Curtain arrangement

Technical Area

The present invention relates to a combined lift curtain and roll-up curtain.

Background to the Invention and the Prior Art Lift curtains are known. The curtain is in this case attached to an upper strip that supports the curtain itself and has two or more guides for lifting lines located at a distance from each other and an exit guide with a lock for the two lines from there that form draw lines. The ends of the lifting lines are attached to a bottom strip on the curtain. Usually the curtain has slats and eyelets on the rear surface of the curtain coupled to the slats through which the lifting lines pass. The lifting lines in this way can lift one slat at a time such that the curtain forms horizontal folds when all lines are drawn at the same time. Thus the lifting lines form draw lines.

Roll-up curtains are also known in which the lifting lines are not attached to the curtain; they pass around the bottom of the curtain and have their ends attached to the upper strip on its rear surface. The curtain is in this way rolled up from its bottom when those parts of the lifting lines that form draw lines are pulled.

Aim of the Invention and Brief Description of the Invention

It is an object to provide a combined lift curtain and roll-up curtain, i.e. a curtain that can be simply changed from being a lift curtain to being a roll-up curtain, and vice versa. The customer can in this way simply vary the curtain set-up, and the manufacturer and seller can reduce their stores and their costs.

The aim specified above is achieved by such a combined curtain that is characterised by an upper strip that supports the curtain itself and has at least two guides for lifting lines located at a distance from each other and an exit guide with a lock for the lines that form draw lines. Each one of the said guides is duplicated with alternative guides on the two sides of the curtain. It is possible in this way to switch between the two types of curtain simply by changing the pathways of the lines.

It is appropriate that the curtain is itself stiff while remaining foldable and rollable, with eyelets on the rear surface through which the lifting lines can pass. It is an advantage if these eyelets are woven into the curtain when the curtain is woven.

Brief Description of the Drawings, which show a Preferred Embodiment of the Invention Figure 1 shows the rear surface of a curtain.

Figure 2 shows the front surface of the curtain in Figure 1. Figure 3 is an end view of the curtain shown in Figures 1 and 2. Figure 4 is an enlargement of a detail from Figure 1. Figure 5 is a section taken along the two lines 5-5 in Figure 1. Figure 6 is a section taken along the two lines 6-6 in Figure 1.

Figures 7-11 show the curtain shown in Figures 1-6 adapted as a roll-up curtain instead of a lift curtain, whereby Figure 7 is equivalent to Figure 1 , Figure 8 is equivalent to Figure 2, Figure 9 is equivalent to Figure 3,

Figure 10 is equivalent to Figure 5, and Figure 11 is equivalent to Figure 6.

Description of Illustrated Embodiment

Figures 1-5 show a lift curtain with an upper strip 11 intended to be attached to wall fixtures not shown in the drawings. The upper strip may be of wood and it may have an H-profile, as shown. The curtail itself 12, i.e. the curtain fabric in the normal case, is attached to the upper strip; it is shown folded around a small attachment strip 13, which is attached to the upper strip using staples. The curtain material 12 is attached to a lower strip 14, and two lifting lines 15, 16 are attached to the lower strip 14 at their ends. They extend up across the rear surface of the curtain, and through obliquely drilled holes 17 in the upper strip to the channel or groove 18 that is formed in the H-profile of the upper strip. The lines 15, 16 extend from there along the channel 18 to an exit guide in the form of a conventional self-locking unit 19 that is controlled with the exiting lines 15, 16 such that it locks the lines or releases them. Figure 6 shows drilled holes 20 that lead from the channel 18 to the lower surface of the upper strip in front of the curtain material 12. These holes are not used; they form alternatives to the holes 17. The holes

17 and 20 thus constitute alternative guides for the lines. It is possible to have a simple guide in the form of a drilled hole instead of the self-locking unit 19, and then in this case to have a button on the wall on which to lock the lines.

Figure 4 shows an enlarged view of the eyelet 21 woven into the curtain fabric 12 and the line 16 extends through this eyelet. The lines 15, 16 extend through a number of such eyelets, and when the lines are drawn at those parts that are located outside of the unit 19 - the draw sections of the lines - the lower strip 14 will be lifted. When the lower strip reaches in this manner eyelets through which the lines pass, the lower strip will lift the eyelets such that the curtain material folds. Figures 1-3 show three folds 22, 23, 24, and a fourth fold 25 that has started to form. The curtain 12 should be relatively stiff in the horizontal direction in order to ensure that the folds are even. The curtain, however, must be easy to fold and bend.

The lift curtain revealed and described above can be changed simply to a roll-up curtain as is shown in Figures 7-11, through a simple rerouting of the lines 15, 16. The attachment of the lines to the lower strip 14 is in this case released, and the lines are allowed to pass through the holes 20 to the front surface of the curtain instead of through the holes 17 that lead to the rear surface of the curtain. The ends of the lines are subsequently attached to the upper strip behind the attachment of the curtain, as is shown in Figure 10. The lines 15, 16 are now placed in loops around the curtain material and the lower strip. The lines are to remain located in the channel 18 and to pass out though the unit 19. When the lines are subsequently drawn out through the unit 19, the curtain material will be rolled up onto the lower strip, as is shown in Figure 9. The lines 15, 16 in this case are not to pass through the eyelets 21.

The curtain that has been described can be sold, for example, with the lines connected in order to form a lift curtain, while the customer can reconnect the lines with the aid of brief instructions if it is desired to have a roll-up curtain instead. The sides of the curtain with that part of the curtain that lies outside of the unit 19 can be sawn and cut away if the curtain material is such that it can be cut without fraying. The customer can, in this case, adapt the width of the curtain to the relevant window.