Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~ 1733!1 6
DESCRI PTI ON
TITLE: A TILTING MECHANISM FOR A_VENETIAN_BLIND
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The present invention relates to a tilting transfer
` mechanism for a vene~ian blind assembly which may, for
example, be positioned behind gla~ing, for example,
between the two panes of double glazing.
Venetian blind assemblies have been proposed which
have been positioned in a number of different ways
relative to window units. For example, the blind
assembly may be adjacent a single pane of glass or
between two panes, or even positioned in a triple
10 glazing unit. n use having two or more panes, the
assemblies may be positioned within a unit which is
provided with a hermetic seal between the panes and the
frame to provide a superior insulation. In all forms of
units, including single and multiple pane constructions,
15 and unsealed and hermetically sealed constructions, it
is desirable to have a single effective tilting transfer
mechanism by which the tilt of the individual slats of
the blind assembly may be easily and accurately
`~ regulated using a minimum of force, and where the degree
20 of force necessary to tilt the slat remains
substantially uniform during the complete range of
tilting.
It is also desirable in order to facilitate place-
ment of the venetlan blind in a window unit, that it
' 30 should be fully reversible in a window opening, i.e.
with the top and bottom ends of the blinds reversible in
the unit or at least the top and bottom ends are inter-
changeable. This feature requires a tilting transfer
mechanism which may work equally in either position of
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the blind.
Further, it is desirable in window units having two
or more spaced panes that the slats of the blind
assembly in the open position occupy as much of the
space between the panes as possible in order to reduce
expense of blind assembly and to reduce operating
forces~ If slats were used where the width of the slat
is substantially less than the space between the panes,
10 more slats would be required completely to close the
window opening thus increasing the cost and the force
necessary to effect tilting.
A problem with many hermetically sealed units has
been the difficulty o providing control exterior of
15 the window unit by which the tilting of the slats may be
requlated while at the same time preserving the
integrity of the sealed unit. Controls extending
through tle frame will, after use, increase the
difficultl of maintaining a seal.
Magnetic couplings have been proposed for
hermetically sealed window units to connect an actuating
member exterior of the unit to a blind operating element
in the interior unit as can be seen for example from
United States Patent No. 3,022,549 and 3,129,471. The
25 problem with such couplings has been to design one which
is small in size and which will/ at the same time, have
sufficient coupling strength to enable the slat of the
blind to be tilted throughout their complete range.
It is now proposed, according to the present
30 invention, to provide a tilting transfer mechanism for a
venetian blind assembly having a plurality of slats, at
least one tape cable forming part of supporting means
supporting said slats, pivotal upper and lower hanger
members supporting each tape cable, upper and lower
35 bearing ele~ents pivotally supporting said upper and
lower hanger members respectively, the tilting transfer
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means including a linearly movable operating element and
connecting means operatively connecting said linearly
; movable operating element with said hanger members,
whereby linear movement of said operating element will
5 cause said hanger members to pivot on said bearing
element to tilt said slats.
The concept of the invention is thus to have the
slats tiltable by acting directly on at least one of the
hanger members or on the slat supporting mea~s. This
10 gives the advantage of limiting the number of parts
required for the blind construction and its tilting
operating means. While the hanger members may be
separate from the top and bottom slats, so that the
slats of the assembly can all be substantially the same,
15 it is also possible for the hanger members to form part
of cr be in the form of a special top or bottom slat which
will normally be of slightly heavier construction. The
hancer member construction itself does not form part of
the invention.
The tape cable may form part of the connecting
means and these may include flexible elements, or
pivotally mounted rigid linear elements, connecting the
operating element with the tape cable. The flexible
elements may be connected to the tape cable and the
25 operating element at such points that they cross in a
vertical plane, so that they may be hidden behind the
linearly movable operating element.
In an alterna-tive arrangement, the connecting means
may comprise, in part, a separate drive cable connected
30 to the upper and lower tape hanger members and to the
linearly movable element either directly or via the tape
cables. In such a construction the drive cable may
engage a surface of the hanger member spaced from the
pivot axis of the hanger member and include, in
35 addition, a drive cable guide for guiding the drive cable
near the hanger member to maintain constant tension in the
complete drive cable including the portion of the drive
cable on the side of the operating element in the direction
of linear movement of the operating element.
With this arrangement, the guide may comprise a
saddle-shaped wire hanger havinq two slaced parallel
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upstanding portions with one of the portions forming a
guide arm, and the other of the portions forming a
bearing support from one of the hanger elements.
Preferably the operating element has a guide means
extending in a direction transverse to the direction of
linear movement of the operating elemen~, the connecting
neans including a slider which is slidable in the guide
means, whereby the connecting elements may move in a
direction transverse to the linear movement of the
10 operating element during operation of the mechanism.
This is an alternative to the flexible arrangement, and
ensures both that the tape cable is not distorted, thus
distorting the slats and that the tape cable is capable
of moviny away from the pane of glass when the slats are
15 moved to the tilted position. This is particularly
advantageous where the operating mechanism is ~agnetic
because it does not reduce the magnetic coupling as will
be explained below.
If the blind assembly forms part of the ~indow unit
20 including a pane, the operating element is preferably
slidable in a linear direction on one side of the pane
and an actuating member is linearly slidable on the
opposite side of the pane from the operating element and
is coupled with the operating element. Particularly if
25 the pane forms part of a hermetically sealed window
unit, with the venetian blind positioned within the
window unit, the operating element is advantageously
magnetically coupled with the actuating member. This
may be achieved by the operating element and the
30 actuating member each including one or more magnets
therein and the operating element may include an inner
housing containing at least one magnet with the inner
housing being connected to the connecting means and the
actuating member including an outer housing containing
35 at least one further magnet.
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A guide may be fixed to the window unit and the
outer housing containing the actuating member with the
magnets therein being able to slide in the guide. IN an
alternative arrangement, a stroke limiter in the form
of a bar i5 affixed to the window unit and the actuating
member is positioned adjacent and movable with respect
to the stroke limiter, stop means on the actuating
member limiting movement of the actuating member with
respect to the stroke limiter, which is, preferably,
10 positioned between the magnets of the actuating member.
The operating element may itself comprise 3 split
housing which forms two similar housing sections, each
housing section having at least one magnet therein, and
the housing being connected between the sections in the
15 connecting means. With this arrangement, the split
housing is preferably formed by a notch in the housing
on a side thereof facing the slats. In this way, the
housing may have an upwardly extending vertical arm and
a downwardly extending vertical arm, each connected by
20 one of its ends to the housing and between the two
sections each connected at the other of its ends to the
connecting means, more normally the tape cable of the
ladder tape of the venetian blind. Each housing section
preferably comprises a band which engages an edge of a
25 magnet, the band having a shoulder on a portion thereof
having a side engaging a face of a magnet and having, in
addition, a pole piece engaging on the opposite side of
this shoulder from the side engaging the face. In this
way, the pole piece is magnetically attracted to the
30 magnet, such that the shoulder holds ~he magnet and the
pole piece in place in the band and no other means are
required to hold the magnets in place. Preferably the
pole piece has a groove in it to receive and locate the
shoulder.
Like the operating element, the actuating member
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may also comprise a split mounting having two similar
mounting sections substantially equal in size to the two
housing sections, each mounting section containing at
least one magnet therein with a magnet in the housing
section being magnetically coupled with a magnet in the
mounting section. Preferably, each housing and each
- mounting section has several magnets vertically arranged
therein, wi~h the number of magnets in the housing
section being equal to the number of magnets in the
10 mounting section. The polarity of the magnets at one
vertical level of one housing section may then be
opposite to the polarity of the magnet in the same
vertical level in the other housing section, while the
polarity of a magnet in one ~ertical level in one
15 housing section is opposite to the polarity of a magnet
in the same vertical level in the mounting section to
which the magnet in the housing section is magnetically
coupled. This ensures that there is little tendency for
the actuating member to cause any tilting movement of
20 the operating element.
Advantageously, the operating element within the
double glazing unit includes an inner housing having tie
points at the top and bottom sides thereof connecting
the housing part of the connecting means.
Over at least a part of the linear movement of the
operating element the slats preferably have one or more
cut-outs therein to receive the operating element, or
part thereof, the remainder of the slats having no such
cut-outs and therefore being solid. This enables the
30 operating element to be moved further inwardly. In this
case the slats which do have cut-outs are preferably
provided with two cut-outs and these slats are secured
by securing means to the tape cable at the widest
portion thereof between the cut-outs. The operating
35 element may then be connected to the tape cable, the
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tape cable orming part of a tape ladder which has a
plurality of upper rungs and lower rungs which support
the slats, means being provided which are associated
wi~h some of the slats for holding ~he upper and lower
S rung to the top and bottom surface of a slat adjacent a
cut-out formed in the edge of the slats with the cut-
outs. The widest portion o each slat having cut-outs
may have a notch on the edge thereof to receive a tape
cable.
The means associated with some of the slats may
~ comprise a pad engaging the surface of a portion of a
; slat extending between the cut-outs with a pad having a
`~ rung engaging surface including a groove portion and a
slat engaging surface thereon, a pad fixing means fixing
15 the pad to the surface of the slat whereby the groove
portion will engage a rung to prevent longitudinal
movement of the slat with respect to the tape ladder.
: The pad fixing means may then include a locking member
which extends through an aperture in the widest portion
20 of the slat which has cut-outs, whereby the tape support
pad is affixed to a surface of the slat and the fixing
means includes a notch for engaging that rung of the
double rung arrangement which is opposite the rung which
is engaged in the groove portion, such that the tape
25 support pad spreads the upper and lower rungs engaged
thereby to tension these rungs whereby they are securely
held in the groove portion and in the notch portion.
In order that the invention may more readily be
; understood, the following description is given, merely
30 by way of example, reference being made to the
accompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of a windowunit provided with a venetian blind assembly including
an embodiment of transfer mechanism according to the
35 invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the window
unit of Figure 1 taken along the lines 2-2 illustrating
one embodiment of a connection between a tape cable and
an operating element;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a second
embodiment of a connection between a tape cable and an
operating element;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a third
embodiment of a connection between a tape cable and an
10 operating element;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the
connection of Figure 4 taken along the line 5-5 thereof;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the connection of
Figure 4 securing sliders to a tape cable;
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of an operating
element in the form of a housing enclosing magnets
connected to a tape cable and illustrates a further
embodiment of connection of a tape cable with an
operating member;
- 20 Figure 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a
modified form of a linear movable operating element
constructed according to the invention and having a
split housing;
Figure 9 is a perspective view illustrating the use
25 of integral tabs for securing a slat to a tape-cable or
other connecting means:
Figure 10 is a perspective view of a further
embodiment of connection in the form of a tape support
pad prior to application of a slat;
Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10
illustrating the tape support pad applied to a slat;
Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 11
illustrating the rear side of the tape support pad and
the manner in which it spreads the rungs of a ladder
~. 35 tape;
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Figure 13 is a perspective view of a still further form
o connection;
Figure 14 is a perspective view of a further form
of operating element connected to a tape ladder;
Figure 15 is a further view of the operating
~ element of Figure 14;
`~ Figure 16 is an enlarged sectional view of a
portion of the operating element of Figure 15;
Figure 17 is an exploded perspective view of an
10 operating element, stroke limiter and actuating member
of an assembly according to the invention;
Figure 18 is a diagrammatic view illustrating
placement of magnets in the operating element of Figure
17;
Figure 19 is a diagrammatic view illustrating
placement of magnets in the actuating member of Figure
. 17; and
Figure 20 is a diagrammatic view of the arrangeme~t
of magnets of-the operating element with respect to the
20 magnets of the actuating member of Figure 17.
Reerring to Figures 1 and 2, there is illustrated
a window unit 1 comprising a venetian blind assembly 2
positioned between a front pane of glass 3 and a rear
pane of glass 4. Panes 3 and 4 may be sealed with
: 25 respect to a frame 5, which comprises horizontal upper
and lower members 6 and 7 respectively and vertically
extending side members 8 and 9 to form a hermetically
sealed window unit.
The venetian blind assembly 2 comprises a plurality
30 of slats 10 (Figure 2) contained within two tape ladders
11. Each tape ladder 11 comprises two tape cables 12
having a plurality of upper rungs 13 and lower rungs 14
extending therebetween with the slats 10 being supported
between upper and lower rungs. The tape cables 12 are
35 supported and stabilized by an upper hanger member 15
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and a lower hanger member 16, each of which is pivotally
mounted on a sepaate bearing 20.
As shown in Figure 2 a tape cable 12 is joined to
an operating element 21 by means of flexible linear
elements 22 with one linear element being connected to
an upper part of the operating element and the other
linear element to a lower part of the operating element.
While elements 22 are shown as flexible linear elements,
they could, in the alternative, comprise rigid linear
10 elements pivotally connected to the cable 12 and
operating element 21. Operating element 21 is linearly
movable in a vertical direction on the inside surface of
the glass plane 3 and is magnetically coupled with an
actuating member 23 linearly movable in a slide 24 fixed
lS on the outside surface of the pane.
As seen in Figure 2, if the operating element 21 is
moved up or down from the position shown, the hanger
members 15 and 16 will be caused to pivot on thnir
bearings 20 to regulate the opening between the slats
20 10. Rotation of the hanger members from the position
shown will move the edges of the hanger members and
consequently tape cable 12 away from both panes 3 and 4.
If the connection between the cable 12 and the operating
element 21 were rigid and not pivotally connected at its
25 ends, cable 12 will be stretched to move laterally with
respect to the axis of bearing element 20, thus
imparting a lateral force to the tilting transfer
mechanism. This, in turn, would result in increased
side loads on the bearings 20 and so increase friction
30 losses and increase forces necessary to pivot the hanger
members. The use of flexible linear elements 22, or
rigid elements pivotally connected at their ends,
provides a flexible connection between the operating
element and the tape cable with respect to the operating
35 element, when the hanger members pivot, thus
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~ substantially reducing the lateral forces applied to the
; tilting transfer system.
The operating element 21 and actuating member 23
pr~ferably are provided with PTFE covers 25 or other
material having similar lubricating properties, to
reduce friction forces between the glass surface and the
element and member. In addition, the actuating member
may be provided with an actuating knob 26 which may be
grasped in order to move the member within the slide 24.
10 The knob in addition, is preferably threaded into the
actuating member so that the knob and actuating member
may be locked into place by screwing the knob down so
that it tightly engages the slide.
In some instances, because of space limitations or
15 aesthetic purposes, it may be necessary to have the
linear members completely covered by the operating
element. This can be done as shown in Figure 3 by
having the linear elements cross in a vettical plane.
The effective length of each element remains the same as
20 for the arrangement shown in Figure 2.
While a tape cable connected to upper and lower
rungs is shown in Figures 1 to 3 to form a tape ladder,
the tilting transfer mechanism shown cou:Ld be utilized
equally as well with tape cables which are connected to
25 individual slats by other means. For example, small
clips may be used to connect a cable directly to a slat
or the cable may be provided with eyelets connecting
with holes in the slats.
A further form of connection between a tape cable
30 and operating element is shown in Figures 4 to 6 in
which like parts illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 have the
same reference numerals. The operating element 21, as
shown, is a rigid member 40 including a lateral guide
slot 41 in which is slidable a square cross-section
35 guide pin 39 carried on a slider 43, which in turn is
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joined to the cable 12 by passing the cable through
grooves 44. Retaining tabs 42 are provided on the ends
of pins 39. As is apparent from Figures 4 and 5, the
cable 12 and the slider 43 are free to move in a
transverse direction with respect to the linear movement
of operating member 21, so that lateral loads will not
be imparted into the system when the slats are tilted.
A still further connection between an operating
element and cable is shown in Figure 7. There, the
10 operating element 70 comprising a housing, includes a
lateral guide slot 71 on the housing extending in a
; direction transverse to the linear vertical movement of
the operating element. The cable 12 which is connected
to hanger members (not shown) has a slider 73 joined
15 thereto, the slider including a portion 74 slidable in
guide slots 71. The cable 12 and connector piece are
thus free to move in a transverse direction with respect
to the linear movement of the oper~ting element 70 in
the same manner as with the forms of connecting means as
20 shown in Figures 2 to 6, thus ensuring that no lateral
loads are introduced when the slats are tilted, Some of
the slats 110, i.e. those within the path of movement of
` element 70 have cut-outs 75 therein to receive the
operating element 70 or part thereof.
A modified assembly is illustrated in Figures 8 to
12, in which like parts are indicated by like reference
numerals plus 100. Thus, a linearly movable actuating
member (not shown) is magnetically coupled with a
linearly movable operating element 121 which comprises a
30 split housing 131, forming two housing sections 132 and
; 133, each of which carries a magnetic 1s4 to cooperate
with magnets carried in the actuating member so as to
form a magnetic couple therewith.
As shown in Figure 8, the slats 110 adjacent the
35 operating element 121 each have two cut-outs 135 and 136
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therein, in order to accommodate the sections 132 and
133 containing the magnets 134. The portion of the
slats 110 between the cut-outs 135 and 136 extends into
the space hetween the two sections 132 and 133 forming
the split housing and this portion is connected to the
cable 112 by way of upper and lower rungs, as s~own, or
if no rungs are provided, directly to the cable 112 by
clamps or other means as explained hereafter.
Thus, it is seen that by this arrangement the slats
10 110 are supported in the same manner as the slats 10 and
that any additional structure, such as clamps clamping
the upper and lower rungs to any reduced portion of the
slat at a cut-out or a separate tape ladder means
connecting slats 110, are not necessary to ensure
15 vertical and longitudinal a~ignment of all the slats.
The tape cable 112 is connected at one point at the
split housing between the sections 132 and 133 by an
adhesive or any other means. Because of the extreme
thinness of the split housing and the web 138 joining
20 the two sections, the cable 112 is not depressed or
displaced laterally with respect to the slats to any
substantial extent, so that no undue interference would
occur between the cable and the edges of the slats 110
not having cut-outs, resulting in possible deformation
25 o~ the slats or increase in force necessary to tilt the
slats.
Referring to Figure 9, there is illustrated a
securing means for securing a slat 110 to a connecting
means or tape cable 112 which comprises integral tabs
30 146 and 147 punched from a side portion 148 of the slat
extending between the two cut-outs 135 and 136. As
shown, the tabs 146 and 147 are bent over the upper rung
113 to clamp the rung to the upper surface of the slat
110. the slat is then securely clamped to the rung and
35 prevented from longitudinal displacement with respect to
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the tape ladder, which could result in an unsightly
appearance of the slat 110 having the cut-outs from the
remainder of the slats 110, and also prevents any
sagging of the slats 110 resulting from the rungs
extending over one of the cut-out areas. While the tabs
are shown on the u~per surface of the slat, they could
instead be on the lower surface, or even one on the
upper surface and one on the lower surface, the only
requirement being that at least one cross-rung is
10 securely clamped ~o a slat surface.
The side portion 148 of the slat preferably has a
notch 149 on the edge thereof in order to accommodate
the tape cable 112. This prevents the cable from
binding on the slat as might occur during tilting of the
15 slats which in turn ~ould increase the forces required
to operate the tiltirg mechanism.
Referring to Ficures 10 to 12 there is illustrated
a further embodiment of securing means in the form of a
tape support pad 150. The pad 150 comprises a body
20 member 151 having a slat engaging surface 152 and a rung
engaging surface 153 including a groove portion 1S4
thereon. The slat engaging surface has a locking member
155 extending therefLom adapted to be inserted through
an aperture 156 contained in the slat ilO. Locking
25 member 155 has a notch portion 157 adapted to engage a
lower rung 114 as shown in Figure 12. The body member
151 along with the locking member 155 serves to tension
the rungs by spreading them apart, which ensures that
they will be held in the groove 154 and notch 157, thus
30 fixing the tape support member with respect to the tape
ladder, so that there will be no longitudinal movement
of the slat 110 with respect to the tape ladder. The
tape support may be provided with an arm 158 to ensure
further that the upper rung 113 is held in groove 154
35 and to impart additional tension on the upper rung~ A
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notch 159 may be included on the end of the body member
151 to engage tape cable 112, to provide an even further
means for preventing longitudinal movement of the slat
110 with respect to the tape ladder.
While the tape support pad 150 is shown in Figures
10 to 12 as engaging the upper surface of a slat 110,
the pad could be inverted to engage instead a bottom
surface of the slat.
A still further form of the tape support pad is
10 illustrated in Figure 13. In this embodiment the tape
support pad 180 comprises a body member 181 having a
slat engaging surface 182 and including a groove portion
183 extending the length of the body member and adapted
to have a rung therein. The body portion includes an
15 arm portion 1~4 extending over the edge of the cut-out
149 contained in the slide portion of the slat between
cut-outs 135 ~nd 136. A notch 185 is included in the
arm portion tc provide a means for securing the slat
against relative longitudinal movement with respect to
20 the tape ladder. Groove 183 holding the rung 113 ~~
provides a further means for preventing such
longitudinal movement. The body member 181 includes a
locking member (not shown) which extends from a slat
engaging surface to be locked into an aperture in the
25 slat 110 in the same manner as with the embodiment of
Figures 10 and 12. Again, the tape support pad 180 may
engage either the top or bottom surface of a slat.
Figures 14 to 16 illustrate a further form of
operating element 190 having two housing sections 191
; 30 and 192 spaced apart and joined by a thin centre section
193. An upwardly vertically extending arm 194 is
connected at one end to centre section 193 and at its
other end 195 to the tape cable 112. A downwardly
extending arm 196 is connected at one end to centre
35 section 193 and at its other end 197 to a tape oable
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112. This particular construction provides a minimum of
lateral displacement of the tape cable due to the
presence of the operating element.
The housing sections containing the magnets
comprise a band 198 surrounding edges of the magnets 199
on edch housing section. Each band has a shoulder 200
engaging in one side thereof a face 201 of the magnet
and engaging on an opposite side thereof of pole piece
202 which has a groove 203 therein to accommodate the
10 shoulder 200. The magnetic forces acting between the
magnet 199 and pole pieces 202 pull the two parts
together against the shoulder 200 so as to hold the
parts within the band 198. This particular construction
eliminates the need for any cover on the housing
15 contairing the magnets which would act to increase the
air gap between the magnets in the operating element and
` the ma~nets in the actuating member, resulting in a weak
i~ magnetic coupling between the two elements.
A stroke limiter construction is illustrated in
20 Figure 17, where means are provided for guiding and
limiting the linear movement of the actuating member.
As shown, the actuating member 123 is connected to the
connection means or tape cable 112 on one side of a pane
103. Pn actl~ating member 123 is shown prior to being
25 magnetically coupled to the operating element on the
- opposite side of the pane 103 from the operating
element. The actuating member 123 contains two mounting
sections 161 and 162 similar in size and shape to the
housing sections 191 and 192 of the operating element
30 190 and contains magnets therein in the same manner as
the operating element. The space 163 between the
mounting section forms a track or guide to receive a
stroke limiter 165 which is affixed to the side of the
pane 103 opposite the operating element 190. The top
35 166 and bottom 167 of the housing of the actuating
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member serve as stops to limit linear movement of the
actuating member. In this manner, the actuating member
123 is guided as it is moved to operate the tilt
mechanism and the guiding action, as well as the stop
S provision, ensures that the actuating member may not be
moved beyond the point where the magnetic coupling
betwe~n it and the operating element 190 might be
broken.
Referring to Figure 18 there is i:Llustrated an
10 arrangement of magnets in the operating element 190,
looking at the element in the direction of the arrow 230
in Figure 20. Element 190 may also be referred to as
the inside magnet assembly, since it is adapted to be
positioned inside a window unit between glazing. As
15 ;hown, each housing section 191 and 192 contain a
plurality of vertically arranged magnets with the
polarity of the magnets at one vertical level in one
~ousing section being opposite to that of a magnet of
the same vertical level in the other housing section.
The arrangement of magnets in the actuating member
123 is shown in Figure 19 is similar to that in
operating element 190 of Figure 18, in that each
mounting section 161 and 162 contains a plurality of
vertically arranged magnets, with the polarity of a
25 magnet at one vertical level in one mounting section
being opposite to that of a magnet at the same vertical
level in the other mounting section. The actuating
; member 123 may be considered an outside magnet assembly,
since as shown in Figure 20, it is positioned exterior
30 of a window unit and on the opposite side of the pane
; 103 from the operating element 190. The view
illustrated in Figure 19 is in the direction of the
arrow 231 away from the pane towards the exterior of a
window unit.
When the operating element 190 and actuating member
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123 each have the magnets arranged as shown in Figures
18 and 19, and when the elemen-ts are positioned on
opposite sides of the pane 103 as shown in Figure 20, it
is seen that the polarity of a magnet at one vertical
5 level of the housing section will be opposite to the
polarity of a magnet at the same vertical level of the
opposite mounting section. This arrangement maximizes
the magnetic coupling force between the operating
element and the actuating member while at the same time
10 tending to keep these elements in line with one another,
so that there is little tendency for one element to
rotate with respect to the other element, if an
actuating force is applied off-centre on the actuating
. member 123.
The various magnetic actuating mechanisms
illustrated in Figures 9 to 20 are, like those
illustrated in Figures 1 to 8, applicable for use in
unglazed, single glazed, or even triple glazed units in
addition to the double glazed units as descri~ed.
While in the above description the pivoted hanger
: members have been indicated as separate from the top and
bottom slats, they could, of course, form part or be
in the form of a special top or bottom slat or another member
which has a similar function.
