GB2506949A

GB2506949A - Cordless roman blind

Info

Publication number: GB2506949A
Application number: GB201301726A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Edgar Colliander
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-10-16
Filing date: 2013-01-31
Publication date: 2014-04-16
Also published as: GB201301726D0; GB201218535D0

Abstract

A roman blind uses fabric strips in place of lifting cords and an operating chain so as to avoid the possibility of a child becoming entangled and suffering strangulation. The blind may be lifted by a central pull mechanism (fig 10) made from a fabric strip and attached to a spring actuated roller (fig 7) at the top of the blind. Instead of lifting cords, wide strips of fabric may be used, attached at the top to the spring roller tube and at the bottom to a rod located at the base of the blind (fig 9).

Description

Child safe roman hlind Child safety has become of major concern within the window blinds industry in the UK and elsewhere. The problem has been the young children have been known to strangle themselves on blind cords and operating chains.

This design presents a solution for the manufacture of roman blinds with both lifting cords and operating chains totally excluded from the construction.

Roman blinds are made from soft cloth, and made so as to pull up into neat folds when hilly up, and hanging flat when hilly down.

Traditional design of roman blinds The traditional design of roman blinds has been used for certainly 200years, possibly more. Into the fabric cover are sewn horizontal pockets, which contain thin rods made from wood, metal or glass fibre. The fabric cover is attached to the head rail, which incorporates evenly spaced cord runners or eyelets through which lifting cords are guided. Each individual cord is secured near the bottom of the fabric cover and guided through eyelets or specially adapted pocket tapes attached *to each rod. The fabric cover can be lifted by actuating the lifting cords either by gathering them together and pulling them up or by a mechanism that causes a rod inside the head rail to rotate, and rolling the lifting cords on to round drums inside the head rail. This latter design incorporates a looped ball chain attached to the pulling mechanism, and this ball chain can also be the cause of strangulation of a child, In either case the action will lift the blind from the bottom, and because the lifting cords are guided past each horizontal rod, the blind will fold neatly into flat panels. This design and variation thereof is the traditional and current way of manufacturing roman blinds. The drawback is that the lifting cords are exposed at the back of the blind and a young child could potentially strangle themself on the lifting cords or the looped control chain.

New design for roman blinds This new design does away with all lifting cords and looped operating chains, and thus the possibility of strangulation of a small child. The design still incorporates horizontal rods [iiil, but there are no longer any lifting cords at the back of the blind (fig 4). Each lifting cord has been replaced by a strip of pliable material [i], wide enough to negate the possibility of strangulation os a small child. These strips are secured at the top of the blind to a spring actuated roller (fig 7), which eliminates the need for an operating chain.

The spring actuated roller is fitted to a horizontal head rail to which the fabric cover and installation brackets are attached. This roller has toggles that control the action. When the blind is pulled down by pulling the centre pull strip (fig 10), the spring actuated roller will turn, which charges the spring inside the roller tube. The centre pull has an eyelet located at the bottom of it [xivJ for ease of operation. The operation of the blind can be stopped at any point between the hilly up (fig 6) and hilly down (fig 5) positions. When the roller is stopped from turning, the toggles engage and the roller is locked in position. Further pulling downwards will release the toggles, and the roller can turn further, until the blind has reached the hilly down position. At this stage the spring has also been hilly charged. The design is made such that the wide strips of fabric [i] are attached to the lowest horizontal rod [vüiI.

To move the blind upwards, an initial pull downwards will release the toggles, and the spring loaded roller will pull the blind upwards. The upwards movement can be stopped at any point between the filly up and filly down positions. Just as when the blind is pulled down, when the movement upwards is stopped, the toggles will engage and the blind will be locked into position.

An alternative style of spring unit utilizes a gravity fed ball bearing to lock the mechanism in the same manner as the toggles.

To ensure that the blind will operate in the fUll extent of its range from frilly down to filly up (fig and fig 6) the centre pull strip is attached directly to the roller tube at the top of the blind. This allows the spring actuated roller tube to be rotated when the blind is filly down and the fabric cover is flat. Without this extra rotation, the blind could not be raised from the filly down position.

In order to make the blind fold neatly, the wide strips are engaging each horizontal rod (fig 8).

This is by a rod tape [v] sewn into the back of the fabric cover, into which the rods are inserted.

At each point where the fabric strip crosses the rod tape, the rod tape is slit, so that the wide strips run behind the rod [ii] + [iii] i.e. between the rod and the fibric cover. Due to the width of these fabric strips, it would be virtually impossible for a child to have their head caught at the rear of the blind in a way that it could be caught by the cords at the rear of a traditionally made roman blind. This product has been designed to be child safe because the complete absence of both lifting cords and operating chains makes it impossible for a child to become entangled in the blind and suffer either injury or death from strangulation

Brief description of drawings

Figure 1 top down view of blind Figure 2 front view of blind Figure 3 side view of blind Figure 4 rear view of blind Figure 5 rear view of blind and explanation of further figures Figure 6 blind when raised, from rear Figure 7 close up of how the fabric strips are attached at the top of the blind Figure 8 close up of how the fabric strips run through the blind Figure 9 close up of how the fabric strips are attached at the bottom of the blind Figure 10 shows how the centre pull strip runs through the blind [ii Fabric strip used to raise and lower the blind [ii] This shows how the fabric strip runs behind the rods [iii] Fibreglass rod [iv] -I-[vi] The main material of the blind (fabric cover) [v] Rod tape [vii] Bottom bar [viii] Fabric strip is attached to bottom rod [ix] Last rod pocket [xl Fabric strip [xi] Fabric cover [xii] Centre pull strip is attached to the spring actuated roller tube at the top [xiii] Centre pull strip runs behind rods [xiv] Eyelet located at bottom of centre pull strip

Claims

Claims 1 A roman blind that is constructed without using either lifting cords or operating chain.
2. A roman blind according to claim 1, which is raised and lowered via the use of wide fabric strips instead of lifting cords.
3. A roman blind according to claim 1, which is operated by a central pull, made from a wide fabric strip, attached to a spring actuated roller mechanism.
4. A roman blind according to the preceding claims, that is inherently child safe due to the complete absence of any cords or chains.