Method and apparatus for making a multi-cellular collapsible shade
First Claim
1. A machine for making a pleated curtain structure from a single continuously fed length of flaccid material web comprising:
- means for continuously feeding a continuous material web into a printing assembly;
coating means for applying one or more coatings in a predetermined pattern to said moving web;
detecting means positioned to detect the position of said coating pattern which was actually applied by said coating means to said moving web;
pleating means for creating pleat creases in said moving web at predetermined locations thereon that are transverse to the length of said web;
pitch adjusting means controlled by said detecting means for dynamically modifying the pitch of the pleats produced by said pleating means while the web is being pleated; and
folding and receiving means to fold the coated and pleated web along said creases while accumulating the pleated web in a confined stack.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A machine (300) and the process for manufacture of a unique completely pleated product (110) which is made from a continuous, flexible web (311) for the covering of windows and the like. The machinery consists of a production line (300) with at least a screen printing assembly (306), printing phase control apparatus (330), a unique pleating assembly (400) and a folding assembly (500) for stacking and receiving the final product, screen printing and web travel phasing is performed in accordance with standard practices in the industry, while the pleating and folding of the finished product is performed by apparatus designed and constructed by the instant inventors. After predetermined patterns of adhesive or bonding material (212) have been applied to the continuous web (311), it is pleated by a paired roller assembly (400) and, through the use of an air knife assembly (500), folded into a collecting apparatus. The finished product (110) is a completely pleated structure consisting of front and rear pleated faces containing, interstitially, a multi-cellular structure. The finished product realizes a flexible, shading structure which can be compactly collapsed, revealing essentially none of the pleated surfaces. The finished product derives its uniqueness primarily from the fact that it is pleated from a single continuous web and that retroflexing of the web comprises complete folds in, or pleating of, the web.
74 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A machine for making a pleated curtain structure from a single continuously fed length of flaccid material web comprising:
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means for continuously feeding a continuous material web into a printing assembly; coating means for applying one or more coatings in a predetermined pattern to said moving web; detecting means positioned to detect the position of said coating pattern which was actually applied by said coating means to said moving web; pleating means for creating pleat creases in said moving web at predetermined locations thereon that are transverse to the length of said web; pitch adjusting means controlled by said detecting means for dynamically modifying the pitch of the pleats produced by said pleating means while the web is being pleated; and folding and receiving means to fold the coated and pleated web along said creases while accumulating the pleated web in a confined stack. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of forming a multi-cellular collapsible shade in the form of a single continuous length of pleated flexible web material comprising the steps of:
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coating portions of both faces of a continuously fed web with an adhesive bonding substance in a predetermined pattern, said pattern comprising a plurality of narrow parallel strips extending transversely to the length of the web material; detecting the precise longitudinal location of said stripes along the moving web; transversely creasing the moving web at predetermined locations relative to said strips of said bonding pattern to establish a pleat pattern on the web, said creases extending parallel to said adhesive bonding stripes, said creases being created by creasing elements whose registry with the moving web is continuously adjustable as the web passes thereby; dynamically adjusting the registry of said creasing elements with the moving web while the web is being pleated, as required to continuously maintain said predetermined locations in response to said detecting step; folding the coated and creased web along said transverse creases and upon itself in alternating opposite directions; and accumulating a stack of alternatingly directed pleats to form an array of tubular cells each extending transversely to the length of the web, with adjacent cells being joined together by said adhesive bonding strips. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification