Motorized window treatment
First Claim
1. A motorized window treatment comprising:
- a headrail having first and second opposite ends;
a covering material having a top end connected to the headrail, the covering material extending from the headrail to a bottom end;
a motor drive unit including a motor and located in the center of the headrail;
two drive shafts extending from both sides of the motor drive unit and rotatably coupled to the motor drive unit thereby allowing rotations of the motor to result in rotations of the drive shafts;
first and second lift cords, the first lift cord located proximate to the first opposite end of the headrail and the second lift cord located proximate to the second opposite end of the headrail, each lift cord rotatably received around a respective one of the drive shafts and extending vertically to the bottom end of the covering material; and
at least a first compartment and a second compartment configured to hold respective first and second batteries for powering the motor drive unit, the first and second compartments located on each side of the motor drive unit, the first compartment located between the first opposite end of the headrail and the first lift cord, and the second compartment located between the second opposite end of the headrail and the second lift cord;
wherein the motor drive unit is configured to rotate the drive shaft to adjust the bottom end of the covering material between a fully-closed position and a fully-open position in response to rotations of the drive shaft, the motor drive unit further configured to receive radio-frequency (RF) signals and to control the motor in response to the received RF signals.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A motorized window treatment provides a low-cost solution for controlling the amount of daylight entering a space through a window. The window treatment includes a covering material, a drive shaft, at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and connected to the covering material, and a motor coupled to the drive shaft for raising and lowering the covering material. The window treatment also includes a spring assist unit for assisting the motor by providing a torque that equals the torque provided by the weight on the cords that lift the covering material at a position midway between fully-open and fully-closed positions, which helps to minimize motor usage and conserve battery life if a battery is used to power the motorized window treatment. The window treatment may comprise a photosensor for measuring the amount of daylight outside the window and temperature sensors for measuring the temperatures inside and outside of the window. The position of the covering material may be automatically controlled in response to the photosensor and the temperature sensors to save energy, or may also be controlled in response to an infrared or radio-frequency remote control.
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Citations
62 Claims
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1. A motorized window treatment comprising:
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a headrail having first and second opposite ends; a covering material having a top end connected to the headrail, the covering material extending from the headrail to a bottom end; a motor drive unit including a motor and located in the center of the headrail; two drive shafts extending from both sides of the motor drive unit and rotatably coupled to the motor drive unit thereby allowing rotations of the motor to result in rotations of the drive shafts; first and second lift cords, the first lift cord located proximate to the first opposite end of the headrail and the second lift cord located proximate to the second opposite end of the headrail, each lift cord rotatably received around a respective one of the drive shafts and extending vertically to the bottom end of the covering material; and at least a first compartment and a second compartment configured to hold respective first and second batteries for powering the motor drive unit, the first and second compartments located on each side of the motor drive unit, the first compartment located between the first opposite end of the headrail and the first lift cord, and the second compartment located between the second opposite end of the headrail and the second lift cord; wherein the motor drive unit is configured to rotate the drive shaft to adjust the bottom end of the covering material between a fully-closed position and a fully-open position in response to rotations of the drive shaft, the motor drive unit further configured to receive radio-frequency (RF) signals and to control the motor in response to the received RF signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A motor drive unit for a motorized window treatment, the motorized window treatment including a covering material, a drive shaft, and at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material, the motorized window treatment further comprising a battery-powered supply having at least one battery producing a battery voltage to power the motor drive unit, the motor drive unit comprising:
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a motor; and a controller configured to control the motor to rotate the drive shaft to raise and lower the covering material in response to received radio-frequency (RF) signals; wherein the controller is configured to monitor the magnitude of the battery voltage of the battery-powered supply when the motor is not raising or lowering the covering material, the controller configured to enter a low-battery mode when the magnitude of the battery voltage drops below a first predetermined low-battery threshold and to move the covering material at a reduced speed in the low-battery mode. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A motorized window treatment comprising:
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a covering material; a motor drive unit configured to move the covering material between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position in response to received radio-frequency (RF) signals; a battery-powered supply connected to and providing a voltage for powering the motor drive unit; and wherein the motor drive unit is configured to determine when the magnitude of the voltage is too low for continued operation and reserve enough energy in the battery to allow for at least one additional movement of the covering material to the fully-open position. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. A motor drive unit for a motorized window treatment, the motorized window treatment including a covering material, a drive shaft, and at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material between a fully-open and fully-closed position and to any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions, the motorized window treatment further comprising a battery-powered supply having at least one battery for generating a battery voltage for powering the motor drive unit, the motor drive unit comprising:
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a motor; a controller configured to control the motor to rotate the drive shaft to raise and lower the covering material in response to received radio-frequency (RF) signals; and a power supply configured to generate a DC supply voltage from the battery voltage, the DC supply voltage having a first nominal magnitude for powering the controller; wherein the controller is configured to increase the magnitude of the DC supply voltage to a second increased magnitude greater than the first magnitude when the controller is driving the motor to rotate the drive shaft. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A motorized window treatment comprising:
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a covering material for the window, the covering material moveable between a fully-open and fully-closed position and to any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions; a drive shaft; at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material; a motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft to rotate the drive shaft to raise and lower the covering material, the motor drive unit having a sensor arrangement coupled to the drive shaft to sense movement of the drive shaft and used to determine the position of the bottom of the covering material, the motor drive unit having a controller electrically coupled to the sensor arrangement to determine the position of the bottom of the covering material between the fully-open and fully-closed positions from at least one sensor signal from the sensor arrangement, the motor drive unit having a memory coupled to the controller to store position data related to the determined position, the controller configured to control the motor to raise and lower the covering material in response to received radio-frequency (RF) signal; a battery-powered supply configured to power the motor drive unit; a supplemental power source for the control unit, the supplemental power source configured to maintain a charged voltage for a period of time adequate to maintain the position data when the battery-powered supply is removed and changed; whereby the battery-powered supply can be removed without loss of the position data. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A motorized window treatment comprising:
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a covering material for a window moveable between a fully-open and a fully-closed position and any position intermediate the fully-open and fully-closed positions; a drive shaft; at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to a bottom of the covering material for raising and lowering the covering material; a motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft to rotate the drive shaft to raise and lower the covering material, the motor drive unit having a sensor arrangement coupled to the drive shaft to sense movement of the drive shaft and used to determine the position of the bottom of the covering material, the motor drive unit having a controller electrically coupled to the sensor arrangement to determine the position of the bottom of the covering material between the fully-open and fully-closed positions from at least one sensor signal from the sensor arrangement, the controller configured to control the motor to raise and lower the covering material in response to received radio-frequency (RF) signals; wherein the covering material is engageable by a user to manually position the covering material at any position between the fully-open and fully-closed positions and wherein the sensor arrangement provides the at least one sensor signal to the controller so that the controller can determine the position of the covering material when the covering material is manually adjusted. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50)
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51. A motorized window treatment comprising:
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a covering material; a drive shaft; at least one lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and arranged to extend to a bottom end of the covering material in such a way that the lift cord provides a torque on the drive shaft; a motor drive unit having a motor coupled to the drive shaft and configured to rotate the drive shaft to raise and lower the covering material in response to received radio-frequency (RF) signals, the motor drive unit configured to rotate the drive shaft to raise and lower the covering material between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position in response to the received RF signals; and a spring assist assembly coupled to the drive shaft and configured to provide a constant amount of torque on the drive shaft in a direction opposite a direction of the torque provided on the drive shaft by the lift cord; wherein an amount of energy required by the motor to drive the drive shaft is reduced by the spring assist assembly, and the constant amount of torque provided by the spring assist assembly is approximately equal to the torque provided on the drive shaft by the at least one lift cord when the bottom end of the covering material is positioned half-way between the fully-open position and the fully-closed position. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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Specification