IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLERS OR MOUNTINGS FOR BLINDS, MAPS, AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES."
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Lewthwaite, of Halifax, in the County
of York, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ROLLERS OR MOUNTINGS FOR BLINDS, MAPS, AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Lewthwaite
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th April 1853.
I, JOHN LEWTHWAITE, of Halifax, in the County of York, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ROLLERS OR MOUNTINGS FOR BLINDS, MAPS, AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES,"
to be as follows:-
I make the body of the roller with a recess or groove covered at
both ends with a collar, the collar at one end being fixed and the other
moveable. The blind or map is mounted upon a rod, one end of the
rod is inserted under the fixed collar, and the rod placed in the groove,
where it is retained at the opposite end by the moveable collar being
slid over it. The fixed collar carries a disc, on the centre of which is

page_text: cast or otherwise fitted a small cylinder, from which projects a short
rod. Inside the cylinder and round the rod is a helical spring. A
hollow cap with a bearing is passed over the projecting rod against the
edge of the disc on the fixed collar, and is retained there by a pin
passed through a hole in the end of the rod: A portion of the hollow
cap is cut away to allow the string for raising the blind or map to pass
through. The string for raising the blind or map winds round the
hollow cylinder, and the blind or map is retained in any desired
position by the spring pressing against the inside of the cap.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Lewthwaite, in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 15th October 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN LEWTHWAITE, of Halifax, in the County of York, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Lewthwaite, Her special licence
that I, the said John Lewthwaite, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Lewthwaite, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
.IN ROLLERS OR MOUNTINGS FOR BLINDS, MAPS, AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Lew-
thwaite, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause, the

page_text: same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Lewthwaite, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
The improvements which constitute my said Invention are represented
in Figures 1, and 2, of the drawings annexed, which are respectively a
longitudinal section and a side elevation of a roller or mounting for a
window blind, having the improvements applied thereto. A, is part
of the window frame or sash race; B, is the blind roller, composed of
wood or metal tubing, and having a groove or recess C, throughout its
length, as separately represented in plan and section in Figures 3, 4, and
4a; D, is a fixed flanged collar at one end of the roller, and E, another
similar collar at the opposite end; the collar E, has a moveable ring e,
turning freely on it; a portion of the moveable ring, and of the collar
on which it turns being cut away to admit of the introduction of the
rod F, on which the blind is mounted into the groove C. The rod F,
with the blind on it having been introduced into the groove, is retained
there at one end by bearing against that portion of the collar D, which
overlaps the groove, and at the other end by turning the ring e,
partially round, so as to bring a part of the ring of full width to over-
lap the groove, as shewn in the side elevation Figure 2. The fixed
collar D, carries a disc d, the edges of which constitute the flange of
the collar, and around the centre of this disc is cast or otherwise fitted
a small cylinder H, from which projects a short rod I, having around
it a coiled spring J, which is capable of being compressed within the:
length of the cylinder. A hollow cap K, with a bearing L, by means
of which it is fitted in the wooden frame or sash race, is passed over:
the projecting rod I, and brought 'close up against the end of the
cylinder H, compressing the spring within it, and is secured in this
position by rivetting down the end of the rod I, over a washer at the
end of the bearing L, or by a pin påssed through a hole formed in the >
end of the rod, or by any other convenient means. The sides of the

page_text: cap K, should be of such depth as just to come flush with the outer
edge of the flanged portion of the collar D. A portion of the hollow
cap K, is cut away as at g, to allow the string for raising the blind to
pass through. This string is wound round the cylinder H, to a
sufficient length before fitting in the rod which carries the blind, and
the raising of the blind is effected by pulling on the free end of the
string, so as to unwind it from the cylinder, and thereby cause the blind
roller to revolve and wind up the blind round it. The blind is retained
in any desired position by the pressure of the spring J, against the
inside of the cap K. The blind and mounting are fixed in the window
frame at one end by the bearing L, on the hollow cap K, taking into
a square hole or recess cut therein for it, and at the other end by the
pin M, which passes through the centre of the disc of the collar E, and
also takes into a hole or recess cut in the window frame. The inner
end of the pin M, is bent down at a right angle, and the end of the
blind rod F, bearing against this bent part of the pin prevents it from
slipping, and keeps, all secure. The collar D, may be made with an
additional flange D², as shewn in the sectional view, Figure 5, for the
purpose of preventing the cord by which the blind is raised from
rubbing against the cap as it revolves; but as in practice this rubbing
produces no appreciable amount of wear, I prefer the arrangement
first shewn and described. Although I have only mentioned blinds in
the foregoing description, my arrangements are equally applicable in
the case of maps and other articles which may be required to be
mounted on rollers.
. And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is, -
First, the general arrangement and combination of parts represented
in the drawings annexed and herein-before described:
Second, the employment of a spring, as herein-before described, for
the purpose of retaining the blind or map in any desired position:
Third, the use of the cap K, with or without an additional flange in
combination with the spring, as herein-before described:
Fourth, the grooved roller in combination with the flanged collar D,

page_text: and collar and ring E, and e, for the purpose of securing the blind or
map to the roller, as herein-before described: And,
Fifth, the arrangements whereby the roller and blind or map are
fixed or secured in the window or other frame, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Lewthwaite, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
JOHN LEWTHWAITE. (L.S.)