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EP-4206434-B1 - MOTORIZED ROLLER SHADE WITH LOW-DEFLECTION ROLLER TUBE

EP4206434B1EP 4206434 B1EP4206434 B1EP 4206434B1EP-4206434-B1

Inventors

  • BLAIR, EDWARD J.
  • OGDEN, PETER W.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20160506

Claims (11)

  1. A motorized roller shade comprising: a roller tube (400, 500) comprising: a first tube (402, 502) that is made of aluminum or steel; a second tube (406, 510) made of carbon fiber, wherein the second tube is additively constructed on an outer surface of the first tube such that the first and second tubes are fixed in position relative to one another; a motor drive unit (118) that is at least partially received in the first tube; and a covering material (122) that is attached to the roller tube, the covering material operable between a raised position and a lowered position via rotation of the roller tube by the motor drive unit.
  2. The motorized roller shade of claim 1, wherein the second tube comprises a plurality of layers of carbon fiber.
  3. The motorized roller shade of claim 2, wherein fibers of a first layer of the carbon fiber are angularly offset from fibers of an adjacent layer of the carbon fiber.
  4. The motorized roller shade of claim 2 or 3, wherein fibers of at least one layer of the plurality of layers of carbon fiber are oriented parallel with a longitudinal axis defined by the first tube.
  5. The motorized roller shade of claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein fibers of at least one layer of the plurality of layers of carbon fiber are oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis defined by the first tube to enhance cracking resistance.
  6. The motorized roller shade of any of the preceding claims, wherein the carbon fiber is a carbon fiber fabric.
  7. The motorized window treatment of any of the preceding claims 1-5, wherein the carbon fiber is carbon fiber filaments.
  8. The motorized roller shade of any of the preceding claims 2-7, wherein the plurality of layers of carbon fiber comprise an outermost layer that surrounds an intermediate layer and an innermost layer, wherein the innermost layer and the outermost layer are each oriented such that fibers of the respective layers have a same alignment relative to the longitudinal axis of the first tube, and an alignment of the intermediate layer is different from the alignment of the innermost layer and the outermost layer.
  9. The motorized roller shade of any of the preceding claims, wherein the motor drive unit is a battery-operated motor drive unit.
  10. The motorized roller shade of any of the preceding claims, wherein an outer diameter of the second tube (406, 510) does not exceed 50.8 mm.
  11. The motorized roller shade of any of the preceding claims, wherein the roller tube extends at least 2438.4 mm in the longitudinal direction.

Description

BACKGROUND A window treatment may be mounted in front of one or more windows, for example to prevent sunlight from entering a space and/or to provide privacy. Window treatments may include, for example, roller shades, roman shades, venetian blinds, or draperies. A roller shade typically includes a flexible shade fabric wound onto an elongated roller tube. Such a roller shade may include a weighted hembar located at a lower end of the shade fabric. The hembar may cause the shade fabric to hang in front of one or more windows that the roller shade is mounted in front of. Advances in window construction technology have enabled the manufacture of windows in ever increasing sizes, such as windows that may be 8 or more feet wide. Such large windows may require similarly large window treatments. For example, a roller shade configured to cover such a wide window may require an unusually long roller tube. It may be desirable, in manufacturing a roller shade for a wide window, to maintain the aesthetics of a related roller shade that is sized for a smaller window. However, the roller tube of a roller shade that is simply supported at opposed ends of the tube may exhibit increasing deflection from the ends of the tube to the middle of the tube. This phenomenon may be referred to as tube sag. Tube sag may present a limitation to how long the roller tube of a roller shade may be made. And tube sag may become more pronounced as roller tube length increases. An excess of tube sag may cause a roller shade to exhibit undesirable aesthetic and/or operational characteristics. For example, tube sage may cause visible sag lines to appear in the shade material. Additionally, tube sag may cause the shade material of a roller shade to wrinkle as the shade rolls up. In a roller shade with little to no tube sag, the shade material typically rolls up perpendicular to the roller tube. However, when a roller tube exhibits tube sag, the right half of the shade material may travel leftward and/or the left half of the shade material may travel rightward as the shade rolls up. This may introduce wrinkles into the rolled up shade material. Known solutions for addressing tube sag in a roller shade may have one or more undesirable characteristics. For example, a first solution may be to increase the tube diameter of a roller tube to achieve an increased stiffness, However, such an enlarged roller tube may require additional space, which may negatively impact the aesthetic of an installation of the roller shade. In another solution, the shade material may be supported at one or more locations along the length of the roller tube. However, movement of the shade material over the supports may cause undesirable wear to the shade material. Known solutions are disclosed in e.g. US2014/262084A1, FR2872196, US2011/290432A1. Each of these documents discloses a motorized roller shade comprising a roller tube, a motor drive unit that is at least partially received in the roller tube, and a covering material that is attached to the roller tube, the covering material being operable between a raised position and a lowered position via rotation of the roller tube by the motor drive unit. SUMMARY The present invention is defined by the appended independent claim, with embodiments set forth in the appended dependent claims, the following description and in the drawings. The values of inches cited in the description may be converted into centimeters by multiplying by 2.54, and values of feet cited in the description may be converted by multiplying by 0.31. As described herein, the roller tube of a motorized roller shade may be configured as a low deflection roller tube for use in covering a large opening, such as an opening that is 8 feet wide or wider. The roller tube may define opposed first and second ends, and may be configured to be supported at the first and second ends. The roller shade includes a covering material that is attached to the roller tube. The covering material is operable between a raised position and a lowered position via rotation of the roller tube by the motor drive unit. The roller shade may include a hembar that is attached to a lower end of the covering material. In accordance with an example motorized roller shade, the roller tube of the roller shade may be configured for use in covering an opening that is 10 feet wide. The roller tube may have a length of 10 feet along a longitudinal direction. The roller tube may have an outer diameter that does not exceed 2 inches. The roller tube may be configured such that when the covering material is in a lowered position and the roller tube is supported at the first and second ends, deflection of the roller tube does not exceed 1/8 of an inch relative to the unloaded position of the roller tube. In accordance with another example motorized roller shade, the roller tube of the roller shade may be configured for use in covering an opening that is 12 feet wide. The roller tube may have a length