The present invention relates to window blinds, and more particularly to a window blind that is structurally simple and easy to assemble. Also disclosed is a method for assembling slats of the window blind.
Taiwan Patent Publication No. 1320449 discloses a window blind that has a plurality of connecting members. Each of the connecting members passes through the through holes formed on the slats from above, and each of the connecting members has its first end connected to the rear vertical portion of the ladder-like rope. The second of the connecting member is formed with a loop or knot that allows a lifting cord to pass therethrough, so that the lifting cord can only move vertically but not transversely. In addition, the second end of the connecting member after passing through the through hole of the slat can be fixed using a fixing portion formed by a metal sheet or a knot to prevent the second end of the connecting member from coming off the slat upwardly.
In the prior patent, however, while the connecting member is flexible, the small through hole makes it time-consuming to pass the connecting member through the through hole from above. Besides, after the time-consuming threading operation, there is an additional step to use the metal sheet to hold the second end of the connecting member or to knot the second end of the connecting member, making the overall assembling work more difficult. Once any of the assembled slats gets damaged and needs to be replaced, it is necessary to detach the metal sheet or unknot the second end before taking further maintenance or repair actions. Hence, the prior patent is not perfect in terms of assembling, design and operation, and improvement is therefore desirable.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a window blind that is structurally simple and easy to assemble, in which its slats are prevented from excessive transverse displacement.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the window blind of the present invention comprises an upper beam, a lower beam, two ladder-like ropes, two pairs of lifting cords, and a plurality of slats. The two ladder-like rope are connected between the upper beam and the lower beam and each have a front vertical portion, a rear vertical portion, a plurality of transverse portions, a plurality of first ring portions, a plurality of second ring portions, and a plurality of third ring portions. The front vertical portion and the rear vertical portion are parallel to each other. The plural transverse portions are vertically equidistant and connected between the front vertical portion and the rear vertical portion. The plural first ring portions are vertically equidistant and connected to the front vertical portion. The plural second ring portions are vertically equidistant and connected to the rear vertical portion. The plural third ring portions are vertically equidistant and connected to the front vertical portion and the plural third ring portions and the plural first ring portions are located at two opposite sides of the front vertical portion. Two pairs of lifting cords extend downward from the upper beam and have their bottoms connected to the lower beam. One said lifting cord of each said pair passes through the plural first ring portions of one said ladder-like rope, the other lifting cord of each said pair passes through the plural second ring portions of one said ladder-like rope. The plural slats are connected between the upper beam and the lower beam and mounted on the transverse portions of the two ladder-like ropes, respectively. Each of the slats has two ends thereof each provided with a through hole and a slot, the through hole being adjacent to a front edge of the slat and receiving one segment of the third ring portion of one said ladder-like rope, so that the front edges of the slats are mounted around and linked together by the third ring portions of the ladder-like ropes. The slot extends from one side of the slat and is communicated with the through hole and allows the segment of the third ring portion of one said ladder-like rope to pass therethrough.
It is thus clear from the above that, with the through holes and the slots of the slats, the window blind of the present invention can have the ladder-like ropes assembled with the slats conveniently and firmly without using other components, Meanwhile, to replace any damaged slats, the slats can be easily disassembled from the ladder-like ropes.
Preferably, the slot extends from the front edge of the slat to be communicated with the through hole. Thereby, the segment of the third ring portion of the ladder-like rope is inlaid into the slot of the slat from the front edge of the slat, and then inlaid into the through hole of the slat along the slot of the slat, thereby accomplishing assembly of the slat.
Preferably, the slot of the slat has a first extending segment and a second extending segment perpendicular to the first extending segment. The first extending segment extends from the front edge of the slat in a width direction of the slat to a rear edge of the slat, and the second extending segment extends from one end of the first extending segment in a length direction of the slat to the through hole and is communicated with the through hole. Thereby, the segment of the third ring portion of the ladder-like rope is inlaid into the first extending segment of the slot of the slat from the front edge of the slat, and then moves along the second extending segment of the slot of the slat, and is eventually inlaid into the through hole of the slat from the second extending segment of the slot of the slat, thereby accomplishing assembly of the slat.
Preferably, the through hole has a round cross-section, and the through hole is located between the front edge of the slat and the second extending segment of the slot, so that the through hole is tangent to the second extending segment of the slot. This prevents the segment of the third ring portion of the ladder-like rope in the through hole from moving into the slot and accidentally coming off the slat.
Preferably, the two slots are arranged as being transversely symmetrical.
Preferably, the first ring portion is equal to the second ring portion in terms of size and is smaller than the third ring portion in terms of size.
Preferably, the first ring portion and the second ring portion are in a front/rear-opposite arrangement, and the first ring portion and the third ring portion are in a staggered arrangement along an extending direction of the front vertical portion.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for assembling the slats of the aforementioned window blind, which involves mounting one said slat on the transverse portions of the two ladder-like ropes; and inlaying the segment of the third ring portion of each said ladder-like rope into the slot of the slat, and inlaying the segment to the through hole of the slat through the slot of the slat, so that the front edges of the slats are linked together by third ring portions of the ladder-like rope.
The present invention will be described with reference to the preferred embodiments and it is understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, as the contents disclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented by a person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modifications which do not depart from the concept of the present invention should be encompassed by the appended claims.
The following preferred embodiments when read with the accompanying drawings are made to clearly exhibit the above-mentioned and other technical contents, features and effects of the present invention. It is to be noted first that throughout this document, including embodiments described herein and the appended claims, all the directional terms shall be interpreted based on the directions as the relevant components shown in the drawings. Unless otherwise noted, like elements will be identified by identical numbers throughout all figures.
Referring to
The upper beam 20 and the lower beam 22 are arranged in an up/down-opposite arrangement.
The two ladder-like ropes 30 are connected between the upper beam 20 and the lower beam 22. Each of the ladder-like ropes 30 has a front vertical portion 31, a rear vertical portion 32, a plurality of transverse portions 33, a plurality of first ring portions 34, a plurality of second ring portions 35 and a plurality of third ring portions 36. The transverse portions 33, the first ring portions 34, the second ring portions 35 and the third ring portions 36 are each quantitatively equal to the slats 50. Also referring to
The two pairs of lifting cords 40 have their respective tops extending into the upper beam 20 to combined with a shared altitude adjusting mechanism (not shown) for adjusting the altitude of the slats 50. Since the altitude adjusting mechanism is known in the prior art and is not the characteristic of the present invention, the details thereof is omitted herein. The two pairs of lifting cords 40 have their respective bottoms connected to the lower beam 22, so that the lower beam 22 can be lifted with the two pairs of lifting cords 40 are pulled. In addition, as shown in
The slats 50 are arranged between the upper beam 20 and the lower beam 22 and are parallel to each other. As shown in
To assemble the ladder-like rope 30 and the slat 50, as shown in
Replacement of a damaged slat 50 can be easily achieved by pulling the segment of the third ring portion 36 of the ladder-like rope 30 inlaid in the through hole 53 of the damaged slats 50 out of the through hole 53 through the slot 54, and having a new slat 50 assembled with the third ring portion 36 of the ladder-like rope 30 as described above. The replacement is simple and rapid.
Moreover, as shown in
It is thus clear from the above that, with the through holes 53 and the slots 54 of the slats 50, the window blind 10 of the present invention can have the ladder-like ropes 30 assembled with the slats 50 conveniently and firmly without using any knot or other components, Meanwhile, to replace any damaged slats 50, the slats 50 can be easily disassembled from the ladder-like ropes 30.
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108212704 | Sep 2019 | TW | national |
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I320449 | Feb 2010 | TW |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20210087878 A1 | Mar 2021 | US |