MX2008002734A

MX2008002734A - Selective tilting arrangement for a blind system for coverings for architectural openings.

Info

Publication number: MX2008002734A
Application number: MX2008002734A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Donald E Fraser
Original assignee: Hunter Douglas
Priority date: 2005-09-02
Filing date: 2006-08-28
Publication date: 2008-03-26
Also published as: AR059385A1; WO2007027650A1; CN101300399B; TWI477690B; AR099712A2; EP1920129A1; BRPI0616601A2; RU2008112670A; RU2404350C2; AU2006285004B2; EP1920129B1; CA2620583A1; CN101300399A; TW201350667A; CA2620583C; TW200714793A; CA2877348A1; TWI438334B; CA2877348C; AU2006285004A1

Abstract

A tilter system for a window blind permits the slats of the blind to be tilted open or closed in a number of different configurations depending on the routing of tilt cables or actuator cords.

Description

SELECTIVE TILTING ARRANGEMENT FOR A SHUTTER SYSTEM TO COVER ARCHITECTURAL OPENINGS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to covers for architectural openings and, more specifically, to horizontal blinds, such as Venetian blinds, designed to selectively tilt the open portions or tilt the closed portions of the blind, or to tilt The blinds open doubly to the standard separation, while they have the appearance of a conventional blind when it is closed inclined with the side facing the room upwards from the side of the room downwards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Typically, a Venetian blind has a top head rail or other structural member, which supports the blinds and hides the mechanisms used to raise and lower or open and close the blind. The lifting and lowering is done by a lifting rope coupled to the lower rail (or lower board). The slats, which are supported from the top rail can be allowed to tilt to open the blind, to allow a maximum of light through the blind, or to close the blind with the side REF. : 190503 from the room downwards (the edges of the slats that are closest to the room are facing downwards, which means that the other edges of the slats, the edges that are closest to the window or the wall, are face up), or to close the blind with the side of the room facing up. The tilt of the closed shutter can be done for the purpose of blocking the light, or to obtain private or both. In order to obtain optimum operation from the shutter, it may be desirable to open a portion of the shutter while closing another portion of the shutter. For example, it may be desirable, in an office environment, to tilt the lower portion of the blind, in order to block the glare of sunlight on a computer screen, or to provide privacy so that someone is Outside the window I can not look through the window and see what is happening inside the room. However, at the same time, it may be desirable to have the upper portion of the blind open inclined to allow some natural light and / or ventilation to enter the room. Another case of an application for such "split" blind design may be in a house where the floor of the house is at a higher elevation than the floor outside it. A person who is in the house, you could see freely outward, but a person from the outside might not actually see inside except for the higher reach that is allowed by the open section of the blind. In addition, from the problem of privacy and glare removal, the light control feature of the split-blind design (also referred to as the selective tilt design) is also beneficial, since it minimizes deterioration by ultraviolet light resulting from the impact of the sunlight on the interior furniture, carpets, wood floors, etc., while still maintaining indirect lighting from the outside, as well as a clear view of the outside. This is particularly practical and applicable in buildings with a roof overhang over the window area and where the windows are recessed inside the wall, creating a cantilever. In some cases, it is desirable to "tilt open" the blind as much as possible, in order to allow more light through the blind, and to allow more unobstructed observation area. In this case, it is possible to achieve this by using standard width slats where adjacent pairs of slats move together to stack against each other when opened tilted, resulting in a "double separation" arrangement. In this double separation arrangement, the area open between the adjacent pairs of slats is essentially double the open area that could be achieved if the slats were equally spaced in the normal array, thus the "double separation" design. In other cases, it is desirable to tilt a board closed in one direction (ie, with the side of the room facing up) while the boards immediately adjacent to this board are closed in the other direction (the side of the room facing down) . This results in an aesthetically pleasing "folded appearance" (also sometimes referred to as a Tiffany appearance) of the blind when in the closed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In one embodiment, a blind system allows the user to tilt open or tilt closed the entire blind, as well as selectively tilt a portion of the blind, while another portion of the blind is slanted closed. In yet another mode, the blind system allows the user to tilt the slats closed like a conventional blind (either with the side of the room facing up or the side of the room towards below), but tilt open to double the standard separation. In yet another mode, a blind system allows the user to tilt the slats open as in a conventional blind, but tilt the shutters closed in alternate directions (one is with the side of the room facing up while the next slat is with the side of the room down) to create a "collapsed" appearance. Various embodiments of the present invention provide drum portions with tilt cables and / or drive cords connected to the various drum portions. Since the tilt cables and actuator cords serve to operate the shutter slats, the terms "tilt cables" and "actuator chords" are sometimes used interchangeably in this specification. A tilting mechanism uses two drums that are coaxially aligned, mounted in a housing, and with a tilt rod that extends through the axis of rotation of the drums. The tilt rod is coupled to a drum driver, which, in turn, engages one or the other of the reel drums. Another tilting mechanism uses two drums that are substantially parallel but not coaxial one towards the other. These two drums are independently driven by the separate inclination rods that extend through the axes of rotation of their respective drums. Various arrangements for securing and routing the tilt cables (or actuator cords) to the drums, result in both types of tilt mechanism being able to achieve any of the desired capacities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a blind system made in accordance with the present invention, with a partially exploded perspective view of the mechanism within the upper rail, also shown above the blinds; Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of the tilt stations of Figure 1, with the housing cover removed for clarity; Figure 3A is an exploded perspective view of the tilt station of Figure 2; Figure 3B is a perspective view of a vertical section taken along the axis of rotation of the tilt station of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the drums of figure 3A; Figure 5 is a perspective view, of the opposite end, of the drum of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a front end view of the drum of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the other drum of Figure 3A; Figure 8 is a perspective view of the opposite end of the drum of Figure 7; Figure 9 is a perspective view of the housing of the tilt station of Figure 3A; Figure 10 is a perspective view, of the opposite end, of the lower angle of the housing of Figure 9; Figure 11 is a perspective view of the drum driver of the tilt station of Figure 3A; Figure 12 is a perspective view of the opposite end of the drum driver of Figure 11; Figures 13-15 are a series of perspective views describing the assembly process of the two drums, the drum driver and the spring of Figure 3A; Figure 16 is a sectional view through the drum of Figure 5; Figures 17-19 are a continuation of the series of perspective views describing the assembly process of the two drums, the drum driver and the spring of Figure 3; Figure 20 is a perspective, schematic, partially exploded view of the blind of Figure 1, showing the position of the drums and the routing of the tilt cables for a double separation configuration, as well as the corresponding end views of the drums to indicate more clearly the relative rotational positions of the drums; Figure 21 is similar to Figure 20, but showing the positions of the shutter slats and drums when the shutter is closed with the side of the room facing down; Figure 22 is similar to Figure 20, but showing the positions of the shutter slats, and the drums when the shutter is closed with the side of the room facing up; Figure 23 is a perspective view, schematic, partially exploded, of the blind of Figure 1, showing the position of the drums and the routing of the tilt cables for a configuration of inclination that allows the opening of a portion of the shutter while another one is closed, as well as the corresponding extreme views of the drums to indicate more clearly the rotational rotational positions of the drums; Figure 24 is similar to Figure 23, but showing the positions of the shutter slats, and of the drums when the shutter closes with the side of the room facing up; Figure 25 is similar to Figure 23, but showing the positions of the shutter slats, and the drums when the lower portion of the shutter closes with the side of the room facing down, while the upper portion of the shutter The blind remains tilted open. Figure 26 is a perspective view, schematic, partially exploded, of the blind of Figure 1, showing the position of the drums and the routing of the tilt cables for a retracted appearance and the double separation configuration, as well as the corresponding end views of the drums to more clearly indicate the relative rotational positions of the drums; Figure 27 is similar to figure 26, but showing the positions of the slats of the shutter and of the drums, when the blind is folded closed in a address; Figure 28 is similar to Figure 27, but showing the positions of the shutter slats, and of the drums when the shutter is folded closed in an opposite direction; Fig. 29 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a blind system made in accordance with the present invention, with a partially exploded perspective view of the mechanism within the upper rail, also shown above the shutter; Figure 30 is a perspective view of the blind indexing gear mechanism of Figure 29; Figure 31 is an exploded perspective view of the indexing gear mechanism of Figure 30; Figure 32 is a partially exploded perspective view of the indexing gear mechanism of Figure 30; Figure 33 is a view along the line 33-33 of Figure 32; Figure 34 is a perspective view of the housing cover for the indexing gear mechanism of Figure 31; Figure 35 is a perspective view of one of the driven gears of the indexing gear mechanism of Fig. 31; Figure 36 is a perspective view of the indexing gear of the indexing gear mechanism of Figure 31; Figure 37 is a perspective view of one of the tilt stations of the blind of Figure 29; Figure 38 is an exploded, perspective view of the tilt station of Figure 37; Figure 39 is a perspective view of one of the drums of the tilt station of Figure 37; Figure 40 is a perspective view of the housing of the tilt station of Figure 37; Figure 41 is a perspective, schematic, partially exploded view of the blind of Figure 29, showing the position of the drums and the routing of the tilt cables for a double separation configuration, as well as the corresponding view of the indexing gear mechanism to more clearly indicate the relative rotational positions of the driven gears; Figure 42 is similar to Figure 41, but showing the positions of the shutter slats, the drums, and the indexing gear when the shutter is closed with the side of the room towards down; Figure 43 is similar to Figure 42, but showing the positions of the shutter slats, the drums, and the indexing gear when the shutter is closed with the side of the room facing up; Figure 44 is a perspective, schematic, partially exploded view of the shutter of Figure 29, showing the position of the drums and the routing of the tilt cables by an inclination configuration that allows part of the blind to be open while another part is closed, as well as the corresponding view of the indexing gear mechanism to more clearly indicate the relative rotational positions of the driven gears; Figure 45 is similar to Figure 44, but shows the positions of the shutter slats, the drums, and the indexing gear mechanism when the lower portion of the shutter closes with the side of the room facing down, while the upper portion of the blind remains tilted open, - Figure 46 is similar to Figure 44, but shows the positions of the shutter slats, of the drums, and of the indexing gear mechanism when the upper portion of the blind. the shutter closes with the side of the room upwards, while the lower portion of the blind remains tilted open; Figure 47 is a perspective, schematic, partly exploded view, of the shutter of Figure 29, showing the position of the drums and the routing of the tilt cables for a refolded appearance, and the double separation configuration, as well as the corresponding view of the indexing gear mechanism to more clearly indicate the relative rotational positions of the driven gears; Figure 48 is similar to Figure 47, but shows the positions of the shutter slats, the drums, and the indexing gear mechanism when the blind is folded closed in one direction; and Figure 49 is similar to Figure 47, but shows the positions of the shutter slats, the drums, and the indexing gear mechanism when the shutter is folded closed in the opposite direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Simple tilt rod, coaxial drum design The blind 10 of figure 1 includes an upper rail 12 and a plurality of suspended slats 14 from the upper rail 12 by means of the inclination cables 16 and their associated transverse cords 16t (see Figure 20), which together comprise the stair tapes. The lifting ropes 20 are secured to the bottom of the lower board (or lower rail) 18, which is typically heavier than the other boards 14. As is well known in the art, the lift ropes 20 are routed through the holes of the elevator. routing on the slats 14, through the upper rail 12, and outwardly through a rope lock mechanism 22. The tilt strings 24 operate a rope tilt 26, which is used to rotate a tilt rod 28 about its longitudinal axis, in order to drive the tilt stations 30. In this mode, there are two groups of cables of inclination 16, to which more specific designations are given in Figure 20, as follows: 16 is the generic designation for the tilt cables; - the suffix "a" is used for the first group and "b" is used for the second group of tilt cables; additional suffixes "f" or "r" are used to indicate the front side (side of the room) or the back side (side of the wall or side of the window) Note that in some cases, there is no second group of tilt cables. An accionadota rope can also be used in some cases (such as in figure 23) and designated as 16x. The driver string 16x runs parallel to the tilt cables 16 and is coupled to one of the tilt cables 16 via a knot 32 (See Figure 23) or other attachment means such as via a clamp coupling 32, which is described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,845,802, Selective Tilting Arrangement for a Blind System for Covering Architectural Openings which is incorporated by reference herein. While the tilt rod 28 in this embodiment is driven by a rope tilt 26 (which is described in detail in Canadian Patent No. 2,206,932"Anderson, dated December 4, 1997 (1997/12/04), the which is incorporated by reference herein), it is understood that other types of actuators, such as a rod tilter or motorized tilter may be used With reference briefly to FIGS. 2 and 3A-3B, the tilt station 30 includes a first drum 34, a second drum 36, a drum actuator 38, a tie-down spring 40, a housing 42, and a cover 44 of the housing With reference to Figures 4, 5, 6 and 16, the first drum 34 includes two concentric cylinders 46, 48 interconnected by a core 50 placed centrally. The outer cylinder 46 defines two axially extending grooved openings 52, approximately 120 degrees apart, as well as a boundary stop 54 which projects axially approximately 60 degrees from one of the two slotted openings 52. Approximately half of Through its axial dimension, the inner cylinder 48 abruptly expands towards an inner cylinder 58 with a larger diameter along a substantial portion of its circumference. This results in a half-moon-shaped flange 56 (See Figure 6 extending approximately 220 degrees around the circumference of the inner cylinder 48, and this flange 56 terminates at the shoulders 60, 62 extending radially. explained in more detail below, the tab 56 acts to position and contain the drum driver 38 within the tilt station 30, and the shoulders 60, 62 allow the drum driver 38 to rotationally drive each of the drums 34, 36. The core 50 defines a side-by-side opening 64 (See Figure 6) which is used to engage the tie-down spring 40 to the drums 34, 36, as will be explained in more detail below. 7 and 8, the second drum 36 is identical to the first drum 34, except that the second drum 36 includes a circumferential ring 66, which extends axially, with an internal diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the outer cylinder 46. This ring 66 is found only on the end of the drum 36 opposite the end defining the slotted openings 52 and the limit stop 54, and this end where the ring 66 is located is referred to as the inner end 68 of the second drum 36, making the other end of the outer end 70. Similarly, the first drum 34 has an inner end 72, and an outer end 74. When the drums 34, 36 are assembled together, the ring 66 of the second drum 36 overlaps the inner end 72 of the first drum 34, to prevent any of the tilt cables 16 from falling between the first and the second drums 34, 36, as will become apparent later. With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the cylindrical drum actuator 38 defines an internal, non-cylindrically shaped hollow shaft or column 76 designed to be coupled to the inclination rod 28, such that the rotation of the tilt rod 28 causes rotation of the drum actuator 38. The drum actuator 38 also includes an axially extending rectangular wedge 78, located midway between the ends of the drum driver 38. The length of the drum actuator 38 is slightly longer than the length of the two drums 34, 36 when assembled together, such that the ends of the drum driver 38 extend beyond the drum assembly, and these ends can be used for the rotational support of the drum assembly on the seats 96, 98 of the housing 42 , as described in more detail later. The length of the lock 78 is substantially equal to the distance of the flange 56 of the first drum 34 towards the flange 56 of the second drum 36, when the two drums 34, 36 are assembled together. The outer diameter of the drum actuator 38 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the inner cylinder 48 of the first and second drums 34, 36. When the drum driver 38 is inserted into the two drums 34, 36 as described > in more detail below, the drum actuator 38 lies within, and is coaxially aligned, with the two drums 34, 36. The latch 78 selectively engages the shoulders 60, 62 of the drums 34, 36 depending on the direction of rotation of the tilt rod 28, as explained in more detail below. As shown in Figure 3A, the tie-down spring 40 includes two axially extending ends 80, 82 which, as explained in more detail below, extend through the openings 64 in the souls 50 of the drums 34, 36, respectively, that tie the first and second drums 34, 36, each other, and the preloads against the lock 78 of the drum actuator 38. As also shown in Figure 3B, the coils of the tie-down spring 40 lie in the cavity formed between the outer cylinders 46, the larger diameter portions 58 of the inner cylinders 48 and the webs 50 of the drums 34, 36. Figures 13-15 and 17-19 describe the process of assembling the two drums 34, 36, the drum actuator 38 and the spring 40. Figure 13 indicates that the first step is to insert the end 82 of the spring 40 through of the opening 64 (See Figure 6) in the second drum 36. The next step (Figure 14) is to insert the drum driver 38 into the inner cylinder 48 of the second drum 36, with one end of the lock 78 pushed in ( See Figure 15) until it meets the flange 56 of the second drum 36. Next, the first drum 34 is assembled by inserting the second end 80 of the spring 40 through the opening 64 of the first drum 34, and then assembling the two drums 34, 36 until their corresponding internal ends 72, 68 are found, and the ring 66 on the second drum 36 overlaps the inner end 72 of the first drum 34 (See Figure 17). The next step is to flex the ends 80, 82 • of the spring 40 projecting through the openings 64 of the drums 34, 36 in order to secure the ends 80, 82 on their respective drums 34, 36. A tool 84 (as shown in Figure 17) can be used for this purpose, or the ends can be simply flexed using tapered nose pliers, a flat head screwdriver, or other known means. The drums 34, 36 are now assembled with the clamping spring 40 and the drum actuator 38 within the assembly. The spring 40 holds the drums 34, 36 together (because the ends 80, 82 of the spring 40 have been flexed to the sides so that they will not slide out of the drums 34, 36). The next step (See Figure 18) is to pre-charge the drums 34, 36 against the lock 78 of the drum actuator 38. This is achieved by gripping each drum 34, 36 and separating them just enough so that one of the drums 34, 36 moves axially far enough to clear the lock 78 of the drum driver 38. The drum 34 is then rotated counterclockwise 360 degrees relative to the drum 36, and the drums are assembled again, and then released. Both drums 34, 36 immediately rotate in opposite directions, pushed by the biasing force of the clamping spring 40, until the first shoulder 60 of the first drum 34 and the second shoulder 62 of the second drum 36 impact both against the lock 78 of the drum actuator 38. The two drums 34, 36 are now preloaded against the lock 78 of the drum driver 38. As indicated in Figure 19, either of the drum 34, 36 can be rotated about its common axis of rotation (which also corresponds to the axis of rotation of the drum driver 38). If the first drum 34 is turned clockwise (as seen from the advantageous position of Figure 19) while the second stationary drum 36 is held, the second shoulder 62 of the first drum 34 impacts against the lock 78. of the drum actuator 38, causing the drum actuator 38 to also rotate clockwise. This lock 78 in turn impacts against the second shoulder 62 of the second drum 36, such that the second drum 36 is also promoted by rotating clockwise, and the complete assembly rotates as a unit unless and until that something prevents such rotation (which, as discussed below, is precisely what can happen when the limit stop 54 on the drums 34, 36 strikes against one of the limit stops on the housing 42). On the one hand, if the first drum 34 is rotated counter-clockwise, its second shoulder 62 is moving away from the lock 78, such that the first drum 34 can rotate relative to the second drum 36 that can this mode remain stationary. However, in order to rotate the first drum 34, the spring preload force 40 must be exceeded. The same station is true for the second drum 36, with the proviso that the advantageous position is the opposite end of that one. of Figure 19. That is, as seen from the back of Figure 19, the second drum 36 can be rotated in a clockwise fashion, only if the complete assembly rotates with this, and can be rotated against clockwise while the first drum 34 remains stationary, with the proviso that the user exceeds the preload force of the spring 40. Throughout the remainder of this specification, reference will be made to the position of the drums 34 , 36, where no external force is acting to overcome the preload force of the spring 40 as the neutral position for the tilt station 30. That is, the position in which the first drum 34 has its second ho mbro 62 against the lock 78 and the second drum 36 has its second shoulder 62 against the lock 78. Referring now to Figures 3A-3B, 9 and 10, the housing 42 includes two side walls 86, 88, two end walls 90 , 92, and a lower wall 94. The end walls 90, 92 define the "U" -shaped seats 96, 98, respectively, which provide rotational support. of the drum assembly by supporting the ends of the drum driver 38. The arms 100, 102 extend approximately at an angle of 45 degrees from the planes defined by the end walls 90, 92, and these protrude above and above the center line of the inclination rod 28 as it passes through the actuator 38. of drum, thereby preventing the drum assembly from being lifted out of the housing 42. The ends of the outer cylinders 48 of the drums 34, 46 are larger in diameter than the seats 96, 98, and distance them from the ends of the outer cylinders 48 is only slightly smaller than the distance between the seats 96, 98, so that the inner cylinders 48 abut one of the seats 96, 98 if the drums 34, 36 are displaced in an axial direction, preventing this way the drums 34, 36 move much in the axial direction. On either side of each seat 96, 98 there are two shelves 110, 112 (better seen in Figure 3A, against the end wall 92, but also present in the opposite end wall 90) with the upper shelf 110 that is less recessed (a a higher elevation) than the lower shelf 112. These shelves 110, 112 act as limit stops by cooperating with the limit stop 54 on their respective drums 34, 36 to limit the degree to which the drums 34, 36 are free of turn in any direction. This Limit stop feature is explained in more detail later. The lower wall 94 of the housing 42 defines two elongated slotted openings 104, 106 and a shorter rectangular opening 108. The elongated slotted openings 104, 106 are for the front and top tilt cables to pass through the housing 42 and through the corresponding openings (not shown) in the upper rail 12. The shorter rectangular opening 108 is for the lift cords 20. With reference to Figures 3A and 3B, the housing cover 44 snaps on and in the housing 42 to add dimensional integrity to the housing 42 and to prevent the tilt cables 16 from becoming entangled or detached from the housing. the drums 34, 36, in the case of a slack condition on the cables 16 (such as when someone physically removes some of the tabs 14 from the blind 10). With reference to Figures 1 and 3A, once the drum assembly has been assembled and preloaded as described in Figures 13-19, it is dropped into the housing 42, with the ends of the drum driver 38 which are rotationally supported by the seats 96, 98 of the housing 42. The inclination rod 28 is inserted through the hollow column 76 of the actuator 38 of drum, and one end of the tilt rod 28 is connected to the tilt drive mechanism 26 of the rope, as shown in Figure 1. Typically, two or more tilt stations 30 are mounted to the tilt rod 28, and the complete tilt drive assembly is installed on the top rail 12 of the blind 10. At some point either before or after the installation of the tilt drive assembly on the top rail 12, the tilt cables 16 are coupled to the drums 34, 36 according to the routing required to obtain the desired configuration as explained in more detail below. To attach the tilt cables 16 to the drums 34, 36 an enlargement (such as a knot or protuberance) is attached to the end of the tilt cable to be secured, and this enlargement is inserted behind the slotted opening 52, desired , in the outer cylinder 46 of the desired drum 34, 36, with the rest of the tilt cable 16, extending through that slotted opening 52. The enlargement prevents the tilt cable 16 from being pulled out of the respective drum 34 , 36 and thereby quickly and effectively couples the inclination change 16 to its respective drum 34, 36.

Double Separation Configuration Figures 20-22 describe the routing of the tilt cables for a typical double separation blind configuration. In these three figures, and in all the following similar figures, the routing of the tilt cables 16 and the position of the drums 34, 36 (particularly to describe the relative position of the tie-down points of the ends of the tilt cables 16 to drums 34, 36) are shown in relation to the corresponding position of slats 14 of shutter 10. For clarity, end views of corresponding drums 34, 36 are included as part of the views for the purpose to help show the position of the lashing point for each of the inclination cables 16 (tied in the slotted openings 52 of the drums 34, 36) or the position of the limit stop 54. As explained at the beginning, the cables tilt are generically designated as item 16, but are additionally identified by the following suffixes: - "a" is for the first group of tilt cables, those that support the t upper (or upper) edge 14t in each pair of upper and lower splints 14t, 14b "b" is for the second group of tilt cables, those that support the lower spline (or bottom) 14b in each pair 14t, 14b "f" is for the front tilt cables, those on the side of the blind room - "r" is for the rear tilt cables, those on the side of the wall ( also referred to as the window side) of the blind "x" is for an actuator cord that is typically secured to one of the tilt cables 16 Referring briefly to Figure 1, note that the tilt mechanism 26 is a mechanism worm rope drive, as shown in U.S. Patent No. 6,561,252, which is incorporated by reference herein. The rope pulley is directly connected to a worm which drives a gear to which the tilt rod 28 is connected. As is well known in the art, in a worm gear, the worm is capable of driving The gear either pro-clockwise or counter-clockwise. However, the gear is unable to drive back the worm, - the mechanism ensures the moment when the gear begins to drive back the worm. While an endless screw is a very convenient and expeditious way to ensure that the mechanism tilter 26 can not be driven backwards, other means (such as ratchets, one-way brakes or clutches, all with suitable release mechanisms) can be employed in alternative modes to ensure this same condition. The ability to operate the tilt rod 28 in any direction (for or against the hands of the clock) from the inlet end (using the rope tilt 26), but not to be able to drive back the tilt rod. inclination 28 from the exit end, is a useful feature for the operation of the tilt station 30, as discussed in more detail below. With reference to Figure 20, the drums 34, 36 are in their neutral position (again, this neutral position refers to the position of the drums 34, 36 where no external force is acting to overcome the preload force of the spring 40. , and in this way, when the first drum 34 has its second shoulder 62 against the lock 78, and the second drum 36 has its second shoulder 62 against the lock 78). The slats 14 are opened in a double-spaced configuration, where each pair of adjacent slats 14t, 14b is stacked up against the other, and there is a large empty space between this para of adjacent slats 14t, 14b and the next pair of splints. adjacent slats 14t, 14b.

This large empty space is approximately twice the standard distance, or twice the separation (dp) between the slats of a conventional blind that has uniformly spaced slats. The upper board 14 of each pair of upper and lower board 141, 14b is supported by a transverse rope 16t extending between the first group of front and rear tilt cables 16af, 16ar. (For clarity purposes, reference will sometimes be made to the tilt cables when you want to say the associated, complete ladder tape, including the front and rear elimination cables and the transverse cords that connect those front and rear tilt cables, and this use will be obvious within the context in which it is used.The first rear tilt cable 16ar is routed over the first drum 34 of the tilt station 30, and is secured to one of the slotted openings 52ar, in the first drum 34 (note that the generic designation of the slotted opening is 52, as shown, for example, in Figure 5, but this designation has been modified with the suffix ar, which corresponds to the 16ar tilt cable suffix, which is insured to this particular slotted opening.This nomenclature will be followed throughout this specification.The first front tilt cable 16af is routed over the second drum 36 and is secured to the slotted opening 52af on the second drum 36. The ring 66 of the second drum 36 prevents the tilt cables from falling between the two drums 34, 36. Similarly, the lower board 14b of each pair of boards 14t , 14b is supported by transverse cords 16t extending between the second group of front and rear tilt cables 16bf, 16br. The rear tilt cable 16br of the second group is routed over the second drum 36 and is secured to the slotted opening 52br in the second drum 36. Finally, the front tilt cable 16bf of the second group of tilt cables is routed over the first drum 34 and is secured to the slotted opening 52bf on that first drum 34. All the tilt cables 16 are attached to the drums 34, 36 such that, when the drums are in their "neutral" position as shown in figure 20 , the slats 14 are accommodated in the double-spaced configuration, where the adjacent upper and lower splint pairs 14t, 14b are stacked against each other, creating a large double-spaced gap "dp" between the groups of paired slats 14t, 14b. Referring now to Figures 1 and 21, one of the tilt strings 24 is pulled to cause the rotation of the inclination rod 28 in the clockwise direction (as seen from the advantageous position of Figures 1 and 21). The clockwise rotation of the tilt rod 28 causes the clockwise rotation of the drum actuator 38 (and lock 78) in the tilting position 30. As the lock 78 rotates, it pushes against the first shoulder 60 (See Figure 5) of the first drum 34, thereby causing the first drum 34 to also rotate in a clockwise manner. The second drum 36 also wishes to follow the lock 78, since the clamping spring 40 is preloading the second drum 36 against the lock 78. However, very soon after the second drum 36 begins to rotate in favor of the hands of the In the case of a clock, its limit stop 54 impacts against the limit stop 110 of the upper shelf (See Figures 3A-3B) on its end of the housing 42, stopping any further rotation in favor of the clock hands of the second drum 36, despite the push of the mooring spring 40. Naturally, since the second drum 36 has stopped its rotation, the user must now exert sufficient force to overcome the deflection force of the mooring spring, in order to continue the rotation of the tilt rod 28. , the drum actuator 38, and the first drum 34. As the user continues to turn the rod of inclination 28 in the clockwise direction, the first drum 34 continues to rotate until its limit stop 54 impacts against the limit stop 112 of the lower shelf on its respective end wall 90 of the housing 42. At this point, the slats are in the closed position, with the side of the room facing down, as shown in figure 21. The change in the positions of the drums 34, 36 can be observed more clearly by comparison of the initial position of the limit stop 54 on the first drum 34, shown in Figure 20 (in the neutral position) with the final position of the limit stop 54 on the first drum 34, shown in Figure 21, which indicates that the first drum 34 has rotated in favor of The clock hands through almost 180 full degrees of travel. The slotted openings 52ar and 52bf on the first drum 34, which are connected to the first rear tilt cable 16ar and the second front tilt cable 16bf, have also rotated the same distance of approximately 180 degrees of travel. As a result, the rear tilt cable 16ar of the upper board 14t has been pulled up to a distance approximately equal to p X r (where r is the radius of the drum 34) and the front tilt cable 16bf of the lower board 14b has been extended to the same distance. The other tilt cables 16af, 16br are connected to the second drum 36, remain virtually motionless. As a result, the front edges (side of the room) of the top slats 14t do not move, while the rear edges (side of the wall) of these top slats 14t oscillate upwards for a sloping closed orientation, with the side of the room down (as shown in Figure 21). Similarly, the rear edges (side of the wall) of the lower slats 14b move up only a very short distance, while the front edges (side of the room) of these lower slats 14b swing down to complete the closed orientation inclined with the side of the room downwards, of the blind as shown in Figure 21. To summarize, in Figure 21, the second drum 36 does not rotate (or rotate at a very short distance only a few degrees of travel before the limit stops prevent further rotation) and the first drum 34 rotates clockwise (as seen from 'left of Figure 21) in order to move the blind completely open, with double separation of Figure 20 to the shutter closed with the downward side of the room, of Figure 21. The very short rotation of the second barrel 36 allows the edges of the adjacent pairs of slats 14 to be aslamp with each other, so there is no visible light space when the shutter closes. Note that the limit stops 110, 112 (See Figures 3A-3B) are designated upper limit stop 110 and lower limit stop 112 since this is as described in the figures and this design makes it easier to distinguish the two stops 110, 112 However, the limit stops 110, 112 can both be at the same height relative to each other, so that it may be more accurate to simply refer to them as a first stop 110 and a second stop 112. The lashing spring or ratchet 40 pushes the drums 34, 36 back to the neutral position, pushing the first drum 34 to rotate counterclockwise and pushing the second drum 36 to rotate clockwise. However, there are mechanisms in place that prevent these two rotations, as explained below. The second drum 36 can not rotate clockwise additionally due to the interaction of its limit stop 54 with the limit stop 110 of the housing 42. The first drum 34 can not rotate counter-clockwise, due to that it is stopped by the rope inclinator 26. In order for the first drum 34 to rotate counter-clockwise, it would have to push the drum actuator 38 in the counter-clockwise direction, since that the lock 78 of the drum actuator 38 is in contact with the first shoulder 60 of the first drum 34. The rotation of the drum actuator 38 could also require the rotation of the inclination rod 28, since the non-circular cross-sections of coupling of the drum actuator 38 and the inclination rod 28 cause these Turn together. However, in order that the tilt rod 28 is operated counterclockwise by the drum 34, it would have to drive the worm of the tilt 26 (as indicated at the beginning, this tilt 26 is described in Canadian Patent No. 2,206,932, "Anderson", dated December 4, 1997 (1997/12/04), which is incorporated by reference herein). However, as explained at the beginning, the worm can not be driven backwards, so that any attempt by the tilt rod 28 to operate the tilt 26 causes the tilting mechanism 26 to be secured. Therefore, the slats 14 of the blind 10 remain in the position desired by the user, unless and until the user pushes them into a new position by pulling on one of the tilt strings 24 on the inlet end of the blind. inclination 26. In order to return the blind from this position to the neutral position of figure 20, the user could pull on the other inclination cord 24, driving the tilting mechanism, the inclination rod 28 and the drum actuator 38 in the counterclockwise direction. This allows the spring 40 to bring the first drum 34 back to the neutral position, while the second drum 36 remains in the same position. Figure 22 describes the same double separation blind as Figure 20, but with the tilting mechanism that has moved the blind to the position in which the slats are closed inclined with the side of the room facing upwards. To achieve this from the neutral position of Figure 20, the user pulls on the other tilt string 24 (See Figure 1) (not the one that was pulled to obtain the side-down, closed, tilted position of the room). figure 21). This causes counterclockwise rotation of the tilt rod 28, as well as counterclockwise rotation of the drums 34, 36. However, the limit stop 54 on the first drum 34 almost immediately impacts the limit stop 110 of the upper shelf on its respective wall 90 of the housing 42, further leading the rotation of the first drum 34 to a stop. The second drum 36 continues to rotate counter-clockwise until its limit stop 54 eventually impacts against the limit stop 112 of the lower shelf at its respective end 92 of the housing 42, this second drum 36 bringing a stop. The second drum 36 will be rotated counterclockwise approximately 180 degrees (as evidenced by the comparison of the positions of the limit stop 54 on the second drum 36, in Figures 20 and 22). The first rear tilt cable 16ar and the second front tilt cable 16bf, which are secured to the first drum 34, remain practically stationary, while the ends of the first front tilt cable and the second tilt cable 16af, 16bf respectively, rotate counter-clockwise with the second drum 36. The first front-tilt cable 16af is wound onto the second drum 36, pulling the edges of the side of the upper slat 14t upwards at a distance of approx. X r. At the same time, the second rear inclination cable 16br is unwound from the second drum 36, dropping the edges of the side of the wall of the lower slats 14b by the same distance p X r. The final result is the closed shutter tilted with the side of the room facing up, of Figure 22.

Selective Tilt Configuration Figures 23-25 descra routing of the tilt cables 16 on a mechanism very similar to that descr above, in order to achieve an arrangement in which a part of the blind can be closed, while another part remains open. With reference to Figure 23, there are a few physical equipment differences between this configuration and the configuration shown in Figure 20. First of all, instead of having two groups of double-spaced stair tapes, this blind has a stair treadmill. simple, standard separation with a rear tilt cable 16r, a front tilt cable 16f and the transverse cords 16t extending between the tilt cables, front and rear 16f, 16r. Second, another tilt cable or driver string 16x is secured to the rear tilt cable 16r at the node 32 or other attachment means such as a rope coupling clamp 32. Third, the first drum 34 does not have a limit stop 54 (the limit stop 54 can simply be cut from a first standard drum 34 to accommodate this configuration). In this configuration, the rear tilt cable 16r is wrapped counter-clockwise around the second drum 36 and is coupled to the second drum 36 in the slotted opening 52r. The front tilt cable 16f is wrapped clockwise around the second drum 36 and is coupled to the second drum 36 in the slotted opening 52f. The third The tilt cable or the 16x actuator rope is wrapped clockwise around the first drum 34 and is coupled to the first drum 34 in the slotted opening 52x. The other slotted opening 52 of the first drum 34 is not used for anchoring a rope in this mode. In Figure 23, the drums 34, 36 are shown in a neutral position, with the slats 14 which are all slanted open in a simple separation configuration, with all the slats 14 evenly spaced. In Figure 24, one of the tilt strings has been pulled, causing the tilt 26 to drive the tilt rod 28 counterclockwise, which also drives the drum driver 38 and both drums, 34, 36 against clockwise. The second drum 36 is actuated counterclockwise by the lock 78 on the drum driver 38, stopping when its limit stop 54 reaches the limit stop 112 of the bottom shelf on the wall 92. Since the limit stop 54 on the first drum 34 has been removed, there is nothing to prevent the spring 40 from driving the first drum 34 counter-clockwise together with the second drum 36. As the second drum 36 rotates counter-clockwise , this raises the front cable 16f and descends the front cable 16r. According to the first drum 34 rotates counter-clockwise, this descends the driver cable 16x the same distance as the rear inclination cable 16r. In this way, the entire blind is tilted closed with the side of the room facing up. When the tilt string 24 is released, the worm over the tilt actuator 26 secures the tilt rod 28 in position, which causes both drums 34, 36 to remain in the position they were when the tilt string 24 was released. To rotate again the neutral position and beyond, the other tilt string 24 is pulled, causing the tilt rod 28 to rotate clockwise. Figure 25 shows the position of the blind, when the inclination rod 28 has been rotated in a clockwise direction beyond the neutral position of Figure 23. As the inclination rod 28 is actuated in favor of the hands of the clock by the tilting actuator 26, this drives the drum driver 38 clockwise, and the latch 78 of the drum driver 38 contacts a shoulder on the first drum 34, driving the first drum 34 to favor of the hands of the clock. The spring 40 begins to cause the second drum 36 to rotate clockwise together with the first drum 34, but its Limit stop 54 impacts the limit stop 110 of the upper shelf on the wall 92 of the housing 42 in the neutral position, preventing any additional rotation in favor of the clock hands of the second drum 36. The first drum 34 continues to rotate in favor of the clockwise, causing the actuator cable 16x to wind up on the first drum 34, which raises the driver 16x. Since the actuator cable 16x is connected to the rear inclination cable 16r at the point 32, it raises the rear inclination cable 16r at that point 32. All the slats 14 supported by the transverse cords 161 below the point 32 are affected according to the rear inclination cable 16r raises the edges of the side of the wall of these slats 14. The result is that all the slats 14 below the tie point 32 of the drive cable 16x to the rear tilt cable 16r, are slanted closed with the side of the room downwards, and the balance of the slats 14 remains inclined open, as shown in figure 25. The location of the tie-down point 32 relative to the rear tilt cable 16r determines the point at which the break "between the slats that are slanted closed, and those that remain inclined open. If the 16x actuator cable was alternately attached to the front tilt cable 16f instead of the cable of rearward tilt 16r, then the portion of the blind below the tie-down point 32 could be closed in the position with the side of the room upwards instead of the side of the room downwards, as shown here. It also follows that, by reversing the position of the drums 34, 36 in the housing 42, the action of the blind 10 can be reversed from the previous description. For example, when going from Figure 23 to Figure 24, the blinds 14 could close the side of the room upwards instead of the side of the room downwards, as shown.

Folding Appearance Configuration Figures 26-28 describe the routing of the tilt cables for a typical, folded-back shutter configuration. With reference to Figure 26, there are no physical equipment differences between this folded appearance configuration and the double separation configuration of Figure 20. In both cases, the two groups of inclination cables 16af, 16ar and 16br are double in the standard separation. The only differences are in the routing of the tilt cables 16. In this arrangement, again, there are two groups of tilt cables. The first front tilt cable 16af of the upper slats 14t is wrapped in counter clockwise around the second drum 36 and engages the second drum 36 in the slotted opening 52af. The first upper inclination wire 16ar of the upper slats 14t is wrapped clockwise around the first drum 34, and is coupled to the first drum 34 in the slotted opening 52ar. The second front tilt cable 16bf of the lower slats 14b is wrapped clockwise around the second drum 36 and is coupled to the second drum 36 in the slotted opening 52bf. Finally, the second rear inclination cable 16br of the lower slats 14b is wrapped counter-clockwise around the first drum 34, and is coupled to the first drum 34 in the slotted opening 52br. With the case of the double-separation shutter of Figure 20, the folded appearance configuration of Figure 26 also begins with the slats 14 in a double-spaced configuration, when the drums 34, 36 are in the neutral position. Referring now to Figure 27, as the tilt actuator 26 drives the tilt rod 28 in the clockwise direction, the lock 78 contacts the first drum 34, propelling it in a clockwise manner. , and the spring 40 pushes the second drum 36 to also rotate in favor of the clock hands. However, the limit stop 54 on the second drum 36 almost immediately impacts against the limit stop 110 of the upper ledge at the end 92 of the housing 42, preventing any further rotation in favor of the clock hands of the second drum 36 beyond the neutral position. The first drum 34 continues to rotate until its limit stop 54 impacts against the lower shelf limit stop 112 on the wall 90 of the housing 42. Since the front (or side of the room side) inclination cables 16af, 16bf of the slats upper and lower 14t, 14b, respectively, are attached to the second drum 36, and this second drum 36 rotates only very few degrees before its limit stop prevents further rotation in favor of the clockwise, the front edges (or the side of the room) of these slats 14t, 14b remain almost stationary. On the other hand, the rear tilt cable 16ar and 16br are attached to the first drum 34, which is rotating. When the first drum 34 rotates clockwise, the first inclination wire 16ar is rolled up on the first drum 34, raising the rear edges (or the side of the room) of the upper slats 14t to the position shown in Figure 27. At the same time, the rear tilt cable 16br of the lower board 14b is unwinding from the first drum 24, leaving dropping the rear edges (or the side of the wall) of the lower slats 14b to the position shown in Fig. 27, resulting in a closed, sloped blind with folded appearance, with the upper slats 14t sloping with the side of the room down, and the lower slats 14b inclined with the side of the room facing outwards. Figure 28 describes the folded-up shutter of figure 26 but inclined closed in the opposite direction from that of figure 27. In this case, the inclination rod 28 is rotated counter-clockwise and only the second drum 36 rotates counter-clockwise with it (the first drum 34 only begins to rotate and is immediately stopped by its limit stop 54 making contact with the limit stop 110 of the upper shelf, on the wall 90 of the housing 42). In this case, since the first and second rear tilt cables 16ar and 16br are coupled to the first drum 34, and the first drum 34 does not rotate, then the rear edges (side of the wall) of the upper and lower slats 141, 14b remain essentially stationary. At the same time, the first and second front tilt cables 16af, 16bf rotate with the second drum 36, with the first front cable 16af being wrapped over the second drum 36, as the drum 36 rotates in counterclockwise, thereby raising the front edges (side of the room) of the top slats 14t. The second front tilt cable 16bf of the lower slats 14b is unwrapped from the second drum 36 as the drum 36 rotates counterclockwise, and this drops the front edges (side of the room) of the lower slats 14b . The result is a slanted closed shutter with folded appearance, with the upper slats 14t inclined with the side of the room facing up, and the lower slats 14b inclined with the side of the room facing down, as shown in figure 28. it may be noted that, in order to achieve the closure of the slats 14, when they are tilted in opposite directions, as is the case in the folded appearance configuration described above, it may be advantageous to frame the front and rear edges of one of each pair of slats 14, in order to allow a free space for the transverse ladder 16t. This notch can be on the lower slats 14b only, or on the upper slats 14t only, or it could be on the upper and lower splints 14t, 14b, or it could be just over one edge of each spline 14 (opposite edges).

Twin Tilt Rod, Parallel Drum Design Referring now to Figure 29, the blind 120 is very similar to the blind 10 of Figure 1 except that, instead of using the tilt stations 30, the tilt function is achieved using twin tilt rods 28 which functionally interconnect the parallel drum tilt stations 122 with the indexing gear mechanism 124, as described in more detail below. The indexing gear mechanism 124 is in turn connected to an inclining mechanism, such as the worm inclination 26 by means of a short tilt rod 28 '. Referring briefly to Figures 30-33, the indexing gear mechanism 124 includes an indexing gear 126, a driven gear 128 of the room side, a driven gear 130 on the side of the wall, a housing 132 of the gear of indexing, and a cover 134 of the housing. With reference to Figure 36, the indexing gear 126 is a generally cylindrical gear defining a left portion 136 and a right portion 138. The left portion 136 includes a serrated portion 140 extending in an arc of approximately 200 degrees, with the balance of the left portion 136 which is a portion without teeth 142, smooth. Similarly, the right portion 138 it defines a smooth toothless portion 144 extending through the same arc of approximately 200 degrees, corresponding to the serrated portion 140. However, a solid protrusion 146 extends along the balance of the right portion 138. The gear of Indexing 126 also defines a hollow, non-cylindrically shaped column 148 of adequate size to receive similarly shaped inclination rod 28 '. The outer part of this column 148 defines a cylindrical shaft 150. Referring now to Figure 35, the driven gear 130 on the side of the wall is a generally cylindrical member defining a left portion 152 and a right portion 154, and these portions 152, 154 are separated by a radially projecting flange 155. The right cylindrical portion 154 defines a hollow shaft 156 not cylindrically shaped, sized to receive the similarly shaped inclination rod 28. The left portion 152 includes a first smooth portion 158 with a concave section 160 (see also Figure 31) made precisely to engage the securing hub or protrusion 146, on the indexing gear 126 to prevent movement of the driven gear 130 during residency, as explained in more detail later. The left portion 152 also includes a toothed portion 162 that engages the toothed portion 140 of the indexing 126. Finally, a short shaft 164 projects to the left from the toothed portion 162. The driven gear 128 on the side of the room is identical to the driven gear 130 on the side of the wall. With reference to Figure 34, housing 132 defines a main cavity 166 that accommodates indexing gear 126. A side-to-side opening 168 (see also Figure 31) rotationally supports shaft 150 of indexing gear 126, which projects toward the left beyond the serrated portion 140. Two cavities 172 of smaller diameter on both sides of the side-to-side opening 168 receive and rotationally support the left ends 164 of the driven gears 128, 130. With reference to FIG. 31 , the housing cover 134 includes a plate 174 defining a side-to-side opening 176 rotationally supporting the right end of the shaft 150 of the indexing gear 126. The plate 174 also defines two hollow cylindrical projections 178 of suitable size to accommodate rotationally and supporting the right ends 154 of the driven gears 128, 130. To assemble the mechanism 124 of the indexing gear In this case, the indexing gear 126, and the driven gears 128, 130 are inserted into their respective cavities 166, 170 of the housing 132 (see Figure 34). that the left end of the shaft 150 of the indexing gear 126 extends through the opening 168 in the housing 132, and the axes 164 of the driven gears 128, 130, are received in the recesses 172 in the housing 132. The cover The housing 134 is then snapped onto the housing 132 (with the projections 135, the housing 132 snaps fit within the openings 137 on the cover such that the right end of the shaft 150 of the indexing gear 126 extends through the opening 176 in the housing cover 134, and the right end portions 154 of the driven gears 128, 130 extend into the two cylindrical projections 178 of the housing cover 134. The driven gears 128, 130 are aligned with the indexing gear 126 as shown in Figures 32 and 33, with the concave sections 160 of the driven gears 128, 130 just for engaging the prot uberance 146 of the indexing gear 126. Reference will now be made to this position of the driven gears 128, 130, relative to the indexing gear 126 (and the corresponding position of the tilt drums 184, 182 as described below) as the neutral position. The indexing gear mechanism 124 operates using the principle of a Geneva indexing drive that converts the rotational movement continuous in intermittent motion, providing repeatable indexing to the same position. In this case, as the indexing gear 126 rotates clockwise from the neutral position (as seen from the advantageous position of Figures 31-33) the drive gear 128 on the side of the room briefly rotates against clockwise until its concave section 160 engages the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126. The toothed portion 162 of the driven gear 128 on the side of the room is then found with the smooth, toothless portion 142 of the gear Indexing 126. The indexing gear 126 can thus continue to rotate clockwise while the driven gear 128 on the side of the room remains stationary, prevented from rotating by the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126 abutting with the concave section 160 of the driven gear 128 on the side of the room. However, as the indexing gear 126 continues to rotate clockwise, the driven gear 130 on the side of the wall rotates counter-clockwise and continues to do so for several rotations before its concave section 160. stop with the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126, bringing the additional rotation to a stop.

If the indexing gear 126 rotates counter-clockwise from the neutral position, the opposite situation occurs. Namely, the driven gear 130 on the side of the wall rotates around the clockwise very briefly before it is prevented from further rotation by its concave section 160 abutting the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126. The gear led 128 on the side of the room also rotates clockwise and continues to do so for several rotations before its concave section 160 abuts the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126, bringing the additional rotation to a stop. Of course, the inclination rods 28 extend inside the hollow cylindrical projections 178 and are received in the hollow columns 156 of the right portions 154 of the driven gears 128, 130, so that the inclination rods 28 rotate with their respective driven gears 128, 130. Referring now to Figures 37 and 38, each tilt station 122 includes a housing 180, a tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall, and a tilt drum 184 on the side of the room. Figure 39 describes a tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall which is a cylindrical element defining cylindrical axes 185 projecting from both ends, each cylindrical shaft 185 defines an internal, non-cylindrical, hollow column 186 of adequate size to receive and couple the inclined rod 28 similarly profiled. The tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall also defines an outer cylindrical surface 188 which is connected to the internal cylindrical shaft 185 by means of the webs 190. Two elongated openings 192 are defined through the external cylindrical surface. One of the openings 192 is located near one end of the cylinder 188, and the other near the other end, with the two openings 192 lying approximately 180 degrees of operation from one another. Both openings 192 can be observed in Figure 39. The tilt cables 16 are secured to these openings as described in more detail below. The tilt drum 184 on the side of the room is identical to the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall. Figure 40 is a perspective view of the housing 180 of the tilt station 122 of Figures 37 and 38. The housing 180 includes two side walls 194, 196, two end walls 198, 200 and a bottom wall 202. The end walls 198, 200 each define two "U" shaped seats 204a, 204b and 206a, 206b, respectively, which provide rotational support of the axes 185 of the drums 182, 184 as seen in Figure 37. The arms 208a, 208b and 210a, 210b extends at about a 45 degree angle from the planes defined by the end walls 198, 200, and these project through and over the center line of the inclination rods 28 which extend through the hollow columns 186 of the drums 182, 184 serving in this manner to prevent drums 182, 184 from rising out of housing 180. Lower wall 202 of housing 180 defines two longitudinally aligned slotted openings 212, with a shorter rectangular opening 216 between the two slotted openings 212. The slotted openings 212 are for the front and rear tilt cables to pass through the housing 180 and through the corresponding openings (not shown) in the upper rail 12. The rectangular opening 216 provides a passageway for the cords elevators 20. To assemble the tilting mechanism shown in Figure 29, the first tilt stations 122 are assembled. ace. The tilt cables 16 are routed through the slotted openings 212 in the lower surface 202 of the housing 180. The ends of the tilt cables 16 are secured to their respective drums 182, 184 in their respective slotted openings 192. Routing and Coupling of these tilt cables 16 is done according to the explanation next, in order to obtain the desired inclination configuration. The drums 182, 184 are installed in their respective "U" shaped seats 204a, 204b and 206a, 206b, respectively. The tilt rods 28 are inserted through the hollow columns 186 of the tilt drums 182, 184, and the ends of these tilt rods 28 are inserted into the columns 156, of the driven gears 130, 128, respectively. The driven gears 130, 128, respectively, will have already been assembled on the indexing gear mechanism 124 as described at the beginning. A short tilt rod 28 'is used to connect the output of the rope tilt mechanism 26 to the hollow shaft 148 of the indexing gear 126. Note that the rope tilt mechanism 26 shown here is just one type of the many tilt mechanisms that can be used for this application. While a rope tilt 26 is shown, it is understood that the tilt rod 28 'can be rotated by other means such as a rod tilt or a motorized tilt. It is even possible to have the indexing gear mechanism 124 as an integral part of the tilting mechanism 26, such that the tilt rod 28 'is not necessary.

Double Separation Configuration Figures 41-43 describe the routing of the tilt cables 16 for a double separation blind configuration. As already discussed above, in these three figures, and in all the following similar figures, the routing of the cables 16 and the position of the tilt drums 182, 184 (particularly to describe the relative position of the lashing points of the ends of the inclination cables 16 to the inclination drums 182, 184) are shown relative to the corresponding position of the slats 14 of the blind 120. For clarity, an extreme perspective view of the indexing gear mechanism 124 , corresponding, is included as part of these views (with the housing 132 removed for clarity) to show the orientation of the indexing gear 126 and the driven gears 128, 130 corresponding to the orientation of the inclination drums 182, 184 and the slats 14. As explained at the beginning, the tilt cables are generically designated as the article 16, but they are identifies two by the following suffixes: "a" -is for the first group of tilt cables, those that support the upper (or upper) 14t slats in each pair "b" is for the second group of tilt cables, those that support the lower (or bottom) slats 14b in each pair "f" is for the front tilt cables, those on the side of the blind room " r "is for the rear tilt cables, those on the side of the wall (also referred to as the window side) of the blind -" x "is for a tilt drive cable that is typically secured to one of the cables inclination 16, front or rear With reference briefly to Figure 41, the inclination drums 182, 184 are in their neutral position (as a reminder, this neutral position refers to the position of the corresponding inclination drums 182, 184 to the position of the gears driven 128, 130 where these are aligned with the indexing gear 126 as shown in Figures 32 and 33, with the concave sections 160 of the driven gears 128, 130, just approximately to engage the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126) and with the slats open in a double-spaced configuration. The first inclination cable 16af on the side of the room is routed counterclockwise around and it is secured to the drum 182 on the side of the wall in the slotted opening 192af. The first inclination cable 16ar on the side of the wall is routed in a clockwise fashion over and is secured to the drum 184 on the side of the room in the slotted opening 192ar. The second inclination cable 16bf on the side of the room is routed counterclockwise on and is secured to the drum 184 on the side of the room in the slotted opening 192br (not shown in Figure 41, but visible in the Figure 42). Finally, the second inclination cable 16br on the side of the wall is routed counterclockwise over and is secured to the drum 182 on the side of the wall in the slotted opening 192br (not shown in Figure 41, but visible in Figure 43). In this routing and configuration of the tilt cables 16, the slats 14 are open slanted in a double-spaced configuration as shown in Figs. 41 and 29, when the drums and gears are in the neutral position. Referring now to Figure 42, as the indexing gear 126 is rotated counter-clockwise from the neutral position (when pulling on one of the two tilt strings 24 which causes the tilting mechanism 26 to rotate the tilt rod 28 'counterclockwise) the driven gear 130 on the side of the wall (and with it, its drum corresponding inclination 182, connected to the driven gear 130 on the side of the wall by the tilt rod 28) only starts to rotate clockwise before its concave section 160 abuts the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126, preventing any further rotation of the driven gear 130 on the side of the wall. This condition is shown in Figure 42 where the lashing point 192af for the tilt cable 16af on the side of the room, of the upper board 14t is shown having rotated only a few degrees in the clockwise direction creating the desired overlap between the adjacent pairs of slats 14 (as discussed at the beginning with respect to a previous mode 10). In this way, the first and second front and rear tilt cables 16af, 16br secured to the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall, remain essentially stationary. However, as the indexing gear 126 is rotated counter-clockwise from the neutral position, the toothed portion 162 of the driven gear 128 on the side of the room engages with the toothed portion 140 of the indexing gear 126, such that this driven gear 128 on the side of the room (and its inclination drum 184 on the side of the room, corresponding) are driven in favor of the hands of the The clock and continue to rotate in a clockwise direction for several rotations before its concave section 160 makes contact with the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126 to prevent further rotation. The first back tilt cable 16ar secured to the tilt drum 184 on the side of the room in the slotted opening 192ar, is wound onto the tilting drum 184 on the side of the room, pulling up on the side of the wall of the slats higher 14t. At the same time, the second front inclination cable 16bf is unwound from the inclination cable 184 on the side of the room, descending from the side of the room of the lower slats 14b. The result is the closed configuration sloped from the side of the room downwards, of the slats 14 as shown in Fig. 42. Fig. 43 illustrates the position of the indexing gear 126, the driven gears 128, 130 and the tilt drums 182, 184 for slats 14 of the shutter in the closed inclined configuration, with the side of the room facing upwards. In this case, the indexing gear 126 is rotated clockwise from the neutral position shown in Figure 41. This causes the driven gear 128 on the side of the room to begin to rotate counter to the hands of the clock. clockwise, but its concave portion 170 readily abuts the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126, securing the driven gear 128 on the side of the room (and its tilt drum 184 on the side of the corresponding room) of any additional rotation against clock hands. As a result, the first and second front and rear tilt cables 16ar, 16bf, which are secured to the tilt drum 184 on the side of the room, remain essentially stationary. However, the wall-mounted driven gear 130 and its corresponding tilt drum 182, on the side of the wall, rotate counter-clockwise by several rotations, raising the first front tilt cable 16af as it rolls up. on the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall, and lowering the second rear tilt cable 16br as it is unwound from the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall. The result is the closed inclination of the slats 14 in the configuration with the side of the room facing up, shown in figure 43.

Alternative Configuration Figures 44-46 debe an alternative routing of the tilt cables 16 on the same parallel drum mechanism debed above, with the In order to make possible the inclination of one portion of the closed shutter, while another portion remains open. With reference to Figure 44, the differences in physical equipment between this shutter and the double separation configuration shutter, in Figure 41, are as follows: Instead of having two groups of double separation stair tapes at each station inclination, this blind has only a simple ladder tape of standard spacing configuration, including the front and rear cables and the transverse cords 16f, 16r, 16t. This also has a 16x driver inclination cable secured to the rear tilt cable 16r in the knot or rope coupling clamp 32. The routing of these tilt cables 16 is as debed below. The rear inclination cable (on the side of the wall) 16r is wrapped clockwise around the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall and engages the inclination value 182 on the side of the wall in the slotted opening 192r (not visible in Figure 44 but noted in Figure 46). The front tilt cable (on the side of the room) 16f is wrapped counter-clockwise around the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall and engages the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall in the slotted opening 192f. The wire 16x actuator inclination is wrapped clockwise around the inclination drum 184 on the side of the room and is coupled to the inclination drum 184 on the side of the room in the slotted opening 192x. In Figure 44, the mechanism (the indexing gear 126, the driven drums 128, 130 and the tilt drums 182, 184) is in its neutral position, and the boards 14 are all slanted open. In Figure 45, the indexing gear 126 has been rotated counterclockwise via the inclinator 26 and the tilt rod 28 ', which rotates the driven gears 128, 130 (and their respective tilt drums 182, 182) in a counter-clockwise direction. The driven gear 130 on the side of the wall retains the rotation almost immediately as its concave section 160 engages the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126, while the driven gear 128 on the side of the room (and its corresponding tilt drum 184) continues to rotate through several rotations. This means that the front and rear tilt cables 16f, 16r are not all pulled in an upward direction or released from their drum 182 any substantial distance. However, the 16x drive cable, which is coupled to the tilt drum 184 to 192x on the side of the room, is wound onto the tilt drum 184 on the side of the room. This raises the driver cable 16x, and this also lifts the rear tilt cable 16r to the point 32 where the driver chord 16x is coupled to the rear tilt cable 16r, as shown in Figure 45. The end result is the inclined configuration of Figure 45, where the upper portion of the shutter remains open while the lower section of the shutter is tilted closed with the side of the room facing down. In Figure 46, the indexing gear 126 has been rotated clockwise from its neutral position (via the inclinator 26 and the tilt rod 28 ') which rotates the driven gears 128, 130 (and their drums corresponding inclination 184, 182) in a counter-clockwise direction. The driven gear 128 on the side of the room (and its corresponding tilt drum 184) on the side of the room starts to rotate counterclockwise and is immediately prevented from further rotation according to the concave portion 160 of the driven gear 128 on the side of the room it engages with the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126. The driving rope 16x, which is coupled to the tilting drum 184 on the side of the room thus remains essentially motionless.

The driven gear 130 on the side of the wall continues to rotate counter-clockwise, causing the driven drum 182 on the side of the wall to also rotate counter-clockwise. This causes the front tilt cable 16f to be wound on the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall while the rear tilt cable 16r is unwound from the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall. However, since the driver string 16x is coupled to the rear tilt cable 16r at the tie-down point 32, and since the driver rope 16x remains substantially motionless, the rear tilt cable 16r falls only for those tethers 14 which are above the tie point 32. Below the tie point 32, the driver rope 16x is clamped on the rear tilt wire 16r, preventing it from falling. In this way, the slats 14 above the tie-down point are inclined closed, with the side of the room facing upwards, while the rest of the slats 14 are tilted closed only partially, at approximately a 45-degree angle. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the position of the tie-down point 32 relative to the rear tilt cord 16r affects the point at which the "break" occurs between the slabs that are tilted closed, and those that remain open inclined. It will also be obvious that the connection of the actuator tilt cable to the front tilt cable 16f instead of the rear tilt cable, as shown here, could result in the closed tilt of the blind below the breaking point in the direction of the side of the room upwards, instead in the configuration with the side of the room facing down, shown in Figure 45.

Folding Blind Configuration Figures 47-49 describe an alternate routing of the tilt cables for a folded or pleated appearance blind configuration. With reference to Figure 47, there are no differences in physical equipment between this folded appearance configuration and the double separation configuration of Figure 41. The only differences are in the routing of the inclination cables 16. The front inclination cable 16af of the top slats 14t is wrapped clockwise around and secured to the tilt drum 184 on the side of the room at point 192af. The rear inclination cable 16ar of the upper slats 14t is wrapped counter-clockwise around and is secured to the tilt drum 182 from the side of the wall at point 192ar. The front inclination cable 16bf of the lower slats 14b is wrapped counterclockwise and is secured to the tilt drum 184 on the side of the room at the point 192br. Finally, the rear tilt cable 16br of the lower slats 14b is wrapped around the clock hands around and secured to the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall at the point 192br. As in the case of the double-separation shutter described in Figure 41, the refolded appearance configuration also begins with the slats 14 in a double-spaced configuration when the mechanism is in the neutral position as shown in Figure 47. With Refer now to Figure 48, as the tilt rod 48 'is rotated clockwise, it drives the indexing gear 126 clockwise, and the driven drums 128, 130 (and their corresponding ones). inclination drums 184, 182) are pushed to rotate counterclockwise. The driven gear 128 on the side of the room and its corresponding inclination drum 184 on the side of the room almost immediately are prevented from further rotation counter-clockwise according to the concave portion 160 of the driven gear 128 on the side of the room. the room is coupled to the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126. Therefore, the front tilt cables 16af, 16bf, which are secured to the drum 184 on the side of the room, remain essentially stationary, and the fronts of the slats 14t , 14b remain essentially stationary. The driven gear 130 on the side of the wall, and its corresponding tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall, continue to rotate counter-clockwise by several rotations. This winds the first rear tilt cable 16ar on the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall and unwinds the second tilt cable 16br, thereby causing the rear side of the upper slats to be raised and the rear side of the tethers to be raised. lower slats are lowered, thereby resulting in the folded appearance of Figure 48, with the top slats 14t sloping with the side of the room down, and the lower slats 14b sloping with the side of the room facing up. Figure 49 describes the folded-looking shutter of Figure 48 but tilted closed in the opposite direction. In this case, the inclination rod 28 'has been rotated counter-clockwise from the neutral position, by rotating the indexing 26 counter-clockwise and driving the driven gears 182, 184 in favor of the clock hands. Since the driven gear 130 on the side of the wall stops readily, because its concave section 160 engages the protrusion 146 of the indexing gear 126, only the driven gear 128 with the side of the room and its tilting drum 184 corresponding to the side of the room continue to rotate in favor of the clock hands. In this case, since the first and second rear tilt cables 16ar and 16br are coupled to the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall, and since the tilt drum 182 on the side of the wall does not rotate, then the rear edges (side of the wall) of the upper and lower slats 14t, 14b remain essentially stationary. At the same time, the front tilt cable 16af of the upper slats 14t is wrapped over the tilt drum 184 on the side of the room and the front tilt cable 16bf of the lower slats 14b is unwrapped from the slant drum 184 on the side of the room. the room, whereby the front edge of the upper slats 14t is raised and the front edge of the lower slats 14b is lowered, creating the folded appearance formed in Figure 49, with the upper slats in the position with the side of the slats. the room up, and the lower slats in the position with the side of the position facing down. While various modalities have been shown and described, it is understood that it is not practical to describe all possible variations and modifications that could be made within the scope of the present invention. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiments described above, without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property: 1. An inclining mechanism for tilting a cover for architectural openings, characterized in that it comprises: a tilt rod having a first axis of rotation; an actuator mounted for rotation in the first and second directions with the tilt rod; first and second drums rotationally driven by the actuator; first and second tilt cables, wherein the first tilt cable is connected to the first driven drum, and the second tilt cable is connected to the second driven drum, such that the first and second tilt cables are raised and lowered with rotation of their respective drums driven; the means for retaining the rotation of the first drum while the second drum is driven; and means for stopping the rotation of the second drum, while the first drum is driven.
2. An inclining mechanism for tilting a roof for architectural openings in accordance with the claim 1, characterized in that the actuator is a drum driver mounted for rotation about a first axis of rotation including first and second drive surfaces; wherein the first and second driven drums are mounted for rotation about the first axis; wherein the rotation of the tilt rod and the drum driver in a first direction causes the first drive surface of the drum drive to drive the first driven drum, and the rotation of the drum driver in the opposite direction causes the second drive surface of the drum driver drives the second driven drum; and further comprising a spring connected to the first and second driven drums and which deflects the first and second driven drums in contact with the first and second driving surfaces, respectively.
3. The tilting mechanism for tilting a roof for architectural openings according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first and second tilt cables is an actuator cable, and in that it further comprises a third tilt cable that is part of a belt of ladder, where the actuator cable is secured to the third inclination cable.
4. The incline mechanism to tilt a cover for architectural openings according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that it further comprises: a housing that supports the first and second known drums for rotation, the housing defines at least one limit stop of the housing, and at least one of the first and second driven drums define a drum limit stop cooperating with the limit stop of the housing to stop rotation of the respective driven drum in at least one direction, while allowing the other driven drums to continue rotating.
5. The tilting mechanism for tilting a cover for architectural openings according to any of claims 1-4, characterized in that the actuator is a drive gear, mounted for rotation about the first axis, and further comprising first and second gears driven mounted for rotation with the first and second drums driven, respectively, the first driven gear and the first driven drum mounted for rotation about a second axis, parallel to the first axis, and the second driven gear and the second driven drum, mounted for rotation about a third axis, parallel to the first axis.
6. The tilting mechanism for tilting a roof for architectural openings, characterized in that comprises: first and second drums mounted for rotation about the first and second axes separated, parallel, respectively; first and second tilt cables, the first tilt cable is connected to the first tilt drum and the second tilt cable connected to the second tilt drum, such that each of the tilt cables is raised and lowered with the rotation of its respective tilt drum.
The tilting mechanism according to claim 6, further characterized in that it comprises a drive gear connected operatively to the first and second tilt drums, and mounted for rotation about a third axis parallel to the first and second axes.
The tilting mechanism according to claim 7, further characterized in that it comprises a first driven gear mounted for rotation with the first tilt drum, and a second driven gear mounted for rotation with the second tilt drum, wherein the first and second driven gears are mounted to engage with and be driven by the drive gear, and further comprises a stop which stops the rotation of one of the gears driven, while allowing the drive gear to continue driving the other driven gears.
9. The tilting mechanism for tilting a cover for architectural openings according to claim 7, further characterized in that it comprises: a first gear driven and mounted for rotation with the first tilt drum; a second gear driven and mounted for rotation with the second tilt drum; the first and second driven gears each define a geared portion and a substantially cylindrical smooth portion, wherein the smooth portion includes a concave section; the driven gear includes first and second substantially cylindrical portions, the first portion defines a serrated portion and a smooth portion, the second portion defines a raised protrusion portion; and wherein, in some angled positions, the toothed portion of the drive gear meshes with the engaged portions of the first driven gear, while the raised protrusion portion of the drive gear engages the concave section of the second driven gear to drive the first gear driven, while stopping the second driven gear, and in some other angular positions, the toothed portion of the drive gear meshes with the engaged portions of the second driven gear, while the raised protrusion portion of the drive gear engages the concave section of the first driven gear, to thus drive the second driven gear while the first driven gear is stopped.
10. The tilting mechanism for tilting a roof for architectural openings according to any of claims 7-9, and further characterized in that it comprises: third and fourth tilt drums axially aligned with the first and second tilt drums, respectively; and first and second tilt rods, wherein the first tilt rod is connected to the first and third tilt drums, and the second tilt rod is connected to the second and fourth tilt drums.
11. A blind to selectively cover an architectural opening, characterized in that it comprises: a top rail; a plurality of slats suspended from the upper rail, including a plurality of pairs of adjacent upper and lower slats; the first and second stair tapes extending downwardly from the top rail, each of the first and second stair tapes includes a front tilt chord, a rear tilt chord, and a plurality of transverse chords that are they extend between their respective front and rear tilt cords, where the transverse cords of the first ladder belt support the upper slats of each pair of adjacent upper and lower slats, and the transverse cords of the second ladder belt support the lower slats of each pair of the adjacent upper and lower slats, each of the tilt cords has a first end; a tilt rod in drive coupling with the first ends of the front and rear tilt cords of the first and second ladder belts, wherein the rotation of the tilt rod raises and lowers the front and rear tilt cords of the first and second staircases to move the slats from a first position in which the adjacent upper and lower slats of each pair are stacked against each other in an open double-split position, to a second position in which the pairs of Upper and lower slats are in a closed inclined position.
12. The blind to selectively cover an architectural opening according to claim 11, characterized in that the second position comprises the upper and lower paired slats inclined in a first selected direction of the group from the side of the upward position and the side of the downwardly facing room. .
13. The blind to selectively cover an architectural opening in accordance with the claim 11, characterized in that the second position comprises the top slats inclined in a first selected direction of the group from the side of the room upwards and the side of the room downwards, and the lower slats inclined in a second direction opposite to the first direction, to form a folded appearance.
14. The blind to selectively cover an architectural opening in accordance with the claim 12, characterized in that the rotation of the inclination rod for raising and lowering the inclination cords, also moves the slats towards a third position in which the upper and lower paired slats are slanted closed in a second direction which is opposite to the first address.
15. The blind to selectively cover an architectural opening according to any of claims 11-14, characterized in that the first ends of the front and top tilt cords of the first and second stair tapes, are secured to rotate the drums driven by the tilt rod, and are wound and unwound from their respective rotating drums as the drums rotate.
16. The blind to selectively cover an architectural opening in accordance with the claim 15, characterized in that there are at least two revolving drums operated by the tilt rod, with the front tilt rope of the first ladder tape being secured to a first of the rotating drums, and the rear tilt rope of the first tape of ladder that is secured to a second of the rotating drums.
17. The blind to selectively cover an architectural opening in accordance with the claim 16, characterized in that the front inclination cord of the second ladder belt is secured to one of the first and second rotating drums, and the rear inclination cord of the second ladder belt is secured to the other of the first and second rotating drums.
18. The shutter to selectively cover an architectural opening according to any of claims 15-17, characterized in that the rotary drums include first and second rotary drums, and because it further comprises means for stopping the first rotating drum while driving the second rotating drum and means for stopping the second rotating drum while driving the first rotating drum.
A method for selectively tilting the slats of a shutter, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: suspending a plurality of slats from an upper rail by means of first and second stair tapes, the slats include a plurality of pairs of adjacent upper slats and lower, each of the ladder belts includes a front tilt cord, a rear tilt cord, and a plurality of transverse cords extending between the respective front and rear tilt cords, wherein the transverse cords of the first ladder tape supports the upper slats and the transverse ropes of the second ladder tape support the lower slats of the adjacent upper and lower slat pairs, and wherein each of the sloping chords has a first end; securing the first ends of the front and rear inclination cords of the first and second ladder belts to a plurality of rotating drums; Y the rotation of a tilt rod to drive the rotating drums, to move the slats from a first position in which the upper and lower adjacent slats in each para are stacked against each other in an open double-spaced position, up to a second position in which the slats are tilted closed.
20. The method for selectively tilting the slats of a shutter in accordance with claim 19, characterized in that the second position includes the upper and lower slats of each pair inclined in a first selected direction of the group from the side of the room upwards and the side of the room downwards.
21. The method for selectively tilting the slats of a shutter according to claim 19 or 20, and further characterized in that it comprises the step of rotating the tilt rod to drive the drums, to move the slats to a third position in the which the upper and lower slats of each pair are slanted closed in a second direction opposite to the first direction.
22. The method for selectively tilting the slats of a shutter according to any of claims 19-21, characterized in that the second position includes the top slats of each pair inclined in a first selected direction of the group from the side of the room upward and the side of the room downward and the lower slats of each pair slanted in a second direction opposite the first direction to form a replicated appearance.