Apparatus and methods for use with blinds and louvres
AssigneeDecor Systems Limited
InventorRichard McCreadie
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention to which this application relates is apparatus and a method for use with blinds and louvres, hereinafter referred to, in a non-limiting manner, as blinds and which includes roller blinds, roman blinds and Venetian blinds. The apparatus and method allows the free end of the blind to be selectively positioned and retained at a predetermined position intermediate the fully retracted and fully extended positions and to be retained at that position.
Claims16
An apparatus which includes at least one portion of sheet material which forms a blind, a drive mechanism for determining and adjusting the extent to which a free end of the blind extends downwardly from a roller of the drive mechanism, the apparatus further including an engagement system which, when engaged, acts to prevent rotation of the drive mechanism and hence retain the blind at least in one predetermined position intermediate a fully retracted position and a fully extended position of the blind, said engagement system including an engaging member and at least one formation portion, said at least one formation portion provided on an elongate drive member of the drive mechanism and engagable with the engaging member to define the said predetermined position, wherein said elongate drive member includes a series of protruding portions on a cord at substantially equally spaced intervals therealong and said at least one formation portion is formed as a length of said cord with no protrusions and the said length is greater than a spacing between adjacent ones of the substantially equally spaced protruding portions, wherein the spacing between the adjacent substantially equally spaced protruding portions prevents engagement between the elongate drive member and the engaging member.
An assembly of a plurality of blind apparatus located along an axis which is substantially perpendicular to axes along which a free ends of respective blinds can be raised or lowered when moved by selective movement of a drive mechanism for each blind apparatus and wherein an engagement system for each blind includes an engaging member for selective engagement and retention of a formation portion of an elongate drive member of each drive mechanism such that, when the formation portions are retained, the free ends of each of the blinds are retained at a substantially uniform predetermined position, each said engagement system formation portion engagable with the engaging member to define the said predetermined position, wherein elongate drive member includes a series of protruding portions on a cord at substantially equally spaced intervals therealong and each formation portion is formed as a length of said cord with no protrusions wherein said length is greater than a spacing between adjacent ones of the substantially equally spaced protruding portions, wherein the spacing between the adjacent substantially equally spaced protruding portions prevents engagement between each elongate drive member and each respective engaging member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.