IMPROVEMENTS IN FIXING DOOR KNOBS OR HANDLES ON TO THE SPINDLES OF DOOR LOCKS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Rice, of No. 15, Bath Street, City Road,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FIXING DOOR KNOBS OR HANDLES ON TO THE SPINDLES OF DOOR LOCKS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Rice at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 8th October 1869.
I, THOMAS RICE, of No. 15, Bath Street, City Road, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FIXING DOOR KNOBS OR HANDLES ON TO THE SPINDLES OF
Door Locks," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in fixing door knobs
or handles on to the spindles of door locks. The spindle of the lock,
which is square in section, has a screw thread cut on its angles, and the
knob or handle is so constructed as to screw upon the spindle. When

page_text: the knob or handle has been screwed on to the spindle for the distance
required, which depends on the thickness of the door, it is necessary to
make it fast with the spindle, so that the spindle may then turn with
the knob or handle to actuate the latch bolt of the lock. For this
purpose the rosette plate, which is fixed to the door, is provided at its
centre with a collar which is able to turn freely in the plate. This
collar has a square hole in its centre, through which the spindle passes..
A pawl is hinged to the collar and the knob or handle has notches
formed in it around its neck or inner end, When the knob or handle
is screwed into its place on the spindle its neck will abut upon the
collar in the centre of the rosette plate, and the pawl jointed to the
collar is then turned over so as to cause it to enter one of the notches
in the neck of the knob or handle, and in this way the handle is made
fast to the collar, and consequently to the spindle passing through the
square hole in its centre. The rosette screws on to a ring on the rosette
plate and prevents the pawl from afterwards escaping from the notch in
the neck of the knob or handle. In place of using a pawl to connect
the turning collar in the rosette plate with the neck of the knob or
handle they may be otherwise locked together when the knob or handle
is screwed into its place, as, for example, a ring with internal teeth may
be pushed down over them so that its teeth may lock into other teeth
formed on the two parts to be secured, and the ring will then be safely
held in its place by the rosette,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Rice in the Great Seal Patent Office on 28
the 8th April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
RICE, of No. 15, Bath Street, City Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Bend greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 30
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give

page_text: and grant unto me, the said Thomas Rice, Hor special licence that I,
the said Thomas Rice, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Thomas Rice, 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 FIXING DOOR KNOBS
OR HANDLES ON TO THE SPINDLES OF DOOR LOCкs," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Rice, 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 immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Rice, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in fixing door knobs
or handles on to the spindles of door locks. The spindle of the lock,
which is square in section, has a screw thread cuts on its angles, and the
knob or handle is so constructed as to screw upon the spindle. When
the knob or handle has been screwed on to the spindle for the distance
required, which depends on the thickness of the door, it is necessary
to make it fast with the spindle, so that the spindle may then turn with
the knob or handle to actuate the latch bolt of the lock. For this
purpose the rosette plate, which is fixed to the door, is provided at its
centre with a collar which is able to turn freely in the plate. This
collar has a square hole in its centre, through which the spindle passes.
A pawl is hinged to the collar, and the knob or handle has notches
formed in it around its neck or inner end. When the knob or handle
is screwed into its place on the spindle its neck will abut upon the
collar in the centre of the rosette plate, and the pawl jointed to the
collar is then turned over so as to cause it to enter one of the notches
in the neck of the knob or handle, and in this way the handle is made

page_text: fast to the collar, and consequently to the spindle passing through the
square hole in its centre. The rosette screws on to a ring on the rosette
plate and prevents the pawl from afterwards escaping from the notch
in the neck of the knob or handle. In place of using a pawl to connect
the turning collar in the rosette plate with the neck of the knob or
handle they may be otherwise locked together when the knob or handie
handle they may be otherwise locked together when the knob or handle
is screwed into its place.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood
and readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a section of a pair of knobs or door handles and the parts
connected therewith. a, a, is the spindle of the lock with a screw
thread cut on its angles at one end, and on the other end a knob b is
permanently fixed; c is the other knob suitably bushed to enable it to
screw on to the spindle a; d and e are rosette plates fixed by screws to
the door. The rosette plate d is shown in front view at Figure 2; it
carries the collar f, the stem of which passes through a circular hole in
the centre of the rosette plate and is rivetted over beyond but so as to
allow the collar to turn freely in the rosette plate. 9 is a small pawl
jointed to the collar f to lock the collar to the knob c by entering one
of the notches c¹ formed for the purpose in the bush in the neck of the
knob, as is more clearly seen at Figure 3. The spindle a is passed
through the square hole in the collar f; the knob c is then screwed up
to its place and the pawl g is turned into the notch c', which happens
to come opposite to it. h, h, are ornamental rosettes which screw on to
the rosette plates d and e.
A modification of the arrangement above described is shewn in section
at Figure 4. In this case the collar f is independent of the rosette
plate and is made to screw upon the spindle a; it has a groove around
it at f. The knob c with the bush in its neck is shown more clearly
at Figure 5; it has a square hole in it to fit the spindle and a projecting
flange c³, which encloses the collar f. The flange c³ is slotted on one
side, as is shown at Figure 6, and in the slot the latch is fitted; it
turns on a pin at c. When the collar fhas been screwed sufficiently
far on to the spindle a the knob c is put on and the latch c³ turned in

page_text: so as to enter the groove f' and thus to retain the knob. Afterwards
the ornamental rosette is screwed on and prevents the latch rising.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Rice, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.