US3464600A

US3464600A - Pleat marking device

Info

Publication number: US3464600A
Application number: US698643A
Authority: US
Inventors: Eugene P Mcclintock
Original assignee: EUGENE P MCCLINTOCK
Current assignee: EUGENE P MCCLINTOCK
Priority date: 1968-01-17
Filing date: 1968-01-17
Publication date: 1969-09-02
Anticipated expiration: 1986-09-02

Description

PLEAT MARKING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 17, 1968 my 0 7 N; CXfi 0 M6 R 3 w F 5 1 m3 fiHuU gr m.\ A :0 J7

W N: r 2 .mplu m m Sept. 2, p NTQCK ET AL PLEAT MARKING DEVICE Filed Jan. 17, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet Fla-5 INVENTORS [065/1/5 A 44 a //V7'0C/( JESSE v4. COX

United States Patent M 3,464,600 PLEAT MARKING DEVICE Eugene P. McClintock, P.O. Box 506, Anaheim, Calif. 91802, and Jesse H. Cox, R.R. 2, Carmel, Ind. 46032 Filed Jan. 17, 1968, Ser. No. 698,643 Int. Cl. D06j 1/00; A41h 43/00; C01b 3/10 US. Cl. 223-28 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material comprising a plurality of moveable plates connected together by a plurality of uniform springs, each of the plates having spaced indicia thereon for indicating the locations of the spaces between adjacent pleats, the springs being operative to determine the width of the material in adjacent pleats, and a slide track member for supporting the plates for movement relative to each other. In addition, each plate contains a locking device for fixing the posiion thereof regardless of any non-uniform spacing between the plates so that the amount of material in each pleat may be varied in order to adjust the position of the seams between the widths of material in the drapery. The slide track member also supports a fixed clamp for clamping one end of the drapery material and a slideable clamp for clamping the other end of the drapery material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to a device for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material and, more particularly, to a device for facilitating the rapid and automatic location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material regardless of the number and spacing of the pleats and the amount of material used therein.

Description of the prior art Because of the necessity for covering windows, doors and other areas of vastly differing widths, most draperies manufactured today are custom-made. The material for such draperies generally comes in widths which measure from 45 to 48 inches. Since the amount of material used to make a pleat is generally never less than 2% inches and generally never more than 7 inches, there are roughly four to six pleats to a width of material, depending upon the spacing between the pleats. Also, since much greater areas must be covered than is possible with a single width of material, a drapery generally consists of several widths of fabric which are sewn together edge to edge to form a fabric sheet of the desired width. After the several widths of fabric are sewn together, the location of the spaces and the material in the pleats must be marked on the fabric so that it may be pleated to form the required drapery.

Whether a given drapery is made up of a single width or several widths of material, the determination of the number of pleats per width, the spacing between the pleats, the amount of material in the pleats, and the location of the seams connecting the Widths of fabric is a time-consuming and difficult task. The task is made still more difiicult because of the fact that the pleat siz and pleat spacing changes constantly. As a result, the pleat measurements and their position on the fabric must be determined each time by calculation and measurement. These calculations are generally done by a highly skilled person because of the many variables involved such as the fullness of the material, the length of the material, the width of the area to be covered, the amount of overlap and return, and the number and spacing of the pleats. But

3,464,600 Patented Sept. 2, 1969 even when done by a skilled person, estimates and approximations are necessarily involved and the finished drapery is largely a result of trial and error calculations. As a result, after the seamstress has completely marked and pinned the pleats, it is often necessary to re-adjust the pleat spacing and the amount of material used in the pleats to correct errors in the width of the drapes.

The problem is particularly serious in the manufacture of draperies on a commercial basis because the highly skilled and well paid personnel and the considerable amount of Wasted time involved in the aforementioned trialand error process cause the draperies to be expensive. -A further problem is that it is often impossible to consider the location of the seams between the several widths of fabric. As a result, the seams often lie exposed between the pleats in the finished drapery. When this occurs, the seams are plainly evident and mar the appearance of the finished drapery. It is much more desirable to locate the seams, in multiwidth draperies, immediately adjacent the pleats so that the seams are hidden in the folds formed by the pleats.

As hereinbefore stated, most pleating operations are performed by hand and involve a time-consuming trial and error process. On the other hand, several mechanical devices have been recently developed to assist in the location and marking of the pleats and the pleat spacing. However, most of these devices are mechanically complex and just as time-consuming and unsatisfactory from an operational viewpoint as the trial and error process, even though the mental calculations are eliminated. Many of these devices are not adaptable to different widths of material and have to be assembled and re-assembled whenever an additional width of material is added. In addition, many of the existing mechanical devices are not operative to locate the seams adjacent the pleats so that they may be hidden from view. Finally, most existing mechanical aids for pleat marking make equal pleats and equal spaces and do not have any flexibility to vary the location of the pleats and spaces as a function of the width of the material.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a simple, easy-to-use and economical device for marking the location of the spaces and the material in the pleats in a drapery. With the present invention, all of tht guesswork heretofore required is eliminated. In addition, the present invention may be operated by one having no special skills because no mental calculations are required. Since no special skills are required and because the marking of the fabric is accomplished in a rapid and efilcient manner, the cost of the finished product is substantially reduced.

The present invention comprises a slide track member having a pair of channels therein. The slide track member is adapted to be fixed to the end of a drapery table so that the fabric may be placed on the table with the head end thereof adjacent the slide track member. The first channel in the slide track member supports a stationary member for clamping one end of the drapery fabric to the slide track member and a relatively moveable member for clamping the other end of the fabric to the slide track member. Each of the clamps supports a ruler to facilitate the location of the return and overlap portions of the drapery. The second channel in the slide track member supports a plurality of moveable plates which are connected together by a plurality of uniform springs. Each plate contains a locking device for fixing in the pleats may be determined by reference to a special pleat chart. The pleat spacing is determined as the distance between a zero indicia on each plate and another indicia selected from the pleat chart. The width of the material in each pleat is determined as the distance from the selected indicia on one plate to the zero indicia on the next plate. Because of the expandable nature of the springs, the amount of material in each pleat will vary as the plates are separated, but the pleat spacing always remains constant since this measurement is taken from a fixed scale. After all the pleats and spaces therebetween are located, if one or more of the seams between adjacent widths of fabric fall in the area between the pleats, the plate closest to the seam may be repositioned to locate the seam immediately adjacent the pleat. This is accomplished by aligning the seam with either the zero indicia or the selected indicia which mark the boundaries of the pleat. Because the springs separating the plates are all uniform, the spacings between the plates automatically re-adjust themselves as a function of the relocation of the moved plate. In this manner, the amount of material in each pleat may be varied in order to adjust the position of the seam to the desired location. However, since typical pleats consist of three folds of material which are bunched together at their base, the small dilference in the width of the material that goes into the pleat cannot be visually detected even if the width of material varies considerably from one panel to another.

OBJECTS It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery materials.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus for facilitating the rapid and automatic location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material regardless of the number and spacing of the pleats and the amount of material used therein.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a simple, easy to use, and economical device for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material which eliminates all of the guesswork required in prior art devices.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material which may be operated by on having no special skills.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material which eliminates all of the guesswork required in prior art devices.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material which may be operated by one having no special skills.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material in which the amount of material in each pleat may be varied from pleat to pleat while maintaining the pleat spacing constant.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material which permits the rapid and automatic location of the seams between the several widths of fabric immediately adjacent a pleat.

Still other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment constructed in accordance therewith, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts in the several figures and wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the present pleat marking device showing the general arrangement thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged end view of the slide track member of FIGURE 1 taken along lines 2-2 thereof showing the relationship between the slide track member and the drapery table;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged View of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along lines 3--3 thereof showing the details of the righthand clamp member;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along lines 44 thereof showing the left-hand clamp member and the manner in which it is moveably mounted relative to the slide track member;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view of one of the plates of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along lines 66 thereof showing the manner in which the plates are connected together and the details of the locking devices.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and, more particularly, to FIGURE 1 thereof, there is shown a plan view of the present device for marking the locations of the spaces and pleats on drapery material. Reference will also be made to FIGURE 2 which shows an enlarged end view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along lines 2-2 thereof. The present pleat marking device comprises a slide track member or housing 1 having upper and lower sides 2 and 3, respectively, and a pair of

U-shaped channels

4 and 5 both of which open on upper side 2. In addition, slide track member 1 includes a longitudinal arm 6 which extends from lower side 3. As shown most clearly in FIGURE 2, slide track member 1 is adapted to be secured to the end of the drapery table 7 by suitable means such as screws 8 so that longitudinal arm 6 extends across the front of table 7. In this manner, the drapery material 9, consisting of a plurality of widths 10 of fabric sewn together at seams 11, may be placed on table 7 with the head end thereof adjacent slide track member 1, as shown in dotted form in FIGURE 1.

Located immediately above channel 4 in slide track member 1 is a first clamp 12 for securing one end of drapery material 9 to slide track member 1. Clamp 12 is fixedly secured to slide track member 1 by a plurality of screws 13. Also located immediately above channel 4 in slide track member 1 is a second clamp 14 for securing the other end of the drapery material 9 to slide track member 1.

Clamps

12 and 14 are identical in their operating mechanisms, the only difference between the two being that clamp 14 is made relatively moveable in chan nel 4, as will be explained more fully hereinfater.

Referring now to FIGURE 3 there is shown an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along lines 33 thereof showing the details of clamp 12. Since the operating mechanism of

clamps

12 and 14 are identical, a description of one will suffice to describe both. Clamp 12 consists of a U-shaped member 15 which is fixedly secured to slide track member 1 be screws 13. Positioned within the U of member 15 are one end of first pivotal arm 16 and one end of second pivotal arm 17 which are secured to member 15 by rivets 18 and 19, respectively. Arms 16 and 17 are connected by a third pivotal arm 20 which is secured at its opposite ends to arms 16 and 17 by

rivets

21 and 22, respectively. The other end of arm 17 has a twist therein with a hole therethrough which may be internally threaded to receive the external threads of a bolt 23 having a head 24 adapted to secure drapery material 9 to slide track memher 1. The other end of arm 16 has a 90 bend 25 therein as shown more clearly in FIGURE 2. to facilitate the easy manipulation of clamp 12.

In operation, the elevation of arm 16 with the assistance of bend 25 operates through arm 20 to elevate arm 17, thereby lifting bolt 23 and head 24 away from slide track member 1. After drapery material 9 is placed on table 17 with the head end thereof properly located as shown by the dotted lines in FIGURE 1, arm 16 may be depressed thereby lowering arm 17 and bolt 23 until head 24 contacts drapery material 9. The continued depression of arm 16 will cause rivet 21 to pass an imaginary line between rivets 18 and 22 thereby locking arm 17 in position. The length of bolt 23 may be adjusted by rotating bolt 23 with respect to arm 17. Bolt 23 may then be secured by tightening a nut 26 against arm 17.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, there is shown an enlarged view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along lines 4-4 thereof showing an end view of left-hand clamp 14. As explained previously, the operating mechanism of clamp 14 is identical to that of clamp 12. Therefore, like parts have been given like numbers, primes having been added to the numerals of clamp 14. The primary difference between

clamps

12 and 14 is that whereas clamp 12 is fixedly secured to slide track member 1 by screws 13, clamp 14 is made relatively moveable within channel 4 of slide track member 1. This is accomplished by mounting clamp 14 on a slide member 27 which has first and second grooves 28 and 29 in pposite sides thereof. As shown in FIGURE 4, U-shaped channel 4 has a pair of lips 30 and 31 which extend inwardly to partially close channel 4. Lips 30 and 31 extend into grooves 28 and 29, respectively so as to support slide member 27 laterally as well as vertically, while permitting slide member 27 and clamp 14 to freely move in a longitudinal direction with respect to slide track member 1.

Referring again to FIGURE 1 a first ruler 32 having conventional inch markings is fixedly secured to slide track member 1 with the 0 indication adjacent front edge 33 of U-shaped member 15 of clamp 12. Ruler 32 facilitates the location of the return portion of the drapery, as will be explained more fully hereinafter. As shown in FIG-

URES

1 and 4, a second ruler 34 is fixedly secured by a suitable supporting bracket 35 to clamp 14 with the 0 marking adjacent the front edge of U-shaped member 15' This ruler facilitates the marking of the overlap portion of the drapery, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, channel in slide track member 1 supports a plurality of moveable plates 40 and an end plate 40 which are connected together by a plurality of uniform length, shape and material springs 41. Each of plates 40 has a series of indicia marked thereon as shown more clearly in FIGURE 5. Each of plates 40 has a O indicia at the left-hand end thereof and a series of equally spaced lines which may, for example, be numbered 2 to 59 as shown in FIGURE 5. Although the spacing of the lines on plates 40 is arbitrary, in the preferred embodiment the distance between the 0 indicia and the 2 indicia is 2 inches and the spacing between the remaining lines is As will be explained more fully hereinafter, the spacing between adjacent pleats is determined by the distance between the 0 indicia on each plate and one of the other indicia selected from a special pleat chart. Plate 40 is identical to plates 40 except that it has only a O indicia thereon since plate '40 is used exclusively to determine the length of the return portion of the drapery.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 5, each of

plates

40 and 40 is secured to a pair of slide members 42 by rivets 42. Slide members 42 have grooves 43 and 43' on opposite sides thereof which are adapted to mate with lips 44 and 44' which extend from opposite sides of U-shaped channel 5 so that slide members 42 are supported laterally and vertically while being free to move longitudinally in channel 5.

Referring now to FIGURE 6, there is shown an enlarged view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along lines 6--6 showing the details of plates 40, the manner in which they are interconnected, and the locking apparatus connected thereto. Plates are connected by springs 41 in any convenient manner such as by hooks 41 passing through the ends of springs 41 and secured to slide members 42. Each of plates 40 includes a locking mechanism which includes an arm which is adapted to be rotated about a rivet 46 which is connected to a shaft 47 which extends through plate 40 into channel 5. The end of arm 45 adjacent rivet 46 is formed as a cam 48 so that rotation of arm 45 about rivet 46 operates to raise and lower shaft 47. Positioned immediately below plate 40 and above

lips

44 and 44 is a first pad 49. A second pad is positioned immediately below pad 49 and below lips 44. Each of

pads

49 and 50 has a hole therethrough for reception of shaft 47. After shaft 47 is passed through

pads

49 and 50, a clip 51 is secured to the end of shaft 47 so that it may not be withdrawn through the hole in pad 50. Pads 49 and 50' are held apart by a spring 52 around shaft 47 when arm 45 is in the vertical position as shown to the left in FIGURE 6. On the other hand, when arm 45 is rotated into the horizontal position around rivet 46, shaft 47 is raised thereby elevating pad 50 so that lips 44 of channel 5 are held securely between

pads

49 and 50 locking plate 40 in place. When all of arms 45 are in the raised position, plates 40 will be uniformly spaced relative to each other due to the action of uniform springs 41. However, any of plates 40 may be moved independently of the remainder of the plates and locked in position regardless of any non-uniform spacing between plates 40'.

In operation, to determine the location of the spaces and pleats on drapery material 9, the amount of the return portion of the drapes must first be determined. If the return is to be 3 /2 inches, for example, this may be set by moving plate 40' until the 0 indicia thereon is opposite the 3 /2 inch mark on ruler 32. This should be done before drapery material 9 is placed on slide track member 1 since drapery material 9, in position, will cover ruler 32. Plate 40 is then looked in position. Drapery material 9 is then laid on table 7 with the head end thereof above slide track member 1. The right hand edge of material 9 is placed adjacent the 0 marking on ruler 32 and clamped in position with clamp 12. The left-hand edge of drapery material 9 is then secured in position by moveable clamp 14 which is positioned with the 0 indicia on ruler 34 at the left hand edge of material 9. As shown in FIGURE 4, ruler 34 is held by bracket 35 above slide track member 1 so that ruler 34 may be positioned above drapery material 9. The head end of drapery material 39 should now be approximately 1 /2 inches away from plate 40.

The number of widths of fabric to be used and the overall pleat-to-pleat spacing must then be determined. The location of the spaces and pleats on the drapery material may then be determined by reference to a special pleater chart, a few representative pages of which appear as follows:

SIN GLE WIDTH-5 PLEAIS Pleat t o Pleat to Pleat to Pleat to Pleat to pleat (in.) Read pleat (in) Read pleat (in.) Read pleat (in) Read pleat (in) Read 1% WIDTHS7 PLEATS Pleat to Read pleat (in.)

Pleat to pleat (in.)

Read pleat leat to (in.)

Pleat to Read pleat (in) Read Where:

LzPleat-to-pleat length;

M=Number of widths of fabric;

N=Number of pleats per width;

S:Distance in inches from O indicia to first indicia; I=Spacing in inches between adjacent lines on plates; X=Indicia to be used to locate spaces and pleats; and A=Number assigned to first indicia.

In the preferred embodiment, where S=2 inches, I /6 inch, and A 2, Equation 1 reduces to:

As an example of the use of Equation 3 and the pleater chart, supposed a drapery is to be made covering an area 56 inches wide using 3 widths of material. If a return of 3 /2 inches and an overlap of 3 /2 inches'are to be used, these are first added together and subtracted from the total drapery dimension of 56 inches to determin the pleat-to-pleat distance of 49 inches. Then, using the pleater chart for 3 widths, the pleat-to-pleat column is scanned tmtil the number 49 is found. This then determines the indicia to be used on plates 40. In the present example, the numeral 26 is read from the pleater chart adjacent the number 49 in the pleat-to-pleat column. This indicia may also be derived from Equation 3 as follows:

The pleater chart is based on 5 pleats per width. Therefore, since 3 widths are to be used, there will be fifteen pleats. The Space 15 plate is then moved until the 26 indicia thereon is aligned with the 3 /2 inch marking on ruler 34. The Space 15 plate is now locked in position. With plate 40 and the Space 15 plate locked in position and the Spaces 1-14 plates unlocked, the spacing between adjacent pleats may now be determined as the distance between the 0 indicia on each plate and the 26 indicia on the same plate. Simultaneously, the amount of material in each pleat may be determined as the distance between the 0 indicia on one plate and the 26 indicia on the next plate. If equal spaces and pleats are desired, the Spaces 1-14 plates may now be locked in position and the location of the spaces and pleats marked. However, this procedure would not take into consideration the location of seams 11 between the widths of fabric 10. Therefore, if after all the pleats and spaces are located, one or more of seams 11 fall in the area between the pleats, and if it is desired to hide such seam, the plate closest tothe seam may be repositioned to align the seam with either the indicia or the selected indicia which mark the boundaries of the pleats. In the example given above, with 3 widths of material, the seams will be closest to the Space 5 plate and the Space plate. Therefore,'the Space 5 plate is moved until the first seam is aligned with the 26 indicia thereon. The Space 5 plate is then locked in position. The Space 10 plate is then moved until the 0 indicia thereon is aligned with the second seam. The Space 10 plate is then locked in position. The reason that the 0 indicia is used on the Space 10 plate and the 26 indicia is used on the Space 5 plate is so that the pleats will be more equal, as the center width is wider than the two outside widths.

At this point, the plates for spaces 1-4, 6-9 and 11-14 are still unlocked. However, because the springs separating the plates are all uniform, these plates have automatically re-adjusted their positions as a function of the relocation of the plates for

spaces

5 and 10 so as to equalize, as nearly as possible, the spacing between all of the plates. The remainder of the plates are then locked into position. In this manner, the amount of material in each pleat is automatically varied in order to adjust the position of the seam to the desired location.-

The drapery is now ready to be marked. Starting on the right, a mark is placed on the drapery material adjacent each 0 and 26 indicia on each of

plates

40 and 40. As mentioned above, even though the amount of material in adjacent pleats is not equal, the pleat spacing always remains constant because this measurement is taken from a fixed scale, i.e. from 0 to 26 on a single plate.

It can be readily seen that if there are several panels to be marked the same size, they can all be stacked and marked at the same time. To mark a pair consisting of, for example, six widths of material with a finished outside dimension of 98 inches, the following procedure is followed: First, half the size of the drape (49iinches) is determined. The amount of return and overlap (7 inches, for example) is then substracted to give 42 inches which is the pleat-to-pleat spacing. Again, turning to the appropriate page of the pleater chart, that for three widths (half of six widths), the pleat-to-pleat spacing of 42 inches is located to find the appropriate indicia (here 19). The material is then stacked, placed on-the drapery table, clamped in position and marked in the same manner as described above.

It can now be appreciated that according to the present invention there is provided a simple, easy to use and economical device for marking the location of the spaces and the material in the pleats in a drapery. With the present invention, such a task is reduced to a simple routine which may be practiced by an operator having no special skills since no mental calculations and no guesswork is involved. Not only is the location of the spaces and pleats readily found, but a simple procedure for locating the seams adjacent the pleats so that they may be hidden from view is provided. The present invention is completely adaptable to different widths of material, to draperies with one or more widths of fabric and to different size pleats.

While the invention has been described with respect to several physical embodiments constructed in accordance therewith, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on a drapery material comprising, in combination:

a plurality of plates each having spaced indicia thereon for indicating the locations of the spaces between adjacent pleats;

an elongated housing, said plates. being mounted on said housing for movement relative to each other and said housing;

expansible means alternating with said plates for determining the 'width of the material in each of said pleats, said expansible means connecting said plates for uniform spaced adjustment relative to each other;

means coupled to each of said plates for locking said plates in position relative to said housing regardless of any nonuniform spacing between said plates;

first means fixedly connected to said elongated housing for clamping one end of said drapery material to said housing; and

second means mounted for slideable movement along said housing for clamping the other end of said drapery material to said housing, saidfirst and second means being adapted to clamp said drapery material with the head end thereof adjacent said plates.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said elongated housing has a first channel located therein, said plurality of plates being supported for movement in said first channel.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said elongated housing has a second channel located therein, and wherein said second means is mounted for slideable movement in said second channel.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:

a first ruler fixedly connected to said housing adjacent said first means to permit marking of the return portion of said drapery material; and

a second ruler fixedly connected to said second means for movement therewith to permit marking of the overlap portion of said drapery material.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein each of said plates has a first indicia thereon for indicating the location of one end of a space, the first of said plates being positioned adjacent said first ruler, and first plate adapted to be locked in position with said first indicia aligned with the reading on said first ruler which corresponds to the width of said return portion.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein each of said plates other than said first plate has a plurality of second indicia thereon, one of said second indicia being pre-selected to indicate the location of the other end of each of said spaces.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the Width of material in each of said pleats is determined by the distance between the first indicia on one of said plates and the preselected indicia on the next adjacent plate.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

9. Apparatus for marking the location of the spaces and pleats on a drapery material comprising, in combination:

an elongated housing, said plates being mounted on said housing for movement relative to each other and said housing;

expansible means alternating with said plates for determining the width of the material in each of said pleats;

second means mounted for slideable movement along said housing for clamping the other end of said drapery material to said housing, said first and second means being adapted to clamp said drapery material with the head end thereof adjacent said plates.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said elongated 1 1 12 housing has a channel located therein, and wherein said 2,777,617" 1/1957 Matt 223-34 second means is mounted for slideable movement in said 2,879,927" 3/1959 Carrigan 22334 channel. "2,929,146 3/1960 McNeil 33137 11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising: 2,924,361 2/1960 Nirenberg 223-33 a first ruler fixedly connected to said housing adjacent 5 2,998,659 9/1961 Yaworsky 33180 said first means to permit marking of the return por- $063,605 11/ 1962 McMartin 22334 tion of said drapery material; and 4 a second ruler fixedly connected to said second means FOREIGN PATENTS for movement therewith to permit marking of the 76 469 12/19 3 Canada overlap portion of said drapery material. 0

5 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner GEORGE v. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner 1 US. Cl. X.R.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 309,754 12/1884 Weller 2z3 33 n i 401,214 4/1889 Roell 223-33 3% 4 53 t