Cone Reel Lifting Device for Cordless Coverings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cordless covering lifting devices require excessive user effort to lift the bottom rail and often fail to precisely stop at desired positions due to inconsistent lifting force and internal shrinking forces from materials like cellular shades.
Innovation Solution
A lifting device with a cone-like cord reel, a driving module featuring interconnected reels and mainsprings, and a car mechanism that adjusts the cord reel's rotation direction to provide increasing torque for lifting and precise stopping, utilizing a wheel set to manage the lifting cords and distribute force effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional automatic lifting device with constant lifting force is used, then the device structure is simple, but the user has to push the bottom rail harder as weight increases and the bottom rail cannot stop at the desired position
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the lifting force variable rather than constant. The cone-shaped reel geometry causes the effective radius to change during rotation, dynamically adjusting the torque output. As the reel rotates and the radius decreases, the lifting force increases automatically to match the increasing weight of the lifted covering material, eliminating the need for the user to push harder while maintaining operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the reel radius during operation. The cone-shaped reel has a radius that varies from the base to the apex, allowing the system to change the mechanical advantage parameter dynamically. This parameter change enables the lifting force to be adjusted automatically based on the loading condition, resolving the contradiction between operational ease and device complexity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If extra weights are added to the bottom rail to offset cellular shade shrinking force, then the shrinking force is compensated, but the bottom rail becomes heavier and requires more user effort to lift
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of the heavy bottom rail into a beneficial feature. The increased weight of the bottom rail, which originally required more user effort to lift, is now utilized as a counterweight to automatically balance the cellular shade's shrinking force. When the shade compresses during lifting, the heavy bottom rail naturally shifts downward, and the lifting mechanism converts this motion into upward force on the shade, automatically compensating for compression without requiring additional user effort.
3Ease of manufacture
If the cord reel has a constant radius, then the manufacturing is simple, but the lifting force remains constant and cannot adapt to changing weight conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static constant-radius reel into a dynamic variable-radius cone-shaped reel. This geometric change allows the reel to automatically adapt its effective radius during rotation, providing variable mechanical advantage that matches the changing weight conditions. The cone shape is simple to manufacture but creates complex dynamic behavior that enables force adaptation, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and adaptability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces user effort required to lift the bottom rail and allows for precise stopping at any desired position by adjusting torque based on loading conditions, addressing the inefficiencies of conventional devices.
Implementation Method 1
a driving module receivable in the head rail to drive the cord reel to rotate in the first direction, wherein the driving module includes a first reel, a second reel, and a mainspring
Implementation Method 2
The cord reel has a cone section, and a diameter of the cone section decreases from an end to an opposite end
Data Source
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AI summary
A lifting device of a cordless covering (100) includes a cord reel (40), a car (52), a driving module, a connecting cord (53), and a lifting cord (54). The cord reel (40) has a cone section, and is pivoted on a headrail (10) for free rotation. The car (52) is received in the headrail (10) for reciprocation. The driving module is received in the headrail (10) to drive the cord reel (40) to rotate in a predetermined direction. The connecting cord (53) has opposite ends connected to the car (52) and the cord reel (40), wherein the connecting cord (53) is reeled in and out of the cone section of the cord reel (40) when the cord reel (40) rotates in different directions. The lifting cord (54) runs around the car (52), and then extends out of the headrail (10) to be fastened to a bottom rail (20). The cord reel (40) and the driving module are helpful to precisely stop the bottom rail (20) at any desired position.