IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOBS AND ROSES USED WITH LOCKS, PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATIONUCH LIKE FASTENINGS AS ARE CONSTRUCTED WITH SPINDLES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Pitt, of Number 4, Great Carter Lane,
Doctors' Commons, in the City of London, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOBS AND ROSES USED WITH LOCKS,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Pitt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th
June 1858.
I, BENJAMIN PITT, of Number 4, Great Carter Lane, Doctors' Commons,
in the City of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOBS AND ROSES USED
WITH LOCKS, LATCHES, AND SUCH LIKE FASTENINGS AS ARE CONSTRUCTED WITH
SPINDLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the mode of constructing
such knobs or handles as are commonly employed for actuating the spindles
of door locks or latches, in which the rose is formed upon the knob or handle
in the manner of a flange, or secured thereto so as to allow the knob or handle
to work freely therein, such knobs or handles being capable of being adjusted
to doors of various thicknesses. In such cases the rose and knob are secured
to the door by means of an under rose provided with a neck or collar, formed
with a worm, and, as previously constructed, the under rose was secured or

page_text: fastened to the door with screws, in order to insert which the upper or orna-
mental rose, which was also furnished with a worm corresponding to that
upon the neck of the under rose, was worked back upon the neck of the knob
or handle sufficiently to allow of the insertion of the screws.
In this mode of construction, however, great inconvenience was experienced,
inasmuch as the upper rose could be removed but a short distance from the
under rose, and the screws could only be introduced in a slanting direction.
By the present Invention these objections are obviated in the following
manner: The under rose is a metallic plate with a neck or collar, the same
being screwed on to the face of the door, and forming a separate and distinct
article from the upper or ornamental rose. In some cases it may be desirable
to attach the, under rose to the lock itself instead of to the door.
The upper or ornamental rose which is attached to the knob or handle, as
heretofore, is so constructed on the under side or interior thereof as to fit on
to the neck or collar of the under rose, and thus forming a perfectly tight and
secure joint; or a cap connected with the knob so as to fit in like manner
upon the said neck or collar may be employed.
The under rose having been screwed to the door, as before mentioned, the
knob with its rose is attached, by means of the before-mentioned joint to the
neck or collar of the under rose, the same being thereby firmly secured to
the door.
Another portion of my Invention consists of an improved method of con-
structing the under rose, in cases in which the arrangement previously in use
is employed, and in which the under rose is permanently connected with the
knob. In the flat plate or flange of the under rose are formed a suitable
number of double screw holes, that is to say, the holes are arranged in sets of
two, one of such holes in each set being sufficiently large to admit of being
passed over the head of the screw, and being connected with the adjoining
hole by a slot. The position of the screws having been determined, the screws
are inserted in the door, and the under rose is attached by passing the screw
heads through the larger holes, and then turning or shifting the plate round so
that the necks of the screws pass through the slots into the adjacent smaller
holes, when the screws can be tightened without difficulty, and the knob and
rose screwed up into their proper position.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Benjamin Pitt in the Great Seal Patent Office on. the 15th.
December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
PITT, of No. 4, Great Carter Lane, Doctors' Commons, in the City of London,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her-
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Benjamin Pitt, Her special licence that I, the said Benjamin. Pitt, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin.
Pitt, my 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 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF KNOBS AND ROSES USED WITH LOCKS, LATCHES, AND SUCH LIKE FASTENINGS A3 ARE
CONSTRUCTED WITH SPINDLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Benjamin Pitt, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly describe and ascertain the nature of the 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 Benjamin Pitt, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
The improvements embraced by this Invention relate to the mode of con-
structing such knobs or handles as are usually employed for actuating the
spindles of door locks or latches, and in which the rose is formed upon the
knob or handle in the manner of a flange, or secured thereto, so as to allow
the knob or handle to work freely therein, and also the roses used in combina-
tion therewith; these improvements being applicable to such knobs or handles
which are capable of being adjusted to doors of various thicknesses, and for the
construction of which Letters Patent were granted to me, bearing date the

page_text: Fourteenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
As con-
structed under such last-mentioned Letters Patent, the upper or ornamental
rose and the knob were secured to the door by means of an under rose, per-
manently attached or jointed to the knob or handle, so that the latter would
work freely in the same, the under rose being provided with a neck or collar
furnished with an external worm, corresponding with a worm formed in the
upper or ornamental rose. The under rose was secured or fastened to the
door with screws, in order to insert which the upper or ornamental rose was
worked back upon the neck of the knob or handle sufficiently to allow of the
insertion of the screws. In this mode of construction great inconvenience
was experienced, inasmuch as the under rose being connected with the knob
and the upper or ornamental rose, capable of being removed upon the neck of
the knob or handle but a short distance from the under rose, the screws could
only be introduced in a slanting or oblique direction, the upper or ornamental
rose being thus subjected to the risque of injury during the process of fixing
the under rose.
These difficulties and objections are surmounted and obviated by my-present
Invention, in the following manner :-The under rose consists of two parts,
that is to say, of a metallic. plate, which is screwed on to the face of the door,
and made with a neck or collar formed with an external worm, the other
portion of such under rose being a collar, which is fixed in the internal
aperture of the outer or ornamental rose, and furnished in the interior thereof
with a worm, corresponding with that on the neck or collar of the before-
mentioned plate, the knob or handle being jointed thereto by means of a nut,
so as to allow the knob to revolve without affecting the upper or ornamental
rose. The metallic plate having been screwed to the door, the knob or handle
with the outer or ornamental rose is attached thereto by means of the wormed
collar fixed to the latter, and forming part of what I call the under rose, the
same being worked over the wormed neck or collar attached to the said plate.
The upper or ornamental rose may be further secured by means of a small
pin or screw passed through the same, so as to prevent the possibility of its
being shifted from its position by the movement of the knob or handle after
having been screwed up. By these arrangements, the knob or handle is more
firmly and certainly secured to the door than by any of the means previously
in use.
I should here mention that in some instances it may be desirable to
attach the under rose to the lock itself instead of to the door.
Figure 1 in the annexed Drawings represents a section of a mortice lock
with a portion of the door in which it is fixed, the knob being secured theret
as herein-before mentioned, and the wormed neck or collar of the under ros

page_text: being screwed to the lock itself.
K is the knob; S, the spindle; C, a metal
collar surrounding the spindle; R is the upper or ornamental rose with the
metal cap c fixed therein, n being the nut by which the same is connected to
the knob, and forming a joint, enabling the latter freely to turn the spindle;
F is the wormed neck or collar attached to the lock, and upon which the
upper rose is screwed by means of the cap fixed therein. Figure 2 is a section
of the wormed neck or collar which is attached to the lock shewn detached
therefrom, Figure 3 being a plan view of the bottom plate thereof; Figure 4
represents in section a knob, with its roses as ordinarily constructed in
accordance with this Invention. K is the knob; S, the spindle; C, the metal
collar surrounding the latter; R, the upper or ornamental rose with the
internal wormed cap fixed therein, the same being jointed thereto by means of
the nut n; F is the plate which is screwed to the door with its wormed neck
or collar f.
I will now proceed to describe another portion of my Invention, which may
be applied to such knobs as are constructed in accordance with the Invention
formerly secured to me by the said Letters Patent of the Fourteenth day of
May, One thousand eight hundred and forty-four, and in which articles so
constructed, the under rose is permanently connected with the knob. In the
flat plate or flange of the under rose are formed any desired number of double
or slotted screw holes, that is to say, the holes are arranged in sets of two, one
of such holes in each set being sufficiently large to admit of being passed over
the heads of the screws, and being connected with the adjoining hole by a
slot, the last-mentioned holes being made too small for the heads of the screws
to pass through. The position and distances of the screws having been deter-
mined (which may be done by means of a template), the screws are inserted
in the door, when the under rose is attached by passing the screw heads
through the larger holes thereof, and then turning or shifting the plate round,
so that the necks of the screws pass through the slots into the adjacent smaller
holes. The screws can then be tightened without difficulty, and the knob and
rose screwed up into their proper positions.
Figure 5 represents a knob with its roses as constructed under my former
Patent, and in which the screws are shewn in the slanting or oblique position
in which only they could be inserted. Figure 6 is a plan view of the plate
with its slotted screw holes herein-before mentioned.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which it is to be performed, I would observe in conclusion that I do not con-
fine myself to any particular form or forms, or material or materials, in the
manufacture of the several articles herein-before mentioned, provided the main

page_text: features and principles of my Invention are adhered to; neither do I claim all
the several parts of the arrangements herein-before described; but what I con-
sider novel and original and therefore claim as my Invention, is,-
Firstly, the method of constructing under roses in two parts, and of
attaching and securing the same to knobs or handles, as herein-before men-
tioned and described.
And, secondly, the mode of fixing the under roses of knobs, when, as afore-
said, permanently attached thereto, to doors by means of slotted screw holes, in
manner herein-before mentioned and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Pitt, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
E. P. H. VAUGHAN,
15, Southampton Buildings,
Agent for the Patentee.
BENJAMIN PITT. (L.S.)