BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates generally to blinds and, more particularly, to a blind
assembly, which comprises a plurality of shades attached to the blind slats. The invention
relates also to shades for blind assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0002] In order to enhancing light shading effect and to make the whole assembly more attractive,
a Venetian blind may be covered with a curtain. Conventional curtains for Venetian
blind commonly have a complicated mounting structure and high manufacturing cost.
Further, it takes much time and labor to install a curtain in a Venetian blind When
installed, the curtain and the blind body may not be maintained in balance. Further,
when receiving the blind, the curtain tends to be jammed in between the slats and
wrinkled. When the border area of the curtain curved or wrinkled, the sense of beauty
of the curtain is destroyed. In order to eliminate this problem, the inventor of the
present invention invented a combination curtain and blind arrangement (Taiwan Utility
Model Application No. 91204734). This design is functional. However, it takes much
time to detach the curtain from the blind for cleaning. There is also known a blind
assembly having detachable curtains. However, this design has no means to support
the curtains in shape. Due to the effect of gravity weight, the middle part of each
curtain curves downwards when installed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is the main object of the present invention to provide a blind assembly, which
has shades suspended from the slats at one side in a smooth manner.
[0004] It is another object of the present invention to provide a blind assembly, which
keeps shades positively secured to the slats.
[0005] It is still another object of the present invention to provide a blind assembly,
which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
[0006] To achieve these objects of the present invention, the blind assembly comprises a
blind and a plurality of shades. The blind comprises a headrail, a bottom rail, a
plurality of slats, and two ladder tapes fastened to the headrail and the bottom rail
to hold the slats in parallel between the headrail and the bottom rail. The shades
are detachably fastened to the ladder tapes to cover the gaps in between the slats.
Each shade is comprised of an elongated shade body and a support member. The shade
body has a pocket extended along one long side thereof and adapted to accommodate
the support member, and a plurality of crevices formed in the pocket corresponding
to the ladder tapes. The support member is inserted into the pocket, defining with
the crevices a respective retaining space, which receives the ladder tapes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exploded view of a blind assembly according to
a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an elevational assembly view in an enlarged scale of the blind assembly
shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a side view in an enlarged scale of a part of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a perspective assembly view of a blind assembly according to a second preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a blind assembly according to a third preferred embodiment
of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective assembly view in an enlarged scale of the blind assembly shown
in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a side view in an enlarged scale of a part of FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a blind assembly according to a fourth preferred embodiment
of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a perspective assembly view in an enlarged scale of the blind assembly
shown in FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a blind assembly
1 in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown
comprised of a Venetian blind
10, a number of shades
20.
[0009] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 and FIGS. 1 and 2 again, the Venetian blind
10 comprises a headrail
11, a bottom rail
12, a number of slats
13, and two ladder tapes
14. The headrail
11 is fixedly fastened to the top side of a window (not shown). The bottom rail
12 is spaced below the headrail
11. The slats
13 are arranged in parallel between the headrail
11 and the bottom rail
12. The ladder tapes
14 each comprise two vertical ladder tape elements
141 connected in parallel between the headrail
11 and the bottom rail
12, a plurality of first horizontal ladder tape elements
142 respectively connected between the vertical ladder tape elements
141 at different elevations, and a plurality of second horizontal ladder tape elements
143 respectively connected between the vertical ladder tape elements
141 at different elevations corresponding to the first horizontal ladder tape elements
142. Each first horizontal ladder tape element
142 forms with one second horizontal ladder tape elements
143 a loop for holding one slat
13 or the bottom rail
12, i.e., the first horizontal ladder tape elements
142 and the second horizontal ladder tape elements
143 join the slats
13 between the headrail
11 and the bottom rail
12. When pulling the ladder tapes
14, the slats
13 are tilted.
[0010] The number of the shades
20 is one half of the number of the slats 13. Each shade
20 is comprised of a rectangular shade body
21 made from semi-transparent material, and an elongated rigid support member
22. The length of the shade body
21 is equal to the length of the slats
13. The width of the shade body
21 is twice the pitch of the slats
13. The shade body
21 has a pocket
211 extended along one long side, and two crevices
212 in the pocket
211 corresponding to the two ladder tapes
14. The support member
22 is inserted into the pocket
211 of the shade body
21. Each crevice
212 defines with the support member
22 a respective retaining space
213 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The length of the support member
22 is equal to the length of the slats
13. During installation, the pockets
211 of the shade bodies
21 of the shades
20 are respectively attached to the first horizontal ladder tape elements
142 at the odd number slats
13 (1
st, 3
rd, 5
th, 7
th, etc.), and then the respective support members
22 are respectively inserted into the pockets
211 of the shade bodies
21 of the shades
20, keeping one vertical ladder tape element
141 of each ladder tape
14 respectively secured to the retaining spaces
213.
[0011] According to the aforesaid first embodiment of the present invention, the blind assembly
has the following advantages:
1. The shades cover the gaps in between the slats, enhancing the light shading effect
of the blind. Because the shades are not directly fastened to the slats, the shades
will not be wrinkled when lifting the slats to receive the blind assembly.
2. The rigid support members hold the respective shade bodies in shape, preventing
the shade bodies from curving downwards.
3. The installation of the shades is easy. When wishing to wash the shades, the user
can detach the shades from the ladder tapes by removing the rod members from the shade
bodies.
[0012] FIG. 5 shows a blind assembly constructed according to the second preferred embodiment
of the present invention. According to this embodiment, a valance
31 is fastened to the front side of the headrail
11 to cover the gap between the headrail
11 and the first slat
13A.
[0013] FIGS. 6∼8 show a blind assembly constructed according to the third preferred embodiment
of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the aforesaid first embodiment
with the exception of the structure of the shades
20. According to this embodiment, each shade
20 further comprises a weight
23. The weight
23 is rod-like member of heavy material. The length of the weight
23 is approximately equal to the lengths of the slats
13. The shade body
21 has a tubular receiving portion
214 extended along the other long side (opposite to the pocket
211) and adapted to receive the weight
23. Further, the number of the shades
20 is equal to the number of the slats
13, and the length of the short sides of the shades
20 is approximately equal to the pitch of the slats
13. During installation, the pockets
211 of the shade bodies
21 of the shades
20 are respectively attached to the first horizontal ladder tape elements
142 at the slats
13, and then the respective support members
22 are respectively inserted into the pockets
211 of the shade bodies
21 of the shades
20, keeping one vertical ladder tape element
141 of each ladder tape
14 respectively secured to the retaining spaces
213. Because the shade body
21 of each shade
20 is equipped with a respective weight
23, the shade bodies
21 of the shades
20 do not fly in the air. Further, the weights
23 give a downward traction effort to the respective shade bodies
21, preventing the shade bodies
21 from curving due to the radiation of sunlight.
[0014] FIGS. 9 and 10 show a blind assembly constructed according to the fourth preferred
embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the aforesaid third
embodiment with the exception of the structure of the shades
20. According to this embodiment, each shade
20 further comprises two coupling loops
215 extended from the two distal ends of the periphery of the pocket
211 for coupling to one slat
13. By means of sleeving the coupling loops
215 onto the slats
13, the shades
20 are closely secured to the slats
13 in a good order.
1. A blind assembly comprising:
a blind having a headrail, a bottom rail, a plurality of slats, and two ladder tapes
fastened to said headrail and said bottom rail to hold said slats in parallel between
said headrail and said bottom rail; and
a plurality of shades fastened to said ladder tapes and adapted to cover gaps in between
said slats, said shades each having an elongated shade body and a support member,
said shade body having a pocket extended along one long side thereof and adapted to
accommodate said support member, and a plurality of crevices formed in said pocket
corresponding to said ladder tapes, said support member having a length substantially
equal to said shade body, said support member being inserted into said pocket and
defining with said crevices a respective retaining space, which receives said ladder
tapes.
2. The blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shades each further comprise
a rod-like weight, said rod-like weight having a length substantially equal to said
support member; the shade body of each of said shades has a tubular receiving portion
elongated along one long side thereof opposite to the respective pocket and adapted
to accommodate said rod-like weight.
3. The blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shade body further comprises
two coupling loops respectively extended from two distal ends of the periphery of
the pocket thereof and respectively coupled to one of said slats.
4. The blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ladder tapes each comprise
two vertical ladder tape elements connected in parallel between said headrail and
said bottom rail, and a plurality of first horizontal ladder tape elements respectively
connected between said vertical ladder tape elements at different elevations, and
a plurality of second horizontal ladder tape elements respectively connected between
said vertical ladder tape elements at different elevations corresponding to said first
horizontal ladder tape elements, said first horizontal ladder tape elements each forming
with said second horizontal ladder tape elements a respective loop for holding said
slats.
5. A shade adapted to be installed on a blind, comprising an elongated shade body and
a support member, said shade body having a pocket extended along one long side thereof
and adapted to accommodate said support member, and a plurality of crevices formed
in said pocket, said support member being inserted into said pocket and defining with
said crevices a respective retaining space.
6. The shade as claimed in claim 5 further comprising an elongated weight; said shade
body having a tubular receiving portion extended along a second long side thereof
opposite to said pocket and adapted to accommodate said elongated weight.
7. The shade as claimed in claim 5, wherein said shade body comprises two coupling loops
respectively extended from the periphery of said pocket near two distal ends of said
pocket.