improvements in and connected with punkabs
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Sept., 1898-Accepted, 22nd Oct., 1898
I, SAMUEL ROBERT BAILDON, of 1, Whitefriars Street, in the City of London,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows;
-
This invention relates to improvements in and connected with punkabs.
Punkahs as hitherto usually made possess many disadvantages chief amongst
which may be mentioned the difficulty of causing the punkah to travel equal
distances on both sides of its centre of suspension. This can only be effected
by the employment of a heavy beam, (which is costly in the matter of motive
energy) and by constant attention on the part of the punkah-puller.
Now it is the object of my invention to obviate such disadvantages and to this
end I construct my punkah of a light framework of bamboo and wire partly or
entirely covered with cloth or other suitable material and fixed on ball bearings
in standards secured to the floor, or to brackets secured to the ceiling or walls of
the room in which the punkah works. The standards or brackets can be made
telescopic so as to raise or lower the curtain, which can be provided with an
additional section, if desired, for lengthening purposes.
The upper end of the punkah frame is provided with an arm secured by means
of a connecting rod to a crank pin rotated from an electromotor which may be
supplied with current either from a dynamo directly or from a secondary battery
as may be found most suitable. The rotation of the crank vibrates the arm
which thereby uniformly reciprocates the punkah curtain to an equal distance
on each side of the point of suspension.
By altering the point of attachment of the connecting rod it will be obvious
that I can vary the throw or travel of the punkah.
I, SAMUEL ROBERT BAILDON, of 1, Whitefriars Street, in the City of London,
o Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement;-
-
This invention relates to improvements in and connected with punkals.

page_text: P'unkals, as hitherto usually made, possess disadvantages, chief amongst
which may be mentioned the difficulty of causing the punkah to travel equal
distances on both sides of its centre of suspension.
Now, it is the object of my invention to obviate such disadvantage and to this
end I construct my punkah of a light framework partly or entirely covered with
cloth or other suitable material and fixed in ball or other bearings in standards
secured to the floor, or to brackets secured to the ceiling or walls of the room in
which the punkah works. The standards or brackets can be made telescopic so
as to raise or lower the curtain, which can be provided with an additional section,
if desired, for lengthening purposes.
The upper end of the punkah frame is provided with an arm adapted to be
reciprocated through the medium of suitable mechanism such as a heart-shaped
cam from any suitable motor, or the mechanism may be worked by hand power
in such a manner that the vibration of the arm reciprocates the punkah curtain
to an equal distance in both directions.
It will be obvious that I can vary the throw or travel of the punkuh by changing
the cam.
To enable the invention to be fully understood I will describe it by reference
to the accompanying drawing; in which:-
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a punkah constructed according to the invention;
and
Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof.
a is the light frame and b is the cloth or other suitable material with which
a part of the framework is covered and which forms the curtain of the punkah.
c, c are two standards in which the upper part of the framework a is mounted
either in ball bearings or in any other suitable manner. In the drawing these
standards are shewn formed of simple uprights held rigidly in position by means
of wires c¹, c', but it will be obvious that the said standards can be of any other
suitable construction and that they can be telescopic if required, so as to enable
the curtain to be lowered or raised, the said curtain being provided with an
additional section for lengthening purposes, if desired.
Or the framework can
be mounted in wall or ceiling brackets or hangers.
d is the arm with which the upper bar of the frame a of the punkah is provided
and by means of which it is to be reciprocated. e is the motor (here shewn as
an electromotor), the said motor e being mounted in a bracket f which is secured
to one of the standards c. The shaft e of the motor is furnished with a worm g
which engages with a worm wheel mounted in a bracket 'secured to the
standard us clearly shewn. The worm wheel is provided with a cam which
is shewn heart-shaped, in the groove of which runs a pin or roller at the free
end of the arm & the said cam being of such a configuration that, when it is rotated
by the motor e through the medium of the worm g, it rotates around the centre
of the worm wheel and reciprocates the punkah curtain by pushing it to the
position indicated in full lines in Figure 2 and back to the position indicated in
broken lines in the said figure.
Although I have described and shewn the punkah curtain as being operated
by a motor through the medium of a cam it will be obvious that the movement
can be effected by other suitable mechanism for example by a connecting rod and
a crank but I do not advise this.
It will also be understood that the wheel instead of having teeth to engage
with the worm might be arranged to be driven by an endless belt or the like
running over a drum or pulley actuated by a crank handle rotated by manual
or other power.
It is also obvious that if head room is not available to suspend the punkah
curtain from the cross har a, the whole framework can be inverted, and the cross-
bar a, working in roller or other bearings, may be placed at the ground level with
the punkah curtain overhead with the same mechanisms for operating the recipro-

page_text: cation of the puukah curtain as before described; in this case the two vertical
standards c, c and the straining wires c, c' will not be required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:—
1. A punkah consisting of a light framework, carrying the punkah curtain
and mounted in bearings in suitable brackets, standards or the like and provided
with an arm adapted to be reciprocated by a suitably shaped cam driven by a
motor or by manual power so as to reciprocate the puukah curtain to an equal
distance on each side of the vertical plane of the point of suspension, substantially
as hereinbefore described.
2. The improved punkah and means for driving the same, substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures and 2 of the accompanying
drawing.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.