Rail for a fabric blind and method of attaching rail to a fabric
AssigneeHunter Douglas Industries BV
InventorKonrad Welfonder
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An elongate hollow rail for a fabric covering for an architectural opening, such as a bottom rail for a fabric roller blind or a top or bottom rail for a roman shade, having an upper portion with a lengthwise upper opening in the top of the rail and being characterized by a pair of lengthwise upper locking shoulders in the interior of the upper portion on walls on opposite widthwise sides of the upper opening, the upper locking shoulders being wedge-shaped and pointing inwardly of the upper portion and away from the upper opening, and the wall on a first widthwise side of the bottom rail extending above the wall on the opposite second widthwise side of the bottom rail about the openings and a method for attaching a fabric to a locking shoulder within an elongate hollow rail as described.
Claims23
An elongate hollow rail for a fabric covering for an architectural opening having an upper portion with a lengthwise upper opening in the top of the rail and being characterized by:
- a pair of walls on widthwise sides of said rail having inner surfaces, said inner surfaces of said walls being interconnected by a cross web;
- a pair of lengthwise upper locking shoulders projecting inwardly respectively from said inner surfaces of the upper portion of said walls on opposite widthwise sides of the upper opening such that the inner surface of the walls extends above and below the locking shoulders;
- the upper locking shoulders being wedge-shaped and pointing inwardly of the upper portion and away from the upper opening;
- and
- the wall on a first widthwise side of the bottom rail extending above the wall on the opposite second widthwise side of the bottom rail about the opening when the walls are substantially vertically oriented.
A method for attaching a fabric to a locking shoulder within an elongate hollow rail for a fabric covering for an architectural opening wherein the rail has a lengthwise upper opening in an upper portion defined between two walls, by the steps of:
- securing the rail with its lengthwise upper opening facing upwards;
- overlaying the rail and its upper opening and walls with a fabric having a stiff straight marginal edge, so that the stiff marginal edge lies parallel and adjacent to a wall on a widthwise side of the rail and the remainder of the fabric extends widthwise away from the stiff marginal edge and the rail and its other wall;
- pushing the fabric into the upper opening by rolling the circumferential edge of a fabric inserting wheel against the top of the fabric and lengthwise along, and inwardly of, the upper opening while allowing the stiff marginal edge to move widthwise towards the upper opening but preventing the remainder of the fabric from moving widthwise towards the upper opening;
- and then
- pushing the stiff marginal edge into the upper opening so that the marginal edge engages the locking shoulder by again rolling the fabric inserting wheel against the top of the fabric end lengthwise along, and inwardly of, the upper opening while preventing the remainder of the fabric from moving widthwise towards the upper opening.
A method for attaching a fabric to a locking shoulder within an elongate hollow rail for a fabric covering for an architectural opening having a lengthwise upper opening in an upper portion of the rail, defined between two walls by the steps of:
- securing the rail with its lengthwise upper opening facing upwards;
- overlaying the rail and its upper opening and walls with a fabric having a stiff straight marginal edge, so that the stiff marginal edge lies parallel and adjacent to a wall on a widthwise side of the rail and the remainder of the fabric extends widthwise away from the stiff marginal edge and the rail and its other wall;
- pushing the fabric into the upper opening by rolling the circumferential edge of a fabric inserting wheel against the top of the fabric and lengthwise along, and inwardly of, the upper opening while allowing the stiff marginal edge to move widthwise towards the upper opening but preventing the remainder of the fabric from moving widthwise towards the upper opening;
- and then
- pushing the stiff marginal edge into the upper opening so that the marginal edge engages the locking shoulder by again rolling the fabric inserting wheel against the top of the fabric and lengthwise along, and inwardly of, the upper opening while preventing the remainder of the fabric from moving widthwise towards the upper opening.
A method of attaching a fabric to a hollow rail profile, the fabric comprising a sheet portion and a longitudinal end portion with a stiffening member attached thereto, the rail profile having a longitudinally extending fabric receiving opening out into a first or upper longitudinal extending fabric mounting opening between a first profile wall and an opposite second profile well, the first profile wall having a longitudinally extending inwardly directed fabric locking shoulder adjacent the opening, the method comprising the steps of,
- securing the profile with the first fabric mounting opening facing upwards,
- overlaying the profile and its first opening with the fabric, so that the stiffening member of the longitudinal end portion lies parallel and adjacent to the first profile wall and the sheet portion of the fabric extends horizontally away from the stiffening member over the profile and the first fabric mounting opening,
- applying a fabric inserting wheel on a movable carriage for rolling the fabric into the first fabric mounting opening, and
- rolling the stiffening member into the first opening by at least one longitudinally directed rolling pass of the fabric inserting wheel.
A method of mounting a fabric to a hollow rail profile, the fabric comprising a sheet portion and a longitudinal end portion with a stiffening member attached thereto, the rail profile comprising a first longitudinal extending fabric mounting opening between a first profile wall and an opposite second profile wall and a second longitudinal extending fabric mounting opening, the first and second fabric openings being separated by an intermediate web member, the method comprising the steps of,
- securing the profile with the first fabric mounting opening facing upwards,
- overlaying the profile and its first opening with the fabric, so that the stiffening member of the longitudinal end portion lies parallel and adjacent to the first profile wall and the sheet portion of the fabric extends horizontally away from the stiffening member over the profile and the first fabric mounting opening,
- applying a fabric inserting wheel on a movable carriage for rolling the fabric into the first fabric mounting opening, and
- rolling the stiffening member into the first opening by at least one longitudinally directed rolling pass of the fabric inserting wheel.
A method of mounting a fabric to a hollow rail profile, the fabric comprising a sheet portion and a longitudinal end portion, the rail profile comprising a first longitudinal extending fabric mounting opening between a first profile wall and an opposite second profile wall and a second longitudinal extending fabric mounting opening, the first and second fabric openings being separated by an intermediate web member, the method comprising the steps of,
- securing the profile with the first fabric mounting opening facing upwards,
- overlaying the profile and its first opening with the fabric, so that the end portion lies parallel and adjacent to the first profile wall and the sheet portion of the fabric extends horizontally away from the end portion over the profile and the first fabric mounting opening,
- applying a fabric inserting wheel on a movable carriage for rolling a first fabric fold into the first fabric mounting opening, and
- inserting a spline into the profile, such that the spline lies into the first fabric fold that is rolled into the profile, the spline preventing the fabric from being pulled out through the fabric inserting opening,
- releasing the profile rail and turning it over 180 degrees and re-securing it to the support structure, thus covering the first profile wall with fabric and locating the second fabric mounting opening facing upwards with the fabric extending over it,
- re-applying the fabric inserting wheel on a movable carriage for rolling a second spline told of the fabric sheet portion into the second fabric mounting opening, and
- inserting a second spline into the profile, such that the spline lies into the second spline fold that is rolled into the profile, the spline preventing the fabric from being pulled out through the fabric inserting opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.