| 摘要 |
The improved inflatable finger has a rigid outer shell that is thin and elongated both in cross section and in side elevation. It is rounded at one end and closed, except for slots in the sides thereof. The opposite end is open and flanged for attachment to a header member of a drapery pleating and folding apparatus. A rubber bladder having the form of the outer shell, and covered with an expandable fabric sheath, fits inside the outer shell, so that its flange abuts that of the shell. The inflatable fingers are forced into sealed relationship with the header member, over holes therein, by spring clamps fitted over the flanges of the fingers and screwed to the header member. A set of parallel inflatable fingers is meshed with an opposing set of noninflatable fingers to pleat drapery between the sets. Clamping of the drapery between the two sets of fingers may be effected by inflating the bladders of the inflatable fingers so that portions of the bladders are forced through the slots in their shells to bind the drapery against adjacent noninflatable fingers. An insert may be included in each bladder to prevent sealing of the sides thereof when not inflated.
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