Curtain for adjusting light transmittance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11098529-B2
Application number	US-201916359397-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2019
Priority date	Dec 10, 2018
Publication date	Aug 24, 2021
Grant date	Aug 24, 2021

Abstract

A curtain may include a blind shade stretched or contracted in a first direction to adjust transmittance of light, a base coupled to one end portion of the blind shade in the first direction thereof, and a transmittance adjusting device to adjust the transmittance of the light passing through the blind shade by pulling outward or releasing inward an other end portion of the blind shade in the first direction thereof, in the state that spacing from the base in the first direction is fixed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A curtain apparatus comprising:
a blind shade stretchable or contractible in a first direction to adjust transmittance of light;
a base coupled to a first end portion of the blind shade in the first direction thereof; and
a transmittance adjusting device to adjust the transmittance of the light passing through the blind shade by pulling inward into the transmittance adjusting device or releasing outward from the transmittance adjusting device a portion of the blind shade in the first direction thereof, in a state that spacing between the base and the transmittance adjusting device is fixed in the first direction,
wherein the transmittance adjusting device includes an adjusting rod extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and coupled to at least a portion of a second end portion of the blind shade,
wherein the transmittance adjusting device further include an adjusting device body and the adjusting rod is rotatably mounted to the adjusting device body, and
wherein the adjusting rod rotates in the second direction as an axial direction thereof to pull the blind shade by winding a region of the blind shade, which is adjacent to the second end portion of the blind shade, around an external surface of the adjusting rod or to release the region adjacent to the second end portion of the blind shade wound around the external surface of the adjusting rod,
wherein a thread is formed in a screw region which is partially formed on the external surface of the adjusting rod,
wherein the transmittance adjusting device further includes a wheel fixed to a wheel shaft rotatably mounted to the adjusting device body and engaged with the thread formed on the external surface of the adjusting rod to rotate in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction as an axial direction of the wheel, and
wherein, as the wheel rotates, the adjusting rod rotates so that the blind shade is stretched or contracted along the first direction.

2. The curtain apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the blind shade is coupled to a remaining region of the external surface of the adjusting rod except the screw region such that the blind shade is not wound around the screw region when the adjusting rod rotates.

3. The curtain apparatus of claim 1 , further including:
a knob pivotally connected to a rotation shaft formed on an end of the wheel shaft of the wheel to selectively rotate the wheel such that the transmittance of the light passing through the blind shade is adjusted according to rotation of the knob.

4. The curtain apparatus of claim 3 , further including:
a fixing portion slidably mounted on the wheel shaft of the wheel between the rotation shaft and the wheel through an opening formed on the fixing portion and selectively making contact with the wheel to block or allow a rotation of the wheel.

5. The curtain apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the fixing portion include:
a first annular member having a first external diameter, wherein an end portion of the knob is selectively contacted to an external surface of the first annular member; and
a second annular member having a second external diameter, where the first annular member is mounted to the second annular member and the second external diameter is greater than the first external diameter,
wherein an external surface of the second annular member is selectively locked to a step formed in a mounting groove of the adjusting device body according to the rotation of the knob to prevent the fixing portion from being out of the adjusting device body.

6. The curtain apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the knob is configured to pivotally rotate about the rotation shaft to selectively press the fixing portion by an end portion of the knob to a surface of the wheel such that the fixing portion makes contact with the surface of the wheel or is spaced from the wheel according to the rotation of the knob.

7. The curtain apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the knob is configured to press the fixing portion by rotating about the rotation shaft in a direction perpendicular to the third direction as an axial direction thereof.

8. The curtain apparatus of claim 4 , further including:
a return device applying an external force to the fixing portion in a direction away from the wheel such that the fixing portion is spaced from the wheel, when the external force applied to the fixing portion toward the wheel is released.

9. The curtain apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the return device is disposed between the fixing portion and the wheel on the wheel shaft.

10. The curtain apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the return device is elastically deformed when the fixing portion is pressed by an end portion of the knob to make contact to the wheel, to apply resilience force to the fixing portion in the direction away from the wheel.

11. The curtain apparatus of claim 4 , further including:
a return device connected to the rotation shaft to apply resilience force to the rotation shaft of the wheel, such that the wheel rotates to return to an original state when external force applied to the fixing portion toward the wheel is released after the blind shade is stretched or contracted as the knob rotates in the original state that the blind shade is not stretched or contracted.

12. The curtain apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the blind shade includes:
a plurality of first shading members extending in the first direction thereof, mounted in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction thereof, formed of a first extensible material, and stretched or contracted in the first direction thereof; and
a plurality of second shading members extending in the second direction thereof, mounted in the first direction thereof, formed of a second extensible material, and coupled to the plurality of the first shading members while crossing the plurality of the first shading members.

13. The curtain apparatus of claim 12 ,
wherein the plurality of first shading members include fiber formed of the first extensible material including spandex and nylon, and
wherein the plurality of second shading members include fiber formed of the second extensible material including nylon.

14. The curtain apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the transmittance adjusting device is configured to be movable in the first direction and is coupled to a frame ring formed in a ring shape on a door frame to fix the spacing from the base.

15. The curtain apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the base includes a roller rod having an external surface coupled with one end portion of the blind shade, the roller rod around which the blind shade is wound, and
wherein the blind shade is deployed as the transmittance adjusting device moves away from the base in the first direction while the blind shade is wound around the external surface of the roller rod.

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Motors Corp

Inventors

• Kim Jong Won

Classifications

• E06B9/386

  Details of lamellae · CPC title

• E06B9/66

  with a roller situated at the bottom · CPC title

• E06B2009/405

  Two rollers · CPC title

• E06B2009/2405

  Areas of differing opacity for light transmission control · CPC title

• E06B9/42 Primary

  Parts or details of roller blinds, e.g. suspension devices, blind boxes (brackets or adjustable mountings for roller blinds and drawable curtains A47H1/13) · CPC title