US2316027A - Dark closure - Google Patents

Description

F. w. SWQRMSTEDT DARK CLOSURE Filed March 15, 1940 rfv-*2 f5 April 6, l 1943.

L und wNlhlHlwHmlu INVENTOR. FRANK W @woe/varcat- ATTORNEYS.

aww-m Patented Apr. 6, 1943 UNITED DARK cLosURE Frank W. Swormstedt, Fort Thomas, Ky., assignor to Higgin Products, Inc., Newport, Ky., a

corporation of Delaware Application March 15, 1940, Serial No. 324,222

2 Claims.

My invention is addressed to the -problem of producing shades which will effectively darken a room, not in the sense of such light-tight closures as would have to be employed over the windows of a photographic dark room, but in the sense of a shade of opaque character to be drawn over the window opening after the manner of an ordinary window shade, and equipped with means for excluding light around the edges of the closures.

Such closures are of utility in school rooms, lecture halls and the like, where substantial darkening is desired without absolute lighttightness, and at low cost.

'Ifhe problem is one of providing a structure to be used with a shade of ordinary construction and employing the ordinary spring roller. An aspect of the problem is the provision of a structure capable of quantity production in standardized form, but which is adjustable to fit Window ,openings of a very wide variety of sizes. The exigencies of the problem include the provision of a housing for the roller suiiicient to cut off light passing between the window opening and the roller, which housing must be adjustable, the provision of side guides to enclose the edges of the closure and prevent substantial light leakage there, which guides must likewise be adjustable, and the provision of a reinforcement intermediate the length of the closure .when drawn, which reinforcement must likewise be adjustable, all at the minimum of expense.

' The primary object of my invention is the solution of these problems. Other objects will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these speciflcations. Reference is made to the drawing wherein:

I Figure 1 is an elevational view of a window opening equipped with my closure.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View through the roller and housing taken along the lines 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a guide and a portion of the closure taken along the lines 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a somewhat similar sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 1 and showing the coaction of the reinforcement with the guides.

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the end members on the housing.

Figs. '7 and 8 are respectively perspective views of the end portions of the lateral walls of the roller housing.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of an end of the reinforcement.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view through the reinforcement taken along the lines lll-I0 of Fig. 1.

In the practice of my invention, in its general aspect, I provide end members for a roller housing, which members incorporate the usual supports for a spring roller of the ordinary type. To form the lateral Walls of the roller housing, I provide telescoping members having engagement with the said end pieces. I provide side guides of telescopic formation adapted to be acljusted to the height of the window opening, and I provide a reinforcement also of telescopic construction, having engagement with the side guides and adapted to rest upon an upper portion of the lower telescopic section of the side guides.` The closure itself is preferably of the ordinary Window shade construction, the spring roller being that in current use, and the material of the shade being opaque. The usual draw bar is employed and need not be modified eX- Icept for the attachment of small and simple means for raising the reinforcement. Thus, I provide a series of parts which may be used with vshades and rollers of current manufacture Where dark closures are desired, and may even be separately sold-and applied to shades already installed.

In Figure 1, I have shown a window opening generally at I provided with a shade 5 on a roller 6. As shown in Fig. 2 the roller is of the usual hollow Wooden construction l with the interior spring 8. It is provided with the usual end pieces 9.

Instead of employing the usual shade roller brackets, I incorporate the holding portions of the bracket structures in end Wall pieces for a roller housing. These end pieces are illustrated, in one form, in Figs. 5 and 6. Each comprises a body Il having an angularly related attachment portion I 2. The body Il is shaped to form anmend `of a housing enclosing the roller. To the bodies Il I attach respectively the holder I3 for the circular projection on one of the end pieces 9 and the holder I4 for the flattened projection at the other end piece of the spring roller. While I have shown these holders separately formed and attached as by spot welding to the bodies l I, it will be within the skill of the worker in the art to form the housing end pieces by extending so as to include congurations acting as the holders, if this be desired.

For the lateral walls of the roller housing, I employ the telescopic members l5 and` I6 ably. The members I and I6 have portions vI9r It will be underv and respectively struck inwardly to form sockets for engagement of prongs or arms on the housing end pieces. I

shown at 2l in Figs. 5 and 6'. f The side guides are sheet metal members of generally U shaped cross section and of telescopic form. An upper section Z2 is made to slide over the body of a lower section 23 of eachl guide; but the side edges of the lower guide part are turned back over the edges of the upper guide part as shown at 24 in Fig. 3. The' back leg of the U shape of each section is usually made the longer, and is perforated at intervals for the reception of attachment screws 25. The front'leg hasmatching perforations 26, but of a diameter large enough to permit the passage of the heads of the screws. Both edges of each guide part may be rolled or beaded if desired, and still the intertting relation essentially illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 obtained. The guide sections are of such character that they can be cut tov desired lengths during installation, so that the upper end o'f the lower guide section will come approximately midway of the window opening for a purpose hereinafter to be described.

lIn intallations of the type to which this invention is addressed, it is not ordinarily necessary to provide a guide or closure means at the bottom of the window opening for lightetight interengagement with the draw bar of the shade.

It is, however, usually requisite to provide reiniorcement for the shade cloth midwayV of the window opening to prevent the closure from being blown inwardly and out of the guides if the window is open. I provide such a reinforcement in the form lof a telescopic, hollow bar formed of bent or rolled sheet metal parts of a cross section such as that shown in Figure 10. The outerv part 2l slidably embraces the inner part 28, so that the bar is adjustable as to length. The bar is intended to ride up and down with the closure along the outer leg of the upper side guide part 2'2. Each section has welded to it near its outer end an angularly bent piece of sheet m'e'tal 29, an end of which presents a tongue 36 adapted to ride inside the outer leg of the upper guide section. The reinforcement bar is thus guided upon the upper side' guide section.

The relationship of the bar and tongue 13'@ is such, however, that the bar will not pass the upper end ofthe lower side guide section. Thus, when the shade is drawn, the bar occupies the position shown in Fig. 1. Small, k angularly These prongs or Aarms are shaped feet 3| are attached to the draw bar 32 of the shade closure, as may be done by riveting or bolting. When the shade is raised, these feet contact the reinforcing bar and carry it upwardly with the draw bar so as to leave the Window opening unobstructed. In some installations I may desire to provide latches 33 on the sill for engagement with the feet. By the means heretofore described, and equivalents of them I have achieved an inexpensive structure which nevertheless is eiective for the purpose set forth. It can be made in a single size, and adapted tothe specic size of all window openings of ordinary dimensions'. It comprises few parts; and these are simple. It employs ordinary closures and spring rollers. Modifications, especially as to the shape of the elements involved, may of course be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire 'to' secure by Letters" Patent, is:

l. In a housing for a spring roller, substantially semi-circular end wall members each hav ing an attachment foo'tgsaid end wall members shaped to provide respectively pivotal and nonpivotal support for a spring roller, and a pair of telescopic sections forming' lateral wall portions of said housing, said sections having sockets on their ends, and said end wall members having pins to enter said sockets whereby the said lateral wall portions of said housing may be removed without disturbing the said end wall members.

2. In a dark closure, in combination with a spring roller, shade c'lothand draw bar, a roller housing having lateral walls formed as intertting, telescopic parts substantially' U-shaped in Vcrass-section and end-wall members having peripheral shape coinciding with'the cross-sectional shape of said parts and being attachable to a window frame member, said end-wall members having means for attachment to the ends of said parts and shaped to provide respectively a pivotal and a non-pivotal support for said spring roller, telescopic side guides for engaging the edges of said shade cloth as Vit is withdrawn from said roller housing, said side guides each comprising a pair of interiitting, telescopicparts substantially U-shaped in cross-section, the lower one of said parts of each pair having an edge portion reversely bent about the Yedge portion of the upper one of said parts, and a reinforcing bar ior the shade cloth slidable on the upper part ci each of said side guides and adapted to rest upon the upper end of the lower part oi each of said side guides, said reinforcing bar comprising two intertting, telescopic parts, each of said parts having at one end means adapted to engage within the upper side guide part, said draw bar having feet thereon adapted to' engage and raise said reinforcing bar.

FRANK W. SWORMSTD'I.

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