Patent Application
20120193038
1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates generally to window shades, and more particularly, to a window shade assembly and side channel therefor having light-absorbing surface(s).
2. Background Art
A cellular window shade is an effective style of window covering with both decorative and functional aspects. Cellular shades comprise a series of collapsible-expandable generally tubular cells that are concatenated in a generally planar continuous array, i.e., a sheet, that is cut to fit, when expanded, into a window opening. Generally rectangular, such shades also typically comprise a headrail, fastened to the horizontal top edge of the window opening and the upper edge of the sheet of cellular material. A bottom rail is also typically attached to the lower edge of the cellular material and by cords or other tension elements to the headrail. A cord-lock or other restraining means can immobilize the cords and thereby position the bottom rail to any position intermediate the headrail and the lower edge (sill) of the window opening. By operation of the cords, the bottom rail is raised and lowered, and thereby the cellular material is collapsed or expanded, respectively, to reveal or shade the window.
Another, older form of window shading includes a roller shade, in which a flat, rectangular piece of material (typically fabric or film) is stored in rolled form on a substantially cylindrical roller core at the top edge of a window and unrolled when desired to cover the window to block a view or modulate light. These window shades are inexpensive to manufacture and can utilize a wide range of shade materials, some of which can be decorated with images or be made environmentally responsive, e.g., with self-darkening films. Spring-loaded and ratcheted roller cores are common because they eliminate the need for any visible actuating mechanism or the safety concerns of exposed cords. Corded clutch drives are also popular.
For ease of manufacture and to accommodate window openings that are not perfectly rectangular, shades are typically sized with a deduction in width, relative to the actual window opening width. This enables free operation of the shade without drag or distortion by contact with the window opening's side surfaces. For shades made of light-filtering material, which pass but diffuse the light they shade, this side gap is of no concern. But when the fabric of the shade is made opaque, with the intent to darken the room by blocking substantially all of the light through the window, these side gaps (and to a lesser degree, gaps and tolerances of fit at the headrail and bottom rail) are a major performance limitation.
One approach to addressing these limitations of both cellular and roller shades has been to provide C-channels that envelope the lateral sides of the shade material. For example, C-channels have been used with roller shades with, in some instances, fibrous wipers (i.e., fuzz-bars) used therein. The fuzz-bars provide a barrier to air movement and also assist in room darkening. Cellular shade materials are more difficult to seal than roller shades because the cellular material does not present either a flat surface or a consistent thickness. In particular, the cells typically have pleated folds that constitute their external surface topology. The expansion-collapse of the cells in the plane of the sheet (that is, in a direction generally parallel to the window) implies a thinning-thickening of the sheet of cells (that is, in a direction generally perpendicular to the window). Further the very expandability of the cellular material (compared, to flat, stable roller shade material) makes uniform hang and operation of a cellular shade much more sensitive to uneven drags at the edges, which can easily produce uneven expansion-collapse of the cells, with subsequent entanglement of cords and an unacceptable appearance. Due to the necessity of the channel width being sufficient to enclose the cells at their thickest (collapsed) condition, a large visible gap is present when they are extended. High-drag light seals, whether of the resilient film type or fibrous wiper type, suffer the above-described flaws in operation and appearance, as well as poor sealing function with regard to the pleated, and inconstant faces of cellular materials.
Further recent increase in concern for potential safety risks of exposed cords, especially where young children are present, has led to an increased demand for so-called ‘cordless’ shades, where only internal tension cords are present, typically counterbalanced by spring motors or other internal devices that enable pulling the shade down or lifting it by overcoming internal friction only with the friction sufficing to maintain a position once attained. Such cordless shades are much more sensitive to variance in external frictions like that of conventional side seals, and typically require a further extension, to release the internal devices before raising the shade; which action is prevented in shade assemblies with side tracks in the presence of a bottom sill.
A first aspect of the disclosure provides a window shade assembly comprising: a headrail coupled to a source of a substantially opaque shade material; and a pair of opposed substantially vertical, substantially opaque side channels open in a direction facing one another and configured to be mounted to a surrounding frame for receiving at least a portion of an edge of the substantially opaque shade material, each side channel including at least one light-absorbing inner surface.
A second aspect of the disclosure provides a side channel for a window shade assembly, the side channel comprising: an opening configured to receive at least a portion of an edge of a substantially opaque shade material, the opening including at least one light-absorbing inner surface.
A third aspect of the disclosure provides a cellular window shade assembly comprising: a headrail coupled to a source of a substantially opaque cellular shade material, the cellular shade material including a slot positioned in each edge thereof; and a pair of opposed substantially vertical, substantially opaque and substantially concave side channels open in a direction facing one another and configured to be mounted to a surrounding frame, each side channel configured to receive at least a portion of a respective edge of the substantially opaque cellular shade material with a first leg of a respective side channel extending into the slot, wherein each side channel includes at least one light-absorbing inner surface.
The illustrative aspects of the present disclosure are designed to solve the problems herein described and/or other problems not discussed.
These and other features of this disclosure will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various embodiments of the disclosure, in which:
It is noted that the drawings of the disclosure are not to scale. The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the disclosure, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the disclosure. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements between the drawings.
Referring to the drawings,
According to one embodiment, window shade assembly 100 includes a headrail 102 (
A cord-lock or other restraining means (not shown) can immobilize the cords and thereby position bottom rail 116 to any position intermediate headrail 102 and a lower edge (sill) 120 of surrounding frame 112. By operation of the cords, the bottom rail is raised and lowered, and thereby the cellular material is collapsed or expanded, respectively, to reveal or shade the window. Other now known or later developed positioning mechanisms may be employed also.
Window shade assembly 100 also includes a pair of opposed substantially vertical, substantially opaque side channels 130. Each side channel 130 is open in a direction facing one another (one shown facing where other is positioned in
In one embodiment, side channels 130 are permanently coupled to surrounding frame 112 in a known fashion, e.g., using screws or adhesive or any other now known or later developed fixing structure. In an alternative embodiment, however, as shown in
In one embodiment, each side channel 130 includes at least one light-absorbing inner surface 150 (illustrated by thick, black lines). Other surfaces of each side channel 130 may not be light-absorbing, i.e., side channel 130 is only light-absorbing at inner surface 150 and no where else. Each light-absorbing inner surface 150 acts to absorb light that may be transmitted through each side channel 130, i.e., through gaps between side channels 130 and shade material 106. Collectively, side channel 130 and light-absorbing inner surface(s) 150 act to block substantially all light passage. In one embodiment, as shown in
Each side channel 130 may be made of any now known or conventional material, e.g., plastic or wood, that is substantially opaque. Light-absorbing inner surfaces 150 may act to absorb light in any now known or later developed fashion. In one embodiment, each light-absorbing inner surface 150 has a substantially black coloration. “Substantially black” means nearly black or a dark shade of a color that is dark enough to absorb a substantial portion of incident light. Further, each light-absorbing inner surface 150 may be formed in a number of ways. For example, surfaces 150 may be formed by a layer coupled in the side channel 130 such as a tape, fabric, flocking, anti-reflective coating or paint coating. Alternatively, surfaces 150 may be formed as a co-extruded (dark) layer with side channel 130 (e.g., of polymer), resulting in side channel 130 being one color and surfaces 150 being another color. In another example, layers 150 may be formed by a thermal alteration of a surface of side channel 130, e.g., blackening by heating or burning. In another example, layers 150 may be formed by a texturing of a surface of side channel 130, e.g., indentations, angled surfaces, etc.
As noted herein, in
Referring to
Side channels 130 with light-absorbing surface(s) 150 provide an inexpensive and easy-to-install sealing system to block substantially all of the light that would otherwise pass around the edges of a room-darkening cellular and planer window shades, but without imposing either excessive frictional drag or presenting an unacceptable aesthetic appearance. Ancillary benefits of improved energy efficiency, compared to unsealed shades, but without bulky or inconvenient operational interference from the seals, are also achieved.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
