GB2541393A

GB2541393A - Improvements to roller blinds

Info

Publication number: GB2541393A
Application number: GB1514552.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hill Nigel; Pillar Chad
Original assignee: Spectrum Supply Ltd
Current assignee: Spectrum Supply Ltd
Priority date: 2015-08-15
Filing date: 2015-08-15
Publication date: 2017-02-22
Anticipated expiration: 2035-08-15
Also published as: GB201514552D0; GB2541393B

Abstract

The guide 4 comprises a housing 5 band a guide member (6 fig.5), the housing having inner and outer longitudinal cavities 7, 8 and first and second longitudinal openings 5B, the guide member residing in the housing and having a channel 6C with a longitudinal opening for retaining an edge of the covering, and having a resilient arm (6E fig.5) which flexes to allow the guide member to pass through the first longitudinal opening and be retained in the housing, the guide member being freely movable within the housing, and the resilient arm residing in the outer cavity. A portion (6A fig.5) of the guide member may be shaped or sized to inhibit passage of whole guide through the second longitudinal opening. The guide member may have two resilient arms which flex towards one another. The housing and guide member may be single piece extrusions.

Description

Improvements to Roller Blinds

Roller blinds are a common place screen for openings such as windows or doors. They comprise a covering, e.g. a sheet, arranged to be rolled out, often with the aid of the chain loop, from a cassette mounted above the opening to occlude the opening. A problem encountered with traditional designs of roller blind is that during opening or closing, the sheet can catch and jam. Additionally, when unfurled, the sheet may catch the wind and sway or flap. A solution to these problems has been to provide guide channels in which the edges of the covering sit. The edges of the covering are provided with teeth that retain the covering within the guide channels.

An example of a prior art design is illustrated in Figs 1A - 1C which shows an outer housing 100 adapted to be fastened to a supporting surface. The housing comprises a longitudinal cavity 101 having a longitudinal opening 102. There is also provided a guide member 103 that defines a channel 104 with longitudinal opening 105 for retaining the edge of roller blind sheet. The guide member 103 is located into the cavity 101 through opening 102. The guide member 103, which has rigid guide arms 103 A, needs to be passed through the opening 102 at an angle (see Fig 1A) and then rotated once in the cavity 101 to its homed orientation (Fig IB). The guide member 103 is retained within the cavity by a closure 106 that mounts to the housing 100 in order to partly close off the opening 102.

Fig 2 illustrates a second prior art embodiment showing a section of a vertical guide used to retain one side of a roller blind sheet. When assembled, there are two of these vertical channels, one on each side of the sheet. A guide member 200 shaped to define a channel 200A sits within a cavity 201, defined by an outer extrusion 202 having an end wall 202A. Cushioning foam members 203 sit between the guide member 200 and outer extrusion 202 to keep the guide member in place within the cavity 201. The cushioning foam members 203 can flex to provide the guide member with freedom to move towards or way from end wall 202A. Two extruded headings 204A, 204B snap-fit to edges of the outer extrusion 202 to retain the guide member 200 within cavity 201.

To assemble, the outer extrusion 202 is first secured in a vertical orientation to a wall using fasteners (not shown) that pass through an end wall 202A. Because the longitudinal ends of the outer extrusion 202 are usually inaccessible, the guide member 200 is passed through an opening 205 in front side of the outer extrusion 202. To do this the guide 200 needs to be inserted at an angle as it is wider than the opening 205. The foam pieces (not shown) are then mounted into the cavity, and the two beads 204A 204B snap fitted to the outer extrusion 202 to retain the guide member 200 therein.

The present invention was conceived with the aim of simplifying the assembly of guides compared with the prior art embodiments.

According to the invention there is provided a guide for use with a roller window/door covering, the guide comprising a housing having an outer longitudinal cavity, a inner longitudinal cavity, a first longitudinal opening and a second longitudinal opening; and a guide member that, when the guide is assembled, resides in the housing, the guide member having a channel with a longitudinal opening for retaining an edge of an unfurled portion of the covering; the guide member comprising a resiliently flexible element arranged to flex to allow, during assembly, the guide member to pass through the first longitudinal opening into the housing and be retained therein; the guide member and housing being arranged to provide freedom of the guide member to move within the housing towards or away from the first longitudinally extending opening; and wherein the resiliently flexible element when, the guide is assembled, resides in the outer cavity.

This arrangement allows the guide to be comprised from only two pieces.

The arrangement also allows the guide member to move towards or away from the first opening, whilst restricting rotation of the guide member about a longitudinal axis. This enables the guide to accommodate small variations in distance between opposing guides /or tolerances in width of sheet to allow smooth movement of the covering through the guide member’s channel.

It is preferred that the guide member is shaped and/or sized to inhibit passage of the whole guide through the second longitudinal opening in order to retain the resiliently flexible element within the first longitudinal cavity.

In a preferred embodiment, the guide member comprises two resiliently flexible elements on opposing sides of the guide member. The resiliently flexible elements are preferably in a splayed arrangement on either side of the channel.

It is preferred that the guide member is formed from a single integral moulding. It is also preferred that the housing is formed as a single integral moulding.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to a number of the accompanying figures which comprise:

Figure 1A - 1C: a first prior art design of guide for a roller blind;

Figure 2: a cross-section of second prior art design of guide for a roller blind;

Figure 3: is a perspective part exploded view of a roller blind shown with the blind partially unfurled;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the guide showing the housing and guide member; and Figure 5 is a plan view of the guide member.

Referring to Figure 3 there is shown a roller blind suitable for screening an opening O such as a door or window. The roller blinder may be adapted for either inside or outside use. The roller blind comprises a sheet covering 1 is spooled from a cassette held within a header unit 2 usually mounted above the opening from which it can be furled or unfurled to cover or expose the opening as required. The covering 1 may be made from a variety of sheet materials, a common example being fabric. The longitudinal edges of the covering 1 are provided with one half of a zip fastener 3.

Mounted at either side of the opening are guides 4. In Fig 3 the guide 4 shown nearest is separated from the header unit 2 and partly exploded to allow its interior structure to be seen; however in use, the guide 4 is usually seated against or very close to the header unit 2.

The guides 4 act to retain edges of the covering 1 as it is furled and unfurled to promote smooth operation of the blind; when unfurled, to reduce flapping of the sheet covering 1; and additionally to fill/close the gap at the edges of opening to reduce ingress of light.

Each guide 4 comprises a housing 5 holding a guide member 6. The housing 5, as seen most clearly in Fig 4 defines an outer wall 5A defining an elongate opening 5B on one side, which when in use the edges of the cover extend through, and a number of inwardly extending protrusions 5C that define three longitudinal cavities 7, 8, 9; an outer cavity 7, inner cavity 8 and innermost cavity 9. The side of housing 5 provided with opening 5B comprises walls 5C that have inwardly protruding lips 5D.

The guide member 6 is also formed as a single integral extruded piece. The guide member 6 has a base 6A that is wider than the separation distance between protrusions 5E that separate outer and inner cavities 7 & 8. Extending from a first side of the base 6A are walls 6B separated to define therebetween a longitudinal channel 6C with a longitudinal opening 6D for retaining zip fastener 3 to prevent/inhibit the edges of the cover 1 from escaping the guide 4. Extending from the base 6A on either side of walls 6B are two resiliently flexible elements 6E. The elements 6E are splayed so that their free ends extend radially outwards from base 6A. Extending from the other side of the base 6A are two substantially parallel legs 6F that splay inwards towards their free ends. The legs 6F are spaced so that they in close fitting within the spacing between protrusion 5E separating the outer cavity 7 and inner cavity 8. The width of the base 6A is greater than the aforementioned spacing between protrusions 5E.

To assemble the guide, the housing 3 is affixed to a surface adjacent an opening O where it is to be used. The housing 5 is adapted to be supported in place by one or more fasteners such as screws (not shown) that pass through side 5AA of outer wall 5 A directly opposite opening 5B. The heads of the fasteners, should they stand proud of the inside surface of wall 5AA, sit within third cavity 9 so as not to interfere with the guide member 6.

The guide member 6 is inserted through the opening 5B legs 6F first causing the resilient flexible members 6F to flex inwards towards channel 6C upon impingement with the walls 5C/lips 5D proximate opening 5B. The legs 6F pass through opening between the first and second cavities, assisted by the inwardly splayed ends. Once within the first cavity 7, the resiliently flexible members 6F flex back towards their rest position (Fig 4). In this arrangement the guide member 6 is trapped with channel 6C housed within outer cavity 6, its opening 6D facing opening 5B in housing 5. Retreatment further of the guide member 6 further into inner cavity is inhibited by the width of base 6A compared with separation of protrusions 5C, the escape through opening 5B is inhibited by the resiliently flexible members. The close fitting arrangement of the legs between protrusions 5C inhibits rotation of the guide member 6 about a longitudinal axis within the housing 5.

Notwithstanding, because of the relative sizing of the guide member 6 and housing 5, the guide member 6 has restricted freedom to move towards or away from housing opening 5B to accommodate small variations in distance between opposing guides /or tolerances in width of sheet to allow smooth movement of the covering through the guide member’s channel.

It will be appreciated that the above serves only as an example and that variation in the design is possible. For example, the housing may define only two longitudinal cavities. The guide member may have greater or fewer than two legs. The guide member or housing may be formed from non-extruded parts. The guide member may be designed with only one resiliently flexible element, or more than two resiliently flexible elements.

Claims

Claims 1 A guide for use with a roller window/door covering, the guide comprising a housing having an outer longitudinal cavity, an inner longitudinal cavity, a first longitudinal opening and a second longitudinal opening; and a guide member that, when the guide is assembled, resides in the housing, the guide member having a channel with a longitudinal opening for retaining an edge of an unfurled portion of the covering; the guide member comprising a resiliently flexible element arranged to flex to allow, during assembly, the guide member to pass through the first longitudinal opening into the housing and be retained therein; the guide member and housing being arranged to provide freedom of the guide member to move within the housing towards or away from the first longitudinally extending opening; and wherein the resiliently flexible element, when the guide is assembled, resides in the outer cavity.
2. A guide according to claim 1 wherein a portion of the guide member is shaped and/or sized to inhibit passage of the whole guide through the second longitudinal opening in order to retain the resiliently flexible element within the first longitudinal cavity.
3. A guide according to any previous claim wherein the guide member comprises two resiliently flexible elements on opposing sides of the guide member adapted to flex towards one another to allow the guide member to pass through the first longitudinal opening.
4. A guide according to any claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the housing and guide member are formed from single piece extrusions.
5. A guide according to any previous claim wherein the housing walls on either side of the longitudinal opening, that when the guide is assembled, extend towards the guide member.