IMPROVE- MENTS IN ROLLERS FOR ROLLER BLINDS, AND IN ROLLER BLIND FURNITURE, AND
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Everard, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Packer and Warehouseman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ROLLERS FOR ROLLER BLINDS, AND IN ROLLER BLIND FURNITURE, AND
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Everard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
October 1865.
I, JOSEPH EVERARD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Packer
and Warehouseman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLERS FOR ROLLER BLINDS, AND IN ROLLER BLIND FURNI-
TURE, AND IN FIXING ROLLER BLINDS AT ANY REQUIRED HEIGHT," to be as follows:-
In making rollers for roller blinds according to my Invention I make the
said rollers of open-jointed tubing, that is, of a sheet of metal bent into a
.tubular form. The slot formed along the whole length of the roller by the
open joint serves for the introduction of the blind, which is attached to a rod
introduced into the roller; the said roller is provided with slots at its ends of
the kind and for the purpose herein-after described.

page_text: The blind furniture which I use with the blind roller described consists of
two ends constructed as follows:-The pulley end consists of the usual pulley
to which a tubular piece is connected, the said tubular piece enters one end of the
roller, and is fixed therein by a pin or stud on the said tubular piece, taking into
a T-shaped slot in the end of the roller. By pushing the tubular piece into
the end of the roller and then partially turning it therein so as to make the
pin or stud enter the head of the T-shaped slot, the pulley end is fixed in its
place. The single end has a tubular piece similar to that on the pulley end,
which tubular piece enters the end of the roller. The single end cannot be
drawn out of the roller, but has a sliding motion therein to permit of the
lengthening of the roller to suit windows of different widths. The motion
of the single end in the roller is limited by a pin in the tubular piece of the
said end, engaging in a plain slot in the roller; the ends may be made by
casting or from sheet metal. In the latter case the disks of the ends are cut
out of sheet metal at a press, and the tubular part made by rolling up a
suitably shaped piece of sheet metal. The parts are fixed together by solder-
ing. This method of manufacture is applicable to the manufacture of blind
furniture of the ordinary kind.
"Opening.
franie. The
edge shape, the
arm is fixed the
The blind cord
In 'fixing window blinds I employ an arm, made by preference of metal;
this arm is fixed at any convenient part in the
outer end of the arm is expanded, and has an
large end of the opening being nearly circular. When the
narrow end of the opening is towards 'the inside of the room.
passes through the opening in the arm, and in raising and lowering the blind
the cord works in the circular part of the opening. When the blind has been
raised or lowered to the required degree it is fixed by drawing forward the
cord, by which motion it is made to enter the wedge-shaped part of the
'opening and wedge itself in the said opening.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Everard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the s
14th April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
EVERARD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Packer and Ware-
houseman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters s
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph Everard, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph Everard,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Joseph Everard, 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
ROLLERS FOR K
ROLLER BLINDS, AND IN ROLLER BLIND FURNITURE, AND IN FIXING.
ROLLER BLINDS AT ANY REQUIRED HEIGHT," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Joseph Everard, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Everard, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
In making rollers for roller blinds according to my Invention I make the
said rollers of open-jointed tubing, that is, of a sheet of metal bent into a
tubular form. The slot formed along the whole length of the roller by the
open joint serves for the introduction of the blind, which is attached to a rod
introduced into the roller. The said roller is provided with slots at its ends
of the kind and for the purpose herein-after described.
J..
The blind furniture, which I use with the blind roller described, consists of
two ends constructed as follows:-The pulley end consists of the usual pulley,
to which a tubular piece is connected; the said tubular piece enters one end of
the roller and is fixed therein by a pin or stud, on the said tubular piece taking
into a T-shaped slot in the end of the roller. By pushing the tubular piece into.
the end of the roller, and then partially turning it therein so as to make the
pin or stud enter, the head of the T-shaped slot, the pulley end is fixed in its
place. The single end has a tubular piece similar to that on the pulley, and
which tubular piece enters the end of the roller. The single end cannot be
drawn out of the roller but has a sliding motion therein to permit of the
lengthening of the roller to suit windows of different widths. The motion of
the single end in the roller is limited by a pin in the tubular piece of the said

page_text: end engaging in a plain slot in the roller. The ends may be made by casting
or from sheet metal. In the latter case the disks of the ends are cut out of
sheet metal at a press, and the tubular part made by rolling up a suitably
shaped piece of sheet metal. The parts are fixed together by soldering. This
method of manufacture is applicable to the manufacture of blind furniture of
the ordinary kind.
In fixing window blinds I employ an arm made by preference of metal;
this arm is fixed at any convenient part in the side of the window frame.
The outer end of the arm is expanded and has an opening of a wedge shape,
the large end of the opening being nearly circular. When the arm is fixed
the narrow end of the opening is towards the inside of the room. The blind
cord passes through the opening in the arm, and in raising and lowering the
blind the cord works in the circular part of the opening. When the blind
has been raised or lowered to the required degree it is fixed by drawing
forward the cord, by which motion it is made to enter the wedge-shaped part
of the opening and wedge itself in the said opening.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in which the same is
to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in elevation a blind roller and its furniture, constructed
according to my Invention, the said blind roller being represented applied to
a window frame; the said Figure 1 also represents my improvement in
fixing roller blinds at any required height. Figure 2 represents a transverse
section of the blind roller and furniture, with a portion of blind connected
therewith. Figures 3 and 4 represent sections of the blind furniture
separately. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
a is the blind roller made of an open-jointed tube, the open joint or slot
running along the whole length of the roller, being marked 6 in Figure 2.
The blind c to be used with the roller a is attached to a rod d which is
introduced into the open end of the roller before the pulley end e of the blind
furniture e, f, is fixed to the said roller, the said blind c passing through longi-
tudinal slot 6 in the manner represented in Figure 2. The blind furniture e, f,
is constructed and connected to the roller a in the following manner :--The
pulley end e between which the cord g works and the single end are nearly of
the usual form, but each of the said ends has a tubular piece marked respectively
, f, connected to it of a size fitted to enter the ends of the roller a, as
represented in Figures 1 and 2. The said tubular pieces e, f, of the ends e, f,
have longitudinal slots e, f, in them, corresponding with the longitudinal slot
or open joint 6 in the roller a. Each end of the roller a is provided with a

page_text: slot as, as, the slot a' being open at one end. The pulley end e and single end f
carry a binding screw a', a³. In fixing the pulley end e to the roller a the tubular
part is placed in the end of the roller in such a position that its slot e³
coincides with the slot in the roller and that the screw a' is opposite
the slot a². The tubular part having been pushed the required distance into
the roller the screw a is driven home so as to make its head bear upon
the roller; the pulley end e is thereby securely fixed to the roller
In
fixing the single end f to the roller its tubular part f is introduced into the
end of the roller in a similar way to that described with respect to the pulley
end e, the screw a being removed from the said single end. After the tubular
part of the single end f has been pushed the required distance into the
roller the screw a³ is screwed into the said end through the slot a', and its
head made to bear upon the roller, and thus securely fix the single end to the
roller. By sliding the ends e, f, of the blind furniture into or out of the ends
of the roller, and fixing the said ends e, f, by the binding screws a', a³, the
said roller can be lengthened or shortened at pleasure to suit windows of
different widths. The single end f cannot be wholly removed from the roller
until the binding screw as is withdrawn, but the pulley end e can be withdrawn
from the roller to permit of the removal or introduction of the blind c by
loosening its screw a', and drawing the said screw through the open slot a³.
Instead of a straight slot as in the end of the roller into which the pulley
end e is to be fitted, as represented, a T-shaped slot as indicated in dotted
lines in Figure 1, or a slot similar to that of a bayonet joint fastening as
represented in Figure 9 may be used. When slots of either of the last
described kinds are used the tubular part of the pulley end e is pushed to its
full extent into the end of the roller, and partly turned therein so as to make
a pin or stud on the said pulley end enter the head of the T-slot, or enter the
cross slot and fix the said pulley end in its place. When the pulley end is
fixed to the roller in the way last described it is incapable of a sliding motion
for lengthening or shortening the roller, the lengthening or shortening of the
roller being in this case effected by the single end f only sliding into or out of
the said roller. I prefer, however, to use the arrangement represented in the
Drawing, in which both the single end and pulley end are capable of adjust-
ment in the ends of the roller. The pivots or centres of the ends e, f, turn in
5 brackets h, h, fixed by nails or screws to the window frame. The roller ends
e, f, or blind furniture, may be made by casting as represented in section in
Figures 3 and 4, or from sheet metal, as represented in section in Figures 5
and 6. In making the single end, Figure 5, from sheet metal I proceed as
follows I cut out disks of sheet metal at a press, and by a raising or

page_text: shaping process in the usual way I give a convex figure to the centre of the
disk, and at the same time make an annular groove or depression / in the disk.
The disk thus treated has the form represented in section in Figure 7 and
marked i. By piercing the convex centre of the disk i, and introducing and
rivetting therein a pin or centre k, the disk is complete. In making the.
tubular part of the end I take a suitably shaped piece of sheet metal and roll,
the same into the form represented in Figure 8, or into an open-jointed tube,
the slot or open joint being similar to that in the roller with which the end is
to be used. By introducing the tubular piece, Figure 8, into the groove.or
depression in the disk the two parts may be soldered together, and the
single end is completed as represented in Figure 5. In making the pulley
end, Figure 6, from sheet metal I take a disk marked m of the form of
Figure 7 and solder it to the tubular part p, and behind the said disk
and parallel thereto I solder a ring or disk n, the disks m, n, constituting the
flanges of the pulley. That part of the tube p situated between the disks mi, n,
has a diameter somewhat greater than the other part, and is grooved : or
indented to ensure the proper adhesion of the blind cord thereto. Figure 9
represents in elevation a blind roller of the construction represented in
Figures 1 and 2, to which ends made from sheet metal in the manner
described are applied.
The method described and represented in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 of
manufacturing blind furniture for tubular blind rollers is also applicable to
the manufacture of blind furniture of the ordinary kind. As, however, the
manufacture of ordinary blind furniture from sheet metal according to my
Invention is similar in all essential respects to that described with reference
to the furniture represented in Figures 5 and 6 for tubular rollers, I do.not
think a further description necessary.
In fixing window blinds I use an arm q, Figure 1, fixed at any convenient
part in the side of the window frame. This arm q is represented separately
in plan and side elevation in Figure 10; the said arm is fixed to the window
frame by the plate r. The said arm has an opening in it of the form best
seen in the plan, Figure 10, through which opening the blind cord g passes in
the manner represented in Figure 1. The wide end of the opening is nearly
circular, and the, other end has a wedge shape. When the arm is fixed the
narrow end of the opening is towards the inside of the room.
lowering the blind the cord g works in the circular part of the
arm q, and when the blind has been raised or lowered to the required degree
it is fixed by drawing the cord g forward towards the inside of the room, by
which motion the said cord is made to enter the wedge-shaped part of the
In raising and
opening in the

page_text: opening and wedge itself in the said opening.
In order to release the cord
from the arm it is pressed towards the window, when it is made to re-enter
the circular end of the opening, and the blind can be raised or lowered. This
arm may be used for fixing roller blinds of the ordinary kind in addition to
those constructed according to my Invention:
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the
Drawing, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention; but I claim as my Invention, --
Firstly, the improvements in rollers for roller blinds, and in furniture for the
said rollers, herein-before described and illustrated in the acompanying
Drawing, that is to say, combining with a tubular roller of the construction
described and represented tubular ends or furniture, one or both of the said
ends or furniture being capable of sliding into or out of the roller to permit
of the lengthening or shortening of the roller to suit windows of different
widths, the said tubular ends or furniture being made either by casting or
from sheet metal.
Secondly, making ordinary roller blind furniture from sheet metal in the
manner herein-before described with reference to Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 of
the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly, fixing roller blinds at any required height by means of an arm
constructed in the manner berein-before described and illustrated in Figures
1 and 10 of the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Everard, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOSEPH EVERARD. (L.S.)