Manually movable rails for coverings for architectural openings
First Claim
1. A covering for an architectural opening comprising:
- a shade material;
a first rail operably connected to the shade material and movable between a retracted position and an extended position;
a second rail operably connected to the shade material opposite the first rail and movable between a retracted position and an extended position independently of the first rail;
a first operating cord and a second operating cord each operably connected to the first rail and the second rail;
a first lock member at least partially received within the first rail and configured to selectively permit movement of the first rail;
a second lock member at least partially received within the second rail and configured to selectively permit movement of the second rail; and
a cord take up system operably connected to the first rail including at least one spool and a drive shaft operably connected to the at least one spool;
whereinas the first rail moves towards the retracted position the drive shaft rotates and the first operating cord and the second operating cord wrap around the at least one spool.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An operating system for a retractable covering for an architectural opening having at least a movable bottom rail and possibly a movable middle rail connected to a shade material includes control or guide cords extending from a head-rail for the covering to the bottom rail and extending through the middle rail. Manually operable locks are provided on the bottom rail and the middle rail to grip the cords as they extend therethrough and a take-up system is provided in the bottom rail that is biased so as to retain the cords in a taut condition during movement of the bottom rail or the middle rail. The bottom and middle rails are moved manually simply by manually releasing the manual locks provided thereon so that exposed control cords are alleviated.
79 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A covering for an architectural opening comprising:
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a shade material; a first rail operably connected to the shade material and movable between a retracted position and an extended position; a second rail operably connected to the shade material opposite the first rail and movable between a retracted position and an extended position independently of the first rail; a first operating cord and a second operating cord each operably connected to the first rail and the second rail; a first lock member at least partially received within the first rail and configured to selectively permit movement of the first rail; a second lock member at least partially received within the second rail and configured to selectively permit movement of the second rail; and a cord take up system operably connected to the first rail including at least one spool and a drive shaft operably connected to the at least one spool;
whereinas the first rail moves towards the retracted position the drive shaft rotates and the first operating cord and the second operating cord wrap around the at least one spool. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A covering for an architectural opening comprising:
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a headrail; a collapsible shade material suspended from the headrail; a middle rail operably connected along a top edge of the shade material and movable toward and away from the headrail; a bottom rail operably connected along a bottom edge of the shade material, and movable toward and away from the headrail independently of the middle rail to collapse and uncollapse the shade material positioned between the middle rail and the bottom rail; a pair of flexible control elements extending operatively between the headrail and the bottom rail, the middle rail and the bottom rail being operatively connected to the flexible control elements; a first manually operable lock member operatively associated with the flexible control elements to permit selective releasable positioning of the bottom rail; a second manually operable lock member operatively associated with the flexible control elements to permit selective releasable positioning of the middle rail; and a biased flexible element take-up system in the bottom rail biased to gather and release the flexible control elements as the bottom rail is moved toward and away from the headrail. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A shade comprising:
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a top rail; a bottom rail operably connected to the top rail and movable away from and towards the top rail; a middle rail operably connected to the top rail between the top rail and the bottom rail, the middle rail movable away from and towards the top rail independently of the bottom rail; a shade material operably connected to and between the bottom rail and the middle rail; a pair of cords extending between the top rail and the bottom rail; and a take-up system at least partially received in the bottom rail, the take-up system biased to gather and release the cords as the bottom rail is moved toward and away from the top rail, wherein the bottom rail includes a first manually operable lock member operatively associated with the cords; and the middle rail includes a second manually operable lock member operatively associated with the cords. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification