Patent Publication Number: US-2013233500-A1

Title: Positioning apparatus of a window shade

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention is related to a window shade, in particular, to a positioning apparatus of a window shade. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Swiss Patent Number CH702766A2 discloses a positioning apparatus of a honeycomb window shade (referred to as the honeycomb shade). The positioning apparatus mainly utilizes a protrusion having an bended surface and a covering block to form the structure thereof; wherein the protrusion includes an bended string slot extending in a vertical direction, and said string slot is of a V-shape arranged in a lateral direction and is provided for a pulling string of the window shade to pass therethrough. The covering block covers the protrusion such that the pulling string is confined to be within the string slot and is prohibited from disengagement therefrom. Furthermore, the pulling string of such honeycomb shade is tensioned to be firmly secured onto the window frame. As the pulling string is at a tensioned state, the pulling string in the string slot can create friction force at the bottom surface of the string slot in order to generate a movement resistance for the positioning apparatus with respect to the pulling string and to achieve the positioning effect. 
     Accordingly, after a multiple of the positioning apparatus are installed at the upper beam and the lower beam of the honeycomb shade, the pulling string is passed therethrough such that it is ready for use. During the use of the shade, a user can push or pull the upper beam or lower beam upward or downward directly with hand, and in the meanwhile, the user needs to exert a force capable of overcoming the friction force between positioning apparatus and the pulling string in order to move the upper beam or lower beam. As it is moved and positioned and as the pulling string is at the tensioned state, the pulling string is able to generate friction force with the string slot of the positioning apparatus in order to achieve the positioning effect. 
     However, to effectively provide the friction force, conventionally, pulling strings mostly are steel wires. In the abovementioned method of use, since the string slot is bended, the pulling string can cause serious wearouts at the bended portion of the string slot of the positioning apparatus as it passes through the string slot while the rest portions may be free from wearouts. Such design causing wearouts to a certain single portion thereof can easily damage the structure. As a result, the positioning effect is reduced and eventually, it would lose its ability to be positioned. Such structure will have a shorter lifetime. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a positioning apparatus of a window shade that is capable of introducing more uniform wearouts of the positioning apparatus by the pulling string such that lifetime thereof can be prolonged. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a positioning apparatus of a window shade that is capable of reducing the wearouts of the positioning apparatus by the pulling string such that the lifetime thereof can be prolonged. 
     To achieve the abovementioned objectives, the present invention provides a positioning apparatus of a window shade, installed on an upper beam or a lower beam of said window shade and functioned with a pulling string of said window shade to generate a positioning effect or being pulled thereof and with said pulling string in a tensioned state, said positioning apparatus of said window shade comprising: a supporting stand, having a body part and at least one installation part disposed on one side of said body part; and at least one circular ring, attached to said body part, and said puling string at least partially surrounding the circumference of said at least one circular ring to form a winding thereon. 
     Preferably, said at least one installation part is of a quantity of one and extends rearward from said body part, and at least one securing means is provided at a front side of said body part. 
     Preferably, said at least one installation part is of a quantity of two including an upper installation part and a lower installation part respectively and extend forward from an upper end and a lower end of said body part respectively; said upper installation part and said lower installation part are provided above and below said at least one circular ring respectively; and said at least one circular ring is arranged between said upper installation part and said lower installation part. 
     Preferably, said upper installation part comprises an upper slat and an upper block, and said upper slat extends forward from the top of said body part and said upper block extends downward from said upper slat; said lower installation part comprises a lower slat and a lower block, and said lower slat extends forward from the bottom of said body part and said lower block extends upward from said lower slat. 
     Preferably, said upper slat and said lower slat are parallel to each other and covers said at least one circular ring. 
     Preferably, said upper slat and said lower slat comprise a through-hole respectively provided for said pulling string to pass therethrough. 
     Preferably, two lateral edges of said body part of said supporting stand extends and bends outward to form an arched shape, and a side-to-side width of said body part is greater than a side-to-side width of said upper slat and said lower slat. 
     Preferably, said at least one circular ring comprises a securing means and a mounting ring; said securing means is provided on said body part and said mounting ring having an inner ring surface mounted onto said at least one securing means; the circumference of said mounting ring is indented inward to form a ring slot, and said puling string at least partially surrounds said ring slot of said at least one mounting ring to form a winding thereon. 
     Preferably, said at least one installation part is of a quantity of two including an upper installation part and a lower installation part respectively; said upper installation part comprises an upper slat and an upper block, and said upper slat extends forward from the top of said body part and said upper block extends downward from said upper slat; said lower installation part comprises a lower slat and a lower block, and said lower slat extends forward from the bottom of said body part and said lower block extends upward from said lower slat; a bottom surface of said upper slat and a top surface of said lower slat comprise a restrictor respectively; each one of said restrictor is adjacent to said ring slot of said at least one mounting ring without contacts and blocks said ring slot of said at least one mounting ring externally such that said pulling string is restricted within said ring slot of said at least one mounting ring. 
     Preferably, said at least one circular ring is of a quantity of one, and said pulling string surrounds said ring slot of said mounting ring completely in one revolution. 
     Preferably, said at least one circular ring is of a quantity of multiple; said securing means and said corresponding mounting rings are arranged in left and right rows from top to bottom alternatively and are spaced apart from each other with a predetermined distance; said mounting rings are aligned with a virtual line from top to bottom; said pulling string passes by said circular rings and is alternatively wound from left to right to partially surround said ring slot of each one of said mounting rings to form a winding on said ring slot of each one of said mounting rings. 
     Preferably, said at least one mounting ring is secured on said at least one securing means to prohibit a rotation thereof. 
     Preferably, said at least one mounting ring is rotatably and pivotally attached to said at least one securing means. 
     Preferably, said body part comprises at least one circular ring having a surface indented to form a guiding slot thereon; said guiding slot is arranged at least partially along the circumference of said at least one circular ring; said pulling string passes through said guiding slot and at least partially surrounds said circumference of said at least one circular ring to form a winding thereon. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the assembly of the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an illustration showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention with a pulling string; 
         FIG. 4  is right side view of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an illustration showing the assembly of the first embodiment of the present invention being installed onto the window shade; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the assembly of the second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is an illustration showing the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention with a pulling string; 
         FIG. 9  is a right side view of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded view of the third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  is an illustration showing the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention with a pulling string; 
         FIG. 12  is an exploded view of the fourth embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 13  is an illustration showing the operation of the fourth embodiment of the present invention with a pulling string. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     To describe the technical features of the present invention in greater detail, preferred embodiments of the present invention are provided below along with the accompanied drawings accordingly as follows: 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a first preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a positioning apparatus  10  of a window shade  91 , installed on an upper beam  92  or a lower beam  94  of said window shade  91  and functioned with a pulling string  96  of said window shade to generate a positioning effect or being pulled thereof and with said pulling string  96  in a tensioned state, said positioning apparatus  10  of said window shade  91  comprising a supporting stand  11  and at least one circular ring  19 , which include following features. 
     The supporting stand  11  includes a body part  12  and an upper installation part  14  and a lower installation part  16  extended forward on an upper end and a lower end of said body part  12  respectively. In this embodiment, said upper installation part  14  comprises an upper slat  141  and an upper block  142 , and said upper slat  141  extends forward from the top of said body part  12  and said upper block  142  extends downward from said upper slat  141 ; said lower installation part  16  comprises a lower slat  161  and a lower block  162 , and said lower slat  161  extends forward from the bottom of said body part  12  and said lower block  162  extends upward from said lower slat  161 . The upper installation part  14  and the lower installation part  16  are provided to be hooked onto the upper beam  92  or the lower beam  94  of the window shade  91 . Furthermore, said upper slat  141  and said lower slat  161  are parallel with each other. In this embodiment, the upper slat  141  and the lower slat  161  are provided with a through-hole  15  respectively for the pulling string  96  to penetrate therethrough. 
     In this embodiment, the at least one circular ring  19  is of a quantity of multiple; and each one of said circular rings  19  comprises a securing means  21  and a mounting ring  31 . The securing means  21  is provided on the body part  12 . The mounting rings  31  having an inner ring surface respectively mounted onto said at least one securing means  21 ; said upper installation part  14  and said lower installation part  16  are provided above and below said securing means  21  respectively; said mounting rings  31  are provided between said upper installation part  14  and said lower installation part  16 . Furthermore, the circumference of said mounting ring  31  is indented inward to form a ring slot  32 . In this embodiment, said securing means  21  and said corresponding mounting rings  31  are arranged in left and right rows from top to bottom alternatively and are spaced apart from each other with a predetermined distance, and said mounting rings  31  are aligned with a virtual line VL from top to bottom. The virtual line VL is aligned with the through-holes  15  as shown in  FIG. 2 . Furthermore, in this embodiment, the mounting rings  31  are secured on each one of the securing means  21  to prohibit a rotation thereof. 
     In this embodiment, said pulling string  96  passes by said circular rings  31  and is alternatively wound from left to right to partially surround said ring slot  32  of each one of said mounting rings  31  to form a winding on said ring slot  32  of each one of said mounting rings  31 . 
     Accordingly, wherein the upper slat  141  and the lower slat  161  cover the mounting rings  31 . 
     The above describes the structure of the first embodiment of the present invention. The operation of the first embodiment is further provided in the following. 
     Refer now to  FIGS. 3 to 5 . Prior to its use, the present invention is installed onto the upper beam  92  or the lower beam  94  with the upper installation part  14  and the lower installation part  16  with the pulling string  96  passes therethrough. It shall be noted that the orientation of the present invention when it&#39;s installed on the upper beam  92  is the opposite of the one installed on the lower beam  94 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , as the user wishes to adjust the window shade  91 , the upper beam  92  or the lower beam  94  of the window shade  91  is moved. Since the pulling string  96  is arranged to alternatively interference from left to right with the mounting ring  31  of the three circular rings  19  as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the pulling string  96  partially surrounds the ring slots  32  of the mounting rings  31 . As a result and during the movement thereof, the pulling string  96  passes by the mounting rings  31  and is able to generate friction forces due to said interferences in order to achieve the positioning effect. 
     According to the structure of the first embodiment, the wearouts of the mounting rings  31  occur uniformly at the surfaces of the ring slots  32  in contact with the pulling string  96  during the use of the pulling string  96  such that much less wearouts than the ones of the conventional bending points and designs occurs and such that the lifetime thereof is prolonged. 
     It shall be noted that the mounting rings  31  can also be rotatably and pivotally attached to the securing means  21 . With such rotatable structure, the mounting rings  31  can be driven to rotate when the pulling string  96  passes by the present invention such that wearouts on the surface of the ring slots  32  can be greatly reduced. Under such rotatable condition, the installation between the mounting rings  31  and the securing means  21  can be introduced of friction forces such that it can similarly provide friction forces for positioning purpose. 
     Refer now to  FIGS. 6 and 7 . A second preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a positioning apparatus of a window shade  40  that is similar to said first embodiment but differs in that: 
     The lateral edges of said body part  42  of said supporting stand  41  extend and bend outward to form an arched shape. Therefore; a side-to-side width of said body part  42  is greater than said upper slat  441  and said lower slat  461  such that the mounting ring  61  is covered. 
     The at least one circular ring  49  is of a quantity of one. 
     In this embodiment, said pulling string  96  surrounds said ring slot  62  of said mounting ring  61  completely in one revolution. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the starting point and finishing point of the revolution are both on the left side of the mounting ring  61 . Note that the starting point and finishing point of the revolution can be both on the right side of the mounting ring alternatively as another example. A bottom surface of said upper slat  441  and a top surface of said lower slat  461  comprise a restrictor  45  respectively; each one of said restrictor  45  is adjacent to said ring slot  62  of said mounting ring  61  without contacts and blocks said ring slot  62  of said mounting ring  61  externally such that said pulling string  96  is restricted within said ring slot  62 . 
     Furthermore, the upper installation part  44  and the lower installation part  46  are free of any through-holes. In other words, the pulling string  96  passes by one side of the upper installation part  44  and the lower installation part  46  directly. 
     The operation of the second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the one of the first embodiment; the following is directed to their differences only: 
     Refer now to  FIGS. 8 and 9 . As a user moves the upper beam  92  or the lower beam  94  of the window shade  91  (parts of the window shade being similar to the ones in  FIG. 5 ), the positioning apparatus  40  of the present invention moves along the pulling string  96  and the pulling string  96  moves relatively along the surface of the mounting ring  61 . Therefore, due to the friction force between the pulling string  96  and the surface of the mounting ring  61 , the positioning effect can be achieved. With such structure of the second embodiment, the wearouts would occur uniformly on the surface of the mounting ring  61  without having one single portion being subject to wearouts such that the lifetime thereof is prolonged. 
     In the second embodiment, the mounting ring  61  can be secured onto the securing means  51  or can also be rotatably and pivotally attached to the securing means  51 . Under the rotatable condition, the installation between the mounting ring  61  and the securing means  51  can be introduced of friction forces such that it can similarly provide friction forces for positioning. 
     As the other structures of and the effects achievable by the second embodiment are similar to the ones of the first embodiment, details thereof are omitted. 
     Refer now to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , A third preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a positioning apparatus of a window shade  70  that is similar to said first embodiment but differs in that: 
     The supporting stand  71  comprises an installation part  74  extended rearward from the body part  72 . The installation part  74  is locked within the track  921  provided on the upper beam  92  or the lower beam (not shown in the figures) of the window shade. The shape of the installation part  74  is known and similar with the one disclosed by Swiss Patent Number CH 702766A2. 
     Furthermore, the securing means  79  are provided on the front side of the body part  72 . 
     In this embodiment, the installation part  74  is free of any through-holes. The pulling string  96  passes by said circular rings  81  and is alternatively wound from left to right to partially surround said ring slot  82  of each one of said mounting rings  81  to form a winding on said ring slot  82  of each one of said mounting rings  81 . 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 11 , the assembly of each one of the mounting rings  81  on the top and down of the right side and their corresponding securing means  79  can also be replaced by the use of circular columns of the two mounting rings  81  with identical diameters (for example, the circular ring  109  of the fourth embodiment below and as shown in  FIG. 12 ) such that only one mounting ring  81  is used to cooperate with two circular columns in alternative configuration so the pulling string  96  can partially surrounds the mounting ring  81 . 
     Accordingly, this embodiment can similarly use the interference configuration between the mounting rings  81  and the pulling string  96  to achieve the positioning effect. 
     As the other structures of and the effects achievable by the third embodiment are similar to the ones of the first embodiment, details thereof are omitted. 
     Refer now to  FIGS. 12 and 13 , a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a positioning apparatus of a window shade  100  that is similar to said first embodiment but differs in that: 
     The body part  102  comprises the circular rings  109  having a surface indented to form a guiding slot  103  thereon; said guiding slot  103  is arranged at least partially along the circumference of said circular ring  109 ; and said pulling string  96  passes through said guiding slot  103  and at least partially surrounds said circumference of said circular rings  109  to form a winding thereon. 
     Accordingly, this embodiment can similarly utilize the design of arranging the pulling string  96  to be within the guiding slot  103  to allow the interference configuration between the pulling string  96  and the circular rings  109  to occur in order to achieve the positioning effect. 
     As the other structures of and the effects achievable by the fourth embodiment are similar to the ones of the first embodiment, details thereof are omitted.