Patent Application
20070199662
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a rolling shutter system, and more particularly to a new and improved bracket assembly for a rolling shutter system.
Rolling shutter systems are used to protect various homes and businesses. Typically, the rolling shutter systems include a shutter housing that contains a flexible shutter that is wrapped around a roller pin or tube. The tube may be rotated to selectively move the shutter between closed and open positions.
The shutter system 10 includes a shutter housing 12, and a shutter support 14 mounted for rotation within the shutter housing 12. The shutter support 14 may include a generally cylindrical central roller tube 16 and a plurality of mounting members 18 fixed to the roller tube 16.
An upper end of a rolling shutter 20 is coupled to at least one of the mounting members 18. Optionally, the mounting members 18 may be omitted and the rolling shutter may be mounted directly to the roller tube 16. The shutter 20 may include a plurality of individual, elongate slats 22. The ends of the slats 22 are disposed within a pair of shutter tracks 24. When mounted to protect a window or other opening, the shutter tracks 24 are positioned on either side of the opening and the shutter housing 12 is positioned over the top of the opening. Typically, the shutter assembly 10 includes a tubular electric motor (not shown) disposed within the roller tube 16 that is operable to rotate the roller tube 16 and, therefore, move the shutter 20 between open and closed positions.
In order to ensure proper movement of a shutter, and protect against damage to the shutter, some systems include a movable support carriage within the housing that moves the support member, and therefore the coiled shutter, linearly within the housing to minimize the angle θ. That is, as the shutter is uncoiled from the support member, the moveable support carriage linearly moves the support member and the shutter so that the shutter remains substantially straight entering the tracks. Such a system requires a separate motor to move the carriage. As such, such a system increases labor and component costs.
Another effort to minimize the angle θ, is shown in
Because the tracks 40 are moved in, however, the tracks 40 are, consequently, moved away from a window opening. As such, the shutter system 38 may not be safely secured around an opening (such as a window, walkway, garage, or the like) of the building. Further, a gap may exist between a frame of a window, garage, or the like and the tracks 40, thereby providing an opening that may be exploited from the outside.
Thus, a need exists for a safe and secure rolling shutter system that is relatively cheap and easy to manufacture. Further, a need exists for a rolling shutter system that minimizes the risks of damage to a rolling shutter and is also inexpensive to manufacture.
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a rolling shutter system that includes a shutter housing, at least one shutter guide track secured to the shutter housing, and a bracket assembly. The shutter housing may include a pair of opposed inwardly-extending posts configured to pivotally secure into pivot holes formed in the bracket assemblies. Optionally, the bracket assembly may include at least one post that is configured to be secured within an opening formed in the shutter housing.
The bracket assembly may include a pair of brackets, a shutter support, and a rolling shutter. Each of the brackets is pivotally secured within the shutter housing. Each bracket includes a main body having a pivot member configured to pivotally secure to the shutter housing. The main body is configured to pivot about the pivot member. Each bracket may include a support attachment member configured to secure to the shutter support, wherein the support attachment member is separate and distinct from the pivot member.
The shutter support may be rotatably secured between the pair of brackets. The shutter support is separate and distinct from the pivot member.
The rolling shutter is secured to the shutter support. Rotation of the shutter support in a first direction causes the rolling shutter to coil around the shutter support, while rotation of the shutter support in a second direction causes the rolling shutter to uncoil from the shutter support and pass into the shutter guide track.
The brackets pivot with respect to the shutter housing when the shutter support rotates in the first and second directions. The rotation of the shutter support moves, that is, coils and uncoils, the rolling shutter between open and closed positions. An entire portion of the rolling shutter hanging down from the shutter support (whether that be only a small portion when a bulk of the shutter is coiled around the shutter support, or a large portion when hardly any of the shutter is coiled around the shutter support) remains straight through the open and closed positions.
Each bracket may also include a rotatable gear having a plurality of spokes extending outwardly therefrom. Further, the shutter housing may also include an end plate having a toothed track, wherein the rotatable gear is configured to move over the toothed track. The shutter support may also include a protuberance configured to engage the plurality of spokes, wherein rotation of the shutter support moves the protuberance into one of the plurality of spokes, thereby causing the gear to incrementally rotate upon a full rotation of the shutter support. Rotation of the gear moves the gear over the toothed track, thereby controlling pivotal movement of each of the pair of brackets with respect to the shutter housing.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of certain embodiments of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings, certain embodiments. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the attached drawings.
Each bracket 44 includes a main body 50 that may include a support attachment protuberance 52, such as a tab, post, bar, rod, or the like, proximate a lower portion 54 of the main body 50. Optionally, the protuberance 50 may be positioned proximate the center or upper portion 56 of the main body 12. The protuberance 52 is configured to rotatably secure to an end of the shutter support 46. As such, the shutter support 46 may rotate about opposed support attachment protuberances 50.
Alternatively, the main body 50 may not include a support attachment protuberance. Instead, a component, such as a drive or idler may be integrally mounted to the bracket 44.
Each bracket 44 also includes a pivot member 58 formed proximate the upper portion 56 of the main body 50. Optionally, the pivot member 58 may be positioned proximate the center or lower portion 54 of the main body 50. The pivot member 58 may be a hole formed through the main body, as shown in
As shown in
The shutter housing 60 includes securing posts 62 that pivotally secure the shutter housing 60 to the brackets 44 through the pivot members 58. The post 62 rotatably secures within the hole defined by the pivot member 58 so that the bracket 44 may pivot relative to the shutter housing 60 about an axis X that coincides with a longitudinal axis of the post 62. Alternatively, as discussed above, the bracket 44 may include a protuberance, such as a post, that is securely mated into a reciprocal opening formed within the shutter housing 60.
The shutter support 46 is rotatably secured to the protuberances 52 formed proximate the lower portions 54 of the brackets 44. The protuberances 52 may be small knob-like posts, or may, alternatively, be a single rod that connects the brackets 44 together. The shutter support 46 may rotate about a longitudinal axis Y of the protuberances 52 to selectively coil and uncoil the shutter 48 between open and closed positions, respectively.
As the shutter support 46 begins to rotate to uncoil the shutter 48 into the closed position, the weight of the shutter 48 begins to shift. In particular, the weight of the shutter 48 around the shutter support 46 decreases due to the movement of the shutter 48 toward the lower ends of the tracks 68, while the hanging weight (i.e., that portion no longer coiled around the shutter support 46) of the shutter 48 increases. As the weight of the shutter 48 shifts (i.e., decreasing weight around the shutter support 46 and increasing hanging weight), the brackets 44 begin to pivot about the longitudinal axes of the pivot members 58 in the direction of arc A′. The pivoting movement of the brackets in the direction of arc A′ as the shutter support 46 continues to rotate to uncoil the shutter 48 into the closed position maintains the shutter 48 in a straight line from the shutter support 46 into the tracks 68. That is, the shutter support 46 continually moves in closer alignment with the tracks 68 as the shutter 48 is uncoiled from the shutter support 46.
When the shutter 48 is opened, the shutter support 46 rotates in order to coil the shutter 48 around the shutter support. As the shutter 48 coils around the shutter support 46, the increasing weight of the shutter 48 around the shutter support 46 causes the brackets to pivot about the longitudinal axes of the pivot members 58 in the direction of A″, until the shutter 48 is in an open position, as shown in
While
An actuating bar 104 extends outwardly from a surface of a rotatable shutter support 106, such as a roller tube, proximate an end thereof. Each time the shutter support 106 makes a complete rotation, the actuating bar 104 is actuated into a spoke 102 in the direction of arc B. As the actuation bar 104 contacts the spoke 102, the force exerted by the rotation of the actuation bar 104 causes the spoke 102 to rotate one position in the direction of arc B. The rotation of the spokes 102, in turn, causes the gear 100 to rotate. As the gear rotates, the teeth 108 of the gear 100 mesh with the teeth 109 of the tooted track 98. Rotation of the gear 100 causes the gear to move relative to the end plate 96.
Each end plate 96 is positioned from the axis of rotation of the shutter support 106 such that the toothed track 98 remains at a fixed distance, or radius, from the axis of rotation of the shutter support 106 as the brackets 44 are indexed. That is, the point of contact between the gear 100 and the toothed track 98 and the axis of rotation of the shutter support 106 remains constant through pivotal indexing rotation of the brackets 44.
Each rotation of the shutter support 106 causes the gear to move an incremental position over the toothed track 98. Each full rotation of the shutter support 106 indexes the bracket one position over the toothed track 98. As such, the bracket may securely rest at each incremental position until the actuating bar 104 contacts another spoke 102. A reverse rotation of the shutter support 106 causes a reverse incremental indexing movement of the gear 100 over the toothed track 98.
Indexing the movement of the brackets as discussed above with respect to
In the example shown, movement over a full pivot range from a shutter open position to a shutter closed position is obtained through eight full rotations of the shutter support 106. However, the gear indexing system 94 may be configured so that full movement may be obtained through more or less rotations of the shutter support 106.
While the end plate 96 is described as being within the shutter housing, the gear indexing system may, alternatively, include the gear and spokes within the shutter housing, while the toothed track is formed on a surface of the bracket. Also, alternatively, the end of the shutter support 106 may include a circumferential toothed surface that cooperates with a gear on the bracket.
An interior wall 116 of the shutter housing 118 includes an anchor post 120 and a pulley 122. A securing post 124, which is configured to be positioned within a pivot member, such as a pivot channel 126, of the bracket 112, is positioned between the anchor post 120 and the pulley 122.
Pulleys 128 are also positioned proximate a lower portion of each bracket 112. In order to assist in mounting the bracket assembly 110 to the shutter housing 118, a rope 130 is secured to the anchor post 120, fed underneath the pulleys 128 of the bracket 112, an fed over the pulley 122 of the shutter housing 118 (that is, separate ropes 130 may be positioned with respect to both brackets 112). To hoist the bracket assembly 110 up toward the securing post 124, the end 132 of the rope 130 is pulled downwardly in the direction of C. This movement causes the bracket 112, which is supported by the rope 130 underneath the pulleys 128 to lift upward in the direction of arrow D. The pulleys 122 and 128 may include teeth, barbs, clasps, or the like that dig into the rope 130 so that the rope 130 is secured to the pulleys 122 and 128. Additionally, the pulleys 122 and 128 may allow movement in only one direction, so that if a pulling force is no longer exerted to the end 132 of the rope 130, the pulleys 122 and 128 and rope will maintain the bracket 112 at a particular elevation. Once the bracket 112 is move proximate the securing post 124, the bracket 112 is secured to the shutter housing 118 such that the securing post 124 is trapped within the pivot channel 126. After the bracket 112 is secured to the shutter housing 118, the rope 130 may be removed from the anchor post 120 and pulleys 122 and 128. Thus, a heavy bracket assembly 110 may be safely and easily secured to a shutter housing 118.
As shown and discussed above, embodiments of the present invention provide a safe and secure rolling shutter system that is relatively cheap and easy to manufacture and install. Further, embodiments of the present invention provide a rolling shutter system that minimizes the risks of damage to a rolling shutter and is also inexpensive to manufacture. For example, the embodiments discussed above do not require a separate carriage system or motor to ensure that the shutter safely and easily passes into the tracks when being uncoiled from the shutter support system. Additionally, embodiments of the present invention provide a robust construction in which the tracks of the rolling shutter system safely and effectively secure around an opening, such as a window.
While the invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
