Cellular Window Shade Cord Alignment and Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of Venetian-style expandable/collapsible cellular window shades with tubular vanes is costly and inefficient due to the difficulty in precisely aligning and attaching beads to cords for engaging upper and lower slat surfaces, leading to excessive product cost and limited manufacturing speed.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for manufacturing Venetian-style window shades where cells are formed from flat goods, with in-process coloring, and beaded cords are attached after cell manufacturing, using crimped lifters on cords to ensure precise engagement with cell surfaces, allowing for easier and more uniform assembly and operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If beaded cords are attached to cords before supply in reels for engagement with slats, then uniform appearance and operation can be achieved, but manufacturing cost increases and manufacturing speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-attaching beads to cords in a controlled manufacturing setting before the cords are supplied in reels. This allows precise spacing of beads to be established during cord production, eliminating the need for complex alignment operations during later assembly. The beads are uniformly spaced along the cord length through a controlled process, ensuring consistent engagement with slat features while simplifying subsequent manufacturing steps.
2Manufacturing precision
If beaded cords are attached to cords before supply in reels for engagement with slats, then uniform appearance and operation can be achieved, but manufacturing speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-attaching beads to cords in a controlled manufacturing setting before the cords are supplied in reels. This allows precise spacing of beads to be established during cord production, eliminating the need for complex alignment operations during later assembly. The beads are uniformly spaced along the cord length through a controlled process, ensuring consistent engagement with slat features while simplifying subsequent manufacturing steps.
3Reliability
If engagement features and clearance holes are precisely aligned in top and bottom surfaces, then non-binding and non-wearing movements of cords are achieved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-attaching beads to cords in a controlled manufacturing setting before the cords are supplied in reels. This allows precise spacing of beads to be established during cord production, eliminating the need for complex alignment operations during later assembly. The beads are uniformly spaced along the cord length through a controlled process, ensuring consistent engagement with slat features while simplifying subsequent manufacturing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses beads as intermediary elements that mediate between the cord and the slat engagement features. The beads act as standardized interface components that simplify the interaction between the cord system and the slat structure, reducing the complexity of direct cord-to-feature connections and facilitating smoother, more reliable cord movement through the engagement features.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4B
Figure 5
AI summary
A window covering (10) includes at least one pair of cell-supporting cords comprising a first support cord (50) supporting an upper portion of each cell (16) and a second support cord (54) supporting a lower portion of each cell. The collapse and expansion of each cell is accomplished by the respective raising and lowering of the second support cord without movement of the first support cord.