Patent Publication Number: US-11643875-B2

Title: Semi-rigid chain assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/227,148, filed Dec. 20, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/607,974, filed Dec. 20, 2017, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     A window treatment may be mounted in front of one or more windows, for example to prevent sunlight from entering a space and/or to provide privacy. Window treatments may include, for example, roller shades, roman shades, venetian blinds, or draperies. A roller shade typically includes a flexible shade fabric wound onto an elongated roller tube. Such a roller shade may include a weighted hembar located at a lower end of the shade fabric. The hembar may cause the shade fabric to hang in front of one or more windows that the roller shade is mounted in front of. 
     A typical window treatment can be manually operated or motor operated. In the case of a manually-operated window treatment, the rotation of the roller tube is provided by an input wheel that receives an input chain. The input wheel converts a pulling force applied to the input chain into a rotation force. A typical input chain is a ball chain loop. A safety hold may be installed at the bottom of the ball chain loop such that the input chain is not free hanging. 
     SUMMARY 
     As described herein, a manually-operated window treatment system may include a roller tube, a covering material, and a semi-rigid chain assembly. The roller tube may be supported at opposed ends thereof. The covering material may be attached to the roller tube and may be operable between a raised position and a lowered position via rotation of the roller tube. The semi-rigid chain assembly may be configured to be operated by a user to rotate the roller tube. The semi-rigid chain assembly may be configured to limit the size of a loop that can be formed by the semi-rigid chain assembly. The semi-rigid chain assembly may be operatively coupled to a drive pulley of the window treatment system. 
     The semi-rigid chain assembly may include a flexible outer housing and a stiffening rod. The flexible outer housing may be a hollow chain. The stiffening rod may be a spring steel stiffening rod. The flexible housing may surround and operate along the stiffening rod. For example, the spring steel stiffening rod may be located within the hollow chain. The hollow chain may include multiple links that are connected together to form a continuous loop. The size of the loop may be limited by the stiffness of the stiffening rod. That is, the stiffening rod may be a fixed inner structure that defines a loop. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is an example manual roller shade with a semi-rigid chain assembly. 
         FIG.  2    is a side view of an example semi-rigid chain assembly. 
         FIG.  3    is a side cross-section view of the example semi-rigid chain assembly shown in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  4    is a side view of an example stiffening rod of the example semi-rigid chain assembly shown in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  5    is a perspective view of an example link of the example semi-rigid chain assembly shown in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  6    is a side view of multiple links of the example semi-rigid chain assembly shown in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  7    is a side cross-section view of the multiple links shown in  FIG.  6   . 
         FIG.  8    is a cross-section view through a set of studs defined by a link of the multiple links shown in  FIG.  6   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    depicts an example manual roller shade  10  with a semi-rigid chain assembly  22 . The example manual roller shade  10  may include a roller tube  12 , a manual clutch mechanism (not shown), a covering material  14 , and one or more brackets  16 . The covering material  14  may be windingly received by the roller tube  12 . The roller tube  12  may be elongate from a first end  18  to a second end  20 . The manual clutch mechanism may be located at the first end  18  of the roller tube  12 . The manual clutch mechanism may be bi-directional to provide for raising and lowering of the covering material  14 . The covering material may be a flexible shade fabric. The manual clutch mechanism may be configured to rotatingly drive the roller tube  12 . The manual clutch mechanism may be configured to prevent back-driving of the roller tube  12  that could otherwise occur, for example, if a pulling force was applied to a lower end of the covering material  14  supported by the roller tube  12 . An example of a manual clutch mechanism is described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0219306, published Sep. 2, 2010, entitled MANUAL ROLLER SHADE HAVING CLUTCH MECHANISM. CHAIN GUIDE AND UNIVERSAL MOUNTING, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     The manual roller shade  10  may include an idler assembly (not shown). The idler assembly may be located adjacent to the second end  20  of the roller tube  12  opposite the manual clutch mechanism. The idler assembly may provide rotatable support for the roller tube  12  at the second end  20  of the roller tube  12 . The brackets  16  may be located at opposite ends of the manual roller shade  10  for supporting the manual roller shade  10  from a fixed support surface such as a wall or ceiling of a structure, for example. 
     The semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be a drive chain. The semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be received by the roller tube  12 . For example, the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be received by the manual clutch mechanism such that oppositely-located (e.g., front and rear) portions of the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  hang from the manual clutch mechanism. For example, the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be free hanging such that a lower portion of the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  is not anchored. For example, the lower portion of the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may not require a tensioner. As another example, the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be configured to be anchored such that the lower portion of the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  operates around an anchor and/or tensioner. The semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may form a loop, e.g., a continuous loop. 
     The semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be configured to rotate the roller tube  12 . For example, the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be configured to provide for a sufficient number of rotations of the roller tube  12  for raising or lowering the covering material  14  when a pulling force is applied to a front or rear portion of the semi-rigid chain assembly  22 . Each of the opposite hanging portions of the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be configured to be graspable by a user such that a pulling force can be applied to each respective hanging portion for drivingly rotating the roller tube  12  to either wind or unwind the covering material  14 . For example, when a pulling force is applied to a respective hanging portion of the semi-rigid chain assembly  22 , the semi-rigid chain assembly may rotate a drive element (e.g., such as a drive pulley) of the manual roller shade  10 . Rotation of the drive element may cause the roller tube  12  to rotate such that the covering material  14  is raised or lowered. For example, the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  may be operatively coupled to the drive element. 
       FIG.  2    is a side view and  FIG.  3    is a side cross section view of an example semi-rigid chain assembly  100  (e.g., such as the semi-rigid chain assembly  22  shown in  FIG.  1   ). The semi-rigid chain assembly  100  may be configured to be free hanging from a roller tube (e.g., such as the roller tube  12  shown in  FIG.  1   ). For example, a top portion of the semi-rigid chain assembly  100  may operate around a roller tube and a bottom portion of the semi-rigid chain assembly  100  may be free hanging. For example, the semi-rigid chain assembly  100  may not require a tensioner. The semi-rigid chain assembly  100  may be configured to limit a size of a loop that can be formed by the semi-rigid chain assembly  100 . For example, the semi-rigid chain assembly  100  may be configured to define the size of the loop that can be formed by the semi-rigid chain assembly  100 . The semi-rigid chain assembly  100  may include a hollow chain  110  and a stiffening rod  120 . The hollow chain  110  may be a plastic beaded chain, for example. 
       FIG.  4    is a side view of the stiffening rod  120 . The stiffening rod  120  may be a spring steel stiffening rod. For example, the stiffening rod may be a spring wire having a diameter of 0.009 inches. The stiffening rod  120  may define a first end  122  and a second end  124 . The stiffening rod  120  may be formed into a loop such that the first end  122  is proximate to the second end  124 . The loop may define an operational path for the semi-rigid chain assembly  100 . The stiffening rod  120  may define a size and/or a shape of the loop. For example, the stiffening rod may be a fixed inner structure that defines the loop (e.g., the size and/or the shape of the loop). The stiffening rod  120  may be oblong with straight section  125  in the middle and curved sections  126  at opposed ends. The curved sections  126  may have a radius R 1 . The radius R 1  may define the maximum bend radius of the semi-rigid chain assembly  100 . For example, the stiffening rod  120  may have a maximum bend radius of 0.75 in to 1.0 in. Although  FIG.  3    depicts the curved sections of the stiffening rod  120  as having the same radius (e.g., the radius R 1 ), the curved sections  126  may have different radii. For example, an upper curved section may have a first radius and the lower curved section may have a second radius. The first radius may be configured based on a size of a drive element of the roller tube. The second radius may be less than the first radius and may be configured to limit the size and/or shape of the stiffening rod  120  (e.g., the lower curved section of the stiffening rod  120 ). 
     The stiffening rod  120  may define an opening  128  between the first end  122  and the second end  124 . In addition, the first end  122  and the second end  124  may be connected such that the stiffening rod  120  forms a continuous loop. For example, the first end  122  and the second end  124  may be connected via soldering, die-attaching, or the like. 
     The stiffening rod  120  may be located within the hollow chain  110 . The hollow chain  110  may be a flexible outer housing that may be configured to operate along the stiffening rod  120 . For example, the hollow chain  110  may be configured to surround and operate along the stiffening rod  120 . The hollow chain  110  may include multiple links  112 . Each of the multiple links  112  may be hollow such that the multiple links  112  are configured to surround the stiffening rod  120 . 
       FIG.  5    is a perspective view of an example link of the multiple links  112  of the example semi-rigid chain assembly  100  shown in  FIG.  2   . Each of the links  112  may define a first end  114  and a second end  116 . The first end  114  may be a female portion of the link  112 . The first end  114  may have a spherical shape. The second end  116  may be a male portion of the link  112 . The second end  116  may have a cylindrical shape. The first end  114  of each link  112  may be configured to receive a second end  116  of another link  112 . The first end  114  may be configured to pivot around the second end  116 . For example, the first end  114  and the second end  116  of the link  112  may be configured such that the hollow chain  110  can form a shape corresponding to the loop formed by the stiffening rod  120 . 
     The first end  114  of the link  112  may include a set of holes  130 . The holes  130  may be located at opposed sides of the link  112 . The second end  116  of the link  112  may define studs  132 . The studs  132  may be located at opposed sides of the link  112 . The holes  130  and the studs  132  may be aligned. The link  112  may define a bore  134  therethrough. The bore  134  may extend through the first end  114  and the second end  116 . The bore  134  may be cylindrical in the second end  116 . The bore  134  may be spherical in the first end  114 . For example, the bore  134  may be larger within the second end  116  than within the first end  114 . The bore  134  in the first end  114  may be configured to allow the second end  116  of another link  112  to pivot within the first end  114  of the link  112 . 
     The hollow chain  110  may be configured to rotate a roller tube of a window treatment (e.g., such as roller tube  12  shown in  FIG.  1   ). The hollow chain  110  may engage a drive element of the window treatment. For example, the spherical second end  116  of each of the links  112  may be configured to engage notches of a sprocket (not shown) of the drive element. The hollow chain  110  may be operatively coupled to the drive element of the window treatment such that a pulling force applied to the hollow chain  110  is transferred to a rotation force at the roller tube. The pulling force may be applied in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to raise or lower, respectively, the covering material of the window treatment. 
       FIG.  6    depicts a side view of multiple links  112  of the example semi-rigid chain assembly  100  shown in  FIG.  2   . The multiple links  112  (e.g., links  112 A,  112 B,  112 C,  112 D,  112 E,  112 F,  112 G) may be connected together to form a continuous chain. Each of the multiple links  112  may be configured to be connected to two other links. For example, link  112 A may be connected to link  112 B. Link  112 B may be connected to link  112 A and link  112 C, and so forth. Although the links  112  are shown to be connected using the studs  132  and the corresponding holes  130 , the links  112  may be connected together using hinge pins, clips, other fasteners, or some other fastening design. 
       FIG.  7    depicts a side cross-section view of the multiple links  112  shown in  FIG.  6    (e.g., taken through the center of the links) without the stiffening rod  120  shown. The hollow chain  110  may define a chamber  118  through the multiple links  112 . For example, each of the links  112  (e.g., links  112 A,  112 B,  112 C,  112 D,  112 E,  112 F,  112 G) may define the chamber  118 . The chamber  118  may be configured to accept the stiffening rod  120 . The chamber  118  may be configured such that the hollow chain  110  can form a shape corresponding to the loop formed by the stiffening rod  120 . 
       FIG.  8    depicts a cross-section view through a set of studs defined by a link of the multiple links  112  (e.g., taken through the line shown in  FIG.  6   ) with the stiffening rod  120  shown. For example, a first link  112 B may receive a second link  112 A. For example, a female portion  114 B of the first link  112 B may be configured to receive a male portion  114 A of the second link  112 A. The studs  132 A of the second link  112 A may be received by the holes  130 B of the first link  112 B. For example, the first link  112 B may be configured to be connected to the second link  112 A via the studs  132 A and the corresponding holes  130 B. The bore  134 A of the second link  112 A may be accessible via the first link  112 B.