Comfortex Corporation

Vinny Grosso

Raymond E Randall

John A Corey

Arthur T Karis

Rich Watkins

A lift cord tensioning device is provided for use with a window covering having at least one lift cord that extends downward though a shade portion from a head rail to a bottom rail. In one embodiment of the present invention, the tensioning device includes a pliable material having an aperture through which the lift cord extends. The aperture is sized to yieldably resist passage of the lift cord such that tension remains on the portion of the lift cord that resides in the head rail even when an upward directed force is applied to the bottom rail. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the tensioning device includes a pair of laterally offset holes through which the lift cord extends. In another alternate embodiment of the present invention, the tensioning device includes a resiliently biased gate through which the lift cord extends.

Lift cord tensioning device

An architectural covering, such as a blind, for use primarily over windows and doorways, includes of a plurality of separate composite vanes made of an opaque rigid material and a sheer material, if desired. Each composite vane can be manufactured as a flat, rollable laminated assembly of strips and joined or bonded at least substantially on a line along the length of the strip and substantially along one edge of one strip. Several different embodiments of the composite vane are disclosed. In one embodiment, the composite vane comprises a generally flat, unexpanded opaque material with individual pieces of sheer material attached to an edge of the vane. In another embodiment, a laminated composite vane comprises a pair of strips with the transverse width of one strip greater than the other strip to form a torque tube when edge-joining the strips. In yet another embodiment, the laminated composite vane includes a pair of strips of substantially equal width with a resilient insert strip having a non-flat cross section inserted into the torque tube. The resilient insert strip can assume a flat transverse form, but return elastically to the predetermined cross-sectional shape when removed from the roll or be inserted after each vane is cut to its final length. Any combination of the above-mentioned embodiments is possible to connect single or double sheets of sheer material to the edges of the vanes while enabling the vanes to be oriented vertically or horizontally.

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Coxsackie, NY, United States of America

Vinny Grosso