US20070084567A1

US20070084567A1 - Lift rod apparatus for cordless shades

Info

Publication number: US20070084567A1
Application number: US11/252,770
Authority: US
Inventors: Li-Ming Chen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-10-19
Filing date: 2005-10-19
Publication date: 2007-04-19

Abstract

A lift rod apparatus for cordless shades includes a rod and an anchor plate. The rod has a upper end coupled with a latch member which has two opposing elongated ends and a holding bar spaced from the latch member. The anchor plate has a slot to be passed through by the latch member. The anchor plate can be installed on a cordless shade. The latch member can pass through the slot and be turned for a selected angle for coupling or removing. The rod has a selected length to aid users of not sufficient height to control rolling and extension of the cordless shade. Using of the cordless shade is more convenient.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a lift rod apparatus for cordless shades and particularly to a lift rod apparatus to control rolling and extension of various types of cordless shades.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are numerous types of window coverings on the market, such as blinds, bleated shades, roman shades and the likes. They are mainly installed on doors and windows of houses to block sunshine and be used as adornments. Depending on user's requirements, the general window shades can be divided in cord controlled shades that are rolled and extended through a lift cord and a cordless shade 10 as shown in FIG. 1 PRIOR ART. The cordless shade 10 mainly includes a upper rail 11 which is coupled with a retractable fabric shade 12 on a lower side. The fabric shade 12 is coupled with a lower rail 13 on the bottom. The upper rail 11 further has a control means (not shown in the drawings) located therein to couple with and control rolling or extension of the fabric shade 12.
When in use for rolling or extending the cordless shade 10, first, user's hand grasps the lower rail 13 and pushes upwards. The control means can automatically retract the fabric shade 12 upward. To extend the cordless shade 10, the hand pulls the lower rail 13 downwards, and the control means can aid extending of the fabric shade. Thus there is no need to provide a lift cord for rolling and extending of the shade.
In practice, user has to grasp the lower rail 13 and exert a force on the fabric shade 12 to perform operation of rolling upwards or extending downward. For users who do not have enough height and cannot reach the lower rail 13 while the fabric shade 12 is lifted to a selected elevation, rolling operation of the shade is difficult. To pull the shade down for extension, users have to rely a chair or stool to reach and grasp the lower rail 13 on the bottom of the fabric shade 12. This creates a lot of troubles and inconveniences. There is still room for improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore the primary object of the present invention is to provide a lift cord apparatus for cordless shades that is adaptable to various types of cordless shades. It is installed on the bottom of the shades to aid users of not sufficient height to roll and extend the shades.
The lift cord apparatus for cordless shades according to the invention mainly includes a rod and an anchor plate. The rod has a latch member on a upper end. The latch member has two elongated ends and a holding bar on a lower side spaced from the latch member. The holding bar has an axial direction coinciding with the long side of the elongated ends of the latch member. The anchor plate has a coupling portion which has an extension on one side. The extension has a slot to be passed through by the latch member.
By means of the structure set forth above, the anchor plate can be coupled with a cordless shade. The latch member can pass through the slot of the anchor plate and be turned to a selected angle so that the rod and the anchor plate can be coupled or disengaged. With the rod formed in a selected length, it can aid users who do not have a sufficient height to control rolling and extension of the cordless shade. Operation is more convenient.
The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 PRIOR ART is a schematic view of a conventional cordless shade.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the present invention installed on a cordless shade.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the present invention in a use condition.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the present invention in another use condition.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the present invention in use for controlling rolling and extension of the shade.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the present invention in a retracting condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the invention includes a rod 20 and an anchor plate 30 to be installed on a cordless shade 40. The cordless shade 40 includes a upper rail 41, a fabric shade 42, a lower rail 43 and a control means (not shown in the drawings).
The rod 20 has a latch member 21 on a upper end that has two opposing elongated ends 211, and a holding bar 22 below the latch member 21 and spaced therefrom at a selected distance. The holding bar 22 has an axial direction coinciding with the long side of the elongated ends 211. The rod 20 further has a handle 23 on a lower side to be grasped by users.
The anchor plate 30 has a coupling portion 31 to couple with the lower rail 43 of the cordless shade 40. The coupling portion 31 has an extension 32 on one side with a slot 321 formed thereon corresponding to the latch member 21. The slot 321 has two opposing sides 321 a mating the elongated ends 211 to allow the latch member 21 to pass through the slot 321.
As shown in the drawings, the coupling portion 31 further has a plate 311 with two opposing sides extended upwards to form two side walls 312. The inner sides of the side walls 312 are extended inwards to form flanges 313. The extension 32 is located on an outer side of one side wall 312. Referring to FIG. 4, when in use, the anchor plate 30 is coupled on the lower rail 43, and the flanges 313 are latched on the upper edges of the lower rail 43 to form a secured coupling. The coupling portion 31 may also be a plate with an aperture formed thereon (not shown in the drawings). The lower rail 43 has a screw hole corresponding to the aperture. Then a fastening element such as a screw can run through the aperture to engage with the screw hole to fasten the anchor plate 30 to the lower rail 43.
Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 for another embodiment. The rod 20 consists of a sleeve 24 and a stem 25 that are movably coupled together. The sleeve 24 has a housing space 241 to hold the stem 25, and a first aperture 242 and a second aperture 243 on a upper end and a lower end leading to the housing space 241. The latch member 21 and holding bar 22 are located on a upper end of the stem 25. The stem 25 has a trough 251 abutting a lower end to hold a latch means 26. The latch means 26 includes a pushbutton 261 and a spring 262 coupling with the pushbutton 261. When the pushbutton 261 is depressed, the spring 262 is compressed and the pushbutton 261 is retracted in the trough 251 so that the stem 25 can be inserted into the housing space 241 of the sleeve 24. Through the elastic extension of the spring 262, the pushbutton 261 can be latched on the first aperture 242 or the second aperture 243. Thereby users can depress the pushbutton 261 and the spring 262 to control the stem 25 to extend or retract in the sleeve 24 to change the total length of the rod 20. Such a design makes storing more convenient.
By means of the construction set forth above, to install the lift rod apparatus of the invention on the cordless shade 40, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the anchor plate 30 can be installed in a middle portion of the lower rail 43 through the coupling portion 31 with the extension 32 directing to the front side of the cordless shade 40.
When in use for rolling and extending the fabric shade 42, referring to FIG. 4, user grasps the handle 23 to align the elongated ends 211 of the latch member 21 with the elongated sides 321 a of the slot 321 of the anchor plate 30 so that the latch member 21 can pass through the slot 321; then move the holding bar 30 on the lower side to turn the rod 20 for ninety degrees as shown in FIG. 5; the elongated end 211 is vertical to the elongated sides 321 a of the slot 321, hence the latch member 21 is latched without escaping from the slot 321, while the holding bar 22 is turned and latched on the bottom of the lower rail 43.
Also referring to FIG. 6, through the coupling of the rod 20 and the anchor plate 30, the cordless shade 40 may be rolled and extended as desired. To roll the fabric shade 42 upwards, push the lower rail 43 through the holding bar 22, the fabric shade 42 can be automatically retracted through the control means. To extend the fabric shade 42, with the latch member 21 coupling with the anchor plate 30, pull the lower rail 43, the fabric shade 42 can be extended downwards through the control means. After the operation is finished, the rod 20 can be turned to its original position and removed from the anchor plate 30. Operation is simple.
In short, the lift rod for cordless shades of the invention can be installed on various types of cordless shades 40 to control rolling and extension of the fabric shade 42. The rod 30 that is formed with a selected length can aid users of not sufficient height to easily control rolling and extension of he cordless shade 40. The operation is more convenient than the conventional techniques.

Claims

1. A lift rod apparatus for cordless shades, comprising:

a rod which has a upper end coupled with a latch member and a holding bar located below the latch member and spaced therefrom at a selected distance, the latch member having two opposing elongated ends, the holding bar having an axial direction coinciding with a long side direction of the elongated ends; and

an anchor plate which has a coupling portion fastenable to a cordless shade, the coupling portion having an extension on one side, the extension having a slot to be passed through by the latch member.

2. The lift rod apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coupling portion includes a plate, two side walls extended upwards from two opposite sides of the plate and two flanges extended from inner sides of the two side walls.

3. The lift rod apparatus of claim 2, wherein the rod has a lower end coupled with a handle.

4. The lift rod apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coupling portion of the anchor plate is a plate which has an aperture.

5. The lift rod apparatus of claim 4, wherein the rod has a lower end coupled with a handle.

6. The lift rod apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rod has a lower end coupled with a handle.

7. The lift rod apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rod includes a sleeve and a stem that are movably coupled together, the sleeve having a housing space to movably hold the stem and a first aperture on a upper end and a second aperture on a lower end that are leading to the housing space, the latch member and the holding bar being located on a upper end of the stem, the stem having a trough on a lower end to hold a latch means, the latch means including a pushbutton which is engageable with the first aperture and the second aperture, and a spring coupling with the pushbutton.