Thermal barrier

Claim 1

For use in conjunction with a building having a window oriented in substantially a vertical plane, a thermal barrier comprising: a flexible sheet having substantially the same shape and size as the window, a plurality of rigid, elongated and rectangular slats, said slats being constructed of a synthetic thermal insulating material; means for securing said slats to one side of said sheet so that said slats extend horizontally across said assembly, the longitudinal edges of each slat being parallel to and adjacent the longitudinal edges of the adjacent slats, said sheet and said slats forming an assembly in which the sheet hingedly secures the adjacent edges of adjacent slats together; means for attaching an upper edge of the assembly to the building above the window at a position spaced from said window by an amount at least as great as the combined thicknesses of said slats, means for moving said assembly between a lower position and an upper position so that in said lower position, said assembly is positioned substantially entirely across said window so that said side of said sheet faces away from the window and so that in said upper position, said slats are stacked upon each other to thereby expose substantially all of the window; and wherein the lower longitudinal edge of every other slat is spaced upwardly from the upper longitudinal edge of the next lower slat to thereby form a horizontally extending open space therebetween and wherein said moving means further comprises a cord secured at one end to the other side of said sheet opposite from the lowermost open space, said cord being slidably attached to the other side of said sheet opposite from every other open space, and means for slidably attaching said cord to said building above said window so that when said assembly is in its upper position, said slats lie substantially in a vertical plane and are stacked between the window and said upper edge of the assembly.