Patent Application
20210079721
The invention relates to blinds assemblies, and in particular to a slat collection device for an insulated glass assembly having internal blinds.
Insulated glass assemblies having internal blinds have the advantages of heat insulation and sound insulation of insulated glass as well as the functions of shielding against sunlight and obstructing the view through the glass assemblies. The blind assemblies are dust-free and have the unique advantages of long service life. Therefore, insulated glass assemblies are being used more and more widely and are becoming larger and larger in size. In order to ensure the airtightness of these insulated glass assemblies, the blind assemblies are typically magnetically controlled. However, magnetic operation and control on large-sized blinds assemblies will become increasingly more difficult due to the large weight of the slats and the large amount of friction generally created between the slats and window glass. The friction between the slats and the window glass may also cause damage to the coating on low-emissivity coated glass.
According to the present invention, there is disclosed a slat collection device for an insulated glass assembly having an internal blind. The slat collection device includes a set of blinds slats with self-alignment slat ends, a bottom rail arranged at the bottom of the set of blinds slats, and two self-alignment channels arranged at opposite ends of the bottom rail. Each of the two self-alignment channels has two side walls projecting outward and perpendicular to a rear wall. First and second horizontal connectors are mounted both to the two self-alignment channels and to open ends disposed at the opposite ends of the bottom rail. When the set of blinds slats are stacked within the two self-alignment channels, each slat is aligned between the slat directly below on which it sits and the slat directly above which sits on it to prevent the slats from getting staggered front and back in the self-alignment channels when the blinds assembly is drawn.
According to another aspect of present invention, there is disclosed a slat collection device for an insulated glass assembly having an internal blind. The device includes a set of blinds slats with self-alignment slat ends, a bottom rail arranged at the bottom of the set of blinds slats, and side edges of each of the self-alignment slat ends are bent downwards from an upper surface of the self-alignment slats to form concave channels which are open downwards away from the upper surface of each of the self-alignment slats.
According to still another aspect of present invention, there is disclosed a slat collection device for an insulated glass assembly having an internal blind. The device includes a set of blinds including self-alignment slats with self-alignment slat ends, each self-alignment slat having a first tab and a second tab at opposite ends thereof. Each of the first tab and second tabs is enclosed by first and second U-shaped notches, respectively, forming central portions of the two self-alignment slat ends of each self-alignment slat. The first tab and the second tabs being are bent downwards away from an upper surface of the self-alignment slats.
According to still another aspect of present invention, there is disclosed a slat collection device for an insulated glass assembly having an internal blind. The device includes a set of blinds including self-alignment slats with self-alignment slat ends. Each of the self-alignment slats has first and second rectangular openings at opposite ends thereof. The first and second rectangular openings at opposite ends of the self-alignment slats each have three fractured edges punched therethrough forming first and second tabs extending through the first and second rectangular openings of the self-alignment slat ends.
According to still another aspect of present invention, there is disclosed a slat collection device for an insulated glass assembly having an internal blind. The device includes a bottom rail arranged at the bottom of the set of blinds slats. When the set of blinds slats are stacked, each slat is aligned between the slat directly below on which it sits and the slat directly above which sits on it to prevent the slats from getting staggered front and back when the blinds assembly is drawn.
The structure, operation, and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures (FIGs.). The figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Certain elements in some of the figures may be omitted, or illustrated not-to-scale, for illustrative clarity. The cross-sectional views may be in the form of “slices”, or “near-sighted” cross-sectional views, omitting certain background lines which would otherwise be visible in a “true” cross-sectional view, for illustrative clarity.
In the drawings accompanying the description that follows, both reference numerals and legends (labels, text descriptions) may be used to identify elements. If legends are provided, they are intended merely as an aid to the reader and should not in any way be interpreted as limiting.
In the description that follows, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations of these specific details are possible while still achieving the results of the present invention. Well-known processing steps are generally not described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obfuscating the description of the present invention.
In the description that follows, exemplary dimensions may be presented for an illustrative embodiment of the invention. The dimensions should not be interpreted as limiting. They are included to provide a sense of proportion. Generally speaking, it is the relationship between various elements, where they are located, their contrasting compositions, and sometimes their relative sizes that is of significance.
In the drawings accompanying the description that follows, often both reference numerals and legends (labels, text descriptions) will be used to identify elements. If legends are provided, they are intended merely as an aid to the reader and should not in any way be interpreted as limiting.
A slat collection device 10 for an insulated glass assembly having an internal blind comprises a set of blinds slats with self-alignment slat ends, bottom rail arranged at the bottom of the set of blinds slats. The slat collection device 10 may further comprise two self-alignment channels arranged at the two ends of the bottom rail.
As shown in
The upper ends of the U-shaped openings 16d and 18d of the two self-alignment channels 16 and 18, respectively, are flared out from the elongated length of the inner side walls of the U-shaped openings 16d and 18d and arranged to face each other. First and second horizontal connectors 20 and 22 are mounted to the lower portions 16f and 18f of the two self-alignment channels 16 and 18 and are inserted into the open ends 14a and 14b, respectively, of the bottom rail 14.
Referring to
Under the constraint of the self-alignment channels 16 and 18, the two ends 12a and 12b of the slats 12 are disposed to neatly stack and secure the slats within the self-alignment channels 16 and 18. When the slats 12 are stacked within self-alignment channels 16 and 18, each slat is aligned between the slat directly below on which it sits and the slat directly above which sits on it. The ends 12a and 12b of the slats 12 prevent the slats from getting staggered front and back in the self-alignment channels 16 and 18 when the blinds assembly is drawn. This is advantageous in that it prevents the slats from contacting the surface of glass.
Referring to
The first and second connectors 24 and 26 include end caps 24a and 26a, respectively, and horizontal inserts 24b and 26b, respectively, which are fixed to the two opposite ends 14a and 14b of the bottom rail 14. The horizontal inserts 24b and 26b are inserted into the open ends 14a and 14b of the bottom rail 14 as shown in
The end caps 24a and 26a of the first and second connectors 24 and 26 are removably secured to vertically disposed troughs 28 and 30 by upstanding flat springs 32 and 34. The lower ends of the upstanding flat springs 32 and 34 are fixed to the end caps 24a and 26a, as shown in
The upper ends 32a and 34a of the upstanding first and second flat springs 32 and 34, respectively, are inserted in the slots 29 and 31 opening to the lower end 28a and 30a of the vertically disposed troughs 28 and 30.
The horizontal inserts 24b and 26b are inserted into open ends 14a and 14b of the bottom rail 14.
The upstanding flat springs 32 and 34 have a locking projection 36 and 38 extending outward therefrom. The vertically disposed troughs 28 and 30 have an opening 40 and 42, respectively, therethrough, as seen in
The lower edges of the openings 40 and 42 are below the lower edges of the locking projections 36 and 38 for some distance so the vertically disposed troughs 28 and 30 can move upwards or downwards on the upstanding flat springs 32 and 34 for the same distance, and can incline leftwards or rightwards relative to the bottom rail 14 when the bottom rail 14 is not kept horizontal for some reasons, for instance, when the end cap 26a is higher than the end cap 24a or vice versa.
The vertically disposed trough 28 at the right end of the bottom rail 14 can still be kept vertical under the constraint of an insulated glass spacer and has an angle smaller than 90° relative to the bottom rail 14. In this case, the corresponding bendable, flat springs 32 and 34 can prevent distortional fractures of the vertically disposed troughs 28 and 30 at the right and left ends of the rail 14, and accordingly, prevent the bottom rail 14 from getting stuck.
Referring to
The side edges 44a and 44b, 46a and 46b of each of the two self-alignment slat ends 42a and 42b of each self-alignment slat 42 are bent downwards from the upper surface 42d to form concave channels 44 and 46 which are open downwards away from the upper surface 42d of each self-alignment slat 42. Each self-alignment slat 42 are disposed to neatly stack and secure the slats ends within the concave channels 44 and 46 of the above slat. Further, each slat is aligned between the slat directly below on which it sits and the slat directly above which sits on it. The concave channels 44 and 46 prevent the self-alignment slats 42 from getting staggered front and back when the blinds assembly is drawn. This is advantageous in that it prevents the self-alignment slats 42 from contacting the surface of glass.
When the blinds assembly is drawn upwards, each self-alignment slat 42 is forced to be automatically aligned to the slat below under the constraint of the concave channels 44 and 46 and the side edges 44a and 44b, 46a and 46b which are open downwards at the two ends of the slat, so as to fall over the slat below. The self-alignment slats 42 are automatically aligned without getting staggered front and back and thus will not make contact with the surface of glass.
Referring to
When the blinds assembly is drawn upwards, the bent tabs 54a and 56a of each self-alignment slats 52 fall into the U-shaped notches 54b and 56b, respectively, of the adjacent slat so that all the slats are automatically aligned without getting staggered front and back so as to prevent contact with the surface of glass.
This is because each self-alignment slat 52 is forced to be automatically aligned to the slat disposed directly below under the constraint of the U-shaped notches 54b and 56b for the bent tabs 54a and 56a, respectively, which are bent downwards, at the two ends of the slat, so as to fall over the slat below. The slats are automatically aligned without getting staggered front and back and thus will not make contact with the surface of glass.
Referring to
Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, certain equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, etc.) the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more features of the other embodiments as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
