U.S. patent application number 11/345839 was filed with the patent office on 2007-08-23 for roll-up screen partition.
This patent application is currently assigned to Gemmy Industries Corporation. Invention is credited to Sheng-Hung Hsu.
Application Number | 20070193705 11/345839 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38426968 |
Filed Date | 2007-08-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070193705 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hsu; Sheng-Hung |
August 23, 2007 |
Roll-up screen partition
Abstract
A roll-up partition has a post, a reel and a panel. The reel has
an outer tube which has an inner space defined in a center of the
outer tube and slot is longitudinally defined in a periphery of the
outer tube and in communication with the inner space. A rod is
rotatably received in the inner space. A first end of the panel is
connected to the reel and a second end of the panel is connected to
the post. The panel can be easily and quickly rolled up into the
reel of the present invention wherein the panel is protected from
damage and contamination.
Inventors: |
Hsu; Sheng-Hung; (Kaohsiung,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TOWNSEND AND TOWNSEND AND CREW, LLP
TWO EMBARCADERO CENTER
EIGHTH FLOOR
SAN FRANCISCO
CA
94111-3834
US
|
Assignee: |
Gemmy Industries
Corporation
Coppell
TX
|
Family ID: |
38426968 |
Appl. No.: |
11/345839 |
Filed: |
February 1, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
160/238 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 5/02 20130101; E06B
9/08 20130101; E04H 12/2215 20130101; E01F 13/028 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
160/238 |
International
Class: |
A47G 5/02 20060101
A47G005/02; A47H 1/00 20060101 A47H001/00 |
Claims
1. A roll-up partition comprising: a post; a reel having an outer
tube having an inner space defined in the outer tube, an slot
longitudinally defined in a periphery of the outer tube and in
communication with the inner space, and a rod rotatably received in
the inner space; and a panel, a first end of the panel connected to
the reel and a second end of the panel connected to the post.
2. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein a top end
of the rod extends out of the outer tube and a handle is mounted on
the top end of the rod.
3. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein a circular
chamber is formed between the rod and the outer tube, a coil spring
is received into the chamber, an actuator is inserted into the
inner space from the periphery of the outer tube, a pawl and a
torsion spring are pivotally mounted adjacent to the actuator,
multiple unidirectional teeth are formed in a periphery of the rod,
a first end of the pawl is pressed against the actuator via the
torsion spring and a second end of the pawl is pressed against the
teeth.
4. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 3, wherein a first end
of the coil spring is connected to the rod and a second end of the
coil spring is connected to the outer tube.
5. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 3, wherein an upper
cap is mounted on an upper end of the outer tube and a lower cap is
mounted on a lower end of the outer tube, the chamber is formed
between a top end of the rod and the upper cap, a first end of the
coil spring is connected to the rod and a second end of the coil
spring is connected to the upper cap, and the actuator is inserted
into a periphery of the upper cap.
6. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein each post
and each reel respectively have a spike mounted on a lower end
thereof.
7. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 6, wherein a pedal is
transversely provided adjacent to the spike.
8. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least
one other panel is connected to the reel and at least one other
post is connected to the other panel.
9. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 5, wherein the upper
cap and the lower cap are partially inserted into the rod.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a screen partition, and
more particularly to a screen partition that can be rolled up on a
reel for storage or transport.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] At exhibitions, whether indoors or outdoors, portable
partitions are erected to divide the exhibition area into separate
spaces or placed to direct people in a certain direction. The
partitions can be made of rigid or soft panels. Many portable
partitions use soft flexible panels or screens for convenient
storage.
[0005] A conventional screen partition comprises a panel and two
posts. The panel is securely mounted at two ends on the two posts,
respectively. The posts are positioned in a desired location and
the panel is extended to form a wall to divide an area.
[0006] However, with a conventional screen partition, the panel
must be manually rolled up around one of the posts for storage and
unrolled for use, which is both time consuming and inconvenient.
Furthermore, the panel can be easily soiled or damaged because it
is exposed and unprotected.
[0007] Therefore, the invention provides a roll-up screen partition
to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The main objective of the present invention is to provide a
roll-up screen partition, which can be easily rolled up and
protected when not in use.
[0009] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is an operational perspective view of a first
embodiment of a roll-up screen partition in accordance with the
present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a reel of the first embodiment
of the roll-up screen partition in FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a reel of a second
embodiment of a roll-up screen partition in accordance with the
present invention;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the reel of the second
embodiment of the roll-up screen partition in FIG. 2;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a top sectional view of a coil spring of the
second embodiment of the roll-up screen partition in FIG. 2;
[0015] FIG. 6 is an operational top view in partial section of the
reel of the second embodiment of the roll-up screen partition along
line 4-4 in FIG. 4;
[0016] FIG. 7 is an operational top view in partial section of the
reel in FIG. 6 with an actuator pushed; and
[0017] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the
roll-up screen partition in accordance with the present invention
with additional panels and posts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] With reference to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a roll-up
screen partition is composed of a post (21), a reel (10) and a
panel (70). A first end of the panel (70) is mounted to the reel
(10) and a second end of the panel (70) is mounted to the post
(21).
[0019] With reference to FIG. 2, the reel (10) has an outer tube
(13). A lower cap (11) is provided on a lower end of the outer tube
(13) and an upper cap (12) is provided on an upper end of the outer
tube (13). In the first embodiment, the upper cap (12) is partially
inserted into the upper end of the outer tube (13) and the lower
cap (11) is partially inserted into the lower end of the outer tube
(13). In other embodiments, the upper and the lower caps (12, 11)
can also be mounted respectively on the outer tube (13) by
fasteners or other forms of engagement.
[0020] A hole (17) is axially defined in the upper cap (12) and a
cup (15), with an open end defined upward, is axially formed on a
top surface of the lower cap (11). An inner space (14) is defined
inside the outer tube (13). A slot (16) is longitudinally defined
in a sidewall of the outer tube (13) and communicates with the
inner space (14). A rod (19) is rotatably mounted inside the outer
tube (13) in the inner space (14). An upper end of the rod (19)
extends out through the hole (17) and a lower end of the rod (19)
is rotatably mounted in the cup (15). A handle (18) is mounted on
the upper end of the rod (19). The first end of the panel (70) is
mounted on the rod (19) through the slot (16). Two spikes (80) are
mounted respectively at a lower end of the post (21) and the lower
end of the reel (10). Each spike (80) has a pedal (81) pivotally
mounted on a side thereof to assist in driving the spike (80) into
the ground at a desired location. With the rotation of the handle
(18), the panel (70) can be rolled up into the inner space (14)
through the slot (16) and around the rod (19) for safe storage.
[0021] With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a second embodiment of a
roll-up screen partition is the same as the first embodiment except
for a reel (20).
[0022] The reel (20) in the second embodiment is composed of an
outer tube (50) with a pawl assembly (90). An inner space (51) is
defined inside the outer tube (50). A slot (52) is longitudinally
defined in a sidewall of the outer tube (50) and communicates with
the inner space (51). The outer tube (50) has an upper cap (40)
mounted on an upper end thereof and a lower cap (30) mounted on a
lower end thereof. The upper cap (40) has an open top and a through
hole in the bottom. The lower cap (30) has an open bottom and a
through hole in the top. A spring housing (62) is mounted rotatably
inside the upper cap (40). The spring housing (62) has an open top
and a protrusion (61) axially formed on a bottom that is mounted
through the through hole of the upper cap (40). Multiple
unidirectional teeth (65) are formed around the periphery of the
protrusion (61). Two end plates are mounted over the open top of
the upper cap (40) and the open bottom of the lower cap (30),
respectively. A lower lug (33) is rotatably and axially mounted on
an inner surface of the end plate of the lower cap (30). An upper
lug (43) is axially formed on the inner surface of the end cap of
the upper cap (40).
[0023] A rod (60) is rotatably mounted inside the outer tube (50)
in the inner space (51). A lower end of the rod (60) is rotatably
mounted on the lower lug (33) and an upper end of the rod (60) is
securely connected to the protrusion (61) of the spring housing
(62). The spring housing (62) is rotatably connected to the upper
lug (43) of the end plate of the upper cap (40), thereby defining a
chamber (63) in the spring housing (62). A first end of the panel
(70) is connected to the rod (60) through the slot (52).
[0024] The pawl assembly (90) has an actuator (91), a torsion
spring (92), a biasing spring and a pawl (93). A first end of the
actuator (91) transversely extends out of a periphery of the upper
cap (40). A second end of the actuator (91) extends substantially
into the upper cap (40). The actuator (91) is biased by the biasing
spring such that the first end of the actuator (91) remains
extended out of the upper cap (40). The torsion spring (92) and the
pawl (93) are pivotally mounted in the upper cap (40) and adjacent
to the actuator (91). One end of the torsion spring (92) abuts
against a second end of the pawl (93) to make a first end of the
pawl (93) push against the actuator (91). The second end of the
pawl (93) is engaged with one of the teeth (65) form around the
outer surface of the protrusion (61).
[0025] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a coil spring (64) is
provided in the chamber (63) and a first end of the coil spring
(64) is connected to the upper lug (43) and a second end of the
coil spring (64) is connected to the rod (60) via the spring
housing (62).
[0026] With reference to FIG. 6, when the actuator (91) is not
pushed into the upper cap (40), the second end of the pawl (93)
clamps to the teeth (65) so that the rod (60) can only rotate
counterclockwise.
[0027] With reference to FIG. 7, when the actuator (91) is pushed
into the upper cap (40), the pawl (93) pivots and separates from
the teeth (65) so that the rod (60) can be freely rotated clockwise
or counterclockwise.
[0028] With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, when the panel (70) is
unrolled, the rod (60) connected to the panel (70) is drawn to
rotate counterclockwise without being stopped by the teeth (65).
The coil spring (64) is also rotated counterclockwise with the rod
(60) thereby storing the resilient force of the coil spring (64).
With the engagement between the second end of the pawl (93) and the
teeth (65) on the rod (60), the torsion spring (92) and the pawl
(93) prevent the rod (60) from rotating clockwise to keep the panel
at an expanded condition. When the actuator (91) is pushed into the
upper cap (40), the pawl (93) releases the teeth (65) so that the
rod (60) can be rotated clockwise by the resilient force of the
coil spring (94) causing the panel (70) to be reeled into the inner
space (51).
[0029] With reference to FIG. 8, additional posts (21) and panels
(70) can be added to increase the extent of coverage of the present
invention.
[0030] The present invention allows a user to quickly and easily
erect a partition. Furthermore, the panel (70) can be conveniently
rolled up and stored inside the reel (10,20) to protect the panel
(70) from damage or contamination.
[0031] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been
set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of
the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is
illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially
in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the
principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
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