US3499477A

US3499477A - Blind

Info

Publication number: US3499477A
Application number: US713740A
Authority: US
Inventors: Takashi Niwa
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-03-23
Filing date: 1968-03-18
Publication date: 1970-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 1987-03-10

Description

March 10, 1970 TAKASHI INIWA BLIND 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 18, 1968 I N VENTOR.

aw IV M5 w e m 1 m W March 10, 1970 TAKASHI NIWA I 3, 9

BLIND Filed March 18, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 "INVENTOR. MA AS'H/ /V/W4 March 10, 1970 TAKA'SHI NIWA I 3,499-477 BLIND Filed March 18, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

INVENTOR. Zak/156V 47/444 wiZwzm i gw March 10, 1970 TAKASHI NIIWA 3,499,477

I BLIND 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 18, 1968 m T m V N I B 174/0? S/l/ MW/l z/M/Lw, awn/s4 United States Patent 3,499,477 BLIND Takashi Niwa, 2-9-9, Shingashi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed Mar. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 713,740

Claims priority, application Japan, Mar. 23, 1967, 42/17,687; Apr. 7, 1967, 42/28,668, 42/28,669; Apr. 12, 1967, 42/29,943; Jan. 31, 1968, 43/

Int. Cl. E06b 9/36 US. Cl. 160-166 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a device for operating shading strips in a vertical type of blind having vertically elongated shading strips or screen strips.

The vertical type of blind specifically mentioned herein refers to one which is so constituted that a number of vertically arranged, elongated screen strips are arranged in parallel with each other. Each strip is suspended at one end thereof by a pulley which is mounted on a guide rail. The screen strips can be gathered or drawn to either of the right and left ends of the rail and they can be spread apart and returned to the initial position thereof by reciprocable movement of said pulleys along the guide rail by pulling a cord or the like connected to said pulleys.

Further, said screen strips can be readily and smoothly turned about a vertical axis to direct their surfaces to any angles or directions by pulling another cord or the like.

In the conventional vertical type of blind the screen strips are turned to any desired direction by rotation of threaded vertically short rods, each of which is secured to an upper end of one screen strip and is meshed with a threaded horizontal long rod which rod can be rotated through grooved wheels by pulling a cord. This type of construction has many defects such as the structural complexity due to the essential requirement for arrangement of a large number of threaded short rods so that they can be reciprocably moved and also attached to every screen strip for turning said strips, laborious work in the manufacture of the blind which leads to high manufacturing cost, and short durability due to damage or trouble occasioned during its use.

An object of the present invention, for the purpose of eliminating these defects as mentioned hereinabove, is to provide a device for operating the screen strips in a vertical type of blind, which device is so constituted that the screen strips can be smoothly turned whereby their surfaces can face in any desired direction by means of an extremely simplified mechanism. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for operating screen strips in a vertical type of blind, which device is so constructed that the causes of trouble or damage are reduced to a minimum so that the blind will be durable.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for operating screen strips in a vertical type of ice blind so constituted that the blind can be manufactured more easily and at a lower cost in comparison with the conventional type of vertical blind.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for operating screen strips in a vertical type of blind so constituted that each of a series of twistably movable pieces is connected at one end thereof through a universal joint to a lower end of one of a number of pulleys rotatably mounted on a guide rail and the pieces are fixed at the other end thereof to respective screen strips, and which are movable guide plates are provided movably in a vertical direction for turning said twistably movable pieces to smoothly direct their surfaces to any desired direction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for operating screen strips in a vertical type of blind so constituted that each of the twistably movable pieces is connected at one end thereof to the lower end of a pulley through a universal joint and is fixed at the lower end thereof to the upper end of individual screen strips, said twistably movable pieces being mounted for vertical movement, and fixed guide plates are provided for rotating or turning said twistably movable pieces, thereby enabling said screen strips to turn smoothly and readily to any desired direction.

Further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description given with reference to accompanying drawings showing preferred embodiments of device for operating screen strips in a vertical type of blind according to the present invention. In the accompanying drawings:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are front views of two different embodiments of a vertical type of blind;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are partly enlarged front views of frag ments of FIGURES 1 and 2, respectively;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views, taken along the line V-V of FIG. 3 and the line VI-VI of FIG. 4, respectively;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views of two forms of a twistably movable piece;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a modified twistably movable piece and related mechanism thereof; and

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the assembly of the twistably movable piece and the related mechanism thereof shown in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 5 of the accompanying drawings, a is a frame member, which is mounted on an upper frame portion of a window or other structure defined between two pillars. The frame a includes guide plates 1 extending horizontally and confronting each other and defining a guide space In therebetween.

2 is a bearing into which an axle 3 is inserted. Mounted at both ends of said axle 3 are pulleys or rollers 4 which can move along said guide plates 1.

5 is a twistably movable piece being formed either by an elongated or square plate as shown in FIG. 7 or by a twisted frame member as shown in FIG. 8. In both cases,

the piece 5 is twisted through the angle of of both above and below the longitudinal median portion 5a thereat so that the lower end 50 thereof is displaced through an angle of in relation to the upper end 5b.

Said twistably movable piece 5 extends through a guide groove 6a in a movable guide plate 6 and is connected at the upper end thereof to a pendent portion 2a through an attaching piece 7 and a universal joint 8. The pendent portion 2a is connected to the bearing 2 and extends through and is reciprocably movable along the guide space 1a.

A number of screen strips 9 are each formed in an elongated shape and form a strong cloth woven from refractory fibers or textiles. A thermohardening process can be carried out on said strips for increasing further the refractory and transformation resistance thereof. Each strip 9 is fixed at the upper end thereof by means of an attaching piece 10 to the lower end of a twistably movable piece 5. The lower ends of the strips 9 are joined with each other by means of a cord 11 or the like. The pendent portions 2a of the bearings 2 are also joined with each other by means of a cord 12 or the like.

13 is an endless cord for actuating the pulleys 4. The cord 13 is trained around several guide wheels 14 and includes portions 13a and 131) which are connected to the bearing 2 located at either of the right and left ends of the frame member 1 of the blind. Now, if one portion 13a of the endless or looped cord 13 is pulled, all pulleys 4 are moved in good order to the right in FIG. 1 to transfer all screen strips 9 to the right side. Screen strips 9 thus collected together at the right side can be moved leftwardly and spread apart by pulling another portion 13b of the endless cord 13, thereby restoring said screen strips to their initial positions.

15 is another cord for varying the angle or direction in which the surfaces of the screen strips 9 face. Said cord 15 is trained around guide wheels 16 disposed at several spaced-apart positions inside the frame member a and said cord 15 is connected both at the ultimate end and at the several intermediate portions thereof to two other cords 17. Said cords 17 are connected at the opposite ends thereof to the right and left sides (in FIG. 5) of the movable guide plate 6. A pulling of the cord 15 downwardly causes the movable guide plate 6 to be lifted upwardly by means of the cords 17. The twistably movable pieces 5 are thereby twistably turned in response to the upward movement of said movable guide plate 6, thereby turning the surfaces of screen strips to face in other directions. The angle or direction in which the surfaces of screen strips face varies depending upon the position to which the cord 15 is pulled. The screen strips 9 are maintained in their desired position by any locking or fastening means to which the cord 15 is fastened or hooked. When the cord 15 is released, the movable guide plate 6 descends by gravity and causes the twistably movable piece 5 to turn during its descending movement.

By fastening the cord 15 to any suitable locking or latching means, the movable guide plate 6 and thereby the twistably movable pieces 5 are held against further movement so that the screen strips are held so that their surfaces face in the desired direction. If cord 15 is again released, the movable guide plate 6 descends to its original or initial position, thereby putting the screen strips in good parallel arrangement as they are.

In FIGS. 2, 4 and 6 showing another embodiment, a is a frame member, which is mounted on an upper frame of a window or the like structure defined between two pillars and includes at the upper portion thereinside a bearer plate 19 extending horizontally and having a horizontal guide groove 19a. The frame member a also has a lower guide plate 20 extending horizontally and having ahorizontal guide groove 20a.

Located on said bearer plate 19 is a vertically movable guide rail 21, which has a horizontally extending guide groove 21a therein.

On or above said vertically movable guide rail 21 there is provided an actuating unit consisting of a bearing 2 having a pendent portion 2a, an axle 3 inserted into said bearing 2, and pulleys 4 mounted on both ends of the axle 3 and movable along the vertically movable guide rail 21.

5 is a twistably movable piece, which is formed substantially similar to that set forth in FIGS. 7 and 8. Each of said plurality of twistably movable pieces extends through the groove 20a of the guide plate 20 in a manner as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 and each piece is connected at the upper end thereof o the pendent portion 2a of said bearing 2 through an attaching piece 7 and a universal joint 8. Said pendent portion 2a is arranged for either vertical or horizontal movement inside the guide groove 21a of the guide rail 21.

A number of vertically elongated screen strips 9 are formed from a strong cloth woven with refractory fibers and a thermohardening process can be carried out thereon for increasing the heatproof property and resistance to transformation. Each of said screen strips 9 isconnected at the upper end thereof to the lower end of the twistably movable piece 5 through an attaching piece 10. The lower ends of the strips 9 are joined to each other by a cordll. The pendent portions 2a of the respective bearings 2 are also joined together by another cord 12.

13 is an endless or looped cord for actuating the pulleys 4. The cord 13 is trained over several numbers of guide wheels 14 and is connected at certain positions thereof to the bearing 2 positioned at both the right and left end or either of the two ends of the blind frame. Now, if the cord 13a is pulled, pulleys 4 are moved in good order from the left end to the right in FIG. 2 to move all of the screen strips 9 to the right end of the blind. When the cord 13b is pulled, the screen strips 9 thus gathered or collected at the right end are spread leftwards to be restored to their initial positions.

15 is a cord for varying the direction or angle surfaces of screen strips 9, face. The cord 15 is trained around other guide wheels 16 disposed at several places inside the frame member a of the blind. Said cord 15 is associated both at one side (at the left side in FIG. 2) and at several intermediate places inside of the frame member a with pairs of supplementary cords 17. Each of said pairs of supplementary cords 17 is connected with the left and right edges (in FIG. 6) of the guide rail 21 through a corresponding guide wheel 18. Now, when the cord 15 is pulled, the guide rail 21 is moved upwardly by means of the supplementary cords 17. The bearings 2, are also lifted by means of the pulleys 4. This upward movement causes twistably movable pieces 5 to be moved upwards and due to their twisted shape and their engagement with the guide groove 20a, said pieces 5 are twisted or turned thereby changing direction in which the screen strips face. The angle or direction in which the surfaces of screen strips face is determined by the position of the cord 15. A desired direction or angle of surfaces of screen strips can be obtained by varying the position of the cord 15. The screen strips 9 thus directed so that'their surfaces face in a desired direction are maintained in that position by any adequate locking or latching means with which the cord 15 is fastened or hooked. When the cord 15 is released, bearings 2, pulleys 4 and screen strips 9 descend by gravity. The descending movements of the screen strips 9, bearings 2 and pulleys 4 can be stopped at any desired point by fastening the cord to any hooked means, thereby keeping the screen strips 9 in any angle or direction as they are at the time of stopping.

FIG. 9 shows another twistably movable pieceand a mechanism thereof different from the preceding ones, and FIG. 10 shows a longitudinal sectional view of this embodiment of the present invention with useof the twistably movable piece 22 shown in FIG. 9.

A twistably movable piece 22 in this figure is formed in a cylindrical shape and is provided in the outer peripheral surface thereof with two twisted or helical curved guide grooves 22a each extending in a vertical direction. The two grooves have two points confronting one another at the upper end of the cylinder and terminating at two points confronting each other at the lower end thereof. Said two guide grooves 22a have a point 'of inflection at the median point thereof. The line l joining the two

starting points

22b, 22b is parallel with the line l joining the two terminating

points

220, 22c and said points lie in a common vertical plane. The line l joining each point of inflection of the two grooves makes a right angle to the plane containing both lines 1 and The terminating

points

220, 22c are twisted through an angle of 180 relative to the corresponding points 22b, 22b. Said guide grooves are formed symmetrically in relation to the longitudinal axis passing the median point 220! of the line l and the radial axis.

Said twistably movable piece 22 is connected at the lower end thereof to the upper end of the screen strip 9 through an attaching piece 23 in a manner such that the line l thereof makes a right angle with the surface of the screen strip 9, and is connected at the upper end thereof to the pendent portion 2a of the bearing 2 by a universal joint 8 through an attaching piece 24.

25 is an annular guide ring, which has on the inside peripheral wall thereof a pair of bosses 25a, each being provided at confronting positions and which are received in the twisted grooves 22a of the twistably movable piece 22. Said bosses have respectively outwardly extending portions 25a1, to each of which a pulley 25b is mounted.

A pair of vertically movable frame pieces 26, each having an inverted U-shaped groove in sectional view, are mounted with their grooves facing each other. The pulleys 25b are disposed in said grooves. Said pulleys 25b housed inside the vertically movable frame pieces 26 are movably horizontal along the pieces 26 in response to the actuating movement of main pulleys 4 and said pieces 26 are movable vertically by means of the cords 17 as in the case of FIGS. 1, 3 and 5. In further detail, the vertically movable frame pieces 26 are lifted by pulling the cord 17 by means of the cord 15, and as they move upwardly, the twisted movable piece 22 is turned or rotates with respect to the annular guide ring 25, thereby directing screen strips 9 to face in any desired direction. The other elements in FIG. 10 are similar to those in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5.

The blind in the present invention having a device for operating vertical shading strips so constituted as described hereinabove is much simplified in its structure, which creates many advantages such as reduction of manufacturing cost, reduced trouble, and smooth operation by easy handling.

What is claimed is:

1. A vertical blind construction, comprising:

an elongated generally horizontal frame having a track extending longitudinally thereof;

a plurality of vertically disposed strips extending downwardly from said frame, each strip having a member extending upwardly therefrom;

elongated guide means defining a slot extending longitudinally thereof, said slot being parallel with, disposed below and extending in the same direction as said track, said members extending upwardly through said slot, said members and said guide means having mutually engaging parts capable of effecting rotation of said members about vertical axes in response to relative vertical movement between said guide means and said members in order to effect rotation of said strips about vertical axes;

bearing elements mounted on and supported by said frame for lengthwise movement along said track, each said bearing element having a depending portion extending downwardly below said track and connection means including a swivel device for connecting said depending portion to the upper end of one of said members so that strips can rotate about vertical axes relative to the bearing elements to which they are connected;

means for effecting relative vertical movement between said guide means and said members;

means for moving said bearing elements lengthwise along said track;

said guide means being fixed to said frame and held against vertical movement with respect thereto, and means for effecting vertical movement of said hearing elements and thereby said strips with respect to said frame; and

said. track being defined by a guide rail having opposed spaced-apart edges defining a slot therebetween, each said bearing element having rollers respectively positioned above and resting on said guide rail on opposite sides of the slot therein, and elongated flexible means connected to said guide rail for effecting vertical movement thereof relative to said frame.

2. A vertical blind construction, comprising:

bearing elements mounted on and supported by said frame for length-wise movement along said track, each said bearing element having a depending portion extending downwardly below said track and connection means including a swivel device for connecting said depending portion to the upper end of one of said members so that strips can rotate about vertical axes relative to the bearing elements to which they are connected;

means for moving said bearing elements lengthwise along said track;

said guide means being fixed to said frame and held against vertical movement with respect thereto, and means for effecting vertical movement of said bearing elements and thereby said strips with respect to said frame; and

said guide means is an elongated plate disposed below said guide rail and having a longitudinal slot there through, said members each comprising a flat piece which is twisted about a vertical axis to form a helix of at least about in arcuate extent.

3. A vertical blind construction, comprising:

elongated guide means defining a slot extending longitudinally thereof, said slot being parallel with, disposed below and extending in the same direction as said track, said members extending upwardly through said slot, said members and said guide means having mutually engaging parts capable of effecting rotation of said members about vertical axes in response to vertical movement between said guide means and said members in order to effect rotation of said strips about vertical axes;

bearing elements mounted on and supported by said frame for lengthwise movement along said track, each said bearing element having a depending portion extending downwardly below said track and connection means including a swivel device for connecting said depending portion to the upper end of one of said members so that said strips can rotate about vertical axes relative to the bearing elements to which they are connected;

means for moving said bearing elements lengthwise along said track;

said guide means being fixed to said frame and held against vertical movement with respect thereto, and means for effecting vertical movement of said bearing elements and thereby said strips with respect to said frame; and each of said member is of cylindrical shape and is provided on the peripheral surface thereof with two upright helical grooves Which are circumferentially spaced apart by an angle of about 180, said guide means including portions projecting into said grooves for effecting rotation of said member on relative vertical movement between said member and said guide means. 4. A vertical blind construction according to claim 3, in Which said guide means includes a ring encircling said member and having internal pins projecting into said 8 grooves, a pair of guide rails disposed outside said ring on diametrically opposite sides thereof, said ring having rollers mounted on said guide rails and means for moving said guide rails vertically.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,556,942 6/1951 Reimuller 160l66 2,587,859 3/1952 King 160-166 2,768,679 10/1956 Kiefer 160l66 PETER M. CAUN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.