GB2159200A - Joining fabrics for pleated window blinds - Google Patents

Abstract

A pleated window blind comprises a first horizontally pleated sheet of material 3 and a further sheet of material 4 with matching pleats, overlapped with one side of the first sheet, one or both said sheets being cut away at alternate folds and the overlapping portion 6 of one sheet arranged alternately in front of and behind the corresponding portions of the other sheet. In this way the join is rendered less conspicuous and a measure of interlocking between the two is obtained. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvement to pleated window-blinds Window blinds made from paper, lightweight cardboard or processed textiles, both woven and unwoven, which has been folded or pleated have been well-known for many years.

Such blinds are made in a variety of widths to suit the windows to which they are fitted and in cases where the width of the blind is more than the available width of the paper, textile, or other fabric, from which the blind is made, the increased width of the blind is achieved by fitting two, or more, pieces of fabric, side by side and allowing them to overlap.

This method has the disadvantage of being rather unsightly particularly when the blind is made from patterned fabric as the join between two pieces of fabric is made very obvious when one piece of the blind overlaps another in a continuous fashion.

According to one aspect of the invention a pleated window blind comprises a first horizontally pleated sheet of material and a further sheet of material, with matching pleats, joined to one side of the first sheet by a lapped joint, one or both of said sheets having cut-away portions at alternate folds thereof, and the overlapping portions of one sheet being arranged alternately in front of and behind the corresponding portions of the other sheet.

According to another aspect of the invention the cut-away portions are in the form of triangular darts extending from the margin of the pleated material and tapering inwards therefrom.

Other aspects and features of the invention will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a prior art construction, Figure 2 is a similar view of one form of the invention, Figure 3 is a scrap view of one of the components of another form of the invention, and Figure 4 illustrates a method of forming the component of Fig. 3.

In the drawing in Fig. 1 a headrail 1 is joined to a bottom rail 2 by a section of pleated fabric 3. Since the fabric 3 is too narrow to extend the full width of the two rails it is supplemented by a further width of fabric 4, the edge of which overlaps the section 3 over the whole length, as indicated at 5. It will be seen that the join is somewhat conspicuous and moreover, when the blind is subject to wind pressure, as when it is in an opened window, there is a tendency for the air stream to separate the two sections, especially towards the centre thereof.

In Fig. 2 the section 4 is slit for a short distance along alternate folds of the pleating and the tongues 6 thus formed are overlapped alternately in front of and behind the material of the section 3. The visible line of the join is thus rendered discontinuous. This not only has the advantage of a distinctly improved and more balanced appearance which allows adjoining sections of the same or different patterns to blend more easily, one with the another, but it also provides means of interlocking between adjoining sections which tends to prevent them from separating when the blind is blown by the wind or otherwise subjected to frontal pressure.

The slits used in the form shown in Fig. 2 to create the tongues 6 are replaced, in the form shown in Fig. 3, by triangular darts 7 tapering inwards from the edge of the material and these may be formed by cropping the corners of those folds that lie on one face of the pleated material, as shown by the line X-X in Fig. 4. The cropping may be performed individually on each such fold, or the blind section may be folded up to a flat condition and all the corners cropped in one operation.

1. A pleated window blind comprising a first horizontally pleated sheet of material and a further sheet of material, with matching pleats, joined to one side of the first sheet by a lapped joint, one or both said sheets having cut away portions at alternate folds thereof, and the overlapping portions of one sheet being arranged alternately in front of and behind the corresponding portions of the other sheet.

2. A blind according to claim 1, wherein the cut-away portions are in the form of triangular darts extending from the margin of the pleated material and tapering therefrom.

3. A blind according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the cut-away portions are on alternate folds of one only of the two sheets of material.

4. A pleated window blind, wherein top and bottom rails are provided and the blind is composed of two or more sheets secured together side by side solely by being overlapped as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and by being fastened to said top and bottom rails.

5. A method of producing a sheet of pleated material as specified in claim 3 which comprises folding the material into a pleated form and then cropping off one corner of the material while still folded.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (5)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Improvement to pleated window-blinds Window blinds made from paper, lightweight cardboard or processed textiles, both woven and unwoven, which has been folded or pleated have been well-known for many years. Such blinds are made in a variety of widths to suit the windows to which they are fitted and in cases where the width of the blind is more than the available width of the paper, textile, or other fabric, from which the blind is made, the increased width of the blind is achieved by fitting two, or more, pieces of fabric, side by side and allowing them to overlap. This method has the disadvantage of being rather unsightly particularly when the blind is made from patterned fabric as the join between two pieces of fabric is made very obvious when one piece of the blind overlaps another in a continuous fashion. According to one aspect of the invention a pleated window blind comprises a first horizontally pleated sheet of material and a further sheet of material, with matching pleats, joined to one side of the first sheet by a lapped joint, one or both of said sheets having cut-away portions at alternate folds thereof, and the overlapping portions of one sheet being arranged alternately in front of and behind the corresponding portions of the other sheet. According to another aspect of the invention the cut-away portions are in the form of triangular darts extending from the margin of the pleated material and tapering inwards therefrom. Other aspects and features of the invention will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a prior art construction, Figure 2 is a similar view of one form of the invention, Figure 3 is a scrap view of one of the components of another form of the invention, and Figure 4 illustrates a method of forming the component of Fig. 3. In the drawing in Fig. 1 a headrail 1 is joined to a bottom rail 2 by a section of pleated fabric 3. Since the fabric 3 is too narrow to extend the full width of the two rails it is supplemented by a further width of fabric 4, the edge of which overlaps the section 3 over the whole length, as indicated at 5. It will be seen that the join is somewhat conspicuous and moreover, when the blind is subject to wind pressure, as when it is in an opened window, there is a tendency for the air stream to separate the two sections, especially towards the centre thereof. In Fig. 2 the section 4 is slit for a short distance along alternate folds of the pleating and the tongues 6 thus formed are overlapped alternately in front of and behind the material of the section 3. The visible line of the join is thus rendered discontinuous. This not only has the advantage of a distinctly improved and more balanced appearance which allows adjoining sections of the same or different patterns to blend more easily, one with the another, but it also provides means of interlocking between adjoining sections which tends to prevent them from separating when the blind is blown by the wind or otherwise subjected to frontal pressure. The slits used in the form shown in Fig. 2 to create the tongues 6 are replaced, in the form shown in Fig. 3, by triangular darts 7 tapering inwards from the edge of the material and these may be formed by cropping the corners of those folds that lie on one face of the pleated material, as shown by the line X-X in Fig. 4. The cropping may be performed individually on each such fold, or the blind section may be folded up to a flat condition and all the corners cropped in one operation. CLAIMS

1. A pleated window blind comprising a first horizontally pleated sheet of material and a further sheet of material, with matching pleats, joined to one side of the first sheet by a lapped joint, one or both said sheets having cut away portions at alternate folds thereof, and the overlapping portions of one sheet being arranged alternately in front of and behind the corresponding portions of the other sheet.

2. A blind according to claim 1, wherein the cut-away portions are in the form of triangular darts extending from the margin of the pleated material and tapering therefrom.

3. A blind according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the cut-away portions are on alternate folds of one only of the two sheets of material.

4. A pleated window blind, wherein top and bottom rails are provided and the blind is composed of two or more sheets secured together side by side solely by being overlapped as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and by being fastened to said top and bottom rails.

5. A method of producing a sheet of pleated material as specified in claim 3 which comprises folding the material into a pleated form and then cropping off one corner of the material while still folded.