US2130319A

US2130319A - Venetian blind slat

Info

Publication number: US2130319A
Application number: US726225A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hammer Samuel
Original assignee: UNITED METAL BOX CO Inc
Current assignee: UNITED METAL BOX CO Inc
Priority date: 1934-05-18
Filing date: 1934-05-18
Publication date: 1938-09-13
Anticipated expiration: 1955-09-13

Description

Sept. 13, 1938. s. HAMMER VENETIAN BLIND SLAT Filed May 18, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 G! O 5 m M l 2 M 2 44M. 2 v E I at W m 3 R A M 72 E mH m 3 ma 5 A w 0 W -s lo? M mv T Q 4 4 B fi- O\ a m z l m F L FIG.4

Sept. 13, 1938. s. HAMMER VENETIAN BLIND SLAT Filed May 18, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SAMUEL HAMMER INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES VENETIAN BLIND SLAT Samuel Hammer, Brooklyn, N. Y., asslg'nor to United Metal Box 00., Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application May 18, 1934, Serial No. 726,225

32 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the method of manufacturing from a thin strip of sheet metal a Venetian blind slat by piercing a plurality of apertures proximate the edge portion of the strip and forming said edge portion into a stiffening or reinforcing member extending longitudinally of the strip so that the apertures in the finished slat are disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the slat.

An important object of the invention is to make, as an'article of manufacture, a Venetian blind slat from a thin sheet metal strip so that the finished slat is but little, if any, heavier than a slat made of wood and which has the same overall dimensions and in other respects superior to the wooden slat.

Another object of the invention is to construct a Venetian blind slat forming means in combination therewith for securely fastening to the edge faces thereof, with a clip or other fastening means, a supporting tape which may be easily removed as occasion requires.

Another important object of the invention is to provide means for using slats made of thin sheet material, preferably sheet metal, in combination with what may be described as single supporting tapes as distinguished from the double, or the so-called ladder tape heretofore used extensively in the manufacture of such blinds.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for securely fastening the tapes to the edges of the slats by a clip. or other fastening means, whichmeans may be easily removed as occasion requires.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the overall bundling height of the slats and head bar of a Venetian blind when said blind is raised to the top of the window.

Other objects of my invention will either become apparent or be specifically referred to in the following description thereof in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fragment of a Venetian blind showing a plurality of slats suspended by means of tapes, which tapes are secured to the edges of the slats.

Figures 2 and 2a are a group view showing the left-hand end of the slat shown in Figure 1 as seen from the under side thereof, and showing the right-hand end of a development of a strip from which the other end (not shown in Figure 1) of said slat is formed.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2. v

F'gures 4 and 4a are a group view showing the right-hand end of a modified form of the slats shown in Figure 2 and showing the left-hand end of a development of a strip from which said slat is formed.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a group view showing the left-hand end of the slat shown in Figure 2 with a tape fastening clip positioned opposite perforations disposed in the edge face of the slat for connectlng the tape to the slat.

Figure 7 is a group view of the right-hand end of the slat shown in Figure 4 with a modified form of tape fastening clip positioned proximate the perforations in the slat for connecting the tape to the slat.

Figure 8 shows an enlarged assembly view of the clip and slat shown in Figure 6 when a tape is secured by the clip to the edge of the slat.

Figure 8a shows a fragment of an edge view of a slat having a modifledform of clip aperture formed therein.

Figure 9 shows a detailed view of the manner in which a clip of the form shown in Figure 7 may be inserted and securely fastened to the edge of the slat.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on line ill-40 of Figure 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 11 shows an enlarged assembly view of the clip and slat shown in Figure 7 when the tape is secured by the clip to the edge of the slat.

It will be understood that a Venetian blind such as referred to herein comprises what is generally described as a head bar mounted in any suitable manner at the top of a window, such for example, as by means of suitable supporting brackets. A series of slats, terminating in a lowermost slat is suspended from the head bar by any suitable form of flexible members, such as tapes, which are usually secured to the upper-- most slat from which all of the other slats are supported. All of the slats and the head bar are perforated to permit the passage therethrough of raising and lowering cords which are secured to the lowermost slat and conducted by guiding pulleys to an accessible position at one side of the blind. Inasmuch as my present invention relates principally to the formation of a slat and the method of making the same, so that the supporting members or tapes may be securely attached to the edge face thereof by means of clips it is believed unnecessary to illustrate the complete blind, particularly in view of lowing description.

Referring now to Figure 1, it will be seen that a series of slats II are supported in spaced relationship with one another, by flexible members I! made of any suitable flexible material, but preferably fabric tapes as here shown. All of the slats are perforated as at I! to permit the passage therethrough of a raising and lowering cord the 101- ll. As stated above, the slats I! are preferably has been performed thereon which operation comprises piercing in the strip the two spaced holes through which the lifting cords pass and simultaneously piercing four groups of holes I9, 20, and 2|, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

For purposes of definition, the surface of the strip may be divided by lines 22 passing longitudinally through the centers of the holes I! and 20 at the sides of the strip, respectively, and lines 23 passing longitudinally through the strip, and near each edge thereof. The area between the lines 22 I shall refer to as a web, and the areas between the edges of the strip and the lines 22 I shall refer to as ribs, while the areas between the

lines

22 and 22 will be referred to as the edge portions of the strip.

The next operation in the forming of my slat is that of stamping or otherwise forming

ribs

24 and 25 respectively at each longitudinal edge of the strip by bending the edges thereof along the lines 28 into a position at right angles to the plane of the strip. Thereafter the edges of the strip are preferably further bent along the zones passing through the holes l8 and 20 which zones are indicated generally by the lines 22, to form at each edge of the strip a tubular reinforcement like that shown in Figure 3. It will be understood that the several steps above described in the formation of the slat are merely for the purpose of analysis and that one or more of said steps may in practice be performed simultaneously.

The tapes I6 above described comprise a plurality of spaced tubular loops 28 disposed on one side thereof in any suitable manner, as being stitched to the tape, or woven integrally therewith. It will be understood that the distance between the loops 28 is equal to the desired distance between the slats, see Figure 1.

Figure 6 illustrates what I shall describe, for the want of a better name, as a spring clip 30, or a fastening. means, by which the tapes l8 are secured to the edge face of the slats. 'Ihe clip 20 is preferably made of a piece of spring wire having the ends thereof bent to form arms 3| and 22, and having

hooks

32 and 34 formed by bending a portion of the arms outwardly and rearwardiy until the

ends

35 and 36 of the hooks are normally spaced from the arms and disposed in a line removed from the line of the head of the clip, indicated by the location of the numeral II. It will be understood that when the clip is bent as described, that the parts 20 to 24 are all disposed in the same plane. In practice, the

diameter of the wire from which the clip is made will usually be greater than the thickness of the material of the strip.

Figures 8 and i0 illustrate how, after the clip above described is inserted into one of the tape loops 26, it may be pressed into the holes I. and 20, which holes have a diameter less than the distance between the ends I! and I! of the hooks and the arms 3| and 32 by merely apply n sufflcient pressure on the clip to flex the ends of the hooks towards the arms of the clip until the clip is pressed into the slat far enough for the ends of the hooks to prevent the withdrawal of the clip through the holes I! and 2|. It will also be understood that the amount of deformation required of the hooks is not sufilcient to cause the material of the clip to acquire a permanent set, but that whenv the clip flnally connects the tapes securely to the slat it will assume its original shape.

The hole 2| above described is for use whenever it is desired to remove the clip from the slat,

which removal is eifected by inserting the point of any suitable instrument through the hole 2| and applying sufficient pressure to the hook it to press the same toward the arm II a sumcient distance to allow the end of the hook II to pass outwardly through the hole II. when one end of the clip is thus disconnected from the slat the other end may be withdrawn without difficulty by properly manipulating the clip.

It will, however, be understood that the clip could be just as effectively employed if a single slot 31, see Figure 8a, were formed in the edge face of the slat equal in width to the diameter of the holes Is and 20, and having a length suitable for the insertion of the clip just described, because the material between the holes II and 2| serves no purpose except to contribute to the stiffness and rigidity of the slat as a whole. In view of the above, it will be understood how a single edge slot perforation may be employed for the engagement of the clip with the slat instead of the two circular perforations l8 and 20 here shown. It will also be noted that it is not essential that the edge portion of the slat be made in tubular formation because the perforations l2 and 20 may be formed in the rib portions of a fln- .ished slat having generally a channel shape in cross-section. In such a slat however, the height of the ribs would be somewhat greater than those illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 in order to provide for the formation therein of holes similar to II and 20. Obviously'when a slat of this generally shaped construction is formed, the release holes 2| become unnecessary. In either case I have found that a desirable slat for use with my clips may be made of comparatively thin sheet metal having an edge face formed thereon of an effective width of about three thirty-seconds of an inch.

Figures 4, 5,7, 9 and 11 show a modified form of the slat and clip constructions just described in connection with Figures 6, 8 and 10. In the description of these modifications, I shall employ similar reference numerals to represent portions thereof which are similar to the structures above described. The principal difference in the construction of this modified slat is that rectangular perforations 40, see Figure 4, are punched in the sheet metal instead of the holes ll'and 2| above described, and the ribs 24 and 2| are notched at 4 I. It will be seen that when the ribs of the strip are formed as above described, the perforations ll and notches ll form a passage through the tubu- I arsenic for reinforcement of the slat which passage opens in the edge face of the slat adjacent the perforations 20, and in substantially the same location as the holes 19 above descri :1-1

Figure 7 illustrates a form of spring wire clip construction to be used with a slat like that shown in Figures 4 and 5 and comprises a head portion 44 having a hook 45 formed at one end thereof by bending the wire through reverse curves so that the hook 55 extends longitudinally beyond the head ti and is disposed at one side of the head in a line parallel thereto. The wire at the other end of the clip is bent to form an extension 56 terminating in a hook 4?, both of which lie in the same plane as the book did.

Figure 9 illustrates, in full lines, the manner in which the hook 45 is first inserted into the perforation and, in dotted lines, how the hook 47 may beinserted through the perforation 40 and thereafter pressed into engagement with the rib by passing through the notch it.

Figure 11 shows the tape l6 fastened to a slat of this form by means of a clip 44 just described. To release the clip 44 it is only necessary to press the hook 41 toward the right, as seen in Figure 9 in order to dispose the same over the notch 4i, whence the clip may be easily removed.

It should be understood that when the edges of the strips are bent and the slats are finally formed surfaces in the embodiment of the invention here shown may be said to include the planes passing through the uppermost and lowermost surfaces of the tubular reinforcements formed, as above described, along each edge of the slat. .An important reason for forming the slat in this manner is to be able, with the clip means above described, to fasten the tapes to the slats so that when the blind is elevated the slats will nest together face to face whereby the bundling height of the slats is no greater than the summation of the overall thicknesses of the several slats of the blind. Heretofore, the tapes of Venetian blinds have been fastened to the slats by means passing through the upper and lower major surfaces of the slat with the result that when the blind is elevated either the fastening means or portions of the tapes themselves were interposed between adjacent slats and necessarily prevented the slats from contacting or nesting together face to face, as I prefer to construct my blind.

While I have described what seems now to be the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is conceivable that various modifications in the configuration, composition and disposition of the component elements going to make up my invention as a whole, as well as in the selective combination and application of the respective elements, may occur to those skilled in the art, and no limitation is intended by the phraseology of the foregoing description or illustrations in the accompanying drawings.

What is claimed is:

i. A Venetian blind slat comprising a strip of thin sheet metal stiffened by having the longitudinal edges thereof bent into spaced relationship with respect to said strip to form at each edge of the slat a tubular reinforcement adjacent the plane of the strip, said strip also having apertures opening from the edge of the slat into the tubular reinforcements, and release apertures in the tubular reinforcement.

' 2. A Venetian blind slat comprising a strip of thin sheet metal stiffened by having the longitudinal edges thereof bent into spaced relationship with respect to said strip to form at each edge of the slat a tubular reinforcement adjacent the plane of the strip, said strip also having apertures opening from the edge of the slat into the tubular reinforcements, and release apertures in the tubular reinforcement, one of said apertures being disposed opposite a similar aperture at the other side of said tubular reinforcement.

3. A Venetian blind, comprising a sheet metal slat having portions forming clip apertures in the edge face of said slat and a release aperture in a plane normal thereto, and flexible means for supporting said slat, in combination with a spring to said slat when the clip is inserted into said clip apertures, said clip comprising a hook disposed proximate said release aperture.

.4. In a Venetian blind having a slat with a pair of apertures in the edge face thereof, and a flexible tape for supporting the slat, a clip insertable into the apertures to connect the flexible tape to the slat, said clip comprising a piece of spring wire with a hook ateach end thereof, said hooks being adapted to be temporarily deformed by said apertures as they are inserted through said apertures into engagementwith said slat.

5. In a Venetian blind having a slat with a hollow reinforced edge portion having a pair of apertures in the edge face of the slat, one of which apertures passes transversely through said edge portion while the other merely opens into said edge portion, and a flexible tape for supporting the slat, a clip insertable into the apertures to connect the flexible tape to the edge portion of said slat, said clip comprising a piece of spring wire with a hook at each end thereof, one of said hooks being adapted to engage the slat at a point within said hollow edge portion and the other book being adapted to engage'the edge portion after having passed through said transverse aperture.

6. A Venetian blind comprising a slat of strip sheet metal having bent portions proximate the longitudinal edges thereof substantially normal to the plane of the strip, said bent portions having apertures in the edge face of said slat, and flexible means for supporting said slat, in combination with a resiliently deformable clip for connecting the fiexiblenieans to the slat by pressing the clip into said apertures.

7. A Venetian blind comprising a slat of strip sheet metal having beni portions proximate the longitudinal edges thereof in the form of a tubular reinforcement disposed at each edge of said slat, said bent portions having apertures at the edge face of said slat, and flexible means for supporting said slat, in combination with a resiliently deformable clip for connecting the flexible means to the slat by pressing the clip into said apertures.

8. A Venetian blind comprising a sheet metal slat having reinforced edge portions, said edge portions having apertures in the edge face of the slat, flexible means for supporting said slat, in combination with a spring clip for connecting the flexible means to the slat through said apertures.

9. A Venetian blind comprising a sheet metal slat having reinforced edge portions, said edge portions having apertures in the edge faces of the aspring clip for connecting the flexible means to the slat through one of said apertures, said clip comprising a hook engaging one of said reinforced edge portions, said edge portion being formed to permit access to said hook whereby the hook may be released from engagement with the slat.

10. A Venetian blind slat usable with any suitable means by which a plurality of similar slats are spaced and flexibly connected, comprising a strip of thin sheet metal stiifened by having the edges thereoi. bent over with respect to the plane of the strip, said strip also having a plurality of groups of apertures disposed in each edge face of said slat forming openings disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the slat.

11. A Venetian blind slat usable with any suitable means by which a plurality of similar slats are spaced and flexibly connected, comprising a strip of thin sheet metal stiflened by having the edges thereof bent over with respect to the plane of the strip, said strip also having at least two aperture means disposed in each edge face of said slat" forming openings disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the slat.

12. A Venetian blind slat comprising a strip of thin sheet metal stiffened by having the edges thereof bent to a position substantially normal to the plane of the strip and having apertures formed in the strip in the bent portions of said edges to form openings in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the slat.

13. A Venetian blind slat comprising a strip of thin sheet metal stiffened by having the edges thereof bent with respect to the plane of the strip to form an edge face and having apertures formed by the strip which are ultimately dis-' posed in the bent portions of said edges to form openings in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the slat.

'14. A Venetian blind slat comprising a strip of thin sheet metal which has been stiffened by having the longitudinal edges thereof formed into spaced relationship with respect to said strip, said strip also having apertures which open into the space between said strip and the formed edges thereof and disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of said slat.

15. A Venetian blind slat comprising a strip of thin sheet metal stiffened by having the longitudinal edges thereof bent into spaced relationship with respect to said strip to form at each edge of the slat a tubular reinforcement adjacent the plane of the strip, said reinforcement forming on said slat an edge face, said strip also forming apertures disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of said strip and opening from the edge face of the slat into the tubular reinforcements.

16. A Venetian blind comprising a sheet metal slat forming at the edge face thereof an engaging aperture disposed in a plane normal to the plane of the slat, and flexible means for supporting said slat in combination with a spring clip for engaging a portion of said flexible means and connecting the same to the edge face of said slat by pressing the clip into said aperture.

17. A Venetian blind comprising a sheet metal slat forming a plurality of clip engaging apertures disposed at the edge thereof in a plane normil to the"plane of'the slat, and a plurality of flexible means for supporting said slat in combination with a spring clip for connecting each flexible meansto the edge of said slat by pressing said clips, respectively, into said apertures.

18. A Venetian blind comprising a sheet metal slat forming a plurality of groups of clip engage ing apertures disposed at the edge face thereof in a plane normal to the plane of the slat, and

a plurality of flexible means for supporting said slat in combination with a spring clip for connecting each flexible means to the edge face of said slat, said clips oomprising'slat engaging means insertable into the apertures of one of said groups. Y 1

19. A Venetian blind comprising a slat having aperture means disposed at the edge thereof in a plane normal to the plane of the slat, and a flexible tape for supporting the slat, in combination with clip means for connecting the flex- 4 ible tape to the slat, said clip comprising a piece of wire bent to form a tape engaging portion having a slat engaging portion disposed at each end thereof and adapted to cooperativelyengage said aperture means.

20. A Venetian blind comprising a slat having at a longitudinal edge thereof and disposed in a plane normal to that of the slat, a clip engaging means, and flexible means for supporting said slat in combination with a clip engaging a portion of said flexible means and connectin the same to the clip engaging means. 7, a

21. A Venetian blind slat including aperture means to which a slat supporting member may be connected to a longitudinal edge face thereof at a point disposed wholly in a plane lying in a region substantially normal to that of the slat.

22. A'Venetian blind slat including aperture means formed by a thin walled portion disposed at a longitudinal edge face of the slat and at a point disposed in a plane lying substantially normal to that of the slat for use in connecting thereto a slat supporting member.

23. A Venetian blind slat having length and width and an overall thickness extending over at least a portion of the width and at least the slats adapted by the manipulation of suitable raising and lowering cords to be stacked one upon the other whereby the bundling height of said slats is no greater than the summation of the thickness of said plurality of slats, each of said slats having at a longitudinal edge thereof and in a plane normal tothat of the slat a clip engaging means, and flexible means for supporting said slats in spaced relationship to one another. in combination with a releasably engageable spring clip means for each of said slats engaging respectively, at spaced intervals, 9. portion of said flexible means, and connecting said portions, respectively, to said clip engaging means.

25. A Venetian blind comprising a plurality of slats adapted by the manipulation of suitable raising and lowering cords to be stacked upon each other, whereby the bundling height of said slats is no greater, than the summation of the thicknesses of said plurality of slats, each of said slats having preformed apertures in a longitudinal edge thereof and in a plane normal to that of the slat, and flexible means for supporting said .slats in spaced relationship to one another, in

combination with substantially U-shaped clips engaging a portion of said flexible means at spaced intervals throughout the'length thereof for connecting said portions, respectively, to said slat through said apertures.

26. A Venetian blind comprising a plurality of sheet metal slatshaving a length and width and an overall thickness extending over at least a por tion of the width and substantially the length of the slat to provide longitudinal stiffness against excessive bending, each slat having preformed clip engaging means in the edge face thereof, flexible means free to bend outwardly from the edge face of said slats for supporting said slats in spaced relationship to one another, and flexing when the slats are pulled closer together, and means securing the flexible means to the clip engaging means at the edge face of the slat, in- 1 eluding means projecting from the dge of the slat and looping around a portion of said flexible means and having-a dimension in a direction normal to the plane of the slat which is no greater than the overall thickness of the slat, whereby the slats may be elevated any distance by means of raising and lowering cords until they are in contact with one another and the bundling height of said slats is no greater than the summation of the overall thicknesses of said plurality of slats.

27; .A Venetian blind comprising a plurality of slats having a length and width and overall thickness extending over at least a portion of the width and substantially the length of the slat to provide longitudinal stiffness against excessive bending, saidslats having a preformed aperture in the edge face thereof which face results from the overall thickness of the slat, flexible means free to bend outwardly from the edge face of said slats for supporting said slats in spaced relationship to one another and flexing when the slats are pulled closer together and means looped around a portion of said flexible means and insertable through the aperture and secured to the slat, the insertable means having a dimension in a direction normal to the plane of the slat which is no greater than the overall thickness of the slat, whereby the slats may be elevated any distance by means of raising and lowering cords until they are in contact with one another and the bundling height of the slats is no greater than the summation of the thicknesses of said plurality of slats.

28. In a Venetian blind the combination with a plurality of slats provided with a plurality of apertures in a longitudinal edge thereof, said slats including a top and bottom slat having flexible suspension elements extending laterally therefrom, of spring-holding members inserted under stress into certain of said apertures in a plurality of said slats and securing said flexible suspension elements thereto in a readily detachable manner.

29. In a Venetian blind the combination with a slat provided with an apertured longitudinal edge having flexible suspension elements extending laterally therefrom, of spring-holding members inserted under stress into certain of the apertures in said slat and securing said flexible suspension elements to said slat in a readily detachable manner.

30. In a Venetian blind, a series of tiltable slats provided with a plurality of apertures in a longitudinal edge thereof, in combination with flat supporting straps extending therefrom, of springholding members insertable under stress into certain of said apertures and forming detachable connections between said straps and said slats.

31. In a Venetian blind, a slat having orifices extending into a longitudinal edge thereof, flexible suspension elements to be connected to said slat, and means for detachably anchoring said flexible suspension elements to said slat, compris-- ing prong members removably inserted in said orifices, said prong members and oriflces being disposed in a plane extending transversely of the normal direction of the pull of the respective flexible suspension element thereon.

32. A Venetian blind comprising, a plurality of slats, each having aperture means formed in the longitudinal edge face thereof through a thin wall portion forming a clearance space behind the same, a flexible means for supporting said slats 'in spaced relationship to one another, in combination with means each having a vertical dimension no greater than the thickness of the slat for engaging the flexible means and connecting said flexible means to the edge faces of said slats through said aperture means, whereby said flexible means is free to bend outwardly from the edge face of said slats to permit the elevation thereof into a face-to-face contact with one another.

SAMUEL