IMPROVEMENTS IN RAISING AND SUSPENDING VENETIAN BLINDS
Year: 1884

page_text: I MATTHEW KER of No 43 Mansfield Road Saint Pancras in the County of
Middlesex Cabinet Maker do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN RAISING AND SUSPENDING VENETIAN BLINDS
to be as
follows:-
86
In the ordinary method of mounting Venetian blinds the drawing up of the
blind commences at the bottom lath and the gathering up of the laths proceeds
upwards from the bottom lath the laths being in succession picked up by the
bottom one. By this arrangement all the laths which have been gathered up are
situated at the bottom of the drawn up or partially drawn up blind and offer an
unsightly obstruction to the light across that part of the window at which the
bottom of the drawn up blind and the gathered up laths are situated.
The object of my invention is to remedy this inconvenience and consists of the
improvements hereinafter described whereby when it is wished to raise the
Venetian blind only partially the laths may be gathered up at or near the top of
the blind so as to leave the laths at the lower part of the blind at their normal
distance apart and thereby avoid the obstruction of light by the lower part of the
blind herein before referred to.
In carrying my invention into effect I employ spring clips or grippers made
preferably of steel wire. Each of the said spring clips or grippers consists of a
piece of steel wire of a length about equal to three times the breadth of the laths.
This wire is bent upon itself or doubled so that its two arms or branches are
parallel and close to each other. One of the branches is straight and pointed at its
end and the other branch has at its junction with the straight branch a bend or
deflection at right angles the said bend or deflection being of a length somewhat
greater than one half the breadth of the tapes of the blind. The free end of this
branch has a similar bend or deflection at its free end the extreme end of the said
branch being turned up into a hook like form so as to permit of the pointed end of
the other branch being hooked into it and fastened in position.
In using the grip or clipper the pointed end of the straight branch being
disengaged from the hooked end of the other branch is passed through the pair of
tapes of the blind under that lath between which and the top of the blind the
laths are to be gathered up. The other branch of the clip also passes under the
said lath and the cord by which the laths are gathered up is gripped between

page_text: the two branches of the clip. The pointed end of the straight branch is engaged
in the hooked end of the other branch and the cord is gripped tightly between
them the edges of the tapes occupying the bends or deflections described. One of
the clips or grippers described is applied to each of the pairs of tapes of the blind
and the cord situated between them. When the blind cords are pulled for drawing
up the blind the lath below which the grippers have been fixed is drawn up and
the laths above are gathered or picked up by it all the laths below it being drawn
up bodily that is their relative positions are unchanged.
The gripper need not be made in one piece. The pins passing under the lath
and engaging in the tapes may be made separate from the part which grips the
cord the latter that is the grip may consist of a spring or screw clamp which may
be readily fixed to the cord by springing or screwing the said grip being of a size
too large to pass through the hole in the lath.
To prevent injury to the tapes by the pius of the grippers passing through them
the tapes may be provided with holes protected by eyelets.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
18
Improvements in Raising and Suspending Venetian Blinds.
I MATTHEW KER of N° 43 Mansfield Road Saint Pancras in the County of
Middlesex Cabinet Maker do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
'IMPROVEMENTS IN RAISING AND SUSPENDING VENETIAN BLINDS" and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
In the ordinary method of mounting Venetian blinds the drawing up of the
blind commences at the bottom lath and the gathering up of the laths proceeds
upwards from the bottom lath the laths being in succession picked up by the
bottom one. By this arrangement all the laths which have been gathered up are
situated at the bottom of the drawn up or partially drawn up blind and offer an
unsightly obstruction to the light across that part of the window at which the
bottom of the drawn up blind and the gathered up laths are situated.
The object of my invention is to remedy this inconvenience and consists of the
improvements hereinafter described whereby when it is wished to raise the
Venetian blind only partially the laths may be gathered up at or near the top of
the blind so as to leave the laths at the lower part of the blind at their normal
distance apart and thereby avoid the obstruction of light by the lower part of the
blind herein before referred to.

page_text: This
In carrying my invention into effect I employ spring clips or grippers made
preferably of steel wire. Each of the said spring clips or grippers consists of a piece
of steel wire of a length about equal to three times the breadth of the laths.
wire is bent upon itself or doubled so that its two arms or branches are parallel
and close to each other. One of the branches is straight and pointed at its end
and the other branch has at its junction with the straight branch a bend or
deflection at right angles to the said bend or deflection being of a length somewhat
greater than one half the breadth of the tapes of the blind. The free end of this
branch has a similar bend or deflection the extreme end of the said branch being
turned up into a hook like form so as to permit of the pointed end of the other
branch being hooked into it and fastened in position.
In using the grip or clipper the pointed end of the straight branch being
disengaged from the hooked end of the other branch is passed through the pair of
tapes of the blind under that lath between which and the top of the blind the laths
are to be gathered up. The other branch of the clip also passes under the said lath
and the cord by which the laths are gathered up is gripped between the two
branches of the clip. The pointed end of the straight branch is engaged in the
hooked end of the other branch and the cord is gripped tightly between them the
edges of the tapes occupying the bends or deflections described. One of the .clips
or grippers described is applied to each of the pairs of tapes of the blind and the
cord situated between them. When the blind cords are pulled for drawing up the
blind the lath below which the grippers have been fixed is drawn up and the laths
above are gathered or picked up by it all the laths below it being drawn up bodily
that is their relative positions are unchanged.
The gripper need not be made in one piece. The pins passing under the lath
and engaging in the tapes may be made separate from the part which grips the
cord the latter that is the grip may consist of a spring or screw clamp which may
be readily fixed to the cord by springing or screwing the said grip being of a size
too large to pass through the hole in the lath.
To prevent injury to the tapes by the pins of the grippers passing through them
the tapes may be provided with holes protected by eyelets.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents in front elevation Figure 2
in plan and Figure 3 in side elevation a Venetian blind to which my invention is
applied Figures 4 and 5 represent plans of a portion of one of the laths and the
gripping appliances drawn to a larger scale the spring clip or gripper being
represented unfastened in Figure 4 and fastened and gripping the cord in
Figure 5.
In Figures 1 and 3 the laths at the upper part of the drawn up blind are
represented gathered up and nearly in contact while the laths at the lower part of
the blind are situated at their normal distance apart and consequently do not
obstruct the light at the lower part of the blind or present an unsightly
appearance.
a a are the laths b b the tapes and c, c the cords of the Venetian blind. The
spring clips or grippers are constructed in the manner which will be best under- .
stood by referring to Figures 4 and 5. Each of the said spring clips or grippers
The branch d
consists of two nearly parallel arms or branches d, e made of wire.
is straight and pointed at d and the other branch e has at its junction with the
straight and pointed branch da bend or deflection forming a loop e² The other
and opposite end of the branch e has a nearly similar loop e³ open at its side the
extreme end of the loop e being turned up into a hook at e'. By engaging the
pointed end d of the branch d with the hooked end e of the other branch e
the cord c is gripped between the two branches d, e and the branch d fastened in
its place.
In applying the grippers to the Venetian blind the pointed end of the branch d
is passed through the pair of tapes bb of the blind and on one side of the cord c
under that lath between which and the top of the blind the laths are to be drawn
or gathered up. The lath under which the grippers are situated is marked a³ in

page_text: Figures 1 and 3. The other branch e of the gripper also passes under the lath a³
and on the opposite side of the cord c the edges of the tapes c, c occupying the
bends or loops e³, e³ ¡as represented in Figure 4. By now engaging the pointed
end d² of the branch & with the hooked end e of the other branch e the cord c is
gripped tightly between the two branches d, e as illustrated in Figure 5 Each
cord and pair of tapes of the blind have applied to them one of the spring
grippers.
Having applied the grippers to the cords and tapes in the manner described on
pulling the blind cords for drawing up the blind the lath a below which the
grippers have been fixed is drawn up and the several laths above the lath a³ are
gathered or picked up in succession by it all the laths below the lath a² being
drawn up bodily and with their relative positions unchanged as represented in
Figures 1 and 3.
By arranging the grippers at the desired position on the blind any number of
laths may be gathered up leaving those laths below the gathered up laths in their
open position or at their normal distance apart.
Instead of making the grippers pierce the tapes the said grippers may be made
to encircle the tapes only. This modified gripper is represented unfastened in
Figures 6 and 7 and fastened in Figures 8 and 9 Or the screw clamps represented
in Figures 10 and 11 or analogous clamps or binding apparatus may be used for
gripping the cords c, c. The body of the clamp has a slot or opening in it for
embracing the cord c and the screw g of the clamp when driven home binds the
cord c between its end and the body of the clamp as illustrated in the Drawing.
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 of "Improvements in raising and suspending Venetian blinds”
Applying to each pair of tapes of the blind and to the cord situated within
each pair or to the cord only a spring clip or gripper or a spring or screw clamp
constructed substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings the said spring clips or grippers or spring or screw clamps being
fixed under that lath between which and the top of the blind the laths are to be
gathered up on raising the blind for the purpose and substantially as described and
illustrated.
Dated this with do 100K