IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUC- TION OF SHUTTERS AND BLINDS FOR WINDOWS AND DOORS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION or Doors
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
LEWIS, of High Cross Street, Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Locksmith,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventh day of April, in the ninth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said George
Lewis, Her especial license, full power, sole privilego and authority, that I,
the said George Lewis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said George Lewis, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUC-
TION OF SHUTTERS AND BLINDS FOR WINDOWS AND DOORS, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION
or Doors;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me,
the said George Lewis, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto bad, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the Dulu
George Lewis, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
These improvements may be described under three heads :-
Firstly, a novel means of constructing and connecting the parts of flat
sliding metallic shutters, designed to afford great strength, and also facilitate
the means of opening and closing them.
Secondly, a peculiar mode of connecting together strips of metal to form
blinds or shutters, which may be wound upon a roller.
And, thirdly, tho adaptation of parts of the foregoing improvements to the
construction of doors.
The first of these improvements consists in constructing each sliding shutter
by combining a series of plates, which are to be attached to a rectangular
frame of metal by means of screws or rivets passed through the edges of the
respective plates, and through the ribs and stiles of the rectangular framing.
thereby forming the shutter in panels. By this mode of constructing the
metal shutters a space or groove is left between the panels, behind each of the
vertical stiles, for the purpose of receiving a dovetailed or other formed stud,
oxtending from a lower sliding shutter, by which means the successive sliding
portions of the entire shutter are held together, and made to lift one another.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents a front view of one of the
sliding portions of a shutter constructed as described. a, a, a, shews the series
of plates or panels, made of sheet iron or other suitable metal, which, being
rivetted or screwed near their edges to the stiles or ribs of the framing b, b, b,
constitute one of the sliding shutters.
Fig. 2 is a back view of the same shutter, showing the grooves c, c, formed
between the panels behind the vertical stiles, which grooves may be dovetailed
or otherwise shaped, according to the form of stud intended to work in them;
and d, d, is a horizontal bar, placed at top, as a stop for the stud to rest against,
and also as a strengthener for the frame of the shutter.
Fig. 3 represents a transverse section two of these shutters, A, B, connected
together by the head of the stud e (which is affixed to the lower shutter A)
working in the vertical cof the upper shutter B. A similar stude" extends from
the top of the shutter B, which is intended to take into the groove of another
shutter above. Several of these sliding shutters are exbibited in Figs. 4, 5,
and 6, connected as they would be when applied to close a window. Fig. 4 is

page_text: a front view of the combined sliding shutters applied to a window, and partially
drawn up; Fig. 5 is a back view of the same; and Fig. 6 is a transverse
section of the window and the shutters, representing one mode of suspending
the shutters and drawing them up, with the taper groove k, k, in the side of
the window frame, by which they are guided in their ascent and descent. It
will be seen in the last-mentioned Figure, that one of a chain f is attached
to the back of the lower shutter. A chain at each side of the window will of
course be necessary to support and draw up the shutters, as shewn in Fig. 5.
These chains f, f, attached to the lower shutter, pass upwards and over
pullies or rollers g, g, and thence down to the barrels or rollers h, h, fixed upon
a rotary shaft i, i, which, on being turned by a winch and endless screw k,
cause the chains f, f, to be wound upon the barrels h, h, and by so doing to
draw up the lower shutter A. When this lower shutter has been so lifted
to the extent of nearly its perpendicular depth, the studs e, e, acting in the
grooves c, c, of the next shutter above, will have been brought up to the stop
bar d, and as the lower shutter still continues to rise the studs e, e, will lift the
next upper shutter, and so on, by similar means, every successive shutter will
be lifted, until the whole of the sliding shutters have been raised into the space
provided for them at top of the window. It is scarcely necessary to say that
on turning the shaft and barrels h, i, in the reverse direction to the former, the
chains ff will be unwound from their barrels, and allow the shutters to
descend by their own gravity, so as to close the aperture of the window. By
attaching the draft chains to the upper sliding shutter, and reversing the action,
it is obvious that in a similar way the shutters may be slidden upwards from a
receptacle below, for the purpose of closing the window.
I would here wish it to be understood that I lay no claim to the Invention
of this mode of raising and lowering sliding metallic shutters; neither do
I intend to confine myself to that particular drawing-up machinery, as
various other arrangements of mechanism may be employed for the samo
purpose, in connection with my improved construction of shutters. I also
occasionally adapt my improved shutters to open and close by sliding hori-
zontally, in which case I form the grooves for the studs to slide in between tho
plates or panels at the backs of the horizontal rails or stiles of the shutters.
Fig. 7 represents the front of one of my improved vertical shutters, and
Fig. 8 is a back view of the same. a, a, a, are the plates of metal, as before
described, affixed by studs or screws to b, b, b, the stiles or framing. c, c, aro
the grooves at the backs of the horizontal stiles, formed between the edges of
the plates, and e, e, are the studs extending from the front of one shutter and
taking into the grooves of the next shutter, there being a vertical stop bar d, d,

page_text: affixed to the back edges of each of the studs to bear against, in order to push
back the shutters severally when in the act of opening, and draw them forward
in the act of closing.
Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a window with such a shutter mounted before
it, the lower edges of each of the several shutters having anti-friction rollers, if
necessary, to assist their sliding upon the window sill. A chain fis attached to the
back of the bindermost shutter, and brought over the barrel h, by the rotation
of which the shutters are collapsed or slidden behind each other. Two other
chains 9, 9, are attached to the back of the hindermost shutter, and passed over
the barrel, by the rotation of which the shutters may be drawn out, and the
window closed. These horizontal sliding shutters may be moved by any other
convenient machinery, for it is to be observed to the mode of working them I
lay no claim.
The second feature of my improvements applies to blinds or shutters made
by the combination of rails or narrow strips of plate iron or other suitable
material, which in their ordinary construction are connected together by metal
binges or links of different kinds, in order to enable them to be wound or
lapped round a barrel or shaft. Such binges or links, applied to winding or
rolling blinds or shutters, have been found inconvenient, from occupying much
space, and greatly increasing the weight and cost of the shutters. To obviate
these objections I have invented a new mode of connecting such rails or strips
of metal to form blinds and shutters by employing flexible bands, which I
attach to the backs of the series of rails or strips of metal by rivets or screws
or other suitable means, and I prevent these connecting bands being cut
through by guarding them with very narrow flexible strips of metal or wire.
Fig. 10 represents a portion of a blind or shutter formed of rails or strips of
metal a, a, a, slightly overlapping at their lower edges, in order to make the
junctions of the rails more secure. Figure 11 is a back view of the saine,
shewing my improved flexible band attached thereto, by which the series of
strips are connected.
Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of a portion of one of the bands detached.
These bands b, b, b, I propose to make of leather, consisting of two thicknesses
properly stitched together, or one thickness of stout leather slit open at the
edges, and afterwards stitched together; and between the two I place very
narrow thin strips of steel or other metal c, c, such as the material of which
watch springs are usually made of. Steel or other wire might answer the
purpose, but I prefer watch spring metal so placed between the two thicknesses
of leather. I do not, however, confine myself to leather, as bands made of
strong woven material would do, if properly guarded throughout with flexiblo

page_text: metal. Flat rope, so guarded, would probably be found to effect the same
object; or wire rope, if made sufficiently flexible. These flexible bands I
attach to the back of the series of rails or strips of plate metal constituting the
blind or shutter, by means of rivets or other metal fastenings, as shewn in the
last-mentioned Figure. By these means such metal blinds or shutters will be
rendered much more flexible than they have heretofore been, and enabled to
fold into a
smaller compass, thereby facilitating their winding upon rollers;
and they will be much lighter, more readily made, equally strong, and rendered
considerably cheaper than the rolling metal shutters and blinds of any of the
old constructions.
The third feature of my improvements consists in applying panelled frames
of the kind above described in the way shewn at Fig. 9, or rails or strips of
metal connected as described in Figures 10 and 11, to the purposes of sliding
doors, which, being fitted to the aperture or doorway, may be worked, that is,
opened and closed, by any suitable machinery. Such machinery, being well
known as applicable to the working of shutters, need not be further described,
as it forms no part of my Invention.
In conclusion, I desire it to be understood that the particular features of
novelty which I claim under the above in part recited Letters Patent are,―
Firstly, forming shutters by connecting series of panels or plates of metal,
rivetted or otherwise fastened round their edges to stiles or metal frames,
leaving grooves between the plates at the backs of the stiles for the reception of
the guide studs, by which the several sliding frames are to be held together,
and made to act upon one another.
Secondly, the adaptation of the peculiar kinds of flexible bands described to
connect the series of rails or strips of metal for constituting rolling or winding
metal blinds or shutters.
And thirdly, the employment of any of the preceding improved constructions
for the purpose of constituting doors worked upon the sliding principle.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Lewis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Fifth day of October, in
the year above mentioned, the aforesaid George Lewis came beforo our
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the Seventh day of October, in the year above written.