Patent Application
20230191587
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The disclosure relates to extended reach devices and more particularly pertains to a new extended reach device for tilting louvers of a shutter. The present invention discloses an extended reach device comprising a poles with a clamp on one end and an actuator on the other, wherein the clamp is configured to engage a tilt arm of a shutter to selectively tilt louvers of the shutter
Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
The prior art relates to extended reach devices, which generally comprising poles with grasping members on one end and a triggering device on the other, wherein the grasping member is configured for clamping to an item to pick up the item. The present invention discloses an extended reach device wherein the grasping member is configured to engage a tilt arm of a shutter to selectively tilt louvers of the shutter.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a pole, a clamp, and an actuator. The clamp and the actuator are engaged to a first end and a second end of the pole, respectively. The actuator is operationally engaged to the clamp. The pole is configured to be grasped in a hand of a user proximate to the second end, positioning the user to position the clamp so that the clamp brackets a tilt rod of a shutter. The actuator is configured to be selectively manipulated by the hand of the user so that the actuator closes the clamp on the tilt rod, positioning the user to selectively tilt louvers of the shutter.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The clamp 14 comprises a housing 20, which is hingedly engaged to the pole 12. A pair of jaws 22 is pivotally engaged to the housing 20 and extends from the housing 20 through an open face 24 of the housing 20. The jaws 22 may be arcuate, or alternatively shaped, such as, but not limited to, linear, flattened V-shaped, and the like.
Each of a pair of bars 26 is engaged to a respective jaw 22 distal from the housing 20. The bar 26 may extend bidirectionally from the respective jaw 22 so that the bar 26 is substantially perpendicular to the pair of jaws 22. The present invention also anticipates the bar 26 extending unidirectionally from the respective jaw 22, with the bars 26 extending codirectionally and substantially perpendicularly from the pair of jaws 22. The bars 26 are one or both of padded and resiliently compressible so that the pair of bars 26 is configured to be clamped to a tilt rod 28 of a shutter 30 without marring the tilt rod 28. The bars 26 may be fabric covered or may comprise rubber, silicone, or elastomer. Each bar may measure approximately 10.0 cm by 2.5 cm. The housing 20 being hingedly engaged to the pole 12 allows the pair of bars 22 to be angled relative to the pole 12 to facilitate their clamping to the tilt rod 28.
The actuator 16 is engaged to a second end 32 of the pole 12 and is operationally engaged to the clamp 14. The pole 12 is configured to be grasped in a hand of a user proximate to the second end 32, positioning the user to position the clamp 14 so that the clamp 14 brackets the tilt rod 28 of the shutter 30, as shown in
The actuator 16 comprises a pair of arms 36, a lever 38, and a rod 40, or other actuating means, such as, but not limited to, springs and pulleys, hydraulic cylinders, and the like. The pair of arms 36 is positioned in the housing 20 with each arm 36 being engaged to a respective jaw 22, as shown in
The actuator 16 also may comprise a spring 42, as shown in
The actuator 16 also may comprise a bracket 44, as shown in
In use, the pole 12 is grasped in a hand of a user proximate to the second end 32. The user then positions the clamp 14 so that the bars 26 bracket a tilt rod 28 of a shutter 30. The lever 38 is levered to clamp the bars 26 on the tilt rod 28, positioning the user to selectively tilt louvers 34 of the shutter 30.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
