CANVAS SHAFT HOLDER

Description

This nonprovisional application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/EP2024/060748, which was filed on Apr. 19, 2024, and which claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2023 110 772.0, which was filed in Germany on Apr. 26, 2023, and which are both herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a canvas shaft holder for an awning having a canvas shaft, on which an awning canvas can be wound, and having at least one shaft end piece, which is inserted into the canvas shaft in an axial end region thereof, wherein the shaft end piece is connected to the canvas shaft in a force-fitting manner, wherein a pressing part, which is inserted into the canvas shaft, is movable relative to the shaft end piece and/or to the canvas shaft in the axial direction and/or in the circumferential direction of the canvas shaft between a clamping position and a release position and, in the clamping position, exerts a radial pressing force on the shaft end piece and clamps the latter against an inner wall of the canvas shaft.

Description of the Background Art

The canvas shaft is a central component of the awning and must be both rotatably mounted and held in a stable position so that the awning canvas can be unwound from the canvas shaft and wound onto the canvas shaft in a precise and reliable manner.

Examples of canvas shaft holders are known in which the shaft end piece is inserted axially into the tubular canvas shaft at an end face, with elastic deformation. The shaft end piece, which is oversized in relation to an internal diameter of the canvas shaft, is pressed into the canvas shaft and thus, following insertion, is connected to the canvas shaft in a force-fitting manner. The shaft end piece must be seated securely enough in the canvas shaft that it does not come loose over the period of use, particularly as a result of alternating loads. In addition, the inserted shaft end piece must not impair the technical functions of the awning. For example, an improperly inserted or incorrectly seated shaft end piece may lead to increased noise when extending and retracting the awning canvas.

It is known to secure the shaft end piece axially from outside the canvas shaft, using screws or rivets, following insertion. Optionally, the shaft end piece may be glued to the canvas shaft once inserted. These solutions are time-consuming and therefore disadvantageous.

DE 10 2014 003 499 A1 discloses an end bearing on the end face of a canvas shaft, wherein a clamping bush is provided which can be pressed against the inner wall of the hollow canvas shaft via mutual adjustment of tensioning bushes. The clamping bush has a conical pressing surface and several splayable ribs distributed around the circumference. In addition, a telescopic, spring-mounted support piece is provided for rotatably mounting the canvas shaft. This structure is highly complicated in terms of its design and is prone to faults.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a canvas shaft holder, with which both a high holding force between the shaft end piece and the canvas shaft and easy installation of the shaft end piece are ensured in a structurally simple manner.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a canvas shaft holder. It is also provided that a pressing part, which can be inserted axially into the canvas shaft, be movable relative to the shaft end piece and/or to the canvas shaft in the axial direction and/or in the circumferential direction of the canvas shaft between a clamping position and a release position and, in the clamping position, exert a radial pressing force on the shaft end piece and clamp the latter against an inner wall of the canvas shaft.

In order to easily bring the pressing part into the clamping position, it is provided according to the invention that the canvas shaft holder have at least one clamping bar, preferably made of steel, which is guided through the pressing part and the shaft end piece and via which the pressing part is movable from the release position into the clamping position.

The clamping bar can extend in the axial longitudinal direction of the canvas shaft.

According to the invention, during pre-assembly, the pressing part, which can be made of plastic, can be loosely connected to the shaft end piece, which is likewise preferably made of plastic, so that both can also be pre-produced in a component assembly. For insertion, this component assembly must be inserted axially, with the pressing part at the front, into the preferably tubular canvas shaft, wherein the shaft end piece in the axial direction of the canvas shaft, which can be made of steel, is located on an end face of a canvas shaft end. Following insertion, the pressing part in its release position has a degree of play relative to the shaft end piece and the canvas shaft.

Once the pressing part and the shaft end piece have been inserted into the canvas shaft, preferably with elastic deformation of the shaft end piece, the pressing part in a clamping process is moved axially from outside the canvas shaft into the clamping position, wherein it splays the shaft end piece and clamps the latter radially against the inner wall of the canvas shaft. According to the invention, any corrections during assembly can be made by releasing the pressing part from the clamping position toward the release position. Due to the pressing force, the shaft end piece can no longer detach itself from the canvas shaft, wherein there is no need to provide any further fasteners in order to keep the shaft end piece in the canvas shaft, and wherein the pressing force is great enough that the noise generated during extension and retraction of the awning canvas is reduced.

According to the invention, the shaft end piece is only clamped via the pressing part once both have been inserted into the canvas shaft, wherein the shaft end piece does not have to be inserted into the canvas shaft with excessive force. The shaft end piece can only deform within the limits of component tolerances to the extent that it sits securely in the canvas shaft. In addition, the shaft end piece does not need to be screwed or glued to the canvas shaft. According to the invention, the clamping process can be repeated or corrected at regular intervals as part of maintenance or as required, wherein dismantling of the canvas shaft holder is also possible.

The pressing part sits further in the interior of the canvas shaft than the shaft end piece, so that the pressing part is pulled toward the shaft end piece when the clamping bar is partially pulled out of the canvas shaft. Preferably, the clamping bar is prepared together with the pressing part and the shaft end piece as a joint component, and is inserted into the interior of the canvas shaft such that a portion of the clamping bar projects beyond the canvas shaft and protrudes from the shaft end piece in such a way as to be able to be gripped. The position of the pressing part can be adjusted manually from outside the canvas shaft via the clamping bar when the component assembly formed of the pressing part, the clamping bar, and the shaft end piece is inserted into the canvas shaft, and the pressing part is still in the release position.

The clamping bar can have a rotation preventor, via which the clamping bar is mounted in a rotationally fixed manner relative to the pressing part. When the clamping bar is pulled out of the canvas shaft by screwing, the rotation preventor prevents the clamping bar from rotating relative to the pressing part.

Optionally, it may be provided that the clamping bar can have a threaded portion, with which a clamping element can be brought into engagement, wherein the clamping bar is movable in the axial direction of the canvas shaft via the clamping element.

The clamping element may, for example, be a screw nut which is brought into engagement with the threaded portion of the clamping bar, which threaded portion is configured as an external thread. In this case, the clamping bar can be pulled out of the canvas shaft with a sufficiently high pull-out force.

The clamping bar in a bearing region arranged outside the canvas shaft can have a bearing pin, preferably made of steel, via which the canvas shaft can be rotatably mounted in a bearing. Preferably, it may optionally be provided that the clamping bar and the bearing pin be designed as a one-piece and in particular monolithic component. In this way, the clamping bar additionally serves also to rotatably mount the canvas shaft.

Optionally, both the bearing pin and the clamping bar may have a through-bore extending into the interior of the canvas shaft. Optional devices can thus be inserted into the canvas shaft from outside the canvas shaft or the canvas shaft holder. These may, for example, be electrical leads for servo motors or other electronic components that may be useful for the awning to function.

In order to reduce the likelihood of the clamping element coming loose, it may be provided according to one advantageous embodiment of the invention that the shaft end piece on a side facing away from the canvas shaft have a locking element via which the clamping element can be locked in the clamping position of the pressing part and which in particular serves as a rotation preventor.

This may be a clamp, a pin, a small screw, or the like, which, for example, secures the screw nut as a clamping element to prevent unscrewing from the external thread. Alternatively, the locking mechanism may be a self-locking screw nut.

To evenly apply the pressing force to the shaft end piece, it may advantageously be provided that the pressing part in the axial direction of the canvas shaft have at least in part a conical pressing surface via which the shaft end piece can be radially splayed.

When the clamping position is reached, the shaft end piece is splayed by the conical pressing surface and is pressed against the inner wall of the canvas shaft until the necessary pressing force is reached, and any component tolerances are sufficiently corrected. The conical pressing surface reduces excessive stress peaks that could act upon the shaft end piece, such that it is easily possible to move the pressing part from the release position to the clamping position and vice versa.

Preferably, the shaft end piece on a shaft side facing toward an interior of the canvas shaft can have a pressing recess into which the pressing part can be inserted. Optionally, it may be provided that the pressing recess likewise have a conical pressing surface, which, in the clamping position, bears against the pressing surface of the pressing part.

By virtue of the pressing recess, the pressing surfaces of the pressing part and of the shaft end piece can bear against each other over a large area, so that good force transmission is achieved in order to reliably fix the shaft end piece in the canvas shaft.

The shaft end piece can have several splayable ribs arranged spaced apart around a shaft circumference, which ribs in the clamping position are radially splayed via the pressing force. The splayable ribs may for example be formed via cutouts in the shaft end piece, with the ribs protruding in a tongue-like manner from the shaft end piece in the axial direction of the canvas shaft.

According to one particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that the shaft end piece have at least one guide element, via which the pressing part in the clamping position is mounted in a rotationally fixed manner relative to the shaft end piece and which is intended to guide the pressing part during the axial movement thereof. In this way, wedging or jamming of the pressing part and the shaft end piece can be prevented. As a result, the clamping bar can be mounted in a rotationally fixed manner relative to the canvas shaft via the rotation preventor with the pressing part, and the pressing part via the aforementioned guide with the shaft end piece.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes, combinations, and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a canvas shaft holder according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows the section A-A according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows the canvas shaft holder according to FIG. 2 with the shaft end piece inserted, and

FIG. 4 shows the shaft end piece with the pressing part in an axial view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a canvas shaft holder 10 having a tubular canvas shaft 11, wherein, in an axial end region 13 of the canvas shaft 11, a shaft end piece 12 is partially inserted for installation purposes into the canvas shaft 11.

FIG. 2 shows that the substantially cylindrical shaft end piece 12, during installation thereof, is partially inserted into an interior 19 of the canvas shaft 11 in a direction R1 of an axial longitudinal axis L of the canvas shaft 11. The shaft end piece 12 has, on a shaft side 18 facing toward the interior 19 of the canvas shaft 11, a conical pressing recess 20 with a conical pressing surface 15. The shaft end piece 12 also has an axial through-bore 30.

Arranged on the inner shaft side 18 of the shaft end piece 12 is a pressing part 14 having a conical pressing surface 17, which can be inserted into the pressing recess 20 of the shaft end piece 12, wherein the pressing part 14 in FIG. 2 is in a release position, in which it is spaced apart from the shaft end piece 12 and is thus out of engagement therewith. The pressing part 14 also has an axial through-bore 31, which together with the through-bore 30 of the shaft end piece 12 forms a continuous through-bore extending from the interior 19 of the canvas shaft 11 to an outer bearing region 24 which is located on an outer side, facing away from the canvas shaft 11, of the shaft end piece 12.

In the release position, the pressing part 14 is loosely connected to the shaft end piece 12 via a clamping bar 22, which extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis L of the canvas shaft 11, wherein the clamping bar 22 passes through the through-bores 30, 31 of the pressing part 14 and of the shaft end piece 12, and on the outer side of the shaft end piece 12 in the outer bearing region 24 protrudes from the shaft end piece 12. The clamping bar 22 engages with a rotation preventor 23 in a rear region of the pressing part 14 in a recess there and is thus secured against rotation relative to the pressing part 14.

FIG. 3 shows another sectional view of the canvas shaft holder 10, in which the pressing part 14 is in a clamping position, wherein the pressing part 14 is pulled into the pressing recess 20 in the axial direction R2 of the longitudinal axis L via the clamping bar 22. For this purpose, the clamping bar 22 has in the bearing region 24 an external thread 26, which engages with a clamping nut 27. When the clamping nut 27 is actuated, the clamping bar 22 can be moved through the through-bore 30, 31 along the axial longitudinal axis L of the canvas shaft 11, wherein the pressing part 14 is also moved from the release position into the clamping position.

In the clamping position, the pressing part 14 bears with its pressing surface 17 against the pressing surface 15 of the pressing recess 20 of the shaft end piece 12 and presses against the shaft end piece 12 with a radial pressing force P. The pressing force P radially splays the shaft end piece 12 in the region of the pressing recess 20, as a result of which these regions are pressed against an inner wall 16 of the canvas shaft 11, so that the shaft end piece 12 is releasably and force-fittingly held securely in the canvas shaft 11.

To additionally secure the clamping nut 27 against loosening, it is provided that a locking element 28 be inserted into the clamping nut 27.

The clamping bar 22 has, in its outer end region in the bearing region 24, a portion which is designed as a bearing pin 25. When the shaft end piece 12 is fastened in the canvas shaft 11 by the pressing part 14 being in the clamping position, the shaft end piece 12 together with the canvas shaft 11 can be rotatably mounted in a bearing 32, which is shown only schematically, via the bearing pin 25. In this way, the clamping bar 22 additionally serves also to rotatably mount the canvas shaft 11.

FIG. 4 shows the shaft end piece 12 with the pressing part 14 in an axial view. The shaft end piece 12 has several splayable ribs 21 around its circumference, which are formed partially from the shaft end piece 12 via cutouts. The splayable ribs 21 extend away from the shaft end piece 12 in the direction of the axial longitudinal axis L and are radially splayable on the shaft side 18 of the shaft end piece 12.

When a pressing part 14 is inserted into the shaft end piece 12 in the direction of the axial longitudinal axis L on the shaft side 18, the pressing part 14 with its pressing surface 17 splays the splayable ribs 21 radially away from the shaft end piece 12, the ribs thus being pressed against the inner wall 16 of the canvas shaft 11, so that the shaft end piece 12 is fixed in the canvas shaft 11 via the pressing force exerted by the pressing part 14.

To improve the insertion of the pressing part 14 into the shaft end piece 12, the latter has several axially extending guide elements 29 around its circumference, which engage in corresponding recesses of the pressing part 14. When the pressing part 14 is moved in the direction of the axial longitudinal axis L and toward the shaft end piece 12 from the release position into the clamping position, the guide elements 29 guide the movement and secure the pressing part 14 against becoming wedged against the shaft end piece 12 or rotating relative thereto.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.