Cordless shade

In a roller type retraction system adapted for use in driving a shade having inherent spring properties tending to retract the shade to a stowed position from a deployed position, a spool assembly including a rotatably mounted spool having its rotational axis oriented parallel to the plane of the deployed shade and having a perimeter from which a shade supporting tape is unwound during shade deployment and onto which it is rewound during shade retraction, and a tape access aperture through which the tape passes during winding and unwinding, the spool being positioned relative to the tape access aperture such that the tape extends in a substantially vertical path from said tape access aperture to its point of tangency with the spool perimeter, an improved tape guiding means which comprises:

• a tape guide retainer having a base portion and an upper portion, said upper portion including a finger curved to resiliently engage a partial outer circumference of the spool to prevent the tape from unraveling off the spool;
• and
• said base portion including the tape access aperture and a deflection plate located immediately adjacent to said vertical path and between said point of tangency and said access aperture, said deflection plate being also located so that said vertical path passes between said deflection plate and the spool, said deflection plate being inwardly angled toward the spool so that any slack tape which may be formed above said access aperture during rewinding thereof will be deflected toward the spool, to thereby prevent the tape from fouling the spool assembly.