FR2741900A1 - Window blind with electric motor drive and remote control - Google Patents

Abstract

The blind comprises at least one support (1,3), by which it is fixed above a window. The sheet of blind material (6) is attached by one edge to a roller tube (5), whilst the opposite edge of the blind material is attached to a weight tube (7). Hinged arms (8) are attached at one end to the support (1) and at the other end to the weight tube (7). A motor and reducing gear assembly is mounted within the tube in order to operate the blind in either direction, and a supply cable (14) is connected between the motor and the power supply point (16). A remote control (11) is provided emitting a modulated electromagnetic signal in order to control the blind, with a receiver of such signals being mounted within the blind assembly adjacent to the motor.

Description

BANNE EQUIPPED WITH A NOTOREDUCATOR
WITHOUT EXTERNAL ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION
TO THE BANNER
The banners include one or more supports fixed above a rack to be fitted, a winding tube located above and parallel to this or these supports, a canvas whose edge is fixed to the winding tube and the edge opposite a load bar parallel to the winding tube, articulated arms being secured to the support by one of their ends while the opposite end is articulated to the load bar.

 The winding tube is supported by end bearings made integral with the tubular support, a control mechanism either manual or motorized being kinematically connected to the winding tube.

 The motorized mechanism includes a geared motor which is compact enough to be able to be integrated into the winding tube, that is to say that it is housed in the cylindrical space inside the tube.

 The banners are pre-assembled in the factory for obvious reasons of rationalization and lowering of cost price.

 To place the awning above the rack to be fitted, the tubular support is fixed to the wall, then the uprights which carry bearings in which the trunnions of the winding tube are engaged are fitted to the ends of this tubular support.

 The individual characteristics of a awning, width and angle of inclination of the fabric, value of the advance, are taken into account in the factory, as well as the essential presets, which simplifies and shortens the laying operations.

 The gearmotor is, of course, set up in the factory but not its electrical connections because these necessarily have a connection with the outside of the shutter, if only for connection to a source of electric current.

 In addition, the control of the awning requires three operations: winding the fabric (folding), unwinding the fabric (deployment), stopping.

 This command is obtained with an inverter interposed between the current source and the gearmotor, inverter which comprises two buttons actuated selectively by the user.

 The placement of the inverter is one of the difficulties of the installation because very often when the inverter is located at a place convenient for the fitter, this place is not suitable for the user, so that to satisfy the user , that is to say the client, it is necessary to carry out delicate and long works.

 But the greatest difficulty comes from the electrical connections.

 In fact, technically speaking, the inverter is an integral part of the gearmotor since it controls all of its functions, whereas for a simple practical reason it must be isolated and separated from it by a distance which varies in each installation case.

 I1 follows that we must provide in the factory of the conductor leads that must, on site, connect to other conductors of desired length to connect the gearmotor to the inverter, then it is necessary to connect the inverter to a source of electric current.

 The source-inverter link is quite easy because it only has three easily identifiable conductors: two simple conductors and a grounding wire.

 The gearmotor-inverter link is more difficult because it has four wires which must be carefully identified according to whether it is a conductor corresponding to the rotation of the gearmotor in one direction, a conductor corresponding to the rotation of the gearmotor in the opposite direction, a conductor common to these two functions, or the ground wire.

 The fitter must have two kinds of cables: one with three conductors and the other with four. The fitter must then fix the inverter, then cut the cables to the desired lengths, then strip the conductors, then make the connections, and finally make the desired checks.

 The present invention overcomes all these drawbacks by making it possible to make all the desired connections between the geared motor and its control in the factory.

 Furthermore, the system of the remote control which is becoming generalized and which consists in providing on an apparatus, an electromagnetic wave receiver connected to an electronic circuit for controlling the apparatus, is known, this assembly being associated with a portable box containing a emitter of modulated electromagnetic waves. By acting on the desired button, selected from among several others, the user sends a wave train picked up by the receiver and exploited by the electronic circuit to cause a certain function of the device.

 Such a system relates to devices entirely manufactured in the factory and having on the front all the manual controls necessary for the complete operation of the device: television receivers, video recorders, high fidelity channels, or even toys or simple sockets.

 The user can therefore, at will, use the remote control or not.

 This remote control is superimposed on the normal functioning of the device and its only utility is to add to the comfort of the user by allowing him to act from a distance, without having to disturb himself on the few meters which separate him from the device .

 The present invention uses the known technology of remote controls but for an entirely different purpose from those aimed until now since it makes it possible to considerably simplify the mounting of the equipped device, namely a shutter, whose structure is different from all known and not just made more convenient by adding a remote control.

 This replaces a real installation located outside the factory-made device and which has to be carried out, up to now, on the site of assembly.

To this end, the invention relates to a banner comprising
* at least one support for fixing it above a rack,
* a canvas whose edge is connected to a winding tube and the opposite edge is fixed to a load bar,
* articulated arms whose ends are respectively subject to the support and the load bar,
* an electric geared motor with two directions of rotation kinematically connected to the tube and which comprises electrical connections with a control unit capable of being connected to a source of electric current,
characterized in that the control unit is integral with a component of the valve, receives an electric power supply cable and contains an electronic circuit controlled by an electromagnetic wave receiver, the valve being associated with at least one remote control unit containing an electronic circuit and a transmitter of modulated electromagnetic waves.

According to other features of the invention
- the control unit is housed in a hollow element;
- The support is hollow, substantially tubular, and the control unit is housed in this support;
- the control unit is housed in the winding tube;
- the electromagnetic wave receiver is suitable for receiving two kinds of transmissions from the remote control unit;
- the electromagnetic wave receiver is tuned to at least two wavelengths, one individual and the other common to itself and to at least one other analog pole, all forming part of the same installation; ;
- the electromagnetic wave receiver is tuned to a single wavelength, the transmitter being associated with an encoder intended to associate a code with each transmission, one of the codes being individual for a given pole and another being common to this awning and to at least one other similar awning, all forming part of the same installation;
the electronic circuit comprises at least one microprocessor and at least one memory for a program for controlling the geared motor;
- at least one of the electronic circuits of the control unit and / or of the remote control unit comprises a clock;
- the shutter is associated with an external detector connected to the electronic circuit of the control unit;
- the awning is associated with at least one portable remote control unit;
- the awning is associated with at least one fixed remote control unit.

 The invention will be better understood from the detailed description below made with reference to the accompanying drawing. Of course, the description and the drawing are given only by way of an indicative and nonlimiting example.

 Figure 1 is a partial schematic view showing a known type of awning, comprising an electric geared motor controlled from a manual housing.

 Figure 2 is a partial schematic view showing a valve according to the invention, comprising a remote-controlled electric gearmotor.

 Figure 3 is a partial schematic view similar to Figure 2 but on a larger scale.

 Figure 4 is a schematic transverse view of the valve of Figure 3 after fitting by fitting an end post supporting the winding tube.

 Referring to Figure 1, we see a known pole, of the geared motor type. It includes a support A formed by a square section tube fixed to brackets B sealed to the wall.

 At the ends of the tubular support A are fitted uprights C having bearings for pins (not visible in the drawing) of a winding tube D. to which is fixed an edge of a fabric E whose opposite edge is subject to a load bar F.

Articulated arms G are fixed on the one hand to the tubular support A and on the other hand to the load bar
F in order to guide the load bar F in a plane corresponding to the inclination desired for the canvas E deployed totally or partially.

 Inside the winding tube D, there is a geared motor H intended to drive the winding tube D in rotation, either in one direction or in the opposite direction.

 During the factory pre-assembly, four conductors I, J, K and L, gathered in a single cable M were connected to terminals (not visible in the drawing) of the gearmotor H and the end of the cable M is left free on a short length, so that during assembly on site, the fitter can easily access this end.

 He connects to it a cable N of the same type as the cable M and to which he had to bring a reserve in which he cuts a segment whose length is measured on the spot according to the location of a control box O fixed to a support such as a wall.

 Then (or beforehand), the editor connects the control unit O to an electric current source P by means of a current type cable Q, comprising three conductors R, S and T including a mass, like all those which equip simple light fixtures for example. This connection can be made in a specific box of known type or by a U plug which is engaged in a socket V in the sector.

 We see that the fitter must carry out on the site long and delicate operations without which the awning cannot function (because it is simply not finished), in addition to the actual assembly which consists in fixing the consoles B and the tubular support A above the rack to be fitted.

 Referring now to Figure 2, we see a banner according to the invention.

 It includes a support 1 formed by a square section tube fixed to brackets 2 sealed to the wall.

 At the ends of the tubular support 1 are fitted uprights 3 having bearings for pins 4 of a winding tube 5 to which is fixed an edge of a fabric 6 whose opposite edge is subject to a load bar 7.

 Articulated arms 8 are pivotally secured, on the one hand to the tubular support 1 and on the other hand to the load bar 7.

 Inside the winding tube 5, there is a geared motor 9 intended to drive the winding tube 5 in rotation, either in one direction or in the other.

 In the tubular support 1, there is a control box 10 containing an electronic circuit, an electromagnetic wave receiver and a demodulator of any known type, connected to the geared motor 9.

 The shutter is associated with a portable remote control unit 11 containing an electronic circuit, an emitter of electromagnetic waves and a modulator of any known type, supplied from one or more electric batteries.

 The portable box 11 has two buttons 12 and 13 on which the user must selectively press depending on whether he wants to control the winding (folding) or the unwinding (unfolding) of the fabric 6. As is well known, the third function, to have the stop, is obtained automatically when the user releases the button 11 or 12 that he has pressed, each button being recalled to the neutral position.

 In the factory, all connections were made under the best possible conditions, without any possible omission, and with all the necessary checks.

 Control box 10 has connections for three single conductors: two for normal power supply and one for grounding, conductors found in all standard cables for the power of all electrical devices general public: lighting fixtures, audio-visual devices of all kinds, etc.

 The fitter, on site, uses such a standard cable 14 and connects, at one of its ends, the three conductors to the connections of the control box 10, then it fixes at the other end a standard plug 15 for a socket current 16 located in the most convenient place, near the bay equipped with the awning.

 A passage is possibly provided in the tubular support 1, near the control box 10 in order to allow the connection of the conductors of the cable 14 in the best possible conditions.

 It is easy to provide the factory for connection to a socket (or connector) of three conductors connected to the control box 10, so that the standard cable 14 can be provided with a simple corresponding plug (not shown) similar to those found on standard commercial cables for the connection of electrical devices of all kinds of computers, radio receivers, television receivers, etc.

 When the fitter has taken the measurements, he can transmit the order to the factory not only with the dimensions of the cable itself but also with the length of the cable 14, so that we can, in the factory, carry out the fixing two male 15 and female plugs to cable 14.

 In this case, the awning is delivered as a household appliance, which eliminates any operation other than mounting the actual awning, with the possible exception of fixing the cable 14 against a wall.

 Naturally, it is also possible to connect the conductors of the cable 14 to an electrical connection box of any known type and no longer to a socket 16.

 A small cable 17 of determined length is connected, at the factory, by its four conductors on the one hand to the control unit 10 and on the other hand to the geared motor 9.

 The storage, handling and mounting of the shutter means that the tubular support 1 and the winding tube 5 in which the gearmotor 9 is located are separated.

 For this, a solution consists in that the small cable 17 is separated by at least one of its ends, either from the control unit 10, or from the geared motor 9, or from both.

 Another solution consists in removing the housing 10 from the tubular support 1 in which it is slidably placed, in the same way removing the gearmotor 9 from the winding tube 5 and holding the gearmotor 5 and its control unit 10 together until assembly on site.

 The assembler must simply set up the gearmotor 9 in the winding tube 5 and the control box 10 in the tubular support 5, without having any electrical connection to make since the small cable 17 remains connected by its two ends since manufacture from the factory.

 Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the control unit 10 has a parallelepiped shape with a section at most equal, apart from play, to the internal section of the tube which forms the support 1.

 In practice, we can meet tubular supports of different sections and we can adapt the outer shape of the housing 10 to these different sections, or choose once or for all one or two standard shapes.

 Here, the control unit 10 comprises an outer part 10a whose section corresponds more or less to that of the exterior of the support 1, to form a positioning stop which prevents the control unit 10 from penetrating too far into the tubular support 1 .

 The end upright 3 is integral with a sheath 3a whose internal section corresponds, apart from play, to the largest external section of that of the tubular support 1 or of the external part, 10a so that it can be engaged according to arrow F on the assembly 10a-l.

 The underside of the upright 3 has a gutter-shaped passage 3b which opens onto the two faces of the upright 3.

 During assembly, either in the factory or on the site, the cables 14 and 17 are engaged in the passage 3b, which makes it possible to set up 1 upright 3, the sheath 3a of which covers the part 10a as well as the tubular support 1.

 In the factory, the cable 14 is allowed to protrude over the entire desired length in order to be able to connect it to the mains.

 Of course, we can also leave a small length protruding only by leaving it to the fitter to connect the rest of the cable 14.

 To facilitate this connection, one can provide at the end of the protruding part of the cable 14, either a bar of the "domino" type, or a standard socket which must cooperate with a plug, in addition to the simplest technical solution which consists in providing a terminal block integrated into the control unit 10.

 In its simplest version, the awning is actuated from the remote control unit 11, either for the folding of the fabric 6, or for its deployment, or for immobilizing the fabric 6 in an intermediate position.

 The control unit 10 then comprises a receiver which knows only two signals: those which correspond to the rotation of the geared motor 9 in one direction and those which correspond to the rotation of the geared motor 9 in the opposite direction.

 The geared motor 9 rotates as long as the user presses the button 12 or the button 13 and stops when the user releases his pressure on the button 12 or on the button 13.

 With this simple version, the remote control can be carried out either by radio waves (radio waves) or by infrared radiation, which are the most widespread means of using electromagnetic waves.

 The infrared rays assume that the transmitter contained in the remote control unit 11 is close to the receiver of the control unit 10 and correctly oriented since it is an optical emission.

 Radio waves are not directive, have a range that is expressed in hundreds of meters and easily pass common obstacles: plants, partitions, ceilings, walls, etc.

 A more elaborate version than the previous one applies to installations comprising several independent banners, in particular from the same establishment, and allows the user to act, at will, either on a single awning, or on several of them. , or even on all at once.

This is achieved by providing that the control box 10 of each pole is sensitive to two distinct sets of signals
a first series corresponds to the control of the single geared motor 9 of this awning, either in the direction of folding, or in the direction of deployment of the fabric 6,
- a second series corresponds to the order of several or all the banners.

 This result can be achieved by tuning the receiver of the control unit 10 on at least two different wavelengths, or frequencies, capable of being emitted by the remote control unit 11, according to the choice of the user.

 As it is a question of controlling several banners, the user cannot orient the remote control unit 11 simultaneously towards all the interested receivers, so that this version can only be implemented with radio waves.

 This result can also be achieved with a single frequency by coding the transmitted wave sequences, the receivers being adapted to discern the different possible codes.

 The coded sequences can be transmitted simultaneously on several frequencies or one after the other on a single frequency.

 The control unit 10 may include different electronic circuits and different components, depending on the degree of complexity that it is desired to obtain.

 One can, for example, provide one or more microprocessors and one or more memories containing programs, which makes it possible to benefit from automatic operation.

 This allows, for example, not to have to permanently press the buttons 12 and 13 during a complete movement of the fabric 6, but to give a single pulse which triggers the movement, then another pulse which stops the movement in progress, and this selectively on the two buttons 12 and 13.

 There is also the possibility of having a single button on the remote control unit 11: a first pulse on this single button controls the folding, a second pulse controls the stopping, a third pulse controls the deployment, and so on.

 A clock device can be associated with the circuit of the control unit 10 and / or the circuit of the remote control unit 11.

 Depending on whether the memory is live (readable and rewritable) or dead (readable only), it may or may not be reprogrammed according to the wishes of the user, for example to adjust the time at which one or more banners must be deployed or folded.

 It is also possible to add an external detector 18 in connection with the control box 10 to each control panel or to several of the same installation, in order to provide the latter with information likely to influence the need to deploy or fold the banners.

 It can be a detector sensitive to humidity, sunlight, temperature, wind speed and / or direction, etc.

 The remote control unit 11 can be portable and independent or else be fixed at a given location.

 These two solutions can be combined by providing a general transmitter located at an ad hoc location, and one or more independent remote control boxes 11 which can be carried on the person while traveling.

 An embodiment has been described above providing that the control unit 10 is placed in the tubular support 1 and, therefore, outside the winding tube 5.

 It is also possible to place this control unit 10 in the winding tube 5, like the geared motor 9, with which it can be coupled from the start of manufacture.

 The integration of the gear motor 9 and the control unit 10 can be an advantage linked to the rationalization of the assembly.

 But it can also be a drawback because it assumes that the manufacturer has two different stocks: a stock of conventional gearmotors 9 for customers who do not want the remote control, and a stock of assemblies comprising a gearmotor and a remote control unit.

Claims (12)

 1- Banne including  * at least one support for fixing it above a rack,  * a canvas whose edge is connected to a winding tube and the opposite edge is fixed to a load bar,  * articulated arms whose ends are respectively subject to the support and the load bar,  * an electric geared motor with two directions of rotation kinematically connected to the tube and which includes electrical connections with a control unit capable of being connected to a source of electric current,  characterized in that the control unit (10) is integral with a component of the valve, receives an electric power supply cable (14) and contains an electronic circuit controlled by an electromagnetic wave receiver, the valve being associated with at least one remote control unit (11) containing an electronic circuit and a transmitter of modulated electromagnetic waves.  2- A shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (10) is housed in a hollow element.  3- Banne according to claim 2, characterized in that the support (1) is hollow, substantially tubular, and the control unit (10) is housed in this support.  4- A shutter according to claim 2, characterized in that the control unit (10) is housed in the winding tube (b).  5- Banne according to claim 1, characterized in that stinks the electromagnetic wave receiver is adapted to the reception of two kinds of emissions from the remote control unit (11).  6- Banne according to claim 5, characterized in that the electromagnetic wave receiver is tuned on at least two wavelengths, one individual and the other common to itself and to at least one other analogous banne , all part of the same installation.  7- Banne according to claim 5, characterized in that the electromagnetic wave receiver is tuned on a single wavelength, the transmitter being associated with an encoder intended to associate a code with each transmission, one of the codes being individual for a given awning and another being common to this awning and to at least one other analogous awning, all forming part of the same installation.  8- Banne according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic circuit comprises a micrqprocessor and at least one memory for a control program of the gearmotor (9).  9. A shutter according to claim 8, characterized in that at least one of the electronic circuits of the control unit (10) and / or of the remote control unit (11) comprises a clock.  10- Banne according to claim 8, characterized in that it is associated with an external detector (18) connected to the electronic circuit of the control unit (10).  11- Banne according to claim 1, characterized in that it is associated with at least one remote control unit (11) portable.  12- Banne according to claim 1, characterized in that it is associated with at least one fixed remote control unit.