Venetian blind

Application filed June 84, 1931, Serial No. 546,832, and in Japan July 7, 1930.

made of a piece or pieces of woven fabric formed into a flat tube and stretched on, a skeleton B, and is provided at both ends with loops C. The skeleton B consists of an oblong frame, of which the longitudinal mem- 55 bers are made of steel wire, the ends thereof being secured to cross pieces 1.

Reinforcing members 2 are provided at intermediate points of the skeleton in order to keep the parallel arrangement of the side 60 members of the skeleton B. Said reinforcing member 2 is made of a corrugated metal strip, and is secured at its ends to the steel wires forming the side members. The loop C consists of two interconnected rings, one of 65 which is loosely mounted on the cross piece 1 of the element A, and the other ring adapted to be engaged by the guide rod or rail E. In the modification shown in Figure 14, the loop C may consist of a single ring pivotally 70 connected to the cross piece 1 by means of a pin fixed to the ring.

D designates suspension strips or tapes each secured at the upper end to the fixed part 3, and to which suspension strip D are secured 75 the longitudinal edges of the said blind elements A, the latter being thereby suspended and arranged at suitable intervals in parallel positions.

The guide rods E engage with the loops C 80 at the ends of the blind elements A, and serve to guide the movement of the elements A. In order to minimize the friction between the loops C and the guide rods E and to prevent undue noise during the movement of the blind 85 elements, said guide rods E are provided with a covering 4 of ebonite or hard rubber. Said covering 4 is preferably provided on the outer surface with longitudinal grooves us shown in Figures 7 and 8. ⁹⁰

G is a pulling cord connected at its lower end to the lowermost one of the blind elements and led upwardly and passed around pulleys 5. This cord G when pulled in the di fection of the arrow serves to lift the blind ⁹⁶elements. Another pulling cord H is connected to a horizontal bar 6 which is attached to the suspension strips D, and is passed around pulleys 7. This cord H when pulled in the direction of the arrow serves to elevate ^1β·

This invention relates to a Venetian blind, and more particularly a collapsible blind made of woven fabric.

This invention has for its objects to pro5 vide a collapsible blind which has an increased effect of shielding light and in which the elevation and turning of the blind elements can be readily effected. These objects in view, the blind according to this invention 10 comprising a plurality of blind elements each of which consisting of a piece or pieces of woven fabric formed into a flat tubular shape and stretched on a skeleton frame, having loops at both ends, means or suspending said 15 blind elements arranged at suitable intervals, guide rods along which said loops on each element are slidably guided, and means for varying the angle of inclination of the blind elements. . .

In the accompanying drawings in which several embodiments of the invention· are shown by way of example :

Fig. 1 is a front view of the collapsible blind constructed according to this invention, 25 Fig. 2 is a sectional side view,

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan thereof ,

Fig. 4 is a fragmental perspective view. Fig. 5 is a sectional side view of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 is a similar view in a closed position, 30 Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a portion of the guide rod,

Fig. 8 shows a cross section thereof.

Fig. 9 shows a plan of one of the blind elements,

Fig. 10 shows a plan of a skeleton frame, Fig. 11 shows a cross section of the blind element,

Fig. 12 is a detail showing one of the reinforcing members, ⁴⁰ Fig. 13 shows a cross section thereof,

Fig. 14 shows a portion of a blind element having a modified form of the loop, .

Fig. 15 shows a modified form or the blind element, ⁴⁶ Fig. 16 is a sectional side view of the blind using the elements shown in Fig. 15, and

Fig. 17 shows in detail an end portion of the skeleton. . .

Referring to the drawings, A designates ⁶⁰ a plurality of blind elements, each of which is

1,85 one edge of each blind element, thereby varying the angle of inclination of the latter.

The blind element A is made of tubular fabric or of ordinarily woven fabric which 5 is sewed into a tubular form. In the modification shown in Figure 15, the element A is formed by two sheets of fabric sewed together at both side edges along the seam 8 to form selvages a. This form has advantages that 10 the suspension strips D can be easily connected by sewing to the elements A and that the selvages a withstand against wear.

Plaited extension pieces F are attached to the ends of the elements A and to the lower 15 side of the lowermost element, which extension pieces contact with the window frame 9 and serve to prevent any light from stealing in through the gap between the blind and the window frame.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that inasmuch as each blind element consists of double layers of woven fabric, there is not only increased effect of shielding light, but also increased heat-proofing and noise-proof25 ing effect can be attained according to the present invention. Moreover, according to the invention, the blind element consisting of woven fabric can be readily washed by removing the skeleton therefrom. As the blind ele30 ment is made of tubular woven fabric stretched on the skeleton consisting of steel wires and reinforcing metal strips, the blind according to this invention is light in weight, while it is of durable construction.

Furthermore, according to the invention the blind can be readily lifted to the collapsed position by means of a pulling cord, and the angle of the inclination of the blind elements can be adjusted at will by a simple and easy 40 operation to vary the amount of light or the amount of air passing through the window.