CERTAIN IM- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNOBS FOR DOORS AND OTHER LIKE USES, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF EARTHENWARE
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Whitehouse the elder, and John
Whitehouse the younger, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Brass Founders, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNOBS FOR DOORS AND OTHER
LIKE USES, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO THE
MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF EARTHENWARE."
Sealed the 23rd April 1853, and dated the 5th February 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Whitehouse
the elder and John Whitehouse the younger at the Office of
the Commissioners, of Patents, with their Petition, on the 5th
February 1853.
We, JOHN WHITEHOUSE the elder and JOHN WHITEHOUSE the
younger, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNOBS FOR DOORS AND
OTHER LIKE USES, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO THE
MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF EARTHENWARE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to the manufacture of knobs from
the powdered earthy materials, instead of.,using the said materials
in a plastic state, by which means a superior and more enduring

page_text: article may be produced. This part of the Invention is also ap-
plicable to the manufacture of basons, cups, pipes, handles, artists'
color pans, paste or patch boxes, and numerous other articles
usually made by potters with plastic materials.
By the present Invention, a much larger class of articles can be
made by the dry process of pottery than hitherto it has been
practicable to make, from the necessity which was supposed to
exist of limiting the process to articles possessing a uniform
thickness, or nearly so, as buttons, tiles, and such articles as could
be removed from the mould in which they were pressed by simply.
raising the under surface of the die.
In making articles of powdered clay with a raised embossed
pattern on their face it has been the practice to-form corresponding
indentations in the back of the articles. This supposed necessity.
has arisen from the fact that if a die with a sunk pattern were used
in conjunction with a flat die, the parts of the articles correspond-
ing with the raised surface of the die would be hard, while the
other parts, which are thicker and should have been supplied with a
proportionate addition of powder, will be soft, and which no amount
of pressure will regulate. The dies or tools which we use are so
arranged that the parts of the die required to make the thickest
portion of the article shall either recede from or descend below the
other parts of the surface of the die, according to whether a raised
or sunken surface is required; by which means any additional
quantity of powder can be supplied, and the hardness of the article
made uniform throughout. By using dies in parts or segments we
are enabled to make knobs, cups, basons, pipes, handles, and other
articles of earthenware or porcelain, which hitherto have not been
made by the dry process.
Instead of making the rose, or that part of a door lock knob
which forms the base and is fastened to the door, entirely of
earthenware or porcelain, we propose to make the outer ring only
of such material, and fix a cup of metal into it to receive the screws
for fastening it to the door.
We also line the screw hole of the door lock. knob with a metal

page_text: tube to prevent the screw by which the spindle is fastened to the
knob coming in contact with the material of the knob.
To prevent drawer and other like knobs from coming off furniture
to which they are attached we make one or two indentations in
the case of the knob sufficient to receive a projecting nail or screw
driven into the furniture under the seat of the knob, so that when
it is drawn close by means of a nut and screw on the other side of
the furniture it cannot be turned round. Knobs to be used for
fastening cupboard doors we make by indenting a channel on the
under side or base of the knob, in which a pin, fixed upon a metal
plate and fastened on the front of the cupboard under the knob,
will work. By this means we limit the axial motion of the knob.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent filed by the said John Whitehouse the elder and John
Whitehouse the younger in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th August 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,.
JOHN WHITEHOUSE the elder and JOHN WHITEHOUSE the younger,
of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Brass Founders, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three,
in the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said John Whitehouse the
elder and John Whitehouse the younger, Her special licence that
we, the said John Whitehouse the elder and John Whitehouse the
younger, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said John Whitehouse the elder and John Whitehouse
the younger, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United

page_text: Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF KNOBS FOR DOORS AND OTHER LIKE USES, PART OF WHICH IM-
PROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF
EARTHENWARE," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said John Whitehouse the elder and John Whitehouse the younger,
by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the saine 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 the younger,
(on behalf of myself and of the said John Whitehouse the elder,) do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention of improvements in the manufacture of knobs for
doors and such like articles relates, firstly, to the manufacture of
knobs from earthy materials pulverized, instead of using the said
materials in a plastic state, as is usually the case. By these means
a superior, stronger, and more enduring article may be produced.
This part of the Invention is also applicable to the manufacture
of basons, cups, pipes, handles, artists' color pans, paste or patch
boxes, and numerous other articles usually made by potters with
plastic materials.
By the present Invention a much larger class of articles can be
made by the dry process of pottery than it has hitherto been prac
ticable to make, owing to the necessity which was supposed to
exist of limiting the process to articles possessing a uniform
thickness, or nearly so, as buttons, tiles, and such articles as coul
be removed from the mould in which they were pressed by simply
raising the under surface of the die.

page_text: In making articles of powdered clay with a raised embossed
pattern on their face it has hitherto been the practice to form
corresponding indentations in the back of the articles, so as to
render the article of a uniform thickness throughout, in order that
every part may undergo equal pressure, or as nearly so as possible.
This supposed necessity has arisen from the fact that if a die
with a sunk pattern were used in conjunction with a flat die, the
parts of the articles corresponding with the raised surface of the
die would be hard, while the other parts, which are thicker and
should have been supplied with a proportionate additional quantity
of powder, will be soft, owing to the difference in the amount of
pressure which has been applied, and which cannot be regulated in
the ordinary moulds or dies. The improved dies or tools which we
use are so arranged and constructed that the parts of the die
required to make the thinnest portion of the article shall either
recede from or descend below the other parts of the surface of the
die, according to whether a raised or sunken surface is required, by
which means any additional quantity of powder can be supplied,
and the hardness of the article made uniform throughout, as a nearly
uniform pressure can be applied to all parts of the article. In
some cases, as for articles of peculiar form, such as knobs, the dies
must be made in parts or segments, and by the employment of
such dies or moulds we are enabled to make cups, basons, pipes,
handles, knobs, and other articles of earthenware or porcelain,
which it has hitherto been impossible to make by the dry process.
The advantage resulting from the use of such divided or segmental
dies is, that when the article has been made therein by compression
the several parts of the die can be taken asunder, and the com-
pressed article removed therefrom with difficulty."
In the accompanying Drawings we have shewn several views of
moulds arranged and constructed for inaking different kinds of
articles. Fig. 1, is a plan view of a mould for making an artist's
color pan; Fig. 2, is a longitudinal vertical section of the same;
Fig. 3, is a transverse vertical section.. a, a, is the bed plate of the
press; b, b, is the mould box, in which the die c, c; c,. is placed.

page_text: The box b, b, is firmly secured to the bed plate by clamps, bolts,
and nuts, or in any other convenient manner. The die c, c, rests
on a moveable plate d, d, placed at the bottom of the box, and
provided at its under side with a rod whereby it may be moved up
and down vertically in the box b, b, when required. The die c, is
further provided with the moveable parts f, f, f, f', which can be
raised in their holes or sockets in the die, as shewn in Fig. 3, and
by dots in Fig. 2. The piston g of a fly press or other pressing
apparatus works in the mould box as shewn, and compresses the
pulverized materials therein. The operation of making an article
in this improved mould or die may be described as follows:- The
moveable parts f, f, of the die c, are raised up in their sockets, as
зhewn in Fig. 3, and by dots also in Fig. 2, and the mould box is
then filled with the pulverized material, as shewn. Fig. 2, re-
presents the pressing piston down, and the colour pan formed. It
will be seen that the parts 1, 1, are about half the thickness of the
parts 2, 2, consequently they will require only half the quantity of
material. It is for this reason, therefore, that the moveable parts
ff, of the die c, are raised, as shewn in Fig. 3, in which it will
be seen that the parts 1, 1, have only about half the quantity of
material of the parts 2, 2, therefore when the piston y descends
the parts f, f, will descend in their sockets, and the whole of the
pulverized material will be submitted to one uniform pressure, or
nearly so. The article having been made, the piston g is with-
drawn from the mould, and the die c, c, pushed up by raising the
plate d, by means of the rod e, when the color pan or other
article may be taken away. Figures 4, and 5, are two transverse
sections of a mould and die for making patch boxes; a, a, is the
fixed foundation plate, as in Figures 2, and 3; b, b, the mould
box; c, c, the die; d, d, an annular block which supports the die,
and is capable of being moved up and down in the mould box by the
rods e, e.
The inside of the patch box is formed by a moveable
block or piston f, f, which answers the purpose of the parts f, f, in
the former figures, and is capable of being moved up by the rod f*;
9, is the piston, whereby the pulverized earthy material is com-

page_text: pressed as before. Fig. 4, represents the apparatus ready for
making a box, and just before the piston g descends. Fig. 5,
represents the same after the piston has been forced down. The
box having been made, it is removed from the die and mould by
first drawing back the piston g, and removing therewith the
upper part 6 of the mould box, the annular block is then raised
by moving up the rods e, e, whereby the upper end of the box is
raised above the edge of the mould box. By pushing up the
piston f by means of its rod f+ the box will be forced out of the
die, and can then be taken away. To facilitate this object we find
it convenient to construct the die c of two or more parts, which
may be taken asunder, as will be hereafter more particularly
explained. In making small articles I find it convenient to arrange
or combine several dies together in one plate, so that they may be
acted upon by one and the same blow or pressing force. The manner
in which I propose to carry out this object will be understood by
referring to Figures 6, 7, and 8. Fig. 6, is a longitudinal section.
of a number of dies combined together for the purpose of making.
rings, roses, pateries, escutcheons, buttons, or other similar small
articles; a, a, is the foundation plate as before; b, b, is the mould.
plate, which is placed upon another plate d, d, shewn in plan at
Fig. 7. This plate d is capable of being moved up and down by
means of the rod e, for the purpose of discharging the articles when
made; ff, are fixed cores or blocks screwed into the fixed plate
a, a, for the purpose of forming the hollow centre of the rose or
ring. A series of pressers or pistons g, g, g, are mounted vertically
in a plate g* for the purpose of securing their proper descent in the
mould plate. Pressure is applied to the pistons g, g, in any con-
venient manner. Fig. 8, represents the position the several parts
would be in before the pressure is applied. The mould having
been filled with the pulverized matter, the pistons g, g, are brought
down and made to compress the same, as shewn in Fig. 6. The
articles having been thus formed, the plate g*, with its dies or
pistons g, g, is removed, and the plates b, and d, are pushed up by.
means of the rod e, whereby the rings, roses, or other articles are

page_text: pushed up from off of the fixed cores f, f; the plate b, may be then
taken away with the articles sticking in the holes thereof, from
whence they may be removed by hand with facility. Some articles,
such as knobs and door handles, are of such a shape that they
cannot be made in simple dies, but necessarily require divided dies,
which when the article has been made therein may be taken to
pieces in order to remove the manufactured article, as has been
before mentioned in reference to Figures 4, and 5. Fig. 9, is a
vertical section of an apparatus for making knobs, door handles,
and other articles which require divided dies; a, a, is the foundation
plate; b, b, the mould box; c, c*, the die or mould, which is shewn
detached in plan at Fig. 10, and in section at Fig. 11; d, d, is a
plate provided with a projecting block d*, through which passes
the core pin f*, which is screwed into a plate below. There is a
piston g, as in the former instances, for compressing the materials.
The divided die c is supported in the mould box b, b, by the
horizontal pins or wires p, p, seen best in the horizontal cross
section, Fig. 12, and the vertical transverse section, Fig. 13. These
pins support the die while the mould is being filled, and when the
piston is ready to descend the pins p must be withdrawn, and
the dies c allowed to yield to the pressure.
Another core pin 7 is
inserted for the purpose of making the hole through which passes
the screw, whereby the knob is held on the spindle. The other
parts are precisely similar to those already described, and marked
with similar letters of reference in the other figures.
Instead of the rose, or that part of a door lock knob which forms
the base and is fastened to the door, being made entirely of earthen-
ware or porcelain, we propose to make the outer ring only of
such material, and to fix a cup or disc of metal in it to receive the
screws for fastening it to the door.
A rose of the improved form is shewn detached at Fig. 14, and
as applied to a door at Fig. 15; h, is the earthenware part of the
rose, and i, is a metal disc, which is secured to the ring k, by bur-
nishing over the brass flanges j; screw holes are made in the disc i,
to receive the screw whereby the rose is attached to the door. By

page_text: this means there is no risk of breaking the rose by screwing up too
tightly; the difference between the new and old plan will be easily
understood by referring to Fig. 16, which represents the old
method, while Fig. 15, is a similar view shewing the new plan.
In order to prevent drawer and other like knobs from coming
off furniture to which they are attached we make one or two
indentations in the base of the knob sufficient to receive a pro-
jecting nail or screw, which must be driven into the furniture under
the seat of the knob, so that when it is drawn close by means of a
nut and screw on the other side of the furniture it cannot be turned
round. In Figures 17, and 18, we have shewn an improved con-
struction of fastening for cupboard doors. It consists of a knob,
on the under side or base of which we fasten a plate having an
indentation, channel, or sector slot made therein, in which a pin
fixed upon I a metal plate, and fastened on the front of the cupboard
under the knob, will work. By this means the axial motion of the
knob k is limited, as the pin which is fixed in the door takes into
the sector slot m of the plate n, and thereby prevents it from
turning.
In Sheet II. we have shown an arrangement of machinery for
facilitating the manufacture of the several articles for which our
improved dies or moulds may be employed. The several figures
already described, and shewn in Figures 1, to 13, inclusive, represent
the tools whereby the articles are formed into the required shape
by means of pressure applied to the pistons g, g, in any convenient
manner, either by a hand or fly press, or by means of the press
and apparatus shewn at Figures 19, and 20, Sheet II. Fig. 19, is a
vertical section of the machine, and Fig. 20, an end elevation
thereof; A, A, is the bed or foundation plate of the machine, on
which are fixed the side standards B, B, which support the working
parts. The moulds or dies, combined in any convenient number,
as shewn in the figures, are seen at C, and are placed upon a cross
bed A. Pressure is applied to the top of the series of moulds or
dies by means of a block or plunger D, which is secured to the
lower end of the screw E. Pressure having been applied to the

page_text: moulds, and the articles thereby formed therein, the series of dies
C must be raised up by means of the lifting rods F, F, connected
by a cross bar to the upper end of a toothed rack G, which is
actuated by a pinion H on the axle of the fly wheel I. By turning
this wheel by means of the handle, and thereby raising the rack G,
and moulds C, the upper part of the latter will be forced past two
spring catches 1, 1, on each side of the frame, and then, upon
allowing the frame F to descend, the lower part of the moulds C
will descend with it, leaving the upper part resting on the catches,
as shewn by red color in the Drawing. The upper part of the
moulds C is then pushed forward into the position shewn by dots in
Fig. 20, and a plunger at the lower end of the rack K, is brought
down by means of the pinion L on to the upper side of the moulds,
and the articles that have been formed therein are thereby forced
out of the dies, which, on being replaced in their original positions
on the plate A*, are then ready for a second charge of the pul-
verized material. Instead of causing a plunger to descend as just
described for the purpose of compressing the earthy matters in the
moulds or dies, this object may be effected by forcing the moulds
upwards against a stationary block.
Having now described our Invention, and the best means with
which we are acquainted for carrying the same into effect, we would
observe, in conclusion, that we are aware that buttons, tiles, and
other articles of nearly uniform thickness have heretofore been
made of pulverized earthy materials; we do not, therefore, mean or
intend to claim the exclusive right to make articles of various kinds
by compressing pulverized earthy materials, except when effected
in the manner herein shewn and described; nor do we intend to
confine ourselves rigidly to the precise arrangement of parts herein
shewn and described, as they may perhaps be varied without
departing from the nature and object of our Invention; but that
which we consider to be new, and therefore wish to claim as the
Invention secured to us by Letters Patent as aforesaid, is,---
First, the use and application (for the purposes herein set forth,
or any analogous purposes,) of moulds or dies with moveable parts,

page_text: by means of which the varying quantity of material required for
parts of different thicknesses of the articles to be produced may be
increased, diminished, or regulated at pleasure with facility.
Second, we claim the method shewn and described in reference
to Figures 6, 7, & 8, or any mere modification thereof, for con-
structing compound dies for the purpose of making small articles of
simple form, and whereby the said articles, when made, may be
reinoved from the dies with greater facility than when the com-
pound dies or moulds are made or formed in one single block of
metal.
Third, we claim the use of divided or segmental dies for the
manufacture of articles of pulverized earthy materials.
Fourth, we claim the machine shewn in Sheet II. of the Drawings,
or any mere modification thereof, for effecting the same object.
Fifth, we claim constructing roses with a metallic plate or disc
adapted thereto for the purpose of receiving the screws whereby
the rose is affixed or secured to the door.
We also claim adapting to the back of knobs for doors or cup-
boards a slotted plate for the purpose herein set forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Whitehouse the younger,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-three.
5 Witness,
JOHN WHITEHOUSE, JUNE. (L.S.)
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane,
London.