Patent Publication Number: US-2023151691-A1

Title: Apparatus to assist in the raising or lowering of a roller shade

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application claims priority on and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Pat. Application No. 63/279,231 having a filing date of 15 Nov. 2022. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Field 
     This invention relates to the field of roller shades or roller blinds, and in particular to an apparatus that assists in the raising or lowering of the blind fabric. 
     Prior Art 
     Roller shades, or roller blinds as they are sometimes referred to, have become an increasingly popular window treatment. The development of roller shades has seen manufacturers moving away from more traditional cord activation units for both aesthetic purposes and to address safety concerns surrounding potential strangulation hazards. As a result, many roller shades are now made with internal clutch and/or spring mechanisms that allow an operator to simply grab the lower bottom bar of the shade and pull it downwardly to deploy the shade or raise it to allow the shade fabric to be re-wound upon the roller tube. The clean look of such roller shades, their ease of operation, and their ease of installation, have made them increasingly popular. However, without the inclusion of a downwardly extending cord that operates the shade’s internal mechanisms, shades installed on high mounted windows (for example, in many commercial settings and in residential settings with a high ceiling height) can present difficulty for an operator when attempting to reach and grasp the shade’s bottom bar. The same difficulty can be experienced by operators of shorter status, including children. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides an apparatus to assist in the raising or lowering of a roller shade, the apparatus comprising a grab plate that is secured or securable to a bottom bar of the roller blind; a wand that is releasably securable to the grab plate, the grab plate comprising a receiver to releasably receive an upper end of the wand such that when the upper end of the wand is moved vertically upward the roller shade is retracted, and when the wand is moved vertically downwardly the roller shade is lowered; the receiver comprising a mating surface against which a flange on the upper end of the wand bears when the wand is moved vertically upward, the receiver further comprising a retainer into which a locking member on the upper end of the wand is seatable when the wand is moved vertically downward. 
     In a further aspect there is provided an apparatus to assist in the raising or lowering of a roller shade, the apparatus comprising a grab plate, the grab plate secured or securable to a bottom bar of the roller blind; a wand, the wand releasably securable to the grab plate, the grab plate comprising a receiver to releasably receive an upper end of the wand such that when the upper end of the wand is moved vertically upward the roller shade is retracted, and when the wand is moved vertically downwardly the roller shade is lowered; the receiver comprising a mating surface against which a flange on the upper end of the wand bears when the wand is moved vertically upward, the receiver further comprising a retainer into which a locking member on the upper end of the wand is seatable when the wand is moved vertically downward, the locking member comprising one or more locking tabs that extend outwardly from an engagement head on an upper end of the wand. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings which show exemplary embodiments of the present invention in which: 
         FIG.  1    is a view of a generic window having mounted thereon a roller shade equipped with an apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG.  2    is an upper perspective view of a grab plate in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG.  3    is a plan view of the grab plate shown in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  4    is a lower perspective view of the grab plate shown in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  5    is an upper perspective view of a wand constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG.  6    is a view of the roller shade of  FIG.  1    prior to engagement of the wand with the grab plate. 
         FIG.  7    is an enlarged detail view of section “A” of  FIG.  6   . 
         FIG.  8    is a view of an embodiment of the invention, subsequent to  FIG.  7   , wherein the upper end of the wand has been received through an opening in the grab plate. 
         FIG.  9    demonstrates an upwardly directed force applied to the wand that is transmitted through the grab plate to the bottom bar in order to permit a raising of the roller shade. 
         FIG.  10    shows the roller shade of  FIG.  9   , having been moved to a substantially raised or retracted position, and demonstrating a rotation of the wand through approximately 90° when the upper end of the wand is received through an opening in the grab plate. 
         FIG.  11    is an enlarged detail view of portion “B” of  FIG.  10   . 
         FIG.  12    is a lower perspective view of  FIG.  11   . 
         FIG.  13    is a view of the roller shade of  FIG.  9    showing a lowering of the shade fabric through the application of a downwardly directed force to the wand. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention may be embodied in a number of different forms. The specification and drawings that follow describe and disclose some of the specific forms of the invention. With reference to the attached drawings, there will now be described a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG.  1    is an illustrative drawing showing a roller shade  1  mounted within a window frame  2 . It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that roller shade  1  could take any one of a wide variety of different roller shades, shade configurations, or shade constructions. In the embodiment shown, shade  1  includes blind fabric  3  having mounted along a lower end thereof a bottom bar  4 .  FIG.  1    shows a valance  5 , behind which is mounted the roller tube, mounting end brackets, and the mechanical drive/clutch/spring-assist system for the shade. In this embodiment, roller shade  1  is a cordless shade that would typically be lowered or raised by grasping bottom bar  4  and pulling it in a downward direction, or lifting it vertically. 
     In accordance with the invention there is provided an apparatus  6  to assist in raising or lowering blind fabric  3  of roller shade  1 . With specific reference to  FIGS.  2  through  5   , apparatus  6  is comprised generally of a grab plate  7  and a wand  8 . Grab plate  7  is securable to bottom bar  4 , whereas wand  8  is releasably securable to grab plate  7 . In one embodiment, the grab plate may be permanently fixed to the bottom bar or may be an integral portion of the bar formed during its construction. Alternately, grab plate  7  may include a lower clip member  9  and an upper clip member  10  that are designed to reasonably secure grab plate  7  to bottom bar  4 . A variety of other mechanisms could be utilized in order to releasably secure the grab plate to the bottom bar. In the embodiment shown, grab plate  7 , including lower clip  9  and upper clip  10 , is constructed from a flexibly resilient material (for example metal or a plastic-type of material) that permit the upper and lower clips to “snap” over the external surface of the bottom bar, releasably securing grab plate  7  thereto. It is expected that in most instances grab plate  7  will be secured to bottom bar  4  at approximately the horizontal midpoint of the bottom bar. Grab plate  7  may also include a finger tab  30  which could be grasped by an operator in instances where it may be desirable to raise or lower the blind by grasping the grab plate by hand. 
     Grab plate  7  comprises a receiver  11  to releasably receive an upper end  12  of wand  8 , such that moving the wand vertically upward raises the roller shade or causes a retraction of blind fabric  3  onto the roller tube. Similarly, when wand  8  is moved vertically downward, the roller shade is lowered with blind fabric  3  being unwound from the roller tube. Receiver  11  may be comprised of a mating surface  13  against which a flange  14  on upper end  12  of wand  8  bears when the wand is moved vertically upward. Receiver  11  may further comprise a retainer  15  into which a locking member  16  on upper end  12  of wand  8  is seatable when the wand is moved vertically downward. 
     In an embodiment, upper end  12  of wand  8  includes an engagement head  17  that is received through an opening  18  within grab plate  7 . Further, in one embodiment locking member  16  may comprise one or more locking tabs  19  that extend outwardly from engagement head  17 . Retainer  15  may then comprise one or more slots  20  that are shaped to releasably receive the one or more locking tabs that extend outwardly from engagement head  17 . Locking tabs  19  may take the form of a locking bar  21  that is positioned or secured generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of engagement head  17 , with locking bar  21  having at least one end extending beyond an outer surface of the engagement head and seatable within one or more of slots  20 . It will thus be appreciated that with such a structure, and with locking bar  21  (or a part thereof) seated in slot or slots  20 , a downward force applied to the wand will be transmitted through at least one end of locking bar  20  to the grip plate, causing the roller shade to be lowered as fabric is withdrawn from about the roller tube. 
     With specific reference to  FIG.  3   , opening  18  in grab plate  7  may be generally oval or oblong in shape with a major axis  24  and a minor axis  25 , where the major axis is longer than the minor axis. The major axis is dimensioned to permit the passing of locking bar  21  through opening  18  when the locking bar is generally aligned with major axis  24  (see generally  FIGS.  6 - 8   ). In this embodiment minor axis  25  is dimensioned such that it is smaller than the length of locking bar  21 , preventing passage of the locking bar through opening  18  (and hence a removal of wand  8  from its engagement with grab plate  7 ) when the locking bar is generally aligned with minor axis  25  (see generally  FIGS.  11  and  12   ). It will thus be appreciated that aligning locking bar  21  with the major axis of opening  18  in grab plate  7  will permit the insertion of upper end  12  of wand  8  through opening  18  and into engagement with grab plate  7 . Thereafter, rotating the wand by approximately 90° will align locking bar  21  generally with minor axis  25  and prevent the removal of the wand from its engagement with grab plates  7 . It should further be noted that in this configuration slots  20  within grab plate  7  are also generally aligned with minor axis  25  such that when locking bar  21  is generally aligned with the minor axis the outer ends of locking bar  21  will be received or seated within slots  20  to effectively “hang” wand  18  from grab plate  7 . At that point downward force applied to the wand will be transmitted through the locking bar to slots  20 , and ultimately from grab plate  7  through to bottom bar  4 , in order to lower the roller shade. 
     In the embodiment depicted in the attached drawings, raising roller shade  1  entails the insertion of upper end  12  of wand  8  through opening  18  in grab plate  7 . It will be appreciated that in this particular embodiment, to permit upper end  12  to be received through opening  18 , the wand will need to be oriented in a manner that generally aligns locking bar  21  with major axis  24  (see generally  FIGS.  6 - 9   ). As upper end  12  of wand  8  passes through opening  18  flange  14  will engage mating surface  13 . Movement of the wand in an upward direction at that point will transfer force from flange  14  to mating surface  13 , and ultimately from grab plate  7  to bottom bar  4 , thereby raising the roller shade by permitting the shade’s internal structure to rewind fabric  3  back onto the roller tube. With the receipt of engagement head  17  through opening  18 , there will also be provided a means to prevent an accidental dislodgement of flange  14  from its engagement with mating surface  13  as the wand is pushed in an upwardly direction. 
     When the roller shade is raised or lowered to its desired position, wand  8  can merely be left hanging from grab plate  7  by means of the engagement of locking bar  21  with slots  20 . Alternatively, the wand can be lifted slightly to unseat locking bar  21  from slots  20 , after which wand  8  can be rotated by approximately 90° to once again permit locking bar  21  to align with major axis  24 , so that downward movement of the wand will allow engagement head  17  to disengage grab plate  7 . The wand will then be free from attachment to the grab plate and can be stored for future use. For example,  FIG.  1    shows wand  8  stored on the lower sill of the window. 
     It will thus be appreciated that the described apparatus presents a means to assist in the raising or lowering of a roller shade, particularly shades that are cordless and that are mounted at a significant height. A simple insertion of engagement head  17  into opening  18  of grab plate  7  is all that is required in order to move bottom bar  4  in an upward direction. Similarly, insertion of engagement head  17  into opening  18  of grab plate  7 , followed by an approximate 90° rotation of the wand is all that is required in order to apply a downward force to bottom bar  4 . Lower and upper clips  9  and  10  of the grab plate allow it to be easily secured to a bottom bar of a roller blind during its manufacturer or during installation, and also present an easy means for retrofitting existing blinds that are currently in operation. 
     It is to be understood that what has been described are the preferred embodiments of the invention. The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth above, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.