Adjustable window coverings are commonly used in both residential and business buildings. Window covering units typically include a headrail which supports the window covering. The headrail extends across the top of the window covering and is typically mounted to a wall over a window. Examples of window coverings that incorporate headrails are vertical blinds, horizontal blinds and pleated shades.
Various devices exist for automatically controlling the operation of window coverings. The placement of motors and power supplies for automatic window covering controls is an important aspect of the controlled devices. Large battery packs and motors located outside of the headrail are visible and unaesthetic. Besides controlling the amount of light that is allowed to enter into a room, window coverings are used to accent or accompany the designing scheme of rooms. Control devices that are plainly visible can detract from the appearance of the window coverings. Thus, it is desirable to hide the automatic control apparatus from view.
Considerable progress has been made in designing aesthetic control apparatus by placing motor driven actuators in the headrails of the window covering units. For example, a family of patents issued to Domel et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,495,153, 5,517,094 and 5,714,855 which are hereby incorporated by reference herein) teach mounting an actuator for window coverings in the headrails of the window coverings. The headrail mounted actuators listed above meet the aesthetic need for concealing a window covering control apparatus. However, further improvement to conceal motor driven actuators as well as power supplies is desirable.
In some types of window covering units, the headrail is spaced away from the window. In particular, the headrail in a vertical blind unit is spaced away from a window, because when the angle of the vertical blind is rotated, the individual louvers of the blind pass through a region of space behind the headrail. Thus, vertical blind headrails are spaced far enough from a window to allow for vertical tilt. This space between the window and the headrail has heretofore gone unused and is blocked from view from the interior of a room by the headrail itself.