Window shade mountable on both ends in similar brackets

The present invention pertains to a window shade with a winding shaft (1), at one end of which a drive assembly is provided, and both ends of which are rotatably mounted in stationarily mounted brackets (8). So as to use identical brackets to mount the winding shaft at both ends at the end of the winding shaft (1) located opposite the drive assembly, a mount with a shaft journal (4) mounted freely rotatably in a housing (3) on the winding shaft is provided, which shaft journal (4) has, at an end projecting from the housing (3), a receiving slot of polygonal cross section, which is open on one side, for a support pin (7) of a corresponding cross section, which is provided on the bracket (8), as well as an elastically deformable locking element (5), which holds the support pin securely in the receiving slot.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention pertains to a window shade, especially a blind, 
including a winding shaft at one end of which drive means are provided and 
wherein both ends are rotatably mounted in stationarily mounted brackets. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The function of the drive means for the window shade, which are arranged on 
one side at an end of the winding shaft, requires a nonrotatable pin 
mounting of this end of the winding shaft. In prior-art designs, a shaft 
journal of polygonal cross section is used for this purpose, which is 
provided on an inner bearing part of the drive means and can be 
nonrotatably hung into a slot (which is open on the top side) of a 
bracket, which can be fastened to a wall or the like. A simple bearing 
gudgeon is usually provided at the other end of the winding shaft in 
prior-art designs, and this bearing gudgeon is inserted into a hole or a 
slot with a round bottom of a bracket provided for this end of the winding 
shaft, which consequently has a different design, after the shaft journal 
has been hung into the slot (which is open at the top) of the bracket. The 
different wall brackets for the two ends of the winding shaft mounting do 
not permit any subsequent modification of the operating side without 
changing the wall bracket. 
A design reversed for mounting the winding shaft on the drive side with a 
support pin at the bracket on the wall and with a receiving slot for this 
support pin in an inner bearing part of the drive means of the winding 
shaft has been known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,432. 
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to provide possibly an identical 
design for both mounts of the winding shaft for the variable and reliable 
mounting of the window shade even on oblique and ceiling surfaces with the 
smallest possible light gaps. 
This object is attained by the present invention by designing a window 
shade of the class described in the introduction including a winding shaft 
at one end of which drive means are provided and wherein both ends are 
rotatably mounted in stationarily mounted brackets and wherein a mount is 
provided at the end of the winding shaft, which is located opposite the 
drive means, with a shaft journal. The shaft journal is mounted freely 
rotatably in a housing on the winding shaft. The shaft journal has at an 
end projecting from the housing, a receiving slot. The receiving slot has 
a polygonal cross section and is open on one side, for a support pin of a 
corresponding design provided at the bracket. An elastically deformable 
locking element is provided for holding the support pin securely in the 
receiving slot. 
The use of brackets of identical design for mounting both ends of the 
winding shaft with a small light gap between the shade and the wall 
brackets at both ends of the winding shaft is remarkable. The window shade 
can be hung simultaneously into both wall brackets from the top, it is 
easy to handle, and permits reliable mounting in any desired position, 
especially even on oblique wall or ceiling surfaces. The operating side 
can be subsequently changed without replacing the wall brackets. 
A preferred design is one in which the shaft journal is mounted, 
preassembled, in a bushing, which forms the housing and is nonrotatably 
inserted into a front-side mount of the winding shaft. As a result, 
preassembly of the support elements to be connected to the winding shaft 
and a simple plug-type connection of these support elements to the winding 
shaft are made possible. According to the object of the present invention, 
the locking element should be movable from the locked position until the 
support pin in the support slot is released in relation to the shaft 
journal at right angles to the support slot while undergoing elastic 
deformation against the restoring forces generated by it. Preferred is a 
locking element with a handle-like fastening pin, which is arranged within 
the shaft journal, is inserted with the fastening pin into a 
correspondingly profiled recess of the shaft journal, and has an outwardly 
exposed handle on the circumference of the shaft journal, so that the 
shaft journal can be pivoted around its clamped end to release the support 
pin, while undergoing elastic deformation. This is best achieved by a 
locking element, which is L-shaped in the cross section of the receiving 
slot, and which extends behind the support pin in the receiving slot on 
the open side of the slot in the locked position. The wall bracket 
suitable for mounting this end of the winding shaft can also be used, if 
designed in the same manner, to mount the end of the winding shaft on the 
drive side. 
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are 
pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part 
of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its 
operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference 
is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a 
preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention provides a window 
shade comprising a winding shaft 1 with a known driving means 21 provided 
at one end. The winding shaft is connected to two identically designed 
mounting brackets 8 as described herein. 
The mount or end assembly employed by the present invention for the winding 
shaft 1 for a window shade 2 made of a windable material consists of a 
bushing-like housing 3, a shaft journal 4 freely rotatable therein, and a 
locking element 5. A slot 6, which is open on one side, is provided in the 
shaft journal 4, and the shaft journal 4 can be hung with the slot 6 onto 
a support pin 7, which is provided on one of the brackets 8, which can be 
fastened to a wall, ceiling or the like. The receiving slot 6 and the 
support pin 7 have the same cross-sectional profile. In the exemplary 
embodiment, the shaft journal 4 is mounted freely and rotatably in a 
bushing forming the housing 3. The shaft journal 4 is at the same time 
secured in the housing against axial displacement in relation to one 
another. The housing 3 defines a first aperture 12 and a second aperture 
13, as shown in FIG. 6. The shaft journal 4 has a tail portion 14 which is 
inserted into the first aperture 12. At the very end of the tail portion 
14 are catches 15 which have a diameter which is larger than a diameter of 
the second aperture 13. The catches 15 define cutouts 16 and the shaft 
journal 4 is inserted into the housing 3 until the catches 15 are pushed 
through the second aperture 13. The catches 15 secure the shaft journal 4 
inside the housing 3. The catches 15 and cutouts 16 allow for easy 
assembly of the shaft journal 4 inside the housing 3, and also allow the 
shaft journal 4 and housing 3 to be preassembled before further assembly 
of the window shade. The housing 3 can be nonrotatably inserted into a 
front-side support of the winding shaft 1, so that the rotary movement 
which takes place during the opening and closing of the shade is between 
the housing 3 and the support surface at the shaft journal 4. The shaft 
journal 4 defines an internal cavity which is opened at end 17. The cavity 
has a holding pocket 18. A fastening end 9 of the locking element 5 is 
tightly inserted into the holding pocket 18 so that there is little, if 
any, play between the fastening end 9 and the holding pocket 18. The 
cavity expands from the holding pocket 18 to the opening 17 to allow for 
movement of a moving end 19 of the locking element 5. The moving end 19 of 
the locking element 5 is movable in a radial direction of the winding 
shaft 1. When the moving end 19 of the locking element 5 is moved at right 
angles to the receiving slot 6 the material of the locking element between 
the moving end 19 and the fastening end 9 undergoes elastic deformation 
which tends to force the moving end 19 back to its original position. In 
the area of the receiving slot, the locking element 5 has an L-shaped 
design when viewed in the axial direction of the winding shaft 1. The 
fastening end 9 is positioned offset from the center in the radial 
direction from the slot 6. The L shaped design has a leg 10 which extends 
into the receiving slot 6. The leg 10 extends in a locked position behind 
the support pin 7 of the bracket 8, when the support pin 7 is introduced 
into the receiving slot 6. On the circumference of the shaft journal 4, 
the said locking element 5 has a handle 11, so that the locking element 5 
can be moved, by using the handle 11, radially in the inward direction at 
right angles to the slot 6, into an unlocked position. This causes the 
fastening end 9 to undergo elastic deformation, and also restoring forces 
against the side are built up at the same time. Thus the leg 10 can be 
pushed back from the area of the slot 6 to release the support pin 7. To 
introduce the support pin 7 into the slot 6, the front end of the leg 10 
is beveled, so that the locking element 5 will automatically yield during 
a movement of the support pin 7 against the oblique surface, and the 
support pin 7 will be automatically locked in the receiving slot 6. The 
locking element 5 also has a handle 11 mounted on the moving end 19. The 
handle 11 is preferably connected by a dog leg 20 to the rest of the 
locking element 5. The dog leg is shaped so that the slot 6 and the pin 7 
of the bracket can pass between the handle 11 and the leg 10. To lift off 
the mount from the support pin 7 of the bracket 8, the locking element is 
pressed to the side by exerting radial pressure on the handle 11, so that 
the leg 10 of the locking element 5 is pushed back from the receiving slot 
6. 
The brackets 8 are of identical design with support pins 7 and are provided 
to mount both ends of the winding shaft 1. 
While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described 
in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the 
invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied 
otherwise without departing from such principles.