EP2294275B1

EP2294275B1 - Roller shutter having a driving means and a driving element in form of a toothed belt

Info

Publication number: EP2294275B1
Application number: EP09753566A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Henning Ebbesen; Ulrik Ulriksen; Hans Gram Andersen
Original assignee: VKR Holding AS
Current assignee: VKR Holding AS
Priority date: 2008-05-28
Filing date: 2009-05-27
Publication date: 2012-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 2029-05-27
Also published as: EP2294275A1; PL2294275T3; ES2378637T3; CN102046911A; WO2009143853A1

Abstract

The roller shutter (1) comprises a top element (2) including a roller bar (24), and a shutter body (5) including a plurality of slats (51). The shutter body is adapted to be rolled up on and unrolled from the roller bar, the roller shutter furthermore comprising a driving device (10) including a driving means and a driving element (11). The driving element for unrolling and rolling up of the shutter body (5) is a belt, which is either provided with teeth or a plurality of recesses and/or apertures, and the driving means (101, 102) interact with the belt at or in the top element (2). All of the slats (51) are connected to the belt (11).

Description

The present invention relates to a roller shutter comprising a top element including a roller bar, and a shutter body including a plurality of slats, said shutter body being adapted to be rolled up on and unrolled from the roller bar, the roller shutter furthermore comprising a driving device including a driving means and a driving element.
Such roller shutters are traditionally used for screening an aperture of a building structure, most often the light-admitting aperture of windows, but also of doors and other building openings. The roller shutters are either installed to extend substantially vertically in a building façade, as in an obliquely positioned roof window installed in an inclined roof surface, or as a horizontally extending cover for openings in a horizontal surface. When not screening the aperture, the shutter body is normally rolled up on a roller bar accommodated in the top element of the roller shutter. The rolling up of the shutter body may be effected either by a spring bias in the roller bar or by a drive motor. The unrolling of vertically situated roller shutters is normally effected in that the shutter body moves by means of the gravity in the direction of the bottom of the aperture during simultaneous successive unrolling of the slats from the roller bar. The unrolling may, however, entail some problems, especially in the beginning of the unrolling operation where only few slats are rolled out from the roller bar and thus form part of the unrolling force. This also applies to roof windows where the friction between the slat ends and guiding means at the sides can be so large that it surpasses the gravity component in the unrolling direction.
Unrolling of the shutter body in roller shutters, in which the gravity component is either not present or not sufficient may be carried out in a number of manners, depending, i.a., on the structure of the roller shutter, in particular of the shutter body. In some roller shutters the slats are mutually articulated by means of hinge joints in the form of flexible bands are known from, among others, GB 2 246 805 and GB 2 113 749 . The driving device which contributes to the unrolling movement has in these designs further the function that it keeps the shutter body extended and in the latter document, comprises e.g. an operating device in the form of a handle by which the slat body is drawn out by surmounting the force from-the spring-loaded roller. The unrolling of such a roller shutter by pulling the shutter body in this way is thus well-known and has the advantage that the hinge joints are kept stretched thus preventing that the slats are placed edgeways and the movement is blocked.
However, such a solution requires a rather extensive cord arrangement which may be a considerable drawback due to the limited place on the site of incorporation which is the case with e.g. roller shutters used in connection with roof windows. Furthermore, the positioning of the drive mechanism and its operating device is not always compatible with a need for a compact design of the roller shutter.
It has been suggested to solve this problem by means of drive mechanism arranged close to the roller and which so to speak pushes the slat length in the unrolling direction of which examples are known from EP 0 145 628 , EP 0 317 461 and DE 40 00 908 . Such a solution, however, requires that demands are made to the design of the slats and/or that modifications of the very slats have to be made which, besides an increase in the costs of production, implies that the existing roller shutters cannot, or only after considerable adjustments, be provided with such a driving device. A further drawback with this unrolling method is that a reliable driving engagement is highly dependant on the positioning of the driving means of the driving device.
WO 98/19038 discloses a roller shutter comprising a drive shaft mounted in parallel with the roller bar and a driving means positioned at each side rail and provided with carriers for driving engagement with the shutter body, and that the carriers of the driving device engage the shutter body at the interspaces between the slats. It appears that when using the interspaces between the slats in this way and combined with the special design of the hinge joints as flexible bands, the desired safe engagement is obtained between the carriers of the driving device and the slat length without using any price-raising reinforcement or insert elements and at the same time a larger freedom of choice when positioning of the driving device and an essentially blockage-free movement of the driving device are obtained.
However, in case the interconnection of successive slats at adjacent front and trailing side edges is not possible or desirable, other kinds of driving devices are utilised. This is for instance the case in EP 56 650 A2 , in which the driving element is a cord to be wound up on a drum during unrolling of the shutter body. Hence, this roller shutter is encumbered with the same disadvantages as mentioned in the above, i.e. the unrolling must take place by means of unrolling means provided separately, possibly at a distance from the top element.
Similar considerations apply to German utility model DE 299 14 094 U1 which discloses a horizontally disposed roller shutter. Here, the rolling up is carried out by means of a motor driven roller bar located at one end of the aperture to be screened by the roller shutter, whereas the unrolling is performed by the winding up of a driving element in the form of a chain or toothed belt on a winding roller at the opposite end of the aperture.
With this background it is an object to provide a roller shutter having a simplified and more compact structure as compared to prior art roller shutters.
This and further objects are met by a roller shutter of the kind mentioned in the introduction, which is furthermore characterized in that the driving element for unrolling and rolling up of the shutter body is a belt and comprises a first set of engagement means, and that the driving means comprises a second set of engagement means that interacts with the first set of engagement means of said belt at or in the top element, and that substantially all of the slats are connected to said belt
This provides for the advantage that the use of complicated and elaborate driving elements and driving means is avoided. A reliable transmission of the torque of the drive motor to the belt is provided at the top element. There is furthermore no need for separate means for pulling out the shutter body from its non-screening position.
As substantially all of the slats are connected to the belt, a particularly reliable transmission is provided. Furthermore, by this arrangement, there is no need for providing interconnection between individual slats by separate means, which necessarily would make the roller shutter more complicated, or not providing any connection at all of some slats, which may result in a more noisy and unsecure operation.
In an embodiment, which combines the advantages of a well-known mechanical solution and a compact appearance, said belt is a toothed belt and said first set of engagement means is constituted by teeth of said toothed belt, and wherein the driving means includes a toothed wheel and said second set of engagement means is constituted by teeth of said toothed wheel.
In an alternative embodiment, said belt comprises a plurality of mutually spaced recesses and/or apertures, said recesses and/or apertures constituting said first set of engagement means, and wherein the driving means includes a wheel comprising a plurality of mutually spaced protuberances, said protuberances constituting said second set of engagement means. By providing the belt with recesses/apertures instead of teeth, it has turned out that it is possible to achieve an even more reliable to transfer the rotating movement of the roller bar drive motor to a translatory movement of the belts at each side and hence of the shutter body. Without wishing to be bound by theory, this is believed to be due to the fact that the geometry of the belt with recesses/apertures entails a stiffer belt than that of a belt provided with teeth, i.e. a belt which is less prone to deviate from a straight line to form kinks or twists along the path of the belt.
In an advantageous further development of said alternative embodiment, said recesses and/or apertures of the belt are aligned along an axis extending in a longitudinal direction of said belt, and wherein said protuberances of the wheel are aligned along a line extending along the circumference of said wheel. This provides for a reliable transmission by offering a safe engagement between the driving means and the driving element.
Alternatively, in order to increase the strength of the engagement and hence the reliability of the transmission, said recesses and/or apertures of the belt may be aligned in a staggered arrangement along two or more axes extending in a longitudinal direction of said belt, and said protuberances of the wheel be aligned in a correspondingly staggered arrangement along two or more lines extending along the circumference of said wheel.
The driving means comprising a wheel with the second set of engagement means may advantageously be positioned within the top element, thus providing a particularly compact design of the roller shutter.
The connection between the shutter body and the driving element should ensure a safe transmission of the movement of the driving element to the shutter body. Preferably, each slat comprises fastening means for fastening the slat to the belt.
In a structurally simple embodiment, the fastening means comprises a pin adapted to be received in an eye formed integrally with the belt.
The driving device may be placed arbitrarily at or in the top element of the roller shutter. In one embodiment, the first set of engagement means of the belt faces upwards relative to the general screening plane, and wherein the driving means comprises a wheel journalled at a respective end of the top element above the shutter body.
In another embodiment, the first set of engagement means of the belt faces downwards relative to the general screening plane, and wherein the driving means comprises a wheel journalled at a respective end of the top element below the shutter body.
In any of these embodiments, it is most convenient for the wheel or wheels to be situated on the same side of the shutter body as the shaft driving the wheels. Hence, the two wheels may be connected to each other by means of a shaft positioned above and/or below, respectively, the shutter body. It is, of course, possible to provide a driving means on each side of the shutter body in the embodiment in which the driving element is provided with a set of engagement means in the form of through-going apertures.
In one embodiment, the roller shutter is furthermore provided with two side rails, and wherein each of said side rails comprises means for supporting the belt. Although the belt is able to transfer the rotating movement of the roller bar drive motor to a translatory movement, the supporting means improve the operability of the roller shutter. This effect is further enhanced by an embodiment, in which each side rail comprises means for guiding the belt and the shutter body.
In a preferred further development of these embodiments said supporting means and/or guiding means are provided as a plurality of flanges and/or extra rails. This makes it possible to maintain a flexible manufacture.
Further details are described, and further advantages stated, in the description of particular embodiments of the invention.
In the following the invention will be described in further detail by means of examples of embodiments with reference to the schematic drawings, in which

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a roller shutter in an embodiment of the invention, mounted on a window and in a first screening position, part of the shutter body being removed for clarity reasons;
Fig. 2 is an isometric view of a roller shutter in an embodiment of the invention, in a first screening position, part of the shutter body being removed for clarity reasons;
Fig. 3 shows a view corresponding to Fig. 2, with parts of the roller shutter removed;
Fig. 4 shows, on a larger scale, a partial view of the roller shutter shown in Fig. 2, with parts of the roller shutter removed;
Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 4; with other parts of the roller shutter removed;
Figs 6 to 9 show, on a larger scale, partial perspective views of the roller shutter shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 10 is an isometric view of a detail of the roller shutter shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 11 is an isometric view of a roller shutter in an embodiment of the invention, mounted on a window and in a second screening position, part of the shutter body being removed for clarity reasons;
Fig. 12 is an isometric view of a roller shutter in an embodiment of the invention, in a second screening position, part of the shutter body being removed for clarity reasons;
Fig. 13 shows a view corresponding to Fig. 12, with parts of the roller shutter removed;
Fig. 14 shows, on a larger scale, a partial view of the roller shutter shown in Fig. 12, with parts of the roller shutter removed;
Fig. 15 is a view corresponding to Fig. 14; with other parts of the roller shutter removed; and
Figs 16 to 19 show, on a larger scale, partial perspective views of the roller shutter shown in Fig. 12;
Fig. 20 is an isometric view of a roller shutter in a second embodiment of the invention, parts of the roller shutter being removed for clarity reasons;
Figs 21 to 24 show partial perspective views of the roller shutter in the embodiment of Fig. 20, different parts of the roller shutter being removed for clarity reasons;
Fig. 25 shows a perspective view of a detail of a third, alternative embodiment of the roller shutter according to the invention;
Fig. 26 is a plan view of the detail of Fig. 25;
Fig. 27 is a side view of the detail of Fig. 25;
Fig. 28 is a front view, on a larger scale, of the detail of Fig. 25; and
Figs 29 to 32 show views corresponding to Figs 25 to 28, respectively, of a fourth embodiment of the roller shutter according to the invention.
Figs 1 to 10 of the drawings show an embodiment of a roller shutter generally designated 1 in a first screening position. The roller shutter 1 has a top element 2 and two side rails 3 and 4 extending at right angles to the top element 2. A shutter body 5 includes a plurality of slats 51, of which some have been left out for clarity reasons only.

The roller shutter 1 is mounted on a window, for instance a roof window adapted for installation in an inclined roof. The window comprises in a manner known per se a window frame 6 and a window sash 7 encasing a pane 8. The window sash 7 will most often be openable relative to the window frame 6, viz. hinge connected to the window frame 6, for instance by means of a set of pivot hinges positioned close to a central axis of the window to allow the window sash 7 to pivot relative to the window frame 6, or by a more traditional hinge positioned at the top of the window.
The aperture to be screened is defined by the area limited by the top element 2, the side rails 3, 4, and the bottom of the window. This aperture thus corresponds in substance to the pane 8. In order to attain the desired screening, the shutter body 5 is adapted to be moved from a non-screening position to a screening position, in which it covers the pane 8 and other parts of the window to a larger or lesser degree. Each slat 51 extends in a longitudinal direction between two end edges and have first and second side edges parallel to the longitudinal direction, i.e. in parallel with the top element 2. The shutter body 5 is adapted to be wound up in and rolled out from the top element 2 by means of a driving device, in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction to a first screening position. In the first screening position shown in Fig. 1, the shutter body 5 has been rolled out to cover the entire aperture and defines a general screening plane. In the non-screening position, in which the shutter body 5 does not cover any part of, or virtually not any part of, the pane 8, the shutter body 5 is accommodated, possibly in its entirety, in the top element 2.
The top element 2 is positioned at the top of the window and comprises in the embodiment shown a top cover 21 and two outer end covers, of which the right-hand end cover 22 is visible in Fig. 1. As will be described in further detail below, the top cover 21 and outer end covers 22 serve to hide and protect the inner parts of the roller shutter 1, such as for instance the drive mechanisms for the rolling up and unrolling of the shutter body 5 and the tilting of the slats 51. Terms such as "left-hand" and "right-hand" refer to the orientation shown in for instance Fig. 1 and are utilized for reasons of convenience only.
The side rail 4 has a structure comprising parts that are movable relative to each other. In Fig. 1, only an outer side rail part 41 is visible. The side rail 4 has a bottom cover 40 at the bottom of the window. The side rails 3, 4 are connected to each other at the bottom part of the roller shutter 1, namely by a cross bar 35 connected to the bottom cover 40 of side rail 4 and its counterpart bottom cover 30 of side rail 3. The cross bar 35 may for instance be riveted to each bottom cover 30, 40. The cross bar 35 (not shown in the detailed figures) contributes to the strength and resistance as well. However, the cross bar 35 is not strictly necessary, as sufficient strength may be provided by the side rails 3,4 themselves.
With reference to Figs 11 to 17, it may be seen that the roller shutter according to the invention is a so-called louverable roller shutter, i.e. a roller shutter having at least some tiltable slats that may be angle-adjusted relative to the general screening plane. Thus, the shutter body 5 may be brought from its first screening position shown in Fig. 1 to a second screening position, in which the slats 51 are tilted about an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slats from the first screening position to a second screening position, in which each tiltable slat forms an angle with the general screening plane, cf. for instance Fig. 11.
Particular embodiments of a tiltable roller shutter are listed below:

A. A roller shutter, wherein each slat extends in a longitudinal direction between two end edges and having first and second side edges parallel to the longitudinal direction, and wherein at least some slats of said plurality of slats are tiltable about an axis parallel to said longitudinal direction from the first screening position to a second screening position, in which each tiltable slat forms an angle with said general screening plane. The present invention is advantageous in connection with louverable roller shutters; however, such roller shutters may be provided with other kinds of driving elements.
B. A roller shutter according to embodiment A, wherein the roller shutter is furthermore provided with two side rails, each side rail comprising at least one part that is movable relative to other parts of the side rail, and wherein the end edges of each slat include guide means adapted to be guided in the at least one moveable part of a respective side rail. As the side rail parts are simple to design and manufacture for allowing accommodation and guidance of the guide means of the slats interacting with the side rails, a simple and reliable solution of providing tiltable slats is provided.

The mechanisms required to provide the tiltability of the slats will now be described in detail. The description refers to one side of the roller shutter 1 only; the opposite side is structured in substantially the same, however mirror-inverted manner.
Referring now to Figs 1 to 17 of the drawings, it is noted that in some of the figures, parts of the top element 2 and the right-hand side rail 4 have been removed in order to show the structure of some of the internal parts of the roller shutter 1, i.e. parts that are not, or only partly, visible in the mounted position or position of use shown in for instance Figs 1 and 11. In the top element 2, the top cover 21 and the outer end cover 22 have been removed. Furthermore, an intermediate end cover (not shown) has been removed to expose an inner end cover 23. In the side rail 4, the outer side rail part 41 has been removed in Figs 3 and 13 to expose an inner side rail part 42. Eventually, the bottom cover 40 has been removed to expose an intermediate bottom cover 401.
As mentioned in the above, the roller shutter 1 is provided with two side rails 3 and 4, and each side rail 3, 4 comprises at least one part that is movable relative to other parts of the side rail. In the embodiment shown, this is accomplished by connecting the outer side rail part 41 and the inner side rail part 42 to each other by means of a number of link elements in the form of side rail fittings 45 that are pivotably connected to each side rail part 41 and 42. Hence, the movable part of the side rail, outer side rail part 41, is movable along a curved path relative to the other parts of the side rail, that is fixed inner side rail part 42 in addition to other parts to be described further on. As an alternative, the outer side rail part may be connected to the inner side rail part by means of a pin mounted on one part adapted to be guided in a track in the other part. Preferably, such a track would be curved.
The mechanisms required to provide the tiltability of the slats are described in detail in Applicants' co-pending application filed on the same day as the priority date of the present application and the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In short, the tilt mechanism shown in Figs 8 and 9 is denoted 15 and is driven by drive motor 16, the torque of which is transferred to the tilt mechanism 15 at each side of the top element 2. The tilt mechanisms 15 interact with a respective side rail 3, 4. As each side rail comprises at least one part that is movable relative to other parts of the side rail, and as the end edges of each slat include guide means adapted to be guided in the at least one moveable part of a respective side rail, actuation of the tilt mechanisms entail that the movable part of each side rail 3, 4 is lifted relative to the general screening plane to tilt the slats 51.
However, the principle underlying the present invention is applicable to roller shutters having both tiltable and non-tiltable slats.
In order to allow the unrolling and rolling-up of the shutter body 5, the end edge of each tiltable slat 51 includes fastening means for fastening the slat to a driving element of the unrolling and rolling-up driving device at the first side edge of the slat, and the guide means for establishing the connection with the at least one movable part of the side rail are provided at the second side edge. The structure of the slats 51 may be of any suitable kind, and a detailed description of one preferred embodiment is given in above-mentioned Applicants' co-pending international application, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Referring now in particular to the large scale perspective views of Figs 6-9 and 16-17 of the embodiment shown, the slat 51 comprises a slat body 510 of a suitable material, for instance extruded or roll-formed aluminium or steel, possibly filled with foam or other sound-dampening material. Another alternative could be to form the slats of a composite material, manufactured by moulding or in any other suitable manner. Into the end of the slat body 510 a first end piece 511 is inserted, the first end piece 511 including a pin 512 acting as a fastening means for fastening each slat 51 onto the driving element formed as a belt 11. In the embodiment shown, the fastening is achieved by the formation of a number of eyes 111 in the belt 11, through which the pins 512 of the slats 51 are introduced. The pin receiving openings or eyes could also be formed by two upstanding portions converging at the top, but not necessarily forming a closed structure. Alternatively, the pin receiving opening could be formed in the belt itself. A second end piece 513 is connected to the first end piece 511 and has a guide means formed as a pin 514 adapted to be guided in the movable outer side rail part 42. Eventually, the slat 51 is provided with a sealing strip 519 made of for instance rubber at the second side edge. The sealing strip 519 abuts on the subsequent slat 51 of the shutter body 5, on the first side edge thereof, and has the function of providing a seal between adjacent slats and also has a sound dampening effect. Although the element at the slat end is described as a relatively elaborate structure comprising first and second end pieces 511, 513, a simpler element is conceivable as well. In principle, the slat end could be formed with two protruding pins of different lengths.
It is noted that the term "belt" should be interpreted to include any kind of element having a suitable cross-sectional geometry, preferably rectangular, which is more or less constant throughout the length of the belt. The constant cross-sectional geometry does not rule out, obviously, that details such as fastening eyes, apertures etc. may be included in the cross-section. Furthermore, the belt is continuous in that it is coherent, i.e. does not, as opposed to for instance a chain, contain a number of elements to be mutually connected, for instance in the form of links, or juxtaposed without mutual connection at all between elements, or only via a separate element. Eventually, the belt possesses a relatively high degree of resistance against bending in any direction, most importantly in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the belt. In particular, it is noted that the outer edges of the belt are coherent, which is believed to give an increased stiffness, i.e. resistance against bending.
The outer side rail part 41 includes a first flange 411 and a second flange 412 between which two flanges the guide means of the slats are accommodated in such a way that the pin 514 of each slat 51 abuts on and slides on the second flange 412 when unrolling and rolling up the shutter body 5. Eventually, the outer side rail part 41 has a track in the first flange 411 for receiving a first extra rail 414.
The inner side rail part 42 includes a flange 421 for guiding the belt 11. A further flange 422 forms an abutment for the second flange 412 of the outer side rail part 41 in the first screening position. In the embodiment shown, the inner side rail part 42 is formed substantially as an inverted U and has a further flange 423 extending at right angles to the flange 421 forming the support for the belt 11. The inner side rail part 42 has a track 424 for receiving a second extra rail 425. The first and second extra rails 414, 425 assist in the guidance of the slats 51. Furthermore, they contribute to preventing light from entering the interior, as the extra rails overlap the shutter body 5. It is also an important contribution of the extra rails 414, 425 that they hold the shutter body in position. This is particularly important during tilting of the shutter body, as the slats will have a tendency of moving towards the tilted position to an undesired extent, if not kept in place by the flanges and/or extra rails. However, also in the non-tilted position, the extra rails support the shutter body.
Finally, the side rail 4 comprises a mounting rail part 43 for mounting the side rail to the window frame 6. To that end, the mounting rail part 43 being provided with a number of holes 430 for receiving fastening means (not shown).
Whereas the movable outer side rail part 41 is connected to the fixed inner side rail part 42 by means of the link elements in a manner allowing the outer side rail part 41 to be moved relative to the inner side rail part 42, the inner side rail part 42 is, in turn, fixedly connected to the mounting rail part 43 and the top element 2. This connection may be carried out in any suitable manner.
At the bottom of the side rail 4, the belt 11 is passed below the intermediate bottom cover 401. The two bottommost slats 51 are guided on top of the intermediate bottom cover 401 and hence below the bottom cover 40. In the embodiment shown, the two bottommost slats are not tiltable, but are fixedly connected to each other along the facing side edges. This mutual connection enforces the entire roller shutter to prevent it from possible damage in case of strong wind. These slats may also be provided with supplemental reinforcement in comparison with the remaining slats.
In order to actuate the tilting, i.e. the movement of the outer side rail part 41 relative to the inner side rail part 42 in the embodiment shown and described, a tilt mechanism 15 is provided. The tilt mechanism 15 is positioned at the top element 2, and extends on both sides of the inner end cover 23 thereof as will be described in further detail. The tilt mechanism comprises a toothed rack 151 connected to the movable part of the side rail, i.e. in the embodiment shown the outer side rail part 41. To this end, the toothed rack 151 has a protrusion 153 including a fastening portion 154 for connection to the outer side rail part 41 A toothed wheel 155 adapted to be rotated by means of a drive motor 16, shown in Fig. 10 cooperates with an oblong toothed aperture 152 of the toothed rack 151. The drive motor 16 is separate from the motor of the driving device for the shutter body and operates on a shaft 17 common to each side rail 3 and 4. The drive motor 16 is connected to the shaft 17 by means of a planet gear (not shown in detail). In this way, a single motor 16 positioned in the top element 2 provides for synchronous operation in both sides of the roller shutter 1. Furthermore, a self-supporting unit transferring a suitable torque to the toothed wheel 155 cooperating with the toothed rack 151 by the connection to the shaft by means of a planet gear. By utilizing a planet gear, it is possible to provide a simple solution to the wish for having a through-going shaft while having one motor only. Visible in Fig. 10 is furthermore the roller bar 24, on which the slats 51 of the shutter body 5 are rolled up.
Comparing Figs 4 and 14, it may be seen that following actuation of the drive motor 16, the shaft 17 has rotated the toothed wheel 155 within the oblong toothed aperture 152 and hence moved the outer side rail part 41 upwards and in a direction towards to the top element 2. During this movement, the toothed rack 151 is rotated slightly clockwise, seen from the external side of the inner cover 23 and has at the same time moved in a direction away from the bottom of the roller shutter. Simultaneously, the outer side rail part 41, the top cover 21, the outer cover 22, the not shown intermediate top cover, and the bottom cover 40 are lifted as a single unit. The effect on the shutter body 5 appears most clearly from Figures 15 to 17, i.e. the movable outer side rail part 41 has lifted the guide pins 514 of the slats 51 such that the slats 51 are tilted about an axis extending substantially in the longitudinal direction at the first side edge, i.e. at the fastening pins 512 accommodated in the driving element.
As an alternative to the tilt mechanism shown and described in the above, the tilt mechanism may for instance comprise a linear actuator controlled in any suitable manner.
Referring now in particular to Figs 18 to 20, the drive mechanisms for unrolling and rolling up of the shutter body 5 will be described in further detail.
As mentioned in the above, the roller shutter 1 comprises a top element 2 and a shutter body 5 including a plurality of slats 51. In order to allow the shutter body 5 to be rolled up on and unrolled from a roller bar 24 accommodated in the top element 2, a driving device generally designated 10 is provided. The driving device includes a driving means and a driving element In the embodiment shown, the driving element for unrolling and rolling up of the shutter body 5 is a belt and comprises a first set of engagement means, and the driving means comprises a second set of engagement means that interacts with the first set of engagement means of said belt at or in the top element 2. In the first and second embodiments shown, said belt is a toothed belt 11 and said first set of engagement means is constituted by teeth of said toothed belt, and the driving means includes a toothed wheel and said second set of engagement means is constituted by teeth of said toothed wheel, i.e. in the embodiment shown, the driving device comprises a toothed wheel 101, 102 and a toothed belt 11, respectively, at each side rail 3, 4. The slats 51 are connected to the driving element in the form of the toothed belt 11 and the driving means in the form of toothed wheel 101, 102 interacting with the toothed belt 11 at or in the top element 2. The toothed wheel 101, 102 is positioned within the top element 2 and is hence not visible when the top cover 21 is on. Each slat 51 comprises fastening means for fastening the slat to the toothed belt. In the embodiment shown, the fastening means comprises a pin 512 adapted to be received in an eye 111 formed integrally with the toothed belt 11. Other means of fastening the slat to the driving element are conceivable as well, such as forming the toothed belt with such a thickness that a bore may be formed within the belt itself. The eyes may also be formed in many suitable manners, including moulding with the belt, separate fastening etc. In general, any design of the toothed belt allowing such a belt to act as the driving element is conceivable, the driving element being that element of the driving device which transmits and/or performs the movement of the driving device to the shutter body during unrolling and rolling-up thereof. The belt 11 has a length corresponding at least to the length of the side rail 4 plus the length required for rolling up on the roller bar 24, such that all of the slats may be fastened to the belt. The belt may be tailor-made according to the specific size of the roller shutter in order to accommodate the desired number of slats.
As shown in the first embodiment shown in Figs 1 to 19, the first engagement means of the belt, i.e. in the specific embodiment, the plurality of teeth of the toothed belt 11, faces upwards relative to the general screening plane, and the driving means comprising the second set of engagement means, i.e. in the specific embodiment the plurality of teeth of each of the toothed wheels 101, 102, are journalled at a respective end of the top element 2 above the shutter body 5.
The two toothed wheels 101, 102 may as shown be connected to each other by means of a shaft 103 positioned above the shutter body 5. The toothed wheels 101, 102 may either be driven separately, or one wheel may be driven and the torque transferred to the shaft 103. In the embodiment shown, each toothed wheel 101, 102 is driven by a drive motor 105 located in the roller bar 2 via a transmission 104. The transmission 104 between the at least one toothed wheel 101, 102 and the drive motor 105 may be provided by a belt drive or by means of a plurality of cogwheels. Suitable embodiments for the transmission are listed below:

M. A roller shutter, wherein at least one of said wheels is driven by a drive motor located in the roller bar.
N. A roller shutter according to embodiment M, wherein the transmission between the at least one wheel and the drive motor is provided by a belt drive.
O. A roller shutter according to embodiment M, wherein the transmission between the at least one wheel and the drive motor is provided by a plurality of cogwheels.

In the embodiment shown, the roller shutter 1 is as mentioned provided with two side rails 3 and 4. Each of said side rails 3, 4 comprises means for supporting the toothed belt 11. Such supporting means and guide means are provided in the following manner:
As mentioned in the above, the outer side rail part 41 includes a first flange 411 and a second flange 412 between which two flanges the guide means of the slats are accommodated in such a way that the pin 514 of each slat 51 abuts on and slides on the second flange 412 when unrolling and rolling up the shutter body 5. Eventually, the outer side rail part 41 has a track in the first flange 411 for receiving a first extra rail 414.
Furthermore, the inner side rail part 42 includes a flange 421 for guiding the toothed belt 11. A further flange 422 forms an abutment for the second flange 412 of the outer side rail part 41 in the first screening position. In the embodiment shown, the inner side rail part 42 is formed substantially as an inverted U and has a further flange 423 extending at right angles to the flange 421 forming the support for the toothed belt 11. The inner side rail part 42 has a track 424 for receiving a second extra rail 425. The first and second extra rails 414, 425 assist in the guidance of the slats 51 and the toothed belt 11.
Although the toothed belt must possess such a flexibility that it may be wound up with the slats 51 on the roller bar 2, it must nevertheless be able to withstand the compressive thrust exerted on the toothed belt 11 by the driving means 101, 102 and transmit the thrust into a translatory movement along the side rails. However, it may be necessary to support the toothed belt during the unrolling of the shutter body 5, as the compressive thrust may in some cases be so large that there is a risk that it exceeds the resistance against buckling. In the embodiment shown, the toothed belt 11 is made from a plastic material possessing the necessary requirements as to flexibility in order to allow rolling up, and sufficient hardness in order to withstand the forces induced by the engagement between the teeth with the driving means, i.e. the toothed wheels 101, 102. One example of a suitable material is polyurethane (PU), which possesses a suitable low-friction surface in order to allow the toothed belt to slide smoothly along the side rails. If considered necessary and/or advantageous, there may be supplemental means for reducing the friction. Other materials possessing suitable features are of course conceivable as well. Furthermore, the eyes 111, which in the embodiment shown are formed integrally, are positioned at a distance from each other corresponding to the distance between two successive slat front edges. In the embodiment, the eyes 111 are positioned at one side edge of the toothed belt 11 in order not to interfere with the engagement between the teeth of the toothed belt and the driving means.
Finally, the side rail 4 comprises a mounting rail part 43 for mounting the side rail to the window frame 6. To that end, the mounting rail part 43 being provided with a number of holes 430 for receiving fastening means (not shown).
In the alternative embodiment shown in Figs 20 to 24, reference numerals denoting elements having the same or analogous function as elements in the embodiment of Figs 1 to 10 carry the same reference numerals to which ' has been added. In this embodiment, the first set of engagement means on the belt, i.e. on the toothed belt 11' faces downwards relative to the general screening plane, and the driving means comprising the toothed wheels 101', 102' are journalled at a respective end of the top element 2' below the shutter body 5'. Other details may in principle correspond to those of the first embodiment shown in Figs 1 to 19.
Other configurations of the toothed belt of the first and second embodiments are conceivable as well. One alternative is the provision of teeth on both sides of the belt. In this case, a supplemental driving means could be provided for driving the toothed belt from both sides. This could entail an even further increased operability of the roller shutter according to the invention.
A third, alternative embodiment and a fourth embodiment constituting a further development of the third embodiment will now be described with reference to Figs 25 to 32 of the drawings. Only features different from the first and second embodiments described in the above will be described in detail. Other details may be the same or correspond to those of the first and second embodiments, or be varied within the frame of the claims.
Referring now to Fig. 25 showing a perspective view of a detail of the alternative driving device, the belt 11" comprises a plurality of mutually spaced recesses and/or apertures 112, said recesses and/or apertures constituting said first set of engagement means, and the driving means includes a wheel 102" comprising a plurality of mutually spaced protuberances 113, said protuberances constituting said second set of engagement means. In the embodiment shown, the recesses and/or apertures 112 of the belt 11" are aligned along an axis A extending in a longitudinal direction of the belt 11", and the protuberances 113 of the wheel 102" are aligned along a line B extending along the circumference of said wheel.
The first set of engagement means may be through-going apertures, i.e. open towards each side of the belt, or be formed as blind holes or recesses having a bottom at one side of the belt. The recesses and/or apertures may be mutually identical, or include any combination of through-going apertures and recesses of varying depths along the length of the belt. The formation of varying depths recesses or apertures may be chosen according to the particular need for engagement at individual applications of the roller shutter or at different positions of the belt.
This design of the driving device constitutes a reliable transmission as in the first and second embodiment, but which may even have some further advantages relative to the driving device described in the above. This applies in particular to the sound quality of the roller shutter when in operation. This is presumed to be due to the very precise engagement between the protuberances on the wheel with the recesses and/or apertures of the belt.
In the further development shown in Figs 29 to 32 of the drawings, the recesses and/or apertures 112 of the belt 11" are aligned in a staggered arrangement along two or more axes A, A' extending in a longitudinal direction of said belt 11", and said protuberances 113 of the wheel 102" are aligned in a correspondingly staggered arrangement along two or more lines B, B' extending along the circumference of said wheel. This further development provides for an even more reliable transmission of the driving torque from the driving means to the driving element.
In both of the third and fourth embodiments, connection of the driving means to other parts of the roller shutter, in particular other elements of the driving device and guide means for guiding the belt, may be the same as described in connection with the first embodiment of Figs 1 to 19, or be varied as described in any of the possible variations indicated in the description and/or the claims.
Eventually, the roller shutter according to the invention has been described as being intended to be installed on the window frame of an openable roof window for installation in an inclined roof. However, the invention is applicable also with other kinds of windows and in other positions. For instance, the roller shutter may be mounted on the window sash, or on the frame or sash of a fixed, i.e. not openable, window, or on a window for installation in a building façade.
The invention should not be regarded as being limited to the described embodiments. Several modifications and combinations of the different embodiments will be apparent to the person skilled in the art.

Claims

A roller shutter (1) comprising a top element (2) including a roller bar (24), and a shutter body (5) including a plurality of slats (51), said shutter body being adapted to be rolled up on and unrolled from the roller bar, the roller shutter furthermore comprising a driving device (10) including a driving means and a driving element (11; 11"), characterized in that the driving element for unrolling and rolling up of the shutter body (5) is a belt (11; 11") and comprises a first set of engagement means, and that the driving means (101, 102; 102") comprises a second set of engagement means that interacts with the first set of engagement means of said belt at or in the top element (2), and that substantially all of the slats (51) are connected to said belt (11; 11').
A roller shutter (1) according to claim 1, wherein said belt is a toothed belt (11) and said first set of engagement means is constituted by teeth of said toothed belt, and wherein the driving means (101, 102) includes a toothed wheel and said second set of engagement means is constituted by teeth of said toothed wheel.
A roller shutter (1) according to claim 1, wherein said belt (11") comprises a plurality of mutually spaced recesses and/or apertures (112), said recesses and/or apertures constituting said first set of engagement means, and wherein the driving means includes a wheel (102") comprising a plurality of mutually spaced protuberances (113), said protuberances constituting said second set of engagement means.
A roller shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each slat extends in a longitudinal direction between two end edges and having first and second side edges parallel to the longitudinal direction, and wherein at least some slats of said plurality of slats are tiltable about an axis parallel to said longitudinal direction from the first screening position to a second screening position, in which each tiltable slat forms an angle with said general screening plane.
A roller shutter according to claim 4, wherein the roller shutter is furthermore provided with two side rails, each side rail comprising at least one part that is movable relative to other parts of the side rail, and wherein the end edges of each slat include guide means adapted to be guided in the at least one moveable part of a respective side rail.
A roller shutter (1) according to claim 3, wherein said recesses and/or apertures of the belt are aligned along an axis (A) extending in a longitudinal direction of said belt, and wherein said protuberances of the wheel are aligned along a line (B) extending along the circumference of said wheel.
A roller shutter (1) according to claim 3, wherein said recesses and/or apertures of the belt are aligned in a staggered arrangement along two or more axes (A, A') extending in a longitudinal direction of said belt, and wherein said protuberances of the wheel (102") are aligned in a correspondingly staggered arrangement along two or more lines (B, B') extending along the circumference of said wheel.
A roller shutter according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the driving means comprises a wheel (101, 102; 101', 102'; 102") comprising a second set of engagement means, said wheel being positioned within the top element.
A roller shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each slat (51) comprises fastening means (512) for fastening the slat to the belt (11).
A roller shutter according to claim 9, wherein the fastening means comprises a pin (512) adapted to be received in an eye (111) formed integrally with the belt (11).
A roller shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first set of engagement means of the belt (11) faces upwards relative to the general screening plane, and wherein the driving means comprises a wheel (101, 102; 102") provided with a second set of engagement means, said wheel being journalled at a respective end of the top element (2) above the shutter body (5).
A roller shutter according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first set of engagement means of the belt (11') faces downwards relative to the general screening plane, and wherein the driving means comprises a wheel (101', 102'; 102") provided with a second set of engagement means, said wheel being journalled at a respective end of the top element (2') below the shutter body (5').
A roller shutter according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the two wheels (101, 102; 101', 102'; 102") provided with said second set of engagement means are connected to each other by means of a shaft (103; 103') positioned above and/or below, respectively, the shutter body (5; 5').
A roller shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the roller shutter is furthermore provided with two side rails (3, 4), and wherein each of said side rails comprises means for supporting the belt (11).
A roller shutter according to claim 14, wherein each side rail comprises means for guiding the belt and the shutter body.
A roller shutter according to claim 14 or 15, wherein said supporting means and/or guiding means are provided as a plurality of flanges and/or extra rails.