GB2366588A

GB2366588A - Roller Shutter slat with transparent flanges for mounting a decorative strip

Info

Publication number: GB2366588A
Application number: GB0114316A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philippe Karmin
Original assignee: JEC
Current assignee: JEC
Priority date: 2000-06-19
Filing date: 2001-06-13
Publication date: 2002-03-13
Anticipated expiration: 2021-06-13
Also published as: FR2810364A3; BE1014250A6; NL1018322C2; GB2366588B; DE20109879U1; GB0114316D0; FR2810364B3

Abstract

A slat 3 intended to be connected to other identical slats 3 to form a roller screen/shutter 2 comprises an outer wall 7 against which a decorative strip 6 is intended to be placed and mounting means 15,16. The mounting means comprise two longitudinal flanges 15 located level with the edges of the said outer wall 7 and at a distance from this outer wall 7 greater than the thickness of the decorative strip 6 so as to form a rail in which the decorative strip 6 can be mounted by sliding. These flanges 15 are made of transparent or translucent material such that the edges of the decorative strip 6 engaged behind them are visible through their thickness. The slat 3 may be made entirely of a transparent or translucent material. Each flange 15 may be substantially parallel to the outer wall 7 of the slat and may be secured to a connecting wall 16 which connects the flange 15 to the outer wall 7. The connecting wall 16 may be in the same plane as the outer faces of the lateral walls 9. A roll screen/shutter 2 may be obtained by assembling a plurality of slats 3 of the type according to the invention. The roll screen/shutter 2 may be fitted to an office cabinet 1 as shown in fig 1.

Description

2366588 The present invention relates to a slat intended to be connected

to other identical slats in order to form a roll screen or shutter. This roll screen or shutter is, in particular, intended to be fitted to an office cabinet or the like.

It is well known to fit an office- cabinet or the like with a roll screen for closing the cabinet and hence concealing its contents. A roll screen of this type is formed by assembling slats pivotally connected to one another, each slat generally consisting of a profiled section made. of synthetic material.

The visual appearance of these slats consequently depends on the synthetic material which forms them, so that this visual appearance can hardly be tailored to a user's requirements.

To overcome this drawback, it has been conceived to fix decorative strips having a particular colour or appearance, in particular strips of wood, on the outer face of the slats.

Roweveri known slats and decorative strips present the drawbacks that they have a structure which is relatively complex, and is therefore relatively expensive to produce, and that they are relatively cumbersome to handle. The means for assembling these slats with these decorative strips are also relatively complex, and can be relatively difficult to handle.

The slat according to the invention comprises, in a manner which is known per se, an outer wall against which a decorative strip is intended to be placed, and mounting means for mounting this dezorative strip on this wall.

According to the invention, - the said mounting means comprise two longitudinal reverses located level with the two longitudinal edges of the said outer wall, these reverses being located at a distance from this outer wall greater than the thickness of the decorative strip, and being arranged in such a way that they define a longitudinal rail in which the decorative strip can be engaged by sliding; and - these reverses are made of a transparent or translucent material such 2 that the edges of the decorative strip engaged behind them are visible through their thickness.

Because they are transparent, these reverses are not readily visible on the screen or shutter formed using the slats according to the invention, and they can therefore cover the edges of the decorative strips without significantly affecting the visual appearance of this screen or shutter. This transparency hence makes it possible to use such reverses in order to cover the edges of the decorative strip and to form a rail for receiving this strip by simple sliding. This rail makes it possible to give the slat a simple and lightweight structure which is easy to manufacture and allows very easy assembly of the decorative strips with the slats, while keeping an attractive visual appearance for the screen or shutter.

An advantage of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is that it overcomes the above drawbacks. A further advantage of the preferred embodiment is that it provides a slat that can receive a decorative strip and which, together with the said decorative strip, keeps a simple structure which is easy to manufacture and is relatively lightweight, which does not entail assembly that is relatively complex to carry out, and which makes it possible to obtain a roll screen or shutter with an ideal visual appearance.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each reverse is substantially parallel to the said outer wall of the slat and is secured to a connecting wall, this connecting wall connecting the said reverse to the said outer wall and being substantially parallel thereto, the face of the connecting wall turned to the side external to the said rail being located substantially in the same plane as the outer faces of the lateral walls of the slat, that is to say the walls of this slat which are perpendicular to the said outer wall.

When a plurality of assembled slats are placed in the same plane, the two connecting walls of one slat lie directly next to the connecting walls of the adjacent slats. The edges of the decorative strips which these slats receive are hence brought as close as possible to one another when the slats are in this same position, making the reverses very difficult to see when looking at the screen or shutter from a significant distance.

Advantageously, each slat is made entirely of a transparent or translucent material, which keeps the possibility of producing the slat in a single operation, in particular by extruding a synthetic material.

This transparent or translucent nature of each slat makes it possible to obtain extensive visual effects, especially when the decorative strips are also made of a transparent or translucent material.

The invention also relates to the roll screen or shutter obtained by assembling a plurality of slats as described above, as well as to the office cabinet or the like fitted with this roll screen or shutter.

To explain it more clearly, the invention will be further described below with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawing which represents, by way of nonlimiting example, a preferred embodiment of an office cabinet, a screen and a slat to which it relates, Figure I is a perspective view of an office cabinet fitted with a roll screen; Figure 2 is a perspective view of two of the slats which form the said screen; Figure 3 is a front view of a part of one of these slats and of a decorative strip which can be placed on this slat; Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 3, when the said decorative strip is being placed on the said slat, and Figure S is a front view of a portion of the screen.

Figure I shows an office cabinet I fitted with a roll screen 2, this screen 2 making it possible to close the cabinet I and hence conceal its contents.

The screen 2 is formed by two series 2a, 2b of slats 3 which are connected to one another with the possibility of pivoting about the longitudinal direction of these slats 3.

Each series 2a, 2b is mounted so as to slide in rails which the cabinet I comprises. One series 2a is connected to the other series 2b by a known type of linkage, so that the movement of one series of slats in one sliding direction causes sliding of the other series in the opposite direction, thus opening or closing the cabinet 1.

Each series 2a, 2b comprises an end slat 3a, 3b for contact with the end slat of the other series. One of these end slats 3a is fitted with a handle 4 and a lock 5.

Figure 2 shows a pair of two adjacent slats 3.

Each slat 3 is produced in the form of a profiled section of extruded synthetic material, this material being transparent or translucent, and has a decorative strip 6.

Each slat 3 has a hollow structure and a rectangular overall shape. It consequently has a wall 7 located on the outside of the screen 2, a wall 8 located on the inside of this screen 2, and two lateral walls 9.

For the pivotal connection of one slat 3 to another, each slat 3 has, along one of the longitudinal edges of the wall 8, a projecting longitudinal wall 10 ending in a cylindrical protuberance 11 and, along the opposite longitudinal edge of this same wall 8, a rounded groove 12. This groove 12 can pivotally receive the protuberance I I of another slat 3, the entry to the groove 12 having a width much greater than the thickness of the wall 10, to allow pivoting of the protuberance I I in the groove 12 and, consequently, pivoting of one slat 3 relative to the other.

One of the walls 9 has a longitudinal groove 13 arranged on its outer face, whereas the other wall 9 has a projecting rib 14, the groove 13 of one slat 3 being designed to receive, without.play, the rib 14 of another slat 3 when these slats 3 are placed substantially in the same plane. This groove 13 and this rib 14 form means for centring one slat 3 relative to the other.

Figure 2 also shows that each slat 3 has, on the same side as the wall 7, two longitudinal reverses 15 located level with the two longitudinal edges of this wall 7. Each of these reverses IS is substantially parallel to the wall 7 and is secured to a connecting wall 16, which connects it to the said wall 7. This wall 16 is substantially perpendicular to the reverse IS and has a height such that the reverse 15 is located at a distance from the wall 7 greater than the thickness of the strip 6. The face of each wall 16 turned to the lateral side of the strip 3 is located substantially in the same plane as the outer face of the corresponding wall 9.

As can be seen with reference to Figures 2 to 4, the reverses 15 and walls 16 are arranged in such a way that they define a longitudinal rail in which the strip 6 can be engaged by sliding.

Because they are transparent, the reverses 15 are not readily visible on the screen 2, and they can therefore cover the edges of the strips 6 without significantly affecting the visual appearance of this screen 2.

Figure 5 more particularly shows that, when a plurality of assembled slats 3 are placed in the same plane, the two walls 16 of one slat lie directly next to the walls 16 of the adjacent slats; the edges of the strips 6 are hence brought as close as possible to one another in this position, making the reverses 15 very difficult to see when looking at the screen 2 from a significant distance.

As can be seen from the above description, the invention provides a slat 3 that can receive a decorative strip 6 and which has the advantage of keeping, together with the said strip 6, a simple structure, of remaining easy to manufacture and relatively lightweight, of not entailing assembly that is relatively complex to carry out, and of making it possible to obtain a roll screen or shutter with an ideal visual appearance.

It is clear that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above by way of example, but rather that it encompasses all alternative embodiments. For instance, the slat according to the invention can be used to form any type of roll screen or shutter, not necessarily to be used on an office cabinet I or the like; each strip 6 may be made of any appropriate material, of a different nature and/or with a different appearance, and may in particular be produced from a coloured transparent or translucent material or may be made of an opaque material, for example wood.

Moreover, the same principle can be used for a synchronous or asynchronous laterally opened cabinet (only the direction changes, everything else being strictly the same). Furthermore, this same principle can be implemented on furniture having two screens or a single screen.

7

Claims

1. Slat (3) intended to be connected to other identical slats (3) in order to form a roll screen (2) or shutter, this slat (3) comprising an outer wall (7) against which a decorative strip (6) is intended to be placed, and mounting means (IS, 16) for mounting this decorative strip (6) on this wall (7); which slat (3) is characterised in that:

- the said mounting means comprise two longitudinal reverses (IS) located level with the two longitudinal edges of the said outer wall (7), these reverses (IS) being located at a distance from this outer wall (7) greater than the thickness of the decorative strip (6), and being arranged in such a way that they define a longitudinal rail in which the decorative strip (6) can be engaged by sliding; and - these reverses (15) are made of a transparent or translucent material such that the edges of the decorative strip (6) engaged behind them are visible through their thickness.

2. Slat according to Claim 1, characterised in that each reverse (IS) is substantially parallel to the said outer wall (7) of the slat (3) and is secured to a connecting wall (16), this connecting wall (16) connecting the said reverse (IS) to the said outer wall (7) and being substantially parallel thereto, the face of the connecting wall (16) turned to the side external to the said rail being located substantially in the same plane as the outer faces of the lateral walls (9) of the slat (3), that is to say the walls (9) of this slat (3) which are perpendicular to the said outer wall (7).

3. Slat according to Claim I or Claim 2, characterised in that it is made entirely of a transparent or translucent material.

4. Roll screen (2) or shutter obtained by assembling a plurality of slats (3) according to one of Claims I to 3.

S. Office cabinet (1) or the like fitted with the roll screen (2) or shutter according to Claim 4.