IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING WINDOW BLINDS, VENTILATORS, AND DAMPERS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Nathan Hunt, of Woodbine Cottage, Ashley Down, in
the County of Gloucester, Accountant, for the Invention of " IMPROVED
MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING WINDOW BLINDS, VENTILATORS, AND
DAMPERS."
Sealed the 20th September 1878, and dated the 24th July 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nathan Hunt at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th July 1878.
NATHAN HUNT, of Woodbine Cottage, Ashley Down, in the County of Gloucester,
Accountant. "IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING WINDOW BLINDS,
VENTILATORS, AND DAMPERS."
This Invention relates to actuating ventilators, dampers, and blinds by means of
pneumatic pressure, and to regulating the same.
The Invention is based upon a previous Patent granted in 1877 to myself and
William Newton Cox, No. 1198, and consists of a bellows or bag of india-rubber
or other suitable material placed either directly or by means of levers in connection
with a ventilator in such a manner that upon its becoming expanded with air the
ventilator will be forced open; and on the other hand, upon the withdrawal of the
air from the bellows will either by its own weight or otherwise close. This action
may of course be reversed.
The bellows above described, and which we will call A, is connected by a pipe of
any required length to a second bellows B, which may be described as a reservoir
of air which may be forced into or withdrawn from the bellows A.
The bellows B may be fixed in any convenient spot, and would be made fast at
one end, say the bottom, to the guide or box in which it worked, whilst the other
or top end would be free to move up and down, having attached to it a lever or
screw for readily extending or compressing the bellows.

page_text: It may also be fitted at the bottom with an inlet valve, so as readily to admit
air upon its being drawn upwards, and also a cock for letting out air, thus practically
forming it into an air pump, so that a large number of ventilators may be worked
without the necessity of enlarging the bellows B.
It will be understood that supposing the bellows A to be empty, and the
ventilator consequently closed, the application of pressure upon the bellows B,
which contains air, forces a sufficient quantity into the bellows A to more or less
expand them, and consequently opens the ventilator to a corresponding extent,
whilst the reverse will occur if the air be removed from the bellows A by its with-
drawal into B.
If it is considered desireable there may be attached to the pipe connecting the
two bellows a vessel composed of glass, thin metal, or other suitable material con-
taining air, the expansion and contraction of which by the variations of the
temperature of the room or place will automatically influence the bellows A, and
consequently the ventilator, as described in Patent No. 1198 above referred to.
In this case the bellows B would not only be useful as a regulator of the supply
of air, but by the introduction of a graduated scale to the guide or box, and suit-
able apparatus attached to the bellows for fixing it at any point required may be
utilized as a ready means of setting the ventilators to open or close at any desired
temperature,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Nathan Hunt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd
January 1879.
NATHAN HUNT, of Woodbine Cottage, Ashley Down, in the County of Gloucester,
Accountant. "IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING WINDOW BLINDS,
VENTILATORS, AND DAMPERS."
This Invention relates to actuating blinds, ventilators, and dampers for the
purpose of determining the temperature of rooms, &c., by means of pneumatic
pressure, and to apparatus for regulating the same.
The Invention is partly based upon a previous Patent granted in 1877 to myself
and William Newton Cox, No. 1198.
My Invention will be clearly understood by reference to the annexed Drawings,
in which,―
Figure 1 shows its application to a window (Venetian) blind, or it may be applied
to let down or draw up a roller blind, which may be made to give shade or to act
as a ventilator by covering a fixed wire or perforated zinc blind.
Figure 2 represents a pair of ventilators in a conservatory, or it may be fitted
to any throttle valve or cap in any cowl or pipe leading from or admitting hot or
cold air into any building, or it may be any damper or valve in any flue or hot
water pipe, or to any other apparatus that requires to be opened or closed for
regulating the temperature within any room, building, or structure.
The apparatus applicable to the windows and ventilators of churches, public
halls, private dwellings, horticultural buildings, and to all places or structures where
shade or ventilation is essential, and may either be used to actuate by merely
pneumatic pressure, or may be made auto-pneumatic by being connected to a
cylinder or vessel (containing air) composed of thin metal, glass, or other suitable
material, the expansion and contraction of the air in which, through changes of
temperature, will automatically open or close the blind, ventilator, or damper by
its action on the bellows.
In Figure 1 A is the blind, whose upper bar B is hung upon centre pins C, C,
that it may turn freely; D is the double cord, by which the lathis can be raised to
any desired height. One of the centre pins of the blind carries a pinion E, which
is geared into by a toothed rack F on the end of a rod G, whose lower end is
attached to the top plate of a flexible bag or bellows-like appliance H, that the rod
may rise and fall as the bag expands or contracts from air being forced into or
withdrawn from it. The bottom plate of the bag H has a pipe or tube I attached,
and near its lower end as to be within reach, is a tap J for admitting air into or
withdrawing it from the bellows H.
The lower end of the pipe I is fixed to a bellows-like appliance K, by which the
bag H can be charged with a given quantity of air, and the laths of the blind be
turned to any angle or "sett," the tap being then open. When this is effected the
tap is closed, and the air connection between the two bags is stopped.
The bellows or bag K is furnished with a handle L, and the stem M is sectioned
or marked off to indicate its capacity, the bag being pushed in or drawn out by
the handle to the desired extent after closing the hole in the handle K with the
thumb or finger and turning the tap J.
The apparatus K as an adjuster and regulator in combination with the bag H
can be used alone, as before stated, for the purpose explained, or it may be used in
connection with a cylinder or air vessel, which actuates the blind also as before
explained. By this means supposing the temperature of the room to be at 70°,
and it be desired to maintain that temperature as a minimum, the upper bellows is
charged to the desired extent as to just balance the blind in the position shown in
the Drawings, the tap being shut off. Any excess of heat would cause the upper
bag H to expand, and the rack to turn the pinion, and the blind laths to be moved

page_text: to an angle corresponding to the extra heat, whereby the rays of the sun would be
more or less shut out, and thus regulate the temperature of the room or building,
the ventilators remaining closed.
This will be better understood by Figure 2, where the rod G is attached at its
upper part to a pair of ventilators of a conservatory or greenhouse, in which a
regular degree of heat of the interior is necessary. The lower bellows or bag K in
this view is shown as standing out from the woodwork of the building, but it may
be enclosed, as in the sectional views, Figures 3, 4, and 5, if desired, and the air
inlet may be through a valve, which may be fitted in the front plate or in the
pipe I', shown in Figure 4, or by a passage in the handle, as in Figure 3, which
passage may be temporally stopped by a pressure of the thumb or finger.
The stem may be arranged that a simple pushing in and drawing out is necessary;
or it may be threaded, as in Figure 4, a turn or two turns of the handle being
sufficient to expand the upper bag as to raise the rod, say one inch, and to open
the ventilators just enough for a slight escape of internal heat.
The index instead of being on the screw may be by a slot and a finger point in
the guide or box.
The pipe I, Q, or S connected with the adjustor may be attached to the cylinder
or air vessel X if one is used, or to any other part of the apparatus, and not
necessarily direct to the upper or lifting bellows H.
The ventilators A may be fixed so as to exactly balance, but are preferably hung
to press upon the bellows H; or a weight may be substituted, thus closing them
when the tap J is opened, and an egress of air allowed.
The handle M is not only graduated as before described, but the bellows K may
be so proportioned that one thrust of its whole contents, say equivalent to 5° Fah.
into the cylinder and bellows H, will be just sufficient, one to balance the ventilators,
two to half open them, and three to fully open them.
It will thus be seen that supposing it is desired that they shall remain open
until the temperature reaches 5°, 10°, or 15° degrees less than that at which it
stood at the time they were "sett," the contents of the bellows are then forced in
once, twice, or thrice turns. If on the other hand the ventilators are closed, and
it is desired they shall not commence to open until the temperature has risen 5º,
10°, or 15° degrees, a withdrawal of air from the cylinder and bellows H by the
bellows K once, twice, or thrice is effected.
In the pipe connecting the bellows H with the cylinder I may insert a diaphragın
of metal with a pin hole, which by preventing a too rapid passage of air from the
bellows H into the cylinder gives stability to the action, and prevents sudden gusts
of wind from actuating ventilators when exposed.
The valve or hole leading to the bellows K may be omitted if the bellows K is
of sufficient capacity to admit of supplying air for the required variations in
temperature.
In cucumber frames and melon pits, and such places where the roof is low, I
may for convenience attach between the bellows H and the ventilators a rod
working in a pipe or against a graduated scale, which by means of a set screw can
be instantaneously shifted to any point by compressing or expanding the bellows H.
Louvre boards acting as either blinds or ventilators may be operated upon with
rack and pinion, as in Figure 1, or may be opened and closed from a connection
with the centre thereof, as in Figure 2; or they may be actuated, as may also single
ventilators, from a lever attached to a pivot at the end, as in Figure 5.
Figure 3 represents the bag as fully drawn out, but in Figure 4 it is partly
compressed.
Figure 5 represents an adjuster and regulator whose bellows or bag is under
control of a lever N moving over a graduated arc P.
The adjuster or regulator is capable of being used for charging any number of
bags H in the same or in different buildings by attaching a series of branch pipes
to the main Q, the taps determining the direction of the air, as desired; or this
may be effected by a double branch R, S, leading from a bellows, as shown at

page_text: Figures 6 and 7. In this arrangement the back plate of the bellows K has a
grooved stem T encircled by a sleeve U, from which two pipes R, S, branch off at
different angles, the adjuster sliding on ribs to prevent it turning. In this case the
stop-cock J is dispensed with.
In Figures 6 and 7 the front plate of the bellows H is attached to the outer
sliding tube of a telescopic casing, so as to make the apparatus more compact, and
in this case the sliding scale may be dispensed with, this particular form being
more especially intended for small rooms, the capacity of the bellows itself being a
sufficient index.
The telescopic bellows, the stem or plug to the air valve or tap at back, as shown
in Figure 6, is slotted or grooved, a tube with perforations in it corresponding to
the position of the pipes leading to the ventilators may be used.
As before stated the annexed Drawings only illustrate how my adjuster and
regulator can be put into practice, consequently I do not restrict myself to the
fixation of the apparatus to any particular position, nor its adoption to any par-
ticular kind of blind, ventilator, or dainper.
The regulator K may, in a cheap form, for cucumber frames, &c., be merely an
india-rubber or other hollow ball of given dimensions fitted with a tube or
nozzle, or even merely a hole capable of being closed by the pressure of the finger
at pleasure, and attached to the end of a tube, which would in itself form a tap or
valve by having struts on it, so that it could be turned in a girdle or socket, as in
the back of the telescopic arrangement.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that I claim, the apparatus K described with
reference to the annexed Drawings, by which a given quantity of air can be
furnished to or withdrawn from expansible bags or bellows, by or from which
blinds, ventilators, or dampers may be opened or closed mechanically or auto-
matically to regulate and determine the temperature of buildings generally, as set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nathan Hunt, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
.
NATHAN HUNT. (L.S.) .