AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC DOOR, AND OTHER KNOBS, AND A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS WITH THEIR SPINDLES."
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Whitehouse, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC DOOR, AND OTHER KNOBS, AND A NEW OR IMPROVED
METHOD OF CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS WITH THEIR SPINDLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Whitehouse at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th June 1860.
I, JOHN WHITEHOUSE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVE-
MENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC DOOB, AND OTHER KNOBS, AND A NEW OR
IMPROVED METHOD OP CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS WITH THEIR SPINDLES,"
to be as follows:-
In the ordinary method of manufacturing metallic door and other knobs
the body of the knob is made of sheet metal raised in dies, the contracted
or cupped-in edge of the said body being inserted and fixed in a groove in
the neck of the knob. It frequently happens that the body of the knob
becomes loose and turns upon the neck of the knob. In manufacturing
the said knobs according to my Invention I make one, two, or more small
projecting tongues on the edge of the blank from which the body of the

page_text: knob is raised, which said tongue or tongues cross the groove in the neck
of the knob when the body and neck are connected and prevent the body
from turning upon the neck should the said body become loose.
In connecting door knobs with their spindles according to my Invention
I employ a square spindle having a screw thread cut on its four edges as is
well understood. I fix one knob to the end of the said spindle. A small
screwed collar or screw box is screwed upon the spindle, and is adjusted in
such a position that when the spindle is passed through the door and lock
or latch the said screwed collar bears against the follower of the lock or
latch, and the shoulder of the fixed knob is nearly in contact with the door.
The other knob is now placed upon the protruding end of the spindle, the
said knob being fixed to the spindle by a screw passed through the front
of the knob engaging with the end of the spindle; a neck or collar on the
metallic mounting of the last described knob is thereby brought to bear
against the follower of the lock or latch.
The spindle is thus secured to the follower of the lock or latch, and its
Jength adjusted to suit the thickness of the door to which the lock or latch is
fixed. Both knobs may be attached to the spindle by screws passing through
the fronts of the knobs, and knobs for other purposes, such as cupboard turns,
may be connected with their spindles according to this part of my Invention,
that is to say, by screws passed from the front of the knob.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Whitehouse in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th December 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN S
WHITEHOUSE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Whitehouse, Her special licence that I, the said John Whitehouse, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Whitehouse, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agrec
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during a
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,

page_text: and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, tho
Channel Islands and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS, AND A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD
OF CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS WITH THEIR SPINDLES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Whitehouse, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
bands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of tho
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Whitehouse, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists, firstly, of the improvement and modifications thereof
herein-after explained and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in
manufacturing metallic door and other knobs.
In the ordinary method of manufacturing metallic door and other knobs,
the body of the knob is made of sheet metal raised in dies, the contracted or
cupped edge of the said body being inserted in a groove in the neck of the
knob. As the body and neck of the knob are only connected together by the
pressure of the edge of the body in the groove of the neck, it frequently happens
that the body of the knob becomes loose and turns upon the neck of the knob,
the said knob thereby becomes useless, being incapable of turning the lock or
latch spindle. The same letters and figures of reference indicate the samo parts
in the several Figures of the Drawings.
On the
In manufacturing metallic door and other knobs according to my improve-
ment I proceed as follows:-I make one, two, or more small projecting
tongues on the edge of the blank from which the body of the knob is raised,
as represented in Figure 1, which said Figure 1 represents a plan and side
elevation of a body of a door knob made according to my Invention.
edge of the said body a are the projecting tongues, which are marked b.
Figure 2 represents in plan and side elevation the neck of the knob made
according to my Invention. In the groove d of the neck care transverso
grooves or recesses e, the said recesses e corresponding in number, position,
and size, to the tongues b on the edge of the body of the knob. In connecting
the body a to the neck c, the tongues 6 are inserted in the recesses o, as
represented in the section of a finished knob, Figure 3. The said tongues b,

page_text: .
by engaging in the recesses e, prevent the body a from turning upon the
neck c of the knob when the edge of the said body is closed into the groove in
the neck, as represented in Figure 3.
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 illustrate the manufacture of a small knob for
cupboards or drawers, constructed according to this part of my Invention;
Figure 4 represents the neck and screw of the knob in elevation; Figure 5
represents the neck in section, and Figure 6 represents a plan of the neck of
the knob Figure 7 represents the body of the knob in plan, and Figure 8,
the finished knob in elevation. The neck of the knob is cast upon the
screw g, and the tongues or projections h, h, on the body of the knob, enter
and engage in the recesses i in the neck of the knob, in the manner already
explained with referenco to Figures 1, 2, and 3.
i
In the manufacture of small knobs I prefer to carry this part of my Invention
into effect in the manner illustrated in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, of the
Drawings, that is to say, instead of casting the neck upon the screw of the
knob, I attach to the top of the screw a circular disc or blank. The said screw
and blank are shown in elevation in Figure 9, and plan in Figure 10, the
screw being marked k, and the disc or blank 1. The neck of the knob, which
is made by stamping from sheet metal, as represented in section at m,
Figure 11, is placed upon the screw k and the body n of the knob, shown in
plan in Figure 12, and section in Figure 13, being placed upon the disc 2; the
edges of the body n and neck m are closed by pressure in the groove of the
disc, and the body and neck are thereby connected together. The projections
or tongues o of the body of the knob engage in the recesses in the edge of
the disc 7, so as to prevent the rotation of the body upon the said disc l.
I sometimes modify this part of my Invention by making the edge of the
body of the knob smooth, and making teeth or notches on the bottom of the
groove in the disc 1. In this case I make the disc 1 of three thin discs joined
together, the middle one being smaller than the others, and notched on its
edge. The body of the knob being closed upon the notches is prevented from
turning on the neck of the knob.
I sometimes manufacture door knobs by a modification of the method of
manufacture last described, as illustrated in Figures 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,
20, and 21. I take a disc q, Figure 15, and close the edge of the body r,
Figure 14, upon the said disc q, and thereby make the edge of the body
engage in the groove q³ on the edge of the disc 7. In the disc 7 is a hole 5,
of the form represented in Figure 15. The square spindle t, Figure 18, on
which the knob is to be fixed, has a neck or collar u of a cylindrical figure,
and a pin or projection v near its extreme end. That end of the spindle t which

page_text: carries the pin v, is introduced into the body of the knob through the holes in
the disc I, and is turned partly round until the pin v being no longer presented
to the parts of the hole s, the spindle cannot be withdrawn from the body of
the knob. The neck w, Figure 16, and shoulder x, Figure 17, are next placed
upon the spindle, and a screw nut y, Figure 21, is screwed upon the spindle t
so as to bind the parts wand x against the disc q, and thereby hold the
several parts of the knob together, as will be best understood by an examination.
of Figures 19 and 20, Figure 19 being an elevation, and Figure 20 a section
of a finished knob connected to the spindle. The screw nut y may be most
conveniently screwed upon the spindle t by means of the tubular part of the
screwing tool, herein-after described and illustrated in Figure 26, and a pin
may be passed transversely through the said screw nut y and spindle t, when
the said screw nut has been screwed up to the position represented in Figures
19 and 20.
My Invention consists, secondly, of the new or improved method herein-
after described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, of connecting
door and other knobs with their spindles.
Figures 22, 23, 24, and 25, illustrate my method of connecting door knobs
with their spindles; Figures 22, 23, and 24, represent the arrangement which
I employ for the locks called rim locks, and Figure 25 represents the arrange-
ment which I employ for the locks called mortice locks.
2
I carry this part of my Invention into effect with respect to rim locks as
follows-To the spindle I fix a knob 2 in any convenient manner, and upon
the said spindle, which is square in cross section, and has a screw thread on its
angles, as is well understood, I screw a screw nut or ferrule 3, similar to that
represented in Figure 21. The said screw nut or ferrule 8 is adjusted in such
a position upon the spindle that, when the said spindle is passed into the lock,
the said screw nut or ferrule 3 bears against the follower of the lock, tho
shoulder 4 of the knob being just free of the rose fastened on the door. The
loose knob 5, Figure 22, which said knob has a hole in its front, is then passed
on to the end of the spindle protruding through the door, the said knob 5 being
pushed on to the spindle until the part 6 bears against the follower, the surface
of which is flush, or nearly flush, with the lock case. A hollow screw 7, repre-
sented separately in section and elevation in Figure 23, is then passed through
the hole in front of the knob 5 and screwed upon the end of the spindle until the
head of the screw 7 presses the knob 5 tightly against the follower of the lock.
The screw 7 is turned and tightened by means of the points 8 of the screwing
tool, Figure 26, which said points engage in holes in the head of the screw 7.
The application of this part of my Invention to mortice locks is illustrated

page_text: in Figure 25. In the case of the said mortice locks I place upon the spindlo
10 two screw nuts or ferrules 11, 12, between which the follower of the lock
is situated. One of the knobs 13, 14, may be fixed to the spindle 10, or both
the said knobs may be moveable. If the knob 14 be fixed then the spindle
10 having on its end the said knob 14, and near its middle the screw nut or
ferrule 11, is passed through the lock, the said screw nut 11 having been
adjusted, so that it comes in contact with the follower when the shoulder of
the knob 14 is nearly in contact with the rose 15 attached to the door. After
the spindle has been passed through the follower of the lock the screw nut or
ferrule 12 is put upon the said spindle 10 and screwed up by means of the
tubular part of the tool, Figure 26, until it bears against the follower; the
follower is then held firmly between the screw nuts or ferrules 11 and 12. The
knob 18 is then fixed on the spindle. The distance to which the knobs 18
and 14 may advance on the spindle 10 may be determined by means of screw
nuts or ferrules, 16, 17, similar to the screw ferrules 11, 12. The said screw
ferrules 16, 17, being adjusted on either sido of the door the necks of the
knobs, or in case of china knobs, the metallic mountings of the knobs, engage
with the screw nuts or ferrules 16, 17. The knobs 13 and 14 are fixed on the
spindle by means of hollow screws of the kind represented in Figure 23. I
prefer to strengthen the roses fixed on the door, when the said roses are made
of sheet metal, by means of a plate or support of cast or wrought iron, as illus-
trated in Figure 27, which represents in plan and cross section a rose of this
kind. The brass mount is marked 18, and the iron plate or support is marked
19; the said support 19 is fixed to the rose 18 by the edge of the central
opening in the rose being turned or burnished into the opening in the support
19; as shown at 20.
'
Figures 28, 29, and 30 illustrate the application of the second part of my
Invention to the knobs of cupboard turns, Figure 28 representing in elevation
the principal parts separately; Figure 29 representing in section a complete
cupboard turn; and Figure 30 representing the face of the shoulder of the
knob. The face of the shoulder of the knob 21 has a nick or groove 22 made
across it. A hollow cylindrical piece 23, which screws on the square spindle
2 has a projection 25, which engages in the nick or groove 22 in the shoulder
of the knob. The tongue 26 is fixed on the end of the spindle 24, and the
cylinder 23, being screwed on the spindle to the distance required by the
thickness of the door, the knob 21 is placed on the spindle and fixed by the
hollow screw 27. This arrangement is applicable both to metallic and non-
metallic knobs.
•
Figures 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35, illustrate the application of the second

page_text: part of my Invention to the china or glass knobs of cupboard turns;
Figures 31, 32, and 33, representing in elevation the principal parts of the
spindle separately; and Figure 34 representing in section a complete cupboard
turn attached to a door; and Figure 35 representing the face of the shoulder
of the knob of the cupboard turn, Figure 84; 28 is a cylindrical piece
screwing on the square spindle 29, similar to that represented at 23, in
Figures 28 and 29; and 30 is a triangular washer sliding on the spindle 29.
In the face of the shoulder of the knob 31, a triangular recess 32 is made,
into which the said washer 30 fits. The spindle 29 having been passed through
the knob is fastened by the screw 34, shown separately in Figure 33. The
triangular washer 30 is passed along the spindle 29 until it enters the recess
32 in the knob. The cylindrical piece 28 is screwed up to the washer 30
and the knob 31 thus fixed on the spindle. In applying the knob and spindle
to a cupboard or other door the end of the spindle is passed through the door;
the tongue 33 is placed thereon and secured by the screw nut 35.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein-before described and illustrated, as the
same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention;
but I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, the improvement in the manufacture of metallic door and other
knobs, and the modifications thereof herein-before described and illustrated in
Figures 1 to 21, both inclusive, of the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly, the new or improved method of connecting door and other knobs
with their spindles herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 22 to 35,
both inclusive, of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Whitehouse, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JOHN WHITEHOUSE. (L.S.)