US2553868A

US2553868A - Roller-type window screen

Info

Publication number: US2553868A
Application number: US42441A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr John Piva
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1948-08-04
Filing date: 1948-08-04
Publication date: 1951-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1968-05-22

Description

MW 22; 1951 l J. PNA, .1R 2,553,868

ROLLER TYPE w-INDow SCREEN` Filed Aug. 4, 194e asheets-sneet 1 May 22, Q 3, PNA, JR 2,553,868

ROLLER TYPE wINn'ow SCREEN Filed Aug. 4, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 22, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT AOFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to window screens and more especially to improvements in window screens of the type that are wound on a roller as distinguished from those stretched over a frame.

Objects of this invention are to provide an improved roller-type screen which will be easy to install, wherein the operating parts are simple and positive in actionand will not make it difficult to raise or lower the sash, wherein the v screen may be wound and unwound easily in use, shifted to different positions to cover the entire window or only the opening occupied by the upper or lower sash, which may be operated independently of the Window sash or in conjunction therewith, which may be positioned to be pulled down when unwound to cover the window opening or to be pulled up, which may readily be stored at the top of the window frame in an outof-the-way position when not in use, vwhich will be of inexpensive construction, durable and effective. y

In accordance with the foregoing objects, the screen is wound on a roller which has a spring for constantly urging it in a direction to wind the screen on the roller, and the latter is mounted between the upright frame members of the win'- dow frame for extension over the entire window opening or such part thereof as is desired. In one form of the invention the free end of the screen is anchored and the roller is slidable f on rails, one of which is xed to each of the upright frame members, Guide members, pivotally xed to the opposite ends of the roller, slid# ably engage and support the roller on the rails', and these guide members constitute latches which are automatically locked to the rails by the force tending to rewind the extended screen.

Each rail has in one edge spaced notches with' which the latches may be engaged, and the latter may manually be tilted to retract them from the notches when it is desirable to extend or shorten the screen. The free end of the screen is anchored by fastening it to an angle bar and then screwing the latter to the window sill or to the top of the window frame. In this form the roller is movable up and down along the rails and the latches are engaged with notches having upwardly facing stop surfaces when the roller is at the sill and by downwardly facing stop surfaces when at the top or" the window. The roller may be stored at the top of the window frame by engagement of its latches with the notches at theupper end of the rails and by releasing the lowerend of the screen from the sill so that it-l may be taken up by the roller. In an alternative form the roller is anchored at the sill or at any intermediate point between the sill and the top by engagementV of its latches with the notches in the rails, and the free end of the screen may be drawn 01T the roll to the desired extent either upwardly or downwardly and is maintained in its extended position by latches corresponding to those attached to the roller. To this end the angle bar, to which is fastened the free end of the screen, has latches corre-- sponding to those on the roller pivotally fixed to its opposite ends. In conjunction with the latches on the angle bar there may be yield# able means for yieldably engaging the latches remote from their pivots and hence holding them in locking engagement with the notches in the rails. To assist in extending the screen there may be finger holds attached to the angle bar close to the latches. To insure extending the screen sufficiently to cover the opening as the sash is raised, it may be desirable, as illustrated herein to connect the angle bar to the lower rail of the sash by hook and eye means.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig.` 1 is a vertical elevation of the inside of a window frame showing the improved rollertype screen with the lower end of the screen xed to the window sill and the roller movable vertically;

Fig. 2 is a'vertical elevation of the inside of a window frame showing the improved rollertype screen with the free end of the screen attached to the lower rail of the lower sash and the roller fixed at the window sill;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 showing the rail at the left-hand side'of the window frame with which the left end of the screen is slidably engaged;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the roller as seen on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1 showing the combined guide and latching means for attaching the roller to a rail, showing the screen partially extended and showing the free end of the screen attached to the window sill;

Fig. 4a is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 4 but with the device reversed so that the free end of the screen is attached to the upper hori` zontal frame member;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1 showing a portion of the window frame and rail in section and the combined guide gaged with the rail;

Fig. 6 is a vertical end elevation on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2 showing the roller located at the window sill and held there by the latching means, the screen partially extended, and the free end of the screen connected to the lower rail of the lower sash;

Fig. '7 is a horizontal section of a portion of the roller at its left end looking at the top;

Fig. 8 is an isometric View of an alternative construction for the free end of the screen in which l'atching 'means are employed in conjunction wit-h the rails showing the left-hand side only;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line .SI-4I of Fig. 8;

Fig. l is a left-hand end view of the `latchi-ng means shown in Fig. 8; and

Fig. 11 is a. view similar to Fig. 9, showing a slight modification. v

Referring to the figures, the inside of the window frame I0 is of conventional construction including horizontal members I2 and I4, the former constituting the window sill, and vertical members I6 within which there are slidably mounted upper and lower sash I8 and 20. The improved roller-type screen, shown generally at 22, is mounted between the vertical frame members I6 and is retained in operative position, as will appear hereinafter, by a pair of tracks or rails 24, one of which is shown in Fig. 3, mounted on the inside of the casing opposite each other between the sill I2 and the upper horizontal member I4. The roller-type screen 22, .as shown in Fig. '7, consists of a hollow roller .26 upon which a flexible screen 28 preferably of plastic is wound and has its ends in bearing sleeves 30. Within the hollow roller 26 there is mounted a spindle 32 with its ends projecting into the bearing sleeves. A coiled spring 34 is Vmounted on the spindle 32 (between Yit and the .hollow roller and is fastened at one end to the Yroller and at its opposite end to the spindle so that va force is constantly applied bythe spring in a direction to turn the cylinder 26 about the spindle 32 land hence to wind the 'screen 28 on the roller. The roller, screen and spindle are contained within a housing 36 (Fig. '7) which includes a fiat wall 38, a semi-cylindrical curved wall 45 fastened to its opposite edges, and Vnat end walls 42. Apertures 44 in the end walls 42 accommodate the ends of the bearing sleeves 30. The housing is supported for movement on the rails 24 by a pair of guide members 48, each of which has a web 50 at opposite sides 'of which are inwardly turned flanges 52 forming a vchannel for engagement with the opposite edges of the rails 24 (Fig. 5). It is to be observed that each rail is channel-shaped, having lateral flanges at opposite sides which stand away from the frame members to which they are attached so thatI there will be sufficient clearance for the inwardly turned flanges 52 to slide freely therealong. The guide members 48 are pivotally attached by suitable means such as rivets 54 to the ends of the spindle 32. As thus constructed and as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the housing may be positioned at different positions on the rails 24 by sliding it along the rails in an up or down direction. Notches are formed in the edges of the rails with which the guides cooperate to hold the housing at any desired position. To permit reversing the position of the device so that the screen may be extended upwardly or downwardly, each rail is Aprovided along one edge with a plurality of reversely positioned notches 58 and 60 (Fig. 3), the notches 58 having downwardly facing stop surfaces 62 and the notches 60 having upwardly facing stop surfaces 64. In one use the free end of the screen may be semipermanently fixed and the roller moved along the rails. To this end the free end of the screen is attached to a stii angle bar 66 having a horizontal ange 68 by bending the free end of the screen double about the horizontal flange and placing over it a channel 10. Apertures are formed through the horizontal flange 68 and .the channel '10, and through these apertures are passed screws l2 for fastening the free end of .the Ascreenft'o the window sill I4 or if the device is used in the reverse position by screwing the bar GSto the member I4 at the top of the frame.

As .thus arranged, .the screen is drawn from the housing to cover the window opening, left by raising y'or lowering the sash a given amount, by sliding the housing in the appropriate direction along the rails. The housing will'be 'automatically 'locked in position when it is Lplaced opposite the

appropriate notches

60 or 60 by vthe force Vwhich Vtends to rewind the screen 'on the roller, that is, a force having a line of action in the `plane of the screen and an arm equal to the distance between the plane of the vscreen and the axis of the spindle 32 which tends to `tilt the spindle in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 4, the housing being prevented from tilting by engagement of the flat wall 3.8 with the angle members 23 situated at opposite sides of the frame and interposed between the Arails 24 and the frame. This causes biasing of the latches v48 with the result that the flanges -52 engage the stop surfaces 62 `or 64 of apair lof the notches. When it is desirable to change the position of the roller to extend or diminish the length of the screen, the latches may be rocked into inoperative position by thumb pieces 56 formed integral therewith. The angle members 23 heretofore referred to form a seal at the sides of the window by close engagement with the edges of the screen.

In an alternative form of the invention the roller may be anchored, as shown in Fig. 6,-at the window sill by engagement Vof the latches 48 with the downwardly facing stop surface 52 of the lowermost notch 58, or at the top of lthe window by engagement with the upwardly .facing stop surfaces 64 of the topmost notches 60 and the free end of the screen may be moved in the appropriate direction to extend it across the window opening. In this form of the invention the free end of the screen is, as heretofore Vdescribed, attached to an angle rbar E5 bymeans'of a channel 78. At the oppositeends of the channel are upright flanges 'I4 (Fig. 9) which are pivotally attached at 16, the combined guides and .latches 48 corresponding to those attached to the roller as heretofore described. The latches have inwardly directed flanges 52 for engagement with the rails, and as the free end of the screen :is moved, these latches will engage the

notches

58 or 60 and will automatically be held in locking engagement with a selected pair of the notches by the pull exerted upon the screen to rewind it on its roller. To assistin kpositively engaging the latches 48 with a given set of notches, spring members 'I8 (Figs. 9 and 10) maybe attached by screws 8E! to the channel I0 so that they yieldably engage the under sides of the thumb pieces 56 and hence tend to bias the latches in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 10., Vthereby positively to bring the flanges 5,2 into engagement with the stop surfaces. There may also be located close to the thumb pieces 56 finger holds 82 (Fig. 8) fastened to or formed integral with the channels to assist in raising or lowering the screen. In Fig. 10, there is shown (mounted upon the channel 70) an angle bar 89 having a vertical flange 90 which is directed upwardly and lies in the plane of the vertical ange of the bar 66, by engagement with the rail 24.

It may be desirable to insure extension of the screen sufliciently to cover the window opening to connect the free end of the screen to the lower rail of the lower sash, as shown in Fig. 6. To this end there may be attached to the channel 'I8 a pair of upwardly extending eyes 84 which may be engaged with hook members 86 attached by screws 88 to the inside face of the lower rail of the lower sash or if the screen is raised to the upper rail of the upper sash. As thus constructed, when the sash is moved, the same screen will move a corresponding amount.

In either form of the invention as disclosed herein, the roller may easily be placed in an outof-the-way position at the top of the window for storage, for example, during the winter months, when the screen is not necessary, by moving the housing to the top of the window and engaging its latches 48 with the uppermost notches 64. If the lower or free end of the screen is attached to the sill, it will be necessary to remove the i.

screws 12 to allow the screen to be withdrawn into the housing. If the free end of the screen is attached to the window sash, as shown in Fig. 6, it may be disengaged therefrom and allowed to be withdrawn into the housing whereupon the housing may be placed at the top of the window.

The roller-type screen as thus described, it is apparent, is of simple construction, easy to operate, and is adapted to use either in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the window sash or independently thereof, and, furthermore, may be stored when not in use in an out-of-theway position so that it comprises a very satisfactory and easily operable appliance.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a window frame including vertical and horizontal frame members, a light-transmitting, foraminous window screen of the type which is wound on a roller having a spring which tends to wind the screen onto the roller when the latter is pulled olf, rigid rails fixed to the opposed vertical window frame members for mounting the screen between the vertical members of the frame with the screen extended, said rigid rails having inwardly projecting, laterally extending flanges, the edges of which are parallel and form tracks, slides pivotally fastened to the lateral edges of the screen at one end, having opposed inwardy facing channels adapted slidably to embrace said track flanges, said track flanges having notches therealong at predetermined intervals, with which portions of the slides may be engaged for anchoring an end of the screen to the rails while extended, the engaged portions of the slides and the notches being held in locking engagement solely by the force tending to rewind the screen onto the roller, and means on said slides for rocking them out of engagement with the notches to release the slides on the track and to permit adjusting the extended portion of the screen to shorten or lengthen it.

2. In combination with a window frame according to claim 1, wherein the screen is contained within a housing, the slide members are pivotally fastened to the ends of the housing so that the housing may slide vertically on the rigid rails, and there is means at the free end of the screen for anchoring it to the upper or lower rail of the window sash.

3. In combination with a window frame referring to claim 1, wherein the screen is contained within a housing, the slides are pivotally fastened to the housing so that the screen may be moved vertically along the tracks, there is means for making the housing fast to a rail of the window sash so as to move therewith, and there is means for fastening the free end of the screen to the upper or lower horizontal frame member. I

4. In combination with a window frame according to claim l, wherein the screen roller is anchored and the slides are pivotally fastened to opposite edges of the free end of the screen for engagement with the rigid rails.

JOHN PIVA, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 269,452 Palmer Dec. 19, 1882 482,798 Killinger Sept. 20, 1892 569,592I Slight Oct. 13, 1896 933,245 Gibson Sept. 7, 1909 997,600 Cabral July 11, 1911 1,073,426 Landfair Sept. 16, 1913 1,870,920 McNulty Aug. 9, 1932 1,952,689 Selje Mar. 27, 1934 1,990,830 Lang Feb. 12, 1935 2,107,755 Kemp Feb. 8, 1938 2,207,856 Gieser July 16, 1940