Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
12~S929;
Heat-Insulatin~ Curtain
The invention relates to a heat-insulating curtain
comprising at least two mutually s~ace~d curtain webs
insertable into a curtain aperture and lateral guide
rails to receive the lateral borders of the unwound
curtain webs which are unwindable in common from a
roll via guide elements and which have loading weights
at their ends averted from the roll.
A high percentage of heat losses ln buildings is
caused by the windows. While the outer walls form good
heat insulation, heat losses at windows, even if
provided with insulating or multiple glass are many
times higher. Therefore, it is a general tendency of
building technique to provide window surfaces ensuring
a high transmission of light by day and which, subject
to weather conditions, act as a shielding or
collecting means for heat radiation, while, by night,
vice versa, e.g. ln winter, heat-insulation will be
effected. Said wide ran~e of duties cannot be
performed by window surfaces only, but specific
curtain technics are applied to this effect which are
suitable for window surfaces or whole building fronts
and which allow a maximum adaptation to the climatical
conditions.
If use is made of curtains having several webs wound
on a roll, the length of the individual we~s can be
always adapted to only one position of the curtain.
In a known rolling window curtain (German Patent 29 34
674) made of a thick soft foam web lined with fabric
or sheet, and of a decorative curtain web which is
wound up on a roll in common with the soft foam web,
the length of the webs is adapted exactly only to the
unwound condition.
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When the curtain is wound up, the web disposed farther
outward relative to the roll axis is wound up more
quicklv because the respective roll diameter is always
larger than that for curtain webs situated more in-
wardly. Thus, the total curtain can be wouna up only
to the point at which the curtain web wound up most of
all - i.e the decoration curtain web in the instant
case - is going to slide out of the upper guide ele-
ments or to abut against a stop. At that moment, the
soft foam web is not yet completely wound up, and,
moreover, due to its thickness, it is distorted in
vertical direction for the reasons stated above so
that its lower broad border does not form a straight
seam.
It is the object of the invention to provide a curtain
of the above mentioned type in which an accurate seam-
ing border is realised in both its final positions
within the range of the curtain aperture.
To solve said problem, it is provided according to the
invention that a slotted box arranged at the upper
and/or lower end of the curtain aperture contains
slots for the passage of the individual curtain wehs,
the extension of the box in longitudinal direction of
the curtain webs being as large as to receive si~mul-
taneously the non-interconnected ends of the webs
unwound to different extents.
Due to the slotted box, the unavoidable unequal seam-
ing borders of the individual curtain webs wound up in
common can be advantageously lined so as to become
invisible in one of the extreme positions of the cur-
tain.
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In case of an unequal seaming border of the ends of
the curtain webs in a wound-up condition of the cur-
tain, the slotted box provided at the upper end of the
curtain aperture is so dimensioned that the end of the
curtain web wound up the least is situated completely
in the slotted box while the end of the curtain web
wound up most of all is just in the upper final
position.
On the one hand, it is possible with such a slotted
box to receive the ends of the curtain webs, as they
are still guided by the guide rolls, and, on the other
hand, the curtain web is allowed to pass on for being
wound on the roll.
In case of an unequal seaming border of the ends of
the curtain webs in unwound condition, the slotted box
provided at the lower end of the curtaln aperture is
so dimensioned that the end of the curtain web unwound
the least is situated in the slotted box while the end
of the curtain web unwound most of all is in its lower
final position. By this means, delicate curtain wehs
cannot be scratched or kinked.
The slotted boxes may contain separating walls
extending in parallel to the stretched curtain webs
and forming slotted box chambers separate from each
other for the individual curtain webs. This ensures a
convective separation by way of a labyrinth packing
between the latter in the slotted boxes.
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In a preferred embodiment of the invention is charac~
terized in that the slotted box is sealed and that at
least the respective outer slots of the slotted box
and the outer guide rails contain sealing elements
disposed over the total slot width and over the total
rail length resp. to adjoin bilaterally the res~ective
curtain webs. Due to the sealing of the slotted box,
the individual curtain webs form in common with the
slotted box and the guide rails a closed airtight
chamber which is o~ a particularly insulating effect
because of the inhibited air exchange. All of the
slots and guide elements may contain sealing elements
to form several separate air chambers, or only the
respective outer slots and guide elements are fitted
this way. If so, one common air chamber is subdivided
by the curtain webs. However, it is important that
said air chamber is closed to the outside by the
sealing elements in the outer slots and guide rails.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the
invention, the slots contain over their total width
cleaning and/or antistatic elements which bilaterally
adjoin the respective curtain webs to protect them
effectively against dirt.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the
guide rails are hollow profiles and the loading
weights at the curtain web side edges projecting into
the guide rails are mounted near the lower ends. As a
result thereof, the loading weights for the perfect
curtain drape are so covered that the viewer will not
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see them.
Preferahly, the inner guide rail chambers communicate
with the inner chamber of the slotted box. This
ensures that the curtain webs are safely conducted
also in the slotted boxes,in particular in the one
arranged at the upper end of the curtain aperture,
without causing any feeding problems at the point of
transition between the guide rails and the slotted
box.
In addition, the loading weights can be inter-
connected by a stiffening rail to distribute unformly
the tractive load at the individual webs to act over
the total curtain width and to facilitate the passage
of the curtain webs through the sealing lips of the
slots into the slotted boxes.
Embodiments of the invention will be now explained in
more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings.
Fig. 1 is a cross section of a bent heat-insulating
curtain with a slotted box which is provided at the
curtain side opposite to the roll,
Fig. 2 is a cross section along line II-II of Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 is a scaled up illustration of detail A
of Fig.l,
Fig. 4 is a cross section of a bent heat-insulatin~
curtain including a slotted box near the roll,
Fig. 5 is the same view as Fig. 4, the curtain being
in wound-up condition,
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Fig. 6 is a cros.s section of another embodiment in-
cluding two slotted boxes and
Fig. 7 is a cross section according to Fig. 6, the
slottea boxes containing separating walls.
In Figures 1,4,5, 6 and 7, a window 1 limited by an
outer wall 2 of a building is shown. Inside the
building, behind the window, the heat-insulating
curtain consisting of several parallel, sheet-like and
transparent webs 30,31,32,33 is mounted in the curtain
aperture 3, the webs being windable in common in
superimposed condition on a roll 4 which is provided
at the upper end of the curtain aperture 3, and its
ends are supported by a holding means 5 which simul-
taneously forms a box to receive said roll 4. Said box
is secured to the wall or ceiling of the room.
The holding means 5 designed as a box contains a slot-
ted bottom 14 with slots for the passage of the webs
30 to 33. Above said slots, guide rolls 6 in the orm
of pivoted cylinders serve for redirecting each of the
respective webs 30 to 33. The axes of the guide rolls
6 extend in parallel to the axis of the roll 4. They
are as long as the roll 4 and positioned beside the
latter, however, slightly offset in downward direction
with respect thereto.
In stretched condition of the curtain webs 30 to 33,
the lateral web edges within the range of the curtain
aperture 3 are guided in vertical guide rails 9 which
close at the end-sided edges the air chambers formed
by the curtain webs in bent condition, and which
include edge sealings 10 adjoining the curtain webs
from opposite sides. As a result, the air chambers are
con,ined by the curtain webs and by the edge sealings,
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and thev may be sealed additionally at the upper and
lower ends of the curtain aperture. The insulating
effect of the air chambers is particularly high due to
the missing or hardly existing air exchange.
In Fig. 1, the guide rails 9 extend linearly from the
holding means 5 forming the upper limitation of the
curtain aperture 3 to a slotted box 11 which forms the
lower limitation of the curtain aperture.Seen in cross
section, said guide rails 9 are hollow profiles which
contain a longitudinal slot confined by sealing
elements 10 and through which projects the lateral end
of the respective web into the hollow profile thus
positioning the web edges inside the guide rails 9.
The lateral web guidance is performed between the seal-
ing elements 10 which consist for inst. of brushes or
flexible sealing lips 10 adapted to conform in shape
to the walls of the guide rails 9. The four guide
rails 9 at each side of the curtain are made of a
one-piece profile with two adjacent guide rails having
one separating wall only. Thus, the air chambers are
laterally closed to retain the air so as to form a
stationary air cushion in each chamber.
In Fig. 1, the slot-ted box 11 is arranged at the
curtain end opposite to the roll 4. Said slotted box
11 comprises a slotted upper wall 12 containing slots
to 23 substantially adapted to the width and
length of each respective curtain web 30 to 33.
~ccording to Fig. 2, sealing elements 13 adjoining
bilaterally the respective curtain webs 30 to 33 are
disposed over the total width of slots 20 to 23. Said
sealing elements 13 consist also of brushes or
flexible sealing lips. It may be sufficient to only
provide them in the respective outer slots. By this
means, all of the air chambers are sealed to the out-
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side. As evident from Fig. 1, the slotted box 11 is as
high as to prevent the end of the curtain web 33
unwound most of all from accumulating at the bottom
of the slotted box 11 if the end of the curtain web 30
unwound the least is still outside the slotted box
11 .
The lower ends of the curtain webs 30 to 33 are
provided with a loading weight which consists of two
weights 7 at the lateral edges of the curtain webs 30
to 33 and of a stiffening rail 8 extending at the end
of the curtain webs over their total width to cause a
straight-lined seaming border of the lower edge of the
curtain webs and to interconnect rigidly the two
weights 7 which move within the guide rails so as to
be invisible. Moreover, they may slide freely into the
slotted box without the need of piercing at the
entrance point the sealing elements 13 at the slots 20
to 23 which only extend as far as to the sealing
elements 10 of the guide rails 9. Due to the
stiffening rail 8, an accurate alignment of the cur-
tain webs 30 to 33 and their troublefree disappearing
in the slots 20 to 23 of box 11 is ensured, The sealing
elements 13 yield to the influence of the weights to
allow the passage of the stiffening rail, and upon the
passage of the curtain web end, they sealingly adjoin
bilaterally the respective webs 30 to 33. ~ach of the
weights 7, seen in vertical cross section transversely
to the curtain web forms a hexagon in which the sides
parallel to the curtain webs are longer than the re-
maining four inclined sides of identical length.
The stiffening rail 8 is U-shaped and clamped with the
curtain web end. Preferably, the lower edge of the
stiffening rail is ~-shaped to facilitate opening and
folding of the sealing lips over the total width of
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slots 20 to 23 when the curtain webs disappear in the
slotted box 11.
As obvious from Figs. 4 and 5, a slotted box 11 is
arran~ed ln the upper region of the curtain aperture.
The lengths of the individual curtain webs are so
harmonized mutually that in stretched condition, they
end in one and the same plane. The ends of the in-
dividual curtain webs 30 to 33, when wound up, not
ending at the same height, the slotted box 11 is pro-
vided at the upper end of the curtain aperture. The
loadin~ weights 7 are not visible in Fig. ~ because
they are inside the guide rails 9.
Fig. 5 shows the wound-up curtain. The slotted box 11
of this embodiment is mounted directly beneath the
holding means 5. In this case, the slots may be sealed
alternatively in the slotted upper wall 12 or in the
slotted bottom 14. The respective other slotted por-
tion, i.e. either the slotted upper wall 12 or the
slotted bottom 14, may receive cleaning and/or anti-
static elements which extend over the total slot widthof the individual slots. The slotted box 11 is as
high as to completely house the end of the curtain 33
wound up the least, if the end of the cxurtain web 30
wound up most of all is just wound up completely.
The embodiment of Fig. 6 illustrates two slotted boxes
lla and llb of which box lla is mounted at the upper
end and box llb at the lower end of the curtain
aperture. As compared to one sole slotted box, the
height of two slotted boxes each may be considerably
reduced because the difference in length of the in-
dividual curtain webs 30 to33 can be received and
lined at both ends of the curtain aperture 3.
The guide rails 9 of this embodiment extend as far as
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into the slotted boxes lla, llb. The airchambers
formed by the curtain webs 30 to 33 in common wlth the
guide rails 8 are universally sealed at the upper ancl
lower curtain ends by sealing elements 13 in the slots
of the slotted boxes lla and llb.
The embodiment of Fig. 7 shows separating walls 34, 35
extending in the slotted boxes lla and llb in parallel
to the stretched curtain webs 30 to 33 and forming
separate slotted box chambers 36,37 in which the in-
dividual curtain webs 30 may disappear when they tra-
verse slots 20 to 23. By this means, the chambers
between the curtain webs disappearing in the slotted
boxes lla, llb are kept separate from one another by
way of a labyrinth packing so that
a convective air exchange is not possi~le in the
slotted boxes lla, llb. The embodiment of Fig. 7 is,
therefore, not fitted with sealing elements 13 at the
slots 20 to 23.
