EP2549051B1

EP2549051B1 - Blind Control Device of Venetian Blinds

Info

Publication number: EP2549051B1
Application number: EP20110174310
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tsung-Yuan Hsu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-07-18
Filing date: 2011-07-18
Publication date: 2014-11-26
Anticipated expiration: 2031-07-18
Also published as: EP2549051A1

Description

(a) Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a blind control device of Venetian blinds, and more particularly to a control device that prevents a lift cord of a Venetian blind from entangling.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

A known Venetian blind comprises a transmission shaft, an axle, a number of driven components, and a blind see for example US 2007/0144685 A . The axle is received through the transmission shaft and the driven components. The driven components are provided with a lift cord, whereby the lift cord, when pulled, controls opening and/or closing of blind slats. Conventionally, the lift cord is wrapped around a groove formed in a roller. These components that are discussed above are received in a head rail of the Venetian blind so that when the Venetian blind is in operation, the lift cord is readily subjected to slackening during the process of pulling and releasing and thus gets off the roller. This leads to poor operability of the Venetian blind. Further, if the blind is blocked by an obstacle located below the blind so as to stop the lowering process of the blind, since the lift cord is continuously unwound from the roller, the lift cord is easily subjected to undesired entangling.
In view of the above discussed problems of the conventional Venetian blinds, the present invention aims to provide a blind control device of Venetian blinds that overcomes these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary technique of the present invention is to provide a blind control device of Venetian blind, which comprises a retainer seat, a brake mechanism, a cord winding mechanism, and a ladder tape seat. The retainer seat is arranged inside a head rail seat. The brake mechanism comprises a toothed disc, a spring, and a resilient plate. The brake mechanism is operated in such a way that when the blind is stopped by being blocked by an external object during a lowering process, the spring drives away a stop plate of the toothed disc and also causes rotation of the resilient plate to engage a stop block of the ladder tape seat, thereby preventing a first reel disc and a second reel disc of the cord winding mechanism from further rotation and thus preventing further unwinding of a lift cord that may lead to undesired entangling.
The secondary technique of the present invention is to provide a blind control device of Venetian blind, which comprises a retainer seat, a brake mechanism, a cord winding mechanism, and a ladder tape seat. The retainer seat is arranged inside a head rail seat. The cord winding mechanism comprises a first reel disc, a second reel disc, and a positioning ring. The first reel disc and the second reel disc are coupled to each other to form a reel around which a flat lift cord is wound and received in the positioning ring, whereby the positioning ring realize well positioning of the lift cord without undesired separation and thus improving smoothness of unwinding the lift cord.
A further technique of the present invention is to provide a blind control device of Venetian blind, wherein a ladder tape seat receives a shaft collar to extend therethrough and the shaft collar receives a restoration spring to fit thereon. The ladder tape seat has an upper side forming a plurality of grooves, which receive fixation bars to extend therethrough. A curved slit is defined to extend across the grooves. With the arrangement of the curved slit, a ladder tape can be properly positioned by being received therein.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG 2 is a cross-sectional view of a ladder tape seat according to the present invention.
FIG 3 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention in an assembled form.
FIG 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG 3.
FIG 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG 3.
FIG 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation of FIG 5.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views taken along line C-C of FIG 3, illustrating an operation thereof.
FIG 9 is a perspective view showing another embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Referring first to FIG 1, the present invention provides a blind control device of Venetian blinds, which comprises a retainer seat 1, a brake mechanism 2, a cord winding mechanism 3, and a ladder tape seat 4.
The retainer seat 1 comprises a U-shaped body having an end forming a bearing section 11 and an opposite end forming a shaft support section 12. The retainer seat 1 has a bottom wall that forms a mounting compartment 13. The mounting compartment 13 has opposite side walls forming inwardly-projecting positioning ribs 131. The mounting compartment 13 has a bottom forming a lift cord hole 132. Further, ladder tape slots 14 are formed at opposite sides of the mounting compartment 13. Each ladder tape slot 14 has a circumference that forms a circumferential wall 141 projecting from the bottom of the retainer seat 1. The retainer seat 1 forms a stop section 15 at a location adjacent to the shaft support section 12.
The brake mechanism 2 comprises a toothed disc 21, a spring 22, and a resilient plate 23. The toothed disc 21 forms a hub sleeve 211 extending therefrom. The hub sleeve 211 has a circumference along which a plurality of teeth 212 is formed and a curved stop plate 213 partially extends along the circumference. The resilient plate 23 forms a through hole 231. The resilient plate 23 has a circumference forming teeth 232 corresponding and engageable with the teeth 212 of the toothed disc 21.
The cord winding mechanism 3 comprises a first reel disc 31, a second reel disc 32, and a positioning ring 33. The first reel disc 31 forms a receiving chamber 311, a peg 312, and a bore 313. The receiving chamber 311 receives and retains the spring 22 of the brake mechanism 2 therein. The peg 312 is fit in the through hole 231 of the resilient plate 23. The bore 313 is formed at a center of the first reel disc 31. The bore 313 is surrounded by a fitting section 314 extending from an opposite side of the first reel disc 31 and the fitting section comprises two pawls 315 further extending therefrom. The second reel disc 32 forms at a center thereof a shaft hole 321, and the holding tabs 322 are formed along circumference of and extending from the shaft hole 321. The holding tabs 322 are fit over a circumference of the fitting section 314 of the first reel disc 31. Coupling notches 323 are defined in an opposite side of the shaft hole 321. The coupling notches 323 receive the pawls 315 of the first reel disc 31 therein for engagement therebetween. The positioning ring 33 has a central space that receives the first reel disc 31 and the second reel disc 32 therein. The positioning ring 33 has a lower side forming a mounting block 331. The mounting block 331 has opposite surfaces forming positioning slots 332. The mounting block 331 corresponds to the mounting compartment 13 of the retainer seat. A through hole 333 extends between the positioning ring 33 and the mounting block 331. Further, the positioning ring 33 has an inside surface forming an inward-projecting circumferential wall 334.
Also referring to FIG 2, the ladder tape seat 4 comprises a cylindrical body having an end forming a projecting cylindrical section 41, which is positionable on the bearing section 11 of the retainer seat 1. The ladder tape seat 4 has an opposite end that forms a lid section 42, which receives a shaft collar 43 to extend therethrough. The shaft collar 43 has an outer circumference over which a restoration spring 44 is fit. A projecting block 45 extends between the lid section 42 and the ladder tape seat 4. A stop block 46 is formed on an inside surface of the ladder tape seat 4. The ladder tape seat 4 has an upper side forming a plurality of grooves 47, which receive fixation bars 48 to extend therethrough. A curved slit 471 is defined to extend across the grooves 47.
To practice the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, a flat lift cord A is first wound around the outer circumference of the fitting section 314 of the first reel disc 31. The holding tabs 322 of the second reel disc 32 are then fit over the outer circumference of the fitting section 314 of the first reel disc 31 so as to fix an end of the lift cord A. Further, the connection between the first reel disc 31 and the second reel disc 32 forms a reel around which the flat lift cord A may be wound and received inside the positioning ring 33. With the inward-projecting circumferential wall 334 formed inside the positioning ring 33, well positioning of the lift cord A can be realized without undesired separation and thus improving smoothness of unwinding the lift cord. Afterwards, the resilient plate 23 of the brake mechanism 2 is mounted by fitting the through hole 231 over the peg 312 of the first reel disc 31, and the spring 22 is then positioned in the receiving chamber 311 of the first reel disc 31. The hub sleeve 211 of the toothed disc 21 is fit through the bore 313 of the first reel disc 31. All the components mentioned above are then positioned inside the ladder tape seat 4, and the shaft collar 43 is inserted through the lid section 42 from outside the ladder tape seat 4 with the restoration spring 44 fit over the outer circumference of the shaft collar 43. Then, an opposite end of the lift cord A is put through the through hole 333 of the positioning ring 33 and the lift cord A is further put through the lift cord hole 132 of the retainer seat 1. The mounting block 331 of the positioning ring 33 is received and retained in the mounting compartment 13 of the retainer seat 1. With the positioning slots 332 of the mounting block 331 engaging the positioning ribs 131 formed on the side walls of the mounting compartment 13 of the retainer seat 1, the positioning ring 33 is well positioned. Further, a ladder tape B, which may be in the form of a cable, is received in the curved slit 471 of the ladder tape seat 4, and the fixation bars 48 are put through the grooves 47 on the upper side of the ladder tape seat 4 to make the ladder tape B effectively positioned and fixed in the ladder tape seat 4. Finally, the rotation shaft 5 is put through the shaft collar 43, the hub sleeve 211 of the toothed disc 21, and a central bore of the projecting cylindrical section 41 of the ladder tape seat 4 and the retainer seat 1 is set in the head rail seat 6 to allow the lift cord A to extend through the through hole 61 of the head rail seat 6 and the ladder tape B extending through the ladder tape slots 14 of the retainer seat 1 and the elongate slots 62 of the head rail seat 6. The circumferential walls 141 of the retainer seat 1 are fit into the elongate slots 62 of the head rail seat 6 so as to complete the assembling of the present invention.
Referring to FIGS. 4,5, and 6, during a process of lowering the blind of the Venetian blind, in case the lower end of the blind is blocked by an external object so as to stop of movement of the blind, the toothed disc 21 of the brake mechanism 2 provided by the present invention loss a downward driving force induced by the blind, so that the toothed disc 21 is no longer subjected to the action of force and the spring 22 drives away the stop plate 213 of the toothed disc 21. Under this condition, the teeth 212 of the toothed disc 21 causes a movement of the resilient plate 23, so that the resilient plate 23 may be driven by toothed engagement to position against the stop block 46 of the ladder tape seat 4, whereby the first reel disc 31 and the second reel disc 32 are prevented from further rotation and also prevent further unwinding of the lift cord A, so as to prevent the lift cord A from entangling. When the external object is removed, the rotation shaft 5 receive force acting thereupon again and resumes rotation, so that the rotation shaft 5 drives rotation of the toothed disc 21 to make the stop plate 213 of the toothed disc 21 deforming the spring 22 and the resilient plate 23 is caused to rotate and move away from the stop block 46 of the ladder tape seat 4. As a result, the first reel disc 31 and the second reel disc 32 are caused to rotate again to further unwind the lift cord A.
Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, to open and close the blind of the Venetian blind according to the present invention, the rotation shaft 5 drives the shaft collar 43 to rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise. At this moment, the restoration spring 44 engages the projecting block 45 of the ladder tape seat 4 to cause rotation of the ladder tape seat 4. Due to the stop section 15 of the retainer seat 1, the rotational stroke of the ladder tape seat 4 can be effectively constrained to realize opening operation at precise angle.
Referring to FIG 9, another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The ladder tape seat 4 according to the present invention may also be used with a band like ladder tape C. Opposite ends of the ladder tape C are respectively set in the grooves 47 formed on the upper side of the ladder tape seat 4. The fixation bars 48 may then be put through the grooves 47 of the ladder tape seat 4 to retain the ladder tape C in the ladder tape seat 4. As such, the applicability of the ladder tape seat 4 is improved and there is no need to replace the ladder tape seat 4 for different types of cable like ladder tape B or band like ladder tape C. The cost of material for making different ladder tape seats is thus saved.
The efficacy of the present invention is that with a brake mechanism 2 included in a blind control device of Venetian blinds, when a blind is stopped by being blocked by an obstacle during a process of lowering the blind, the spring 22 may drive away the stop plate 213 of the toothed disc 21 and also cause rotation of the resilient plate 23 to engage the stop block 46 of the ladder tape seat 4 so as to stop further rotation of the first reel disc 31 and the second reel disc 32 thereby preventing further unwinding of the lift cord A that may result in undesired entangling. Further, to open/close the blind, the restoration spring 44 is put into engagement with the projecting block 45 of the ladder tape seat 4 so as to cause rotation of the ladder tape seat 4 and with the arrangement of the stop section 15 of the retainer seat 1, the rotational stroke of the ladder tape seat 4 is precisely defined to realize precise opening/closing of the blind.
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.

Claims

A blind control device of Venetian blind, at least comprising:
a retainer seat (1), which has an end forming a bearing section (11) and an opposite end forming a shaft support section (12), the retainer seat (1) having a bottom wall that forms a mounting compartment (13), the mounting compartment (13) having a bottom forming a lift cord hole (132), ladder tape slots (14) being formed at opposite sides of the lift cord hole (132);

a brake mechanism (2), which comprises a toothed disc (21), a spring (22), and a resilient plate (23), the toothed disc (21) forming a hub sleeve (211) extending therefrom, the hub sleeve (211) having a circumference along which a plurality of teeth (212) and a stop plate (213) are arranged, the resilient plate (23) forming teeth (232) corresponding to the teeth (212) of the toothed disc (21);

a cord winding mechanism (3), which comprises a first reel disc (31), a second reel disc (32), and a positioning ring (33), the first reel disc (31) forming a receiving chamber (311) that receives and retains the spring (22) of the brake mechanism (2) therein, the first reel disc (31) comprising a fitting section (314) extending from one side thereof, the second reel disc (32) forming a shaft hole (321), the shaft hole (321) having a circumference along which holding tabs (322) are formed so that the holding tabs (322) are fit over a circumference of the fitting section (314) of the first reel disc (31), the positioning ring (33) having a central space that receives the first reel disc (31) and the second reel disc (32) therein, the positioning ring (33) having a lower side forming a mounting block (331); and

a ladder tape seat (4), which has an end forming a projecting cylindrical section (41) that is positionable on the bearing section (11) of the retainer seat (1) and an opposite end forming a lid section (42) that receives a shaft collar (43) to extend therethrough, the shaft collar (43) receiving a restoration spring (44) fit thereon, a projecting block (45) extending between the lid section (42) and the ladder tape seat (4), the ladder tape seat (4) having a surface forming a plurality of grooves (47), which receive fixation bars (48) to extend therethrough.
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein the mounting compartment (13) of the retainer seat (1) has side walls forming inwardly-projecting positioning ribs (131).
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein each of the ladder tape slots (14) of the retainer seat (1) has a circumference that forms a circumferential wall (141) projecting toward bottom.
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein the retainer seat (1) forms a stop section (15).
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein the fitting section (314) of the first reel disc (31) comprises two pawls (315) extending therefrom.
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein the shaft hole (321) of the second reel disc (32) forms the coupling notches (323) at an opposite side.
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein the mounting block (331) of the positioning ring (33) has opposite surfaces forming positioning slots (332).
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein the positioning ring (33) has an inside surface forming an inward-projecting circumferential wall (334).
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein a projecting block (45) extends between the ladder tape seat (4) and the lid section (42).
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein the ladder tape seat (4) has an inside surface forming a stop block (46).
The blind control device of Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein a curved slit (471) is defined to extend across the grooves (47) of the ladder tape seat (4).