Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Dec., 1887
Complete Specification- Left, 13th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 19th Oct., 1888
Employed therein.
We, HENRY SMITH CROPPER, Engineer, and THOMAS GEORGE DEXTER, Lace Maker
both of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
Robert Scott's process for the embroidery of lace simultaneously with the weaving
of the same, has hitherto proved inoperative because of the shrinkage of the lace after
it has left the point bars, in consequence of which the patterns are of various sizes, no
two being quite alike and the embroidery apparatus cannot accurately follow the
various objects. Our invention remedies this defect by enabling us to weave the lace
of one uniform width and regularity. We acconiplish this object in the following
manner. In the place of the ordinary outside warp thread of the selvage we employ
an endless band of thin wire which. revolving on runners suitably, placed, passes up
amongst the warp threads between the carriages one or more of which are taken out
to make room for the said wire. It is here woven into the selvage by the ordinary
method known to all lace makers. From the upper side of the points to nearly the
centre of the porcupine net roller the wire is carried through a guide or channel so
grooved that although the wire itself cannot pass through the groove the remaining
part of the selvage can do so. Hence the lace is conveyed up to the porcupine
roller in a perfectly straight line. At the top of the grooved channel is attached
a small knife over the edge of which the lace is passed and the wire band is thus left
free to continue its motion whilst the lace is wound on the receiving roller in any of the
methods well known.
We also accomplish the same object by another method. Instead of employing an
endless band we attach a wire, thread, gut or other convenient substance to a carriage
or other suitable stop and convey the same through the channel as previously described;

page_text: the difference being that instead of using an endless band of wire as before, the wire
or other material terminates just above the guide or channel at which point the lace
leaves it instead of requiring to be cut.
HENRY SMITH CROPPER.
THOMAS GEORGE DEXTER.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings,
Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Lace and in Apparatus
Employed therein.
We, HENRY SMITH CROPPER, Engineer, and THOMAS GEORGE DEXTER, Lace Maker,
both of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The process described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to Robert Scott,
dated February 5, 1884, No. 2775, for the embroidery of lace simultaneously with the
weaving of the same, has hitherto proved inoperative because of the shrinkage of the
lace after it has left the point bars, in consequence of which, the patterns are of various
sizes, no two being quite alike, and the embroidery apparatus cannot accurately follow
the various objects in the design. Our invention remedies this defect by enabling us
to weave and deliver the lace to the porcupine net roller of one uniform width and
regularity. We accomplish this object in the following manner, and as represented in
the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view and Figure 2 an end
view, Figure 3 is a cross section, and Figures 4 and 5 are detail views of parts showing
one method in which we carry our invention into effect, and Figure 6 represents a
modification.
C,
In the place of the ordinary outside warp thread of the selvage, we employ, accord-
ing to the arrangement represented at Figures 1 and 2, an endless band a of thin
wire, which, revolving on runners 6. 1 suitably placed, and over the porcupine roller
passes up amongst the warp threads between the carriages, one or more of which are
taken out to make room for the said wire a. It is here woven into the selvage by the
ordinary method known to all lace makers of weaving in a selvage thread. From the
upper side of the points d to near the porcupine net roller c, the wire a is carried
through a guide e, so formed that, although tho wire a itself cannot pass sideways
through the groove or channel el formed therein, the remaining part of the selvage
can do so. The method we have found to answer in forming this guide e is shown
more clearly at figures 3, 4, 5, where e represents a back plate, in which the groove

page_text: or channel e is formed, and e³ represents a front covering plate, which is screwed to
the plate the narrow web of metal outside the groove or channel e' is slightly
below the general level of the plate e², so that, when the two plates e³, e³, are screwed
together, the groove or channel e' shall be capable of receiving the wire a, and securely
retaining it therein against any sideway motion, at the same time permitting it to
travel freely upward therein, whilst the remaining part of the selvage can pass
freely through the narrow channel et formed between the plates ees and communi-
cating with the groove or channel e¹. By these means the lace is conveyed up to the
porcupine roller c in a perfectly straight line, that is to say, it is held distended, by
the wire a, from the points d to close to the porcupine net roller
and thereby pre-
vented from contracting in width, thus keeping the figures of the pattern always in
the same proportion and in the same relation with the embroidery needles. At the
top of the guide e, at each selvage, is attached a small knife f, over the edge of which
the lace g, as it travels upwards, is passed, so as to cut the threads connecting the wire
band a thereto; the wire band a is thus left free to continue its motion, whilst the
lace passes on to the porcupine roller c, and is thence wound on the receiving roller,
not shown, in any of the methods well known.
We also accomplish the same object by means of the modification shown at Figure 6.
In this case, instead of employing an endless wire band a, as in the former arrangement,
we attach the lower end of a wire, thread, gut, or other convenient substance a*, to a
carriage or other stop or fixture, and convey the same through the groove or channel e¹,
as previously described, the difference being that instead of using an endless band a
of wire, as before, the wire or other material a* terminates above the guide e about the
middle of the porcupine net roller c, at which place the wire is tapered off to a point;
by these means the lace is enabled to leave the wire a* freely, instead of requiring to
be cut away from it.
Or instead of using an endless wire band a or a fixed wire a*, as above described,
we may pass up the groove or channel e, in the guides, an ordinary selvage, that is,
thick thread, and weave around it, as previously described, but we do not cut it away
from the lace; it is wrapped round the receiving roller, after passing over the porcupine
net roller, as in other machines.
The guides e are fixed at their lower ends to the facing bar g.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is.
1. In the manufacture of lace of the character herein referred to, the employment
of means, at each selvage of the fabric, for preventing the shrinkage of the lace after
it has left the point bars and before it passes to the porcupine net roller, substantially
as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.
2. In the manufacture of lace of the character herein referred to, the employ
ment, at each selvage of the lace, of a guide extending from the upper side of the
points to near the porcupine net roller, in combination with a wire, gut, thread
or other convenient substance located or travelling in such guide and woven into
the selvage of the Jace, substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose
stated.
1
2
1000