Patent Publication Number: US-2012037320-A1

Title: Window shade

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Ser. No. 12/457,294, filed on Jun. 5, 2009. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to window shades, and more specifically to an economical magnetic cordless shade for fast deployment whenever shade or cover is desired. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In most situations where danger is from outside, the windows of a building pose the biggest threat to the occupants. Unless reinforced, the windows can easily be breached, and they provide a view of the occupants therein for potential enemies outside. Since most windows include a blind for shade or privacy purposes, it is common practice to cover the windows in emergency or dangerous situations. The blind, typically Venetian or roll-up blinds, provides a barrier from potentially harmful debris should the window break or shatter as well as obscure the view. Rapid deployment of the blind is advantageous in these situations, but due to the construction of a Venetian blind, the catch mechanism often hinders fast release of the slats. With respect to a roll-up blind, the reeling mechanism is prone to wear so that reeling and un-reeling becomes unreliable. In many facilities, such as schools, office buildings, and the like, lock down procedures typically call for windows, and particularly windows disposed in classroom or office doors, to be covered as quickly as possible. Thus, it would be a benefit in the art to provide a window shade that can easily and reliably deploy in a rapid manner while minimizing costs for the same. 
     Thus, a magnetic cordless shade solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The window shade includes a header defined by a substantially elongated U-shaped channel. The top of the header includes attachment areas for attaching the header to a window frame. A folded blind has one end attached to the web of the header channel, and when folded, the blind is housed inside the channel. The other end of the pleated blind is attached to a footer. A magnetic latching assembly is disposed between the header and the footer to keep the blind in a folded condition. Alternatively, a retaining mechanism holds the footer when the blind is folded. Pulling a pull cord or handle disposed on the footer releases the magnetic latching mechanism or the retaining mechanism to thereby rapidly unfold the blind. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a magnetic cordless shade according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a partial front view of the magnetic cordless shade according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a partial rear view of the magnetic cordless shade according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view in section of the magnetic cordless shade according to the present invention, the shade being retracted into the header channel. 
         FIG. 5A  is a rear view of an alternative embodiment of a magnetic cordless shade according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 5B  is a perspective view of a metal latch locking bracket of the alternative embodiment of the magnetic cordless shade shown in  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 6A  is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a magnetic latch for a magnetic cordless shade according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 6B  is a side view in section of the alternative magnetic latch of  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 7  is an environmental perspective view of another alternative embodiment of a window shade according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a side view in section of the window shade of  FIG. 7 , the shade being retracted into the header channel. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view in section of another alternative embodiment of a window shade according to the present invention, the shade being retracted into the header channel and having a different latching mechanism than the embodiment of  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention relates to a rapidly deployable magnetic cordless shade, generally referred to by reference number  10 , which is simple in construction and cost effective. As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the magnetic cordless shade  10  includes a header or head rail  11 , a footer or foot rail  40  and a blind  20  disposed between the head and foot rails  11 ,  40 . The head rail  11  is an elongate, U-shaped channel formed from a web and two substantially parallel flanges extending from opposite edges of the web, the channel having an interior defining a housing space for the blind  20 . The head rail  11  is adapted to be mounted to the top of a window frame. To facilitate the mounting, the head rail  11  includes attachment areas  13  where fasteners or adhesives may be used to attach the head rail  11  to the window frame. Alternatively, one of the sides of the head rail  11  may include attachment areas to facilitate mounting the head rail  11  above a window niche. Another alternative may employ hanging brackets for the head rail  11 . The distal ends of the head rail  11  may be covered by end caps  12 . 
     The blind  20  is preferably a folded stack of fabric, or pleated fabric, that will stow inside the housing area of the head rail  11  when in a folded condition. The fabric may be made from paper, textile, vinyl or composites so long as it is durable and provides shade. An anchoring upper vane or slat  21  is attached to the upper end of the blind  20 . The upper anchoring slat  21 , in turn, is fixed to the web  17  of the header rail  11  by fasteners or adhesives. The lower end of the blind  20  is attached to another anchoring vane or slat  22   
     The footer or foot rail  40  is an elongate channel dimensioned to slidably fit over the lower anchoring slat  22 . The two anchoring slats  21 ,  22  on the respective rails provide a stable connection so that the blind  20  may easily unfold or fold. A pull cord  15  is operatively disposed on the foot rail  40 . The foot rail  40  may also include end caps  41  to cover the distal ends. 
     To keep the blind  20  in a stowed or folded condition, the magnetic cordless shade  10  includes a magnetic latching assembly disposed between, or having mating components attached to or formed by, the header and the footer  11 ,  40 . The magnetic latching assembly includes a magnetic latch  30  disposed on the foot rail  40 . The magnetic latch  30  may be a folded bracket with a magnet  31  mounted or bonded thereon. The magnet  31  is preferably a neodymium magnet. If the head rail  11  is made from a ferromagnetic material, such as steel, then the magnetic latch  30  may simply latch to the interior of head rail  11 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . For other instances, such as a head rail  11  made from aluminum or plastic, the head rail  11  may include a magnetic locking latch  32 , keeper, or catch mounted inside the head rail  11 . The magnetic locking latch  32  is preferably a strip of ferromagnetic material or an oppositely polarized magnet. To ensure unobtrusive latching between the rails  11  and  40 , the head rail  11  may include a slot through which the magnetic latch  30  may pass. 
     The following describes operation of the magnetic cordless shade  10 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the magnetic cordless shade  10  is assumed to be in a folded condition with the magnetic latch  30  locked onto the head rail  11 . When it is desired to rapidly cover the window W, e.g., a window on a door D (shown in  FIG. 1 ), the user pulls a handling means such as a handle or the pull cord  15  with enough force to release the magnetic latch  30  to allow the weight of the foot rail  40  and gravity assist with unfolding and extending or lowering the blind  20 . Thus, the blind  20  is rapidly deployed with minimal or any hindrance. When shade or cover is no longer needed, the user lifts the foot rail  40  and folds the blind  20  back into the channel and secures the magnetic latch  30 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5A-6B , alternative magnetic latching assemblies for the magnetic cordless shade  10  are shown. For example, in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the magnetic cordless shade  100  includes a magnetic locking latch  110 . The magnetic locking latch  110  may be a L-shaped bracket mounted to the exterior of the head rail  11  by a fastener inserted through fastener hole  111 , the bracket being made from ferromagnetic material. In operation, the magnetic latch  30  latches onto the depending portion or downwardly extending leg of the bracket. Also, as shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the magnetic latch  130  may be a strip of material of any desired shape that is attached to the foot rail  40 . A magnet  131  is embedded in the strip and functions similar to the above magnetic latch  30 . 
     Similar quick-release deployment of the blind can also be provided with non-magnetic means. In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the alternative window shade, generally designated by the reference number  200 , includes a mechanical retaining mechanism that retains the blind in a stowed position, yet allows for rapid deployment of the blind by a gentle tug on the footer. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the window shade  200  includes a header or head rail  211 , a footer or foot rail  240  and a blind or shade  220  disposed between the head and foot rails  211 ,  240 . The head rail  211  is substantially similar to the previously described head rail  11  in that the head rail  211  includes an elongate, U-shaped channel formed from a web and two substantially parallel flanges extending from opposite edges of the web, the channel having an interior defining a housing space  214  for the blind  220 . The head rail  211  is configured to be mounted to the top sill of a window frame in the same manner described above with respect to the head rail  11 . 
     The blind  220  is preferably similar in construction to the blind  20 . The blind  220  is a folded stack of fabric or material that will stow inside the housing area  214  when in a folded condition. The blind  220  can be attached to the head rail  211  by respective anchoring vanes or slats, such as the slat  221  for the upper end of the blind  220 . 
     As noted above, the folded blind  220  is retained in the housing area  214  by a retaining mechanism  230 . In this embodiment, the retaining mechanism  230  includes at least one elongate spring clip  232  extending downward from select locations along the length of the head rail  211 . As shown, the spring clip  232  is integrally formed with the head rail  211  and includes an upper curved portion  236  and a lower curved lip  234  extending outward at an angle. The upper curved portion  236  provides the resilient biasing force required to facilitate holding or retention of the foot rail  240 . Although the drawings show the spring clip  232  being substantially vertical, the spring clip  232  can also be angled inward towards the vertical center of the head rail  211  for additional bias. The lower lip  234  is preferably curved to provide a ledge for the foot rail  240  when placed in the stowed position and to allow for relatively easy insertion or release of the foot rail  240  towards or away from the housing area  214 . The spring clips  232  can be constructed from the same material as the head rail  211 , or from plastic, wood, steel, composites and combinations thereof. 
     In operation, the user simply tugs or pulls on a handling means such as a handle or a pull cord  215  operatively attached to the foot rail  240  with enough force to overcome the bias of the spring clips  232 , which causes the blind  220  to rapidly unfold and cover the window W due to the falling weight of the foot rail  240 . Optionally, the foot rail  240  can include a magnet  242  imbedded therein or otherwise attached to the foot rail  240  in order to secure the foot rail  240  onto the bottom sill of the window W, if the bottom sill is ferromagnetic. When it is desired to open the shade, the user pushes the foot rail  240  up towards the head rail  211  causing the blind  220  to fold along the way. The user then pushes the foot rail  240  against the lips  234  of the spring clips  232  past the curved portion thereof until secured by the spring clips  232 . 
     Although an integral spring clip  232  has been described, the retaining mechanism  230  includes a variety of alternatives. For example, the spring clips  232  can be a separate element that can be attached to the head rail  211  by coil springs, which bias the elongate clip  232  against the sides of the blind  220  and the foot rail  240 . In addition, any number and widths of the spring clips  232  can be disposed along the length of the head rail  211 . 
     A still further example of a quick-release retaining mechanism is shown in  FIG. 9 . In this embodiment, the window shade  300  includes a header or head rail  311 , a footer or foot rail  340 , and a foldable blind  320  attached therebetween. At least one retaining mechanism  330  is pivotally attached to one side of the head rail  311  by a pivot  333 . The pivot  333  can be a hinge-type of connection having a hinge pin, or a living hinge. The retaining mechanism  330  includes an elongate retaining strip  332  pivotally attached to the pivot  333  at one end. The retaining strip  332  holds or retains the foot rail  340  when the blind  320  is folded into the stowed position. The other end of the retaining strip  332  includes a magnet  334  for securing that end of the retaining strip  332  against the head rail  311  by mutual attraction with a second magnet  335  of opposite polarity attached to the head rail  311 . The magnets  334 ,  335  are preferably mild in strength so as to minimize the tugging or pulling force required to deploy the blind  320 . Alternatively, the second magnet  335  can be replaced by a strip of ferromagnetic material. As a further alternative, the arrangement of the magnet and ferromagnetic material can be reversed between the retaining strip  332  and the head rail  311 . 
     In most respects, the window shade  300  operates in the same manner as the window shade  200 . An additional step is in securing the folded blind  320  and the foot rail  340  against the head rail  311  by manually strapping the retaining strips  332  with the magnets  334 ,  335 . Moreover, the foot rail  340  can also include a magnet  342  for securing the foot rail  340  against a ferromagnetic, bottom window sill when fully deployed. 
     Although the above has been described using magnets for securing the retaining strip  332 , other types of quick release connectors can be used. For example, the retaining strip  332  can be secured by snaps, quick-release buckles, or mild hook and loop fasteners. The retaining strip  332  can be constructed from similar material as the header rail  311 , such as plastic, wood, steel, composites or combinations thereof. Moreover, the retaining strip  332  can be flexible or stiff, and be provided in a variety of sizes and widths. 
     Thus, it can be seen that the magnetic cordless blind  10  and the window shades  200 ,  300  are relatively simple in construction. In terms of costs, the magnetic cordless blind  10  and the window shades  200 ,  300  are very cost effective compared to Venetian blinds due to the customization options offered thereby. The costs of a custom Venetian blind increase when the width is narrower than standard, due in part to the hardware associated therewith, i.e., the cords that pull or lower the slats and custom slats to accommodate the cords. In contrast, the magnetic cordless blind  10  and the window shades  200 ,  300  do not include such hardware considerations for the custom dimensions. 
     It is to be understood that magnetic cordless blind  10  and the window shades  200 ,  300  encompass a variety of other alternatives. For example, the head rail  11  may include a similar strip as that of the magnetic latch  130  so long as the magnet is of opposite polarity. Moreover, the blinds  20 ,  220 ,  320  may include a variety of colors and patterns. Furthermore, the magnetic cordless blind  10  and the window shades  200 ,  300  may come in a variety colors, including indicia for advertising or personalization. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.