Patent Publication Number: US-7213680-B1

Title: Acoustical wall covering assembly pleated and secured in situ for covering walls in movie theatres and method

Description:
The present application is a continuation-in-part of application U.S. Ser. No. 10/293,851, filed Nov. 12, 2002 now abandoned. 

   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention relates to methods for hanging acoustical wall coverings. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for preparing and hanging acoustical wall covering assemblies for sound dampening of movie theatres. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Movie theatres provide viewers a facility for escape from everyday events. Movie theatres typically include large viewing screens for presentation of films ranging from drama, adventure, comedy, suspense and mystery, and other such fair. In addition to the visual presentation of the film, theatres also include powerful sound systems with amplifiers and speakers positioned within the auditorium of the theatre to enhance the visual effect of the film being shown. 
   Often the auditorium of the theatre is housed in buildings with high ceilings, which have broad wall surfaces extending from the screen to the back of the theatre past the many rows of seats. To accommodate the acoustical characteristics of movie theatres, the walls typically include dampening material as an exterior surface. The damping material absorbs the sound so that sound does not repeat and echo through the auditorium during the course of the film but rather the sounds of the continuing scenes may be clearly heard. 
   Typically, movie theatre interior walls are covered with drapery material placed as curtains along the walls of the theatre. The drapery material dampens the sound. A common drapery or curtain used in many theatres is pleated from the ceiling to about four to six feet off the floor. A carpet covers the lower portion of the wall. The pleated curtain provides not only the acoustic effect, but an ornamental appearance as well. Typically the drapery curtains on walls of theatres have four-inch box pleats at nine-inch spacing, extending from approximately four feet off the floor to the ceiling. 
   The labor to prepare, handle, and install drapery curtains in theatre interiors is significant. A special sewing shop is required. Large tables are necessary to receive the elongate sheets of drapery fabric. Typically the drapery fabric is provided in 54 inch widths. The length of the fabric is sufficient to extend between a ceiling trim near the ceiling and a wall trim vertically spaced from the floor. Often these lengths are 30 or 40 feet or more. The entire length of a fabric has to be pleated. 
   The drapery fabric is measured for length and cut from a bolt of fabric. The fabric then is laid on the table where the pleats are measured, marked with pens, and sewn across the top to form the pleat. A jute backing often is applied using a top and bottom stitch. The pleated length of fabric is then marked so that installers can identify the portion of the wall on which the pleated fabric drapery is to be installed. The completed drapery is packed and shipped to the job site. At the job site, workers unpack the boxes and install the drapery curtains in the appropriate sequence. 
   The measuring, cutting, and sewing is extensively labor intensive and time consuming. This results in significant costs associated with installing or replacing interior drapery treatments for movie theatres. 
   Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved method and apparatus of preparing and installing acoustical wall coverings for sound dampening of walls in movie theatres. It is to such that the present invention is directed. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention meets the needs in the industry by providing a method of forming a pleated panel of an acoustical wall covering and installing in situ on a wall in a movie theatre interior between opposing trims mounted to the wall in spaced relation, comprising the steps of: 
   (a) cutting a panel from a bolt of an acoustical wall covering to a selected length for extending between the spaced-apart trims; 
   (b) attaching a first end of the panel to adhesive-faced opposing sides of an elongate strip to form an acoustical wall covering assembly, said elongate strip defining a plurality of spaced-apart groups of spaced-apart scores; 
   (c) attaching a lateral end portion of the elongate strip to a ceiling support member; and 
   (d) forming a pleat in the panel by folding the elongate member on the scores at each one of the group of scores while securing the formed pleat to the ceiling support member; 
   whereby the panel, being pleated and attached in situ to the ceiling trim, covers the wall. 
   In another aspect, the present invention provides an acoustical wall covering assembly formed with pleats and installed in situ on a wall of a movie theatre, comprising an elongate strip having a plurality of spaced-apart groups of spaced-apart scores for foldingly defining a pleat in the panel and an adhesive surface on opposing sides of the elongate strip. A panel of acoustical wall covering of a selected length attaches at a first end to the opposing sides of the elongate strip. Fasteners secure pleats to a ceiling trim member, which pleats are formed and attached in situ by folding the scores in each group of scores in the elongate strip and fastening to the trim member. The acoustical wall covering assembly defines a wall panel pleated and secured in situ by folding each group of scores to form respective pleats and securing the pleat to the ceiling trim member by the fasteners extending through the acoustical wall covering and the elongate strip on opposing longitudinal sides of each group, for in situ forming and attaching the pleated acoustical wall assembly to a ceiling trim mounted to a wall of a movie theatre. 
   Objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with reference to the appended drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a pictorial cut-away view of a movie theatre in which an acoustic wall covering assembly according to the present invention is installed on a side wall. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective, partially cut-away view of an acoustic wall covering and pleating apparatus according to the present invention. 
       FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  3 C, and  3 D illustrate the formation of the pleated wall covering assembly illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views,  FIG. 1  illustrates in perspective view a pleated acoustic wall covering assembly  10  with spaced-apart pleats  11  formed in situ, according to the present invention, while the covering assembly  10  is being attached to a side wall  12  of a movie theatre generally  14  having an interior under construction or renovation. In the embodiment illustrated and described herein, the pleats  11  are box pleats, although one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate upon reading of this disclosure that other pleat styles and spacings may be formed using the present invention. 
   As discussed below, the acoustical wall covering assembly  10  mounts to a ceiling trim  16  and a spaced-apart wall trim  18  during formation of the pleats, as discussed below. The trims  16 ,  18  are elongated wooden members, or other materials to which the assembly  10  attaches. The ceiling trim  16  attaches near a ceiling  17  of the movie theatre  14 , as illustrated on the wall  12 . The wall trim  18  is disposed intermediate a ceiling and a floor  21  of the theatre  14 . A carpet  19  attaches to the wall to cover the wall between the wall trim  18  and the floor. The pleated acoustical wall covering assembly  10 , attached to the side walls  12  of the theatre  14 , dampens or attenuates sound emitted from speakers during viewing of a motion picture or film on a screen  20  in the auditorium of the movie theatre  14 . Scaffolding generally  23  enables workers to reach the trim  16  during in situ formation and installation of the pleated acoustical wall covering  10 . 
     FIG. 2  is a cut-away view of a portion of the pleated acoustical wall covering assembly  10 , prior to in situ formation and installation of pleats. The assembly  10  comprises an elongate panel  22  of acoustical wall covering material, such as a fabric or drapery material. The panel  22  attaches at a first end to an elongate pleating member  24 . The pleating member  24  is an elongate strip having a plurality of spaced-apart groups  26  of spaced-apart scores to guide the formation of a pleat in the panel  22 , as discussed below. Each group  26  includes scores on a front face  28  and a back face  30  of the pleating member  24 . Each group  26  in the illustrated embodiment has a score sequence of a first front score  32 , a first back score  34 , a second back score  36 , and a second front score  38 . As discussed below, the pleating member  24  forms the box pleat by folding on the scores  32 ,  34 ,  36 , and  38 . Other score patterns define alternate styles of pleats known to those of skill in the art and are not further described. 
   The group  26  at the longitudinal distal ends of the pleating member  24  do not require a respective one of the front scores  32 ,  38 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the group  26   a  at a first distal end of the pleating member  24  lacks the first front score  32  at the distal edge of the pleating member  24 . Likewise, although not illustrated, a group  26  at the opposing longitudinal distal end of the pleating member  24  would not include the second front score at the distal edge. These respective distal edges align with the lateral edges  40  of the panel  22 . 
   The opposing front face  28  and back face  30  of the pleating member  24  include an adhesive coating  42 . The adhesive coatings  42  are covered by cover sheets  44 ,  46  readily detached to expose the adhesive  42  when attaching the panel  22  to the pleating member  24 , as discussed below. An edge portion generally  48  of the panel  22  attaches to the adhesive  42  on the back face  30  and overlaps to the front face  28 , whereby the panel  22  is secured to the pleating member  24 . 
     FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  3 C, and  3 D illustrate steps in forming the box pleats  11  in the acoustical wall covering assembly  10  in situ while also attaching the assembly to the ceiling trim  16 . The panel  22  in  FIGS. 3A–3D  is shown in partial cut-away view in order to illustrate features of the acoustical wall covering assembly  10  while the box pleats  11  are formed using the respective groups  26  of the scores  32 ,  34 ,  36 , and  38 . 
   The panel  22  is first cut from a bolt of the acoustical wall covering material. The panel  22  is cut to a selected length to extend between the spaced-apart ceiling trim  16  and wall trim  18 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , plus sufficient overlap for the edge portion  48 . It is to be appreciated that the ceiling trim  16  may be spaced from the ceiling leaving a gap that is covered by another material such as carpet The cover sheets  44 ,  46  ( FIG. 2 ) are removed. With reference to  FIG. 3A , the edge portion  48  of the panel  22  adheres to the adhesive  42  covering the back face  30 , and overlaps and adheres to the front face  28  of the pleating member  24 . The panel  22  may be placed on a table or other convenient work surface for securing the panel  22  to the pleating member  24 . 
   To form the box pleats  11  and attach to the wall in situ, the panel  22  with the panel  22  with the pleating member  24  is raised to the ceiling portion of the theatre, such as by using scaffolding  23  for workmen to stand while pleating and attaching the panel. A lateral side of the ceiling end of the panel  22  is attached with staples  60  to the ceiling trim  18 . The first pleat is then formed by folding the panel on the scores  32 ,  34 ,  36 , and  38  in the first group  26 . With reference to  FIG. 3B , the box pleat  11  is formed by first folding the pleating member to define a portion of a left side  50  of the box pleat. This is accomplished by folding the pleating member  24  on the score  32  forwardly to bring a lateral portion of the panel  22  foldingly over the remaining portion of the panel. A staple  60  through the fabric and the pleating member  24  attaches a first portion of the pleat to the ceiling trim. 
   The pleating member  24  is then reverse folded on the back score  34  to position the lateral portion of the panel  22  in overlapping relation. This results in a folded overlapping left side  50  of the box pleat  11 . 
   With reference to  FIG. 3C , the pleating member  24  is reverse folded backwardly on the back score  36  to bring the right lateral portion of the panel  22  behind the pleat being formed. The right lateral portion of the panel  22  is then brought forward by folding the pleating member  24  on the forward score  38 . This completes a right side  52  of the box pleat  11  and provides a bridging portion  54  between the folded scores  34  and  36  as illustrated in  FIG. 3D . Staple  60  (or other fasteners) secures the right side  52  of the pleat  11  to the ceiling trim  16 . 
   The folded overlapping left and right portions  50 ,  52  of the box pleat  11  are thereby formed and secured with respective staples  60  in situ. This process of forming and attaching the pleats  11  in the panel  22  in situ by folding the pleating member  24  and the attached panel  22  on the respective scores  32 ,  34 ,  36  and  38  in the groups  26  and attaching with staples  60  in situ is repeated. Each box pleat  11  formed with the scores in the respective group  26  are secured with staples  60 , thereby attaching the panel  22  to the ceiling trim  16 . 
   Upon completion of creating and securing the pleats in the edge portion of the panel  22 , as discussed above, additional ones of the panels are pleated and secured in adjacent series to the ceiling trim  16 , as described above, to cover the wall. 
   With reference to  FIG. 1 , the panels  22  across the wall  12  are then hanging free at the bottom. Each box pleat  11  in the panel  22  is then secured to the bottom wall trim  18 . This is accomplished by grasping the panel  22  near the lower portion of the panel in alignment with a selected one of the box pleats  11 . The selected box pleat  11  is pulled tight from the bottom portion longitudinally away from the first or ceiling end in order to provide substantially straight lines in the pleat in the panel between the ceiling and the floor. The box pleat  11  is thereby formed in the lower portion of the panel  22  and extending between the upper and lower portions of the panel  22 . The resulting folded box pleat is secured in the lower portion by driving staples  60 , or other fasteners suitable for securing fabric to the trim  16 ,  18 , through the panel  22  into the wall trim  18 . This is repeated for each of the box pleats  11  in the panel  22 . Accordingly, each pleat  11  in each of the panels  22  is pulled longitudinally towards the wall trim  18  and secured to the wall trim to complete the pleat in the panel between the opposing first and second ends of the panel. 
   The present invention accordingly provides an apparatus for forming the pleated panel  22  of an acoustical wall covering in situ for installation on a wall of a movie theatre, with significantly less labor, time, and coordination. The principles, preferred embodiments, and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. The invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular forms disclosed because these are regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Moreover, variations and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the spirit of the invention as described by the following claims.