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A process and system for manufacturing roller blinds is provided which includes structure for performing plural steps including a first step of helically winding slat fabric about a drum, thereby forming a slat product. A second step includes moving the slat product from the drum to a platform. A th

A process and system for manufacturing roller blinds is provided which includes structure for performing plural steps including a first step of helically winding slat fabric about a drum, thereby forming a slat product. A second step includes moving the slat product from the drum to a platform. A third step includes winding the slat product about a roller tube to form a roller blind. A fourth step includes moving the blind from the platform to a heat treating device.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A process of forming a slatted roller blind comprising: forming a fabric layered with a plurality of thermally formable slats about a drum, each slat having a face;winding the fabric layered with the plurality of thermally formable slats into a coil having an axis such that the face of each slat

1. A process of forming a slatted roller blind comprising: forming a fabric layered with a plurality of thermally formable slats about a drum, each slat having a face;winding the fabric layered with the plurality of thermally formable slats into a coil having an axis such that the face of each slat is substantially parallel with the axis of the coil, wherein the slats include a first slat and a last slat, the first slat is the innermost slat of the coil and the last slat is the outermost slat of the coil; andheat treating the coil so as to set a wound shape into the slats such that the first slat has a smaller radius than the last slat. 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the slats are narrow compared with a height of the fabric so that, on the slatted roller blind, adjacent slats are disconnected from each other and an open fabric exists there between. 3. A process of forming a slatted roller blind comprising: forming a fabric including a plurality of thermally formable slats about a rotating drum;winding the fabric about a roller to create a fabric wound roll; andheat treating the fabric wound roll so as to set a wound shape into each slat. 4. The process of claim 3, further including encasing the fabric wound roll prior to heat treatment. 5. The process of claim 3, wherein the slats are narrow compared with a height of the fabric so that, on the slatted roller blind, adjacent slats are disconnected from each other with exposed fabric therebetween. 6. A process for fabricating a blind, comprising: helically winding thermally formable slat material about a drum, thereby forming a slat product;moving the slat product from the drum to a platform;winding the slat product about a roller tube to form a roller blind; andheat treating the roller blind while wound about the roller tube. 7. A process of forming a slatted roller blind comprising: winding a fabric layered with a thermally formable slat material secured thereto about a roller;encapsulating the wound roller; andheat treating the wound roller so as to set a wound shape into the slat material. 8. The process of claim 1, wherein the slats are coupled to the fabric prior to heat treatment. 9. The process of claim 7, wherein the heat treatment causes the slat material to be bonded to the fabric. 10. The process of claim 6, wherein the slat material is coated with a thermally activated adhesive. 11. The process of claim 8, wherein the slats are bonded to the fabric by said heat treating. 12. The process of claim 2, wherein the slats are bonded to the fabric with an adhesive activated by said heat treating. 13. The process of claim 7, wherein the slat material is secured to the fabric by stitching. 14. The process of claim 7, wherein the slat material is secured to the fabric by welding. 15. The process of claim 7, wherein the fabric and the thermally formable slat material are the same material type, and the slat material is treated with a thermally formable resin after being layered to the fabric. 16. The process of claim 3, wherein the fabric and the thermally formable slats are the same material type, and the slats are treated with a thermally formable resin after being layered to the fabric. 17. A process for fabricating a blind, comprising: helically winding thermally formable slat material about a drum, thereby forming a slat product;winding the slat product about a roller tube to form a roller blind; andheat treating the roller blind while wound about the roller tube. 18. The process of claim 17, further comprising: helically winding fabric about the drum; andwinding the slat material about the fabric. 19. The process of claim 17, wherein: winding the slat product about the roller tube provides the slat material with a spiral curvature profile; andheat treating the blind sets the spiral curvature profile into the slat material. 20. The process of claim 17, further comprising: moving the slat product from the drum to a platform while helically winding additional slat material on the drum; andsynchronizing winding slat material, winding the slat product, and heating the blind, so that a first-formed blind, formed from a first-formed slat product, is moved from the platform to a heat treating device, substantially when a second-formed slat product is formed. 21. The process of claim 17, wherein helically winding the thermally formable slat material about the drum further includes: spinning the drum;applying, via a slat distributing structure, slat material onto the drum; andadvancing the slat distributing structure between opposing axial ends of the drum at a rate which defines a height-wise spacing between the slat material. 22. The process of claim 17, wherein helically winding the thermally formable slat material about the drum further includes cutting, along an axial groove in the drum, the slat product wound about the drum. 23. The process of claim 18, wherein winding said slat material onto said fabric further includes: coating the slat material with at least one application of adhesive, including a first application of adhesive at a top edge of a rear surface of the slat material; andpressing the adhesive coating on said top edge of the rear surface into the fabric. 24. The process of claim 23, wherein coating with adhesive includes coating a second application of adhesive, offset from a bottom edge of the rear surface of the slat material. 25. The process of claim 23, wherein coating with adhesive includes coating a second application of adhesive, at a bottom edge on a front surface of the slat material. 26. The process of claim 18, wherein winding the slat material about the fabric further includes layering a release layer with the slat material. 27. The process of claim 17, further comprising cutting the slat material wrapped about the drum with a rotary blade. 28. The process of claim 3, further comprising: holding a leading edge of the fabric against the drum, at a first side of an axial groove, between a first metallic member and a first drum magnet; andholding a trailing edge of the fabric against the drum, at a second side of the axial groove, between a second metallic member and a second drum magnet;whereby the fabric is taut on the drum. 29. The process of claim 18, further comprising: revolving the drum once in a first direction;unwinding the slat product from the drum;revolving the drum once in a second direction opposing the first direction;drawing, through an axial opening in the drum, additional fabric from a supply of fabric; andhelically winding the additional fabric about the drum. 30. The process of claim 29, wherein: winding slat material about the drum sandwiches a first metallic member between the fabric and slat material at a leading edge of the fabric at one circumferential side of the drum axial opening; andunwinding the slat product from the drum includes: gripping a leading edge of the slat product, via the first metallic member and a movable magnet;carrying the leading edge of the slat product to a first platform magnet;holding the leading edge of the slat product at the first platform magnet; andholding the slat product at a second platform magnet with a second metallic member;the second magnet being located between the leading edge of the slat product and an opposing end of a platform. 31. The process of claim 29, wherein helically winding the additional fabric about the drum includes moving the slat product on a platform in a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the drum while winding the additional fabric about the drum. 32. The process of claim 17, further comprising moving the slat product in a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the drum by moving first and second platform magnets in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the drum, carrying the slat product therewith. 33. The process of claim 3 ,further comprising: helically winding the fabric about the drum by positioning a leading edge of the fabric on a first side of an axial groove, against a first drum magnet, and positioning a first metallic member thereat to hold the leading edge of the fabric against the drum;winding the drum by one revolution thereby drawing the fabric from a supply of fabric;while winding the drum by one revolution, moving the supply of the fabric in a direction parallel with a long axis of the drum so as to helically wrap the fabric about the drum;wherein, after winding the drum by one revolution, the fabric circumferentially extends over a second drum magnet and over the axial groove, between the second drum magnet and the first drum magnet;positioning a second metallic member on the fabric at a second side of the axial groove, against the second drum magnet, to hold the fabric thereat against the drum; andcutting the fabric between the first and second sides of the axial groove along a direction which is parallel with the long axis of the drum. 34. The process of claim 29, wherein after forming the slat product about the rotating drum, the process further comprises: holding the additional fabric at one circumferential side of an axial opening along the drum, between a metallic member and a magnet; andpreventing a supply of fabric from supplying further fabric;whereby the additional fabric is taut in a helical configuration about the drum. 35. The process of claim 29, further comprising: cutting along the axial opening in the drum, to separate the slat product from the additional fabric wound about the drum; andmoving the slat product to a platform, away from the drum. 36. The process of claim 17, wherein winding the slat product about the roller tube to form the roller blind further comprises: obtaining the roller tube from a supply of roller tubes;positioning the roller tube against the slat product on a platform; andwinding the slat product about the roller tube, thereby forming the roller blind. 37. The process of claim 17, wherein winding the slat product about the roller tube provides a curvature on each slat side edge defined by a segment of a spiral curve on which the slat is positioned when the roller blind is retracted. 38. The process of claim 36 , wherein positioning the roller tube further comprises: gravity feeding a roller tube from a magazine of roller tubes into a fixed jaw; andpivoting the fixed jaw about a point so that the roller tube is positioned on the slat product. 39. The process of claim 38, wherein the fixed jaw holds the roller tube by vacuum pressure. 40. The process of claim 38, wherein the fixed jaw is cushioned and the platform includes a spring surface where said fixed jaw positions said roller tube. 41. The process of claim 36 , wherein positioning the roller tube further includes positioning the roller tube on a front surface of the slat product. 42. The process of claim 36 , wherein positioning the roller tube further includes positioning the roller tube on a rear surface of the slat product. 43. The process of claim 18, further comprising positioning an additional fabric layer against a front surface of the slat product before winding the slat product about the roller tube. 44. The process of claim 18, further comprising positioning at least one additional layer of slat product against a front surface of the slat product before winding the slat product about the roller tube. 45. The process of claim 17, further comprising obtaining a roller tube from a supply of roller tubes and positioning the roller tube against the slat product, wherein positioning the roller tube includes aligning the roller tube with the slat product. 46. The process of claim 18, wherein helically winding fabric about the drum includes connecting a header tape to a top edge of the fabric, upstream of the drum, which is thereby wound about the drum with the fabric, for connecting with the roller tube. 47. The process of claim 46 , wherein helically winding fabric about the drum includes connecting a tail tape to a bottom edge of the fabric, upstream of the drum, which is thereby wound about the drum with the fabric, for encapsulating the blind upon winding the slat product about the roller tube. 48. The process of claim 46, wherein helically winding fabric about the drum includes connecting an encapsulating layer to a bottom edge of the fabric, and connecting a tail tape to a bottom edge of the encapsulating layer, upstream of the drum, which are thereby wound about the drum with the fabric, for encapsulating the blind upon winding the slat product about the roller tube. 49. The process of claim 17, wherein a roller tube motor and chuck automatically roll the roller tube for winding the slat product about the roller tube. 50. The process of claim 17, further comprising encapsulating the blind and moving the blind and depositing the encapsulated blind in an oven, to heat treat the blind. 51. The process of claim 50, wherein the heat treating of the encapsulated blind sets a spiral curvature profile shape into the slat material. 52. The process of claim 3, wherein forming the fabric includes helically winding the fabric about the drum, and wherein the process further comprises: positioning a first metallic member against a first drum magnet to hold the leading edge of the fabric against the first drum magnet; andpositioning a second metallic member against a second drum magnet to hold the fabric against the second drum magnet. 53. The process of claim 50, wherein the oven is large enough to simultaneously heat treat plural blinds. 54. The process of claim 50, further comprising moving the blind from the drum to a platform, wherein a surface of the platform where the blind is positioned pivots away from the platform, dropping the blind into an opening in the oven. 55. The process of claim 52, wherein each metallic member is slid into a slot in a platform from either a front end or rear end of the platform, which is substantially parallel with the drum magnets. 56. The process of claim 55, wherein a plurality of metallic members is stored in a bin disposed at either the front end or rear end of the platform and each metallic member is automatically slid into the slot. 57. The process of claim 17, further comprising dividing the heat treated blind along an axial length of the heat treated blind, into plural blinds. 58. The process of claim 17, including equipping the roller blind with a drive system coupled to the roller tube for moving the roller blind between an extended state and a retracted state. 59. The process of claim 58, wherein the drive system includes an electric motor. 60. The process of claim 59, wherein the drive system includes a switch for remotely operating the drive system. 61. The process of claim 60, wherein the switch is wirelessly connected to the drive system. 62. The process of claim 58, wherein the drive system is a pull cord and gear assembly. 63. The process of claim 17, further including equipping the roller blind with a headrail which is large enough to conceal the roller blind in a retracted state and conceal a drive system. 64. The process of claim 17, further including equipping the roller blind with a weighted bottom rail. 65. The process of claim 17, further including equipping the roller blind with a frame for housing the blind. 66. The process of claim 17, further comprising: moving the slat material away from the drum so that a top edge and a bottom edge of the slat product, which are at an angle to a front end of a platform, translate at substantially a same rate; andonce the slat product has substantially cleared the drum, twisting the slat product on the platform so that the top edge of the slat product is substantially parallel with the front end of the platform. 67. The process of claim 66, wherein the twisting includes translating one of the top and bottom edges of the slat product either further or at a different rate than the other of the top and bottom edges of the slat product. 68. The process of claim 28, wherein the first and second metallic members are sandwiched between a fabric and slat portion of the fabric, and the process further comprises cutting away the first and second sandwiched metallic members from the fabric, which is positioned on a platform, and removing the cut away first and second sandwiched metallic members from the platform. 69. The process of claim 68, wherein the platform includes slots at locations where the first and second sandwiched metallic members are cut away from the fabric on the platform. 70. The process of claim 68, wherein an automated gantry supported blade cuts away the first and second sandwiched metallic members from the fabric. 71. The process of claim 68, wherein a bin is provided for receiving the cut away first and second sandwiched metallic members. 72. The process of claim 17, further comprising: sandwiching first and second metallic members between a fabric and slat portion of the slat product;moving the slat product from the drum to a platform;gripping the sandwiched second metallic member with a pivoting magnet for flipping the second sandwiched metallic member onto the platform;gripping the flipped sandwiched second metallic member with a movable magnet; translating the movable magnet over the platform and away from the drum so that a top edge and a bottom edge of the slat product, which are at an angle to a front end of the platform, translate at substantially a same rate; andonce the slat product has substantially cleared the drum, twisting the slat product on the platform so that the top edge of the slat product is substantially parallel with a front of the platform. 73. The process of claim 72, wherein the twisting includes translating one of the top and bottom edges of the slat product either further or at a different rate than the other of the top and bottom edge of the slat product. 74. The process of claim 17, wherein the drum is coated with silicone. 75. The process of claim 6, wherein the slat material is narrow compared with a roller blind height so that, on the slatted roller blind, adjacent slats are disconnected from each other and an open blind area exists therebetween. 76. The process of claim 18, wherein the fabric is a screen, and the slats are narrow compared with a screen height so that, on the slatted roller blind, adjacent slats are disconnected from each other and an exposed screen area exists therebetween. 77. The process of claim 17, wherein said heat treating occurs in an oven. 78. The process of claim 77, wherein the oven is a convection oven. 79. The process of claim 77, wherein the oven is an RF oven. 80. The process of claim 1, further comprising encasing the coil prior to heat treating the coil. 81. The process of claim 17, wherein said winding of slat material further comprises forming layers of slat fabric, said process further comprising connecting layers of slat fabric to one another with adhesive. 82. The process of claim 7, wherein the slat material is narrow compared with a height of the roller blind so that, on the roller blind, adjacent slats are disconnected from one another and exposed fabric exists therebetween. 83. The process of claim 17, wherein: said slat material is wound about a fabric during the helical winding. 84. The process of claim 83 wherein the fabric is helically wound about the drum.