GB2427430A

GB2427430A - Electric window covering

Info

Publication number: GB2427430A
Application number: GB0512653A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Li-Ming Cheng
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-06-21
Filing date: 2005-06-21
Publication date: 2006-12-27
Also published as: GB0512653D0

Abstract

An electric window covering includes an upper rail 10, a lower rail 20, a slat lifting assembly 30, a transmission means 40, an electric remote controller 50 and a plurality of width extending elements 60. The transmission means 40 includes a first motor 41 which is coupled with a transmission shaft 42 via a flexible coupling 43 so that when the first motor 41 drives the transmission shaft 42 to rotate, the loading on the first motor 41 may be reduced to increase the life span of the electric window covering. The electric remote controller 50 has a detachable battery seat 52 to facilitate replacement of batteries 521. The width extending elements 60 are coupled on the openings 11, 21 and 515 of the upper rail 10, lower rail 20 and a case 51 of the electric remote controller 50, and are coupled via a fastening element 64. The width extending elements include an inner side element 61, an outer side element 63 and connecting elements 62 that may be assembled or disassembled during installation, to alter the width of the window covering to correspond to the width of windows or doors.

Description

ELECTRIC WINDOW COVERING

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electric window covering and particularly to an electric window shutter that controls the movement of slats electrically in a remote fashion and can replace batteries easily and alter the total length and reduce motor loading.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A conventional electric window shutter 80 as shown in FIG. I usually includes an upper rail 81 and a lower rail 82 that are spaced from each other, slats 83 located between the upper rail 81 and the lower rail 82 that can be folded and stacked together, and a plurality of lift cords threading through the slats 83. The upper rail 81 contains an electric transmitter 84. The electric transmitter 84 mainly includes electric control elements (not shown in the drawing), a motor 841 and a transmission rod 842. The transmission rod 842 is coupled with the lift cords and controlled by the motor 841 for moving. The upper rail 81 further has a batter chamber 811 to houses a battery 85 and a detachable battery cover 812 that provides electric power to the electric transmitter 84. When in use, the electric transmitter 84 controls the operation of the motor 841 which in turn drives the transmission rod 842 to rotate. Then the lift cords are moved to hoist or lower the slats 83 to block sunshine and serve ornamental purpose. However the electric window shutter previously discussed still has problems when in use, notably: 1. Replacement of battery is difficult: To change the battery 85, many operation steps are needed, including removing the battery cover 812, replacing the battery 85, and mounting the battery cover 812. As the battery chamber 811 is located on the upper rail 81 which is installed on the window or door at a higher elevation from the floor, users have to raise hands to do the aforesaid operations, hence changing battery is not convenient. If user's physical height cannot reach the upper rail, a chair or other foot padding has to be used to do battery replacement. It is troublesome. 2. The width of the window shutter cannot be altered to suit the width of doors and windows: Many electric window shutters 80 now on the market are designed to be installed by users themselves. But the available dimensions of the electric shutters 80 on the market are limited. There are occasions that the width of the doors or windows is different from the widths of the upper rail 81, lower rail 82 and slats 83. While users can generally trim the slats 83 of a longer width to mate the width of the doors or windows, trimming the upper rail 81 and lower rail 82 is more difficult, and often has to be done by special technicians. Hence installation is more difficult. Moreover, after the upper rail 81 and lower rail 82 have been trimmed, the overall structure is damaged and the appealing suffers. 3. Shorter life span: After use for a period of time, the transmission rod 842 of the electric transmitter 84 tends to bend and deform. As a result, the axis of the transmission rod 842 could be not aligned with the motor 841 that are fixedly coupled together. Thus when the motor 841 rotates, the driving load of the motor 841 increases, and the motor 841 is easier to be damaged after use for a period of time. And the life span of the electric shutter 80 decreases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore the primary object of the present invention is to provide an electric window covering to solve the aforesaid problems occurred to the conventional electric window shutters such as difficult to change batteries, shorter life span and the like, and provide an easier match with the width of doors and windows during installation by users. In order to achieve the foregoing object, the electric window covering according to the invention mainly includes an upper rail, a lower rail, a slat lifting assembly, a transmission means, an electric remote controller and a plurality of moving elements. The slat lifting assembly is located between the upper rail and the lower rail that are spaced from each other. The transmission means includes a first motor, a transmission shaft and a flexible coupler that are located in the upper rail. The first motor and the transmission shaft are bridged by the flexible coupler. The electric remote controller is located on an upper opening on one side of the upper rail, and includes a case, a battery seat, a second motor and electronic control elements. The case has a signal receiver. The battery seat may be detached from the case.The second motor and electronic control elements are located in the case. The signal receiver receives an external signal to control operation of the first and second motors through the electronic control elements, thereby to control operation of the slat lifting assembly. The moving elements are located in the upper rail opening, lower rail opening and case opening of the electronic remote controller, and include an inner side element, an outer side element and connecting elements that are removable to alter the length and may be fastened through a fastening element. By means of the construction set forth above, the invention can achieve the following effects: 1. By adopting a detachable design of the battery seat from the case of the electric remote controller, change of battery is easier; 2. The inner side element, outer side element and connecting elements of the moving elements can be assembled and disassembled to alter the length so that the width of the window covering can be changed to suit the width of the doors and windows when installed by users; 3. The first motor and transmission shaft of the transmission means are coupled by the flexible coupler, thus the motor loading during driving the transmission shaft can be reduced, and the life span of the electric window covering increases. The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional electric shutter. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a top view of the upper rail and transmission means of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the electric remote controller of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the electric remote controller of the present invention in a use condition. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the present invention adopted for use on a fabric covering. FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the moving elements of the invention. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the moving elements of the invention in an assembled condition. FIG. 10 is an exploded view of another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 11 is another exploded view of another embodiment of the invention.FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the invention adopted for use on a window shade. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the invention adopted for use on a window shutter. FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the moving elements after the length has been changed. FIG. 15 is a schematic view of the transmission means of the invention in an operating condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENTS Please referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the electric window covering according to the invention mainly includes an upper rail 10, a lower rail 21, a slat lifting assembly 30, a transmission means 40, an electric remote controller 50 and a plurality of moving elements 60. The upper rail 10 is a hollow and elongated track having two ends formed respectively an upper opening 11. The lower rail 20 is an elongated track located beneath the upper opening 11 and spaced therefrom, and has two ends formed respectively a lower opening 21. The slat lifting assembly 30 is located between the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 20, and includes slats 31, a first lift cord 32 and a second lift cord 33. The slats 31 may be slats of a Venetian blind or pleats of a window shade. In an embodiment shown in the drawings, the slats 31 are the slats of a Venetian blind connected to the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 20. The first lift cord 32 has one end connected to the lower rail 20 and other end extended into the upper rail 10. The second lift cord 33 threads through the slats 31 and has one end extended into the upper rail 10. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the transmission means 40 is located in the upper rail 10, and mainly includes a first motor 41, a transmission shaft 42, a flexible coupler 43 and a coupling seat 44. The first motor 41 has a first rotation driving end 411. The transmission shaft 42 is pivotally coupled with the coupling seat 44 and runs through the interior of the upper rail 10, and has one end connected to the first rotation driving end 411 through the flexible coupler 43, and other end connected to the one end of the first lift cord 32 that is extended into the upper rail 10 (not shown in the drawings). The flexible coupler 43 is a hollow and flexible tube or the like as shown in FIG. 3. It has two ends coupled with a first fastener 45 and a second fastener 46. The first fastener 45 has a first fastening hole 451 on one side facing and coupling with the first rotation driving end 411 of the first motor 41. The second fastener 46 has a second fastening hole 461 on one side facing and coupling with one end of the transmission shaft 42. Hence by means of the coupler 43, one end of the transmission shaft 42 is coupled with the first rotation driving end 411 of the first motor 41. Referring to FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, the electric remote controller 50 is mounted in one upper opening 11 of the upper rail 10. The mounting may be done by screwing, soldering or the like. The electric remote controller 50 mainly includes a case 51, a battery seat 52, a second motor 53 and electronic control elements (not shown in the drawings). The case 51 has a first housing chamber 511 and a second housing chamber 512 opposing each other, and an installation slot 513 on a front side corresponding to the first housing chamber 511. Inside the installation slot 513 there is an electric conductive element 516. The case 51 further has an aperture 514 on one side facing the upper rail 10 communicating with the second housing chamber 512. The one end of the second lift cord 33 extended into the upper rail 10 threads through the aperture 514 into the second housing chamber 512.The case 51 has an opening 515 on another side opposing the aperture 514, and a signal receiver 517 on the front side. The second motor 53 is located in the second housing chamber 512 and has a second rotation driving end 531 coupled with a reel 532 which is connected to the second lift cord 33. The second motor 53 is electrically connected to the electric conductive element 516 through a power cord 533. The battery seat 52 is coupled with the installation slot 513 of the case 51 in a removable manner for holding batteries 521. When coupled with the installation slot 513, the batteries 521 are held in the first housing chamber 511 and in contact with the electric conductive element 516 to supply electric power for the electric remote controller 50.The electronic control elements in the case 51 is connected to the signal receiver 517, second motor 53 and first motor 41 of the transmission means 40 (not shown in the drawings). After the signal receiver 517 has received an external signal the first motor 41 and the second motor 53 are operated through the electronic control elements. Referring to FIG. 5, the case 51 has an anchor trough 513a on an inner edge where the installation slot 513 is formed, and a recess 513b on an inner edge of an opposite side. The battery seat 52 has a boss 521 on one side corresponding to the anchor trough 513a, and a hook 522 on another side. The case 51 has a latch portion (not shown in the drawings) to be coupled with the hook 522. Referring to FIG. 6, for installing the battery seat 52, latch the boss 521 in the anchor trough 513a, and engage the hook 522 with the latch portion of the case 51. To remove the battery seat 52 from the case 51, a user's finger may be inserted into the recess 513b to remove the battery seat 52 outwards by force. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the second housing chamber 512 has an axle 54 on the front end corresponding to the reel 532 of the second motor 53 to hold the second lift cord 33 to facilitate winding or releasing of the second lift cord 33 by the reel 532. Referring to FIG. 5, a lid 55 is provided on the case 51 to cover the first housing chamber 511 and the second housing chamber 512 to facilitate separation and installation of the elements contained therein. Referring to FIG. 7, the signal receiver 517 adopts a detachable design on the case 51. It is connected to the electronic control elements through another power cord 518. When the invention is adopted for use on a fabric window covering A, the signal receiver 517 may be removed from the electronic remote controller 50 and hung on an outer side of the fabric window covering A to avoid interference of signal transmission and receiving of the electric remote controller 50. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 8, the moving elements 60 are coupled on the upper opening 11 on one side of the upper rail 10, the lower openings 21 on two sides of the lower rail 20, and the opening 515 on one side of the case 51. The coupling may be done by screwing or the like. The coupling elements 60 mainly include an inner side element 61, an outer side element 63, and one or more connecting element 62 bridging the inner side element 61 and the outer side element 63. The inner side element 61, the outer side element 63 and connecting elements 62 are fastened through a fastening element 64. They may be assembled and disassembled as desired. The inner side element 61 has a coupling portion 611 to be coupled with the opening 515 of the case 51, upper opening 11 of the upper rail 10 and lower opening 21 of the lower rail 20. The inner side element 61 further has a screw hole 612. The connecting element 62 is located on one side of the inner side element 61 opposite to the coupling portion 611. When there are a plurality of connecting elements 62, they may be designed and formed in a shape mating each other. The connecting element 62 has an aperture 621 corresponding to the screw hole 612 of the inner side element 61. The outer side element 63 is located on another side of the connecting element 62 opposing the inner side element 61, and has an aperture 631 corresponding to the screw hole 612 of the inner side element 61. The fastening element 64 has one end formed a screw thread section 641 and another end formed a head 642 to be driven for turning. The one end of the fastening element 64 where the screw thread section 641 is formed can run through the aperture 631 of the outer side element 63 and the aperture 621 of the connecting element 62 to engage with the screw hole 612 of the inner side element 61, so that the head 642 can press the inner side element 61, connecting element 62 and the outer side element 63 to form a firm coupling without loosening off. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, one side of the connecting element 62 facing the inner side element 61 may have a first latch flange 622 and an first anchor trough 623 on other side corresponding to the first latch flange 622 so that the connecting elements 62 may be coupled together by latching each other. The inner side element 61 also may have a second anchor trough 613 on one side corresponding to the coupling portion 611 to be latched by the first latch flange 622 of a neighboring connecting element 62. The outer side element 63 may have a second latch flange 632 on one side corresponding to the connecting element 62 to latch in the first anchor trough 623 of a neighboring connecting element 62.Therefore, the inner side element 61, connecting elements 62 and outer side element 63, besides to be coupled by the fastening element 64, may also be coupled through the latch flanges 622 and 632, and the anchor troughs 613 and 623 to achieve a more secured coupling and anchoring effect. In addition, the cross section of the inner side element 61, connecting elements 62 and outer side element 63 may be formed in a geometric shape mating that of the upper rail 10, lower rail 20 or the case 51 of the electric remote controller 50. Referring to FIG. 10, the cross section of the inner side element 61, connecting elements 62 and outer side element 63 may be formed substantially in a rectangular shape, or an oval shape as shown in FIG. 11 so that the moving elements 60 may be coupled on the lateral sides of the upper rail 10, lower rail 20 or electric remote controller 50 and provide ornamental effect. Moreover, the moving elements 60 may also be used on the general window covering of different slats. FIG. 12 illustrates one that has the moving elements 60 adopted for use on a general window shade 71 with pleats but without an electric remote controller. The moving elements 60 are coupled on two sides of an upper rail 711 and a lower rail 712 of the window shade 71. FIG. 13 illustrates another one that has the moving elements 60 adopted for use on a general Venetian blind 72 without an electric remote controller. The moving elements 60 are coupled on two sides of an upper rail 721 and a lower rail 722 of the Venetian blind 72. Thus the invention can be widely adapted to different types of window coverings. For installing the electric window covering of the invention, users can first measure the width of the windows or doors; then purchase an electric window covering of a suitable specification. If there is no window covering mating exactly the width of the window or door, one that has a width slightly larger than the window or door may be selected. Referring to FIG. 2, for installation, trim the width of the slats 31 to mate the width of the window or door. Referring to FIG. 14, configure and alter the total length of the moving elements 60 by selecting the inner side element 61, outer side element 63 and a desired number of the connecting elements 62 and couple them by the fastening element 64 so that the total length of the upper rail 10, lower rail 20 and the electric remote controller 50 (including the moving elements 60) mates the width of the window or door to smooth installation. When in use, referring to the drawings previously discussed, prepare and ready the electric remote controller 50. The signal receiver 517 can receive a selected signal, and the first motor 41 of the transmission means 40 and the second motor 53 of the electric remote controller 50 are activated by the electronic control elements. The transmission shaft 42 can rotate in the positive direction or reverse to drive the slats 3 to a selected angle through the first lift cord 32, thereby to block or receive light. When the second motor 53 drives the reel 532 to turn in the positive direction or reverse, the reel 532 can wind or release the second lift cord 33 to hoist the slats 31 for folding or lower the slats 31 for extending. Thus operation is easier and control of the window covering is more effective to achieve the function of blocking light or ornamental purpose. When there is a desire to change the batteries, referring to FIG. 6, the battery seat 52 of the electric remote controller 50 may be removed from the case 51, and the batteries 521 on the battery seat 52 may be replaced. Then the battery seat 52 may be mounted onto the case 51 again. Hence users do not have to raise hands to replace the batteries 521 other asides from removing the battery seat 52. The transmission shaft 42 of the transmission means 40 might be bent slightly after use for a period of time, and the axis of the transmission shaft 42 might be not aligned with first rotation driving end 411 of the first motor 41. As shown in FIG. 15, due to the first motor 41 and the transmission shaft 42 are coupled through the flexible coupler 43, the axes of the first rotation driving end 411 and the transmission shaft 42 may be controlled on the same base reference line via the flexibility of the flexible coupler 43 during rotation. Thus the driving load on the first motor 41 can be reduced, and the life span of the electric window covering increases.

Claims

1. An electric window covering, comprising: an upper rail formed in a hollow and elongated track having two upper openings on two ends; a lower rail formed in an elongated track and located beneath the upper rail and spaced from the upper rail; a slat lifting assembly located between the upper rail and the lower rail including slats connecting to the upper rail and the lower rail, a first lift cord which has one end connecting to the lower rail and other end extended into the upper rail, and a second lift cord which threads through the slats and has one end extended into the upper rail; a transmission means located in the upper rail including a first motor, a transmission shaft, a flexible coupler and a coupling seat, the first motor having a first rotation driving end, the transmission shaft running through the interior of the upper rail through the coupling seat and having one end coupled to the first rotation driving end through the flexible coupler, the transmission shaft being connected to the first lift cord extended into the upper rail; an electric remote controller located on the upper opening at one end of the upper rail including a case, a battery seat, a second motor and electronic control elements, the case having a signal receiver and an installation slot, the installation slot having an electric conductive element on an inner side, the case having an aperture on one side facing the upper rail to allow one end of the second lift cord to pass through and an opening on another end, the second motor being held in the case to be electrically connected to the electric conductive element, the second motor having a second rotation driving end which has a reel to connect to the second lift cord, the battery seat being installable and removable through the installation slot, and having batteries connecting to the electric conductive element, the electronic control elements being located in the case and connected to the signal receiver, the second motor of the electric remote controller, and the first motor of the transmission means; and a plurality of moving elements located on the upper opening, lower openings of the lower rail and the opening of the case of the electric remote controller including an inner side element, an outer side element and at least one connecting element bridging the inner side element and the outer side element, the inner side element, the connecting element and the outer side element being coupled together through a fastening element, the inner side element having a coupling portion on one side to be coupled with the upper opening of the upper rail, the lower opening of the lower rail and the opening of the case of the electric remote controller.

2. The electric window covering as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner side element has a screw hole, the connecting element having an aperture corresponding to the screw hole of the inner side element, the outer side element having another aperture corresponding to the screw hole of the inner side element, the fastening element having a screw thread section on one end and a head on other end, the one end where the screw thread section is formed running through the another aperture of the outer side element and the aperture of the connecting element to engage with the screw hole of the inner side element.

3. The electric window covering as claimed in claim 1, wherein the case of the electric remote controller has an anchor trough on an inner edge of one side of the installation slot and a recess on another edge of another side, the battery seat having a boss on one side corresponding to the anchor trough and a hook on another side, the case having a coupling portion to engage with the hook.

4. The electric window covering as claimed in claim 1, wherein the case of the electric remote controller has an axle on a front end corresponding to the reel to hold the second lift cord.

5. The electric window covering as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting element has a first latch flange on one side facing the inner side element and a first anchor trough on another side corresponding to the first latch flange, the inner side element having a second anchor trough on one side corresponding to the connecting element to couple with the first latch flange of a neighboring connecting element, the outer side element having a second latch flange on one side corresponding to the connecting element to couple with the first anchor trough of the neighboring connecting element.

6. The electric window covering as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal receiver is separated from the case and connected to the electronic control elements via a power cord.

7. The electric window covering as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible coupler is a hollow and flexible tube.

8. The electric window covering as claimed in claim 7, wherein the flexible coupler has two ends to couple with a first fastener and a second fastener, the first fastener having a first anchor hole on one side facing the first motor to be coupled with the first rotation driving end, the second fastener having a second anchor hole on one side facing the transmission shaft to couple with one end of the transmission shaft.

9. An electric window covering, substantially as described and illustrated herein with reference to FIGS.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.