Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural strip – slat – or panel type – Venetian blind type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-06
2001-06-26
Purol, David M. (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural strip, slat, or panel type
Venetian blind type
C160S321000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250359
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for rotating, opening and closing curtains or slats of blinds, and more specifically to a beaded chain and/or cord having a distinguishing characteristic on at least a portion of the length of the beaded chain or cord that aids a user in rotating blind slats and/or moving blinds or curtains in a desired direction.
2. Background
Vertical blinds typically use a continuous beaded chain to rotate a series of vertical slats through 180 degrees. By pulling on one side of the chain, the slats rotate in one direction, e.g. to the right, and by pulling on the other side of the chain, the slats rotate in the opposite direction, e.g. to the left. Similarly, cords are utilized in curtains and blinds for opening or closing the curtains or blinds in a horizontal or vertical direction. Existing beaded chains utilize a continuous beaded chain in which all of the beads are of uniform size. This introduces a purely “by chance” event when rotating the slats as there is no way for an operator to know which chain is going to produce the desired result. Similarly, a person desiring to open the curtains or blinds will pull on a side of a cord only to watch the curtains and blinds close. The resulting undesired movement of the blinds or curtain, more often than not, elicits exclamations of frustration along with an overzealous tug on the other side of the cord.
In addition to frustrating the operator, pulling the incorrect cord introduces unnecessary wear and tear on the mechanisms of the curtain or blinds. For example, if curtains or blinds are fully opened, a hard tug on the cord stresses the cord because the curtain or blind does not move in response to the downward pulling force. A strong tug on the cord when the curtain or blind is at full extension, either opened or closed, has the potential of snapping the cord, or worse, pulling an entire curtain assembly off of a wall. Similarly, a tug on the incorrect side of the beaded chain, will cause the beaded chain or the gearing to slip which, over an extended time, will degrade the rotational mechanisms of the blinds.
FIG. 1
illustrates the cord
4
and beaded chain
2
of the prior art that interact with the control assembly
8
of the curtain or blind slats
6
. In a typical window blind, the beaded chain
2
loops around a sprocket (not shown) that is linked to each slat
6
to rotate the slat
6
through 180 degrees of rotation. By pulling on a first chain side
2
a
, the slats
6
rotate in a first direction, and by pulling on a second chain side
2
b
the slats
6
rotate in a second direction. For example, to angle the slats
6
to the left, an operator must tug on the first chain side
2
a
, and to angle the slats
6
to the right, the operator must tug on the second chain side
2
b
. A tug on the incorrect chain side results in an undesirable position of the slats
6
and/or stress on or slippage of the beaded chain.
The beaded chain
2
of the prior art of
FIG. 1
does not provide an operator with the opportunity to learn which chain side
2
a
,
2
b
to pull because the beaded chain
2
tends to hang in such a manner that the sides
2
a
,
2
b
of the chain are indistinguishable, For example, the chain sides
2
a
,
2
b
often are touching or are wound around each other, and may not be in predictable locations, e.g. to the front or to the back, due to interference with the blinds, furniture, or the window sill. Further, the typical operator does not have the patience to scrutinize the chain
2
and sprocket (not shown) to determine which side
2
a
,
2
b
to pull.
Referring again to
FIG. 1
, the cord
4
of the prior art typically loops the entire length of the curtains or blinds
6
through the control assembly
8
. A tug on a first cord side
4
a
causes the blinds to open, and a tug on the second cord side
4
b
causes the blinds to close. The cord
4
presents similar problems as presented by the beaded chain
2
in that an operator will inevitably pull the cord side
4
a
,
4
b
that results in an undesirable movement of the curtains or blinds. Thus, a need for a distinguishing beaded chain and cord exists that will assist an operator in determining which chain side
2
a
,
2
b
or which cord side
4
a
,
4
b
to pull to obtain a desired result.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a differentiated beaded chain and/or cord for opening or closing blinds or curtains.
It is a further advantage to provide a differentiated beaded chain and/or cord that enables a user to manipulate blinds or curtains in a desired manner.
It is another advantage to provide a differentiated beaded chain or cord that prevents wear and tear on the curtain/blind mechanisms by teaching a user to pull the correct side of the beaded chain and/or cord.
It is still another advantage of the present invention to eliminate random outcomes of attempts to open or close curtains, blinds, or slats.
A differentiated beaded chain of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is constructed of at least two different bead sizes that are distinguishable by touch and/or by sight. In an exemplary embodiment, a first portion of the beaded chain utilizes a standard bead size #8 that has a diameter of approximately 0.156 inches (3.96 mm). The remaining portion of the chain utilizes a second bead size #13 that has a diameter of approximately 0.250 inches (6.35 mm). In other embodiments the bead sizes of the first portion and the remaining portion may vary as long as the bead sizes are compatible with a curtain or blind sprocket. The bead sizes #8 and #13 of the exemplary embodiment present advantages of compatibility with existing sprockets as well as chain strength. The differentiated beaded chain of the exemplary embodiment is installed on the beaded chain drive sprocket of the curtain and/or blind unit at the time of manufacture.
Beaded chains utilized for rotating a sprocket-type assembly have a first length for feeding into one side of the sprocket-type assembly and a second length for feeding out of a second side of the sprocket-type assembly. In a looped beaded chain the sprocket assembly defines one end of the loop, and the first and second length each define on half of the loop length. In an exemplary embodiment, the differentiated beaded chain is positioned such that a first bead size portion is located along the first length, and a second bead size portion is located along the second length when the blinds are at a predetermined initial position, e.g. at a 90 degree open position. Thus, to rotate the blinds to the right, or to a 180 degree closed position, the operator pulls on the first bead size portion. To rotate the blinds to the left, or back through the 90 degree position to the 0 degree closed position, the operator simply pulls on the second bead size portion.
The repeated manipulations of the blinds, teaches an operator that a tug on a large beaded chain length produces a certain rotation of the blinds, and a tug on a small beaded chain length produces an opposite rotation of the blinds. The operator can easily distinguish the beaded chain sizes by sight or feel, and thus, the operator will consistently achieve the desired rotation of the blind slats. The known result of a tug on a large or small beaded chain length will prevent wear and tear on the sprocket-type assembly that may result due to slippage of the beaded chain.
The beaded chain of the exemplary embodiment utilizes at least two bead lengths of metal-based beads that vary according to size to provide a sight and feel differentiation. In an alternative embodiment, the first and second bead length may utilize beads having varying texture, wherein one of the first and second bead lengths is coated or rubberized to provide a sight and feel differentiation. This latter embodiment may employ either a beaded chain of a single bead size, or a beaded chain of two bead sizes wherein the coating or rubberization provides an added means for differe
Lorio Eric W.
Martin Glenn A.
Brown Martin Haller & McClain
Purol David M.
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