STORES DECORATIFS

DECORATIVE WINDOW BLINDS

Abrégé anglais

ABSTRACT
A vane for a window blind is provided, having at least
one groove adapted to receive a decorative inlay in at least one
side thereof; said inlay may be snapped in and out of said
groove.

Revendications

72749-6S
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A vane for a window blind characterized in that the vane
has two opposed sides and two edges, and in that at least one
longitudinal groove is provided in at least one side thereof, said
groove being adapted to receive and releasably retain a decorative
inlay.
2. A vane as claimed in claim 1, wherein said groove, in
transverse cross-section, has a bottom and two opposed sides, said
sides converging towards the mouth of the groove so as to
releasably retain said decorative inlay.
3. A vane as claimed in claim 1 having a plurality of
grooves.
4. A vane as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one
groove on each side thereof.
5. A vane as claimed in claim 1, wherein said decorative
inlay is comprised of a plurality of strips of varying lengths.
6. A vane as claimed in claim 1, wherein said decorative
inlay is comprised of strips adapted to be held within said groove
and is characterized by an outer surface flush with said side when
said inlay is disposed within said groove.
7. A vane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said decorative
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72749-6S
inlay is comprised of a strip adapted to be held within said
groove and is characterized by an outer surface that extends above
said flat side when said inlay is disposed within said groove.
8. A window blind having a plurality of vanes as claimed in
claim 1, 2 or 3.
9. A window blind having a plurality of vanes as claimed in
claim 4, 5 or 6.
10. A window blind having a plurality of vanes as claimed in
claim 7.
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Description

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72749-6S
This invention relates to decorative vanes for window
blinds of the vertical or horizontal (venetian) type. The vanes
of such blinds must generally be fairly rigid and are therefore
generally made of metal or plastic. Efforts have been made
previously to make such vanes decorative in appearance, so as to
avoid the appearance of a large expanse of plastic or metal.
Previous such efforts to provide decorative vanes have
included vanes made of a stiffened cloth (United States Patent
4,519,435 - Stier), vanes comprised of a double layer of clear
material between which a decorative strip may be inserted (United
States Patent 2,074,482 - Martens), and vanes characterized by
clips on one or both sides thereof into which decorative strips
may be inserted (United States Patent 4,628,980 - Le Houillier).
Such vanes all face the drawback that the decorative element is
not an integral part of the vane and therefore has a diminished
appeal to the eye. Such vanes that include clip members face
additional drawbacks associated with protuberances extending from
vanes, namely the risk of entanglement, diminished appearance, and
difficulty of cleaning. Additionally, such vanes may support at
most a very limited number of decorative strips.
The present invention is a vane for a window blind
characterized in that the vane has opposed sides and two edges.
At least one longitudinal groove is provided in at least one side
of the vane, the groove adapted to receive and releasably retain a
decorative inlay.
The invention will now be further described in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
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72749-6S
Figure 1 is an elevational view of a venetian blind
having vanes according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is an elevational view of a vertical blind
having vanes according to the present invention;
Figure 3 is a view of a portion of one of the broad
sides of a vane according to the present invention;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line a-a in
Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a vane and an
inlay according to the present invention including dimensions in
inches thereof.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a window blind may be
comprised of a plurality of vanes disposed either horizontally or
vertically. Such a blind also comprises a mechanism (not shown)
for rotating each vane longitudinally as well as for opening and
closing the blind by sliding the vanes towards or away from each
other either vertically (Figure 1) or horizontally (Figure 2).
Referring to Figures 3 and 4, a vane 5 according to the
invention is provided which is formed of plastic or other suitable
material. The vane 5 is of a width generally found in blinds of
this type and of a thickness suitable for the insertion of a
decorative inlay in grooves on one or both sides thereof. Grooves
6 are disposed longitudinally within the vane 5, and may be molded
or machined therein. The cross-section of each groove 6 is
comprised of a bottom 7 and straight sides 8 which converge in the
direction of the surface of the vane so as to enable a decorative
inlay 9 to be releasably retained in the groove 6. As seen in

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72749-6S
Figure 4, the exposed surface of the inlay 9 is flush with the top
surface of the vane 5.
In the example illustrated in Figure 5, the vane 5' is
3.5 inches wide and 0.05 inches thick. A groove 6' is disposed
within the vane 5' having a depth of 0.025 inches and having sides
8' each of which slopes inwardly in the direction of the surface
of the vane, at an angle of 20 from the vertical. The bottom 7'
of the groove 6' has a width of 0.135 inches and the top of the
groove 6' has a width of 0.118 inches. An inlay 9' is provided
having dimensions suitable for fitting snugly within the groove 6'
and displaying an exposed surface flush with the top surface of
the vane 5'.
As an alternative embodiment of such inlay, the exposed
surface of an inlay lO may be elevated above the corresponding
surface of the vane 5 and may describe a smooth bulge or other
configuration, as seen in Figure 4. The exposed surface of such
inlay should not protrude excessively above the surface of the
vane to avoid the potential drawbacks discussed above.
It will be seen that each such vane may support a number
of such grooves on one or both sides thereof, and that such inlays
may comprise a variety of color combinations and patterns formed
with different lengths of inlays. Such patterns may encompass
individual vanes, or may by cooperation of the patterns in
individual vanes encompass an entire blind or sections thereof.
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