Patent ID: 6520238
Filing Date: 2003-02-18
Classification: E06B

Abstract:
A fabric blind comprising:a head rail; a web of fabric material attached at a first end to said head rail; at least one lifting cord extending from said head rail to a second end portion of the fabric material opposite to said first end, said at least one lifting cord being attached to said second end portion of said fabric web; a plurality of guide elements, each of said guide elements being a one-piece construction including a coupling portion slidably coupled to a respective lifting cord and a connecting portion releasably secured to said fabric material, wherein said guide elements are arranged in one or more arrays; and at least one flexible connecting tape disposed between said head rail and said second end portion of the fabric web; wherein one or more substantially vertical arrays of guide elements guide said at least one lifting cord and one or more substantially horizontal arrays of guide elements secure said connecting tape to the fabric web, whereby the unfolding of the fabric web is constrained by said connecting tape to a pre-defined maximum spacing between vertically adjacent pairs of guide elements, the maximum spacing between said vertically adjacent pairs of guide elements being less than a corresponding length of the fabric web disposed between them such that said corresponding length of said fabric web forms an aesthetically pleasing shape.