Improvements in or Additions to Portière or Door Curtain Rods.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 20th Jan., 1893-Accepted, 25th Feb., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Additions to Portière or Door Curtain Rods.
We, ROBERT MANSELL of No. 9 Whittall Street, Birmingham in the County
of Warwick, Brassfounder, and FRANCIS ROBERT BAKER, of No. 2 Wellington
Road, Harborne, Birmingham, aforesaid, Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The said invention consists of the improvements in or additions to portière or
door curtain rods hereinafter described, the object of the said improvements or
additions being to automatically lift the curtain carried by the rod from the floor
on the opening of the door with which the said rod is used.
The portière rod is jointed to a bracket on the door frame by a joint which
prevents both of the angular motion of the said rod upon the opening of the door
and also of the slight raising or elevation of the free end of the said rod. The
free end of the portière rod is supported by and connected to a bracket on the door
úcar its unhinged or free edge, or at some part intermediate between the free end
of the portière rod and the joint which connects it to the bracket on the door frame.
The underside of the door bracket carries a guide tube which is inclined at an
angle preferably of about 45 degrees to the top edge of the door. The portière
rod has jointed to it on its underside at that part which when the door is closed
rests on the door bracket, a rod of a size suitable for sliding freely in the inclined
guide tube referred to on the door bracket.
The action of the parts is as follows:-
When the door is closed the portière rod is situated horizontally and is supported
in that position by the bracket on the door frame and the bracket on the door.
When the door is opened the door bracket carrying the inclined guide tube
approaches the bracket on the door frame and the said inclined guide tube_sliding
on the jointed rod carried by the portière rod acts on the said jointed rod as an
incline, the jointed rod ascending the inclined guide tube. The said jointed rod
is thereby lifted and with it the free end of the portière rod and the curtain carried
by the said portière rod is thus lifted from the floor.
On the closing of the door the inclined guide tube carried by the door bracket
returns to its normal position the jointed rod on the portière rod sliding in it in a
direction contrary to that described with reference to the opening of the door and
the bottom of the curtain carried by the portière rod descends to the floor.
Dated the 23rd day of April 1892.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Additions to Portière or Door Curtain Rods.
We ROBERT MANSELL, of No. 9 Whittall Street Birmingham in the County
of Warwick Brassfounder and FRANCIS ROBERT BAKER of No. 2 Wellington
Road, Harborne, Birmingham aforesaid, Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
is to be
The said invention consists of the improvements in or additions to portière or
door curtain rods hereinafter described, the object of the said improvements or
additions being to automatically lift the curtain carried by the rod from the floor
on the opening of the door with which the said rod is used.

page_text: The portière rod is jointed to a bracket on the door frame by a joint which
permits both of the angular motion of the said rod upon the opening of the door
and also of the slight raising or elevation of the free end of the said rod. The
free end of the portière rod is supported by and connected to a bracket on the door
near its unhinged or free edge, or at some part intermediate between the free end
of the portière rod and the joint which connects it to the bracket on the door
frame. The underside of the door bracket carries a guide tube which is inclined
at an angle preferably of about forty-five degrees to the top edge of the door.
The portière rod has jointed to it on its underside at that part which when the door
is closed rests on the door bracket, a rod of a size suitable for sliding freely in the
inclined guide tube referred to on the door bracket.
The action of the parts is as follows:-
When the door is closed the portière rod is situated horizontally and is supported
in that position by the bracket on the door frame and the bracket on the door.
When the door is opened the door bracket carrying the inclined guide tube
approaches the bracket on the door frame and the said inclined guide tube sliding
on the jointed rod carried by the portière rod acts on the said jointed rod as an
incline, the jointed rod ascending the inclined guide tube. The said jointed rod is
thereby lifted and with it the free end of the portière rod, and the curtain carried
by the said portière rod is thus lifted from the floor.
On the closing of the door the inclined guide tube carried by the door bracket
returns to its normal position, the jointed rod on the portière rod sliding in it in a
direction contrary to that described with reference to the opening of the door and
the bottom of the curtain carried by the portière rod descends to the floor.
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawing
the manner in which the said invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in front elevation, a portion of a door and door frame to
which a portière or door curtain rod is attached, the appliances connected to the
said rod for automatically lifting it and consequently the curtain on the opening of
the door being constructed and arranged according to this invention. The dotted
lines indicate the position which the rod and lifting appliances take when the door
has been partially opened.
Figure 2 represents in front elevation and Figure 3 in vertical section, partly in
side elevation a portion of the portière rod and its lifting appliances and the
bracket fixed on the door; Figure 4 represents the guide tube of the lifting
appliances detached.
Figures 5 and 6 represent a modification as hereinafter described.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of
the drawing.
a is the portière or door curtain rod supported by and jointed at its inuer end to
the top of the bracket b fixed on the door frame d. The joint is marked c and is
30 constructed that it permits both of the angular motion of the portière rod a upou
the opening of the door and also of a slight raising or elevation of the free end of
the said rod. This joint constitutes no part of the present invention; b² is the
bracket fixed on the door e near its unhinged edge for supporting the free end of
the portière rod a and for carrying the guide tube f of the lifting appliances. The
said guide tube f is so connected to the underside of the top of the door bracket b³
that it is inclined at an angle of about forty five degrees to the top edge of the
door as represented in the drawing. The said inclined guide tube is connected
to the top of the door bracket by the screw pin 9 on its head being passed
through a hole in the top of the said bracket and fixed by the fly nut h (see
Figure 3). The hole in the top of the door bracket is square or angular and fits
upon the correspondingly shaped seat or boss i at the base of the screw pin g. By
means of the said square or angular hole and seat or boss, the inclined guide tube f
can be readily fixed to the door bracket 6 to suit either a right handed or a left
handed door.
On the underside of the portière rod a is a rod k, hereinafter called the lifter rod,

page_text: k"
which rod is passed through and slides freely in the inclined guide tube f on the
door bracket The lifter rod k is jointed at 2 to the adjustable clip on the
portière rod a the joint permitting of the lifting and lowering of the free end of
the portière rod on the opening and closing of the door. Or instead of jointing
the lifter rod k working in the inclined guide tube to the clip fixed on the portière
rod, the inclined guide tube may be connected to the head of the door bracket /*
by a swivel joint for the same object. This modified arrangement is represented in
side elevation in Figure 5 and vertical section (partly in side elevation) in Figure 6.
In this arrangement the lifter rod is unjointed to the portière rod and the
inclined guide tube f is connected to the top or head of the door bracket b' by a
swivel joint at, the clip fixed on the portière rod a being in this case secured
to the head of the lifter rod k. On the opening and closing of the door, the guide
tube swivels on the joint at f* and the lifting parts are permitted to change their
positions as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 5.
It will be seen by an examination of Figure 1 that when the door e is closed
the portière rod a is situated horizontally and is supported in that position by the
two brackets & and 12. On opening the door e the door bracket ³, carrying the
inclined guide tube f, approaches the door frame bracket band slides upon the lifter
rod k. The said inclined guide tube f acting as an incline upon the said lifter
rod causes the latter to ascend the said inclined guide tube f. The said rod k is
thereby lifted and with it the free end of the portière rod a, as indicated in dotted
lines in Figure 1, and the curtain carried by the said portière rod is lifted from the
floor. On the closing of the door e the door bracket and the inclined guide
tube carried by it, are returned to their normal positions, shown in continuous
lines in Figure 1, the lifter rod descending in the inclined guide tube f and the
portière rod returning to its horizontal position, and the bottom of the curtain,
carried by the said portière rod, descends to the floor.
The weight of the portière rod a and lifter rod k assists in closing the door when
the partially opened door is released.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed we declare that we claim
as the said invention of "Improvements in or additions to portière or door curtain
rods"
-
The arrangements or combinations of parts hereinbefore described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawing for automatically lifting the curtain, carried by the
portière rod, from the floor on the opening of the door; that is to say, the combi-
nation of an inclined guide tube, carried by the door bracket, with a lifter rod on
the underside and near the free end of the portière rod, the said lifter rod ascending
or descendind by a sliding motion, on the opening or closing of the door, in the said
inclined guide tube so that as the door is opened or closed the guide tube, acting as
an incline, lifts or lowers the said lifter rod and with it the free end of the portière
rod, and the curtain carried by it, whether the lifter rod be jointed to the portière
rod or be unjointed and the inclined guide tube swivel upon the door bracket
substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated the Twentieth der of Jenna 100º
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.