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CA-2981911-C - ATTACHMENT MEMBER FOR AN ARCHITECTURAL COVERING

CA2981911CCA 2981911 CCA2981911 CCA 2981911CCA-2981911-C

Abstract

An attachment member for coupling a shade material of an architectural covering to a rail member. The attachment member may include a first portion arranged to perform a first function affecting the shade material in a first manner, and a second portion arranged to perform a second function affecting the shade material in a second manner. The first portion may be arranged to couple the shade material to the rail member, such as coupling the shade material within the rail member. The second portion may be arranged to affect a portion of the shade material with respect to the rail member, such as affecting a portion of the shade material external to the rail member.

Inventors

  • Ronald Holt
  • Stephen T. Wisecup
  • Arnold DeCarlo

Assignees

  • HUNTER DOUGLAS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20171010
Priority Date
20161014

Claims (14)

  1. CLAIMS 1. An architectural covering, comprising: a shade material including a rear portion and a front portion; a rail member including an elongated slot, said slot including an opening formed in a top end of said rail member; and an attachment member coupling said shade material to said rail member, said attachment member including a first portion extending at least partially within said elongated slot of said rail member for pressing said shade material against said rail member within said elongated slot of said rail member, and a second portion extending through said opening and at least partially externally away from said rail member; wherein said second portion of said attachment member includes a first leg and a second leg, said first and second legs positioned at least partially into said shade material, said first leg contacting a front surface of said rear portion of said shade material, said second leg contacting a rear surface of said front portion of said shade material configured to bias said front portion of said shade material away from said rear portion of said shade material located external to said rail member.
  2. 2. The architectural covering of claim 1, wherein: said second portion is configured to maintain a configuration of said shade material adjacent to said rail member.
  3. 3. The architectural covering of claim 1, wherein said shade material includes a plurality of cells, said attachment member at least partially extends within a lowermost cell of said plurality of cells forming said shade material, said attachment member being configured to maintain a configuration of said front portion of said lowermost cell.
  4. 4. The architectural covering of claim 1, wherein said attachment member extends along a portion of said shade material located external to said rail member, said attachment member configured to maintain a configuration of a portion of said shade material immediately adjacent said rail member. 27 Date Re9ue/Date Received 2024-03-07
  5. 5. The architectural covering of claim 4, wherein: said shade material includes a plurality of cells; said attachment member extends within a lowermost cell of said plurality of cells of said shade material; and said attachment member maintains a configuration of said lowermost cell.
  6. 6. The architectural covering of claim 5, wherein said first portion couples said shade material to said rail member, said second portion is arranged to maintain said configuration of said lowermost cell of said shade material.
  7. 7. The architectural covering of claim 6, wherein said second leg extends away from said first leg.
  8. 8. The architectural covering of claim 7, wherein said second leg is arcuately-shaped.
  9. 9. The architectural covering of claim 7, wherein said second portion is asymmetrical about a vertical plane.
  10. 10. The architectural covering of claim 1, wherein said second leg of said second portion of said attachment member is arranged to position said front portion of said shade material away from said rear portion of said shade material to shape at least a portion of said shade material.
  11. 11. The architectural covering of claim 1, wherein: said first portion of said attachment member is enlarged to limit removal of said attachment member and said shade material through said opening.
  12. 12. The architectural covering of claim 1, wherein said first and second portions are formed together as a single element.
  13. 13. An attachment member for coupling a shade material of an architectural covering to a rail member including an elongated slot having an opening formed in a top end of the rail member, said attachment member comprising: 28 Date Re9ue/Date Received 2024-03-07 a first portion arranged and configured to press the shade material against an inner surface of the slot formed in the rail member; and a second portion arranged and configured to extend through the opening in the rail member and to engage a portion of the shade material located external to the rail member; wherein said second portion comprises a first leg and a second leg arranged and configured to extend into the shade material, said first leg contacting a front surface of a rear wall of the shade material, said second leg contacting a rear surface of front portion of the shade material configured to bias the front portion away from the rear wall.
  14. 14. The attachment member of claim 13, wherein said second portion includes a width dimension varying with distance away from said first portion. 29 Date Re9ue/Date Received 2024-03-07

Description

ATTACHMENT MEMBER FOR AN ARCHITECTURAL COVERING [0001) FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE [0002] The present disclosure relates generally to architectural coverings, and more specifically to an attachment member for an architectural covering. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE [0003) Architectural coverings, such as coverings for structures, including walls, and openings, such as windows, doorways, archways, and the like, have taken numerous forms for many years. Some coverings include a shade material or element (referenced herein as "shade material" for the sake of simplicity and without intent to limit) coupled to a rail member ( e.g., a bottom rail or other element engaged by the user to move the shade or provided to finish an end of the shade or to weight the shade) via an attachment member, which may be a strip of material frictionally engaging a portion of the shade material to the rail member. For instance, the attachment member (which may be called a "fabric lock" or "shade lock" in some instances) may be coupled to the shade material to create an enlarged area which may then be inserted into a groove or slot of the rail member and locked therein to couple the shade material to the rail member. The weight of the rail member typically is transferred to the shade material via the I Date Re9ue/Date Received 2024-03-07 1 ' I ! ·• attachment member. Depending on the type of shade material, the weight of the rail member may cause a bottom portion of the shade material to be positioned, such as shaped, differently from portions of the shade material distal from the rail member, which may reduce the aesthetic and/or functional characteristics of the covering. Additionally, or alternatively, if the attachment member is used to couple the shade material by insertion of the shade material and attachment member into a groove or slot in the rail member, then the shade material may be constricted or angled or otherwise affected by the insertion into the rail member, thereby affecting the appearance of the shade material in a manner which may be undesirable. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE [0004] The present disclosure generally provides an attachment member for an architectural covering that offers improvements or an alternative to existing arrangements. The attachment member is arranged to provide two or more functions to affect a shade material in two or more manners. In one disclosed embodiment, the attachment member is arranged both to couple the shade material to a rail member and to position a portion of the shade material, such as an external portion of the shade material, relative to the rail member to affect the configuration, including without limitation the appearance, shape, distance, and/or position, of the shade material, such as causing a more uniform profile appearance of one or more cells of a cellular shade material. The attachment member is arranged to couple the shade material to the interior of the rail member while simultaneously positioning or shaping a portion of the shade material located external to the rail member. [0005) This summary of the disclosure is given to aid understanding, and one of skill in the art will understand that each of the various aspects and features of the disclosure may 2 . • ' ' ; advantageously be used separately in some instances, or in combination with other aspects and features of the disclosure in other instances. Accordingly, while the disclosure is presented in terms of embodiments, it should be appreciated that individual aspects of any embodiment can be claimed separately or in combination with aspects and features of that embodiment or any other embodiment. The present disclosure of certain embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the claimed invention or its applications or uses. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural and/or logical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. [0006) The present disclosure is set forth in various levels of detail in this application and no limitation as to the scope of the claimed subject matter is intended by either the inclusion or noninclusion of elements, components, or the like in this summary. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosure or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. Moreover, for the purposes of clarity, detailed descriptions of certain features will not be discussed when they would be apparent to those with skill in the art so as not to obscure the description of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the claimed subject matter is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments or arrangements illustrated herein, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined only by the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007) The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute