Motorized sliding vertical louver closure

Abstract

Motorized sliding vertical louver closure configured for deployment in a building having a building facade with a building opening having a height of between 2.5 m and 3.5 m, and a building floor. The motorized sliding vertical louver closures are configured for deployment in a building opening for opening and closing the building opening such that a motorized sliding vertical louver closure constitutes a part of the building facade.

Description

[0001] MOTORIZED SLIDING VERTICAL LOUVER CLOSURES

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The invention relates to motorized sliding vertical louver closures.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Motorized sliding vertical louver closures are described in inter alia CN113389477. CN 201424911, CN 208364004, CN 215761397, DE4302960, EP 1262624, EP 3460163, GB2548799, KR20080029461, US 2,422,407, US 2,625,219, and commercially available from inter alia Industrial Gradhernietic, S. A. E., Barcelona, Spain www.gradhennetic.com

[0006] There is a need for improved motorized sliding vertical louver closures capable of smooth repeated sliding reciprocation between a retracted state and an extended state.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE IN VENTION

[0008] The present invention is directed towards motorized sliding vertical louver closures configured for deployment in a building having a building facade with a building opening, and a building floor, the building opening having a height of between 2.5 m and 3.5 m. The motorized sliding vertical louver closures are configured for deployment in a building opening for opening and closing the building opening such that they constitute a part of a building facade or principal front looking onto a street, an open space, and the like. The motorized sliding vertical louver closures are deployed in front of a floor-to- ceiling window fitment for controlling access, sun shading, protection against inclement weather, and the like. The motorized sliding vertical louver closures can be operated by a user operated control panel, a remote control, a smartphone application, and the like.

[0009] The motorized sliding vertical louver closures include a horizontal bottom track configured for being flush with a building floor, a parallel and vertically spaced apart top track, and a motorized retractable / extendable louverassemblage of N louver fitments having a stationary trailing louver fitment, a leading louver fitment and intermediate louver fitments between the trailing louver fitment and the leading louver fitment. Each louver fitment includes a slat rotatable between an open orientation substantially perpendicular to the bottom and top tracks and a closed orientation substantially co-directional with the bottom and top tracks. The slats have a rigid construction, for example, from inter alia metal, plastic, fiberglass, glass, and the like, and are shaped and dimensioned such that adjacent pairs of slats in their closed orientation in a louver assemblage’s fully extended state partially overlap widthwise to preclude widthwise separation therebetween such that the louver assemblage presents a continuous closure.

[0010] The retractable / extendable louver assemblage includes a lattice arrangement mounted on the N louver fitments for stabilizing the N louver fitments during reciprocation of the retractable / extendable louver assemblage between its fully retracted state and its fully extended state. The motorized sliding vertical louver closures preferable includes two motorized arrangements: A motorized retraction / extension arrangement for repeated selective sliding reciprocation of a retractable / extendable louver assemblage between its fully retracted state and its fully extended state. And a motorized open / close arrangement for controlling orientations of a retractable / extendable louver assemblage’s slats between their open orientations and their closed orientations.

[0011] Some building openings are suitable for deployment of either a single motorized sliding vertical louver closure or a pair of motorized sliding vertical louver closures. In the case of a single motorized sliding vertical louver closure, it can be deployed such that its fully retracted state is adjacent a building opening’s left side and extends to its right side, or vice versa. In the case of a pair of motorized sliding vertical louver closures, their respective leading slats are configured to partially overlap widthwise in their closed orientation in the fully extended states of the retractable / extendable louver assemblage pair to preclude a widthwise separation therebetween, thereby presenting a continuous closure. The left motorized sliding vertical louver closure and the rightmotorized sliding vertical louver closure of a pair of motorized sliding vertical louver closures can be either individually or simultaneously retracted / extended.

[0012] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to understand the present invention and to see how it can be carried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar parts are likewise numbered, and in which:

[0014] Fig. 1 is a pictorial front elevation of a building opening installed with a motorized sliding vertical louver closure in a fully retracted state and its slats in their open orientation.

[0015] Fig. 2 A is a pictorial front elevation of the Figure 1 motorized sliding vertical louver closure.

[0016] Fig. 2B is a cross section of the Figure 1 motorized sliding vertical louver closure along Figure 2A line A-A.

[0017] Fig. 3 is a schematic side elevation of the Figure 1 motorized sliding vertical louver closure deployed in the building opening.

[0018] Fig. 4 is a pictorial front elevation of the building opening with the motorized sliding vertical louver closure in a semi-extended state and its slats in their open orientation.

[0019] Fig. 5 A is a pictorial front elevation of the Figure 4 motorized sliding vertical louver closure.

[0020] Fig. 5B is a cross section of the Figure 4 motorized sliding vertical louver closure along Figure 5 A line A-A.

[0021] Fig. 6 is a schematic side elevation of the Figure 4 motorized sliding vertical louver closure deployed in the building opening.

[0022] Fig. 7 is a pictorial front elevation of the building opening with the motorized sliding vertical louver closure in a fully extended state and its slats in their closed orientation.

[0023] Fig. 8 A is a pictorial front elevation of the Figure 7 motorized sliding vertical louver closure.Fig. 8B is a cross section of the Figure 7 motorized sliding vertical louver closure along Figure 8A line A-A.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a schematic side elevation of the Figure 7 motorized sliding vertical louver closure deployed in the building opening.

[0025] Fig. 10A is an enlarged pictorial view of a bottom section of a louver fitment of a retractable / extendable louver assemblage.

[0026] Fig. 10B is an enlarged pictorial view of a top section of a louver fitment of a retractable / extendable louver assemblage.

[0027] Fig. 10C is an enlarged pictorial view showing a manually adjustable clamp of an open / close pull cable pair.

[0028] Fig. 11 is a pictorial view of a lattice of the motorized sliding vertical louver closure in its fully extended state.

[0029] Fig. 12A is an enlarged pictorial view of adjacent bottom carriages of the motorized sliding vertical louver closure in its Figure 1 fully retracted state.

[0030] Fig. 12B is an enlarged pictorial view of adjacent bottom carriages of the motorized sliding vertical louver closure in its Figure 4 semi-extended state.

[0031] Fig. 12C is an enlarged pictorial view of adjacent bottom carriages of the motorized sliding vertical louver closure in its Figure 7 fully extended state.

[0032] Fig. 13 A is a partially cut-away enlarged view of the Figure 2A encircled area A.

[0033] Fig. 13B is a partially cut-away enlarged view of the Figure 2A encircled area B.

[0034] Fig. 14A is an enlarged cross section along Figure 2A B-B.

[0035] Fig. 14B is an enlarged cross section along Figure 2A C-C.

[0036] Fig. 15A is an enlarged cross section along Figure 2A D-D.

[0037] Fig. 15B is an enlarged cross section along Figure 2A E-E.

[0038] Fig. 16A is a partially cut-away enlarged view of the Figure 5A encircled area A.

[0039] Fig. 16B is a partially cut-away enlarged view of the Figure 5A encircled area B.

[0040] Fig. 17A is an enlarged cross section along Figure 5A B-B.Fig. 17B is an enlarged cross section along Figure 5A C-C.

[0041] Fig. 18A is an enlarged cross section along Figure 5A D-D.

[0042] Fig. 18B is an enlarged cross section along Figure 5A E-E.

[0043] Fig. 19A is a partially cut-away enlarged view of the Figure 8 A encircled area A.

[0044] Fig. 19B is a partially cut-away enlarged view of the Figure 8A encircled area B.

[0045] Fig. 20A is an enlarged cross section along Figure 8A B-B.

[0046] Fig. 20B is an enlarged cross section along Figure 8A C-C.

[0047] Fig. 21A is an enlarged cross section along Figure 8A D-D.

[0048] Fig. 2 IB is an enlarged cross section along Figure 8A E-E.

[0049] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0050] Description of Motorized Sliding Vertical Louver Closure

[0051] Figure 1 to Figure 9 show a building 10 having a building facade 11 or principal front looking onto a street, an open space, and the like, and a building floor 12. The building facade 11 has a building opening 13 having a span S from between 3 meters to 10 meters and a height H between 2.5 meters and 3.5 meters. The building 10 includes a floor-to-ceiling window fitment 14 inwardly spaced from the building facade 11. The floor-to-wall window fitment 14 can be constituted by one or more fixed window fitments, sliding window fitments, side-hinged window fitments, and the like. Accordingly, the building opening 13 can constitute a building entrance to an office building, a factory, and the like.

[0052] Figure 1 to Figure 9 show a motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 deployed in the building opening 13 in front of the floor-to-ceiling window fitment 14 such that the motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 constitutes a part of the building facade 11. The motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 can flush with the surrounding building facade 11 or slightly inward therefrom. The motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 can be operatedbetween three operative states: Figure 1 to Figure 3 show a fully retracted state, Figure 4 to Figure 6 show a semi-extended state and Figure 7 to Figure 9 show a fully extended state. The motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 can be operated by one or more of a user operated control panel 101, a remote control 102, a smartphone application 103, and the like.

[0053] The motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 includes a horizontal generally U-shaped bottom track 104 and a parallel and vertically spaced apart inverted generally U-shaped top track 106. The bottom track 104 is configured to be flush with the building floor 12 thereby precluding being an obstacle to free passage through the building opening 13. The top track 106 is preferably concealed from view in the building opening 13 such that the louver assemblage 110 only is viewable. The bottom track 104 includes a left track end 104A and a right track end 104B and the top track 106 includes a left track end 106A and a right track end 106B. The motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 includes a retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 of N louver fitments 111 slidingly reciprocal mounted on the bottom track 104 and the top track 106. The motorized sliding vertical louver closures 100 typically include from between about 10 louver fitments and about 40 louver fitments.

[0054] The louver fitments 111 include slats 112 selectively rotatable between an open orientation substantially perpendicular to the bottom and top tracks 104 and 106 (see Figure 1 to Figure 6) and a closed orientation substantially co-directional with the bottom and top tracks 104 and 106 (see Figure 7 to Figure 9). The slats 112 have a rigid construction: suitable rigid materials for the slats 112 include inter alia metal, plastic, fiberglass, glass, and the like. Depending on a building 10, the slats 112 can be made from fully transparent material, partially light transparent material or opaque material. The slats 112 can optionally include a thermal insulating interior, a noise absorbing interior, and the like.

[0055] The slats 112 have the same height H as the building opening’s height H, a width dimension W and a thickness dimension T. Slat dimensions are highly dependent on a motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100’s intendeddeployment. For illustrative purposes only, in the case of a building entrance, a slat can have dimensions: W = 30 cm and T = 5 cm. Louver fitments 111 weigh in the region of 10 kg - 20 kg depending on their dimensions and material.

[0056] For illustrative purposes, the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 has 26 slats such that its total width in its fully retracted state is 26 x 5 cm = 130 cm and its total width in its fully extended state is in the range of 700 cm after deduction of overlap of adjacent slats to form a continuous closure. Accordingly, the illustrated retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 has a weight in the region of 300 kg to 400 kg.

[0057] The retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 includes a stationary trailing louver fitment HIT adjacent the left track ends 104 A and 106 A and a leading louver fitment 11 IL furthermost from the left track ends 104A and 106A. The louver fitments 111 are slidingly mounted on the bottom track 104 and the top track 106 such that the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 is slidingly reciprocal between two extreme states: A fully retracted state compacted at the left track ends 104 A and 106 A wherein the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 has a fully retracted length FRL (see Figure 1). The adjacent louver fitments 111 can be sufficiently compacted that neighboring louver fitments 111 contact each other. And a fully extended state wherein the leading louver fitment 11 IL reaches the right track ends 104B and 106B and the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 has a fully extended length FEL where FEL=S (see Figure 7). The slats 112 are shaped and dimensioned such that each adjacent pair of slats 112 in their closed orientation partially overlap widthwise to preclude widthwise separation therebetween such that the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 presents a continuous closure in its fully extended state.

[0058] The retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 include a lattice arrangement 120 for stabilizing sliding reciprocation of the louver fitments 111 between its fully retracted state and its fully extended state. The lattice arrangement 120 preferably includes at least one lattice for stabilizing sliding reciprocation of the louver fitments 111 along the bottom track 104 and at leastone lattice for stabilizing sliding reciprocation of the louver fitments 111 along the top track 106. The lattice arrangement 120 preferably includes four lattices 121A- 12 ID as described hereinbelow.

[0059] The retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 includes a separation limit arrangement 130 for ensuring a maximum separation between each pair of adjacent louver fitments 111 in its fully extended state. The separation limit arrangement 130 preferably includes at least one separation limiter between each adjacent pair of louver fitments 111 wherein each separation limiter is slack in the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110’s fully retracted state and taut in its fully extended state. The separation limit arrangement 130 can be implemented by one or more chains, wires, cables, and the like. For illustrative purposes, the separation limit arrangement is implemented by four chains 131A-13 ID as described hereinbelow of FEL length extending from the trailing louver fitment 11 IT to the leading louver fitment 11 IL.

[0060] The motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 includes a motorized retraction / extension arrangement 140 for selective sliding reciprocation of the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 between its fully retracted state and its fully extended state. The motorized retraction / extension arrangement 140 includes a motor 141 at the left track ends 104A and 106A, a left bottom roller 142 A at the left track end 104 A, a right bottom roller 142B at the right track end 104B, a left top roller 143A at the left track end 106A and a right top roller 143B at the right track end 106B. The motorized retraction / extension arrangement 140 includes two drive belts inside the bottom and top track 104 and 106: a horizontal bottom drive belt 144 looped around the left bottom roller 142A and the right bottom roller 142B and a horizontal top drive belt 146 looped around the left top roller 143A and the right top roller 143B.

[0061] For explanatory purposes, the left bottom roller 142A and the right bottom roller 142B effectively divide the bottom drive belt 144 to a front section 144F and a rear section 144R and similarly, the left top roller 143A and the right top roller 143B effectively divide the top drive belt 146 into a front section 146F and a rear section 146R.The motor 141 simultaneously drives the bottom drive belt 144 and the top drive belt 146 either in a counter clockwise direction for extending the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 from its fully retracted state to its fully extended state or a clockwise direction for retracting the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 from its fully extended state to its fully retracted state. The motor 141 is preferably fitted with an encoder 147 for determining when the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 has reached its fully extended state. Alternatively or additionally, the motorized retraction / extension arrangement 140 can include a limit switch 148 at the right track ends 104B and 106B for indicating the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110 has reached its fully extended state.

[0062] The motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100 includes a motorized open / close arrangement 150 for repeated quarter turn rotation of the slats 112 between their open orientation and their closed orientation in the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 100’s fully extended state. The motorized open / close arrangement 150 includes a motor 151 connected to an open / close cable pair 152 and 153 (see Figure 10C) for rotating the slats 112 through a quarter turn between its open orientation and its closed orientation. The open / close cable pair 152 and 153 are tightly clamped to each slat 112 and have the same FEL length as the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110. The open / close cable pair 152 and 153 behave in a similar maimer as the chains 131A-13 ID insofar as their segments between adjacent louver fitment pairs 111 are slack in the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110’s fully retracted state and taut in its fully extended state.

[0063] Figure 10A to Figure 10C show a louver fitment 111 includes a bottom carriage 113 for sliding reciprocation along the bottom track 104 and a top carriage 114 for sliding reciprocation along the top track 106. The bottom carriage 113 has a pair of parallel and opposite front and rear sides 113F and 113R and includes at least a spaced apart pair of front wheels 113A, at least a spaced apart pair of rear wheels 113B, and at least a spaced apart pair of horizontal lowermost wheels 113C for assisting to center the bottom carriage113 along the bottom rail 104. For illustrative purposes, the bottom carriage 113 has a front wheel pair 113A, a rear wheel pair 113B, and a horizontal lowermost wheel pair 113C. The top carriage 114 has a pair of parallel and opposite front and rear sides 114F and 114R and includes at least a spaced apart pair of front wheels 114A, at least a spaced apart pair of rear wheels 114B, and at least a spaced apart pair of horizontal uppermost wheels 114C for assisting to center the top carriage 114 along the top rail 106. For illustrative purposes, the top carriage 114 has a front wheel pair 114A, a rear wheel pair 114B, and a horizontal uppermost wheel pair 114C.

[0064] The bottom carriage 113 and the top carriage 114 rotatably support an upright post 116 shown in dashed lines about an upright axis of slat rotation 116A. The upright post 116 includes a slat 112 rigidly mounted thereon. The bottom carriage 113 rotatably supports an elongated flange 117 for rotating the upright post 116. The elongated flange 117 has opposite flange ends 117A and 117B correspondingly including manually adjustable clamps 118 and 119 for correspondingly clamping the open / close cable pair 152 and 153. For illustrative purposes, the manually adjustable clamp 118 is constituted by a horizontal throughgoing bore 118A for traversing of the open cable 152 therethrough and a screw 118B for tightening against the open cable 152. Similarly, the manually adjustable clamp 119 is constituted by a horizontal throughgoing bore 119A for traversing of the close cable 153 therethrough and a screw 119B for tightening against the close cable 153.

[0065] During a motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100’s installation, the manually adjustable clamps 118 and 119 enable adjustment of a slat 112’s orientation in the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 100’s fully extended state such that the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 100 presents a continuous closure in its fully extended state. Additionally, after operation of the motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100, one or more slats 112 may inadvertently slightly move from their intended orientations. The manually adjustable clamps 118 and 119 afford convenient re-orientation of the slats 112 to their intended orientation.The bottom carriage 113 optionally includes a biasing mechanism 160 for biasing its slat 112 to its open orientation perpendicular to the bottom and top tracks 104 and 106 for retaining the slat 112 in its open orientation during reciprocation of the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110. The biasing mechanism 160 can be an extension spring, a leaf spring, and the like. The top carriage 114 can similarly include a biasing mechanism.

[0066] Figure 11 shows a lattice 121 includes a trailing lattice end 121T, a leading lattice end 121L and an intermediate two-dimension cross-linked framework 122 of pivotal framework member pairs 123 where each pivotal framework member pair is connected to its lateral pivotal framework member pairs. The lattice 121 is intended to be fixedly mounted on either a front side or a rear side of the N bottom carriages 113 or either a front side or a rear side of the N top carriages 114. Accordingly, the lattice 121 includes the same number of lattice mounts 124 as per N louver fitments 111. The lattice mounts 124 are mounted at the intersection of each pivotal framework member pair 123. For illustrative purposes only, the lattice mounts 124 are mounted at every three pivotal framework member pairs 123. The trailing lattice end 121T is mounted on the trailing louver fitment 111T and the leading lattice end 121L is fixedly mounted on the leading louver fitment 111L.

[0067] In the hand, the lattice 121 has a fully retracted length which is preferably shorter than the louver assemblage 110’s fully retracted length FRL such that the latice 121 is not fully retracted at the louver assemblage 110’ s fully retracted state. And similarly, the latice 121 has a fully extended length which is preferably longer than the louver assemblage 110’s fully extended length FEL such that the latice 121 is not fully extended at the louver assemblage 110’s fully extended state. Such a design affords a latice 121’s smoother retracting and extending during the louver assemblage 110’s reciprocation between its fully retracted state and its fully extended state.

[0068] Figure 12A to Figure 12C correspondingly show adjacent bottom carriages 113 including a section of a lattice 121 and a section of a chain 131 in the motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100’s Figure 1 fully retracted state,Figure 4 semi-extended state and Figure 7 fully extended state. An adjacent pair of lattice mounts 122 define an inter lattice mount distance D which depends on the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110’s position between its fully retracted state and its fully extended state. Similarly, the shape of a chain section depends on the retractable / extendable louver assemblage 110’ s position between its fully retracted state and its fully extended state.

[0069] Figure 12A shows the lattice 121 has a maximum height, the shortest inter lattice mount distance DI and a completely slack chain section hanging to half its length between adjacent bottom carriages 113.

[0070] Figure 12B shows the lattice 121 has an intermediate height, an intermediate inter lattice mount distance D2 where D2 > DI and a partially extended chain section hanging between adjacent bottom carriages 113.

[0071] Figure 12C shows the lattice 121 has the minimum height, the longest inter lattice mount distance D3 where D3 > D2 and a completely taut chain section, thereby determining a maximum separation between adjacent pairs of bottom carriages 113 and accordingly louver fitments 111.

[0072] Figure 13 to Figure 21 show partially cutaway encircled sections A and B and cross sections B-B, C-C, D-D and E-E in the Figure 2A fully retracted state, the Figure 5A semi-extended state and the Figure 8A fully extended state to show the lattice arrangement 120 and the separation limit arrangement 130 in greater detail as follows. The four lattices 121A- 12 ID are preferably deployed as follows: a pair of opposite and parallel front and rear lattices 121 A and 12 IB for mounting on bottom carriages’ front and rear sides 113F and 113R and a pair of opposite and parallel front and rear lattices 121C and 12 ID for mounting on top carriages’ front and rear sides 114F and 114R. The four chains 131A-13 ID are preferably deployed as follows: a pair of opposite and parallel front and rear chains 131A and 13 IB for correspondingly mounting on bottom carriages’ front and rear sides 113F and 113R and a pair of opposite and parallel front and rear chains 131C and 13 ID for correspondingly mounting on top carriages’ front and rear sides 114F and 114R.For enabling retraction / extension of the motorized sliding vertical louver closure 100, the leading louver fitment 11 IL’s bottom carriage’s front side 113F is fixedly mounted on the bottom drive belt’s front section 144F and its top carriage’s front side 114F is fixedly mounted on the top drive belt’s front section 146F. The remaining louver fitments 111 including the trailing louver fitment 111T are slidingly mounted on the bottom drive belt’s front and rear sections 144A and 144B and the top drive belt’s front and rear sections 146F and 146R.

[0073] Operation of Motorized Sliding Vertical Louver Closure

[0074] Operation of the motorized sliding vertical louver closure for closing a building opening is now described with reference to Figure 13 to Figure 15 showing its fully retracted state, Figure 16 to Figure 18 showing its semiextended state and Figure 19 to Figure 21 showing its fully extended state.

[0075] Figure 13 to Figure 15 show its slats in their open orientation, its chains are slack between adjacent louver fitments, and its lattices are retracted.

[0076] The motorized retraction / extension arrangement starts to rotate the drive belt pair in a counter clockwise direction to pull the leading louver fitment towards the right track ends. The rightward movement of the leading louver fitment is enabled by concurrent simultaneous extending of the four lattices such that the separations between adjacent pairs of louver fitments remain uniform from the trailing louver fitment to the leading louver fitment, thereby stabilizing the louver fitments’ sliding displacement along the bottom track and the top track for a smooth closing operation. Additionally to the concurrent simultaneous extending of the four lattices, the four chains also concurrently simultaneous extend from their initial slack state.

[0077] The motorized retraction / extension arrangement continues to rotate the drive belt pair in a counter clockwise direction until the retractable / extendable louver assemblage reaches its fully extended state. The four lattices are extended, and the four chains and the open / close cable pair are taut along their entire lengths. The operation of the motorized retraction / extension arrangement is interrupted either by the motor’s encoder and / or operation of the limit switch.The slats can remain in their open orientation or alternatively the motorized open / close arrangement can be operated to rotate the slats to their closed orientation in which they partially overlap widthwise to preclude widthwise separation therebetween such that the louver assemblage presents a continuous closure.

[0078] For opening the building opening, the motorized retraction / extension arrangement drives the drive belt pair in a clockwise direction for pulling the leading louver fitment towards the left track ends. The leftward movement of the leading louver fitment is enabled by concurrent simultaneous retracting of the four lattices such that the separations between adjacent pairs of louver fitments remain uniform from the trailing louver fitment to the leading louver fitment, thereby stabilizing the louver fitments’ sliding displacement along the bottom track and the top track for a smooth opening operation. Additionally to the concurrent simultaneous extending of the four lattices, the four chains and the open / close cable pair concurrently simultaneous slacken from their taut state.

[0079] While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications, and other applications of the invention can be made within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A motorized sliding vertical louver closure configured for deployment in a building having a building facade with a building opening, and a building floor, the building opening having a height of between 2.5 m and 3.5 m,the motorized sliding vertical louver closure configured for deployment in the building opening for opening and closing the building opening such that the motorized sliding vertical louver closure constitutes a part of the building facade,the motorized sliding vertical louver closure comprising:a) a horizontal bottom track configured for being flush with the building floor and a parallel and vertically spaced apart top track,said bottom track having a left bottom track end and a right bottom track end, and said top track having a left top track end and a right top track end correspondingly opposite said left bottom track end and said right bottom track end;b) a retractable / extendable louver assemblage including:i) N louver fitments including a stationary trailing louver fitment adjacent a track end of said left and right bottom and top track ends, a leading louver fitment remote from said track end of said left and right bottom and top track ends, and intermediate louver fitments between said trailing louver fitment and said leading louver fitment,each said louver fitment including a bottom carriage mounted on said bottom track, a top carriage mounted on said top track, and a slat between said bottom carriage and said top carriage and rotatable between an open orientation substantially perpendicular to said bottom and top tracks and a closed orientation substantially co-directional with said bottom and top tracks,said louver fitments being slidingly mounted on said bottom track and said top track such that said louver assemblage has a fully retracted state compacted towards said stationary trailing louver fitment wherein each said slat is in said open orientation, and a fully extended state wherein said louver fitments are staggered therealong at incrementally increasing lengths from saidtrailing louver fitment at a predetermined maximal separation between each adjacent pair of louver fitments,wherein said slats have a rigid construction, and are shaped and dimensioned such that each adjacent pair of slats in their closed orientation partially overlap widthwise to preclude widthwise separation therebetween such that said louver assemblage in said fully extended state presents a continuous closure,ii) a lattice arrangement mounted on said N louver fitments for stabilizing said N louver fitments during reciprocation of said retractable / extendable louver assemblage between its fully retracted state and its fully extended state,wherein said lattice arrangement includes a bottom lattice arrangement mounted on said N bottom carriages and a top lattice arrangement mounted on said N top carriages, andiii) a separation limit arrangement mounted on said N louver fitments and including at least one separation limiter between each pair of adjacent louver fitments,each separation limiter being slack in the retractable / extendable louver assemblage’s fully retracted state and taut in the retractable / extendable louver assemblage’s fully extended state;c) a motorized retraction / extension arrangement for repeated selective sliding reciprocation of said louver assemblage between said fully retracted state and said fully extended state,said motorized retraction / extension arrangement including at least one drive belt for pulling said leading louver fitment to extend said retractable / extendable louver assemblage from said fully retracted state to said fully extended state and pushing said leading louver fitment to retract said retractable / extendable louver assemblage from said fully extended state to said fully retracted state; andd) a motorized open / close arrangement including an open / close cable pair connected to said N slats, said open / close cable pair being taut in saidretractable / extendable louver assemblage’s fully extended state thereby enabling selective rotation of said N slats between said open orientation and said closed orientation.

2. The closure according to claim 1 wherein each said slat includes a manually adjustable clamp for clamping a section of said open / close cable pair thereby enabling adjustment of its orientation in said retractable / extendable louver assemblage’s fully extended state such that said retractable / extendable louver assemblage presents a continuous closure in said fully extended state.

3. The closure according to either claim 1 or 2 whereineach said bottom carriage includes at least a spaced apart pair of front wheels, at least a spaced apart pair of rear wheels and at least a spaced apart pair of horizontal lowermost wheels for centering said bottom carriage in said bottom track, andeach said top carriage includes at least a spaced apart pair of front wheels, at least a spaced apart pair of rear wheels and at least a spaced apart pair of horizontal uppermost wheels for centering said top carriage in said top track.

4. The closure according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein each louver fitment includes a biasing mechanism for biasing its slat to said open orientation.

5. The closure according to any one of claims 1 to 4 whereinsaid lattice arrangement has a fully retracted length shorter than said retractable / extendable louver assemblage’s fully retracted length such that said lattice arrangement is not fully retracted at said retractable / extendable louver assemblage’s fully retracted state andsaid lattice arrangement has a fully extended length longer than said retractable / extendable louver assemblage’s fully extended length such that said lattice arrangement is not fully extended at said retractable / extendable louver assemblages fully extended state.

6. A building having a building facade with a building opening, and a building floor, the building opening having a height of between 2.5 m and 3.5 m, the building including a motorized sliding vertical louver closure according to any one of claims 1 to 5 deployed in the building opening, the motorized sliding vertical louver closure configured for opening and closing the building opening such that the motorized sliding vertical louver closure constitutes a part of the building facade.

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