GB2481448A

GB2481448A - Roller blind compensator apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2481448A
Application number: GB1010725.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Braybrook
Original assignee: Levolux AT Ltd
Current assignee: Levolux AT Ltd
Priority date: 2010-06-25
Filing date: 2010-06-25
Publication date: 2011-12-28
Also published as: GB201010725D0

Abstract

Roller blind compensator apparatus 10 comprises an elongate tubular blind material support 12, a pre-tensionable compensator element 14, for example a spring, for biasing the blind material support 12 in a rotational direction, a boss element 16 at one end of the blind material support 12, and an outwardly-biased pin 18 for engagement with a wall-mounting bracket and which is slidable in the boss element 16. The outwardly-biased pin 18 is angularly fixed relative to at least part of the compensator element 14. There is also included a releasable locking mechanism 70 which has a first lock part on the outwardly-biased pin 18 and a second lock part on the boss element 16. The first lock part engages the second lock part whereby the compensator element 14 is held angularly relative to the boss element 16 when the outwardly-biased pin 18 is fully or substantially fully extended, and the first lock part disengages the second lock part such that compensated rotation of the blind material support 12 can occur when the outwardly-biased pin 18 is moved axially inwards.

Description

Rotter Blind Compensator Apparatus The present invention relates to roller blind compensator apparatus.

It is often the case that roller blinds are spring-compensated. This is particulafly so in larger installations where the blind material can be heavy. It is often required that the roller blind is pre-tensioned prior to leaving the manufacturer, so that multiple roller blinds being installed at a single location will all have uniform or substantially uniform lifts and falls.

The maintenance of the pre-tensioning of the compensator spring in storage and transit is an area of difficulty and typically requires independent fixings and fastenings, or in some cases a lockable ratchet mechanism. However, using these systems only allows pre-tensioning or charging of the compensator spring in one direction, and this is readily understood if using a ratchet mechanism. Consequently, presently opposite locking mechanisms which will suit positive and negative charging are thus required.

Furthermore, the known locking systems, such as the ratchet mechanism, is only released once installation is complete and the blind is used for the first time. If the blind is removed, the locking mechanism has to be manually operated to relock the compensator spring in its charged state, and this can be difficult especially with larger blinds.

Additionally, by providing a separate locking system, a side gap is increased between a stud or side wall surface of the window opening and the blind material. This is undesirable. It is often a design requirement that a side edge gap between the blind and the side wall surface be as small as possible to limit light intrusion.

The present invention seeks to provide a solution to these problems.

According to a the present invention, there is provided roller blind compensator apparatus comprising an elongate tubular blind material support, a pre-tensionable compensator element for biasing the blind material support in a rotational direction, a boss element at one end of the blind material support, an outwardly-biased pin for engagement with a wall-mounting bracket and which is slidable in the boss element, the outwardly-biased pin being angularly fixed relative to at least part of the compensator element, and a releasable locking mechanism having a first lock part on the outwardly-biased pin and a second lock part on the boss element, the first lock part engaging the second lock part whereby the compensator element is held angularly relative to the boss element when the outwardly-biased pin is fully or substantially fully extended, and the first lock part disengaging the second lock part such that compensated rotation of the blind material support can occur when the outwardly-biased pin is moved axially inwards.

Preferable and/or optional features of the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 10, inclusive.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of one embodiment of roller blind compensator apparatus, in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a lockable end of the roller blind compensator apparatus, shown in Figure 1 and with an end pin outwardly spring-biased; Figure 3 is an enlarged view similar to that of Figure 2, but showing the end pin in an inward condition thereby releasing a locking mechanism; Figure 4 is a perspective view of an end boss shown in Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of the end pin.

Refening to the drawings, there is shown one embodiment of roller blind compensator apparatus 10 which comprises an elongate tubular support 12 for supporting blind material thereon, a compensator spring element 14 in the support 12, a boss element 16 at one end of the support 12 and onto which the blind material can extend, and an outwardly-spring-biased pin 18 which projects from the boss element 16 and which forms an extension to at least part of the compensator spring element 14.

The support 12 is preferably hollow, having a uniform bore 20 along its longitudinal extent. The support 12 is rigid, and may be cylindrical. Typically, the support 12 may be formed from aluminium, other metal, or plastics. The support 12 may also include an elongate longitudinal clamping strip for attaching one end of blind material to the support 12 ready for winding.

A decelerator 22 may be provided at one end of the support 12, opposite the boss element 16. The in use decelerator 22 controls a fall rate of the blind material so that undue stress and strain on the roller blind is largely avoided, especially when large and therefore heavy blinds are utilised.

The compensator spring element 14 includes a, typically metal and coiled, compensator spring 24 and an axle element 26 which extends through the support 12. The axle element 26, in this embodiment, is a solid or hollow rectilinear cylindrical rod or shaft having a uniform or substantially uniform lateral cross-section along at least the majority of its longitudinal extent. An outside diameter of the axle element 26 is less than an inside diameter of the support 12 and of the compensator spring 24. The compensator spring 24 therefore coils around the axle element 26 and is attached to the axle element 26 at or adjacent to the decelerator end 28 of the support 12. A first end 30 of the axle element 26 thus projects out of the support 12 and beyond the decelerator 22 so as to be engagable with a first wall-mounting bracket.

The other end 32 of the axle element 26 projects out of the support 12 and is received in the boss element 16. The boss element 16 and support 12 are thus coaxially aligned. The boss element 16 is preferably metal or moulded plastics. It is substantially cylindrical and includes a bottomed cylindrical bore 34 having a circular opening 36 complementary dimensioned to receive the axle element 26 therethrough as a sliding rotatable fit. An integrally formed end wall 38 of the boss element 16 also includes a threaded boss 40 for threadably engaging the compensator spring 24. The threaded boss is coaxial with the circular opening 36 for receiving the axle element 26.

An end cap 42 closes the open end 44 of the boss element 16 opposite the end wall 38.

The end cap 42 in this case is moulded plastics or metal and may be, for example, a push or press fit into the bore 20 of the boss element 16.

The end cap 42 includes a first generally circular recessed portion 46 having a plurality of teeth 48 formed to project radially inwardly from a perimeter wall 50 of the recessed portion 46. The teeth 48 are equi-angularly spaced apart around the perimeter wall 50 and do not extend in an axial direction of the end cap 42 beyond the plane of the end surface 52 of the perimeter wall 50.

The end cap 42 includes an axial through-opening 54 in an end surface of the recessed portion 46. An end boss 56 extends from the end cap 42 so as to be coaxial with the axial through-opening 54. The end boss 56 is slightly axially proud of the perimeter wall 50 of the end cap 42.

The outwardly-spring-biased pin 18 is slidably and rotatably received through the axial through-opening 54. The pin 18 is elongate and is engaged at its interior end 58 with the end 32 of the axle element 26. The axle element 26 is thereby provided, via the pin 18, with an extendable and retractable end portion, and the axle element 26 is thus length

adjustable.

The pin 18 includes an axially extending bottomed bore 60 having an opening 62 at its interior end 58. A coil pin spring 64 is provided in the bottomed bore 60, and the bore 60 is complementarily dimensioned to receive the end 32 of the axle element 26 as a close sliding fit. To retain the end 32 of the axle element 26 in the bottomed bore 60, opposing elongate slots 66 are provided longitudinally in walls of the bottomed bore 60 and a laterally extending key 68, for example, a shaft, rod or pin, extends from an end portion of the axle element 26 so as to be slidably received in the slots 66. Other means of engaging or coupling the end 32 of the axle element 26 with the outwardly-spring-biased pin 18 can also be considered, such as screw-threaded engagement, bonding, and welding. Consequently, the pin 18 is biased by the internal pin spring 64 acting against the axle element 26 to project in an outwards direction from the end cap 42.

The teeth 48 of the recessed portion 46 of the end cap 42 form part of a releasable locking mechanism 70 of the compensator apparatus 10. Another part of the locking mechanism 70 is provided by a discontinuous or non-uniformly continuous flange 72 formed, in this case integrally as one-piece, with the outwardly-spring-biased pin 18.

The pin 18 and flange 72 may be metal or plastics. If the flange 72 is separate of the pin 18, then the flange 72 and pin 18 should be angularly fixed relative to each other. For example, the flange 72 may be keyed to the pin 18, or attached by bonding.

Gaps 74 around the perimeter of the flange 72 are preferably complimentarily shaped to receive the teeth 48.

The flange 72 is provided partway along the longitudinal extent of the pin 18 so as to be positioned in the bore 34 of the boss element 16.

With the pin 18 in its fully extended condition, the discontinuous flange 72 is urged into the recessed portion 46 of the end cap 42 by the pin spring 64. The teeth 48 are thus received in the gaps 74 of the flange 72, and the pin 18 and end cap 42 become angularly and axially engaged. The end cap 42 is engaged with the boss element 16 sufficiently so that the pin 18 becomes angularly locked relative to the boss element 16.

With the pin 18 in a retracted position, as shown in Figure 3, the discontinuous flange 72 becomes axially spaced from the end cap 42, and thus disengaged from the teeth 48 in the recessed portion 46.

The compensator spring 24 is thus pre-tensioned by winding the axle element 26 with the flange 72 disengaged from the teeth 48 of the end cap 42. Once suitably tensioned, the pin 18 is released so that it projects to its fullest or maximum extent from the end cap 42 and thus the flange 72 engages with the teeth 48 in the recessed portion 46.

Consequently, this locks the compensator spring 24 in its pre-tensioned or wound state relative to the boss element 16. The roller blind compensator apparatus 10 can then be stored or transported to the installation site.

For installation, a wall-mounting bracket is utilised at the boss element 16 end. The wall-mounting bracket is fixable to a stud or side wall of a window recess or opening, close to the header. Preferably, the wall-mounting bracket has a low profile so that a minimum amount of gap or space exists between the blind material wound on the support 12 and the header of the window opening. The wall-mounting bracket therefore has a bracket body with, for example, a ramped portion leading to a pin recess. The outwardly-spring biased pin 18 is thus slid along the ramped portion until it enters the pin recess. The pin recess has a depth which is sufficient to hold the outwardly-spring-biased pin 18 in an at least partially depressed condition whereby the discontinuous flange 72 is spaced and thus disengaged from the end cap 42. Once engaged with the wall-mounting bracket, the compensator spring 24 thus becomes automatically released and is ready for operation.

An end of the pin and the pin recess are preferably non-circular to prevent relative angular displacement.

Although a lateral cross-sectional shape of the pin along the majority of its longitudinal extent is circular, as is the axial through-opening, other non-circular shapes are feasible to angularly fix the two parts relative to each other. This may be beneficial in guiding the flange into the recessed portion of the end cap so that the teeth more immediately enter their respective gaps.

Similarly, the opening through the threaded boss of the boss element is cylindrical as is the axle element. However, these parts may have colTesponding non-circular lateral cross-sectional shapes. This again may be beneficial to prevent or limit any undesirable relative angular displacement.

Although a coiled compensator spring and pin spring are suggested above, other forms or urging device can be considered, such as rubber.

The axle element is preferably a relatively thin rod or shaft which extends axially within the compensator spring or urging element. However, the axle element may extend along the outside of the compensator spring or urging element, or may only be at one end of the compensator spring or urging element. Although of uniform or substantially uniform lateral cross-section along its longitudinal extent, the axle element may be at least in part conical or frusto-conical, and it may be or include one or more curved portions in the longitudinal direction.

The pin body of the outwardly-biased pin may be received in an end of the axle element instead of vice versa.

Although an outer surface of the boss element is preferably substantially cylindrical or at least in part cylindrical, other non-circular cross-sectional shapes can be considered.

The locking mechanism may be different to that described above. Instead of a discontinuous flange and a recessed portion having radially inwardly projecting teeth, interdigitating castellations may be utilised, for example. In another example of a modification, one of the end cap and the flange may have angularly spaced axial apertures whilst the other may have complementary axially-extending teeth. However, a main benefit of the present embodiments discontinuous flange and radial teeth is that the locking mechanism and thus very robust which is important if pre-tensioning occurs before leaving a factory or depot.

It is thus possible to provide roller blind apparatus which utilises part of a pre-existing compensator element, in this case being the axle element, to lock the pre-tensioned compensator spring or urging element in place prior to installation. The same locking mechanism accommodates a compensator spring or element which is positively or negatively charged. An entirely separate or independent locking mechanism is thus avoided, and only one locking mechanism is required thus allowing for simplified manufacture and cost-reduction. The axle element includes an extendable and retractable end portion, forming the outwardly-biased bracket pin, thus allowing the locking mechanism to be incorporated as part of the wall-bracket mounting mechanism, again thereby reducing components and simplifying production. The boss element also supports a portion of the blind material for winding thereon, thus allowing an edge of the blind material to be positioned closely to the side wall. The locking mechanism therefore does not impinge on the positioning of the blind material, and an edge gap can be kept to a minimum. Additionally, the locking mechanism is automatically released on engagement and, just as importantly, on the disengagement of the outwardly-biased pin with the wall-mounting bracket, thereby simplifying installation and removal.

The embodiments described above are provided by way of examples only, and various other modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. Roller blind compensator apparatus comprising an elongate tubular blind material support, a pre-tensionable compensator element for biasing the blind material support in a rotational direction, a boss element at one end of the blind material support, an outwardly-biased pin for engagement with a wall-mounting bracket and which is slidable in the boss element, the outwardly-biased pin being angularly fixed relative to at least part of the compensator element, and a releasable locking mechanism having a first lock part on the outwardly-biased pin and a second lock part on the boss element, the first lock part engaging the second lock part whereby the compensator element is held angularly relative to the boss element when the outwardly-biased pin is fully or substantially fully extended, and the first lock part disengaging the second lock part such that compensated rotation of the blind material support can occur when the outwardly-biased pin is moved axially inwards.
2. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-tensionable compensator element includes an urging element and an elongate connector element which extends axially of urging element to engage the outwardly-biased pin, the urging element being engaged with the connector element and with the boss element.
3. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the outwardly-biased pin is angularly fixed relative to the connector element.
4. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the connector element is slidably engaged with the outwardly-biased pin.
5. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein an urging element of the outwardly-biased pin urges a pin body relative to the connector element.
6. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first lock part is a discontinuous flange.
7. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second lock part is formed as part of an end cap of the boss element.
8. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second lock part includes a plurality of angularly spaced teeth engagable with complementary openings in the first lock part.
9. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a wall-mounting bracket having a ramped guide portion to a pin-receiving recess.
10. Roller blind compensator apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein a depth of the pin-receiving recess is less than a maximum axial extension of the outwardly-biased pin, so that the first lock part and the second lock part are disengaged.
11. Roller blind compensator apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.*::r: INTELLECTUAL . ... PROPERTY OFFICE 1 1 Application No: GB 1010725.8 Examiner: Mr Philip Lawrence Claims searched: 1-11 Date of search: 30 September 2010 Patents Act 1977: Search Report under Section 17 Documents considered to be relevant: Category Relevant Identity of document and passage or figure of particular relevance to claims X latleast U51853150A (SCHULTES), see whole document noting pin 12 with biasing means g and locking parts el/fl.A -EP2015951 A (WEBASTO), see Abstract and Figures noting pin 44 and locking mechanism 52/54.A -EP1302620A2 (SCHLOTTERER), 16.04.2003 (see WPI Abstract Accession No. 2002- 149160 [20] and Figures).Categories: X Document indicating lack of novelty or inventive A Document indicating technological background and/or state step of the art.Y Document indicating lack of inventive step if P Document published on or after the declared priority date but combined with one or more other documents of before the filing date of this invention.same category.& Member of the same patent family E Patent document published on or after, but with priority date earlier than, the filing date of this application.Field of Search:Search of GB, EP. WO & US patent documents classified in the following areas of the UKCX Worldwide search of patent documents classified in the following areas of the IPC B6OJ; EO6B The following online and other databases have been used in the preparation of this search report EPODOC, WPI International Classification: Subclass Subgroup Valid From EO6B 0009/56 01/01/2006 EO6B 0009/40 01/01/2006 EO6B 0009/90 01/01/2006 Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.ipo.gov.uk