Blinds

<u style="single">FIELD OF THE INVENTION</u>

0001The present invention relates to blinds for adjusting illumination, and more particularly to blinds of a roll type comprising a blind sheet having alternate transparent and opaque parts and partly overlapped by folding, by which room illumination can be easily and efficiently adjusted.

<u style="single">BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION</u>

0002In general, shielding members such as curtains or blinds are used to hinder vision or shut out light through windows.

0003In order to adjust the room illumination by using such conventional shielding members, they had to be moved to the right/left or upper/lower direction, in which case the interior of a room could be seen from the outside and it could be an invasion of privacy or a public nuisance.

0004Thus, a type of blind has recently been developed, wherein the blind comprises a blind sheet having alternate transparent and opaque parts and overlapped by folding, so that the room illumination can be adjusted without moving the blind to the right or left or to the upper or lower direction and without exposing the interior of the room to the outside.

0005<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> is a disassembled perspective view of such a conventional blind having an overlapping blind sheet, and <figref idref="f0002">Fig. 2</figref> is a side view of a part of the blind wherein a clutch spring is provided in a bracket of the blind. <figref idref="f0003">Fig. 3</figref> is a side view showing operating states of the conventional blind. Such conventional blind has been disclosed in <patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="JP7189573A"><text>Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 1995-189,573</text></patcit>.

0006<patcit id="pcit0002" dnum="US6189592B"><text>US-B-6189592</text></patcit> discloses a blind according to the preamble of claim 1.

0007A blind sheet (14) is folded to have a front blind sheet (14a) and a rear blind sheet (14b), with their upper end being wound or unwound together around a winding rod (12). The lower end of the blind sheet (14) is looped centering around a weight bar (16).

0008As shown in <figref idref="f0003">Fig. 3</figref>, the blind sheet (14) has alternate transparent and opaque parts (13 and 15) with a predetermined width.

0009The transparent parts (13) arc formed by sparsely weaving the blind sheet (14), so that the air and light can penetrate into the room through it.

0010A clutch axis (18) is integrally formed with the winding rod (12) for rotation at the right end of the winding rod (12). The clutch axis (18) has a rectangular bore (20) in the center thereof, along its axial direction.

0011Further, a fluctuating rod (22) is provided between the front blind sheet (14a) and the roar blind sheet (14b) at a predetermined distance from the winding rod (12).

0012Both ends of the fluctuating rod (22) arc respectively fitted to openings, which arc respectively formed at ends of fluctuating members (23 and 24). At the other ends of the fluctuating members (23 and 24), openings (25 and 26) arc provided to respectively fit to an end (12a) of the winding rod (12) and the clutch axis (18),

0013A protrusion (28) is formed below the opening (26) of the fluctuating member (24).

0014Also, a clutch spring (30) is provided adjacent to the fluctuating member (24) to be fitted to the periphery of the clutch axis (18).

0015The clutch spring (30) has both ends (30a and 30b) curved to the outside of the periphery of the clutch axis (18) so that the protrusion (28) formed below the opening (26) of the fluctuating member (24) can be positioned between the curved ends (30a and 30b).

0016When the blind sheet (14) is deployed to its farthest end, the clutch spring (30) is coupled to the clutch axis (18) to rotate integrally with the clutch axis (18). However, when a diameter of the clutch spring (30) increases by the movement of the fluctuating member (24) as described below, clutching of the clutch axis (18) is released, and then only the clutch axis (18) rotates.

0017Brackets (32 and 34) are provided beside the fluctuating members (23 and 24) at the ends of the winding rod (12a) and the clutch axis (18) to rotatably support the winding rod (12) and the clutch axis (18).

0018As shown in <figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>, a left bracket (32) has a receiving opening (33) into which the end of the winding rod (12a) passing through the opening (25) of the fluctuating member (23) is fitted. Also, a right bracket (34) has a receiving opening (36) into which the clutch spring (30) is fitted and also has a truncated part (38) in a lower part of the receiving opening (36).

0019The curved ends (30a and 30b) of the clutch spring (30) are located in the truncated part (38) and they move within the truncated part (38),

0020If one curved end (30a) of the clutch spring (30) is in contact with one end (38a) of the truncated part (38), the protrusion (28) of the fluctuating member (24) is vertically positioned, and if the fluctuating member (24) and the protrusion (28) are rotated to a predetermined angle, the other curved end (30b) of the clutch spring (30) comes into contact with the other end (38b) of the truncated part (38).

0021The clutch spring (30) is fitted to the clutch axis (18), which is therefore rotatably supported by the bracket (34).

0022Adjacent to the bracket (34), an operating gear (40) is provided, which has a rectangular bore (42) in the center thereof and is surrounded by an adjusting cord (44) along its periphery.

0023Into the rectangular bore (42) of the operating gear (40) and into the rectangular bore (20) of the clutch axis (18), a square bar (46) is inserted to integrally rotate the operating gear (40) and the clutch axis (18).

0024Accordingly, in order to lower the blind sheet (14), a string (44a) of the adjusting cord (44) is pulled down, so that the operating gear (40) rotates clockwise in <figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>.

0025Then, the clutch axis (18) and the winding rod (12) arc rotated together with the operating gear (40) by the square bar (46), and the clutch spring (30) is also rotated clockwise in the receiving opening (36).

0026This rotation of the clutch spring (30) detaches the curved end (30a) of the clutch spring (30) from the end (38a) of the truncated part (38), and the rotation stops when the other curved end (30b) of the clutch spring (30) comes into contact with the other end (38b) of the truncated part (38).

0027During this rotation, the protrusion (28) is moved from the position A to the position B in <figref idref="f0002">Fig. 2</figref> and the fluctuating rod (22) moves clockwise to the position B as shown in one-dot chain lines in <figref idref="f0003">Fig. 3</figref>.

0028Then, if the string (44a) of the adjusting cord (44) is further pulled down, the winding rod (12) will rotate further and the curved end (30b) of the clutch spring (30) will be pressed by the other end (38b) of the truncated part (38). As a result, the clutch spring (30) will become loose and be released from the clutch axis (18), so that only the winding rod (12) will keep rotating.

0029Accordingly, the blind sheet (14) can be pulled down to a desired position.

0030Then, if the blind sheet (14) is to be stopped, pulling down the adjusting cord (44) should be stopped, which will stop the rotation of the operating gear (40).

0031Accordingly, the winding rod (12) stops rotating and the blind sheet (14) is not pulled down any more.

0032When the operating gear (40) stops rotating, the clockwise rotational force from the clutch spring (30) does not act on the fluctuating member (24), but the downward force by the weight bar (16) acts on the fluctuating member (24), so that the fluctuating member (24) tends to rotate counterclockwise in <figref idref="f0002">Fig. 2</figref>.

0033Thus, the protrusion (28) of the fluctuating member (24) presses the curved end (30a) of the clutch spring (30) counterclockwise, and the clutch spring (30) is fastened to fit to the clutch axis (18). Therefore, the rotation of the fluctuating member (24) is restrained and the fluctuating rod (22) maintains the position B in <figref idref="f0003">Fig. 3</figref>,

0034When the fluctuating rod (22) is in the position B as in <figref idref="f0003">Fig. 3</figref>, the opaque parts (15) of the front blind sheet (14a) arc overlapped with the transparent parts (13) of the rear blind sheet (14b) and the blind sheet (14) becomes entirely opaque, so that lighting and ventilation through the blind (10) cannot be done.

0035On the contrary, in order to light and ventilate through the blind (10), it is necessary to pull down the other string (44b) of the adjusting cord (44) to rotate the operating gear (40) counterclockwise.

0036Then, the clutch axis (18) and the winding rod (12) are rotated together with the operating gear (40) by the square bar (46) and the clutch spring (30) also rotates counterclockwise in the receiving opening (36).

0037If the clutch spring (30) rotates counterclockwise, the other curved end (30b) of the clutch spring (30) is detached from the other end (38b) of the truncated part (38), and the rotation continues until the curved end (30a) of the clutch spring (30) comes into contact with the end (38a) of the truncated part (38).

0038During this rotation, the protrusion (28) is moved from the position B to the position A and the fluctuating rod (22) moves counterclockwise to the position A as in <figref idref="f0003">Fig. 3</figref>.

0039Therefore, by overlapping the transparent parts (13) or the opaque parts (15) of the front blind sheet (14a) with those of the rear blind sheet (14b) by the rotation of the fluctuating member (24), the blind sheet (14) can adjust lighting and ventilation.

0040However, the conventional blind (10) as described above had the following disadvantages.

0041Firstly, since tho conventional blind necessitated a pair of fluctuating members (24), the fluctuating rod (22) and the clutch spring (30) to align the transparent parts (13) or the opaque parts (15) of the front and rear blind sheets or to alternate them, it was not economical in terms of manufacturing costs and the productivity,

0042Secondly, even if the blind sheet (14) were to be unwound by pulling down the adjusting cord (44), it happened occasionally that the front blind sheet (14a) was suspended or held on the winding rod (12) and the blind sheet (14) could not be unwound smoothly.

0043Thirdly, since the front blind sheet (14a) was kept slant by the fluctuating rod (22), while the rear blind sheet (14b) was kept vertically, it was difficult to adjust the transparent and opaque parts to be exactly overlapped.

0044That is, since the front blind sheet (14a) was positioned distant from the rear blind sheet (14b), it was not easy to adjust illumination appropriately.

0045Finally, since the front blind sheet (14a) was to be positioned away from the rear blind sheet (14b) by the fluctuation of the fluctuating rod (22), a lot of space around windows was required for installation of the conventional blind.

<u style="single">SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION</u>

0046Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to solve the above disadvantages of conventional blinds by providing a roll-type blind comprising a front blind sheet and a roar blind sheet which are suspended vertically together around a winding rod and rapidly adjustable by aligning or misaligning transparent and opaque parts of the blind sheets, so that the room illumination can be effectively and rapidly adjusted.

0047Another object of the present invention is to provide a roll-type blind, in which only one end of the roll-type blind is wound or unwound on a winding rod, with the other end fixed on a support bar, and thus overlapping of the transparent parts with opaque parts of the blind shoot can be easily adjustable with high reliability.

0048A further object of the present invention is to provide a non-fluctuating blind which moves up and down with stability.

0049In order to achieve the above objects, a blind for adjusting illumination has been developped according to the present claim 1.

<u style="single">BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS</u>

0050The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention, wherein: <ul id="ul0001" list-style="none" compact="compact"><li><figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> is a disassembled perspective view of a conventional blind; This blind does not fall within the scope of the invention.</li><li><figref idref="f0002">Fig. 2</figref> is a side view showing a part of the conventional blind of <figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>, wherein a clutch spring is installed in a bracket; This blind does not fall within the scope of the invention.</li><li><figref idref="f0003">Fig. 3</figref> is a side view showing operating states of the conventional blind of <figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>; This blind does not fall within the scope of the invention.</li><li><figref idref="f0004">Fig. 4</figref> is a perspective view of a blind according to the present invention partly disassembled;</li><li><figref idref="f0005">Fig. 5</figref> is a longitudinal sectional view of the blind of <figref idref="f0004">Fig. 4</figref>;</li><li><figref idref="f0006">Fig. 6</figref> is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a weight body of the blind according to the present invention;</li><li><figref idref="f0006">Fig. 7</figref> is a disassembled perspective view showing another embodiment of the weight body of the blind according to the present invention; This weight body does not fall within the scope of the invention and</li><li><figref idref="f0007">Fig. 8</figref> is a sectional view of the weight body of <figref idref="f0006">Fig. 7</figref> in an assembled state. This weight body does not fall within the scope of the invention.</li></ul>

<u style="single">DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS</u>

0051Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

0052Referring to <figref idref="f0004 f0005 f0006 f0007">Figs. 4 to 8</figref>, a blind (110) for adjusting illumination according to the present invention comprises a upper-end support bar (111); a pair of brackets (112) provided at both ends of the upper-end support bar (111), standing opposite to each other; a winding rod (114) of which both ends are rotatably fitted into the respective brackets (112); an adjusting cord (116) provided between one bracket (112) and the winding rod (114) to rotate the winding rod (114) through a sprocket member (113); a blind sheet (115) comprising alternate transparent and opaque parts (115-1 and 115-2) and folded to have one end secured to the winding rod (114) and the other end secured to the upper-end support bar (111); and a weight body (130) provided at a lower end of the blind sheet (115) to stretch the blind sheet (115) tight.

0053In providing the winding rod (114) between the brackets (112), the left end of the winding rod (114) is fitted into the bracket (112) through the sprocket member (113) operated by the adjusting cord (116).

0054The upper-end support bar (111) has an extended tongue (120) integrally formed therewith at a lower end for attaching one end of the blind sheet (115) thereto. The other end of the blind sheet (115) is attached to the winding rod (114).

0055In the process of attaching the blind sheet (115) to the extended tongue (120) and the winding rod (114), fixing members such as screws, bands and the like may be used. However, it would be more preferable to mount the blind sheet (115) without using such fixing members.

0056For this purpose, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the winding rod (114) includes more than one seating part (114-1) and the blind sheet (115) includes a fixing piece (117) at one end thereof, so that the fixing piece (117) can be fitted into the seating part (114-1).

0057Further, the extended tongue (120) has a seating groove (120-1) and the blind sheet (115) has another fixing piece (121) at the other end thereof, so that the fixing piece (121) can be fitted into the seating groove (120-1).

0058Accordingly, the blind sheet (115) can be installed on the extended tongue (120) and the winding rod (114) without additional fixing members.

0059The blind sheet (115) stretches tight by the weight body (130) provided at tho folded lower end of the blind sheet (115).

0060<figref idref="f0006">Fig. 6</figref> is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the weight body (130), wherein the weight body (130) comprises a rod (131) provided in a loop at the lower end of the blind sheet (115); a weight bar (137) provided below the blind sheet (115) to stretch the blind sheet (115) tight by its weight; and fixing caps (140) provided on both ends of the rod (131) and the weight bar (137) to connect them.

0061It is preferable that a pair of rotational caps (133) are provided at both ends of the rod (131) to be connected to the fixing caps (140), so that the rod (131) can rotate smoothly in the loop of the blind sheet (115) when the blind sheet (115) moves up and down.

0062In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the rotational caps (133) may include an axial borc (136) at one end to be connected to an axial protrusion (142) formed on an internal surface of the fixing cap (140) and may also include a fixing groove (135) at the other end to receive the end of the rod (131) therein. Accordingly, the rotational caps (133) can rotate centering around the axial protrusions (142) and can rotate the rod (131) smoothly in the fixing caps (140).

0063<figref idref="f0006">Fig. 7</figref> shows another embodiment of the weight body (130) which however does not fall within the scope of the invention in a disassembled state and <figref idref="f0007">Fig. 8</figref> is a sectional view of the weight body (130) of <figref idref="f0006">Fig. 7</figref> in an assembled state, wherein the weight body (130) comprises a weight bar (159) having a hollow center to be provided in the loop at the lower end of the blind sheet (115); rotational caps (155) provided at both ends of the weight bar (159) to cover the ends of the weight bar (159), each of which having an axial bore (158) in the center thereof, a pair of fixing caps (150) having respective axial protrusions (154) to be connected to the axial bores (158) of the rotational caps (155), thus closing both ends of the weight bar (159) and allowing the rotational caps (155) to rotate smoothly therein.

0064Meanwhile, when the window is high, the blind sheet (115) may pitch and roll in winding or unwinding it on the winding rod (114). Thus, means to prevent noise and damage on windows or walls due to the fluctuation of the blind sheet (115) may be further provided.

0065Referring to <figref idref="f0006">Fig. 6</figref>, according to a further embodiment of the present invention, vertical guide rails (145) may be provided at both ends of the blind sheet (115) so that the fixing caps (140 or 150) can be respectively fitted to the vertical guide rails (145). The vertical guide rails (145) may be formed in the shape of substantially "⊏".

0066The blind according to the present invention as constructed above will operate and function as mentioned hereinafter.

0067If the adjusting cord (116) at one end of the upper-end support bar (111) is pulled down counterclockwise, the winding rod (114) will rotate counterclockwise.

0068If the winding rod (114) rotates, the front blind sheet (115) having one end fixed on the seating part (114-1) is wound on the winding rod (114), so that the blind sheet (115) rises up gradually.

0069When the front blind sheet (115) winds up along the winding rod (114), the rod (131) of the weight body (130) in the loop of the blind sheet (115) freely rotates, keeping the blind sheet (115) stretched tight. Therefore, the blind sheet (115) can be easily wound on the winding rod (114).

0070If the vertical guide rails (145) are provided on both sides of the blind sheet (115), the fixing caps (140 or 150) move along grooves formed in the vertical guide rails (145) with stability, so that the blind sheet (115) and the weight body (130) can ascend vertically without fluctuation.

0071On the contrary, if the adjusting cord (116) is pulled down clockwise, the winding rod (114) rotates clockwise and the blind sheet (115), which has been wound on the winding rod (114), becomes deployed gradually and hangs down.

0072When the blind sheet (115) is deployed, the rod (131) of the weight body (130) in the loop at the lower end of the blind sheet (115) rotates counterclockwise, so that the blind sheet (115) can be stretched tight.

0073Also, when the blind sheet (115) is deployed, since the fixing caps (140 and 150) move along the grooves formed in the vertical guide rails (145), the blind sheet (115) and the weight body (130) can descend vertically with stability without fluctuation.

0074As described above, by adjusting freely the blind sheet (115) to be wound or unwound on the winding rod (114), regardless of the position of the blind sheet (115), the transparent parts (115-1) and the opaque parts (115-2) of the blind sheet (115) can be overlapped or misaligned freely, and accordingly the room illumination can be rapidly and effectively adjusted.

0075That is, by pulling down the adjusting cord (116) clockwise or counterclockwise, one end of the blind sheet (115), which has been fixed on the winding rod (114), becomes wound or unwound, while the other end of the blind sheet (115), which has been fixed on the seating groove (120-1) of the extended tongue (120), is kept fixed, so that the degree of overlapping the transparent parts (115-1) and the opaque parts (115-2) can be freely adjusted.

0076When the blind sheet (115) is drawn up or pulled down by the movement of the adjusting cord (116), since the weight body (130) is provided in the loop at the lower end of the blind sheet (115), the rod (131) and the rotational caps (133) are rotated clockwise or counterclockwise.

0077Further, since the rod (131) is pulled downward by the weight bar (137) below the blind sheet (115), the blind sheet (115) can be stretched tight all the time.

0078Likewise, referring to <figref idref="f0006">Figs. 7</figref> and <figref idref="f0007">8</figref>, as the blind sheet (115) is drawn up or pulled down by the adjusting cord (116), the weight bar (159) in the loop at the lower end of the blind sheet (115) rotates clockwise or counterclockwise together with the rotational caps (155), so that the blind sheet (115) bangs down by its weight and can be kept tight all the time.

0079As described above, according to the present invention, the following advantages arc obtained.

0080Firstly, since the roll-type blind according to the present invention comprises the front blind sheet and the rear blind sheet, which are suspended vertically together around the winding rod and rapidly adjustable by aligning or misaligning transparent and opaque parts of the blind sheets, the room illumination can be effectively and rapidly adjusted.

0081Further, according to the present invention, since only one end of the roll-type blind is wound or unwound on the winding rod, with the other end fixed on the support bar, overlapping of the transparent parts with opaque parts of the blind sheet can be easily adjustable with high reliability.

0082Further, according to the present invention, the roll-type blind is not fluctuating and moves up and down with stability.

0083Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the front blind sheet of the blind is not kept slant as in the conventional, blind, but is vertically kept without fluctuation, a lot of space around windows is not required for the installation of the blind.

0084Finally, due to the vertical guide rails provided on both sides of the blind sheet, noise and damage on windows or walls, which occurred by the collision of the blind sheet with the windows or walls or its fluctuation, can be prevented.

0085It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present invention covers the modifications and variations thereof provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.