Device for supporting and controlling a curtain

Abstract

 Device for supporting and controlling a curtain (20), comprising:

• a guide element (12),
• a plurality of support members (14,16) which are slidable along the guide element (12), to which the upper edge (18) of a curtain (20) is intended to be connected,
• an endless flexible control member (22) cooperating with at least one of said support members (14),
• an electric motor (28) arranged for driving the endless flexible control member (22) for moving a vertical edge (32) of the curtain (20) in the direction of said guide element (12), and
• manually operable control means for activating said motor (28).

Said control means comprise an auxiliary control device (40) adapted to detect the movement of said vertical edge (22) of the curtain (20) from a rest position and adapted to activate the motor (28) in the opening or closing direction of the curtain (20) depending on whether the movement of the edge of the curtain (20) is directed in the opening or closing direction of the curtain (20).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for supporting and controlling a curtain. More precisely, the invention relates to a device of the type comprising:

• a guide element,
• a plurality of support members, slidable along the guide element, to which the upper edge of a curtain is intended to be connected,
• an endless flexible control member cooperating with at least one of said support members,
• an electric motor arranged for driving the endless flexible control member for producing the movement of a vertical edge of the curtain in the direction of said guide element, and
• manually operable control means for activating the motor.

[0002] Curtains provided with support and control devices of the type specified above are opened and closed by activating either a push-button or a wireless control device. Motorised control devices for curtains would be particularly appreciated in hotels, in particular in luxury hotels which try to offer to their guests any possible comfort and a great care of details. One of the main impediments to the diffusion of motor-driven curtains in hotels is represented by the fact that often the guests do not know that the curtains are motor-operated and very often try to open or close the curtains by applying a violent traction on a vertical edge of the curtain, even if suitable notes are placed in the rooms for informing the clients that the curtains are motor-operated. While in the manually-controlled curtains even a violent traction on the free edge of the curtain does not produce substantial damages by virtue of the fact that the curtain is free to slide on the guide element, in motor-operated curtains the curtain is not free to slide on the guide element and a pull on its free edge could either disconnect the curtain from the support members or produce other types of damages.

[0003] Support and control devices for motor-operated curtains have been proposed in which a violent pull applied to the free edge of the curtain disconnects the curtain from the motorized drag system. However, devices of this type do not completely solve the problem because while on one hand the detachment of the curtain from the motorized drag system prevents damages to the control device, on the other hand, after such detachment the motorized drag system becomes ineffectual and needs the intervention of a person for restoring the normal operating conditions of the control device.

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and reliable device which overcomes the above drawbacks.

[0005] According to the present invention, this object is achieved by a device having the features forming the subject of the main claim.

[0006] Characteristics and advantages of the device according to the present invention will become clear in the course of the detailed description which follows, given purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

• figure 1 is a schematic elevation of a support and control device according to the present invention,
• figure 2 is a schematic view showing the operation of the device of figure 1,
• figure 3 is a view in a greater scale of the part indicated by the arrow III in figure 1, and
• figure 4 is a lateral view taken along the arrow IV of the figure 3.

[0007] With reference to the figures, a support and control device according to the present invention is indicated at 10. The device 10 comprises a guide element 12 intended to be fixed in a horizontal position above either a window or a door. In a known way, a drag member 14 and a plurality of support members 16 are mounted on the guide element 12. The upper edge 18 of the curtain 20 is connected, in a known way, to the drag element 14 and to the support members 16.

[0008] The device 10 comprises also an endless flexible control member 22, formed for instance by a toothed belt which cooperates with a pair of pulleys 24, 26 which can rotate about respective fixed axes. The pulley 24 is idle whereas the pulley 26 is fixed to the output shaft of an assembly 28 including a motor and a reduction gear, which is fixed to the guide element 10 by means of a pair of hooks 30, only one of which is visible in figures 1 and 2. The drag member 14 is fixed to one branch of the flexible control member 22, so that the movement of the flexible control member 22 controlled by the motor-reduction gear assembly 28 produces the movement of the vertical edge 32 of the curtain 20 in the direction indicated by the double arrow 34 in figure 1. The motor-reduction gear assembly 28 can be provided with a radio receiver 36 which activates the motor-reduction gear assembly 28 either in a opening or closing direction of the curtain 20, after receiving a radio command coming from a radio control device 38. As an alternative, the motor-reduction gear assembly 28 could be controlled by a pair of push-buttons (not shown) connected to the assembly 28 by means of electric wires.

[0009] According to the present invention, the motor-reduction gear assembly 28 can also be activated by an auxiliary control device 40 adapted to detect the movement of the vertical edge 32 of the curtain 20 from a rest position. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the auxiliary control device 40 is provided for detecting the movement from a rest position of an oscillating and, freely suspended element 42 extending parallel to the vertical edge 32 of the curtain 20. The freely suspended element 42 can be either rigid or flexible and is arranged so as to oscillate or vary its own position after a movement of the vertical edge 32 of the curtain 20 from the rest position. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the freely suspended element 42 is formed by a string suspended at its upper end to the auxiliary control device 40 and carrying at its lower end a weight 44. The weight 44 has the purpose of maintaining the string 42 in a vertical position in its rest configuration. The string 42 is preferably connected to the curtain 20 by means of guide rings 46 which permit a vertical movement of the string 42 and transmit to the string any movement of the vertical edge 32 from the rest position.

[0010] With reference to figures 3 and 4, the auxiliary control device 40 is fixed to the drag member 14 and is provided with any detecting means adapted to detect the movement of the element 42 from its vertical rest position. In the non-limiting example shown in the figures, such detecting means comprise an oscillating element 48 to which the upper end of the string 32 is connected. The oscillating element 48 is articulated to the housing of the device 40 about an axis 50 and is formed of conductive material. The upper part of the oscillating element 48 cooperates with a first pair of electrical contacts 52. A second pair of electrical contacts 54', 54'' face from opposite positions the lower part of the oscillating element and are slightly spaced apart from the element 48 when it is in the rest position. As shown by dashed-line in figure 3, a movement of the string 42 from its rest position produces an oscillation of the oscillating element 48. After such oscillation, the element 48 establishes an electrical contact with either the contact 54' or the contact 54''. An electrical circuit schematically indicated at 56 detects both the oscillation of the element 48 and the direction of the oscillating movement and produces as a consequence thereof a command for activating the motor-reduction gear assembly 28. If the oscillation of the oscillating element 48 is provoked by a movement of the string 42 in the direction corresponding to the opening of the curtain 20, as schematically shown in figure 2, the auxiliary control device 40 generates a command for opening the curtain. On the contrary, if the string 42 is moved with respect to its rest position in the direction corresponding to the closure of the curtain 20, the auxiliary control device 40 generates a closing command. The opening or closing command is transmitted to the motor-reduction gear assembly 28 via radio or by means of electric wires. Figures 3 and 4 show the embodiment in which the auxiliary control device 40 is arranged for transmitting via radio an opening-closing command. In this case, the auxiliary control device 40 is provided with a radio transmitter 58 substantially identical to the one included in a radio control device 38 of known type. The auxiliary control device 40 is also provided with a microprocessor 60 and with a battery 62. As an alternative, the auxiliary control device 40 could contain only a switch provided for closing an electrical circuit and could be connected to a radio device placed outside the housing.

[0011] When the auxiliary control device 40 is arranged for transmitting by means of electric wires the command for activating the motor-reduction gears assembly 28, the device 40 could be provided only with a switch for closing the electrical circuit and it could have suitable terminals and electrical connections for directly controlling the motor as a conventional switch. This solution eliminates the electronic components for transmitting and elaborating the radio signal. In this case, the electrical wires which connect the auxiliary control device 40 to the electric motor must be suitably suspended so as to move along with the curtain during the sliding movements thereof. As an alternative, the auxiliary control device 40 could be provided with brushes cooperating with conductive tracks formed on the guide element 12.

[0012] The oscillating element 48 of the auxiliary control device 40 can be made of any material, also non-conductive, and could determine the closure of an electrical circuit by means of known switches, for instance microswitches, proximity switches, photoelectric cell switches, magnetic switches, hall capacity switches, membrane switches, etc. The control device 40 could be lacking of the oscillating element 48, in which case the closure of the electric circuit could be provoked by the rigid or flexible element 42 which will cooperate directly with a suitable switch, for instance with a photoelectric cell switch.

[0013] After having received a motor activating command from the auxiliary control device 40, the curtain can move substantially in three ways:

• the curtain stops immediately as soon as the pull applied to the curtain 20 ceases,
• the motor stops after a predetermined delay after ceasing of the pull applied to the curtain 20,
• the motor continues to run in the initially set direction until the curtain reaches an end of stroke position, also after ceasing of the pull applied to the curtain.

[0014] From the preceding description it will be understood that a pull applied to the curtain by a person unaware of the fact that the curtain is motor-driven, automatically activates the motor in either the opening or closing direction of the curtain, in the direction of the manual movement applied to the curtain. The automatic movement of the curtain accompanies the manual movement and prevents damages to the curtain and to the control device. The automatic intervention of the motor after the movement of the free edge of the curtain warns the user that the curtain is provided with a motorized control device. After having received such warning, the user will be free to choose whether to move the curtain by means of the main control device (radio control device or push-button) or by means of the auxiliary control device 40. In fact, the opening and closure of the curtain can also be controlled by simply moving in the desired direction the edge 32 of the curtain until the opening or closure manoeuvre is completed or until the curtain is brought in the desired partially open or close position.

Claims

1. A device for supporting and controlling a curtain (20), comprising:

- a guide element (12),

- a plurality of support members (14, 16) which are slidable along the guide element (12), to which the upper edge (18) of a curtain (20) is intended to be connected,

- an endless flexible control member (22) cooperating with at least one of said support members (14),

- an electric motor (28) arranged for driving the endless flexible control member (22) for producing the movement of a vertical edge (32) of the curtain (20) in the direction of said guide element (12), and

- manually operable control means (38, 40) for activating the motor (28),
characterized in that said control means comprise an auxiliary control device (40) adapted to detect the movement of said vertical edge (22) of the curtain (20) from a rest position and adapted to activate the motor (28) in the opening or closing direction of the curtain depending on whether the movement of the edge of the curtain is directed in the opening or closing direction of the curtain.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said auxiliary control device (40) is placed in correspondence with said movable vertical edge (32) and is movable therewith.

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said auxiliary control device (40) is carried by a drag member (14) which is slidable along the guide element (12).

4. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that said auxiliary control device (40) is arranged for detecting the movement of a freely suspended element (42) from a rest position thereof, said freely suspended element (42) being influenced by the movement of the vertical edge (32) of the curtain (20).

5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that said freely suspended element (42) is made of flexible material and carries at its lower end a weight (44).

6. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said freely suspended element (42) is formed of rigid material.

7. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that said auxiliary control device (40) is provided with at least one electric switch (52, 54', 54'') adapted to detect the movement of said freely suspended members (42) from its own rest position.

8. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the auxiliary control device is provided with means (58) for transmitting via radio a command for activating the motor (28).

9. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the auxiliary control device (40) is provided with means for transmitting through electrical wires a command for activating the motor (28).

Drawing