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

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, cord, or

chain A chain is a 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 but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

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 ...

-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 Mechanism may refer to: *Mechanism (engineering), rigid bodies connected by joints in order to accomplish a desired force and/or motion transmission *Mechanism (biology), explaining how a feature is created *Mechanism (philosophy), a theory that a ...

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 (c. 460 BCE). The jumping jack is a more complicated animated puppet paper doll that uses a pullstring to move its arms and legs up and down.

Trompo A Trompo is a top which is spun by winding a length of twine, string around the body, and launching it so that lands spinning on its point. If the string is attached to a whip, stick the rotation can be maintained by whipping the side of the bod ...

s and some spinning tops use a string that is wound around the top and then pulled to make it spin. More recent toys include dolls, such as Chatty Cathy (1959),

Charmin' Chatty Charmin' Chatty was a doll produced by the toy company Mattel in 1963 and 1964. The doll, introduced at the American Toy Fair in New York City in March 1963, belonged to a line of highly successful talking dolls introduced in 1960 (Chatty Cathy wa ...

(1963),

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

(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 pulle ...

(1994), and Sheriff Woody (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 The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People * Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

doll (1972) has a pullstring that changes the doll's eye color. Other non-doll toys like See 'n Say (1965). The earliest patent 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 mowers, chainsaws, portable generators, and portable outboard motors use a pullstring or pullcord attached to a handle as a manual

ignition Ignition may refer to: Science and technology * Firelighting, the human act of creating a fire for warmth, cooking and other uses * Combustion, an exothermic chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant * Fusion ignition, the point at which a ...

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 car, and the

DKW RT 125 The RT 125 was a German two-stroke motorcycle made by DKW in Zschopau in the 1930s, IFA and MZ in the 1950s and early 1960s, and DKW in Ingolstadt in the 1950s and 1960s. "RT" stands for "Reichstyp" or "National Model". In the 1930s DKW pio ...

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

Other

Some types of window blinds and curtains use a cord pull to open, close, raise, and lower them. Some types of ladders like the

extension ladder A ladder is a Vertical direction, vertical or inclined set of rungs or Step (footing), steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a ...

and attic ladder can have a pullstring that pulls it down from the ceiling. A

dock plate In a loading dock, one problem to overcome is the problem of bridging the gap between a truck and the dock or warehouse floor. Not all trucks are the same height, and the height of the trailer floor within a truck can vary according to how heavily ...

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 wall ...

s have a pullstring on its latch. A pull switch uses a chain or string to actuate a switch, commonly used in lighting and ceiling fans. Modern flush toilets 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 o ...

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 whistles were almost always actuated with a pull cord. Some grandfather clocks 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

A bow string 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