TW202235743A - End-locks for shutter slats - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a rolling shutter assembly for closing an opening of a structure, the assembly comprises a shutter curtain formed by a plurality of adjacent interlocking shutter slats; at least one track engaged by end portions of the shutter slats, the track being configured to guide the shutter curtain to move between an open position and a closed position of the opening of the structure; and a plurality of end-locks, each attached to one end portion of the shutter slats for preventing the shutter curtain from disengaging from the track; characterised in that each of the end-locks are further coupled with one or more roller wheels for reducing friction between the shutter curtain and the track.

Description

End locks for shutter slats

The present invention relates to a rolling shutter assembly and, more particularly, to end locks for shutter slats which reduce or eliminate friction between the shutter slats and the shutter rails.

A roller shutter is a door or window consisting of many horizontal slats hinged together. Roller shutters are usually mounted over a door or window and can be rolled down as needed to provide protection for the door or window. Roller shutters have become one of the most cost-effective ways to improve the safety and overall aesthetics of any factory or residential home. In fact, roller shutters have become increasingly popular over the past decade. The concept of roller shutters is simple. Roller shutters operate by simply rolling up or down, and their path of travel is guided by a pair of side rails mounted on either side of the door or window. Traditionally, the ends of each louver slat are fastened with end locks. The end locks not only cover the openings at the ends of each shutter slat, but also hold the ends of the shutter slats securely in the side rails so that the roller shutter cannot derail from the side rails.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate an exemplary conventional roller shutter assembly. Such roller shutter assemblies include a blind formed from a plurality of adjacent interlocking shutter slats (10). Each shutter slat (10) has one or more ends that engage a track (30) such that the venetian blind can be guided by the track (30) to move between an open position and a closed position. At least one end lock (20) is attached to the end of the louver slat (10) such that the end of the louver slat (10) can be retained within the track (30). Specifically, each end lock (20) includes a first plate (21) and a second plate (22), wherein the first plate (21) extends to the end of the shutter slat (10) for attachment Then, the size of the second plate body (22) substantially covers the opening of the shutter slats.

However, the known design of the end lock (20) does not reduce or eliminate the friction between the louver slats (10) and the track (30). Such problems often occur during hot weather when the slats (10) expand due to thermal expansion and subsequently cause high friction between the ends of the slats (10) and the track (30).

Therefore, the end lock needs to incorporate a mechanism that can solve the above mentioned problems. The present invention provides such a roller shutter assembly and its corresponding end lock.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a roller shutter assembly for closing an opening in a structure, said assembly comprising: a venetian blind comprising a plurality of adjacent interlocking slats of the venetian; at least one track comprising said end engagement of the slats of the louver, the track configured to guide movement of the venetian blind between an open position and a closed position of the opening of the structure; and a plurality of end locks each of the end locks connected to one end of the slat of the venetian to prevent the venetian blind from disengaging from the track; characterized in that each of the end locks is further coupled with one or more rollers to reduce the contact between the venetian blind and the Friction between tracks.

In this aspect of the invention, each of said end locks comprises a first plate extending to said end of said louver slat for attachment thereto and a second plate, said The second plate is dimensioned to substantially cover the opening at the end of the louver slat. Preferably, said one or more rollers are coupled to said first plate and/or said second plate via nut and bolt attachments.

In this aspect of the invention, each of said end locks is attached to one end of said shutter slat via a nut and bolt attachment.

In this aspect of the invention, said track is in the form of an elongated hollow rod having an elongated opening sized to receive said end of said louver slat.

In this aspect of the invention, a swivel assembly may be provided, coupled to the drive mechanism to rotatably extend or retract the blind

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an end lock for use in a louver slat, the end lock comprising: a first plate extending to an end of the louver slat for attachment thereto; Two plate bodies, the size of the second plate body substantially covers the opening of the end of the shutter slat; characterized in that one or more rollers are coupled to the first plate body and/or the Describe the second board.

It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the stated objects and obtain the objects and advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments described herein are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Figure 3, the roller shutter assembly shown therein comprises a blind guided by one or more rails (30) for movement between an open position and a closed position of the opening of the structure. By way of example, the structure may be the wall of a building such as a factory, a residence or even a high-rise building. The opening is preferably a door or window having a top, bottom and two sides. A swivel assembly may be mounted adjacent to the opening of the structure. Preferably, a swivel assembly is mounted on top of said opening. As such, the venetian blind may be coupled to the swivel assembly in such a manner as to extend downwardly from or retract upwardly into the swivel assembly. The blinds can be folded or rolled into the swivel assembly. Preferably, extension is used to move the venetian downward from the open position to close the opening of the structure, and retraction is used to move the venetian upward from the closed position to the open position. A rotary assembly may be associated with a drive system to drive movement of the venetian blind. Such drive systems can be operated manually or electrically.

The venetian blind is formed from a plurality of interconnected elongated slats (10). Each of these slats (10) is substantially flat and has two substantially planar ends, and is preferably made of metal such as steel, stainless steel, aluminium. It should be noted that the slats (10) may be made of other materials as long as they form a rigid and relatively lightweight structure. Such materials may include hardened plastics, wood, wood fibers, and the like. Each slat (10) can be single walled or double walled. The slats ( 10 ) are interconnected on their respective longitudinal sides by two adjacent interlocking profiles. At least one finish coating may be applied to the outer surface of each slat (10). Such finishing coatings can be zinc sheets or galvanized coatings.

Each end of the slats (10) is attached with an end lock (40). The function of the end locks (40) is to cover the openings on each end of the slats (10) and prevent the blind from coming off the track (30). The end locks (40) can be made of any material so long as they form a rigid and relatively lightweight structure. These materials may include metal, plastic, wood, wood fibers, and the like. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, each end lock includes a first plate (41) and a second plate (42), wherein the first plate (41) extends to the end of the slat (10) For attachment thereto, the second plate body (42) is dimensioned to substantially cover the opening at the end of the slat (10). For example, the first plate body (41) includes a front plate body (41a) for engaging with one side surface of the slat (10) and a rear plate body (41a) for engaging with the other opposite side surface of the slat (10). Plate body (41b). The front plate body (41a) and the rear plate body (41b) extend from the second plate body (42) to form a substantially U-shaped cap, and each of the front plate body (41a) and the rear plate body (41b) is provided with One or more attachment holes (43, 44). The one or more attachment holes (43, 44) may be aligned with the one or more through holes (12, 13) on the ends of the slats (10) for nut and bolt attachments (47). The second plate body (42) includes an upper turning plate and a lower turning plate, which extend sufficiently to at least partially cover the opening at the end of the slat (10).

In a preferred embodiment, the end lock (40) features one or more rollers (45) coupled to the first plate and/or the second plate, the rollers (45) being configured to interface with the track ( 30) engage the inner surfaces such that the rollers (45) reduce or eliminate friction between the slats (10) and the rails (30). The rollers (45) may be made of metallic materials such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum, etc., or other types of materials such as hardened plastic, wood, wood fiber, etc. Each end of the slats (10) may be provided with additional through holes (11) for the rollers (45) via any type of fasteners (46) such as bolts, nuts, screws, studs, rivets, etc. directly attached to it. The size of the rollers (45) can vary according to the size of the slats (10). Preferably, the dimensions of the rollers (45) are between 12 mm and 50 mm. Preferably, a pair of rails (30) may be provided, one mounted on each side of the opening of the structure to engage the ends of the slats (10). As shown in Figure 5, each track (30) is in the form of an elongated hollow rod (31) having an elongated opening sized to accommodate the ends of the slats (10).

The disclosure includes what is contained in the appended claims as well as the foregoing description. Although the invention has been described in some detail in its preferred form, it is to be understood that the disclosure of the preferred form is by way of example only and details of construction may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention. And the combination and arrangement of components are variously changed.

10: slats 11, 12, 13: Through hole 20: End lock 21, 22: board body 30: track 31: hollow rod 40: End lock 41, 41a, 41b, 42: plate body 42a, 42b: turn plate 43, 44: Attachment holes 45:Roller 46: Fasteners 47: Nut and Bolt Attachments

In order to facilitate the understanding of the invention, preferred embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, which, when considered in conjunction with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation, and its many advantages will be readily understood and appreciated. Figure 1 shows a front view of a known roller shutter assembly. [Known technology] Figure 2 shows a front view of a known end lock. [Known technology] Figure 3 shows a front view of a modified roller shutter assembly. Figure 4 shows a front view of an improved end lock for a roller shutter assembly embodying the main features of the invention. Figure 5 shows a top view of a modified roller shutter assembly.

40: End lock

41: The first plate body

42: The second plate body

42a, 42b: turn plate

43, 44: Attachment holes

45:Roller

46: Fasteners

Claims (7)

A roller shutter assembly for closing an opening of a structure, the assembly comprising: a venetian blind formed from a plurality of adjacent interlocking venetian slats (10); At least one track (30), engaged by ends of said slats (10), said track (30) configured to guide said venetian blind between an open position and a closed position of said opening of said structure move between; and a plurality of end locks (40) each attached to one end of the slats (10) to prevent disengagement of the venetian blind from the track (30); It is characterized in that each of the end locks (40) is further coupled with one or more rollers (45) to reduce the friction between the blind and the track (30). The rolling shutter assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the end locks (40) includes a first plate body (41) and a second plate body (42), and the first plate body (41) extends To said end of said louver slat (10) for attachment thereto, said second plate (42) is dimensioned to substantially cover the opening of said end of said louver slat (10). The roller shutter assembly according to claim 2, wherein the one or more rollers (45) are coupled to the first plate (41) and/or the The second plate body (42). A rolling shutter assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said end lock (40) is attached to one end of said shutter slat (10) via a nut and bolt attachment (47). A rolling shutter assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said track (30) is in the form of an elongated hollow rod (31) having an elongated opening sized to accommodate said shutter slats (10 ) of the end. The rolling shutter assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a rotation assembly coupled to the drive mechanism to rotatably extend or contract the venetian blind. An end lock (40) for use in a shutter slat (10), the end lock (40) comprising: a first plate (41) extending to the end of said louver slat (10) for attachment thereto; and a second plate body (42), the size of the second plate body (42) substantially covering the opening of the end of the louver slat (10); It is characterized in that one or more rollers (45) are coupled to the first plate body (41) and/or the second plate body (42).

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