GB2144790A - Mounting fore roller assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

For fitting, into a cabinet, desk or the like a slatted shutter assembly comprising wind-up roller, guide roller and the shutter, slideways are secured to opposite sidewalls of the cabinet, and an elongate carrier having socket recesses for the rollers are slid therein.

Description

SPECIFICATION Mounting for a roller assembly This invention relates to a mounting for a roller assembly and is more particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with mountings for roller assemblies of the kind comprising a slatted shutter or tambour which winds onto a storage roll and an adjacent guide roller which guides the shutter when it is drawn off and wound back onto the storage roll.

Such arrangements are provided, for instance in shuttered cabinets, so-called roll-top desks, and like structures, the shutter being capable of being drawn off the storage roll into a closing position and of being wound back into an open position (e.g. by a spring) on the storage roll.

Practical difficulties can arise in the installation of such a roller assembly into its cabinet or like structure. Usually, the storage roll, with the shutter wound thereon, is fitted across the rear of the structure at the upper part thereof, and the guide roller is fitted at about the same level but towards the front of the structure, so that when the shutter, guided over the guide roller, is pulled down, it provides a front closure for the structure.It is known for the storage roll to incorporate a square-ended spindle which is spring-biassed in the rotary sense so that it will contribute to the winding up of the shutter, at least one end of the spindle being capable of being pressed axially inwards and springing out again for the spindle ends to be engaged into complementary sockets on the inner surfaces of the sidewalls of the structure so that the spindle is restrained from rotating. During installation, any presetting of the rotary spring bias of the storage can be upset or released, in which case the installer is then faced with the additional task of attempting to restore such presetting. Moreover, the separate fitting of the storage roll and the guide roller, with simultaneous location of edges of the shutter slats, is tedious and cannot easily be achieved.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mounting arrangement whereby the installation of a storage roll and guide roller, as a unitary assembly, can be effected in a simple and convenient manner.

With this object in view, the present invention provides mounting means for use in installing, into a cabinet or like structure, a roller assembly of a slatted shutter or tambour, said assembly comprising a storage roll on which the shutter is wound and an adjacent guide roller, said mounting means comprising, for each side of said assembly, an elongate carrier whereon are sockets, spaced apart from one another, respectively for an end of a spindle of the storage roll and an end of a spindle of the guide roller, and complementary slide means for securementto a respective sidewall of the structure (e.g. by spot welding) to provide a slideway for the elongate carrier to be slid therein.

The guide means may comprise a pair of Z-shaped strip members for separate securement to the structure to define the slideway between them.

Preferably, however, it comprises a channelsectioned member providing aligned lips, facing one another, beneath which the edges of the elongate carrier may locate. Such channel-sectioned member may, if desired, also include outwardly-directly longitudinal flanges which facilitate its securement to the structure.

Each slideway is advantageously angled at one end, to facilitate entry of the respective carrier therein.

Each carrier is conveniently a moulding having, at or adjacent each end, a respective integrally-formed thickened body, respective recesses in or through these bodies constituting the scokets. These recesses are preferably square in configuration, to receive correspondingly square spindle ends.

For retaining the elongate carrier in position in the slideway, at least one of the lips is preferably provdided with one or more deformable tongues engageable into a corresponding recess in the respective edge of the carrier.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating a shuttered cabinet embodying the invention, the cabinet being shown with its shutter approximately half open; Figure2 is an enlarged diagrammatic partsectional plan view illustrating the slatted assembly of the cabinet of Figure 1, the plane in which the section is taken being indicated approximately by the line Il-Il of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating one of the slideways of the mounting means of the shutter assembly of the cabinet of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a corresponding perspective view illustrating one of the elongate carriers of the shutter assembly;; Figure 5 is a fragmentary diagrammatic perspective view illustrating a modification of the slideway and carrier, providing for the locking of the carrier once it has been slid in place; Figure 6 is a sectional end view illustrating an alternative configuration for the slideway of Figure 3; Figure 7 is a view comparable with Figure 6 but illustrating another alternative configuration for the slide means.

Figure 8 is a view comparable with Figure 4, but illustrating a carrier of modified configuration, and Figure 9 is a fragmentary part-sectional plan view, comparable with Figure 2, but illustrating the use and function of the carrier of Figure 8.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings, a shuttered cabinet, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, comprises upright side walls 12 and 14 connected by top and bottom panels 16,18 and rear panel 20. The bottom panel 18 is spaced upwards slightly from the ground and has a front flange 22 simulating a pedestal. The top panel 16 correspondingly has a downwardly-extending front flange 24 (omitted from Figure 2) which serves as a mask to obscure the upper part of the interior of the cabinet, the rest of which is divided, for example, by shelves 26. Of course, the cabinet may enclose any desired contents, such as electrical equipment or the like.

Figure 2 of the drawings is a part-sectional plan view illustrating the upper part of the shuttered cabinet 10. Towards the rear of the cabinet 10 there is a slatted shutter storage roll, indicated generally by the reference numeral 28, whereon is wound a slatted shutter or tambour which has been shown only very diagrammatically at 30. Towards the front of the cabinet is guide roller 32 over which the shutter 30 extends so as to be guided between an approximately horizontal section 34, and an upright or vertical section 36 whose edges locate in upright guideways 38,40 secured to or formed in the respective side walls 12, 14 at or close to the front of the cabinet 10.

The storage roll 28 has a spindle 42 whose ends are square so that it will not rotate when installed in place, and the roll 28 embodies a spring (not visible) which tends to bias the roll 28 to rotate relative to the spindle 42 so as to wind the shutter 30 onto the roll 28 to a predetermined extent.

The guide roller 32 also has a respective spindle 44 with square ends, but in this instance, the roller 38 is freely rotatable on the spindle 44.

For facilitating the installation of the slatted shutter assembly comprising the roll 28, the roller 32 and the shutter 30, use is made of mounting means of which details are illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. Such mounting means comprises, at each side of the shutter assembly, slide means in the form of a channel-sectioned member 46 (Figure 3) comprising a web 48 with sidewalls 50 provided with facing lips 52. One end of each member 46 is out off at an angle as at 54. Complementary to the channel-sectioned member 46 is an elongate carrier 56 (Figure 4) which has, at each end, rectangular thickened bodies 58,60 each of which has therein a respective square recess 62 which serves as a socket for receiving the end of the respective spindle 42,44.

The manner of installing the shutter assembly will readily be understood from the foregoing. Firstly of course, the two channel-sectioned members 46 are fixed in place to the respective sidewalls 12, 14 of the shuttered cabinet 10, e.g, by spot welding or by screws or rivets (not shown) through holes 64. This having been achieved, it is a simple matter to fit the two elongate carrier 56 by their sockets 68 on to the ends of the spindles 42,44 of the roll 28 and roller 32 respectively. This can be done, of course, with the spring in the roll 28 pretensioned to any desired extent. Thereupon, it is also a simple matter to slide the two elongate members constituting the carriers 56 into the respectively slideways provided by the members 46, the inclined ends 54 of the members 46 facilitating this.Once in place, the members 52 can be fixed, for example by pinning or riveting through, using holes 66.

As an alternative, as shown in Figure 5, securement of each elongate carrier 56 can be achieved by providing one or more deformable tongues 68 on one of the lips 52 of each slideway 46 and pressing such tongue or a selected one thereof into a niche 70 formed in an edge of the elongate carrier 56.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing examples and variations may be made thereto. Thus, for instance, in the case of the channel-sectioned slideway 46 of Figure 3, spot welding, bolting, riveting or like securing thereof will, normally, be effected at spaced locations along the web of the member; however as shown in Figure 6, the slideway 46 may be provided with outwardlydirected flanges 78 along its longitudinal edges and these may be used for securing the slideway 46 in place by welding, riveting or the like. Moreover, as shown in Figure 7, the slideway may alternatively be provided by the two Z-shaped strips 74, 76 separately seucred to their sidewalls 12, 14. Other variations are of course, possible.

In the illustrated case, the elongate carrier 56 may, for instance, be a moulded plastics element with the bodies 58, 60 moulded integrally. The recesses 68 may be blind holes or may extend right through the carrierwhich may if desired, be a metal component.

For strengthening purposes, each carrier 56, whether of metal or plastics, may incorporate stiffening ribs or be corrugated longitudinally thereof.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 8, the elongate carrier is formed so as to be convex in cross-section along its length between the two sockets 58, 60 so as to provide, in the asembled mounting, as shown in Figure 9, a curved protrusion as at 80. The lengths of the slats forming the shutter 30 are somewhat longer than the axial length of the shutter storage roll 28, and the dimensions thereof are such that they will tend to engage by their ends, with the surface of the protrusion 80. Accordingly, the protrusion is effective to ensure proper relative alignment of the slats of the shutter 30. Any slat which may have become longitudinally shifted, e.g.

during opening or closing of the shutter 30 is caused by sliding engagement of its end(s) with the protrusions 80 to return to its correct disposition.

The invention is not confined solely to shuttered cabinets of the kind illustrated and can, of course, be applied to any alternative form of shuttered structure, such as a roll-top desk or the like.

Claims (11)

1. Mounting means for use in installing, into a cabinet or like structure, a roller assembly of a slatted shutter or tambour, said assembly comprising a storage roll on which the shutter is wound and an adjacent guide roller, said mounting means comprising, for each side of said assembly, an elongate carrier wherein are sockets, spaced apart from one another, respectively for an end of a spindle of the storage roll and an end of a spindle of the guide roller, and complementary slide means for securement to a respective sidewall of the structure to provide a slideway for the elongate carrier to be slid therein.

2. Mounting means as claimed in claim 1 wherein the guide means comprises a pair of Z-shaped strip members for separate securement to the structure to define the slideway between them.

3. Mounting means as claimed in claim 1 wherein the guide means comprises a channel-sectioned member providing aligned lips, facing one another, beneath which the edges of the elongate carrier may locate.

4. Mounting means as claimed in claim 3 wherein the channel-sectioned member also includes outwardly-directed longitudinal flanges which facilitate its securement to the structure.

5. Mounting means as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each is angled at one end, to facilitate entry of the respective carrier therein.

6. Mounting means as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each carrier is a moulding having, at or adjacent each ends, a respective integrallyformed thickened body, respective recesses in or through these bodies constituting the sockets.

7. Mounting means as claimed in claim 6 wherein the recesses are square in configuration, to receive correspondingly square spindle ends.

8. Mounting means as claimed any preceding claim wherein, the retaining each elongate carrier in position in its slideway, at least one of the lips of the slideway is provided with one or more deformable tongues engageable into a corresponding recess in the respective edge of the carrier.

9. Mounting means as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the carrier is shaped to provide a curved protrusion, engageable by the ends of the slats of the shutter, to ensure proper relative alignment of said slats.

10. Mounting means for use in installing, into a cabinet or like structure, or roller assembly of a slatted shutter ortambour, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

11. A shuttered cabinet, desk or like structure having a slatted shutter or tambour mounted therein using mounting means as claimed in any preceding claims.