Patent Application
20090032201
This invention relates generally to window coverings, and more particularly to a window covering in the style of a Roman shade, with an inverted fan shape at its bottom.
Window coverings are provided in a variety of styles and materials, including: blinds that comprise individual horizontal or vertical slats of wood, plastic or metal; and curtains, drapes and shades of fabric or other material.
Blinds can be raised and lowered to selectively cover or uncover a window opening, and the individual slats can be pivoted between spaced, parallel, open positions and overlapping closed positions, but other than these adjustments the initial configuration or shape of the blinds remains fixed.
Curtains and drapes typically hang vertically at opposite sides of a window opening and generally remain fixed in their initial shape and position at the sides of the opening, although they usually can be moved inwardly across the window opening to cover it. However, other than being movable between open and closed positions they retain their initial shape or design.
Shades typically hang from the top of a window opening and can be moved between a lowered position covering the opening and a raised position exposing some or all of the opening. Shades come in a variety of styles and shapes, and generally have a straight horizontal bottom that remains straight and horizontal during use. A popular style of shade, referred to in the art as a Roman shade, is horizontally pleated. The pleats typically are formed by gathering and folding vertically spaced sections of the material and stitching it together. Most conventional Roman shades have a straight, horizontal bottom, but shades are known that have a bottom that can assume different shapes by pulling a selected pull cord or pull cords to unevenly raise different portions of the bottom of the shade. One of these latter designs has a sectional bottom rail that is hinged or interrupted at its midportion and a pull cord is connected to the middle of the bottom of the shade so that when the cord is pulled the middle of the shade bottom is raised, causing the pleated shade to assume an inverted fan shape at the bottom. The shades described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,207,257, 6,431,245 and 6,959,749 are exemplary of the latter type of shades.
Conventional pleated Roman shades are of relatively complex design, in which the material of the shade is gathered and stitched together to form the pleats, producing a relatively heavy and bulky appearance. Further, and at least in those shades described in the patents noted above, there are multiple pull cords that operate to raise and lower the shade in different configurations. Moreover, in those shades known to applicant the pull cords are located at the front of the shade.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a shade in the style of a pleated Roman shade, with an inverted fan shape at its bottom edge, but wherein the pleats are formed without gathering and stitching the material, whereby the shade has a lighter and crisper appearance, and wherein only a single pull cord is used to operate the shade, with the pull cord located behind the shade.
The present invention comprises a window covering in the style of a pleated Roman shade whose bottom edge forms into an inverted fan shape when the shade is raised, wherein the shade is made of a material that is creased to simulate and form pleats without the need for gathering and stitching the material, whereby the shade has a lighter and crisper appearance than a conventional Roman shade, and wherein only a single pull cord is located behind the shade to operate the shade.
More particularly, the shade of the invention is made of a multi-layered composite material, comprising a front layer selected from a desired fabric, an intermediate layer of a fusible interfacing, and a back layer selected from a desired lining material. The fusible interfacing is fused to the lining, and the three layers are folded and stitched together at opposite side edges of the shade, with the seam on the back of the shade so that the front is uniform and free of seams. When the composite material of the shade is folded to form pleats and then subjected to heat and pressure, i.e., ironed, the fusible interfacing is permanently creased, so that when a shade made with the material is in a lowered position, i.e., unfolded, the creases define parallel horizontal areas that simulate pleats. The creases initiate or induce folding of the material into an accordion-folded pleated pattern when the shade is raised. The interfacing also imparts stiffness to the shade to maintain its shape. In a preferred embodiment the interfacing is a fusible non-woven interfacing comprising 75% polyester and 25% rayon, available from Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., but it should be understood that different interfacings could be obtained from other sources.
A single pull cord extends behind the shade and is connected at its distal end to the middle of the bottom edge of the shade. Thus, when the pull cord is operated it pulls the shade up from the middle of its bottom edge. The cord extends through a conventional commercially available cord latch and release mechanism mounted near one end of a head rail at the top edge of the shade, and through at least one pulley mounted to the head rail intermediate its ends. Guide rings are attached to the back of the shade along its vertical centerline, and the cord also extends through the guide rings, which are attached only to alternate pleat creases so that the shade can fold into its pleated design when it is raised. The guide rings may be pre-attached to a narrow strip of material, referred to as “ring tape”, and the strip of material, with rings attached, then affixed to the back of the shade, i.e., to the lining, along its vertical centerline. Alternatively, the rings could be individually attached to the lining rather than being pre-attached to a strip of material that is, in turn, affixed to the lining. In a preferred embodiment the tape is adhesively attached to the lining rather than being stitched to it, thereby avoiding stitching together of the facing, lining and fusible interfacing.
A bottom rail is held within a pocket sewn into the bottom edge of the shade of the invention to weight the bottom of the shade and to maintain the shape of the bottom edge. The rail comprises two parts, each extending from a first end at an outer side edge of the bottom of the shade to a second end at the midportion of the bottom edge, whereby when the pull cord is operated to pull up the shade, the two parts of the bottom rail pivot downwardly about the midpoint of the bottom edge of the shade, imparting an inverted fan shape to the bottom edge. In a preferred embodiment the two-part bottom rail is made of wood and the outer ends are weighted to facilitate forming of the inverted fan shape when the center of the shade is pulled up by the pull cord.
The foregoing, as well as other objects and advantages of the invention, will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
A window covering in accordance with the invention is indicated generally at 10 in
As seen best in
As seen best in
As seen best in
The shade of the invention is simple in construction, easy to operate, and has the style of a Roman shade without requiring the excess sewing and material normally employed in a conventional Roman shade. Further, the shade of the invention has a rectilinear shape when fully extended, so that the bottom edge can conform to the rectilinear shape of a typical window opening, but forms an inverted fan shape at its bottom when it is partially or fully raised.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, it should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and intent of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
