Claims
- 1. A mechanism for a roller blind, said mechanism comprising a housing, a cord pulley rotatably mounted in the housing, a ball cord passed over the cord pulley so as to have two pieces of cord hanging down, one from each side of the pulley, and a locking element which is located on the housing and interacts with one of the two pieces of cord hanging down, said locking element including two locking parts each having a U-shaped slot engagable between two adjacent balls of the cord, the locking element being in the form of a component which is reversibly fastened to the housing in either of two different positions to accommodate rotation of the roller blind in either of two directions and the locking element when in one or the other of the two different positions being fastened at a location whereby each locking part is disposed effective always to interact with one piece of cord in one fastened position of the locking element and with the other piece of the cord in the other fastened position of the locking element and the two locking parts being on the same side of a vertical plane passing through the centre of the housing and parallel to the axis of rotation of the cord pulley.
- 2. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising a through passage in the locking element, the diameter of said through passage being greater than that of the balls and said through passage passing through the locking element in an approximately vertical direction, said through passage merging with the locking part nearer to the vertical plane passing through the centre of the housing, the piece of cord associated with the locking part passing through the through passage.
- 3. A mechanism as claimed in claim 2, wherein the locking element has a wall with a slot therein which leads to the through passage and through which the ball cord can be inserted into the through passage.
- 4. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one locking part of the locking element further comprises a cam surface on its side facing the cord pulley, the slope of the cam surface being selected such that, when an associate piece of cord is pulled down, a ball is forced out of said at least one locking part, and one of said locking parts of the locking element further comprising, at a location below the sloping cam surface forming an upper surface, a downwardly opening recess which, as viewed from below, extends at least slightly further upwards than the lower edge of the locking part and in which a ball carrier partially engages when locking is operative.
- 5. A mechanism as claimed in claim 7, and further comprising a detent lock mutually connecting an arm of the housing and the locking element, and wherein said detent lock comprises means defining a recess, and a detent stud, whereby, on assembly of the locking element, said detent studs flex the arm, utilizing the elasticity of the material, until the detent studs engage in their particular associated recesses.
- 6. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein the U-shaped locking parts are each shaped and disposed in such a way whereby the balls of the ball cord, when released after a preceding pull, automatically fall under the influence of gravity to a position in which one of the balls will engage in the particular associated locking part.
- 7. A mechanism for a roller blind, said mechanism comprising a housing, a cord pulley rotatably mounted in the housing, a ball cord passed over the cord pulley so as to have two pieces of cord hanging down, one from each side of the pulley, a locking element which is located on the housing and interacts with one of the two pieces of cord hanging down, said locking element including two locking parts each having a U-shaped slot engagable between two adjacent balls of the cord, the locking element being in the form of a component which is reversibly fastened to the housing in either of two different positions to accommodate rotation of the roller blind in either of two directions and the locking element when in one or the other of the two different positions being fastened at a location whereby each locking part is disposed effective always to interact with one or the other of said pieces of cord hanging down, and wherein said housing comprises two arms extending at least approximately in the radial direction, relative to the axis of rotation of the cord pulley, the locking element being adapted to be engaged by said arms in the first position or in the second position in which it is rotated through 180.degree. with respect thereto about a vertical axis, whereby the locking element can be locked in its particular operating position.
- 8. A mechanism for a roller blind, said mechanism comprising a housing, a cord pulley rotatably mounted in the housing, a ball cord passed over the cord pulley so as to have two pieces of cord hanging down, one from each side of the pulley, a locking element which is located on the housing and interacts with one of the two pieces of cord hanging down, said locking element including two locking parts each having a U-shaped slot engagable between two adjacent balls of the cord, the locking element being in the form of a component which is reversibly fastened to the housing in either of two different positions to accommodate rotation of the roller blind in either of two directions and the locking element when in one or the other of the two different positions being fastened at a location whereby each locking part is disposed effective always to interact with one or the other of said pieces of cord hanging down, and a drive pin adapted to fit in a roller, a bracket and, on that side of the housing which is opposite the drive pin, projections by means of which the housing can be inserted into said bracket in different positions, each of said positions of which will be offset by 90.degree..
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
3001489 |
Jan 1980 |
DEX |
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DESCRIPTION
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 226,102, filed Jan. 19, 1981.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
266102 |
Jan 1981 |
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