Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Mar., 1887
-Complete Left, 19th Dec., 1887
Complete Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1888
I JAMES WILLIAM STARK of Abbey Road in the Parish of Barrow-in-Furness in
the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention consists of an improved arrangement of Sun Blind or outside window
shade. In the soffit or head of the external reveal of the window I affix caseing, box,
or other form of pulley board. In or to this soffit-board I fix pulleys for the cords to
run on, & in front I fix another board which may be square, curved, or of other
ornamental form, to protect the Blind, when gathered up, from the weather.
On each side of the window, I fix a guide rod which may consist of a light iron
rod, reaching from the top of the window down to the sill, or as far as may be
required.
Upon each rod I attach a sliding block, which may be made of iron, brass, or other
suitable metals. The two slide blocks are connected by a bar of light iron or other
suitable metal to which the bottom of the blind is attached.
This bar may be curved, square or of any other approved form, which it may be
desirable for the bottom of the blind to assume when down, by throwing it away from
the window for the admission of light & air.
This connecting bar is fitted to work loosely in the blocks, so as to describe a
quadrant in falling outwards. The blocks & bar together forming the weight to
pull down the blind.
"
Where it is desirable to stop the blind in any position other than the top or bottom,
I fix to each guide rod another sliding piece, which may be set fast in any position
by a set screw or pin. By moving these stops, & setting them in any required
position when the connecting bar touches them it will tilt over, opening the bottom
of the blind. The bottom of the blind may be attached to the connecting bar, either
by sewing or by rings or other approved mode of attachment, & may be loaded
along the front so as to facilitate its tilting outwards & for tightning the blind.
The lifting cords for working the blind are attached to the connecting bar, &
pass through rings attached to the inside of the blind at various distances apart &
D

page_text: over the lifting pulleys at the top, it then passes by means of other pulleys into the
room, so as to be accessible without opening the window.
In my
invention the pulleys & cords are kept sufficiently high to allow of the
blind being worked without the necessity of opening the window.
One of the advantages of this invention is that it can be worked for any ordinary
sized window with two cords only. Although more would be required where the
width is excessive.
The novelty in this invention consists chiefly in the sliding block connecting bar
stops & arrangement of pulleys.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sun Blinds or other Window Shades.
I JAMES WILLIAM STARK of Abbey Road in the Parish of Barrow in Furness in
the County of Lancaster Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this 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 an Improved arrangement of Sun blind or outside Window
Shade with the various Mechanical or other appliances for lowering, raising and
adjusting same.
In the soffit or head of the external reveal of the Window to which the blind is to be
adapted I affix a casing, boxing or other suitable form of pulley board, the form of
which may be modified in a variety of ways to suit the structural requirements of the
Window, or for architectural effect. In or to this soffit hoard I fix suitable pulleys
for the cords to run on (in such a manner as to allow of the free movement of the
pulleys). In front of this pulley board I fix another board, which may be plain or of
ornamental form, to protect the blind from the weather when drawn up.
On each side of the window I fix a guide rod of iron or other suitable metal or
material reaching from the top of the Window down to the sill, or as far as may bo
required. Upon each of these guide rods, I attach a sliding block which may be niade
of iron, brass, or other suitable metal or metallic alloy, and of such form as to allow of
its free movement upon the guide rods without jambing.
These two slide blocks are connected by a bar of light iron or other suitable metal
or material to which the bottom of the blind is attached.
This connecting bar (hereinafter called the quadrant bar, may be bent in a variety
of ways so as to cause the bottom of the blind to assume the desired form when down,
by throwing it away from the window for the admission of light and air.

page_text: This quadrant bar is fitted to work loosely in the sliding blocks so as to work freely
and form a quadrant in falling outwards.
The possibility of the quadrant bar falling inwards is prevented by having its ends
continued a few inches past the centres or pivots working in the sliding blocks.
These projecting ends are set so as to form an angle with the guide rods, when the
quadrant bar is set upright, the ends pointing downwards. (I prefer an angle of
45 degrees). When the blind is lowered the projecting ends of the quadrant bar strike
upon two projecting pins.or tilting pieces fixed to the wall or window frame (as may
be most convenient,) in such a position in which it may be required to throw open
the blind.
Where it is desirable to stop and open out the blind in any position other than the
bottom I fix to each guide bar another sliding piece which I call a stop block, these
stop blocks may be set fast in any desired position upon the guide rods by set screws
or pins, each stop block having projecting arms carrying tilting pieces as before
described. When the ends of the quadrant bar touches these tilting pieces on the
stop blocks it will tilt forwards and open out the bottom of the blind.
When these stop blocks are used the tilting pieces previously described as being
fixed to the walls are not required.
The bottom of the blind may be attached to the quadrant bar either by sewing
round same, or by rings, or by other approved method of attachment, and may be
loaded along the front to facilitate its tilting outwards & for tightening the blind,
although I prefer thickening the quadrant bar itself in front for this purpose.
The lifting cords for raising and lowering the blind are attached to the quadrant
bar and are kept in contact with the blind by passing them through rings attached to
the inside of the blind, and over the pulleys at the top, they may then be passed by
means of other pulleys through the window frame into the room, so as to be accessible
without opening the Window. The pulleys and cords are kept sufficiently high as to
allow the blind cords being passed through the head of the window where practicable.
Where it is required to adapt my blinds to windows having their frames flush with
the external face of the walls and consequently having no external reveals, the pulley
board & front board may be formed into a boxing or cornice having side pieces for
fixing the guide rods to, and may be made an architectural feature to the window.
By making the guide rods square in section the stop blocks may be made to slide
upon the guide rods, so as to keep the tilting pieces in proper position, and by having
cords attached to them, taken up over pulleys in the soffit board somewhat similar to
the blind cords, the stop blocks may be set in position from inside the room and the
blind may be thrown open at any part of the window where required, the set screws
previously described would not then be required.
Fig. 1 shews the blind, with the quadrant bar, slide blocks and tilting pieces, the
ends of the quadrant bar have struck upon the tilting pins fixed to the walls &
opened out the bottom of the blind.
Fig. 2 shews a somewhat similar arrangement to fig. 1 but shews the position of
the quadrant bar when being drawn up, the dotted lines indicating the position
of the cords. In this case two cords are used but a greater number of cords would
be necessary in a very wide blind.
་
Fig. 3 is a Section through the window, showing the guide rods, slide blocks,
quadrant bar, tilting pieces and the method of fixing the pulley board and weather
board, and shews how the cords may be carried inside the room.
Figures 4 & 5 are enlarged drawings shewing the slide blocks, quadrant bar ends,
& pivots and tilting pins fixed to wall.
The Section of the Slide block in Fig. 4 shews how same is hollowed out to so as to
avoid jambing on the guide rod. I find in practice that the very best form of slide
block is to have the same hollowed out as shewn, but, leaving only about an of an

page_text: inch in the narrowest part to rub on the guide rod. A piece may be chipped out of
the inside of the block to allow of the pivot ends of the quadrant bar being rivetted.
Figures 1 and 2 shew the guide rods, but strips of wood may be fitted to each side
to screen them.
Figures 6 and 7 shew a plan and elevation of the stop blocks with tilting pins for
fixing upon the guide rods, with set screw for securing same.
I do not claim anything new in the cords, pulleys or quadrant for working the
blind, but I believe the hollow slide blocks, projecting ends or arms to quadrants and
the tilting pieces and stop blocks when applied to outside blinds or window shades to
be a new and useful improvement.
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
1st. The use of hollowed slide blocks, as previously described.
2nd. The quadrant bar for opening out the bottom of the blind, having projecting
ends (or short projecting arms fixed to the bar) set at an angle with the guide rods,
and the tilting pins for the ends of the quadrant bar (or arms) to strike upon, so as to
open out the bottom of the blind and retain it open as shewn on Drawings.
3rd. The stop blocks for fixing upon the guide rods, having tilting pieces connected
therewith as shewn on Drawings Figs. 6 and 7.
4th. The use of sliding stop blocks having tilting pins fixed thereto hung with
cords and pulleys, so as to be set in position on the guide rods from the inside of the
room.
DL
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