| CPC E04F 10/10 (2013.01) [E04H 17/1445 (2021.01); E06B 9/0638 (2013.01); E06B 9/0676 (2013.01)] | 15 Claims |
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1. A foldable structure for a sunshade, a shutter or a fence, comprising:
at least one guiding member defining a guiding path;
a plurality of displaceable elements slidably connected to the at least one guiding member in succession forming a row of displaceable elements;
a stroke end limiting the movement of the displaceable elements on one end of the guiding path;
a first actuator connected to one of the displaceable elements of the row of displaceable elements spaced from the stroke end to produce the sliding movement of one of the displaceable elements in a folding direction and in an unfolding direction following the guiding path;
a spacer device comprising:
foldable spacers connecting adjacent displaceable elements of the row of displaceable elements to each other keeping the adjacent displaceable elements at a distance, each of the foldable spacers being movable between a first folding position determining a first distance between the adjacent displaceable elements and a second folding position determining a second distance between the adjacent displaceable elements smaller than the first distance, and
a spacer guide comprising successive first portion, second portion, third portions, the first portion is parallel to the guiding path and is configured to guide and retain the foldable spacers in the first folding position, and the third portion is adjacent to the stroke end and is configured to guide and retain the foldable spacers in the second folding position, determining an accumulation area adjacent to the stroke end where at least one of the displaceable elements of the row of displaceable elements are accumulated in a folded position;
each of the foldable spacers comprises a first arm freely articulated to one of the displaceable elements and a second arm freely articulated to an adjacent one of the displaceable elements of the row of displaceable elements, the first and second arms being freely articulated to each other;
the second portion of the spacer guide is configured to guide and urge the foldable spacers from the first folding position to the second folding position during the driving produced by the first actuator in the folding direction and from the second folding position to the first folding position during the driving produced by the first actuator in the unfolding direction; and
a second actuator produces a relative movement between the second portion of the spacer guide and the stroke end to adjust the longitude of the third portion to the number of displaceable elements accumulated in the accumulation area, the second actuator being in coordination with the first actuator.
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