IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNOBS FOR DOORS, ARTICLES OF FURNITURE, OR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN CONNECTING METALLIC ATTACHMENTS TO ARTICLES MADE OF GLASS OR OTHER ANALOGOUS MATERIALS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of September, in the thir-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her especial
license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as I,
the said William Edward Newton, my exors, admors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNOBS FOR
DOORS, ARTICLES OF FURNITURE, OR OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN CONNECTING METALLIC
ATTACHMENTS TO ARTICLES MADE OF GLASS OR OTHER ANALOGOUS MATERIALS,"
being a communication from abroad; in which said Letters. Patent is
contained a. proviso obliging me, the said William Edward Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's

page_text: High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear..
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Edward Newton, do hereby declare, that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say): :-
This Invention, which has been communicated to me from abroad, consists
in forming an attachment between metals and minerals, whereby any appre-
ciable disturbance of the crystallization of the mineral is avoided, in conse-
The Invention is
quence of the attenuated form given to the metal.
especially applicable to manufacturing door knobs, furniture knobs, door
plates, curtain pins, seal handles, table feet, bannister heads, caps for pillars
of steam and other machinery, balance weights for clamps, clocks, scales,
or other such matters, handles for tools, such as braces, &c., winch handles,
bulbs and fountains for smoke pipes, insulators for lightning rods, and
ornaments for holding the rods from which window curtains are suspended,
ornaments for gas jets, handles for electrical discharges, mineral bells, caps for
tongs, fire irons, fenders, mineral ladles, bell-pulls, covers for mugs, dishes,
vases, rummers, caps for wheel hubs, letters for signs, and many other articles
which need not be enumerated.
The Invention consists in inserting metallic shanks into the mineral mass
(be the purpose what it may for which the article when manufactured is
intended), the said shanks being either tubular or composed of diverging
flanges, and made out of the smallest amount of metal consistent with suitable
strength, in proportion to the bulk of mineral admissible in the construction
of the desired article, and the said shanks being characterized by thinness,
elasticity, hollowness, and centre vent when the shanks are tubular, and the
equivalents of hollowness and centre vent where the shanks consist of diverging
flanges or the equivalents of diverging flanges, whereby and on account of
which structure the difference between the natural expansion of metals and
minerals, when thus brought into juxta-position, is diminished in its dangerous
tendency to a comparatively small amount; and articles thus manufactured
are capable of being with certainty made complete fellows, are without undue
strain between the mineral and metal when annealed, and are consequently
broken with difficulty, either by contraction during their formation, or by

page_text: changes of temperature or blows when in use. The strength of the attach-
ment can therefore be readily perceived by persons skilled in mineral manu;
factures, by considering how very large a surface in proportion to the amount
of materials used are thus brought into serviceable contact and adhesion,
unimpaired by difficulties in manipulation hitherto never overcome.
In the Drawings hereunto annexed, Fig. 1 represents a mineral door knob
with the shell of the mounting in position for being fitted.
Fig. 2 is the knob as it leaves the annealing oven.
Fig. 3 is a section of a knob, shewing the mineral bulk, the metallic
shank, the mounting and fitting.
Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 11*, are different forms of tubular metallic
shanks.
Fig. 12 is a representation of another knob with a shank which is tubular,
and which, previous to insertion in the mineral, is cut and expanded out at
bottom into prongs, which form the necessary attachment.
Fig. 13 is a sectional view, representing the mode of attaching a pair of
knobs with tubular shanks the one to the other, the shanks being made the
one to receive the other, and thus constitute a spindle.
Fig. 14 shews the mode of attaching a tubular shanked knob to a door or
piece of furniture, by screwing the shank into the door or piece of furniture,
by means of a thread cut thereon, and securely fastening the knob by inserting
a wood screw into the shank from the other side of the door or piece of
furniture, a thread being cut in the inside of the hollow shank for that
purpose. When on each side of doors two permanent knobs are required,
another knob with a male screw on the end can be substituted for the wood
screws.
Fig. 15 is a perspective view, partly sectional, of a pair of knobs, with shanks
consisting of diverging flanges, shewing the escutcheon in section, and the
mode of grooving and perforating the shanks for the purpose of fastening them
together.
Fig. 16 represents the face of the escutcheon next the door, with the
depression in the escutcheon for dropping the staple into place, and the
manner in which the wire staple straddles and passes through opposite pairs
of flanges.
Fig. 17 shews in perspective the shanks when slid into and along one
another by means of the axial slots seen in Fig. 15.
In Figs. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26, I have shewn transverse
sections of different forms of shanks, consisting of diverging flanges and the
best modes of fitting them together, for fastening them in pairs, the flanges

page_text: of one shank bearing tightly against the flanges of the other shank, like
the legs of a clutch box.
Fig. 27 represents in perspective a suitable press for the manufacturing
such articles as are germain to this Invention, and such as are above enume-
rated or are represented in Figures 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37,
38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, and 48.
Hitherto mineral masses have been moulded around a metallic pattern
screw, which was withdrawn before the mineral cooled too much or contracted
too tightly upon it. This plan was obviously too nice and uncertain ever to be
made cheap. It was found that the mineral was liable to contract too much
or too little after the withdrawal of the pattern screw. If the mass of metal
to be screwed therein proved too large, as in the first case, the mineral would
break if the metal was forcibly screwed in, and in the latter case a loose fit or
worse would be the result. Mineral has also been permanently moulded for
the purposes of attachment around massive and solid bodies of metal, either
wrought, rolled, or cast, the metal having variously devised heads or loops to
give hold and strength to the junction; but this is liable to the fatal objection
that the difference between the expansion and contraction of the mineral and
the metal is destructive of the fabric. To roll or forge these masses of metal
is too costly and nice an operation, and to cast them is to render them liable
to great unevenness of surface, swellings, sand-blows, and other defects. It
will of course be understood that the foregoing remarks in this paragraph
refer only to so much of the masses mentioned as are included within the
mineral and metallic attachment desired. Every skilful artizan will under-
stand how to fasten a mineral article in his line of business, prepared with a
metallic projection for additional attachment to some other fixed or moveable
mechanism.
In concluding this Specification, reference in the tenor of these remarks
will be more especially had to the manufacture of mineral knobs for doors,
furniture, and other similar articles. Having embodied in previous general
remarks the characteristics of the Invention, a skilful artizan will readily
understand and apply, as need be, the statements which follow.
All the difficulties which have been hitherto most prominent in the manu-
facture of mineral door knobs are avoided, by using for the shank either a
metallic tube, whether made of cast, wrought, or rolled metal, or of a strip
of metal consisting of one or more diverging flanges. The longitudinal slit,
incident to making tubular shanks of sheet metal, allows play that enables
the metal to adapt itself reasonably and sufficiently to the set of the contract-
ing mineral, and is unquestionably the best mode of manufacturing mineral

page_text: knobs with tubular shanks. A slight upset on the end of the shank forms a
strong and tenacious head, around which the mineral cools with an uniformity
that leaves the knobs precisely the same in size and figure, and consequently
complete fellows. It may be remarked, however, that an upset is not abso-
lutely necessary, the.shank holds well without it, especially if the lower end of
the tubular shank is made open-mouthed or bell-shaped, as in Figs. 1, 3, 11*,
and 12. The centre space in the tubular shanks also plays an important part,
as by it the mineral hottest at that point is allowed vent when displaced by
the insertion of the shank, and thus double the hold the mineral could have on
the shank is attained than if the latter were solid; still, if the end of the tube
were closed, and large slots made in its sides or periphery, the mineral will be
forced through, and the advantages be attained in an analogous manner.
A tube closed at the end, and inserted at the same end into the mineral,
will make a knob somewhat similar but inferior to the other varieties, and
therefore I do not recommend it.
By the plans above shewn and described a better knob will be made than
those already in the market; and in comparison to the solid massive shank,
the improved knobs have the advantage of diminished danger from expansion,
on account of the small quantity comparatively of the metal used. These
knobs or other articles of similar manufacture being always, when made
complete, fellows (a desideratum long sought after, and of great value to the
sellers and buyers in the market), are capable of receiving the best finish.
The mounting made for one is equally suited to fit any other. Although
the mountings are turned in a lathe, they drop right into their places, and
can be fastened with cement or alloy, or be made in themselves sufficiently
solid to clasp the shank, whatever be its shape. The hollow shank permits
the instant cooling of the same, when being mounted, by being filled with
water, if desired. Knobs made in the manner above described, and having
tubular shanks, are always fellows, if the same mould is used, and one knob
can scarcely be distinguished from another in a lot. The shanks represented
in the Drawing, from Fig. 15 to Fig. 26, both inclusive, are intended for
insertion into knobs with a mineral neck as well as body. So slight is the
disturbance due to or consequent upon inserting these shanks into the mineral,
that they attain the great economical desideratum in this kind of manufacture,
(viz.,) making a mineral knob with a mineral neck at one and the same
operation; thus getting rid of the great expense of metallic mounting.
The quantity of metal saved by this plan is also an object, and pays a
large portion of the expense in moulding and finishing mineral knobs.
Rolled or sheet metal is preferable for the shanks, as it is usually more free
from burrs or irregularities than cast metal, the former being less exposed

page_text: to disturbing accidents in its employment for this purpose, and it likewise
furnishes a shank of equal strength and greater lightness than cast metal.
The slight amount of metal, cast, wrought, or rolled, which is inserted,
disturbs so little the hot mineral that a skilful workman, after a little expe-
rience, can scarcely err in the quantity of mineral he should put in the mould.
Having thus fully, clearly, and exactly described the nature, range, and object
of this Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, what
is claimed therein as new, and desired to secure by the herein-before in part
Letters Patent, is making mineral or vitreous manufactures, especially mineral
or glass door furniture and other knobs, with a tubular metallic shank (with or
without slots or a longitudinal slit), or, a shank made of a strip of metal
consisting of diverging flanges, such tubular or diverging flange shanks
being inserted into the mineral or vitreous matter at a proper stage of
the process, so that the quantity of metal in the shank in proportion to the
bulk of mineral or vitreous material admissible in the case, and comparatively
to the extent of surface in contact with the mineral or vitreous material,
is very small, and the mineral or vitreous material is consequently allowed
to take its set about, within, and around the more or less attenuated and
elastic metal shank, without any undue strain upon or disturbance of the
crystallization of the vitreous or mineral matter, thus rendering the destructive
tendencies arising from the unequal expansibility of the metal and vitreous
or, mineral matter too slight practically to endanger the soundness and durability
of the finished article.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
Enrolled the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty.