A New or Improved Cord Holder for Holding the Cords of Blinds and for other like Purposes.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sep., 1886.
Complete Left, 7th Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 7th Jan., 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Cord Holder for Holding the Cords of Blinds
and for other like Purposes.
1 EDMUND TONKS of the firm of William Tonks and Sons of Moseley Street
Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature
of this Invention to be as follows:-
:-
My invention consists of a cord holder made in the manner hereinafter described
and preferably of sheet metal although it may be made by casting.
I will describe my invention as made of sheet brass.
I take a strip of strong sheet brass and bend it so as to form a bow at its middle the
two ends remaining in the same plane. I do not limit myself to any particularly
shape of the bow part as its shape may be varied. In that part of the bow which when
the holder is fixed for use is uppermost a hole is made which hole is of a size suitable
to permit the cord to pass freely through it. At the opposite or lower side of the bow
a taper slot is made the said slot at its large end permitting the cord to pass through
it freely its other end being of a width much less than the diameter of the cord. The
slot may either taper from front to back or from back to front. In explaining the
action of the holder I will suppose the slot to taper from front to back.
The holder is fixed to the window frame or in other required situation by screws
passed through holes in its ends the cord is passed through the hole in the upper part
of the bow and also through the tapering slot.
When the part of the cord below the holder is vertical it is engaged in the tapering
slot and is incapable of motion but when the said part of the cord is drawn forward
into a nearly horizontal position it is drawn out of the narrow part of the tapering
slot into the larger end in which it can slide freely. The cord can now be drawn
down or be paid out and fixed in its new position by being depressed. As it
approaches a vertical position it again engages in the narrow end of the tapering slot
and becomes fixed.
Where the narrow end of the tapering slot is in front the cord is liberated by being
depressed into a vertical position and fixed by being drawn forwards.
The holder may be shortened and made more compact by bringing the ends of the
bow near to each other and flattening the intermediate parts but as I have already
remarked the part which I have called the bow may be varied in shape without
affecting the action of the holder.
SY.
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: and for other like Purposes.
I EDMUND TONKS of the firm of William Tonks and Sons of Moseley Street
Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature
of my 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 consists of a cord holder made in the manner hereinafter described
and preferably of sheet metal, although it may be made by casting.
I will describe my invention as made of sheet brass.
I take a strip of strong sheet brass and bend it so as to form a bow at its middle the
two ends remaining in the same plane. I do not limit myself to any particular shape
of the bow part as its shape may be varied. In that part of the bow which when the
holder is fixed for use is uppermost, a hole is made which hole is of a size suitable to
permit the cord to pass freely through it. At the opposite or lower side of the bow a
taper slot is made the said slot at its large end permitting the cord to pass through it
freely, its other end being of a width much less than the diameter of the cord. The
slot may either taper from front to back or from back to front. In explaining the
action of the holder I will suppose the slot to taper from front to back. The holder
is fixed to the window frame or in other required situation by screws passed through
holes in its ends; the cord is passed through the hole in the upper part of the bow
and also through the tapering slot. When the part of the cord below the holder is
vertical it is engaged in the tapering slot and is incapable of motion but when the
said part of the cord is drawn forward into a nearly horizontal position it is drawn
out of the narrow part of the tapering slot into the larger end in which it can slide
freely. The cord can now be drawn down or be paid out and fixed in its new position
by being depressed. As it approaches a vertical position it again engages in the
narrow end of the tapering slot and becomes fixed.
Where the narrow end of the tapering slot is in front the cord is liberated by being
depressed into a vertical position and fixed by being drawn forwards.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in perspective; Figure 2 in front elevation and plan of upper
side; Figure 3 in side elevation; Figure 4 in back elevation, a part being removed,
and Figure 5 in vertical section, a holder for a single cord made from sheet metal
according to my invention; Figure 6 represents the sheet metal strip or blank from
which the single cord holder is made.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawing.
In making the single cord holder I cut out at a press or stamp the sheet metal
strip or blank Figure 6 and pierce and fashion it in the manner represented. That
is to say, in the said blank a tapering slot a and a circular hole are made and
between the slot a and hole ba semi circular groove for guiding the cord is formed.
The ends of the strip are pierced with holes and the holes countersunk for receiving
the heads of the fixing screws.
I take the strip or blank Figure 6 and bend it at its middle so as to form a bow d
the two ends e, e of the blank remaining in the same plane. The bow part d
terminates at top in a shoulder d2 at right angles to the top of the bow. In the
shoulder d², the hole b is situated, which hole is at the top of the semi circular
groove c in the bow. Through the said hole the blind or other cord f' is passed as

page_text: shown in the Drawing and when the part of the cord below the holder is raised for
releasing the cord, the said cord occupies the groove e as seen in Figure 5. By the
bending of the middle of the blank into a bow the greater part of the tapering slot a
is situated in the inner or back part of the said bow, the wide end of the said tapering
slot a being situated in the front part of the bow. The blind (or other) cord after
being passed through the top hole passes through the tapering slot a. It will be
seen by an examination of the blank Figure 6 and the finished holder Figures 2
and 4, that the wide end of the tapering slot a is of such a size that it permits the cord to
pass through it freely but the back end is so narrow that the cord when passed into it
is wedged tightly therein.
In using the holder it is fixed in a vertical position to the window frame (or else-
where) by screws passed through the holes in the fixing plates e, e at top and bottom
of the holder and the blind (or other) cord is passed through the hole in the top
part d² of the bow and also through the tapering slot a in the back fold of the bow.
When that part of the cord below the holder is vertical as represented in Figures 1,
3 and 4 it is engaged in the narrow part of the tapering slot a and the said cord is
incapable of motion but when the said cord is drawn forward into a nearly horizontal
position, as represented in Figure 5, it is drawn out of the narrow part of the tapering
slot a into the wide front end in which end the cord can slide freely. When in the
position, Figure 5, the released cord can be drawn down or paid out and by depressing
the lower part of the cord into a vertical position it engages in the narrow part of the
tapering slot a and becomes fixed as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4.
Instead of making the slot a taper from front to back as represented in the Drawing
it may taper from back to front, that is, its narrow end may be situated at the front of
the bow d and its wide end in the back part or fold of the bow. When the narrow
end of the tapering slot is in front as last described, the cord is liberated by depressing
it into a vertical position so as to occupy the wide end of the slot and is fixed by
being drawn forward so as to occupy the narrow front end of the tapering slot.
The holder may be shortened and made more compact by bringing the ends of the
bow near to each other and flattening the intermediate parts but as I have already
remarked the part which I have called the bow may be varied in shape without
affecting the action of the holder. Figure 7 represents in front elevation and
perspective a double cord holder constructed according to my invention and Figure 8
represents in front elevation and perspective a holder for three cords constructed
according to my invention.
In making the cord holders Figures 7 and 8 blanks or strips of the proper width
having in them two or three sets of tapering slots a circular holes and semi circular
guiding grooves e are used.
Although I prefer to make my improved cord holder from sheet metal as described
and represented yet it may be made by casting.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and
the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
The new or improved cord holder for holding the cords of blinds and for other like
purposes herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing; that
is to say, a cord holder consisting essentially of a bow part having fixing pieces above
and below it, the said bow part being provided with one or more tapering slots
arranged in either of the ways described and also with one or more guide holes and
guiding grooves, the part of the cord or cords within the holder being engaged with
the narrow part of the tapering slot or slots for fastening the cord or cords and drawn
into the wide end of the tapering slot or slots for releasing the cord or cords and
permitting it or them to be drawn down or paid out substantially as described and
illustrated.