Abstract:
In a window treatment with a cover for covering a window or other architectural opening, a cord assembly includes an elongated housing arranged to be installed next to the cover. The housing includes a channel around most of its periphery receiving the cord. Operating elements are provided on the housing to move the cord with respect to the housing to operate the window treatment and its cover.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 61/426,572 filed Dec. 23, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     a. Field of Invention 
     This application pertains to window shades and other window coverings, and more particularly to any cord-operated window or door covering systems, wherein a guard is provided for the cord (or chain) that makes the cord inaccessible. 
     b. Description of the Prior Art 
     Many different window and door covering systems and other treatment systems are presently available that can be used by residential, commercial and industrial consumers to cover a window or for other decorative purposes. Some of these systems may include window blinds, venetian blinds, roman shades, vertical blinds, and so on. A typical system of this kind includes a window covering element, a mechanism for raising, lowering, or otherwise opening or closing the window covering element and one or more cords used to control the mechanism. The cord may be a string, a rope, a continuous chain of plastic or metal beads, etc. 
     A problem associated with all such systems is that the cords may be openly accessible, for example, to children and may cause injuries if used incorrectly. 
     Some suggestions have been made in the past for solving these problems. For example, electronic systems have been designed that eliminate the need for a cord. However such electronic systems are too expensive and complicated for many situations. The present application provides a means of avoiding access to open window covering control cords. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A window treatment constructed in accordance with this invention includes a cover; header supporting the cover, the header including a mechanism for controlling an operation of the cover; and a cord system coupled to the mechanism for operating the cover. The cord system includes a cord engaging said mechanism, and an elongated housing arranged for mounting under said header, the housing having a peripheral channel accepting the cord, the cord and the housing cooperating to allow selective movement of the cord to operate said cover without exposing said cord. 
     In one embodiment, the housing is formed with a cutout sized and shaped to allow manually grasping said cord to move said cord vertically. 
     In another embodiment the system includes a manual slider slidably mounted on the housing and arranged to engage a portion of the cord to selectively move the cover up or down. 
     The housing includes two lateral portions extending along the length of the housing and having respective peripheral channels. A cord used to operate the window dressing includes a first portion passing along a first of said lateral portions and a second portion passing along a second of said lateral portions. 
     The cord can be selected from one of a bead, a strap, a chain, a string, and a rope. 
     The system optionally further includes a tensioning member for tensioning the cord. 
     In another aspect of the invention, a cord system for a window treatment for covering an architectural opening with a cover is presented. The cover is selectively operated by a mechanism controlled, all operated by a cord and a cord system. The cord system includes an elongated housing constructed for mounting adjacent to the cover. The housing includes a body with a peripheral channel accepting the cord. A cord activating element sized and shaped for manual grasping and movement of the cord with respect to the housing along the channel. 
     In one embodiment, the activating element includes a cutout in the housing and the channel, the cutout being large enough to allow a person to grasp the cord and move it longitudinally. 
     In another embodiment, the activating element includes a slider having a slider body formed with a vertical opening. The vertical opening is sized and shaped to receive the housing, the slider including a first cord engaging member extending into the channel to engage a portion of the cord, wherein moving the slider longitudinally along the housing causes the cord to move together with said slider. 
     In one embodiment, the slider includes a button disposed on said slider and extending into the channel to selectively engage the cord portion. 
     Preferably, the slider body has a first lateral side and a second lateral side, the button being accessible for manual manipulation from said first lateral side. 
     The cord system further includes a second button accessible from the second lateral side, wherein the first button engages a first portion of said cord and said second button engages a second cord portion, said first and second buttons being alternatively activated while said slider is moved in a pumping action to move said cord in a first direction. A bracket interconnects the first and second buttons. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
         FIG. 1A  shows a somewhat diagrammatic front view of a window treatment constructed in accordance with this invention; 
         FIG. 1  is an orthogonal view of a cord system used in the window treatment of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 2  shows an enlarged orthogonal view of a lower end of the cord system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of a top portion of a first embodiment for the cord system of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  shows an orthogonal view of a header modified to receive the end of the cord system of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  shows a side view of an upper portion of the cord system of  FIG. 3  inserted into the header of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  shows an end view of the upper portion of the cord system of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 7  shows a side view a top portion of another embodiment of a cord system in which the housing is attached to a clutch guard; 
         FIG. 7A  shows a cross-sectional the embodiment of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 7B  shows an orthogonal view of an arrangement for attaching a cord guide to a roman shade support; 
         FIG. 7C  shows an orthogonal view of an arrangement for attaching a cord guide to a standard window shade; 
         FIG. 8  shows an orthogonal view of a slide switch used with the embodiment of  FIGS. 4-6 ; 
         FIG. 9  shows a cross-sectional view of the slide switch of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 9A  shows a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment for the slide switch; 
         FIG. 9B  shows a cross-sectional view of the slide switch of  FIG. 9A  with an insert for beadless cord; and 
         FIG. 10  shows a top view of the slide switch of  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly starting with  FIG. 1A , a window, door or other architectural feature in a room includes an opening  200  provided with a covering system  202 . The covering system  202  includes an upper portion, generally referred to as a header  204  and a cover  206 . In many instances, the cover  206  is raised and lowered from a mandrel  208  disposed inside the header. A mechanism  210  (such as a clutch) disposed at one end (or in some cases, inside) the mandrel  208  and is used to selectively raise and lower the cover  206  as indicated by arrow A. In an alternate embodiment (such as a venetian blind, not shown), instead of, or in addition to raise or lowering the cover  206 , the cover  206  stays in place and is manipulated to allow more or less light to enter through the opening  200  and/or for other purposes. 
     In any event, according to this invention, a cord assembly  212  is provided on one side of the opening  200 . The assembly  212  is attached to, or at least positioned near the header  204  to allow contains a cord (described and discussed in more detail later) to pass into the header  204  and engage the mechanism  210  to control the operation of cover  206  as just described. 
     Cord assembly  212  is now described in conjunction with the remaining figures. Starting with  FIG. 1 , the cord assembly  212  includes a housing  10  having a generally elongated shape with a central portion or web  12  that is relatively thin, in the order of ⅛-¼″. The web  12  may be provided at regular intervals with holes  14  or other means for mounting the cord assembly to the opening  200 . The housing further includes a peripheral C-shaped channel  16  sized and shaped to receive cord  18 . As seen in the figures, the channel  16  extends peripherally around the web  12 , except along top edge  12 A. The top edge  12 A is straight so that it can abut a bottom surface of header  204 . 
     Depending on the size, shape and weight of the cover  206 , the cord  18  can be a string, a rope, a beaded chain, or other well-known long and thin member. The cord  18  can be made of a woven, knit, twisted, or braided material that can be natural or synthetic. However, for the following description, the cord  18  is descried as being made of a plurality of interconnected beads  18 A forming a continuous chain. In this embodiment, the beads  18 A are either molded from a plastic material, or are formed from a metallic allow. 
     As discussed above, central portion  12  is preferably thin to make the whole housing  10  light and inexpensive. The channel  16  is preferably formed by a curved wall  20  defining a passageway  20 A for the cord  18 . The passageway  20 A has a partial circular cross section sized and shaped to match and receive the cord  18 . Preferably the maximum cross-sectional dimension of the channel  16  is larger than the thickness of central section  12  as shown to allow cord  18  to move relatively freely through the channel without undue friction. 
     The passageway  20 A holds, protects and guides cord  18  as it moves around the housing  10  and it preferably subtends an arc in the range of 90-180 degrees when viewed in cross-section. 
     Alternatively, if it is desired to protect the cord from the user or the user from the cord  18 , the channel  16  can be shaped to surround cord either partially or completely. In the latter case, the passageway  20 A is complete enclosed and is tubular. This latter configurations is more difficult to install since the cord must be threaded through the passageway  20 A rather than training it around the housing  10 . 
     At least on one side of the housing, a hand-sized cutout is formed in the channel  18 , such as at  22  that may be typically 5-8″ high. The cord  18  passes through this cutout and the cutout is sized and shaped to allow a user to grab the cord  18  and move it up or down. Preferably, the height or size of the cutout  22  is limited to insure that a free length of cord  18  visible through the cutout  22  cannot be pulled of the housing  10  easily and cause accidents. In an alternate embodiment, two cutouts  22 ,  22 A are provided, one on each side of the housing  10 . The cord in one cutout is then pulled downwardly to move the cover  206  in one direction while the cord  18  is pulled downwardly in the other cutout to move the cover  206  in the other direction. As described above, in some cases, the cord in one cutout or the other is moved to cause the cover to open or close without actually moving it. 
     Depending on the size of the cord, the size of the window dressing, the height at which the window dressing is installed and other factors, the housing  10  can be made as a unitary element that is installed right below the mechanism  210 , for example, by mounting it on a wall of the opening  200 . Alternatively, (e.g., for taller openings  200 ), the housing  10  can be made of several modular pieces with a top piece  30  having a generally rectangular shape that extends downwardly from the header  204  and a bottom piece  32  that is formed with a semicircular portion  34  for turning the cord around, as can be seen in more detail in  FIG. 2 . Preferably, the two pieces  30 ,  32  are provided with tong-and-groove connectors (not shown) or other similar to interconnect the pieces to each other so that they are not easily separated. 
     In its simplest configuration, the housing and/or cord are sized and the housing is mounted in a way designed to insure that the cord is under tension. In this configuration, there will always be some rubbing between the cord and the housing. Therefore the housing should be made of a plastic material with a low coefficient of friction. This configuration may be difficult to implement in some configurations, especially for large and long housings. Therefore, it is advantageous to provide the housing with a means of tensioning the cord. One such tensioning means includes an idler roller  40  (see  FIG. 2 ) rotating on a shaft  42 . The shaft  42  is disposed in a cavity in housing  10 , preferably in its bottom piece  32 . The roller  40  has a circumferential outer surface having a groove having at least approximately the same size and shape as the passageway  20 A. At the bottom of the housing  10 , the roller  40  is aligned so that its groove replaces the bottom portion of channel  16  forming at least a portion of a rounded passageway  45  for the cord and being continuous with the passageway  20 A in the channel  16 . 
     The housing  10  is further formed with two vertical slots  44  with the shaft  42  being captured in the slots in a manner that allows it to move up and down. A compression spring  46  is arranged to apply a biasing force on the shaft  42  in the downward direction. The spring  46  applies a force on the idler roller  40  through shaft  42  thereby tensioning the cord  18 . The spring  46  and wheel  40  are sized and arranged to insure that at its lowest position, the wheel  40  does not protrude from the housing  10 . As a result of the tension applied by the wheel  40  on cord  18 , the cord  18  has very little play in it even in the cutouts  22 ,  22 A. 
     As discussed above, in one embodiment of the invention, the housing  10  is mounted below but separate from the header  204  so that the cord  18  comes out of the header  204  passes through the passageway formed around the housing  10  and then back into the header  204 . 
     In another embodiment, the housing  10  is attached to the header  204 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , header  204  includes an end  62  with a feedhole  64 . The cord  18  exits through this feed hole. An adapter  60  is attached to housing  10 . The adapter has the shape of a 90° elbow with two flanges  66 ,  68  adapted for attachment to the top and bottom of end  62 . Inside the elbow a cavity (not shown) is formed that is arranged to guide the cord ends  18 A,  18 B as they exit  64  to the peripheral passageway  20 A described above. 
     In another embodiment ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ) more suitable for surface mounted window coverings, a header  72  is provided with a lateral hole  74 . An elbow  70  is attached to the end surface of header  72  and is formed with two holes  76 ,  78  to accept and guide the ends of the cords to the cord guide  10  as shown. 
     In another embodiment shown in  FIGS. 7 and 7A , a housing  10 A has an end  80  designed to be attached to the clutch guard  82  of a header (not shown). The end  80  is formed with a hook  84  that pass over a lip  86  formed on the clutch guard  82 . In this manner the housing  10 A is attached or mounted on the clutch guard  82  and accepts cord  18  as described. 
       FIG. 7B  shows an arrangement for attaching a cord guide to a roman shade. The roman shade includes an end  88  with a mandrel  89  on a guard  90 . Guard  90  is attached to the wall or ceiling of a window. (not shown). A cord (not shown) is disposed inside the guard  90  so that pulling one or the other end thereof causes the mandrel to rotate about its horizontal axis. According to this invention, a back wall  92  is attached to the guard  90  and has a downward extension  91  attached to a bottom piece  92  to form to passages  92 A,  92 B. An adapter  93  is attached to the bottom of the extension  91  and includes passages  93 A,  93 B to guide the cord from the guard  90  to a cord guard, such as the one in  FIG. 1.10 . The adapter  93  includes a lower extension  94  with a pin  94 A engaging a hole in housing of the guard. 
       FIG. 7C  shows an arrangement for attaching a cord guide to a standard window shade. In this embodiment, shaft  95 A engages a standard window shade and is selectively rotated by a cord in guard formed by disc  95 B and a member  95 . Member  95  has a downwardly extending portion  95 C. An adapter  96  is used to guide the cord to the housing  10 . The adapter includes lateral channels, as at  96 A for the cord. 
     In another embodiment, instead of, or in addition to the cutouts  22 ,  22 A, a slider  100  (shown in  FIGS. 8-10 ), is provided to operate the cord  18 . The slider  100  includes a shell  102  with an oval opening  104  shaped to receive the housing  10  and allow the shell  102  to move longitudinally along the housing  10  and the cord  18 . The housing  10  may be provided at the top and the bottom with stops (not shown) to limit the movement of the slider switch. 
     The shell  102  has two sidewalls  108 ,  110 . At least one of the sidewalls, such as  110  is fluted as at  106  to allow a person to grip the slider switch  100  comfortably. The other sidewall  108  includes at least one indentation  109  for the thumb of a person. 
     A bracket  112  extends transversally within the shell and is connected to two buttons  114 ,  116 . The bracket  112  is sized and shaped to allow sufficient room within the opening  104  for the housing  10  to move with respect to the slide switch  100  without any interference. In order to insure that the bracket is strong enough, it may be shaped with two sections, one on each side of the flat housing  10 . Buttons  114 ,  116  are sized and shaped to extend inwardly between the portions of the wall  20  defining  16  without any interference therewith. 
     Each button  114 ,  116  is attached to a shoe  118 ,  120  that has a respective surface  115 ,  117  shaped and sized to fit over and create an interference fit with a portion  19  of the cord  18  within the opening  104 . For example, if the cord  18  is made of a spherical beads  18 A, then the shoes  118 ,  120  have partial spherical indentations on one side that match the size and spacing of the beads 
     In one embodiment, the slider switch  100  is made with detents (not shown) or other similar well known means which maintain the bracket  112  in either of two positions. In one position shown in  FIG. 9 , the button  116  is pushed in causing the shoe  118  to engage the corresponding segment  19  of the cord  18  and push it against the inside wall  21  of the channel  20 . In this manner, an interference fit is created between the shoe  118  and the inside wall  21  allowing the slider switch  100  to grab the portion  19  of the cord  18 . In this position of bracket  112 , button  114  is in an extended position above the outer surface of sidewall  108  and its shoe  120  is remote from, and is not in contact with another cord portion  21 . 
     Pushing button  114  inward shifts the bracket  112  to its second position. In this position, the show is disengaged from cord portion  19 . On the other hand, shoe  120  now engages the portion  21  of cord  18 . 
     This arrangement allows the user to grasp the slider  100  and pimp it up and down very quickly to raise or lower the cover  206  rapidly. For example, if the slider is initially in position shown in  FIG. 9  and the right side of the slider is the top, then pushing down on the slider  100  causes the portion of cord  18  with section  19  to move down. At the bottom of the stroke, the user flips the bracket  112  by pushing the button  114  in. This causes the shoe  118  to disengage from portion  19  and show  120  to engage portion  19 . Then, the user lifts the slider causing the portion  19  to go up. At the top of the stroke, the user pushes the button  116  thereby engaging portion  19  again. 
     The cord  18  can be moved rapidly in the other direction as well by reversing the above sequence. This operation is a quick, easy and safe way to operate the cord. 
     In another embodiment, detents are provided to set the bracket  112  in a third position in which both shoes engage the cord (thereby blocking it from moving). In another embodiment, the slider switch is provided with detent that hold the bracket in a neutral position in which neither shoe engages the cord thereby allowing the slider to be moved up and down freely without moving chord  18 . 
       FIG. 9A  shows another embodiment of the invention in which shoes  222  having a different shape than the ones in  FIG. 9  is used. The shoes  222  are moved toward or away from the beads of the cord  18  by respective arms  224 . These arms are offset from the plane of the shoes  222  to provide enough clearance for the shoes to move toward and away from the beads  18 A as described above. 
     As previously mentioned, the slide switch shown so far in the figures is well suited to engage a beaded cord  18  however, it may not operate so well with beadless cords.  FIG. 9B  shows an alteration for the slide switch of  FIG. 9A . The alteration consists of the addition of a pair of auxiliary shoes  322 . These auxiliary shoes are inserted into the slide switch when it is known that the slide switch will be used with a cord without beads. The auxiliary shoes include several bays, such as  322 A that are longitudinally offset from the bays  222 A of shoes  222 . Normally, both sets of shoes are recessed from the cord so that slide switch can ride freely on the cord. When one of the shoes is moved inward toward the cord, the bays from the shoes  222 A,  322 A are arrange to form a twisted path form the cord thereby increasing the friction with the cord and making it difficult to slide the cord through the slide switch. At the same time the teeth between the bays on the shoes are advanced toward each other, thereby locking unto the cord. Releasing the shoes causes the shoes the unlock from the cord. 
     Numerous modifications may be made to the invention without departing from its scope as defined in the appended claims.