Pleated Roller Shade Assembly for Thin Fabric Winding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Thin and flexible fabrics, such as silk, are not suitable for traditional roller shades as they do not hang flat and roll unevenly, requiring lamination for use, which compromises their soft look and feel, and prior drapery systems require additional space when fully open, limiting their application.
Innovation Solution
A motorized roller shade system with a pleating assembly that allows the shade fabric to wrap around a roller tube in folds, using a pleating hem bar with a non-linear shape and a drive system to control rotation, enabling the fabric to hang with pleats and wrap neatly around the tube without additional storage space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If thin and flexible fabrics are used in traditional roller shades, then the soft look and feel of the fabric is maintained, but the fabric does not hang flat and does not roll up evenly on the roller tube
Solution Approach 1:
The hem bar is divided into multiple segments or sections that can independently interact with the fabric. This segmentation allows each section to create and maintain pleats separately, ensuring even distribution of forces across the fabric width, which enables thin fabrics to roll evenly without requiring lamination for structural support.
Solution Approach 2:
A pleating assembly with a pleating bar is introduced as an intermediary mechanism between the roller tube and the fabric hem. This intermediary device actively creates and maintains pleats in the fabric, providing the necessary structural control for thin fabrics to hang flat and roll evenly without compromising their soft appearance or requiring stiffening lamination.
2Manufacturing precision
If lamination is applied to thin fabrics for roller shade use, then the fabric can hang flat and roll evenly, but the fabric loses its soft look and feel
Solution Approach 1:
The pleating assembly serves as a mechanical intermediary that replaces the need for lamination. Instead of chemically or physically bonding a stiffening layer to the fabric, the pleating bar mechanically creates and maintains pleats that provide the necessary structural control, allowing the fabric to retain its inherent softness while achieving proper hanging and rolling characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical state and configuration of the fabric through pleating rather than altering its material properties through lamination. By creating controlled folds and pleats via the pleating assembly, the fabric maintains its original soft material characteristics while gaining the structural discipline needed for even rolling and proper hanging.
3Ease of operation
If prior art draperies are used to cover windows, then the drapery fabric can be suspended with pleats, but additional space is required on the sides of the window to hold the drapery fabric when fully open
Solution Approach 1:
The roller shade system transitions the fabric from a horizontal side-storage configuration to a vertical rolling configuration. Instead of requiring lateral space to the sides of the window, the fabric is wound vertically around a roller tube, utilizing the vertical dimension for storage and eliminating the need for side clearance while maintaining the pleated appearance when the shade is lowered.
Solution Approach 2:
The system inverts the traditional drapery operation by rolling the fabric up onto the tube rather than folding it horizontally to the sides. This inverted approach allows the fabric to be stored in the vertical space above the window instead of requiring horizontal side space, fundamentally changing the spatial requirements from lateral to vertical.
Data Source
AI summary
A pleated roller shade system allows a thin flexible shade fabric, such as, for example, silk, to be wrapped around a roller tube. The pleated roller shade system comprises a drive system, such as a motor or manual drive system, for controlling of the rotation of the roller tube. The roller shade system may comprise a pleating hem bar that is contained within a hem bar pocket of the shade fabric and has a non-linear shape for causing the shade fabric to hang with a plurality of pleats. The roller shade system may also comprise an elongated pleating assembly mounted parallel to the roller tube and having a fabric-receiving opening that defines a non-linear path. The shade fabric may be received through the fabric-receiving opening and folded by the pleating assembly, such that the shade fabric is wrapped around the roller tube in folds as the roller tube rotates. The pleating assembly includes a plurality of pleating elements that each have a T-shaped or funnel-shaped structure for causing the shade fabric to hang with the pleats.