Lichtreflektierendes Bandmaterial

Abstract

The invention relates to light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-directing slats for the production of light-directing slat blinds. The tape material consists of different surface contours for light redirection. Sidelight strikes the tape material and is redirected into the interior and / or exterior space. The strip material has a cross-section with a sharp-edged, groove-shaped central zone (10) with a groove depth of < 0.4 mm, which is tooth-shaped and by means of which sidelight can be reflected (22) back into the hemisphere of the sidelight incidence (20). The strip material has longitudinally symmetrical edge zones (11) on both sides, which are grooved or groove-free. The sidelight (23) incident on these edge zones (11) can be deflected essentially into the opposite hemisphere of the light incidence (24, 25). The underside of the strip material is essentially smooth. Light (26) reflected from a lower lamella onto the underside of the upper lamella can be deflected by a second reflection to the ground plane of the outside space.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-directing slats for the production of light-directing blinds. The surface of the tape material serves to deflect sunlight in or out and has at least a partially grooved, toothed structure in its cross-section.

[0002] From EP 2020 06247 5, it is known to form a toothed contour on the upper and lower surfaces of blind slats, at least in the center of the slats, and to design the edge areas of the slats as smooth, light-directing flaps without teeth. These slats serve in the top-light area of ​​a window to direct zenith light, to deflect light, and to protect against overheating. In the lower window area, the slats are toothed on both sides across their entire cross-section. The idea of ​​this patent is to shape the toothed structure in such a way that the slat contours can be interlocked in a form-fitting manner within a slat stack.

[0003] The disadvantage of this design is the louvre's considerable height in the individual pleats, which restricts the view between the louvres. Another drawback is that light reflected from shallow angles of incidence off the upper side of the louvres is partially deflected onto the underside of an upper louvre, rather than being directed outwards as is possible at steeper angles. Light falling on the interior-facing side of the pleats is reflected inwards and can cause glare. In some cases, the light is also reflected back and forth multiple times between the pleats of an upper and lower louvre, which can ultimately lead to glare and undesirable absorption and heating of the window area. To prevent glare inside, the underside of the aluminum louvres must be painted, for example, matte white to diffuse the light.Different views also emerge on the undersides of the slats, especially when the blind is closed.

[0004] A disadvantage is that the stepped slats cannot be placed in standard ladder cords because the folds prevent the cord threads from properly settling between them. Therefore, the stepped slats are threaded into so-called loop cords, with individual loops manually hooked into cutouts in the slat edges. This process does not allow for automated threading. The goal of this development is to create an optical contour for a concave / convex slat that enables automated threading.

[0005] It is also known from PCT IB2023 / 000 110 to groove louvers on one half in the longitudinal direction and to form a second louver half as a smooth light-directing wing.

[0006] The disadvantage of this development is that the louvers, which consist of two differently shaped halves, cannot be manufactured from a single strip of material across their entire width. During passage through the roller forming tools, different elongations and stretches occur in the halves with significant deformation compared to the adjacent sections that are smooth and without folds, forming only concave / convex shapes. To prevent warping and waviness in the concave / convex section, it is necessary to preform the folded half and the concave / convex half using separate tools and then join them onto a support louver according to PCT IB 2023 / 000 110. PCT EP 2017 052174 describes a bifocal louver rotated around a vertical axis to capture zenith light in the skylight area.

[0007] The innovation now aims to produce a flat, level or slightly curved, bifocal lamella which, in its longitudinal direction, has a section with a rolled microstructure and other sections with a smooth or less structured surface or a different microstructure, and which consists of a single, undivided strip material without twisting during the forming process.

[0008] Another challenge is to create a smooth underside so that radiation reflected from the top to the underside of an upper slat can be reflected back into the outside with only a second reflection. This is advantageous for energy efficiency and to prevent glare for occupants inside and reflections between the slats. The goal is to leave the underside bare and metallically shiny without having to paint it as a glare-reducing measure. A further objective is to achieve a simple concave / convex slat shape despite the complex mirror geometry, so that they can be processed into blind packages using automated threading machines. Finally, the blind slats should appear homogeneous from the inside when closed.

[0009] The tasks are solved in accordance with the characterizing part of the main claim.

[0010] The core idea is to produce an essentially symmetrical blind slat with a microstructure embossed on its upper surface, leaving the underside essentially smooth. Slight waves may form in the cross-section. The slats are embossed only on the upper surface in the center with a pleated structure, without embossing the edges. To control warping and irregular stretching during the manufacturing process, the slat is designed symmetrically according to the invention. There is only one central zone with the microstructured embossing. The undersides are essentially smooth and reflect obliquely incident light onto the floor level outside. This also applies to the slats in a lower window area, which are serrated across their entire cross-section.

[0011] Another advantage is that the slats can be automatically threaded into ladder cords as usual, without having to manually attach the slats in loop cords in the slat edges, as is the case with the EP2020 0624 75.

[0012] The embossing depth is < 0.4 mm, preferably < 0.2 mm. The material thickness of the strip before microstructuring is < 0.4 mm, preferably decreasing from 0.2 to 0.1 mm.

[0013] The central microstructuring causes elongation. The embossing roller forces the material lengthwise due to the roller pressure. To prevent waviness in the undeformed edge areas, the cross-sectional thickness of these edge zones must also be reduced.

[0014] The ingenious manufacturing principle for generating the appropriate roller pressure in the center and edge areas of the strip lies in providing the smooth counter-pressure roller with a larger diameter in the edge areas. In practice, the diameter is determined experimentally by gradually reducing the diameter of the counter-pressure roller in the central zone until the workpiece exits the roller set straight and evenly. Once the diameter differences in the grooving tool are known, the profiled roller can, of course, also be provided with a larger diameter in the edge area.

[0015] They show Fig. 1 Concave / convex shaped slats in a blind curtain and their optical behavior when exposed to light Fig. 2 a larger section of a slatted blind Fig. 3 a lamella according to the invention Fig. 4 a detail of a lamella according to the invention Fig. 5 a slat from a lower window area.

[0016] Fig. Figure 1 shows louvers 27, 28, 29 with a central, tooth-shaped, structuring 10 in the form of a groove on the upper surface of the louvers. Sidelight 20 incident on this tooth structure is reflected back into the hemisphere of the incident light by a beam 22. When the sun is at a low angle 23, the light is deflected in a beam 26 onto the underside of an upper louver 28 and reflected from there onto the ground level in the exterior space. The low angle of the sun, which strikes the section 11 facing the interior, is deflected in a beam 24 onto the interior ceiling. Thus, according to the invention, this is a flat louver with bifocal optics, with one focus facing the interior and one focus facing the exterior.

[0017] The cross-sectional parts 11 are largely symmetrical about the center of the lamella. This symmetry facilitates the manufacturing process in the rolling mill. The concave and convex shaping of the lamellae is carried out according to known principles. Even sunlight striking at a shallow angle is deflected in a beam onto the underside of the central zone of the uppermost lamella and from there onto the floor plane of the exterior space. With this lamella according to the invention, a maximum of two reflections occur without causing glare in the interior and without resulting in further pendulum reflections.

[0018] Fig. Figure 2 shows a larger section of a blind with the arrangement of the inventive lamellae 33-35 in an upper blind section and lamellae 36, 37 in the lower blind section. These are also provided with a tooth-shaped microstructure in the edge regions 38, so that the sun can be deflected monoreflectively in the lower area without overheating the interior and without causing glare. The further advantages of the horizontal positioning of the lamellae are known from the prior art, as is the precise shaping of the individual teeth.

[0019] Fig. Figure 3 shows the lamella with the microstructure 42 in the center of the lamella and with the smooth upper surfaces 43. Two additional grooves are formed longitudinally along the outer edges of the lamella to prevent the strip material from spreading in width during the rolling process. The serrations prevent the lamella from widening as it passes through the mill.

[0020] One detail shows the Fig. 4. The initial material thickness D2 is reduced to material thickness D1 in the edge zones 43. During microstructuring, valleys 41 are embossed into the top surface, creating embossed peaks 40. The material is elongated by the compressive forces during passage through a pair of rollers. This elongation in the central zone 42 necessitates the reduction of material thickness in the edge zones 43. Fig. Figure 4 shows the contour of the embossing rollers. The embossed strip material deviates minimally from the embossing contour. The distance A between the top and bottom contours is reduced to 1 / 100 mm in the workpiece in the area of ​​the wave troughs.

[0021] Fig. Figure 5 shows a fully structured slat top surface of the slats for the lower blind area. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] EP 2020 06247 5 [0002, 0011] EP 2017 052174

[0006]

Claims

[1] Light-reflecting strip material as a pre-product for light-directing slats for the production of light-directing slat blinds, strip material consisting of different surface contours for deflecting side light incident on the strip material characterized by , that - the strip material has in cross-section a sharp-edged, groove-shaped central zone (10) with a groove depth < 0.4 mm, which is tooth-shaped and by means of which side light can be reflected back into the hemisphere of the side light incidence (20) (22) and that - the strip material has essentially symmetrical edge zones (11) on both sides in the longitudinal direction, which are grooved or groove-free and - the side light (23) incident on these edge zones (11) can be deflected (24, 25) essentially into the opposite hemisphere of the incident light, wherein - the tape material is essentially smooth on its underside and that - light reflected from a lower lamella onto the underside of the upper lamella (26) can be deflected by a second reflection onto the ground plane of the outside space. [2] Light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-guiding lamellae, characterized by , that by forming the two boundary zones (11) in an approximately symmetrical manner a saber-shaped deviation from the straight line can be avoided. [3] Light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-guiding lamellae, characterized by , that the groove depth (41) in the central zone of the strip cross-section is < 0.4 mm, preferably < 0.1 mm. [4] Light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-guiding lamellae, characterized by, that the strip is embossed between an upper roller and a lower roller, whereby a cross-sectional difference is introduced in the edge areas (11) and in the middle zone (10) so that the elongation in the middle zone and the elongation in the edge zone is approximately identical and that a material thickness difference D1 to D2 results. [5] Light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-guiding lamellae, characterized by , that the pressure distribution on the strip material between the middle zone (10) and the edge zone (11) is achieved by adjusting the roller diameters of the smooth counter-pressure roller or the structured roller, wherein the edge zones (11) are reduced in material thickness (D2) compared to the starting material (D1). [6] Light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-guiding lamellae, characterized by, that the tape material is shaped concave / convex and processed into blind slats (30 - 37), wherein the microstructured slats with smooth edge zones (30 - 35) are installed in the upper part and slats with microstructured edge zones (36, 37) in the lower part of a blind, so that despite variable light-guiding optics on the slats, when closing the blind, an identical view of the entire blind covering is obtained from the interior. [7] Light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-guiding lamellae, characterized by , that at least one tooth-shaped groove (44) is provided at the edges of the marginal areas on the upper and / or lower side. [8] Light-reflecting tape material as a precursor for light-guiding lamellae, characterized by , that the distance (A) of the valleys of the teeth to the underside of the lamella is reduced to > 0.05, preferably 0.01.

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