WINDING APPARATUS FOR ROLLER BLINDS

Abstract

A winding apparatus for roller blinds (1) includes a winding roll (3) which supports a hanging (2) such that it is windable on and unwindable from the winding roll (3) by an actuator (9). The actuator (9) includes two steps of actuation. In a first step, actuation of the actuator (9) causes winding up and unwinding of the hanging (2). In a second step, actuation of the actuator (9) causes a gap existing between the hanging and the mounting location of the winding apparatus (1) to be decreased and increased, respectively.

Claims

1. A winding apparatus for roller blinds, comprising: a left winding roll bracket; a right winding roll bracket; a winding roll, the winding roll supporting a hanging such that it is windable on and unwindable from the winding roll, the winding roll being arranged between the left winding roll bracket and the right winding roll bracket and being connected to the left winding roll bracket and the right winding roll bracket to be commonly rotated with the left winding roll bracket and the right winding roll; an actuator; a drive element, the drive element being connected to one of the winding roll brackets to be commonly rotated with the left winding roll bracket and the right winding roll, the drive element being designed and arranged to be driven by the actuator such that the winding roll is rotated and the hanging is wound up on and unwound from the winding roll; a plurality of intermediate elements; and a plurality of moving units, the moving units being arranged between the left winding roll bracket and the right winding roll bracket and being connected to the intermediate elements, the moving units being designed and arranged to support the winding roll, and the moving units being designed and arranged to move the winding roll, the left winding roll bracket, the right winding roll bracket and the hanging between a rotational position and a holding position due to an actuation of the actuator.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the actuator is designed as a two-step-actuator including a first step position in which actuation of the actuator causes winding up and unwinding of the hanging, the first step position being associated with the rotational position, and a second step position in which actuation of the actuator causes the moving units to be moved, the second step position being associated with the holding position.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the apparatus is designed and arranged to be mounted at a mounting location, wherein in the first step position, there is a gap between the hanging and the mounting location, in the second step position, actuation of the actuator in a first sense of direction causes the gap between the hanging and the mounting location to be decreased and actuation of the actuator in an opposite second sense of direction causes the gap between the hanging and the mounting location to be increased.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the mounting location is selected from the group consisting of a door, a window, a door frame, a window frame and a wall.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the moving units are designed and arranged to move the winding roll, the left winding roll bracket, the right winding roll bracket and the hanging between the rotational position and the holding position when the hanging is in an unwound position.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the actuator is designed as a ball chain and the drive element is designed as a ball wheel.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the winding roll brackets are rotatably supported in the moving units.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of wall brackets, the moving units being arranged between the winding roll brackets and the wall brackets.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the moving units are interconnected by a torque transmission element in a rotatingly fixed manner, the torque transmission element being designed as a rod or as a tube extending through the winding roll and the winding roll brackets being designed as hollow pins.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the moving units move the winding roll into the respective position by rolling, sliding, swinging or rocking.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the moving units include transmission elements which a) at one of their ends include a pin connecting the moving units to the torque transmission element in a rotatingly fixed manner, b) in their middle portion include supports for the winding roll brackets, the winding roll brackets being rotatably supported on the supports, and c) at their other end include elements for realizing the movement of the winding roll including the winding roll brackets and the hanging from the rotational position into the holding position, the elements cooperating with counter elements being arranged at the intermediate elements.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the moving units are made of a rocker which supports the winding roll and which is moved by the actuator in one of the intermediate elements, the torque transmission element being arranged outside of the winding roll.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the drive element cooperates with a blocking element being arranged on the transmission element such that a locking element being arranged on the actuator blocks rotation of the winding roll when the blocking element is reached, and when the actuator is further actuated, transfer of the winding roll including the winding roll brackets and the hanging from a rotational position into an effective and holding position is caused by the moving units.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the drive element is designed as a ball wheel and the actuator is designed as a ball chain, the blocking element being designed as a cover for the ball wheel, the cover including a passage opening for the balls of the ball chain, and the locking element being designed as a ball element including two shells that are clipped together, the locking element being arrangeable on one of the balls of the ball chain and having a diameter being greater than the one of the balls of the ball chain.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the cover includes a resilient leg and a protrusion facing towards the intermediate element, the protrusion engaging into a counter protrusion of the intermediate elements in a way that, when the hanging is wound up and unwound by the actuator, an actuation of the moving units is stopped and blocked, respectively, while the ball element including two shells and being arranged on the ball chain, when it reaches the passage opening for the balls of the ball chain and when the ball chain is further actuated, cancels this prevention and blockage, respectively, of the moving units since the spring-biased leg is loaded and the protrusion gets free from engagement with the counter protrusion thereby.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the counter protrusion of the intermediate element is also designed to be resilient.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the resilient blocking elements and the counter elements are designed as one piece.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the blocking elements and the counter elements are fully or partly made of resilient metal.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the elements are designed as dancer arms and include supports for the counter elements of the intermediate elements on which they are pivotally supported between a first stop and a second stop of the intermediate elements, the supports of the dancer arms being preferably designed as bolt supports and the counter elements being preferably designed as bolts.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the elements are designed as gear wheels and as pitch circle gear wheels, respectively, and cooperate with counter elements of the intermediate elements being designed as gear racks on which they are movable between two end positions.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

[0048] FIG. 1 illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of a new winding apparatus for roller blinds in a perspective view.

[0049] FIG. 2 illustrates the winding apparatus for roller blinds of FIG. 1 in another perspective view.

[0050] FIG. 3 illustrates the winding apparatus for roller blinds of FIG. 1 in an exploded view.

[0051] FIG. 4 illustrates the winding apparatus for roller blinds of FIG. 2 in an exploded view.

[0052] FIG. 5 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of the new winding apparatus for roller blinds in a perspective view.

[0053] FIG. 6 illustrates the winding apparatus for roller blinds of FIG. 5 in another perspective view.

[0054] FIG. 7 illustrates the winding apparatus for roller blinds of FIG. 5 in an exploded view.

[0055] FIG. 8 illustrates the winding apparatus for roller blinds of FIG. 6 in an exploded view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate different perspectives of a first exemplary embodiment of a new winding apparatus 1. A winding roll 3 carrying a hanging 2 as well as different wall brackets WW and ceiling brackets DW are only schematically illustrated. Intermediate elements 6 and 7 can be arranged at the wall brackets WW and the ceiling brackets DW to enable the winding apparatus 1 to be connected to a non-illustrated wall, ceiling or door and a non-illustrated window, window frame or door frame, respectively, also being designated as mounting location hereinafter.

[0057] These illustrations do not show all details of the new mechanism. However, it is to be seen that winding roll brackets 4 and 5 are arranged at the intermediate elements 6 and 7. The winding roll brackets 4 and 5 are designed as hollow pins 16 and 17 at which the winding roll 3 being designed as a hollow roll 15 is located in a rotatingly fixed manner. The winding roll brackets 4 and 5 are supported on transmission elements 22 and 23 in a rotatingly fixed manner. The transmission elements 22 and 23 are interconnected in a rotatingly fixed manner by a torque transmission element 12 being designed as a tube 13 and a square tube 14, respectively.

[0058] Furthermore, an element 24 being designed as a dancer arm 34 is to be seen in FIG. 2 which is pivotally supported by a bolt support 36 on a bolt 38 of the intermediate elements 6. Furthermore, a stop 40 for the intermediate elements 6 is to be seen which is contacted by the dancer arm 34.

[0059] FIG. 1 illustrates a blocking element 28 being designed as a cover 32 for a ball wheel 30 which is not visible. The cover 32 includes passage openings 33 through which an actuator 9, which is designed as a ball chain 31, for a drive element being designed as the ball wheel 30 can be moved. A ball element 51 is arranged on the ball chain 31, the ball element 51 being bigger than the other balls of the ball chain 31 and not being able to pass the passage opening 33. The cover 32 includes a resilient leg 44 which is not visible and at which a protrusion 45 is arranged, the protrusion 45 cooperating with a counter protrusion 46 of the intermediate elements.

[0060] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate two different exploded views of the winding apparatus 1 of FIGS. 1 and 2 from which the functionality of the exemplary embodiment can be understood. Two moving units 10 and 11 are well recognizable. The function of moving the winding roll 3 towards a mounting location is integrated in the moving units 10 and 11. The winding roll 3 is arranged on the winding roll brackets 4 and 5 being designed as hollow pins 16 and 17 in a rotatingly fixed manner. A ball wheel 30 is arranged on the winding roll bracket 5 in a rotatingly fixed manner such that the winding roll 3 can be rotated by a ball chain 31 cooperating with the ball wheel 32 to wind up and unwind the hanging 2.

[0061] The two moving units 10 and 11 include transmission elements 22 and 23. The winding roll brackets 4 and 5 are arranged on middle portions of the moving units 10 and 11 to be rotatable about corresponding supports 20 and 21. The two transmission elements 22 and 23 are interconnected by pins 18 and 19 and the square tube 14 in a rotatingly fixed manner. Furthermore, the moving units 10 and 11 include dancer arms 34, 35 being connected to the transmission elements 22 and 23 in a rotatingly fixed manner. The dancer arms 34, 35 each include a bolt support 36, 37 by which they are pivotally supported on one bolt 38, 39 of the respective intermediate elements 6, 7. Furthermore, FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a spring F generally known from the prior art.

[0062] The functionality of this exemplary embodiment is as follows: when the hanging 2 is completely wound up on the winding roll 3, the dancer arm 35 of the moving unit 11 contacts the stop 41 of the intermediate elements 7, while the dancer arm 34 of the moving unit 10 contacts 10o the stop 40 of the intermediate elements 6. When the hanging 2 is now unwound from the winding roll 3 by its rotation caused by the ball chain 31, the diameter of the winding roll 3 decreases resulting in a gap being formed between the hanging 2 and the mounting location. Due to this gap, the mounting location is not fully darkened even when the hanging 2 fully covers the mounting location. When the ball chain 31 is now further actuated, the ball element 51 enters the passage opening 33 of the cover 32 and blocks it. When the ball chain 31 is further actuated and the ball wheel 30 is turned, the ball wheel 30 together with the ball element 51 lifts up the resilient leg 44. This results in the protrusion 45 of the cover 32 no longer engaging the counter stop 46 of the intermediate element 7 and thus blockage of the moving units 10 and 11 being canceled. Now, when further actuating the ball chain 31, it is possible to pivot the dancer arm 35 of the moving unit 11 towards the stop 43. Since the two moving units 10 and 11 are interconnected in a rotatingly fixed manner by the square tube 14, the dancer arm 34 of the moving unit 10 which contacts the stop 40 of the wall bracket 6 is now also pivoted towards the stop 42. Due to this pivotal movement, the gap between the hanging 2 and the mounting location which resulted from unwinding of the hanging 2 is now closed. Thus, effective and full darkening of the window and of the door, respectively, is achieved without the hanging 2 getting in contact with other items during unrolling.

[0063] When it is now intended to stop darkening of the mounting location, one proceeds in the opposite order. The ball chain 31 is actuated as usual for winding up the hanging 2 on the winding roll 3. The dancer arms 34 and 35 of the moving units 10 and 11 pivot back towards the stops 40 and 41. The gap is again formed between the hanging 2 and the mounting location until the dancer arms 34 and 35 contact the stops 40 and 41 and do no longer move. When further actuating the ball chain 31, the ball element 51 is again released from the passage opening 33 of the cover 32 and the hanging 2 is wound up on the winding roll 3 as usual.

[0064] FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate different perspectives of a second exemplary embodiment of the new winding apparatus 1. A winding roll 3 carrying a hanging 2 as well as different wall brackets WW and ceiling brackets DW are only schematically illustrated. Intermediate elements 6 and 7 can be arranged at the wall brackets WW and the ceiling brackets DW to enable the winding apparatus 1 to be connected to a non-illustrated mounting location.

[0065] These illustrations do not show all details of the new mechanism. However, it is to be seen that winding roll brackets 4 and 5 are arranged at the intermediate elements 6 and 7. The winding roll brackets 4 and 5 are designed as hollow pins 16 and 17 at which the winding roll 3 being designed as a hollow roll 15 is located in a rotatingly fixed manner. The winding roll brackets 4 and 5 are supported on transmission elements 22 and 23 in a rotatingly fixed manner. The transmission elements 22 and 23 are interconnected in a rotatingly fixed manner by a torque transmission element 12 being designed as a tube 13 and a square tube 14, respectively.

[0066] Furthermore, a counter element 26 being designed as a gear rack 49 is to be seen in FIG. 6, the gear rack 49 engaging the element 24 being designed as a gear wheel 47.

[0067] FIG. 2 illustrates a blocking element 28 being designed as a cover 32 for a ball wheel 30 which is not visible. The cover 32 includes passage openings 33 through which an actuator 9, which is designed as a ball chain 31, for a drive element being designed as the ball wheel 30 can be moved. A ball element 51 is arranged on the ball chain 31, the ball element 51 being bigger than the other balls of the ball chain 31 and not being able to pass the passage opening 33. The cover 32 includes a resilient leg 44 which is not visible and at which a protrusion 45 is arranged, the protrusion 45 cooperating with a counter protrusion 46 of the intermediate elements.

[0068] FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate two different exploded views of the winding apparatus 1 of FIGS. 5 and 6 from which the functionality of the exemplary embodiment can be understood. Two moving units 10 and 11 are well recognizable. The function of moving the winding roll 3 towards a mounting location or away from the mounting location is integrated in the moving units 10 and 11. The winding roll 3 is arranged on the winding roll brackets 4 and 5 being designed as hollow pins 16 and 17 in a rotatingly fixed manner. A ball wheel 30 is arranged on the winding roll bracket 5 in a rotatingly fixed manner such that the winding roll 3 can be rotated by a ball chain 31 cooperating with the ball wheel 32 to wind up and unwind the hanging 2.

[0069] The two moving units 10 and 11 include transmission elements 22 and 23. The winding roll brackets 4 and 5 are arranged on middle portions of the moving units 10 and 11 to be rotatable about corresponding supports 20 and 21. The two transmission elements 22 and 23 are interconnected by pins 18 and 19 and the square tube 14 in a rotatingly fixed manner. Furthermore, the moving units 10 and 11 include the elements 24 and 25 being designed as gear wheels 47 and 48 being connected to the transmission elements 22 and 23 in a rotatingly fixed manner. The gear wheels 47 and 48 each engage a gear rack 49 and 50 such that the moving units 10 and 11 including the winding roll 3, the winding roll brackets 4 and 5 as well as the hanging 2 are movable towards the mounting location or away from it. Furthermore, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a spring F known from the prior art.

[0070] The functionality of this exemplary embodiment is as follows: when the hanging 2 is completely wound up on the winding roll 3, the gear wheel 48 of the moving unit 11 contacts the end of the gear rack 50 facing away from the mounting location, while the gear wheel 47 of the moving unit 10 contacts the end of the gear rack 49 facing away from the mounting location. When the hanging 2 is now unwound from the winding roll 3 by its rotation caused by the ball chain 31, a gap is formed between the hanging 2 and the mounting location. Due to this gap, the mounting location is not fully darkened even when the hanging 2 fully covers the mounting location. When the ball chain 31 is now further actuated, the ball element 51 enters the passage opening 33 of the cover 32 and blocks it. When the ball chain 31 is further actuated and the ball wheel 30 is turned, the ball wheel 30 together with the ball element 51 lifts up the resilient leg 44. This results in the protrusion 45 of the cover 32 no longer engaging the counter stop 46 of the intermediate element 7 and thus blockage of the moving units 10 and 11 being canceled. Now, when further actuating the ball chain 31, it is possible for the gear wheel 48 to mesh with the gear rack 50. Since the two moving units 10 and 11 are interconnected in a rotatingly fixed manner by the square tube 14, the gear wheel 47 also meshes with the gear rack 49. Due to this meshing of the gear wheels 47 and 48 with the gear racks 49 and 50, the gap between the hanging 2 and the mounting location which resulted from unwinding of the hanging 2 is now closed. Thus, effective and full darkening of the mounting location is achieved without the hanging 2 getting in contact with other items during unrolling.

[0071] When it is now intended to stop darkening of the mounting location, one proceeds in the opposite order. The ball chain 31 is actuated as usual for winding up the hanging 2 on the winding roll 3. The moving units 10 and 11 again move away from the mounting location such that the gap is again formed between the hanging 2 and the mounting location until the gear wheels 47 and 48 again reach the other end of the gear racks 49 and 50 and do no longer move. When further actuating the ball chain 31, the ball element 51 is again released from the passage opening 33 of the cover 32 and the hanging 2 is wound up on the winding roll 3 as usual.

[0072] Many variations and modifications may be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims.