Patent Application
20100181409
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device for storing a pulling cord of a Venetian blind and a device for adjusting and controlling slats of the Venetian blind, wherein a reel box is provided for storing a redundant stretch of the pulling cord, and the reel box is further equipped with a control unit for adjusting angles of the slats via remote control so as to adjust and control the angles of the slats effectively and precisely.
2. Description of Related Art
As is well known, a typical Venetian blind is composed of a plurality of horizontal slats arranged one above another and connected in series by cords so as to form a blind in one piece. By pulling a pulling cord at an end of the Venetian blind, the slats are retracted from the bottom up while the Venetian blind is raised, and the extent to which the Venetian blind is spread out or pulled up is controlled accordingly. In addition, suspension angles of the slats are simultaneously controllable via a rotating shaft at an upper beam of the Venetian blind by turning a rotating rod coupled with and extended outward from the rotating shaft so as to shut the Venetian blind or adjust the degree to which a person can see through the Venetian blind.
However, after the Venetian blind is pulled up and retracted by pulling the pulling cord at the end of the Venetian blind, a considerable stretch of the pulling cord dangles above the ground, which not only creates a visual mess but, more importantly, invites danger. The redundant stretch of the pulling cord usually hangs above the floor or is folded and tied up manually into a bundle.
Several unfortunate incidents were reported as involving such dangling pulling cords. According to the reports, young children or cats and dogs were entangled, hurt, or even hanged to death while playing with the redundant pulling cords of Venetian blinds.
Moreover, the rotating rods extending outward from the Venetian binds for rotating and controlling the slats are esthetically unpleasant and inconvenient to control and operate.
In view of the aforesaid shortcomings of the pulling cords of Venetian blinds and the conventional ways in which angles of Venetian blind slats are adjusted, the inventor of the present invention conducted extensive research and finally succeeded in developing the devices disclosed herein. The disclosed devices are based on the principle that a reel box is configured for storing the redundant stretch of a pulling cord of a Venetian blind, and the reel box is provided therein with a control unit for adjusting angles of slats of the Venetian blind via remote control, whereby a rotating element at an upper beam of the Venetian blind is driven to effectively control and adjust the angles of the slats.
The devices for storing a pulling cord of a Venetian blind and for adjusting and controlling slats of the Venetian blind according to the present invention have two objectives. The first objective is to use a reel box to store a redundant stretch of the pulling cord safely when the Venetian blind is raised, thereby enhancing safety and esthetics. The second objective is to provide adjustment and control to the slats of the Venetian blind through a remotely controlled control unit in the reel box for driving a rotating element at an upper beam of the Venetian blind, so as to effectively control and adjust angles of the slats of the Venetian blind.
In addition to storing the redundant stretch of the pulling cord of the Venetian blind in an effective and safe manner, the reel box can be easily held by an operator to facilitate pulling up or lowering down (i.e., spreading out) the Venetian blind.
The aforementioned adjustment and control of the slats of the Venetian blind is implemented by the remotely controlled control unit in the reel box without requiring an additional driving structure. Nevertheless, the control unit enables effective control and adjustment of the angles of the slats of the Venetian blind.
The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present invention provides a device for storing a pulling cord of a Venetian blind and a device for adjusting and controlling slats of the Venetian blind, wherein the former is herein described by reference to
The pulling cord 1 is wound around the reel disk 22 and passes between the positioning shaft 24 and the cord-detaining gear 261 of the press key 26. When it is desired to store a redundant stretch of the pulling cord 1, the pressing portion 262 of the press key 26 is pressed to release the cord-detaining gear 261 from the pulling cord 1 so that the pulling cord 1 is no more detained by the cord-detaining gear 261. By moving the reel box 2 upward, the spiral spring 23 expands to reel in the pulling cord 1 around the reel disk 22, thereby storing the redundant stretch of the pulling cord 1 away. When the press key 26 is released, the cord-detaining gear 261 re-engages and detains the pulling cord 1 so that the reeling is stopped.
The Venetian blind is easily pulled up (i.e., slats of the Venetian blind are retracted to reduce a downward extension length of the Venetian blind) by holding the reel box 2 and pulling it downward. On the other hand, the Venetian blind is expanded by pressing the press key 26 of the reel box 2 and pushing the reel box 2 downward so that the pulling cord 1 reeled around the reel disk 22 is unwound to enable downward unfolding of the Venetian blind.
In addition to the aforesaid device for storing a pulling cord of a Venetian blind, the present invention provides a device for adjusting and controlling slats of the Venetian blind as shown in
The device for adjusting and controlling slats of a Venetian blind according to the present invention further comprises the reel box 2 described above. The reel box 2 is further provided therein with a circuit board 27 built-in with a signal transmitter. The circuit board 27 is coupled with a forward rotation button 28 and a backward rotation button 29. A mercury battery 271 serves as a power source for the circuit board 27.
When it is desired to adjust slats 36 of the Venetian blind, the forward rotation button 28 or the backward rotation button 29 of the reel box 2 is pressed so that the signal transmitter emits an electric wave signal. After the signal receiver receives the electric wave signal, the remotely controlled IC for controlling forward and backward rotation activates the motor 32 and the speed-reducing driving element 33. As a result, the transverse shaft 31 is rotated forward or backward to adjust angles of the slats 36.
