IMPROVE- MENTS IN ADJUSTABLE APPLIANCES FOR FIXING DOOR HANDLES ON TO THEIR SPINDLES, ALSO ESCUTCHEONS FOR DOORS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Harrison, of Highfield, Sheffield, in
the County of York, Wood Turner, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ADJUSTABLE APPLIANCES FOR FIXING DOOR HANDLES ON TO THEIR
SPINDLES, ALSO ESCUTCHEONS FOR DOORS."
Sealed the 19th January 1872, and dated the 20th July 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Harrison at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th July 1871.
I, WILLIAM HARRISON, of Highfield, Sheffield, in the County of
York, Wood Turner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "
IMPROVEMENTS IN ADJUSTABLE APPLIANCES FOR FIXING DOOR HANDLES ON
TO THEIR SPINDLES, ALSO ESCUTCHEONS FOR DOORS," to be as follows:-
The first part of this Invention relates to and consists in an improved
method of connecting the loose knob of a door or cupboard handle to
the spindle thereof, which I propose to effect by the following means:
-The spindle is made square with a thread or screw cut upon its edges

page_text: for a portion of its length in the usual way. The fixed knob is also
fastened on to the spindle in the usual way, but instead of adjusting
the loose knob on the spindle by a screw passed through the neck of
the knob, as commonly practised, after the spindle has been passed
through a hole in the door, I employ the following mechanical arrange-
ment for that purpose:-I form a casting of the following shape. One
end is a round disc of the same size as the neck part of the loose knob,
against the end of which it is to be fixed by screws if the knob
is made of wood, buffalo horn, or metal, and by cement or other suitable
means if the knob is of any other material. The piece of metal above
mentioned has a slot or opening formed across it of about the same
length as the diameter of the part that fits against the end of the afore-
said loose knob, and on the other side of the said slot, and opposite
to or in a line with a square hole formed through the centre of the
aforesaid disc a boss is cast with a square hole therein of the same size
as the spindle. Within the aforesaid slot a washer fits loosely, and the
said washer has a screwed hole formed through the centre thereof which
is intended to fit on to the screwed part of the spindle, so that in order
to fasten a door knob thus constructed to a door the spindle is first
passed through the door, the aforesaid screwed washer is then held in
its slot, and screwed on to the end of the spindle by embracing the
edge of the washer (which is milled or roughened) by the thumb and
finger, or by inserting the end of a narrow screwdriver into one or
other of several slits formed across the edge of the washer. By these
means the loose knob is slidden on the spindle until it is screwed
tightly against the door, after which the rose of the loose knob is
screwed to the door, and thus securely connected thereto without the
possibility of the knob becoming loose by the continual turning of the
handles or knobs in the act of opening and closing the door as is now
the case by the present method of fastening the loose knob on to the
spindle by a screw as before stated.
In adapting this Invention to the construction of knobs and spindles
for cupboards and such like purposes I propose to make them as
follows: Instead of first passing the tongue or locking piece on the
spindle after the spindle part of the knob has been passed through the
door of the cupboard, and then tightening it up by a screwed nut, as
commonly practised, I form the said tongue or locking piece forked at
its lower end with square holes through the forked parts which pass

page_text: over the spindle of the knob; and in the space between the two afore-
said forks I fit a screwed washer which fits on to the screwed parts of
the spindle, as before described with reference to the knobs and spindles
for doors to which locks are fitted. By turning round the aforesaid
screwed washer the knob and spindle with its tongue or locking piece
may be readily and securely connected to the door of a cupboard or
other like article, and will work truc and more steady than by the
mode heretofore employed for connecting knobs and spindles to cup-
boards.
The second part of this Invention relates to an improved method of
connecting keyhole escutcheons to the plates which are employed.for
fixing them to doors, and applies more particularly to escutcheons made
of glass, porcelain, or composition liable to crack or break easily. The
improvement consists in substituting a clip instead of a rivet, as
commonly practised, that is to say, instead of rivetting the two parts
together, I pass a clip such as is now used for filing papers through a
hole in the escutcheon and plate thereof, and bend or turn back the
points of the clip as in filing papers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Harrison in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th January 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HARRISON, of Highfield, Sheffield, in the County of York, Wood
Turner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Harrison, Her special licence that
I, the said William Harrison, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Harrison, my executors, adminis-
trators and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,

page_text: 1
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ADJUSTABLE APPLIANCES
FOR FIXING DOOR HANDLES ON TO THEIR SPINDLES, ALSO ESCUTCHEONS FOR DOORS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Harrison,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Harrison, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say :-
The first part of this Invention relates to and consists in an improved
method of connecting the loose knob of a door or cupboard handle to
the spindle thereof, which I propose to effect by the following means:—
The spindle is made square with a thread or screw cut upon its edges
for a portion of its length in the usual way. The fixed knob is also
fastened on to the spindle in the usual way, but instead of adjusting
the loose knob on the spindle by a screw passed through the neck of
the knob as commonly practised after the spindle has been passed
through a hole in the door, I employ the following mechanical arrange-
ment for that purpose :-I form a casting of the following shape. Onc
end is a round disc of the same size as the neck part of the loose knob,
against the end of which it is to be fixed by screws (if the knob is
made of wood, buffalo horn, or metal,) and by cement or other suitable
means if the knob is of any other material. The piece of metal above
mentioned has a slot or opening formed across it of about the same
length as the diameter of the part that fits against the end of the
aforesaid loose knob and on the other side of the said slot and opposite
to or in a line with a square hole formed through the centre of the
aforesaid disc a boss is cast with a square hole therein of the same
size as the spindle. Within the aforesaid slot a loose washer fits loosely,
and the said washer has a screwed hole formed through the centre
thereof which is intended to fit on to the screwed part of the spindle,
so that in order to fasten a door knob thus constructed to a door the
spindle is first passed through the door. The aforesaid screwed washer
is then held in its slot and screwed on to the end of the spindle by

page_text: embracing the edge of the washer (which is milled or roughened) by
the thumb and finger or by inserting the end of a narrow screwdriver
into one or other of several slits formed across the edge of the washer.
By these means the loose knob is slidden on the spindle until it is
screwed tightly against the door, after which the rose of the loose knob
is screwed to the door, and thus securely connected thereto without
the possibility of the knob becoming loose by the continual turning of
the handles or knobs in the act of opening and closing the door as is
now the case by the present method of fastening the loose knob on to
the spindle by a screw as before stated.
In adapting this Invention to the construction of knobs and spindles
for cupboards and such like purposes, I propose to make them as follows:
-Instead of first passing the tongue or locking piece on the spindle
after the spindle part of the knob has been passed through the door of
the cupboard, and then tightening it up by a screwed nut as commonly
practised, I form the said tongue or locking piece forked at its lower
end with square holes through the forked parts which pass over the
spindle of the knob, and in the space between the two aforesaid forks
I fit a screwed washer, which fits on to the screwed parts of the spindle
as before described with reference to the knobs and spindles for doors
to which locks are fitted. By turning round the aforesaid screwed
washer, the knob and spindle with its tongue or locking picce may be
readily and securely connected to the door of a cupboard or other like
article and will work more true and steady than by the mode heretofore
employed for connecting knobs and spindles to cupboards.
The second part of this Invention relates to an improved method of
connecting keyhole escutcheons to the plates which are employed for
fixing them to doors, and applies more particularly to escutcheons made
of glass, porcelain, or composition liable to crack or break easily.
The improvement consists in substituting a clip instead of a rivet, as
commonly practised, that is to say, instead of rivetting the two parts
together I pass a clip, such as is now used for filing papers, through a
hole in the escutcheon and plate thereof and bend or turn back the
points of the clip as in filing papers.
And in order to explain my said Invention more clearly I now
proceed to describe the means by which it may be effected, reference
being had to the illustrative Sheet of Drawings accompanying this

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents an elevation of a pair of knobs or door handles
as they would appear when applied to a door and adjusted on the
spindle of a mortice lock according to my said Invention; Figure 2 is
a vertical section shewing the construction of the parts and manner of
connecting them together and to a lock spindle and door; Figure 3 is
a front elevation of the loose knob with adjusting piece affixed thereto;
Figures 4 and 5 shew the adjusting pieces detached from the loose
knob Figure 6 shews a side elevation, and Figure 7 a front elevation
of the manner of adapting my said Invention to knobs and spindles for
cupboards and such like purposes; Figure 8 shews an elevation, and
Figure 9 a section of my improved method for connecting a keyhole
escutcheon to the plates employed to connect it to a door. At each of
the above-mentioned Figures similar letters of reference are employed
to denote corresponding parts.
As regards Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, A marks a fixed knob; B, a spindle
fixed thereto by one end in the usual way; C, a loose knob to which is
affixed by screws a, a, a piece of metal D, shewn detached at Figure 4.
The spindle B is screwed on its angles in the usual way, and E is a
screwed washer fitting over the aforesaid screwed part of the spindle;
b is a plate screwed to the rose G, and H is another rose screwed to
the plate c and also to the door I after the loose knob has been properly
adjusted on the spindle B, which is effected as follows:-The spindle
being first passed through the lock and holes in the door the piece E is
then placed and held in the piece D, and in this position these pieces
are passed on the screwed end of the spindle by turning round the
screwed washer E in the proper direction either by hand or a screw-
driver placed in one of the slits d until the piece D is brought
sufficiently close to the plate c to allow the knobs and spindle to turn
or move freely in the door. This done the rose H is screwed to the
plate c and door, and in this manner and by these improved means the
loose knobs of doors may be connected to the spindles thereof.
And as regards Figures 6 and 7 the same means to those lastly
above described are employed for adjusting knobs to cupboards and
for such like purposes.

page_text: And as regards Figures 8 and 9, K marks the escutcheon, and La
plate to be fixed to a door by screws at e in the usual way; and the
novelty and improvement in this part of my said Invention consists in
connecting the escutcheon to the plate L by a clip piece f, instead of by
a rivet as heretofore practised, to prevent cracking or breaking the
escutcheon, as before stated.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of
my said Invention for "Improvements in Adjustable Appliances for
Fixing Door Handles on to their Spindles, also Escutcheons for Doors,"
together with the means by which it may be effected, I hereby declare
my Invention to consist in and I claim, the parts marked D, E, e, in
combination with the spindles and knobs of doors and cupboards as
above described and represented as constituting improved appliances for
adjusting and fixing door handles on to their spindles, as above stated.
I also claim, as regards keyhole escutcheons, the clip for connecting
the escutcheon to the plate that holds the escutcheon on the door, as
above described and represented.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Harrison, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
WILLIAM HARRISON. (L.S.)