IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1851

page_text: STATHAM, of Siddalls Road, Derby, 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 Twenty-second
day of November, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fifteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Enoch Statham, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Enoch
Statham, my exors, aditiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said
Enoch Statham, my exors, adñiors, 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 make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE AND OTHER FABRICS;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Enoch
Statham, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, 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 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, 1, the said
Enoch Statham, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
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

page_text: had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :--
My Invention consists of improvements in the manufacture of lace and
other fabrics in bobbin net or twist lace machinery, by causing the succeeding
or neighbouring carriages of such descriptions of machines to be constantly
moved in opposite directions at the same time through between the warp
threads. Heretofore it has been usual in bobbin net or twist lace machinery,
working with a single tier of carriages, to cause the whole of the carriages to
swing or pass from front to back and from back to front in a complete row.
and when the carriages are required to traverse from selvage to selvage the
row of carriages has been divided into two halves, one being taken to the
front of the warp, and the other half being taken to the back of the warp, as
is well understood in working such machinery.
Now, according to my Invention, the machinery is to be so arranged that
one-half (every alternate carriage) is to move through between the warp
threads in one direction, whilst the other half of the carriages is moving
through between the warp threads in the opposite direction.
And this mode of working may be performed by any suitable machinery;
but in order that my Invention may be most fully understood, I have shown
two arrangements of instruments for accomplishing this object, viz, the
causing of every alternate carriage to pass from the front to the back
simultaneously with the movement of the other half of the carriages moving
from back to the front. I would, however, state that I do not confine
myself thereto, as variations may be made in the instruments employed for
causing the carriages of twist lace machinery to be worked according to my
Invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a section of so much of a lace machine as will enable me
to describe my Invention; Figure 2 shows a similar section, with the carriages
in a different position. By this arrangement two pusher bars are employed,
one at the back and the other at the front, each having half as many
pushers a, a, as there are carriages, and they move simultaneously, so that
one-half of the carriages is forced towards the back, and the other half towards
the front of the machine, and the two half rows of carriages are taken by the
lockers b, b, and hence it will be seen that the succeeding or neighbouring
carriages move in opposite directions, and the nature of the fabric produced
will depend on the racking of the warp threads.
Figures 3 and 4 show two sections of another arrangement, by which

page_text: catch bars are employed, cach catch bar having half as many catches a, a, as
there are carriages, so that each bar will take one-half or every alternate
carriage in opposite directions; f, f, are additional catches, which are com-
monly out of use, except when I desire to bring all the carriages into the
front or back. The ordinary mode of the catch bars working being, as is
shown in the Drawing, each takes one-half of the carriages, and they are
caused to shog when the whole of the carriages are in the centre, so that
they may each take those carriages which the other has brought into the
centre. I have not thought it necessary to show the other parts of lace
machinery, as a workman from the above description, aided by the Drawings,
will readily arrange the parts to work in the manner above described. And
when making traversed net or fabrics by the machinery described in respect
to Figures 3 and 4, it will be desirable to remark, that the catch bars are to
shog with their carriages in order not to leave hold thereof.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not claim any
of the mechanical parts or instruments herein mentioned separately, and the
form of the bobbin carriages and apparatus may be varied without departing
from my Invention; but what, I claim is the manufacture of lace and other
fabrics in bobbin net or twist lace machines, by causing the succeeding or
neighbouring carriages of such machinery to be constantly moved in opposite
directions.
In witness whereof, I, the said Enoch Statham, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
Enrolled the Twenty-second day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.