FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of louvered structures and more particularly, the present invention is related to a louvered structure having a plurality of slats and at least a pair of support profiles, wherein the slats are clipped into corresponding grooves in the support profiles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Louvered structures are typically made of a plurality of slats, laid down parallel to each other, typically, with limitation, forming an angle in relation to the wall on which the louvered structure is installed.

Louvered structures are used to provide ventilation grilles capping an aperture in a wall, to provide shading, protect from weather other conditions, as well as to protect and/or decorate the front of walls of buildings. In the case screens for ventilation, the slats are securely mounted on elongated beam support profiles, which beams are secured to the building. Optionally, the slats are maintained inside of a frame.

Typically, the slates are secured to the beam support profiles by an attachment device such as screws and/or bolts. The process of securing the slates to the beam profiles is very labor intensive, especially in the case of large louvered structures.

There is therefore a need, and it would be advantageous to provide louvered structures in which the slates are secured to the beam support profiles by clipping each slat into corresponding grooves in the support profiles. Thereby, substantially reducing the labor time required to assemble the louvered structures as well as saving on attachment screws and/or bolts. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The principle intentions of the present invention include providing a louvered structure in which the slates are secured to beam support profiles by clipping each slat into corresponding grooves in the support profiles. Subsequently, the labor time required to assemble the louvered structures is substantially reduced, and attachment devices such as screws and/or bolts, are not needed.

According to the teachings of the present invention, there is provided a louvered structure including a plurality of slat-structures and at least two beam support profiles. Each of the slat-structures includes a slat having a front surface and an obstructed, and at least two slat-connecting-portions, securely attached to the obstructed surface of the slat. The beam support profiles are disposed transversely, relative to the slats, wherein each of the beam support profiles includes a front surface and a rear surface.

Each slat-connecting-portion includes a body structure and a pair of open ended clipping sections, wherein the body structure interconnects the slat to the pair of clipping sections.

The rear surfaces of the beam support profiles are securely attached to a building wall, wherein a plurality of lateral grooves are formed at the front surface of each of the beam support profile. Each lateral groove is preconfigured to securely accommodate the pair of clipping sections of a respective slat-connecting-portion of a respective slat- structure, wherein the clipping sections are shaped to fit into a respective lateral groove of the plurality of lateral grooves to thereby securely interlock, when being clipped-in to assemble.

Preferably, the body structure includes a first side wall having a first end and a second end, a second side wall having a first end and a second end, and a stiffening- member rigidly interconnecting the first side wall and second side wall.

The first end of the first side wall is securely attached to the obstructed surface and the second end of the first side wall is an open end. The first end of the second side wall is securely attached to the obstructed surface and the second end of the second is an open end. Each of the clipping sections is disposed at the sections proximal to the respective second ends of the first side wall and the second side wall. The stiffening-member is securely attached to the second side wall, proximal to the clipping section of the second side wall, wherein the stiffening-member is securely attached to the first side wall, proximal to the first end of the first side wall, thereby rendering the first side wall with a greater flexibility with respect to the second side wall.

Preferably, each of the lateral grooves includes two sections: an inner section and an external section. The inner section has a preconfigured width Bw ] and a preconfigured depth the external section has a preconfigured width Bw ₂ and a preconfigured depth Bd ₂ , wherein width Bwj is larger than width Bw ₂ by a preconfigured margin, forming flanges that protrude inwardly with respect to the lateral groove.

Preferably, each of the clipping sections includes an inner wall and an anchoring member, wherein each of the side walls is extending generally in a traverse direction with respect to the slat, up until the clipping sections, and wherein preferably, with no limitations, each of the side walls, extending towards the clipping sections, is flat.

The clipping sections is indented inwardly towards the other clipping section, to form the inner wall, being generally parallel to the side walls, and extending downwards by a height Ph ₂ , wherein height Ph ₂ is preconfigured to fittingly accommodate a respective flange. The anchoring member extends from the bottom end of the inner wall, down to the open end of the side walls, wherein the anchoring member includes an outward indentation to fit into the inner section of the respective lateral groove, to thereby secure the slat-connecting-portion inside the respective lateral groove.

Optionally, the anchoring member has a preconfigured length of Ph] and includes a first inclined wall extending outwardly, away from the other clipping section, and another inclined end-wall, extending inwardly, towards the other clipping section.

Optionally, the anchoring member has a preconfigured length of Ph], and includes a rounded wall extending first outwardly away from the other clipping section and then curving back inwardly, towards the other clipping section.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a method of constructing a continuous louvered structure onto a building wall, the method including the steps of providing louvered structure components, as described, and securely attaching the at least two beam support profiles onto a preconfigured location of a target building wall forming a preconfigured gap there between. For each of the slat-structures, the method further include the steps of inserting one of the side walls of each of the slat-connecting-portions into corresponding lateral grooves of the plurality of lateral grooves, and pushing the other side wall of each connecting portion towards the inserted side wall, while forcefully inserting the other side wall into the corresponding lateral groove, until the clipping sections are self-biased outwardly, with respect to each other, to thereby anchor inside the corresponding lateral groove. It should be noted that the outwardly self-biasing of the clipping sections is resulted from the memory of the material from which the slat- connecting-portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings, which drawings are generally not drawn to scale and are given by way of illustration only and thus, not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

Fig. la is a partially sectioned, front isometric view illustration of a portion of the louvered structure, according to embodiments of the present invention, the slat-structures being assembled substantially in an upright position.

Fig. lb is a partially sectioned, front isometric view illustration of a portion of the louvered structure, according to embodiments of the present invention, the slat-structures being assembled in an inclined configuration.

Fig. 2 is a side, top isometric view illustration of a portion of the louvered structure shown in Fig. 1, showing a portion of a slat clipped into a corresponding portion of a beam support profile.

Fig. 3 is an isometric view illustration of the portion of the louvered structure shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an isometric view illustration of the portion of the beam support profile, of the louvered structure shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a top isometric view illustration of a slat-connecting-portion of the slat as shown in Fig. 2, as viewed from the flexible side wall of the slat.

Fig. 6 is a bottom isometric view illustration of the slat-connecting-portion shown in Fig. 5, as viewed from the flexible side wall of the slat.

Fig. 7 is a front view illustration of the slat-connecting-portion shown in Fig. 5, as viewed from the more rigid side wall of the slat. Fig. 8 is a top/bottom exploded view illustration of the beam support profile shown in Fig. 2 and the slat-connecting -portion shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a top/bottom view illustration of the louvered structure shown in Fig. 8, the slat- connecting-portion being inserted into the fitted groove in the beam support profile.

Fig. 10 is a top/bottom view illustration of the louvered structure shown in Fig. 8, the louvered structure being in an assembled state.

Fig. 11 is a top-side isometric view illustration of the louvered structure shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a side-isometric view illustration of the louvered structure shown in Fig. 10, the more rigid side wall of the slat-connecting-portion being at the top side of the illustration.

Fig. 13 is a front-isometric view illustration of the louvered structure shown in Fig. 10, the flexible side wall of the slat-connecting-portion being at the top side of the illustration.

It should be noted that top/bottom views are with respect to the illustration. It should be further noted that top/bottom views are with respect to the external face of the slats, the louvered structure being in the assembled state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided, so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. The methods and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. The present invention can be implemented in the testing or practice with methods and materials equivalent or similar to those described herein.

An embodiment is an example or implementation of the inventions. The various appearances of "one embodiment," "an embodiment" or "some embodiments" do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiments. Although various features of the invention may be described in the context of a single embodiment, the features may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination. Conversely, although the invention may be described herein in the context of separate embodiments for clarity, the invention may also be implemented in a single embodiment.

Reference in the specification to "one embodiment", "an embodiment", "some embodiments" or "other embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the inventions. It is understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is not to be construed as limiting and are for descriptive purpose only.

Methods of the present invention may be implemented by performing or completing manually, automatically, or a combination thereof, selected steps or tasks. The term "method" refers to manners, means, techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readily developed from known manners, means, techniques and procedures by practitioners of the art to which the invention belongs. The descriptions, examples, methods and materials presented in the claims and the specification are not to be construed as limiting but rather as illustrative only.

It should be noted that the present invention will often be described in terms of the louvered structure being made of Aluminum, but the present invention is not limited to being made of Aluminum, and may be made of any other commonly used materials for louvered structures including rigid and semi-rigid polymers and plastic, brass, etc.

Fig. la is a partially sectioned, front isometric view illustration of a portion of a louvered structure 100, according to embodiments of the present invention, the slat- structures 120 being assembled such that the external (front) surface 121 of slats 122 are substantially in an upright position. In Fig. lb the slat-structures 120 are shown assembled in an inclined configuration.

Louvered structure 100 includes at least two beam support profiles 110 and a plurality of slat-structures 120, laid down substantially parallel to each other, across the at least two beam support profiles 110, and typically, substantially perpendicular to the at least two beam support profiles 110. The at least two beam support profiles 110 are typically secured to a designated building structure. It should be noted that the at least two beam support profiles 110 are typically, with no limitation, secured to a building wall substantially parallel to each other. However, It should be noted that the present invention will be described in terms of the at least two beam support profiles 110 may be secured in any orientation with respect to each other, wherein the length of the slats are set accordingly.

It should be further noted that the present invention will be described in terms of the at least two beam support profiles 110 being secured to the designated building structure, substantially in a vertical orientation, but the present invention is not limited for the at least two beam support profiles 110 being secured to the designated building structure in a vertical orientation.

Reference is also made to Fig. 2 is a side, top isometric view illustration of a portion of louvered structure 100, showing a portion of a si at- structure 120 clipped into a corresponding portion of a beam support profile 110; and Fig. 3 is an isometric view illustration of the portion of louvered structure 100 shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an isometric view illustration of the portion of beam support profile 110 of louvered structure 100 shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a top isometric view illustration of a slat-connecting-portion 130 of si at- structure 120, as viewed from the flexible side wall 140b of slat-connecting- portion 130; Fig. 6 is a bottom isometric view illustration of slat-connecting-portion 130, as viewed from the flexible side wall 140b of slat-connecting-portion 130; Fig. 7 is a front view illustration of slat-connecting-portion 130, as viewed from the more rigid side wall 140a of slat-connecting-portion 130; and Fig. 8 is a top/bottom exploded view illustration of beam support profile 110 and slat-connecting-portion 130, as shown in Fig. 5.

It should be noted that each beam support profile 110 includes a front surface 114 and a rear surface 116, wherein beam support profile 110 is secured to a building wall such that rear surface 116 is disposed adjacently to the building wall, and front surface 114 is disposed distally form the building wall.

Multiple lateral grooves 118 are formed at the front surface 114 of each beam support profile 110, wherein each pair of adjacent beam support profiles 110 include corresponding lateral grooves 118, preconfigured to securely accommodate a respective slat-structures 120. It should be noted that the number of lateral grooves 118 that are formed in each beam support profile 110, should be at least the number of slats that that beam support profile 110 is preconfigured to hold.

A groove 118 includes two sections: an inner section and an external section, wherein the inner section has a preconfigured width Bwj and a preconfigured depth Bdj, and the external section has a preconfigured width Bw ₂ and a preconfigured depth Bd ₂ . And wherein width Bwj > width Bw ₂ by a preconfigured margin, forming flanges 119.

At least two slat-connecting-portions 130 are securely attached to the obstructed surface 123 of each slat 122 or are a part thereof. A slat-connecting-portion 130 includes a body structure 138 having a first, flexible side wall 132 and a second, more rigid side wall 134. At a first end of slat-connecting-portion 130, side walls 132 and 134 are securely attached to the obstructed surface 123 of a slat 122. The second, open end of side walls 132 and 134 of slat-connecting-portion 130, are open ends, wherein the sections proximal to these open ends are shaped to form clipping sections 140a and 140b.

A rigid stiffening-member 136 interconnects the first, more flexible side wall 132 and second, more rigid side wall 134 of slat-connecting-portion 130 to form a body structure 138 of si at- structure 120. Stiffening-member 136 is securely attached to the first, more flexible, side wall 132 of slat-connecting-portion 130, proximal to the first end of flexible side wall 132; and stiffening-member 136 is securely attached to the second, more rigid side wall 134 of slat-connecting-portion 130, proximal to clipping section 140a of the more rigid side wall 134.

Therefore, most of the first, more flexible side wall 132 of slat-connecting-portion 130 is an elongated wall, free to bend towards to and away from the second, more rigid side wall 134, rendering flexible side wall 132 with flexibility that is constrained by the material from which slat-connecting-portion 130 is made of. Preferably, with no limitations, slat-connecting-portion 130 is made of Aluminum. In contrast, only the clipping sections 140a of the more rigid side wall 134 remains unsupported and thereby, the second side wall 134 is substantially more rigid than the first side wall 132 of slat- connecting-portion 130.

Clipping sections 140 of slat-connecting-portion 130 is shaped to fit into a respective lateral groove 118 of a respective beam support profile 110. Clipping sections 140a and 140b are indented inwardly towards each other to form respective inner walls 142, extending downwards by a height Ph ₂ . Height Ph ₂ is preconfigured to fittingly accommodate flanges 119.

The section extending from the bottom end of each inner wall 142 down to the second, open end of side walls 132 and 134 is anchoring member 145. Anchoring member 145 includes an inclined wall 144 extending outwardly, away from the other clipping sections 140 and another inclined end-wall 146 extending inwardly, towards the other anchoring member 145. Each anchoring member 145 has a preconfigured length of Phi. A corner 148 is formed between each inclined wall 144 and the respective inclined end-wall 146, wherein a preconfigured width Pw ₂ is formed between the two corners 148 and a narrower width Pwj is formed between the two open ends of end inclined end-walls 146. As seen in Fig. 8, width Pw ₂ fits into width Bw ₂ and width Bwj fits into width Pwj. Depth Bd ₂ fits into height Bh ₂ and height Phi fits into depth Bdj.

Reference is also made to Fig. 9, a top/bottom view illustration of louvered structure 100, slat-connecting-portion 130 being inserted into the fitted lateral groove 118 in beam support profile 110; to Fig. 10, a top/bottom view illustration of louvered structure 100, the louvered structure 100 being in an assembled state; to Fig. 11, a topside isometric view illustration of louvered structure 100; to Fig. 12, a side-isometric view illustration of louvered structure 100, the more rigid side wall 132 of slat-connecting- portion 130 being at the top side of the illustration; and to Fig. 13, a front-isometric view illustration of louvered structure 100, the flexible side wall 134 of slat-connecting-portion 130 being at the top side of the illustration.

To insert slat-connecting-portion 130 into a respective lateral groove 118 in a respective beam support profile 110, one clipping section 140 is inserted into lateral groove 118 whereas the other clipping section 140 is pushed by a force F (see Fig. 9) towards the inserted clipping section 140. In the example shown in Figs. 10-11, clipping section 140b of the first, flexible side wall 132 is inserted first into lateral groove 118, whereas clipping section 140a of the more rigid side wall 134 is pushed by a force F towards clipping section 140b.

As the other clipping section 140 is pushed by a force F, flexible side wall 134 bends towards the clipping section 140a thereby allowing the other inclined end-wall 146 (inclined end-wall 146 of clipping section 140a, in Fig. 9) to slide over the respective flange 119, in direction 150, pass that flange 119 and open up inside the inner section of lateral groove 118. The slat-structure 120 has now clipped into the lateral groove 118 of beam profile 110, as shown in Fig. 1 1. In the assembled state shown in Figs. 10-12, inner walls 142 of the slat-connecting-portions 130 are tightened against the respective flanges 119

It should be noted that the shape of the clipping sections 140, is not limited to the shape shown in Figs. 8-10, and may vary. For example, in variations of the present invention, as shown in Figs. 13-14, clipping sections 141 of a slat-connecting-portion 131 include a rounded anchoring member 147. Anchoring member 147 has a preconfigured length of Phi and includes a rounded wall extending first outwardly away from the other clipping section and then curving back inwardly, towards the other clipping section.

To insert slat-connecting-portion 131 into a respective lateral groove 118 in a respective beam support profile 110, one clipping section 141 is inserted into lateral groove 118 whereas the other clipping section 141 is pushed by a force F (see Fig. 13) towards the inserted clipping section 141. In the example shown in Figs. Figs. 13-14, clipping section 141b of the first, flexible side wall 133 is inserted first into lateral groove 118, whereas clipping section 141a of the more rigid side wall 135 is pushed by a force F towards clipping section 141b.

As the other clipping section 141 is pushed by a force F, flexible side wall 135 bends towards the clipping section 141a thereby allowing the other anchoring member 147 to slide over the respective flange 119, in direction 150, pass that flange 119 and open up inside the inner section of lateral groove 118. The si at- structure has now clipped into the lateral groove 118 of beam support profile 110, as shown in Fig. 14. In the assembled state shown in Figs. 13-14, inner walls 142 of the slat-connecting-portions 131 are tightened against the respective flanges 119.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific best mode, it is to be understood that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations in which fall within the spirit and scope of the included claims. All matters set forth herein or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted in an illustrative and non-limiting sense. Such alternatives, modifications, and variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.