Improvements in Venetian and other Blinds and Shades.
Year: 1897

page_text: .
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Venetian and other Blinds and Shades.
I, PHILIP SALISBURY RYLEY, of 61, Claybrook Road, Fulham Palace Road,
Hammersmith, in the County of London, Carpenter, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates to improvements in Venetian and other blinds and
shades, and is designed to enable a blind to be lowered from the top so as to have
a top light and also to facilitate the cleaning of the upper portion of the blind
or window, or be collected from the bottom upward, or from the sides.
According to this invention (taking for example a Venetian blind) in addition
to suspending the laths in the ordinary way by means of a cord passing through
holes in the laths and knotted or attached at the bottom, I also suspend the entire
blind by the top lath so that it may be raised or lowered in the window to suit
requirements (to obtain top and bottom lights).
The cords connected with the top lath aforesaid pass over pulleys at the top
of the window, and these pulleys are connected together by a chain and sprocket
wheels. Motion is imparted to these pulleys by means of a handle or other
device attached to one side of the window, and connected by means of a chain
to a sprocket wheel on one of the aforesaid pulleys.
The cords for gathering up the laths from the bottom, as in ordinary Venetian
blinds, are actuated in a similar manner from the other side of the window.
In order to stop the blind in any required position, I fix two corrugated bars
horizontally at the head of the window, between which the connecting chain to
the pulleys passes.
For blinds opening from the sides, it is simply necessary to have the arrange-
ment before described for altering the position of the blind, adapted to the side,
instead of to the top of the window. Suitable means must be employed for
pulling the blind, as the weight would no longer be a factor in the case."
The ladders I prefer to employ are constructed of metal. The webbing may be
replaced by wires, suitably jointed, so that the ladders may be collapsible.
In order to collect the laths of Venetian blinds at the top, instead of at the
bottom as at present, I gather up the laths by means of ladders, instead of cords,
for which purpose I dispense with the cords which run through the holes in the
laths, and I have skeleton ladders, such as that before described, and near the
top of blind I fix two spindles parallel to each other and on to each of said
spindles I key a double wheel with pegs or pins on its periphery so that upon
turning the said spindles round by any suitable means the pegs or pins will
enter the sides of the skeleton ladders, and thus gather up the laths at the top.
At the top of the blind and coming at the sides of the ladders aforesaid, I pass
over wheels two endless chains so as to be worked by means of the double wheels
aforesaid.

page_text: In order that, when lowering the blind, the laths may not fall suddenly and
may also be gradually raised, I fix on each side of the blind two worms in such a
way that the laths shall follow either up or down the worm as it is rotated by the
action of raising or lowering the blind.
BROWNE & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant, 9, Warwick Court, Gray's Inn, W.C.
Improvements in venetian and other Blinus and shades.
I, PHILIP SALISBURY RYLEY, of 61, Claybrook Road, Fulham Palace Road,
Hammersmith, in the County of London, Carpenter, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in Venetian and other blinds and
shades, and is designed to enable the blind to be lowered from the top of the
window, so as to have a top light, and to facilitate the cleaning of the upper
portion of the blind or window, or to enable the blind to be collected from the
side.
The invention further relates to improved means for collecting the laths of
Venetian blinds from the top.
According to this invention (taking for example a Venetian blind), in addition
to suspending the laths in the ordinary way, I also so suspend the top lath that it
may be raised or lowered, carrying with it the entire blind, so as to obtain top and
bottom lights:
In order to collect the laths of Venetian blinds at the top instead of at the
bottom, I gather up the laths by means of skeleton ladders, formed preferably
of wires, suitably jointed, so that the ladders may be collapsible. Near the top
of the blind, I fix spindles, on to which I key double wheels, with pegs or pins
on their peripheries, so that upon turning the said spindles round, the pegs or
pins will enter the sides of the skeleton ladders, and thus gather up the laths
at the top. At the top of the blind, I pass over wheels, two endless chains, so as
to be worked by the double wheels aforesaid.
In order that when lowering the blind, the laths may not fall suddenly and
may also be gradually raised, I fix on each side of the blind two worms, in such a
way that the laths shall follow either up or down the worm as it is rotated by the
action of raising or lowering the blind.
And in order that my said invention may be better understood I will now
proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings accompanying this
specification, in which Fig. 1 shews elevation of window shewing general
arrangement for lowering blind from the top of the window. The same arrange-
ment may be used for gathering up from the bottom. Fig. 2 shews a plan of the
top of blind, with cover removed in order to shew the mechanism for raising
and lowering. Fig. 3 is a side elevation and Fig. 4 a front elevation of skeleton
ladder. Fig. 5 is an elevation of worm for regulating the raising or lowering
of the blind. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the top collecting mechanism. Fig. 7
is a detail of skeleton ladder.
The same letters of reference are employed to denote the same parts in all
the views.
For lowering blind from the top of the window, as shewn at Fig. 1, I connect
cords 66 to the top laths c, these cords wind on cylinders d d¹ (see Fig. 2). 'On

page_text: the spindle e on which said cylinders are mounted, I key a sprocket wheel f,
over which passes an endless chaing to the sprocket wheel f¹, so that as the
sprocket wheelf is turned, as hereinafter described, the cylinder d will lower
the blind from the top of the window. For collecting the laths from the bottom.
the cords pp, which pass through all the laths, are wound in the same way round
two other cylinders xx¹ on the spindle e¹, so that when the spindle e¹ is turned,
the cords p p are wound up, so drawing the blind up from the bottom. The
sprocket wheelf is turned by means of handles h h', turning other sprocket wheels
fitted on the same spindles as the handles h h¹: chains passing over the
sprocket wheels f, and the sprocket wheels (not shewn on the drawing) on the
spindles of the handles h h¹. The chain g passes round sprocket wheel f, under
wheel w, under w¹, round f¹, under w², over w³, and so back to wheel f; the
chain g is similarly arranged; so that the course of the said chain is a series of
waves. The underside of the top or covering which fits over the box containing
this mechanism, is also waved to correspond, and thus provides a check or brake.
Although I have shewn a Venetian blind, it is obvious that I may lower any
other description of blind or shade by similar means.
In order to collect the laths of Venetian blinds at the top, shewn at Fig. 6
in the drawings, I adopt the following mechanism. k, shew two spindles,
carrying four sprocket wheels 1, l, m, m¹, and face-toothed wheels n, n¹; o, o¹ shew
two worms actuated by the wheels n, n¹, and toothed wheels q, q'. The sprocket
wheels, and m, m¹ collect up the skeleton ladders which take the place of
tapes, and consist of short lengths of wire z or other suitable material, so hinged
(at y) together as to be readily collapsible (see Figs. and 4); a plan of one of
the cross bars 2 for supporting the laths is shown at Fig. 7, and the worms o, o¹
collect up the laths above the spindles k, k¹. The worms o, o¹ at the same time
prevent the laths from falling too suddenly when the blind is being lowered.
It will be seen that by the employment of the above invention, the blind can
be automatically retained in any desired position, without the use of springs or
weights.
In order to work blinds from the sides of windows, it is simply necessary to fit
either of the mechanisms described vertically at the side of the window, instead of
horizontally at the top.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. Blinds constructed and operated substantially as set forth.
2. The means hereinbefore set forth for lowering blinds from the top of a
window, drawing from side, or collecting up from the bottom.
3. The means herein before set forth for collecting the laths of Venetian blinds
at the top.
4. Skeleton ladders constructed substantially as described.
Dated this Thirteenth day of July 1898.