Adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents

Abstract

An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect an area underneath the covering from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents. The device includes a plurality of louvers engaged by a plurality of rods, which make a pair of pantograph mechanisms, the latter constrained to guiding section bars by carriages. The guide section bars have a groove shaped to contain an involute worm, the axis of which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of development of the guiding section bar and a longitudinal groove able to retain and allow the sliding of the carriages. The ends of the louvers are constrained to an end of a pin, which constrains a pair of rods at the middle line, and is provided with a toothed wheel, which meshes with the involute worm when the pantograph is in the fully extended configuration thus determining the rotation of the louvers.

1 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents, comprising a plurality of louvers for covering an area underneath, said louvers being arranged parallel to one another between a pair of guiding section bars perpendicular to said louvers, each of said louvers being able to rotate about a longitudinal axis thereof and said covering louvers being engaged to a plurality of rods constrained to one another so as to form a pair of pantograph mechanisms, the latter being constrained to said guiding sections by means of carriages so as to be able to either extend or retract in direction parallel to the longitudinal development of said guiding sections between a fully extended position of the louvers and a folding position of the louvers themselves, said mechanism being characterized in that said guiding sections comprise a partially open longitudinal groove shaped so as to contain an involute worm, the axis of which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of development of said guiding section bars, and a longitudinal groove able to retain and allow the sliding of the carriages and parallel to said groove being characterized in that the ends of said louvers are constrained to an end of a pin, said pin constituting a cylindrical hinge which constrains a pair of rods at the middle line and said pin having on the other end a toothed wheel, the latter being suited to mesh with the involute worm when said pantograph is in fully extended configuration, the rotation of said involute worm being able to obtain the rotation of the louvers about the axis of the pin. 
     
     
         2 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to  claim 1 , wherein each pantograph mechanism comprises a plurality of rods, each rod being hinged by means of cylindrical hinges to other rods at the ends and and hinged by means of a pin to a further rod at the middle line thereof. 
     
     
         3 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to  claim 2 , wherein the rods are hinged to carriages on the ends in contact with the guiding section bar. 
     
     
         4 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to  claim 1 , wherein the rotation of the involute worm is achieved by means of actuating means of electric, mechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic nature. 
     
     
         5 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to  claim 1 , wherein the carriages are constrained to slide in the longitudinal groove of the guiding section bar by means of anti-friction wheels. 
     
     
         6 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to  claim 1 , wherein the guiding section bar has a tubular, rectangular, polygonal section or is of the type with one wall. 
     
     
         7 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to  claim 1 , wherein the rotation of said toothed wheel is determined by the translation of a rack. 
     
     
         8 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to  claim 1 , wherein the first carriage is constrained to the end of the section bar, and the last carriage is constrained to a belt able to obtain the translation of the carriages in the groove. 
     
     
         9 . An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to  claim 1 , wherein said belt is actuated by an electric motor.