GB2370308A

GB2370308A - Venetian blind

Info

Publication number: GB2370308A
Application number: GB0206715A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hans Gruetzner
Original assignee: Silent Gliss International AG
Current assignee: Silent Gliss International AG
Priority date: 1999-09-09
Filing date: 2000-09-04
Publication date: 2002-06-26
Also published as: GB0206715D0; CH693423A5; AU6679800A; WO2001018346A1; DE10082682D2

Abstract

The slats (2) are pivotably suspended on a housing which has a base (8) and side walls (9), by means of ladder-type supporting cords (3). An end rail (2a) is connected to a winding-up rod (5) by means of drawing-up cords (4), said rod being provided for winding up the drawing-up cords (4). The winding-up rod (5) is axially displaced when turned in order to ensure that the drawing-up cords (4) can be wound up smoothly. The supporting cords (3) are fixed to bearing devices (6) provided for the winding-up rod (5). The base (8) or the side walls (9) of the housing (19) have openings (11) through which the support devices (6) are introduced into said housing (10) and fixed to the same. The bearing devices (6) can be fixed to said cords (3, 4) outside of the housing, which facilitates the assembly considerably.

Description

The invention concerns a Venetian blind in which the slats are pivotably

suspended by means of ladder-like support cords from a housing having a base and side walls and in which an end rail is connected by means of lifting cords to a winding shaft s provided for winding up the lifting cords, and said winding shaft becomes displaced axially when rotated to ensure trouble-

free winding and unwinding of the lifting cords, whereby the support cords are attached to bearing devices each having a sleeve pushed onto the winding shaft, said sleeves are secured lo in the bearing device against axial displacement and turn with the winding shaft for pivoting of the slats.

A Venetian blind of this type is known from CH-A-400 816, for instance. Venetian blinds of this type have proved themselves many times in practice. By means of a single drive 15 member, the slats may be vertically moved with the lifting cords and rotated by means of the support cords for opening and closing the Venetian blind. Assembly of these Venetian blinds, however, is relatively laborious. This is due particularly to the fact that the support cords and the lifting cords must each so be attached at their upper end to one of the bearing devices.

With the Venetian blind according to the cited CH-A-400 816, the individual sleeves are each pushed onto the shaft with a support arm. The shaft is then laid in the bearing shell, whereby care must be taken that the sleeves come to rest in the bearing Is grooves. The ladder-like support cords and the lifting cords are only attached to the shaft or support arm when the shaft is seated in the bearing shell.

CH-A-408 694 discloses a similar Venetian blind. In this case, also, attachment of the support cords and the lifting so cords involve very time-consuming assembly work. In the case of a Venetian blind according to EP-B-380 346, the ladder-like support cords are each attached with a holding member to a winding drum. This drum is then inserted into a boxshaped

member. This assembly work is not only time-consuming, but also demands a relatively large degree of practical skill.

The invention is based on the aim of providing a Venetian blind of the aforementioned type that is simpler and quicker to assemble, while also being reliable in operation.

The aim is fulfilled with a Venetian blind of this generic type in that the base or side walls of the housing have openings through which the bearing devices are inserted into said housing. It is fundamental to the invention that the support lo cords and the lifting cords may be attached to the bearing devices before their assembly. The bearing devices may be completely assembled with the support cords and the lifting cords. The bearing devices are then inserted through said openings into the housing. Insertion of the bearing devices does not take place as before through an end opening or from above the housing, but through an opening in the base or in a side wall of the housing. The insertion direction runs transverse to the longitudinal direction of the housing.

Assembly of the bearing devices is particularly simple if to the openings are arranged in the base of the housing. Preferably locking means are provided on the bearing devices with which the bearing devices may be locked on the edge of one of said openings. The bearing devices may then be inserted into the housing very simply and quickly without tools and removably 25 attached to it.

Further advantageous features are disclosed in the dependent claims, the following description, and the drawings.

Examples of the invention will now be described in greater detail by reference to the drawings. These show: so Fig. 1 a spatial view of a Venetian blind according to the invention whereby parts are shown exploded for illustrative reasons,

Fig. 2 a spatial view of the housing and the parts situated therein, whereby these are shown exploded for illustrative reasons, Fig. 3 the parts in Fig. 2, but in installed condition, s Fig. 4 a spatial representation of individual and exploded parts of the Venetian blind according to the invention, Fig. 5 schematically, the installation of a Venetian blind in a housing drawn in sections, and Fig. 6 a partial section through a variant of the lo Venetian blind according to the invention.

Seen in cross-section, the Venetian blind 1 has an approximately U-shaped housing 10 which, for instance, is to be attached in horizontal orientation to a building wall (not shown here). The housing 10 comprises, for instance, an aluminium 5 profile and has a base 8 and two parallel side walls 9. Into the housing 10 are inserted through, for instance, two openings 11 separated from each other, bearing devices 6 that accept a shaft 5 and carry a plurality of horizontally arranged preferably flexible slats 2. Lifting cords 4 are each linked at a lower end JO to an end rail 2a and at an upper end 4a to the winding shaft 5.

By means of the winding shaft 5, the lifting cords 4 may be wound and unwound and the end rail 2 thereby lifted and lowered.

For pivoting of the slats 2, ladder-like support cords 3 are attached to the end rail 2a and the slats 2. Two strands 3a, of :5 which only one is shown in Fig. 1 are each attached at their upper end and lie in a guide groove 18 (Fig. 4) of a sleeve 7 which is attached in non-slip manner to the winding shaft 5. The friction between the sleeves 7 and the lifting cords 4 is so great that the slats 2 are pivotable to a limited extent in one so or the other direction by rotation of the sleeves 7.

As can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3, a threaded bolt 27 is inserted into the housing 10 and attached to it with a holding member 27a. Screwed onto the bolt 27 is a threaded spigot 20, which has an internal thread 20a and is inserted in non-slip

manner into one end of the winding shaft 5. The other end of the winding shaft 5 also accepts in non-slip manner another spigot 19 having a hexagonal through hole 19a for accepting a hexagonal rod 21. This hexagonal rod 21 is linked to a drive 28 inserted 5 into the end of the housing 10 and having a bead chain 29 or other endless drive member. By pulling on the bead chain 29, the hexagonal rod 21 and thereby the winding shaft 5 may be rotated in one direction or the other. As a result, depending on the rotation direction, the winding shaft 5 is moved towards or away lo from the holding member 27a. This axial displacement enables trouble-free winding of the lifting cords 4 onto the winding shaft 5. This is known per se. Attachment of the lifting cords 4 to the winding shaft 5 takes place through attachment members 22, each engaging in a groove 5a in the winding shaft 5 and to is each of which one end 14a of a lifting cord 4 is attached, for instance, firmly clamped.

The bearing devices 6 each comprise a bearing shell 6, a sleeve 7 and a guide member 17. These three parts are preferably made as injection moulded items from plastic and engage 20 detachably with each other. Internally, the sleeve 7 has a moulded cam 23, which engages in the groove 5a and forms a driver. Externally, the sleeve 7 has the aforementioned guide groove 18 and parallel to it a broader slot 24 (Fig. 4) into which two elastic bearing arms 16a (shown in Fig. 2) engage.

25 These bearing arms 16a form a semicircular bearing surface 16b for the sleeve 7. The sleeve 7 is preferably latched onto the bearing shell 16. The guide member 17 has two arms 17a and a tongue-shaped protruding guide flap 17b. The guide member 17 covers the sleeve 7 in places and prevents the support cord 3 30 sliding out of the guide groove 18 in its upper region.

Fig. 5 shows the three parts 7, 16 and 17 in assembled condition. The support cord 3 lies with its upper end in the guide groove 18 and is guided by two horizontally extending and

parallel arms 25 of the bearing shell 16. Between these arms 25 is a guide member 26 for the lifting cord 4.

The assembly of the Venetian blind according to the invention will now be described.

s The two strands 3a are joined to each other at their upper ends and the resulting LOOP is inserted into the guide groove 18 of the sleeve 7. The sleeve 7 is now latched onto the bearing shell 16. The upper end 4a of the lifting cord 4 is pulled through the guide opening of the guide member 26 and the member 0 22 attached to the end 4a. This procedure is repeated for all the bearing devices 6. The bearing devices 6 are now assembled as in Fig. 5. Next they are inserted, according to Fig. 5, in the direction of the arrow 29 through the opening 11 into the housing 9 and preferably latched in place. As locking means, 15 elastic catches 14 are attached to each of the bearing shells 16, said catches engaging in one edge 15 of the housing 9. The two arms 25 each lie internally on the opposing edge 15a of the housing 9. Once the bearing devices 6 are assembled, the winding shaft 5 is fitted with the spigots 20 and 19 and inserted in JO longitudinal direction into the housing 10. Now the attachment members 22 are inserted into the groove 5a and the threaded bolt 27 and the drive 28 is assembled with the hexagonal rod 21. This completes assembly and the Venetian blind 1 may, for instance, be mounted on a building wall.

25 The variant shown in Fig. 6 differs from that described above through the design of the bearing shell 16'. This has in its lower region an elastic moulded locking tongue 30 and a locking lip 31. The locking tongue 30 and the locking lip 31 run parallel to each other. The locking lip 31 engages underneath so the opening 11, while the locking tongue 30 rests with a shoulder 32 internally. This embodiment permits a particularly simple and secure latching into the housing 10.

Claims

1. Venetian blind whereby the slats (2) are pivotably suspended by means of ladder-like support cords (3) from a 5 housing (10) having a base (8) and side walls (9) and an end rail (2a) is connected by means of lifting cords (4) to a winding shaft (5) provided for winding up the lifting cords (4), which becomes displaced axially when rotated to ensure trouble-

free winding and unwinding of the lifting cords (4), whereby the lo support cords (3) are attached to bearing devices (6) for the winding shaft (5), each having a sleeve (7) pushed onto the winding shaft (5), said sleeves (7) are secured in the bearing devices (6) against axial displacement and turn with the winding shaft (5) to pivot the slats (2), characterized in that the base 15 (8) or the side walls (9) of the housing (10) have openings (11) through which the bearing devices (6) are inserted into said housing (10) and are attached to it.

2. Venetian blind according to Claim 1, characterized in that the openings (11) are arranged in the base (8) of the JO housing (10).

3. Venetian blind according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bearing devices (6) each have locking means (14), with which they are each locked on the edge (15, 15a) of one of said openings (11).

25

4. Venetian blind according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the bearing devices (6) each have a bearing shell (16) on which one of said sleeves (7) is rotatably mounted.

5. Venetian blind according to one of the claims 1 to 4, So characterized in that the bearing devices (6) each have a guide member (17), each at least partially covering a sleeve (7).

6. Venetian blind according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the sleeves (7) each have externally a surrounding guide groove (18) into which the upper closed end of a support cord (3) is inserted.

5

7. Venetian blind according to one of the claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the openings (11) are rectangular, and preferably approximately square.

6. Venetian blind according to Claim 5, characterized in that the guide member (17) and the bearing shell (16) enclose the sleeve (7) in a ring form.

7. Venetian blind according to one of the claims l to 6, characterized in that the sleeves (7) each have externally a surrotmding guide groove (18) into which the upper closed end of a support cord (3) is inserted.

5

8. Venetian blind according to one of the claims 3 to 7, characterized in that the openings (11) are rectangular, and preferably approximately square.

Claims 1. Venetian blind whereby the slats (2) are pivotably suspended by means of ladder-like support cords (3) from a 5 housing (10) having a base (8) and side walls (9) and an end rail (2a) is connected by means of lifting cords (4) to a winding shaft (5) provided for winding up the lifting cords (4), which becomes displaced axially when rotated to ensure trouble-

free winding and unwinding of the lifting cords (4), whereby the lo support cords (3) are attached to bearing devices (6) for the winding shaft (5), each having a sleeve (7) pushed onto the winding shaft (5), said sleeves (7) are secured in the bearing devices (6) against axial displacement and turn with the winding shaft (5) to pivot the slats (2), characterized in that the base 15 (8) or the side walls (9) of the housing (10) have openings (11) through which the bearing devices (6) are inserted into said housing (10) and are attached to it and that the bearing devices (6) each have a guide member (17) which at least partially covers a sleeve (7) in each case.

JO 2. Venetian blind according to Claim 1, characterized in that the openings (11) are arranged in the base (8) of the housing (10).

3. Venetian blind according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bearing devices (6) each have locking means (14), 25 with which they are each locked on the edge (15, 15a) of one of said openings (11).

4. Venetian blind according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the bearing devices (6) each have a bearing shell (16) on which one of said sleeves (7) is rotatably 3 0 mounted.

5. Venetian blind according to Claim 1, characterized in that the guide member (17) and the bearing shell (16) enclose the sleeve (7) in a ring form.