Shade construction

In a shade construction of the type in which a vertically hanging sheet of shade material having a forwardly-facing obverse face and a rearwardly-facing reverse face is provided with a plurality of horizontally-extending, vertically spaced apart pleats, consecutive shade panels delineated by the pleats and extending along a plane coincident with the hanging sheet, and a draw cord associated with the pleats such that upon drawing the pleats vertically toward one-another to retract the shade material, each shade panel will fold into a forwardly-directed folded configuration, the improvement for facilitating the establishment of an aesthetically well-formed forwardly-directed folded configuration in each of the shade panels upon retraction of the shade material, the improvement comprising:

• a rearwardly-extending loop in the shade material at each pleat, the loop extending horizontally along the pleat and including a rearwardly-looped portion having a cross-sectional configuration extending in directions generally parallel to the plane of the hanging sheet of shade material, and a pair of legs juxtaposed with one another between the rearwardly-looped portion and the reverse face of the sheet of shade material;
• securing means securing the juxtaposed legs together immediately adjacent the reverse face of the sheet of shade material to maintain the legs juxtaposed and the rearwardly-extending loop closed;
• a stiffening rod placed within the rearwardly-looped portion and extending horizontally throughout essentially the full horizontal extent of the rearwardly-looped portion;
• an aperture in the juxtaposed legs of each rearwardly-extending loop, each aperture being located between the reverse face of the sheet of shade material and the stiffening rod, with corresponding apertures aligned vertically behind the shade material;
• the draw cord passing through the aligned apertures;
• a forwardly-extending loop in the shade material at each pleat, the forwardly-extending loop extending horizontally along the pleat and including a forwardly-looped portion having a cross-sectional configuration including portions extending in directions generally parallel to the plane of the hanging sheet of shade material, and a pair of legs, the forwardly-extending loop being related to the rearwardly-extending loop such that the shade material extends from a shade panel rearwardly into the rearwardly-extending loop and then forwardly from the rearwardly-extending loop into the forwardly-extending loop;
• and
• a second rearwardly-extending loop in the shade material at each pleat, the second rearwardly-extending loop extending horizontally along the pleat and including a further rearwardly-looped portion and a pair of further legs juxtaposed with one another between the further rearwardly-looped portion and the reverse face of the sheet of shade material, the second rearwardly-extending loop being juxtaposed with the first said rearwardly-extending loop and the sheet of shade material including first and second transition portions such that the shade material extends from a shade panel rearwardly through the first transition portion into the first rearwardly-extending loop, then forwardly from the first rearwardly-extending loop into the forwardly-extending loop, then rearwardly from the forwardly-extending loop into the second rearwardly-extending loop, and then forwardly through the second transition portion to the next consecutive shade panel delineated by the pleats, whereby the shade material is bent sharply rearwardly along the first and second transition portions of the shade material, at the locations where each shade panel meets a corresponding pleat, and the securing means secures together the legs of the first said rearwardly-extending loop and the further legs of the second rearwardly-extending loop.