System for biasing sheet of material to gather in predetermined direction

摘要

A system for biasing or encouraging a sheet of material to gather in one direction when one edge of the sheet of material is moved toward an opposite edge of the sheet of material is provided. A plurality of strips of material may extend along a face of the sheet of material and may be laminated to the face of the sheet of material. The plurality of strips of material may overlap each other and may define stiffened regions extending along the overlapped interface between the plurality of strips of material. When the covering is moved from an extended position to a retracted position, the sheet of material may gather in loops of material that may have apexes defined at or adjacent the overlapped interfaces of the plurality of strips of material.

主权项

1. A covering for an architectural opening, comprising:
a head rail; a bottom rail; a support sheet of flexible material extending from the head rail to the bottom rail and configured to hang in a substantially flat, vertical plane when the covering is in a fully extended position, the support sheet having a front face and a rear face; a plurality of overlapping strips of material extending horizontally along the rear face of the support sheet, the plurality of strips of material laminated to the rear face of the support sheet, wherein when the covering is moved from the extended position to a retracted position, the support sheet gathers in loops of material that are rearwardly-directed and have apexes defined along or adjacent the overlaps of the plurality of strips of material; a front sheet of flexible material attached to the front face of the support sheet, wherein the front sheet forms forwardly-directed loops of material when the covering is in the extended position; and a set of lift elements operative to raise the bottom rail toward the head rail.