At least an embodiment of the present invention relates to a structure of a slat with a pressure contact part marketed as a standalone product, and a blind which a user can assemble by himself or herself depending on his or her taste with a plurality of slats pressed against and held on the opposite wall in a window frame at a prescribed interval. The pressure contact part is made up of, for example, a commercially available tension rod. The Japanese patent application serving as a basis for claiming a right of priority for the present application has been subjected to accelerated examination and has already been registered as the Japanese Patent NO. 5927737.
Blinds, which are provided on a window for adjustment of sunshine shielding or for preventing a user from being seen from outside the window, are classified into a transverse blind having slats horizontally and continuously suspended and a vertical blind having slats vertically and continuously suspended. The transverse blind is used with the slats that are horizontally held, and opened and closed by the operation of a plurality of ladder cords vertically suspended from a headrail. Further, the vertical blind is used by opening and closing the slats that are vertically and continuously suspended from a headrail. Both the transverse blind and the vertical blind serve as blinds when the slats, an operating rod, the ladder cords, and the headrail are integrally operated. The blind is usually connected to a bracket secured to one side of a window frame and installed so as to cover the entire surface of a window.
The blind as described above is installed by securing the headrail to a bracket screwed at an optional position using a driver or the like. The blind is designed to cover the entire opening area of the window so that the number of required slats is in proportion to the increase in the opening area. However, the number of slats constituting a general blind is preliminarily determined at the time of production; it is usually difficult for a user to adjust the number of slats at the scene in accordance with the opening area of a window where a blind is installed; and today's distribution system makes it difficult for a user to purchase slats only for assembling a blind by himself or herself.
Further, a method for installing a blind by connecting the blind to the bracket makes it easy to attach and detach the blind for maintenance once the bracket is installed. However, a tool such as a driver is required for the installment of a bracket and the bracket tends to be installed in high places, and therefore the installment of a blind using a bracket is not that easy for general users. Further, the slats covering the entire window surface increases the number of slats that are made up of a thin metal plate or cloths so that cleaning and maintenance needs delicate care, and therefore the general users can hardly do maintenance works themselves with a sense of DIY. Furthermore, the slats are configured to open or close simultaneously at the same angle, and thus cannot be adjusted to partially open or close for partial shielding. Further, the conventional blind has the following structural defects: when a window is opened for the purpose of ventilation, slats are likely to be fanned by winds, thus making unpleasant sounds when colliding with a nearby sash, potentially causing damage to both sides.
In order to solve the above-described existing problems, the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-043707 or the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-225397 discloses a blind including a guide cord that is vertically arranged from the vicinity of the right and left ends of the blind body with the slats passing through the guide cord to thus prevent the slats from being fanned and warped. Alternatively, a bottom rail clipping member preliminarily provided on the bottom end of a blind is disclosed for clipping the bottom rail when the blind is pulled down to the lowermost position in order to prevent the slats from being fanned by winds. However, any of these solutions additionally needs a guide cord or a slat holding member, and thus installment becomes complex and burdensome. Further, the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-235670 or the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-120612 discloses a blind capable of setting the open and close range to allow the slats to partially open and close, however the open and close range is restricted to within a certain range; thus, there is no description about adjustment of shielding and sunshine in accordance with a specific user-intended range.
Further, the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1994-57280 discloses a roll curtain that is installed on a window frame or the like. The roll curtain is secured to a window frame using a tension rod, and is also configured to serve as a blind. However, the structure for covering the opening of a window in accordance with a specific user-intended range has yet to be achieved even with this structure. Further, the Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3090006 discloses louver window fittings that are easily detachable and attached to a support post, however the structure for covering the opening of a window in accordance with a specific user-intended range has yet to be achieved either with this structure because the louver window fittings themselves are configured to have a prescribed size. Furthermore, the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-183362 discloses an easy attachment type curtain attachable to a tension rod, however this curtain also has a predetermined size, and therefore the shielding range cannot be flexibly changed.
That is, the cited references do not disclose at least a technical idea of the present application: “slats are marketed as standalone products and a purchaser assembles a blind by himself or herself with a sense of DIY using the slats purchased as standalone products.” The cited references only disclose the structure relating to a blind with the slats incorporated therein or a louver. As described above, the Japanese patent application serving as a basis for claiming a right of priority for the present application has been subjected to accelerated examination and has already been registered as the Japanese Patent NO. 5927737. The patent examiner at the Japanese Patent Office rejected the Japanese patent application during the prosecution of the patent, alleging that a blade 2 disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-16765 is equivalent to that of the present application. However, the applicant of the Japanese patent application counterargued that a person skilled in the art could not be motivated to use the blade 2 disclosed in the cited reference as the structural component in the present application. The examiner was persuaded by the counterargument so that the Japanese application was eventually registered as the patent No. 5927737.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds