IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NET LACE OR OTHER SIMILAR FABRICS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixteenth day of April, in the twelfth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her especial license, full power, solo privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Edward Newton, my exors, adññors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my exors,
adiñors, 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 mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NET LACE OR OTHER SIMILAR FABRICS,"
being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said William Edward Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same 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 iu and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Edward Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say):-
Before entering into a detailed description of the various mechanical
arrangements which constitute the Invention which has been communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, it will be advisable to point out the
inconveniences and disadvantages of the system hitherto adopted, and then
explain the object of the present improvements, whereby these inconveniences
are removed or obviated.
Hitherto the threads of textile or fibrous substances, such as silk, flax, or
cotton, which have been used as the chain or warp in the manufacture of lace
or net have been what is technically called "warped," or arranged side by
side, and then wound upon a cylinder, which being mounted upon an axle or
shaft delivers the warp thread as cach mesh of the net or lace is formed.
By this bad arrangement of the warp threads, whatever may be the difference
in the consumption of the several threads, or the quantity of one or more
portions of the warp required to produce the pattern or fabric, in comparison
with other portions of the warp, the cylinder will always deliver the same
quantity in length of each thread. This gives rise to great inconvenience, as in
the manufacture of figured lace or net it often happens that in order to pro-
duce the work or pattern a much greater quantity of some portions of the
warp threads is required than such other parts of the warp as are intended to
produce a different description of work, such as plain work, and the result
necessarily will be that the several threads will not be regularly and uniformly
stretched throughout the fabric, which will therefore be defective. According
to the system which forms the subject of the present Invention, and for which
I have obtained Her Majesty's Letters Patents as aforesaid, the warp threads
are arranged in a different manner, and so as to render all the warp threads
independant of each other. Each thread is also furnished with a regulator
bobbin for regulating the tension, so that each separate thread, or any number
of threads, may without inconvenience furnish a great length of warp when
required, while another portion of the warp threads will furnish a smaller
.quantity.
Another inconvenience of the machines now in use is, that the weft threads
of the lace (either of silk, flax, or cotton) are usually wound upon bobbins
formed of two little discs of plate iron or brass rivetted together, and leaving a

page_text: increases in an irregular
From what has been said it
space between them for the purpose of receiving the thread. These bobbins
are placed in carriages furnished with springs, which serve to regulate the
tension of each thread of weft. By means of these springs the same amount
of tension may be given to each thread of the weft, but only while the bobbins
remain full. As the operation of weaving or producing the fabric proceeds,
and the bobbins became emptied, the tension
manner, and a very imperfect effect is produced.
will be evident that either the tension will not be strong enough when the
bobbins are full, or it will be two strong towards the end when they are nearly
empty, and it will be easily understood that this will occasion great irre-
gularities in the operation of weaving. In order to obviate this inconvenience,
the Inventor of the present improvements has devised a means by which the
threads of the weft, as well as those of the warp, shall have the same tension
at the commencement of the operation, and when the bobbins are full as when
they are nearly empty; (that is to say,) that during the manufacture of the entire
piece of net or lace (whatever may be its length) the tension of the threads
shall always be uniform.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of part of a warp
lace machine constructed according to the present Invention, or with the
various improvements adapted thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section
of the same, shewing more clearly the internal construction and arrangement of
the various parts. One of the principal parts of the Invention consists, as
before mentioned, in dispensing with the use of the ordinary warp beam, and
employing, in place thereof, a number of flat plates, upon or around which the
warp threads are wound separately, so that all the threads should be distinct
and independant of each other. In the before-mentioned Figures 1 and 2,
these plates, with the warp threads wound thereon, are shewn at a, a; they are
made slightly conical, the upper ends being rounded in order that they should
not interfere with the delivery of the warp threads as the operation of weaving
proceeds. The lower ends of these plates are inserted in the interstices of what
may be termed the comb box, as it consists of a number of metal plates b, b,
arranged side by side in a metal or other box c, c, which is attached to the side.
framework of the machine. The arrangement of these plates is shewn best at
Fig. 1, in which it will be seen that when the plates 6 are arranged side by
side in the box c, a narrow space or slit will be left between them at their
apper parts, which are cut away or made thinner for this purpose, so as to
receive the lower ends of the plates a, a. The warp threads from the plates a
pass through holes made in the metal plate d, and after being wound three or
our times round the regulating bobbins e, pass through another metal plate g

page_text: to the upper part of the machine. The regulating bobbins e are each mounted
in a carriage or frame f, as shewn upon an enlarged scale at Fig. 3, and are
furnished with a spring for the purpose of giving to the warp threads the
required amount of tension while being drawn off the bobbin.
A small hole is made in the lower side of the carriage for the purpose of
allowing the thread to pass through from the plates a, a, to the regulating bob-
bins e. The regulating bobbin carriages f are suspended by the warp threads
between the plates & and g, which latter prevent the bobbins from rising too
high or falling too low. The carriages f are also separated laterally from each
other by vertical wires or partition bars h, which extend from the plate d to the
upper plate g. A metal bar i, extending from end to end of the machine, serves
as a support to the plates d and g, which are attached thereto; and a long barj
is secured to the under side of the plate d, and its edges are covered with cloth,
felt, or some other similar material, so that as the warp threads bear or press
against the edges of the bar j, they are prevented from delivering too freely,
and are kept at their proper tension. The warp threads are pressed against
and kept in contact with the covered edges of the bars j by the long narrow
presser bars, j. At k, k, in Fig. 2, I have shewn an improved description
of bobbin carriage, in which are included an ordinary bobbin to contain the
weft thread, and a regulating bobbin to impart a uniform tension to the weft
threads. This improved bobbin carriage, with the regulator attached, is shewn
upon an enlarged scale at Fig. 4. All the while any thread remains on the
improved bobbin (that is to say) from the time that the bobbin is full of thread
until it has been emptied, or nearly so, the tension will be always uniform.
The weft threads ought to be wound four, five, or six times (more or less, as
may be thought desirable) round the regulating bobbin, which, by means of a
spring placed in the upper part of the carriage, admits of imparting a greater
or less amount of tension; and the regularity of the tension is occasioned only
by a few turns of the weft thread round the interior circumference of this
regulating bobbin. From what has been said, it will of course be understood
that this bobbin never at any given time contains more thread than at another
time, for as it furnishes thread to the machine during the operation of weaving,
so it receives the same quantity from the ordinary bobbin placed beneath it in
the same carriage. As the fabric is manufactured it passes upwards over a
breast beam or roller, and under the large work roller 1, at the back of which
is a pressing roller m, mounted in the arm o. In order to prevent the fabric
from slipping between these two rollers, they ought to be covered with caout-
chouc, gutta percha, or some elastic fabric, such as felt, cloth, or knitted fabric;
and the roller m is kept in contact with the roller / by means of an adjusting

page_text: Screw 2, whereby the two rollers may be pressed with more or less force
against each other.
The work passes from between these two rollers to another roller, around
which it is wound; this latter is seen at n, and is mounted in bearings at the
end of the arm or support p. The roller is actuated by gearing in connection
with the working parts of the machine in the ordinary manner, and the roller
m is driven by the friction of contact with the roller l, and the roller n is
actuated by a strap or band coming from the roller m; or the roller n may
be driven by friction of contact with the roller m, or by being put in gear
with the roller . By this arrangement of parts the meshes of the net or
fabric and the pattern will always be of the same size at the end as at the
beginning of the piece, as the rollers Z.and m, which always preserve the same
diameter, only act as drawing rollers to take up the work as it is made, and
deliver it to the taking up or work roller n, which does not affect either of the
other rollers.
Having now described the Invention which has been communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent as aforesaid, and the means of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe that the above described improvements are
applicable to all kinds of lace machines, and when the novel parts have been
adapted to the old machines, the machines are to be worked in the ordinary
manner (that is to say) there are no other alterations or changes to be made
than those pointed out and explained in the present description.
In conclusion, I wish it to be understood that although I have above
described the best means with which I am at present acquainted for carrying
the various improvements into effect, yet I do not intend to confine myself
rigidly to the precise modes herein set forth, as they may doubtless be varied
in some particulars without departing from the nature and object of the
present improvements, nor do I intend to claim all the parts of lace machines
above shewn and described; but that which I consider to be new, and therefore
wish to claim as constituting the Invention for which I have obtained the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, dispensing with the use of the ordinary warp roller, and in place
thereof arranging the warp threads separately and independent of each other,
so that varying quantities of the several warp threads may be used as required
without affecting the tension of the contiguous warp threads.
Second, I claim the use of the regulating bobbins e, Fig. 3, or any similar
contrivance, for regulating the tension of the warp threads and keeping it
always uniform.

page_text: Third, I claim the mode shown at Fig. 4, and at k, k, Fig. 2, or any modi-
fication thereof, for regulating the tension of the weft threads, and keeping it
uniform throughout the whole piece.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of October, in the year of our s
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixteenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid William Edward Newton came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, 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 Sixteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.