A pullstring (pull string, pull-string), pullcord (pull cord, pull-cord), or pullchain (pull-chain, pull chain) is a string, cord, or

chain A chain is a wikt:series#Noun, serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression (physics), compression but line (g ...

wound on a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

-loaded

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus '' Euony ...

that engages a mechanism when it is pulled. It is most commonly used in toys and motorized equipment. More generally and commonly, a pullstring can be any type of string, cord, rope, or chain, attached to an object in some way used to pull or mechanically manipulate part of it.

Toys

Perhaps the simplest pullstring toy is the

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two cylinder, disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a wikt:spool, spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also ca ...

(c. 460 BCE). The

jumping jack __NOTOC__ A jumping jack, also known as a star jump and called a side-straddle hop in the US military, is a physical jumping exercise performed by jumping to a position with the legs spread wide and the hands going overhead, sometimes in a clap, a ...

is a more complicated animated puppet paper doll that uses a pullstring to move its arms and legs up and down. Trompos and some

spinning top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a f ...

s use a string that is wound around the top and then pulled to make it spin. More recent toys include

doll A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...

s, such as Chatty Cathy (1959), Charmin' Chatty (1963),

Talking Tamu Shindana Toys, a division of Operation Bootstrap, Inc., was a South Central Los Angeles, California cooperative toy company in business from 1968 to 1983. It was launched as a black empowerment and community rejuvenation effort following the ...

(1970), Look Around Crissy (1972),

Sky Dancers Sky Dancers is the name of a line of toys and an animated show spin-off that were popular in the mid-1990s. The toys were constructed of a pull-string base and a doll with foam wings. When the doll was inserted into the base and the string pull ...

(1994), and

Sheriff Woody Sheriff Woody Pride is a Character (arts), fictional, Pullstring, pull-string cowboy doll who appears in the Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. In the films, Woody is the main protagonist, alongside Buzz Lightyear. H ...

(from the ''Toy Story'' franchise), that have a pullstring built into them that activates a speaker when it is pulled, causing the doll to say a built-in phrase. The Blythe doll (1972) has a pullstring that changes the doll's eye color. Other non-doll toys like See 'n Say (1965). The earliest

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling disclo ...

with a pullstring included in it is an 1886 "Toy Bowling-Alley".Toy Bowling-Alley
Thomas Kochka, filed 11 December 1886 (retrieved 31 January 2012 from

Google Patents Google Patents is a search engine from Google that indexes patents and patent applications. Contents Google Patents indexes more than 87 million patents and patent applications with full text from 17 patent offices, including: * United States P ...

)

Engines

Many motorized

lawn mower A lawn mower (also known as a mower, grass cutter or lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, but g ...

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, Log bucking, bucki ...

s, portable generators, and portable

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method o ...

s use a pullstring or pullcord attached to a

handle A handle is a part of, or attachment to, an object that allows it to be grasped and manipulated by hand. The design of each type of handle involves substantial ergonomic issues, even where these are dealt with intuitively or by following tr ...

as a manual ignition device. Some vehicle engines are also started with pullchains, such as the early-1900s Puckridge, or pullcords, like the pre-release version of the

Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (french: link=no, deux chevaux(-vapeur), , lit. "two steam horse(power)s", meaning "two ''taxable'' horsepower") is an air-cooled front-engine, front-wheel-drive, economy family car, introduced at the 1948 Paris Mondial d ...

car, and the DKW RT 125 scooter.

Weapons

Some grenades such as the German Models 24, 39, and 43 have pullcords. Some machine guns such as the M73 machine gun and M85 machine gun use a pullchain to charge and/or fire them.

Transport

A train's emergency brake can be a cord or chain that will stop the train when pulled. Older

transit bus Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

es and trams/trolleys have a pullcord, also known as a bell cord, that a passenger can pull to signal the driver that they are requesting a stop. The

Jaguar XK120 The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since SS 100 production ended in 1939. The XK120 is a highly desirable model. In 2016, Bonhams sold a matching numbers left-hand ...

sports car's doors have no external handles so it uses an interior pullcord instead.

Other

Some types of

window blind A window blind is a type of window covering. There are many different kinds of window blinds which use a variety of control systems. A typical window blind is made up of several long horizontal or vertical slats of various types of hard mate ...

s and

curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain), water. A curtain is also the movable screen or theater curtain, drape in a theatre that separates the stage fro ...

s use a cord pull to open, close, raise, and lower them. Some types of ladders like the extension ladder and

attic ladder An attic ladder (US) or loft ladder (UK) is a retractable ladder that is installed into an attic door/access panel. They are used as an inexpensive and compact alternative to having a stairway that ascends to the attic of a building. They are usefu ...

can have a pullstring that pulls it down from the ceiling. A dock plate can use a pullchain to move it. Some

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include '' yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wal ...

s have a pullstring on its

latch A latch or catch (called sneck in Northern England and Scotland) is a type of mechanical fastener that joins two (or more) objects or surfaces while allowing for their regular separation. A latch typically engages another piece of hardware on ...

. A pull switch uses a chain or string to actuate a switch, commonly used in lighting and

ceiling fan A ceiling fan is a fan mounted on the ceiling of a room or space, usually electrically powered, that uses hub-mounted rotating blades to circulate air. They cool people effectively by increasing air speed. Fans do not reduce air temperatur ...

s. Modern

flush toilet A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to ''flush'' it through a drainpipe to another loca ...

s use a pullchain attached to a lever that lifts the plunger to release water into the toilet bowl. The

photoplayer The photoplayer is an automatic mechanical orchestra used by movie theatres to produce photoplay music to accompany silent films. Operation The central instruments in a photo player were a piano and percussion; some machines also added pipe or ...

uses pullchains to generate sound effects for silent films. Pre-1990s North American diesel locomotive train horns used a lever or pull cord to actuate an air valve. Older

steam whistle A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound in the form of a whistle using live steam, which creates, projects, and amplifies its sound by acting as a vibrating system (compare to train horn). Operation The whistle consists of the ...

s were almost always actuated with a pull cord. Some

grandfather clock A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...

s have a pullchain to raise the weights in order to wind the clock's gears. A lifejacket has a pullcord used to inflate it.

Variants

bow string A bowstring joins the two ends of the bow stave and launches the arrow. Desirable properties include light weight, strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to water. Mass has most effect at the center of the string; of extra mass in th ...

is perhaps the simplest type of pullstring that pulls a bow's ends together. A ripcord is a type of pullstring used to release a parachute. A drawstring is a type of pullstring used in many aspects of the fashion industry and in bags as a closing device.

References

{{reflist Hardware (mechanical) Chains