IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MATTRASSES, CUSHIONS, PADDINGS, OR STUFFINGS, AND IN CARPETS, RUGS, AND OTHER NAPPED FABRICS
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHRISTOPHER
NICKELS, of York Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the fifth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Christopher Nickels, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said Christopher Nickels, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Christopher Nickels, my exors, adñors, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might.
inake, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of.
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF MATTRASSES, CUSHIONS, PADDINGS, OR STUFFINGS, AND IN CARPETS, RUGS, AND
OTHER NAPPED FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said Christopher Nickels, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's 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
Christopher Nickels, do liereby declare that the nature of the said Invention;

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
The Invention relates,-
First, to a mode of manufacturing mattrasses, cushions, paddings, or stuff-
ings, by applying lengths of yarn side by side, with the ends combined by
cement or felting.
Secondly, the Invention relates to a mode of arranging machinery and
apparatus for obtaining yarns packed together side by side, and held in such
manner as to allow of lengths being successively cut off, and to ensure such
lengths, when cut off, being held till the ends of the yarns are combined by
cementing or felting.
Thirdly, the Invention relates to the combining the ends of numerous yarns,
by means of felting, in the manufacture of napped fabrics.
And, fourthly, the Invention relates to a mode of manufacturing napped
fabrics by cementing or combining the ends of a napped fabric produced in a
loom, and then to split the same into two fabrics, each having the same
pattern. And in order that the Invention may be fully understood, I will
proceed to explain the means pursued by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
In using wool or other fibres or materials in making mattrasses, cushions,
paddings, or stuffings, as heretofore practised, it has been usual to fill the
mattrass or other article to be stuffed or padded with wool or other fibre,
without any attention to the direction in which the various fibres are placed,
and the fibres have been used without having undergone any spinning or twist-
ing process. Now in carrying out the first part of the Invention, I employ
yarn of wool or cotton, and produce the padding or stuffing of mattrasses and
other articles by causing the lengths of yarn employed to stand on end and be
closely packed together; and the lengths of yarn, being so packed and covered
by suitable coverings of canvass or other suitable fabric, will be found to offer
great and lasting elasticity.
Figure 1 represents a cushion stuffed by the use of lengths of yarn stand-
ing on. end; and in producing such paddings for cushions, mattrasses, or
other articles, I prefer that the ends of the lengths of yarn employed should be
caused to adhere together, and to surfaces of fabric at top and bottom, by ar
elastic cement; I employ what is called india-rubber cement, which is a
material well known and in very common use for various purposes. In carry-

page_text: ing out this part of the Invention I pack together any required quantity of
lengths of yarn of equal lengths in a suitable frame; and I then apply the
india-rubber cement to the upper and under surfaces produced by the ends of
the lengths of yarn, and I stick on surfaces of canvass or other fabric, and
then I enclose the padding thus produced in a covering or case of suitable
fabric; and if it be desired I tie the mattrass or other stuffed article at inter-
vals, in the same manner as is now practised in stuffing mattrasses and other
articles with wool or horschair; but such tyeing may be dispensed with; the
lengths of yarn may be cut and brought together side by side by various
means; but I prefer the mode hereafter explained, using, however, broader
plates than those hereafter described according to the depth of stuffing which
may be required for a particular article.
Figure 2 represents a side view of a machine for packing yarn in parallel
lines and surfaces, and for facilitating the cutting thereof in suitable lengths,
and for holding the same till the ends of the yarns are secured, by cementing
or by felting, as hereafter explained. Figure 3 is a front view of the same
machine; Figure 4, a plan thereof. These Figures represent the machine as
being partly filled with a succession of layers of yarn held parallel to each
other. Figure 5 shows a side view of the same machine filled to the extent
desired with layers of yarn side by side parallel to each other. Figure 6
shows a front view of the machine in the same state as Figure 5. In each of
these Figures the same letters indicate similar parts. a, a, is the framing of
the machine, the nature of which is clearly shown in the Drawings; b, b, are
four toothed racks, which are raised and lowered by means of the cog wheels
and crank handle, all four of the racks being raised and lowered together; c is
a crank handle by which the workman raises and lowers the racks 6, on the
axis of which crank handle is affixed the cog wheel d, which takes into and
drives the cog wheel e, which is affixed on the axis f, such axis f having a
similar cog wheel e¹ at its other end, and the wheels e, e¹, raise two of the
toothed racks b, b. The cog wheel d also takes into and drives the inter-
mediate cog wheel Is which takes into and drives the cog wheel e², on the
axis f', such axis f¹ having another cog wheel affixed thereon; and these cog
wheels move the other two toothed racks 6 up and down; hence it will be seen
that when the crank handle is turned, motion will be simultaneously given to
the four racks b, either to raise or lower them. h, h, is a quadrangular frame
having two bars i, i, having numerous parallel slits to receive yarn. At the
four corners of this frame h, h, are holes h', through which the projecting studs
at the tops of the racks 6 pass. In working with this machine there are
several such frames h used, in order that several children may be placing yarns

page_text: across parallel to each other, each yarn being placed at their ends in the slits
in the bars i, and by them will be held, thus producing a surface of yarns side
by side, and held straight by their being held near their ends by the slits in
the bars ; and it should be remarked that these slits will be further from.
each other or more close together, according as the yarn employed is more or
less coarse. The workman being supplied with a succession of frames h, will
pack the layers of yarns contained therein in the following manner-j, j‚ Ï‚
are a series of upright, narrow, and thin plates of brass or other suitable
metal. These plates are kept separated by bars k, k, at bottom, such bars
being of a width to correspond with the lengths of yarn to be cut. 1, 1, are
screw rods passing through holes in the lower ends of the plates j, and also
through holes in the bars k, and the whole are screwed together by the screw
nuts m, m, the upper ends of the plates j being combined together by the rods
n, n, which respectively pass through holes formed in the upper ends of the
two rows of plates j, such plates being kept apart by the washers o, o, there
being a pin passed through a hole in one end of each of the rods n, which
retains the rods secure at those ends, the other ends being made fast by set
screws p, p, passing through the end washers, as is shewn. The parts being
in this condition, the workman introduces a bar r in each space between the
plates j, as is shown; he then places a frame h on to the racks b, and he
lowers such frame till the layer of yarns therein rest on the bars r; he will
then introduce in the space between each pair of plates j, on either side, a thin
plate of brass or other suitable metals, till the upper surface of the yarn is
covered by such plates; he will then lower the frame h, by which the yarns
previously brought down by that frame will be left between the bars r and the
thin plates s.
The workman will then remove the empty frame h, and place
another frame h on to the racks with another layer of yarns, which he will
lower down till the under surfaces of the yarn come on to the plates, s, where
he will retain the frame till he has introduced another series of plates s, on
the upper surfaces of the yarns, each plate s protruding between the plates j,
and there is a hole in each end of the plates s, through which a rod is passed
to fasten them all together, as hereafter explained. The workman continues
thus to supply successively layers of yarn by means of the frames h, and covers
them with plates s till he has filled the machine to the extent required, as is
shown at Figures 5 and 6, when he introduces a rod t through the holes of
each pile of plates s; he then withdraws the rods n successively from the
plates j, placing thereon the bars u, which have each two holes formed through
them at each of their ends. These holes are in order that they may pass down
on the plates and the rods t and the bars u will be securely held to the

page_text: position (into which they are pressed) by means of the set screws v, the other
ends of the rods t being securely held by the set screws w passed through the
ends of the bars r. By this arrangement it will be seen that the layers of
yarns, having the plates s between them, will be securely held together, and
different piles of plates s, having the yarns between them; may be cut away
from each other by passing a thin knife between the bars u, and by a sawing
motion the workman will cut off a length of the various layers of yarn equal
to the width of. the plates s; and as the pile of plates s are all bound together,.
the several layers of yarn will be securely held, and there will then be rect-
angular frame of plates s, which, when laid on a flat surface, will cause all the
lengths of yarn to be on end, and in a position for allowing the ends to be
coated with an elastic cement (I use india-rubber cement), and to have a
surface of canvass or other suitable fabric applied; and it will be seen that
the ends of the yarn, when cut off, will protrude on one side of the plates s
equal to the thickness of the plates j, and these protruding ends will facilitate
the cementing them together, and applying a layer of canvass or other fabric
by cement; and I prefer to use a serrated knife, in order that the cut made
thereby may not be a clean cut; on the contrary, it is desirable to have the
ends of the fibres drawn out from the yarn in the act of cutting or separating
them between the plates s, particularly when it is intended to combine the
ends of the yarns by felting in place of cementing, as hereafter explained. In
some cases I so arrange the plates ; as to cut off lengths equal to two plates
s, in such manner as to apply a surface of felt or cemented fabric on to both
ends of the lengths; in such cases, in order to obtain protruding ends of the
yarus at both their ends, beyond the plates s I apply three plates j, j, side by
side, as is shown at ; j', and I remove the centre ones, and cut intermediate
between the pairs of plates j, j, which remain. I would remark that, accord-
ing to the length to be cut off, so will be the width of the plates s, s. The
machinery and apparatus shown is for producing napped fabrics; but the same
may be employed for getting lengths of yarns for stuffing and padding surfaces,
according to the first part of Invention, the plates j and the other parts being
enlarged accordingly. And in making napped fabrics by the aid of such
machinery or apparatus, they may be made plain or ornamented. Thus, sup-
posing the yarns employed to be all white, the napped fabric would be white;
but supposing that every tenth, eleventh, and twelfth yarn, in every frame h,'h,
placed in the machine, were a red or other colored thread, then the surfaces
cut off would produce a napped fabric of a white ground, with red or other
colored stripes. Again, if every tenth, eleventh, and twelfth yarn of every
tenth, eleventh, and twelfth frame were colored, and all the rest of the yarns

page_text: employed were white, then the surfaces produced by cutting off lengths of such
yarns would produce a napped fabric with a white ground, having red or other
colored spots, and by numbering the slits or notches in the frames h, and intro-
ducing the yarns in varied orders, according to a pattern similar to those used
for Berlin work, very ornamental work may be produced. Figure 7 shews the
plan of a portion of a pattern which will make this matter more fully under-
stood. The pattern, Figure 7, is produced by several quadrangular portions
joined together at the dotted lines, each square being such as would be cut
from a collection of yarns properly placed, as above explained, and as is shewn
in Figure 8, such Figure also shewing the yarns to be held by the apparatus
composed of various plates s, s, and other parts, with layers of yarn between
such plates s, and in introducing the yarns into the frames h; they have been
thus introduced so as to produce the parts of the pattern, Figure 7, as will be
seen on examining Figure 8, which, however, is on a larger scale than
Figure 7; and it will be seen that Figure 8 shews a complete frame or surface
cut from the ends of the various layers of yarn, and such layers are kept secure,
by the holding of the various plates s, till the ends of the yarns. are either
secured by an adhesive cement or by felting, and such cementing or felting is
to take place on the projecting ends of the yarns before removing the plates s,
in order to prevent the pattern being deranged. If the ends of the yarns are
to be, cemented, I prefer to use india-rubber cement, and which alone will be
sufficient to hold the ends of all the yarns into a surface; and if the surface or
pattern is complete in itself, then the same may be cemented on to a surface
of strong canvass or other fabric; or when the surface of yarn only composes
part of the extent and pattern of a napped fabric, then the various parts, as
they are cut off, are to be cemented on to a surface of strong canvass or other
fabric, joining the edges of the various parts of a pattern to each other, and
thus producing the extent of napped fabric desired. I would here remark,
that I am aware that various means have before been proposed for getting
yarns on end, and, by means of cement, to combine them into napped fabrics,
and Patents have before been taken for Inventions relating thereto; and I
mention this in order to state that I do not now claim the making of napped
fabrics by means of cementing the ends of lengths of yarn side by side on to
suitable surfaces in order to produce fabrics, this part of the Invention relating
simply to the mode of packing and cutting, and subsequently holding of the
lengths of fibres by plates s, s, and other apparatus, as herein described. It
should be stated that, in making the above fabrics, when cement is used, yarns
of any fibres may be employed.
Another part of my Invention relates to the production of napped fabrics,

page_text: by combining the ends of the yarns which are to form the nap of the fabric,
by felting when the fibres of which the yarn is composed are suitable for felt-
ing, or for being fixed by felt. In carrying out this part of my Invention, the
lengths of yarn are to be obtained side by side, and held together in any con-
venient manner, but I prefer the means above described. And in order to
facilitate the felting process I use a wire card to comb out the projecting
ends of the yarn; and as it is not desirable to allow the ends of the yarns to
protrude to such an extent as to offer sufficient fibre to produce the body of
the fabric by felting, I cause suitable felting fibres to be laid on to the surface
(which is to be felted) by "bowing," or by several layers of the film of fibres
produced from a carding engine, and then, by hand, the workman presses the
fibres down, the pressure being accompanied with a slight movement of the
hands. And having thus by successive pressures in some degree. caused
the fibres to intermat and felt amongst themselves, and amongst the fibres of
the ends of the yarns, to such an extent as to be sufficient to retain the yarns*
in their places, the workman may remove the plates s, and parts connected'
therewith, and proceed to further felt the fibres by folding and pressing, using
such means as are usually practised by felters, and as are well understood,
until he has obtained the felt to the degree of substance he desires. By such
means a napped fabric will be produced composed of the lengths of yarns on
end, felted at their lower ends.
Another part of the Invention relates to a mode of making napped fabrics,
and consists in producing rugs, carpets, and such like fabrics in the ordinary
way, by weaving, preferring, however, to have the pile or nap longer than
usual, in order to allow of a surface being removed by cutting, and yet leave
a sufficient nap on the one produced by weaving. And this part of the Inven-
tion consists of taking a rug or such like woven napped fabric; and by apply-
ing india rubber or other suitable cement to the upper surface of the nap, I
cause all parts to be cemented together, and by such india rubber or other
suitable cement to apply a surface of strong canvass or other fabric; and then
by cutting or splitting I obtain two napped fabrics, the one having a woven
back, and the other a back produced by cementing on a suitable fabric. By
this means may patterns, which are costly in weaving, be multiplied at small
cost; or in place of using cement, 1 produce a felting on the upper surface of
a rug, or such like napped fabric, as above, explained, and then cut or split the
intermediate nap, and thus obtain two napped fabrics, one with a woven back,
and the other with a felt back.
'
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, I would remark; that I

page_text: do not confine myself to the precise details, provided the peculiar character of;
either part of the improvements be retained. But what I claim is,-
First, the mode of manufacturing mattrasses, cushions, padding, or stuffings,
by applying lengths of yarn side by side, with the ends combined by cementing.
or felting.
Secondly, I claim the mode of arranging machinery or apparatus for obtain-
ing yarns packed together side by side, and held in such manner as to allow of
lengths being successively cut off and held till the ends of the yarns are
combined by cementing or felting.
Thirdly, I claim the mode of combining the ends of yarns in the manufac-
ture of mattrasses, cushions, paddings and stuffings, and napped fabrics, by:
means of felting.
And, fourthly, I claim the mode of manufacturing napped fabrics, by.com-
bining the upper ends or surface of napped fabrics (produced by weaving) by:
cement or felting, and then splitting the same into two fabrics, as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Christopher Nickels, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of December, in the year-