WO2010082227A2

WO2010082227A2 - Roller shutter for both protecting and aerating rooms

Info

Publication number: WO2010082227A2
Application number: PCT/IT2010/000006
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nicola Benedetto
Original assignee: Nicola Benedetto
Priority date: 2009-01-19
Filing date: 2010-01-14
Publication date: 2010-07-22
Also published as: ES2398840T3; WO2010082227A3; PL2398993T3; SI2398993T1; EP2398993A2; WO2010082227A4; CY1114017T1; PT2398993E; EP2398993B1; ITMT20090001A1; HRP20121046T1

Abstract

Roller shutter comprising a plurality of slats 30 in order to provide a curtain sliding in a couple of sliding guides. The slats 30 comprise a fixed frame 40 and at least a movable swinging wing 1. The roller shutter does not contain any active driving mechanisms for rotating the swinging wings as their rotation is only provided by the gravity force. The winding up of the curtain around the roller in the rising and lowering steps can be either manual and motorized. The roller shutter allows the double function of aerating rooms and protecting them from light, water and dust infiltrations and can be realized in any material.

Description

ROLLER SHUTTER FOR BOTH PROTECTING AND AERATING ROOMS

Description The present invention relates to a swinging slatted roller shutter obtained by assembling elements in extruded aluminium, profiled aluminium, wood or plastic material. According to the current state of art concerning the building constructions field, it is commonly used to mount curtains outside the windows, which curtains are indifferently and commonly defined "roller shutters" regardless of the materials used (aluminium, steel, plastic etc..) . The "roller shutters" comprise an assembly of slats, which are designed such that each slat is allowed to be coupled with the other one and to be rotated with respect to the other one of at least 90°, in order to be provided the winding up around a roller. The assembly of more slats, their number depending on their size, provides a classical roller shutter curtain. As known, such shutter can be wound around a roller by actuating the same roller in rotation and unwound, sliding inside a couple of vertical guides. The "roller shutters" have the function of protecting from the outer light and outer infractions, but, even if some models are provided with slots extending along the whole length of the slats, they cannot allow a sufficient aeration of the rooms when the roller shutter is in the lowered position. The ever more pressing need for providing the two functions at the same time, i.e. both protecting and aerating rooms, has lead to study and project the present invention, which is described in the following.

The object of the present invention is to provide a swinging slatted roller shutter, which is suitable to provide both the protection and the aeration of the rooms at the same time.

Therefore, the present invention is aimed at guaranteeing the protection and the aeration of the rooms by means of the swinging slatted roller shutter, by swinging the same slats without using any external driving mechanisms but only thanks to the gravity force. The suitably shaped and assembled profiles function as to make every slat a little window, i.e. each slat has a little wing 1 (fig. 2), which rotates thanks to the gravity force. These and other new characteristics will be highlighted in the following description, with reference to the enclosed drawings 1/8 to 8/8, in which: - Fig. Ia is an axonometric view of the roller shutter according to the present invention, which has been cut along a horizontal plane;

Fig. Ib is an axonometric view as well, showing the shutter of Fig. Ia, which has been cut along a horizontal plane and along a vertical plane;

Fig. 2 shows a detail of the little wing;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view, showing the assembly of each slat; - Fig. 4 shows several possible cross section of the lower fixed profiles with dovetail coupling;

Fig. 5 shows a detail of the wings in the opening and closing steps, a section of the sliding guides and of the ending slat; - Fig. 6 shows a panoramic view of the roller shutter in the assembling step.

Fig. 7 is an assembly of the roller shutter according to an alternative modular embodiment;

Fig. 8 is an exploded view of the embodiment in Fig. 7, showing the assembly of each slat; Fig. 9 shows the modular slat according to the embodiment of Fig. 7

Fig. 10 is an exploded view of the modular slat according to the embodiment of Fig. 7 The object of the present invention is a swinging slatted roller shutter, comprising a plurality of slats. The slats of the shutter can also be realized according to a modular design (Fig. 7-10) . Each slat 30, 30a (Figs. 3, 9) comprises a fixed frame 40, 40a and at least a movable swinging wing

1. In particular said fixed frame comprises several elements: two or more supports 2, a lower fixed profile 3, at least one pin 4, a set of plugs 5a, 5b, 5c and a gasket 6. According to a first embodiment (Figs. 1-6) the slat 30 comprises a fixed frame 40 (comprising a couple of supports 2) and one wing 1. The supports

2, which can be obtained both from pieces of extruded profile and from moulded pieces of several materials as for example plastics, aluminium alloys or the like, are characterized in that they are provided with: a through-hole 7 which allows the rotation around the axis of a couple of pins 4 ; - a protrusion 8 in the lower portion, which protrusion is shaped such that the coupling with the lower fixed profile 3 is allowed; this coupling being provided without altering its function, i.e. of making it an unique piece, by means of a dovetail coupling (fig. 4a) or a click obtained by an undercut (fig. 4b) or also by means of screws (fig. 4c) .

The lower fixed profile 3 is instead provided with the following basic characteristics: in the upper portion, it can be alternatively provided with a dovetail coupling 9 (fig. 4a) or an undercut (fig. 4b) or it is possible to introduce a screw therein (fig. 4c) : however it is always provided with a shape or a system such that it becomes integral with the supports 2; - its lower portion 10 allows the upper portion 11 of the swinging wing 1, to be coupled and to be rotated without disengaging therefrom; it allows the wing 1 to be rotated around the axis of the two pins 4, either in clockwise and counterclockwise direction; it allows the dovetail coupling to be employed also as seat of a gasket 6 (Fig. 6), thus making the roller shutter advantageously hermetic to the atmospheric agents by means of the coupling of the fixed profile 3 with the swinging wing 1. By firmly coupling the side supports 2 with the lower fixed profile 3 it is obtained the frame 40, which by adding two pins 4, allows the wing 1 to be rotated. The two supports 2, the lower profile 3, the two pins 4 and the movable wing 1 as a whole provide the classical functioning of a projecting little window (Fig. 2) . Since with its upper portion 11, preferably shaped as a hook 14, the wing 1 is intended to be coupled with the profile 3 and since this upper portion 11 is offset with respect to the axis of the hole 15, the weight of the lower fixed profile 3 of the upper slat, which leans as a lever, makes the wing 1, belonging to the subsequent lower slat, rotate without the aid of any driving mechanisms (gears, chains or the like) ; on the contrary, in the traction step, the weight of the underlying profiles closes by squashing the lower portion of the wing 1 towards the gasket.

Since the side supports 2 and the swinging wing 1 are provided with tubular recesses, there are provided plugs 5a, 5b, 5c which in addition to provide an aesthetic function and a safety function against possible hand cutting in the assembly step, provide also the technical function of blocking the wings pulling out along the longitudinal axis by means of the spacer 12.

It is clear that the obtained final product quality is surely higher than that of the "roller shutters" known so far.

The thus simply defined embodiment of the invention, i.e. the assembly of slats made up of a fixed portion and a movable portion, which together provide the roller shutter curtain, the roller shutter sliding in suitable guides 13, protects, aerates or closes hermetically the window openings. The roller shutter curtain winding around the roller, either upwards or downwards, can be both manual and motorized. As above stated, the movable portions of the slats making up the invention open by means of the transmission of the weight force of the upper slats on the lower ones by means of a lever, which is deliberately obtained by offsetting the position of the upper portion 11, 14 of the movable wing 1 with respect to the centre of the hole 15. The wings rotation starts from the bottom of the shutter towards the top. In order to cause this procedure, it is necessary that the ending slat 16 abuts a stop (Fig. 5) . On the contrary, the hermetical closing is provided when the ending slat approaches said stop. In order to obviates the difficulty of finding this point, it is realized a telescopic ending slat 16 made up of two profiles. The upper profile 17 integral with the lower profile 18 approaches the hermetical closing position of some centimetres. Said upper profile coupling with the last movable slat comprises a hollow body and two inner protrusions (22) apt to hold the lower profile (18) . Another fundamental characteristic of the invention is a new special section of the sliding guides 13 (fig. 5); in fact, thanks to the short portion 19, the swinging wings can rotate without obstacles in the opening step; on the contrary, when the swinging wings are in the closed position, the longer portion 20 allows to cover the gap needed to prevent friction between the swinging wings 1 and the support 2, and not to let light, water and dust pass therethrough. For shutters having a remarkable width, an alternative modular embodiment of the shutter is proposed. Infact, in wide shutter embodiments, a single wing 1, depending on the used material, could have a consistent bending and therefore could not work properly. The alternative proposed embodiment (Figs. 7-10) is a modular one, wherein the slat 30a comprises a fixed frame 40a and more than one wing 1. The fixed frame 40a has more than two supports, particularly a couple of side supports 2 and at least one central support 2a, depending on the total width of the slat. The other main difference is that the couple of pins 4 are replaced by a passing through pin 4 (advantageously a pipe) and a couple of stop elements 4a at the two ends of the pin 4.

With this embodiment, a standard sliding guide 13 can be used. The ending slat 16 is realized as in the previous embodiment or, according to an improved solution, comprises an upper profile 17 having internal protrusions 22, a lower profile 18 having external protrusion 22a, a retain elastic mean 23 and a closing plug 24.

Claims

1. Roller shutter comprising a plurality of slats (30, 30a) in order to provide a curtain sliding in a couple of sliding guides (13), characterized in that said slats (30, 30a) comprises a fixed frame (40, 40a) and at least a movable swinging wing (1) .

2. Roller shutter according to claim 1, wherein said fixed frame (40) comprises two or more supports (2, 2a) , a lower fixed profile 3, at least one pin (4, 4a), a set of plugs 5a, 5b, 5c and a gasket 6.

3. Roller shutter according to claim 2, characterized in that said supports (2) are provided with a through-hole (7) which allows the rotation of the wing 1 around a couple of pins (4), and with a protrusion (8) in the lower portion, the protrusion being shaped as to allow said lower fixed profile (3) to be coupled therewith.

4. Roller shutter according to claim 3, wherein the coupling of the support (2) with the lower fixed profile (3) is provided by means of a dovetail slot, a click obtained by means of an undercut, one or more screws or rivets or by means of any- other similar coupling means.

5. Roller shutter according to claim 2, characterized in that the lower fixed profile (3) is provided with the following properties:

- in the upper portion, it can be alternatively provided with a dovetail slot (9), an undercut or it is possible to introduce a screw therein.

- its lower portion (10) allows an upper portion (11, 14) of said swinging wing (1) to be coupled and rotated without disengaging therefrom; - it allows said swinging wing (1) to be rotated around an axis, either in clockwise and counterclockwise direction; it uses the dovetail slot also as seat of a gasket (6) . 6. Roller shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper portion (11) of the wing (1) is offset with respect to the axis of the hole (15), so that the weight of the lower fixed profile (3) of the upper slat, acting as a lever, makes the wing (1), belonging to the subsequent lower slat, rotates without the aid of any driving mechanisms.

7. Roller shutter according to claim 1, wherein the slat (30a) comprises a fixed frame (40a) and more than one wing (1) .

8. Roller shutter according to claim 7, wherein the fixed frame (40a) comprises a couple of side supports (2), at least one central support (2a) and a passing through pin 4. 9. Roller shutter according to claim 1, wherein the ending slat is realized as a telescopic slat (16) .

10. Roller shutter according to claim 9, characterized in that the telescopic ending slat (16) comprises an upper profile (17)" and a lower profile (18), said upper profile coupling with the last movable slat and comprising a hollow body and two inner protrusions (22) apt to hold the lower profile (18) . 11. Roller shutter according to claim 9, characterized in that the telescopic ending slat (16) comprises an upper profile (17) having internal protrusions (22), a lower profile (18) having external protrusion (22a) , a retain elastic mean (23) and a closing plug (24) .

12. Roller shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sliding guide (13) comprises a couple of portions, delimiting the curtain sliding area, of different dimensions, a short one (19) and a long one (20) .

3. Roller shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by a gasket (6) introduced in a slot (9) of said lower fixed profile (3) .