levolor blind tilt mechanism replacement

The bottom-most slat must be tilted room facing edge down to tilt all other slats room facing edge down via the two sets of cloth tapes. The Roberts patent uses cord hold free slats which are held in place by a C-shaped clip which has the open part of the C-shape pointing towards the ceiling.

Current high privacy built-in designs compromise horizontal window blind operation in some way or form. The slats are cord hole and notch free, however, the interlocking U shaped clips create areas for light leaks by preventing a flush tilt closure of a slat upon the upper and lower adjoining slat. As mentioned just above, the room-facing, tilt edge down operation fully tilt closes the slats. The Hunter-Douglas horizontal window blind design can also be pictured as a sideways view of a rope ladder with the right side of the ladder facing the street. This invention provides duplicated sets of such clip devices (, P). The problem is compounded when the window blinds are recessed within a window casing, creating gaps along the sides between the ends of slats and the window casing sides. The vertical, cloth strips covered the slat cord hole in the fully lowered close and tilt closed directions preventing Peeping Tom access. This invention provides a decorative item where the clip (. My invention offers add-on edge gap protection for all types of window blinds including vertical window blinds and horizontal window blinds.

A free play raise open/lower close operation set of cords runs vertically down the slats with partial retaining by the slat edge notches. The cord hole slots and cord holes on the slat produce extra light leak areas. 3). In a secondary embodiment using the same C-shaped clips for cord hole free slats, the preferred embodiment does not use a tilt sleeve. Instead, a vertical column of the street facing, back, metal rings is threaded with a tilt open/tilt close cord which is tied to each individual metal ring. No. Q). Unlike this Levolor model, my invention also provides for an edge covering strip to cover edge gaps made with the window casing.

The Walker patent in its preferred embodiment has no slat cord holes for Peeping Tom action and no notches for light leaks. Hunter-Douglas (R) high privacy designs mentioned in the prior art which seem to be preceded by the Chen patent, U.S. Pat. No. The objective is to reduce light leaks in a fully lowered close and tilt closed blind. Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the FIGURES illustrate the Peeping Tom deterrent device (. The objective is to lower light leaks. The bottom-most slat will leave a gap with the bottom board. The present invention relates generally to window coverings, and more specifically, to window blinds of the type having slats, control cords, and control cord holes in the slats.

This design still has edge gap Peeping Tom (.

An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide such a clip device that detachably fastens about the cord hole free, window blind slats in such a manner that a bent or damaged cord hole free window blind slat can be removed or replaced. An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a device that prevents Peeping Toms (, The Levolor (R) After Dark (R) model only fixes this problem in some blind installations as mentioned in A). It covers a horizontal window blind having slats with no cord holes. No. The full-length, slat carrier tray with eyelets on the sides prevents full tilt closure causing light leaks. Anti-Peeping Tom activity is not mentioned, but, occurs. It is designed for individual slat removal and replacement. levolor

Mechanically efficient mechanisms with little waste of energy due to excessive friction and cord tangling or misdirection is important.

The horizontal slat is first rested upon the rung of the cloth ladder. An advantage of the present invention is to provide such a device that does not interfere in any way with the tilt closing (minimal light leaks), tilt opening and raising open (minimal stack height) or lowering close of the fully tilt opened blinds.

Edge gap protection when the blind is mounted inside of the window casing is also not covered by this patent. A). The center of width cord hole position allowed for raise open and lower close cord clearance in either a full tilt open operation with room-facing or inner slat edge horizontal, a full tilt close operation with room-facing or inner slat edge down, or else a full tilt close operation with room-facing or inner slat edge up. Such control cords must be retained in an untwisted and untangled position throughout the operations of tilt open, tilt close, full and partial raising open and lowering close. Appears to be first U.S. patent registered miniblind use of the off-center slat hole very close to the street side for the free play raise open/lower close blind cord. non-liftable, Lamellar or like blinds, e.g. K). H). There is also no edge gap protection against Peeping Toms. The tilt operation in the other direction does not work, as mentioned below in problems. Four vertical cords are attached to the ends of each pivot bar with two vertical cords on the room facing side of the clip and also two vertical cords on the street facing side of the clip.

KAWABOINGO (R) CORP., CALIFORNIA, Free format text:

The slats rest upon the horizontal steps in prior art blinds. An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a device which can be sold at the retail or discount store in components with slats of different lengths custom cut and sold separately from the frame integrated with control cord mechanisms. D). lower light leaks in fully lowered close and tilt closed blinds. Stack height can greatly increase using ill-designed clips with often concave-down, curved slats. The open side of the C-shape faces the ceiling. venetian blinds with horizontal lamellae, e.g. Modern horizontal wood blinds trace their heritage to the old Venetian blinds. The objective of low light leaks is obvious for the benefit of sleeping persons and people wishing high privacy in bedrooms and bathrooms.

A steel bar extends horizontally and length-wise across the center of each horizontal slat. This Wolfe patent concerns a horizontal window blind having slats with a T-shaped cord hole allowing individual slat removal and replacement or repair. The horizontal bar also allows a pivoting action for each individual slat. N). The advent of the miniblinds pioneered by Levolor (R) occurred in the 1970's using very thin and concave, open face pointed down, aluminum slats.

In a likewise manner, a vertical column of the room facing, front, metal rings is threaded with a tilt open/tilt close cord which is tied to each individual metal ring.

Especially important is full raise open/lower close operation. Especially important is full tilt opening and tilt closing in both directions of front slat edge up and down when viewing the blind from inside of a room. In this type of blind mounting, the blind is attached hanging entirely inside off the window casing by attachment on the window casing top edge. The disadvantages of the Kraus patent are that no headrail mechanism for remote or motorized operation exists. The C-shaped wire clip can also cause greater stack height which is the height of the stacked, often concave-down, curved slats when the blind is fully tilt open and raise opened. 2) a front loop, the front loop being attached proximate the joinder of the first and second portion first ends, the front loop being shaped to receive the set of control cords such that, the tilt control cord is tied to the front loop and the raising and lowering control cord runs freely through the front loop. A).

The koch patent has no edge gap protection for Peeping Toms. In most small sized windows, the position of these two outermost columns is so near the edge of the window that the window casing or else the window frame projections cover any access to the slat cord holes by Peeping Toms. Older prior art horizontal, Venetian blinds required unscrewing of the headrail for removal, washing with light soap, spraying, and sun drying. The Koch patent's tilt open/tilt close operation is performed by raising one ladder while lowering the opposing end's ladder. This Cohen patent emphasizes an individual slat width adjustable system of horizontal window blinds whose main design emphasis is that it is adjustable to fit odd shaped windows such as arch shaped windows, round windows, triangular windows, etc.

make single stained, slat cleaning easier. The slats are cord hole free, however, the tension clip use on concave-down, curved slats will cause too large a stack height.

This Voss patent covers a horizontal window blind having slats with no cord holes, but, with slat edge notches to retain the blind cords. The relevant, non-patented aspects of this model are that the raise open and lower close cords requiring a slat portion with cord holes are separated from the tilt open and tilt close cords which need a slat portion with-out cord holes for effective operation. 09,648,602, filed on Aug. 26, 2000 by Kawakita, Kevin. Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. The edges of the C-shaped clip are pivot attached to a vertical, center of slat, metal spacer, sideways folding, zigzag mechanism. The lack of a raise open and lower close operation is a big disadvantage. The slat is passed through the open part of the clip. Many previous designs such as the Tuzmen US patents (U.S. Pat. A cloth ladder is used for the tilt open and tilt close action with the slat resting freely on top of the ladder's rung.

The top-most slat must be tilted room facing edge up to tilt all other slats room facing edge up via the two cloth tapes. The object is to avoid the current need for a two week turn-around time on factory ordered, custom manufactured horizontal window blinds. This object has not been met by prior art high privacy blind designs. The top of C-shape is wide enough to hold a pivot bar.

Product markings for this patent do not occur. P). This prior device is unlike the current patent, which concerns a design-in approach done at the factory.

Each slat carrier tray has little eyelets attached on either side of the tray which are used for both a free play raise open and lower close cord and a tied on tile open/tilt close cord.

Slat clearance with this center raise open/lower close control cord during a tilt operation determines the shape and size of the slat cord hole. The lower close operation is done by the user lowering the bottom-most slat and pulling the other slats down via the foldable cloth tapes while the slats slide down upon the horizontal metal bar.

slimline luxaflex tilt The tilt open/tilt close cords on either side of the slat are sewn attached to the cloth sleeve to form a ladder mechanism for tilt open and tilt close. Stack height is the height of the window blind when fully tilt opened and fully raise opened. An additional center raise open/lower close control cord goes down the center of the ladder through the slat cord hole with free play on the slat and attaches on the bottom board. No. The individual slats are removable for replacement or repair. The slats are held in place by a specially designed metal tension clip.

C). The pivoting, C-shaped clip will produce light leaks in a fully tilt closed and lowered close blind by interfering with the flush closure of the slat edge with adjoining slats. This design also has light leak problems, Peeping Tom problems. The second metal ring is threaded with a free play raise open/lower close cord. This is described in DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, FIG. This first Tuzmen patent covers a horizontal window blind having slats with no cord holes. Burglars can use bolt cutters and crow bars to remove the metal slats, so, high security use is not intended.

5,386,867) only fixes this problem in some blind installations as mentioned in A). It has a Continuation in Part in U.S. Pat. O). The problems with the Yu patent are that full, tilt close of a fully, lowered close blind only occurs in one direction. The raise open/lower close cords were attached to sets of double pulleys hidden in the headrail with the customer pulling the free hanging cords at one end of the headrail. Many prior art high privacy designs introduce too many light leaks, thus, making them impractical and not commercially viable.

This avoids the partial, inner slat edge up, tilt position problem of the Hunter-Douglas high privacy design mentioned below. It has an objective of lowering light leaks and allowing individual removal and replacement of broken slats. Edge notches for cords can even be used for Peeping Tom activity. The customers pulled a set of free hanging raise open/lower close cords at one end of the headrail.

The accent frame can be chosen to match the interior of a room or contrast with the slat color. An advantage of the present invention is to provide such a device in the form of a clip (, F). No. The device is particularly suited for mini-blinds with aluminum window blind slats, although other types of blinds, such as Venetian blinds and wood blinds, can also be used, in accordance with the present invention, and as determined by the intended end use for the overall device, as will occur to those of skill in the art upon review of the present disclosure.

This design still has edge gap Peeping Tom (, The Hunter Douglas design (apparently preceded by the Chen patent, U.S. Pat. The full close direction is an inside edge or room facing edge tilt down operation. The alternative embodiment has no slat cord holes, but, has two opposing side, notched slats to act as guides for the free play raise open/lower close cord. Also in the tilt close directions, the slat overlaps the adjoining top or bottom slat's hole thus completely blocking through the cord hole Peeping Tom activity. It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of devices differing from the type described above.

There are various devices designed enhancing the general performance of window blinds having slats, such as venetian blinds which have existed since the 1800's. 5,386,867 (see BACKGROUNDRelevant Prior Art Patent Summary), allow full tilt closure only in the street edge down position.

The topmost slat will hit the headrail causing a partial tilt up for all slats. The Voss patent seems to be preceded by the very similar design of the Judkins patent (see below). E). H).

In public use and prior art are recent (year 1999) anti-Peeping Tom or high privacy horizontal window blinds of the type used by Hunter-Douglas (R), Ovation (R), and Levolor (R).

5,769,140 (see below). This Anderson patent uses cord hole free slats. On the room facing front of the clip or front-side of the C-shape is loop attached a single metal ring which is threaded through a vertical, cloth, front, tilt sleeve. The object is to avoid the current need for a two week turn-around time on factory ordered, custom manufactured horizontal window blinds. The Schaller patent (U.S. Pat.

vertical blind end control blinds tilt cnt track mechanism vrt blindsusainc This invention allows a device which prevents a Peeping Tom (. Without further analysis, the foregoing description will so fully reveal the mechanism of the present invention that others of average skill in the prior art and knowledge of all prior art can adapt it for different applications meeting the claims of said invention.

All prior art blinds use curved slats with the curvature pointed face-down towards the floor.

An object and advantage of the present invention is to be a design in approach to high privacy horizontal window blinds which does not compromise in any way the operation of the device.

Each cord hole free and notch free slat is simply snapped onto the rung of the cloth ladder using metal snaps. A standard, prior art, vertical, cloth ladder type slat holder is used for the tilt open and tilt close operation. My U.S. patent application Ser. 2) a single slat curved upwards with means to minimize light leaks by keeping a top edge of the slat flush when in contact with the adjoining upper slat when in a tilt close up operation, and respectively, a bottom edge of the slat flush when in contact with the adjoining bottom slat when in a tilt close down operation. The miniblinds were very mechanically efficient, inexpensive, and could be easily removed from the headrail without screwdrivers for light soap, washing and spraying. An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide such a device in the form of a clip and also an edge cover strip which can be of whatever color or pattern is necessary to properly blend with the existing window blinds and the room interior. This Clark patent concerns a horizontal window blind having slats with no cord holes or notches. An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide an edge device that prevents Peeping Toms (. A second metal ring is looped through the first metal ring.

Therefore, it is believed that a need exists for a high privacy horizontal window blind design, which is economical to buy and manufacture, comes only in newly factory built window blinds, does not impede blind operation in any way, and allows full tilt closing in both directions.

A vertical column of the street facing, back, tilt sleeve is threaded free play with a raise open/lower close blind cord which attaches to the bottom board. This device consists of specially designed clips, vertical slat cover strips, and two edge cover strip.

The cord hole on the slat is placed slightly closer to the street facing, or outer side of the blind.

No. The tilt operation in the other direction does not work, as mentioned below in problems. A small blind will have at least two sets of vertical control cord columns and a wide blind will have up to five sets of vertical control cord columns. make single damaged slat changes easier.

These raise open/lower close cords also do not require a rope or cloth ladder attached to the head rail. The raise open and lower close actions are done by vertical cords which are strung free play down either side of the cloth ladder.

The Walker patent also still has Peeping Tom access through the edge gaps made with the window casing. The slats in this first Tuzmen patent might also get scratched by friction contact of metal clip upon aluminum slat. M). 1) a single slat having absolutely no control cord holes. A device for a horizontal window blind of the type installed over the interior of common household windows which invention comprises the following elements: 1) a raising open and lowering close control cord.

The raise open/lower close cord goes free play down either side of the slats. Disadvantages of the Schaller patent are that the color or decorative pattern of the frame is fairly permanent. My invention avoids the slat cord hole problem altogether by eliminating it while allowing a full, tilt-close in either direction and also the ability to change individual bent or broken slats (children and pets bend and break slats all the time). I). In the preferred embodiment, it consists of an open top, C-shaped, metal clip held with the C-shape open face up towards the ceiling through which the cord hole free slat is slid horizontally through and across the clip. The open side of the C-shape faces the floor. An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a decorator item where the clip and edge cover strips can serve to accent the solid blind color, the clip and edge cover strips can have cartoon characters to decorate children's bedrooms, the clip and edge cover strips can have a person's name or family crest, and other decorative or accent uses.

D). An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide duplicated sets of such clip devices which can be used with similar operation for each of the multiple vertical control cord columns across a blind. 5,386,867 (see below) assigned to Care Mate (R) International Company, Ltd. This invention provides a device that allows the edge cover strip to be easily removed for cleaning or altering colors of the edge cover strip.