US2552956A

US2552956A - Tilting means for venetian blinds

Info

Publication number: US2552956A
Application number: US580563A
Authority: US
Inventors: Francis X Ganter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1945-03-02
Filing date: 1945-03-02
Publication date: 1951-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 1968-05-15

Description

y 1951 F. x. GANTER 2,552,956

TILTING MEANS FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed March 2, 1945 INVENTOR. fPANC/S x. GANTZ'E' ATTORNEY.

Patented May 15, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TILTING MEANS FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Francis X. Ganter, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application March 2, 1945, Serial No. 580,563

4 Claims. 1

My invention relates to a tilting means particularly adapted for Venetian blinds.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a tilting means of this class for Venetian blinds whereby only one cord is employed, thus eliminating confusion, allowing no choice or alternative in the selection of cords or other means for tilting of the slats of a Venetian blind in one direction or another.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a tilting means of this class in which it is necessary only to shift or draw the tilting cord or other tension member or means the same outwardly, to release and actuate the tilting means in order positively to tilt the slats in one direction or angle, or to allow the means to tilt the slats in the opposite direction or angle.

An important object also of this invention is to provide a means of this class which may be easily installed on or in connection with a Venetian blind, and a means of this class which is self-contained so that no other installation or attachment need be made on or in connection with the Venetian blind.

A further important object of this invention is to provide a device of this class which is constructed of a minimum number of parts, and a structure in which the parts may be easily and quickly fabricated and assembled.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear hereinafter, I have devised a Venetian blind tilting means having certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference thereon, which form a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of one corner of a Venetian blind, showing my tilting means in a preferred form incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof, taken through 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken through 33 of Fig. 1 showing primarily the tilting means separate from the Venetian blind, portions thereof being broken away and in sec tion to facilitate the illustration, and portions being indicated by dash lines to show an outwardly moved position thereof;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view thereof, taken through 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the tilting device taken at 5-5 of Fig. 3; and,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the tilting device.

The usual Venetian blind is mounted on and depends from the upper rail I of a window frame I. The usual Venetian blind is provided at its upper end with a long horizontal rail or supporting member 2, on which the slats 3 are supported by means of fabric or other flexible straps 4. The opposite ends of the supporting member 2 are pivotally supported by trunnions 2 on brackets depending from the horizontal rail I of the window frame. (In the drawings, only one end of the supporting member 2 is shown). One of the supporting brackets of the Venetian blind may be the housing and bracket vII of my tilting means. In the housing or bracket II is rotatably mounted a sheave I2 which is shown as axially connected to one of the trunnions 2 of the supporting member 2.

The sheave I2, together with its coaxial and supporting trunnions It", is shown as cast as one member. The bracket is provided with spaced apart walls II a between which the sheave is positioned. These walls are provided with slots II", open at the upper ends, for receiving and locating the trunnions I 2. The sheave I2 is loosely supported by means of the trunnions I 2,

which trunnions rest at the lower ends of the slots I I.

The trunnions of the sheave have a coaxial square hole for receiving the square extended portions of the trunnion 2 The latter is shown in the form of a bracket secured over the end of the rail or supporting member 2.

The sheave is adapted to be rotated by a tension member, which is usually a cord I3. The cord is adapted to be wound in the hollow peripheral portion or groove I2 of the sheave. The sheave end of the cord may extend through a hole in the groove I2 and is secured thereto to the sheave by a knot I3 located within a recess I2 on the inner side of the grooved portion or flange of the sheave.

The sheave is locked against rotation about its axis, and therefore prevented from tilting the Venetian blind supporting member 2, by a pawl I I. This pawl is partially arcuate in shape, conforming partially to the periphery of the sheave. The upper end I4 of the pawl is pivotally supported on the opposite walls Il of the bracket II. The other end of the pawl extends downwardly a slight distance beyond the lateral extremity of the periphery of the sheave and is provided at such depending portion, designated I4 with a groove HI which is designed to receive the cord I3. The intermediate portion of the pawl is provided with one or more lugs M which extend toward the sheave and are adapted to enter equally spaced notches 12 in the periphery of the flanges at the opposite sides of the annular groove I2 of the sheave, said notches providing a ratchet. When the pawl rests in its normal position, the lug or lugs M are adapted to enter the notches 12 of the sheave. When the cord is shifted, or drawn outwardly, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, the pawl is tilted about its pivotal axis, causing the lug or lugs M to be removed from the notches l2 permitting the sheave to be rotated by drawing the cord 13 downwardly.

A spring I is provided to counteract the action of the cord l3 and normally to urge the cord I3 free of the sheave, but the cord, when pulled, may rotate the sheave against the action of the spring.

This spring is located in a recess l2 at one side of the sheave, one end of the spring being located in a hole i2 in the sheave and the other end of the spring being located in the slots 1 1 in the adjacent wall I l of the bracket. Such construction permits the spring to be mounted in the sheave and the sheave dropped in place in the bracket I! as a unit with the spring.

The tension of the spring may be varied by raising the pawl and rotating the sheave.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, I 'do not wish to be limited to the same, but desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a means of the class described for tilting a Venetian blind, a bracket, a pulley rotatable thereon, said pulley having a ratchet on its periphery, said bracket being made of one piece and provided with opposite side walls with slots therein, said slots being opposed and open at their upper ends, the pulley having trunnions at its opposite sides adapted to be inserted through the upper ends of the slots and to rest at the lower ends thereof, a pawl pivotally mounted on the bracket and normally in engagement with the ratchet, said pawl having a depending free end disposed adjacent the periphery of the pulley, a cord wound on the pulley and adapted when unwound to rotate the same said card having an end normally depending from the pulley between said pulley and said depending free end, flexing movement of the cord toward the free end of the pawl efiecting disengagement of the pawl from the ratchet so as to allow rotation of the pulley in response to unwinding of said cord in a diagonally downward direction.

2. In a means of the class described for tilting a Venetian blind, a bracket, a pulley rotatable thereon, said pulley having a ratchet, said bracket being made of one piece and provided with opposite side walls with slots therein, said slots being opposed and open at their upper ends the pulley having trunnions at its opposite sides adapted to be inserted through the upper ends of the slots and to rest at the lower ends thereof, a coil .4 spring disposed concentrically of the axis of the pulley, one end of the spring being secured to the pulley and the other end being located in the adjacent slot of the bracket, a pawl pivotally mounted on the bracket and normally in engagement with the ratchet, said pawl having a depending end disposed adjacent the periphery of the pulley and a cord wound on the pulley and adapted when drawn ofi therefrom to rotate outward flexing movement of said end effecting engagement of the card with the free end of the pawl so as to disengage the pawl from the ratchet to allow rotation of the pulley in response to unwinding of said cord.

3. A tilting device for a Venetian blind, comprising: a bracket; a pulley rotatable on said bracket, said pulley having a ratchet on its periphery; a pawl pivoted on said bracket above said pulley and normally engaging said ratchet, said pawl having a depending free end extending substantially tangentially of the periphery of said pulley; and a cord wound on said pulley and having an end normally extending tangentially downwardly from the same between said pulley and said free end of said pawl, said end of said cord being adapted, upon movement in a laterally outwardly direction away from said pulley, to engage said free end of said pawl so as to pivot said pawl in a direction to disengage it from said ratchet to allow rotation of said pulley in one direction in response to unwinding of said cord in an inclined downward direction.

4. A tilting device for a Venetian blind, cornprising: a bracket; a pulley rotatable on said bracket, said pulley having a ratchet on its periphery; a pawl pivoted on said bracket above said pulley and normally engaging said ratchet, said pawl having a depending free end extending substantially tangentially of the periphery of said pulley; a cord wound on said pulley and having an end normally extending tangentially downwardly from the same between said pulley and said free end of said pawl, said end of said cord being adapted, upon movement in a laterally outwardly direction away from said pulley, to engage said free end of said pawl so as to pivot said pawl in a direction to disengage it from said ratchet to allow rotation of said pulley in one direction in response to unwinding of said cord in an inclined downward. direction; and a coil spring disposed concentrically of the axis of rotation of said pulley, said spring having one end engaging said pulley and its other end engaging said bracket, said spring being normally operative to rotate said pulley in the opposite direction.

FRANCIS X. GANTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 578,346 Miller Mar. 3, 1897 1,772,493 Leeper Aug. 12, 1930 1,862,163 Russel June '7, 1932 2,388,000 Larson Oct. 30, 1945