Motorized Window Treatment Headrail With Rotating Battery Service Position
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery-powered motorized window treatments have poor battery life and require expensive, difficult-to-replace batteries, making them impractical and costly for users.
Innovation Solution
A battery-powered motorized window treatment with batteries housed inside a headrail that can be easily accessed and replaced without tools, featuring a rotating mechanism allowing single-handed operation and a long battery life of approximately three years, eliminating the need for additional wiring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If batteries are housed inside the headrail for aesthetic purposes and ease of replacement, then battery accessibility is improved, but the headrail structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The headrail is divided into a stationary outer housing and a rotatable inner section. The battery compartment is located in the rotatable section, which can be independently accessed by rotating it to a service position. This segmentation allows battery replacement without disassembling the entire headrail structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting bracket incorporates a rotatable mechanism that allows the battery compartment section to rotate between an installed position (flush with the window) and a service position (rotated outward for access). This dynamic element provides easy battery access while maintaining a clean installed appearance.
2Ease of repair
If a rotatable mounting mechanism is added to allow single-handed battery replacement, then ease of battery replacement is improved, but the mounting bracket complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable mounting bracket is designed to be operable by a single hand, allowing the user to rotate the battery compartment into the service position and replace batteries without requiring tools or two hands. The mechanism is self-contained and does not require external assistance or complex tooling.
3Ease of manufacture
If battery-powered operation is used to eliminate wiring, then installation cost and complexity are reduced, but battery life is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses standard, inexpensive disposable batteries (such as AA or AAA batteries) that can be easily replaced every few years. This approach trades the limited life of disposable batteries for the benefit of eliminating complex wiring and reducing installation costs, making the system economically viable through periodic battery replacement.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery-powered motorized window treatment for covering at least a portion of a window may be adjusted into a service position to allow for access to at least one battery that is powering the motorized window treatment. A headrail of the motorized window treatment may be adjusted to the service position to allow for easy replacement of the batteries without unmounting the headrail and without requiring tools. The motorized window treatment may comprise brackets having buttons that may be actuated to release the headrail from a locked position, such that the head rail may be rotated into the service position. The headrail easily rotates through a controlled movement into the service position, such that a user only needs one free hand available to move the motorized window treatment into the service position and change the batteries.