End piece for a sunshade's edge rail and sunshade
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pleated blinds face issues with guiding strings not preventing rotation of edge rails during manual movement, leading to increased friction and wear, and require complex installation with support sleeves and threading through end pieces.
Innovation Solution
An end piece for sunshade edge rails featuring a string channel with a groove and aperture allows guiding strings to be placed without threading through ends, reducing rotation and simplifying assembly by integrating support strings through a single hole and string opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If guiding strings are threaded through end pieces in conventional manner, then assembly is complex requiring support sleeves and multiple threading steps, but this conventional method allows edge rails to rotate during manual movement causing increased friction and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the support sleeve function and guiding string passage into a single integrated end piece structure. The groove formed by the wall and bottom surface serves both as the support surface for the guiding string and as the passage channel, eliminating the need for separate support sleeves and reducing assembly complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The groove structure acts as an intermediary element between the guiding string and the end piece. It provides a dedicated channel that guides the string through the wall while preventing rotation, serving as a mediator that resolves the conflict between easy assembly and reliable rotation control.
2Area of stationary object
If guiding strings extend close to side edges of opening, then coverage of window/door glass is minimized, but this requires complex routing through end pieces with multiple holes and deflection points
Solution Approach 1:
The end piece is segmented into functional zones: the groove provides a dedicated string passage channel, the wall provides structural support and rotation prevention, and the aperture provides the exit point. This segmentation allows the guiding string to follow a simplified path that extends close to the side edge while maintaining proper routing through the end piece structure.
3Reliability
If conventional end piece structure with separate support sleeves is used, then rotation prevention is achieved, but manufacturing and assembly time increases due to multiple components and threading steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the support sleeve function into the end piece itself through the groove structure formed by the wall and bottom surface. This integration eliminates the need for separate support sleeves and reduces the number of assembly steps while maintaining the rotation prevention function, thereby reducing manufacturing and assembly time.
Solution Approach 2:
The end piece structure is designed to be self-sufficient, with the groove providing both support and guidance functions internally. The structure serves itself by incorporating the support function within the end piece rather than requiring external support sleeves, simplifying both manufacturing and assembly processes.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2
AI summary
The end piece of sunshade's edge rail comprises an end plate (10), which includes a first edge surface 22, a second edge surface (24) and a first end surface (12). The end plate further includes a second end surface (14), which is to be placed against an end of the edge rail and which has at least one gripping protrusion (16, 17) adaptable to fit inside the edge rail. The end plate is further provided with a first hole (18) for the penetration of a guiding string. The end piece is further provided with a string channel (20), which includes a first end opening onto the first edge surface and a second end opening onto the second edge surface. The first hole opens into the string channel. A guiding string included in the sunshade can be extended into the first hole by way of the string channel.