A blind having a blind operating mechanism and a blind control element and having an enclosure for the blind control element, with the element completely enclosed, a connector supporting the enclosure on the blind, and depending downwardly, and an opening disposed by the enclosure to permit access to the blind control element, and a closure to permit access to the opening in one position and bar access to the opening in a second position.

An end bracket for a roller blind, the end bracket including a bracket member adapted for mounting to a surface, the bracket member having an interior face and a roller tube mounting portion for supporting an end of a roller tube of the roller blind. The end bracket also including one or more flexibly resilient retaining members mounted to the bracket member, the one or more retaining members bearing against, and applying a biasing force to, the end of the roller tube when the end is supported by the bracket member, thereby hindering relative movement between the end of the roller tube and the bracket member when the end is supported by the bracket member. This helps to prevent an unintentional disengagement of the end of the roller tube from the bracket member.

The roller shade system provides increased support, additional adjustments and/or increased safety. The slip plate allows the brake to slip forward and minimize damage to the clutch spring when a user pulls too hard on the hembar. The center drive mechanism extends through a bracket to allow the drive shaft to distribute power in both directions and drive two shade tube simultaneously. The tube adapter absorbs force from the spinning shade tube to minimize damage to the other components and the bead chain. An adjustment arm is adjusted to help level the shade band. The shade bands may be removed without disturbing the other shade bands in the system. A height of a hembar may be adjusted by rotating a rod within the hembar.

A manually-operated window treatment system may include a roller tube, a covering material, and a semi-rigid chain assembly. The covering material may be attached to the roller tube and may be operable between a raised position and a lowered position via rotation of the roller tube. The semi-rigid chain assembly may be configured to be operated by a user to rotate the roller tube. The semi-rigid chain assembly may be configured to limit the size of a loop that can be formed by the semi-rigid chain assembly. The semi-rigid chain assembly may be operatively coupled to a drive pulley of the window treatment system. The semi-rigid chain assembly may include flexible outer housing and a stiffening rod. The flexible housing may surround and operate along the stiffening rod. The hollow chain may include multiple links that are connected together to form a continuous loop.

Disclosed is a window blind chain reel device comprising: a housing, a rotating wheel and a driving shaft, wherein the rotating wheel has a circumferential guide groove with a chain winding space being formed between the circumferential guide groove and the housing, and the rotating wheel is formed with a plurality of engaging concaves corresponding to beads of the window blind chain, wherein the window blind chain is arranged to extend into the housing, extend around the rotating wheel along the chain winding space and then extend outward, and thus when the rotating wheel is rotated by the driving shaft, the chain body of the window blind chain is driven, by the engagement between the beads of the window blind chain and the engaging concaves, to move in a manner that one end thereof is retracted inward and the other end thereof is extended outward.

A support connector system comprising a shaft having a first portion configured to be received into a first shade band; and the shaft having a second portion configured to be received into a second shade band, wherein the first portion is configured to translate out of the first shade band and translate into the second shade band, and wherein the first portion is configured to be received into the second portion.

A blind having a blind operating mechanism and a blind control element and having an enclosure for the blind control element, with the element completely enclosed, a connector supporting the enclosure on the blind, and depending downwardly, and a drive device at the lower end of the enclosure for operating the element.

A motor drive system for operating a mechanism for raising and lowering window coverings includes a motor operating under electrical power and an electrically powered drive system. The motor drive system advances a continuous cord loop in response to positional commands from a controller. An input-output device includes a capacitive touch strip that receives user inputs along an input axis, and an LEDs strip aligned with the input axis. A group mode module communicates the positional commands to other motor drive systems within an identified group to operate respective other mechanisms of the other motor drive systems. A set control module enables user calibration of a top position and a bottom position of travel of the window covering. The input-output device extends vertically on the exterior of a housing for the motor drive system, and the housing supports input buttons of the group mode module and the set control module.

A retaining device for an operating member of a window shade includes a casing having an opening, a sliding part having a first and a second inner cavity, and a spring respectively connected with the sliding part and the casing. The sliding part is assembled with the casing, and is movable between a first and a second position, wherein the sliding part in the first position occludes the opening and has the first inner cavity exposed for insertion of an operating member of a window shade, and the sliding part in the second position has the first inner cavity retracted toward an interior of the casing while the second inner cavity overlaps with the opening for facilitating travel of an operating member of a window shade through the opening and the second inner cavity. The spring is operable to urge the sliding part to move toward the first position.

Apparatus and methods for controlling architectural opening coverings are described herein. An example apparatus includes a roller tube, a motor including a motor drive shaft and a motor casing, the motor casing to rotate with the roller tube, and a manual control including a manual control drive shaft coupled to the motor drive shaft, the motor to apply torque to the roller tube through rotation of the motor casing.