INTEGRATED CORD LOOP DRIVE MEANS AND HOUSING FOR WINDOW COVERING

A housing to enclose the exposed portion of the cord loop of a window blind or other window covering includes an integral drive means to cycle a cord loop through the headrail of the blind, in order to open or close the blind. The cord loop is retained within the housing by a cord guide, such as a pulley, mounted at the lower end of the housing. A cord grip member displaceable between upper and lower ends of the housing permits the user to drive the cord loop. The cord grip member is provided with first and second clamps within the housing and first and second actuators external to the housing, each clamp being linked to a respective actuator through an elongate slot within the housing. The clamps may be actuated to releasably grip a first or second strand of the cord, respectively, to drive the cord loop in one direction or the other when the cord grip member is drawn downwardly along the housing. A tilt rod drive means may be incorporated into the device to allow a user to rotate the tilt rod of a vertical blind with the device. The tilt rod drive means comprises a shaft rotatably disposed within the housing, linked to the tilt rod of the blind headrail.