CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FIGURED OR ORNAMENTED LACE OR NET OF VARIOUS TEXTURES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
CROFTS, of Lenton, in the County of Nottingham, Lace Manufacturer, and
JAMES GIBBONS, of New Radford, in the same County, Machinist, 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 Thirty-first day of October, in the eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
William Crofts and James Gibbons, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that we, the said William Crofts and James Gibbons,
our exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William
Crofts and James Gibbons, our exors, admors, 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,
and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also
in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, our Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FIGURED OR ORNAMENTED
LACE OR NET OF VARIOUS TEXTURES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso that we, the said William Crofts and James Gibbons, or one of
us, shall cause a particular description of the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next..and

page_text: 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, we, the said
William Crofts and James Gibbons, do hereby declare that the nature of
our Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, aro
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):-
It is well known
Our Invention consists of manufacturing figured or ornamented lace or net
of various textures in bobbin net or twist lace machines, by combining two
carriage threads with each warp thread; and in order that our Invention may
be most fully understood, and readily carried into effect, we will proceed to
describe the means pursued by us in performing the same.
that what is called ornamented plat and other net or lace. have now for a
long time been extensively made by combining two warp threads with each
bobbin thread of twist lace machines, according to a Patent granted to the said
William Crofts.
.
:
Now the present Invention has for its object the reversing that proposition,
and using two carriago or bobbin threads for each warp thread, whereby
varied textures. of figured or ornamented lace may be made with advantage,
and if desired gymping.and other threads may be used for further ornamenting
the fabrics produced.. by such combination of two bobbin threads with each
warp thread.
.
...
In the Drawings we have shown our Invention to be carried out by means
of fluted roller. machinery, because we consider, such machinery capable of
more quick production than other machines. At the same time we do not
confine ourselves..to.that construction of machinery, as other arrangements
may be employed, so long as the peculiar character of our Invention. be
retained, that of. using two bobbin..or...carriage threads to each warp
thread.
1 A.
43)
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The nature of each of the views of the Drawings being written thereon; it will
not be necessary to repeat the same here, and it is only desirable to remark
that the same-letters are: used to indicate similar parts wherever, they occur. The
machinery is arranged for making what is. called..straight-down: net. or..lace
consequently the comb bars: are fixed.. The machine works with a double
tier of carriages, there being one. warp thread for each pair of carriages.

page_text: The nature and mode of working bobbin net- or twist lace machinery being
well understood, it will not. be necessary to enter into a description thereof
further than will be useful for. making our Invention readily understood, more
particularly as the names of the principal parts of the machinery are written
on the Drawings; and the Drawings show the nature of the various parts;
some of the details. being however omitted.
c. The Drawings show only one guide bar carrying half as many guides, and
consequently: warp threads, as there are carriages with their bobbin threads,
and this guide bar has by its lace wheel a constant succession of rackings, which
if not interfered with in respect to any of the warp threads, the fabric produced
would be a series of twists of the bobbin threads around the warp threads.
Thus, supposing the warp threads commenced in a central position, two.bobbin
threads will twist with each. warp thread, but not with the two carriage threads
which move in the same spaces of the combs. The front bobbin thread
which is on the left of the central position of the warp thread. will twist
with that warp thread, and the back bobbin thread which is in the next
space of the combs to the right hand will twist with the same warp thread;
and supposing that every warp thread should be intercepted every time the
intercepting instruments are introduced, a single cross would be put on, and
then for any length of time:a similar series of twists would take place between
the bobbin threads and their warp threads. The same bobbin threads would,
however, perform such twist about the same warp threads, but the back
bobbin thread would be on the left of the warp thread, and front bobbin. to
the right of the warp thread, and therefore, when it is desired to make cloth
work, the intercepting instruments are to be inserted four times in succession,
and then omitted four times in succession; and so long as this is pursued the
work opposite such selecting instruments will be a cloth work composed of
the straight-down threads or warp threads and the crosses of the bobbin
threads, and as there is an independent instrument to each warp 'thread,
worked by a suitable pattern .surface, any or all of the warp threads can
at any time of introducing such intercepting instruments be prevented
partaking of the rackings of the guide bar which carries them, and then those
threads, in place of their continuing to make the same class of fabric, they
may be constantly varying according to the pattern surface which for the
time being may be acting. Hence it will readily be understood that the
pattern of lace produced will depend on the varied manner in which the
intercepting instruments are introduced amongst the warp threads, so as to
vary the texture of fabric opposite those instruments, by which at the same

page_text: moment some threads may be producing one class of fabric, whilst other
threads may bo producing other textures of fabric. The guide bar a is
actuated by means of the lace wheel a' on the cam shaft, such lace wheel
acting on the lever a³, which by the connecting rod a³, gives motion to
the crank a', the other end of which actuates the guide bar a, the guide
bar being constantly drawn towards the lever a* by the spring að. The
intercepting instruments shown, and the manner of their action will be
hereafter explained, may be acted on by Jacquard or other suitable pattern
surface, so as to select or omit to select any of the intercepting instruments
at each movement, according as the pattern of fabric requires it. a, is the guide
bar; b, b, are the various intercepting instruments, one to each warp thread;
c, c, are the front and back tiers of carriages, moved to and fro by means of
fluted rollers d, d, in an ordinary manner heretofore practised, consisting of a
crank v, giving motion to the parts w and x, which move the two toothed
racks, which by the pinions y give motion to the fluted rollers, there being
rollers 2, 2, on the ends of the two outer of the fluted rollers, which towards
the end of their movements back and front, are by the guiding surfaces 2¹,
caused to take a slower movement.
And we would here remark generally that the machinery shown is of very
common construction, and forms no part of our Invention, and the same is
only intended to explain the best means we are acquainted with for carrying our
Invention into practice. The intercepting instruments 6, the nature of which
is shown in the Drawings, are brought into action in the following manner.
e is a frame in which the bolts f, f, are carried, the bolts f sliding in the comb
9, and they are raised up or permitted to remain down, according as the
Jacquard or other pattern surface causes the threads or cords h to be acted on
or not, so as to raise them and consequently their respective bolts f fastened
thereto. i is a comb between the plates of which the lower ends of the bolts f
are guided. The combs g are fixed to the spindle bar e³, which swings on
axes k, and motion is communicated to the bar e¹ by means of cams 1, one at
each end of the machine, which give motion to the levers m, which by means
of connecting rods or links n, are connected to the arms o, affixed on the
bare; hence is the bar e¹ made to swing on its axes or necks at each end. In
each of the sliding bolts f is formed a recess f¹, the upper and lower parts of
which form stops, which coming against the wire g', passed through the comb
prevents the bolts f moving up or down too much in the comb g. And it
should be understood that whatever bolt f is raised by the pattern surface,
that bolt will for the time being be removed out of the way of its intercepting

page_text: instrument b, and consequently the intercepting instrument 6 will not in the
swinging in of the frame (carried by the bar e'), be caused to move the
intercepting intstruments opposite thereto; and on the contrary, those bolts
f, where the pattern surface does not for the time being act, will remain,
and the swinging in of the bar e will cause all those intercepting
instruments opposite the bolts f, which are not removed by selection of the
pattern surface, to be moved in, and they consequently will prevent the
respective warp threads for the time partaking of the racking of the guide
bar. The intercepting instruments are carried back by the locker bar p,
which receives motion from the cams q, one at each end of the machine, such
cams acting on levers r, the levers 7 being connected by links or connecting
rods r', to the arms p¹, on the locker bar; and the sliding bolts are caused to
descend by means of the locker bars (when the lower ends of the sliding
bolts are moved outwards), such locker bar s receiving motion from the cams t,
one at each end of the machine; the cams t acting on levers t¹, which are
connected by means of links or connecting rods to the arms &' on the locker
bars; and the effects of these movements will be better understood by examin-
ing the cut of lace wheel shown for working the guide bar, aided by the
following explanation:-
The lever of the guide bar is shown to be placed at starting, just after the
whole of the carriages are in the back comb, and the intercepting instruments
have been withdrawn; and before the guide bar is again racked the inter-
ceptors are again introduced, and then the guide bar is racked towards the left
hand one space, the front row of carriages move into the front combs, and then
the intercepting instruments are withdrawn, and again inserted amongst the
warp threads, after which the guide bar moves to the right hand; the back row
of carriages then move into the front combs, the intercepting instruments are
again withdrawn, and again inserted amongst the warp threads, after which
the guide bar moves to the right hand. The back row of carriages move into
the back combs, the intercepting instruments pass out from the warp threads,
but enter again, and the guide bar, moves to the left hand. The front row of
carriages then move into the back combs; the intercepting instruments are
withdrawn, and re-enter, when the course of movements above described will
again be gone over, and the pattern produced will depend, as above stated, on
the order in which the various warp threads are permitted or prevented racking
by the intercepting instruments. Although we have above stated that the
intercepting instruments go into the warp threads at particular parts or times
of the movements of the machinery, it is only intended by such expression to

page_text: state that those intercepting. instruments which for the time being are to act
on the warp threads, and not that all the intercepting instruments; are to..be
moved at each of those times: We have thus in our description treated the
working of the machinery in the simplest form, by simply speaking of one
guide bar; but the warp may be placed in different guide bars if desired, and
additional threads for taping for the selvages and other: purposes may be
used according to the judgment of the workman as heretofore...
*
In the above description; the parts are arranged to produce the crossings by
means of the bobbin threads, but this may be varied, and the tops and bottoms
of the meshes may be obtained by the warp threads; and we have; to laid the
workman, shown a cut of wheel at Z, suitable to replace the lace wheel before
mentioned, by which lace fabrics may be produced, the linkings forming the tops.
and bottoms of the meshes being obtained by the linking of the warp threads with
the bobbin threads. When this cut of wheel is used the warp threads are to be
on separate bobbins or beams, excepting when making breadths of lace; then; as
the corresponding. warp threads in each breadth will be worked up at the same
speed, such corresponding warp threads of each breadth may be put on the
same beam, and the bobbins or beams so employed are to be so weighted that
in taking up the work the carriage threads may cause the warp threads to cross
or liuk, as is very commonly practised when the crosses of the fabric produced
in bobbin net machines are produced by the warp threads. It should, however,
be stated, that when this wheel Z is used the leaving out of the intercepting
instruments continuously will produce cloth work; and according to the order
in which the intercepting instruments are introduced or omitted, so will be
the nature of the fabric produced, composed of lace or open work combined
with cloth work. And it should be further stated, that when using this lace
wheel Z, that the threads of the back row of carriages are to be manufactured
with the twist in the reverse direction.
"
i
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the best means we
are acquainted with for performing the same, we would have it understood
that what we claim is, the mode of manufacturing figured or ornamented lace,
or net of various textures, by combining two- bobbin threads with each warp
thread used in bobbin net or twist lace machinery.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Gibbons have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
JAMES (L.s.) GIBBONS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1845, the aforesaid James Gibbons 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 Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
Enrolled. the Thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-five.