IMPROVEMENTS IN CON- NECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR SPINDLES, AND IN ADJUSTING THE SAID KNOBS ON THEIR SPINDLES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Cooper, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Joiners' Tool Manufacturer, and John Robert Cooper, of Birmingham
aforesaid, Manager of Works, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CON-
NECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR SPINDLES, AND IN ADJUSTING
THE SAID KNOBS ON THEIR SPINDLES."
Sealed the 18th December 1877, and dated the 20th June 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Cooper and John
Robert Cooper at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th
June 1877.
JOSEPH COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Joiners' Tool
Manufacturer, and JOHN ROBERT COOPER, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manager of
Works. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR
SPINDLES, AND IN ADJUSTING THE SAID KNOBS ON THEIR SPINDLES."
Our Invention consists,-
First, of the construction and arrangements of parts herein-after described for con-
necting the said knobs to their spindles with great firmness, whereby the shaking
or rattling of the knobs is entirely prevented.
And our said Invention consists further, of the construction and arrangements of
parts herein-after described for readily and accurately adjusting one or both knobs
on their spindle to the thickness of the door or other article.
We will first describe the securing and adjusting of the moveable knob.
The end of the spindle on which the adjustable knob is to be fixed is furnished on
one side or on opposite sides with rack teeth, the sides of the other end of the spindle
on which the fixed knob is secured being plain.
The metallic mount of the knob situated at the front of the neck has at its
middle a bush with a square hole in it, through which hole the square spindle
passes.
Within, and fixed to the said mount by screws, is a circular plate having at its
back a square tube in a line with the bush of the mount. Across the middle of this
circular plate a recess is made in which a fixing slide works. In the middle of the

page_text: said slide is a square (or other shaped) hole through which the toothed end of the
spindle is passed.
By means of a milled head external to the periphery of the mount, working on a
screw at one end of the slide, the latter may be moved in its slot so as to cause its
middle hole to coincide or not with the bush of the mount and the square tube of
the slide-carrying plate. In order to fix the moveable knob on the spindle the slide
is moved so that its hole is coincident with the mount and tube, and the knob is
pushed on to the toothed end of the spindle until the bush of the mount bears
against the door. By turning the milled head in the proper direction on the screw
of the slide the latter is moved in its slot and one of the edges of the square hole in
the said slide is made to engage between two of the teeth on the spindle, and thereby
fix the knob securely on the spindle.
By relaxing the milled head on the screw of the slide the said slide may be
disengaged from the rack teeth of the spindle and the knob released, and may be
withdrawn from or adjusted on the spindle.
The knob is fixed on the tubular mount in the following manner :-The knob has
an axial hole made in it, the said hole passing from the front to near the back of the
knob, where it opens into a recess of about double the diameter of the axial hole.
The tube of the mount being passed into the axial hole in the knob, the end of the
said tube, which is screwed, projects into the recess at the back of the knob. A
screw nut being screwed on the end of the tube of the mount, and made to bear
against the shoulder of the recess, the knob is secured with great firmness to the
mount, and the shaking or rattling of the knob is prevented. The recess at the
back of the knob is closed by an ornamental screw nut or cap, which is screwed on
the extreme end of the tube of the mount. The knob so fixed is prevented from
turning on the mount by depressions in the front face of the neck of the knob,
taking upon the heads of the screws by which the mount and the plate in which the
fixing slide works are connected together.
The fixed knob is secured to its mount by an arrangement of parts substantially
the same as that described with respect to the adjustable knob, but the slide for
fixing the knob on the spindle is omitted; the mount of the fixed knob being per-
manently secured on the plain end of the spindle.
Where a finer adjustment is required than is afforded by the adjusting mechanism
described of the moveable knob, both knobs may be made moveable on their
spindle, one knob being adjusted and fixed by the mechanism described, and the
other knob being adjusted and fixed by the following mechanism-A screw
bush is situated in front of the mount, the said bush being capable of being
screwed on the end of the spindle. The mount which is fixed to the knob is
'capable of sliding on the end of the spindle, the back of the said mount being pro-
vided with a tube screwed externally.
+
In using this arrangement the screw bush is first screwed on the spindle until it
abuts against the door. The bush of the knob is then placed on the spindle, and
moved up to.the said bush, and the bush and mount connected together by screws,
and the end of the spindle protruding from the screwed tube of the mount is bound
'to the said mount by a nut. The knob is next placed on the mount and secured
thereto by means of a screwed tube passed through the axial hole in the knob, being
screwed on to the tube of the mount, the rear end of the said fixing tube having
a collar upon it which bears against the shoulder of the recess at the back of the
knob.
The recess is closed by an ornamental screw nut or cap screwing into the collar of
the fixing tube

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Joseph Cooper and John Robert Cooper in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th December 1877.
JOSEPH COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Joiners' Tool
Manufacturer, and JOHN ROBERT COOPER, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manager of
Works. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR
SPINDLES AND IN ADJUSTING THE SAID KNOBS ON THEIR SPINDLES."
Our Invention consists,-
First, of the contruction and arrangements of parts herein-after described for
connecting the said knobs to their spindles with great firmness, whereby the shaking
or rattling of the knobs is entirely prevented.
And our said Invention consists further, of the construction and arrangements of
parts herein-after described for readily and accurately adjusting one or both knobs
on their spindle to the thickness of the door or other article.
We will first describe the securing and adjusting of the moveable knob.
The end of the spindle on which the adjustable knob is to be fixed is furnished
on one side, or on opposite sides, with rack teeth, the sides of the other end of the
spindle being plain.
The metallic mount of the knob situated at the front of the neck has at its
middle a bush with a square hole in it, through which hole the square spindle passes.
Within, and fixed to the said mount by screws, is a circular plate having at its
back a square tube in a line with the bush of the mount. Across the middle of this
circular plate a recess is made in which a fixing slide works. In the middle of the
said slide is a square (or other shaped) hole, through which the toothed end of the
spindle is passed.
By means of a milled head external to the periphery of the mount, working on
a screw at one end of the slide, the latter may be moved in its slot so as to cause its
middle hole to coincide or not with the bush of the mount and the square tube of
the slide-carrying plate. In order to fix the moveable knob on the spindle the
slide is moved so that its hole is coincident with the mount and the tube, and the
knob is pushed on to the toothed end of the spindle until the bush of the mount
bears against the door. By turning the milled head in the proper direction on the
screw of the slide the latter is moved in its slot, and one of the edges of the square
hole in the said slide is made to engage between two of the teeth on the spindle, and
thereby fix the knob securely on the spindle.
By relaxing the milled head on the screw of the slide, the said slide may be
disengaged from the rack teeth of the spindle, and the knob released, and may be
withdrawn from or adjusted on the spindle.
The knob is fixed on the tubular mount in the following way :-
The knob has an axial hole made in it, the said hole passing from the front to
near the back of the knob, where it opens into a recess of about double the
diameter of the axial hole. The tube of the mount being passed into the axial hole
in the knob, the end of the said tube, which is screwed, projects into the recess at
the back of the knob. A screw nut being screwed on the end of the tube of the
mount, and made to bear against the shoulder of the recess, the knob is secured
with great firmness to the mount, and the shaking or rattling of the knob is pre-
vented. The recess at the back of the knob is closed by an ornamental screw nut
or cap, which is screwed on the extreme end of the tube of the mount. The knob
so fixed is prevented from turning on the mount by depressions in the front face of
the neck of the knob, taking upon the heads of the screws by which the mount and
the plate in which the fixing slide works are connected together.
The fixed knob is secured to its mount by an arrangement of parts substantially
the same as that described with respect to the adjustable knob, but the slide for
fixing the knob on the spindle is omitted, the mount of the fixed knob being per-
manently secured on the plain end. of the spindle.

page_text: Where a finer adjustment is required than is afforded by the adjusting mechanism
described of the moveable knob, both knobs may be made moyeable on their spindle,
one knob being adjusted and fixed by the mechanism described, and the other knob
being adjusted and fixed by the following mechanism. A screw bush is situated in
front of the mount, the said bush being capable of being screwed on the end of the 5
spindle. The mount which is fixed to the knob is capable of sliding on the end of
the spindle, the back of the said mount being provided with a tube screwed externally.
In using this arrangement the screw bush is first screwed on the spindle until it
abuts against the door. The mount of the knob is then placed on the spindle and
moved up to the said screw bush, and the bush and mount connected together by 1
screws, and the end of the spindle protruding from the screwed tube of the mount
is bound to the said mount by a screw nut. The knob is next placed on the mount,
and screwed thereto by means of a screwed tube passed through the axial hole in
the knob, being screwed on to the tube of the mount, the rear end of the said fixing
tube having a collar upon it which bears against the shoulder of the recess at the 1
back of the knob.
The recess is closed by an ornamental screw nut or cap screwing into the collar of
the fixing tube..
We will now describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner
in which our Invention may be carried into effect.
Figure 1 represents. in side elevation a pair of door knobs connected to their
spindle, and the moveable knob adjusted on the spindle, according to our Invention;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the moveable knob taken in a plane at right
angles to that in which the section, Figure 2, is taken.
Figure 3 is an end elevation of the moveable knob..
Figures 4 and 5 are transverse sections taken through the fixing slide of the
moveable knob, Figures 1 and 2, Figure showing the slide in its releasing position,
2
and Figure 5 the same in its fixing position.
Figures 6 and 7 are modifications for working the fixing slide of the moveable a
knob, as herein after described.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1 to 7, both
inclusive.
u is the moveable knob, and b is the fixed knob, the said knobs being made of
wood, china, or other non-metallic material, but our said Invention is also applicable 3
to the fixing and adjusting of metallic knobs; c is the spindle, to the ends of which
the said knobs a, b, are connected.
The end
We will first describe the fixing and adjusting of the moveable knob a.
of the spindle c, on which the knob a is to be fixed, is provided with rack teeth d
made on opposite angles, but rack teeth inay be made on all the angles of the
spindle; e is the metallic mount of the knob. This mount has at its front a bush
e2, having a square hole in it through which the square spindle c may slide. In the
hollow of the mount e a circular plate f is fitted, the said plate f being fixed to the
mount by the screws g, g, the heads of which project from the back face of the
said plate f, as seen in Figure 3. Across the middle of the circular plate fa recess h 4
is made, in which recess the fixing slide i works. The shape of this fixing slide,
and its position in, the circular plate f of the mount, is best seen in Figures 3, 4,
and 5. In the middle of the fixing slide i is a square or angular hole through
which the spindle c passes. To the back of the plate f, and made in one piece
therewith, is a tube having a square hole in it, and being screwed on its outer end.
The part of the hole in the slide i is inclined on opposite sides, and constitutes a
tooth for the purpose herein-after described.
The motion of the slide i, in the cross recess h in the plate f, is effected by the
milled head or screw box l, external to the mount e, working on the screw pin m,
fixed at one end of the slide i. When this milled head or box is turned in one or
other direction it screws upon the screw pin m, and causes the said screw pin to
advance in or retire from the said head or screw box l, and the slide i is thereby.
ALE

page_text: raised or lowered in the recess h in the plate f: When the slide i is moved into
the position, Figure 4, the square or angular hole in it coincides with the square
or angular hole in the plate and mount e, and the spindle may be passed through
the said parts. When the slide i is moved into the position, Figure 5, its tooth
is made to partly cross the hole in the plate f of the mount.
In fixing the moveable knob a on the racked end of the spindle c the fixing slide i
is moved into the position represented in Figure 4, so as to make its hole coincide
with that in the plate f of the mount, and the knob a is pushed on to the toothed
or racked end of the spindle until the bush e bears against the door. The milled
head or screw box is now turned in the direction proper to raise the slide ¿ in its
recess h into the position represented in Figure 5. The tooth 3 of the slide i is
thereby made to engage between two of the rack teeth d on that edge of the spindle
presented to the said tooth is, and the knob is thus fixed on the spindle.
By making rack teeth on opposite angles of the spindle, as represented, a set of
rack teeth is presented to the tooth of the slide in either of the two positions in
which the knob may be passed on to the spindle.
When it is required to remove the knob a the milled head is so turned as to
cause the slide i to withdraw its tooth from the rack teeth d on the spindle,
when the knob a is released, and may be withdrawn from the spindle; or after the
knob has been released it may be adjusted on the spindle, and re-fastened by moving
the slide i to the position represented in Figure 5.
It will be seen, by an examination of Figure 2, that the rack teeth on the two
angles of the spindle are not opposite each other, but that the bases of the teeth on
one angle are opposite the summits of the teeth on the other angle. By this
arrangement a fine adjustment of the spindle, equal to the length of half a tooth,
may be obtained by presenting one or other of the series of rack teeth to the fixing
slide.
In order to avoid the inconvenience of the projecting head or screw nut 7 on the
mount the arrangement represented in Figure 6, or that represented in Figure 7,
may be employed for moving the slide i.
In Figure 6, a screw n, having a nicked head working in a depression in the
mounte, is employed, the screw n taking into a screw box p in the end of the slide i.
By turning the screw n by a screwdriver the slide i may be adjusted, so as to fix
or rlease the knob.
In the arrangement, Figure 7, a screw box 7, working in and situated flush with the
mount e, is employed, the said screw box q taking upon a screw r fixed to the end
of the slide i. By turning the screw box q by a screwdriver the screw r may be
made to advance into or retire from the screw box q, and thereby adjust the position
of the slide i.
The moveable knob a is fixed to the tubular mount in the following way :-
-In
the said knob a is an axial hole a passing from the front to back, where it
opens into a recess a³ of larger diameter. The knob a is passed on to the tube / of
the plate, the mount recesses at a, a, in the front of the neck of the knob (see
Figure 34), taking on to the heads of the screws g, g, at the inside of the circular
plate f. By thus engaging the knob a with the mount e the rotation of the knob
is prevented. After the knob has in this way been placed on the tube k a screw
nuts is screwed on the end of the tube k, and made to bear against the shoulder of
the recess a³ at the back of the knob, as seen in Figure 2. The knob a is thereby
secured very firmly to the mount, and the shaking or rattling of the knob is effec-
tually prevented. The recess a³, at the back of the knob, is closed by an ornamental
screw nut or cap t, which is screwed on to the extreme end of the tube k, as repre-
sented.
The mount e of the fixed knob b is secured to the plain end of the spindle c by
a screw pin or screw pins passed through the bush e², and taking into the said
spindle, and the knob b is afterwards secured to the mount by an arrangement of
parts similar to that by which the moveable knob is secured to its mount, and
corresponding parts are marked with the same letters of reference.

page_text: In the arrangement of parts for securing the fixed knob b to the mount e the
fixing slide is omitted, the said mount e being solid, and having fixed to it the
screwed tube l, as represented.
Figure 8 represents in longitudinal section the arrangement of our Invention for
fixing and adjusting the knob on the spindle, where a finer adjustment is required
than that afforded by the arrangement already described. The part or end c² of
the spindle, on which the knob u is to be fixed, has a fine screw thread made on its
angles, on which screw thread a screw bush v, in front of the metallic mount e, is
placed. The mount e has a square hole in it, so that the said mount is capable
of sliding on the spindle, and at the back of the said mount is a screwed tube et.
In using the arrangement, Figure 8, the screw bush v is first screwed on the end
c² of the spindle c until it abuts against the door. The mount e of the knob u is
then placed on the spindle, and moved up to the said bush v, and the bush and
mount are connected together by screws w, w, and the end of the spindle protruding
from the screwed tube e' of the mount is bound to the said mount by a nut e³
screwed on the said end of the spindle. The knob u is next placed on the mount
and secured thereto by means of the screwed tube x passed through the axial hole
in the knob u, being screwed on to the tube e¹ of the mount, the rear end of the
said fixing tube e having a collar e upon it, which bears against the shoulder of
the recess at the back of the knob. The recess at the back of the knob is closed
by an ornamental screw nut or cap y, the screw pin of which screws into a hole in
the collar e of the fixing tube e³. The rotation of the knob w on the mount is
prevented by the recesses at the face of the neck, taking upon the projecting heads
of the screws w, w, by which the mount and screw bush are secured together.
The arrangement, Figure 8, may either be used for adjusting and fixing the
moveable knob on its spindle, or may be used for adjusting and fixing one of the
knobs on the spindle, and the arrangement herein first described may be used for
adjusting and fixing the other knob on the spindle.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our
Invention of improvements in connecting door and other knobs to their spindles,
and in adjusting the said knobs on their spindle,-
First. The construction and arrangement of parts, herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the accompanying Drawing, for fixing
and adjusting the moveable knob on its spindle, that is. to say, fixing in the hollow
mount a circular plate having across it a recess in which a fixing slide works, tho
said fixing slide being made to engage with rack teeth on the angle of the spindle,
substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated.
Secondly. The arrangement or combination of parts, herein-before described and
illustrated in Figure 8 of the accompanying Drawing, for adjusting and fixing one
of the knobs on the spindle.
Thirdly. The arrangements or combinations of parts, herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 34, and 8 of the accompanying Drawing, for con-
necting the moveable and fixed knobs to the mounts of the said knobs, whereby the
shaking or rattling of the knobs is prevented.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph Cooper and John Robert Cooper, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventeenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
JOSEPH COOPER.
(L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOHN ROBERT COOPER. (L.S.)