Self-contained accordian shutter system

Abstract

A method for manufacturing protective shutters is provided. The method may include: shaping metal to form shutter components, the shutter components comprising at least a top guide piece and a bottom guide piece, a plurality of shutter blades, and side supports; cutting the shutter components to predetermined dimensions; drilling screw holes into the shutter components at predetermined locations; providing a plurality of guide wheels for guiding the shutter blades along a hollow portion in the top guide piece; providing a plurality of protruding pieces for protruding from joints where two shutter blades attach and for guiding the shutter blades along the top and bottom guide pieces; and providing mounting hardware for attaching the protective shutters to a fixed structure and for attaching the shutter components together. The shutter components, guide wheels, protruding pieces, and mounting hardware are for being packaged together for delivery to a recipient.

1 . A method for manufacturing protective shutters comprising:
 shaping metal to form shutter components, said shutter components comprising at least a top guide piece and a bottom guide piece, a plurality of shutter blades, and side supports;   cutting said shutter components to predetermined dimensions;   drilling screw holes into said shutter components at predetermined locations;   providing a plurality of guide wheels for guiding the shutter blades along a hollow portion in the top guide piece;   providing a plurality of protruding pieces for protruding from joints where two shutter blades attach and for guiding said shutter blades along said top and bottom guide pieces; and   providing mounting hardware for attaching said protective shutters to a fixed structure and for attaching said shutter components together, wherein all of said shutter components, guide wheels, protruding pieces, and mounting hardware are for being packaged together for delivery to a recipient.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising pre-inserting said guide wheels into joints where said shutter blades meet before delivery to a recipient. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising pre-inserting said protruding pieces into joints where said shutter blades meet before delivery to a recipient. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising pre-attaching said shutter blades to one another to form at least one shutter door before delivery to a recipient. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising pre-attaching a side support to an end of said at least one shutter door before delivery to a recipient. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein said shutter components further comprise at least one locking blade, and the method for manufacturing protective shutters further comprises attaching the at least one locking blade to an end of said at least one shutter door opposite the side support end. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said shutter components further comprise a shutter hold-back device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said protruding pieces are made of nylon or plastic. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said shutter components are made of aluminum. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the shutter components are formed in an aluminum-extrusion process. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the shutter hold-back device is made of either nylon or plastic.