MENTS IN WINDOW BLIND FIXTURES AND FITTINGS
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Abram Charles Herts at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th July 1877.
ABRAM CHARLES HERTS, of Bloomsbury, in the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WINDOW BLIND FIXTURES AND FITTINGS."
My improvements relate to the apparatus for and mode of fixing spring roller
blinds to windows and doors of any description, suitable therefor.
.
The first part of my Invention has for its object improvements in spring rollers
for blinds, and consists in boring out the roller longitudinally, when of wood, to any
convenient length, so as to form therein a chamber, wherein is placed a suitable
spindle of any convenient dimensions surrounded by a suitable helical spring, one
end whereof is fastened in any convenient manner to such spindle, while its opposite
end is attached to a plug affixed either by a pin or otherwise to the inner end of the
chamber, whereby such spring is prevented from turning round bodily.
Attached to the outer end of the spindle is a suitable metal or wooden head which
is supported in a bracket attached to the framework of the window or door in such
a manner that the spindle cannot revolve.
The length both of the spring and spindle is regulated by the number of revolutions
requisite to raise the blind, and preferably I avoid carrying the spring right through
the roller, as ordinarily practised, so as to permit of the roller being cut at its
solid end to any required length, and thus readily adapted to fit the window or
door.
When a metal roller is employed, I prefer to make it with a telescopic joint, while
its outer end is supported in a bracket so as to prevent its revolving, and its inner
end is fixed to a pin supported in a suitable bearing formed on or attached to the
plug inserted in the chamber formed in the roller as first described, so as to allow of
the roller revolving round the spindle.
A circular metal plate having an outward projecting flange thereon is fitted to
the end of the roller, and through this plate passes the metal head of the spindle,
while to the outer face thereof are fixed two pawls working into a suitable notch
cut in the upper side of the metal head of the spindle. These pawls are so arranged

page_text: that only the top one falls into such notch as the pawl is brought over by the
revolution of the roller, while the other recedes from the spindle as far as the pro-
jecting flange on the plate will permit.
Another of my improvements consists in making the fittings or bearings of spring
rollers which have ordinarily hitherto been permanently attached to the window
capable of being moved up or down over the window or door, and raised or lowered
either wholly or partially, as may be desired. This I do by means of movable metal
brackets which I make so that they can be readily and securely attached to the ends
of my improved blind roller, above described, either by screws or otherwise, thus
allowing of the blind being either raised, lowered, or suspended with perfect safety,
by means of suitable cords passing over guide pulleys placed on each side of the
casing at the top of the window, and thence downward to a cord stop fixed in any
covenient position which holds the roller and blind suspended at any desired height,
while the distending of the blind is regulated by a cord secured to the bottom of
the blind in the ordinary manner, and which locks into a cord stop placed in the
centre of the bottom of the window frame, thus retaining the blind distended to any
desired extent. Or instead thereof, where the blind is fitted to a window, the
ordinary centre cord and tassel may be used to draw down the blind.
Suitable openings are made in such brackets through which the suspending cords
are passed, one of such brackets being secured at each end of the roller. Such
brackets are also provided with suitably shaped lateral projections which serve
to guide the roller and arrest the action of the spring therein, thus preventing
the slat or bar in the bottom of the blind passing over the roller, when the
blind is drawn up. By the use of my improved movable metal brackets and guides,
the ordinary wooden cross bar and brackets, and the labour of adjusting and securing
the same are entirely dispensed with.
Another of my improvements which is more particularly applicable to skylights
and the windows in churches and other large buildings, consists in entirely regulating
and controlling the roller and blind from the centre by suitable cords, guides,
and pulleys, instead of partly from the side and partly from the centre, as last
described.
This I do in the following manner :-I secure a suitable cord, hereafter called
the main cord, to the slat or bar to which the loose end of the blind is attached.
I then pass such main cord through a guide or over a pulley (hereafter called
the first guide or pulley) fixed in the centre at the top of the window, and
thence downwards through a second guide attached to the back of the slat or
bar, and through a third guide which is attached to the back of a supplementary
rod or bar, preferably one of the improved spring rollers herein-before described, and
to this supplementary rod or bar suitable brackets are attached for the purpose of
supporting the spindles of the roller.
The main cord, after passing through such third guide, is finally conducted through
a fourth guide, also fitted to the bottom of the window, and thence passes through
and is held by means of a suitable catch fitted in the centre at the bottom of the
window case.
The supplementary rod or bar is connected to the window frame by a secondary
cord secured to the rearward projecting eye of a screw fixed on the back of such
supplementary bar, the loose end of which secondary cord also passes through a
suitable guide and catch attached to the centre of the window frame at the bottom.
When the blind is required to cover the upper part of the window, the main cord is
drawn; and when the blind is required to cover the lower part of the window, the
secondary cord is drawn; and to uncover either the upper or lower part of the window,
the respective cords are slackened to any sufficient degree.
Owing to the tension of the spring keeping the blind distended it lies smoothly
against the window, and by means of the main cord passing through the second and
third guides, as before described, the blind is firmly secured and prevented from
being blown about by the wind when the window or door is open. If preferred,

page_text: however, these guides may be dispensed with, and the main cord may be conducted
over the front of the blind, and the catches herein-before described, as being fixed to
the lower sill, nay, when employed for skylights or church windows, be placed at
any suitable and convenient distance from the lights or windows so as to be within
easy reach.
Additional guides may also be employed, when necessary, and the roller may be
attached either to the upper or lower end of the blind, as may be preferred.