Patent ID: 8919418

Claim:
A curtain assembly comprising: a panel of flexible fabric; a first anchor assembly supporting a first end of the panel; a second anchor assembly supporting a second end of the panel, the first and second ends being opposite each other along a first axis; the panel comprising a plurality of spaced apart slits through the panel, each slit having a component transverse to the first axis, the slits arranged in an array, the array comprising a first plurality of the slits forming a first row, and a second plurality of slits forming a second row, each of the first and second rows extending a transverse direction to the first axis, and the slits of the first row being laterally offset from and overlapping with corresponding slits of the second row in the transverse direction, wherein one of the slits of the first row overlaps a corresponding one of the slits of the second row by an overlap distance greater than zero, wherein each slit also has a component along the first axis that causes the slit to define a flap that protrudes outside a plane of the panel when the panel is stretched; and an actuator associated with the first anchor assembly, the actuator arranged to move the first anchor relative to the second anchor in a manner sufficient to stretch and relax the panel along the first axis.