WO2006098555A1

WO2006098555A1 - Vertical curtain blind

Info

Publication number: WO2006098555A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/000660
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tae Woong Byeon
Original assignee: Tae Woong Byeon
Priority date: 2005-03-14
Filing date: 2006-02-24
Publication date: 2006-09-21

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vertical curtain blind for light shielding, which includes integrally formed light tranmitting part and light blocking parts. The vertical curtain blind comprises a plurality of lbind slats folded or unfloded, or moving forward and backward by a power unit provided on one side of a rail, and chracterized in that each of the blind slats comprises a net-shaped light transmitting part (7a) and light blocking parts (17b) integrally provided on both sides of the light transmitting part (17a), wherein one of the light blocking parts comes in contact with another light blocking part of an adjacent blind slat (17) and both of the light blocking parts (17b) contacting each other are clamped by a upper clip (20), and wherein a weight is provided at a lower of the light blocking part to hang down the blind slat.

Description

VERTICAL CURTAIN BLIND

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a vertical curtain blind mounted inside windows of a building for light shielding, and more particularly to a vertical blind and curtain including integrally-formed light transmitting parts and light blocking parts. Background Art

[2] In general, a blind is mounted inside windows of a building to be operated manually or automatically by an automation system using a motor. The blind prevents the sunlight from being introduced into a room and prevents a room from being exposed to the outside.

[3] Conventionally, an electromotive vertical blind was folded or unfolded by the operation of a folding/spreading unit mounted in a rail, in response to the operation of a power unit mounted on one side of the rail. The electromotive vertical blind changed its orientation within the range of 180°by a direction conversion unit.

[4] An upper supporting piece mounted at an upper end of each blind slat was held by a traveler, which was driven by the folding/spreading unit and the direction conversion unit. A load piece was respectively inserted into a pocket formed at a lower end of the slat. The load pieces of the adjacent slats were connected to each other by straps.

[5] The electromotive vertical blind described as above was used for advertisement or beautification, by printing some advertisement materials or pictures on either or both surfaces of the blind slats. Further, a film printed with the advertisement or picture could be cut by a predetermined width and attached to the slats.

[6] Such conventional vertical blinds had, however, disadvantages that privacy might not be secured since the slats were hung vertically and the inside of a room might be exposed to the outside. People could see the inside of the room through gaps between the slats.

[7] Further, when the film printed with an advertisement phrase or a picture forming one piece of work as a whole was cut and pieces of the film were attached to the slats, and when the slats were rotated forward or backward by 180°, the advertisement phrase or the picture of the slats could not be seen correctly. The blind might render viewers confused visually and mar the view of the room.

[8] In order to solve the above disadvantages of the prior art, the applicant of the invention developed a vertical blind as disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 222,937 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

[9] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the conventional vertical blind in a disassembled state, and Fig. 2 is a plane view of the conventional vertical blind of Fig. 1 in an assembled state.

[10] Referring to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, each of slats 2 is provided with advertisements 5 on both side surfaces, and is integrally formed at one end with a coupling piece 3 with an insertion groove 4 which is opened outward. The slats 2 are mounted on a traveler of a rail at upper ends thereof by using upper clips 8.

[11] Shield films 6 are inserted into the respective coupling pieces 3 of the slats 2 as in

Fig. Ib, and coupling rods 7 are respectively fitted into the coupling pieces 3. Then, even though a plurality of the slats 2 are rotated backward, and the advertisement facing the inside of the room is seen inconsistently, as the shield films 6 serve to cover the inconsistent advertisement, the blind 1 does not mar the view of the room.

[12] In the vertical blind 1 as described above, however, the shield films 6 should be respectively inserted into the coupling pieces 3 of the slats 2 which are long in the vertical direction, and the coupling rods 7 should be respectively fitted into the coupling pieces 3. Therefore, the blind 1 occupied working space a lot owing to the assembly work of the shield films 6 and the coupling rods 7, so that the workability decreased while the installation expense increased.

[13] Further, it was difficult to keep the width of the shield films 6 constant. Thus, when the width of the shield films 6 was not constant, the slats 2 became distorted or the shield films 6 became wrinkled.

[14] Furthermore, even if the vertical blind 1 were suitably assembled, the entire volume of the vertical blind 1 was too huge to carry it simply and easily.

[15] Therefore, the applicant of the present invention developed a new vertical blind, in which the shield films could be fixed without the coupling pieces and the coupling rods, as disclosed in Korean Utility Model Reg. No. 261,897.

[16] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another prior art vertical blind in a disassembled state, and Fig. 4 is a front view of the Fig. 3.

[17] Referring to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, a vertical curtain blind 10 comprises curtain blinds

17, upper clips 20 and lower clips 30, wherein each of the curtain blinds 17 includes a curtain strap 15 and slats 11.

[18] As for the curtain strap 15, general material for curtains such as nets, laces, fabrics, and synthetic resin sheets as well as meshes could be used.

[19] The curtain strap 15 has a predetermined width and length. The width of the curtain strap 15 is set so that the slats 11 can freely flip forward or backward without any interference, and the length is set properly depending on a length of a window, to which the vertical curtain blind 10 is to be installed.

[20] The slats 11 have width equal to that of conventional blind slats, and have the same length as the curtain straps 15. [21] When the slats 11 are adhered to both side ends of the curtain strap 15 to form the curtain blind 17, adhesives (omitted in the drawings) may be used.

[22] When the curtain blinds 17 are installed in parallel, the slats 11 respectively attached on the neighboring curtain straps 15 are contacted to lean on each other, and upper and lower ends of the slats 11 are respectively connected by the upper clips 20 and the lower clips 30.

[23] Each of the upper clips 20 has a holding piece 23 at its upper end and a pair of grasping pieces 21, 22 opposing each other to open towards its lower end. The grasping pieces 21, 22 are provided with one or more pairs of coupling holes 24 and protrusions 25 facing each other. The coupling protrusions 25 are formed on an inner surface of one of the grasping pieces 22.

[24] Each of the lower clips 30 has a similar structure to the upper clip 20. Each of the lower clips 30 has a pair of grasping pieces 31, 32 to open towards its upper end. The grasping pieces 31, 32 are provided with one or more pairs of coupling holes 33 and protrusions 34, which face each other at corresponding positions.

[25] Further, coupling holes 13, 14 are respectively provided at upper ends and lower ends of the slats 11, so that the coupling protrusions 25, 34 of the upper clips 20 and the lower clips 30 can be inserted thereinto.

[26] The curtain blinds 17, the upper clips 20 and the lower clips 30 as described above are manufactured separately and delivered to an installation site individually, so that they are assembled together at the installation site.

[27] The curtain blinds 17, the upper clips 20 and the lower clips 30 may be assembled into the vertical curtain blind 10, as specifically shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, but the assembling manner can be changed according to the environment of installation sites.

[28] The curtain blinds 17 are installed in parallel in such a manner that the neighboring curtain straps 15 are partially overlapped, and the slats 11 respectively attached on the curtain straps 15 are connected to each other by the upper clips 20 and the lower clips 30.

[29] Specifically, the slats 11 leaning on each other are contacted at the upper parts, and the upper parts are inserted between the grasping pieces 21, 22 of the upper clips 20. Then, the coupling protrusions 25 of the grasping pieces 22 are inserted into the coupling holes 13 formed at the upper parts of the slats 11. Then, the protrusions 25 are inserted into the coupling holes 24 of the grasping pieces 21, so that the upper parts of the slats 11 are fixed together.

[30] The lower parts of the slats 11 leaning on each other are then inserted between the grasping pieces 31, 32 of the lower clips 30. The coupling protrusions 34 of the grasping pieces 32 are inserted into the coupling holes 14 formed at the lower parts of the slats 11. The protrusions 34 are further inserted into the coupling holes 33 of the grasping pieces 31, so that the lower parts of the slats 11 can be fixed together.

[31] The installation of the vertical curtain blind formed by coupling the curtain blinds

17 in parallel as described above is completed by connecting the holding pieces 23 of the upper clips 20 to the traveler (not shown) mounted on the rail.

[32] Therefore, the slats 11 were folded or unfolded together with the curtain straps 15 by the operation of the power unit to serve as a usual curtain. Further, advertisement phrases or pictures printed on advertisement surfaces 12 could be displayed by flipping the slats 11 forward or backward by 180°.

[33] The prior art vertical curtain blind with the above structure had advantages that the curtain blind could be easily carried separately from the upper clips and the lower clips, since at the installation site, the curtain straps were partially overlapped and then connected together by coupling the slats using the upper clips and the lower clips. However, the prior art vertical curtain still had disadvantages as described below. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[34] Firstly, since the curtain blinds were composed of the curtain straps and the slats adhered to the straps, the process for fixing the slats on the curtain straps by adhesives should necessarily be carried out, which caused the decrease of productivity. Further, the curtain straps and the slats were apt to be detached from each other due to repeated use for a long time.

[35] Secondly, since the curtain straps were relatively thin, it was difficult to carry out precise rounding of the upper parts of the curtain straps between the slats, and the curtain straps were sagged down by their tare. Therefore, the vertical curtain blind might look loose in case of natural lighting.

[36] Thirdly, when an assembling clearance in the coupling holes took place in the process of overlapping and connecting the slats by using the lower clips, the slats could be distorted and the curtain straps could be wrinkled. Technical Solution

[37] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art by providing a vertical curtain blind, which includes blind slats having light blocking parts on both sides and a light transmitting part between the light blocking parts, so as to transmit and block light and obtain advertising effect without using separate slats and curtain straps.

[38] Another object of the present invention is to provide a vertical curtain blind, in which adjacent blind slats do not get entangled even under wind.

[39] A further object of the present invention is to provide a vertical curtain blind, in which a gap between the curtain blind and a rail is completely shaded so that the gap cannot be exposed to the outside.

[40] In order to achieve the above objects, a vertical curtain blind of the present invention comprises a plurality of blind slats and is characterized in that each of the blind slats comprises a net-shaped light transmitting part and light blocking parts integrally provided on both sides of the light transmitting part, wherein one of the light blocking parts comes in contact with another light blocking part of an adjacent blind slat and both of the light blocking parts in contact each other are clamped by a upper clip, and wherein a weight is provided at a lower end of the light blocking part to hang down the blind slat.

[41] In the vertical curtain blind of the present invention, a clip fixed on a upper end of the blind slat is connected to each traveler, so that the vertical curtain blind is folded and unfloded, or moves forward and backward by the operation of a power unit provided on one side of a rail.

Advantageous Effects

[42] The vertical curtain blind of the present invention has advantages over the conventional curtain blind as follows:

[43] Firstly, in the vertical curtain blind of the present invention, since the light blocking parts with high density and the light transmitting part with low density are integrally woven, adhesion process is not required and the productivity can be remarkably increased. Also, there is no possibility that the curtain blind is separated even for a long time use.

[44] Secondly, since cores are provided in upper parts of the blind slats and overlapping parts are formed to receive the cores therein in the curtain blind slats, the light transmitting parts in the net shape are prevented from being sagged down by their own tare, thereby improving the appearance and atmosphere of a room.

[45] Thirdly, unlike the prior art blind wherein the lower parts of the blind slats were coupled by lower clips, since weights are provided at lower ends of the light blocking parts in the present invention, the lower parts of the blind slats hang down naturally, and the slats are not distorted during the process of assembly, and also the light transmitting parts in the net shape are not wrinkled.

[46] Fourthly, since plastic magnets may be used in place of the weights in the present invention and since they have magnetic force on one side only and they are provided on opposing contact surfaces of the light blocking parts of the adjacent blind slats to have opposite polarity with each other, the blind slats are not entangled even under the wind.

[47] Fifthly, since the blind slats positioned on the outmost sides of the curtain blind are provided with further light blocking parts on their inner sides, no transmission of light through the entire blind slats can be secured, and privacy can be protected. [48] Sixthly, it becomes possible to completely block the light between the rail and the upper parts of the blind slats by shielding members.

Brief Description of the Drawings [49] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the conventional vertical blind in a disassembled state; [50] Fig. 2 is a plane view of the conventional vertical blind of Fig. 1 in an assembled state; [51] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another prior art vertical blind in a disassembled state;

[52] Fig. 4 is a front view of the Fig. 3;

[53] Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a vertical curtain blind according to an embodiment of the present invention in a disassembled state; [54] Fig. 6 is a front view of Fig. 5;

[55] Fig. 7 is a front view showing a curtain blind slat used in an embodiment of the present invention;

[56] Fig. 8 shows a part of a light blocking part provided with a pocket at its lower end;

[57] Fig. 9 shows a plastic magnet used in place of a weight in the light blocking part;

[58] Fig. 10 is a front view of Fig. 9;

[59] Fig. 11 is a sectional view cut through the line A-A of Fig. 10;

[60] Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a upper part of the blind slat;

[61] Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the blind slat positioned at each of the outmost ends of the curtain blind of the present invention;

[62] Fig. 14 shows a state where a shielding member is fixed on a rail; and

[63] Figs. 15 to 19 show the shielding member according to further embodiments of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention [64] Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings Fig. 5 to Fig. 19. [65] Referring to Fig. 5 to Fig. 7, a vertical curtain blind of the present invention comprises a plurality of blind slats 17, and upper clips 20 fixed on upper ends of the blind slats 17 are connected to travelers (not shown), so that the vertical curtain blind is folded and unfloded or moves forward and backward by the operation of a power unit

(not shown) provided on one side of a rail. Each of the blind slats 17 is in the form of a sheet and includes a light transmitting part 17a in a net shape and light blocking parts

17b integrally woven on both sides of the light transmitting part 17a. [66] As shown in Fig. 7, the light blocking parts 17b of the blind slat 17 are woven densely for preventing the light transmission, and the light transmitting part 17a positioned between the light blocking parts 17b is woven loosely in the shape of net for smooth light transmitting.

[67] Therefore, the light blocking parts 17b serve as conventional blind slats, and the light transmitting part 17a serves as a curtain strap. Unlike the conventional curtain blind, since the blind slat 17 of the present invention is woven, it can be wound on a roll-shaped bobbin by a predetermined length, e.g., about 100-15Om, so that it is very convenient to carry or deliver the curtain blind of the present invention to an installation site.

[68] The light blocking part 17b on one side of the blind slat 17 is contacted with another light blocking part 17b of the adjacent blind slat 17. The contacting light blocking parts 17b are clipped by the upper clip 20 as shown in Fig. 6, and then connected to the traveler.

[69] As shown in Fig. 12, a core 19 is fixed by adhering on the upper part of the blind slat 17, and an overlapping part 26 is formed by folding the upper end part of the blind slat 17, so that the core 19 can be enclosed in the blind slat 17. Thus, the core 19 is not exposed to the outside.

[70] Due to the core 19, the light blocking parts 17b are positioned as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, and the upper parts of the light transmitting parts 17a are not sagged by its own tare, but are kept in a smoothly rounded shape.

[71] Further, a weight 27 is provided at a lower end of the light blocking part 17b of the blind slat 17, so that the blind slat 17 is hung down naturally.

[72] The weight 27 may be received in a space part 28 made by forming a pocket 29 at the lower end of the light blocking part 17b as shown in Fig. 8. The space part 28 may be formed by folding the light blocking part 17b inwardly and adhering the overlapped light blocking part 17b by a laser beam radiation, bonding, or sewing. In this case, when the weight 27 is received in the space part 28, the overlapped light blocking part 17b may be cut off.

[73] The weight 27 as described above may be replaced by a plastic magnet 27a having magnetic force (+ or - polarity) on only one side, as shown in Figs. 9 to 11. In this case, the plastic magnet 27a provided in one blind slat 17 should have opposite polarity to the one provided in another adjacent blind slat 17. The plastic magnets 27a positioned on the outmost sides of the vertical curtain blind should have polarity directed inward of the light blocking parts 17b.

[74] That is, except for the blind slats 17 provided on both of the outmost sides, if the plastic magnet 27a positioned on one side of the blind slat 17 has the positive(+) polarity, the plastic magnet 27a fixed on the adjacent blind slat 17 should have the negative(-) polarity. [75] Therefore, since only the neighboring plastic magnets 27a attract each other, and there is no magnetic force acting on the other side of each of the plastic magnets 27a, even though the blind slats 17 which are not adjacent are contacted, they do not attract each other.

[76] Further, as described above, since the plastic magnets 27a, which have been fixed on the light blocking parts 17b of the blind slats 17 located on the outmost sides of the vertical curtain blind, have polarity directed inward of the light blocking parts 17b, even though support rods (not shown) to support the blind slats 17 come in contact with the plastic magnets, they do not attract each other, with no magnetic force acting on them.

[77] The plastic magnet 27a may be received in a separate space part, but as shown in

Figs. 9 to 11, it is preferable that the plastic magnet 27a is placed in a synthetic resin cap 35 having a space part 35a.

[78] A flange 35b may be provided around the cap 35 and the cap 35 may be fixed on the light blocking part 17b by ultrasound welding. If sewing is used to provide the plastic magnet 27a in the light blocking part 17b according to a conventional method of fixing magnets, a needle of a high price might be fractured through carelessness. However, by the above structure of the present invention, such fracture of needles can be prevented.

[79] Meanwhile, the blind slats 17 positioned on the outmost sides of the curtain blind are provided with light blocking parts 17b' on their inner sides to be overlapped with the light blocking parts 17b, as shown in Fig. 13.

[80] This is to obtain no transmission of light through the entire blind slats when the blind slats 17 are unfolded and overlapped.

[81] Fig. 14 shows a shielding member 37 fixed on a rail 36, and Figs. 15 to 19 show further embodiments of the shielding member 37.

[82] The shielding member 37 is fixed along the rail 36 to block the light transmission between the rail 36 and the upper parts of the blind slats 17.

[83] The shielding member 37 may take any one of the structures shown in Fig. 14 to

Fig. 19 and any other shapes, as long as the light is blocked between the rail 36 and the upper parts of the blind slats 17. Mode for the Invention

[84] Now, the operation of the vertical curtain blind of the present invention will be described in detail.

[85] The blind slats 17 which have been wound on a bobbin are first cut by a predetermined length in view of the height of a window. Then, the core 19 is adhered to be fixed inside the upper part of the blind slat 17, and the overlapping part 26 is formed.

[86] When the core 19 is fixed in the blind slat 17, a separate pocket 29 may be formed at the lower end of the light blocking part 17b, or a space part 28 may be formed to receive the weight 27 therein by overlapping the light blocking part 17b.

[87] Further, as shown in Fig. 9, the plastic magnet 27a may be placed in the space part

35a of the cap 35 and fixed at the lower end of the light blocking part 17b by ultrasound welding, in which case the plastic magnets 27a are not fixed on the contact side surfaces of the blind slats 17, but on opposing sides of the contact surfaces.

[88] Therefore, the contact sides of the blind slats 17 do not burst open with each other.

Since the magnetic force acts on only one side of the magnet 27a, if the plastic magnet 27a on one side should have + polarity, the adjacent plastic magnet should have - polarity, so that a pair of adjacent blind slats 17 do not burst open, but contact with each other.

[89] In this case, although one blind slat 17 has two light blocking parts 17b, on which the plastic magnets 27 a are respectively fixed, since the magnet force does not act on the opposing sides of the plastic magnets 27a, the light blocking parts 17b of the same blind slat 17 do not attract each other.

[90] That is, the contact side surfaces of the blind slats 17 attract each other due to the plastic magnets 27a having opposite polarity, while the plastic magnets 27a fixed on the opposing light blocking parts 17b do not attract each other.

[91] When the weights 27 are received in the light blocking parts 17b or the plastic magnets 27a are fixed on the light blocking parts 17b, the upper parts of the adjacent light blocking parts 17b are contacted with each other and punched to form the coupling holes 13.

[92] When the coupling holes 13 are formed by punching in the overlapping parts of the light blocking parts 17b, the upper clips 20 are fitted into the coupling holes 13 to connect the overlapping light blocking parts 17b and also to connect the blind slats 17 to the traveler.

[93] Then, in order to shield the light between the rail 36 and the blind slats 17, one end of the shielding member 37 is fixed on the rail 36 by using a separate fixing member (not shown) such as screws. Therefore, the gap between the rail 36 and the blind slats 17 is not exposed to the outside.

Claims

[1] A vertical curtain blind comprising a plurality of blind slats which are folded or unfloded, or move forward and backward by a power unit provided on one side of a rail, and characterized in that each of the blind slats comprises a net-shaped light transmitting part and light blocking parts integrally provided on both sides of the light transmitting part, wherein one of the light blocking parts comes in contact with another light blocking part of an adjacent blind slat and both of the light blocking parts contacting each other are clamped by a upper clip in upper parts thereof, and wherein a weight or plastic magnet is provided at a lower end of the light blocking part.

[2] The vertical curtain blind as claimed in claim 1, wherein a core is provided in a upper part of the blind slat and an overlapping part is formed so that the core is positioned in the curtain blind slat.

[3] The vertical curtain blind as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weight is received in a space part made by forming a pocket at the lower end of the light blocking part.

[4] The vertical curtain blind as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weight is received in a space part formed by folding the light blocking part inward and adhering or sewing the folded part of the light blocking part.

[5] The vertical curtain blind as claimed in claim 1, 3 or 4, wherein the plastic magnet has magnetic force on only one side, and the plastic magnet fixed on one blind slat has opposite polarity to the one fixed on the adjacent blind slat, and the plastic magnets positioned on outmost sides of the vertical curtain blind have polarity directed inward in the light blocking parts.

[6] The vertical curtain blind as claimed in claim 5, wherein the plastic magnet is fixed in a synthetic resin cap having a space part.

[7] The vertical curtain blind as claimed in claim 6, wherein a flange is provided around the cap and the cap is fixed on the light blocking part by ultrasound welding.

[8] The vertical curtain blind as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shielding member is fixed along the rail to block light transmission between the rail and the upper parts of the blind slats.

[9] The vertical curtain blind as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blind slats positioned on the outmost sides of the curtain blind are provided with further light blocking parts on their inner sides to be overlapped with the light blocking parts originally provided.