Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 19th May, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 19th Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 30th Mar., 1889
I, JAMES HOWARD, of 70 Abercrombie Street, Battersea, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in that class of fittings for roller blinds,
whorein a single cord wound on a pulley at one end of the roller is used to operate
the blind, the said cord passing through an eye in a pawl-lever, which engages with
a ratchet wheel on the roller to hold the blind in any desired position. According to
my improvements I employ a right-angled pawl-lever having a horizontal arm with
a heavy tooth to engage with the ratchet wheel, and a downwardly projecting arm
having an eye at the lower end through which the cord passes. A fixed eye is
attached either to the window frame or the roller bracket, through which the cord
also passes, and this fixed eye is placed nearer to the window than the eye in the
pawl-lever, so that when the cord is pulled downwards the vertical arm of the lever
moves inwards lifting the tooth on the horizontal arm out of the ratchet wheel, the
blind is then free to descend and is stopped with certainty at any point by simply
releasing the cord, as the aforesaid weighted horizontal aru instantly drops back into
the ratchet wheel.
The advantages of my arrangement are, the freedom with which the blind can be
lowered and the certainty with which it can be stopped at any point, while to lower
the blind there is no necessity to pull the cord outwards as is the case with many
blind fittings of this class. The pawl-lever can also be arranged in such a manner that
it is impossible for it to become entangled in the window curtains and so prevent the
blind being operated as frequently occurs with similar blind fittings.
1
1000
AMBROSE MYALL,
21, Cockspur Street, London, S.W.,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Fittings for Roller Blinds.
I, JAMES HOWARD, of 70 Abercrombie Street, Battersea, in the County of Surroy,
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 :-
My invention relates to improvements in that class of fittings for roller blinds,
wherein a single cord wound on a pulley at one end of the roller is used to operate the
blind, the said cord passing through an eye in a pawl-lever, which engages with a
ratchet wheel on the roller to hold the blind in any desired position.
In the accompanying two sheets of drawings, Fig. 1 is a full sized elevation of a
blind roller having my improved fittings applied thereto; Figs. 2 and 3 are end
elevations of the left and right-hand fittings respectively; and Fig. 4 is a separate
elevation of the pulley and ratchet wheel.
Similar letters of reference denote similar parts throughout the drawings.
A is the blind roller, and B and C the brackets on which it is pivotted. A disc D
and pivot E are affixed to the left-hand end of the roller in the ordinary way, but
the notch Fin which the pivot lies, is made much deeper than usual, as shewn in
Fig. 2, to avoid the annoyance of the blind falling, by the pivot jumping out of the
notch. A pulley H having ratchet teeth J. on its outer flange is fitted to the right-
hand end of the roller, no screws or nails are employed in fixing, but the end of the
roller A is turned down to fit the hole K in the pulley tightly, which is driven into
place, the feather L forming a key which cuts into the wood and prevents the
possibility of the pulley twisting on the roller. The pivot M being then driven in,
expands the wood within K, making the pulley fit firmly in place. A right angled
pawl-lever N N is pivotted at P to the bracket (, and has a horizontal arm N with
à heavy tooth Q to engage with the ratchet teeth J, and a downwardly projecting
arm N having an eye R at the lower end, through which the cord S passes. A fixed
eye T is attached to the window frame, or may be made in one piece with the
bracket C, through which the cord also passes, and this fixed eye is placed nearer to
the window than the eye R in the pawl lever, as shewn in Fig. 3, so that when the
cord is pulled downwards the vertical arm N₁ of the lever moves inwards, lifting the
tooth on the horizontal arm N out of the ratchet wheel; the blind is then free to
descend and is stopped with certainty at any point by simply releasing the cord, as
the aforesaid weighted horizontal arm N instantly drops back into the ratchet wheel.
A stop V is provided on the arm N, which coming in contact with the bracket C,
prevents the said arm rising too far.
The advantages of my arrangement are, the freedom with which the blind can be
lowered and the, certainty with which it can be stopped at any point, while to lower
the blind there is no necessity to pull the cord outwards, as is the case with many
blind fittings of this class, though through employing the eye T, the blind can be
raised or lowered when the cord is held in any direction, as indicated by the dotted

page_text: lines in Figs. 1 and 3, a feature of great convenience when furniture &c. prevents
close access to a window. Again the pawl-lever is so arranged that it is impossible
for it to become entangled in the window curtains and so prevent the blind being
operated.
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 roller blind fittings, of the class herein described, a pawl lever having a
horizontal arm N with a heavy tooth Q and stop V and a vertical arm N¹ with an
eye R in combination with a fixed eye T, substantially as herein set forth.
2. In roller blind fittings, the construction of the pulley H, with ratchet teeth J,
aperture K and feather L, substantially as herein set forth.