Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/494,000 filed 7 Jun. 2011, entitled “Adjustable Lift Cord Anchor for Movable Rails in Coverings for Architectural Openings,” which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to retractable coverings for architectural openings and more particularly to a system for adjustably anchoring a lift cord that extends between rails used in the covering. The effective length of the lift cord extending between the rails in the covering is adjustable to adjust the maximum distance between the rails as permitted when the covering is fully extended. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELEVANT ART 
     Retractable coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways and the like have been utilized for many years. While the coverings may retract horizontally as in a vertical blind, most retractable coverings retract vertically, such as roller blinds, Venetian Blinds, cellular shades, and the like. 
     Coverings that retract vertically typically include a headrail and one or more movable rails operatively connected to the headrail by lift cords so that an operating mechanism for the covering can adjust the effective length of the lift cords as they extend from the headrail to one or more movable rails so that the movable rails can be desirably positioned within the architectural opening. A flexible shade material typically extends between the headrail and a first movable rail or between movable rails in coverings referred to as top-down/bottom-up coverings, but again the lift cords are manipulated from the headrail so as to move the one or more movable rails toward or away from the headrail to retract or extend the covering. 
     The lift cords have typically been connected to associated movable rails by establishing a knot in the lift cord and retaining the knot within or below the rail but as will be appreciated, it is very difficult to position a knot at a precisely desired location so that the rail is not only desirably and dependably spaced from the headrail for the covering when the covering is fully extended but is also desirably positioned horizontally so as to be parallel with the headrail. Typically there at least two lift cords, but there can be more depending upon the width of the covering. Desirably establishing the effective lengths of the lift cords determines a maximum spacing between rails and also the spacial orientation of the rail so that it can be positioned horizontally. 
     It is to provide an improved and simplified system for adjusting the effective length of lift cords for coverings for architectural openings that the present disclosure has been developed. 
     SUMMARY 
     The lift cord anchor of the present disclosure is designed for use in conventional bottom up vertically movable retractable coverings for architectural openings, but can also be used in top-down/bottom-up coverings. The anchor may be a two-piece anchor having an outer housing in which is disposed a rotatable drum to which the lower end of a lift cord in a retractable covering can be operably connected. The housing is slidably positionable within a hollow movable rail of a covering for an architectural opening so as to be positionable in alignment with an associated lift cord that extends from a headrail for the covering through a flexible and retractable shade material to the movable rail. In top-down/bottom-up coverings, the shade material extends between movable rails of the covering and the anchor of the present disclosure can be used with either of the movable rails while being positionable within the movable rail to be aligned with an associated lift cord for connection therewith. 
     To connect a lift cord to the anchor, the lift cord is extended through a hole or aperture defined in the top surface of the movable rail and then pulled through an open end of the rail where it can be operably connected to the rotatable drum prior to the rotatable drum being snap-fit (or otherwise connected) into the housing of the anchor. Once the lift cord is operably connected to the anchor, the housing is slidably inserted into the open end of the movable rail until it is aligned with the hole through the top of the movable rail receiving the lift cord and the anchor is thereafter frictionally retained in that position. 
     To adjust the effective length of the lift cord with the anchor, the drum is provided with a tool or screw slot that is accessible through a hole provided through the movable rail in alignment with the screw slot so that a screwdriver or other tool can be used to rotate the drum, thereby wrapping the lift cord about the drum to shorten the effective length of the lift cord. The effective length can be lengthened by rotating the drum in the opposite direction once a plurality of wraps have been provided around the drum. The drum is retained in selected positions relative to the housing with two separate retaining systems so that once the drum is set relative to the housing for a pre-selected length of the lift cord, it will substantially retain this position until the position is adjusted by overcoming the retaining systems with a screwdriver or other similar tool. 
     Anchors may be provided along the length of the movable rail at substantially any location where a lift cord is desired to be connected to the movable rail. In some instances the covering may include at least two lift cords so that the movable rail can be suspended in a horizontal and parallel relationship with the headrail for the covering. In these instances, adjusting the length of the lift cords with the adjustable anchor of the present disclosure, the maximum allowed spacing between the headrail and the movable rail in a bottom-up covering or between movable rails in a top-down/bottom-up covering can be set or the inclination of the movable rail relative to horizontal can be adjusted so that the rail in its fully extended location is horizontal and parallel with the headrail. 
     Other aspects, features and details of the present disclosure can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric of a retractable covering incorporating the lift cord anchor of the present disclosure in a fully extended condition. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged fragmentary isometric looking upwardly at the lower left end of the bottom of the shade showing an access opening for adjusting the anchor of the present disclosure with a tightening device such as a screwdriver shown in dashed lines. 
         FIG. 3  is a further enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a fragmentary section taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric looking upwardly on the anchor of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is an isometric similar to  FIG. 5  looking downwardly at the anchor of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded isometric similar to  FIG. 5  with a lift cord connected to the anchor being shown in dashed lines. 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded isometric similar to  FIG. 6  with a lift cord being connected to the anchor being shown in dashed lines. 
         FIG. 9  is an enlarged section taken along line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 9A  is an enlarged section taken along line  9 A- 9 A of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 10  is a top plan view of the anchor of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 11  is a bottom plan view of the anchor of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 12  is an isometric of a top-down/bottom-up covering incorporating the anchor of the present disclosure with the covering shown in a partially extended condition. 
         FIG. 13  is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  13 - 13  of  FIG. 12 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The adjustable lift cord anchor or connector  20  of the present disclosure may be used in retractable coverings  22  for architectural openings, such as of the type shown in  FIG. 1 . It will there be seen that such as covering, which is shown for illustrative purposes only since the anchor could be used in numerous forms of retractable coverings, includes a headrail  24  from which is suspended a retractable cellular shade material  26  having a movable bottom rail or ballast  28 . A control system for operating the covering includes a manually operable pull cord  30  that is suspended from one end of the headrail. In some instances, the pull cord  30  may extend downwards to a height that may generally be reachable by an operator who can pull down on the cord to retract the covering from the extended position shown in  FIG. 1  to a retracted position (not shown). In the retracted position, the bottom rail may generally be positioned closely adjacent to the headrail with the shade material collapsed and stacked therebetween. A releasable lock (not shown) is provided in the headrail to hold the pull cord and thus the covering in substantially any desired position and can be released to allow the covering to drop to its fully extended position. The control system further includes lift cords  32  (see  FIGS. 4 ,  7 ,  8  and  9 ) which are operatively connected to the pull cord and extend downwardly from the headrail to the bottom rail at least two locations where they are at least temporarily anchored so that shortening the effective length of the lift cords (from the headrail to the bottom rail) causes the bottom rail to be raised toward the headrail while lengthening the effective length of the lift cords allows the bottom rail to drop by gravity away from the headrail. 
     While not shown in  FIG. 1 , but shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the adjustable anchor  20  of the present disclosure is positioned within the bottom rail  28  at a location associated with a given lift cord  32  or other operating element and is adjusted as shown for example in  FIG. 2  with a fastening tool, such as a screwdriver, or other suitable tool  34 , inserted through a hole  33  defined in the bottom rail so that the effective length of the lift cord associated with the anchor can be regulated. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the adjustable anchor  20  may be a two-piece anchor including a housing  36  and a rotatable drum  38  with the drum being rotatably seated within a cylindrical recess or receiving cavity  40  of the housing. The drum is adapted to be operably connected to the end of a lift cord  32  in a manner such that the lift cord can be wrapped about or unwrapped from the drum by rotating the drum in a selected direction. 
     Looking first at the housing  36  as possibly seen best in  FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  10  and  11 , it can be seen to include a main body portion  42  and a pair of oppositely directed ears  44  or flanges of generally rectangular configuration which are horizontally disposed but operably connected to the main body by connector plates  46  or connector members which slope upwardly and outwardly away from a base plate  48  of the main body portion. The base plate has formed thereon a substantially cylindrical raised body  50  defining the cylindrical receiving cavity  40  which opens downwardly through a substantially drum opening  52  for receipt of the rotatable drum  38  with the cavity having an axial axis  54 . The top wall  56  of the raised body has a centrally located passage  58 , which may be substantially circularly shaped, therethrough and a pair of diametrically opposed downwardly directed catches  60  ( FIG. 7 ) for a purpose to be described hereafter. Also diametrically opposed along a bottom edge of the cavity  40  so as to be co-planar with the drum opening  52  in the main body, are a pair of arcuate flanges  62  which overlie a small portion of the receiving cavity also for a purpose to be described hereafter. Generally co-planar with the arcuate flanges, are a pair of radially directed teeth or catches  64  which extend inwardly into the cavity  40  along the edge of the substantially drum opening  52  whose function will also be described hereafter. 
     A second downwardly opening cord receiving cavity  66 , which may have a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration, is formed in a second raised body  68  which extends upwardly from the base plate  48  with the cord receiving cavity being in communication with the substantially receiving cavity  40  through a passage  70  in a bridge  72  between the cavities. The top of the cord receiving cavity  66  has an opening  74  ( FIG. 5 ) therethrough which communicates with an upwardly projecting spout  76  through which a lift cord  32  can slidably pass as will be described hereafter. The opening  74  may be dimensioned to receive the lift cord  32  and in some instances may have a generally circular shape and a dimension larger than a diameter of the lift cord  32 . The spout  76  may be parallel to the axial axis  54  of the cylindrical cavity but spaced laterally therefrom. 
     It should be noted the main body  42  for the anchor  20  may generally be made of a substantially rigid material having some resiliency whereby when it is mounted within the movable rail  28  of the covering it can be wedged into a frictionally fixed position within the rail. Further, as will be appreciated with the description that follows, the resiliency of the material allows the rotatable drum  38  to be snap fit into the receiving recess  40  so as to be rotatably retained therein. The ears  44  may further include one or more apertures  78  defined therethrough. The holes  78  may reduce the material required to produce the anchor  20 , and thus may reduce the weight of the anchor  20  as well. Accordingly, in some instances, the holes  78  may be omitted. 
     It should be noted that the receiving cavity  40  may be dimensioned and shaped to receive the drum  38 , such that the drum  38  may rotate therein. Accordingly, depending on the desired shape and dimensions of the drum  38 , which may be varied depending on the covering, size, and/or length of the lift cords, the receiving cavity  40  and/or housing may correspondingly be varied. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the rotatable drum  38  may include a substantially circular intermediate disc  80  with a pinion gear  82  integrally formed concentrically on a bottom surface thereof with the gear being of a slightly smaller diameter than the disc. The gear defines a plurality of radially extending teeth  84  or engagement members which are spaced inwardly from the outer circumference of the disc. At a centered location in the disc, an x-shaped tool passage  86  is provided though the disc of a shape to receive a Phillips head or conventional screwdriver with the passage being accessible from either side of the disc. The tool passage  86  could be of other configurations to accommodate different tools such as an Allen wrench or the like. Projecting upwardly and concentrically from the disc and which may be formed integrally therewith is a cylindrical body  88  having a serrated upper edge  90  defining a plurality of teeth  92  or other engagement members that may be disposed in a circular array along the upper edge of the cylindrical body so as to extend in parallel relationship with the axis of the rotatable drum. The rotatable drum of course rotates about this axis when it is positioned within the cylindrical recess  40  of the housing. In this manner, the teeth  84  of the pinion gear  82  may extend in a first plane relatively perpendicular to the teeth  92  of the cylindrical body which may extend in a second plane. 
     The outer wall of the cylindrical body  88  defines a wrapping surface about which a lift cord  32  can be wrapped and a notch  94  is formed through the sidewall at one or more locations so that a lift cord can be inserted through the notch and knotted or otherwise operably connected within the interior of the cylindrical body (as shown in  FIG. 7 ) to connect the lift cord to the rotatable drum. The intermediate disc  80  has a pair of radial notches  96  formed in its outer circumference which conform in size and shape to the teeth or catches  64  formed on the housing  36  which overlie the receiving recess  40  in which the drum is positioned. 
     To mount the rotatable drum  38  in the housing  36 , it is aligned with the receiving recess  40  so that the cylindrical body  88  of the drum extends upwardly toward the top wall  56  of the raised body  50  of the housing and the pair of notches  96  in the intermediate disc of the rotatable drum are aligned with the teeth or catches  64  of the housing which are along the bottom of the receiving recess  40 . Once so positioned, the rotatable drum can be compressed upwardly so the outer edge of the intermediate disc  80  engages and flexes upwardly the arcuate flanges  62  on the housing so that they permit the drum to slide thereby and allow it to be fully inserted into the recess. Once so positioned, the arcuate flanges snap back due to the resiliency of the material from which the housing is made to hold the rotatable drum in the cavity. 
     The two teeth or catches  64  along the bottom edge of the receiving recess  40  are sized so they slightly intermesh with the radial teeth  84  on the bottom of the rotatable drum  36  whereby when the drum is rotated, the teeth or catches  64  snap into and out of the gaps between the teeth  84  on the bottom of the rotatable drum to sequentially and releasably retain the drum in a selected angular position relative to the housing. Similarly, the teeth  92  on the top edge of the cylindrical wall of the rotatable drum engage the catches  60  extending downwardly from the top wall  56  of the raised body  50  so that as the drum is rotated the catches also snap in and out of the gaps between the teeth  92  on the top of the drum. 
     It will therefore be appreciated that two systems are provided for releasably holding the drum  38  in a selected position relative to the housing  36  with one system working in a vertical plane and the other system in a horizontal plane or, in other words, the two systems may operate in mutually perpendicular planes to assist in releasably retaining the drum in substantially any selected position. The selected position of the drum may be obtained by rotating the drum with a rotation tool  34  which can be inserted downwardly through the passage  58  through the top wall of the raised body  50  or upwardly through the hole  33  in the bottom rail and into the open bottom of the cavity  40 . 
     The lift cord  32  or operating element associated with an anchor  20  in the covering  22  of the type illustrated in  FIG. 1  passes into the bottom rail  28  through an opening (not shown) formed in the top of the bottom rail so that it can be inserted downwardly through the spout  76  of the anchor housing  36  and subsequently through the cord receiving cavity  66  and the passage  70  through the bridge  72  into the receiving recess  40  where it is operably connected to the rotatable drum  38 . Rotation of the drum thereby causes the cord to be wrapped about the drum or unwrapped from the drum which is performed depending upon whether or not the effective length of the lift cord is desired to be lengthened or shortened. 
     In the covering  22  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the access hole  33  for the tool  34  for adjusting the rotatable drum  38  is through the bottom of the bottom rail  28  as shown in  FIG. 2  inasmuch as the shade material  26  covers the top of the bottom rail. As the drum is rotated, it is snapped between releasably locked positions which are established with the catches  60  on the top wall  56  of the raised body  50  and the array of the teeth  92  on the top edge of the cylindrical body  88  and the teeth or catches  64  along the bottom edge of the cylindrical recess  40  and their cooperation with the circular array of radial teeth  84  on the bottom pinion gear  82  of the rotatable drum. The teeth or catches  64  along the bottom edge of the cylindrical recess are positioned adjacent to and on opposite sides of the passage  70  though the bridge  72  where the lift cord  32  enters the cylindrical recess  40  so that as tension is placed on the cord the rotatable drum  38  is biased toward the two teeth or catches  64  which assure a more positive interaction of the teeth or catches  64  with the pinion gear teeth  84  on the rotatable drum. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 12 and 13 , a top-down/bottom-up covering  100  is shown where the covering has a headrail  102  through which lift cords  32  extend but the retractable shade material  104  is disposed between a lower bottom rail  106  and a middle rail  108 . As mentioned previously, the anchor  20  of the present disclosure can be used in both the bottom rail and the middle rail and when used in the bottom rail it is as previously described. When used in the middle rail, it may be inserted into the rail in an inverted orientation so the spout  76  faces the shade material. The lift cords are adjusted on a middle rail anchor through holes  110  in the top of the middle rail where there is no fabric to obstruct use of a tool such as a screwdriver. In other words, due to the fact that a tool can access the rotatable drum from either the top or bottom of the anchor, it is used to access the drum through the surface of the rail not having shade material connected thereto. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , it can be appreciated that a rail such as the bottom rail  28  which might be used with the anchor of the present disclosure may have a bottom wall  112 , a pair of side walls  114 , a lower set of support flanges  116  extending inwardly from the side walls and an upper set of flanges  118  extending inwardly from the side walls along with longitudinally extending overhangs  120  along the top of the rail. The overhangs define longitudinally extending slots  122  along the side edges of the rail so that an anchor plate or strip  124  can be inserted into the bottom cell  126  of a cellular shade material  26  of the type shown and then flexibly inserted between the overhangs so as to be retained therein to secure the rail to the associated end of the shade material. The anchor  20  is then slidably inserted into the rail  28  between the upper  118  and lower  120  pairs of flanges which define a groove  128  therebetween for receipt of the ears  44  of the housing and desirably, the housing is slightly oversized so that the ears frictionally engage the inner surfaces of the side walls  114  of the rail so as to remain in a desired selected position relative to the length of the rail where a lift cord  32  enters the rail. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood the disclosure has been made by way of example, and changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure as defined in the appended claims.

Technology Category: 4