WO2021141489A1

WO2021141489A1 - Cord operated device for a blind, an assembly of such a device and a blind

Info

Publication number: WO2021141489A1
Application number: PCT/NL2021/050002
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nanne Willem VALKENBURG
Original assignee: Vako B.V.
Priority date: 2020-01-06
Filing date: 2021-01-05
Publication date: 2021-07-15
Also published as: EP4087998B1; EP4087998A1; NL2024608B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a cord operated device for a blind, such as a roman blind, a roller blind, or a top down bottom up blind. The invention also relates to an assembly of at least one device according to the invention, and at least one blind, 5 such as a roman blind, a roller blind, or a top down bottom up blind.

Description

Cord operated device for a blind, an assembly of such a device and a blind

The invention relates to a cord operated device for a blind, such as a roman blind, a roller blind, or a top down bottom up blind. The invention also relates to an assembly of at least one device according to the invention, and at least one blind, such as a roman blind, a roller blind, or a top down bottom up blind.

Blinds are typically provided for use with windows and can normally be moved between a fully raised position when no shading is required, and a fully extended position when full shading is required, and at locations intermediate the same to provide partial shading. Manual adjustment of the position of a blind is typically realized by pulling a looped cord. However, to young children the looped cord can be deadly if it gets them caught around their neck. More recent developments aim to find a more child safe solution, such as for example disclosed in the international patent application WO2015/174827, disclosing a cord operated device wherein use is made of a looped cord which is rotatably supported in a housing in such a way that when on said chain a force is exerted higher than a given value, said roller will be drawn out of said housing which would reduce the risk of injury of children. However, as long as use is made of a looped cord (or looped chain), child safety risks will always be present. Hence, there is a need to develop an improved device to manually operate blinds, where the aforementioned risk is further reduced, and preferably completely eliminated.

It is a first object of the invention to provide a relatively child safe cord operated device for a blind.

It is a second object of the invention to provide an improved cord operated device for a blind which can be controlled in a relatively efficient manner.

At least one of these objects is achieved by providing a cord operated device according to the preamble, comprising:

- at least one stationary base,

- at least one axially rotation shaft connected or connectable to roller for winding and unwinding either a blind and/or a blind cord connected to a blind, wherein said rotation shaft is secured to said stationary base, - at least one axially rotatable cord spool for winding and unwinding a control cord having an outer end connected to said cord spool, wherein said cord spool is secured to said stationary base, and wherein at least one spring is connected both to said cord spool and said stationary base configured to urge the cord spool to an initial position wherein the control cord is partially wound onto said cord spool,

- at least one transmission, secured to said stationary base, which transmission co-acts both with the cord spool and the rotation shaft of the roller, wherein said transmission comprises: o at least one one-way clutch comprising an axially rotational clutch part and a stationary clutch part, wherein said axially rotational clutch part co-acts both with the cord spool and with the stationary clutch part such that the axially rotational clutch part is caused to be rotated by rotation of the cord spool in a single direction of rotation only, o at least one gear train comprising at least three co-acting, preferably conical, gears, wherein at least one first gear is connected to the axially rotatable clutch part, and wherein at least one second gear is situated in between a third gear and said first gear, wherein the first gear and the third gear have the same axis of rotation and opposite rotation directions, and o at least one displaceable, axially rotatable sun gear situated at least partially in a space enclosed by the first and third gear, wherein said sun gear is mounted on the rotation shaft of the roller, and wherein the sun gear is displaceable between a first position, wherein the sun gear co-acts with the first gear to allow the rotation shaft to rotate in a first direction, and a second position, wherein the sun gear co-acts with the third gear to allow the rotation shaft to rotate in a second direction opposite to said first direction,

- at least one direction control mechanism, secured to said stationary base, comprising: o at least one carriage co-acting with the sun gear and configured to displace the sun gear between the first and second position, o a switch element connected displaceably to the stationary base, such that the orientation of the switch element with respect to the base can be adjusted manually, and o at least one transmission element connecting said switch element to said carriage.

Since the device according to the invention does not make use of a looped cord, but rather of an extended cord, the risk for children to become tangled by the cord is reduced significantly, and practically even eliminated. Due to the different construction compared the known operating devices, control of the blind also take place in a different manner. While the known operating devices operate by pulling the looped cord which causes a rotation of the looped cord and consequently a rotation of the blind roller, the device according to the invention operates in a more pulsating manner (pumping manner) by alternatively pulling the free cord end in downward direction and by consequently releasing the control cord. Pulling the free control cord end in downward direction will cause a rotation of the cord spool to allow the cord part initially wound onto the cord spool to be unwound. During this action, the spring will become (more) loaded. Subsequent releasing the control cord will allow the cord spool to rotate in an opposite direction and will allow the spring to unload (at least partially), which results in rewinding of the control cord onto the cord spool. The maximum extension of the control cord may vary, but is typically situated in between 10 and 60 cm. During this extension or retraction cycle of the control cord, or alternatively both during this extension and retraction of the control cord, the cord spool causes the axially rotatable part of the clutch to rotate in a predefined single direction, which causes to gear train to operate. Dependent on the selected position of the sun wheel, and in particular whether the sun wheel co-acts with the first gear or with the third gear at that moment in time, the rotation shaft of the roller, and hence the roller as such, can be rotated in a first rotation direction or in a second rotation direction. Rotation of the roller results in a control, in particular the height positioning, of the blind as such. By switching the switch element, the position of the sun gear can be switched, which allows the operating device to control both a lifting movement of the blind as well as a lowering movement of the blind. Although it is conceivable that the switch element can be manually operated independent from the control cord, wherein the switch element may e.g. be provided with a switch handle, in particular a switch rod, it is more preferred that the switch element is formed by a control cord guide element for guiding the control cord to the cord spool, wherein the orientation of the guide element with respect to the base can be adjusted by pulling the control cord. By using this preferred embodiment, the control cord is not only used for dosing the movement of the blind, but may also be used to control and change the direction of this movement. Hence, in this case the control cord acts as central control cord by means of which the blind can be controlled entirely, and moreover in a relatively simple, efficient, and dosed manner.

The cord operating device according to the invention can be used in combination with various blind types, such as but not limited to roman blinds, roller blinds, Venetian blinds, louvers, jalousies, and top down bottom up blinds. The control cord should be interpreted in a broad sense and does also includes a chain or any other flexible (windable) strip of material.

Preferably, the roller is connected, more preferably releasably connected, to the rotation shaft of the roller, and hence may make part of the device according to the invention.

The spring connected both to the cord spool and the stationary base is preferably a spiral spring. The centrally located terminal end of this flat spring is preferably attached to the stationary base, in particular to a mounting shaft of said base, and the laterally located other terminal end of this flat spring is preferably attached to the cord spool, in particular to the cord winding surface of said cord spool. Preferably, the spring connected both to the cord spool and the stationary is substantially completely enclosed by the cord spool. Preferably, the axially rotatable part of the clutch is (rotatably) mounted to the stationary mounting shaft of the stationary base.

The one-way clutch is preferably designed such that the axially rotatable part of the clutch is rotated only by the rotation of the cord spool during manual pulling of the control cord in a direction away from the cord spool. Preferably, the one-way clutch is designed such that the axially rotatable part of the clutch is prevented to rotate in case of rotation of the cord spool during release of the control cord. This means that only pulling of the control cord will cause the rotation shaft of the roller to be rotated, which will typically improves a user-friendly control of the device. Typically, the axially rotatable part of the clutch and the cord spool co-act in such a way that the number of revolutions of the axially rotatable part of the clutch corresponds to the number of revolutions of the cord spool. However, it is also conceivable that an accelerating or decelerating transmission is present in between the cord spool and the clutch to make the moving part of the clutch to rotate faster or slower than the cord spool, which could further optimize the user experience.

Preferably, the axially rotatable part of the clutch is fixed to the first gear. Here, the first gear can for example be mounted onto the rotatable clutch part. It may be advantageous in case an end part of the rotatable clutch part, onto which the first gear is mounted has an angled, such as a square, pentagonal, or hexagonal, cross-section, and that the first gear comprises a receiving space having a matching contour to prevent slipping between the clutch and the first gear.

In order to improve the stability of the gear train, it is preferable that the gear train comprises a fourth gear co-acting with both the first gear and the third gear, wherein the second gear and the fourth gear have the same axis of rotation and opposite rotation directions. In this manner a gear box is created.

Preferably, the sun gear is completely enclosed by a space defined by all gears of the gear train. In this manner the sub gear is protected to some extent from external impacts, which improves the durability and reliability of the operating device. The sun gear preferably has a two-sided gear profile, wherein one gear profile is configured to co-act with the first gear (in the first position) and the other gear profile is configured to co-act with the third gear (in the second position). Preferably, the sun gear is provided with a circumferential rim which is, at least for a part, two-sidedly enclosed by the carriage. This facilitates movement of the sun gear from the first position to the second position and vice versa.

In order to stabilize the positioning of the first gear and opposing third gear, it is preferred that both gears are rotatably mounted to the rotation shaft of the roller. A rotation of these gears do however not directly result in rotation of the rotation shaft, as this latter will be realized by rotation of the sun gear which will be driven by either the first gear or the third gear. Preferably, the rotation shaft of the roller has an angled, such as a square, pentagonal, or hexagonal, outer contour, and wherein the sun gear is provided with a matching inner contour. This prevents slipping between the rotation shaft and the sun gear. The switch element, as mentioned above preferably formed by a cord guide element, is preferably rotatably connected to the stationary base. This typically facilitates the control of the switch element, in particular when a lever, such as the control cord, is used. The switch element is preferably provided with a knee joint, wherein the knee joint co-acts with at least one transmission element, such as connecting rod. This construction is relatively simple and leads to efficient control of the sun gear.

Preferably, between the roller and the stationary base a spring, typically a helical spring, may be used to stabilize the blind.

The stationary base is preferably configured to be fixed to a ceiling or wall.

The invention also relates to an assembly of at least one device according to the invention, and at least one blind, wherein the blind is connected, either directly or indirectly, to the roller of the device. Preferably, the assembly comprises a plurality of devices, wherein at least one device is configured to control an upper section of the blind and wherein at least one other device is configured to control a lower section of the blind. This is for example useful for top down bottom up blinds. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the assembly comprises a plurality of devices and a plurality of blinds, wherein at least one device is configured to control a first blind and wherein at least one other device is configured to control a second blind.

The invention will be elucidated on the basis of non-limitative exemplary embodiment shown in the following figures, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an assembly of a cord operated device and a blind according to the invention,

Figure 2 shows a cross-section of a part of the cord operated device according to figure 1 , and

Figures 3-6 show various perspective cut-out views of the cord operated device according to figure 1.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an assembly of a cord operated device 1 and a blind 2 according to the invention. This blind 2 can e.g. be formed by a roman blind, roller blind, or a top down bottom blind. The device 1 according to the invention comprises a stationary base 3, which is composed of a plurality of components, such as an end cap 3a and a transmission housing 3b. The base 3 is configured to be attached to a wall, typically by means of screws. The blind is directly or indirectly secured to a roller 4 or a spool 4 or a tube 4 which is axially rotatable by means of a rotation shaft 5 in order to adjust the height positioning of the blind. The rotation shaft 5 can be rotated by means of a cord 6. Also the direction of rotation of the rotation shaft 5 can be determined by said same cord 6. The cord is led into the base 3 by means of a cord guide element 7 pivotally connected to said base 3. By pulling the cord 6 in downward direction (see also arrow A) the rotation shaft 5 can be rotated. By pulling the cord 6 in lateral direction (see arrow B) the cord guide element 7 will be pivoted with respect to the base 3 resulting in a change of rotation direction of the rotation shaft 5 as will be explained below in more detail. The cross-section shown in figure 2 shows a bottom view of the device 1 (without the cord 6). In this figure, wherein reference is also made to figures 3-6, it is shown that the stationary base 3 further includes a stationary shaft 3c mounted to a stationary base plate 3d, and that the base 3 additionally includes an inner housing 3e, wherein a part of said inner housing 3e constitutes a stationary part 8a of a one-way clutch 8 of the device. The device 1 comprises at least one axially rotatable cord spool 9 for winding and unwinding a control cord having an outer end connected to said cord spool, wherein said cord spool 9 is secured to said stationary base 3. A leaf spring (helical spring) 10 is connected with one end to (a slit of) the stationary shaft 3d, and with an opposite end to a circumferential wall 9a of the cord spool 9. The cord spool 9, and in particular the circumferential wall 9a thereof, is intended to wind a part of the cord 6, wherein one cord end is connected to the cord spool 9. Once the cord 6 pulled, the cord spool 9 starts to rotate until the cord 6 is fully extended. During this rotation the spring 10 will be wound. Once the cord 6 is released again, the spring 10 will urge the cord spool 9 to rotate in opposite direction until the spring 10 is sufficiently unwound thereby rewinding the cord 6 onto the cord spool 9. A mobile part 8b of the one-way clutch 8 is (rotatably) mounted to the stationary shaft 3d and is configured to rotate only in case the cord spool 9 is rotated in a predefined (single) direction, in this embodiment in a rotation direction caused by pulling of the cord 6. During release of the cord 6 the mobile clutch part 8b will by blocked. This one-way clutch effect is realized by two profiles tracks 8c, 8d applied at the outer surface of the mobile clutch part 8b, which are clearly visualized in figure 6. Each track 8c, 8d is provided with a ball (not shown) which either allows rotation or prevents rotation of the mobile clutch part 8b. The axially rotatable mobile clutch part 8b is directly connected to a first gear 11 a of a gear train 11 . The gear train 11 consists in this example of four conically shaped gears 11a, 11 b, 11c, 11 d perpendicularly co acting with each other as to form a gear box. The first gear 11 a and the third gear 11c are oriented in line with each other and are configured to rotate in opposite directions. The second gear 11 b and the fourth gear 11 d are also oriented in line with each other and are also configured to rotate in opposite directions. The gear train 11 encloses a space in which a sun gear 12 is located. This sun gear 12 is provided with two conical (bevelled) sides having toothed profile 12a, 12b, as well as a laterally protruding circumferential rim 13. The sun gear 12 is secured onto (a part of) the rotation shaft 5 in a sliding manner allowing the sun gear 12 to be displaceable an axial direction of the rotation shaft 5. The part of the rotation shaft 5 onto which the sun gear 12 is secured has a hexagonal cross-section onto which the sun gear 12 form-fittingly engages. The first gear 11 a and third gear 11 c are also mounted to said rotation shaft 5, but have a circular receiving space which allows the gears 11a, 11c to rotate independently from the rotation shaft 5. The circumferential rim 13 of the is bilaterally enclosed by a carriage 14 which is connected by means of a connecting rod 15 to a knee joint 16 of the cord guide element 7. By pivoting the cord guide element 7 with respect to the base 3, the knee joint 16 will accordingly be pivoted resulting in a displacement of the connecting rod 15, and consequently of the carriage 14 and the sun gear 12 co acting with said carriage 14. In this manner the sun gear 12 can be displaced between a first position, wherein the sun gear 12 co-acts with the first gear 11a (resulting in a first rotation direction of the rotation shaft 5), and a second position, wherein the sun gear 12 co-acts with the third gear 11c (resulting in a second rotation direction of the rotation shaft 5 opposite to the first rotation direction). In this manner the rotation direction of the rotation shaft 5 can be selected in a relatively easy manner by a user. A shown in figure 5 a balancing spring 17 is situated in between the rotation shaft 5 and the base 3 in order to stabilize (balance) the blind at each height position.

The above-described inventive concepts are illustrated by several illustrative embodiments. It is conceivable that individual inventive concepts may be applied without, in so doing, also applying other details of the described example. It is not necessary to elaborate on examples of all conceivable combinations of the above- described inventive concepts, as a person skilled in the art will understand numerous inventive concepts can be (re)combined in order to arrive at a specific application.

It will be apparent that the invention is not limited to the working examples shown and described herein, but that numerous variants are possible within the scope of the attached claims that will be obvious to a person skilled in the art.

The verb “comprise” and conjugations thereof used in this patent publication are understood to mean not only “comprise”, but are also understood to mean the phrases “contain”, “substantially consist of”, “formed by” and conjugations thereof.

Claims

1. Cord operated device for a blind, such as a roman blind or roller blind, comprising:

- at least one stationary base,

- at least one axially rotation shaft connected or connectable to a roller for winding and unwinding either a blind and/or a blind cord connected to a blind, wherein said rotation shaft is secured to said stationary base,

- at least one axially rotatable cord spool for winding and unwinding a control cord having an outer end connected to said cord spool, wherein said cord spool is secured to said stationary base, and wherein at least one spring is connected both to said cord spool and said stationary base configured to urge the cord spool to an initial position wherein the control cord is partially wound onto said cord spool,

- at least one transmission, secured to said stationary base, which transmission co-acts both with the cord spool and the rotation shaft of the roller, wherein said transmission comprises: o at least one one-way clutch comprising an axially rotational clutch part and a stationary clutch part, wherein said axially rotational clutch part co-acts both with the cord spool and with the stationary clutch part such that the axially rotational clutch part is caused to be rotated by rotation of the cord spool in a single direction of rotation only, o at least one gear train comprising at least three co-acting conical gears, wherein at least one first gear is connected to the axially rotatable clutch part, and wherein at least one second gear is situated in between a third gear and said first gear, wherein the first gear and the third gear have the same axis of rotation and opposite rotation directions, and o at least one displaceable, axially rotatable sun gear situated at least partially in a space enclosed by the first and third gear, wherein said sun gear is mounted on the rotation shaft of the roller, and wherein the sun gear is displaceable between a first position, wherein the sun gear co-acts with the first gear to allow the rotation shaft to rotate in a first direction, and a second position, wherein the sun gear co-acts with the third gear to allow the rotation shaft to rotate in a second direction opposite to said first direction,

2. Device according to claim 1 , wherein the spring connected both to the cord spool and the stationary base is a spiral spring.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spring connected both to the cord spool and the stationary is substantially completely enclosed by the cord spool.

4. Device according to one of claims 1 -3, wherein the stationary base comprises a stationary central mounting shaft, wherein a first end of the spring is connected to said mounting shaft and a second end of the spring is connected to the cord spool, preferably an outer surface of the cord spool.

5. Device according to claim 4, wherein the axially rotatable part of the clutch is mounted to the stationary mounting shaft.

6. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the one-way clutch is designed such that the axially rotatable part of the clutch is rotated only by the rotation of the cord spool during manual pulling of the control cord in a direction away from the cord spool.

7. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the one-way clutch is designed such that the axially rotatable part of the clutch is prevented to rotate in case of rotation of the cord spool during release of the control cord.

8. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the axially rotatable part of the clutch and the cord spool co-act in such a way that the number of revolutions of the axially rotatable part of the clutch corresponds to the number of revolutions of the cord spool.

9. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the axially rotatable part of the clutch is fixed to the first gear.

10. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the gear train comprises a fourth gear co-acting with both the first gear and the third gear, wherein the second gear and the fourth gear have the same axis of rotation and opposite rotation directions.

11 . Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the sun gear is completely enclosed by a space defined by all gears of the gear train.

12. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the first gear and the third gear are rotatably mounted to the rotation shaft of the roller.

13. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the sun gear has a two-sided gear profile.

14. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the sun gear is provided with a circumferential rim which is partially enclosed by the carriage.

15. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the rotation shaft of the roller has an angled outer contour, and wherein the sun gear is provided with a matching inner contour.

16. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the switch element is rotatably connected to the stationary base.

17. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the switch element is provided with a knee joint, wherein the knee joint co-acts with at least one transmission element.

18. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein at least one transmission element connecting the switch element and the carriage is formed by a connecting rod.

19. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the switch element is provided with a control handle, in particular a control rod.

20. Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the switch element is formed by a control cord guide element for guiding the control cord to the cord spool, wherein the orientation of the guide element with respect to the base can be adjusted by pulling the control cord.

21 . Device according to one of the foregoing claims, wherein the stationary base is configured to be fixed to a ceiling or wall.

22. Assembly of at least one device according to one of the foregoing claims, and at least one blind, wherein the blind is connected, either directly or indirectly, to the roller of the device.

23. Assembly according to claim 22, wherein the assembly comprises a plurality of devices, wherein at least one device is configured to control an upper section of the blind and wherein at least one other device is configured to control a lower section of the blind.

24. Assembly according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the assembly comprises a plurality of devices and a plurality of blinds, wherein at least one device is configured to control a first blind and wherein at least one other device is configured to control a second blind.