Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02937183 2016-07-27
LIGHT SHIELDING STRUCTURE FOR VERTICAL BLIND
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates generally to window blinds, and more
particularly to a light shielding structure adapted to be used for a vertical
blind, wherein
the light shielding structure can improve the effect of shielding light.
2. Description of Related Art
10002] Various types of window coverings are available on the market, and the
window coverings which have slats can be classified into two types according
to the
arrangement of the slats, including vertical blinds and horizontal blinds.
However, no
matter for what types of window coverings, gaps tend to be left between the
covering
and the window frame, which may cause the problem of light leakage.
[0003] Take a vertical blind for example; it includes a headrail to be
installed at a
top edge of a window frame or on a wall, wherein a plurality of slats are
arranged along a
long axis of the headrail in a vertically hanged manner. The slats can be
turned in response
to the control of an adjusting mechanism, by which to perform the function of
shielding
light or allowing light to come in. In order to ensure the smoothness in
turning the slats, a
conventional vertical blind leaves a narrow gap between a bottom surface of
the headrail
and a top edge of the slats, so that the slats do not contact with the
headrail while being
turned. However, no matter the vertical blind is closed to shield light or is
open to allow
light to come in, the gap left between the bottom surface of the headrail and
the top edge
of the slats is likely to cause a light leakage.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In view of the above, the primary objective of the present invention
is to
provide a light shielding structure for a vertical blind, wherein the light
shielding structure
can reduce the light leakage, and improve the effect of shielding light.
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[0005] The present invention provides a light shielding structure for a
vertical
blind, wherein the vertical blind comprises a headrail and a plurality of
slats, which are
hanged under the headrail in a vertical manner, and can be controlled to be
turned
between a shielding position and a non-shielding position. The light shielding
structure is
characterized in that, at least one light shielding member is engaged with the
headrail,
wherein the at least one light shielding member is arranged along a portion of
the headrail
where the slats are hanged thereto; when the slats are at the shielding
position, the at least
one light shielding member naturally hangs down to cover gaps left between the
headrail
and a top of the slats; while the slats are being turned from the shielding
position to the
non-shielding position, the at least one light shielding member is flipped up
for being
pushed by the top of the slats; when the slats are at the non-shielding
position, a bottom
edge of the at least one light shielding member rests on a top edge at the top
of the slats.
[0006] Whereby, along with the turning of the slats, the light shielding
member
can either be easily flipped up or naturally droop. When the slats are open,
the light
shielding member is flipped up, and therefore does not hinder light from
coming in; when
the slats are closed, the light shielding member droops naturally, and
therefore covers the
gap between the bottom of the headrail and the top of the slats, which
prevents the
problem of light leakage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The present invention will be best understood by referring to the
following
detailed description of some illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which
[0008] FIG. I is a perspective view of a vertical blind of a preferred
embodiment,
showing the slats are closed to shield light;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a right side view of FIG. 1;
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[0011] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the case and the light shielding
member of
the vertical blind of the aforementioned preferred embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are similar to FIG. 3, showing the slats are
turned and
the light shielding member is flipped up;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a perspective view, showing the slats stay in the non-
shielding
position; and
100141 FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the ease and the light shielding member
of a
vertical blind of an alternative preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] A vertical blind 100 illustrated in FIG. Ito FIG. 3 includes a light
shielding
structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and includes a
headrail 10
and a plurality of slats 20, wherein the headrail 10 is installed at a top
edge of a window
or a frame of a building; the slats 20 are vertically arranged along a long
axis of the
headrail 10 in a parallel manner, and arc hanged below the headrail 10. Each
of the slats
20 respectively has a through hole 20c, and the headrail 10 has an adjusting
mechanism
(not shown) prOvided therein, wherein the adjusting mechanism includes a
plurality of
clips 11, each of which correspondingly passes through the through hole 20c of
one of
the slats 20 to hang the relevant slat 20, which makes the slats 20 movable by
the
adjusting mechanism. More specifically, the slats are synchronously turned
between a
shielding position and a non-shielding position, wherein the shielding
position
mentioned herein refers to the condition that neighboring slats 20 are
partially
overlapped, and the non-shielding position mentioned herein refers to the
condition that
the slats 20 are parallel to each other, which allows light from outside to
come in
through the gaps between each two neighboring slats 20. In this way, the slats
20 can be
either closed to shield light or open to let light in. However, the adjusting
mechanism is
a conventional art, and therefore we are not going to describe its details
herein.
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[0016] The headrail 10 in the preferred embodiment includes a hollow case 12
and
two side covers 14. As shown in FIG. 4, the case 12 in the preferred
embodiment is
made of metal .or extruded plastic as an example, and two insertion grooves
12a are
integrally formed on a bottom thereof, wherein the insertion grooves 12a are
formed
along a long axis of the case 12, and each has a lateral opening 12b. The side
covers 14
respectively engage with two sides of the case 12 to seal two ends of each of
the
insertion grooves 12a.
[0017] The light shielding structure of the present invention includes at
least one
light shielding member. In the current preferred embodiment, there are two
light
shielding members 30 included as an example. The light shielding members 30
are thin
plates, and each of the light shielding members 30 has substantially identical
length with
the headrail 10. Each of the light shielding members 30 includes a rod 32 and
an
extending plate 34, which is connected to the rod 32, and has a certain width.
To
assemble the light shielding structure, the rod 32 of each of the light
shielding members
30 is inserted into one of the insertion grooves 12a first, wherein the
extending plate 34
of each of the relevant light shielding members 30 passes through the
corresponding
lateral opening 12b; after that, the side covers 14 are engaged with two ends
of the case
12, so that the light shielding members 30 are connected to a bottom of the
headrail 10,
and can be flipped, wherein the extending plates 34 of the light shielding
members 30
are respectively located on the outside in front of and behind the slats 20.
[0018] In practice, the length of the light shielding members 30 at least has
to be
as long as the length of one portion of the headrail 10 where the slats 20 are
hanged
thereto. Both the light shielding members 30 naturally droop when the slats 20
are at the
shielding position, as shown in FIG. 3. At this time, the light shielding
members 30
cover the gaps formed between the bottom of the headrail 10 and a top edge 20b
of the
slats 20. In other words, a bottom edge 34a of each of the extending plates 34
is lower
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than the top edge 20b of the slats 20, which makes the extending plates 34
cover the
lateral sides at the top of the slats 20 without contacting with the slats 20.
It is preferred
that the bottom edge 34a of each of the extending plates 34 is at least lower
than a
bottom edge of the through hole 20c of each of the slats 20 to prevent light
from leaking
in therethrough, which improves the effect of shielding light.
[0019] On. the contrary, during the process of controlling the adjusting
mechanism
to turn the slats 20 from the shielding position shown in FIG. 1 to the non-
shielding
position shown in FIG. 7, corners 20a at the top of each of the slats 20
gradually moves
outward along with the turning of the slats 20. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6,
the slats
20 push against an inner wall of the extending plates 34 of the light
shielding members
30 with the corners 20a thereof while being turned, whereby the extending
plates 34 of
the light shielding members 30 are gradually flipped upward by the corners 20a
of the
slats 20, which are moving outward, till the corners 20a at the top of the
slats 20 no
longer contact with the extending plates 34. After that, while the slats 20
are
approaching the non-shielding position and finally stop at the non-shielding
position, the
bottom edge 34a of each of the extending plates 34 rests on the top edge 20b
of the slats
20. As a result, the light shielding members 30 would barely shield light when
the slats
are open. Furthermore, when the adjusting mechanism is controlled to move the
slats 20
back to the shielding position, the light shielding members 30 naturally droop
due to
their weight, and therefore the gaps left between the bottom surface of the
headrail 10
and the top edge of the slats 20 are covered again.
[0020] In the current preferred embodiment, the light shielding members 30 are
assembled and positioned by inserting the rods 32 into the insertion grooves
12a of the
case 12. However, in practice, each of the insertion grooves 12a is not
necessary to be
narrow and long, but can be also composed of a plurality of short grooves
which are
arranged along a long axis of the bottom of the case 12. Similarly, the rod 32
of each of
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the light shielding members 30 is not necessary to be integral, but can be
also composed
of a plurality of short rods. As long as the short rods and the short grooves
correspond to
each other, the light shielding members 30 can be still engaged with the case
12, and can
be moved and flipped relative to the headrail 10 as well. Alternatively, each
of the rods
32 can have a through hole provided along a long axis therein, wherein the
through hole
can be inserted by a rod (not shown), and two ends of the rod are respectively
connected
the side covers 14, which makes the light shielding members 30 pivotally
connected to
the headrail 10. With such design, while the slats 20 are being turned, the
light shielding
members 30 can be flipped up or can droop more easily. In addition, an
alternative
preferred embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 8, while the case 40 of the
headrail 10 in
said preferred embodiment are being made of plastic in an integral manner, the
light
shielding members 42 can be integrally connected to the bottom in front of and
behind
the case 40, wherein the light shielding members 42 are flexible, and
therefore can either
be easily flipped up or droop along with the turning of the slats 20. The
operation is
similar to that described in the previous preferred embodiment, wherein,
during the
process of turning the slats 20 from the non-shielding position to the
shielding position,
the bottom edges of the light shielding members 42 originally rests on the top
edge of
the slats 20, and eventually, the bottom edges of the light shielding members
42 are
lower than the top edge of the slats 20 to cover sides at the top of the slats
20, whereby
the objective of shielding light can be achieved.
[0021] In addition to preventing the problem of light leakage, the present
invention
can also improve the overall appearance of the vertical blind by using the
same material
for the extending plate of each of the light shielding members and the case,
wherein the
extending plate of each of the light shielding members and the case can be
designed to
have a consistent visual effect. Furthermore, when the slats are turned to the
non-shielding position, and the bottom edges of the extending plates of the
light
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shielding member rest on the top edge of the slats, the slats are more
unlikely to be
turned if applied with force other than that provided by the adjusting
mechanism (e.g.,
the wind). In other words, the angel of the slats is more resist, whereby the
noises which
may be caused during the turning of the slats can be avoided if the slats are
turned by
force other than that provided by the adjusting mechanism.
[0022] It must be pointed out that the embodiments described above are only
some
preferred embodiments of the present invention. All equivalent structures
which employ
the concepts disclosed in this specification and the appended claims should
fall within
the scope of the present invention.
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