Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture of certain kinds of Knobs.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1892
'Complete Specification Left, 29th Dec., 1892-Accepted, 29th Mar., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture of certain
kinds of Knobs.
I, THOMAS SMITH, of Hale Bank, Kingswood Road, Moseley, Worcestershire,
Brassfounder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to those knobs such for instance as rail knobs for
metallic bedsteads, which are usually made of brass and have screwed or other iron
or steel or other shanks for their attachment, and this invention consists in the
hereindescribed improvements in the manufacture of the said rail knobs and other
knobs and in the method of securing their shanks thereto whereby the cost of the
knob complete with its shank is very considerably reduced.
In carrying out this invention I raise the knob into the required hollow spherical
or other hollow form from a sheet metal blank by tools worked in a press or stamp
in the same way that shankless knobs which are made to screw on are now made
except that I use much thinner metal and I prepare or form in a peculiar manner
as hereinafter described the neck or hole of the knob in which the shank is to be
inserted and fixed. I may either fix the knob on to its shank by soldering or by
brazing or by pressing or closing the knob on to the shank. When I fix the knob
on to its shank by soldering or brazing I slightly chamber or recess the hole in the
knob or in the neck of the knob so that when the shank is placed therein there
will be a small channel all round or partly around the shank in which the solder
will lie during the process of soldering or brazing and thus give a comparatively
large area of the solder in contact with the knob and its shank. The hole in the
knob may be of a square or other form and the shank made to correspond so as the
better to prevent the knob turning round on the shank. Or the hole and the shank
may be round as usual.
When I fix the knob on to its shank by closing thereon I place the shank in
the hole of the knob.and swage down or close the hole around the shank by means
of tools worked in a press or stamp so as to firmly secure the head and the shank
together.
Knobs made in this way can also very conveniently be used as loops or bearings
for coffin handles cabinet handles and other drop handles by the said knobs having
a side hole for the handle grip to engage in. When made as handle loops and
particularly for coffin handles I may use a half-round or other wire cotter for the
shank and secure the knob to the looped end thereof in either of the ways above
described.
Dated this 28th day of March 1899
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture of certain
kinds of Knobs.
I, THOMAS SMITH, of Hale Bank, Kingswood Road, Moseley, Worcestershire,
Brassfounder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
This invention has reference to those knobs such for instance as rail knobs for
metallic bedsteads, which are usually made of brass and have screwed or other iron

page_text: or steel or other shanks for their attachment, and this invention consists in the herein-
described improvements in the manufacture of the said rail knobs and other knobs
and in the method of securing their shanks thereto whereby the cost of the knob
complete with its shank is very considerably reduced.
In carrying out this invention I' raise the knob into the required hollow spherical
or other hollow form from a sheet metal blank by tools worked in a press or stamp
in the same way that shankless knobs which are made to screw on are now made
except that I use much thinner metal and I prepare or form in a peculiar manner as
hereinafter described the neck or hole of the knob in which the shank is to be
inserted and fixed. I may either fix the knob on to its shank by soldering or by
brazing or by pressing or closing the knob on to the shank. When I fix the knob
on to its shank by soldering or brazing I slightly chamber or recess the hole in the
knob or in the neck of the knob so that when the shank is placed therein there will
be a small channel all round or partly around the shank in which the solder will
lie during the process of soldering or brazing and thus give a comparatively large
area of the solder in contact with the knob and its shank. The hole in the neck
of the knob may be of a square or other form and the shank made to correspond
so as the better to prevent the knob turning round on the shank. Or the hole and
the shank may be round as usual.
When I fix the knob on to its shank by closing thereon I place the shank in the
hole of the knob and swage down or close the hole around the shank by means of
tools worked in a press or stamp so as to firmly secure the head and the shank
together.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings
the manner in which my said invention is to be performed.
:
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all
the figures.
One method of carrying out my invention is illustrated by Figs. 1, 2 and 3.
In this example the recess for the solder d is made in the neck of the knob e
by slightly countersinking the hole f of the spheroidal knob Fig. I which latter
is formed in the usual way by raising the blank a, see Fig 1*, into the cup
shewn by Fig 1** and then closing the mouth of the cup as shewn in Fig. 1.
The shank c is then inserted in the hole f as far as it will go and then the knob
is swaged down and closed around the shank and soldered thereto at d (see
Fig. 3) the recess formed by countersinking the hole f giving a large surface
for the solder as above described. The shank c may either be plain or it may
be nicked at gg as shewn in Fig. 2 so as to give a better hold. Or as shewn
by Figs. 4 and 5 the shank c may have a head on that end which is enclosed
in the knob; or as shewn in Figs. 6 and 7 this head c¹ may be at such a distance
from that end of the shank as to fit against the inside of the neck while the extreme
end of the shank bears against the top of the inside of the knob. Figs. 8 and 9
illustrate another method of carrying out my invention in which the soldering
process is dispensed with, the shank being nicked at g g as shewn in Fig. 9 and then
inserted in the hole in the knob e and the knob is then by dies swaged or closed
down so as to force the metal round the hole f tightly around the shank c and into the
nicks 99 and thus firmly secure the knob and its shanks together.
The knobs e made as above described can also very conveniently be used as
loops or bearings for coffin handles cabinet handles and other drop handles by the
said knobs e having a side hole for the handle grip to engage in.
When made as
handle loops and particularly for coffin handles I may use a half-round or other
wire cotter for the shank c and secure the knob e to the looped end thereof in any
of the ways above described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:―
The improved shanked rail knobs and other like shanked knobs made and fixed

page_text: to their shanks in any of the several ways substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th day of December 1892.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.