CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRAID, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE- WITH
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NATHANIEL
JONES AMIES, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer,
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 Twelfth day of August, in the sixteenth year of Her reign, and
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Nathaniel
Jones Amies, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Nathaniel Jones Amies, my exors, admors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said Nathaniel Jones Amies, my 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, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRAID, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE-
WITH;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said
Nathaniel Jones Amies, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
enrolled 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

page_text: 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
Nathaniel Jones Amies, 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 Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements in the manufacture of braid consist principally in manu-
facturing braids either plain or of various ornamental designs, either with or
without elastic threads, or any of the other additions now known in braiding
chiefly by the employment or use of the machinery or apparatus herein-after
mentioned. The first part of my improvements in machinery or apparatus
connected therewith is applicable principally to the higher numbers of flat
braiding machines, say from forty-one upwards, and consist of a certain
arrangement of revolving cams and other apparatus for tightening or giving
tension to the threads at intervals in order to produce a more even and
uniform braid than has been hitherto manufactured by such machines.
The second part of my improvements consists of a certain novel arrangement
of apparatus applicable either to round or flat braiding machines for giving
motion at certain requisite intervals to the governors of such machines (by
means of an annular plate furnished with suitable projections) in such a man-
ner that the spindles upon each rose" or "driver" shall be caused at such
intervals to revolve round the centre of the driver, and thus double their
respective threads together, instead of braiding them, by passing from one
or "driver" to the other, thus producing the novelty of a braid
having alternate plattings and twistings of any requisite length.
"rosc
The third part of my improvements consists in manufacturing a flat braid
of various plaits by employing "roses" or "drivers" of different sizes in one
and the same machine. The practical application of my several improvements
will be readily understood upon referring to the two Sheets of Drawings
accompanying these Presents, and the following explanation thereof.
In Sheet 1 of the Drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine for
manufacturing flat braid drawn to a scale of about two inches to a foot, and
representing the adaptation thereto of the first part of my improvements;
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same; Figure 3 is an horizontal section
taken at about the line A, B, in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a vertical section
taken through about the centre of the machine; a, a, represents the main
framing or standards of the machine; b, b, are the driving spindles actuated
in the usual manner; c, c, are the "roses" or drivers; and d, d, ar the

page_text: braiding spindles, one or two being only shewn in Figure 2 in order to avoid
confusion, the red lines representing the relative positions of the remainder;
e, e, is the "drawing off iron;" f, f, are the delivering rollers, and g, g, is the
can or other receptacle in which the braid is deposited as it is formed. Upon
referring to Figure 3 it will be seen that one of the driving spindles b, b, is
connected by spur gearing h, h, to a vertical shaft i, i. This shaft drives a
transverse shaft k, k, by means of a pair of mitre wheels I, l. The shaft i is
supported by means of a bracket bolted to the top plate of the machine, and
upon it are mounted two cams m, m, the peculiar formation of which is best
seen in Figure 4. As these cams m, m, are caused to revolve they tighten or
give tension to the threads (represented by the blue lines) as they pass under
them, and thus form a more even and uniform braid than has hitherto been
manufactured upon such machines.
In Sheet 2 of the Drawings, Figure 1 represents an horizontal section of a
flat braiding machine, shewing the adaptation thereto of the second part of my
Invention drawn to a scale of about four inches to a foot, and Figure 2 is a
front elevation of the same. a, a, is the framing of the machine; b, b, are the
driving spindles actuated in the usual manner; c, c, are the "roses" or
"drivers," and d, d, are the braiding spindles; e, e, are the "governors,"
which are provided with small screws or projections f, f; g, g, is an annular
plate or ring of metal furnished with internal projections h, h, and sliding in
brackets j, j. The ring g, g, has also an external projection i, which is formed
as a catch, by means of which the ring is held in the position shewn in the
Drawing through the agency of the spring k; is a finger attached to a
vertical shaft m, m, which is connected to one of the driving spindles b, b, by
means of the spur gearing n, n. It will be evident that so long as the ring 9,9,
is held in the position shewn, by means of the spur , the governors will act
in the ordinary manner, and the machine will produce an ordinary braid, but
as soon as the catch i is released by the finger the tension of the spiral.
spring o, o, will remove the ring in the direction of the arrow, and the pro-
jections k, k, will throw the governors e, e, all in the same direction. As each
spindle passes a governor the spring o, o, will give way, but instead of allowing
the governor in the position in which the spindle leaves it, so as to throw the
next spindle across, and thus form a braid, the tension of the spring o, o, will
throw the governor back as soon as the spindle has left, and thus the two
spindles in each "rose" will revolve round the centre of the driver, and double
their respective threads. But as soon as the spring k is free from the finger Z
it will lock the ring 9, g, by means of the catch i, and the spindles g will again

page_text: "
braid. In a flat braid machine, when the annular plate changes, the governors
for twisting the spindles upon the two odd numbered "roses" will traverse
from one " rose to the other, and will form what is now called a "Russia
braid," (whilst upon the even numbered "roses" the spindles are twisting,)
unless the spindles upon the odd numbered "roses" are allowed to traverse
without threads. On a round braid machine, when the above movement takes
place, the whole of the spindles plait and twist alternately, without any varia-
tion. I would here observe, that if preferred the governors may be connected
together by being jointed to a ring, as shewn in the diagram, Figure 4.
"
Figure 3, Sheet 2, shews a plan view of a flat braiding machine, to which
the third part of my improvements is applied. a, a, is the framing; b, b, are
the driving spindles; c, c, are the "roses" or "drivers," and d, d, are
the braiding spindles. In ordinary braiding machines the "roses" are all of
the same diameter, excepting the two end ones, which are larger, in order to
admit of their having one more notch each than the rest as usual in all flat
braiding machines, but it will be seen that in this Drawing the centre roses
are larger than the rest, having each ten notches, whilst those at the ends
have but five, and the intermediate roses four each. By this arrangement I
'am enabled to produce a variety of designs or patterns of flat braids not
hitherto produced or manufactured.
Having thus described the nature and object of my said improvements in
the manufacture of braid, and in the machinery or apparatus connected there-
with, I would remark, in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention,-
First, the arrangement of cams and other apparatus shewn in the Drawings
and above described, or any modification thereof, for tightening or giving ten-
sion to the threads at intervals for the purpose of producing a more even and
uniform flat braid than has been hitherto manufactured.
Secondly, I claim the production of a fabric with the threads alternately
doubled and braided either by the means shewn in the Drawings, and above
.particularly described, or by any other mechanical equivalent.
And, thirdly, I claim the production of a braid having a variety of plaits,
by the arrangement of large and small "roses" or "drivers" in connection
with each other, for the purpose of producing novel designs or patterns of braid
as aforesaid.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nathaniel Jones Amies, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of February, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-three.
NATHANIEL JONES (L.s.) AMIES.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of February, in
the year of our Lord 1853, the aforesaid Nathaniel Jones Amies 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 Twelfth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.