Abstract:
A rolling shutter assembly is formed of a plurality of shutter slats which are designed to fit snuggly against each other when in a rolled up state so as to substantially reduce the diameter of the rolled up shutter assembly. This reduction of the diameter of the shutter assembly permits the use of a smaller housing for the shutter assembly. The smaller housing increases the aesthetic appeal of the assembly and decreases the material required for the assembly housing and thus the cost of the shutter assembly. The rolling shutter assembly includes a shutter support member, a shutter coupled to the support member and a plurality of tracks the guide the shutter while it is being raised or lowered. The shutter slats include a hinge connection along each edge portion of the slats.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to the field of rolling protective shutters. The shutters include an assembly, for covering a window or door of a building, which can be compactly rolled up into a housing when not in use. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Rolling protective shutters have long been used as protection against extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes, and to deter theft. Conventionally, rolling protective shutters are made from a plurality of shutter blades or slats which are hingedly connected to each other. When deployed, these blades or slats form a surface which covers an opening in a building. When they are not in use they are stored in a housing or enclosure. They are normally wound around a rod or shaft for storage. An example of these rolling shutters is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,322, issued to Miller and entitled “Rolling Protective Shutters” which is incorporated by reference herein. As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  the rolling shutter of Miller is composed of a plurality of individual slats and a plurality of hinges interconnecting the slats. The slats include a first set of slats and a second set of slats. Each of the slats in the first and second sets being alternated so that each of the hinges is connected to one of the slats in the first set and one of the slats in the second set. The shutter assembly also includes a pair of shutter track and means for rolling the shutters from an extended position to a retracted position in which the shutters are rolled up on a shutter support member. The size of the housing required to hold the rolled up shutters is substantially greater than the depth of the shutters when deployed and extends a substantial distance from the building, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,322, issued to Miller discloses rolling shutter assembly for covering a door or window opening. The shutter is formed from a plurality of slats connected to each other. There are two different sets of slats. Each set of slats is different from the other set in size and connecting elements. The different sets are connected to each other in an alternating arrangement with the first set alternating with the second set. This arrangement allows the first set of slats to occupy a horizontal position when deployed and the second set to occupy a vertical or angled position when deployed. The second set of slats provides the majority of protection against high winds and weather. The problem with this type construction is that the slats occupy a substantially large diameter when rolled onto an assembly for storage. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,289, issued to Miller also discloses a rolling shutter assembly for covering a door or window opening. The shutter is designed to be rolled up onto a shutter support member for storage when it is not in use. Many different embodiments of shutter slats are disclosed. In a first embodiment, the slats are curved and may or may not include rollers to assist in guiding the shutter slats in a track as they are raised or lowered. In other embodiments the shutter slats are flat and connected to each other utilizing a variety of different hinge connections. However, none of these embodiments provides a compact and small diameter unit when the shutter is rolled up onto the shutter support member for storage. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,582, issued to Heissenberg discloses an accordion type of hurricane shutter assembly for providing a temporary covering across an opening in a building to prevent damage to the interior of the building by wind, debris and water from hurricanes and other severe weather conditions. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 7,069,700, issued to Heissenberg discloses a system for covering the fasteners which are provided on the exterior walls of buildings for mounting hurricane or storm shutters. The system includes a mounting track for the fasteners and a cover plate which is pivotable about one side of the track. The cover normally covers the fasteners when they are not in use and pivots outwardly to allow access to the fasteners to permit the shutter to be attached to them. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a rolling shutter assembly comprising a plurality of shutter slats which are designed to fit snuggly against each other when in a rolled up state so as to substantially reduce the diameter of the rolled up shutter assembly. This reduction of the diameter of the shutter assembly permits the use of a smaller housing for the shutter assembly. The smaller housing increases the aesthetic appeal of the assembly and decreases the material required for the assembly housing and thus the cost of the shutter assembly. The rolling shutter assembly includes a shutter support member, a shutter coupled to the support member and a plurality of tracks that guide the shutter while it is being raised or lowered. The shutter slats include a hinge connection along each edge portion of the slats. 
   Accordingly, it is an objective of the instant invention to provide a rolling shutter assembly comprising a plurality of shutter slats designed to fit snuggly against each other when in a stored condition. 
   It is a further objective of the instant invention to provide a rolling shutter assembly which provides protection for openings in buildings against hurricanes and high winds when in a deployed condition. 
   It is yet another objective of the instant invention to provide a rolling shutter assembly formed from a plurality of shutter subassemblies wherein each of the slats in a subassembly is the same size or width. 
   It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a rolling shutter assembly which is substantially smaller in diameter when in a stored position. 
   Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of the rolling shutter assembly of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the rolling shutter assembly of the present invention in the deployed position; 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  are side views of the roiling shutter assembly of the present invention illustrating different lengths of the shutter assembly in its deployed position; 
       FIG. 4  is cross sectional view of the rolling shutter assembly of the present invention in its stored position along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIGS. 5A-5J  are end views of shutter slats of the present invention illustrating their different sizes. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred, albeit not limiting, embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. 
   As broadly construed, the invention comprises a rolling shutter assembly composed of a plurality of discrete shutter subassemblies. A first subassembly is sized to essentially encircle a shutter mounting member. Each succeeding discrete shutter subassembly is subsequently sized to essentially encircle the previous discrete shutter subassembly, until the desired coverage is achieved. This assemblage of discrete subassemblies is unique in its ability to stack about the shutter mounting member in a particularly compact manner, such that the overall diameter is substantially smaller than prior art rolling shutter assemblies. 
   An illustrative, albeit non-limiting, embodiment of the rolling shutter assembly  10  of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . A shutter assembly housing  12  includes a top wall  14 , a rear wall  16 , a front wall  18 , side walls  20  and a bottom wall  22 . A shutter support member  24  is mounted for rotation within the housing on support members  26  connected to the side walls  20  of the housing. A shutter mounting member  28  is secured to a shaft  30  of the shutter support member  24 . 
   A rolling shutter  32  is illustrated in its unrolled or deployed position in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The rolling shutter comprises a plurality of shutter slats secured to each other. An end view of some of the slats  70 - 88  can be seen in  FIGS. 5A-5J . These shutter slats are made from aluminum in a preferred embodiment, but could also be made from steel or any other suitable material. The material must be able to withstand high winds and stop objects carried by these winds from penetrating the openings which the rolling shutter covers. The rolling shutter  32  is attached at its upper portion to shutter mounting member  28  by the top slat  34  of the rolling shutter  32 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . A cylindrical socket  36  is secured to or formed on an outer circumferential portion of shutter mounting member  28 . A substantially hollow, cylindrical connecting member  38  is secured within cylindrical socket  36 . The combination of the connecting member and the cylindrical socket is also known as a knuckle joint. Connecting member  38  is mounted along an edge portion of a shutter slat  34 . Another cylindrical socket  42  is mounted along an edge of shutter slat  34  opposite the edge on which connecting member  38  is mounted. The height of shutter slat  34  is the distance between connecting member  38  and cylindrical socket  42 . The connecting member  44  of a second shutter slat  46  is secured within cylindrical socket  42 . The second shutter slat  46  includes a cylindrical socket  48  mounted along an edge portion thereof. The height of shutter slat  46  is the distance between connecting member  44  and cylindrical socket  48 . The connecting member  50  of a third shutter slat  52  is secured within cylindrical socket  48 . The third shutter slat includes a cylindrical socket  54  mounted along an edge portion thereof. The connecting member  56  of a fourth shutter slat  58  is secured within cylindrical socket  54  of the third shutter slat. The fourth shutter slat includes a cylindrical socket  60  mounted along an edge portion thereof. The cylindrical socket  60  is positioned adjacent the initial cylindrical socket  36  when the shutter is in its rolled up or stored position. The height of each shutter slat is the distance between the connecting member and the cylindrical socket of each shutter slat. A group of shutter slats is formed utilizing four shutter slats which are all dimensioned and shaped like the shutter slat  70  of  FIG. 5A . The heights of all the shutter slats in this group are the same. This group of four shutter slats essentially encircles the shutter mounting member  28 . This group of four shutter slats is known as a shutter subassembly. 
   Attached to shutter slat  58  is a second group or subassembly of four more shutter slats,  62 ,  64 ,  66  and  68 . These shutter slats utilize the same system of cylindrical sockets and connecting members or knuckles to attach each other together. This is described above in the description of shutter slats  34 ,  46 ,  52  and  58 . These four shutter slats ( 62 ,  64 ,  66  and  68 ) essentially encircle the previous four shutter slats  34 ,  46 ,  52  and  58 . As can be seen in  FIG. 4  this second group or subassembly of slats,  62 ,  64 ,  66  and  68 , nests upon and contacts the innermost subassembly of slats  34 ,  46 ,  52  and  58 . This second subassembly,  62 ,  64 ,  66  and  68  also essentially encircles the innermost subassembly. The cylindrical socket  69  of the fourth slat  68  of the second subassembly is positioned adjacent the cylindrical socket  60  of the fourth slat  58  of the first subassembly of slats. The socket  69  is also adjacent the connecting member  61  of the first slat  62  of the second subassembly, thus forming an almost complete circle. The second subassembly of slats has a diameter only slightly larger than the diameter of the first or innermost subassembly. This arrangement of shutter subassemblies results in a substantially compact rolling shutter assembly when the shutter assembly is in its stored position. The second group or subassembly is formed from four shutter slats dimensioned and shaped like shutter slat  72  in  FIG. 5B . 
   Each succeeding subassembly or group of shutter slats is formed from four shutter slats each having the same size. Each of these four slats has the next larger dimensions than the shutter slat of the previous subassembly. The third subassembly comprises four shutter slats similar to shutter slat  74  in  FIG. 5C , the fourth subassembly comprises four shutter slats to shutter slat  76  in  FIG. 5D , etc. Each succeeding subassembly of shutter slats nests upon and contacts the previous subassembly of shutter slats, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . When the shutter subassemblies are in their deployed position, as illustrated in  FIG. 3B , each succeeding subassembly is longer that the preceding shutter subassembly The first shutter subassembly or group  90  is shorter than the second shutter subassembly or group  92  Each of the succeeding shutter subassemblies is sized to fit the remaining portion of the opening being protected by the shutters. The last shutter subassembly may comprise less than four shutter slats. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3B  the last shutter subassembly comprises only a single slat. In other embodiments of the invention each of the shutter subassemblies can be formed from more than four shutter slats. 
   Shutter slats are connected to each other by a connecting member of one shutter slat positioned within a cylindrical socket of the next shutter slat. A guide pin  110  is secured to the connecting member at each end of the shutter slat, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The guide pin  110  moves vertically along a track  112  of guide rail  114 . A guide rail  114  is positioned on both the left and right sides of the opening that the rolling shutter assembly is protecting. Guide rails  114  are secured to a building by fasteners  116 . Protective caps  118  may be attached to an exposed end of a fastener  116  to protect the fastener from the elements. The plurality of guide pins  110  permit the rolling shutter  32  to be deployed from the housing  12  and rolled up thereinto. The guide pins  110  also secure the shutter slats to the guide rails  114  in a manner such that high winds and flying debris will not move the shutter assembly into the opening which it is covering. 
   A base plate  120  is secured to the lowermost slat of the rolling shutter  32 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The base plate is attached to the cylindrical socket of the lowermost shutter slat of the rolling shutter  32 . The base plate  120  rests against the ground and prevents the intrusion of the weather elements such as wind and rain and also insects. A bar  122  is secured in the cylindrical socket of the lowermost slat. The bar  122  is provided with a left and a right movable end members  124  and  126 . The movable end members are normally retracted into the bar  122  and do not extend past the end of the shutter slat. When the rolling shutter  32  is unrolled to its fully deployed position, the end members  124  and  126  are extended outwardly and into the track  112  of the guide rails  114 . The bar  122  and end members  124 ,  126  helps to secure base plate  120  and lowermost end of the rolling shutter  32  to the lowermost portion of guide rail  114 . Means can be provided to lock the end members  124  and  126  to the guide rails  114 . 
   Shutter slats are also prevented from pivoting inwardly into the opening by a plurality of hooks formed on the connecting members and cylindrical sockets. Shutter slat  70 ,  FIG. 5A , has a hook  130  formed on an inner portion of its cylindrical socket  71 . The hook  130  extends substantially the length of cylindrical socket  71 . Another hook  132  is formed on the outer portion of the connecting member  73  of slat  70 . The operation of these hooks will now be described utilizing the rolling shutter assembly of  FIG. 4 . A hook  130  is formed on the inner portion of cylindrical socket  42  of the first shutter slat  34 . A corresponding hook  132  is formed on the outer portion of connecting member  44  of the second slat  46 . When the slats are deployed from their stored position the connecting member  44  of slat  46  rotates counterclockwise with respect to the cylindrical socket  42  of slat  34 . The hooks  130  and  132  engage each other when the slats unroll to a vertical position, as shown in  FIG. 1 . This arrangement prevents the rolling shutter  32  from pivoting and flexing in a direction opposite to the direction in which it is rolled up for storage. This enhances its protection against high winds. 
   All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. 
   It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein. 
   One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.