IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOL, HAIR, OR OTHER ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF HAIR PADS OR 'FRISETTES' AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES AND IN MACHINERY OR A DDARATHS THEREPOR ". PURPOSES AND IN MACHINERY OR ÅDDARATUS THREEPOR
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thompson, of the Firm of William
Thompson & Son, Spinners and Wool Staplers, Frog Island, in the
County of Leicester, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
TREATMENT OF WOOL, HAIR, OR OTHER ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF HAIR PADS OR 'FRISETTES' AND FOR OTHER LIKE
PURPOSES AND IN MACHINERY OR A DDARATHS THEREPOR
"
.
PURPOSES
AND IN MACHINERY OR ÅDDARATUS THREEPOR
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Thompson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th November 1874.
I, WILLIAM THOMPSON, of the Firm of William Thompson & Son,
Spinners and Wool Staplers, Frog Island, in the County of Leicester,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOL, HAIR, OR OTHER ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF HAIR PADS OR FRISETTES' AND FOR OTHER LIKE PURPOSES,
, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS THEREFOR," to be as follows:-
:―
This Invention relates to the treatment of wool and other fibres for

page_text: the production of what is termed crimped or craped hair or wool which
is chiefly designed for use in the manufacture of pads or "frisettes" for
ladies' hair.
The object of the said Invention is the more rapid production and
consequent reduction of the cost of this material.' Heretofore this
crimped or craped hair has been most commonly produced by hand
work, and to some extent by machinery, by first plaiting it around
central cords of flax, hemp, or cotton, then boiling and baking it to
"set" the plaiting, and then hackling or combing it. But by my In-
vention I supersede this slow and tedious process of manufacture by my
improved method of manufacture, which I will now proceed to describe.
I first take the wool or other fibre and work it into a roving, either
with or without twist. This roving is then placed in a circular looping
machine and formed into a continuous tubular web or fabric. This
tubular fabric is taken from the said machine and dyed to any required
color or tint, and.is then subjected to cither hot or cold pressure, or
both, in a roller press or flat press of any suitable construction. This
pressure sets the fibres so that the crimping will be permanent, then
the said tubular web or fabric is placed on an upright cone of wood or
metal and unroved or drawn out ready for hackling or combing. The
said tubular fabric may be produced in portions of the required length
upon the aforesaid machine, or may be produced in the form of a con-
tinuous tube and afterwards cut into the required lengths. In some
instances I may form a flat web instead of a tubular web and treat it
in the manner described.
The improvements in the machinery employed for carrying my said
Invention into practice consists in providing a circular knitting or
looping machine with "push back" apparatus for pressing the work
down and preventing the pressing off of the fabric being formed by the
needles when lumps occur in the roving. This push back apparatus
is a metal ring which is fitted inside the top of the circular frame of the
machine, and presses upon the fabric and prevents the escape of the roving
from the needles when the latches do not act properly by reason of lumps
or inequalities in the said roving. This ring or circular frame is attached
by curved arms to a boss which is fitted to turn freely upon the lower end
of a vertical bar. The said bar is supported adjustably in a socket at the
end of a horizontal arm which extends from a bracket or standard attached

page_text: to the bed of the machine. The said socket is provided with a pinching
screw which holds the said vertical bar firmly in place while allowing it to
be readily raised or lowered when required. The said arm is also adjustable
on its standard or bracket on which it is secured by a strong pinching
screw or by other suitable means. This ring or circular frame allows
the coarse or thick thread or fibre used for the purpose of this Invention
to be worked very freely in a circular looping or knitting machine, and
entirely obviates the difficulty arising from the continual pressing off of
the work in these machines when the said ring is not used.
The roving used in practising my Invention is supplied to the
machine from a two-ended bobbin, that is to say, a bobbin with a flange
or rim at both ends. I thereby am enabled to work more quickly and
with less waste of material than would be practicable if the roving were
wound from skeins upon an ordinary conc-shaped bobbin.
One important advantage obtained by my Invention is the dispensing
with the employment of the aforesaid central cords around which the
wool is plaited in the manufacture of crimped hair, as heretofore
practised, which cords add to the product a considerable weight of
useless material.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th May 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
THOMPSON, of the Firm of William Thompson & Son, Spinners and
Wool Staplers, Frog Island, in the County of Leicester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Thompson, Her
special licence that I, the said William Thompson, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Thompson,

page_text: 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF WOOL, HAIR, OR OTHER ANIMAL OR
VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF HAIR PADS OR 'FRISETTES' AND FOR
OTHER LIKE PURPOSES, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS THEREFOR," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I; the said William Thompson, 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 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 Thompson, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification :-
This Invention relates to the treatment of wool and other fibres for
the production of what is termed crimped or craped hair or wool which
is chiefly designed for use in the manufacture of pads or "frisettes" for
ladies' hair.
The object of the said Invention is the more rapid production and
consequent reduction of the cost of this material. Heretofore this
crimped or craped hair has been most commonly produced by hand
work, and to some extent by machinery, by first plaiting it around central
cords of flax, hemp, or cotton, then boiling and baking it to "set" tho
plaiting, and then hackling or combing it. But by my Invention I
supersede this slow and tedious process of manufacture by an improved
method of manufacture, which I will now proceed to describe.
I first take the wool or other fibre and work it into a roving either
with or without twist. This roving is then placed in a circular looping
machine and formed into a continuous tubular web or fabric. This
tubular fabric is taken from the said machine, and if the roving was not

page_text: previously coloured, is dyed to any required colour or tint, and is then
subjected to either hot or cold pressure, or both, in a roller press or flat
press of any suitable construction. This pressure sets the fibres so that
the crimping will be permanent, then the said tubular web or fabric is
placed on an upright cone of wood or metal and unroved or drawn out
ready for hackling or combing. The said tubular fabric may be pro-
duced in portions of the required length upon the aforesaid machine, or
may be produced in the form of a continuous tube and afterwards cut
into the required lengths. In some instances I may form a flat web-
instead of a tubular web and treat it in the manner described.
The improvements in the machinery employed for carrying my said
Invention into practice are as follows:-The roving used in practising
my Invention is supplied to the machine from a two-ended bobbin, that
is to say, a bobbin with a flange or rim at both ends, I thereby am
enabled to work more quickly and with less waste of material than
would be practicable if the roving were wound from skeins upon an
ordinary cone-shaped bobbin.
I provide the circular knitting or looping machine with "push back"
apparatus for pressing the work down and preventing the pressing off of
the fabric being formed by the needles when lumps occur in the roving.
This push back apparatus is a metal ring which is fitted inside the top
of the circular frame of the machine and presses upon the fabric and
prevents the escape of the roving from the needles when the latches do
not act properly by reason of lumps or inequalities in the said roving.
This ring or circular frame is attached by curved arms to a boss which
is fitted to turn freely upon the lower end of a vertical bar. The said
bar is supported adjustably in a socket at the end of a horizontal arm
which extends from a bracket or standard attached to the bed of the
machine. The said socket is provided with a pinching screw which
holds the said vertical bar firmly in place while allowing it to be readily
raised or lowered when required. The said arm is also adjustable on its
standards or brackets on which it is secured by a strong pinching screw
or by other suitable means. This ring or circular frame allows the
coarse or thick thread or fibre used for the purpose of this Invention to
be worked very freely in a circular looping or knitting machine, and
entirely obviates the difficulty arising from the continual pressing off of
the work in these machines when the said ring is not used.

page_text: The Drawing shews a perspective view of a machine to be used in
the crimping or craping of wool, hair, or other fibrous material for the
manufacture of hair pads, frisettes, chignons, and the like according to
my Invention.
A is the frame of the said machine formed of cast iron or other
suitable material. a is the said two-ended bobbin containing the thread
or roving. The said bobbin is supported in brackets a¹. bis a pan or
bowl holding a boiling liquid preparation which assists in setting the
craping or crimping. c is one of a pair of rollers arranged in the said
pan or bowl for drawing the roving through the said liquid. These
rollers are driven by a belt passed over the pulley c'. d is the circular
or tubular frame of the needles. e is the aforesaid metal ring which is
fitted within the frame d, and is arranged to press upon the fabric and
prevent the escape of the roving from the said needles when the latches
do not act as above specified. This ring e is attached by the arms e¹ to
its central boss e² which is fitted to slide upon the vertical bar f. g is a
bed or table which serves as a support for the above parts and others
herein-after described.
"
I provide the said machine with a "knock-off or stop motion which
consists of a lever h, a pair of bevel wheels i, ¹, and a clutch box and
coupling j. By means of this device the operator can stop the machine
or a portion of it, as may be desired. k, k¹, are fast and loose pulleys
driven by a belt for operating the whole or a portion of the said machine.
7 is a fly or balance wheel for regulating the motion of the said machine
and thereby prevent breaking of the thread or roying.
The knitted or looped fabric of wool, hair, jute, or other material as
it comes from the looping apparatus above described is wound upon the
flanged reel or roller m whose shaft m² is supported in the vertical
frame m which rotates with the wheel i so that the reel and parts con-
nected therewith turn with the said wheel.
n is a pan or dish fixed in
the said frame m² for the reception of the hot liquid which escapes from
the hair or other fibrous material or web as it passes through the
machine, and which prevents the dropping of the same upon the parts
below. This dish or pan n is provided with a spout or tube for con-
ducting away the surplus liquid or vapour. The said vertical frame also
carries a drag motion at o for regulating the tension on the fabric passing

page_text: through the machine so that the said machine may be set to work small,
medium, or large material, as may be required. This drag motion is
controlled by means of a thumb screw and spiral spring, and a clasp
around the spindle which operates the parts & and m. In combination
with this drag motion I employ weights at p which may be increased or
diminished, as required, for fine, medium, or heavy work.
At the bottom of the machine I arrange between the side frames a
pan or dish for receiving all waste steam or water or liquid preparation
used in the boiling, looping, and winding of the wool, hair, or other
fibres as above described. The said pan or dish is provided with a tube
or trough for conducting this waste liquid into a receptacle from which
it is taken to be again used.
One important advantage obtained by my Invention is the dispensing
with the employment of the aforesaid central cords around which the
wool is plaited, in the manufacture of crimped hair as heretoforc
practised, which cords add to the product a considerable weight of
useless material.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shewn how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practise, I
wish it understood that I claim,—
First. The process whereby wool, hair, or other fibrous material is
first made into a roving, then either with or without passing it through
boiling liquid, formed into a looped or knitted web in a looping or
knitting machine, then subjected to pressure, and finally opened or
unroved, as herein set forth and for the purposes specified.
Second. The improvements in machinery consisting in the com-
bination of the "push back" apparatus and its supporting and adjusting
devices with a circular knitting machine, as herein set forth and for the
purpose specified.
Third. The bobbin with a flange or rim at both ends arranged in
combination with the knitting mechanism, as hercin set forth and for
the purpose specified.
Fourth. In a machine for treating fibrous materials for the manu-
facture of hair pads and the like, the circular knitting or looping
mechanism and "push back" apparatus, the pan or dish for containing

page_text: the boiling liquid, and the rollers for drawing the roving from the
bobbin through the said liquid, and the vertical frame carrying the
winding reel and provided with a pan or dish below the said reel, and
the other parts of the said machine constructed, combined, and operating
as berein set forth.
the boiling liquid, and the rollers for drawing the roving from the
bobbin through the said liquid, and the vertical frame carrying the
winding reel and provided with a pan or dish below the said reel, and
the other parts of the said machine constructed, combined, and operating
as herein set forth
In witness whereof, I, the said William Thompson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of May, in the
year of our Lord. One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.