IMPROVEMENTS IN OUTSIDE BLINDS OR SUNSHADES FOR WINDOWS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Wilson, of Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OUTSIDE BLINDS
OR SUNSHADES FOR WINDOWS."
Sealed the 9th February 1869, and dated the 12th August 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Wilson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th August 1868.
I, JAMES WILSON, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OUTSIDE
BLINDS OR SUNSHADES FOR WINDOWs," to be as follows:-
To a box fixed under the cornice or to the frames of the window I
fix bearings carrying a roller to which one end of the cloth for forming
the blind is attached, the other end of the cloth being fastened to a
board or frame. At each end of the box there is a pivot on which is
jointed one end of a series of expanding and contracting arms pivotted
together, the other end of each series being also jointed to the board or
frame at the outer end of the cloth, there being at the extreme ends and.

page_text: at intervals cross bars for supporting the cloth. The expanding and
contracting arms and cloth may be balanced by springs or weights or
they may be entirely unbalanced as may be desired. The expanding
and contracting arms work freely on their axes, and when the outer
board or frame is pulled outwards it expands the arms and extends the
cloth so as to form the blind or sunshade, but when the board or frame
is pushed inwards the arms contract and the cloth is wound on its roller
by means of a box spring. These blinds can be worked from the outside
or inside of the building, but when from the inside there must be
gearing to cause each series of arms to move uniformly.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WILSON, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Wilson, Her special license that I,
the said James Wilson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Wilson, 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 OUTSIDE BLINDS
OR SUNSHADES FOR WINDOWS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said James Wilson, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Wilson, 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 (that is to say) :-
This Invention consists in the adaptation and employment of
expanding and contracting arms for moving blinds out and in and
making them self supporting without the use of stays or pillars..
The manner in which this Invention is to be performed will be
clearly understood by the following particular description thereof,
reference being had to the figures and letters on the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are front and end views
drawn to a reduced scale of an outside blind or sunshade arranged and
constructed according to my improvements; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are
views of detached parts drawn about half size.
The cloth a for forming the blind is fixed at the front to the bar b,
and at the back to the roller c, loose on the shaft d, which works in
bearings formed in the sides e of small metal frames e, f, g, fixed to
the wall or frame at the sides of the window, and on both ends of the
shaft is fixed a pulley h, and at one end a loose worm wheel i, having
a clutch at each side, one corresponding with a clutch k at the side of
the pulley and the other with a clutch at the end of the roller c.
To the sides e, f, of each metal frame I joint the ends m of a series of
expanding and contracting links or levers n pivotted together in the
middle and at their ends, and the other end of each series is jointed to
the bar 6 at the outer end of the cloth. The expanding and contracting
links work freely on their axes and when they are pulled outwards the
arms expand and extend the cloth to form the blind or sunshade, and
when the bar b is moved inwards the arms contract and the cloth is
wound on its roller.
In Figs. 4 and 5 I represent an improved arrangement of mechanism
for working the blind from the interior of the building. To the back
of one of the small frames e, f, g, I screw a tube o, which is passed
through the wall and fastened by a nut p to a vertical case q placed
against the interior of the wall, the screwing up of the nut making both
case and frame fast. To each pulley his fixed one end of a chain r
which is passed round the pulleys and jointed at the other end to
a pint fixed to the links n, and to the worm whcol i is geared a worm u,
fixed to the shaft. which works in the front bearing w and also in

page_text: -
a bearing at the front of the case, and on this shaft is fixed the chain
wheel x which is geared by the pitch chain y to the chain wheel z fixed
to a shaft working in bearings in the lower part of the case and provided
with a handle a¹.
In Fig. 3 the blind is represented as wound on the roller c and the
arms in their contracted state in the interior of the frame, and when
they are in this condition the worm wheel i is clutched to the roller.
When it is required to move out the blind the handle a¹ is turned so
as to unclutch the worm wheel from the roller and clutch it with the
pulley h at that end and give it and the pulley h at the other end
revolving motion, and as the pulleys turn the chains r pull the pins t,
and expand the series of links so as to expand the arms and move
forward the blind to the front, and as the roller is unclutched it runs
loose on its shaft to allow the cloth to uncoil. When it is required to
move in the blind the handle a' is turned in the reverse direction, and
then the worm wheel i is unclutched from the pulley h and clutched to
the roller c, and as the roller turns it winds on the cloth, pulls in the
front bar, and contracts the arms and places them in the interior of
the frame as in Fig. 3. The case q is made up of parts and provided
with slots and bolts so that the distance between the chain wheels can
be adjusted as required to keep the chain properly in gear with the
chain wheels. The roller is enclosed in a wooden case formed by the
bottom board b', the top board c', and the angular box d¹, to which is
hinged the board e¹ which is raised when the blind is being pulled out
and falls when the blind is moved in.
The arrangement before described for moving the blind out and in
can be effectively employed for blinds of all dimensions, but when
desired the arms can be expanded and contracted by hand and the roller
turned by means of a box spring. The arms and cloth may be balanced
by weights or springs or they may be entirely unbalanced as may be
desired, and to any one conversant with mechanical movements it is
evident that the arms can be expanded and contracted in a variety of
ways.
In the several Figures I have shewn the links or levers forming the
expanding and contracting arms in a vertical position, but I also place
them in a horizontal position or on the flat, but whether they are vertical
or horizontal they are supplied at intervals with cross bars for supporting
the cloth when required.

page_text: Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to
be understood that I claim for outside blinds or sunshades the adaptation
and employment of expanding and contracting arms for moving the
blinds out and in, and for enabling the blinds to be self supporting, as all
such improvements are herein-described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Wilson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the within-named James Wilson,
in the presence of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
JAMES WILSON. (L.S.)