Window Blind Slat Alignment and Cord Safety Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional window blinds suffer from light leakage due to uneven slat arrangement and safety hazards from cords, which can be accidentally wound around children's necks.
Innovation Solution
A window blind design featuring an upper rail, lower rail, deflecting mechanism, ladder tape with longitudinal cords, bearers, and limiting members that securely position slats to prevent movement and ensure even spacing, while also incorporating a mechanism to prevent cord entanglement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the slats are simply placed on the respective steps of the ladder tape, then the installation is simple and the cost is low, but the slats can be easily taken out from the corresponding steps because they are not restricted from moving
Solution Approach 1:
The ladder tape is divided into multiple functional components: front strip, rear strip, and weft strings. The slats are positioned on the weft strings which are anchored to both strips, creating a segmented restraint system that prevents slat removal while maintaining installation simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The weft strings act as intermediary elements between the slats and the ladder tape strips. These weft strings provide the necessary restraint to prevent slats from being taken out, while the overall ladder tape structure remains simple and easy to install
2Ease of operation
If the weft strings are slightly longer than the length of a shorter side of each slat, then the slats can be freely adjusted, but the tilted slats would have slipped downward from their lower sides in different distances causing uneven arrangement and light leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The ladder tape is pre-configured with the weft strings of appropriate length and the strips positioned at correct angles before the slats are installed. This preliminary arrangement ensures that when slats are placed on the weft strings, they automatically maintain uniform spacing and proper alignment, preventing downward slipping while allowing necessary adjustment freedom
Solution Approach 2:
The patent specifies precise parameter relationships: the weft strings are made slightly longer than the shorter side of each slat, and the ladder tape strips are positioned at specific angles. These parameter changes enable both slat adjustment freedom and uniform alignment, preventing the uneven arrangement that causes light leakage
3Ease of operation
If the ladder tape is made of soft strands, then the installation is flexible and easy, but the cords and strings can be drawn by a child and accidentally wound on the child's neck
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful cords and strings are extracted from the visible and accessible areas of the window blind. The deflecting mechanism is disposed inside the upper rail, and the ladder tape components are arranged such that the cords are not easily accessible to children, eliminating the neck-winding hazard while maintaining installation flexibility
Solution Approach 2:
The upper rail acts as an intermediary structure that contains and protects the cords and strings. By disposing the deflecting mechanism inside the upper rail and arranging the ladder tape components within the blind structure, the cords are shielded from children's access, eliminating the safety hazard while preserving the flexible installation characteristics
Data Source
AI summary
A window blind, wherein each ladder tape thereof includes two longitudinal cords, plural bearers and plural limiting members. The longitudinal cords each have an end connected to a deflecting mechanism disposed on the upper rail. The bearers are disposed between the two longitudinal cords for respectively supporting the slats. The limiting members include a first limiting member and a second limiting member neighboring thereto. The first limiting member has an end disposed on one of the longitudinal cords and includes a first slat-through portion located between two ends thereof passing through a first through hole of a first slat. A first linking loop is formed after the first slat-through portion passes through the first through hole. The second limiting member passes through the first linking loop for keeping the first through hole threaded through by one of the first limiting member and the second limiting member.