BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates generally to blinds and, more particularly, to a blind
assembly having fabric blind slats.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0002] A conventional fabric blind assembly regularly includes a headrail fixedly fastened
to the top side of a window, a bottom rail suspended below the headrail, a plurality
of fabric blind slats extended in transverse direction and arranged in parallel between
the headrail and the bottom rail, and two ladder tapes longitudinally connected between
the headrail and the bottom rail to connect the fabric blind slats. U.S. Pat. No.
6105657 discloses a fabric blind slat and a fabric Venetian blind assembly. The fabric
blind slat includes an elongated strip of fabric. The strip of fabric has at least
one longitudinally extending pocket on a longitudinal edge into which a relatively
rigid support member is insertable. This design of fabric blind slat has drawbacks.
When tilting the fabric blind slat, the fabric body of the fabric blind slat is relatively
moved, thereby causing the upper part of the fabric blind slat to compress the lower
part of the fabric blind slat, resulting in a wrinkle. In other words, supporting
or stretching means must be provided so that the fabric body of the fabric blind slat
can be maintained smooth under any operation status.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is
the main object of the present invention to provide a fabric blind assembly, which
has support means to hold the fabric blind slats constantly in a smooth status during
the operation of the fabric blind assembly. It is another object of the present invention
to provide a fabric blind assembly, which is detachable.
[0004] To achieve the foregoing objects of the present invention, the fabric blind assembly
is composed of a headrail, a bottom rail suspended below the headrail, a plurality
of fabric blind slats arranged in parallel between the headrail and the bottom rail,
each fabric blind slat having two opposite long sides and two rigid rod members respectively
mounted in the long sides, each rod member having a plurality of coupling portions,
and a plurality of braided ladders connected between the headrail and the bottom rail
at two sides of the fabric blind slats, each braided ladder having a plurality of
retaining members spaced apart from one another at a predetermined distance and respectively
fastened to the coupling portions of the rod members to keep the fabric blind slats
between the headrail and the bottom rail and spaced apart from one another at the
predetermined distance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fabric blind assembly according to a first preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a part of the fabric blind assembly according to the
first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the fabric blind assembly according to the first preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention at
work.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fabric blind assembly according to a second preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an exploded view in an enlarged scale of a part in FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a fabric blind assembly according to the third preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an exploded view in an enlarged scale of a part in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a fabric blind assembly
100 in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is composed
of a headrail
11 formed of a barrel, a bottom rail
12 extended in transverse direction and suspended below the headrail
11, a plurality of fabric blind slats
14 arranged in parallel between the headrail
11 and the bottom rail
12, and two pairs of braided ladders
13 vertically bilaterally connected between the headrail
11 and the bottom rail
12 to connect the fabric blind slats
14 and to hold the fabric blind slats
14 in parallel.
[0007] Each fabric blind slat
14 includes an elongated strip of fabric
141 and two rod members
142. The strip of fabric
141 is a piece of opaque or semitransparent fabric capable of protecting from light,
having two pockets
143 longitudinally extended along two opposite long sides thereof. The pockets
143 can be formed of a part of the strip of fabric
141 by stitching or bonding. Each pocket
143 has transversely extended crevices
144. The rod members
142 are rigid members, having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the
pockets
143. The length of the rod members
142 is substantially equal to the longitudinal depth of the pockets
143. When inserted into the pockets
143, the rod members
142 can be slightly rotated in the pockets
143. Further, each rod member
142 has a plurality of coupling portion
145 corresponding to the crevices
144 (see FIG. 3).
[0008] The braided ladders
13 are vertically bilaterally connected between the headrail
11 and the bottom rail
12 at two sides of the fabric blind slats
14, each having a plurality of equally vertically spaced retaining members
131 corresponding to the fabric blind slats
14. The retaining members
131 according to this embodiment are C-shaped retainers formed of injection molding on
the braided ladders
13, having a proper toughness and resilience. After insertion of the rod members 142
into the pockets
143, the retaining members
131 of the braided ladders
13 are respectively inserted into the crevices
144 and fastened to the coupling portions
145 of the rod members
142 (see FIG. 3).
[0009] According to the aforesaid fabric blind assembly
100, the rigid rod members
142 support the fabric blind slats
14 in longitudinal direction, prohibiting the strip of fabric
141 of each fabric blind slat
14 from curving downwards, and the braided ladders
13 support the fabric blind slats
14 in transverse direction, keeping the fabric blind slats
14 in a smooth status.
[0010] Further, because the rod members
142 are fastened to the retaining members
131 of the braided ladders
13 to keep the fabric blind slats
14 secured to the braided ladders
13, the fabric blind slats
14 can be removed from the braided ladders
13 for washing. Because the retaining members
131 are springy, they can easily be deformed with external forces and then fastened to
or disconnected from the coupling portions
145 of the rod members
142 without causing damage.
[0011] The pitch of the retaining members
131 is substantially equal to the transverse width (the length of the short sides) of
the fabric blind slats
14. When wishing to enhance the light shading effect of the fabric blind assembly
100, the user can rotate the headrail
11 through a predetermined angle to move the two opposite long sides of each fabric
blind slat
14 toward the top and bottom sides in reversed directions relative to the respective
retaining members
131 to change the fabric blind slats
14 from a horizontal position (see FIG. 4) to about a vertical position (see FIG. 5),
thereby closing the gaps in between the fabric blind slats
14.
[0012] Because the rod members
142 can be rotated relative to the retaining members
131 of the braided ladders
13, rotating the headrail
11 to tilt the fabric blind slats
14 causes the retaining members
131 to be turned relative to the rod members
142, thereby preventing uneven tension between the braided ladders
13 and the fabric blind slats
14.
[0013] FIGS. 6 and 7 show a fabric blind assembly
200 constructed according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
According to this embodiment, the fabric blind assembly
200 is composed of a headrail
21, a bottom rail
22, a plurality of braided ladders
23, and a plurality of fabric blind slats
24. According to this embodiment, there are three braided ladders
23. Two braided ladders
23 are vertical bilaterally connected between the headrail
21 and the bottom rail
22 at a long side of the fabric blind slats
24 and in proximity of the two opposite vertical lateral sides of the fabric blind assembly
200. The other braided ladder
23 is vertically connected between the headrail
21 and the bottom rail
22 and at the middle of the other long side of the fabric blind slats
24. Each of the braided ladders
23 has a plurality of equally vertically spaced retaining members
231, embodied as loops, for fastening to the fabric blind slats
24.
[0014] Each fabric blind slat
24 is composed of an elongated strip of fabric
241 and two rod members
242. The strip of fabric
241 has two pockets
243 longitudinally extended along two opposite long sides thereof. One of the two pocket
243 of each fabric blind slat
24 is provided with two transversely extended crevices
244, and the other pocket
243 of each fabric blind slat
24 is provided with a transversely extended crevice
244. The rod members
242 are rigid and inserted into the pockets
243. Each of the rod members
142 has at least one coupling portion
245. Before insertion of the rod members
242 into the pockets
243, the retaining members
231 of the braided ladders
23 are respectively inserted into the crevices
244 of the pockets
243 of the fabric blind slats
24, and then the rod members
242 are respectively inserted into the pockets
243 and the retaining members
231, enabling the coupling portions
245 of the rod members
242 to be respectively secured to the retaining members
243.
[0015] FIGS. 8 and 9 show a fabric blind assembly
300 constructed according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. According
to this embodiment, the fabric blind assembly
300 is composed of a headrail
31, a bottom rail
32, braided ladders
33, and fabric blind slats
34. The headrail
31 is a rectangular open frame fixedly fastened to the top side of a window in transverse
direction, having a frequency control mechanism and an amplitude control mechanism
(not shown) mounted therein and connected with the braided ladders
33 for controlling the tilting angle of the fabric blind slats
34 and the elevation of the bottom rail
32 respectively. The frequency control mechanism and the amplitude control mechanism
are of prior arts and not within the scope of the claims of the present invention,
no further detailed description is necessary in this regard. The strip of fabric
341 of each fabric blind slat
34 has two through holes
346 positioned at the fabric blind slat
34 and symmetrically spaced from the center of the fabric blind slat
34.
[0016] The fabric blind assembly
300 further includes a cylindrical lift cord
35. The lift cord
35 is inserted through the through holes
346 of the fabric blind slats
34 and has two distal ends respectively connected with the amplitude control mechanism
and fixedly fastened to the bottom rail
32. Therefore, operating the amplitude control mechanism causes the bottom rail
32 and the fabric blind slats
34 to be lifted or lowered to the desired elevation.
[0017] The retaining members
331 of the braided ladders
33 are cylindrical pins. Each the rod member
342 of the fabric blind slats
34 has two coupling portions
345 respectively disposed at two distal ends. The coupling portions
345 of the rod members
342 according to this embodiment are plug holes adapted to receive the cylindrical pins
331 of the braided ladders
33.
1. A fabric blind assembly comprising:
a headrail;
a bottom rail located below said headrail;
a plurality of fabric blind slats arranged in parallel between said headrail and said
bottom rail, each of said fabric blind slats having two opposite long sides and two
rigid rod members respectively mounted in said long sides, each of said rod members
having at least one coupling portion; and
a plurality of braided ladders connected between said headrail and said bottom rail
at the two opposite long sides of each of said fabric blind slats, each of said braided
ladders having a plurality of retaining members respectively spaced apart from one
another at a predetermined distance and respectively fastened to the coupling portions
of said rod members of said fabric blind slats to keep said fabric blind slats between
said headrail and said bottom rail and spaced apart from one another at the predetermined
distance.
2. The fabric blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said headrail is a barrel
rotatable to roll up said braided ladders and said fabric blind slats.
3. The fabric blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said headrail is a rectangular
open frame having a frequency control mechanism and an amplitude control mechanism
mounted therein, said frequency control mechanism being connected to said braided
ladders for driving said braided ladders to adjust the tilting angle of said fabric
blind slats, said amplitude control mechanism being connected with a lift cord that
is connected with said bottom rail for driving said lift cord to move said bottom
rail and said fabric blind slats vertically to the desired elevation.
4. The fabric blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fabric blind slats each
comprise an elongated strip of fabric, said strip of fabric having two pockets respectively
extended along two opposite long sides thereof and adapted to receive the rod members
respectively, each of said pockets each having at least one transversely extended
crevice corresponding to said coupling portion of the respective rod member.
5. The fabric blind assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the retaining members of
said braided ladders are loops respectively formed integral with said braided ladders
and respectively inserted into the crevices of said pockets of said fabric blind slats
and connected with the coupling portions of the rod members of said fabric blind slats.
6. The fabric blind assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the retaining members of
said braided ladders are tough and springy C-shaped retainers respectively inserted
into the crevices of the pockets of said fabric blind slats and clamped to the coupling
portions of said rod members of said fabric blind slats.
7. The fabric blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retaining members are
cylindrical; wherein each said fabric blind slat comprises an elongated strip of fabric,
said strip of fabric having two pockets respectively extended along two opposite long
sides thereof and adapted to receive said rod members of the respective fabric blind
slat respectively; wherein each said rod member comprises two coupling portions respectively
formed in two distal ends thereof for said rod members inserted thereinto.
8. The fabric blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of said braided
ladders is 4 arranged in two pairs bilaterally disposed at two sides of said fabric
blind slats; wherein each said rod member has two coupling portions corresponding
to said retaining members of said two pairs of braided ladders.
9. The fabric blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said braided ladders include
a first braided ladder connected between said headrail and said bottom rail at the
middle of a first side of said fabric blind slats, and two second braided ladders
bilaterally connected between said headrail and said bottom rail at a side opposite
to the first side and equally spaced from said first braided ladder; wherein said
rod members of each said fabric blind slat include a first rod member and a second
rod member, said first rod member having a coupling portion fastened to a retaining
member of said first braided ladder, said second rod member having two coupling portions
respectively fastened to a retaining member of each said second braided ladder.
10. A fabric blind slat comprising an elongated strip of fabric and two rod members, said
strip of fabric having two pockets longitudinally extended along two long sides thereof,
each of said pockets having at least one transversely extended crevice, said rod members
being inserted into said pockets of said strip of fabric and each having a plurality
of coupling portions corresponding to said crevices of said pockets.