Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E06—DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS IN GENERAL; LADDERS
  • E06B—FIXED OR MOVABLE CLOSURES FOR OPENINGS IN BUILDINGS, VEHICLES, FENCES OR LIKE ENCLOSURES IN GENERAL, e.g. DOORS, WINDOWS, BLINDS, GATES
  • E06B9/00—Screening or protective devices for wall or similar openings, with or without operating or securing mechanisms; Closures of similar construction
  • E06B9/24—Screens or other constructions affording protection against light, especially against sunshine; Similar screens for privacy or appearance; Slat blinds
  • E06B9/40—Roller blinds
  • E06B9/42—Parts or details of roller blinds, e.g. suspension devices, blind boxes
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E06—DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS IN GENERAL; LADDERS
  • E06B—FIXED OR MOVABLE CLOSURES FOR OPENINGS IN BUILDINGS, VEHICLES, FENCES OR LIKE ENCLOSURES IN GENERAL, e.g. DOORS, WINDOWS, BLINDS, GATES
  • E06B9/00—Screening or protective devices for wall or similar openings, with or without operating or securing mechanisms; Closures of similar construction
  • E06B9/52—Devices affording protection against insects, e.g. fly screens; Mesh windows for other purposes
  • E06B9/54—Roller fly screens
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E06—DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS IN GENERAL; LADDERS
  • E06B—FIXED OR MOVABLE CLOSURES FOR OPENINGS IN BUILDINGS, VEHICLES, FENCES OR LIKE ENCLOSURES IN GENERAL, e.g. DOORS, WINDOWS, BLINDS, GATES
  • E06B9/00—Screening or protective devices for wall or similar openings, with or without operating or securing mechanisms; Closures of similar construction
  • E06B9/56—Operating, guiding or securing devices or arrangements for roll-type closures; Spring drums; Tape drums; Counterweighting arrangements therefor
  • E06B9/80—Safety measures against dropping or unauthorised opening; Braking or immobilising devices; Devices for limiting unrolling
  • E06B9/82—Safety measures against dropping or unauthorised opening; Braking or immobilising devices; Devices for limiting unrolling automatic
  • E06B9/86—Safety measures against dropping or unauthorised opening; Braking or immobilising devices; Devices for limiting unrolling automatic against unauthorised opening
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E06—DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS IN GENERAL; LADDERS
  • E06B—FIXED OR MOVABLE CLOSURES FOR OPENINGS IN BUILDINGS, VEHICLES, FENCES OR LIKE ENCLOSURES IN GENERAL, e.g. DOORS, WINDOWS, BLINDS, GATES
  • E06B9/00—Screening or protective devices for wall or similar openings, with or without operating or securing mechanisms; Closures of similar construction
  • E06B9/56—Operating, guiding or securing devices or arrangements for roll-type closures; Spring drums; Tape drums; Counterweighting arrangements therefor
  • E06B9/80—Safety measures against dropping or unauthorised opening; Braking or immobilising devices; Devices for limiting unrolling
  • E06B2009/801—Locking arrangements
  • E06B2009/805—Locking arrangements located on or in the guides
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E06—DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS IN GENERAL; LADDERS
  • E06B—FIXED OR MOVABLE CLOSURES FOR OPENINGS IN BUILDINGS, VEHICLES, FENCES OR LIKE ENCLOSURES IN GENERAL, e.g. DOORS, WINDOWS, BLINDS, GATES
  • E06B9/00—Screening or protective devices for wall or similar openings, with or without operating or securing mechanisms; Closures of similar construction
  • E06B9/56—Operating, guiding or securing devices or arrangements for roll-type closures; Spring drums; Tape drums; Counterweighting arrangements therefor
  • E06B9/80—Safety measures against dropping or unauthorised opening; Braking or immobilising devices; Devices for limiting unrolling
  • E06B9/82—Safety measures against dropping or unauthorised opening; Braking or immobilising devices; Devices for limiting unrolling automatic
  • E06B9/88—Safety measures against dropping or unauthorised opening; Braking or immobilising devices; Devices for limiting unrolling automatic for limiting unrolling
  • E06B2009/885—Braking mechanism activated by the bottom bar

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a locking apparatus for curtains, movable walls, mosquito nets and the like.
• manufacturing companies are constantly seeking products capable of meeting the requirements of customers in terms of performance and technical characteristics and/or because they have an enticing and pleasant design.
• curtains and movable walls constituted substantially by a flexible sheet that can be unrolled from a roller (along a predefined direction, be it horizontal, vertical, oblique or curvilinear), in order to protect (upwardly or laterally) a predefined area and/or constitute a hindrance to access from the outside on the part of people, insects and other animals, atmospheric agents.
• one of the tasks that manufacturing companies typically have to deal with is ensuring that the user can lock the sheet, once it has been completely unrolled from the roller around which it is instead rolled up when it is not being used.
• the movement of the sheet is guided by profiles that are arranged at the sides of curtain and define internally respective seats in which corresponding pins can slide which protrude from the ends of an end bar that is fixed to the side of the sheet that is opposite with respect to the roller.
• said pins can engage automatically in respective recesses provided in the profiles, which allow the locking of said curtain and prevent its unwanted unrolling.
• the sheets that constitute many curtains and movable walls are made of polymeric materials, which are subject to even considerable thermal expansions due to the changes in the environmental conditions to which they are inevitably subjected.
• the thermal expansion of the polymeric material can cause a malfunction, and the failure of the curtain to lock, since at the stroke limit the pin is located in a position that is different from the preset one in which automatic engagement with the locking elements is provided.
• the aim of the present invention is to solve the problems described above, by providing an apparatus capable of ensuring the locking in a predefined configuration of curtains, movable walls, mosquito nets and the like, in a practical and effective manner, even in case of thermal expansions thereof.
• an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus that ensures correct locking of curtains, movable walls, mosquito nets and the like without compromising the correct movement of said curtain during its unrolling and rolling up.
• Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus that ensures high reliability in operation.
• a locking apparatus particularly for curtains, movable walls, mosquito nets and the like, comprising substantially at least one sheet, which can move along a preset movement direction and is provided with a shaft arranged transversely, said apparatus comprising at least one pin that protrudes laterally from the shaft and can move along a guiding profile, which defines the preset movement direction, and at least one fixing detent, which is usually arranged so as to interfere with respect to the path of said at least one pin, one between said detent and said pin being elastically movable, with respect to the other one between said detent and said pin, for its oscillation upon the engagement of said pin by said detent and the subsequent advancement of said pin beyond said detent, until said pin is accommodated substantially in a seat provided along the profile of said detent, in order to define a configuration of removable locking of the sheet, characterized in that it comprises a shoulder, which substantially faces and is proximate to said seat and is integral therewith, defining an abutment for said pin upon said advancement of
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of the locking apparatus according to the invention, installed on a first type of movable wall or curtain;
• Figure 2 is a view of a first detail of Figure 1 ;
• Figure 3 is a view of a second detail of Figure 1 ;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view of the locking apparatus according to theinvenfion, installed on a second type of movable wall or curtain;
• Figure 5 is a perspective view of the fixing detent
• Figure 6 is a perspective view of the fixing detent and of an additional element
• Figure 7 is a partially sectional front elevation view of the fixing detent and of the additional element
• Figure 8 is a side elevation view of the fixing detent and of an additional element
• Figure 9 is a perspective view of the pin and of an additional component of the locking apparatus according to the invention.
• Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view of the pin and of the additional component of the locking apparatus according to the invention.
• Figure 1 1 is a perspective view of the pin.
• the reference numeral 1 generally designates an apparatus that is intended in particular for locking, in a specific configuration, curtains, movable walls 2, mosquito nets and the like, which in any case comprise substantially at least one sheet 3, which can move along a preset direction of movement and is provided with a shaft 3a that is arranged transversely (typically, but not exclusively, at an end flap of said sheet 3).
• the locking apparatus 1 is intended to be installed on outdoor furnishing solutions, such as pergolas, awnings, gazebos, etc., which indeed provide for the use of curtains and/or movable walls 2 (constituted indeed by sheets 3, usually made of polymeric materials and movable along a horizontal, oblique or vertical direction) in order to delimit and protect from atmospheric agents clearly defined areas.
• outdoor furnishing solutions such as pergolas, awnings, gazebos, etc.
• curtains and/or movable walls 2 constituted indeed by sheets 3, usually made of polymeric materials and movable along a horizontal, oblique or vertical direction
• the apparatus 1 is intended to be used to lock sheets 3 that can move along a vertical direction (as shown for example in Figure 1 ), but it is stressed that said sheets 3 may also be movable along a different horizontal or oblique direction (such as for example in the solution proposed in Figure 4).
• the locking apparatus 1 comprises at least one pin 4 that protrudes laterally from the shaft 3a and can move along a guiding profile 5, which in practice defines the already cited preset direction of movement (which is preferably, but not exclusively, vertical). Furthermore, the locking apparatus 1 comprises at least one fixing detent 6, which is usually arranged so as to engage the path of the pin 4.
• One between the detent 6 and the pin 4 can move elastically with respect to the other in order to be able to oscillate upon the engagement of the pin 4 by the detent 6 and the subsequent advancement of the pin 4 beyond the detent 6, until the pin 4 is accommodated substantially in a seat 7 provided along the profile of the detent 6 (on the opposite side with respect to the direction of origin of the pin 4), so as to define a removable locking configuration of the sheet 3, preventing it from retracting by moving in the opposite direction.
• the locking apparatus 1 comprises a shoulder 8, which substantially faces and is proximate to the seat 7, is integral therewith and defines an abutment for the pin 4, when the latter advances beyond the detent 6 in its stroke, guided by the profile 5, so as to keep substantially aligned the pin 4 and the seat 7 and thus facilitate the substantial accommodation of said pin 4 in the latter.
• the locking apparatus 1 comprises a pair of fixing detents 6, which are usually arranged proximate to the predefined stroke limit of the respective trajectories of two pin 4, which protrude laterally from the opposite ends of the shaft 3a and can move along corresponding guiding profiles 5, which define the preset direction of movement of the sheet 3, which is selected of the roll-up type.
• the sheet 3 can be rolled up, in a first configuration, around a roller, and can unroll vertically until it is fully extended, so as to cover a predefined area. It is indeed upon its complete extension, and therefore when the pins 4 reach their respective stroke limits, that the apparatus 1 acts and thus allows to lock the sheet 3 in the fully unrolled configuration.
• each detent 6 is articulated elastically to the respective guiding profile 5, in order to allow its oscillation proximate to the reaching of the predefined stroke limit by the respective pin 4 and to the subsequent advancement of the latter beyond the respective detent 6.
• the pin 4 is provided only with the possibility to move along the guiding profile 5, while the detent 6 can oscillate elastically with respect to said guiding profile 5.
• the locking apparatus 1 comprises means for tensioning the sheet 3, which can be actuated after the advancement of the pin 4 beyond the detent 6 (typically after its abutment against the shoulder 8), in order to ensure the stable retention of the locking configuration defined above.
• said tensioning means are constituted substantially by a driving unit for the sheet 3, which is assigned the task of actuating its unrolling and rolling up.
• the tensioning of the sheet 3 can have a greater or lower intensity depending on the extent of the rolling up that is forced, which in turn is variable for example as a function of the specific requirements of application.
• the thrust of the pin 4 against the detent 6 is contrasted by the resistance of said detent 6 and of the other components involved, which are sized so as to ensure tensioning without risking breakages or in any case excessive stresses.
• the driving unit can be constituted by a motor, preferably of the electric type, which is associated functionally with the roll-up roller of the sheet 3 : said motor can thus be activated on command, not only to cause the rolling up and the unrolling of said sheet 3 but also to ensure, as noted, its tensioning.
• the driving unit is constituted by a winch which is associated functionally with the roll-up roller of the sheet 3 : the winch can be actuated manually by means of an adapted crank in order to cause the roll-up and unrolling of the sheet 3.
• each fixing detent 6 comprises a base plate 9, which is articulated to a footing 10 that is fixed to the profile 5 about a pivot 9a, which can be inserted in a hole 9b provided in said plate 9.
• a lamina 1 1 extends in a parallel arrangement from one side 9c of the plate 9 and forms, with an end flap thereof, a contoured protrusion 12, which in turn defines perimetrically the seat 7. It is therefore from said side 9c of the plate 9 (which is arranged opposite the protrusion 12) that the shoulder 8 extends so as to substantially face and be proximate to the seat 7.
• each contoured protrusion 12 has, on the opposite side with respect to the seat 7, at least one first contoured guiding portion 12a for the respective pin 4.
• each pin 4 can slide along the respective first portion 12a during the oscillation of the detent 6 (which in practice, therefore, behaves like a cam), until it abuts against a first face 8a of the shoulder 8 upon the advancement of the pin 4 beyond the detent 6 in order to maintain, as already noted, substantially aligned the pin 4 and the seat 7, thus facilitating the substantial accommodation of the pin 4 in the seat 7.
• each shoulder 8 is provided with a second contoured guiding portion 8b for the pin 4, at a second face thereof, which is opposite the first face 8a: when the respective pin 4 is accommodated in the seat 7, forcing the unrolling of a minimal portion of the sheet 3, the respective pin 4 can slide on the second portion 8b, with a consequent oscillation of the detent 6 for disengagement from the seat 7 and release of said sheet 3.
• each pin 4 is constituted substantially by a first segment 13a and a second segment 13b which are arranged coaxially: the first segment 13a can be inserted rigidly in a duct 14 provided in a respective head 15, which in turn can be associated stably with the corresponding end of the shaft 3 a.
• the rigid coupling between the first segment 13a and the head 15 can be obtained by means of a headless screw 16a (a grub with a hexagonal socket), the stem of which, inserted in the duct 14, can thus rest against the bottom of a recess 16b, provided along the lateral surface of the first segment 13, thus preventing the rotation and/or extraction of the pin 4 (the forcing of the headless screw 16a further ensuring the stability of said pin 4 in the duct 14).
• a headless screw 16a a grub with a hexagonal socket
• the second segment 13b as can be seen for example from Figure 1 1 , has a substantially elliptical transverse cross-section and protrudes externally from the duct 14 in order to be able to accommodate in the seat 7 at the predefined stroke limit.
• second segments 13b and/or pins 4 having different transverse cross-sections, for example circular or polygonal ones, as a function of the specific requirements, it is useful to note that the choice to provide the second segment 13b with a substantially elliptical transverse cross-section contributes to the optimum operation of the apparatus 1 , since the reduced transverse dimension of said second segment 13b is easier to insert in the seat 7, making it unlikely, if not impossible, for it to fail to be accommodated therein or to jam against its edges.
• each footing 10 is provided with a cavity 17 that is suitable to accommodate a spring 18, which acts elastically on the fixing detent 6, in order to keep it in interference with respect to the path of the respective pin 4 (which tends to return it elastically to this arrangement, when said pin 4 advances beyond the detent 6).
• the user can act on the driving unit (be it a motor, a winch or other) to actuate the unrolling from the roller and thus allow the progressive covering of a predefined area (delimited laterally by the profiles 5).
• the driving unit be it a motor, a winch or other
• the pin 4 moves along the profiles 5 until it engages the fixing detent 6, which is kept in engagement position by the elastic action of the spring 18.
• the pin 4 slides along the first guiding portion 12a and at the same time overcomes the elastic action of the spring 18, causing the oscillation of the detent 6 about its rotation axis, defined by the pivot 9a, until it moves beyond said detent 6.
• the configuration for locking the sheet 3 is thus determined and is rendered more stable by the action of the tensioning means, which in the preferred solution are constituted by the driving unit, which actuates a minimum roll-up of the sheet 3, thus allowing the pin 4 to abut forcefully against the bottom of the seat 7, thus preventing inward flexings and/or extractions.
• the locking configuration is thus obtained first of all thanks to the action of the detent 6, which, being retained elastically along the path of the pin 4, is automatically capable of engaging it and subsequently of ensuring locking; furthermore, the presence of the tensioning means is further assurance that optimum locking is produced.
• the application of the locking apparatus 1 is possible on sheets 3 that extend along any direction: in particular, it is possible to use the apparatus 1 to lock effectively in a selected configuration sheets 3 having a horizontal or inclined extension, although, as already noted, according to the preferred application the apparatus 1 is intended to work on vertical curtains and movable walls 2.
• the pin 4 merely travels, integrally with the sheet 3, along the unrolling path defined by the profile 5 and it is not necessary to impose additional movements, as instead occurs by resorting to known locking assemblies, with consequent structural complications, which often compromise the correct movement of said curtain during its unrolling and rolling up.
• the apparatus according to the invention achieves fully the intended aim, since the presence of the shoulder, which substantially faces and is proximate to the seat that accommodates the pin, offers an abutment thereto upon its advancement beyond the detent, keeping substantially aligned the pin and the seat and facilitating the substantial accommodation of the former in the latter, thus ensuring the locking in a predefined configuration of curtains, movable walls, mosquito nets and the like in a practical and effective way, even in case of thermal expansions thereof.
• the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Insects & Arthropods (AREA)
• Pest Control & Pesticides (AREA)
• Catching Or Destruction (AREA)
• Operating, Guiding And Securing Of Roll- Type Closing Members (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=47138000

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (6)

Citations (2)

• 2012
  • 2012-09-21 IT IT000503A patent/ITBO20120503A1/it unknown
• 2013
  • 2013-09-19 WO PCT/IB2013/058669 patent/WO2014045222A1/fr not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (2)

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