AU2015101799A4 - Guide track for a blind or awning system - Google Patents

Abstract

A guide track for a blind or awning system having at least one sidewardly open longitudinally extending mounting channel positionable within or adjacent an opening. The guide track is longitudinally extending and positionable within the 5 sidewardly open mounting channel and configured to engage an edge of a blind or awning. The guide track includes a longitudinal groove in an outer surface thereof, whereby said guide track is fixedly attached to said mounting channel at a first position, and movably retained by respective locating means at a plurality of second positions therealong, said locating means engaging with said groove to thereby 10 permit longitudinal movement of said guide track relative to the mounting channel. Figure 3 Figure 4

Description

EDITORIAL NOTE 2015101799 - There are 9 pages of Description the page numbering begins at 2 2 GUIDE TRACK FOR A BLIND OR AWNING SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to track guided blind or awning systems and in particular to an internal track guided blind system having a guide 5 track held within a mounting channel by locating means that permit a degree of longitudinal movement of the guide track relative to the mounting channel. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are various configurations of track guided blind or awning systems disclosed in the prior art. Typical track guided systems include a roller for receiving 10 the blind or awning thereonto and opposing tracks positioned on opposite sides of an opening such as a window. Expanded vertical sides of the blind or awning material, or guide members attached to the blind/awning slidably engage respective tracks. The engagement of the expanded side or guide member within a chamber or keyway in the track permits the blind or awning to be moved lengthways along the 15 track to open or close the blind or awning. The reader will appreciate that the expanded side of the blind or awning may be formed by positioning a strip within a folded edge of the blind material or a guide member may be attached to or adjacent an edge of the blind or awning material by way of an adhesive or stitching. Typically the tracks are constructed from a generally rigid material such as 20 aluminium. Therefore one problem with existing blind systems is due to the regular movement of the blind or awning up and down the track, wearing of the blind or awing material can result thereby affecting the integrity of the system. To overcome this problem the prior art discloses a two-part track including a sidewardly open metal mounting channel and a plastic or nylon guide track that is 25 fixed within the mounting channel. The guide member or otherwise expanded side of the blind or awning slidably engages the plastic or nylon guide track to reduce friction and wearing of the blind or awning. The reader should appreciate that both the mounting channel and guide track have generally C-shaped cross-sectional profiles, wherein the guide track slots into the sidewardly open mounting channel. The guide 30 track is fixedly attached at various positions along its length to the mounting channel to inhibit it from falling out from therewithin.

3 However due to the differing thermal expansion and contraction properties of the mounting channel compared to the guide track, over time the guide track has a tendency to expand which leads to bunch or warping of the guide track within the mounting channel thereby affecting the operation of the track guided system. 5 It should be appreciated that the term 'guide track' or 'insert' may alternatively be used throughout the specification and refers to the member that is held within the metal mounting channel and is configured to be slidably engaged by the expanded edge or guide member of the blind. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the term 'blind' or 'awning' can be substituted for each other throughout the specification. 10 It should be appreciated that any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification is included solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention and should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art was widely known or formed part of the common general knowledge in the field as it existed before the priority date of the application. 15 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect of the invention, but not necessarily the broadest or only aspect, there is proposed a guide track for a blind or awning system having at least one sidewardly open longitudinally extending mounting channel positionable within or adjacent an opening, the guide track being longitudinally extending and positionable 20 within the sidewardly open mounting channel and configured to engage an edge of a blind or awning, said guide track including a longitudinal groove in an outer surface thereof, whereby said guide track is fixedly attached to said mounting channel at a first position, and movably retained by respective locating means at a plurality of second positions therealong, said locating means engaging with said groove to 25 thereby permit longitudinal movement of said guide track relative to the mounting channel. The longitudinally extending guide track is sidewardly open and configured to receive the edge of the blind or awning therein. An engagement member extends down an inner surface of the guide track for engagement with said edge of the blind 30 or awning. A guide, being attached to or forming a part of the edge of the blind or awning, is configured to slidably engage the guide track.

4 Preferably the locating means engage with said groove to inhibit lateral movement of the guide track out from within the mounting channel, while still permitting limited longitudinal movement of the guide track due to thermal expansion and contraction. 5 In one form the guide track is fixed attached to the mounting channel at one end thereof, wherein said first position is at the lower end of the mounting channel when attached vertically adjacent the opening. However the guide track may be fixed at any single point along the length of the mounting channel. The use of a single fixing point means that the guide track will not move excessively longitudinally 10 out from within the mounting channel, which may affect the operation of the blind or awing system. The guide track may be fixedly attached to the mounting channel by way of a rivet, screw or clip that fixes the guide track relative to the mounting channel at said first position. In one form a rivet is passed through a hole in the front of the mounting 15 channel and into or through a portion of the guide track. The locating means may be rivet, pins, screw or bolt that is configured to pass through, or create, a hole in the mounting channel such that an end extends into said longitudinal groove in the outer surface of the guide track. The locating means inhibits lateral movement of guide track out from within the mounting channel but still 20 permits a degree of longitudinal movement due to thermal expansion and contraction of the guide track, which thereby inhibits the bunching or warping of the guide track within the mounting channel. In one form the guide, attached to or adjacent the edge of the blind, is in the form of a generally planar elongate tongue. The elongate tongue is attached to the 25 blind by way of stitching that extends down a central region of the elongate tongue such that the sides of said tongue are free. Preferably mounting channels with respective guide tracks are position adjacent either vertical side of the opening and engage with guides that are attached to opposite vertical edges of the blind. The track guided blind system of the present 30 invention may be used on windows, doorways or other openings that require a covering. The mounting channel of the track guided blind system may also be sidewardly mounted.

5 The guide track may be constructed from plastic and the guide may be constructed from nylon. This ensures that the guide attached to the blind is able to slide freely within the guide track of the engagement member by minimising friction that is caused when the surface of the guide slides against the surface of the guide 5 track. The reader should however appreciate that other materials could be used provided the guide is able to freely slide within the guide track. The mounting channels may be constructed from aluminium or any other type of generally rigid material that is preferably UV and temperature stable, such that it is inhibited from warping or deteriorating under normal conditions. 10 The invention may also be said to reside in a track guided blind or awning system with a guide track as described above. Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is proposed a track guided blind or awning system, including: at least one sidewardly open longitudinally extending mounting channel positionable 15 within or adjacent an opening; a longitudinally extending guide track positionable within the sidewardly open mounting channel, the guide track including an engagement member, wherein a guide positioned on or adjacent an edge of a blind is slidably engageable with said engagement member; 20 wherein said guide track includes a longitudinal groove in an outer surface thereof, whereby said guide track is fixedly attached to said mounting channel at a first position, the remaining length of the guide track being movably retained by locating means that engage with said groove at a plurality of second positions therealong, to thereby permit longitudinal movement of said guide track relative to the mounting 25 channel at said second positions. In still another aspect of the invention there is proposed a guide track having an engagement member for slidably holding a guide attached to, or adjacent, an edge of a blind that inhibits wearing of stitching used to attached the guide to said blind or awning. 30 The engagement member may comprise opposing slot portions that are configured to engage with respective free sides of said guide. The slot portions in one form are laterally offset from each other such that the free sides of the generally planar elongate guide are held in different planes. The engagement member may 6 further include a step or shoulder intermediate of the opposing slot portions wherein the stitching used to attached the guide to the blind or awning is inhibited from contacting a surface of the engagement member or guide track, thereby inhibiting wearing of the stitching. 5 Alternatively, the opposing slot portions may be located on the same plane with an elongate cavity located therebetween, such that the stitching is inhibited from contacting a surface of the engagement member or guide track. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part 10 of this specification, illustrate an implementation of the invention and, together with the description and claims, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the track guided blind system of the present invention; 15 Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of a mounting channel and guide track of the prior art; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the mounting channel and guide track of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a top cross-sectional view of the mounting channel and guide track 20 of Figure 3; Figure 5a is an end view of the blind with double-sided tape attached; Figure 5b is an end view of Figure 5a with the guide attached to the tape; Figure 5c is an end view of Figure 5b illustrating the location of the stitching; Figure 6 is a top cross-sectional view of the mounting channel and guide track 25 of a second embodiment, illustrating an enlarged portion of the engagement member and stitching of the blind; 7 Figure 7 is a partial perspective view of the blind system of Figure 1, illustrating the expansion/contraction of the guide track within the mounting channel; and Figure 8 is a top cross-sectional view of Figure 7, illustrating the position of the 5 fixing means at the first position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED AND EXEMPLIFIED EMBODIMENTS Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawings may have been 10 deleted, modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration. Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description, a guide track 10 for a track guided blind or awning system 12 is illustrated, demonstrating by way of examples, arrangements in which the principles of the present invention may be employed. As illustrated in Figure 1, the guide tracks 10a, 1Ob respectively engage 15 sidewardly open longitudinally extending mounting channel 14a, 14b positioned within opening 16, in the present example being a window. The track guided blind system 12 further includes a roller 18 for receiving the blind 20 thereonto. As illustrated in Figure 1, the mounting channels 14a, 14b are attached to the inner surface of the window frame 22. Elongate guides 26 are 20 attached on either side of the blind 20 and are configured to slidably engage respective guide tracks 10a or 1Ob, located within the mounting channels 14a or 14b. A handle 26 is attached to the bottom of the blind 20 to permit a user to raise or lower the blind 20, as indicated by the arrow. Each guide track 1 0a, 1 Ob is fixedly attached at a lower end of the respective 25 mounting channels 14a, 14b by way of securing means 30. A plurality of locating means 32 movably engage a longitudinal groove 34 in an outer surface of a respective guide track 10a or 1Ob, as will be describe in detail below. Accordingly, the reader will now appreciate that each guide track 10a, 1Ob is fixed at one end and permitted to move, to a degree, longitudinally relative the 30 respective mounting channel 14a, 14b along the rest of its length. The plurality of locating means 32 engage with the longitudinal groove 34 to thereby inhibit the guide 8 track 1Oa, 1Ob from moving laterally out from within the respective mounting channel 14a, 14b. The guide tracks 1 Oa, 1 Ob each include a sidewardly open chamber 58 that opens towards a corresponding side of the blind 20. The edges of the blind 20 5 extend into respective chambers 58 and are slidably held therein during use. The guide tracks 10a, 10b include an open top adjacent the roller 18 whereby the blind edging is fed into the open top such that the edge is slidably captured within the chamber 58. It should be appreciated that the configuration of the mounting channels and 10 guide tracks on both side of the opening are the same and are simply placed in different orientations. Accordingly, any discussion regarding one side equally relates to the opposite side of the blind system. Figure 2 is provided to illustrate one of the issues with the prior art. It should be appreciated that the blind system of Figure 2 is for illustration purposes only and 15 is not an exact representation of an existing system. The system in Figure 2 includes a blind 40 having an enlarged edge 42, which slidably engages a guide track 44 that is fixedly attached at a number of locations along its length to the mounting channel 46 by way of rivets 48. The skilled addressee will appreciate that the mounting channel and guide 20 track are constructed from different materials that have different thermal properties, such as thermal dimensional stability. Over time, due to these different thermal properties and multiple fixing points, the guide track 44 has a tendency to warp or bunch up within the constraints of the mounting channel 46 as is represented by the irregular front face of the guide track 44 in Figure 2. This warping can have severe 25 repercussions for the correct operation of the blind system. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the mounting channel 14 of the present invention includes a generally C-shaped portion 50 and a planar projection 52. The mounting channel 14 is attached to the wall or frame 54 by way of screw 56 or other fixing means that pass through planar projection 52. 30 The guide track 10 is positioned within the C-shaped portion 50 of the mounting channel 14. The guide track 10 further includes an engagement member 60 within the sidewardly opening chamber 58, which extends down an inner surface 9 thereof. The guide 26 positioned on or adjacent an edge of the blind 20 slidably engages the engagement member 60. In the present embodiment the engagement member 60 comprises opposing slot portions 62, 64 that are configured to engage opposite sides of the guide 26. The slot portions 62, 64 are laterally offset from each 5 other, as most clearly illustrated in Figure 4. A shoulder 66 is positioned intermediate of the slot portions 62, 64, and will be discussed in more detail below. The guide track 10 further includes a longitudinal groove 68 in an outer surface of the guide track 10. The guide track 10 is retained within the mounting channel 14 by way of locating means 32, in the present example being plastic push 10 rivets that engage through respective holes in the C-shaped portion 50 of the mounting channel 14. As further illustrated in Figure 4 the end 70 of the rivet is positioned within the groove 68 to thereby capture the guide track 10 within the mounting channel 14. It is envisaged that the holes through the mounting channel 14 will be 3mm in diameter and be drilled by a person installing the blind system, 15 although other sized holes could be used. The locating means 32 prevents the guide track 10 from moving sidewardly or laterally out from within the mounting channel 14. Figures 5a to 5c illustrate the attachment of the elongate guide 26 to an edge of the blind 20. Firstly, as illustrated in Figure 5a, a length of double-sided tape 72 is attached to the blind 20. Then the guide 26 in the form of an elongate planar tongue 20 it attached to the other side of the tape 72. The tape 72 holds the guide 26 in place while the blind and guide 26 are stitched together as indicated by seam 74. The guide 26 is stitched to the blind 20 down a central line and therefore forms opposite free sides 76, 78. As illustrated in Figure 6, these free sides 76, 78 of the elongate guide 26 are configured to be slidably positioned with respective slot 25 portions 62, 64. The configuration of the guide 26 and engagement member 60 hold the blind 20 in a tensioned arrangement between opposing track guides 1Oa, 1Ob. As further illustrated in Figure 6, the laterally offset configuration of the slot portions 62, 64 means that the free sides of the generally planar elongate guide 26 are held in different planes. This configuration in combination with the shoulder 66 30 means that the stitching of the seam 74 used to attach the guide 26 to the blind 20 is inhibited from contacting a surface of the guide track 10. This therefore inhibits wearing of the seam 74 that may result if the outer surface of the stitching was sliding along a surface of either the engagement member 60 or guide track 10.

10 It should be appreciated that the slot portions 62, 64 may be located on the same plane with an elongate depression positioned therebetween, wherein the depression corresponds to the position of the outer surface of the sticking to inhibit contact therewith. 5 Figure 6 also illustrates a different orientation of the planar projection 52 that extends rearwardly of the C-shaped portion 50. This configuration of the mounting channel 14 is used when face mounting of the blind system is required. As illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the guide track 10 is fixedly attached to the mounting channel 14 at a first position 80 by way of rivet 30. The rivet 30 passes 10 through the mounting channel 14 and guide track 10 wherein an end 82 of the rivet 30 extends into longitudinally extending cavity 84 in an inner wall of the chamber 58. The remaining length of the guide track 10 is movably retained by locating means 32, as previously discussed with respect to Figures 3 and 4. The use of the single fixing position 80, means that the guide track 10 will not 15 move excessively in a longitudinal direction within the mounting channel 14, but can still move to a limited degree, as indicated by arrow 86 in Figure 7, to compensate for thermal expansion and contraction of the guide track 10. The illustrated invention provides advantages over the prior art by providing a track guide that is able to move to a degree relatively the mounted member to 20 compensate for thermal expansion and contraction. Furthermore, in one embodiment the configuration of the engagement member with intermediate shoulder inhibits the seam from wearing during operation of the track guided blind or awning system. Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described 25 in connection with the exemplified embodiments of the invention, however it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate the invention and it is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the invention can include various modifications, which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A guide track for a blind or awning system having at least one sidewardly open longitudinally extending mounting channel positionable within or adjacent an opening, the guide track being longitudinally extending and 5 positionable within the sidewardly open mounting channel and configured to engage an edge of a blind or awning, said guide track including a longitudinal groove in an outer surface thereof, whereby said guide track is fixedly attached to said mounting channel at a first position, and movably retained by respective locating means at a plurality of second positions therealong, said 10 locating means engaging with said groove to thereby permit longitudinal movement of said guide track relative to the mounting channel.

2. The guide track in accordance with claim 1, wherein the locating means is a rivet that engages through a hole in the locating member whereby an inner end of the rivet is positioned within said longitudinally extending groove to 15 thereby slidably retain the guide track within the mounting channel.

3. The guide track in accordance with claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide track includes a sidewardly open chamber having a longitudinal cavity extending along an inner wall thereof, the longitudinal cavity configured to receive an end of a fixing means for fixedly attached said guide track to the mounting 20 channel at said first position.

4. The guide track in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3, further including an engagement member being slidably engageable with a guide positioned on or adjacent an edge of a blind or awning of said blind or awning system, wherein the engagement member includes a means for inhibiting a stitching, 25 used to attach the guide to said blind or awning, from contacting a surface of said guide track or engagement member.

5. A track guided blind or awning system, including: at least one sidewardly open longitudinally extending mounting channel positionable within or adjacent an opening; 30 a longitudinally extending guide track positionable within the sidewardly open mounting channel, the guide track including an engagement member, wherein a guide positioned on or adjacent an edge of a blind is slidably engageable 12 with said engagement member; wherein said guide track includes a longitudinal groove in an outer surface thereof, whereby said guide track is fixedly attached to said mounting channel at a first position, the remaining length of the guide track being movably 5 retained by locating means that engage with said groove at a plurality of second positions therealong, to thereby permit longitudinal movement of said guide track relative to the mounting channel at said second positions.