FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of retractable screens and, more particularly, to a retractable screen having decompression gaskets coupling guide rails with frame tracks to maintain the screen in a taunt horizontal direction and a biasing means to allow for uneven floor surfaces to maintain the screen without sagging in a vertical position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Screening is commonly used to allow individuals to enjoy the outdoors by providing some of the benefits of indoor living. Screens may be used to keep bugs out of a living space, provide shading, reduce wind speed, operate as a wall member, and so forth. By way of example, a screen may have sized openings that can prevent flies, mosquitos or Ceratopogonidaes (no-see-ums) from entering an outdoor living space such as a patio or pool area. A screen may also be adapted to provide a bug free garage area, effectively extending the living area of a home when weather permits. Still another example would be the use of a screen to protect a pool area from small children that are attracted to water.

Typically, an outdoor space may consist of a patio that is attached to a home, thereby extending the living space of the home by use of a screened-in area. The screen may not always be needed, and is preferably stored away when conditions are right. For instance, during sunny cool days, a screened in patio has little or no benefit. However, during a warm summer night, the same patio may be unusable without screen protection from the bugs. Screens are especially beneficial during twilight hours when the screened-in space is illuminated, as bugs are naturally attracted to light. Sunlight hours are not without their need of screening; a screen can provide shade protection from the sun, yet allow a flow of air to pass through the space.

With screening providing so many benefits, improvements in screen attachment becomes important. The preferred method of attachment is the use of a retractable screen that rolls from a cylinder positioned along a header placed at the top of an opening to be protected. The edges of the screen are secured to a track that essentially prevents bugs and the like from going around the edges of the screen. The problem with all known retractable screens is that the tracks used to capture the edge of the screens can bind, making the deployment and/or retraction difficult. The tracks can cause binding from any number of conditions. A slight wind can place pressure on the screen, causing a frictional, engagement with the track. Variations in temperature can cause track and screen constrictions. Installation being as little as ⅛ inch from the top of a screen track to the bottom of the screen track can cause binding. Sizing of the screen itself may be off as little as ⅛ inch, causing the same problem as misaligned tracks.

Known improvements of the screen have attempted to resolve this problem by including the placement of a plastic bead or zipper-like attachment to the edge of the screen to reduce friction. Other known improvements are the use of plastic tracks, which are more forgiving than aluminum, to allow the screens to slide more easily. Still other known devices use flexible tracks, compression bulbs to make a track flexible, foam materials which operate essentially the same way as compression bulbs, and stretchable spring clips. However, all known devices fail to address screen alignment issues that may be due to track installation, screen cutting, or age that may cause a conventional screen installation to jam or fail prematurely.

Screen attachment is further complicated by the fact that the consumer does not want a screen that wrinkles or flutters in the wind. If the screen is drawn tight, an impact on the screen near a point of minimal give makes the screen most vulnerable to breaking. For instance, if a broom handle strikes a screen that is taut, the handle will likely breach the screen. If a screen is used to protect a pool, should a small child breach the screen, the results can be life changing. The optimum screen installation is to keep the screen tight, but allow flexibility to handle deployment, retraction, wind gusts, and impact strikes.

U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0137836 discloses a sealing curtain assembly having a pair of tracks attached to opposite sides of an opening. Each track includes a spring system which urges the tracks outwardly to maintain the curtain taut. The spring system employs a connecting member, preferably a bolt, which allows the track edges to separate from a frame member. In one embodiment, a compression spring and washer are located between the head of each connecting member and track. A problem with the use of spring loaded connecting members is that the spacing between each member provides an area for the screen to bind between connecting members.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,607,841 discloses a screen device having inner rails that are embedded inside fixed guide rails which guide protrusions at side edges of a screen which is wound via a take-up shaft. Each inner rail has a guide groove in which the guide protrusion is inserted, and inward flanges are provided at an opening of the guide groove. Rail members have outer side protrusions and inner side protrusions of different heights at both side edges of a rail base plate. The higher outer side protrusions are confronting. A micro gap extends between the lower inner side protrusions into the guide groove such that the micro gap is opposed to a guide gap formed between the opposed inward flanges. The guide protrusion is slid and guided in a come-off preventing state by the inner side protrusion, so that an extremely thin fastener element can be used as the guide protrusion. While spacing of the screen edge allows for movement, the use of an inner guide rail that is spaced apart allows for screen wrinkles.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,719,292 discloses a magnetic track assembly employing magnets. A first magnet is disposed within an aluminum channel, and a screen receiver is disposed within the compartment including a second magnet arranged facing the first magnet. In the magnetic track assembly, the first and second magnets are of opposite polarity and the screen receiver is loosely disposed within the compartment such that a magnetic bond is intact between the first and second magnets when the first and second magnets are close together and the magnetic bond is broken when the first and second magnets are pulled apart. A problem with the use of magnetics is that spacing between magnets allows for binding of the screen since there is no graduated loading provided by the magnets. The magnets have a strong attachment which can lead to screen binding and, since the magnets and aluminum compartment are constructed of dissimilar materials, the components will lead to corrosion, especially when used near salt water.

What is needed in the art is a screen track capable of providing a continuous resistance along each edge of a screen to facilitate opening/closing, eliminating wrinkles, and accommodate uneven floor surfaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A retractable screen device for a framed opening employing a frame track fastened to each side support of the framed opening forming a compartment having a front receptacle, opposing side walls having a depth, and a front wall having a centrally disposed access channel extending the longitudinal length of the frame track is disclosed. A guide rail is positioned within each compartment of each frame track extending the longitudinal length of each frame track. The guide rail has a front chamber axially aligned with the centrally disposed channel and a rear receptacle extending the longitudinal length of the guide rail with opposing side walls having a depth. A decompression gasket is positioned between the frame track and the guide rail.

A screen having a length configured to be wound onto and deployed from a horizontal disposed rotatable shaft secured to a header of the opening has laterally opposed side edges with an elongated flexible protrusion secured along the length of each side edge. Each guide rail is constructed and arranged to receive and guide the screen protrusion along a longitudinal direction, and the decompression gasket allows the guide rail to traverse the frame track side walls to permit the screen to flex while maintaining a consistent tension on the screen.

A biasing means is attached to the axle used to roll up the screen. The biasing means, preferably a flexible piece of rubber, allows the bottom of the screen to accommodate uneven surfaces by placing tension on the screen in a vertical format.

It is an objective of the invention to provide a retractable screen device that allows for ease of deployment and retraction by providing a mechanism that allows screen flexible.

Still another objective of the invention is to provide a device that accommodates uneven horizontal screen positions and uneven vertical screen surfaces.

Still another objective of the invention is to eliminate the “smile” screen which is an industry reference to an ill adjusted screen that sags causing a smile like appearance.

It is another objective of the instant invention to provide a retractable screen that addresses screen wrinkles due to improper installation alignment, improper screen sizing, or screen shrinkage/expansion due to extremes in cold or hot environments.

Still another objective of the invention is to extend the life of a screen by providing a mechanism that reduces the strain on screens, thereby extending the life of the screens as they become brittle due to age.

Another objective of the invention is to teach the use of a variable tensioning device in the form of a decompression gasket to inhibit jamming of a screen during deployment or retraction if the screen is not pulled evenly.

Still another objective of the invention is to teach the use of a rubber decompression gasket to provide a consistent tension along the side edges of a retractable screen, assimilating the flexibility of a trampoline.

Yet still another objective of the invention is to teach the use of a biasing member to allow a screen to accommodate uneven floor surfaces and allowing the screen to remain wrinkle free.

Still another objective of the invention is to provide a biasing means to allow a rolling screen to automatically adjust when it meets with the floor, wherein the floor can be sloped right to left, left to right, crowned in the center or dipped in the center.

Yet another objective of the invention is the use of compatible materials to eliminate corrosion due to dissimilar metals.

Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification, include exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

