Abstract:
A system for suspending a free-hanging shade material in an architectural opening includes a panel of shade material and brackets that can be mounted to the top edge of the framework around the architectural opening even when the top edge is not straight or horizontally disposed. The top edge of the panel has reinforcement strips operatively connected thereto which are releasably connected to the brackets. The system is useful in conventional rectangular architectural openings or openings of unusual shapes and sizes such as semi-circular or having an inclined top edge.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/608,285 filed Sep. 8, 2004, which application is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to free-hanging coverings for architectural openings and more particularly to a system for suspending a free-hanging covering in an architectural opening which may be non-rectangular in configuration. 
     2. Description of the Relevant Art 
     Coverings for architectural openings such as doors, windows, archways and the like have taken numerous forms for many years with early coverings simply consisting of fabric draped across an architectural opening. Through the years, however, more sophisticated and even designer-type coverings have been made which are retractable in nature. By way of example, a venetian blind is a very common retractable covering for an architectural opening wherein a plurality of horizontally disposed slats are supported on tape or cord ladders so the slats can be tilted about their horizontal longitudinal axes or gathered into a stack at the top of the architectural opening in a retracted position of the covering. 
     Vertical blinds are also available which are similar to venetian blinds except the slats are extended vertically, but again will pivot about their longitudinal axes or can be gathered into a compact stack adjacent one or both sides of the architectural opening. 
     Cellular shades have become very popular wherein collapsible cells of a fabric material are horizontally extended across an opening and can be retracted adjacent one edge of the opening with lift cords that move one edge of the covering toward an opposite edge while successively collapsing cells until there is a compact stack of the cells adjacent the opposite edge of the opening. 
     More recently, a cellular shade has been developed which includes a pair of spaced fabric sheets of material such as sheer that are interconnected at spaced locations with horizontal vanes that may or may not be flexible. When one sheet of material is shifted relative to the other, the vanes are moved or pivoted between open and closed positions such that when the vanes are in a closed position, they overlap and lie in a parallel plane with the sheets of material but in an open position bridge a space between the sheets of material and define gaps therebetween through which light and vision can pass. Typically coverings of this type are rolled around a roller at the top or bottom of the architectural opening to retract the covering. 
     There are many times, however, when retractable shades are not necessary or desirable such as with accent windows that might be positioned above larger picture windows or along the crowned upper edge of a door or a relatively small wall in an architectural structure. In such accent windows it is many times desirable that the covering simply be fully extended across the opening at all times. A problem in dealing with accent windows is that they are not always rectangular in configuration and some may for example have a curved or arched top edge or an inclined top edge so they are not easily covered with conventional covering materials. 
     It is to provide a free-hanging covering for architectural openings which finds a particular but not exclusive use in openings of unusual configuration that the present invention has been developed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The system of the present invention is adapted to suspend a shade material across an architectural opening by suspending the material from an upper edge that may be cut or contoured to fit the upper edge of the framework around an architectural opening. By suspending a sufficient length of the shade material along the upper edge thereof and if necessary anchoring the lower edge to the sill of the architectural opening or to a weighted rail, the shade material will remain extended across the full cross-section of the architectural opening. 
     The upper edge of the shade material is provided with at least one reinforcement strip which rigidifies the edge of the shade material and the reinforcement strip is adapted to operatively cooperate with support brackets that are anchorable to the framework of the architectural opening along an upper edge thereof. The support brackets have a downwardly opening channel with a lip that projects into the channel and wherein the lip is adapted to cooperate with the reinforcement strip to hold the reinforcement strip along with the upper edge of the shade material in the channel so that the upper edge of the shade material is suspended from the support bracket within the architectural opening. A plurality of the support brackets may be placed along the framework of the architectural opening as may be needed. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, a support channel is positioned along the upper edge of the shade material with the channel having upstanding side walls adapted to be received in a pair of downwardly opening channels of the support brackets. The shade material is secured to the side walls of the support channel so that the support channel, which becomes operatively connected to the reinforcement strips, is also suspended from the support brackets along with the shade material. 
     The system of the present invention is applicable to many varieties of shade material including but not limited to those wherein a pair of vertically extending sheets of material are separated by a plurality of parallel vanes so that the shade material is suspended in a free-hanging condition across the architectural opening. In this condition, the shade material resembles a retractable shade in a fully-extended position that may have the vanes open to define gaps therebetween. 
     Other aspects, features, and details of the present invention can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric of a window opening having a semi-circular configuration with a covering suspended therein in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front elevation of the window and covering of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 4   a  is an isometric looking downwardly on the open top of a support channel used in the system of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a fragmentary isometric showing a support bracket of the system of the present invention interconnected with the shade material and support channel. 
         FIG. 7  is an isometric of the support bracket and its relationship to the shade material and framework for the architectural opening which are shown in dashed lines. 
         FIG. 8  is a front elevation of a window opening having a slanted or inclined top edge with a covering suspended therein in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is an isometric of the window as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 11  is a fragmentary section taken along line  11 - 11  of  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  12 - 12  of  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 13  is a fragmentary section taken along line  13 - 13  of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is a fragmentary section taken along line  14 - 14  of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 15  is a fragmentary section taken along line  15 - 15  of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 16  is an isometric looking downwardly on the top of the main body portion of a second embodiment of a support bracket used in the system of the present invention. 
         FIG. 16   a  is an isometric looking upwardly at the bracket component shown in  FIG. 16 . 
         FIG. 17  is an isometric looking downwardly on the top of the base member component of the second embodiment of the support bracket of the present invention. 
         FIG. 17   a  is an isometric looking upwardly at the base component of the support bracket shown in  FIG. 17 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show an architectural opening  20  in the form of a window having a semi-circular configuration so that the window has a semi-circular or arcuate top edge  22 . Conventional framework  24  extends around the window opening which is typically wood so as to form a support base for the system of the present invention. The system of the present invention includes a window shade material  26  that is suspended vertically in the architectural opening adjacent to a glass panel  27  through use of support brackets  28  anchored to the framework  24  along the upper edge of the architectural opening. In the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in  FIGS. 1-7 , a support channel  30  is also used to facilitate the attachment of the shade material to the support brackets. While the bottom edge  32  of the shade material  26  can be secured to the sill of the architectural opening, a weighted bottom rail  34  might also be included as shown best in  FIG. 3  so as to retain the shade material, through gravity, in a desired fully-extended condition across the opening. 
     The shade material  26  could assume numerous forms. Modifications to the suspension system to be described hereafter in detail could be made accordingly. Such modifications are felt to be fully within the knowledge of those skilled in the art. For purposes of the present disclosure, the shade material is illustrated as a cellular shade material having a pair of vertically extending sheets  36  of material which are interconnected with a plurality of vertically spaced horizontally extending vanes  38  of generally S-shaped transverse cross-section. 
     Such a shade material is known in the art and has been primarily designed to be retractable between the extended position shown in  FIGS. 1-3  and a retracted position (not illustrated) wherein the shade material is wrapped around a roller in a headrail along the top edge of the shade material. The sheets  36 , which are preferably sheer, are typically also movable with the roller so as to be shifted in opposite vertical directions thereby causing the vanes  38  to move between the open position illustrated in  FIG. 3  and a closed position (not shown) wherein the vanes lie substantially in a flat vertical plane between the sheets of material. In the present invention, however, the shade material  26  merely remains suspended in the fully extended position with the vanes open as shown in  FIG. 3  so as to define gaps  40  therebetween. With the system for suspending the shade material disclosed in the present invention, the shade material conforms to the shape of the architectural opening, for example, in the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a semi-circular configuration. 
     In order to suspend the shade material  26  in accordance with the present invention, the sheets  36  in the shade material are extended above the uppermost vane  38  and the top edges  42  of the sheets are cut to conform with the configuration of the framework  24  around the top of the architectural opening. In fact, the entire shade material is cut so that in its fully-extended position of  FIGS. 1-3 , the top edge of the shade material conforms with the top of the framework in the architectural opening. 
     The upwardly opening support channel  30  is positioned between the sheets  36  of the shade material and above the uppermost vane  38  in the shade material so that the sheets extend along arcuate side walls  46  of the support channel. The outer surfaces of the sidewalls along the arcuate upper edges thereof are provided with strips  48  of adhesive to which the sheets of the shade material are secured. In this manner, the sheets overlie the side walls of the support channel so that the sheets are continuous across the entire semi-circular architectural opening. 
     The support brackets  28  are utilized to suspend the support channel  30  and the shade material  26  from the framework  24  at the top of the architectural opening and any number of support brackets can be utilized typically dependent upon the size of the opening. In the disclosed embodiment, two such support brackets, which are identical, are utilized. 
     The support brackets  28  are seen best in  FIGS. 4-7  wherein it will be appreciated each support bracket has a generally flat body  50  with an elongated slot  52  therein having an enlarged key hole  54  at one end to facilitate connecting the support bracket to the framework  24  of the architectural opening as will be described hereafter. At each end of the flat body  50  are downturned channels  56  formed from inner  58  and outer  60  spaced legs wherein the inner legs are interconnected by spaced gussets  62  to the flat body. A lower edge of each inner leg  58  has outwardly directed lips  64  that project into the space or channel  56  defined between the inner and outer legs. As best seen in  FIG. 7 , to mount the bracket to the framework around the architectural opening, a screw-type fastener  66  is inserted into the undersurface of the framework at a predetermined location and then the head of the fastener is inserted through the keyhole  54  in the slot  52  of the support bracket so that the bracket can be slid relative to the fastener to a desired location. The fastener can then be tightened to retain the support bracket at the desired location. 
     As probably best seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , and as mentioned previously, the support bracket  28  is utilized to suspend the support channel  30  and the shade material  26  within the framework  24  of the architectural opening. The shade material is secured to the support channel as described previously so that the sheets  36  of shade material overlie the outer faces of the side walls  46  of the support channel. 
     Reinforcement strips  68  of plastic, rigidified fabric, metal or the like are secured with, for example, adhesive to the inner face of the side walls of the support channels along the top edges of the side walls with the reinforcement strips only being necessary at locations where a support bracket  28  will be interconnected with the support channel. While adhesive  67  is preferably used to connect the reinforcement strip with the support channel, it could be connected in any manner so long as the reinforcement strip establishes a slight laterally inward projection from the side walls of the support channel. 
     To interconnect the support channel  30  and shade material  26  to the support bracket  28 , the top edges of the support channel are inserted into the downwardly opening channels  56  of the support bracket until the reinforcement strips are moved above the lips  64  on the inner legs  58  of the support brackets. The lips then underlie the lower edges of the reinforcement strips and the reinforcement strips with the support channel and shade materials connected thereto are retained on the lips by the outer leg  60  of the support bracket. Of course, to remove the support channel from the support bracket, the outer legs are flexed slightly so as to allow the reinforcement strips to be removed from their overlying relationship with the lips. Obviously, the support bracket is made of a material that is substantially rigid but has some flexibility and resiliency to permit attachment and removal of the support channel and shade material. 
     It has been found that once the top edge of the shade material  26  has been suspended from the top edge of the framework in the architectural opening with the support brackets  28  as described above and with the lower edge  32  of the shade material being either secured to the window sill or held by gravity in close relationship thereto with a weighted bottom rail  34 , the upper edge of the shade material will lie in closely spaced or contiguous relationship with the framework around the top of the architectural opening so that the shade material custom fits the opening and will remain in the fully extended but open position illustrated and described. 
     A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 8-17   a  in an architectural opening  70  of generally rectangular configuration but wherein the top frame member  72  of the opening is at a bias or is inclined relative to the bottom edge or sill  74  of the opening. Again, the shade material  76  used in the system is shown as being identical to that of the previously described embodiment but the material is mounted in the opening with an alternative support bracket  78 . 
     In this embodiment of the invention, the top edge  80  of the shade material  76  is cut along a bias or at an incline conforming to the incline of the top frame member of the architectural opening. Reinforcement strips  68  are secured as with adhesive  82  along the outer top edge of each of the sheets  84  of shade material  76  so the reinforcement strips project laterally outwardly away from the associated sheet of shade materials. The reinforcement strips are utilized to facilitate attachment of the shade material to any desired number of support brackets  78  mounted on the top frame member of the framework around the architectural opening. 
     The bracket  78  utilized in this embodiment is probably best illustrated in  FIGS. 16 ,  16   a,    17 , and  17   a.  The bracket is a two-piece bracket having a mounting base  86  shown in  FIGS. 17 and 17   a  and a main body  88  shown in  FIGS. 16 and 16   a.  The mounting base has a passage  90  through one end thereof adapted to receive a screw-type fastener  92  that can be advanced into the top frame member of the framework around the architectural opening. 
     The mounting base  86  further includes a recess  94  in a top surface thereof to removably receive the main body  88  as will be described hereafter and a protruding lip  96  having a cam surface  98  at the end opposite the passage  90 . The mounting base can be secured to the framework at any desired location and the main body releasably connected thereto as will be described hereafter. 
     The main body  88  has two identical components  100  defining slotted top walls  102  and downturned inner  104  and outer  106  legs at opposite ends of the top surfaces. The outer leg has an inturned lip  108  along its lower edge that protrudes into a space or channel area  110  defined between the inner and outer legs for a purpose to be described hereafter. Each component  100  is identical and connected to the other component with a bridge member  112  that is relatively thin and adapted to be slid into overlying relationship with the mounting base  86  when mounting the main body on the mounting base. The bridge member can be advanced against the cam surface  98  on the main body thereby allowing the bridge member to pass or slide over the protruding lip  96  on the mounting base until the bridge member is fully seated within the recess  94  in the mounting base. The main body can be removed from its seated relationship with the mounting base in a reverse manner. 
     The sheets  84  in the shade material  76  along their exposed upper edges to which the reinforcement strips  68  are connected can be inserted into the aligned downwardly opening channels  110  of the identical components  100  of the main body of the bracket so that the main body of the bracket retains the shade material with its sheets spaced as illustrated in  FIG. 10 . The lip  108  on the outer legs  106  of the main body of the mounting bracket support the reinforcement strips even though flexing of the outer legs allows the reinforcement strips with the sheets attached thereto to be removed from the main body of the mounting bracket if desired. 
     When suspending the shade material  76  within the architectural opening, the mounting base  86  of the support brackets  78  are first secured to the framework at desired spaced locations along the top frame member  72  and the shade material is secured to the main body  88  of the mounting bracket as described above. Finally the main body is slid over the mounting base  86  of the mounting bracket until the bridge member  112  lies within the recess  94  to releasably secure the main body to the mounting base. 
     As seen in  FIG. 10 , the shade material  76  is typically mounted on the interior side of a glass panel  112  or the like and within the framework of the architectural opening. The shade material hangs freely within the opening in a fully extended and open position. As with the first-described embodiment of the present invention, the bottom edge of the shade material could be secured to the sill of the architectural opening or connected to a weighted bottom rail  114  that retains the shade material in a fully extended position. 
     Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood the disclosure has been made by way of example and changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.