Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural and/or with rigid closure – Plural strip – slat – or panel assemblies
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-21
2001-11-20
Purol, David M. (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural and/or with rigid closure
Plural strip, slat, or panel assemblies
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318439
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a horizontal blind opened and closed by turning slats thereof, and more particularly to a blind enabling a light introducing position thereon to be selected in the vertical direction, and, moreover, a boundary between light introducing and shielding portions thereof to be set freely.
In a horizontal blind of the related art, rudder cords are brought down in the vertical direction from left and right portions of a head box fixed to an upper portion of a window frame, and plural pieces of horizontally extending slats are retained in parallel with one another at predetermined intervals by these left and right rudder cords, the plural slats in this condition being opened and closed by turning the same simultaneously by operating the rudder cords.
When it is possible to select a light introducing position on a blind in the vertical direction in order to prevent an image on a picture frame of a computer from becoming hard to be seen due to the light entering an office and the like through a window thereof, or the information shown on such a picture frame from leaking through the window, an ideal environment in which a necessary part only of the inside of the office is lighted with the other thereof shaded can be obtained.
To meet such a requirement, a blind disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3517/1987 is provided with two systems of independently operable rudder cords brought down from a head box, and upper and lower groups of slats fixed to these two systems of rudder cords are operated independently, whereby a light introducing position on the blind can be selected in the vertical direction.
However, since this blind has a structure in which the upper and lower groups of slats are fixed to two systems of rudder cords and operated independently of each other, a boundary between light introducing and shielding portions of the blind cannot be varied as necessary. Namely, an environment in which an image on a picture frame of a computer becomes hard to be seen due to the light entering an office through a window thereof and leaks out through the window differs in various ways depending upon the design of the office and the arrangement of desks, so that the blind in which the boundary between the light introducing and shielding portions are fixed cannot attain the ideal lighting suited to the condition in each office.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to an aspect of the present invention, a blind is provided which enables a light introducing position thereon to be selected in the vertical direction, and, moreover, a boundary between light introducing and shielding portions thereof to be set freely.
In order to achieve the foregoing object, a blind of the present invention is provided which has plural rudder cords each of which is formed of a pair of vertical strings and plural lateral strings joining the vertical strings together, and each of which is brought down from a head box in the vertical direction, and plural pieces of slats extending horizontally on the lateral strings of the rudder cords, retained in parallel with one another and adapted to be turned by the operations of the rudder cords, whereby the blind is opened and closed, comprising openings provided in the portions of each of the slats which are in the vicinity of the rudder cords, and drawing strings which are capable of being pulled up, and which are brought down from the head box along the rudder cords, inserted through the openings of the slats and made connectable at lower end portions thereof to the portions of either one of the respective pairs of vertical strings of the rudder cords which are in positions of an arbitrary height.
According to the present invention, drawing strings capable of being pulled up are brought down from a head box along rudder cords, and lower end portions of the drawing strings are joined to the portions of either one of the respective pairs of vertical strings of the rudder cords which are in positions of an arbitrary height, whereby the blind as a whole is opened and closed by the operations of the rudder cords with only the slats that are on the lower side of the mentioned position of an arbitrary height rendered able to be partially opened and closed by the drawing operations of the drawing strings. Therefore, a light introducing position can be selected in the vertical direction of the blind.
Since the lower end portions of the drawing strings are made connectable with respect to the vertical strings of the rudder cords, a boundary between the light introducing and shielding portions can be set freely by varying the string connecting position.
Moreover, since each slat is provided with openings in the portions thereof which are in the vicinity of the rudder cords with drawing strings inserted through the openings, the drawing strings expand outward in the openings as bending points at joint portions thereof with respect to the rudder cords. Therefore, the drawing strings draw during their pull-up operations the slats toward widthwise intermediate portions thereof to enable sharp turning actions of the slats to be made. When the drawing strings are inserted through the openings provided in the slats, the existence of these strings does not spoil the external appearance of the blind.
As a device for pulling up the drawing strings, a driving unit which has drive shafts supported in the head box and mounted with plural reels for winding the drawing strings therearound, and which is adapted to turn the drive shafts in an arbitrary direction may be provided.
According to the present invention, it is possible to bring down two systems of drawing strings along rudder cords, and join the lower end portions of these drawing strings to different vertical strings of the rudder cords. When the lower end portions of the drawing strings are joined to the portions of different vertical strings of the rudder cords which are in the positions of the same height, the direction in which the slats are inclined can be selected arbitrarily on the basis of the operations of the two systems of drawing strings. When the lower end portions of the two systems of drawing strings are joined to the portions of different vertical strings of the rudder cords which are in positions of different heights, a boundary between the light introducing and shielding portions can be selected arbitrarily on the basis of the operations of the two systems of drawing strings.
When two systems of drawing strings are provided, as the device for pulling up the drawing strings, a driving unit which has one drive shaft supported in a head box and provided with plural reels for winding the two systems of drawing strings therearound in opposite directions, and which is adapted to turn the drive shaft in an arbitrary direction, may be provided. A driving unit which has two drive shafts supported in a head box and provided with plural reels for winding the two systems of drawing strings therearound separately, and which is adapted to turn the drive shafts in an arbitrary direction respectively, may also be provided.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2706522 (1955-04-01), White
patent: 2794499 (1957-06-01), White
patent: 4487243 (1984-12-01), Debs
patent: 5485874 (1996-01-01), Whitmore
patent: 5845691 (1998-12-01), Gaines
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Purol David M.
The Akasaka Kogei Co., Ltd.
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