US3822034A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Pleating apparatus
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1973-09-04
•
Granted: 1974-07-02
•
Expires: 1993-09-04
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel. The apparatus includes a computing device for determining the required pleat size and space size from a given hemmed width size and a given number of pleats desired in the finished drapery panel to obtain a given finished width of the drapery panel and includes a plurality of pleat forming devices for evenly spacing, folding and tacking a plurality of pleats in the upper section of the drapery panel in accordance with the computations of the computing device.
Inventors
- 👤 J Lawson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 16:44
CPC Classifications
A; A47; A47H; A47H13/00; A47H13/14; D; D06; D06J; D06J1/00; D06J1/02; D06J1/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
129 words
An apparatus for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel, said apparatus comprising a pleat forming device for folding and tacking pleats in the upper section of the drapery panel, said pleat forming device including: a. a frame; b. folding means mounted on said frame, said folding means having finger means for supporting the section of the drapery panel to be pleated, clamp means for holding the section of the drapery panel to be pleated against said finger means, and fork means for forcing the section of the drapery panel to be pleated around said finger means to form a pleat; and c. tacking means mounted on said frame for fixedly fastening pleats together after they have been folded by said folding means.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
129 words
An apparatus for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel, said apparatus comprising a pleat forming device for folding and tacking pleats in the upper section of the drapery panel, said pleat forming device including: a. a frame; b. folding means mounted on said frame, said folding means having finger means for supporting the section of the drapery panel to be pleated, clamp means for holding the section of the drapery panel to be pleated against said finger means, and fork means for forcing the section of the drapery panel to be pleated around said finger means to form a pleat; and c. tacking means mounted on said frame for fixedly fastening pleats together after they have been folded by said folding means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus of claim 1 in which said folding means includes adjustment means for moving said finger means relative to said fork means to allow the size of the pleats to be formed to be varied.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus of claim 1 in which said tacking means comprises: a. stapler means for stapling pleats together after they have been folded; b. stapler actuating means for operating said stapler means coactively with said folding means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
231 words
The apparatus of claim 1 in which is included a computing device for determining the required pleat size and space size from a given hemmed width size of a drapery panel and a given number of pleats desired in the finished drapery panel to obtain a given finished width of the drapery panel, said computing device comprising a plurality of scales, each of said scales corresponding to a specific number of pleats, each scale including: a. a first column of numerical indicia corresponding to the hemmed width of various drapery panels; b. a second column of numerical indicia corresponding to the pleat size of various drapery panels, said second column being movable relative to said first column; c. a pointer fixedly mounted intermediate of said second column and movable therewith relative to said first column for alignment with a given numerical indicium of said first column; d. a third column of numerical indicia corresponding to the space size of various drapery panels; e. a fourth column of numerical indicia corresponding to the finished width of various drapery panels; and f. a movable cursor for alignment with the desired finished width indicium of said fourth column to show the necessary space size indicium of said third column and the necessary pleat size indicium of said second column when said pointer is set on the given hemmed width indicium of said first column.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
202 words
An apparatus for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel, said apparatus comprising a computing device for determining the required pleat size and space size from a given hemmed width size of a drapery panel and a given number of pleats desired in the finished drapery panel to obtain a given finished width of the drapery panel; and a plurality of pleat formIng devices for evenly spacing, folding and tacking a plurality of pleats in the upper section of the drapery panel in accordance with the computations of said computing device without stretching the fabric of the drapery panel; each of said plurality of pleat forming devices including: a. a frame; b. folding means mounted on said frame, said folding means including finger means for supporting the section of the drapery panel to be pleated, clamp means for holding the section of the drapery panel to be pleated against said finger means, and fork means for forcing the section of the drapery panel to be pleated around said finger means to form a pleat; and c. tacking means mounted on said frame for fixedly fastening pleats together after they have been folded by said folding means.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
202 words
An apparatus for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel, said apparatus comprising a computing device for determining the required pleat size and space size from a given hemmed width size of a drapery panel and a given number of pleats desired in the finished drapery panel to obtain a given finished width of the drapery panel; and a plurality of pleat formIng devices for evenly spacing, folding and tacking a plurality of pleats in the upper section of the drapery panel in accordance with the computations of said computing device without stretching the fabric of the drapery panel; each of said plurality of pleat forming devices including: a. a frame; b. folding means mounted on said frame, said folding means including finger means for supporting the section of the drapery panel to be pleated, clamp means for holding the section of the drapery panel to be pleated against said finger means, and fork means for forcing the section of the drapery panel to be pleated around said finger means to form a pleat; and c. tacking means mounted on said frame for fixedly fastening pleats together after they have been folded by said folding means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus of claim 5 in which said folding means includes adjustment means for moving said finger means relative to said fork means to allow the size of the pleats to be formed to be varied.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
49 words
The apparatus of claim 6 in which said adjustment means comprises a cam member and a cam follower member, said cam follower member consisting of a first slidable plate onto which said finger means is mounted and onto which said clamp means is pivotally mounted above said finger means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
84 words
The apparatus of claim 7 in which is included overlap marker means for establishing the distance from the inner edge of the drapery panel to the center of the first pleat of the drapery panel; said overlap marker means including a marker and a cam means, said cam means being fixedly attached to said first slidable plate of said adjustment means of an adjacent pleat forming device for adjusting said marker in direct proportion to said finger means of the adjacent pleat forming device.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
72 words
The apparatus of claim 7 in which said folding means includes first and second outside arm members; in which said finger means of said folding means includes first, second and third finger members; and in which said first and second outside arm members coact with said fork means to force the section of the drapery panel to be pleated around said first, second and third finger members to form a triple-fold pleat.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
61 words
The apparatus of claim 9 in which is included a second slidable plate and in which is included striker means mounted on said second slidable plate, said fork means of said folding means being mounted on said second slidable plate and said first and second outside arm members being pivotally mounted on said frame and being activated by said striker means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus of claim 10 in which said folding means includes a first electric solenoid for activating said second slidable plate to cause said fork means to force the section of the drapery panel to be pleated around said finger means to form a pleat.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
The apparatus of claim 5 in which said tacking means comprises: a. stapler means for stapling pleats together after they have been folded by said folding means; and b. stapler actuating means for operating said stapler means coactively with said folding means.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 12 in which said stapler actuating means includes a second electric solenoid attached to said stapler means through a scissors-like member.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
71 words
The apparatus of claim 5 in which each of said plurality of pleat forming devices includes a pin strip holding member mounted on said frame for holding a pin strip adajcent said folding means and said tacking means to allow the pin strip to be tacked into the pleat of the drapery panel when said tacking means fixedly fastens the pleat together after it has been folded by said folding means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus of claim 5 in which is included lazy tong means for attaching said plurality of pleat forming devices together to allow each of said plurality of pleat forming devices to be uniformly extended or contracted relative to each other.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
185 words
The apparatus of claim 5 in which said compuTing device comprises a plurality of scales, each of said scales corresponding to a specific number of pleats, each scale including: a. a first column of numerical indicia corresponding to the hemmed width of various drapery panels; b. a second column of numerical indica corresponding to the pleat size of various drapery panels, said second column being movable relative to said first column; c. a pointer fixedly mounted intermediate of said second column and movable therewith relative to said first column for alignment with a given numerical indicium of said first column; d. a third column of numerical indicia corresponding to the space size of various drapery panels; e. a fourth column of numerical indicia corresponding to the finished width of various drapery panels; and f. a movable cursor for alignment with the desired finished width indicium of said fourth column to show the necessary space size indicium of said third column and the necessary pleat size indicium of said second column when said pointer is set on the given hemmed width indicium of said first column.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
127 words
The apparatus of claim 15 in which is included add-on gauge means for allowing said apparatus to be used for the manufacture of pleated drapery panels having more pleats than said apparatus has pleat forming devices; said add-on gauge means including an add-on gauge frame mounted on said lazy tong means for allowing said add-on gauge means to be uniformly extended or contracted relative to said plurality of pleat forming devices and including a scale having numerical indicia that corresponds to various pleat sizes and being mounted on said add-on gauge frame for allowing the center fold of the last folded pleat in a partially folded drapery panel to be positioned adjacent the appropriate numerical indicium of said scale thus maintaining the proper center-to-center pleat spacing measurement.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
238 words
An apparatus for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel, said apparatus comprising a computing device for determining the required pleat size and space size from a given hemmed width size of a drapery panel and a given number of pleats desired in the finished drapery panel to obtain a given finished width of the drapery panel, said computing device including at least one scale, said scale corresponding to a specific number of pleats and having: a. a first column of numerical indicia corresponding to the hemmed width of various drapery panels; b. a second column of numerical indica corresponding to the pleat size of various drapery panels, said second column being movable relative to said first column; c. a pointer fixedly mounted intermediate of said second column and movable therewith relative to said first column for alignment with a given numerical indicium of said first column; d. a third column of numerical indicia corresponding to the space size of various drapery panels; e. a fourth column of numerical indicia corresponding to the finished width of various drapery panels; and f. a movable cursor for alignment with the desired finished width indicium of said fourth column to show the necessary space size indicium of said third column and the necessary pleat size indicium of said second column when said pointer is set on the given hemmed width indicium of said first column.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
238 words
An apparatus for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel, said apparatus comprising a computing device for determining the required pleat size and space size from a given hemmed width size of a drapery panel and a given number of pleats desired in the finished drapery panel to obtain a given finished width of the drapery panel, said computing device including at least one scale, said scale corresponding to a specific number of pleats and having: a. a first column of numerical indicia corresponding to the hemmed width of various drapery panels; b. a second column of numerical indica corresponding to the pleat size of various drapery panels, said second column being movable relative to said first column; c. a pointer fixedly mounted intermediate of said second column and movable therewith relative to said first column for alignment with a given numerical indicium of said first column; d. a third column of numerical indicia corresponding to the space size of various drapery panels; e. a fourth column of numerical indicia corresponding to the finished width of various drapery panels; and f. a movable cursor for alignment with the desired finished width indicium of said fourth column to show the necessary space size indicium of said third column and the necessary pleat size indicium of said second column when said pointer is set on the given hemmed width indicium of said first column.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-07-01 | 1977-12-31 | 1978-07-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-07-01 | 1981-12-31 | 1982-07-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-07-01 | 1985-12-31 | 1986-07-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |