CORDLESS ROMAN STYLE SHADE

A cordless Roman style shade is revealed. The cordless Roman style shade includes at least one piece of middle fabric arranged between a front fabric and a rear fabric. The middle fabric and the rear fabric have the same width. A front end and a rear end of the middle fabric are connected to a rear side of the front fabric and the rear fabric respectively without the use of horizontal rods. The front fabric is driven by the middle fabric to be retracted or extended in the opposite direction when the rear fabric and the middle fabric are retracted and wound around a rotating shaft. Thus the front fabric is retracted or extended horizontally and evenly without the use of the horizontal rods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a Roman style shade, especially to a cordless Roman style shade in which a front fabric without any horizontal rod is retracted or extended under control of a rear fabric and at least one piece of middle fabric. The width of the rear fabric and the width of the middle fabric are the same.

Descriptions of Related Art

The Roman shade is a common window shade formed by a suspended fabric (hereafter called the “front fabric”) disposed with a plurality of horizontal rods arranged at the fabric with the equal interval. While in use, the horizontal rods are driven by an automatic cord reel or a manually operated cord to retract or extend the front fabric. However, the Roman shade has shortcomings of exposed inner cord, negative effect of the cord on the appearance of the shade, a strangulation hazard to children, etc. In order to overcome the above shortcomings, a cordless curtain with functions of retraction and extension similar to the Roman shade is disclosed, as revealed in US 2011/0088852, U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050, U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002 etc.

However, the prior arts mentioned above have the following two shortcomings While in use.

In order to allow soft front fabric foldably retracted or extended horizontally and evenly, the front fabric of the shades revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050 (covering portion 51) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002 (blind material 30) are arranged with a plurality of horizontal rods used for supporting the front fabric (such as upper tubes 53 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050 or support rod 311/312 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002). Each horizontal rod made from materials with certain rigidity or support is connected to a rear side of the front fabric. Thus the front fabric is divided into a plurality of foldable fabric parts (such as cloth segment 511, 512, 513 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050). A hollow tubular space is formed on the rear side of the front fabric by sewing and used for mounting the rod. Not only the production cost of the front fabric is increased due to sewing, the production cost of the rods (upper tubes 53 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050 and support rod 311/312 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002) and the cost of assembly are also required. Although the horizontal rods are connected to the rear side of the front fabric, users still can see the horizontal rods through the front side of the front fabric. This seriously affects the appearance of the retracted curtain/shade.

Moreover, the actuating member 411, 412 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002 can be cord, tape, band, a long strip of fabric, etc, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 7. Thus the horizontal width of the actuating member 411, 412 is limited and is much smaller than the length of the shaft rod 21 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002. During rolling-up of the actuating member 411,412 around the shaft rod 21, the actuating member 411,412 is unable to be wound around the shaft rod 21 continuously and positioned at the same point on the shaft rod 21, especially when the actuating member 411,412 is in the cord form (as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 7). While being around and stacked around the shaft rod 21, the cord is easy to be deviated to the right side or the left side randomly. Thus the soft front fabric (such as blind material 30 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002) is difficult to be retracted or extended horizontally and evenly no matter a single actuating member 411 412 is used to connect to a center of a rear side of the front fabric (such as blind material 30 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002) or two parallel actuating members 411 412 are used to connect to symmetrical positions on the rear side of the front fabric (such as blind material 30 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002) respectively. These result in trouble and inconvenience in operating the fabric/shade.

The shade revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050 also has similar shortcomings and problems. Refer to FIG. 3 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050, two parallel and vertical winding pieces 62 with limited width are used to be rolled and wound around a winding rod 61 respectively. Thus the front fabric (such as covering portion 51 or cloth segment 511, 512, 513) in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050 is also difficult to be retracted or extended horizontally and evenly.

The front fabric of the prior arts (such as covering portion 51 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050 or blind material 30 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002 all got the problem of maintaining the horizontal position of the front fabric while being retracted. As to US 2011/0088852, it includes a blind body 10 formed by a plurality of honeycomb shaped blind elements. Thus the cost for materials, assembly and production is high and the cord required poses a hazard to kids. In these prior arts, the width of the actuating member 411, 412 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002/the winding piece 62 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050 is much more smaller than the length of the shaft rod 21 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002/the winding rod 61 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050. Thus they all have problems of difficulty in maintaining the horizontal position of the front fabric during rolling up or down. This is another main shortcoming of the prior art.

There is room for improvement and a need to provide a cordless Roman style shade that overcomes the above shortcomings by a front fabric being rolled-up or down under control of a rear fabric and at least one piece of middle fabric without the use of horizontal rods. The width of the rear fabric is equal to the width of the middle fabric.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a cordless Roman style shade that includes at least one piece of middle fabric arranged between a front fabric and a rear fabric while the rear fabric and the middle fabric have the same width. A front end and a rear end of the middle fabric are connected to a rear side of the front fabric and the rear fabric respectively without the use of horizontal rods. Each piece of the middle fabric is retracted and wound around a rotating shaft in turn and the front fabric is also driven by the middle fabric to be retracted or extended gradually when the rear fabric is retracted and wound around the rotating shaft. Thus the front fabric is retracted or extended horizontally and evenly. The production cost of the cordless Roman style shade is reduced without the use of the horizontal rods.

In order to achieve the above object, a cordless Roman style shade according to the present invention includes a headrail with a certain width for installation on a window, a rotating shaft disposed under the headrail, a front fabric, a rear fabric and at least one piece of middle fabric arranged between the front fabric and the rear fabric. An upper end of the front fabric is fixed on a front side of the headrail so that a lower end of the front fabric is able to be suspended for shading the window. The width of the rear fabric is no more than that of the front fabric. An upper end of the rear fabric is fixed on the rotating shade so that a lower end of the rear fabric is able to be suspended and corresponding to the front fabric. The total length of the rear fabric suspended is preferred to be smaller than that of the front fabric suspended. The rear fabric is retracted upward or extended downward by the rotating shaft being rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. As to the middle fabric, its length is equal to the rear fabric. A front end of the middle fabric is horizontally connected to a position at a certain level of a rear side of the front fabric to form a connection portion. Thus the front fabric is divided into two adjacent front fabric segments by the connection portion at the certain level. There is no horizontal rod disposed on the connection portion at the certain level. A rear end of the middle fabric is horizontally connected to a position at a certain level of a front side of the rear fabric to form another connection portion. The rear end of the middle fabric is moved along with the rear fabric and wound around the rotating shaft when the rear fabric is retracted upward and wound around the rotating shaft. The front end of the middle fabric is also driven to move upward when the middle fabric is retracted along with the rear fabric. Thus each front fabric segment of the front fabric is foldably retracted or extended horizontally and evenly in turn by each connection portion.

The rotating shaft is used in combination with a spring member. The rotating shaft is rotated along with the rear fabric when the rear fabric is pulled downward to make the front fabric change from a foldably retracted state to an extended state. After the rear fabric in the extended state being released from the positioning state, the rotating shaft is rotated in the opposite direction due to restoring force of the spring member. Thus the front fabric and the rear fabric can be turned from the extended state to the retracted state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERED EMBODIMENTS

Refer toFIG. 1, a cordless Roman style shade of the present invention includes a headrail10, a rotating shaft20, a front fabric30, a rear fabric40and at least one piece of middle fabric50.

The headrail10with a certain width is used to be fixed on a window (now shown in figure). Thus the cordless Roman style shade of the present invention is used as a shade between indoor space A and indoor space B, as shown inFIG. 2.

Refer toFIG. 2, the rotating shaft20is disposed under the headrail10. After installation of the cordless Roman style shade of the present invention, the front fabric30is located at the side close to the indoor space A and users in the indoor space A can see a front surface (front side) of the front fabric30while the rear fabric40is located at the side closed to the indoor space B. While in use, the users in the indoor space A will not see the rear fabric40.

Refer toFIG. 2, an upper end31of the front fabric30is fixed on a front side11of the headrail10so that a lower end32of the front fabric30is able to be extended and suspended for shading the window completely.

Still refer toFIG. 2, the width of the rear fabric40is no larger than that of the front fabric30. An upper end41of the rear fabric40is fixed on the rotating shaft20so that a lower end42of the rear fabric40is able to be extended, suspended and corresponding to the front fabric30. The total length of the rear fabric40suspended is preferred to be smaller than that of the front fabric30suspended. Thus users in the indoor space A will not see the rear fabric40. While in use, the rear fabric40is retracted upward or extended downward by the rotating shaft20being rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. Refer toFIG. 3andFIG. 5, the rotating shaft20is disposed on a bracket12under each side of the headrail10. The bracket12under each side of the headrail10has a certain width so that the width of the rotating shaft20(the axial length) is equal to or a bit smaller than the width of the headrail10(the axial length). The upper end31of the front fabric30is fixed on the front side11of the headrail10. Thus the width of the rear fabric40is no larger than that of the front fabric30.

Refer fromFIG. 1toFIG. 5, the at least one piece of middle fabric50is arranged between the front fabric30and the area fabric40. In this embodiment, there are three pieces of the middle fabric50a,50b, and50cfrom top to bottom in turn. The width of each piece of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) is equal to that of the rear fabric40. The width of each piece of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) and the width of the rear fabric40are both no larger than the width of the front fabric30. As shown inFIG. 2andFIG. 4, a front end51of each piece of the middle fabric50is horizontally connected to a position at a certain level33of a rear side30aof the front fabric30to form a first connection portion34. In this embodiment, the first connection portion34is formed by sewing, high frequency welding, mechanical adhesion, button/rivet fastening, etc without the use of the horizontal rod. Different from the prior arts (upper tubes 53 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050 or support rod 311/312 in U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002), the first connection portion34at different level33of the front fabric30of the present invention doesn't have any type of horizontal rod. The front fabric30is divided into two adjacent front fabric segments35by the first connection portion34at the level33. Refer toFIG. 3andFIG. 4, a rear end52of each piece of the middle fabric50is horizontally connected to a position at a certain level53at a front side40bof the rear fabric40to form a second connection portion54.

While in use, the rear end52of each piece of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) is moved along with the rear fabric40and wound around the rotating shaft20in turn when the rear fabric40is retracted upward and wound around the rotating shaft20. The front end51of each piece of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) is also driven to move upward when the piece of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) is retracted along with the rear fabric40. Thus each front fabric segment35of the front fabric30is foldably retracted or extended horizontally and evenly in turn by each first connection portion34. The width of each piece of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) is equal to the rear fabric40so that both the rear fabric40and each piece of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) can be retracted and wound around the rotating shaft20evenly and horizontally. The cordless Roman style shade of the present invention do solve the uneven rolled-up/down problem of the prior arts mentioned above (U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,050, U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,002, etc.). Moreover, the production cost of the shade is reduced without the use of the horizontal rods arranged at the front fabric30.

Furthermore, the height of the first connection portion34in relative to the second connection portion54of each piece of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) can be equal or unequal according to user's requirements. Take the embodiment inFIG. 3as an example. The level53of the second connection portion54of the middle fabric50aat the top of the cordless Roman style shade is equal to the level33of the first connection portion34. The level53of the second connection portion54of the middle fabric50bin the middle of the cordless Roman style shade is lower than the level33of the first connection portion34. As to the middle fabric50cat the bottom of the cordless Roman style shade, the level53of the second connection portion54is higher than the level33of the first connection portion34. When there are at least two pieces of the middle fabric50(such as three pieces of the middle fabric50(50a,50b, and50c) in this embodiment), the level33of the first connection portion34at the front fabric30can be arranged at equal intervals or not. Thus the front fabric30can be foldably retracted and overlapped at the same position/or not. The front fabric30can be designed to have different retracted/folded patterns according to users' needs.

In addition, the rotating shaft20can be used in combination with a spring member60, as shown inFIG. 3. The rotating shaft20is rotated along with the rear fabric40when the rear fabric40is pulled downward to make the front fabric30change from a foldably retracted state to an extended state, as shown inFIG. 1,FIG. 2andFIG. 3. After the rear fabric40in the extended state being released from the positioning state, the rotating shaft20is rotated in the opposite direction due to restoring force of the spring member60. Thus the front fabric30and the rear fabric40can be turned from the extended state to the retracted state (not shown in figures).