Patent Publication Number: US-6988526-B2

Title: Roman shade with liner

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/445,862, filed Feb. 10, 2003. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The invention relates to roman shades of the type having a front panel and a liner between the front panel and the window. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Roman shades are a well-known window covering in which a sheet of fabric having horizontal rear pleats or tabs is hung from a headrail. Lift cords run down the back of the fabric sheet through the rear tabs or pleats. Sometimes rings or clips are used to attach the lift cords to the tabs or pleats. The lower ends of the lift cords are attached to the fabric at a selected distance above the bottom edge of the fabric. Typically, there is a bottom bar across the lower edge of the fabric sheet. The fabric that extends below the connection points of the lift cords to the bottom bar is called the skirt. In most roman shades the distance between all adjacent pleats or tabs is the same. Frequently, that distance is four, five or six inches. Should the length of a window opening not be a multiple of the distance between tabs, a skirt of a different length is provided. For example, if a window is 54 inches high and the tab spacing is five inches, then a four inch skirt or a nine inch skirt would be provided. If the shade is being custom made the fabricator could make the spacing 5.4 inches. If several roman shades are being installed in one room having windows of different length then all shades are made with the same spacing between pleats and skirts are used as needed for some or all windows. One could make the spacing between pairs of adjacent tabs different. But, such different fabric lengths often cause the folds to jam and stack poorly. 
     Roman shades commonly have liners adjacent to the back side of the front panel. The liner may be attached to the same bottom bar as the face fabric or may have a separate bottom bar. When the roman shade is raised from a lowered position to a raised position a series of loops will be formed in the face fabric and the liner 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of one type of roman shade  1  which was available in the marketplace many years ago. That roman shade has a shade fabric or face fabric  2  extending from a headrail  3  and a liner  4  attached to the rear surface of the face fabric  2 . Both the face fabric and the liner are attached to a common bottom bar  5 . Lift cords  7  pass through ring or tabs  9  extending from the liner  4  and are also attached to the bottom bar  5 . When the roman shade  1  is raised to any extent the lower portion  6  of the front sheet will face toward the window and be exposed to sunlight, indicated by arrows  8 . Over time this exposed lower portion  6  of the face fabric  2  will become faded by the sun. When that occurs and the shade is fully lowered one standing in front of the shade will see a light faded region across the lower edge of the shade. 
     Another prior art roman shade  10  shown in  FIG. 2  is similar to the shade in  FIG. 1  but the lift cords  7  are attached to the tab  11  at the top of the skirt  12  rather than the bottom bar  5 . The liner  4  should prevent fading of the skirt  12  which extends between tab  9   a  and bottom bar  5 . In this roman shade  10  the skirt  12  extends below the first loop of fabric  11 . Sometimes the skirt of a roman shade, whose length is determined by the size of the window, is shorter than the first loop of fabric  11 , as in the roman shade  10   a  shown in  FIG. 3 . Fading of the front layer  2  can occur when the skirt is shorter than the first loop of fabric  11 . One solution to that problem is to make the skirt longer as in roman shade  10   b  shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The longer skirt  12   a  would have a length equal to the short skirt  12  in  FIG. 7  plus the distance between adjacent tabs  9 . That length would be nine inches in the 54 inch shade example mentioned above. However, using a longer skirt  12   a  extends the length of the blind in the raised position shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     It is also known to put magnets along the edges of a liner or vapor barrier in window coverings including roman shades. In the prior art roman shade  10   c  shown in  FIG. 6  magnets  14  are positioned along the edges of the liner  4 . In the past the lift cords  7  have been positioned on the same side of the liner  4  as the magnets  14 . The lift cords  7  are inboard of the line of magnets  4  that are located along opposite edges of the liner. When the lift cords  7  are pulled up as in  FIG. 8 , the magnets  14  tend to slide up the window frame rather than cleanly separate. This can be seen from a comparison of  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The sliding magnets may tend to jam as the liner moves upward. Because the lift cords  7  are spaced apart from the magnets  14  twisting or torsion can occur across the liner. Another problem than can occur results from the build up of moisture on those liners which act a moisture barrier. The moisture can accumulate causing the magnets to rust. The moisture can migrate to the face fabric causing wet spots and discoloration. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     I provide a roman shade with liner having a headrail, a bottom bar spaced apart from and parallel to the headrail and a face material extending from the headrail and attached to the bottom bar. I further provide a liner extending from the headrail and attached to the bottom bar, the liner having an inside surface facing the inside surface of the face material so as to define a gap between the liner and the bottom bar A plurality of lift cords are attached to the bottom bar, pass through the gap and extend into the headrail. Each lift cord engages a set of tabs, rings or other cord connectors attached to the inside surface of the face material. Preferably, each lift cord also engages cord connectors on the inside surface of the liner. The face material and the liner are each a material that will form loops that extend below the bottom bar as the bottom bar is raised. The face material and liner are sized and configured so that no loop of face material will extend beyond at least one loop of liner material. Consequently, the liner will block sunlight from the face material when the shade is fully raised or partially raised. 
     I prefer to provide a first set of magnets attached to the liner along a first line parallel to and adjacent the left outer edge of the liner and second set of magnets attached to the liner along a second line parallel to and adjacent the right outer edge of the liner. I also prefer that one lift cord be in a first plane that is parallel to the left edge of the liner and passes through the first line and a second lift cord be in a second plane that is parallel to the right edge of the liner and passes through the second line. When the magnets and lift cords are so positioned the magnets will peel away from the window frame rather than slide up the frame as the shade is being raised. 
     I prefer to provide a headrail for the shade which has an elongated body having two insert cavities. The liner is attached to one insert. A portion of that insert is within one insert cavity and is removable from the insert cavity. The face material is attached to the second insert. That insert is placed within the second insert cavity. The inserts allow easy removal and replacement of the liner or face material. This headrail can be used with any window covering having a face material and a liner. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a description of certain present preferred embodiments thereof shown in the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a prior art roman shade in a partially raised position. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of another prior art roman shade in a partially raised position. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of a prior art roman shade similar to the roman shade shown in  FIG. 2  in a partially raised position. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of another prior art roman shade similar to the roman shades shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  in a partially raised position. 
         FIG. 5  a side view of the prior art roman shade shown in  FIG. 4  in a fully raised position. 
         FIG. 6  is a rear view of yet another prior art roman shade in a fully lowered position. 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the prior art roman shade shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the prior art roman shade shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  as the shade begins to be raised. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of a present preferred embodiment of the roman shade with liner of the present invention in a fully lowered position. 
         FIGS. 10 ,  11  and  12  are side views of the lower portion of a shade similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 9  with or without magnets illustrating how the face material, liner and magnets move as and the shade is being raised. 
         FIG. 13  is a side view similar to  FIG. 12  of a second present preferred embodiment in which the bottom bar has two separable portions. 
         FIG. 14  a side view of a third present preferred embodiment having a two portion bottom bar, each portion having separate lift cords. 
         FIG. 15  is a side view of a present preferred headrail that can be used in any of the embodiments of my roman shade with liner. 
         FIG. 16  is a side view of the headrail of  FIG. 15  containing an insert for the face material and insert for the liner. 
         FIG. 17  is a side view of the headrail of  FIG. 15  to which the face material insert and face material have been attached. 
         FIG. 18  is a side view of an upper portion of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 9 through 12  on the headrail shown in  FIGS. 15 ,  16  and  17 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIGS. 9 ,  10  and  11 , I provide a roman shade  20  having a front face material  22  and a liner  24  extending from headrail  23  and attached to a common bottom bar  25 . The face material could be any material that has been used for roman shades including woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, woven woods and films. The liner could be any of these materials, but usually would be a less expensive non-woven fabric or film. Lift cords  27  run between the face material  22  and the liner  24  through tabs, rings or other cord connectors  26  attached to the face material or to the liner. A first set of magnets  14  can be attached to the liner along a first line parallel to and adjacent the left outer edge of the liner. A second set of magnets is similarly attached to the liner along a second line parallel to and adjacent the right outer edge of the liner. Preferably one lift cord  27  is behind each line of magnets  14  rather than all lift cords  27  being inboard the magnets  14  as shown in the prior art shade  10   c  of  FIG. 6 . Then there will be a plane that is parallel to the left edge of the liner and passes through one lift cord and the first line of magnets and a second plane that is parallel to the right edge of the liner and passes through another lift cord and the second line of magnets. The magnets  14  should be flexible strip magnets. Referring to  FIG. 10 , when the lift cords  27  are raised the lower edge  15  of the lowest magnet is peeled away from the window frame  21 , shown in dotted line in the drawing. Because the force provided by the lift cords being raised is applied to the bottom of the magnet, the magnet does not slide as occurs in prior art shades, but pulls away from the window frame. Continued pulling of the lift cords causes the liner to form a first loop  28  as shown in  FIG. 11 . This same magnet and cord arrangement can be used in other window coverings having liners, not just on roman shades, and even on window coverings having a single panel of material. 
     The roman shade of the present invention may have magnets as in the embodiment  20  in  FIG. 9  or may not contain magnets as in the roman shade  20   a  in  FIG. 12 . Whether or not magnets  14  are provided on the liner  24 , the shade  20  will fold as shown in  FIG. 12  as the lift cords  27  are pulled upward. The face fabric and the liner are each a material that will form loops that extend below the bottom bar as the bottom bar is raised. As can be seen in  FIG. 12 , the liner  24  will form loops  24   a  facing the window and the face fabric  22  will form separate loops  22   a  facing the room. All the loops could be the same size. However, it is likely that the first loop will be longer (as in  FIG. 12 ) or shorter (as in  FIG. 13 ) than the subsequently formed loops. In any event, the face material and liner are sized and configured so that in any raised position there is always one loop of liner  24   a  that extends at least as low as every loop of face material  22   a . When the shade  20  is fully raised the length of the shade will be less than the length of fully raised prior art shades such as the roman shade  10   b  shown in  FIG. 5  in which the liner  4  and the face fabric  2  are in common loops. Another advantage of the shade shown in  FIGS. 9 through 12  is that the face fabric  22  is never exposed to direct sunlight. The liner  24  extends to the bottom of the face fabric when the shade is fully lowered as in  FIG. 9 . When the shade  20  is raised the loops  24   a  of liner  24  block the sun from striking the loops  22   a  of face fabric  22 . This is true whether the first formed loops are shorter, longer or the same as subsequently formed loops. Consequently, the present shade is suitable for any size window. 
     In the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 9 through 12  the liner  24  and the face fabric  22  are attached to the same bottom bar. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 13 , the bottom bar has a first portion  25   a  attached to the face fabric  22  and a second portion  25   b  attached to the liner  24 . Both portions can be attached to a common set of lift cords  27  as in  FIG. 13 . It is also possible to make bottom bar portions  25   a ,  25   b  detachable from one another and to provide separate sets of lift cords  27 ,  29  for each portion as in the embodiment of  FIG. 14 . When the two portions  25   a ,  25   a  are detached the liner  24  may be separately raised by lift cords  29  while the face fabric  22  remains in a lowered position as shown in the drawing. Conversely, the face material  22  could be raised by lift cords  27  while the liner remains  24  fully lowered. The face material and liner must be raised and lowered together when a single set of lift cords is used or when the two bottom portions  25   a  and  25   b  are connected together. 
     The preferred headrail to be used for this shade is shown in  FIGS. 15 through 18 . The headrail  30  has an elongated body. The headrail has a front wall  31 , a top  32  to which an upper rear wall  37  is attached, a lower rear wall  34  and a bottom  33  extending between the front wall and the lower rear wall. A bracket portion  35  extends from the corner  38  of the front wall  31  and the bottom  33 . The bracket  35  forms a first cavity or slot  36  that receives a fabric insert  40 . The face fabric  22  can be attached to the fabric insert  40  using an adhesive as shown in  FIGS. 17 and 18 . The bracket  35  has a second cavity or slot  39  which receives an insert  42  to which the top edge of the liner  24  is attached. As shown in  FIG. 18  the top edge of the liner  24  is preferably attached to the insert by a strip of adhesive  44 . The adhesive could be a double-coated tape which has an adhesive on both sides of the tape. In a preferred method of installing the liner, the fabricator takes the insert  42  separate from the headrail  30  and applies a strip of double sided adhesive tape  44  to the insert  42 . Then he presses the top edge of the liner  24  against the adhesive tape  44  on the insert  42 . Next he slides the insert  42  into the cavity  39  beginning at one end of the headrail  30 , moving the insert across the headrail  30  until the insert is in its proper place. If desired, the tape  44  could be placed on the liner  24  rather than the insert  42 . Use of the insert  42  for the liner  24  allows not only easy assembly at the fabricator&#39;s facility but also makes it easy to change liners in the field. Those skilled in the art will recognize that this headrail could be used for window coverings other than roman shades. Furthermore, one could attach either the face material or the liner directly to the headrail without using an insert. 
     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 15 through 18 , the face fabric  22  and the liner  24  may have roman folds. Tabs or rings  41 ,  43  on the inside surfaces of the face material  22  and the liner  24  face inward towards one another as shown. The lift cords  27  pass through the tabs or rings  41 ,  43 . This arrangement allows the to face fabric  22  and the liner  24  to fold in loops similar to what is shown in  FIG. 12 . 
     In a preferred embodiment of the shade shown in  FIG. 12  the face fabric  22  is a white or off-white lace and the liner  24  is a solid color such a dark blue. The spacing of the liner  24  from the see-through face layer  22  gives depth to the shade. 
     Spacing the face fabric from the liner as in  FIGS. 9 ,  12  and  18  provides advantages when the liner is a moisture barrier. Should moisture build up and accumulate on the liner the spacing between the liner and the face fabric prevents migration of that water to the face fabric. 
     While the present invention has been described and shown as a roman shade and a liner in which the face material and the liner have no pleats, the invention is not so limited. There are many fabrics in which a roman shade appearance can be obtained by providing pleats, which may be called soft pleats for some materials. There are also some cellular fabrics that will provide a roman shade appearance. The face fabric can be transparent or semi-transparent material. The liner preferably is opaque or semi-opaque. 
     Although I have shown and described certain present preferred embodiments of my roman shade with liner it should be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.