Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A FABRIC BLIND SLAT
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fabric blind slat. In particular, the
present invention
relates to a fabric blind slat for venetian blinds.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Blinds for covering windows and other light transparent surfaces are available
in a variety
of different forms and materials depending on the particular visual appearance
desired.
The known items for controlling the amount of light through a transparent
surface include
venetian blinds, roller blinds and vertical blinds.
Fabric blinds are popular blinds for use in buildings and are extensively used
in vertical
blinds for their aesthetic appeal.
However, a problem exists for the use of fabric in horizontal blind slats
since the fabric is
not strong enough to lie in a horizontal plane without sagging. Iience, at the
present time
slats are usually made of metal and/or wood.
The present invention seeks to overcome the abovementioned problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a
fabric venetian
blind slat comprising an elongated strip of fabric having a central strip with
opposed
longitudinal edges, a respective longitudinally extending pocket on each
longitudinal edge,
and a respective relatively rigid support member inserted into each
longitudinally extending
pocket, wherein each longitudinally extending pocket is integrally formed with
the central
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strip and, in cross section, has an endless periphery, and each relatively
rigid support
member is removably inserted in the respective longitudinally extending
pocket.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided
a fabric
venetian blind assembly including a plurality of fabric venetian blind slats
each comprising
an elongate strip of fabric having a central strip with opposed longitudinal
edges, a
respective longitudinally extending pocket on each longitudinal edge, and a
respective
relatively rigid support member inserted into each longitudinally extending
pocket, wherein
each longitudinally extending pocket is integrally formed with the central
strip and, in cross
section has an endless periphery, and each relatively rigid support member is
removably
inserted in the respective longitudinally extending pocket; a connecting
ladder rope or a
connecting tape; a venetian blind head box; and one or more draw cords.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a
method for
the assembly of a fabric venetian blind including the following steps:
(a) forming a fabric venetian blind slat comprising an elongated strip of
fabric having a central strip with opposed longitudinal edges, a respective
longitudinally extending pocket on each longitudinal edge, and a respective
relatively rigid support member inserted into each longitudinally extending
pocket, wherein each longitudinally extending pocket is integrally formed
with the central strip and, in cross section, has an endless periphery, and
each relatively rigid support member is removably inserted in the respective
longitudinally extending pocket; and
(b) connecting the fabric blind slats by way of a connecting ladder rope
or a tape.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference
to the
accompanying drawings; in which:
Figure la is an upper perspective view of a fabric blind slat in accordance
with the present
invention;
Figure lb is a partly cut away second upper perspective view of the fabric
blind slat in
accordance with the present invention;
Figure lc is an end view of the fabric blind slat in accordance with the
present invention;
Figure 2a is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a fabric venetian
blind assembly
l0 1n ~n~nr~~nr~n c:rith t~P 11YPCPnt inmanti~n~
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Figure 2b is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a fabric venetian
blind assembly in
accordance with the present invention;
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
S There is shown in Figure la, an upper perspective view of a fabric blind
slat 10 . The fabric
blind slat 10 may be made from any suitable fabric including but not limited
to polyester yarn,
acrylic yarn, nylon, cotton, wool, polypropylene and any other fabric suitable
for use in fabric
blinds.
The fabric blind slat 10 includes an elongated central strip 12 of suitable
fabric material. The
slat 10 has a longitudinally extending pocket 14 at a first longitudinal edge
16 of the blind 10.
Similarly, the slat 10 has a longitudinally extending pocket 14 at a second
longitudinal edge 18
of the blind 10. The longitudinally extending pocket 14 is closed
longitudinally at a first side
and a second side 22 as shown in Figure 1.
There is shown in Figure lb , a partly cut away second upper perspective view
of the fabric
15 blind slat 10 having typically two longitudinally extending pockets 14. The
pockets 14 have a
longitudinally extending space 15 within the fabric blind slat 10. A support
member 24 of
relatively rigid material is inserted within the space 15 of the pockets 14.
This relatively rigid member 24 is typically a rod made from fibreglass, a
plastics material such
as PVC or, nylon, metal, wood, or any other suitable material to increase the
strength and to
20 provide support of the slat 10. Typically, the relatively rigid member 24
is also resilient.
There is also shown in Figure 1 c an end view of the fabric blind slat 10.
This end view shows
the cross section of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The
central strip 12 ,
longitudinally extending pockets 14, longitudinally extending space 15 and
support member 24
' are shown in this figure.
The slat 10 may also have one or more additional layers of suitable fabric
material (not shown)
in the central strip 12 and/or the longitudinally extending pockets 14. It is
envisaged that a
mufti-layered fabric blind slat 10 would fall within the scope of the present
invention.
In Figures 2a and 2b, there is shown a perspective view of a venetian blind
assembly 30
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incorporating the fabric blind slat 10. The only difference between Figures 2a
and 2b is that a
connecting tape 38 is shown in Figure 2a as a means to join the slats 10 at
their longitudinal .
sides 20 and 22 respectively, instead of connecting ladder ropes 40 as shown
in Figure 2b. The
connecting ladder ropes 40 include cross members 39 upon which a fabric blind
slat is
supported.
In Figures 2a and 2b, there is shown a venetian blind assembly 30. The
assembly 30 includes a
head box 32, two pairs of draw cords 34 and 36, connecting tape 38 (as shown
in Figure 2a)
or first connecting ladder ropes 40 (as shown in Figure 2b) which join the
fabric blind slats 10
at their longitudinal sides 20 and 22 respectively, and a guard rail 52.
The fabric blind slats 10 include a first aperture 42 towards a front end 44.
The fabric blind
slats 10 also include a second aperture 46 towards a rear end 48. A pair of
connecting ropes
50 extend from the headbox 32 through the apertures 42 and 46 and end in the
guard rail 52
which is at a lower end of the venetian blind assembly 30.
The fabric blind slat 10 is made by weaving yarns of suitable fabric to form
an elongated strip
12 of fabric material with integrally formed longitudinal pockets 14.
The longitudinally extending pockets 14 may also be formed by forming a hem on
an elongated
strip of fabric on either side, or both longitudinal edges 16 and 18.
A weaving apparatus such as an automatic narrow loom machine can be utilised
to make the
fabric blind slat of the present invention.
EXAMPLE
A high speed automatic narrow loom weaving machine that has the following
specifications is
utilised to make the fabric blind slat of the present invention.
Maximum number of fabrics: 4
Reed width: maximum of 65mm '
Maximum speed: 1600rpm
Pick density: 3.5 to 38 wefts per cm
Repeat: 1/48
Number of shafts: maximum of 16
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Motor: 2 HP brake motor with inching speed
The high speed automatic narrow loom machine is a 4 piece loom that has a very
high output
needle loom for a variety of fabrics.
A fabric yarn is provided on suitable rolls and fed into the automatic narrow
loom machine.
An operator sets the pattern on the machine such that the yarn is weaved into
an integral roll of
narrow fabric material such that a pair of longitudinally extending pockets
are formed on the
outer edges of the material. The rearrangement of specific frames on the
machine to give a
suitable warp and weft insertion provides the means by which the yarn is
suitably weaved into
integrally formed pockets.The roll of narrow fabric material comprising the
longitudinally
extending pockets is collected on a roll in long lengths up to 1000m.
Suitable fabric yarns include polyester or acrylic yarn, nylon, cotton, wool,
polypropylene and
any other fabric suitable for use in fabric blinds.
The rolls of narrow fabric material comprising the longitudinally extending
pockets are then fed
into a suitable colouring and finishing machine by which colours and an
acrylic coating are
provided to the narrow fabric material. The rolls of narrow fabric material
are firstly dipped
into a vat which has rollers to wring out excessive colour in the fabric.
The fabric material is then transported by a conveyor belt through a pre-
drying process which
heat sets the colour and hardens the acrylic coating by placing in an oven at
a temperature of
150 to 200 degrees Celsius.
The rolls of narrow fabric material , once dryed , are collected on a roll.
The roll of coloured
and treated fabric material is then cut into suitable lengths for different
sized slats. The
appropriate holes are also punched into the slat for ladder tapes and/or cord
for a venetian
blind.
Once, the material is cut into suitable lengths, a relatively rigid material
rod is inserted into the
longitudinally extending pockets.
Conventional venetian blind headboxes, ladder tapes and /or cords are provided
such that the
fabric venetian blind is formed.
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Alternatively, an automatic knitting machine may be utililised to make the
blind slat of the
present invention and which may also knit additional shaping to each
longitudinal edge.
A fabric yarn is provided on suitable rolls and fed into the automatic
knitting machine. An
operator sets the pattern on the machine such that the yarn is knitted into an
integral roll of
narrow fabric material such that a pair of longitudinally extending pockets
are formed on the
outer edges of the material. The rearrangement of specific frames on the
machine to give a
suitable warp and weft insertion provides the means by which the yarn is
suitably knitted into
integrally formed pockets.The roll of narrow fabric material comprising the
longitudinally
extending pockets is collected on a roll in long lengths up to 1000m.
The automatic knitting machine achieves the formation of the longitudinally
extending pocket
by the insertion of a flexible spacer element. The spacer element is
substituted in the automatic
knitting machine for an automatic needle which is removed. The automatic
knitting machine
by way of rearrangement of specific frames to provide a suitable warp and weft
insertion
pattern sews an integrally formed pocket around the spacer element. The spacer
element may
be any suitable elongated length of a fabric cord.
Suitable fabric yarns include polyester or acrylic yarn, nylon, cotton, wool,
polypropylene and
any other fabric suitable for use in fabric blinds.
An advantage of the automatic knitting machine is that additional shapes such
as scolloped
edges may be knitted on the longitudinal edges 16 and 18 of the fabric blind
slat 10.
The rolls of narrow fabric material comprising the longitudinally extending
pockets are then fed
into a suitable colouring and finishing machine by which colours and an
acrylic coating are
provided to the narrow fabric material. The rolls of narrow fabric material
are firstly dipped
into a vat which has rollers to wring out excessive colour in the fabric.
The fabric material is then transported by a conveyor belt through a pre-
drying process which
heat sets the colour and hardens the acrylic coating by placing in an oven at
a temperature of
150 to 200 degrees Celsius.
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The rolls of narrow fabric material , once dryed , are collected on a roll.
The roll of coloured
and treated fabric material is then cut into suitable lengths for different
sized slats. The
appropriate holes are also punched into the slat for ladder tapes and/or cord
for a venetian
blind.
Once the narrow fabric material is cut into the desired lengths of the slat 10
, one end of the
spacer element is threaded and secured into one end of the relatively rigid
support member 24.
The spacer element is pulled from the other end thereby inserting the support
member 24 into
the longitudinally extending pockets 14. This process is repeated for each
longitudinal pocket
containing the spacer element.
The example of the present invention only serves to describe preferred
embodiments of the
invention and other methods of forming the longitudinally extending pockets by
way of sewing
a hem or knitting the longitudinally extending pockets are within the spirit
and scope of the
present invention.
As discussed herinabove, it is envisaged that fabric blind slats including
longitudinal pockets
I S could be modified into different shapes such that scolloped edges could be
knitted along the
longitudinal edge to provide further aesthetic appeal to the fabric blind.
Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addresee
are deemed to be
within the scope of the present invention.
