IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR SPINDLES AND IN ADJUSTING THE SAID KNOBS ON THEIR SPINDLES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Cooper, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Joiner's Tool Manufacturer, and John Robert Cooper, of Birminghain aforesaid,
Manager of Works, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING
DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR SPINDLES AND IN ADJUSTING THE SAID
KNOBS ON THEIR SPINDLES."
Sealed the 4th October 1878, and dated the 13th April 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Cooper and John
Robert Cooper at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th
April 1878.
JOSEPH COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Joiner's Tool
Manufacturer, and JOHN ROBERT COOPER, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manager of
Works. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR
SPINDLES AND IN ADJUSTING THE SAID KNOBS ON THEIR SPINDLES."
Our improvements have reference to an Invention for which Letters Patent were
granted to us on the 26th day of June 1877, No. 1471, and consist of the con-
struction and arrangement of parts, herein-after described, for connecting door and
other knobs to their spindles and in adjusting the said knobs on their spindles.
By our present improvements the parts are much simplified and inado more
efficient.
In attaching door knobs to and adjusting them on their spindles, according to our
present Invention, we use a plain spindle instead of a spindle having rack teeth, and
wo dispense with the cross slide in the knob for engaging with the said rack teeth,
and we make the metallic mount of the knob in the form of two nearly concentric
tubes joined together by a web or connection at front. The inner tube of the
mount is conical, the narrow end being the inner end. The space between the two
tubes of the mount is of a size proper to fit upon a shoulder at the front of the neck
of the knob. Fitting in the square or angular axial hole in the knob is a tube
Price lid 1

page_text: extending from the front to nearly the back of the knob. This tube is square
internally to fit the square-planed spindle of the knob, and the rear half or part of
the said tube is square externally and fits the square hole in the knob, thereby pre-
venting the rotation of the knob on the spindle.
In front of the external square part of the tube is a conical collar, and at the
extreme front end of the tube is a part of reduced diameter for receiving the rose.
The conical collar described, its reduced front part and a portion of the square
part behind the said conical collar, are slit or divided longitudinally into four (or
other number of) parts. By means of the said slit or divided front end of the
tube, it is capable of being forcibly contracted upon, and made to grip with great
firmness the spindle placed within it. At the rear undivided end of the tube a
scrow thread is cut, upon which a screw cap is made to take the said screw cap,
closing the recess in the back of the knob. This screw cap, besides serving to close
the back of the knob, also serves to effect the connection of the knob and its mount
to the spindle, as herein-after explained.
In connecting the knob to its spindle, and at the same time fixing the metallic
mount in its place at the front of the knob, the slit tube is introduced into the knob,
so that its conical collar seats itself in the conical inner tube of the mount. The
knob is then passed on to the end of the plain spindle to the distance required to
adjust it to the thickness of the door, the square hole of the slit tube taking upon
the spindle. Having arranged the parts in this way the screw cap is passed into
the recess at the back of the knob and screwed upon the screw at the rear end of the
slit tube.
By the screwing home of the screw cap by means of a turnscrew introduced into
a nick in the outer face of the said cap, the slit tube is drawn backwards into the
knob. Its conical slit collar is thereby drawn forcibly into the conical tube of tho
mount, and the said conical slit collar and the slit front end of the tube are forcibly
closed or contracted upon, and made to grip with great firmness, the end of the
plain spindle. The said spindle is thus fixed to the knob, and the mount is at
the same time secured on the knob, and the rattling or shaking of the knob upou
its spindle effectually prevented.
When it is wished to adjust the knob on or remove it from the spindle it is only
necessary to partly unscrew the closing cap at the back of the knob, when the
pressure on the slit conical collar is removed, and its grip on the spindle relaxed.
The knob is thereby released, and may be adjusted on the spindle, or completely
withdrawn from it. One or both knobs may be connected to the spindle in the
manner described.
Although our improvements are especially applicable to china and non-metallic
knobs, yet they may also be applied to metallic knobs.
Our Invention has the advantage that it may be applied to all ordinary lock
spindles, it being only necessary to remove the knob originally furnished with the
spindle, and replace it by a knob and parts connected therewith, constructed as
herein-after described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Joseph Cooper and John Robert Cooper in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 10th October 1878.
JOSEPH COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Joiner's Tool
Manufacturer, and JOHN ROBERT COOPER, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manager of
Works. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONNECTING DOOR AND OTHER KNOBS TO THEIR
SPINDLES AND IN ADJUSTING THE SAID KNOBS ON THEIR SPINDLES."
Our improvements have reference to an Invention for which Letters Patent wero
granted to us on the 26th day of June, 1877, No. 2471, and consists of the con-
struction and arrangement of parts herein-after described, for connecting door and
other knobs to their spindles, and in adjusting the said knobs on their spindles. By
our present improvements the parts are much simplified, and made more efficient.
In attaching door knobs to and adjusting them on their spindles according to our
present Invention, we use a plain spindle instead of a spindle having rack teeth,
and we dispense with the cross slide in the knob for engaging with the said rack
teeth, and we make the metallic mount of the knob in the form of two nearly con-
centric tubes, joined together by a web or connection at front. The inner tubo of
the mount is conical, the narrow end being the inner end. The space between tho
two tubes of the mount is of a size proper to fit upon a shoulder at the front of the
neck of the knob. Fitting in the square or angular hole in the knob is a tube
extending from the front to nearly the back of the knob. This tube is square
internally to fit the square plain spindle of the knob, and part of the said tube is
square externally, and fits the square hole in the knob, thereby preventing the
rotation of the knob on the spindle.
In front of the external square part of the tube is a conical collar, and at the
extreme front end of the tube a part of reduced diameter may be made for receiving
the rose.
The conical collar described and a portion of the square part behind it
are slit or divided longitudinally into four (or other number of parts. By means
of the said slit or divided front end of the tube it is capable of being forcibly con-
tracted upon, and made to grip with great firmness, the spindle placed within
it. At the rear undivided end of the tube a screw thread is cut, upon which a
screw cap is made to take the said screw cap, closing the recess at the back of the
knob. This screw cap, besides serving to close the back of the knob, also serves to
effect the connection of the knob and its mount to the spindle, as herein-after
explained, but a separate closing cap may be used.
In connecting the knob to its spindle, and at the same time fixing the metallic
mount in its place at the front of the knob, the slit tube is introduced into the
knob, so that its conical collar seats itself in the conical inner tube of the mount.
The knob is then passed on to the end of the plain spindle, to the distance required
to adjust it to the thickness of the door, the square hole of the slit tube taking
upon the spindle. Having arranged the parts in this way, the screw cap is passed
into the recess at the back of the knob, and screwed upon the screw at the rear end
of the slit tube.
By the screwing home of the screw cap by means of a turnscrew introduced into
a nick in the outer face of the said cap, the slit tube is drawn backwards into the
knob. Its conical slit collar is thereby drawn foreibly into the conical tube of the
mount, and the said conical slit collar and the slit front end of the tube are forcibly
closed or contracted upon, and made to grip with great firmness the end of the plain
spindle. The said spindle is thus fixed to the knob, and the mount is at the same
time secured on the knob, and the rattling or shaking of the knob upon its spindle
effectually prevented.
When it is wished to adjust the knob on or remove it from the spindle, it is only
necessary to partly unscrew the closing cap at the back of the knob, when the
pressure on the slit conical collar is removed, and its grip on the spindle relaxed.

page_text: The knob is thereby released, and may be adjusted on the spindle, or completely
withdrawn from it. One or both knobs may be connected to the spindle, in tho
manner described.
We will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawings,
the manner in which our Invention may be performed.
Figures 1 and 2 represent, partly in section and partly in elevation, a pair of
.china, wood, or other non-metallic door knobs, connected to their spindle according
to our Invention. The collar and slit tube, and its screwed end and the screw-box,
are represented in section in Figure 1, and elevation in Figure 2.
Figure 3 represents a front elevation of one of the knobs.
Figure 4 represents a front elevation, and Figure 5 a section of one of the knobs,
without the connecting mechanism.
Figure 6 represents a side elevation, and elevations taken at opposite ends of the
collar and tube of the knob by which the knob is fixed to the spindle.
Figure 7 represents in end elevation, section, and side elevation the screw box or
cap for screwing on the screwed end of the tube, Figure 6.
Figure 8 represents in side elevation, and front and back elevations, the metallic
mount of the non-metallic knob.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
and 8.
As the two knobs represented are of similar construction and are fixed to their
spindle in the same way, we will only describe the construction and connecting
and adjusting of the knob marked a. The other knob marked b may be a fixed
knob, instead of an adjustable or moveable knob. The knob a has an axial hole or
passage in it, which extends from the front to the back of the knob. The figure
of the said axial hole is herein-after described; c is the plain square (or angular)
spindle, on the end of which the knob a is fixed; d is the metallic mount of the knob,
consisting of two nearly concentric tubes, (see Figure 8,) the inner tube being
conical. In the annular space or recess in the mount, the shoulder a of the knob
a fits as seen in Figures 1 and 2.
The sinaller end of the conical inner tube & of the mount is situated inwards as
represented.
The axial hole or passage in the knob is shaped as follows:-The front e is conical,
for receiving the conical part of the mount d. The part f behind the conical part o
is square or angular, and behind it is a cylindrical part g for receiving the fixing
screw cap or screw-box n. The back part i of the axial hole is enlarged and s.rewed,
for receiving the closing cap q, and for forming a shoulder for the fixing screw
cap or box to bear against. Fitting in the axial hole described in the knob is a
tube extending from the front to nearly the back of the knob. This tube is shewn
separately in Figure 6. This tube is square internally to fit upon the square plain
spindle c, and the part of the tube is square or angular externally, and fits the
square or angular part f in the knob. By means of the square or angular part
of the tube, and its seating part of the knob, the latter is prevented from rotating
on the spindle, and the tube is capable only of a sliding motion in the knob.
In front of the square part of the tube is a conical collar for fitting in the
conical inner part of the mount d. The said collar and square part of the tube
are slit or divided longitudinally into four (or other number of) parts, as best seen
in the end elevation of Figure 6. The slit or divided front end of the tube permits
it to be freely contracted upon, and causes it to grip firmly the plain spindle c placed
in the square hole of the tube. The reduced rear end of the tube is screwed at m
for screwing into and out of the screw cap or box n (shewn separately in Figure 7).
The said screw box n is furnished with a flange which bears against the shoulder p
of the knob. The screw box n is thereby prevented from advancing towards the
front of the knob. The rear opening of the knob is closed by the screw
cap g.
In connecting the knob a to its spindle c, and fixing the metallic mount & in the
knob, the slit tube l, k, m, is introduced into the axial hole in the knob, so that tho

page_text: conical collar seats itself in the conical inner tube d of the metallic mount. The
knob is then passed by a sliding motion on to the end of the plain spindle c to the
distance required to adjust it to the thickness of the door, the square hole in the
slit tube l, l, m, sliding upon the square spindle (see the end elevation, Figure 3).
Having adjusted the knob on the spindle c, the screw cap or box n is screwed upon
the screwed end m of the slit tube, until the flange of the said screw cap or box
abuts against the shoulder p in the interior of the knob.
By now screwing home the screw cap or box n by means of a screwdriver intro-
duced into the nick in its outer face, the rotation of the said screw box n causes
the screw m to advance in the said screw box, and draw back the slit tube in tho
knob. The conical slit collar is thereby drawn forcibly into the conical tube of
the mount d, and the said collar and the slit front end of the tubo are forcibly
closed or contracted upon, and made to grip with great firmness, the end of the
plain spindle c. The knob is thereby connected to its spindle, and the metallic
mount is at the same time secured on the knob by the advance and consequent
wedging action of the collar in the said mount. The rear opening i at the back
of the knob a is finally closed by the screw or closing cap q.
To adjust the knob a on or remove it from its spindle c, the fixing screw cap or
box n is partly unscrewed, so as to cause the screwed end m of the slit tubo to
screw itself out of the said screw box. The slit tube is thereby forced outwards,
and the pressure on the slit conical collar is removed, and its grip on the plain
spindle is relaxed. In this way the knob is released, and may be adjusted on or
completely withdrawn from the spindle by a sliding motion.
Figure 9 represents in longitudinal section, Figure 10 in front elevation (with
the closing cap removed), and Figure 11 in cross section, a knob attached to its
spindle according to a modification of our Invention.
In this arrangement we employ two gripping blocks r, r, instead of using a
conical collar and slit tube. These gripping blocks are rectangular in cross section,
and work in a rectangular cross opening in the neck of the knob a. The outer
edges of the blocks r, r, are inclined, and seat themselves in the conical mount d of
the knob. The square plain spindle c passes between the inner gripping faces of
the blocks r, r, as seen in Figures 9 and 11. The back of each block r is furnished
with a rod 8 screwed on its end for receiving the screw nuts t, t. The said rods 8, 8,
pass through holes in the disc or circular plate u, which takes a bearing against a
shoulder at the back part of the knob. The said disc or plate u acts as a bearing
for the screw nuts t, t. By turning the said screw nuts t, t, in one or other
direction, they either draw the sliding gripping blocks r, r, into the conical mount
d in the knob, or cause the said blocks to retire slightly from out the mount.
When in the first described position, the gripping blocks 7, r, are compressed upon
and grip the spindle, and thereby connect the knob to the spindle, and at the same
time fix the mount in the knob. When in the other position, the pressure on the
gripping blocks is relaxed, and the knob is released, and may be adjusted on or
withdrawn from its spindle. The opening at the back of the knob is closed by the
screw cap q. In this arrangement of our Invention it is immaterial what shape the
axial hole in the knob has.
Our Invention has the advantage that it may be applied to all ordinary lock
spindles, it being only necessary to remove the knob originally furnished with the
spindle, and replace it by a knob and parts connected therewith, constructed as
herein-before described.
Although our improvements are especially applicable to china and non-metallic
knobs, yet they may also be applied to metallic knobs. In the case of metallic
knobs, the interior of the neck of the knob is made conical to receive the conical
slit collar or gripping blocks of the attaching mechanism.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit ourselves
to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied

page_text: without departing from the nature of our Invention, but we claim as our In-
vention,-
First. The improvements in connecting door and other knobs to their spindles,
and in adjusting the said knobs on their spindles, herein-before described, and
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the accompanying Drawings, that
is to say, the combination of the conical slit collar l, slit tubo k, and its screwed end
m, having a sliding motion in an axial hole or passage in the knob, with the conical
mount of a non-metallic knob, or with an internal conical neck of a metallic knob,
the said parts k, l, m, and d (or the conical neck of the knob) being used in con-
junction with a plain spindle; the connecting of the knob to or the disconnecting of
it from the plain spindle being effected from the open back of the knob, by means
of a screw box or screw cap, which is made to give a sliding motion to the conical
slit collar and slit tube, and cause them to grip or release the plain spindle, substan-
tially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The modification herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 9,
10, and 11 of the accompanying Drawings, in which two sliding gripping blocks
are used in place of the conical slit collar.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph Cooper and John Robert Cooper, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventh day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
JOSEPH COOPER.
(L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOHN ROBERT COOPER. (L.S.)