Abstract:
A Roman shade is constructed of two continuous sheets of material forming the front and rear faces thereof. Pleat assemblies create panels in the shade, and oppositely disposed panels form insulating cells that help the shade to create an air barrier for insulating the window covered by the shade. Horizontal folds made in the front and rear faces form the pleat assemblies. Retaining strips are provided along with eyelets to assemble the pleat assembly. An optional sheer assembly may be hung below the shade wherein lower overhangs of the shade hide the sheer assembly when the sheer assembly is raised.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to window coverings such as Roman shades, and more particularly, to a Roman shade having front and rear faces each made from separate and continuous sheets of material wherein a plurality of pleats formed along the length of the shade create insulating air gaps between the sheets of material. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Roman shades are window coverings characterized by horizontally oriented segments or panels spaced from one another along the length of the shade. The shade may be progressively raised and lowered and when raised, the segments or panels overlap one another. The panels created in traditional Roman shades utilize metal or wooden slats to maintain the linear horizontal orientation of the panels such that when the shade is raised, the folds created in the material present a uniform, stacked arrangement. 
         [0003]    It is also typical to control the opening and closing of a Roman shade by pull strings guided by string guides. However, many types of Roman shades are particularly complex in their method of manufacture and are somewhat awkward to handle, as well as to assemble. The method of manufacturing some Roman shades has evolved over time, to include manufacturing techniques to sew the material to make the string guides, drawstrings, and plates more efficient. However, many Roman shade constructions still require use of battens and stitched pockets for receiving the battens, and use of such battens requires the use of a plastic sheet material in its method of construction. Additionally, prior art Roman shade constructions are particularly unattractive when viewed from outside the room in which the Roman shade is installed. The exterior or rear side of the shade may have exposed hardware or other components because such Roman shade constructions do not incorporate aesthetically pleasing rear panels or surfaces. Thus, there is a need to provide a functional yet aesthetically pleasing Roman shade construction that hides or covers unattractive exposed hardware. 
         [0004]    There is also a need to provide a window covering that provides some additional insulation benefit to the window being covered. Although windows are desirable in most building and homes, additional costs are associated with heating and cooling such structures because the windows are not as well insulated as the walls of the structure. Thus, it is desirable to provide a window covering wherein the window covering can provide some insulative benefit. 
         [0005]    To address some of the shortcomings of the prior art, one object of the present invention is to provide a Roman shade construction that may yield substantial savings in material and labor costs by providing a simple yet functional and aesthetic design. 
         [0006]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a Roman shade construction wherein some insulative benefit may be provided to the room in which the shade is installed by creation of an air barrier within the shade to thereby assist in insulating the window opening. 
         [0007]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a Roman shade construction wherein the side of the shade that faces the exterior of the room in which the shade is installed has an additional layer or panel of material to hide or cover unattractive exposed hardware. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    In accordance with the present invention, a Roman shade is provided that utilizes simple yet effective pleat assemblies wherein air pockets or gaps are created between rear and front faces of the shade to provide an insulating air barrier. More particularly, a Roman shade constructed in accordance with the present invention is provided with a front face or body made of a continuous sheet of flexible material, and a rear face or body made of another continuous sheet of flexible material. The sheets of material are each segmented into a plurality of rear and front panels by the pleat assemblies. The pleat assemblies include folds made in the sheets of material that separate the shade into respective cells. Each cell defines a separate air pocket or gap. The pleat assemblies extend horizontally and are spaced vertically from one another. Stiffening reinforcement is provided to the pleat assemblies by use of one or more retaining strips. Eyelets are used to secure the retaining strips to the folded material and the eyelets are also used as string guides to route pull strings used to raise and lower the shade. Optionally, a shear assembly may also be used with the shade. The shear is secured to a lower end of the shade and can be independently operated to raise or lower the shear. The shear is preferably made from a thinner type of material that allows some light to pass through, yet provides privacy to the user since the shear still covers the window opening. 
         [0009]    Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a review of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the Roman shade of the present invention wherein the Roman shade is lowered and the sheer assembly is raised; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is another front perspective view of the Roman shade of the present invention wherein the shade is raised and the sheer assembly is lowered; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is another front perspective view of the Roman shade of the present invention wherein the Roman shade is partially raised and the sheer assembly is partially lowered; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a front elevation view of the Roman shade as shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged partial fragmentary perspective view of an upper part of the Roman shade showing rear details of the construction of the shade; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged partial fragmentary perspective view of a lower part of the Roman shade illustrating the sheer assembly raised, and wherein lower panels of the shade cover the sheer assembly; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a side elevation view of the Roman shade when the Roman shade is in the position of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a greatly enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the Roman shade further illustrating details of construction; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a greatly enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the Roman shade illustrating the construction of the Roman shade at the lower end thereof; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the shade further illustrating construction details thereof; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a front perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention wherein the front side or face incorporates additional material in each panel; 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  is a greatly enlarged fragmentary vertical section illustrating construction details of the embodiment of  FIG. 11 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]      FIGS. 1-10  illustrate a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring first to  FIGS. 1-3 , the Roman shade  10  comprises a front face or body  12  and a rear face or body  50 . The front and rear faces are separated into respective front panels  14  and rear panels  52 . An insulating cell is a rectangular shaped open space or gap created between respective facing panels of the front and rear faces when the shade is lowered. More specifically, the front and rear panels each have exposed exterior surfaces and non-exposed interior surfaces. The facing interior surfaces of oppositely disposed front and rear panels form vertical boundaries defining the cells. The horizontal boundaries of the cells are formed by the respective pleat assemblies  16 . A pleat assembly  16  is located at each horizontal line of connection between the rear and front panels. 
         [0023]    The optional sheer assembly  20  is hung below a bottom rail  26  connected to lower ends of the faces  12  and  50 . Reference made to just the term “shade” hereinafter refers specifically to the front face, rear face, and pleat assemblies and not to the sheer assembly. The rail  26  provides some additional weight to ensure that the shade hangs vertically and the panels  14  and  52  maintain their horizontal and parallel orientation. Drawstring group  24  controls the raising and lowering of the shade. Drawstring group  34  controls the raising and lowering of the sheer assembly  20 . Conventional pulley systems (not shown) incorporated within the header  22  enable the drawstring groups  24  and  34  to raise and lower the shade and sheer assembly. More specifically, a pair of drawstrings is incorporated on opposite lateral sides of the shade and the drawstrings are routed through a first pulley mechanism (not shown) mounted in the header  22 . The exposed drawstring group  24  is therefore the two drawstrings bound together after being routed through the first pulley mechanism. Operating the drawstring group  24  allows the shade to be evenly raised and lowered such that the horizontal orientation of the pleat assemblies and panels is maintained. In the same manner, another pair of drawstrings is used with the shear assembly and the exposed drawstring group  34  may therefore comprise two drawstrings bound together. The sheer assembly as discussed further below also has the pair of drawstrings incorporated on each lateral side of the shear assembly, and a second pulley mechanism (not shown) mounted in the header is used with this pair of drawstrings. The shade and the sheer assembly may be operated independently assuming separate pulley mechanisms are used for each. 
         [0024]    In  FIG. 2  the shade is shown as raised and the sheer assembly is lowered. When lowered, an accordion folded panel  30  of the sheer assembly is exposed. 
         [0025]    In this view, the pair of drawstrings  33  can be seen each extending on opposite lateral sides of the panel  30 . The drawstrings  33  are bound together to form the drawstring group  34  after the drawstrings have been routed through the second pulley mechanism. A bottom rail  32  is also incorporated with the sheer assembly in order to provide weight so that the sheer assembly extends directly below the Roman shade. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the shade is partially raised, and the sheer assembly is partially lowered. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , further construction details of the present invention are illustrated. An upper front overhang or valence  36  is a separate piece of material that protrudes from the head rail  22 , thus covering the head rail and part of the most upper front panel  14 . 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , the lower portion of the shade is illustrated. A lower front overhang  38  and a lower rear overhang  56  are provided to hide the sheer assembly  20  when the sheer assembly is raised. As shown in the cutaway portion of the front overhang  38 , a rod  40  may be sewn in the material to provide weight so that the overhang  38  extends vertically downward to hide the sheer assembly  20 . A rod or weight may also be incorporated in the rear overhang  56  in the same manner. As also shown, the bottom rail  26  is disposed directly above the fold made in the front panel at the location of the lowermost pleat assembly. Drawstring  25  is used to control the raising and lowering of the shade, and another drawstring (not shown) is incorporated on the opposite lateral side of the shade such that drawstring group  24  comprises the two drawstrings. 
         [0029]      FIG. 7  illustrates the Roman shade wherein the sheer assembly is fully raised and the shade has been lowered. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIGS. 8-10 , the construction of a pleat assemblies  16  are illustrated. As shown, a pleat assembly  16  includes respective folds made on the rear and front panels. More specifically, the front panel  14  includes a fold  72 , and the rear panel  52  includes a fold  64 . The folds extend horizontally and are therefore oriented perpendicular with respect to the front and rear faces when the shade is lowered. An upper retaining strip  60  and a lower retainer strip  62  secure the rear fold  64  in a horizontal orientation, while the front panel  14  at the fold  72  is retained by an upper retaining strip  68  and a lower retaining strip  70 . As shown best in  FIG. 10 , an upper eyelet  66  and a lower eyelet  74  are used to secure the retaining strips and folds. The eyelets  66  and  74  are also used to route the drawstrings  25  and  33 . As necessary, in addition to use of the eyelets  66  and  74 , other means may be provided for maintaining the folds  64  and  72 , such as adhesive applied to the material or the retaining strips. The opposite lateral side of the shade also utilizes other eyelets  66  and  74  provided in the same arrangement as shown in  FIG. 10  thereby creating guides to route the other drawstrings  25  and  33 . With the construction illustrated in  FIGS. 8-10 , effective insulating cells are provided by two continuous pieces of material forming the front and rear faces of the shade. 
         [0031]    Referring to  FIG. 11 , a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The same reference numbers in  FIG. 11  correspond to the same structural elements as set forth in the first embodiment. The embodiment in  FIG. 11  is similar to the first embodiment, except that the front face has front panels that do not extend parallel with the rear face, but rather bulge outwardly thereby providing a different appearance when the shade is viewed from the front. 
         [0032]      FIG. 12  illustrates the specific construction of the second embodiment, it being apparent that this construction is the same as the first embodiment with the exception of the specific arrangement of the pleat assembly  16 . As shown, the pleat assembly is arranged such that the fold  72  of the front panel  14  is placed on top of the fold  64  of the rear panel  52 . However in both embodiments, it shall be understood that either of the folds may be placed on top or bottom in each respective pleat assembly. Also, it shall be understood that while respective upper and lower retaining strips are used for each fold, fewer retaining strips can be used depending upon the type of material used for the front and rear faces. Use of lighter material for the faces may enable use of fewer retaining strips while a more heavy cloth material may require use of more retaining strips. 
         [0033]    The advantages of the present invention include the creation of insulating cells formed by just two facing sheets of material. The pleat assemblies may be formed by gathering folds of the rear and front faces and using retaining strips to maintain the folds in a horizontal configuration. Eyelets are used to secure the pleat assembly and to provide guides for the drawstrings. The construction of the shade is simplified because of the continuous sheets of material that are used for the front and rear faces. The pleats are also simplified in that retaining strips and eyelets are the only additional hardware required to form the main body of the shade. The rear face of the shade is not only functional in creating the insulating cells, but also provides are more aesthetic appearance when viewed from outside the room in which the shade is installed. Control of both the shade and the sheer assembly can be achieved by conventional drawstring and pulley combinations. 
         [0034]    While the present invention has been set forth in various preferred embodiments, it shall be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made to the invention that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, in accordance with the scope of the claims appended hereto.