IMPROVEMENTS IN AFFIXING KNOBS OR HANDLES TO THE SPINDLES OF DOOR FURNITURE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Reid Corson, of the City of Manchester,
Architect, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AFFIXING KNOBS OR
HANDLES TO THE SPINDLES OF DOOR FURNITURE."
Sealed the 26th March 1867, and dated the 27th September 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Reid Corson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 27th September 1866.
I, WILLIAM REID CORSON, of the City of Manchester, Architect, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AFFIXING KNOBS
OR HANDLES TO THE SPINDLES OF DOOR FURNITURE," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object a means of fixing knobs or handles to the
spindles of door furniture so that such furniture is readily applicable to any
ordinary thickness of door, and this is effected in a much simpler and cheaper
manner than has hitherto been practised, and consists in the use of a square
or any other suitable form of spindle having a screw thread cut partially

page_text: down its length from either end, and provided with two or more narrow
longitudinal rectangular slots formed at right angles to each other at or near
each end of such spindle. The knobs or handles are made to screw upon the
threads formed on the spindle so as to be adjustable to the greatest nicety to
any ordinary thickness of door, and a hole or slot is constructed through the
neck or narrow part of each of such knobs or handles.
The mode of affixing door furniture constructed according to this Invention
may be thus described:-When a knob or handle is screwed up to its position
on a door, a cotter, peg, or wedge of any suitable shape, but by preference
flat-sided, is placed in the similarly shaped hole or slot formed in the neck or
narrow part of such knob or handle, which cotter, peg, or wedge passes
through one of the slots cut in the spindle, thus preventing such knob or
handle from becoming unscrewed again or turning without also turning the
spindle with it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Reid Corson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
REID CORSON, of the City of Manchester, Architect, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Reid Corson, Her special license that I, the said William
Reid Corson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Reid Corson, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AFFIXING KNOBS OR HANDLES TO THE SPINDLES OF DOOR FURNITURE,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Reid Corson,
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

page_text: 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 William Reid Corson, 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:-
This Invention has for its object a means of fixing knobs or handles to the
spindles of door furniture so that such furniture is readily applicable to any
ordinary thickness of door, and this is effected in a much simpler and cheaper
manner than has hitherto been practised, and consists in the use of a square
or any other suitable form of spindle having a screw thread cut partially
down its length from either end, and provided with two or more narrow
longitudinal rectangular slots formed at right angles to each other at or
near each end of such spindle. The knobs or handles are made to screw
upon the threads formed on the spindles so as to be adjustable to the greatest
nicety to any ordinary thickness of door, and a hole or slot is constructed
through the neck or narrow part of each of such knobs or handles.
The mode of affixing door furniture constructed according to this Invention
may be thus described :-When a knob or handle is screwed up to its position
on a door, a cotter, peg, or wedge of any suitable shape, but by preference
flat-sided, is placed in the similarly shaped hole or slot formed in the neck or
narrow part of such knob or handle, which cotter, peg, or wedge passes.
through one of the slots cut in the spindle, thus preventing such knob or
handle from becoming unscrewed again or turning without also turning the
spindle with it.
That this my said Invention may be the more readily seen and understood
I have hereunto annexed a Sheet of Drawings illustrative of several modifi-
cations of my Invention, like figures and letters.marked thereon being used
to denote similar parts.
Fig. 1 illustrates a side view, Fig. 2 an end view, and Fig. 8 is another
end view of a spindle of door furniture having my improvements applied
thereto; Fig. 4 represents a side view, Fig. 5 an end view, and Fig. 6 is
another end view of other modifications of my improvements as applied to the
spindles of door furniture; Fig. 7 is a side sectional view, and Fig. 8 a front
sectional view of a door knob or handle affixed to a spindle according to my
Invention; Fig. 9 represents a modification of a door knob or handle shewing
another method of affixing to a spindle; Fig. 10 is a side view partly in

page_text: section, and Fig. 11 a front sectional view of another modification of my
improvements in affixing knobs or handles to the spindles of door furniture;
Fig. 12 is a side sectional view, and Fig. 13 a front section through the
neck of a knob or handle shewing a method of affixing a knob or handle to a
square spindle, which arrangement is not adjustable, and is so designed in order
that furniture may be supplied with only one of the knobs adjustable, which in
practise is found to be all that is really needed.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A represents a square, hexagonal, or other suitable
shaped spindle screwed partially down its length, and constructed with either
one open-ended groove B, in which case it is advisable to have a finer pitch of
thread on the screw, as illustrated or with two open-ended grooves C at right
angles to each other and with a coarser pitch and thread of screw, such
grooves being cut partially down the length of the spindle, and the end views
of which are illustrated respectively in Figs. 2 and 3.
In Figs. 4, 5, and 6 the letters of reference are the same as those used in
explaining Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and the same description is applicable, but it
will be noticed that the grooves are enclosed and do not extend to the end; this
is a stronger form of spindle than that illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, and 3, but
more expensive to manufacture as the open-ended grooves may be sawn in the
spindle whilst it is necessary to cut the enclosed grooves by special machinery.
In Figs. 7 and 8, D is a rose and E a knob or bandle, constructed in the
ordinary manner, of metal, wood, earthenware, glass, or any other suitable
material, mounted upon the spindle F by having a female screw thread cut
in the metallic bush G, which screws upon the male thread formed on the
spindle F. H is a cylindrical iron or brass pin, which after passing
through the neck of the knob or handle E and through one of the slots or
grooves I in the spindle F screws into the bush G, thereby preventing the knob
or handle becoming unscrewed or turning without causing the spindle to
revolve with it. To the right of Figs. 6 and 7 are illustrated the different
parts of this modification shewn separately, and referred to by the same
letters.
In Figs. 9, J is a rose, and K a knob or handle constructed in the ordinary
manner, and of any suitable material, with a metallic bush L, which screws
upon the spindle M, and is secured in any position upon such spindle by the
cotter, peg, wedge, or flat-sided metallic piece N, which passes through a slot
or hole O formed through the neck of the knob or handle K and through
the groove in the spindle M, and is retained in such position by being split
at the lower extremity, as illustrated. The plan of the knob K illustrated by

page_text: Fig. 9 shews the shape of the slot or hole in which the flat-sided piece N
is inserted, and such wedge or cotter is illustrated separately in two
views, shewing the front and side elevation, lettered N and N₁ respectively.
The mode of affixing door knobs or handles in accordance with the
modification illustrated by Figs. 7, 8, and 9 may be thus described. The
roses being affixed to each side of the door in the ordinary manner, and one
of the knobs being affixed to one end of the spindle, the other end of such
spindle may be passed through the follower of the lock and the other knob
screwed on the spindle until sufficiently near to the other rose, when the hole
or slot formed in the neck of the knob or handle being in a vertical position the
screw or flat-sided wedge or cotter N (according to which modification is
being used) may be inserted, thus securely fastening the knob to the spindle.
The advantage of the wedge over the screw consists in it allowing the spindle
to be made stronger, as a finer groove may be used than would be practicable
with a screw as the fastening medium; but it will be apparent that in both
the foregoing modifications that the neck of the knob or handle has to be drilled
or slotted to receive the screw or wedge, and that the head of such screw or
wedge being visible might be considered to be detrimental to the appearance
of a better class of door furniture, I will therefore now proceed to the
explanation of Figs. 10 and 11, in which modification it will be readily
apparent that the fastening pin is hidden from view. P represents a rose
plate, front and side views of which are illustrated by P1 and P, which rose
plate is permanently fixed to a door by the screws a, and has an open-topped
cavity or mortised hole formed in the projecting screwed portion Qupon
which the covering rose R, (a side sectional view of which is illustrated
separately by R¹) is screwed. S is a glass or earthenware knob (a side sectional
view of which is illustrated separately by S¹) in which is fitted in the ordinary
manner, a metallic bush T which has a projecting nose piece T¹, and in which
bush a female screw thread is formed which screws upon the spindle U,
and is secured in any position upon such spindle by the metallic pin V, which
is inserted in either of the four holes W, W, W, W, and passes through either
of the slots or grooves formed in the spindle U. The pin V is of a cylindrical
form and has a shoulder formed upon it which prevents it falling too far
down in the holes formed for its reception in the bush of the knob, and its
lower extremity is split as illustrated, to prevent any tendency which it might
otherwise have to rise. The pin V is also illustrated separately by V', which
shews a side whilst V2 represents a front view, from which it will be noticed
that I prefer to construct the pin with an elongated head to prevent it

page_text: turning in the cavity formed in the rose plate and to facilitate its removal
when required.
The method of fixing the modification illustrated by Figs. 10 and 11 may
be thus described:-The spindle U being placed through the follower of a
lock, the rose plate P may be screwed to the door, taking care to keep the
spindle in the centre and to have the open-topped mouth of the cavity or
mortised hole uppermost, then having first placed the covering rose R upon
the neck of the knob or handle S, such knob or handle may be screwed upon
the spindle until the projecting nose piece T has entered the projecting
portion Q of the rose plate P sufficiently far, when the pin V may be inserted
in either of the holes W, W, W, W, and passed through one of the grooves or
slots formed in the spindle U, which effectually secures the knob to the
spindle; the covering rose R may then be screwed on the rose plate P up to
its permanent position.
I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the use of
the pin V in this modification, as I sometimes prefer to use a flat-sided wedge
instead, as explained in the description of Fig. 9, nor do I intend in every case
to use a spindle with a double slot at either end, as the adjusting of a knob,
to as great a nicety may be effected upon the single grooved spindle, by
having a finer thread and less pitch of screw, as herein-before described.
It will be readily apparent that this modification admits of a nicer adjust-
ment than those illustrated by Figs. 7, 8, and 9, in virtue of having four
holes W, W, W, W, into either of which the fastening pin or wedge may be
inserted, whilst it also possesses many other advantages over the other
modifications, some of which may be briefly enumerated as follows:-The
rose plate being fixed separately may be firmly secured to the door; the
knob or handle bearing altogether upon the rose plate works sweeter, and
there is no fear of it breaking the rose, which is often the case with other
classes of door furniture; the fastening pin or wedges are altogether hidden
from view, and if by any possibility the rose comes off the knob remains
fixed as firmly as ever; the knob is not weakened in the neck by having a
hole or slot formed in it, and such knobs or handles may be constructed of
any class of material which has hitherto been used for the purpose.
b
In Figs. 12 and 13, 6 represents a knob or handle in which is inserted in
the ordinary manner a metallic bush c, which has an oblong hole d formed
therein for the reception of a plain, square, or screwed spindle e. f is a pro-
jecting pin or stop of a cylindrical or other suitable form, which I prefer to
rivet to the bush c, as illustrated, and for which a corresponding hole is made

page_text: in the spindle e; g is a metallic cotter or wedge which is introduced when the
spindle is in position to lock the spindle and knob or handle together, and
which may be removed at pleasure by having a neck or hole formed on its
under surface near the mouth of the bush of the spindle, which is widened
out for the purpose. The mode of affixing a knob according to this arrange-
ment may be thus described :-The spindle é being provided with a hole h,
shewn in the section of a spindle marked e¹, is pushed into the bush c of the
knob or handle 6 until the hole in the spindle comes immediately opposite
to the projecting pin or stop f, when such spindle may be raised up until the
projecting pin enters the hole h in the spindle; the wedge or cotter 9 may then
be introduced, and the knob will be found to be securely fastened. It should
be mentioned that this arrangement may be made adjustable by having several
of the holes h arranged on the four sides of the spindle at different distances
apart, but that it is particularly designed to supply a means of fastening one
of the knob or handles to the spindle of a set of door furniture in an effectual
manner without the fastening medium being visible, and the other of which
knobs or handles is made adjustable, and thus a set of furniture having all
the advantages of both knobs or handles being adjustable may be produced at
less cost.
The great advantages which I claim for my methods of affixing knobs or
handles to the spindles of door furniture are, that the fastening pin or wedge
passing entirely through (or along the side of the spindle, as in Figs. 12 and 13),
has no tendency to become loosened by the constant turning of such knobs or
handles, and the immediate action of the knob or handle upon the spindle is
also thereby ensured.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my said
Invention, together with the best methods with which I am acquainted for
carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be distinctly understood
that I am well aware that screwed spindles have been long in use, and there-
fore I make no claim to them, nor do I claim anything as novel in the knobs,
handles, roses, or rose plates separately and distinct from one another,
and I wish it further to be understood that I do not confine myself to any
particular form of pin, cotter, wedge, or fastening piece, nor to the precise
details, relative proportions, or dimensions herein-before described and
illustrated by the annexed Drawing, as the same may be considerably varied
without departing from the Invention; but what I claim is, constructing open-
ended or enclosed grooves or slots in the screwed spindles of door furniture,
through which grooves or slots the fastening pins or wedges are passed to

page_text: secure the knobs or handles to such spindles, together with the methods of
applying the different forms of pins, cotters, pegs, wedges, or other fastening
pieces, and the means of securing them in position, as herein-before described
and fully set forth and illustrated in the annexed Drawing, or any mere
modification of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Reid Corson, have hereunto
set my hand and affixed my seal, this Twenty-fifth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
JOHN G. WILSON,
Patent Office,
WILLIAM REID CORSON. (L.S.)
Imperial Chambers,
Manchester.