IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE ACTION OF SPRING ROLLERS FOR WINDOW BLINDS
Year: 1884

page_text: "
I, GORDON DONALDSON PETERS, of Moorgate Works Moorfields, London, in the
County of Middlesex Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my Invention
for IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE ACTION OF SPRING ROLLERS
FOR WINDOW BLINDS." 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 window-blind rollers which are provided with a spiral
spring arranged to be coiled up or compressed by the act of drawing down the
blind, thereby storing sufficient energy to re-act upon the roller and automatically
roll, or draw up, the blind when released from a preponderating weight as
hereinafter described.
The object of my Invention is to facilitate the action of the blind in respect of
its adjustment to, and retention in, its extreme positions or any desired intermediate
position.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing in which
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a blind roller with the improved mechanism
shown in elevation.
Figure 2 is a view of the clutch end of the roller, and
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the clutch and friction devices.
a indicates the blind roller which is preferably formed of brass tube, but which
may be of any other suitable material. This tube is provided at its ends with
discs b, b¹ having projecting pieces 62 fitting into corresponding recesses in the ends
of the said roller and flush with the surface of the same so that the caps a¹ may be
fitted on the ends of the roller.
Through central apertures in the said dises the spindle e extends; this spindle is
preferably tubular, and provided with ends c¹ smaller in diaineter than the body or
central part of the spindle. The ends c' are carried in brackets d, and in order to
prevent the spindle c from turning on its axis one end at least is inade square or of
some other suitable shape and fits into a corresponding aperture in one of the said
brackets.
Surrounding the spindle c is a spiral spring e, one end of which is attached to
the disc b, the other end passing through a hole c² in the spindle or being otherwise
securely attached theroto

page_text: The object of my Invention is effected by the aid of the peculiar devices which
I employ for connecting the roller with the fixed shaft or spindle of the said
apparatus.
These devices are as follow, that is to say:-On the spindle c near the disc b' is
rigidly secured the collar f; between this collar and the disc b₁ is arranged a.
clutch, one half of which consists of a toothed collar g which is fitted loosely upon
the spindle c and would be free to turn thereon but for the elastic ring hereinafter
described.
Between the two collars f, g is placed the said elastic ring h of india-rubber or
other suitable material. It is preferably of a bulbous or double conical form as
shewn. This ring is compressed longitudinally between the said collars so as not.
to touch the shaft c at its central portion, whereby, as the ring / wears, it will be
enabled to expand longitudinally and remain in frictional contact with the collar g.
By making the ring thicker at the centre than at the ends the said ring presses
against the collars f, g, with greater energy than would otherwise be the case.
Instead of using a ring of india-rubber I may employ a spiral spring.
To prevent the collar g from being moved by the expansion of the ring h, a
collar ¹ is pinned to the shaft c and fits into a recess in the said collar g, so as not
to interfere with the action of the clutch.
The other part or half of the said clutch is a toothed collar i which has two
arms arranged to enter apertures in the disc b¹. Thus the said collar or part
of the clutch is so connected with the roller as to become practically part of the
same in respect of its rotation. A spring placed between the disc b¹ and the
collar i holds the two collars or parts g, i of the clutch. in engagement and presses
the collar g towards the elastic ring h, thereby increasing the friction between the
said ring and collar.
The operation of this apparatus is as follows, that is to say The shaft or spindle
being mounted and held stationary in suitable bearings and the blind secured to
the roller a, the latter is turned on its axis a sufficient number of times in the
proper direction to give the spring e an initial tension to counteract the weight at
the bottom of the blind. When the blind is drawn down the spring e is further
coiled in the same direction so that its tension is increased in proportion to the
additional weight of the portion of the blind drawn down.
It will be seen that the clutch teeth are so formed and arranged that when the
weight is raised by hand the spring e can act freely to coil up the blind, the teeth
of the collar i slipping over, those of the collar g; when, however, the blind is not
being drawn up the two parts of the clutch are in engagement so that the collar g
has to resist the tendency of the weight to draw down the blind; this collar is
held on the spindle by the friction between it and the ring or sleeve h and this
friction is sufficient to prevent the turning of the roller by the weight Therefore
when the blind is left in any desired position it will remain there until the weight
is raised or the blind is pulled down. The frictional contact which prevents the
running down of the blind by the action of the weight is not sufficient to necessitate
any great exertion in pulling down the blind by hand.
It will be apparent from the above description that in a spring roller blind of
the class to which this Invention appertains the efficient working of the blind is
dependent upon the proper adjustment relatively to each other of the two opposing
forces viz. the spring and the weight.
It will be obvious that it is very difficult, if not impracticable, to obtain such a
relative condition of the two opposing forces as to obtain the desired control over
the action of the blind without some auxiliary device for modifying or regulating
the action of these forces, and therefore the importance and utility of my Invention
will be apparent, from the above description that is to say, by reason of the action
of the clutch in combination with the elastic ring h, the retention of the blind in
any position is ensured in conjunction with a very free and convenient action in
adjusting the same.

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 I claim
in a spring blind roller
The combination with the tubular roller and the fixed shaft or spindle, of devices
which comprise a clutch, and a ring or sleeve of india-rubber or other suitable
elastic material arranged relatively to each other, and to the other parts of such
devices, (or equivalent parts) substantially as set forth, to operate as, and for the
purposes, specified.