IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR SPINDLES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George James Williams, of the Firm of Williams Brothers
and Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Brassfounders and
Tube Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING
DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR SPINDLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George James Williams at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th March 1879.
GEORGE JAMES. WILLIAMS, of the Firm of Williams Brothers and Company, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Brassfounders and Tube Manufacturers.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR SPINDLES."
The object of my Invention is to dispense with the usual neck screws by which
door and other knobs are ordinarily connected to their spindles, and to substitute
therefor a simple, durable, and efficient fastening.
In connecting door and other knobs to their spindles according to my Invention
I use a square spindle and a square hole in the neck of the knob to take upon the
square spindle. On the end of the square spindle on which the knob is to be fixed
I make a series of pairs of notches, preferably of a rectangular figure, but I do not
limit myself to this figure of the notches. These notches are made on opposite
faces of the square spindle and at a short distance apart, the notches on one face of
the spindle being opposite those on the other face of the spindle so as to constitute
a series of pairs of notches. For the purpose of fixing the knob on the spindle I
use a fastening consisting of a key or small forked bolt, the distance between the
branches of the key or bolt being equal to the thickness of the spindle between the
notches. The branches of the key or bolt have a size and sectional figure proper
to fit tightly in the notches in the spindle. The upper part of the key or bolt is
furnished by preference with a flat head for facilitating the driving in or the with-
drawal of the key or bolt. In the neck of the knob and passing into the square
hole in the axis thereof is a cross slot into which the forked key or bolt may be
passed.
In connecting the knob to the spindle, the knob is passed by a sliding motion
on to the notched end of the spindle and adjusted thereon as required by the
thickness of the door, a pair of notches being brought under or opposite the cross.
slot in the neck of the knob.

page_text: The forked key or bolt is now forced into the said cross slot until its head' rests
against the neck of the knob. The branches of the key or bolt are thereby made
to engage with one of the pairs of notches on opposite sides of the spindle so as to
embrace the spindle at that part and lock or fasten the knob to the spindle. To
disconnect the knob, it is only necessary to withdraw the fixing or locking key or
forked bolt from the cross slot in the neck of the knob when the knob is released,
and may be removed from or adjusted on its spindle. For the purpose of giving
additional firmness to the knob fixed on the spindle, the branches of the key or
bolt may be made so long as to take into a second cross slot in the neck opposite
to that at which the key or bolt is introduced.
One or both knobs may be connected to the spindle according to my Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
$6
by the said George James Williams in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th August 1879.
GEORGE JAMES WILLIAMS, of the Firm of Williams Brothers and Company, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Brassfounders and Tube Manufacturers.
IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR SPINDLES."
The object of my Invention is to dispense with the usual neck screws by which
door and other knobs are ordinarily connected to their spindles, and to substitute
therefor a simple, durable, and efficient fastening.
In connecting door and other knobs to their spindles according to my Invention
I use a square spindle and a square hole in the neck of the knob to take upon the
square spindle. On the end of the square spindle on which the knob is to be fixed
I make a series of pairs of notches, preferably of a rectangular figure, but I do not
limit myself to this figure of the notches. These notches are made on opposite
faces of the square spindle and at a short distance apart, the notches on one face
of the spindle being opposite those on the other face of the spindle so as to con-
stitute a series of pairs of notches. For the purpose of fixing the knob on the
spindle I use a fastening consisting of a key or small forked bolt, the distance
between the branches of the key or bolt being equal to the thickness of the spindle
between the notches. The branches of the key or bolt have a size and sectional
figure proper to fit tightly in the notches in the spindle. The upper part of the
key or bolt is furnished by preference with a flat head for facilitating the driving
in or the withdrawal of the key or bolt. In the neck of the knob and passing
into the square hole in the axis thereof is a cross slot into which the forked key
or bolt may be passed.
In connecting the knob to the spindle the knob is passed by a sliding motion
on to the notched end of the spindle and adjusted thereon as required by the

page_text: thickness of the door, a pair of notches being brought under or opposite the cross
slot in the neck of the knob. The forked key or bolt is now forced into the said
cross slot until its head rests against the neck of the knob. The branches of the
key or bolt are thereby made to engage with one of the pairs of notches on
opposite sides of the spindle, so as to embrace the spindle at that part and lock, or
fasten the knob to the spindle.
To disconnect the knob it is only necessary to withdraw the fixing or locking
key or forked bolt from the cross slot in the neck of the knob when the knob is
released, and may be removed from or adjusted on its spindle.
For the purpose of giving additional firmness to the knob fixed on the spindle,
the branches of the key or bolt may be made so long as to take into a second cross
slot in the neck opposite to that at which the key or bolt is introduced.
One or both knobs may be connected to the spindle according to my Invention.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the .
manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section a pair
of door knobs, connected to their spindle according to my Invention; Figure 2
represents a section of one of the knobs with a portion of the spindle in elevation,
the said section Figure 2 being taken in a plane at right angles to that in which
the sectional part of Figure 1 is taken; Figure 3 is a cross section of the knob,
Figure 2, taken through the fastening key or bolt; and Figure 4 is the same view
as Figure 3 with the fastening key or bolt removed; Figure 5 represents the
fastening key or bolt separately.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5.
a, a, are the two door knobs, and b is the spindle, square in cross section, and
taking into a square hole in the neck of the knob as usual so that the said knob
may be placed upon or removed from the spindle by a sliding motion. In the end
or ends of the spindle ba series of pairs of notches c, c, is made having the shape
best seen in Figure 1, but I do not limit myself to that shape. The notches c, c,
are made on opposite faces of the square spindle b and at a short distance apart,
the notches on one face of the spindle being opposite those on the other face of the
spindled is the key or small forked bolt for fastening the knob to the spindle.
The said key or bolt has the slightly taper figure represented, and the distance
between the branches, the inner sides of which are parallel, is equal to the thick-
ness of the spindle between the notches c, c, so that the said forked key or bolt
may engage with any of the pairs of notches in the spindle. One side of the neck
of the knob a is furnished with a cross slot e which passes into the square hole in
the axis of the knob. The said cross slot e is of a size proper for receiving the
head of the forked key or bolt d. After the knob a has been adjusted on the
notched end of the spindle b by a sliding motion, and a pair of notches c, c, brought
opposite the cross slot e in the neck of the knob a, the forked key or bolt d is passed
or forced into the said cross slot e until the head is nearly flush with the exterior
of the neck of the knob as seen in Figure 2. By the passing of the key or bolt d
through the slot e in the neck of the knob, the branches of the said key or bolt
are made to engage with the pair of notches opposite the said slot, so as to embrace
the spindle at that part as best seen in Figures 1 and 3, and the knob is thereby
securely fastened to the spindle. Both knobs are fastened in the way described.
By withdrawing the key or bolt d from the notches c, c, in the spindle and cross
slot e in the neck of the knob, the said knob is released and may be withdrawn
from or adjusted on the spindle.
Both knobs are represented as being connected to the spindle according to my
Invention, but one of the said knobs may be a fixed knob and the other a remov-
able or adjustable knob.
Figure 6 represents a cross section of the arrangement of my Invention in which
the ends of the branches of the key or bolt d are made to take into a second
cross slot f in the neck of the knob opposite the cross slot e at which the key or
--

page_text: L
bolt is introduced. For the purpose of producing a finer adjustment of the knob
on the end of the notched spindle than is afforded by means of the pairs of notches
described and represented, the key or bolt may have only one branch, and the
notches on one side of the spindle may be made opposite solid parts on the other
side of the spindle, that is, the notches are not made in pairs, the one branched
key or bolt being capable of taking into one only of the notches on either side the
spindle.
This modification of my Invention is represented in Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11
of the Drawing, Figure 7 representing a pair of knobs attached to their spindle,
one knob being shown in elevation and the other in longitudinal section, Figure 8
representing one of the knobs in section taken in a plane at right angles to that
in which the sectional part of Figure 7 is taken; Figure 9 is a cross section of
the knob taken through the fastening key or bolt; and Figure 10, the same view
as Figure 9 with the fastening key or bolt removed; Figure 11 represents the key
or bolt separately.
a, a, are the knobs; b is the spindle ;- and h, h, the notches on opposite sides of
the spindle, the notches on one side of the spindle being opposite solid parts on the
other side of the spindle as best seen in Figure 7; i is the one branched key or
bolt which can be passed according to the position of the adjusted knob into any
one of the notches at either side the spindle for attaching the knob to the spindle.
The manner in which the single branched key or bolt i engages with the notch h
in the spindle will be understood by an examination of Figures 7, 8, and 9.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention,
the improvements in connecting door and other knobs to their spindles herein
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, the
combination of the notched end or ends of the spindle made in either of the ways
described and illustrated, with a single or double branched fastening key or bolt
passed through the neck of the knob and made to engage with one or with a pair
of notches in the spindle, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said George James Williams, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
GEORGE JAMES WILLIAMS. (L.S.)