EP0032884A1

EP0032884A1 - Roller blind holder

Info

Publication number: EP0032884A1
Application number: EP81850006A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Leif Ohlsson
Original assignee: Hagglund and Soner AB; Haegglund and Soener AB
Current assignee: Hagglund and Soner AB; Haegglund and Soener AB
Priority date: 1980-01-16
Filing date: 1981-01-14
Publication date: 1981-07-29
Also published as: NO152465B; FI810090L; SE8000361L; NO810130L; NO152465C; SE431246B; EP0032884B1; DE3161386D1; FI68448C; DK11681A; FI68448B

Abstract

Roller blind holder for wall, ceiling, bottom, niche or wall fitting mounting consisting of box-shaped holder parts made of plastic material in which the blind rod spindle and knob ends, respectively, rest. By means of different mounting holes (3, 3a, 6, 9) the roller blind holder can be screwed by means of the holes which are most suitably situated for the occasion in question. The spindle end of the blind rod is inserted in one of two cross-shaped holes in one of the holders while the knob end of the rod is inserted into corresponding slots in the second holder (1a). Locking is effected by means of a locking plug (12) which is fixed in an intermediate bottom (10) in the holder part (1a) by means of stops (23) in its shanks (22).

Description

The present invention relates to a plastic roller blind holder having improved properties and a more aesthetically appealing appearance than previous constructions.
Roller blind rods are equipped at one end with a round stud, a knob, for free rotation in a roller blind holder and at the other end with a rectangular stud, a spindle, for fixation in a corresponding square hole in a second holder. The rectangular spindle stud is connected to a spring inside the roller blind rod so that the spring is drawn when the roller blind is pulled down, said roller blind rolling itself up when a locking mechanism is released. The locking mechanism for the spring is fixedly attached to the spindle and consists of a ratchet which falls into its locking position by means of gravitational pull. In order that the ratchet shall be able to function, the rectangular spindle stud must assume a certain vertical position and, thus, one must have different holders if attachment is to take place in ceilings or walls with the holes turned 90° relative each other.
It can also be necessary to arrange a roller blind at different distances from walls or ceilings depending on the rod dimension, fabric thickness, fabric length or if the wall is smooth or has projecting mouldings so that the bottom fillet of the roller blind can be used as a stop in the upper position and prevent excess rolling. One must then use holders of differing lengths.
The common roller blind holder consists of an angularly bent metal strip, one angular leg of which is provided with a hole or slot for attachment of the roller blind rod and the other angular leg of which is provided with holes for mounting with screws or nails. Roller blind holders are normally made out of metal sheet in which one or more Stiffenir folds are made ir one in the prease stablished and rigidity. Many attempts have been made to improve the metal holders and make them less aesthetically disturbing as well as to cheapen production. For example, they have been made in two-piece constructions in order to be able to move the parts relative each other and thereby move the blind closer to or further away from the wall. Locking in the correct position has been arranged by means of a screw. Furthermore, holders having both round holes and square slots have been made in order to only need one kind of holder when it has not been possible to have the roller blind rod in the middle of the holder. Attempts have also been made to include a plastic bearing for the knobs in order to expediate rotation, etc.
The present invention relates to a roller blind holder made entirely out of plastic and manufactured by means of injection.casting in one operation. Said holder has a considerably more appealing appearance than the previous metal holders and, due to the selection of material, is more sound-absorbing and durable.
The invention shall be described in more detail below with reference made to the accompanying drawings which provide perspective views in which Figure 1 is a roller blind holder according to the invention for the spindle side of the blind rod, Figure 2 is a holder according to the invention for the knob side of the blind rod, Figure 3 is the holder according to Figure 1 as seen from above, Figure 4 is a locking plug according to the invention and Figure 5 is the roller blind holder according to Figure 2 with attached locking plug.
The roller blind holder consists of a box-shaped housing l,la, the bottom of which is provided with two feet 2 having holes 3,3a for normal mounting with screws or nails. In order to reinforce the construction, the front side and back side are extended so as to form strips 4 in the corners. P-n aperture 5 is arranged in the front side of the housing and corresponds to two screw holes 6 through the back side so as to make attachment to a niche or wall corner possible. The base 7 of the housing is raised above the bottom surface of the feet and provided with a central screw hole 9 preferably intended for attachment to wall fittings or rods. An intermediate bottom 10 having an aperture 11 for a locking plug 12 is arranged above the aperture 5 in the front wall as a reinforcement. Said aperture 11 also makes it possible to insert a screw into the bottom hole 9. The intermediate bottom is braced by two triangular parts 13, cf. Figure 3, and, finally, the front and back sides are thickened 14. The holders 1 and la for the two sides of the roller blind rod correspond in the above-mentioned details and only differ in the design of their front sides.
Two cross-shaped holes 16 are arranged on the front side 15 of the holder 1 which shall carry the rectangular spindle on the roller blind rod, in which holes the spindle can be fixed in the vertical or horizontal position depending on if the holder is attached to a vertical wall or a horizontal ceiling. The simple locking mechanism in the roller blind rod can thereby always be made to function. The different distances of the holes 16 from the bottom surface of the feet provide sufficiently large selection possibilities for normally required distances from the wall and ceiling surface as mentioned above for different rod dimensions, fabric thicknesses and fabric lengths. By means of said possibility of variation, the bottom fillet of the roller blind can always be used as a stop in the upper position and thereby prevent excess rolling without having to use underlays beneath the holders or special stops for the bottom fillet as is now common in difficult cases. The front side 17 of the holder la for the knob end of the roller blind rod has two horizontal slots 18 which are inwardly terminated by a semicircular bottom whose centers are aligned with the middle line of the holder. The other ends of the slots terminate in an upwardly open vertical slot 19 through which the knoh of the cod can be inserted in the desired slot 18. The knob is then locked into its position by means of the locking plug 12. Said plug, which is shown in Figure 4, consists of a handle part 21 having the same length and width as the upper end of the holder and serves to seal the holder in an aesthetic manner. The locking plug has two shanks 22 which are pointed at their ends and provided with stops 23 for engagement and locking in the aperture 11 in the intermediate bottom 10. In their attachment in the handle part, the shanks are also provided with reinforcements 24 which are pointed so that insertion shall be expediated.
When mounting the roller blind in the holders, the spindle is first inserted with its rectangular cross section vertically in the cross-shaped hole which fits the blind. The knob is thereafter inserted into the corresponding slot 18 in the second holder and locking takes place by means of insertion of the locking plugs.
In the most common form of assembly, wall mounting, the knobs will now rest partly against the bottom edge of the slot 18, but even against the inside of the locking plug shank 22, whereby wear on the edge of the hole is reduced. The holes in a metal holder are worn rather quickly, but even if the plastic material, normally Delrin ® , has better resistance to wear due to its lower friction coefficient, a further improvement is still of value. Should the plug be worn so much that play arises, it can easily be exchanged for a new one. The locking plugs for the two holders are identical and both sides of the blind obtain the same appearance and a considerably more pleasant appearance than previously used metal holders have to offer.
The roller blind holders according to the present invention are designed to fit into a larger system with combined mounting of roller blinds, draw-curtains, curtain fringes and the like. In this manner, the entire blind mounting with roller blind attachment, sliding rods for normal curtains, etc. is achieved by means of one single construction. Such a construction can be made without any projecting parts or edges which can catch onto and damage fragile curtains. By means of the box-like construction of the roller blind holders, both the spindle and the rotating knob will be surrounded and protected from contact. In previous roller blind holders, it has been quite common that the curtains and blinds have caught in the blind holders and been torn during mounting, pulling or fluttering.

Claims

1. Plastic roller blind holder for wall, ceiling, bottom, niche or wall fitting mounting, characterized in that it consists of a box-shaped holder part (l,la) and a locking plug (12) having two shanks (22) and that the holder part is reinforced by corner strips (4) and an intermediate bottom (10), said intermediate bottom (10) having a central opening (11) for receiving and locking the shanks (22) of the locking plug.

2. Holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the holder part (1) for the spindle end of the roller blind has two cross-shaped holes (16) on the front side (15) for fixation of the rectangular spindle in the vertical position.

3. Holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the front side (17) of the holder part (la) for the roller blind has two horizontal slots (18) corresponding to the two cross-shaped holes (16) in the first holder part (1) with a connecting vertical slot (19) for the insertion of the blind knob.

4. Holder according to claims 1-3, characterized in that the shanks (22) of the locking plug (12) are arranged to rest against the spindle and knob, respectively, so as to absorb friction and wear.

5. Holder according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front and rear walls are reinforced by means of thickening (14).

6. The use of the roller blind holder according to the preceding claims in a system for mounting roller blinds and slide rods for normal curtains as a single construction.