IMPROVEMENTS IN OR IN CONNECTION WITH WINDOW BLIND RAISING, LOWERING, AND ARRESTING APPARATUS, AND IN BLIND ROLLERS, PARTS OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE TO BOAT, TELEGRAPH CABLE, AND OTHER WEIGHT LOWERING AND ARRESTING AND HOLDING APPARATUS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Smith, of the County of the City of
Dublin, Ireland, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR IN
CONNECTION WITH WINDOW BLIND RAISING, LOWERING, AND ARRESTING
APPARATUS, AND IN BLIND ROLLERS, PARTS OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING
APPLICABLE TO BOAT, TELEGRAPH CABLE, AND OTHER WEIGHT LOWERING
AND ARRESTING AND HOLDING APPARATUS."
Sealed the 28th July 1874, and dated the 4th February 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th February 1874.
I, HENRY SMITH, of the County of the City of Dublin, Ireland, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OR IN CONNECTION WITH WINDOW BLIND PAISING, LOWERING, AND ARRESTING
APPARATUS, AND IN BLIND ROLLERS, PARTS OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLI
CABLE TO BOAT, TELEGRAPH CABLE, AND OTHER WEIGHT LOWERING AND ARRESTING
AND HOLDING APPARATUS," to be as follows:-

page_text: lowering in such manner that on releasing a cord or rope the article
being raised or lowered is instantaneously arrested in its motion.
According to one arrangement the apparatus consists of a lever
between two jaws carried on a spindle supported by the jaws. The lever
is weighted at one end, and at the other it is provided with an arm;
that portion of the lever between the jaws carries a cam or eccentric,
which when one end of the lever is pulled the contrary or weighted end is
raised, and the cord or rope passed between the cam and the bed plate of
the jaws is then free to travel through; but on releasing the lever the
weighted end causes the cam to fall to grip the cord or rope, and so to
instantaneously arrest its progress. I preferably make the lever in two
parts, the weighted end in one part and the arm in another part, but
they may be all made in one piece, if desired. The cam or eccentric on
the spindle is between the jaws, and it is in some cases capable of being
adjusted on its spindle by a screw or other equivalent means in order to
regulate the amount of space required for the passage of the rope or
cord, according to the varying sizes thereof. The position of the weight
on the arm of the lever may be regulated in order to increase or diminish
its leverage power, as may be required, or it may of course be fixed
thereon. When the weight is adjustable on its lever I prefer that the
weight shall be free to slide on the lever, and its position be adjusted by
a screw. The bed plate may be a fixture, or it may act on a swivel, so
that it can be turned or will turn at any angle the rope or cord may
require, and this arrangement is particularly applicable to ropes in ships
and for boat lowering, or in connection with boat lowering apparatus.
Any desired number of the apparatus or appliances just described may
be used together, or in combination with one another. If, for example,
there are several ropes or cords which are to be acted on, there would
As an
be as many apparatus as there are number of cords or ropes.
example, I will suppose the Invention to be applied to the raising and
lowering of Venetian blinds, to which this arrangement is particularly
applicable, then according to the number of cords used so I should use a
corresponding number of appliances. For this purpose an appliance
with, say, two levers, as described, is used, then the cords are carried
through them, and over to their respective pulleys in the ordinary way;
then to raise or lower the Venetian blind pull the cord to raise the
weighted end of lever, and either pull the blind cords to raise or let them
run through the hand for lowering; and to arrest the blind at any point

page_text: let the lever cord loose, and the weighted end throws the cam down and
instantaneously arrests the blind in any desired position just as before
described.
The appliances or apparatus are applicable to various other useful
purposes besides those mentioned; for example, for laying out and
arresting telegraph wires and submarine cables, for raising and lowering
of weights, for opening and closing skylights, for raising and lowering
maps, and other purposes.
The object of the next part of my Invention is to raise and lower
window blinds with one cord, and at the same time to be able to arrest
the progress thereof and to adjust the position at any particular point
desired.
According to this arrangement a lever or pawl is caused to rise and
fall by the action of one end of the weighted lever, which is operated by
the blind cord, and this arrangement is particularly applicable to linen
blinds. On the blind roller spindle there is a ratchet wheel, into the
teeth of which a forked or other shaped pawl is free to fall when
required, and its normal position is to be in the teeth of the ratchet,
thereby to prevent its rotation, and consequently that of the blind roller
as well. The upper
end of the ratchet is provided with a loop, under or
in which one arm of the weighted lever aforesaid is placed, a cord being
passed through the outer end of the other arm of the same weighted
lever, so that by pulling the cord the opposite end of lever raises the
pawl out of the ratchet, and it, with the blind roller, is free to rotate.
The pawl and ratchet are boxed up or cased, one side of which forms a
guide for the rising and falling motion of the pawl.
The blind roller carries a deep flanged pulley for the cord; thus, as
the blind descends the cord is wound up on the pulley, and when the
blind is raised the cord is unwound.
To lower the blind raise the pawl out of the ratchet, and the blind
goes down by its own weight until the pawl is dropped, when the blind
is immediately arrested. To raise the blind raise the pawl, pull the
blind cord, which then unwinds from its pulley until the pawl is again
dropped which arrests the blind and keeps it in any position that may
be desired.
I am aware that pawls to fall in ratchets to arrest the progress of
blinds have been before used, but my Invention in this consists in the

page_text: employment of a pawl and ratchet enclosed in a box or case, and
occupying very little room at the side of the window, the said pawl being
caused to rise and fall by the action of an outside weighted lever, which
takes into a hook on the top of pawl, or in some other convenient and
equivalent manner to raise same.
My Invention also further consists in the employment of rollers to be
fitted to the case or end pulley of such construction that the blind may
be secured to the extreme end of the roller and quite up to pulley itself,
if desired. For this purpose, instead of using a cap for the roller to fit
into as heretofore, and wholly surrounding the roller, I use a cap which
only grasps the end of roller at intervals, so that there is a portion of
wood exposed at intervals all round up to the pulley itself; to these wood
parts the blind is secured.
I sometimes cut a groove in roller in which the blind is inserted, or I
make the roller in two halves, and grip the blind between them, the two
halves being held together by screws or other suitable known means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 4th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
SMITH, of the County of the City of Dublin, Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Fourth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Smith, Her special licence that
I, the said Henry Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Henry Smith, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR IN
CONNECTION WITH WINDOW BLIND RAISING, LOWERING, AND ARRESTING APPARatus,

page_text: AND IN BLIND ROLLERS, PARTS OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE TO BOAT,
TELEGRAPH CABLE, AND OTHER WEIGHT LOWERING AND ARRESTING AND HOLDING
APPARATUS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry
Smith, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Smith, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings
forming a part of this Specification:-
The chief object of my Invention is to afford means for raising
and lowering in such manner that on releasing a cord or rope the
article being raised or lowered is instantaneously arrested in its motion.
According to one arrangement the apparatus consists of a lever
between two jaws carried on a spindle supported by the jaws. The lever
is weighted at one end, and at the other it is provided with an arm;
that portion of the lever between the jaws carries a cam or eccentric,
which when one end of the lever is pulled the contrary or weighted end
is raised, and a cord or rope passed between the cam and the bed plate
of the jaws is then free to travel through; but on releasing the lever the
weighted end causes the cam to fall to grip the cord or rope, and so to
instantaneously arrest its progress. The cam or eccentric on the spindle
is between the jaws, and it is in some cases capable of being adjusted on
its spindle by a screw or other equivalent means in order to regulate the
amount of space required for the passage of the rope or cord according
to the varying sizes thereof. The position of the weight on the arm of
the lever may be regulated in order to increase or diminish its leverage
power, as may be required, or it may of course be fixed thereon. The
bed plate may be a fixture, or it may act on a swivel, so that it can be
turned or will turn at any angle the rope or cord may require, and this
arrangement is particularly applicable to ropes in ships and for boat
lowering, or in connection with boat lowering apparatus.
Any desired number of the apparatus or appliance just described may
be used together or in combination with one another.

page_text: These appliances or apparatus are applicable to various other useful pur-
poses besides those mentioned; for example, for paying out and arresting
telegraph wires and submarine cables, for raising and lowering of weights,
for opening and closing skylights, for raising and lowering maps, and
other purposes.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a side elevation of a cord
arresting lever made according to my Invention in its simplest form;
Figure 2 is a view in plan of the same. a is the weighted lever; b, the
eccentric or cam thereon, which has on its under side a roughened surface;
c, c, are the jaws, between which the lever is supported; d is the bed plate
for attaching the appliance to any place it may be desired to fix it. The
lever is here shown swivelled on its bed, although it may, if preferred,
be made a fixture thereon; e is a cord passing between the jaws c, c, and
cam b. By pulling the cord in the direction of the arrow it is free to
run through between the jaws and the cam, while it cannot move in the
contrary direction, because the weighted lever causes the roughened
surface of the cam to press on the cord and to jam it tightly between
same and bottom of jaw piece, so that its position cannot be altered.
For some purposes it may be necessary to apply a second arm to the
lever at the opposite end to the weighted end in order to be able to
attach a second cord to same, so as to raise the weighted end to allow
the cord to run, but I have not thought it necessary to give another view
with this arm attached, as a similar attachment is clearly indicated in
the three following Figures :-
Figure 3 is a side elevation of a cord arresting apparatus made accord-
ing to my Invention, showing one mode of applying same to blinds for
windows, and especially to such as are known as Venetian blinds;
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the same arrangement of apparatus, but
showing the weighted lever raised, and the cord or cords free to run;
and Figure 5 is a view in plan of such an arrangement. a is the weighted
lever or levers; b, cam or excentric on same, which of itself in this
arrangement forms the weighted portion, and is shown with a roughened
gripping surface; c, c, are the jaws or lugs, between which the levers a
and cam bare supported on a spindle ƒ, which carries an arm g for
raising the cam when required from the cord or cords to allow the same
to run, as shewn at Figure 4.
The action is as follows when applied to Venetian blind actions :—
The apparatus is shown with three cords i, j, k, passing over rollers

page_text: ¹, j, k¹. By pulling the cords in the direction of the arrow the laths of
the blind are drawn up to any required extent, and as soon as the cord
or cords is or are released the weight of the laths themselves causes the
cam 6 to press on and to grip the cords so as to arrest their motion. To
lower the laths pull down the lever or arm g by the cord which is attached
to it for that purpose, and they will descend till the same lever g is let go,
and the cam thereby allowed to grip the cords. I have shown three
cords, but two, three, or more may be used if desired, the action being
precisely similar.
Figure 6 is a view in side elevation of another arrangement somewhat
modified to that just described. This view also shows the cord held by
the cam.
Figure 7 is a side view of the same or of a similar apparatus, showing
the cord or cords free to move, and not gripped; and Figure 8 is a plan
of the same arrangement. a is the lever; b, the cam or eccentric;
i, j, k, the cords; and i, j, k, the rollers. These rollers are in this case
carried in a frame 1, an outer arm l, on which is caused to act against
the lever g, and so to throw it up as well as the cam 6. The rollers
and brackets are placed in an aperture formed in the woodwork to which
the apparatus is connected, and the cords pass through apertures formed
in the lower part of the frame 7.
The action is as follows:-To lower the blind pull the cord or cords
in a slanting direction, as shown in Figure 7, which action causes the
arm to press up against the lever g, and so to throw up the cam b, as
in the previous arrangements, thus allowing free passage for the cords to
descend by the weight of the blind attached thereto, or by the weight of
the laths. On bringing the cords to a vertical position the cam 6 falls
and arrests the progress of the cords instantly. By this arrangement I
am able to dispense with the special cord for raising the lever g.
Figure 9 is a view of a Venetian blind arrangement fitted in the manner
just described, showing the blind with the laths down; Figure 10 shews
a similar arrangement with the laths raised.
Figure 11 is a sectional view shewing another arrangement wherein
I form the eccentric 6 in one with the frame which carries the rollers
over which the cords pass, and showing the cords jammed; Figure 12 is
a similar view shewing the cam or excentric down, and the cord or cords
free to run.

page_text: Figure 13 is an end view of the cam, showing also the apertures
through which the cords pass. a is the lever; b, cam as before; c,c,
are the jaws; ¹,j¹, k¹, are the rollers; m is a plate for the cam 6 to act
against, having the cords between them. The action is just similar to
that before described so far as the position of the cord is concerned,
which must be placed in a slanting direction, see Figure 12, as before,
to allow the laths. to fall or to go down, and to stop them they must be
brought to a vertical position, as shown in Figure 11, when the cam
abuts against the plate, and the cords are held tightly, as shewn.
And having thus fully set forth the nature of this Invention, and some
modes of carrying the same into effect, I declare that I claim,--
Firstly. The cam 6 weighted or acting with a weighted lever a,
operating substantially as shewn and described.
Secondly. The cam 6 weighted or acting with a weighted lever a in
combination with cam releasing appliance or lever g, operating substan-
tially as shown and as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.