Motorized shutter assembly

1. A shutter assembly comprising:

a shutter frame;

a plurality of louvers supported by the shutter frame; and

a louver drive system configured to facilitate rotation of the plurality of louvers relative to the shutter frame, the louver drive system comprising first and second drive bars extending lengthwise within the shutter frame and a plurality of rack assemblies coupled between the first and second drive bars, each rack assembly of the plurality of rack assemblies comprising:

a housing;

a rack gear configured to be rotationally supported by the housing; and

first and second gear racks configured to mesh with the rack gear and being at least partially supported within the housing for movement relative thereto, the first gear rack being coupled to the first drive bar and the second gear rack being coupled to the second drive bar;

wherein the rack gear of at least one rack assembly of the plurality of rack assemblies is coupled to a respective louver of the plurality of louvers such that translation of the first and second drive bars within the shutter frame results in the respective louver being rotationally driven relative to the shutter frame.

2. The shutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing is configured to at least partially encase the rack gear and the first and second gear racks.

3. The shutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing defines a gear channel configured to receive the rack gear.

4. The shutter assembly of claim 3 , wherein the housing defines at least one opening aligned with the gear channel for receiving a component of the louver drive system that is configured to be rotationally coupled to the rack gear.

5. The shutter assembly of claim 4 , wherein the component comprises one of a louver drive post of a respective louver of the plurality of louvers or a drive-related component of the louver drive system that is configured to transmit torque between a motor of the louver drive system and the rack gear.

6. The shutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing defines first and second translation channels within which the first and second gear racks, respectively, are configured to translate relative to the housing.

7. The shutter assembly of claim 6 , wherein:

the housing includes a first pair of opposed channel lips extending along a first side of the housing and a second pair of opposed channel lips extending along a second side of the housing, with the second side of the housing being spaced apart from the first side of the housing along a cross-wise direction of the housing;

the first translation channel is defined in the cross-wise direction between the first pair of opposed channel lips and a location of the rack gear within the housing; and

the second translation channel is defined in the cross-wise direction between the second pair of opposed channel lips and the location of the rack gear within the housing.

8. The shutter assembly of claim 6 , wherein the first and second gear racks are configured to mesh with the rack gear such that rotation of the rack gear results in linear translation of the first and second gear racks relative to the housing in opposed directions within the first and second translation channels, respectively of the housing.

9. The shutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first and second drive bars extend lengthwise within the shutter frame along opposed sides of the housing of each rack assembly.

10. The shutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing further includes a spacer projecting outwardly from an outer wall of the housing that is configured to provide spacing between the housing and an adjacent portion of the shutter frame.

11. The shutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein:

the housing comprises a first housing component and a second housing component configured to be coupled to the second housing component; and

the rack gear is rotationally supported within the housing between the first and second housing components.

12. The shutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein:

the louver drive system further comprises a motor; and

one of the plurality of rack assemblies comprises a drive rack assembly coupled to the motor such that rotation of the motor rotationally drives the rack gear of the drive rack assembly in a manner that results in translation of the first and second drive bars within the shutter frame.

13. The shutter assembly of claim 12 , wherein:

the drive rack assembly is coupled to the motor via a clutch assembly; and

the clutch assembly is configured to decouple the drive rack assembly from the motor when a torque transmitted through the clutch assembly exceeds a torque threshold.

14. A louver drive system for rotating louvers of a shutter assembly, the louver drive system comprising:

a first drive bar extending in a lengthwise direction;

a second drive bar spaced apart from the first drive bar and extending in the lengthwise direction; and

a plurality of rack assemblies coupled between the first and second drive bars and being spaced apart from one another along the lengthwise direction, each rack assembly of the plurality of rack assemblies comprising:

a housing;

a rack gear configured to be rotationally supported by the housing; and

first and second gear racks at least partially supported within the housing for movement relative thereto, the first gear rack being coupled to the first drive bar and the second gear rack being coupled to the second drive bar;

wherein the rack gear of each respective rack assembly of the plurality of rack assemblies is configured to mesh with the first and second gear racks of each respective rack assembly such that rotation of the rack gear results in translation of first and second drive bars relative to the housing of each respective rack assembly.

15. The louver drive system of claim 14 , wherein the housing is configured to at least partially encase the rack gear and the first and second gear racks.

16. The louver drive system of claim 14 , wherein the housing defines a gear channel configured to receive the rack gear.

17. The louver drive system of claim 16 , wherein the housing defines at least one opening aligned with the gear channel for receiving a component of the louver drive system that is configured to be rotationally coupled to the rack gear.

18. The louver drive system of claim 14 , wherein the housing defines first and second translation channels within which the first and second gear racks, respectively, are configured to translate relative to the housing with rotation of the rack gear.

19. The louver drive system of claim 18 , wherein:

the housing includes a first pair of opposed channel lips extending along a first side of the housing and a second pair of opposed channel lips extending along a second side of the housing, with the second side of the housing being spaced apart from the first side of the housing along a cross-wise direction of the housing;

the first translation channel is defined in the cross-wise direction between the first pair of opposed channel lips and a location of the rack gear within the housing; and

the second translation channel is defined in the cross-wise direction between the second pair of opposed channel lips and the location of the rack gear within the housing.

20. The louver drive system of claim 14 , wherein the first and second drive bars extend in the lengthwise direction along opposed sides of the housing of each rack assembly.