A CERTAIN METHOD OF IM- PROVING LACE, NET, MUSLIN, CALICO, OR ANY OTHER DESCRIPTION OF MANUFACTURED GOODS WHOSE FABRIC IS COMPOSED OF HOLES OR INTERSTICES, AND ALSO THREAD OR YARN AS USUALLY MANUFACTURED, OF ANY KIND, WHETHER THE SAID MANUPAC- TURED GOODS, OR THE SAID THREAD OR YARN, BE FABRICATED FROM FLAX, COTTON. SILK, WORSTED, OR ANY OTHER SUBSTANCE WHATSOEVER
Year: 1823

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL,
HALL, of Basford, in the County of Nottingham, Cotton Spinner, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by Petition, humbly represent to His present Majesty
King George the Fourth that I had invented "A CERTAIN METHOD OF IM-
PROVING LACE, NET, MUSLIN, CALICO, OR ANY OTHER DESCRIPTION OF MANUFACTURED
GOODS WHOSE FABRIC IS COMPOSED OF HOLES OR INTERSTICES, AND ALSO THREAD OR
YARN AS USUALLY MANUFACTURED, OF ANY KIND, WHETHER THE SAID MANUPAC-
TURED GOODS, OR THE SAID THREAD OR YARN, BE FABRICATED FROM FLAX, COTTON.
SILK, WORSTED, OR ANY OTHER SUBSTANCE WHATSOEVER;" His Majesty was
pleased to issue His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britaiu,
bearing date at Westminster, the Eighteenth day of April, in the fourth year
of His reign, which Letters Patent do give and grant unto me, the said
Samuel Hall, and to my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or to my or their ser-
vants or agents, His said Majesty's especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, to make, use, exercise, and vend my said Invention within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and to have and
enjoy the whole profit and advantage arising by reason of the said Invention
during the term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters Patent;
by which His Majesty also requires and strictly commands all his subjects
whatsoever, within England, Wales, and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
that during the continuance of the said term of fourteen years they shall not,
either directly or indirectly, make, use, exercise, vend, or put in practise
my said Invention, or any part of it, or in anyways counterfeit, imitate, or
Paies d

page_text: of
resemble the same; the said Letters Patent also contain a proviso obliging
me, the said Samuel Hall, to particularly describe and ascertain the nature
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing, under my hand and seal, and cause the same to
be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in fulfilment of the said proviso, I, the said
Samuel Hall, have executed this Instrument, by which I do delare that my
Method of Improving Lace, Net, Muslin, Calico, and any other Description
of Manufactured Goods whose Fabric is composed of Holes or Interstices,
and also Thread or Yarn as usually Manufactured, of any Kind, whether the
said Manufactured Goods or the said Thread or Yarn be Fabricated from
Flax, Cotton, Silk, Worsted, or any other Substance whatsoever, is described.
and ascertained in the manner following
The object of this my Invention is, a more compleat and expeditious
method than any hitherto practiced of clearing articles fabricated of cotton,
silk, wool, linen, and other similar materials, whether such are in the state of
thread or yarn, or are manufactured by weaving, netting, kuitting, or any
other mode into fabrics composed of threads crossing over or connected with
each other, so as to leave between them holes or interstices great or small,
even so small as to be imperceptible to the eye, but through which flame or
air heated thereby can be drawn. The clearing of the articles aforesaid is
produced by burning or singeing off those loose fibres, or ends of fibres, which,
not being bound or twisted into the thread or yarn, but standing out from it,
give it a rough, woolly, and indistinct appearance; and this burning or singe-
ing off of the fibres is effected by causing flame, or air heated thereby, to
surround or penetrate the articles aforesaid, in such manner as to remove the
loose or superfluous fibres, without at the same time injuring the body of the
thread or yarn. The result of this process is, that the thread or yarn acquires
a clear, distinct, wiry,and round appearance, which adds greatly to the beauty
of the lace, net, muslin, calico, or any other species of goods as aforesaid into
which it may be made, either previously or subsequently to the process of
clearing, and thereby renders the articles more perfect and saleable. The
heat that commonly make use of for this purpose is that produced in the
combustion ofinflammable gas,and the apparatus or machinery that I employ in
giving motion to the thread or yarn, or to the goods manufactured thereof, as
also that employed by me in conducting the inflammable gas into the hori
zontal perforated pipes where the combustion takes place, likewise the
aforesaid horizontal perforated pipes themselves, are similar to those set fourth

page_text: in the Specification of my Patent of November the Third, One thousand eight
hundred and seventeen, for improving lace, net, &c, and, therefore, to the
exclusive use of the whole of the aforesaid apparatus or machinery I lay no
claim in this Patent. But my present Invention consists in an improved
current of air, and an apparatus, the object of which is to supersede the use of
the chimney described in my aforesaid Patent of November the Third, One
thousand eight hundred and seventeen, and which gives the power of regu-
lating and increasing the draft and rapidity of the flame, or airheated thereby,
in a very superior degree, and of causing it to act in a downward, horizontal,
or oblique, as well as in an upward, direction. This my Invention is appli-
cable, not only to the flame of inflammable gas, but to flame and to air heated
thereby, from whatsoever material and in whatsoever manner produced. It
is described in the Drawing hereunto annexed.
Figure I is an elevation, and Figure 2 is a plan of a pneumatic apparatus,
consisting of the following parts:-A,A,cylindrical vessels or cisterns of cast
iron, or any other suitable material, nearly filled with water. B, B, cylin-
drical air vessels, made of plate iron or any other suitable material, closed at
top and inverted in cisterns A, A. E, E, a lever fixed on an axle Z, which,
having an alternating motion communicated to it (as shown by the dotted
lines), raises and depresses the air vessels B, B, which are attached to it.
a, a, are two valves fixed in the top of the air vessels and opening out-
wards; G, G, vertical pipes fixed within the vessels A, A, and closed
above by the valves b, which open upwards. The lower end of these
pipes G, G, open into and connect with the pipe H, H, H, which is at
first horizontal, but afterwards takes a vertical or any other convenient
direction.
Figure 3, H, H, H, is the termination of the pipe described by the same
letters in Figures I & 2. a, a, a, a, u, small pipes opening at one end into
and connecting with the pipe H, H, H, and at the other end into and with
the short horizontal pipes e, e, e, c, e. m, m, shewn by dotted lines, Figures
3, 4, 5, & 7, is a round rod of iron or other material, in which are fixed small
studs, r, &c., which are long enough to reach into the slits hereafter described
cut in pipes e, e, e, e, e. This rod passes through in the centres of those
pipes, and by working backwards and forwards, either by the hand or by some
applicable mechanical contrivance, the studs r, ", &c. clear away any lint
or dirt that may adhere to the sides of the slits, and thereby partially, if not
wholly, close or fill them up. Stopcocks y, y,y, shewn in Figures 3 & 4, are
attached to three of the pipes a, a, a, &c., and each of the pipes e, e, &c. has
a longitudinal slit cut the length thereof, at its lower extremity, parallel to the

page_text: gas tubes ff, &c. These gas tubes are perforated with small holes along
their upper side, whence issue jets of flame, as described in my Patent of
November the Third, One thousand eight hundred and seventeen, and which
therefore require no further explanation in this place. Sometimes, instead
of the separate short horizontal pipes c, e, e, e, e, as above described, I sub-
stitute a single long horizontal pipe, with a slit cut in it from end to end,
and divide it into short lengths, like e, e, e, e, e, by air-tight partitions, through
which the rod m, m, passes, as above described. Between the gas pipes f, ƒ,
and the pipes e, c, &c. passes the web of net or lace or calico or other article
intended to be cleared, provided such article can be conveniently formed into
an endless band by tacking the two extremities together. This is more clearly
shewn in Figure 4, which is an elevation at right angles to Figure 3. The
arrow above the line shews the direction in which the web revolves over the
roller C and brush p, made of bristles or other proper material, between the
jet and the pipe c, and between the rollers A, D. Suppose the apparatus
to be in the position represented in Fig I, and that the lever E is put in
motion, it is evident that the vessel B on the right hand will be depressed, and
that the air which it contains, being prevented from escaping at bottom by the
water in which it is inverted, will by its pressure keep the valve b shut, and
will throw up the valve a, and thus escape. The vessel B, on the left hand,
will at the same time be raised, during which the atmospheric pressure will
close the valve a, and the valve & being thrown up by the pressure of the air
in the vertical pipe G, the vessel B, as it rises, will fill with air, drawing it in
through the pipe G. This will occasiou a current of air from H into G, from
a, u, &c., Figure 3, into H, from e of same Figure into a, and from the external
air through the longitudinal slits into a. This current will occasion an indraft
of the jets of flame issuing from the gas pipe f; and as the articles to be cleared
are continually passing between and e, the velocity of the current of flame or
heated air, flowing among or through the interstices of their texture, will
depend upon the weight of the counterpoise hereafter to be described, F,
Figure 1. The stopcocks y, Figures 3 & 4, afford the means of increasing
or lessening the length of the indraft, according to the breadth of the web;
but as, when the slits in e, e, e, e, c, are nearly closed, the partial vacuum in
the pipes and air vessels might occasion too rapid an indraft through such of
the tubes as continue to be open, I have avoided this by the following con-
trivance-C, Figure I, is a cistern similar to A, A, containing water, in
which the cylinder D is inverted. This cylinder is kept in equilibrium by
means of a chain or cord passing over pullies, and connected at one end with
the cylinder, and at the other with the counterpoise F. The vertical pipe I

page_text: communicates between the pipe H and the cylinder D. c is a regulating or
safety valve opening inwards, and e is its counterpoise. Whenever, therefore,
the whole of the air in the cylinder D has been drawn out of it through the
pipe I, the valve c, being pressed upon by the external air, opens in ward, and
-allows the cylinder D to fill with air, instead of collapsing by the attmospheric
pressure, as it would do without this contrivance. Sometimes I make use of
two or more lines of flame, placed parallel to each other, as shewn in Figures 5
and 6, which represent the plan and elevation of a machine for operating on
those piece goods which cannot conveniently be united together to form an
endless web, such as stockings, gloves, caps, shawls, &c.
H, H, H, Figure 5, is the main pipe, communicating with the pneumatic
apparatus, Figure I. a, a, a, a, is a double-branched pipe, connecting the
aforesaid pipe with the double-draft pipes, e, e, which are placed over the two
ranges of gas tubes or burners f,f. The spindle k, k, passes through the pipe
a, a, and has a throttle valve fixed on it, in order to regulate the draft by
means of the handle. A, A, Figures 5 & 6, are two rollers having grooves
turned in them at intervals of about an inch assunder from end to end, into
cach of which is put a fine cudless band h, h, h, &c. D, D, are two grooved
rollers, similar to A, A, placed below them, aud (like them) furnished with
endless bands. The upper and lower tiers of bands so nearly touch each other
that when the rollers are put in motion the stockings, gloves, and similar
articles which are placed between the two tiers or sets of bands, are carried
along with and by means of the bands through or at a small distance over the
lines of flame, and of course between them and the corresponding draft pipes
c, c, &c. As it is necessary that the articles which are thus undergoing the
process of clearing should bear with some degree of pressure on the slits in
the draft pipes, in order that the flame or its heat may more effectually
penetrate their interstices, three rollers F, F, F, are fixed so as to support or
bear up the two tiers of bands, and of course the articles placed between them.
J,J,is a board placed at each end of the machine for the purpose of supporting
the rollers F, F, F. E is the gas pipe from which the secondary tubes 1, 2,
branch off to the perforated tubes or burners, in order to produce a double
line of flame.
Figure 7 is an elevation of a convenient mode of arranging the burners
and draft pipes for clearing thread or yarn in the hank. H, H, H, is the
main pipe, connected by means of the branches a, a, a, a, with the two draft
pipes e, e. k, k, is the spindle, and the handle, of a throttle valve, similar to
that before described, fixed in the branch pipes a, a, a, a. A, A, are two
rollers round which the lank h, h, h, &c. passes, and by means of which it

page_text: is made to revolve over brushes p,p, made of bristles or other proper material,
and then to pass between the two perforated tubes or burners,, and the two
draft pipes e, e. When the goods are of sufficiently strong fabric I find it
advantageous to fix a brush or brushes as marked p, Figures 4 & 7, so that the
web or yarn shall, previously to its arrival between the burners and the draft
tubes, pass over such brush or brushes. The fibre or nap is thus raised from
the surface of the goods, and is then more easily and effectually cleared off by
the action of the heat. I also find it advantageous, when the fabric or texture
is not too close, to place the draft pipes so as to draw the flame from the
burners, either downwards or in an oblique direction; and when both sides of
a web are required to be cleared by one operation, draw one line of flame
upwards and another downwards, whereby the goods, in their revolution or
passage between them and the draft pipes, are cleared on both sides by one
operation.
The apparatus above described appears to me to be the best calculated to
answer its intended purpose, and as such is employed by me; and although I
do not claim the exclusive use of the parts of this apparatus taken separately,
yet I do claim the exclusive use of them when combined or connected together
in the manner and for the purposes above described. The principle being once
pointed out, of employing mechanical means for the purpose of producing a
regular and rapid current of flame, or of air heated thereby, to the clearing of
thread or yarn or any articles fabricated thereof as aforesaid, by the removal of
loose or superfluous fibres, many modifications of apparatus for this purpose
will present themselves to the mind of a mechanic. All such, however, as
depend upon the application of the same mechanical principle as that applied
by me, and described in the foregoing part of this Specification, I claim the
exclusive use of, whether the heat employed be obtained from the combustion
of any inflammable gas, or from any other source of heat whatsoever capable
of effecting the object of this Patent.
In witness whereof, I, the above-named Samuel Hall, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand aimhe hundred and trantor tha
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the
within-named Samuel Hall (being
first duly stampt), in the pre-
SAMUEL (L.S.) HALI..

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourteenth day of October, in
the year of our Lord 1823, the aforesaid Samuel Hall came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written.
AND ALSO BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixteenth day of October,
in the year of our Lord 1823, the aforesaid Samuel Hall came before our
said Lord the King in his Chancery, and re-acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One

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