that the thickness of the sheet material is approximately 0.5-1.5 mm.

10. A blind (10) as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-8, characterised in that the blind (10) is made of transparent plastics.