Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural strip – slat – or panel type – Venetian blind type
Patent
1988-06-24
1991-08-20
Johnson, Blair M.
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural strip, slat, or panel type
Venetian blind type
E06B 930
Patent
active
050405845
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a slat device comprising slat elements disposed next to each other on a supporting structure and at least one adjusting mechansim for adjusting the angular position of the slat elements.
Such a slat device is known from NL-A-7,200,563 and comprises a complicated gearwheel system for fixing the slat elements in a particular angular position.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a slat device in which the simple fixing of the angular position is provided.
This is achieved in a slat device described above in that the adjusting mechanism comprises a pinhole combination in which the pin and the hole are provided with means to be brought into and out of engagement and in which the pin is disposed in the slat element or the supporting structure respectively and the hole is disposed in the supporting structure or the slat element respectively. In this manner, by simply moving the pin and the hole with respect to each other, the fastening of the slat element can be eliminated and restored again after the readjustment.
According to an embodiment which is of advantage, the means to be brought into engagement are constructed in a manner such that, when the pin is moved in the direction outwards from the hole, the engagement is eliminated. This means that the means for bringing into engagement are situated near the bottom of the hole. Said means may comprise teeth both in the hole and on the pin which have a corresponding shape.
At the same time it is not necessary for such a pin-hole connection to be situated at both ends of a slat and, in addition, it is not necessary for such an adjusting device to be fitted in the case of each slat element if a row of slat elements is used. In the last case it is sufficient that the slat elements not provided with an adjusting mechanism are connected by connecting means to the slat element which is provided with the adjusting mechanism. In addition, the slat elements may be displaceably fitted on the supporting structure so that the vertical slat device can be telescoped and a harmonica-like wall obtained. In this case, the connecting means may comprise cords which are fitted near the corresponding ends of the slat elements. In order to prevent the possibility that, if the slat elements are completely in line, the cords, which then extend past the points of rotation, which have become thicker, of the slat elements, are stretched too much, the provision is made that they are fitted with limited flexibility in the case of at least one of the slat elements.
The supporting structure may comprise a sliding device for each slat element around a guide rail, the pin or the hole respectively being provided in the sliding device. In a manner which is of advantage, the supporting structure is a profiled component, the sliding device comprising a body embracing said profiled component. As a result of this, the sliding device slides around the supporting structure so that the slat device, which is realised in this manner, can be used out of doors in a manner which is of particular advantage or in places where contamination is to be feared, because jamming is less likely in the case of a slide moving around a structure than in the case in which the slide runs in, for example, a U-shaped duct. According to an embodiment which is of advantage, the pin is provided mounted directly on the sliding device. As a result of this, by lifting up the vertical slat element, the engagement between the pin and the hole can be eliminated and, if the desired new position has been formed, locking can be achieved by simply lowering the slat element.
According to another embodiment which is of advantage, in the case of the pin-hole combination, the pin is constructed as a sleeve provided with teeth which is mounted nonrotatably but displaceably on a suspension pin of the slat element. To preset the sleeve in the locked position, a spring may be present. To operate the sleeve in the case in which the slat element is mounted only rotatably and therefore not displaceabl
REFERENCES:
patent: 3280891 (1966-10-01), Eldredge, Jr. et al.
patent: 4102381 (1978-07-01), Bratschi
patent: 4122884 (1978-10-01), Salzmann
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