Patent Publication Number: US-2007119552-A1

Title: Window curtain rolling device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a rolling device, and more particularly to a rolling device that uses a movable coupling module and a guide module to connect and control a window curtain to be rolled smoothly from different directions at different speeds.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present common curtain devices are used for shading sunlight or serving as a decoration, and these devices usually adopt a pulling string to roll the curtain up or down. However, such curtain is applicable for the Venetian curtain or the curtains that can be opened or closed sideway (from a left side or a right side), but it is not applicable for the one-piece curtains. The window curtain rolling device is comprised of a casing, a bushing, an external casing, a cover, and a rotary member. However, the aforementioned curtain rolling device still has the following problems: 
          1. The external casing cannot be changed easily. The external casing includes a groove around the periphery of the external casing, such that when the external casing is sheathed into the bushing, a protruded rod at the internal side of the bottom is inserted into a center hole of an axle rod at the center of the bushing, such that a blocking member protruded from an end of a spring at the axle rod is latched into the groove. If the external casing is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise, the spring will be propped outward to constitute an idle state, and the window curtain is pulled open or the spring is fixed to drive the bushing to rotate, so as to slow down the speed of rolling the window curtain. However, the curtain device can only install the external casing at the original fixing direction, and its using range is limited.     2. The rolling direction for opening or closing the window curtain cannot be changed according to the user&#39;s rolling action, and the rolling device can be installed only at a direction for rolling up and down the window curtain. General users cannot change the direction according to their using habits. Therefore, the change of the rolling direction in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction is not easily. It wastes a great deal of time for replacing the component modules, and thus affecting the overall installation operation of the window curtain.        

     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In view of the foregoing shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention overcomes the shortcoming by providing a window curtain rolling device, so that when a user changes the left and right directions of a movable coupling module of the window curtain rolling device, the user can control the rolling direction and slow down the speed of rolling the window curtain to achieve a smooth rolling effect.  
      With the structural design of the foregoing window curtain rolling device, the present invention can achieve the following effects. Firstly, the design of the movable coupling module allows users to make changes to a guide rod at an end of the guide module, so that the user can change the direction of rolling a window curtain according to the user&#39;s using habit. Secondly, the movable coupling module includes several corresponding guide grooves disposed around the periphery of the movable coupling module for guiding the rolling beads of an externally covered coupling module to slide or latch along the guide groove and at other positions or directions, such that the window curtain can be rolled at different directions with a slower speed, so as to roll the window curtain smoothly. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of an assembly of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a using state (rolling the curtain) of the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a using state (pulling up the curtain) of the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic view of a layout of the present invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a schematic view of another using state (rolling the curtain) of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 8  is a schematic view of another using state (pulling up the curtain) of the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the window curtain rolling device of the present invention comprises a guide module  10 , a fixed casing  20 , a movable coupling module  30 , a coupling member  40 , and a rotary module  50 .  
      The guide module  10  includes a square guide rod  11  disposed at one end, and the guide rod  11  includes a protruded rod  110  disposed proximate to an end of the guide rod  11  and coupled to a cushion member  111 , and a protruded circular member  12  disposed at another end of the guide rod  11 . The protruded circular member  12  includes a top pressing end  120  coupled to a cushion member  121  and disposed proximate to the guide rod  11 , and a sheathing hole  112 ,  122  is formed separately on both distal surfaces.  
      The fixed casing  20  is sheathed onto the guide module  10 , and the fixed casing  20  includes an external casing  21  and a cover  22 , and an end of the external casing  21  has a through hole  210  for receiving a square guide rod  11 , and the through hole  210  includes a containing space  211  therein for inserting the protruded circular member  12 , such that a lubricating liquid  2110  can be applied to a gap between the protruded circular member  12  and the containing space  211 , and the external casing  21  includes a corresponding notch  212  disposed at the upper edge of another end, and a depressed surface  213  disposed at the internal edge of its end. Further, the cover  22  includes a coupling wall  220  disposed at the depressed surface  213 , and the cover  22  includes a latch  221  disposed at the periphery and corresponding to two notches  212  disposed at another end of the external casing  21 . A protruded rod  222  is extended outward from the middle of a side of the coupling wall  220 , and the protruded rod  222  is sheathed into the sheathing hole  122  on the distal surface of a protruded circular member  12  at the other end of the guide module  10 . A pulling up and close device  60  (as shown in  FIG. 6 ) is installed at another end of the cover  22  and coupled to an embedding member  223 .  
      The movable coupling module  30  is installed onto a guide rod  11  at an end of the guide module  10  and includes a square hole  31  disposed at its middle and pivotally coupled to a square guide rod  11 , and a protruded connecting member  32 ,  33  is disposed separately on both ends, and a guide groove  34  is disposed around its periphery and interconnected to corresponding left and right grooves  340 ,  341 , and a latched end  3400 ,  3410  is disposed separately at an end of the left and right grooves  340 ,  341 , such that the rolling bead  35  follows the path of the left and right grooves  340 ,  341  of the guide groove  34  and is latched at the latched end  3400 ,  3410 .  
      The shape of the coupling module  40  can be changed according to the aluminum extruded body, and the coupling module  40  is sheathed onto the movable coupling module  30  and includes a containing space  41  therein. The containing space  41  includes a groove  410  having an arc cross section and disposed around its periphery for allowing the rolling bead  35  to slide along the path of the arc groove  410 , and the coupling module  40  includes a through hole  42  at a distal surface, and the through hole  42  is provided for receiving an end of the protruded connecting member  32  of the movable coupling module  30 . Further, the coupling module  40  includes a fixed member  43  fixed onto a distal surface, and the fixed member  43  includes a penetrating hole  430  at the middle for inserting a locking device  44 , and the fixed member  43  includes a square concave hole  431  disposed proximate to a distal surface of the coupling module  40  for embedding a guide rod  11  at an end of the guide module  10 , and a square member  432  is disposed at the other end.  
      The rotary module  50  includes a square hole  51  disposed at the middle of a side of the rotary module  50  and embedded with the corresponding square member  432  at another distal surface of the fixed member  43 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 3  for the assembly of the present invention, the guide rod  11  at an end of the guide module  10  is passed into the containing space  211  of the external casing  21  of the fixed casing  20  and out from an end of the through hole  210 . The cushion member  111  of the protruded rod  110  of the guide module  10  and the cushion member  121  of the top pressing end  120  at the other end of the protruded circular member  12  block the containing space  211  and the through hole  210  respectively. A protruded rod  222  at the middle of the coupling wall  220  of a cover  22  is sheathed into the sheathing hole  122  on a distal surface of the protruded circular member  12  at the other end of the guide module  10 , and the latch  221  protruded from the periphery of the cover  22  is embedded into two notches  212  at the other end of the external casing  21  for preventing any leak of the lubricating liquid  2110  applied to the gap between the protruded circular member  12  and the containing space  211  of the external casing  21 , and the embedding member  223  at the other end of the cover  22  is coupled with a pulling up and close device  60  (as shown in  FIG. 6 ). The guide rod  11  at an end of the guide module  10  is pivotally coupled to a movable coupling module  30 , and the movable coupling module  30  includes a rolling bead  35  disposed in the guide groove  34  that is interconnected to the corresponding left and right grooves  340 ,  341 . The coupling module  40  having an arc groove  410  at a position of the rolling bead  35  in the containing space  41  is sheathed onto the movable coupling module  30 , and an end of the guide rod  11  is embedded into the square concave hole  431  of the fixed member  43 , and a locking device  44  is inserted into the penetrating hole  430  at the middle of the fixed member  43  and fixed into the sheathing hole  112  at the distal surface of the guide rod  11 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 4  for the operation of the present invention, the rolling device is installed to any curtain device (not shown in the figure) and it is necessary to roll up a window curtain (not shown in the figure) in a clockwise direction. The rolling bead  35  at the guide groove  34  of the movable coupling module  30  moves along the path of the left and right grooves  340 ,  341  and latches at the latched end  3400 ,  3410 , and drives the guide module  10  having a movable coupling module  30  and coupled to the guide rod  11  to rotate. When the guide rod  11  is rotated clockwise, the guide rod  11  is obstructed by the lubricating liquid  2110  outside the protruded circular member  12  to constitute a reaction so to slow down the speed of rolling the window curtain.  
      Referring to  FIG. 5 , if it is necessary to open the window curtain (not shown in the figure) by rotating the window curtain rolling device in a counterclockwise direction, then the rolling bead  35  on the guide groove  34  of the movable coupling module  30  moves along the path of the left and right grooves  340 ,  341  and the rolling bead  35  is in an idle state since the latched end  3400 ,  3410  is not latched, so that the guide module  10  having a guide rod  11  at one end and coupled to the movable coupling module  30  is not rotated and the window curtain can be pulled open successfully.  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , if the window curtain of the invention is rolled up or pulled up in a different direction, then the direction of the movable coupling module  30  as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5  is changed from the left side to the right side to roll up the window curtain in a counterclockwise direction, so that the rolling bead  35  on the guide groove  34  of the movable coupling module  30  is changed to the bottom according to the latched end  3400 ,  3410  of the left and right grooves  340 ,  341 , and the rolling bead  35  moves along the path and forms a latch state at the latched end  3400 ,  3410  and drives the guide module  10  having a guide rod  11  at one end and coupled to the movable coupling module  30 . When the guide rod  11  is rotated counterclockwise, the guide rod  11  is obstructed by the lubricating liquid  2110  outside the protruded circular member  12  and constitutes a reaction to slow down the speed of rolling the window curtain. Referring to  FIG. 8 , if the window curtain is pulled up by rotating the window curtain rolling device clockwise, then the rolling bead  35  on the guide groove  34  of the movable coupling module  30  moves along the interconnected left and right grooves  340 ,  341  and it is in an idle state since the latched end  3400 ,  3410  is not latched, so that the guide module  10  having a guide rod  11  at one end and coupled to the movable coupling module  30  is not rotated, so as to pull up the window curtain successfully. With the present invention, users can use the foregoing operating procedure to remove the movable coupling module and install it from another direction to meet the requirements of installing the window curtain rolling device for pulling up or rolling up the window curtain.  
      The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same way be varied in many ways. Such Variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.