CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN KNOBS,. HANDLES, AND FASTENINGS FOR DOORS AND DRAWERS, AND IN FASTENINGS TO BE USED IN FASTENING WINDOW SASHES, CURTAIN AND OTHER RODS, AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
HARCOURT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifteenth day of Decem-
ber, One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the thirteenth year of Her
reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Robert Harcourt, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Robert Harcourt, my exors,
admors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Robert Harcourt, 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 therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town.
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN KNOBS,.
HANDLES, AND FASTENINGS FOR DOORS AND DRAWERS, AND IN FASTENINGS TO BE
USED IN FASTENING WINDOW SASHES, CURTAIN AND OTHER RODS, AND FOR OTHER
LIKE PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I,
the said Robert Harcourt, should cause a particular description of the nature.
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next, and imme-
diately 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

page_text: Robert Harcourt, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):-
b
Figure 1 represents a section of one of my improved knobs for doors. The
part marked a is cast in one piece with the part marked b, in which said latter
part the spindle or axis of the knob is introduced and fastened in any con-
venient manner. The head and neck of the knob c, d, are made in any con-
venient manner, and the neck marked d displaced within the rim e, and
attached thereto by soldering or burnishing. In the ordinary method of manu-
facturing door knobs the neck of the knob d, Figure 1, is of very small
diameter, and is cast on the axis; the knobs so constructed are weak, from the
small size of the neck, and the axis frequently becomes loose from its small
bearing, but in my improved knob, Figure 1, the axis has so firm a hold in the
part 6 that there is little danger of the said axis becoming loose, and, from the
larger diameter of the neck d there is no danger of the knob breaking at that.
point. The axis is fixed in the part 6 by a screw or otherwise. Figure 2
represents, partly in section, another of my improved knobs. In the knob,
Figure 1, the neck and head of the knob are attached by soldering or bur-
nishing to the part a, but in the knob, Figure 2, the neck of the said knob is
cast in one piece with the parts a, b, Figure 1, and the head of the knob f is.
afterwards attached to the neck in the following manner :-The end g of the
neck is cast so thick as to allow of a groove h to be turned therein; the edge i
of the head of the knob is introduced into the groove h, and by pressure the
said edge of the head is forced close down into the said groove so as to firmly
attach the same to the neck. The forcing of the edge of the head into the
groove h is effected by a process well known and commonly practised in the
manufacture of articles in metal, and I do not think it. necessary to describe
it. Figure 8 represents, partly in section, another of my improved methods
of constructing knobs, the said method being applicable to the manufacture of
those knobs which have china, glass, wood, or other ornamental fronts inserted
in them. k is an internal support or core, formed of cast iron of the form
represented; is a casing of thin sheet brass, which said casing, as well as the
rose m, is attached to the said core k by the shoulder n on the spindle o,
which said spindle is attached to the said core ke by passing through the same
and being rivetted thereto, as shewn at p; g is the front, of china or other
ornamental material, which is placed on the shoulder r,.and the edge of the
case being turned down upon it secures it in its place.

page_text: Figure 4 represents, partly in section, another of my improvements in knobs,
the said improvement being in the spindle, by which the knobs are attached
together, and having for its object the lengthening or shortening of the said
spindle, so as to accommodate it to doors of different thicknesses. $ represents
one of the knobs; t, the spindle; and u, part of the other knob in section. The
spindle is connected with the knobs in any convenient manner on one of the
edges of that end of the spindle which enters the knob u; a series of notches
or teeth are made as shewn at v, v; w is a screw, the pointed end of which
when driven home enters the space between some two of the teeth u, v, and
when the end of the said screw is so driven home it prevents the sliding of the
knob u on the axis t. In order to lengthen or shorten the spindle t it is only
necessary to partially withdraw the screw u so as to disengage it from the
teeth v, v, and then slide the knob u to the proper place on the said spindle;
by then driving home the screw w the knob will be fixed in its position. The
screw is supported at the points x and x¹.
Figure 5 represents my improved method of fastening knobs on doors,
drawers, and elsewhere. The ordinary method of fastening knobs is by putting
the square spindle a of the knob through a suitably formed hole, and screwing
a square nut on the screwed part a' of the said spindle. My improvement
consists in making the nut c, which is put on the screwed end of the spindle
a', of the form represented in side view in Figure 5, and in front view in
Figure 6. By putting a nut of this construction on the spindle, and intro-
ducing a screw through the hole b, and screwing the same into the door, the
nut c is prevented from turning round, and the accidental coming off of the
knob from the door or drawer (which frequently happens with the ordinary
knob) is prevented.
Figure 7 represents a handle for a drawer, to which, as shewn in the side
view, Figure 8, my Invention is applied. Figure 9 represents the nut in front
view.
Figures 10 and 11 represent my improved method of constructing the
fastenings for ovens and cupboards; Figure 10 representing a side view, and
Figure 11 an end view, of this part of my Invention. d is the knob, and othe
spindle or axis of the said knob, which said spindle or axis passes through the
oven or cupboard door; the said axis e is square, but has a thread made on
each of its angles corresponding to the concave thread made in the tongue or
catch f, so that by turning the said tongue f it may be made to advance or
recede on the said axis e, so as to accommodate itself to the thickness of the
door to which it is applied. When the position of the tongue ƒ has been
adjusted it is fixed in its position by the screw g, which, bearing against one

page_text: of the sides of the square spindle, prevents the turning of the tongue f. This
fastening is applicable to doors of every kind.
Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15 represent my improved fastening for window
sashes, Figure 12 representing a plan of the upper side, and Figure 18 a plan
of the under side of the same. Figure 14 represents a side view, and Figure
15 a longitudinal and vertical section of the same. g is the part attached to
the lower sash, and h the part attached to the upper sash i. Figures 15 and.
18 is a slot formed in the part g, through which slot the screw j passes. k is,
a bolt in which the screw ; works, and which may be raised or lowered by,
turning the said screw. The said bolt cannot, however, pass off from the
screw j, as the end of the said scrow is rivetted, as seen in Figure 15. On
the under side of the upper edge of the part h is an inclined plane l, against
which said inclined plane the curved end of the bolt k presses when the said
bolt is raised by the screw j. By the pressure of the said curved end of the
bolt k against the said plane 7 the part his raised vertically, and is also drawn
horizontally into close contact with the part g, and thereby the sash to which
the part h is attached is held firmly against the sash to which the part g
attached. In order to unfasten the sashes the head of the screw is turned:
so as to allow the bolt k to descend so far that its curved end k¹ is below the
lower edge of the inclined plane l, when the screw j being made to slide in the
direction of the arrow in the slot i, the said bolt is carried back so as to disen-
gage it completely from the part h, and allow the sash to which the said part h
is attached to be freely moved. In order to fasten and bring into close con-
tact the sashes to which the parts 9 and h are attached, the said sashes aro
brought as nearly as may be into a level with one another, and the screw antl
bolt are moved in a direction contrary to that indicated by the arrow, Figure 15,
so as to bring the curved end ³ of the bolt.k under the incline 7; by then
turning the screw j, the bolt k is raised, and the pressure of the end k¹ of the
bolt against the incline 7 both brings the sashes into their proper relative
positions and fastens them, as herein-before explained.
is.
Figure 16 represents my improved method of fastening stair, curtain, and
other rods. m represents the rod to be fastened. One end of the said rod
enters a piece of tube n, closed at one end, and attached by screws passing
through the plate o to the stair or window. This part of the fastening is
shewn separately in Figure 17. The other end of the rod is secured in a
fastening, represented separately in Figures 18 and 19, and resembling
Figure 17, excepting that the tube is divided into two semi-cylindrical portions,
the two halves being jointed together, as represented at p in Figures 16, 18,
and 19. The end of the rod is placed in the part marked 7, and the part

page_text: marked r is shut down upon it. A rings, previously placed on the rod, is
then passed on the two parts q, r, so as to hold them together, and the rod
m thus becomes secured in its place. Figure 18 represents the parts q, r,
closed, with the rings upon them.
Figures 20, 21, 22, 23, & 24 represent my improved fastening for casements
which open on vertical axes, after the manner of doors. Figure 20 represents
a front elevation; Figure 21, a vertical section; and Figures 22, 23, & 24
parts of the same. t is the bolt which enters the staple or plate on the case- .
ment, which is first closed; u is a sliding case, which is carried backwards and
forwards by the screw w, the said screw passing through a slot in the outer
case v. The bolt t lies in the case u, see Figure 24, and is carried back-.
wards and forwards by the sliding motion of the screw w, when by the closing
of the casement to which the fastening is applied and the sliding motion of the :
screw w the bolt t has entered the staple or plate on the other casement, by
turning the screw w in the direction proper to make the said screw advanco
into the case v, the end of the said screw presses upon the bolt t and forces it.
against the plate x (see Figure 21), and the end of the said bolt which is in
the staple or plate on the other casement brings the said casement into tho
same plane as that to which the fastening, Figure 20, is attached.
Figures 25 and 26 illustrate my methods of making small knobs for drawers,
cupboards, and other doors, the said methods being modifications of those de-
scribed with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3. In the knob, a part of which is
shewn in section, Figure 25, the head of the knob is connected with the neck
by the edge of the said head being forced into the groove y by pressure, as herein-
before explained with reference to Figure 2; and the knob, Figure 25, differs
only from the knob, Figure 2, in the respect that the spindle of the knob,.
Figuro 25, is rivetted into the neck of the said knob in the manner represented,
instead of in the manner described and represented with reference to Figures 1
and 2. The knob partly represented in Figure 26 resembles that represented.
in Figure 3, excepting that a groove z is formed on the edge of the case, of
thin metal, into which groove the edge of the head of the knob is forced by
pressure.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise methods of carrying my Invention into effect herein
described, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
said Invention, that is to say, the precise forms, proportions, and materials
herein described are not essential to the carrying into effect my said Invention.
I claim as my Invention,―

page_text: First, the methods of constructing knobs for doors and drawers herein
described, and represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying
Drawing.
Secondly, the method of constructing spindles of door knobs herein described,
and represented in Figure 4 of the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly, the method of fixing or attaching knobs and handles to doors and
drawers herein described, and represented in Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the
accompanying Drawing.
Fourthly, the method of constructing fastenings for cupboards, oven and
other doors, herein described, and represented in Figures 10 and 11 of the
accompanying Drawing.
Fifthly, the method of constructing a sash fastener, herein described, and
represented in Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the accompanying Drawing.
Sixthly, the method of fastening stair, window, and other rods, herein
described, and represented in Figures 16, 17, 18, and 19 of the accompanying
Drawing.
Seventhly, the methods of constructing knobs for cupboards and other doors,
herein described, and represented in Figures 25 and 26 of the accompanying
Drawing.
Eighthly, the method of constructing a fastening for casements opening on
vertical axes, herein described, and represented in Figures 20, 21, 22, 23, and
24' of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Harcourt, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
COOPER, EXtra.
ROBERT (Ls.) HARCOURT.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Seventh day of June, in the
year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid Robert Harcourt came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and fifty.