Improvements in Spring Blind Roller Furniture.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Mar., 1897-Accepted, 10th Apr.,
1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Spring Blind Roller Furniture.
I, EDWARD SAMUEL BOND, of the Crown Works, Booth Street, Handsworth,
Staffordshire, 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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in blind roller furniture, which broadly
speaking comprises the roller (usually of wood) having a fixed pivot attached thereto
at the one end, and at the other end, a hole is made for a considerable distance into
the said roller, in which is inserted a spring which is coiled around and secured at
its one end to a nonrotative core or central spindle while the other end of the spring
is secured to a spring winding collar which is partly embedded in the roller so as to
positively move therewith. Also at this end of the spring core or spindle is provided
a ratchet tooth or teeth with which may engage pawls secured to and moving with
the roller, so that as such roller moves the loose end of the spring may thereby be
wound up or unwound as the case may be. The central spindle is prevented from
rotation by reason of its outer pivot end being flatwise or square and fitting into a
correspondingly shaped slot or opening in the roller bracket.
Now this my invention has for its object an improved shape of pawl whereby a more
positive action is secured; improved means of attaching the pivot end of the
spindle to the core part of same which lies within the spring; also improvements
in the spring winding collar; also improvements in the roller end cap.
In order to make these my improvements more clear I have appended hereunto an
illustrative drawing upon which are figures and numbers of reference similar numbers
referring throughout the several views to the same thing or part.
Fig. 1, is a general sectional view of this my invention.
Fig. 2, is an enlarged sectional view of the one end of a roller embracing this my
invention.
Fig. 3, is a side view and Fig. 4, an end view in detail of the roller end cap
showing the pawls in position.
Fig. 5, is a part ond view of the roller cap showing the pawl in engagement with
the ratchet tooth of the spindle.
Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively side and end views of the spindle fitting.
Figs. 8 and 9, are side and end views of the spindle core cap.
Figs. 10 and 11 are side and end views of the spring winding collar.
14, is the roller, having at its one end the rotating pivot 15 secured thereto in the
usual manner.
At the other end of this roller is bored the hole 16, to receive the spring
&c. mechanism. This end is further covered by the cap 17, which is much deeper
than usual, which enables me to make the slitted tongues 18, 18, so that they may
he pushed inwards into the wooden rollers in order to secure the cap. Within this
cap is pivoted the two pawls 19, 19, and in these pawls I make the upper part 20 to
heavily overhang the tooth point 21, the latter being kept comparatively near to
the pivot 22, by which a more certain centrifugal action is obtained when the roller
is in rapid winding up motion, and a more certain engagement action is obtained
when the blind is arrested at any desired height.
23 is a core to which is attached the fitting spindle 24. Upon the end of this
core is mounted the cap 25, having a hole 26 through which the spindle 24 may pass
into the core 23 as shown. A hole is now made through the cap 25, and the core 23

page_text: Before
and the spindle 24, and the whole secured by the rivet pin 26ª, so that the whole are
thus firmly secured to each other, without any liability of splitting the core.
securing these two parts together however I pass the winding collar 27 on to the
spindle 24, the hole 28. fitting just freely on the neck 29, and the recess 30 freely
fitting over the cap 25 as seen in Figs. I and 2. Upon this collar are further formed
the overhanging lugs 31, 31, which afford the holes 32, 32, through which the end 33
of the spring is passed and secured. An important point here is, that these two
holes are situated on a spiral line with each other, that is they are not both on the
same right angle line from 'the axis of the spindle, but on the same spiral line as
the spring itself follows, and hence in the act of coiling or winding up the said
spring, the pull is even and natural and does not prematurely bind the first coil or
two upon the core before the rest part is similarly coiled. These overhanging lugs
serve further as a flange to prevent the first coil or so of the spring enlarging
too much in diameter towards which there is a tendency by reason of
continued use.
In the cap 17 I also provide a gap or opening 34 to permit the securing of the
blind to the wooden portion of the roller as near to the end as possible, or to permit
of the passage therein of the blind by other means of fastening.
I am aware that spring roller furniture of this kind has been already in use,
having an internal spring mechanism operated by pawls and having the spring coiled
upon a core, but such has been the arrangement of mechanism that such cores have
necessarily been large and therefore the correspondingly large hole in the roller has
weakened the walls of the said (main) roller, and in other respects have presented
faults which my present invention aims to overcome, and therefore I do not claim
such mechanism broadly, but,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In spring blind roller furniture the combination with the roller cap 17 of the
inside pawls, 19, 19, having the heavy outer ends 20, 20, substantially as set forth and
shown and for the purposes specified.
2. In spring blind roller furniture the employment of the pawls 19, 19, having
the heavily weighted outer ends 20, 20, substantially as set forth and shown and for
the purposes specified.
•
3. In spring. blind roller furniture the securing of the core 23 to the spindle 24
by means of the combination of the said core 23, spindle 24, cap 25 and pin 26ª, all
substantially as set forth and shown.
4. The combination with the spring roller mechanism substantially as described
and shown of the spring winding collar 27, having the internal recess 30 to cover
the cap 25, and the overhanging lugs with the spirally lined holes 32, 32, constructed
and arranged substantially as set forth and shown.
5. The general combination and arrangement of the mechanism herein described
and shown constituting these my improvements, all substantially as set forth
and shown.
Dated this 4th day of Mauch 1007
CHARLES T. POWELL,
12 Cherry Street, Birmingham, Applicant's Agent.