Improvements in or relating to Blinds.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Sept., 1897-Accepted, 20th Nov., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Blinds.
I, HARVEY SPENCER, Junior, 79 Chamber Street, New York City, New York
State, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of
this said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
―
My invention relates to a new and useful device for fastening blinds, and is
adapted to be attached to or made as a part of the ordinary and most approved
form of blind hinge for outside blinds, i.e., those having a bracket-like, stationary
member, comprising a base plate and an outwardly extending part with an
upwardly presented trunnion on its end adapted to be set upon the face of the
casing or equivalent part, the base plate being parallel with the side of the house,
and the bracket-like extension at right angles thereto, and a swinging member,
which engages by means of an eye, with the trunnion at one end, and at the other
end is screwed flatwise to the face of the blind. The bracket of the stationary
member being in one horizontal plane, and the horizontal part of the swinging
member being in another and different horizontal plane, located above the plane
of the stationary part.
By my invention, I avoid the necessity of having any appliances attached to the
sides of the house, to hold the blind open, and also obviate all danger incident to
leaning out of the window to fasten or unfasten the blinds; and, I so construct
the parts that rattling is prevented, and defacement of the sill and of the side of
the house by reason of the presence thereon of fastening devices is largely avoided.
Unobtrusive fastening devices on the sill, however, are desirable, to hold the blind
closed.
Briefly stated, my invention consists in a pivoted lever or brace, fastened to the
stationary or non-swinging part of the lower hinge of the blind. The lever is
gravity acting in operation, so that when not in use it hangs vertically out of the
way, and when the blind is opened, it can be swung up into operative position and
in turn released, without leaning out of the window and with one hand only, and
by its engagement with a suitable device on the rear edge of the blind, it securely
holds the same, and may be arranged to exert pressure upon the blind, so that it
will be held against the side of the house, thus avoiding rattling. I prefer to use
a suitable knob which may be of rubber, attached to the side of the house or to the
blind, against which the blind shall be stopped to avoid defacing the house.
Referring to the drawings:
Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of portions of the side of a window casing
and blind showing the lower hinge thereon embodying my invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view enlarged of the blind fastening devices, in the
form in which I prefer to make them for wooden buildings.
Figure 3 is a perspective view the same as Fig. 1, showing the invention as
applied to a brick building.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the blind fastening device shown in Fig. 3.

page_text: Figure 5 is an edgewise view of a blind showing the knob or stopping device
attached to the blind, which rests against the side of the house when the blind is
open, thus avoiding defacement of the house.
Figure 6 is a detail of the knob or stopping device.
A is the window casing, which may be of any preferred construction. B is the
blind. C is the. member of the hinge which is attached to the blind and swings
with it. D is the member of the hinge which is attached to the casing and does
not swing. Referring now to the parts which constitute my invention. E is a lever
which is pivoted in any suitable manner, as at F, to the stationary part 1 of
the hinge. The base plate G of the stationary part of the hinge is provided with
means which engages with the rear part of the swinging lever E and braces the
same against the strains that may be applied to it. In Fig. 2 this device is shown
as a slot H, cut in the base plate, in which the rear edge or end of the lever E
enters when the lever is swung into an horizontal position, and I prefer to slightly
bevel the edges of the rear part I of the lever E, so that it will surely and smoothly
enter the slot H in the base plate. In Fig. 4 the same construction is shown. A
portion of the base plate at J is turned upwardly as a flange behind which a
projecting portion K of the swinging lever E slides when that lever is swung into
an horizontal position, thus in both cases, the lever, when in its horizontal or
operative position is braced by engagement with a suitable supporting surface upon
the base plate G. L is a metallic plate attached to the edge of the blind against
which the lever E strikes when swung up into proper horizontal position, and in
order that there may be a locking surface to hold the lever E in its horizontal
position I cause to project outwardly a portion of the plate L, as shown at M, so
that when the lever is swung upwardly into the horizontal position, as shown
best in Fig. 5, it will bend as it passes over the inclined projecting surface M
yielding somewhat to the pressure thereof, and when it has passed above, its upper
end will be held by it, and prevented from dropping under the action of gravity,
unless suitable pressure be applied to force it downwardly past said inclined
projecting surface, and in order to facilitate this movement, I make the levers E
of such material and in such manner that they shall yield slightly under the
pressure stated, and so that they will force the blind back against the side of the
house or against the stop for it, (which will be hereafter described) by a resilient
or spring pressure. This construction is shown in Fig. at the free end N of the
lever E which has, of itself, a spring action in conjunction with the yielding action
of the lever E itself. In Fig. 4, this same feature is shown by the separated
parts 0, 0 of the lever E which are so constructed as to have slight yielding
action toward and from each other in conjunction with the yielding action of the
main body or shank of the lever. When the lever is in operativo position, in
other words, horizontal, and in engagement with the edge of the blind or the
striker plate L, M; thereon, its spring pressure forces the blind snugly against
the side of the house or against the knob or stop, if it be employed, so that the
blind is securely held against rattling or striking against the house under the
action of wind or otherwise, so that no injury comes to either tlie blind or the house
and the disagreeable thumping or rattling of the parts, which is very objectionable,
especially in country houses, is avoided, and it will be particularly noted that the
strain does not come upon the pivot F upon which the lever E swings, but on the
, contrary the lever is braced down one side by the bracket P of the stationary part
of the hinge, and in rear of this point it is braced by its engagement with the sides
of the slot H, or the inner surface of the flange J, so that the lever receives a
solid, reliable support between these two points, the pivot F serving merely as a
means for holding it in proper position. In Fig. 1, the position of the hand
illustrated in the drawing shows the method of pushing the lever E upwardly
into its proper locking position by suitable pressure of the thumb of the operator.
Qis a suitable fastening device on the blind which engages with a staple or other
latching mechanism R on the sill of the window casing, to hold the blind closed.
S is the stopping device or knob (see Figs. 5 and 6) which is, perferably, fastened

page_text: to the outside of the blind near the outer edge. It may be fastened by a nail or
screw T which passes through the knob and enters the blind. I prefer to make
these knobs of rubber, they may, however, be of wood or any equivalent material.
The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing, it
having been partially described; that is to say, when the blind is closed and the
invention not in operation, the latch hangs by gravity in a vertical position.
When it is desired to open the blind, it is swung back against the side of the house
until stopped by the knob S, if it be used, if not, by striking against the side of
the house; then the operator, with one hand moves the lever E upwardly, as
indicated in Fig. I until its free or swinging end presses against the rear edge of
the blind, or, preferably, against the outwardly projecting inclined surface M of
the striker plate L. A slight additional pressure is then applied to the lever
which causes it to ride up over the inclined or projecting surface until it passes
its upper edge and then it exerts spring pressure against the rear edge of the blind,
being held in its horizontal position by the projecting or inclined surface M below
it, and the construction and arrangement of the parts is such that the lever exerts
considerable pressure against the edge of the blind, so that it is forced snugly
against the side of the house or against the stopping knob S, if it be used, and is
thus rigidly held against wind action or rattling from any cause whatever.
To close the blind the operator with one hand reverses the movements just
described, causing the lever to swing downwardly over the projecting or inclined
surface M of the striker plate L, and when it is free from contact with the rear edge
of the blind, it will drop under the action of gravity into a vertical position, and
while in operation, the lever is firmly held and braced by the bracket of the
stationary part of the hinge some distance from the end of the lever, and at the end
it is braced by coming in contact with the flange J, as shown in Fig. 4, or the
sides of the slot H as shown in Fig. 2. The knob S is not essential, the invention
works very well without it, but I prefer to employ such a device, because then the
side of the house is not defaced by dust or dirt, getting behind the blind, nor by
the striking of the blind against it when opened, which has a tendency to deface
the side of the house, the defacement being discernible when the blinds are closed.
I wish it understood that I do not limit myself to the details of construction
shown. The parts may be of different shapes or sizes than that shown, and of
such materiai as preferred, and variations in the arrangement and details of con-
struction of the parts will, under certain circumstances be desirable, especially
when the invention is used in conjunction with the iron shutters used on warehouses
and the like; also the parts may be located at the upper hinge instead of the lower
one, or at a point intermediate between the two hinges, but I prefer to employ
the parts of one or the other of the hinges to save expense.
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 combination with a blind, a hinge, the members whereof are located in
different horizontal planes, a lever or brace pivotally connected to the bracket of
the lower member, one end of which is adapted to be swung outwardly and upwardly
into engagement with the rear edge of the blind; and the other end into engage-
ment with a lateral bearing surface, and a device to sustain the said lever in its
operative position, for the purposes set forth.
2. In combination with a blind, a hinge the stationary member whereof is
provided with a base plate and bracket projecting therefrom, a brace or lever
pivoted to said bracket and provided with a rearwardly extending part which
engages wth the said base plate when in operative position, thus exerting pressure
upon the blind, for the purposes set forth.
3. A blind fastening device, comprising a lever or brace pivoted at or near one
end, to the stationary member of a hinge, said stationary member having bearing
surfaces adapted to engage with the lever as it approaches the horizontal position,

page_text: thus relieving the pivot of strain and crowding the lever against the blind, and
means to sustain the lever in its horizontal position, for the purposes set forth.
4. A blind fastening device comprising a base plate, a bracket projecting at
right angles therefrom, a lever or brace pivoted to the bracket, a surface on the
base plate adapted to engage with the rear end of the lever, and a portion of the
bracket adapted likewise to engage with the lever, whereby the latter is braced
laterally and strain removed from its pivot, and means to maintain the lever in its
operative position, for the purposes set forth.
5. A blind fastening device, comprising a lever pivoted to a stationary device
on the window casing and adapted to exert spring pressure upon the rear edge
of the blind when the latter is opened and to force the same against the side of the
house or a stop interposed between the two, for the purposes set forth.
6. In a blind fastening device, a spring acting lever or brace pivoted to the
bracket of the stationary part of a hinge, and bearing surfaces upon the said
stationary part, and bracket against which the lever is braced when in operative
position, for the purposes set forth.
7. A blind fastening device comprising a striker plate having an inclined or
projecting surface upon the blind, and a pivoted lever fastened to the stationary
part of one of the hinges which when swung outwardly into horizontal position,
engages with the inclined or projecting surface on the striker plate, for the purposes
set forth.
8. A blind fastening device comprising a striker plate having an inclined or
projecting surface upon the blind, and a pivoted, spring-acting lever fastened
to the stationary part of one of the hinges which when swung outwardly into
horizontal position, engages with the inclined or projecting surface on the striker
plate, for the purposes set forth.
STTM
wool day of beptember 10,
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
322 High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicant.