Venetian blind

Dec. 26, 1950 m. j. nardulli 2,535,751

VENETIAN BLIND

Filed March 10, 1947

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ATTORNEY

Patented Dec. 26, 1950

2,535,751

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,535,751

VENETIAN BLIND

Michael J. Nardulli, Chicago, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Michael J. Nardulli, Angelo F. Naples, Peter F. Nardulli, and William

H. Mbzal, as. trustees

Application March 10,1947, Serial No. 733,454

Claims.

This, invention relates to Venetian blinds and particularly to Venetian blinds of the roller type wherein an upper spring roller frictionally supports the ladder tapes and serves as- a drum to wind or unwind the elevating cords so as to thereby enable frictional contact of the roller with the ladder tapes to effect tilting of the slats of the blind while rotation of the drum is also effective by winding- or- unwinding of the cords to effect raising or lowering of the blind.

The roller type Venetian blinds of the general character to which the present invention relates· are illustrated in my prior patents, Nos. 2,209,234 and 2,401,770; while the Nardulli and Jacobson Patent No. 2,175,549 also shows a- roller type 1 Venetian blind in which a spring-type shade roller is employed as the supporting member. In all of the aforesaid patents, the blinds are provided with what may- be termed tilting toe rails which afford weight which is effective to 2 cause tilting of the slats in response to the frictional action of the roller upon the ladder tapes. Many situations are encountered wherein the use of a tilting bottom· rail or- toe rail is; considered to- be undesirable· and where a non- 2 tilting toe rail has been used, considerable: difficulty has been encountered, in attaining proper closure- of the blind. In other words; with; such non-tilting- toe rails, it has heretofore been impossible to cause or attain tilting of the- slats 3 to a sufficient extent to effectually close the· blind, and the primary object of the present invention is therefore to- enable such full closure of the blind: to be readily attained.

A further and related- object is to enable such 3 full closure of a blind to be attained through the- provision of a relatively simple structural relationship which does not in any way increase the cost of the blinds.

Other and further objects, of the present in- 4 vention will- be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated⁷ in the accompanying drawings- which; by way of illustration; show a preferred embodiment and the principles thereof' and what I now consider to 4 be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying those principles; Other embodiments of the- invention embodying the same or- equivalent principles may be- used¹ and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled 5 in the art without departing from the-present invention- and¹ the purview of⁷ the- appended claims.

In the drawings :

Fig. 1 is a- fragmentary· perspective¹ view of a dbor having a Venetian blind embodying the- 5.

11.160—170) invention mounted in- association with the window pane that is included in such door;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 2—2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged⁷ fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the- line 3—3 of Fig.1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are views similar to Fig. 3 which show the parts in different positions, and^: which 0 also illustrate the end construction of the spring roller that supports the cords and¹ the ladder tapes of the blind;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side- elevational view of the left-hand supporting bracket; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line T—7- of Fig. 6 and illustrating the structure of the shade roller.

For purposes· of disclosure, the- invention has been herein illustrated as embodied in a Venetian 0 blind 13 that is supported on the inner face of a. door it so as to extend¹ downwardly across a window opening 12 that is closed by a window pane 13. The Venetian blind 10 embodies a spring roller 15 that is what may be termed a :5 single-pawl, single-notcht shade: roller, having an ordinary cylindrical supporting pin 1:6 extending from one end thereof and a flat supporting, pin 17 extending from the other end thereof. The supporting pins 16 and: 17 are carried⁷ in mountq ing brackets 18 and 1:9 respectively- that are secured by screws 2-0 to the- door 11- above the: window opening 12 thereof. In the present case the brackets (8 and 19 are provided with vertically extended mounting: grooves 2 ί along their ₅ forward edges so that a facia; board 22 may be carried in the brackets forwardly of the roller15. It will be. recognized, however, that the pins 16 and 17 of the roller may be. supported in conventional shade roller brackets when: the use: 0 of a facia board is. not considered to be essential.

The Venetian blind: 10 has a pair of ladder tapes 25 supported on the. roller (5 as: will hereinafter be described and. having a non-tilting toe: 5 rail 27 secured to the lower ends: thereof. The ladder tapes 25. serve to support: a plurality off slats 30 which as herein shown are: of: metal which has an arched: cross sectional: form to? impart strength thereto. The ladder-tapes 25 have 0 inner and outer bands 25A and 25B formed from, fabric and connected at suitable intervals by ladder elements 25L which serve as supports for the respective slats 30. The upper ends of the inner and outer band's. of the ladder tapes, are 5 joined together as will be evident in Figs. 3,4 and

2,535,751 as by stitching or stapling 3 i, and this forms a relatively large loop 25F at the upper end of each ladder tape 25 so that such loops may embrace and rest upon the spring roller 15. Thus upon rotation of the roller 15, a frictional action is attained between the roller (5 and the loops 25F of the ladder tapes 25, and this tends to tilt the slats 30 as an incident to the rotation of the roller 15. The roller 15, as hereinbefore pointed out, is of the spring roller type and the flat pin 17 thereof is formed at the end of a spring supporting rod 35. As shown in Fig. 7 of the drawing, a spring 36 surrounding the rod 35 within a chamber or bore 36B in the roller, has one end fixed to the rod 35 and the other end fixed to the roller so as to normally tend to rotate the roller in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3 of the drawings. At the end of the roller (5, the rod 35 has a flange 38 formed thereon and this flange has a single notch 39 formed therein so that a pivoted control pawl or dog 43 on the end of the roller may be engaged with the notch 39 to prevent rotation of the roller with respect to the rod 35. This dog 40 is utilized in the present Venetian blind only when the blind is removed from the supporting brackets, and when the blind is mounted in such brackets, the notch 3S is disposed in a downwardly facing direction as will be evident in Figs. 4 and 5 so that the dog 40 will not engage the notch 39 at any time. Thus the spring roller 15 as utilized in the present Venetian blind constantly tends to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and this action is utilized in attaining the desired control of the tilting and elevating of the blind. Thus a pair of elevating cords 45 is provided and such cords are secured at one end to the roller i 5 in positions beneath the respective loops 25F of the ladder tapes. The cords are then extended downwardly through relatively large openings' SOP formed in the slats 30 and the cords are connected at their opposite or lower ends to the upper edges of the non-tilting toe rail 27. Thus the action of the spring roller 15 will normally tend to elevate the toe rail 27 so as to fully elevate the blind as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings, and the desired lowering of the blind and tilting of the slats of the blind is attained by raising or lowering the toe rail 27. Means are therefore provided for fixing the toe rail 27 in any desired vertical position, and as herein shown such means are also effective to hold the toe rail 27 against any appreciable tilting action. Thus as will be evident in the drawings, a beadchain 48 is connected to the lower edge of the toe rail 48 and centrally thereof, and a slotted anchoring bracket 49 is fixed on the door (i below the lower edge of the window opening 12. Thus upon vertical adjustment of the toe rail 27, such adjustment may be maintained by merely locking the beads of the chain 48 in a fastening notch 50 that is formed in the anchoring bracket 49. It will be evident that in the course of raising and lowering the toe rail 27, the rotative movements of the roller 15 will impart endwise shifting to the loop 25F about the roller i 5 and in the direction of rotation of the roller, and this causes tilting movement of the slats 39.

Under and in accordance with the present invention, the Venetian blind may be fully closed as will be evident in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and such closure is effective in a positive manner. Thus as will be evident in Figs. 2 to 5 of the drawings, the inner and outer bands 25A and 25B are secured to the toe rail 27 in a novel and highly advantageous manner or relationship which assures proper and complete closure of the blind when this is desired. Thus the outer ladder tape 27 is fixed as by tacks or staples at 52 to the outer face of the toe rail 27 while the inner ladder tape is fixed as by tacks or staples at 53 to the inner face of the toe rail 27, and the relative distances between the lowermost ladder element 25L and the points of connection of the inner and outer bands with the toe rail 27 constitutes an important and vital element in attaining the desired full and complete closure of the slats of the blind. Thus the band 25B is so connected to the toe rail 27 that the outer or adjacent end of the lowermost ladder element 25L is disposed at substantially the top of the toe rail 27. In contrast to this, however, the connection of the other or inner band 25A is such that the portion 25A—1 of the band 25A between the inner end of the lowermost ladder element 25L and the connection 53 is of such a length that the inner or adjacent end of the lowermost ladder element 25L may be raised upwardly above the upper edge of the toe rail 27 in an amount substantially equal to the width of the slats 30. Thus when the blind 10 is drawn downwardly as far as possible, the relatively short outer end connection 2 SB—I will be effective to positively draw the loop 25F about the roller 15, thereby to elevate the inner ends of the ladder elements 25L to the maximum possible extent. The short connection 2 SB—i is thus afforded on the side of the blind where the cords Sa extend down from the roller 15, so that the downward pull on the band 25B augments or completes the tilting action that has been initiated by the frictional action of the roller IS on the loops 25F. Thus the pull downwardly on the band 25B assures full closure of the blind, and yet the advantages of a roller blind construction are attained. Moreover, such full closure is attained in such a way that a nontilting toe rail may be employed.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.