Blind device

Abstract

To provide a blind device capable of sufficiently taking outdoor light into the whole room.SOLUTION: A blind device 100 includes a plurality of vertically arranged slats 3, 3, ...; a ladder code 4 having a pair of vertically extending plumb codes 4a, 4b which support the plurality of slats 3, 3, ... and sandwich each of the slats 3, in the slat width direction; and a tilting mechanism to tilt the slats by moving vertically the pair of plumb cords 4a and 4b relative to each other. The plurality of slats 3, 3, ... are made up of a plurality of upper slats 3A, 3A, ... located at the top of the blind device 100 and a plurality of lower slats 3B, 3B, ... located at the bottom of the blind device 100, and the lower slats 3B are supported on the ladder cord 4 with an angular difference of 20° to 40° toward the outdoor side relative to the upper slats 3A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a blind device having a plurality of slats in the vertical direction. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional blind device is known that includes multiple slats arranged in the vertical direction and ladder cords that support the multiple slats. In such a blind device, the slats can be tilted by relatively moving the indoor vertical cord and the window vertical cord of the ladder cord up and down, thereby adjusting the amount of light passing between the slats.

[0003] Incidentally, as a blind device, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a blind device that can make the amount of light received different between the upper and lower parts of the blind device by setting multiple upper slats on the upper side and multiple lower slats on the lower side at different angles. In this blind device, the angle of the upper slats and the lower slats is adjusted by shortening (shortening) the length of the room side vertical cord or the window side vertical cord. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-028773 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, according to the inventors' experiments, even if the multiple upper slats on the upper side and the multiple lower slats on the lower side are adjusted to different angles, as in Patent Document 1 above, there are cases where a sufficient amount of outdoor light cannot be ensured deep inside the room.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a blind device that can bring in a sufficient amount of outdoor light into the entire room. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The blind device of the present invention is a blind device comprising a plurality of slats arranged in the vertical direction, a ladder cord which supports the plurality of slats and has a pair of vertical cords which sandwich each of the slats in the short side direction of the slats and extend in the vertical direction, and a tilting mechanism which tilts the slats by moving the pair of vertical cords up and down relative to one another, wherein the plurality of slats are composed of a plurality of upper slats located at the top of the blind device and a plurality of lower slats located at the bottom of the blind device, and the lower slats are supported by the ladder cord with an angle difference in the range of 20° to 40° toward the outside of the room relative to the upper slats.

[0008] According to the present invention, the tilting mechanism moves a pair of vertical cords up and down relative to one another to tilt multiple upper slats located at the top of the blind device and multiple lower slats located at the bottom of the blind device. Here, the lower slats are supported by the ladder cords at an angle difference of 20° to 40° toward the outside of the room relative to the upper slats, so the lower slats and upper slats can be tilted at this angle difference. This ensures illuminance throughout the room and at the back of the room using natural light from the outside.

[0009] Specifically, for example, on a cloudy day (when it is dark outside), when the lower slats are adjusted horizontally, the upper slats are tilted toward the room with an angle difference of -20° to -40° from the horizontal. Therefore, natural light passes between the upper slats from diagonally above, and can be directly taken into the room. Meanwhile, natural light that enters the lower slats can be reflected by the lower slats and can reach the ceiling further in from the window side. This allows the light to reach the room evenly.

[0010] Here, the angle at which the top of the slat tilts towards the outside of the room from the position where the slat is positioned horizontally (when the top of the slat is facing forward) is defined as + (plus), and the angle at which the slat tilts towards the inside of the room from that position is defined as - (minus).In this specification, the + notation for these angles will be omitted and only - will be used.

[0011] On cloudy days (days when it is relatively bright outside), when the upper slats are adjusted horizontally, the lower slats are inclined at a slat angle of 20° to 40° relative to the horizontal, and the tops of the lower slats face the outside of the room. This allows natural light that enters the upper slats to be reflected by the upper slats and reach the ceiling further back from the window side, and natural light that enters the lower slats to be reflected by the lower slats and reach the ceiling further forward from the window side. This allows light to reach the room evenly.

[0012] On sunny days, when the lower slats are tilted at a slat angle of 80° from the horizontal, the lower slats block outside light, thus insulating the room from heat. On the other hand, the upper slats are tilted at a slat angle of -20° to -40° from the slat angle of the lower slats, so that the outside light that enters the upper slats is reflected by the upper slats and can reach the ceiling further back from the window side.

[0013] If the angle difference between the lower slats and the upper slats is less than 20°, the illuminance in the entire room may decrease. On the other hand, if the angle difference between the lower slats and the upper slats exceeds 40°, the average illuminance in the back of the room may decrease.

[0014] More preferably, in the cross section of each slat in the short side direction, each slat has a downward convex shape. This allows natural light from the outside of the room to be reflected onto the upper surface of each slat and into the room. By making the short side shape of the slat V-shaped, this effect can be further enhanced.

[0015] In a further preferred embodiment, a limiting portion is provided that limits further tilting of the upper slats and the lower slats into the room when the lower slats are in a horizontal position.

[0016] Here, when the lower slats are tilted to a slat angle of 80°, the upper slats can be tilted further to tilt the upper slats to a slat angle of 80° and block light, but even if an attempt is made to tilt the upper slats to -80° and then tilt the lower slats further, the angle difference is maintained as the tilt of the lower slats, so the angle of the lower slats is limited midway to reaching -80°. Therefore, since the upper and lower slats cannot block light at -80°, in this embodiment, the limiting section can limit the tilt of the upper and lower slats to a range of slat angles that are effective for lighting, and it is possible to prevent the upper and lower slats from being adjusted to an unnecessary slat angle.

[0017] In a more preferred embodiment, the height from the floor to the boundary between the upper slat and the lower slat is 1600 mm or more, which makes it possible to prevent light that has passed through or been reflected by the upper slat from directly reaching the human eye. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the present invention, a sufficient amount of outdoor light can be taken into the entire room. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a structure of a blind device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, illustrating a state in which the slat of the blind device according to the embodiment of the present invention is tilted. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2(a) is a diagram for explaining light reflection of the slat shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2(b) is a diagram for explaining light reflection of the slat according to another embodiment. [Figure 4A] 3 is a diagram for explaining the angle of the slats in the blind device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4B] 3 is a diagram for explaining the angle of another slat in the blind device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4C] 3 is a diagram for explaining yet another slat angle in the blind device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 5A] 13 shows the results of measuring the illuminance in a room using the blind devices according to the embodiment and the comparative example. [Figure 5B] 5B shows the results of measuring the illuminance in a room when the slat angles of the blind devices according to the embodiment and the comparative example of FIG. 5A are changed. [Figure 6] This shows the results of measuring the illuminance inside a room using a blind device that uses slats with an upward convex shape and a downward convex shape. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a blind device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0021] (First embodiment) Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a blind device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the blind device 100 includes a head box 1, a bottom rail 2, a plurality of slats 3, a plurality (three in this case) of ladder cords 4, a plurality (three in this case) of lifting and lowering cords 5, an operating rod 6, and a plurality (three in this case) of clips 20.

[0022] A plurality of brackets 1a (two in this example) are provided on the upper surface of the head box 1. The brackets 1a are for fixing the blind device 100 to a wall surface or the like above a window. A ladder cord 4 and a lifting cord 5 hang down from the lower surface of the head box 1.

[0023] One end of a lifting cord 5 is fixed to a predetermined position of the bottom rail 2, thereby supporting the bottom rail 2. A bottom cover 2a to which an end of a ladder cord 4 is fixed is attached to a predetermined position of the bottom rail 2. Bottom caps 2b are attached to both ends of the bottom rail 2.

[0024] The multiple slats 3 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction between the head box 1 and the bottom rail 2. At a predetermined position of each slat 3, an opening 31 through which a lifting cord 5 is inserted is formed.

[0025] The ladder cord 4 is formed in a ladder shape to support a plurality of slats 3. Specifically, the ladder cord 4 has an indoor vertical cord 4a extending vertically along the indoor side edge of the slat 3, and a window side vertical cord 4b extending vertically along the window side edge of the slat 3, and is formed to sandwich the slat 3 in the short direction. The indoor vertical cord 4a and the window side vertical cord 4b are connected to each other by a plurality of support parts 4c arranged at a predetermined interval above and below. The slat 3 is placed on the support parts 4c. When the indoor vertical cord 4a and the window side vertical cord 4b move up and down relative to each other, the indoor side end and the window side end of the support part 4c move up and down, and the slat 3 tilts.

[0026] The upper part of each ladder cord 4 is wound around or fixed to a rotating drum (not shown) arranged inside the head box 1. Multiple (three in this case) rotating drums are fixed to a rotating shaft (not shown) arranged inside the head box 1, and by rotating the rotating shaft, the rotating drum rotates and the indoor side vertical cord 4a and the window side vertical cord 4b of the ladder cord 4 move up and down relative to each other. This makes it possible to tilt the slat 3. The rotating drum and the rotating shaft correspond to the "tilting mechanism" defined in this invention.

[0027] Each lifting / lowering cord 5 is introduced into the head box 1 from the bottom rail 2 through the openings 31 of the slats 3, routed longitudinally inside the head box 1, and led out from the lead-out outlet 1b of the head box 1. The multiple lifting / lowering cords 5 are bundled together by a cord stopper 11, hang down as a single cord below the cord stopper 11, and are attached to the bottom cap 2b of the bottom rail 2.

[0028] A stopper 12 that can switch between a state in which the lift cord 5 can move up and down and a state in which the lift cord 5 cannot move (restrained state) is provided at the outlet 1b of the head box 1. By moving the lift cord 5 up and down, the state of the stopper 12 can be switched and the bottom rail 2 can be set to an arbitrary height position.

[0029] The operating rod 6 is configured to be rotatable around its axis. The upper end of the operating rod 6 is connected to a conversion mechanism 13 that converts the direction of rotation and transmits the rotation, and the rotation of the operating rod 6 is transmitted to the above-mentioned rotating shaft. Therefore, when the operating rod 6 is rotated around its axis, the rotating shaft and the multiple rotating drums rotate, and the indoor side vertical cord 4a and the window side vertical cord 4b of the ladder cord 4 move up and down relative to each other. This changes the inclination angle of the slats 3 (slat angle).

[0030] In the blind device 100 of this embodiment, clips 20 are detachably attached to predetermined positions of the indoor side vertical cords 4a of the ladder cords 4. In this embodiment, the clips 20 are attached to each ladder cord 4, but the clips 20 may be attached only to both end ladder cords 4 among the multiple ladder cords 4 (three in this embodiment).

[0031] The clip 20 is attached at a predetermined position so as to shorten the length of the indoor side vertical cord 4a of the ladder cord 4. The length of the indoor side vertical cord 4a is shortened by wrapping the clip 20 around the indoor side vertical cord 4a that extends vertically in a straight line. In this embodiment, the clip 20 adjusts the vertical length of the indoor side vertical cord 4a so that the lower slat 3B has an angle difference of 20° to 40° toward the outdoor side with respect to the upper slat 3A. In this embodiment, the length of the indoor side vertical cord 4a is adjusted by the clip 20, but the vertical length of the indoor side vertical cord 4a may be adjusted by providing a knot in the indoor side vertical cord 4a. Also, the indoor side vertical cord 4a may be processed in advance so that the length of the indoor side vertical cord 4a is shorter than the length of the window side vertical cord 4b.

[0032] At the position where the clip 20 is attached, the distance between the indoor side ends of the vertically adjacent support parts 4c becomes shorter. The indoor side end of the support part 4c below the clip 20 is raised by the shortened distance. This allows the inclination angle (slat angle) of the upper slat 3A arranged above the clip 20 and the inclination angle (slat angle) of the lower slat 3B arranged below the clip 20 to be different angles (specifically, the angle difference is in the range of 20° to 40°).

[0033] As a result, the amount of light passing between the upper slats 3A differs from the amount of light passing between the lower slats 3B, so that, for example, the amount of light allowed in can be made different between the upper and lower parts of the blind device 100. The clip 20 is attached to a portion of the ladder cord 4 that is sandwiched between the vertically adjacent support parts 4c. In other words, the clip 20 is attached to the ladder cord 4 so as not to straddle the support parts 4c.

[0034] Here, the multiple slats 3, 3, 3... are composed of multiple upper slats 3A, 3A,... located at the upper part of the blind device 100 and multiple lower slats 3B, 3B,... located at the lower part of the blind device 100, and the upper slats 3A and the lower slats 3B have the same shape.

[0035] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3(a), in this embodiment, in a cross section in the short side direction of each slat 3, each slat is downwardly convex. The slats 3 are not particularly limited as long as they are downwardly convex, and for example, the cross section of the slats 3 may be a curved arc. However, in this embodiment, the slats 3 have a V-shaped cross section. The width B of the slats 3 is in the range of 15 mm to 50 mm, and the angle φ of the V of the slats 3 is in the range of 155° to 165°.

[0036] As a result, natural light L1 from the outdoor RO side can be reflected onto the upper surface of each slat 3, and then onto the indoor RI side. In particular, by making the short side shape of the slats 3 V-shaped, as shown in Fig. 3(a), both the light L2 reflected at the center of the short side of the slats 3 (upper diagram) and the light R3 reflected on the surface on the outdoor RO side (lower diagram) can be directed towards the indoor RI side.

[0037] In this embodiment, the slats of the blind device 100 may be curved in an arc shape so as to protrude upward as shown in Fig. 3(b). However, light L2 reflected at the center of the slat 3' in the short-side direction may head toward the upper slat 3', and light R3 reflected at the surface on the outdoor RO side may head toward the outdoor RO. Therefore, in order to efficiently take in natural light L1 from the outdoor RO to the indoor RI, in the cross section of the slat 3 in the short-side direction shown in Fig. 3(a), each slat 3 is preferably convex downward, and more preferably V-shaped.

[0038] Here, the slats 3 may be made of aluminum or the like, but it is preferable that the surfaces are coated with white resin. Alternatively, the slats 3 may be made of a white kneaded resin material. By making the surfaces of the slats 3 out of white resin, the reflectance of the slats 3 can be increased, and natural light L1 from the outdoor RO can be efficiently taken into the indoor RI.

[0039] As described above, the lower slats 3B are supported by the ladder cords with an angle difference in the range of 20° to 40° toward the outdoor RO side with respect to the upper slats 3A. That is, the upper surface of the lower slats 3B faces the outdoor RO side while being rotated (tilted) toward the outdoor RO side by any angle in the range of 20° to 40° toward the outside of the room with respect to the upper surface of the upper slats 3A. The angle at which the upper surface of the slat 3 tilts toward the outside of the room from the position (from the position of the upper slat 3A shown in FIG. 2) where the slat 3 is located horizontally (when the upper surface of the slat faces upward) is defined as + (plus), and the angle at which the slat 3 tilts toward the inside of the room from that position is defined as - (minus).

[0040] In this embodiment, by rotating the operating rod 6, a pair of indoor and window side vertical cords 4a, 4b are moved up and down relative to each other, so that the upper slats 3A located at the upper part of the blind device 100 and the lower slats 3B located at the lower part of the blind device 100 can be tilted. Here, the lower slats 3B are supported by the ladder cords 4 with an angle difference of 20° to 40° toward the outdoor side with respect to the upper slats 3A. Therefore, the lower slats 3B and the upper slats 3A can be tilted with this angle difference. This allows the natural light LI from the outdoor RO side to ensure the illuminance of the entire indoor RI and the illuminance at the back of the indoors.

[0041] As is clear from the experiments of the inventors, when the angle difference between the upper slats 3A and the lower slats 3B is less than 20°, the illuminance of the entire room RI may decrease. On the other hand, when the angle difference between the upper slats 3A and the lower slats 3B exceeds 40°, the average illuminance at the back of the room RI may decrease.

[0042] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4A, for example, on a cloudy day (when it is dark outside), when the lower slats 3B are adjusted in the horizontal direction, the upper slats 3A are tilted toward the room RI with an angle difference in the range of -20° to -40° from the horizontal direction. Therefore, natural light L1 passes between the upper slats 3A, 3A from an obliquely upward direction, and the natural light L1 can be directly taken into the room RI. Meanwhile, the natural light L1 that enters the lower slats 3B can be reflected by the lower slats 3B and can reach the ceiling C further in from the window W side. This allows the light to reach the room RI evenly.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 4B, on a cloudy day (when it is relatively bright outside), when the upper slats 3A are adjusted horizontally, the lower slats 3B are inclined at a slat angle of 20° to 40° with respect to the horizontal direction, and the upper surface of the lower slats 3B faces the outdoor RO side. As a result, natural light incident on the upper slats 3A can be reflected by the upper slats 3A to reach the ceiling C further back from the window W side, and natural light incident on the lower slats 3B can be reflected by the lower slats 3B to reach the ceiling C further forward from the window side. This allows the light to reach the indoor RI evenly.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 4C, when the lower slat 3B is inclined at a slat angle of 80° with respect to the horizontal direction on a sunny day, the lower slat 3B blocks the natural light L1 from the outdoor RO, and can insulate the indoor RI. On the other hand, the upper slat 3A is inclined at a slat angle of -20° to -40° with respect to the slat angle of the lower slat 3B, so that the natural light L incident on the upper slat 3A can be reflected by the upper slat 3A and can reach the ceiling C further in from the window W side. As shown in FIG. 4C, the height h from the floor surface FL to the boundary between the upper slat 3A and the lower slat 3B is preferably 1600 mm or more. It is possible to prevent the light that passes through or is reflected by the upper slat 3A from directly entering the human eye.

[0045] Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the upper slats 3A and the lower slats 3B are tilted from the state shown in Fig. 4C to the state shown in Fig. 4A, a limiting section 21 is provided that limits further tilting of the upper slats 3A and the lower slats 3B toward the room RI when the lower slats 3B are in the horizontal direction in the state shown in Fig. 4A (see Fig. 2). In this embodiment, the limiting section 21 is attached to the window side vertical cord 4b, and is attached at a position that limits the winding of the window side vertical cord 4b in order to limit further tilting of the upper slats 3A and the lower slats 3B.

[0046] Here, as shown in Fig. 4C, when the lower slat 3B is tilted to a slat angle of 80°, the upper slat 3A can be further tilted from the position shown in Fig. 4C to tilt the upper slat 3A to a slat angle of 80°, and the blind device 100 can block light. However, even if the upper slat is tilted to -80° from the position shown in Fig. 4A and the lower slat 3B is tilted to a further negative angle, the angle difference is maintained, so the angle of the lower slat 3B is limited on the way to reaching -80°. Therefore, the upper slat 3A and the lower slat 3B cannot block light at -80°.

[0047] Therefore, in this embodiment, the limiting portion 21 can limit the tilting of the upper slats 3A and the lower slats 3B to a range of slat angles that are effective for daylighting, thereby preventing the upper slats 3A and the lower slats 3B from being adjusted to unnecessary slat angles. Note that the limiting portion 21 may be provided on the rotating drum described above to limit the rotation of the rotating drum.

[0048] The inventors conducted an experiment in which the angle of the lower slats of the blind device shown in Fig. 1 was changed in increments of 10° toward the outside of the room relative to the upper slats in a range of 0° to 50°, and the amount of light in the room was measured. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4A, the lower slats were set horizontally and the upper slats were inclined. The upper slats were set to 1 / 3 of the total slats.

[0049] The test conditions were an outdoor illuminance of 25,000lx, and the indoor work surface illuminance (height of FL+700mm, facing upward) was measured. Measurements were taken at eight points, 500mm, 1500mm, 2500mm, 3500mm, 4500mm, 5500mm, 6500mm, and 7500mm from the blind device toward the back of the room. The illuminance results were the average of 10 data points acquired every 5 seconds, taking into account the fluctuations of the sky device. The illuminance results for each angle difference are shown in Table 1. The average illuminance (overall) is the average of the illuminance at all measurement points, and the average illuminance (back of the room) is the average of the illuminance at the three measurement points at the back of the room.

[0050] [Table 1]

[0051] From the results in Table 1, when the angle difference is 10° and none, the average illuminance throughout the room is lower than the others, and when the angle difference is 50°, the average illuminance in the back of the room is lower than the others. From this, it can be seen that in order to maintain illuminance to the back of the room, an angle difference in the range of 20° to 40° is preferable.

[0052] Furthermore, the illuminance in the room was measured in the same manner under the outdoor illuminance of 25,000 lx for an example in which the angle difference between the upper slats and the lower slats was 30° as an embodiment, and an example in which there was no angle difference between the upper slats and the lower slats and the slats of the shape shown in Fig. 3(b) were used as a comparison example. The results are shown in Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B. Fig. 5A shows the measurement result of the illuminance when the lower slats of the embodiment are 0° and the slats of the comparison example are 0°, and Fig. 5B shows the measurement result of the illuminance when the lower slats of the embodiment are 45° and the slats of the comparison example are 45°.

[0053] As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, it was found that the illuminance in the room was higher in the Example than in the Comparative Example, regardless of whether the lower slat was at 0° or 45°. In particular, when the lower slat was set to 45° as in the Example, unlike the Comparative Example, more light could be taken into the room through the upper slat, resulting in high illuminance in the room all the way to the back of the room.

[0054] Furthermore, the inventors measured the illuminance in a room using the slats shown in Fig. 3(a) (with a downward convex shape) and slats that are the inverted version of the slats in Fig. 3(a) (with an upward convex shape) without providing any angle difference between the upper and lower slats. The results are shown in Fig. 6. As shown in Fig. 6, it was found that the downward convex slats shown in Fig. 3(a) are easier to take in light into the room. The reason for this is as explained in Figs. 3(a) and (b).

[0055] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 3: slat, 3A: upper slat, 3B: lower slat, 4: ladder cord, 4a: indoor vertical cord, 4b: window side vertical cord, 100: blind device

Claims

1. A plurality of slats arranged in the vertical direction; A ladder cord supports the plurality of slats, and has a pair of vertical cords that sandwich each of the slats in a short side direction of the slats and extend in a vertical direction; A tilting mechanism that tilts the slats by relatively moving the pair of vertical cords up and down, The plurality of slats are composed of a plurality of upper slats located at an upper portion of the blind device and a plurality of lower slats located at a lower portion of the blind device, In a cross section of each slat in the short direction, each slat has a V-shaped cross section and is convex downward, the angle of the V of the slat being in the range of 155° to 165°; The lower slats are supported by the ladder cords at an angle of 20° to 40° toward the outside of the room relative to the upper slats.

2. 2. The blind device according to claim 1, further comprising a limiting portion that limits further tilting of the upper slats and the lower slats into the room when the lower slats are in a horizontal position.

3. 3. The blind device according to claim 1, wherein a height from a floor surface to a boundary between the upper slat and the lower slat is 1600 mm or more.

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