Abstract: A power window control apparatus for controlling vehicle power windows (12-18) includes window control switches (52-58) for controlling power window control motors (20-26). When two window control switches (52-58) are simultaneously and momentarily actuated downward, a controller (40) controls the motors (20-26) to lower the windows (12-18) to a predetermined position from an initially closed position. In the event that one or more windows are initially open, the controller (40) lowers the windows for the time interval that the two window control switches are actuated downward. When the two window control switches (52-58) are moved in the upward direction, the controller (40) simultaneously controls all the motors (20-26) to raise all open windows (12-18) to a fully closed position.

Abstract: A method is disclosed of installing a barrier device at a passageway. The method includes attaching a barrier housing containing a retractable barrier to a structural element on one side of the passageway, extending the barrier a desired distance from the barrier housing, with the barrier so extended, setting an extension limit of the barrier to prevent subsequent extension of the barrier beyond the desired distance from the barrier housing and, with the extension limit set, retracting the barrier into the housing. The set extension limit can permit subsequent retraction and re-extension of the barrier up to the set extension limit.

Abstract: Device for controlling a drive motor of a roller blind having stackable slats, the device identifying the type of end travel for the roller blind and operating by analyzing the variation in the drive torque. The automatic control adapts the control of the stopping of the motor to the type of end travel identified. The automatic control preferably includes a logical processing unit (3) containing a program for analyzing the variation in the torque.

Abstract: A winding mechanism for an architectural covering such as a blind or shade in which a fixed shaft 10,110 is surrounded by an inner sleeve 16,116 and an outer sleeve 22,122. A one way clutch 20,32 is provided between the inner sleeve and the fixed shaft, and a cord 42,142 is wrapped around the outer surface 40,140 of the inner sleeve, and is connected at one end 44,144 to the outer sleeve 22,122 and at the other end 46,146 to drive member 12, 112 such as a bead pulley. The weight of the blind or shade tending to rotate the outer sleeve in one direction of rotation will tighten the helically wound cord 42,142 onto the outer surface 40, 140 of the inner sleeve locking it thereto and preventing, via the one way clutch 28,72, rotation of the outer sleeve until such time as the drive member 12,112 is rotated in one direction or the other to raise or lower the blind or shade.

Abstract: A goods-handling door for opening and closing a bay in a wall, the door including a flexible curtain (1), said bay being closed off when the curtain is deployed, and open when the curtain is gathered up on an edge of the bay, the door including a rolling-up shaft on said edge of the bay for receiving said curtain, or straps serving to displace said curtain by folding it up, the rolling-up shaft being rotated by an electric motor, said curtain having an edge fixed to said shaft or in the vicinity of said shaft, and a displaceable free opposite edge, said door being characterized in that it includes a safety system including firstly at least one elongate element such as a strap that can be rolled up with the curtain or with the straps on said rolling-up shaft while one end of said strap is fixed substantially to the free edge of the curtain, and secondly signal-emitting means for emitting a signal when the tension of the strap (10) drops below a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: A release brake shade operator for a window covering has a stationary member, a movable member movable relative to the stationary member, and a hub which is movable relative to the stationary member and the movable when not restrained. Preferably the hub is a tube or solid cylinder. A spring having a selected diameter is fitted between the stationary member and the movable member and surrounds a portion of the hub. A first tang at one end of the spring is attached to the stationary member and a second tang at an opposite end of the spring is attached to the movable member so that one tang can be moved relative to the other tang to increase the diameter of the spring. The spring is sized and positioned so that the spring will press against the outside surface of the hub when in a relaxed condition restraining the hub and attached to the roller shade or lift cords.

Abstract: A retractable window covering panel including spaced apart parallel sheets of flexible fabric with vanes adhesively secured therebetween. The covering includes a roller or head rail with a wrinkle and buckle compensating structure such as longitudinal lobes or ribs to prevent creasing, wrinkling, or buckling of the window covering when rolled up. The head rail has means for attaching the window covering to insure proper alignment of the window covering. A bottom rail is secured to one or both sheets. An anti-skew device is provided.

Abstract: A cassette blind with a weighting profile at the lower end of a set of blinds and a blind drive, in which coupling elements with a winding shaft mounted in the cassette profile. Complementary coupling elements with a drive member and complementary coupling elements at a pin which can be stationarily fastened are arranged, wherein coupling elements of the drive member and of the winding shaft mutually engage each other during a rotary movement of the drive member in the winding-up direction of the blinds, and coupling elements of the winding shaft and of the pin mutually engage each other in the opposite direction. The coupling elements at the winding shaft are arranged rotatably over a predetermined angle against spring action in the winding-up direction of the blinds in order to achieve a torsionally elastic tensioning of the weighting profile at the cassette profile at the end of the winding-up movement of the blinds.

Abstract: An electric-powered shutter apparatus to be mounted to a building. A winding drum (4) of an electric-powered shutter device (1) is provided with a driving mechanism including an electric motor (7) and a single-directional rotary clutch device (8). A balance tension device (9) is provided at the other end of the apparatus. The clutch device (8) is configured to slip when the load of the rotation in the direction of the curtain being fed exceeds a certain load. Further, the load at which the clutch device (8) slips is set so as to be greater than the force for forcibly rotating the electric motor when disconnected from electric power. The balancing tension device (9) is balanced against the sum of the weight of the shutter curtain (2) and the load for forcibly rotating the electric motor (7). Thus, the need for a braking device for the electric-powered shutter apparatus to be mounted to a building is eliminated.

Abstract: A brake actuator for use in conjunction with a door barrier for preventing closure of the door barrier when the actuator comes in contact with an obstruction. The brake actuator includes a bumper mounted on a leading edge of the barrier and movable between an operative position and an inoperative position. A load carrying linkage is provided which is activated when the bumper is moved to the operative position. The linkage is connected to a brake which becomes engaged when the linkage is activated, thus preventing movement of the door barrier to a closed position when the bumper contacts the obstruction.

Abstract: A mechanism for detecting an obstacle preventing the proper operation of a sectional shutter of a warehouse-type door which includes a detection member mounted in the vicinity of a horizontal shaft around which the sectional shutter is wound by the operation of a motor. The detection mechanism is connected to a switch for controlling the motor and thus the rotation of the horizontal shaft about which the sectional shutter is wound. The detection member consists of at least one member which extends adjacent to but spaced from the horizontal shaft and which is engageable by a slack portion of the sectional shutter caused by the engagement of an obstacle with the sectional shutter as it is being lowered.

Abstract: A double panel window shade is formed by shade panels wound on inner and outer coaxial rollers. The inner roller includes a shaft secured at each end and journaled in mounting brackets at each end of the inner roller. The outer roller includes end plates journaled on the inner roller shafts. The outer roller defines a slot for receiving and passing the inner shade when said outer shade is fully unrolled from the outer roller. Each shade panel includes a bottom rail. A pull cord is provided for raising and lowering the shades by rotating the rollers. The pull cord is operatively connected to the inner roller by a dual direction spring clutch. The rollers are formed by a pair of roller tubes aligned one inside the other and each having a central axis, the axis of rotation of each tube being the central axis of the inner tube, and the central axis of the outer tube being spaced from its axis of rotation.

Abstract: A safety device used in case of rupture of a rotary shaft for preventing the shaft from rotating and for preventing broken portions thereof from falling, includes at least one safety element placed so as to retain the shaft to prevent it from falling. The peripheral surface of the shaft and a facing surface of the safety element are provided with mating devices that cooperate to prevent the shaft from rotating when a portion of the shaft is retained by said safety element due to the shaft rupturing. The device is particularly suitable for use with a shaft that winds up lifting straps for a raisable curtain or that winds up the curtain itself.

Abstract: A roll-up closure such as a blind or door comprises vertically adjacent, horizontal slats that can be rolled up on a rod. A lowermost slat carries pins that are spring-biased outwardly into locking recesses to resist unintentional lifting of the lowermost slat. The pins are automatically retracted in response to rotation of the rod for raising the closure. An uppermost slat carries a security finger which projects beyond one end thereof and engages the underside of a stop to prevent the uppermost slat from being unintentionally lifted. A cam carried by the rod prevents the pin from moving out from beneath the stop. When the rod is rotated in a closure-raising direction the cam is shifted in a manner permitting the security finger to be disengaged from the stop.

Abstract: A roll-up door has a bottom bar attached to the flexible curtain of the door. The bottom bar has transverse openings at each end adjacent to the jambs of the door frame. A breakaway shaft travels in a track in each jamb and has one end normally seated in a respective transverse opening by the interaction of spring loaded ball detents and detent recesses in the shaft and bar. The opposite ends of the shafts are connected to a counterforce mechanism that urges the shaft downwardly and are also connected to a strap wound with the curtain drum to urge the shafts upwardly against the counterforce. The breakaway shafts will separate from the bar upon impact to free the bar from engagement with the jamb and prevent damage to the door. The breakaway shafts may then be reconnected with the bottom bar and reset by unwinding the curtain to an overtravel position that is beyond the normal closed position of the door.

Abstract: A roller door apparatus is provided that includes a roller means and a means journalling the roller means for reversible rotation about a central longitudinal roller axis. The roller door also includes end rail means for a reciprocal linear movement between a first position adjacent the roller means and a second position away from the roller means. Also included is a flexible curtain means with one end attached to the end rail means and the other end attached to the roller means, such that the curtain means closes a door opening with the end rail means in the second position. The curtain means winds onto the roller means when the end rail moves from the second position to the first position and vice versa.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods and an apparatus for mounting and deployment of retractable covering devices, in particular, light control window covering including a lobed head rail to prevent creasing and/or skewing of the window covering when rolled up, the head rail having means for attaching the window covering which insures proper alignment of the window covering. Also included are a bottom rear rail having an antiskewing device which comprises a slidable weight for compensating for skewed roll up; a flip-catch device for preventing wrong-way roll up of the window covering; and a top-catch mechanism for preventing both wrong-way roll up and over rotation in the proper roll up direction.

Abstract: A roll-up door has a bottom bar attached to the flexible curtain of the door. The bottom bar has transverse openings at each end adjacent to the jambs of the door frame. A breakaway shaft travels in a track in each jamb and has one end normally seated in a respective transverse opening by the interaction of spring loaded ball detents and detent recesses in the shaft and bar. The opposite ends of the shafts are connected to a counterforce mechanism that urges the shaft downwardly and are also connected to a strap wound with the curtain drum to urge the shafts upwardly against the counterforce. The breakaway shafts will separate from the bar upon impact to free the bar from engagement with the jamb and prevent damage to the door. The breakaway shafts may then be reconnected with the bottom bar and reset by unwinding the curtain to an overtravel position that is beyond the normal closed position of the door.

Abstract: A disposable shower curtain including a holder having a mandrel with inner and outer telescoping segments normally expanded by a spring. Stationary feet, one carried by each of the telescoping segments, bears against the opposed walls of a conventional shower stall and rotatably support the mandrel. A roll of coiled sheet material is carried by the mandrel. A shield supported by a bracket at either end thereof includes a longitudinally extending braking panel.

Abstract: A roll-up door in which the bottom bar is attached to the flexible door curtain has a transverse opening at an end adjacent to a jamb of the frame of the door. A breakaway shaft travels in a track in the jamb and has one end that normally seats in the transverse opening and provides a link between the bottom bar and the jamb. The other end of the shaft is restrained so that the shaft is held in a generally horizontal attitude. The opening in the bar and the breakaway shaft have cooperating means to normally retain the shaft in the opening but which are releasable upon a force striking the curtain or bottom bar. The breakaway shaft will separate from the bar upon impact thereby freeing the bar from engagement withthe jamb and preventing damage. The breakaway shaft may thereafter be reinserted into the opening in the bar to reconnect the bottom bar to the track and permit continued operation of the door.

Abstract: A rolling shutter system employs a variable efficiency bi-directional drive mechanism which permits easy and quick raising of the rolling shutter while protecting against self-lowering of the shutter by reason of its own weight. The system also employs a novel operator for the bi-directional drive mechanism which is characterized by an easy and comfortable to grip bead string which also is attractive in appearance. The bead string is trained about a sprocket wheel, and an overload slip clutch is provided between the sprocket wheel and worm gear drive to limit the amount of force that can be applied to the bead string during raising and lowering of the rolling shutter. Also provided is a novel shutter travel limit and locking device, a novel valance construction and a novel through the wall shaft assembly.

Abstract: A safety braking device for a roll up or sliding door having a door curtain guided for movement by guide channels engaging its edges, the safety braking device comprising a tilt bar hingedly attached to the leading edge of the door curtain, and brake means carried on the tilt bar and arranged, upon appreciable tilting movement of the tilt bar, to frictionally engage with the door curtain guide channels for braking the movement of the door.

Abstract: A brake apparatus for winding a roll-screen is disclosed, which comprises a pipe for winding the roll-screen, a cylinder fixed coaxially within the pipe, a plurality of brake bodies in a specified construction, a fixing brake body also in a specified construction, a viscous fluid optionally filled within the cylinder, the coil springs serving as a one way spring clutch.The brake apparatus may be applied to any size of the roll-screen by varying the number of the brake bodies.

Abstract: A roll-blind including a winding roll for winding up a blind cloth and a coil spring contained in said winding roll to rotate it in the cloth winding-up direction, which comprises a mechanism for reducing the rotating speed of said winding roll at the time of winding up the blind cloth.

Abstract: Ball cord lock intended to be used for roller blinds and comprising a cord pulley having an axially extending stub axle for receiving and retaining one end of a roller blind rod, an endless ball cord arranged around the cord pulley and in engagement therewith and which during operation windsup and unwinds respectively a blind attached to the roller blind rod, a lock housing formed by two complementary housing halves which housing constitutes journal for and encloses the cord pulley, a bracket which is connected to the lock housing and which is intended to be mounted at a window, and a U-shaped cord locking portion formed in the lock housing for catching and retaining one of the loops of the ball cord whereby the rotation of the cord pulley in one direction and accordingly unwinding of the blind in wound-up condition is prevented. The U-shaped cord locking portion is arranged immediately adjacent the periphery of the cord pulley under one of the freely suspending loops of the ball cord.

Abstract: A roller blind with a safety device for arresting accidental unrolling of the blind in which a shaft butt is coupled to one end of the winding shaft, a drive disk disposed on the shaft butt, a pawl shaped inertial member pivotally mounted on a pin extending from the drive disk, and a housing having internal teeth, around the disk and inertial member. The inertial member will not change its position relative to the drive disk but with increased unrolling velocity does change its position and the pawl engages the internal teeth of the housing to arrest unrolling of the blind.