An Improved Blind Roller, and Apparatus for Forming same.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Aug., 1896-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Blind Roller, and Apparatus for Forming same.
I, EDWIN ARTHUR POWELL, of corner of Collins and William Streets,
Melbourne, in the Colony of Victoria, Australia, Engineer, 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 has been devised to provide an improved roller for blinds which
is constructed of metal or other material in such a manner that the blind may be
secured to it by simply inserting its end in a recess formed in the roller, thus
obviating the employment of stitching which is troublesome and forms at best an
insecure fastening. My invention forms a neat and secure fastening which is
readily adjusted. By this construction of rollers they may be made in long lengths
and be arranged to support heavy blinds or screens, being thus adapted for various
purposes such as to hold the drop scenes of theatres. The invention further
consists in providing apparatus for the purpose of forming such rollers.
In order to make my invention clear I shall now refer to the accompanying
drawings in which-
Figure 1 shows a section of a roller constructed according to my invention.
Figure 2 is a similar view with blind secured to same.
Figure 3 is an elevation of the roller.
Figure 4 shows a metal plate of which the roller is constructed with one end
turned into the required form.
Figure 5 is a view to a reduced scale of the roller and blind with metal caps and
an additional metal clip attached.
Figure 6 shows elevation of part of the apparatus for forming the roller.
Figure 7 is a section taken through Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a similar section but showing the altered position of the .emale die
plate and also an alternate form of a part of the apparatus.
Figure 9 is the side view of the part of the apparatus shown in Figure 6 for
turning the plate into tubular form.
Figures 10 and 11 are end and side views respectively of the mandrel employed
in turning the plate into tubular form.
In these drawings A. (Fig. 4) shows a metal plate which has one of its edges B.
turned so as to form a groove or recess-that is to say the edge is turned over at
an angle, a part of the turned over portion being then turned back somewhat in the
form of a Z. This plate is turned into tubular form (see Fig. 1) and has its
end C. inserted into the groove or recess formed at the end B.
The material or blind D. is secured to the roller by sliding its turned over edge
longitudinally into the recess being thus arranged to clasp the end C. of the roller
which forms a bite with the recess to hold the material in place.
Caps E. E. (Fig. 5) are provided and fitted upon the ends of a roller to prevent
same from opening. The head of each cap may have a pin E to revolve in the
ordinary brackets when raising or lowering the blind. When long lengths of
roller are employed it is preferable to provide spring clips W. These consist of
bands of spring metal which are arranged to almost encircle the roller but leaving
free the recess. By the employment of these bands any sag of the roller and
tendency of the groove to open is prevented.

page_text: The roller may be used with cords in ordinary brackets or can be fitted with
springs so as to be used as spring rollers.
Referring now to Figure 6.which shows one form of apparatus for forming the
rollers, F. F. are uprights arranged in pairs. These are connected together by
cross beams F. G. shows a plate which forms the female die which may be made
in two pieces (see Fig. 7) and the bottom of which is of an inverted V form. This
plate is arranged to be pressed upon the male die plate H, the top of which is of
inverted V form to correspond with the bottom of the plate G. J. is a horizontal
guide plate which is secured to the standards F. F. and is for the purpose of
assisting to form the groove at the end of the plate A. K. is a stop plate secured
to the standards F. F. to limit the position of the plate A. when plated in position
to be pressed. The plate G. may be operated in any suitable manner to give it
the required motion.
In the drawings I have shown one form of mechanism for producing the motion.
L. L. are beams which are connected by a link L' to a lever M. This lever has
its fulcrum at N, which said fulcrum consists of a through pin set in brackets N¹.
The opposite ends of the beams L. are connected by a rod L to a spring Q. which
is eet in the box R. attached to the frame F.
The beams L. are connected by links P. on the one side to the female die
plate G. and on the other between the cross beams F so that a pull of the lever
will draw the beam L. forward in a somewhat radial manner so acting upon the
inclined link P. in such a manner as to bring them into line at the same time
forcing down the plate G. The spring R. will thus be drawn into tension and will
act to draw the plate G. up on releasing the lever.
The plate A. to be formed into a roller is brought into position upon the plate J.
and over the die plate H. as shown in Fig. 7 the cross plate K. forming a stop.
The lever is then operated to press the plate G. upon the metal plate A. and turn
it into the required form (see Fig. 9).
As an alternative I may employ a roller in place of the plate J. (Fig. 8
illustrates this, Y. being the roller). In this figure the upper die plate G. is
shown in its position upon the lower die plate H. with a plate A. pressed into the
grooved form.
By means of the above described apparatus the required form is given to the end
of the plate which is to be next turned into tubular form. For this latter purpose
the apparatus shewn in Figs. 10 and 11 is employed.
S. is a hollow mandrel consisting of a metal plate turned into tubular form but
with its edges apart. A block ST (preferably of metal) is inserted in this tube
leaving a space S between the block and the tube. This mandrel is provided with
a handle S or other means may be employed for rotating it when in position in the
bore as bereafter described. The plate A. which as aforesaid has had its end
turned into grooved form is now placed with such end in the recess S³ of the
mandrel (see Fig. 10).
The plate A. may now be turned into tubular form. This is effected by inserting
the mandrel into the bore T. This bore consists of a metal plate which is turned
into tubular form with its edges apart forming a slot T and may if desired be
hinged at T. This bore is slightly larger in diameter than the mandrel. V. is a
screw which works in the frame V and is arranged to produce the pressure on the
tube T. The mandrel as aforesaid is inserted in this bore with the projecting
portion of the plate passing outside same through the slot formed by the adjacent
edges of the bore. A turn is then given to the mandrel and the required pressure
applied so as to turn the plate A. into the tubular form. The pressure upon the
bore may be applied in any convenient manner other than that shown.
The mandrel having been turned is now withdrawn from the bore (the pressure
having been first released) with the now tubular plate A. around it. The tubular
plate or roller is withdrawn from the mandrel and its plain end which will lie
outside of the end B. is placed into the groove as shown in Fig. 1 thus forming the
complete roller.

page_text: 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. In blind rollers-a hollow roller formed of sheet metal or other material one
edge of which forms a groove or recess and the other edge being arranged to lie
within the said groove or recess substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. In blind rollers-the combination of a roller as claimed in Claim 1 with
metal caps as E. substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
3. In blind rollers-the combination of a roller as claimed in Claim 1 with one
or more clips as W. substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
4. In apparatus for forming blind rollers in combination a female die plate
as G. having an inverted Vedge, male die plate as H. having a corresponding
inverted V top, plate as J. and stop plate as K. substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
5. In apparatus for forming blind rollers-in combination a female die plate
as G. male die plate as H, roller as Y. and stop plate as K. substantially as and
for the purposes set forth.
6. In apparatus for forming blind rollers-in combination a mandrel as S.
consisting of a metal plate turned into tubular form and having a slot formed by
the adjacent edges of such plate, a core as S' and recess as S substantially as and
for the purposes set forth.
7. In apparatus for forming blind rollers-in combination a bore as T. consisting
of a hinged or plain tubular plate having its edges apart and a pressure device
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
8. The combination and arrangement of the several parts substantially as and
for the purposes described and as illustrated on the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 30th day of June 1896.
JOHN WAUGH,
Agent.