Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6213188
-
Patent Number
6,213,188
-
Date Filed
Friday, February 18, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 10, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 160 1782 R
- 160 1681 R
- 160 173 R
- 160 172 R
- 024 136 R
- 024 115 L
- 024 115 M
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A cord control device includes a mounting seat mounted removably in a horizontal top housing, from which a plurality of horizontal slats are suspended downwardly one above another. A bottom rail is disposed below the slats. Each of two control cords passes through the top housing and through the slats, and has a first end portion fastened to the bottom rail, and a second end portion which extends out of the top housing. An elongated rack is disposed in a roller-mounting space in the mounting seat. A pair of stationary rollers are journalled in the roller-mounting space one above the other proximate to the elongated rack and are passed slidably over by the second end portions of the control cords, respectively. A movable pinion is disposed movably in the roller-mounting space, and is passed slidably over by the second end portions of the control cords. The pinion is movable in the roller-mounting space to a first position, where the control cords can slide over the pinion to permit raising and lowering of the slats, and a second position, where the pinion is clamped between the rack and one of the stationary rollers so that the control cords are clamped between the pinion and one of the stationary rollers.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a control device, more particularly to a cord control device for a Venetian blind to control raising and lowering of the slats.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a conventional Venetian blind includes an elongated housing
1
, a horizontally disposed shaft
2
journalled in the housing
1
, a plurality of slats
5
suspended one above another from the housing
1
, a bottom rail
7
disposed below the slats
5
, a pair of pulleys
3
provided on two end portions of the shaft
2
, a cord control unit
8
provided at one end of the housing
1
, and two pairs of tilting cords
4
. Each of the tilting cords
4
is disposed at a longitudinal side of each of the slats
5
, and has a top end secured to one of the pulleys
3
and a bottom end secured to the bottom rail
7
so that rotation of the shaft
2
can cause the tilting cords
4
to move up and down in order to tilt the slats
5
. Each of the slats
5
has two end portions, each of which is formed with a through hole (
5
a
). Each of two pull cords
6
has a first end passing through the vertically aligned through holes (
5
a
) formed in the slats
5
and secured to the bottom rail
7
, and a second end passing through the housing
1
and the cord control unit
8
and extending out of the housing
1
.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, the cord control unit
8
is shown to include a stationary roller (
8
a
) and a movable pinion (
8
b
). The pull cords
6
pass between the stationary roller (
8
a
) and the movable pinion (
8
b
), and are operable to move the movable pinion (
8
b
) toward the stationary roller (
8
a
) so as to lock the pull cords
6
and so as to position the slats
5
, or away from the stationary roller (
8
a
) so as to release the pull cords
6
and to permit raising or lowering of the slats
5
.
The aforesaid conventional Venetian blind achieves the purposes of raising and lowering the slats
5
. However, the cord control unit
8
has to be mounted at one end of the top housing
1
, thereby restricting the moving space of the pull cords
6
with respect to the side wall adjacent to said end of the top housing
1
and resulting in inconvenience when operating the pull cords
6
.
Furthermore, in case the horizontal length of the top housing
1
in the conventional Venetian blind is over sized and does not correspond to the size of a window to which the blind is applied, the top housing
1
has to be cut short. However, the top housing
1
cannot be cut short at two ends thereof in order to achieve the required length due to the presence of the cord control unit
8
at one of the ends thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of this invention is to provide a cord control device which is adapted be mounted in a Venetian blind and which is clear of the aforesaid disadvantages that result from the use of the conventional Venetian blind.
Accordingly, the cord control device of the present invention is used in a Venetian blind which includes an elongated horizontal top housing, a plurality of horizontal slats suspended downwardly from the top housing one above another, a bottom rail disposed below the slats, a pair of pulleys disposed spacedly in the top housing, and at least one first control cord and at least one second control cord. Each of the control cords passes through the top housing and through the slats, and has a first end portion fastened to the bottom rail, and a second end portion which extends out of the top housing. The cord control device includes a hollow mounting seat adapted to be mounted removably in the top housing between the pulleys, and having a bottom end, a top end, a roller-mounting space between the top and bottom ends, and an elongated rack disposed in the roller-mounting space. A pair of stationary rollers are journalled in the roller-mounting space one above the other proximate to the elongated rack. The first control cord is adapted to pass slidably over a lower one of the stationary rollers while the second control cord is adapted to pass slidably over and between the stationary rollers. A movable pinion is disposed movably in the roller-mounting space, and is adapted to be passed slidably over by the second end portions of the first and second control cords. The pinion is movable to a first position by virtue of swinging action of the first and second control cords in a first direction, where the control cords can slide over the pinion to permit raising and lowering of the slats, and a second position by virtue of swinging action of the first and second control cords in a second direction opposite to the first direction, where the pinion is clamped between the rack and one of the stationary rollers so that the control cords are adapted to be clamped between the pinion and the respective one of the stationary rollers, thereby preventing raising and lowering of the slats. A stop unit is provided to prevent removal of the pinion from the roller-mounting space in the mounting seat.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a conventional Venetian blind provided with a cord control device for raising and lowering of the slats;
FIG. 2
is a fragmentary sectional view of the conventional Venetian blind, illustrating how the cord control device is mounted therein;
FIG. 3
a perspective view of a Venetian blind provided with the preferred embodiment of a cord control device of the present invention for raising and lowering of the slats;
FIG. 4
is a fragmentary sectional view of the Venetian blind, illustrating how the preferred embodiment of the present invention is mounted therein;
FIG. 5
is a fragmentary sectional view of the Venetian blind, illustrating how the preferred embodiment of the present invention is actuated in order to move the slats vertically; and
FIG. 6
is a fragmentary sectional view of the Venetian blind, illustrating how a modified cord control device of the present invention is mounted therein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The preferred embodiment of a cord control device
10
of the present invention is adapted to be mounted on a Venetian blind, as best shown in FIG.
3
. The Venetian blind generally includes an elongated horizontal top housing
100
, a plurality of horizontal slats
120
suspended from the top housing
100
one above another, a bottom rail
130
disposed below the slats
120
, a pair of pulleys
140
disposed spacedly in the top housing
100
, and first and second control cords
110
′,
110
. Each of the control cords
110
′,
110
passes through the top housing
100
and through the slats
120
, and has a first end portion fastened to the bottom rail
130
, and a second end portion which extends out of the top housing
100
in a conventional manner.
Referring to
FIGS. 4 and 5
, the cord control device
10
of the present invention includes a hollow mounting seat
11
adapted to be mounted removably in the top housing
100
(see
FIG. 3
) between the pulleys
140
, and having a bottom end, a top end, a roller-mounting space
111
between the top and bottom ends, and an elongated rack
112
disposed in the roller-mounting space
111
. As to the mounting of the pulleys
140
in the top housing
100
is not pertinent to the present invention, a detailed description thereof is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.
A pair of stationary rollers
12
,
13
are journalled in the roller-mounting space
111
in the seat
11
one above the other proximate to the elongated rack
112
such that the second end portion of the first control cord
110
′ is adapted to pass over a lower one of the stationary rollers
13
,
12
, and such that the second end portion of the second control cord
110
is adapted to pass slidably over and between the stationary rollers
12
,
13
.
A movable pinion
14
is disposed movably in the roller-mounting space
111
of the seat
11
, and is adapted to be passed slidably over by the second end portions of the first and second control cords
110
′,
110
. The pinion
14
is movable to a first position by virtue of swinging action of the control cords
110
′,
110
in a first direction, as best shown in
FIG. 5
, where the control cords
110
′,
110
can slide over the pinion
14
to permit raising and lowering of the slats
130
(see FIG.
3
), and a second position by virtue of swinging action of the control cords
110
′,
110
in a second direction opposite to the first direction, where the pinion
14
is clamped between the rack
112
and the lower one of the stationary rollers
12
,
13
so that the first and second control cords
110
′,
110
are adapted to be clamped between the pinion
14
and the respective stationary roller
13
, thereby preventing raising and lowering of the slats
130
.
A stop unit is provided to prevent removal of the pinion
14
from the roller-mounting space
111
of the mounting seat
11
.
In the preferred embodiment, the mounting seat
11
is press-fitted in the top housing
100
, and further has two mounting holes
113
that are formed therethrough adjacent to the bottom end of the seat
11
and that are located on two sides of the pinion
14
. The stop unit includes an elongated rigid stop bar
114
disposed directly under the pinion
14
, and has two opposite ends which extend through the mounting holes
113
in the mounting seat
11
and which extend to positions that are located directly over portions
102
of the top housing
100
, in which the mounting seat
1
is press-fitted. Under such a condition, the pinion
14
is confined within a space that is located between the rack
112
and the control cords
110
′,
110
and over the stop bar
114
. The stop bar
114
prevents removal of the pinion
14
from the roller-mounting space
111
.
Referring to
FIG. 6
, a modified preferred embodiment is shown to be similar to that of the previous embodiment in structure, except that the mounting seat
11
is press-fitted at one end portion of the top housing
100
. Under such a condition, the control cords
110
′,
110
are passed slidably over either one the stationary rollers
12
,
13
prior to being passed slidably over the pinion
14
.
Since the cord control device
10
of the present invention is disposed in the top housing
100
between two pulleys
140
, in the case that the horizontal length of the top housing
100
is over sized and does not correspond to the size of a window to which the blind is applied, the top housing
100
can be shortened by cutting at two ends thereof in order to achieve the required length.
With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated in the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A cord control device in a combination with a Venetian blind which includes an elongated horizontal top housing, a plurality of horizontal slats suspended downwardly from the top housing one above another, a bottom rail disposed below the slats, a pair of pulleys disposed spacedly in the top housing, and at least one first control cord and at least one second control cord, each of the control cords passing through the top housing and through the slats and having a first end portion fastened to the bottom rail, and a second end portion which extends out of the top housing, said cord control device comprising:a hollow mounting seat mounted removably in the top housing between the pulleys, and having a bottom end, a top end, a roller-mounting space between said top and bottom ends, and an elongated rack disposed in said roller-mounting space; a pair of stationary rollers journalled in said roller-mounting space one above the other proximate to said elongated rack, the first control cord passing slidably over a lower one of said stationary rollers, the second control cord passing slidably over and between said stationary rollers; a movable pinion disposed movably in said roller-mounting space and passing slidably over by the second end portions of the first and second control cords, said pinion being movable to a first position by virtue of swinging action of the first and second control cords in a first direction, where the first and second control cords can slide over said pinion to permit raising and lowering of the slats, and a second position by virtue of swinging action of the first and second control cords in a second direction opposite to the first direction, where said pinion is clamped between said rack and the lower one of said stationary rollers so that the firs and second control cords are be clamped between said pinion and the lower stationary roller, thereby preventing raising and lowering of the slats; and a stop unit for preventing removal of said pinion from said roller-mounting space in said mounting seat.
- 2. The cord control device in combination with a Venetian blind as defined in claim 1, wherein said mounting seat is press-fitted in the top housing, and further has two mounting holes that are formed therethrough adjacent to said bottom end and that are located on two sides of said pinion, said stop unit including an elongated rigid stop bar disposed directly under said movable pinion and having two opposite ends which extend through said mounting holes in said mounting seat and which extend to positions that are located directly over portions of the top housing in which said mounting seat is press-fitted;whereby, said pinion is confined within a space that is between said rack and the first and second control cords and over said top bar.
US Referenced Citations (11)