AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant/s: Hunter Douglas Industries B.V. Actual Inventor/s: Yun Hong Zhang and Li Ping Fang Address for Service is: SHELSTON IP 60 Margaret Street Telephone No: (02) 9777 1111 SYDNEY NSW 2000 Facsimile No. (02) 9241 4666 CCN: 3710000352 Attorney Code: SW Invention Title: LOUVER The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: File: 56601AUP00 -la LOUVER The invention relates to a louver for controlling light or ventilation through an architectural opening, such as a window, in a building. 5 Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field. 10 Such a louver, having an elongate generally rectangular panel with opposite first and second longitudinal edge portions, is known from US 1 403 054. This louver is supported on an elongate support bar, extending longitudinally of the panel, by two holding brackets extending transversely of the support bar. Each bracket can be readily attached to and hold one of the opposite longitudinal ends of the panel. 15 This known louver has been successfully used in many applications but is limited by the size of the panel, between its opposite longitudinal ends, that the louver's brackets can support. It has thus been necessary to span larger areas of panels by a succession of louvers and intermediate frame members as also shown in US 1 403 054. There has 20 been a long felt need, therefore, to support larger panels on an elongate support bar with brackets that are also simple to attach to the panels. Such a louver is described in EP 1 696 097 in which each bracket can be longer but has a hook which can easily engage a key on the support bar to securely attach the bracket and 25 support bar together to hold larger panels on the support bar. However, alternative ways have been sought for securely attaching such longer brackets to support bars of such louvers which may be easier to use and/or less expensive to fabricate. 30 To this end, this invention provides a louver which includes: an elongate, generally rectangular panel having opposite lateral edge portions; an elongate, longitudinally-extending support bar; and -2 at least two laterally-extending brackets spaced along the support bar and holding the opposite lateral edge portions of the panel above the support bar; wherein each of the brackets is held on the support bar by a pair of upper and lower key way formations on opposite lateral sides of the support bar. 5 Advantageously, the upper key way formation is a mating ball and socket arrangement and the lower key way formation is a snap-fit arrangement. This louver can be easily manufactured and installed in the interior, or on the exterior, of 10 a building. One embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 15 Figure 1 is an exploded fragmentary perspective view of a basic portion of a louver of the invention as viewed from below; a pair of arms on opposite lateral sides of a central, longitudinally-extending support bar hold a portion of a rectangular sheet atop the basic louver portion; the sheet portion has rounded perforations, through which air and light can easily pass; 20 Figure 2 is a perspective view of a louver, as viewed from below, formed from three of the basic louver portions of Figure 1; three pair of arms on opposite lateral sides of the longitudinally-extending support bar hold a larger rectangular sheet atop the louver; the larger sheet has narrow perforated slits, through which some air and light can pass; 25 Figure 3 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view, taken vertically in Figure 1, of a mating ball and socket arrangement for an upper key way formation of the louver of Figures 1 and 2; and 30 Figure 4 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view, taken vertically in Figure 1, of a snap-fit arrangement for a bottom key way formation of the louver of Figures 1 and 2.
-3 Figures 1 and 2 show a louver L of this invention. The top of the louver L holds an elongate, generally rectangular panel I which can be perforated in different ways as shown, for example, in Figures 1 and 2. The louver L has a central, elongate, longitudinally-extending support bar 3 and at least one pair of laterally-extending 5 brackets 4 on laterally opposite sides of the support bar 3 for holding the panel I on the louver, above the support bar 3. Each holding bracket 4 has a laterally-extending bracket member 4A and a vertically-extending bracket member 4B which cooperate with the support bar 3 to securely hold the bracket 4 on the support bar 3 and securely hold the panel 1 between brackets on laterally opposite sides of the support bar. The exterior 10 surfaces of the inturned free lateral ends 5 of each pair of laterally-extending bracket members 4A is shaped to closely engage and support the interior surfaces of the inturned lateral rims 11 of the panel 1. Each longitudinal end of the support bar 3 can be provided with a pivot journal (not shown) for pivotally supporting the louver L between uprights of a building (as described, for example, in US 1 403 054). 15 As shown in Figures I and 2, the louver L has at least one pair of upper key way formations KI on its opposite lateral sides. As seen from Figures 1 and 3, each upper key way formation KI has a mating ball and socket arrangement. This arrangement includes a longitudinally elongate rib 6 extending laterally from an upper lateral portion 20 of a bracket 4 on one lateral side of the louver towards a mating longitudinally elongate socket 7 on an upper portion of an adjacent lateral side of the support bar 3 on the same lateral side of the louver. As best seen from Figure 3, each rib 6 has a vertical cross section which is generally round but a portion of which forms a chord 6A of a circle and is flat. As also best seen from Figure 3, each bracket 4 can be oriented with its laterally 25 extending bracket member 4A extending somewhat upwardly away from the support bar 3, so that the generally flat portion 6A of its rib 6 is at about the bottom of its rib. As further seen from Figure 3, each socket 7 has a vertical cross-section with generally the same interior circumference as the exterior circumference of its mating rib 6. However, the vertical cross-section of the lateral opening 7A of each socket 7, adjacent the rib 6, is 30 larger than the vertical cross-section of the laterally-extending diameter of its mating rib 6 when the rib's flat portion 6A is at the rib's bottom as shown in Figure 3 but smaller than the vertical cross-section of the rib 6 when the rib's flat portion 6A is not at or near the rib's bottom. As a result, the rib 6 of each upper key way formation KI can be -4 inserted laterally (from left to right in Figure 3) into its socket 7 when the rib's flat portion 6A is at the rib's bottom as shown in Figure 3. Then, the rib 6 can be held securely in the socket 7 by rotating the rib's bracket 4 and its laterally-extending bracket member 4A downwardly (in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3) toward the support 5 bar 3 to rotate the rib, so that the rib's flat portion 6A is no longer at or near the bottom of the rib or the socket. As also shown in Figures 1 and 2, the louver L has at least one pair of lower key way formations K2 on its opposite lateral sides. As seen from Figure 4, each lower key way 10 formation K2 has a snap-fit arrangement. This arrangement includes a hook 8 extending laterally from the bottom of the lower bracket member 4B of each bracket 4 on opposite lateral sides of the louver towards a longitudinally-extending groove 9 in the bottom of the support bar 3. A vertically-extending interior lateral surface 8A of each hook 8 is adapted to frictionally engage an adjacent vertically-extending lateral surface 9A of the 15 groove 9 on the same lateral side of the groove as the bracket 4 and the hook's interior lateral surface 8A when the hook 8 has been snapped into the groove. The hook 8 can be easily snapped into the groove 9, so that the hook's interior lateral surface 8A snuggly engages the lateral surface 9A of the support bar's groove 9, by urging the bottom of the lower bracket member 4B of the hook's bracket 4 upwardly into the groove 9, so that the 20 hook's interior lateral surface 8A moves upwardly along and past the lower edge of the adjacent lateral surface 9A of the groove 9. Each hook 8 can be snapped into the groove 9 only after the rib 6 of the hook's bracket 4 has been inserted laterally into its adjacent socket 7 (with the hook's laterally-extending bracket member 4A extending somewhat upwardly and with the rib's flat portion 6A at the rib's bottom) and the rib's bracket 4 25 and its laterally-extending bracket member 4A have then been rotated downwardly toward the support bar 3 to rotate the rib, so that the rib's flat portion 6A is no longer at or near the bottom of the rib or the socket. Optionally, the hooks 8 at the bottom of each lower bracket member 4B of each bracket 30 4 are further secured to the bottom of the support bar 3. This is preferably accomplished, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, by providing one or more screws 10 which extend upwardly through vertically-extending holes in the hooks and engage threaded holes (not shown) in the top of the groove 9.
-5 The louver L and the panel 1, held by the top of the louver, can be formed from sheet metal, such as aluminum, but can also be made of a rigid plastic. The inturned lateral rims 5 and 11 of the louver L and panel I can be produced by roll forming metal strips. 5 This invention is, of course, not limited to the above-described embodiment which may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its advantages. In this regard, the terms in the foregoing description and the following claims, such as "left", "right", "longitudinal", "lateral", "bottom", "top", "inner" and 10 "outer", have been used only as relative terms to describe the relationships of the various elements of the louver of the invention for controlling light or ventilation through an architectural opening, such as a window, in a building. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an 15 exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".