GB2219825A - Roller blind - Google Patents

Abstract

A roller blind assembly has a pair of adjacent screens (3,5) formed with spaced apertured, translucent or transparent horizontal strip-like portions (4) whereby vertical movement of one screen in relation to the other will enable the user to block or vary at will the quantity of air and/or light passing through the blind as the strip-like portions are set at different or corresponding levels. The assembly comprises an upper roller tube or rod (10), a lower weighting member (17) and two juxtaposed vertical screens arranged to be wound together on said upper roller tube. When said blind is in a fully extended position, said screens each extend downwardly adjacent opposite sides of said upper roller tube to said lower weighting member such that the spacing between said screens is substantially the diameter of each tube or member at a point adjacent thereto. An anchor assembly is also disclosed for allowing the screens to be moved vertically relative to one another without releasing the weighting member but releasing the weighting member when the blind is raised by being wound around the upper roller tube. <IMAGE>

Description

ROLLER BLIND ASSEMBLY The present invention relates to roller blind assemblies of the type (hereinafter "the type hereinbefore described") having a pair of adjacent screens formed with spaced apertured, translucent or transparent horizontal strip-like portions whereby vertical movement of one screen in relation to the other will enable the user to block or vary at will the quantity of air and/or light passing through the blind as the strip-like portions are set at different or corresponding levels.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction or arrangement of blind assembly of the type above described, designed to overcome certain disadvantages of the prior forms of such assemblies.

According to one aspect the invention provides a roller blind assembly of the type hereinbefore described comprising an upper roller tube or rod, a lower weighting member and two juxtaposed vertical screens arranged to be wound together on said upper roller tube, wherein, when said blind is in a fully extended position, said screens each extend downwardly adjacent opposite sides of said upper roller tube to said lower weighting member such that the spacing between said screens is substantially the diameter of each tube or member at a point adjacent thereto.

For preference the vertical screens comprise a single sheet extending from the upper tube, looped around the lower weighting member and returning to the upper tube.

Preferably the roller blind assembly includes an anchor for releasably retaining the weighting member when said blind is in its fully extended position, said anchor allowing said screens to be moved vertically relative to one another without releasing the weighting member but releasing said weighting member when said blind is raised by being wound around the upper roller tube or rod.

According to a further aspect the invention provides an anchor assembly for releasably retaining an end pin of the lower weighting member of a roller blind comprising: a mounting bracket, a retaining socket adjustably mounted to said bracket, an anchor clip rotatably mounted within said socket having means for releasably engaging said end pin, said socket having a wall with at least two slots or gaps for allowing said end pin to pass therethrough into engagement with said anchor clip, said wall serving to retain said pin in said engaging means of the clip when said engaging means is not aligned with said slots or gaps.

The anchor clip is preferably rotatably biased to a position where said engaging means is aligned with one of said slots or gaps. For preference said bias is provided by spring-loaded means.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with respect to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of the roller blind assembly according to the invention; and Figure 2 shows an exploded perspective of the anchor according to the invention.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, the blind comprises a front screen 2 and a back screen 3 each having opaque and transparent areas 4 arranged in a repeating pattern over most of the screen surface 5.

More conventional blinds have unvarying opaque or translucent screens over the whole surface of the blind. These transparent areas can be produced in a variety of ways. They may be punched out, leaving holes in an opaque screen, or they may be painted or printed over a transparent base material. The punching method is advantageous in that it will provide ventilation between the window and the inside of the room when the window is open. Other methods such as filling weblike substrates with areas of opaque heavy bodied materials providing both light and ventilation are also possible but the punching method is the preferred embodiment.

The top tube 6 of the blind is a conventional rollformed steel tube which is lockseamed along its length. The tube 6 incorporates a keyway or groove 7 which is usually arranged so that it is diametrically opposed to the lockseam (not shown). The looped screen 8 is joined to the tube 6 by way of an arrow head shaped plastic strip (not shown). The two ends of the looped screen 8 are overlapped across the keyway 6 and the spline pushed into the groove 6, trapping the screen 8.

The roller tube 6 is suspended from conventional roller blind brackets 9 at both ends. The control end 10 of the tube is driven by a motor 11 consisting of a sprocket 11' and a continuous loop of ballchain 12.

The blind is prevented from rotating when the motor 11 is not in use by means of a spring clutch within the motor.

The non-control end 13 of the top tube 6 contains a plug 14 with a central pin 15 which is free to rotate in a bracket 16. Contained within the bottom of the looped screen 8 is a steel bottom tube 17 running the width of the blind. The ends of the tube 17 are capped with end plugs 18 having a central pin 19 which projects beyond the edges of the looped screen 8. The pins 19 can be pushed into tube anchors 20 fitted to the sill or the wall at each side of the bottom of the blind. The tube anchors 20 are devices which allow the blind to be operated in its lowered position, but will release the bottom tube 17 automatically when an attempt is made to raise it by pulling on the control chain 12.

Referring to Figure 2, the tube anchor 20 comprises an L-shaped bracket 21 which may be fixed on a wall or sill in a position that will allow the bottom tube endcap pins 19 to be inserted into the anchor.

The outwardly extending portion 22 of the bracket is provided with a vertical closed end slot 23 which receives a pin member 24. The pin member comprises a base plate 25 and an upright pin 26. The pin 26 extends through the slot 23 to provide an adjustable mounting for the support socket 27 which has a central hollow boss 28 for receipt of pin 26. The support has a base 29 and a partly circular wall 30 extending upwardly therefrom. The wall 30 extends into a generally vertical portion 31 and a horizontal portion 32 spaced from the part circular portion 30 to provide a receiving gap 33. The boss 28 extends uprightly from the base 29 of the socket to provide a rotatable mounting for the anchor clip 34. The anchor clip is generally circular and has a centr#al hole 35 for mounting on the boss 28. The clip 34 has a protuberance 36 on its outer circumference.The protuberance 36 is provided with a longitudinal groove or recess 37 for releasably receiving and retaining the endcap pin 19 of the bottom tube. The anchor clip is dimensioned such that it closely fits within the support socket 27. A further slot 38 is provided in the top of the support socket to allow for release of the endcap pin 19 when the anchor clip 34 is rotated to a position wherein the groove or recess 37 coincides with the slot 38. The anchor clip 34 is preferably spring-loadably mounted to the boss so as to be biassed towards a position where the groove or recess 37 is opposite the receiving gap 33. This bias serves to apply tension to the blind during adjustment of the inner and outer screens.

While screens with a repeating pattern of apertures over their entire surface may be used with this assembly it is preferred that areas adjacent the edges of the screens and the top and bottom tubes not be apertured. A screen which has part holes at the edges is susceptible to damage as the unsupported edge moves up and down against the non-moving parts of the blind. Apertures in the vicinity of the top and bottom tubes will allow the tubes to be seen, spoiling the appearance of the product.

The blind can be operated in several different modes as follows: SHADE OR SEE-THROUGH: When the looped screen 8 is fully lowered the bottom tube anchors 20 can be engaged by pushing the bottom tube endcap pins 19 into the anchors at both sides of the blind. The anchors 20 are adjusted in height so that the screen 8 is tensioned between the top and bottom tube when the anchors 20 are engaged.

The tensioned screen 8 has a gap equivalent to the diameter of the top roller tube 6 between the front and the back screen. The gap narrows towards the bottom of the blind until, at the bottom tube 17, the gap corresponds to the bottom tube diameter.

If the control chain 12 is pulled, the top tube 6 will rotate causing the screen 8 to slide past the fixed bottom tube 17. Because the back screen 3 is moving in the opposite vertical direction to the front screen 2, the punched holes 4 in each surface will quickly become mis-aligned when viewed from a fixed point. Various alignments are possible, depending on the angle of view. It is a simple matter to arrange an alignment that will maximise shade or see-through as required by pulling forward or backwards on the control chain 12.

BLOCKOUT: By rotating the top roller tube 6 a full turn the back screen 3 will come into contact with the front screen 2 and will start to roll around the tube 6. The rotation may be either clockwise or anti-clockwise but for aesthetic reasons it is preferred that the join in the screens 8 moves away from the room side of the blind. This is arranged by putting a joiner in the control chain which prevents the chain being pulled the wrong way through the motor.

For example, on a blind with the motor in the left end of the tube, pulling downwards on the back chain segment will cause rotation of the tube in the desired direction. The chain joiner would be installed at the top of the back chain when the keyway 7 is at the top of the tube. With the back screen 3 and front screen 2 touching the blind can be adjusted by pulling on the control chain 12 so that the holes 4 are completely covered. The blind then functions as a true blockout blind.

For the blockout mode to be effective provision must be made in the bottom tube anchors 20 for the bottom tube 17 to lift during the top tube rotation without becoming detached from the anchors. This may be achieved by spring loading the anchor 20. Continued pulling on the control chain 12 will however cause the anchor 20 to release the bottom tube 17 so that the blind may be raised.

RAISING: When the blind is not required to cover the window it can be raised by rolling it around the top tube 6.

As discussed previously, rolling up is controlled so that the keyway 7 always moves away from the room side of the blind. In other words the screen hangs off the room side of the blind not the window side. In this mode the blind works in a way that is similar to conventional blinds except that there are two screens being stored around the tube rather than one.

LOWERING: The blind may be lowered from its stored position at the top of the window by pulling the control cord in the reverse direction to that required to raise it.

While the blind could be used in some intermediate position as a sun shade it is expected that it will mostly be used either fully raised, or lowered and anchored.

The tube anchors operate as follows. The endcap pins 19 of the lower tube are inserted through the receiving gap 33 and into engagement with the anchor clip 34. As the blind is adjusted during the shaded or see-through phase of operation the rotatable anchor clip 34 can rotate within the support 27, compensating for the changing length of the front screen of the blind.

When the blind is moved to the blockout position the rotatable anchor clip 34 is still retained within the anchor support 27 and applies tension to both screens. Continued pulling on the control chain causes the anchor clip to rotate to the release position at the top of the anchor support 27 and the bottom tube endcap pins 19 can escape through slot 38, removing the tension from the screens.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that further embodiments of the invention are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention described.

Claims (11)

1. A roller blind assembly of the type hereinbefore described comprising an upper roller tube or rod, a lower weighting member and two juxtaposed vertical screens arranged to be wound together on said upper roller tube, wherein, when said blind is in a fully extended position, said screens each extend downwardly adjacent opposite sides of said upper roller tube to said lower weighting member such that the spacing between said screens is substantially the diameter of each tube or member at a point adjacent thereto.

2. A roller blind assembly according to claim 1 wherein the vertical screens comprise a single sheet extending from the upper tube, looped around the lower weighting member and returning to the upper tube.

3. A roller blind assembly according to claim 1 or 2 including an anchor for releasably retaining the weighting member when said blind is in its fully extended position, said anchor having means for allowing said screens to be moved vertically relative to one another without releasing the weighting member but releasing said weighting member when said blind is raised by being wound around the upper roller tube or rod.

4. A roller blind assembly according to claim 3 wherein said means includes an assembly for releasably retaining an end pin of the lower weighting member of a roller blind, said assembly comprising: a mounting bracket, a retaining socket adjustably mounted to said bracket, an anchor clip rotatably mounted within said socket having means for releasably engaging said end pin, said socket having a wall with at least two slots or gaps for allowing said end pin to pass therethrough into engagement with said anchor clip, said wall serving to retain said pin in said engaging means of the clip when said engaging means is not aligned with said slots or gaps.

5. A roller blind assembly according to claim 4 wherein said anchor clip is rotatably biased to a position where said engaging means is aligned with one of said slots or gaps.

6. A roller blind assembly according to claim 5 wherein said anchor clip is rotatably biased by spring-loaded means.

7. An anchor assembly for releasably retaining an end pin of the lower weighting member of a roller blind comprising: a mounting bracket, a retaining socket adjustably mounted to said bracket, an anchor clip rotatably mounted within said socket having means for releasably engaging said end pin, - said socket having a wall with at least two slots or gaps for allowing said end pin to pass therethrough into engagement with said anchor clip, said wall serving to retain said pin in said engaging means of the clip when said engaging means is not aligned with said slots or gaps.

8. An anchor assembly according to claim 7 wherein said anchor clip is rotatably biased to a position where said engaging means is aligned with one of said slots or gaps.

9. An anchor assembly according to claim 8 wherein said anchor clip is rotatably biased by spring-loaded means.

10. A roller blind assembly as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.

11. An anchor assembly as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.