IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING ROLLERS FOR WINDOW BLINDS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Eugene Putnam, of Chicago, Illinois, United
States of America, but now of the Midland Railway Station, St.
Pancras, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Eugene Putnam at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 16th April 1875.
I, EUGENE PUTNAM, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America,
5 but now of the Midland Railway Station, St. Pancras, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING ROLLERS FOR WINDOW BLINDS," to be as
follows:-

page_text: In carrying this Invention into practice I use a wood or metal roller,
hollow at one end and provided internally with a stationary spindle which
has one end projecting through the end of the roller, while its other end
is journalled in the said roller so that the latter may revolve inde-
pendently of the spindle. Around this spindle I coil a spring, one end
of which is secured to the spindle and the other end to a plate provided
with a ratchet on its outer side.
Another plate arranged in combination with the ratchet plate is
provided with a pawl, which operates on and in connection with the
ratchet, and both plates are fitted to turn freely on the projecting end of
the spindle. A cam or eccentric is rigidly secured to the said projecting
end outside of the end plate of the roller, and through this end plate I
pass a small pin or bolt, on the outer end of which I fix a small crank
or lever whose extremity lies in contact with the periphery of the said
excentric or cam, and to its inner end is fixed another small lever which
lies in a notch or recess in the pawl plate.
When the blind is being unrolled from the roller, the head of the said
roller being connected with the spring by the plates, the cranks or
levers, and the pawl and ratchet, the spring is wound up and acquires
power to roll up the blind. As the blind unrolls from the roller the
power of the spring is constantly increased and the resistance brought
to bear on the cam is also constantly increased in proportion to the
tension of the spring, and as the outer lever rotates on the cam the
power of the spring exerted on the roller is greater or less, according to
the position of the lever on the cam, which causes weak or dead points 2
to occur at each rotation of the roller, at which points the blind will
rest. The number of dead points occurring at each rotation depends
entirely on the form of the cam. These dead points occur when the
part of the lever resting on the cam is extended farthest from the centre
of the roller, at which time all or nearly all the power of the spring is 3
resisted by the friction between said lever and cam.
When the blind is put on the roller so that when in unwinding it the
spring is wound up, the pawl is only used to transmit the power applied
to the blind and roller to the ratchet plate to which the spring is
attached, as the plate to which the pawl is attached is acted on by the
inner lever or crank; the latter being connected to the outer lever is
operated by the end plate, and when the blind is being rolled upon the

page_text: roller the whole power or resistance of the spring is brought to bear
upon the cam or eccentric in a greater or less degree, according to the
tension of the spring.
The plate to which the spring is secured also prevents accident or
injury to the spring should the blind be rolled off the roller in the
wrong direction, the blind not having been rolled on the roller in the
proper direction in the first instance, as sometimes happens. When
such error occurs in putting on the blind, and the device is put in proper
position for use and the blind drawn down or from the roller, the
tendency would be to unwind the spring from the spindle were it not for
the ratchet and pawl, which render it impossible to move the spring
backward, for as the roller is turned backward the pawl does not engage
with the ratchet, and the spring remains at rest.
As the spring winds up it does not do so at a uniform rate of speed
because of the backward motion imparted to the ratchet and pawl
plates, thereby checking the spring in winding up one or more turns
according to the form of the cam, thus improving the dead points.
This backward motion is caused by the levers and cam. The inner lever
operating on the pawl plate is placed in a recess in the plate larger than
itself, so that when the end of the outer lever is moved to and from the
centre of the roller the said inner lever is also moved independently of
the roller, thus causing the said lever to press against the edge of the
said recess and to give a backward movement to the two plates and the
spring according to the distance the said lever is moved by the outer
lever and cam.
The same result is accomplished by a modification of this Invention so
far as relates to the dead points, wherein instead of having the edge of
the said inner lever acting in the recess in the plate a pin secured to the
said lever acts on or in a slot cut in the said plate. In this modification
the first named plate is not required.
The same results are accomplished by a modification wherein the said
levers are dispensed with and a strap is placed around the eccentric.
The eccentric or cam is placed inside the end plate, the strap surround-
ing the eccentric being provided with a pin which operates in slots cut
in the said end plate and pawl plate.
A ferrule covering all the mechanism is fixed on the end of the roller,
the said ferrule being fluted or corrugated to permit it to be securely

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Eugene Putnam in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EUGENE
PUTNAM, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America, but now of
the Midland Railway Station, St. Pancras, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
cighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Eugene Putnam, Her special licence
that I, the said Eugene Putnam, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Eugene Putnam, 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, usc, excrcise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SPRING ROLLERS FOR WINDOW BLINDS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Eugene Putnam, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Eugene Putnam, 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, reference being had to the accompanying

page_text: This Invention relates to a window blind roller provided with peculiar
and novel mechanism whereby the blind may be rolled up automatically
or retained in any desired position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the said Invention in position
for use.
Figure 2 shows the roller and attachments partly in section.
Figures 3, 4, 5, represent details of said Invention. Figures 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, represent modifications of the same.
A is a blind roller made of metal or wood, as desired; it is hollow at
one end and provided with a stationary spindle B having a shaft O at its
outer end, its opposite end being journalled in the roller A so that the
said roller may revolve independently of the shaft and spindle. Around
the spindle a spring B' is coiled, one end being secured to the spindle
at a and the other end to the eyes of the plate D. The plate D is
provided with a ratchet on the side opposite the eyes, as shown in
Figure 3. E represents a plate provided with a pawl which operates on
and in connection with the aforesaid ratchet, and both plates D and E
are provided with a central perforation to fit easily on the shaft C and
revolve thercon. F represents a cam or eccentric rigidly secured to the
shaft C outside of the end plate I of the roller, and which is stationary
in the bracket. G represents a lever secured to a small shaft or pin
passing through a perforation in the end plate I, to the other end of
which shaft is attached a lever H operating on or in connection with the
plate E.
When a blind is being unrolled from the roller in the direction
indicated by the arrow, Figure 5, the head of the roller being connected
with the spring by the plate I, disc E, crank or lever H, disc D, and the
pawl and ratchet, and the pawl operating on the ratchet on plate D, tho
spring is wound up, and acquires power to roll up the blind. As the
blind unrolls from the roller the power of the spring is being constantly
increased, and the resistance brought to bear on the cam is also con-
stantly increased in proportion to the tension of the spring, and as the
lever G rotates on the cam the power of the spring exerted on the roller
is greater or less, according to the position of the lever on the cam,
which causes weak or "dead" points to occur at each rotation of the roller,

page_text: at which “dead” points the blind will rest; the number of “dead” points
occurring at each rotation depending entirely on the form of the cam.
These "dead" points occur when the part of the lever resting on the cam
is extended farthest from the centre of the roller, which time all or
nearly all the power of the spring is resisted by the friction between said
lever and cam.
When the blind is put on the roller so that in unwinding it the spring
is wound up, the pawl is only used to transmit the power applied to the
blind and roller to the plate D, to which the spring is attached, as the
plate E, to which the pawl is attached, is operated upon by the lever or
crank H connected to the pin of the lever G and operated by the plate I,
and when the blind is being rolled upon the roller the whole power or
resistance of the spring is brought to bear upon the cam or eccentric F
in a greater or less degree, according to the tension of the spring.
The plate D to which the spring is secured also prevents accident or
injury to the spring should the blind be unrolled from the roller in the
wrong direction, the blind not having been rolled on the roller in the
proper direction in the first instance, as sometimes happens. When
such crror occurs in putting on the blind and the device is put in proper
position for use, and the blind drawn down or from the roller, the
tendency would be to unwind the spring from the spindle were it not for
the ratchet and pawl, which render it impossible to move the spring
backward, for as the roller is turned backward the pawl does not engage
with the ratchet, and the spring remains at rest.
•
As the spring winds up it does not do so at a uniform rate of speed
because of the backward motion imparted to the plates D and E, to
which the spring is attached, thereby checking the spring in winding up
one or more turns, according to the form of the cam, thus improving
the "dead" points. This backward motion is caused by the lever G and
cam. The lever H, operating on the plate E, is placed in a recess in the
plate larger than itself, so that when the end of the lever G is moved
to and from the centre of the roller the lever H is also moved inde-
pendently of tho roller, thus causing the lever H to press against the
edge of the recess in plate E and to give a backward movement to the
plates E and D and to the spring, according to the distance the lever H
is moved by the lover G and the cam.

page_text: The same result is accomplished by the modification shown in Figures
6 and 7, so far as relates to the dead points, where instead of having the
edge of the lever H bearing on the slot cut in plate E a pin a¹ is secured
to the lever and acts on or in the slot cut in the plate E. In this
modification the plate D is not required.
The same results are accomplished by the modification shewn in
Figures 8, 9, 10, and 12, where the levers G and H are dispensed with
and the strap 6¹ is placed around the eccentric or cam F. This eccentric
or cam is placed inside the plate I, the strap surrounding the cam and
being provided with a pin c¹, which operates in slots cut in plates I
and E.
In Figures 13 and 14 the same modification is shewn, with the
strap of slightly different form, as indicated by the dotted lines. J is
the ferrule, as shewn in Figure 11, covering all the mechanism secured
3 within the same, and having the head I, as shown in Figure 12, said
ferrule being fluted or corrugated so that it may be securely attached to
the roller. M, M, are brackets supporting the said roller and secured to
the window frame.
In the modification of my Invention illustrated in Figure 15 the
eccentric or cam is replaced by notches F cut in the stationary shaft
and arranged in combination with the pawl F in the end of the roller.
The same result is accomplished by this modification, but it is not so
reliable under all circumstances as the other forms of my Invention
above described.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it understood that I claim,—
First. A cam or eccentric placed on the axis of a blind roller in
combination with and acting an a disc or discs connected with a spring
and connecting mechanism between the disc or discs and the cam,
whereby the cam or eccentric causes the spring to act differentially on
the roller, and causes one or more "dead" points to occur when the blind
is being rolled up or down, at which point or points the blind hangs at
rest as above described and for the purpose specified.
Second. The cam F, levers G, H, and plate E, in combination with a
blind roller and spring, as described, whereby the plate to which the
spring is attached is caused to move backward while the roller is moving
forward, as above described and for the purpose specified.

page_text: Third. In a blind roller the combination of a spring B', spindle B,
disc D, and shaft C, which spring is attached to the spindle at one end
and to the disc at the other, the disc being provided with a ratchet, and
having its axis on the shaft and adapted to rotate thereon, as above
described and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The modification of my Invention illustrated in Figures
8, 9, 10, of the Drawing, operating as herein set forth and for the
purpose specified.
ધ
Fifth. The modification of my Invention illustrated in Figure 15
of the Drawing, operating as hercin set forth and for the purpose 1
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Eugene Putnam, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
]
Witness,
HY. JA. NOONE.
EUGENE PUTNAM. (L.S.)