IMPROVEMENTS IN FITTINGS OR APPENDAGES FOR DOORS, AND IN THE MEANS OF FIXING OR ATTACHING THE SAME
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Restell, of New Kent Road, in the County
of Surrey, Chronometer Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FITTINGS OR APPENDAGES FOR DOORS, AND IN THE MEANS OF FIXING OR
ATTACHING THE SAME."
Sealed the 14th October 1856, and dated the 28th April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Restell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th April 1856.
I, THOMAS RESTELL, of New Kent Road, in the County of Surrey, Chrono-
meter Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN FITTINGS OR APPENDAGES FOR DOORS, AND IN THE MEANS OF
FIXING OR ATTACHING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to door handles and door plates, and, in so far as.
it refers to handles, consists in forming a portion of the spindle of one of the.
handles screw-threaded on the outside, and slotted down the middle as far as
the screw extends, so as to form, as it were, a two-branched spindle threaded on
the outer surface, which I pass through the door, and then screw the other
handle on to it, the latter being formed with a nut or female screw on the
inside to receive the slotted and threaded end of the spindle, and I then secure
them together by passing a screw pin, shaped in the manner herein-after
described, through a hole in the neck of the handle and slotted spindle. The
screw pin is thus formed:--The head is threaded, and below the thread it is
made conical for a portion of its length, and terminates in a plain pin. The

page_text: advantage of having the part between the head and shank conical is, that
the cone can be forced or jammed into the slot in the spindle, and thus press
the branches of the spindle against the inner sides of the nut in the handle,
whereby the handle is kept fast and prevented from shifting or oscillating.
For glass and porcelain handles I adopt the following arrangement:-To the
metal collar with which such handles are usually provided. I connect a shank,
threaded on its outer surface, and formed with a flat-sided or other hollow
passage in the direction of its length; and to the collar of the button intended
for the opposite side of the door I fix a prong, which, when the handles are to
be secured in place, I pass into the passage in the shank of the other handle;
over the prong I slip a tube, threaded on its inner surface with a female screw,
and fixed at one end (that nearest the handle) to a concave cap, which screws
or takes on to the collar of the handle. To fix the handles in place, I pass the
shank through the door and slip the prong of the opposite handle into the
passage in the shank, and then screw the tube over the shank by turning
the cap on the tube. I bring the cap and collar together and burnish them
over.
The Invention, in so far as it refers to door plates, consists in forming
a dovetail groove in the back of the plate, which extends nearly, but not quite,
along or across it, and in securing the plate to the door to which it is to
be fixed by slipping the groove over a metal block, springs, or catches screwed
on to the door, and so formed as to hold against the sides of the groove
and prevent the plate from shifting. I fix the block, springs, or, catches by
screws to the door, in order that they may be raised or lowered, and thus
more accurately fitted to the groove in the plate; or I form in the back of the
plate two circular or other suitably shaped apertures, which lead into a longi
tudinal slot. These apertures permit of the plate being put on to a door
sideways, then being turned upright, and the longitudinal slot being slidden
down over the blocks affixed to the door, whereby the plate will be held
securely without twisting and without screws or nails.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of. the conditions of the Letters Patent,. filed
by the said Thomas Restell in the Great Seal. Patent, Office on the
28th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, 'THOMAS
RESTELL, of the New Kent Road, in the County of Surrey, Chronometer 35
Maker, send greeting. :-

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant, unto me, the said
Thomas Restell, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Restell, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, 'or, such others as, I, the said Thomas
Restell, 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 FITTINGS OR
APPENDAGES FOR DOORS, AND IN THE MEANS OF FIXING OR ATTACHING THE SAME,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Restell,, my
éxecutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or,
one of their lands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be. per-
formed, 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 Thomas Restell, 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, that is
to say :-
".
My Invention relates to door handles and door plates, and, in so far as.
it refers to handles, consists in forming a portion of the spindle of one of,
the handles screw-threaded on the outside, and slotted down the middle as far
as the screw extends, so as to form, as it were, a two-branched, spindle threaded
on the outer surface, which I pass through the door and then screw the other
bandle on to it, the latter being formed with a nut or female screw on the
inside to receive the slotted and threaded end of the spindle, and I then secure
them together by passing a screw pin, shaped in the manner herein-after
described, through a hole in the neck of the handle and slotted spindle. The
screw pin is thus formed:-The head is threaded, and below the thread it is
made conical for a portion of its length, and terminates in a plain pin. The
advantage of having the part between the head and shank conical is, that the
cone can be forced or jammed into the slot in the spindle, and thus press the
branches of the spindle against the inner sides of the nut in the handle,
whereby the handle is kept fast and prevented from shifting or oscillating..

page_text: For glass and porcelain handles I adopt the following arrangement:-Over
the prong I slip a tube, threaded on its inner surface, and fixed at one end
(that nearest the handle) to a concave cap, which screws or takes on to the
collar of the handle; I then bring the cap and collar together, and burnish
them over..
The Invention, in so far as it refers to door plates, consists in forming
a dovetail groove in the back of the plate, which extends nearly, but not quite,
along or across it, and in securing the plate to the door to which it is to be
fixed by slipping the groove over a metal block, springs, or catches screwed on
to the door, and so formed as to hold against the sides of the groove and
prevent the plate from shifting. I fix the block, springs, or catches, by screws to
the door, in order that they may be raised or lowered, and thus more accurately
fitted to the groove in the plate; or I form in the back of the plate two circular
or other suitably shaped apertures, which lead into a longitudinal slot. These
apertures permit of the plate being put on to a door sideways, then being
turned upright, and the longitudinal slot being slidden down over the blocks
affixed to the door, whereby the plate will be held securely without twisting,
and without screws or nails.
The Drawings hereunto annexed exemplify the manner in which I carry my
Invention into effect.
;
Figure 1 shews a door handle and spindle constructed according to my
Invention Figure 2 is a view, partly in section, shewing the manner in which
I attach the handle to the spindle; Figure 3, a transverse vertical section of
a door handle with the hole for admitting the conical plug; Figure 4, a view
of the conical plug; Figure 4", a modification of the same; and Figures 5,
6, and 6º, modifications of the arrangements shewn in Figures 1 and 2.
A is a door handle, attached to which is the spindle B; one portion C of
this spindle is screw-threaded, and has a slot cut through the centre as far as
the thread extends: D is a corresponding handle, in which I cut a female
screw. Through one side of the boss c a hole e is bored, and screw-threaded
on the other side, and opposite to the hole e a second and smaller hole f
is bored. These holes are for receiving the conical plug, shewn at Figures 4
and 4º, which is constructed in the following manner:-The head from g to h
is screw-threaded, and made of such a size as to fit into the hole e; the part
marked i is conical, and the remainder k is an ordinary pin adapted to fit into
the hole f. To fix the furniture; I first pass the two-branched spindles C and
spindle B through a hole in a door (or any other article to which a handle has
to be fixed) made for its reception; then screw the handle D on to the slotted
spindle C, and having adjusted the same to the required distance, I screw the

page_text: plug into the hole e, the conical part i of which presses into and expands
the slot therein, and the end k of the plug fits into the hole f, when the attach-
ment is complete.
In Figure 5, A is the handle, and B the spindle. Here I slot the spindle,
as shewn at a, and cut or round the corners b, b.
In Figure 6, I shew the spindle A slotted the whole of its length, and the
corners b, b, as in Figure 5.
Figure 6ª shews the manner of making the spindle in two parts. e is a piece
of metal, formed on either piece, or both, or made separate, for the purpose of
keeping the two halves at a proper distance apart.
Figure 6 shews the manner I adopt for securing handles made of porcelain,
glass, or other brittle material to doors. I insert a metal nut a in the porcelain
or other material, and attach to the same a collar b, which fits over the neck
or beading of the handle A, when it may be burnished or otherwise, as desired.
The spindle is then secured with the conical plug, which is screwed through
the collar 6 and nut a, passing through the slotted spindle and entering the nut
and collar on the opposite side. The nut and collar may be made in a piece
or separate, as desired.
I now proceed to describe my improvements in door plates. Figure 7 is a
back view of one of my door plates; Figure 8, a section through the line a, b,.
of Figure 7; Figure 9 shews one of the means I adopt for attaching the plate
to a door; Figure 10 is a view of another plan which I use for securing the
plates; Figure 11, a view of one of the fasteners on a larger scale than shewn
at Figure 9; Figure 12, a side view of the same; Figure 18 is a front view,
and Figure 14 a cross section of another form of fastener.
A is the door plate, made of wood, porcelain, protean or vulcanized india-
rubber, or any other suitable material, having a dovetail groove B cut nearly
the whole of the length thereof. B' is a recess, and a notch, Figure 7, to pre-
vent the door plate from being lifted up. To the door A', part only of which
is shewn in the Drawings, I fix metal springs or catches C, the shape of which
will be more clearly seen by reference to Figures 11 and 12. These springs are
stamped or formed in any convenient manner; the circular part D is sunk to
receive the head of a screw which secures the spring or fastener to the door.
The blade or spring E is made with a slot c, as seen in Figure 11. The
advantage arising from using the slotted spring, Figure 11, is that in passing
the dovetail groove over the fastener, if the groove is not quite large enough,
the spring will contract and so adjust itself.
In Figure 10, A¹ is part of a door; B, a piece of common spring metal,
secured at a to the door A¹ by a screw. When the dovetail groove is passed

page_text: over the spring 'B, the end B' springs up in the groove and retains the door
plate in any required-position...
At Figures 13 and 14, a is a wire-coiled spring placed in a recess above the
metal piece b, and beneath the head of the screw; ca metal plate, secured to
the door by the screw d. The metal piece b-is moved by the coiled spring a
So that when the dovetail groove passes over the metal plate c, the piece b
presses against the groove and keeps the door plate in any desired position.
By the above means door plates are secured without nails or screws being
visible, can be taken off to clean easily by introducing an instrument into the
bottom of the dovetail in the plate A, and thereby releasing the spring catch
from the notch B, and the plates made of porcelain are not so liable to be
broken as those secured in the ordinary manner.
I do not confine myself to the shape of the catches and springs herein-before
described, and represented in the Drawings, but have merely given them as an
illustration of the manner in which they can be made, for it is obvious their
shape can be altered without departing from the principle of my Invention.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,
First, the fitting of handles for doors by means of a spindle and screw plug,
constructed and operating as herein-before described..
"་
Second, the employment of slotted screw door spindles for fixing door
handles to doors, herein-before described.
"
Third, the improved conical screw plug, as herein described.
Fourth, the fitting of plates to doors by the means and in manner herein-
before described.
- Fifth, the making or cutting a dovetail continuous groove in the back of
door plates for the purpose of securing the plates to doors, as herein described:
And, sixth, the fasteners for securing the plates, and the various modifica-
tions thereof, all as herein-before described, and represented in the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I; the said Thomas Restell have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-six.