1. Field of the Invention.
The invention relates to the field of installations for providing closure or screening against the sun, and in particular to the field of slidably mounted curtains. Such curtains are generally fastened to a set of runners mounted to move along a rail, each of which runners is mounted on a pair of carrier wheels and is provided with a fastening element for fastening to the curtain. A carriage is driven along the rail via a belt or via a cord under the action of manual operation, or under the action of an electro-mechanical actuator. The carriage moving causes the various runners to move, either via the curtain itself, or via cords connecting the first runner to the carriage and each runner to the next runner. When the curtains are in a plurality of panels closing towards each other, each panel of curtain is driven by a carriage. The carriage also makes it possible to form a coupling between the two ends of the belt, which belt thus forms an endless drive element between two drive pulleys.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Motor-driven curtains are in common use in hotel rooms or in conference centers, i.e. in places very often designed by architects seeking to achieve aesthetically pleasing appearance. In particular, the curtains are mounted across openings that themselves are not plane and/or that follow curves for reasons of making the place look aesthetically pleasing.
The problems involved in providing carriages for curtains that are to follow curved rails have been known for a long time. In particular, document GB-A-735 305 describes a hinged carriage that is adapted to travel around the curves in the rail. That carriage is made of a flexible strip on which plates equipped with vertical and horizontal wheels are mounted. That carriage is thus capable of rolling along a V-shaped rail on a plurality of wheels, while also accommodating distortions in a plane perpendicular to its longitudinal axis, for traveling around the curves in the rail. In addition, that curtain is mounted on simple runners with a single pair of wheels on a common axis perpendicular to the rail for each runner.
Alternatively to being mounted on a flexible strip, the various subassemblies of the carriage may be articulated via hinges. Document GB-A-735 305 does not give any additional details on that construction.
Document JP-A-04 079916 describes a motor-drive system of the linear type in which a curtain drive carriage is also made up of a plurality of subassemblies articulated via hinges.
Such hinged carriages are particularly advantageous for use on curved rails. Unfortunately, they can lack rigidity for traveling along rectilinear portions of the rail, which can cause considerable amounts of friction if the carriage folds or twists when such folding or twisting is not necessary. In addition, the state of the art does not make any provision to adapt the carriage as a function of the configuration of the rail or of the length and of the tension of its drive belt.
The invention thus proposes to remedy the above-mentioned drawbacks, and to provide a carriage structure satisfying the desired technical and modularity needs in the field of driving slidably mounted curtains.
The carriage of the invention comprises a first carriage portion or “front carriage”, and a second carriage portion or “back carriage”, the two carriage portions being mounted to move along a rail by means of carrier wheels and being coupled together by a hinge piece. This carriage is characterized in that the carriage further comprises means for mounting the hinge piece in at least two positions relative to one of the first and second portions of the carriage.
By means of the invention, the distance between the carriage portions may be adjusted, in particular as a function of the length of the drive belt of the carriage, thereby making it possible, in particular, to adjust the tension of said belt. Thus, the total length of the carriage is variable as a function of its mounting environment and the various component parts of the carriage can be mounted at variable distances from one another.
In addition, a rigid body of the first portion of the carriage transmits the drive forces without giving rise to any misalignment relative to the rail, and the components of the carriage being hinge-mounted makes it possible for them to travel around curves in the rail.
Advantageously, first hinge means for hinging the carriage comprise a support for supporting at least one of the carrier wheels of the front carriage, which support is mounted to pivot, relative to the carriage, about an axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the wheel.
Preferably, at least one carriage portion is provided with at least a second wheel that turns about an axis that is fixed relative to the rigid body, and that keeps the carriage stable relative to the rail. This stability is all the more important that, on the carriage portion, one or more fastening prongs are provided for fastening to the curtain, the prongs being cantilevered out relative to the front carriage. Said fastening prong(s) serve(s) to fasten one edge of the curtain to the front of the carriage, so as to overlap the other curtain edge without any daylight between them when two curtain panels close towards each other.
Advantageously, the carriage is made up of two portions mounted to move relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the carriage, in such a manner as to accommodate the curvature of the guide rail.
The combination of the first pivot for mounting the wheel and of the hinged coupling between the two moving portions makes it possible to travel around curved rail portions, including when the radius of curvature is small.
In other advantageous but non-essential aspects of the invention, a drive carriage may incorporate one or more of the following characteristics taken in any technically feasible combination:
In addition, the carriage of the invention makes it possible to solve two constraints: providing a hinge for the carriage combined with rigid and strong fastening of the two ends of the belt.
It is very simple to assemble the various parts of the carriage, and such assembly does not require fragile pieces for linking the various parts together. The various parts of the carriage can be assembled on site, thereby making it possible to configure the carriage for a right curve or for a left curve of the rail. In particular, assembling the belt to at least one of the parts of the carriage can be performed unstressed and outside the rail, the belt being tensioned merely when the coupling piece is mounted.
At least a first carriage portion is mounted on a plurality of pairs of wheels, thereby ensuring that the carriage portion is kept stable, independently of the other parts forming the carriage, i.e. of the second carriage portion and of the hinge means. This stability is ensured in the longitudinal direction of movement of the carriage, and in the perpendicular direction, along the axes of the wheels, due to the presence of a pair of wheels, each wheel in the pair being disposed on a respective side of the longitudinal axis of the carriage.
Advantageously, a particular embodiment of the coupling piece or a particular implementation of the way in which it is mounted relative to the parts of the carriage also makes it possible to compensate for variations in height along the rail, i.e. makes it possible to enable the carriage to move in a plane perpendicular to the hinge.
The invention can be better understood and other advantages of the invention appear more clearly from the following description of two embodiments of a drive carriage and of an installation that comply with the principle of the invention, the description being given merely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In addition to
The carriage is made up of two portions 20 and 21, respectively a front portion and a back portion, assembled together via a coupling piece 22. In the present description, the concepts of “front” and of “back” are conventions corresponding to the movement of the carriage 1 from right to left in
A “front” first portion 20 of the carriage 1 rolls in the rail by means of two pairs of carrier wheels 25 and 26. The first pair of wheels 25 is mounted to pivot relative to the body 20a of the front carriage 20 about an axis Z20 that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis X20 of the front carriage 20 taken in the direction of advance of the front carriage 20 along the rail 10. The axis Z20 is substantially vertical when the carriage 1 is supported by the rail 10, which is horizontal. Alternatively, it is the second pair of wheels 26 that is mounted to pivot about an axis parallel to the axis Z20. The pivotally mounted pair of wheels is mounted on a support 20d, with the wheels being mounted to rotate about an axis Y20 perpendicular to the axis Z20. The support 20d is itself mounted on the body 20a to pivot about the axis Z20. The angle at which the axis Y20 extends relative to the axis X20 is thus variable. The pivotally mounted first pair of wheels can thus pivot about the axis Z20, as indicated by the double-headed arrow F1 in
The body 20a of the front carriage 20 is rigid.
The second pair of wheels 26 of the front carriage 20 makes it possible, in combination with the first pair of wheels 25, to ensure stability for the front carriage in the rail 10. As shown in
The wheels of the second pair of wheels 26 are mounted to turn about an axis Y′20 that is perpendicular to the axes X20 and Z20, and that is fixed relative to the body 20a.
The front carriage 20 is coupled to the second carriage portion 21 or “back carriage” via the coupling piece 22. The coupling piece 22 is in the form of a rigid piece mounted firstly on the front carriage 20, in a notch 20b provided for this purpose, and secondly on the back carriage 21, in at least one notch 21b.
The body 21a of the back carriage 21 is rigid, and its wheels 27 are mounted to turn about an axis Y21 that is fixed relative to said body.
The bodies 20a and 21a of the front and back carriages may be made of metal or of rigid plastics material.
The axes Z20 and Z22 thus constitute two mutually parallel hinge axes. These axes are perpendicular to the axes of rotation of the wheels 25 and 26 and to a longitudinal axis of the carriage that coincides with the axis X20 when the portions 20 and 21 are in alignment. The components of the carriage 1 that are, firstly, the pair of wheels 25, and secondly the back carriage 21 are hinged via the means 20d and 22 to the body 20 of the front carriage.
At the other end of the web 221 of the coupling piece 22, two tines 22b and 22c are provided that are folded back at right angles relative to the web 221, in such manner as to be able to penetrate into corresponding notches 21b and 21c in the back carriage 21. A central and rectilinear intermediate tine 22d extends in alignment with the web 221, between the tines 22b and 22c. Said intermediate tine is provided with a hole 22e. During assembly, said intermediate tine extends along the body 21a of the back carriage 21 and can be fastened, e.g. by a screw passing through the hole 22e and engaged in a corresponding tapped hole 21d in the back carriage 21. When it couples together the front and back carriages 20 and 21, the piece 22 forms hinge means between these portions of the carriage 1, insofar as the end 22a is hinged in the notch 20b.
If the tines 22b and 22c of the coupling piece 22 are inserted into second notches 21b′ and 21c′ provided in the body 21a, as shown in
A second tapped hole 21d′ is provided, at the distance d′ from the tapped hole 21d for the purpose of receiving a screw passing through the hole 22e when the tines 22b and 22c are engaged in the notches 21b′ and 21c′.
This two-position mounting of the coupling piece 22 on the back carriage 21 makes it possible to adjust the total length L1 of the rectilinear carriage parallel to the direction of the rail 10, and, in particular, to adjust the distance between the fastening points at which the ends of the belt 12 are fastened to each carriage portion 20 or 21.
Thus, it is possible to adjust the drive carriage to fit the length of the belt 12 or to adjust the tension of said belt. Other adjustment means could be provided in order to make it possible to adjust the distances d and d′ more finely, e.g. by using systems of sets of teeth on one or other of the coupled-together parts 20, 21, and 22. Alternatively, or additionally, the adjustment could be achieved via a screw held stationary in an oblong hole.
Since the back carriage 21 is connected to the front carriage 20 via the coupling piece 22, the back carriage 21 needs only a single pair of wheels 27. However, it could be equipped with two pairs of wheels, optionally including a pivotally mounted pair of wheels, like the front carriage. The use of two pairs of wheels on at least one of the portions 20 or 21 of the carriage 1 makes it possible to guarantee maximum stability, regardless of the driven load, and thus to minimize friction, in particular when the weight of the curtain is large. The use of non-rigid wheels, e.g. made or plastic or covered with rubber, for example, makes it possible to minimize the noise of the rolling on the rail 10.
The back carriage 21 carries an eyelet 30 for supporting the curtain. Said eyelet 30 makes it possible to fasten a portion of the curtain to the carriage 1 for the purpose of driving it along the rail 10. The eyelet may, in known manner, be mounted removably on the rear carriage 21. Various other types of support could be connected to the carriage 1 in place of the eyelet, e.g. a hook, a ring, or any other fastening means adapted to finishing the curtain.
In a variant (not shown) of the invention, the coupling piece 22 itself may incorporate another degree of freedom in the coupling with or between the portions 20 and 21 of the carriage. This additional degree of freedom can make it possible to compensate for variations in the height of the rail and/or can add to the flexibility of the carriage so as to adjust to accommodate the curves of the rail (e.g. by inserting a hinge at the level of the coupling piece itself), in particular for curves of small radius.
This additional degree of freedom may be present solely at the level of one of the fastening zones for fastening the coupling piece 22 to one of the portions 20 and 21 of the carriage. For example, provision may be made for the notch 20b to extend further, e.g. in the height direction, i.e. parallel to the axis Z20, than is necessary for receiving the folded-over end 22a of the coupling piece 22. Thus, the coupling piece 22 can move by sliding to a small extent in the height direction relative to the front carriage 20, or vice versa.
In another variant (not shown) of the invention, the piece 22 may be mounted with a degree of freedom relative to each of the portions 20 and 21 of the carriage 1.
the first pair of notches 21b, 21c, designed to receive the folded-over tines 22b and 22c of the coupling piece 22 in the first mounting position shown in
In another variant (not shown) of the invention, more than two sets of notches can be provided, thereby making it possible to use three or more than three positions for mounting the piece 22 on the front carriage 21.
Instead of each pair of notches, a single notch could be provided if, in corresponding manner, the coupling piece 22 has only a single folded-over tine, e.g. a central folded-over tine. The two tapped holes 21d and 21d′ serve for fastening the coupling piece 22 on the back carriage 21 by means of a screw, in the two configurations provided by the sets of notches. In a variant, these tapped holes are replaced by smooth holes and the screw passes through the body 21a of the carriage 21 from one side to the other so as to co-operate with a nut mounted against the face of the body 21a that is opposite from the face visible in
Provision may also be made for the pairs of notches 21b and 21c or 21b′ and 21c′ to be wider, parallel to the length of the carriage 1, than is necessary for receiving the tines 22b and 22c, and the hole 22e in the central tine may be brought into register with an oblong hole in the back carriage 21. Thus, fine adjustment of the position is possible for each mounting position.
The invention is shown with a single pair of pivotally mounted wheels 25. In a variant, one or more other pairs of wheels may pivot about axes parallel to the axis Z20.
In a variant (not shown) of the invention, the wheels 26 are mounted to pivot about an axis Z′20 parallel to the axis Z20 defined above. A support of the same type as the support 20d may be used. In which case, the distance d200 between the hinge axes Z′20 and Z22 is less than the distance d between the front portion and the back portion of the carriage. A support of the same type as the support 20d may be used.
As appears from the above, the two hinge means of different types are a pivotally mounted wheel support, and a hinge piece forming a coupling between two carriage portions.
In the second embodiment of the invention that is shown in
The carriage 1 of this second embodiment is made up of a first portion or “front carriage” 20 and of a second portion or “back carriage” 21. A coupling piece 22 is used to couple together the portions 20 and 21. This coupling piece 22 is identical to the piece shown in
The pairs of notches 21b and equivalent, 21b′ and 21c′ make it possible to mount the tine 22 in two positions relative to the body 21a, thereby making it possible to adjust the distance d between the bodies 20a and 21a of the portions 20 and 21.
The portion 21 of this embodiment is identical to the portion of the first embodiment and corresponds to what is shown in
The portion 20 differs from the portion of the first embodiment in that all of the carrier wheels 25 and 26 are mounted with their respective hinge axes Y20 and Y′20 fixed relative to the front carriage portion 20. In addition, carrier wheels 27 are mounted to pivot about an axis Y21 that is fixed relative to the back carriage portion 21. The portions 20 and 21 are rigid, as in the first embodiment.
In addition, the body 20a carries two series of two wheels 125 and 126, only the wheels 125 and 126 that are situated on one side of the body 20a being visible in full in
The characteristics of the various embodiments and variants considered above may be combined within the ambit of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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09 50794 | Feb 2009 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/FR2010/050197 | 2/8/2010 | WO | 00 | 9/23/2011 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2010/089517 | 8/12/2010 | WO | A |
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