IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE ACTION OF SPRING ROLLERS FOR WINDOW BLINDS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gordon Donaldson Peters, of Bunhill Row, in the City of
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE
ACTION OF SPRING ROLLERS FOR WINDOW BLINDS."
Sealed the 2nd December 1879, and dated the 22nd September 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Gordon Donaldson Peters
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd September 1879.
GORDON DONALDSON PETERS, of Bunhill Row, in the City of London.
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE ACTION OF SPRING ROLLERS
FOR WINDOW BLINDS."
My Invention relates to an improved device or apparatus to be used with spring
rollers for window blinds of that class in which a spring is enclosed within the
roller. Its object is to render in a simple manner the operation of such rollers
more certain and regular in their action under all circumstances than any of
the devices heretofore used for the purpose to which this device or apparatus is
applied.
The said improved device or apparatus is designed for the purpose of holding the
roller against the action of the said internal spring so that the blind may be
retained in any desired position, the said device being so constructed and arranged
that when the blind is not required to be held down the spring will be free to roll
it up.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a shaft or rod which is
attached to one end of the spindle and projects outside the cap or cover provided
on the end of the roller. This shaft is somewhat similar in construction to the one
described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to Eugene Putnam, the
6th October, A.D. 1875. No. 1400, and its end rests in the bracket so that the
shaft and spindle remain stationary as described in the said former Specification.
But in
I also provide upon this shaft a cam as described in the said Specification, or
instead of this cam I may use a disc which is concentric with the shaft.
place of any of the holding devices described in the said former Specification I
provide a clip made of spring steel and which is firmly secured to the end of the
roller in such a manner that the cam or disc on the said shaft will be within it,
and as the roller revolves this clip will rotate around the said cam or disc. This
ID
A

page_text: clip is constructed in a peculiar manner, that is to say, it is of oval form and is
divided at its lower part so that it will open and shut, and thus provide suitable
pressure upon the cam or disc. The upper end of this spring clip is furnished with
a projecting piece which enters the end of the roller and assists to hold the clip
firmly in its position. The lower part of the clip is also furnished with two some-
what similar projections at the part where the said clip is divided and these also
assist to hold the clip in place, but they are so attached to the roller that the clip
will be free to open and close at this part.
I prefer to slightly flatten the cam or disc on two opposite sides so that the
spring clip will be more certainly held at the flattened parts than if there were no
such parts.
These parts however must be only slightly flattened otherwise the
spring clip might hold them too firmly.
As the roller revolves the said spring clip revolves with it around the cam or
disc and binds or clips the latter sufficiently to cause the roller to be held against
the action of the internal spring if the blind is released gently by the hand, but if
the blind is released suddenly, the said internal spring will overcome the pressure
of the spring clip and the blind will be rolled up.
The operation of this device is certain under all circumstances, and renders the
spring rollers with which it is used very effective.

page_text: Figure 1 is a side view partly in section of a spring-roller for window-blinds with
my improvements applied to the same, and,
Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section of a portion of the same..
Figure 3 is an end view partly in section on the line y, y, Figure 1, and,
Figure 4 is a similar view with the parts in a different position.
Figure 5 represents a side view and end view of the spring-clip hereinafter
described.
Like letter indicate the saine parts throughout the Drawing.
a is a blind-roller made of metal or wood as desired, and b is a stationary or fixed
spindle; c is a shaft or rod which is attached to one end of the said spindle b and
projects externally beyond the cap or cover a' provided on the roller a. The other
end of the spindle b is journalled in the plate a* attached to and forming part of
the roller a, so that the latter may revolve upon but independently of the said shaft
or spindle b. The end c¹ of the shaft c rests in a bracket and is flattened as shewn
in Figures 3 and 4 to fit a correspondingly shaped aperture in the said bracket so
that the shaft c and spindle b will always remain stationary. Around the spindle
In
b the spring d is coiled, one end of the said spring being secured to the said
spindle b and the other end to the eyes e¹ of a plate or collar e which is rigidly
secured to the roller a in any suitable manner so as to rotate with the same.
the Drawing the plate e is represented as having radial projections e* designed
to enter slots formed in the end of the roller for this purpose.
Upon the shaft c I provide a cam c², or instead of the cam I may use a disc which
is concentric with the shaft, and I arrange in conjunction with the said cam or
disc a clip made of spring-steel or other suitable material and provided with
projections f, f2, extending through slots e¹, e², formed in the plate e with which
plate the said spring-clip frotates. This spring clip is so formed and arranged that
the cam or disc c² on the shaft c will be within or between its two sides, and as the
roller revolves this clip will rotate around the said cam or disc. The said clip fis
constructed in a peculiar manner, that is to say, it is of oval form and is divided as
shewn at f* so that it will open and close and thus produce the required pressure
upon the cam or disc c². One end of this spring clip is furnished with the pro-
jecting piece f¹ which enters the slot e¹ and assists to hold the clip firmly in its
position. The other end of the clip is furnished with the two similar projections f²

page_text: at the part where the said clip is divided, and these projections enter the slot e² and
also assist to hold the clip in place but the slot e² is sufficiently large to permit the
clip to open as shewn in Figure 4.
I prefer to flatten the cam ca or disc on two opposite sides as shewn in Figures 3
and 4 so that the spring-clip ƒ will be more certainly held at the flattened parts
than if there were no such parts. These parts however must not be too much
flattened or reduced otherwise the spring-clip might exert too great a pressure on
the said cam.
As the roller a revolves the spring-clip f revolves with it around the cam or dise
c² and binds or clips the latter sufficiently to cause the roller to be held against the
action of the internal spring & if the blind is released gently by the hand, but if the
blind is released suddenly the spring d will overcome the pressure of the spring-
clip and the blind will be rolled up.
The operation of my improved device or apparatus is certain under all circum-
stances and renders very effective and convenient the spring rollers with which it
is used, moreover it will not be easily diarrranged. The said spring rollers may be
very advantageously used for the windows of railway carriages and in all cases
where it is desirable to have ready and convenient means for adjusting a window-
blind to any desired position and retaining it in such position without complicated
and troublesome appliances that are always a source of annoyance to the persons
who have to use them, and are continually liable to disarrangement..
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same I wish it understood that I claim,
A spring-roller provided with the device or apparatus consisting of the cam or
disc on the fixed shaft or spindle, and the spring-clip on the roller arranged in com-
bination with the other parts shewn in the Drawing or substantially similar parts,
and operating as and for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, J, the said Gordon Donaldson Peters, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.