CA1185165A - Support for traversing window covering device - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A support member for horizontal members or elements in a traversable opening covering device is disclosed. In the preferred embodiment, the opening covering device is a vertical blind for a window opening. The vertical blind includes a plurality of vanes and carriers supporting the vanes, and a track structure for traversably supporting the carriers. The rod controls movement of the vanes, i.e. traversing or rotating of the vanes. In the preferred embodiment, the carriers are traversed by a cord arrangement and the support member also supports the cord. The support member comprises a body having an opening therein adapted to slidably receive the horizontally extending rod, shoulders or rollers disposed on opposed sides of the body adapted to be traversably received in the track structure, and another opening or a spring arrange-ment associated with the body adapted to receive a cord therein which is used to traverse the carriers and which is releasably and frictionally engaged with the opening or spring arrangement.
Movement of the cord traverses the carriers and also traverses the support member from one end of the track structure to a predetermined supporting location at the central part of track structure. The support member is retained at the predetermined location at the central part of the track structure when the frictional engagement between the cord and support body is over-come so that further movement of the cord traverses the carriers but not the support member.

Description

g~

WINDOW COVERIMG DEVICE

1 ' ~9 ,

2 The present invention rela~es generally ko traversinq

3 , opening covering devioes an~ more par~icularly to a traversable

4 support for one or more horizontally~ex~ending members or elements in such dPvices.
6 Traversing window or opening covering devices as used 7 herein include vertical blinds, ~raversable draperies and similar 8 traversable window and wall covering devices and traversable 9 space separating devices. Col~mon to suGh devices is one or more horizon~ally-extendin~ ~embers or elemen~s~ In vertical 11 blind structur~s, ~he horizon~ally-extending member or elemen~
~2 may be one ox more x~ds used to effect traversing and/or ~3 rotation, or a cord or similar element us d to e~fect traversing~
14 For a traversable drapery, the horizon~ally extending member 1~ may be the support rod and~or a cord or similar elemen~ used to 16 e~fect traversing~ The traversab~e support according to ~he 17 invention preven~s sagging of such horizontally~ex~ending 18 members or elements. The invention and it5 background w.ill be ~9 further describe~ in connection with vPr tical blinds, it being ~o unders~ood, however, that the invention and its use are not limited to vertical blinds.
22 Vanes of vertical blinds are usually supported by 23 and suspended from members commonly ref~rred to as carriers 24 which themselve~ ar~ traversatily supported by a traek structure~
The carriers include mPans interconnec~ing ~h~m ~o ~imi~ ~he 26 distanc~ by which they m~y be separat d7 suich means ommoniy ~7 compris~ spac~rs or spacer links. ~h carriers also incLude 28 .,means for mounting drive mean ~or rotating the van~s ~n~

~ ! leas~ ~e ~ hi~ ~a~r~2~3 ~r, ~h~ bl~ n~ e~ ~an~
30 ¦~h~ carrie~ may be noved along ~he track or ~tralJersDd~
ii .
1!

In one type of vertical blind structure, gearing is disposed in the carrier which9 upon being driven causes the vane suspended from the carrier to rotate. The gearing is driven by a horizontally extending rotation rod~ This type of blind structure is described in my U.S. Patent No. 49140,169 issued on February 20, 1979. In this type of blind structure, the rotation rod is rotatably supported at its ends in the track structure with the rntation rod extending through the carriers. Since the rotation rod extends through the carriers9 the carriers also support the rotation rod when the carriers and vanes are extended or traversed and d.istributed along the length of the track. However9 when the carriers and vanes are retracted and stacked or bunched to one side of the track structure, the rotation rod is unsupported except adjacent the ends thereof. Thus, the rotation rod tends to sag near the center of the rod and the sag may become excessive as the length of the blind structure increases. Similarly, the cord used to traverse the blind vanes will also tend to sag. The sagging of the rotation rod and cord become visible and detract from the appearance of the blind structure.
In addition, such sagging afFects mechanical operation of the blinds. For example, a sagging rod has "-Free play"
where the rod is unrestrained, i.e. unsupported by carriers;
rotation of the rod to effect rotation of the vanes pivots the rod in the unsupported region thereby whipping the unrestrained rod against adjacent walls of the track structure. This can damage the rods and the track structure, and becomes noisy, thereby detracting from the blind's performance.
In the type of blind structure described in my l aforemen-tioned '169 patent; a cord arrangemen-t is utilized to effect traverse of the carriers and vanes and only a singl.e rod extends horizontally in the track structure which, as mentioned, is used for rotating the vanes.
In another type of vertical blind structure, two rods extend horizontally in the track structureO One rod is used to rotate the vanes and the other rod is used to traverse the carriers and vanes. This other type of blind structure is described in U. S. Patent No. 3,l901346 issued to Joseph P. Arena et al. on June 22, 1965. Both rods will tend to sag in this other type of blind structure when the carriers and vanes are retracted and stacked or bunched to one side. Either rod can be whipped against the other or against adjacent walls of the track structure during operation of the blind.
SUMMARY OF Ti-lE INVENTION
The presen-t invention is directed to improvements in vertical blinds which includes a plurality of vanes, a plurality of carriers for traversably supporting the vanes, a track structure in which the carri.ers are traversably mounted, means including a horizontally-extending rod for rotating the vanes and means including a cord for traversing the carriers. The improvement comprises a support For supporting the horizontally-extending rod between predeterminded locations in the track structure, the support comprising means for traversably mounting the support in the track structure, an opening in the support through which the horizontally-extending rod extends such that the support ~S~65 1 in cooperation with the track structure slidably suppor-ts the rod between the predetermined locations 9 means for fric-tionally engaging the cord such that -the support is traversed between the predetermined locations upon movement of the cord, and cooperating means associated wi-th -the support and the -track s-tructure for limiting movement of the support between the predetermined locations. The engaging means frictionally engages the cord to traverse the support between the predetermined ~0 loca-tions upon movement of the cord to traverse the carriers along a portion of the track structure and release the support from engagement with the cord in cooperation with the limiting means at the predetermined locations such that the support remains stationary with respect to the track structure at the predetemined locations upon further movement of the cord.
According to the invention a support for support.ing a horizontally-extending rod in a -track structure of a vertical blind between prede-termined looatir.)ns in the track structure comprises means for traversably mounting the support in the track structure, an opening in the support through which the horizontally--extending rod is adapted to extend such that the support in cooperation with the track structure is adapted to slidably support the rod between the predetermined locations 3 means for frictionally engaging a cord used to traverse carriers in the blind such that the support can be traversed between the predetermined locations upon rnovement of the cord, means associated wi-th 1 the support adapted to cooperate with means associated with the track structure for limiting -traversing of -the support between the predetermined locations. The engaglng means is adapted to Frictionally engage the cord to traverse the support between the prede-termined locations upon traversing of the carriers along a portion of the track structure. The engaging means is Further adapted to release -the support from engagement with the cord in cooperation with the limiting means at the predetermined locations such that the support remains sta-tionary wi-th respec-t to the track structure a-t the predetermined locations upon further movemen-t of the cord.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF T~IF DRAWINGS
The present invention is illustra-ted by way of example and no-t limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicated similar parts and in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view depicting the support member disposed in a vertical blind structure in accordance with the preFerred embodiment oF the invention;
FIG. ~ is a side section view taken longitudinally -through the upper track and support struc-ture oF the vertical blind structure of FIG. 1 depicting the carrier members supportirlg the vanes, and the means for -traversing the vanes and ro-tating -the vanes, with -the carrier members being drawn to -the right and stacked and the support member in its rod supporting position in the central region of the track;

1 FIG. 3 is a side section view similar to that of FIG. 2 depicting the carrier members and vanes in partially extended configuration wi-th the support member adjacent -the end of the tracl<;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view partially in section of the side of the upper track structure opposed to that shown in FIG. 2 and 3, and depicting the carriers and -the ~D~ b~- _ /''/

,~' .... _ _ _ . . . . .. __ 1 on the r~tation rod, and the cord arrangement for traversing the carriers and support member;
FIG. 5 is found on page 1 of the drawings and is a vertical section taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 2;
FIG. 6 is found on page 1 of the drawings and is a vertical section taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 3;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a por-tion of -the support of FIGS. 2-4 illustrating another embodiment of mounting means therefor; and FIG. 8 is a side view of a portion of the support o~
FIGS. 2-4 illustrating another embodiment of friction means therefor.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment Refer~ing more particularly now to the drawings, the support member 10 and the vertical blinds 12 in which the support is disposed are illustrated.
FIG. 1 depicts the vertical blinds 12 mounted along a wlndow opening 14 with the vanes 16 traversed to a completely retracted position drawn to the right side, with the vanes in an open rotated pos;tion. The support member 10 is ln a traversed position in the central part of the blinds supporting the rod 18 which is used to rotate the vanes and the cord 22 used to traverse the vanes. The chain 20 is used to ac-tuate rotation of the vanes and the suspended portion of the cord 22 at the right side of the blind is used to traverse the vanes.
The carriers 24 (FIGS 2-4~ from which the vanes 16 are suspended comprise a body 26 and a spacer 28. Advantageously, the carrier 24 may be of the type described in my aforementioned '169 patent. Spacer 28 extends from the L '/:

~ 13,~
, ;
1 j carrie:r body and includes a ~ab 30 (FIGS. 2 and 3~ at he 2 ! distal ~nd o~ th~ ~paoer. A slotted opening 32 1~F~5~, 4) i 3 i is provided is~ the end of ~he carrier whic:h i opposite 1~ 1, the e~d from which ~he pacer ex~end~9 with i:he openiny 32 , and spacer 2B includirlg the tab 3~ being sized so that 6 the spacer and slotted opening c)f adjacently mounted carriers 7 may be interconnected for traversa~le movemen~ along ~he . track 34L The spacer s in~erted in ~he slo~tedl operlin~
g 1 and slidal:le therein with the tab in~erïocking adjacent ~o carriers by prev~nting the spacer oP one carrier rom being ~1 axially withdrawn ~Erom the openin~y of an ad jacent carrier ~2 ¦! Thus9 the lengkh 9f the spacers d termines t~e ma~simum ~ distance that the carriers ~nay be ~paced apart. Sect.ions 36 j form a slot at ~he top o the opening 32 and retai~ th~ ;
15 ' spacer in the opel~ing~, 16 ; As shown ~n the drawiny~ ~he carri~rs are moun~ed fo~ a right-drawn blind. Re~erring to FIGS~ ~ an~ 6 car:riex 2~ includes ~-shaped shou~dexs 38 project.ing ~g outwardly from opposed sides of the carrier whioh support the carriers and suspended vane~ 1~ in the in~erior track raceways 40 lFIGo 6) longitudinally disposed along the Z2 interior of opposed sides of ~he ~rack 347 The shoulders and 23 ' raceways are sized so that the carri~r may be mounted in and 24 ~ slidably supported by the racewaysO I is also co~templated

5 ¦ that wheel~ and an associa~ed raceway may be used ins~ead o~
26 the L-shapsd shoulder~.
~7 1 As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6~ ~he carrier bDdy 26 28 i hous~s a worm 42 a~d a-wonm wheel 44 or rota~ing ~h0 ~a~e~
29 The rotation rod 18 18 lsngitudinall~ dispo~e~ w~hi~ ~ra~k 3 34 and extends khrough oppos~d op~in~ he ~nd~
I

,, ., , .,.~

G~ -5~

1 caxrier ~odies 26~, ~he rod i ro~a~ably ~upportecl adiace~t :2 oppoQed Q~nds o ~he txack in slee~es 46 made of 2~ low 3, fri~:tlorl material suc:h as a~ylon. The sleeves 46 are 15 , riS~dly ~ec:ured in ~he ends of ~he ~rac:k . The woxm~ 4 2 are 5 hollc>w and are disposed in the eaxrier bodies 26 wi.th the

6 rotatic-n rod 18 extending through the worms. ~emale splines

7 48 extend axially aïong rotation rod 18 and ribs or male

8 splines 50 (FIG. 6) extend axially along the inner cixcum-g erence of worm 42~ The splines are sized ~uch that the 10 male splines are ~lidably engagea within the :Eemale splines.
11 Thus, the wsrm will rotate with the rotatillg rod arld is in ~2 slidabl~ engagement with respect there~D.
13 Also disposed in carriex bodies 26 for ro~a~
th~rein are the wor~ wh els 440 As sho~n i~ FIG. 6, carrier bodies 26 hav~ another opening S~ Secured to worm wheel 44 1~ is bushing 56 which ls sized and ~isposed to ro~ate within ~7 opening 5~. The bushing is of reduced diameter compared ~o 18 the worm wheel and, as a resul~ ~h~ end o~the worm wheel 19 adjacent the bushing orms A shoulder 58 which is supported by shoulder 60 of the carxiex bodyl Bushing 56 includes an 2~ axially ~lotted section ha~ing a hook 62 and vanes 16 i~clude 22 a ~lot (~ot shown) for securing the Yanes ~o the bushing5.
~3 The openings in the carr.ier bodies and the worms and worm 24 wheel~ are 5i zed and æisposed so tha~ the wo~ms and worm wheels mesh~ whereupon ro~ation o~ the worms Cause ~the 26 worm wheels and va~es to rota~e.
27 FIG. ~ 5hows a lead carri2r body 26A and a cord ~8 j, a~angi~m~ o~ ~raY~r~ he c~ a~
~9 ¦~ bod~ 2~ p~tio~ h~ em~ h~
3~ o~ a~g ~ E~d ~w~ 3 ~
3~ a ~ dr~ nd (and ~ ~h~ m~

(~ t~

~ ln a lef~-draw blind wl~h two lead carr:Lers be:Lrag used in a 2 i bi-parting blind~ ~ Carrier body 26A :~ncludes hol~ 64 ~ 66 3 i' ~i~posed in ~he left en~ ~righ~ end as S~OW~ FIG., 4~1 4 o~ he carrier body arld a~ opening 68 (FïG, 6~ is disposed 5 ' in I:he bottom of the carrier body ;~djacent opening 520 6 A cord 22 is attached to the carrier body by means of sueh 7 holes as fCIllGWSo ~ kno~ 70 i5 made in one end c~ cor~
8 22 or a piece such as a bal l or ta~ ~not showr~) i5 g afix~ad or crimped to that cord end. The cord :L8 pulled 10 in~ he ~arxier body through ~pening 64 and out o: ~h~
~L carrier body throllgh ~he top ~hereo~ with ~he ~not 70 erlgaging the or~e en~ o the co:s:d in ~he end face o~ the 13 carrier body. The cord is ~hen passed through guide 66 in th~ top of the carrier body and through a hole in ~e ~5 suppor~ 18 an~ around pulley 72 disposed in the lef~
1~; ~riqht in FXG. 4) end oî ~e track 34. ~rom pulley 729 17 t~e coxd is run ~o the opposite end o~ the track aLnd out 18 thr~3ugh an opening 7 4 in end 75 . A loop of cord is 1~ :Eormed ~FIGS. ï and..4~ outside of the track with the 20 cord ~eing retuxned to the inside of ~e track through 21 opening 76 al~o in end 75. The other end 78 o~ the cor~l 2:2 is then r~n back to ~h~ lead caxrier ~ody 26Ao The end ~3 78 i5 secuxed in carri~r bs~y 26~ by passing i~ into 24 i the top of the carrier body, out throu~h oper~ing 66, alon~T
2~; ,. the le~t ~right in FIG. 4) end o~ the carri r body and 26 back into the carrier body through opening 6Elo ~ knc~
27 i~ tied ~ retain th~ cord end 78 in th,o c~rrier ~ody= .
28 Ij The e~paning 68 extends ~ the l:ottom v:~ t}le carrier bod~
29 ! and ine:lude~ an enlar~e~nt into wh~ h the kno~
30 ij inserted3 ~e 3cn~t being preven~t~d rom b~:ing wi~dra~i~m 1.

I 11 .

li ~

, through hole 6 8 since the kno~ i larger than the hole o 2 j~ As the carriers are txaversed to the let from ~hS~ position~
3 ¦1 ~hown in FIG. 2 ~1~ the posi~lons 52lown 9.n FIG~ 3" the pacers slide through ~he slo~ted operlings and over ~e 5 ', oppositely dispo~ed pacex o~ an adjacent carri r~ ~he 6 j ~acking of ~he spacers bein~ facili~a~ed by the flexing 7 ¦ or hinging of ~he spacer~ upwardly about sections 220 8 I Ref erring to ~ he suppor~ member l o

9 ! includes a body 90 havirlg an opening g2 sized to ~lidabl y 0 receive the rota~ion rod 18. Extending ~rom opposed ~ides ~ 93, 94 of the ~upport body are L-shaped shoulder~ 96, ~L2 j! ~imilar to the ~holalder 38 mounted on the carrier bodies 13 26., The L shaped shoulder~ 96 are slidably received in .~ 1 the opposed track raceway3 40 in a manner similar o tllat 15 ' shown in FIGo 6 for the shoulder~ 38. ~he body 90 al~o 16 i1,~cludes a projection 98 extending fros~ the bottom of 17 the bodyO An annular flanged portion 100 i~ provided adjacent a ~hP opening 92 ~o s~abilize the slidable mounting of ~9 the body 9û alo}lg the xota~ion rod 18. T~se o the elongated ;20 L-shaped shoulder~ 96 and the flanged por~ion 100 enables .
21 the body ~0 ~o be made rela~ ely thin and at the same ~:2 time stabilize body 90 during ~raversing.,. Disposed in 23 ¦; the top o the bc~dy 9û adjacen~ ~ide 94 is a slo~ed opening 24 1 102. The opening proper 104 ha~ an inside diameter whiGh ~, .
25 ' is les5 than th~! dialneter of he cor~ 22. The opening 102 26 al50 includes a tapered por~lon 106 which fac~ litate~
27inser~ion of the s:ord 22 ir~ the openin~ p:roper 1040 - ~
28 IAdvah~ageously; ~he zupport member 10 i~ o ~9 I unitary co2l8truc t:i9~ Lt: iL3 a one~p:i.ee~ unii~ wi~h ~e 3~ ' zhou~dPrG~ pro 3~c~iont ~nnular flangs, and openin~s :~or~ed 11 .,.. ' .

( ~3 !
. ., , ~3 ~5~
.

1 , integrally ~herewi~,, The ~Isppc~r~ i~ advan~a~20usly m~lded j ollt o Nylor~ or another low~:Eri~tion pla~tio zraterial,, 3 ¦ Di.~p~sed irl th~ c~ntral p~r~ion of ~e tra~k is ¦ a pin 108 tFIG. 2) which projects upwardly ~rom ~he bottom 5 I of the ~r~ck ad jacen~ the ~ide ~hereof nex~ ~o ~che end 94 o 6 ¦ l~he ~upport. The pro~ec~ion 98 from the E~UppQr'1; body 90 7 ! and the pin 108 are cc:nfigured and po~itioned so that the 8 projection wiïï contac~ the pin when the suppc~rt member 9 i is traversed along the track 340 Since the opening proper 104 of the suppor~ member 11 1 10 has a diamet r smaller ~han that ~ cord 22~ ~hP cord is 12 llfr~ctiQnally engaged in the opening and movemen~ of the ord 13 i will traverse the supp~rt member when movemen~ o~ the 6upport ~4 ! member is unimpeded~ ~ovement o~ the ~upport member will be 15 , -~nimpeded when the ~upport member is between the ~e~t end 16 (FIG~. ~ and 3) of the track and the centrally located pin 17 1 108l A keeper 110 is se~ured about ~he rotation rod 18 18 , adjacent the left en~ (FIG~ 2) of the ~rack and .i~ adapted to 19 contact the annular flang~ 92 whe~ the support memb~r is in the extreme ~eft hand position. This will limit traversing 21 of -~he support member at the left end of the rota ion ro~
22 As mentioned, the centrally lscated pin 10~ wi~l con~tact th~
23 ¦~ projection gB and thereby limit traver~ing of ~he ~upp~rt ~4 I; me~ber at ~h~ central par~ o~ the rotation ro~O
~5 1¦ ~n ~peration, ~h~ ~upport mem~er i~ engaged by ~he 26 I c~rd 22 and i~ traverse~ betwe~n the left FIGSo 2 and 33 and 27 ' center porti~ns up~n traYer~ng ~f t~e rarriers a~ deser~bed 28 i hereinab~v~ re particularly, wi~h ~he 8uppor~ member ~n 29 ~he central po~ltion ~ ~hown in FI~7 2, ~he C~r~ierg ;.~r~ ~unched 3 and ~tacked at th xig~t ~nd o~ the b~lndn Slnce th~ carri2r ~ ~5~
' ,1 . .
I bodies are loc2lted at the ~x~reme right of th~ bïind, fexcept ~or 2 i the ~uppor~ member 10~ Ehers i8 no. ~iny ~co ~upport he central 3 ¦I part o ~he ro~ation rod and the cora~ The annular :~lange 100 li and opening 92 iTI the body 90 o~E the support m~ib r ¢ngage 5 11 ~nd suppt~rt ~he rod to prevent it :from sagging while the hole 6 104 E:ngag2s and supp~r~s the cc>rd whf~n ~he carriers are ~tacked 7 1 as ~;howr~ ~n FIG~ 2. When ~he cord loop at the side of thP blind t3 is pulled to ~raverse the carriers~ the support member is 9 traversed a~ well and moves lto the left (FIGS~ 2 and 3) until

10 it con~acts the keeper llû n When ~his occurs, the frictional

11 engagement of th~ roxd ill opsning prope;: 104 will be overs~ome

12 i an~ con~ ued pulling of th~o c~xd will traver e th~ carri~r~
1~1 without furlther traverse of the impeded support mem~erO 9~her 1~ the carriers are in a traversed position~ the support member 10 l~i is not re~au~ red ~inc~ the carriers themsel~es will ac~ to support 16 th~ ~eod ~nd cordO When stas::lcing th~ carriers9 iOe. traversing 17 them to th~ rlghlt as shown in FIG. 30 the suppor~ menber will 113 agai~a ~e engaged by the cord and will move t9 ~he ~ight with '19 the cord and carxier~ until the projection 98 contasts t:he :20 pin 108 . The pin will impede further movement o the suppor 21 member ts) the righ~ and again the fric:~ional engagement o:E
22 th~ cord and hole proper 104 will be overcom~ by ~ontlnued 23, pulling o the coId. Continued movement caiE the c:ord wlll ~
2~ ~raverse ~he c:arrier~; ~o ~he righ~ as shown in FIto 20 25 ¦; R~ferri~g now to FIG~. 7, a portio~ o~ a ~uppor~ 10A
2~ illustrated which i~ ad~plte~ ~o .roll along a ~rack struG~u3:e, 27 For ~ ~ purpose one or mor2 rolle:r~ 120 are xotatably conrl2cted 28 I, ~o e3t::h shoal~ex 9l5~, ~o rollexs are preerxed ~o ~ans:e I ~tablli~y a~nd peæ~ormar~c:~o EaGh roller is coal~eeted ~ ~e 3~ l~e3~ ho~ a 122, ~ ampl~ g ~
3:1 ar~ adap~d to rol:l alor~g a ~)ultable ~:x~ck rac~ay and I
! -~,3 ~5~

. are made of a low fric~ion material sueh as Nyl~
In ~IG ~ 8 ~, ~ por~ivn ~f another ~upport lOE~ a~
3 1 illustrated in which a ric~ion means 126 i pro~ided o frictionally engage cord 22. The friction means î26 is a spring :Einger arrangement comprising ~hree spring ~.ingers 128 130.
6 The spring fingers are springingly a~tE~ched by pi.n 132 for 7 example to ~he support lOB and extend ~therefrom in a side-by~side ~3 disposition. Each finger is adapt~d to flex transversely ts an 9 axis along whis:h the three fin~er~ ex~end9 i~eO txan5versely ~0 to the direction along which the 'coxd ex~ends~ The two end 11 ingPrs 128, 130 are flexed in one dires~ on while the ! central finger 129 is flexed in the opposî~3 direc~ic3n and the

13 cord 22 inserted between the end fingexs and the cen

14 ~inger. The ~ingers ~hereby friction~lly enghge the cord ther~
betwe~O
16 While ~he in~enti~n has been illustrated and ~7 described for a vertical blind having ~ cord ~raversing arrange-18 ment, it is contempla~ed tha~ the support in accordance wi~h 19 the in~ention may be ussd wi~h other traversiny arrangements.
For example, where traver~ing is accomplished by means o~ a 21 threaded rod as described in ~he aforementioned '34Z paten~
22 then the suppor. may be releasably engaged wi~h~ for example~
~3 the lead carrier body~ For example~ rel~asable spring means may .
24 interconnee~ ~he suppor~ and the lead carrier body 50 that ~he suppor~ moves ~o ~he righ~ wi~h th~ lead carrier bod~ unk~l lt 26 strikes a r~ainer ~uch as p~n 108 to release the support ~rom 27 engagement wi~h ~he lead ~arrier, Whe~ ~raver~in~ ~o ~h~ le~, ~8 jlthe lead carri~ l ~ov~ ~ntv co~act and ~r ke ~he 5uppor~

29 l o releasabl~ enga~e ~h~ ~upport and carrier ~ ~hat ~he suppor~
s ~a~r~d ~o ~h~ ~e~ ~7~th ~h~

jl ~13 -: It I
It is further c~ntemplated that the .inYentiOn be ¦i utilized wi~h a traversing arrangemen~ in which a wand i8 3 I secured to a traversable h~using in the ~rack ~truc~ure m which traver~ing o the housing by ~he wand traverses ~he carriexs. In such an arrangement, the 5upport may be 6 releasably engaged wi~h the lead carrier as described aboYe.
7 ¦ Addi~i~nally J the invent.ion may be embodied and practiced in other traversing devices~
g I The advantages ~f the present .inven~ion, as well as certain changes and modifi~ations of the disclosed ~mbodiments ~ thereof~ will be readily apparen to those skilled in ~he art.
1~ is the applicant's i~tention to cover by hi~ claims all tho e 13 l changes snd m3dification~ which could be made o the embodiments 14 ¦ of the in~ention herein chosen or the purposes of ~he disclosure ~5 I without depar~ing from the spiri~ and sc~pe of the invention.

.
~7 ~g , 2g ~3 !
~ 24 i ! 2 ~ ~15

Claims (18)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a vertical blind which includes a plurality of vanes, a plurality of carriers for traversably supporting the vanes, a track structure in which the carriers and travers-ably mounted, means including a horizontally-extending rod for rotating the vanes and means including a cord for traversing the carriers, the improvement comprising a support for support-ing the horizontally-extending rod between predetermined lo-cations in the track structure, the support comprising means for traversably mounting the support in the track structure, an opening in the support through which the horizontally-ex-tending rod extends such that the support in cooperation with the track structure slidably supports the rod between the pre-determined locations, means for frictionally engaging the cord such that the support is traversed between the predetermined locations upon movement of the cord, and cooperating means associated with the support and the track structure for limiting movement of the support between the predetermined locations, the engaging means frictionally engaging the cord to traverse the support between the predetermined locations upon movement of the cord to traverse the carriers along a portion of the track structure and releasing the support from engagement with the cord in cooperation with the limiting means at the predetermined locations such that the support remains stationary with respect to the track structure at the predetemined locations upon further movement of the cord.

2. The improvement as recited in claim 1, wherein the support is of one-piece unitary construction.

3. The improvement as recited in claim 2, wherein the support is a plastic molded part.

4. The improvement as recited in claim 1, wherein the limiting means comprises a projection connected to the support and a member fixed at one of the predetermined locations of the track structure, the projection being engaged by the fixed member at the one predetermined location, the engaging means being released from engagement with the cord when the projection and fixed member are in contact upon further movement of the cord, whereby the support remains at the one predetermined location upon further movement of the cord and corresponding traversing of the carriers.

5. The improvement as recited in claim 1, wherein the engaging means comprises another opening in the support having a dimension less than that of the thickness of the cord to frictionally engage the cord such that the support moves with the cord between the predetermined locations, the other opening releasing the cord at the predetermined locations where the friction is overcome and the cord slides through the other opening upon further movement of the cord.

6. The improvement as recited in claim 1, wherein the engaging means comprises a spring means which frictionally engages the cord such that the support moves with the cord between the predetemined locations, the spring means releasing the cord at the predetermined locations where the friction is overcome and the cord slides past the spring means upon further movement of the cord.

7. The improvement as recited in claim 6, wherein the spring means comprises a plurality of spring fingers, the cord extending between and being frictionally engaged by the spring fingers.

8. The improvement as recited in claim 1, wherein the support comprises an elongated body extending between opposed tracks of the track structure, the mounting means comprising elongated shoulders extending from opposed sides of the body which are slidably engaged in the opposed tracks.

9. The improvement as recited in claim 1, wherein the support comprises an elongated body extending between opposed tracks of the track structure, the mounting means comprising at least one roller rotatably connected to each side of the body and rotatably received by the respective track.

10. A support for supporting a horizontally-extending rod in a track structure of a vertical blind between predetermined locations in the track structure, the support comprising means for traversably mounting the support in the track structure, an opening in the support through which the horizontally-extending rod is adapted to extend such that the support in cooperation with the track structure is adapted to slidably support the rod between the predetermined locations, means for frictionally engaging a cord used to traverse carriers in the blind such that the support can be traversed between the predetermined locations upon movement of the cord, means associated with the support adapted to cooperate with means associated with the track structure for limiting traversing of the support between the predetermined locations, the engaging means being adapted to frictionally engage the cord to traverse the support between the predetermined locations upon traversing of the carriers along a portion of the track structure, the engaging means being further adapted to release the support from engagement with the cord in cooperation with the limiting means at the predetermined locations such that the support remains stationary with respect to the track structure at the predetermined locations upon further movement of the cord.

11. The support as recited in claim 10, wherein the support member is of one-piece unitary construction.

12. The support as recited in claim 11 wherein the support member is a plastic molded part.

13. The support as recited in claim 10, wherein the limiting means comprises a projection connected to the support adapted to being engaged by a member fixed at one of the pre-determined locations, the engaging means being adapted to being released from engagement with the cord when the projection and fixed member are in contact upon further movement of the cord, whereby the support remains at the one predetermined location upon further movement of the cord and corresponding traversing of the carriers.

14. The support as recited in claim 10, wherein the engaging means comprises another opening in the support having a dimension less than that of the thickness of the cord to frictionally engage the cord such that the support can move with the cord between the predetemined locations, the other opening being adapted to release the cord at the predetermined locations where the friction is overcome and the cord can slide through the other opening upon further movement of the cord.

15. The support as recited in claim 10, wherein the engaging means comprises a spring means which frictionally engages the cord such that the support can move with the cord between the predetermined locations, the spring means being adapted to release the cord at the predetermined locations where the friction is overcome and the cord can slide past the spring means upon further movement of the cord.

16. The support as recited in claim 15, wherein the spring means comprises a plurality of spring fingers adapted to receive and frictionally engage the cord therebetween.

17. The support as recited in claim 10, wherein the support comprises an elongated body adapted to extend between opposed tracks of the track structure, the mounting means comp-rising elongated shoulders extending from opposed sides of the body which are adapted to being slidably engaged in the opposed tracks.

18. The support as recited in claim 10 wherein the support comprises an elongated body adapted to extend between opposed tracks of the track structure, the mounting means com-prising at least one roller rotatably connected to each side of the body and adapted to be rotatably received by the respective track.