Patent Publication Number: US-7210646-B2

Title: Cord seat assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a cord seat assembly. In particular, the present invention relates to a cord seat assembly for moving an object upward or downward. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional cord seat assembly comprises a cord for moving an object such as a curtain, Venetian blind, etc upward or downward. The cord is wound around a spool and movable in a retrieving direction and a releasing direction. 
       FIG. 6  of the drawings illustrates a conventional cord seat assembly comprising a seat  1 ′, a substantially cylindrical spool  2 ′, and a cord  3 ′. The seat  1 ′ includes an axial hole  11 ′ in each of two ends thereof through which an axle  21 ′ of the spool  2 ′ rotatably extends. The seat  1 ′ further includes a through-hole  12 ′ in a bottom thereof through which the cord  3 ′ extends. Formed on an end of the spool  2 ′ is a coupling section  22 ′ to which an end of the cord  3 ′ is fixed. A conic guiding section  23 ′ is formed on the other end of the spool  2 ′ and tapers toward the coupling section  22 ′ of the spool  2 ′. When the spool  2 ′ is turned in a retrieving direction of the cord  3 ′, the cord  3 ′ is wound around the spool  2 ′ and moves toward the coupling section  22 ′ due to provision of the conic guiding section  23 ′, preventing the cord  3 ′ from overlapping and getting stuck. 
     However, the conic guiding section  23 ′ results in an increase in the overall size of the seat  1 ′, which limits installation of the cord seat assembly and adversely affects the appearance when the cord seat assembly is mounted outdoors. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A cord seat assembly in accordance with the present invention comprises a seat, a spool rotatably supported by the seat, and a cord. The seat includes an end wall and a through-hole in a bottom thereof. The cord extends through the through-hole of the seat. The cord is wound around the spool and includes an end fixed to a first end of the spool. The cord is movable along a retrieving direction and a releasing direction. 
     The end wall of the seat comprises a lateral extension wall extending from a side of the end wall along a lateral side of the seat. The lateral extension wall is adjacent to the through-hole and includes a guiding face facing a second end of the spool. The cord that has passed through the through-hole abuts against and is guided by the guiding face onto the spool when the spool is turned in the retrieving direction of the cord. The cord is thus guided so as to be wound around the winding section of the spool in a smooth manner while avoiding the cord from overlapping or getting stuck. 
     Preferably, a distance between a relatively upper point on the guiding face and the through-hole is greater than that between a relatively lower point on the guiding face and the through-hole. 
     Preferably, the spool includes a substantially cylindrical winding section around which the cord is wound. 
     Preferably, the guiding section of the lateral wall extension includes an inner face facing the second end of the spool, and a distance between the inner face of the guiding section of the lateral wall extension and an outer periphery of the spool is smaller than a diameter of the cord. 
     Preferably, the end wall of the seat comprises another lateral extension wall extending from another side of the end wall opposite to the side of the end wall along another lateral side of the seat opposite to the lateral side of the seat. This lateral extension wall includes a guiding face facing the second end of the spool. The guiding face of this lateral extension wall guides the cord that has passed through the through-hole onto the spool when the spool is turned in the retrieving direction of the cord. Preferably, the cord comes into contact with the guiding face of this lateral extension wall after the cord has come into contact with the guiding face of the above-mentioned lateral extension wall. 
     Preferably, a distance between a relatively upper point on the guiding face of this lateral extension wall and the through-hole is smaller than that between a relatively lower-point on the guiding face on this lateral extension wall and the through-hole. 
     Preferably, the guiding section of this lateral wall extension includes an inner face facing the second end of the spool, and a distance between the inner face of the guiding section of this lateral wall extension and an outer periphery of the spool is smaller than a diameter of the cord. 
     Other objectives, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a cord seat assembly in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the cord seat assembly in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view similar to  FIG. 2 , illustrating rotation of a spool of the cord seat assembly in a retrieving direction of a cord. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view similar to  FIG. 3 , illustrating further rotation of the spool in the retrieving direction of the cord. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the cord seat assembly in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of a conventional cord seat assembly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a cord seat assembly in accordance with the present invention comprises a seat  1 , a spool  2 , and a cord  3 . The spool  2  is rotatably supported by the seat  1 . In the illustrated embodiment, the seat  1  includes an axial hole  111 ,  112  in each of two end walls  11  and  12  thereof. A through-hole  13  is defined in a bottom of the seat  1  and preferably adjacent to, e.g., the end wall  11 . 
     The spool  2  includes a cord winding section  22  that is preferably cylindrical. The spool  2  further includes two axles  21  respectively on two sides of the cord winding section  22 . The axles  21  are rotatably received in the axial holes  111  and  112  of the seat  1 . Provided on an end of the cord winding section  22  is a cord fixing section  23  to which an end of the cord  3  is fixed. The other end of the cord  3  extends through the through-hole  13  of the seat  1  and attached to an object (such as a curtain, Venetian blind, etc.) to be moved upward or downward. 
     Of more importance, the seat  1  includes two lateral wall extensions  14  and  15  extending from two sides of the end wall  11  adjacent to the through-hole  13  along two lateral sides of the seat  1 . Each lateral wall extension  14 ,  15  preferably has a length greater than a distance between the through-hole  13  and the end wall  11  of the seat  1 . 
     The lateral wall extension  14  includes a guiding section  141  that has a guiding face  142  facing the cord fixing section  23  on the end of the spool  2 . Further, the guiding section  141  of the lateral wall extension  14  includes an inner face  143  facing the other end of the spool  2 . Preferably, a distance “e” ( FIG. 5 ) between the inner face  143  of the guiding section  141  of the lateral wall extension  14  and an outer periphery of the spool  2  is smaller than a diameter of the cord  3 , preferably smaller than a radius of the cord  3 . 
     Similar, the lateral wall extension  15  includes a guiding section  151  that has a guiding face  152  facing the cord fixing section  23  on the end of the spool  2 . Further, the guiding section  151  of the lateral wall extension  15  includes inner face  153  facing the other end of the spool  2 , preferably, a distance “f” ( FIG. 5 ) between the inner face of the guiding section  151  of the lateral wall extension  15  and the outer periphery of the spool  2  is smaller than a diameter of the cord  3 , preferably smaller than a radius of the cord  3 . 
     Preferably, an axial distance between the guiding face  142  and the through-hole  13  increases gradually upward. In other words an axial distance between a relatively upper point on the guiding face  142  and the through-hole  13  is greater than that between a relatively lower point on the guiding face  142  and through-hole  13  (a&lt;b), as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     Further, an axial distance between the guiding face  152  and the through-hole  13  increases gradually downward. In other words, an axial distance between a relatively upper point on the guiding face  152  and the through-hole  13  is smaller than that between a relatively lower point on the guiding face  152  and the through-hole  13  (c&lt;d), as shown in  FIG. 2   
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , when the spool  2  is turned in a retrieving direction of the cord  3 , the cord  3  that has passed through the through-hole  13  abuts against and guided by the guiding face  142  of the lateral wall extension  141 . When the spool  2  is further turned, the cord  3  comes into contact with and is thus guided by the guiding face  152  of the lateral wall extension  151 . The cord  3  is thus guided so as to be wound around the winding section  22  of the spool in a smooth manner while avoiding the cord  3  from overlapping or getting stuck. Since the distance “e”, “f” ( FIG. 5 ) between the inner face  143 ,  153  of the guiding section  141 ,  151  of the lateral wall extension  14 ,  15  and the outer periphery of the spool  2  is smaller than a diameter of the cord  3 , the cord  3  is prevented from getting stuck in the gap between the spool  2  and the guiding section  141 ,  151 . The overall size of the cord seat assembly is smaller than the conventional design, which allows more application of the cord seat assembly from the standpoint of the installation location. 
     The guiding section  151  may be omitted without sacrificing the advantages of smooth operation and sticking-prevention. Further, the spool  2  may be of other shape and include an embossed outer periphery. 
     Although a specific embodiment has been illustrated and described, numerous modifications and variations are still possible without departing from the essence of the invention. The scope of the invention is limited by the accompanying claims.