subject: The Existing Guideways Must Neither Be Moved Nor Replaced By Others With Larger Dimensions [print this page] Such a roller blind is known, for example, from EP-A 382 172. In such roller blinds, it is desirable that, on the one hand, they can be rolled up in the roller housings problem-free and in as space-saving a manner as possible and that, on the other hand, the replacement of non-louverable roller blinds already present in buildings by louverable roller blinds is possible without great changes. In other words, the existing guideways must neither be moved nor replaced by others with larger dimensions. In addition, such roller blinds should consist of as few individual parts as possible and should be able to be produced economically.
The object of the invention is therefore, on the one hand, to make available a roller blind which does not exhibit any parts that can be moved inward, i.e., toward a window or a door or the like, and which, on the other hand, can be produced simply and economically. In this case, the roller blind should be able to be rolled up in the roller housing problem-free and with as small a space requirement as possible.
Because the swivel pins of the blind slats are aligned with the hinge pins of the pull chain elements and the adjusting chain elements and can be moved on the upper edge of the blind slats, the upper area of the blind slats is no longer swiveled inward when the latter are louvered. Another advantage, which is produced by the invention, is that the blind slats can be swiveled by the alignment of the pins in the non-louvered state of the roller blind together with the pull chain elements and adjusting chain elements assigned to them and consequently can be rolled up in the roller housings in a very space-saving manner and problem-free. Another advantage is that a single bearing pin, i.e., a single bearing bolt, can be used for the swivel pins of the blind slats on the pull chain elements and the connecting hinge of two adjacent pull chain elements, by which both the number of components of the roller blind and its production costs can be reduced.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that grooves running crosswise to the longitudinal axis of the blind slats are provided in the louverable blind slats in the area of their ends, in which the adjusting chain elements are essentially completely incorporated in the non-louvered state of the roller blind. Such a groove can be produced in a simple way in the blind slats, e.g., by milling out the corresponding area of the blind slat, and a stable and space-saving accommodation for the pull chain elements is provided.
It can be advantageous in particular in wide roller blinds if at least one center carrying chain is provided, which is designed essentially like the pull chains, so that the blind slats, especially if they are louvered, i.e., swiveled out, do not sag by their own weight, which, on the one hand, is unsightly and, on the other hand, can result in malfunctions.
In this case, the invention can preferably be further developed so that on the side of each blind slat facing away from the outside facade, a number of grooves corresponding to the number of center carrying chains is provided, in which the chain elements of the center carrying chains are essentially completely incorporated. In this case, the center carrying chain is not visible from outside, when the roller blind is closed and furthermore hardly gets in the way when the roller blind is cleaned from inside.
Roller blind or part of roller blind is often produced from plastic. But in the case of sunshade systems, the latter are exposed to very high UV-radiation values as well as atmospheric pollutants, heat and cold, which very greatly reduces the service life of plastic parts. Moreover, metallic materials, with often lower costs, in most cases exhibit higher strength values than plastic parts, and also the tool costs for the production of the parts in the case of plastic in most cases are significantly higher. An extrusion die, for example, costs approximately only 10% of a plastics die. By the simple configuration, according to the invention, of the individual parts of the roller blind, it is possible to produce all parts from metal, preferably from extruded or rolled metal, by which the parts made of plastic encumbered with the mentioned drawback can be replaced.
