Integrated automation system to operate the adjustable slats of swinging window shuttered window door

Abstract

the automation system to remotely operate the adjustable slats on a swinging window shuttered door according to the present invention, automates the rotation of the shutter slats to control the amount of light entering through the window, thereby eliminating the need for manual intervention. The automation system maximizes the energy efficiency of the building by regulating the amount of light and air that passes through the slats, avoiding the thermal dispersion that would result from having to open the glass window. The invention includes an compact electrical drive device (100) that is fitted inside the frame of the swinging shuttered window door. The frive device is coupled to the mechanical synchronization leverage of the shutter slats, the drive device is controlled by a low-consumption electronic board with integrated radio receiver placed inside a control unit (200) and powered by an integrated rechargeable battery or mains AC power supply. All the parts of the invention are small enough to be installed inside the shuttered swinging window frame resulting invisible form the outside. The user can remotely control the opening and closing of the shutters by means of a radio remote control or by a wired push button.

Description

[0001] The present patent application for industrial invention relates to an integrated automation system to remotely operate the adjustable slats on a swinging window shuttered door.Background Art

[0002] Adjustable swinging shuttered window doors are designed with mechanic movable slats that are placed on a frame.

[0003] At the state of the art, the slats can be only manually be inclined and together rotated along a horizontal axis to adjust the light and air entering through the window shuttered door.

[0004] At present, such swinging window's shutters slats can be only controlled manually using an external knob or lever, that enables rotation of the slats from a horizontal, open position to a vertical, closed position. This external knob / lever is fixed on the frame of the swinging window shuttered door and it is linked to a pair of bars, placed inside of the frame of the shuttered window door, that are connected to each slat to synchronize the rotation.Summary of Invention

[0005] The integrated automation system for swinging window shutter slats, according to the present invention, is designed to automate and remotely operate the rotation of the shutter slats, replacing the said manual external knob / lever.

[0006] The invention consists of a compact electrical integrated drive device connected to the existing mechanical synchronization bars of the shutter slats and controlled by an integrated control box containing an electronic control board, radio receiver and rechargeable battery.

[0007] The electrical drive device is fixed into the shutter frame and it is composed by an electric micro-geared motor combined with a bevel gear system (pinion-gear) which, connected to the existing mechanical synchronization of the slats, transmits the necessary movement to rotate the shutter slats.

[0008] The electronic board, radioreceiver and the rechareable battery are fitted in a plastic case and fixed into the shutter frame.

[0009] The electronic board controls the micro-geared motor of the electrical driver device.Technical Problem

[0010] Currently, adjustable slats on a swinging window shuttered door are operated manually, which requires the user to first open the glass window to be able to access the manual knob or lever positioned on the outside of the frame of the window shuttered door. This cause a physical effort and time loss for the user.

[0011] A further problem resulting from the manual opening of the window to manually operate the slats is the dispersion of heat between the inside and outside of the building. In summer, when opening the window, hot air comes in and in winter, cold air comes in. Manual action negatively affects the thermal efficiency of the building with a large waste of energy.Solution to Problem

[0012] The present invention enables the remote electric activation of the adjustment of the slats on a swinging window shuttered door, eliminating the need for manual intervention and ensuring maximum energy efficiency of the building.Advantageous Effects of Invention

[0013] The invention has a compact size allowing it to be installed inside the shutter frame, improving the overall aesthetics of the shuttered door, avoiding any external knob or lever and providing additional protection for the device.

[0014] The invention allows the complete automation and remote activation of the movement of the shutter slats, eliminating the need for manual intervention, providing high comfort and eliminating the effort for the user.

[0015] The invention maximizes the energy efficiency of the building by reducing energy waste due to thermal dispersion of the building.Brief Description of Drawings

[0016] In the attached drawings, which are purely illustrative and not limiting: Fig.1 Is an axonometric view of a shutter assembled according to the present invention, which shows how the electrical drive device (100) and the control unit (200) are mounted into the shutter frame (6) to operate the slats (5). Fig. 2 Is an axonometric view of the shutter, the electrical drive device (100), and the control unit (200) isolated. Fig. 3 Is an axonometric explosion view of the main components of the present invention. Gear motor (11); set of bevel gear system (12); gearbox case (13); electronic board and integrated radioreceiver fixed on a holder case (21); battery holder case (22-24); rechargeable battery (23). Fig.4 Is an axonometric view of an shutter assembly which shows how the electrical drive device (100) composed by a gear motor (11) and a bevel gear system (12) assembled on the drive device case (13), is mounted into the existing shutter frame (6) and connected to the pair of bars (4), that are connected to each slat (5) to synchronize their rotation.

[0017] With reference to Figs. 1 to 4, the components of the integrated automation system according to the present invention and the assembly into the shutter frame are disclosed.

[0018] The electrical drive device (100) comprises a micro-geared motor (11) coupled to the pinion of the bevel gear unit (12) and fixed to the structure (13). the drive device case (13) is fixed into the shutter frame (6), aligning the two holes of the bevel gear with the pins of the existing pair of bars that synchronize the rotation of the slats (5) of the shutter.

[0019] The control unit (200) is mounted inside of the shutter frame (6) an is composed by a case (22-23), inside the control unit case are placed the electronic board with integrated radio receiver mounted on the back of a plastic holder cover (24), that features aconnector jack (21) to recharge the battery without having to remove it from t the frame.

Claims

1. The integrated automation system, according to the present invention, is a product designed to automate and remotely control by radio frequency transmitter, in compliance to the EU autorized standard radio frequencies, the rotation of the shutter slats of a swinging window shuttered door and includes the following components: one electrical drive device (100) on each shuttered wing, one control unit (200) and one rechargeable battery (23). The automation system is characterized by the fact of having small enough dimension to be fitted and integrated inside the swinging window shuttered door frame. The automation system is characterized by an energy save system based on reduced consumption electronic components to ensure long lasting autonomous use by rechargeable battery with no mandatory need for AC mains power supply wiring.

2. The integrated automation system, in accordance with claim 1, is composed by only one control unit (200) operating all the electrical drive devices (100) installed on each wing of the multi-wing shutte red window door.

3. The electrical drive device (100), in accordance with claim 1 and 2, is a device that electrally operates the shutter slats by a mechanical coupling to any slat synchronization manual system located inside the shutter frame.

4. The electrical drive device (100), in accordance with claim 1,2 and 3, is a compact electric mechanism that can be installed inside and along the shutter wing frame in any position, remaining invisible from the outside.

5. The electrical drive device, in accordance with claim 1,2,3 and 4 comprises one micro-geared motor (11), one pair of bevel gears (12), and one drive device case (13). The output shaft of the micro-geared motor (11) is coupled to the pinion of the bevel gear unit (12) and fixed to the drive device case (13). The drive device case (13) is fixed into the shuttered swinging door frame (6), aligning the 2 holes of the bevel gear with the pins of the vertical bars (4), that synchronize the rotation of the slats (5) of the shutter. The vertical bars connects and synchronizes all the shutter slats and are part of the manual mechanical system of the shuttered window door. The vertical bars (4), the manual mechanical system of the shuttered window door, the shutter frame, and the slats are not a part of the present invention.

6. The micro-geared motor, in accordance with claim 5, is composed by a dc electric motor and a gearbox.

7. The gearbox, in accordance with claim 6, is composed by planetary or spur set of gear.

8. The bevel gears, in accordance with claim 5, is composed by a set (pinion and gear) of straight or spiral bevel gears, made from brass, aluminum, iron or sintered iron.

9. The final bevel gear, in accordance with claim 5 and 8, is characterized by having a proper shape to be easily directly connected to the synchronization vertical bars of the shutter slats manual mechanism.

10. The drive device case (13), in accordance with claim 1 and 5, contains all the components of the electromechanic drive device and has the ideal and small dimension shape to be fixed it into the frame of the swinging window shuttered door, remaining invisible from the outside. The drive device case can be made from plastic, aluminum or steel.

11. The control unit (200), in accordance with claim 1 and 2, comprises a electronic cirquit board with integrated radio receiver and aereal antenna (24), a rechageable battery (23), and a power charge plug (21) all fitted in a plastic case (22).

12. The radio receiver, in accordance with claim 1 and 11, features an on board hybrid radio receiver and is characterizedby a reduced power consumption of less than 1mA.

13. The control unit (200), in accordance with claim 10 and 11, is featured by an electronic board's holder case (21) that is characterized by beeing removable, drops and dust proof, featured with 2 buttons to operate the slats in 2 direction (up and down) and also by featuring a water protected female jack connector to enable the recharge of the inner contained rechargeable battery by a battery charger provided by a male jack connector.

14. The control unit (200), in accordance with claim 1, 2, 10 and 11, is small enough to be installed inside the shutter frame. Only the electronic board's holder case (21) provided with the command buttons and thedfemale jack plug is visible from outside of the shuttered swing door.

15. The electronic circuit board (24) in accordance with claim 1, 2, 10 and 11, is designed to be compatible with radio frequency commands or wired commands. The electronic board has a on board, integrated low-consumption radio receiver and is designed to be powered by a rechargeable battery (23) or mains AC power supply.

16. The integrated automation system for shutter slats, in accordance with claim 1, incorporates an automatic save energy / power-off function using a reed switch magnetic sensor placed on the electronic board of the control unit, and a magnet positioned on the fixed part of the frame of the shuttered swinging door. When the swinging wing of the shuttered door is closed, the reed switch magnetic sensor installed on the printed electronic board detects the magnet and closes the main power source cirquit. When the swinging wing of the shuttered door is open, the reed switch doed no longer detect the magnet and therefore opens the cirquit of main power source cutting off the current to to the electronic board of the control unit (200) in order to save energy avoiding unecessary stand-by energetical consumption while the shuttered swinging door is open. This ensure longer lasting autonomous use of the automation device when powered by recchargeable integrated battery.

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