The present disclosure relates generally to coverings for architectural openings and more specifically, to pull cords for operating architectural coverings.
Retractable coverings for architectural openings can be operated in numerous ways known in the art, but common practice has been to utilize flexible control elements or pull cords which are suspended from one end of a headrail. A shade material for the covering is also suspended from the headrail with the pull cords being operatively connected to a control mechanism within the headrail for moving the shade material between extended and retracted positions across an architectural opening such as a window, door, archway or the like.
Conventional operating cords are very flexible so they can pass around pulleys, through brake systems, and the like, to facilitate a smooth, dependable, and reliable operation of the covering. Often multiple operating cords are joined together at associated ends with a connector to which a single, manually operable operating or pull cord is also joined. These flexible cords can become entangled with themselves thereby forming loops.
Wands have been used to control coverings for architectural openings, and typically are not used to replace the pull cords mentioned above but rather are pivotally connected to an operating mechanism at the headrail and used to open or close vanes or slats in the covering by twisting the wand about its longitudinal axis. The wands are not raised or lowered like pull cords and have fairly broad profiles since they must be strong enough to resist the torque applied thereto. An example of such a wand is conventionally found in Venetian blinds where the slats are tilted between open and closed positions by rotating such a wand but the blind itself is raised or lowered by alternatively pulling and raising flexible pull cords which are susceptible to becoming entangled with themselves as mentioned above.
The present disclosure has been developed as a way of alleviating entanglement of pull cords or operating cords with themselves so as to reduce or eliminate the risk of a loop being formed.
Pursuant to the present disclosure, a pull cord is designed to be operatively connected to an operating mechanism for a covering for an architectural opening with the cord being at least partially rigid or stiffened so that it cannot be folded, or resists folding upon itself and yet can be used as a pull cord for alternatively pulling and raising the covering. Wands of the prior art have typically been used to tilt slats, vanes or the like by twisting or rotating the wand about its longitudinal axis. In other words, the stiffened cord of the present disclosure is a replacement, or addition to, the flexible pull cords commonly found in the art which previously have been susceptible to entanglement with themselves.
The stiffened pull cord pursuant to the present disclosure is operatively connected to one or a plurality of more flexible operating cords confined within the headrail for a covering with the flexible cords typically being fully confined within the headrail or possibly being temporarily extended for a short distance outside the headrail such as cords used in a unidirectional, ratchet-type drive system where the cords can be extended temporarily from the headrail but automatically retract into the headrail after the pull cord has been pulled downwardly in operating the covering. In this manner, substantially the only cord that may be exposed outside of the headrail or shade may be the stiffened pull cord of the present disclosure. Pursuant to the disclosure, the flexible operating cords conventionally used in coverings for architectural openings can be substantially confined to the headrail or in the shade material where they may be used to operate the covering but may be connected to a manually operable stiffened pull cord pursuant to the present disclosure, where the stiffened pull cord may substantially be prevented from becoming entangled with itself.
A stiffened pull cord pursuant to the present disclosure might be made of a core material that can be rendered rigid or partially rigid such as a glass-filled polymer, fiberglass composite, metal, wood, or other rigid or partially rigid materials. In some instances, the core material may be coated, plated, or overmolded with rubbering materials. The core may be a single material or a combination of two or more materials. For example, the core may be two materials operably connected together or an outer material surrounding an inner material, where the two materials may have different rigidity characteristics or may have the same rigidity characteristics. The core may also be encased within a sheath of a braid or webbed material of polyester or some other synthetic or natural fiber.
The sheath may give the rigid cord the appearance of a flexible cord as well as the tactile sensation of flexible cords conventionally found in coverings without substantially detracting from the rigidity of the core. Additionally, the sheath may provide some additional rigidity to the cord. The lower free end of the stiffened pull cord may include a tassel to facilitate gripping by the user of the cord as well as to obtain desired aesthetics. The top or opposite end of the stiffened pull cord might have a connector so that the cord can be easily connected or disconnected from one or more flexible operating cords extending through the headrail and possibly the shade material for the covering. This connector may act as a motion limiting member or “stop” and may also connect the flexible operating cords to the stiffened pull cord.
The rigid cord with or without the sheath can be used in lieu of pull cords found in conventional operating systems for coverings but finds an ideal use with an operating system using a unidirectional or ratchet-type drive where the pull cord is reciprocally pulled downwardly at a predetermined angle to either raise or lower the covering and then allowed to rise retracting all of the more flexible operating cords into the headrail where they are substantially confined and not exposed. The flexible operating cords be substantially unexposed as they may be automatically retracted into the headrail after every downward pulling stroke on the pull cord. When the stiffened pull cord of the disclosure is used with such a system, the stiffened pull cord may be longer than the downward pulling stroke permitted by the unidirectional drive system so that the stiffened pull cord may not be doubled about its attachment to the more flexible cords possibly becoming entangled therewith when they are extended out of the headrail during a downward pulling stroke of the pull cord.
Other aspects, features and details of the present disclosure can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims.
A stiffened pull cord 102 or control element of the present disclosure may be primarily used in coverings 100 for architectural openings. The stiffened pull cord 102, as will be discussed in more detail below, may be generally less flexible than conventional operating cords for architectural coverings. In some instances, the stiffened pull cord 102 may be at least partially rigid or rigidified. The amount of rigidity may be varied depending on the desired degree of flexibility, the diameter of the pull cord, the length of the pull cord, and so on. Due to the stiffness or rigidity of the pull cord, the pull cord may be substantially prevented from becoming entangled with itself. It should be noted that the terms rigid and rigidified are meant to indicate different degrees of flexibility or lack thereof, in that a rigid component may be less flexible than a rigidified component. As the pull cord may have varying degrees of flexibility it is referred to herein as a “stiffened” or “stiff” pull cord, which is meant to encompass substantially all varying degrees of flexibility, such as resilient, inflexible, rigid and rigidified.
The covering 100 illustrated in
Operating systems for such retractable coverings vary in nature, but may change the position of the shade material 108 based on a force from the stiffened pull cord 102, e.g., from a user pulling on the stiffened pull cord 102. The stiffened pull cord 102 may be suspended from one or both ends of the headrail 104 and may be in operative relationship with the control system for the covering 100 and may therefore replace pull or operating cords depending from one or both end of the headrail as found in prior art systems. In other words, the covering 100 utilizing the pull cord 102 of the present disclosure may include the stiffened pull cord 102 pursuant to the disclosure at one or both ends of the headrail 104 dependent upon the operating system(s) with which it/they are operatively connected.
While the stiffened pull cord 102 could be used with many types of operating systems, in some embodiments the stiffened pull cord 102 may be used with an operating system using a unidirectional or ratchet-type drive where the stiffened pull cord 102 is reciprocally pulled downwardly as shown in
The length of the pull cord 102 may be varied depending on the length of the covering; however, as shown in
In some instances, the length of the stiffened pull cord 102 may be selected to be longer than a length of the portion of the flexible operating cords 110 below the headrail 104 when extended to actuate the shade to its fullest extent. That is, when the shade is extended the flexible operating cords 110 are in a retracted position with the flexible operating cords 110 substantially not exposed from the headrail 104. When the shade is retracted, the flexible operating cords 110 are extended a particular distance out of the headrail 104, thus exposing a length of the flexible operating cords 110. The stiffened pull cord 102 may thus be longer than the length of the flexible operating cords 110 that are exposed when a user provides a downwards force to the pull cord 102. In these instances, since the stiffened pull cord 102 is longer than the flexible operating cords 110, the stiffness of the pull cord 102 may help to prevent the flexible operating cords 110 from entangling as well. With reference to
The stiffened pull cord 102 itself may include a tassel 106 at a lower free end thereof to facilitate manual manipulation of the cord 102, as well as to obtain the desired aesthetics. The pull cord 102 may also be operably connected to a clip or other connecting member 112 at an upper or opposite end of the tassel 106 for connection to the more flexible operating cords 110 of the control system for the covering 100. In other instances, the connecting member 112 may be omitted and/or other connection means, such as adhesive, may be used to operably connect the stiffened pull cord 102 to the flexible operating cord or cords 110. The connection member 112 will be discussed in more detail below with respect to
The stiffened pull cord 102 may extend from the headrail and may be low enough in order to be accessible by a user, but in some instances may not extend far enough or be long enough in order to reach the floor or other support surface beneath the architectural opening.
The stiffened pull cord 102 will now be discussed in more detail.
The core 114 may be a single material (as shown in
As will be discussed in more detail below, the stiffness of the core 114 may be varied to vary the flexibility of the cord 102. For example, the more rigid the core 114, the more rigid the pull cord 102. In some instances, the pull cord 102 may bend or deflect in response to a bending force, whereas the flexible operating cords 110 may drape around one another. Another way of interpreting the rigidity of the pull cord 102 would be to appreciate that if the pull cord 102 were supported along half its length on a horizontal surface with the other half or free half of the stiffened pull cord 102 extending beyond an edge of the horizontal surface, the free half of the stiffened pull cord 102 may not drop, deflect, or curve visually and would rather stay substantially horizontal. In other words, the stiffened pull cord 102 may have sufficient rigidity to act as cantilever beam in supporting its own weight (or a portion thereof) when extending past a support member, such as the horizontal surface. Typical operating cords, such as flexible operating cords, would drape and would not extend past the edge of the horizontal surface and thus would drop rather than staying substantially horizontal, such as the stiffened pull cord 102.
The core 114 may also allow for the pull cord 102 to substantially resist bending, especially bending due to light forces. For example, the pull cord 102 (due to the core 114) may resist easily bending into a shape that could entangle the pull cord 102 with itself, such as a loop, circle, or knot of some sort. Also, the pull cord 102 may also resist selective deformation into a self-supported final shape where it may become entangled due to an external force.
The core 114 may be resilient since it may deform at least slightly due to a force, but after the force is removed the core 114 may return to its ordinal shape. However, in some instances, the core 114 may also be subjected to plastic deformation, where after the force is removed the core 114 may have some residual or remaining deformation, but largely the core 114 may substantially return to its original shape and level of stiffness.
With reference to
Additionally, in some instances, the core 114 may have a diameter ranging between 0.125 inches to 0.20 inches so that the core 114 may have a desired rigidity. A diameter of this range may permit the cord 102 to be much smaller in diameter than wands used in window coverings to tilt slats found in the covering.
In other embodiments, the pull cord 102 may have an increased flexibility and in these embodiments, the core 114 may be less rigid than in embodiments where the pull cord 102 is rigid. For example, the core 114 may be a plastic polymer composite or the like and may be flexible but somewhat rigid, i.e. rigidified relative to conventional operating cords, so that it resists becoming entangled with itself. In some embodiments, the core 114 may be a fiberglass composite, which may allow the core 114 to have some flexibility as compared to full rigid materials (e.g., metal), while still substantially preventing the cord 102 from becoming entangled. In these embodiments, the stiffened pull cord 102 may be substantially any desirable length with the diameter, cross-section, and material, and consequently its rigidity, being determined from the length necessary for operation of the covering 100. In other words, a longer cord would desirably be made of a more rigid material or have a greater diameter to prevent undue flexing of the material, while a shorter length of material might not need to be made of as rigid a material or a material of as great a diameter since it is more difficult to flex a shorter length of such material.
In embodiments where the core 114 may be rigidified, but not rigid, the core 114 material may have a modulus of elasticity in the range of 3.5 to 12 million psi so that the degree of flexibility can be determined by the length, diameter, cross-sectional configuration, and inherent characteristics of the material from which the core 114 strand or fiber is made as well as the amount of influence the sheath 116 has on the flexibility of the final cord 102. The diameter of the core 114 may be at least a minimum of 0.050 inches. This may be to ensure that the core 114 may prevent the cord 102 from forming a loop or otherwise entangling itself, despite the reduced rigidity of the core 114 material. Another way of understanding the flexibility/rigidity of the cord 102 in these embodiments may be to appreciate that if the cord 102 were supported along half its length on a horizontal surface allowing the other or free half to extend away from an edge of the surface (such as a cantilever), the free half would visually drop, deflect, or curve at an angle in a range from 1 or 2 degrees to possibly 30 degrees. Typical flexible operating cords would drape and may bend to 90 degrees or more, as they may not be sufficiently rigid to support themselves without a support surface underneath.
As mentioned previously, the rigidity or lack of flexibility for the pull cord 102 of the present disclosure may be determined from a number of factors such as the inherent rigidifying characteristics of the material from which the core 114 and/or sheath 116 is made, the length of the pull cord 102, the diameter of the pull cord 102, as well as its cross-sectional shape. Each of those factors can be taken into consideration when designing the cord 102 so that it has in its final form the desired flexibility/rigidity to avoid entanglement upon itself.
The diameter or dimension of the cross-section of the core 114 for the final cord 102 may be determined to some degree with its degree of flexibility but also might be partially determined by aesthetics as broader or narrower pull cords may be desirable for particular coverings. The same is true of the cross-sectional shape of the core material with various cross-sections being illustrated, for example, in
With reference again to
With specific reference to
With reference to
In some instances, such as shown in
The stiffened pull cord 102 may be operably connected to the connecting member 112 in a similar manner. The connecting member 112 may be positioned between the stiffened pull cord 102 and the flexible operating cords 110 in order to operably connect the stiffened pull cord 102 to the flexible operating cords 110. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the flexible operation cords 110 may be operably connected to the stiffened pull cord 102 in other manners, such as adhesive, fasteners, or the like. Additionally, in some embodiments, the connecting member 112 may further act as a stopper in order to prevent the stiffened pull cord 102 from being retracted into the headrail 104 and/or control system. This may allow the stiffened pull cord 102 to be accessible to a user regardless of the position of the covering 100, as well as may prevent damage to the pull cord 102 and/or control system due to the pull cord 102 being pulled therein.
The connecting member 112 may also be releasably secured to the flexible operating cords 110 and/or the stiffened pull cord 102. This may allow the stiffened pull cord 102 to be removed and replaced, without requiring the removal of the flexible operating cords 110.
The connecting member 112 may be generally oval or circular shape, although other shapes are envisioned. The connecting member 112 may include an outer wall 138 that may define a cavity 139 that may receive the flexible cords 110 and the pull cord 102. The connecting member 112 may also include a shelf 135 extending from an inner side surface of the wall 138 into the cavity 139 and a step 133 of material that may extend downwards into the cavity 139 from the top of the wall 138. Receiving apertures 130, 134 may be defined in the top and bottom ends 141, 143 of the wall 138 of the connecting member 112, respectively.
The connecting member 112 may also include a receiving member 136 that may be inserted into the top receiving aperture 134 and positioned between two ends of the shelf 135. The receiving member 136 may define a channel 145 for receiving the flexible cords 110. The receiving member 136 may be a cylindrical shaped member including a flange 137 extending form a bottom portion. The flange 137 may secure the receiving member 136 to the shelf 135. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the receiving member 136 may be omitted and the flexible cords 110 may be received directly through the receiving aperture 134.
With continued reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
Referring now to
This application is the national stage application of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2012/025507, entitled “Stiffened Pull Cord For Architectural Coverings,” filed on Feb. 16, 2012, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/443,575 entitled “Rigid Pull Cord,” filed on Feb. 16, 2011; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/443,578 entitled “Rigidified Pull Cord,” filed on Feb. 16, 2011; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/451,372 entitled “Rigid Pull Cord,” filed on Mar. 10, 2011; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/451,364 entitled “Rigidified Pull Cord,” filed on Mar. 10, 2011. These applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US2012/025507 | 2/16/2012 | WO | 00 | 8/16/2013 |
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WO2012/112809 | 8/23/2012 | WO | A |
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