GB2572363A

GB2572363A - A vertical blind weight

Info

Publication number: GB2572363A
Application number: GB1804915.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Greening Andrew
Original assignee: Louver Lite Ltd
Current assignee: Louver Lite Ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-27
Filing date: 2018-03-27
Publication date: 2019-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-27
Also published as: GB2572363B; GB201804915D0

Abstract

The weight has a body 2 with an upper portion 4, a lower portion 8 and opposed side walls 10a,10b extending beyond the lower portion to form flanges 16a,16b on either side of the lower portion, wherein the centre of gravity of the weight is offset towards the lower portion. The flanges may extend beyond a bottom edge 14 of the lower portion. The body may have a middle portion 6 between the upper and lower portions. The upper portion may taper from the middle portion to a top edge 12 of the upper portion. The lower portion may extend outwardly form the middle portion, for example in the longitudinal direction “L”. Also claimed is a blind assembly with vertical lamellas having lower channels in which the weights are located. The flanges prevent the weight form falling form the channels without the need for a chain which could present a strangulation risk, and the teardrop type shape of the weight gives a lower centre of gravity meaning the body can be smaller than a conventional symmetric weight.

Description

The present invention relates to weights for use with vertical blind systems which include a plurality of vertically suspended louvers and to vertical blind systems which include such weights.

Conventional vertical blind systems include a plurality of vertical louvers, wherein each vertical louver is suspended from a carrier truck located within a headrail. The carrier trucks are capable of translational movement along the headrail and each louver is capable of rotation about a respective vertical axis.

In order to maintain the louvers in a substantially vertical configuration, each louver typically includes a weight which is located within a channel or pocket defined in a bottom portion of the louver. In most known vertical blind arrangements, a projecting wing or tab is provided on an upper portion of each side of the weight and connecting chains are connected to the weights via the respective wings. The chains have multiple functions: they help to maintain an even spacing between the bottom portions of the louvers; they resist or reduce undesired twisting or entanglement of the louvers in use; and they retain the weights within the channels or pockets defined by the louvers.

However, the presence of the chains poses a potential strangulation hazard for young children. Furthermore, the chains may be considered to look unsightly, they add to the cost of the blind system and they complicate the assembly of the blind system.

The presence of the wings or tabs on an upper portion of the weight (which prevents the chains from extending below the bottom of the louvers in use) shifts the centre of gravity for the weight towards the top portion of the weight. It will be appreciated that for the weight to function as desired, its centre of gravity should be as low as possible.

An alternative to maintaining the weights in place via the use of chains is to close the channels or pockets once the weight is in place. Such an arrangement is shown in EP0098146.

GB2523166 discloses vertical blind weights which have a generally planar configuration and which include symmetrical flanges provided along the opposed sides of the weight. As the weights disclosed in this document are generally planar and the flanges are symmetrical, the centre of gravity of the weights must be at the geometric mid-point of each weight.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a vertical blind weight comprising a body having an upper portion, a lower portion, and opposed side walls, wherein the opposed side walls extend beyond the lower portion to define opposed flanges on either side of the lower portion; and wherein the centre of gravity of the vertical blind weight is offset towards the lower portion. In other words, the centre of gravity is located between the vertical mid-point of the weight and the bottom edge of the weight.

In the context of the present invention, the terms upper, lower, downwards, bottom, top, etc. refer to the components of the invention in their in-use configuration and orientation.

It will be appreciated that offsetting the centre of gravity of the weight towards the lower portion (i.e. offsetting the centre of gravity downwards in use) has two benefits: a lower centre of gravity enables the weight to function more efficiently in maintaining the respective louver in a substantially vertical configuration and preventing or resisting the twisting or entanglement of the louvers in use; and it permits the weight to have a more compact arrangement. By providing more or the mass of the weight towards the lower portion of the body, the vertical height of the weight may be reduced. This in turn permits the channel or pocket defined in the bottom portion of each louver to have a reduced vertical dimension, thus reducing the visual impact of the channels/pockets defined by each louver.

For example, a conventional, generally planar bottom weight, which has a centre of gravity substantially in the middle of the weight will require a greater vertical height dimension than a teardrop shaped weight having the same weight, but which has a significantly lower centre of gravity.

In an embodiment, the centre of gravity may be spaced upwards from the bottom edge by an amount which is less than 50% of the height dimension of the weight, for example, by an amount which is less than 45%, less than 40%, less than 35% or less than 30% of the height dimension of the weight. Thus, where the weight has a height dimension of 10cm, for example, the centre of gravity may be vertically spaced from the bottom edge of the weight by less than 5cm, less than 4.5cm, less than 4cm, less than 3.5cm or less than 3cm.

In an embodiment of the invention, the centre of gravity may be located within the bottom third of the weight.

The opposed flanges defined by the side walls of the weight prevent or resist the weight from becoming unintentionally displaced from the channel or pocket. The body suitably has a front face and a rear face and the opposed side walls connect the front face to the rear face. The opposed side walls extend beyond the front face and/or beyond the rear face and/or beyond the bottom edge of the lower portion to define the flanges on either side of the weight.

In an embodiment of the invention, the flanges defined by the side walls extend beyond the bottom edge of the lower portion and beyond the front face and/or the rear face of the lower portion. By having the flanges extend beyond the bottom edge and the front and/or rear face of the lower body portion, the flanges are provided with a greater surface area, which in turn helps to resist the weight from becoming unintentionally displaced from the channel or pocket.

The flange may extend only from the lower portion of the body. In other words, the upper portion of the body may not include a flange extending therefrom. Again, by providing the flange only on the lower portion of the body, the centre of gravity of the weight is further offset towards the lower portion of the body.

The vertical blind bottom weight may comprise a middle portion disposed between the upper portion and the lower portion, and the upper portion may taper from the middle portion to the top edge of the upper portion. In other words, the front wall and the rear wall that define the upper portion of the body may converge towards (i.e. as they approach) the top edge of the upper portion.

In embodiments in which the body comprises a middle portion, the flanges may extend laterally (i.e. in a thickness dimension) from at least a portion of the middle portion of the body, in addition to extending from the lower portion.

In further embodiments of the invention in which the body comprises a middle portion, at least a part of the lower portion may extend outwardly from the middle portion. Thus, there may be an increase in one of the dimensions from the middle portion to the lower portion.

For example, on the understanding that the weight has a length dimension (which is typically the greatest dimension and corresponds to the width of a vertical louver), a height dimension (which is the in use vertical dimension) and a thickness dimension, a part of the lower portion may have a greater length than the middle portion and/or it may have a greater thickness than the middle portion. Thus, the part of the lower portion may extend outwardly from the middle portion in a longitudinal direction and/or a lateral direction, wherein the longitudinal direction corresponds to the width dimension and the lateral direction corresponds to the thickness dimension. In an embodiment of the invention, the part of the lower portion extends outwardly from the middle portion in both a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a vertical blind system comprising a plurality of vertical louvers suspended from a headrail, wherein each vertical louver defines a channel in a bottom portion thereof and the channel is open at each end; and located within each channel is a vertical blind weight as defined hereinabove in connection with the first aspect of the invention, wherein the opposed flanges defined by the side walls are located outside of the channel and engage the portions of the louvers which define the open ends of the channel.

In other words, the openings at either side of the channel are defined by side edge portions of the respective vertical louver and the flanges disposed on either side of the vertical blind weight engage or contact the side edge portions of the vertical louver which define the openings in the channel to resist displacement of the weight from within the channel.

The skilled person will appreciate that the features described and defined in connection with the aspect of the invention and the embodiments thereof may be combined in any combination, regardless of whether the specific combination is expressly mentioned herein. Thus, all such combinations are considered to be made available to the skilled person.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vertical blind bottom weight according to the first aspect of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of a louver from a louver from a vertical blind system according to the second aspect of the invention; and

Figure 3 shows a vertical blind system according to the second aspect of the invention.

For the avoidance of doubt, the skilled person will appreciate that in this specification, the terms up, down, front, rear, upper, lower, width, top, bottom, etc. refer to the orientation of the components as found in the example when installed for normal use as shown in the Figures.

Figure 1 shows a vertical louver bottom weight having a body 2. The body 2 comprises an upper portion 4, a middle portion 6, a lower portion 8 and opposed side walls 10a, 10b.

The upper portion 4 tapers inwardly from the point at which it meets the middle portion 6 to the top edge 12 of the body 2. The middle portion 6 has a substantially constant thickness. The lower portion 8 extends outwardly from the middle portion 6 in both a thickness direction (shown in Figure 1 as T) and a longitudinal direction (shown in Figure 1 as L). The bottom portion 8 tapers inwardly slightly as it approaches the bottom edge 14 of the body 2.

The side walls 10a, 10b extend laterally beyond the lower portion 8 in the thickness direction T to define projecting flanges 16a, 16b. The flanges 16a, 16b also extend vertically above the lower portion, where they are spaced from the side edge of the middle portion 6, and vertically below the bottom edge 14 of the lower portion 8.

The body 2 is formed from an injection moulded polymeric material and, as a result of the shape of the body 2, the centre of gravity of the body lies substantially centrally with respect to the longitudinal dimension of the body 2, but is disposed towards the lower portion 8 of the body 2.

Figure 2 shows a section of a vertical louver 18 which forms part of a vertical blind system. The fabric of the louver 18 defines a horizontal channel 20 at a bottom portion of the louver 18. The opposed ends 22a, 22b of the channel are open. Such an arrangement is well known in the field of vertical blind louvers, so details regarding how the channel is formed are not required.

As can be seen from Figure 2, the body 2 of the bottom weight is disposed within the channel 20 such that the opposed flanges 16a, 16b lie outside of the channel 20, while the remainder of the body 2 is located within the channel 20. The flanges 16a, 16b resist the lateral displacement of the body 2 relative to the channel 20.

Figure 3 shows a vertical blind system 30 comprising a headrail 32 from which is suspended a plurality of the vertical louvers 18. Each of the louvers 18 is suspended from a carrier truck (not shown). The carrier trucks are displaced longitudinally along the headrail 32 via a first operating chain 34 and the vertical louvers are each rotated about a respective vertical axis via a second operating chain 36.

The arrangement of carrier trucks within a headrail 32 is well known to those skilled in the art and is described in more detail in GB2369392, GB2322152 and GB2031493, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Accordingly, it is not necessary to describe in detail herein the arrangement of the headrail 32, the carrier trucks located therein or the coupling of the louvers 18 to the carrier trucks.

Claims

1. A vertical blind weight comprising a body having an upper portion, a lower portion, and opposed side walls, wherein the opposed side walls extend beyond the lower portion to define opposed flanges on either side of the lower portion; and wherein the centre of gravity of the vertical blind weight is offset towards the lower portion.

2. A vertical blind weight according to Claim 1, wherein the flanges defined by the side walls extend beyond the bottom edge of the lower portion.

3. A vertical blind weight according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the body comprises a middle portion between the upper portion and the lower portion, and the upper portion tapers from the middle portion to the top edge of the upper portion.

4. A vertical blind weight according to Claim 3, wherein at least a part of the lower portion extends outwardly from the middle portion.

5. A vertical blind weight according to Claim 4, wherein the part of the lower portion extends outwardly from the middle portion in both a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction.

6. A vertical blind system comprising a plurality of vertical louvers suspended from a headrail, wherein each vertical louver defines a channel in a bottom portion thereof and the channel is open at each end; and located within each channel is a vertical blind weight as defined in any of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the opposed flanges defined by the side walls are located outside of the channel and engage the open ends of the channel.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1804915.5

Examiner: Mr Tom Simmonds

Claims searched: 1-6

Date of search: 17 September 2018

Patents Act 1977: Search Report under Section 17

Documents considered to be relevant:

Category Relevant to claims Identity of document and passage or figure of particular relevance X 1, 6 GB2171441A [RELIANT TOOLING CO] See Figures 5-7 in particular, noting weight having cover portion and weight insert, the device having a centre of gravity offset towards a lower portion. X 1-4 US2017/0081913 Al [CHOU] See Figures, noting weight 8 attached to bottom of blind, having integral upper and lower portions, wherein opposed end caps have edges/flanges extending beyond the weight body. X 1-4 US2015/0292261 Al [CHOU] See Figures, noting weight 4 attached to bottom of a blind, having integral upper and lower portions and additional weights 44, wherein opposed end caps have edges/flanges extending beyond the weight body. X 1, 2 US2007/0175004 Al [LINES UP INTERNAL CO] See Figures, noting upper and lower portions and end flanges, wherein the centre of gravity is offset towards the lower portion of the device due to its shape. A - GB2523166A [DAY] See Figures and abstract. A - DE3130541 Al [SUNTEC] See Figures noting tear-drop shaped weight.

Categories:

X Document indicating lack of novelty or inventive step A Document indicating technological background and/or state 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 :

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