US2565840A - Slatted blind - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 28, 1951 R. c. CLARK E-TAL SLATTED BLIND Filed 001;. 28, 1947 IN VEN TOR.

ROBERT c. CLARK a. wuss ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SLATTED BLIND:

Robert.Q,: la k h mas J nes, Sanlirancisco, Calif...

Application 0ctoher=28, 194'.T, Se rial No. 782,500

ifila ma This invention relates; to; improvements; in;

slatted blinds for windows, of a; type,- commonly called Venetian blinds, and more-particularly relates to such blindsin whicl'i-slatsaretiltable and readily removable; and replaced, and guided; in.

their upward and downward moyement.

Disadvantages have. heretofore; been; encountered-in so-called Venetian blinds :in-;maintaining the slats clean in use in; maintaining; the slats in proper substantially parallel; relation while being raised and'lowered; in eIlmina-tingrubbing of the ends of, slats against-window drae peries, in tilting theI slats to a: completely closed position, in making lifting. cords; iny-isible,1 in

laundering the guiding. suppor.tlng ,-tapes,- as-well as other disadvantages.-

Therefore, it may be stated as -among the ob:

jects of this inventionare to providea; Venetian blind apparatus in which the.- cords, for raising,

and loweringthe slats.donotpagthrough the slats or any portion thereof; proyidmeasily; emqr and p ce bleats: eiproyi et r;

easy. and i m napfa.: hac at s e amr taining them relativelyparalleh to. pr videmflans.

forv guiding the vertical moyernent to provide for maint l 'ngth sl contacting relationof their adjaogust-ed. the slats are tilted .-to. clos d pos'itiofor making the elevating vide for removability of t g I laundering; a v d in. L Q QEQmE-t- IQMQQWSQ without radical departure from. the standardized V vaas nerallw upon the economy of-manuiactureiand;efficiency;

parts M 1 1? nd kandatqe m of operation of devices pfthischg1fflqtlil};

Witlil the foregoing and;other-pbjeots in view;

allof which will -m ore ,full hereip appeanone;

form in which. the inventio a be embodied in: the accompanying drawl stood that changes-in form, s1; rialand other'minorgdetails na by substitution of equiyalents -w r e waitt e inreein n t app nd d c a ms-- Inthe drawing;

is set forth; in this descript n and illustratedz. it belngc under Fig-v id llt eratl eat ew-e anama;

section;

F193 is f re m eiara oesliusimtsecti ni.

Fig. 5 is a perspective, enlargement of, apporticn-of Fig; 1;

Fig. 6 is a, fragmentary end view of a modified: form,.and-

Fig. '7 is a vertical fragmentary section of tapes; and slats illustrative partly of operation.

Referring to the drawing in which. like, reference characters indicate corresponding parts; in theseveral views, I0 indicates generally a frame such as the usual Window or door frame,-, in connection with which a slatted blind: is; to: be hung. Thereissecured to and extendingforwardly from the Window frame a headplate. H which is disposed in a horizontal plane: of. a. length substantially equal tothe. width? of the.- window frame opening. The. specific means for: securing the headplate to the window-framemay be of any suitable type of bracket of sufficient; strength, bearing in mind that at times there: may be considerable stress of pull on the cords ofthe blind, and further bearing in mind that. the blind must be adequately supported verti-v cally as well as against lengthwise movement, and that the brackets must not interfere with the. operation of raising, lowering, or tilting f of theslats of the blind or the. manipulation of operative cords. Supporting brackets of con-. ventional type are here shown. at l2 and IS. A. canopy id may likewise be mounted by any suitable brackets over the top of therheadplate; with adepending front board Ma, the canopy not; being an operative element, but merely for es-z thetic appearance and to provide a means behind I which the slats may be hidden from view when:

. they are completely raised, as well as to prevent dust from settling on the'headplate and also theslatswhenthe latter remain in completely raised position over long periods of time.

Suspended from the under face of the head-. plate, H is an upper tilting rail [5; one end of which is ,pivotally and removably mounted by pin 16 in an open hooked bracket ii; and the opposite endof which is pivotally and removably mounted by a square headed pin. is in a tilting gear assembly generally indicated 19. The tilt-.- ing gear assembly is a standard and conventional J assembly obtainable in several. types onthe open. market and therefore is not described or'illustrated. in. detailof its vpartsyotherthan to state generally that one well-known type whichfis adapted ,for use has acasing provided with a: bracket for mounting it to the headplate, andwithin, the casing is a driven worm shaftwith whichz meshesz a driven: worm-gear having: a

square axial-:opening :to-receive the square end of";

pin [8, the Worm shaft having mounted at one of its end outside of the casing a small sheave, the groove of which has sockets therein and which may be rotated in either direction by a chain 20 of successively linked balls. Thus, when either end of the chain is pulled it rotates the sheave and thereby the worm drive shaft and the driven worm gear and the pin I 8, whereby the upper tilting rail l5 may be tilted from a horizontal plane.

Upon the upper tilting rail are securely mounted one end of relatively longitudinally spaced textile web tapes 2| forming elongated depending loops, of which there are, always at least two, and more if appropriately necessary for a wider blind. Secured to and preferably enclosed within the opposite end of the'opposed flights of the loop of the web tapes so as to be tiltable thereby, is a lower tilting rail 22 which is likewise secured to thetape so that the upper and lower tilting :rails' may be tilted in unison. Any suitable meansmay be employed to secure the" tapes to the upper and lower tilting rails, such as staples, but it is preferred that such securing means be releasable snap fasteners or buttons 23, since this type of fastener permits the tapes to be'readily removed from the tilting rails for laundering or replacement.

The oppositeends of the lower tilting rail are pivotally mounted by pins 24 in slide blocks or shoes 25, 25a, which ride in opposingly spaced channels 26 and are slidably confined therein by flanges 2611 at the opposite edges of spaced vertical side wings 27. These side wings are of somewhat greater vertical height than the entire length of the tapes 2!. In order to reduce frictional drag, the slide blocks 25 have a portion of their opposite sliding faces cut away as at 28 so that they have sliding bearing on rounded end portions only. At least one of the side wings is hingedly mounted by any suitable type of hinge member 29, it being optional whether the opposing wing be hingedly mounted, though under certain conditions it is desirable to have both wings hingedly mounted, in order to meet conditions where one end of the blind must be positioned so closely to a wall or other obstruction that a wing at that end could not be swung outward on its hinges, in which event the opposite hinged wing would be available for the use and purposes hereinafter described. For usual installations, however, it is believed that having one end wing hingedly mounted is sulficient.

It will be observed that the tape loops 2| are provided with vertically spaced cross webs or lacing webs 3E3 connecting the opposite flights or runs of the tape loop, forming what may be termed a tape ladder. These cross webs support elongated slats 3!, the relative vertical spacing of the cross webs being just a trifle less than the lateral transverse width of the slats. The slats are of wood, plastic, or lightweight sheet metal strip material, and are rectangular in plan so that they may be cut from strip material perpendicular to the longitudinal edges of the strip, and are free of holes, notches, or other accommodations for passing cords therethrough or attachment of cords thereto. They are of suflicient width so that when tilted by the tape ladder from a normal horizontal plane to a substantially vertical plane, they relatively overlap slightly at their adjacent edges, that is, the lower edge of one tilted slatxslightly overlaps the upper edge of the next adjacent slat when the slats 75-" are completely tilted to vertical positions. The slats rest loosely upon the cross webs 30, and are of suflicient length so that their ends loosely and slidably engage within the channels 26 of the opposed side wings, so as to be guided and aligned thereby in upward and downward movement.

Cord means are provided for raising and lowering the tapes and slat"v ladder, consisting of a cord loop 32 for'manual manipulation, the loop being divided into two branches or lines which move in unison by means of a clasp 33. Both branch lines pass through a small sheave 34 having a helical thread at the bottom of its groove" so that'the cords run free at the center ofthe groove and by pulling the cord loop laterally the branch "line cords are thrown against a braking or looking surface. This sheave and cord arrangement are. well-known standard equipment in thisart and need no more detailed description. One branch line cord 35 runs from the sheave 34 over a small guide pulley 31, then back of the channel flange or front molding 26a. and forwardly of the'adjacent end of the slat ladder, and has its terminal end removably attached to the forward portion-of the upper edge of the slide block 25 b'y a snap hook 35a, whereas the other cord line 36 extends from the sheave idiagonally'acrossthe upper face of the headplate ll, thence over an antifriction small guide pulley 3M and downwardly behind the adjacent opposite end portions of the slat ladder, and has its terminal end removably attached to the rearward upp'er'edg'e portion of the slide block 25a by similar snap" hook 36a. Suitable upstanding spacer blocks 38 which may also serve as guides, may be provided on the upper face of the headplate H so thjat the canopy will not contact the cord 36 and restrict its free movement.

In the modification of Fig. 6 the side wings 21a are not hingedly mounted to swing as in Fig. l, but the slats are removable and replaceable through a vertical'slotted opening 21b in the side wing, the slotbeing preferably of lesser width than thelateral transverse width of the slats. The slats may be removed through this elongated slotted opening by tilting the slats from their normal horizontal plane to a partially vertical plane, thoughwhen the slats are in their normal horizontal plane position they will not slide through the opening because the slot is narrower than the width of the slat. M

In operation the raising and lowering of the slats is accomplished by pull and release manipulation of cord loop 32, and the lines thereof 35, 36, the line 35' being hidden from view behind the wing flange 2611 at one end of the blind and the line 36 being-hidden from view behind the oppositeends of the slats-both lines sliding freely because they are held away from frictional contact with the-slatsyinasmuch as the small guide pulleys 37, 31d, as the case may be, are positioned at the edge portion of the headplate and have the terminal endsthereof'secured to the outer ends of the upper edge of the slide blocks. Since these latter attachments are releasable, they permit the upper and lower tilting rails ll, 22, to

be entirely separated from the elevating cord arrangement and removed as a unit, such removal being accomplished by lifting the pin ['6 from the upper tilting rail bracket I1 and removing the opposite square bead pin I8 from the square axial opening of the driven gear of tilting ap- In the apparatus of Fig. 1*it'is'only necessary to swing one of the hinged wings 21 outwardly and to detach the snap hooks of cords 35, 3'6 from the slide blocks, whereupon the upper and lower tilting rails, the slide blocks, the tape ladder, and the slats may be removed as a unit, for cleaning or repair, or the individual slats may be removed as desired. In the modification of Fig. 6 which does not have the hinged mounting of the side wings, the slats should first be removed through the slotted opening 211), said snap hooks released, and then the lower tilting rail 22 and the attached slide blocks may be removed or replaced between the wings by tipping to an inclined position. When thus dismounted, the tapes may be removed by unsnapping the snap fastener buttons so that the tapes may be laundered. If the tapes are stapled to the tilting rails it is only necessary to remove a few staples which makes laundering equally and easily practical.

In raising and lowering the slats it is to be noted that the slide blocks and the ends of the slats are guided by the channels 26 so that the slats are maintained vertically aligned, and that the weight of the lower tilting rail, guided as it is by the slide blocks 25, maintains the slots in relative parallelism while they are being raised and lowered. In this connection it will be also observed that the clasp 33 on both lines of the pull cord 32 simultaneously or jointly makes the pull or release tension equal on both the elevating lines 35, 36.

As previously stated, the tilting of the slats from normal horizontal fully open position to a substantially vertical fully closed position, or to any intermediate position is accomplished by the tilting gear generally indicated 19, operating to tilt the upper tilting rail H and thereby tilting the crosswebs of the tapes upon which the slats repose, and also tilting the lower tilting rail 22. Since the lower tilting rail is pivotally mounted by pins 24 in the slide blocks which are guided in channels 26, regardless of the angle of tilt of the slats and tilting rails, the operation of raising and lowering of the slats of the blind is with equal facility regardless of the angle or plane of the slats.

It is to be further noted that by providing that the respective elevating lines 35, 35 shall operate totally independent of, and free of any connection to the slats, the slats may be tilted to a substantially complete vertical position, the cross webs of the tape ladder being so spaced relatively that when the slats are tilted to a substantially complete vertical position the adjacent edges of next adjacent slats overlap just a trifle so that the blind is completely closed to light or vision therethrough. The advantage of this facility may be illustrated by comparison with the well-known method of threading the elevating cord lines through holes in the longitudinal center of the slats in line with and underlying the tapes, in which event the thickness of the cord lines prevents the slats from closing or remaining completely closed when tension is released on the lines.

Since in both raising and lowering the slats they are guided in the channels 26 of the wings, there is no possibility of rubbing or snagging against adjacent draperies around a window or other place where the blind is used. Also, by such guiding and retention of the ends of the slots and lower tilting rail in the guiding channels 26, there is no possibility for the flexibly tape-supported blind to blow out into a room, if a window be open for ventilation.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as patentable is:

1. A slotted blind structure including a plurality of elongated slats, upper and lower tilting rails, flexible means interconnecting the slats and tilting rails, means for raising and lowering the lower tilting rail and slats, a guide channel at each side of the blind structure, a slide block freely slidable in each guide channel, pivotal connections between the slide blocks and the ends of the lower tilting rail, and hinge means for securing one guide channel to a window frame so that said channel can be readily swung to one side to facilitate removal of the tilting rails, slats and slide blocks.

2. The combination of claim 1, in which the slide blocks extend across the guide channels and the slide blocks have a portion of their opposite sliding faces cut away so that said blocks have sliding bearing on rounded corner portions, to reduce frictional drag.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the slide blocks extend across the guide channels and the slide blocks have a portion of their opposite sliding faces cut away so that said blocks have sliding bearing on corner portions, to reduce frictional drag.

4. The combination of claim 1 including hinge means for securing each channel to a window frame so that both channels can be readily swung to the side to facilitate removal of the tilting rails, slats and slide blocks.

ROBERT C. CLARK. THOMAS C. JONES.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,914,050 Smith June 13, 1933 2,069,084 Brent et al. Jan. 26, 1937 2,242,697 Duca May 20, 1941 2,255,311 Butler et al. Sept. 9, 1941 2,421,308 Anderson May 2'7, 1947

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