Abstract:
A black-out blind assembly having a frame supporting a black-out blind moveable within the frame between open and closed positions wherein sections of the frame have inner and outer walls extending from a side wall so as to form a channel section defining a recess for receiving part of a black-out blind. A light absorbing substantially non-reflective insert is positioned within the recess of the channel section adjacent the inner, outer and side walls so as to prevent scattered and reflected light passing around the sides of the black-out blind.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to European patent application No. 04253931.2, filed 30 Jun. 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a frame section of a frame for a black-out blind assembly, in particular for reducing the transmission of light through the blind assembly.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     It is well known to provide black-out blinds for architectural openings. These blinds are used to cover openings, such as windows, to cover the opening and prevent ingress of any light. Examples of such blinds are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,354,489, U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,892, DE 1 127 555 and DE 1 705 816.  
         [0006]     Although the blinds themselves can be sufficiently opaque to produce the desired effect, there is a problem that light can be reflected within the frame supporting the blind, such that this light travels around the side of the blind.  
         [0007]     To overcome this problem, the prior art proposes coating or painting inside surfaces of the frame of the black-out blind. However, the process of painting or coating the components in this way is undesirably complicated and expensive.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     According to the present invention, there is provide a frame section of a frame for a black-out blind assembly supporting a black-out blind moveable within the frame between open and closed positions, the frame section having: 
        inner and outer walls extending from a side wall so as to form a channel section defining a recess for receiving part of a black-out blind; and     a light absorbing substantially non-reflective insert positioned within the recess of the channel section adjacent the inner, outer and side walls.        
 
         [0011]     In this way, it is not necessary to paint or coat inner portions of the frame which surround the sides of the black-out blind between the inside and the outside of the architectural opening. Painting and/or coating frame sections can be a problem, since, usually, it is only the innermost part of the frame section which needs to be light absorbing and non-reflective. It then becomes necessary to coat the frame section selectively.  
         [0012]     By means of the present invention, it becomes a simple matter to prevent stray light from being reflected around the sides of the black-out blind. The separately manufactured insert can easily be inserted into the frame section.  
         [0013]     Preferably, the insert is a sheet form extending between first and second parallel edges and is deformed so as to extend from the first edge adjacent the inner wall around the inside of the channel section to the second edge adjacent the outer wall.  
         [0014]     By providing the insert as a sheet of appropriate width, it becomes very simple and inexpensive to manufacture the insert. Assembly of the frame section is not difficult, because it is only necessary to deform the sheet appropriately to fit it into the channel section.  
         [0015]     Preferably, within the recess of the channel section, the inner and outer walls are provided with respective supports for receiving the first and second edges of the insert.  
         [0016]     In this way, the insert is easily and securely held in place within the channel section.  
         [0017]     The supports can include protrusions extending into the recess of the channel section so as to prevent the edges of the insert moving outwardly of the channel section.  
         [0018]     The supports need not in themselves fix the edges of the insert to the inner and outer walls. By preventing the edges from moving outwardly of the channel section, the insert is effectively held securely in place. This is because it extends around the inside of the channel section and, hence, as a whole, cannot move such that its edges move inwardly of the channel section.  
         [0019]     The supports can define respective openings facing inwardly of the recess of the channel section for receiving the edges of the insert.  
         [0020]     The openings can prevent the edges not only moving outwardly of the channel section, but also from moving away from the inner and outer walls.  
         [0021]     The supports can form elongate channels.  
         [0022]     The edges of the insert fit into the elongate channels so as to secure them in place with respect to the inner and outer walls.  
         [0023]     Preferably, the insert is at least partly resilient such that, once inserted in the recess of the channel section, the insert presses outwardly against the inner, outer and side walls.  
         [0024]     In this way, it is not necessary to form accurately the insert before it is located in the channel section. The resilience of the insert causes it to follow generally the form of the channel section automatically. This also ensures that the insert does not interfere with the space of the recess or movement of the black-out blind within the recess.  
         [0025]     The insert is preferably a black material. It may be made of a non-woven material, paper, woven fabric, non-woven fabric, extruded flat film, extruded film in shape, etc.  
         [0026]     Frame sections of the present invention may be used for the sides of frames where a rolled black-out blind is unrolled from one end to the other along the length of the sides. In this case, a frame section can be arranged to receive an edge of a sheet forming a black-out blind, the edge sliding along the channel section as the black-out blind is moved between open and closed positions.  
         [0027]     Frame sections can also be used for ends of the frame.  
         [0028]     Hence, the frame section can be arranged to receive the rolled sheet forming a black-out blind, the sheet being unrolled from and rolled into the frame section as the black-out blind is moved between open and closed positions.  
         [0029]     Since a black-out blind will generally have a predefined thickness, it is possible to design the sides of a frame with channel sections having a width corresponding to the thickness of the blind and, hence, minimising any scattered/reflected light around the sides of the black-out blind. However, particularly for the end part of the frame in which the blind is rolled and unrolled, there is a problem of light reflection. The end part has to have a sufficiently large recess to accommodate a fully rolled black-out blind. As a result, when the blind is unrolled, there is a large space within the recess around which light can be reflected.  
         [0030]     The present invention provides a very effective arrangement for overcoming this problem.  
         [0031]     Preferably, where the frame section is arranged to receive a rolled sheet, the frame section further includes a rotatable support at each of two ends of the frame section for supporting therebetween a rolled sheet forming a black-out blind.  
         [0032]     According to the present invention, there is also provided a black-out blind assembly, including a frame having at least one frame section as described above, together with a black-out blind moveable within the frame. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0033]      FIG. 1  illustrates a black-out blind assembly in which the present invention may be embodied;  
         [0034]      FIG. 2  illustrates a cross section through the head rail of the assembly of  FIG. 1  showing also a top portion of the side guide; and  
         [0035]      FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate perspective views of the portion of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0036]     The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0037]     The present invention is described with reference to an embodiment of a black-out blind assembly for a window opening, but can, of course, be used with any architectural opening. Indeed, it is described with reference to a blind which unrolls from the top of the frame. It will be appreciated that the frame can be positioned in any orientation and the black-out blind deployed in any appropriate direction.  
         [0038]     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , within a window frame  2  is mounted a black-out blind assembly  4 .  
         [0039]     The black-out blind assembly  4  includes a head rail  6  mounted at the top of the frame  2  and two side guides  8  and  10  which extend respectively from each end of the head rail  6  along opposite sides of the frame  2 . A black-out blind  12  may be deployed downwardly from the head rail  6  with its two opposing edges contained within channel sections of the side guides  8  and  10 .  
         [0040]     As illustrated, a hand rail  14  is provided to enable a user to move the black-out blind up or down.  
         [0041]     The black-out blind  12  is opaque such that, once fully deployed with the hand rail  14  at the bottom of the frame  2 , the black-out blind assembly prevents light from travelling past the frame  2 .  
         [0042]      FIGS. 2, 3  and  4  illustrate further details of the side guide  10  and head rail  6  in the top left hand corner of the frame illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0043]     The side guide  10  has an inner wall  20 , on the inside face of the blind assembly  4 , an outer wall  22 , on the outside face of the blind assembly  4 , and a side wall  24  from which these two generally parallel walls extend.  
         [0044]     Thus, as illustrated, the inner, outer and side walls form a channel section  26 . The channel section  26  defines an elongate recess along which an edge of the black-out blind may slide up and down (as illustrated in  FIG. 1 ).  
         [0045]     Inevitably, in practice, there will be slight gaps between the outside surface of the black-out blind and the face of the outer wall  22  which faces the channel section  26 . Hence, it is possible that light will enter into the channel section  26 . This light could reflect off the surfaces of the outer wall  22 , side wall  24  and inner wall  26  before escaping on the opposite side of the black-out blind through slight gaps between the inner wall  20  and the inside surface of the black-out blind  12 .  
         [0046]     To overcome this problem, an insert  30  is provided within the channel section  26 .  
         [0047]     The insert  30  has a light absorbing substantially non-reflective surface and is, for instance, matt black.  
         [0048]     The insert  30  could be pre-formed of any suitable material for insertion into the channel section  26 . However, in a preferred embodiment, the insert  30  is formed as an elongate sheet extending between a first edge  32  and a second edge  34 . The sheet is merely deformed in the manner of bending or folding to insert it into the channel section  26 .  
         [0049]     As illustrated, the first edge  32  is positioned adjacent the inner wall  20  whilst the second edge  34  is positioned adjacent the outer wall  22 . The sheet then extends around the periphery of the channel section  26  providing the required light absorbing properties without interfering with the sliding motion of the edge of the black-out blind in the channel section  26 .  
         [0050]     By providing the sheet as a resilient member, it will inherently be biased outwardly and, hence, conform to the inner profile of the channel section  26 .  
         [0051]     Thus, in the preferred embodiment, the insert  30  is a black non-woven relatively resilient material.  
         [0052]     As illustrated, the inner wall  26  and outer wall  22  are provided with respective flanges  40  and  42  which extend towards one another and inwardly with respect to the channel section  26 . These flanges  40  and  42  form supports for the edges  32  and  34  of the insert  30 . In particular, flange  40  prevents the edge  32  from moving outwardly of the channel section and flange  42  prevents the edge  34  from moving outwardly of the channel section. Hence, the insert  30  is held securely in place within the channel section  26 .  
         [0053]     It will be appreciated that, in this preferred embodiment, the side guide  8  has a similar form and is provided with a corresponding insert.  
         [0054]     The head rail  6  also has a similar arrangement with an inner wall  120  on the inside of the frame  2  and a generally parallel outer wall  122  on the outside of the frame  2 . A side wall  124  joins the inner wall  120  and outer wall  122 , but, as compared with the side guide  10 , these walls form a channel section  126  which has a partially circular cross section as compared with the more rectangular cross section of the channel section  26 .  
         [0055]     The recess defined by the channel section  126  forms a space in which the black-out blind  12  may be rolled. In this respect, an end cap  16 ,  18  is provided at each respective end of the guide rail  6 . As illustrated most clearly in  FIG. 3 , an inner portion of each end cap  16 ,  18  is provided with a support  60  on which a roll of black-out blind may be rotatably mounted. Although not of direct relevance to the present invention, the blind assembly may additionally be provided with mechanisms for retracting the black-out blind by re-rolling it or, indeed, mechanisms for motorised operation of the blind.  
         [0056]     Similarly to with the side guide  10 , an insert  130  is provided within the recess of the channel section  126 . The insert  130  is light absorbing and substantially non-reflective. As with the insert  30 , the insert  130  could be pre-formed for insertion and constructed of any suitable material. However, in the preferred embodiment, the insert  130  has a sheet form extending from a first edge  132  to a second edge  134 . The first edge is positioned adjacent the inner wall  120  and the second edge is positioned adjacent the outer wall  122 .  
         [0057]     It will be noted that, for the arrangement of the side guide  10  in the preferred embodiment, the insert extends along substantially all of the depth of the inner and outer walls  20  and  22 . However, as is clear from  FIG. 2 , it is not always necessary for the insert to extend up the entire wall. In particular, for  FIG. 2 , the second edge  134  of the insert  130  extends only as far as the innermost part of the outer wall  122 .  
         [0058]     As with the insert  30 , the insert  130  is preferably at least partly resilient. In this way, as illustrated, the insert  130  is naturally biased so as to conform to the inner surface of the channel section  126 .  
         [0059]     The inner wall  120  is provided with a flange  140  which projects inwardly of the channel section  126 . This provides a step against which the first edge  132  of the insert  130  abuts. The flange  140  thus forms a support which prevents the first edge  132  from moving outwardly of the channel section  126 .  
         [0060]     The outer wall  122  is formed with an inwardly facing elongate channel  142  into which the second edge  134  of the insert  130  is mounted. In this way, the elongate channel  142  provides a support for preventing the second edge  134  for moving outwardly of the channel section  126 .  
         [0061]     The insert  130  is thus easily held in place with the channel section  126 . By conforming generally to the inner surface of the channel section  126 , the insert  130  does not interfere with rolling or unrolling of the black-out blind and yet still provides the necessary properties for preventing or at least reducing reflection of light.  
         [0062]     It will be appreciated that the supports for the edges of the inserts can be provided in other ways using any suitable form of rib, flange, groove, etc.  
         [0063]     It will also be appreciated that similar inserts can be provided with side guides and head rails of other cross sections. For instance, similar inserts could be used with the frame sections described in EP 1 045 111 and also EP 0 841 461, DE 44 06 287, U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,978 and GB 2 235 005 to which it refers.  
         [0064]     International Design No. DM/052193 of 5 Aug. 1999 illustrates other frame cross sections in which the present invention could be embodied.