Patent ID: 8739854

Claim:
A movable assembly having a counterbalance gear tensioner, comprising: a covering; a rotatable storage roll that carries said covering, said storage roll having a hollow interior; a counterbalance assembly received in said hollow interior, wherein said counterbalance assembly assists in movement of said covering; and a gear tensioner received in said hollow interior and rotatable with said rotatable storage roll, and coupled to said counterbalance assembly, said gear tensioner adjusting a tension force of said counterbalance assembly, said gear tensioner comprising a housing, wherein said housing comprises a housing stop; a ring gear rotatably received in said housing, said ring gear including a gear stop that is engageable with said housing stop after said housing has rotated a predetermined number of times; a pinion gear rotatably supported by said housing and engaging said ring gear; and a spindle rotatably received in and extending from said housing, one end of said spindle coupled to said counterbalance assembly, said spindle having a single spindle gear tooth engageable with said pinion gear, wherein a full rotation of said housing with respect to said spindle results in only incremental rotation of said ring gear and said pinion gear, wherein said pinion gear has a plurality of pinion teeth with grooves therebetween, said plurality of pinion teeth alternating between short teeth and long teeth, said ring gear having a plurality of inner teeth with grooves therebetween that engage said short teeth and said long teeth, and said at least one spindle gear tooth having a tooth groove that engages only one of said plurality of long teeth and bypasses said plurality of short teeth on each complete rotation of said spindle.