Method of cutting slats for a venetian blind

• US 5,103,702 A
• Filed: 12/21/1988
• Issued: 04/14/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Newell Operating Company (Newell Brands Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Levolor Lorentzen Incorporated
• Inventors: Yannazzone, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hien H.
• Application Number:
  US07/288,285
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 83/29, 83/39, 83/383, 83/384, 83/452, 83/468.94, 83/694, 83/697, 83/929, 83/953, 29/24.5
• US Class Current: 83/29
• CPC Class Codes: B23D 23/00 Machines or devices for shearing or cutting profiled stock hand-held devices B23D29/00
• CPC Class Codes: B23D 35/001 cutting members
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 1/0006 Cutting members therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2001/006 the cutting blade having a special shape, e.g. a special outline, serrations
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 3/10 Making cuts of other than simple rectilinear form cutting-out B26F
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 9/266 Devices or accessories for making or mounting lamellar blinds or parts thereof cleaning of lamellar blinds A47L4/00; joining plastics plates for making venetian blinds B29C66/437
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 83/929 Particular nature of work or product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/0476 Including stacking of plural workpieces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/0524 Plural cutting steps
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/7487 Means to clamp work
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/7673 Spaced edges
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/9454 Reciprocable type

Abstract

Venetian blind slats are stacked and clamped onto a support, and confined laterally, while leaving ends beyond the desired length to which they are to be cut, un-confined. Then in one stroke in a direction perpendicular to the support, the ends of the stack are sheared-off by a punching tool having a cutting edge which contacts longitudinal margins prior to the center of the slats.

Claims

1. A method of cutting venetian blind slats to a desired length, comprising:

stacking a plurality of slats, each of the slats having a convexly curved transverse surface and of a length exceeding the desired length, on top of one another to form a stack of slats on a support;

providing a curved support surface on said support matching the curved transverse surface of the slats;

aligning the ends of the slats in the stack;

clamping the stack onto the support, and confining the stack laterally, over the desired length but leaving free ends of the slats beyond the desired length unconfined;

shearing-off each free end of each of the slats of the stack in one stroke in a direction perpendicular to the support in seriatim with a tool having a cutting edge which contacts outer longitudinal margins of the slats before central portions thereof and which allows the sheared free ends to freely fall away.

2. An apparatus for cutting venetian blind slats to a desired longitudinal length, comprising:

a support for receiving thereon a stack comprising a plurality of vertically aligned blind slats of a longitudinal length exceeding the desired length;

means for clamping the stack of the support at positions between the ends of slats of the desired length;

means for laterally confining the stack over the desired length, but leaving the ends thereof beyond the desired length freely un-confined;

and tool means for shearing-off in one stroke each free end of the slats in the stack in a direction perpendicular to said support;

said tool means including a punch with a cutting edge for contacting outer edge margins of the slats before central portions of the slats and wherein said cutting edge includes angular edge surfaces for allowing the free ends to fall away freely; and

wherein an upper surface of the support facing the stack is convexly curved.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the punch edge surfaces are arranged at an angle of from 25°

to 35°

with respect to a longitudinal axis of said punch.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said angle is approximately 30°

.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 further including stop means for vertically aligning the slats in the stack and wherein said stop means is removable from the aligned slats after clamping the stack and before shearing-off each free end of the slats.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said angular edge surfaces of the punch are at an angle of from 25°

to 35°

with respect to a longitudinal axis of said punch such that the sheared free ends of the stack fall away freely from the apparatus.