qualities of furniture
Mini Blind
A mini blind (mini-blind, miniblind)[1]is a type of non-vertical
window blind made of long, narrow slats held together by string and
located inside the window. Its slats are not as wide as venetian blind
slats. A mini blind has more slats than a regular Venetian blind
because its slats are narrow. The slats of mini blinds are less than
half the width of regular Venetian blinds. The slats are opened and
closed by rotating a rod or by directly pulling a string. They are
raised and lowered by pulling other strings.
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Parts
The long horizontal slats are held one above the other by the rungs
of ladder cords shaped like a ladder. The lower ends of the legs of
the ladder cords are secured to the long rail under the slats. Their
upper ends are attached to the drive rod in the housing, the elongated
box above the slats. As the drive rod rotates, one leg of each ladder
cord moves up while the other moves down, causing the angle of the
slats to change. In one design, this rotation is achieved by pushing
up or pulling down on a long handle called a tilt wand connected to
the drive rod by a lever. Lift cords along the ladder cords are also
attached to the rail. They pass through holes in the slats and into
the housing above, where they go over pulleys, combine and exit
through the cord lock. For safety it's important that the lock always
work. A downward pull on the main lift cord raises the slats by the
cords pulling up the rail below the slats. The cord lock holds the
main lift cord to keep the slats up until the cord is pulled to
release the lock. The safety lock made the cord lock easier to use.
History
Blinds made of narrow, light-weight horizontal wood slats, adjustable
to admit or exclude light, were developed in 1794, and called Venetian
blinds. The blinds were often used instead of window curtains or
shutters. In the 1840’s, these blinds were held together by flat
strips of cloth instead of by cords perhaps to shade the lift holes
and like today they came in various colors.[4]
In 1966, a new pulley system was invented which afforded great
improvement in the control mechanism.
[5] Over time, narrower
slats became more common, as they were easier to clean and they
reduced glare at certain settings and their appearance was pleasing to
many. In 1946 Henry Sonnenberg and Joe Hunter developed technology and
equipment for the production of lightweight aluminum slats (50 mm) for
Venetian blinds, and by 1979, 25 mm slats were popular.
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