IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOLLEN AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
CHRISTOPHER NICKELS, of York Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twelfth day of
February, One thousand cight hundred and forty-nine, in the twelfth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Christopher Nickels, my exors, adñors, and assigns, Her
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Christopher Nickels, my exors, admñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Christopher Nickels, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOLLEN
AND OTHER FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that
I, the said Christopher Nickels, should cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled
in Her said 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 bad, will more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, .the said
Christopher Nickels, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are 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,―
My Invention consists,―
First, of improvements in the manufacture of milled, felted, or fulled woven
fabrics. And,
Secondly, my Invention consists of improvements in manufacturing cut
piled fabrics when made in warp machinery. And in order that my
Invention may be most fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will
proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
My improvements in the manufacture of milled, felted, or fulled woven
fabrics consist of submitting fabrics woven in bobbin net or twist lacc
machinery to the process of felting or fulling in like manner to that in
which fabrics woven in looms by means of warp and weft thrown in by a
shuttle have heretofore been milled, felted, or fulled. By means of which
improvements very peculiar milled, felted, or fulled fabrics may be produced,
the tranverse or weft threads in such new milled, felted, or fulled fabrics
being diagonal in respect to the warp threads in place of at right angles
therewith, as when weaving with warp and shuttle. It is well known
that what may be called close fabrics have before been made in bobbin net
or twist lace machines with cotton, and also with silk, and yarns of other
material may also have been used for like purposes, such fabrics consisting
of bobbin threads and warp threads, the warp threads in such fabrics
constituting the longitudinal threads of the fabrics, and the bobbin threads
constituting the transverse diagonal threads of such fabrics. In making
such descriptions of fabrics there have been in some cases one, and in
others more than one warp thread to each bobbin thread in the fabrics;
and heretofore in weaving such fabrics the bobbin threads which work toge-
ther with a warp to produce a fabric are so actuated that one half thereof
are constantly proceeding from the right to the left, whilst the other half are
proceeding from from left to right, each bobbin thread having passed from
the right-hand selvage to the left-hand selvage in a diagonal direction, passes
back the right-hand selvage in an opposite diagonal direction; thus the two
sets into which the bobbin threads are divided are constantly crossing each

page_text: other, such crossings, as is well understood in making bobbin net or twist lace,
constituting the tops and bottoms of the meshes. And in other cases, in
making fabrics in such descriptions of lace machines, the bobbin threads have
been so actuated in respect to the warps with which they are working that
they shall not produce crossings of the bobbin threads, but, on the contrary,
the two halves of a set of bobbin threads in a bobbin net machine have been
so worked that the bobbin threads when working from the right-hand selvage
to the left-hand selvage have been caused to work diagonally in a front warp;
and as they have arrived at the left-hand selvage they have successively crossed
over and worked with a back warp till they have again arrived at the right-
hand selvage or end of the machine, and then they have crossed over and
worked again in the front warp, in which cases the bobbin threads havo
only been introduced diagonally into the fabrics produced (which have been
tubular) in one direction, the bobbin threads not crossing each other in the
texture of the fabrics. In other cases, when using bobbin net machinery, the
bobbin threads have not been caused to cross from selvage to selvage in
working with their warp threads, but have produced what are called "straight
down fabrics," all which are well understood. And I have mentioned them
in order to state that it is such descriptions of fabrics which I employ, when
made of proper materials for milling or felting, for carrying out my Invention.
But the description of fabric I prefer for making milled, felted, or fulled
fabrics, according to the first part of my Invention, are those wherein the
bobbin threads traverse from selvage to selvage in opposite directions, the
warp being the longitudinal threads of the fabric, so that the crossing of the
bobbin threads will be in the same warp, and therefore be in the texture of
the fabric. But I do not confine myself to the use of such last-mentioned
fabrics in carrying out my Invention, as any of those before mentioned are
applicable in carrying out my Invention. And I would state that, although
I prefer, as above stated, to use lace machine-made fabrics, wherein the
diagonal threads are bobbin threads, and the longitudinal threads are warp
threads, yet a like description of fabric is capable, as it is well known, of
being produced in bobbin net or twist lace machinery, where the war
threads traverse from selvage to selvage, and the bobbin threads run longi
tudinally in the fabrics; and such fabrics are equally applicable in carry
ing out my Invention when narrow fabrics are to be produced, the travers
bobbin machines being those which are suitable when making wide fabrics
The peculiarity of the milled, felted, or fulled fabrics, according to thi
part of my Invention, will be found to consist of having therein nume
rous transverse threads, which will not proceed from selvage to selvage a

page_text: right angles to the longitudinal threads as when weft is thrown by a shuttle,
as in fabrics produced in a loom, but on the contrary will proceed in diagonal
directions either from selvage to selvage, or else in the manner of what is
called straight down weavings of lace machinery. In place of using the
.ordinary yarn or thread made of cotton or silk, as heretofore generally
employed when weaving fabrics in lace machines, I employ yarns of wool or
material which will felt, and I either make the fabrics wholly or partly of such
felting material, and in some cases I employ the felting material for the
transverse threads only, in which case I prefer to employ yarn of cotton for the
longitudinal threads; but thread of other non-felting material may be employed
for this purpose, and I cause the lace machinery employed to be of a coarser
or finer guage, according to the degree of fineness of the threads used, and
although I usually dispense with that property of such descriptions of lace
machinery which consists of causing the transverse threads to twist with the
longitudinal threads of the fabrics, yet I do not restrict myself from using
fabrics in carrying out my Invention wherein there may be twist or partial
twisting of the two classes of threads used in making fabrics in lace machines.
The fabrics thus produced in bobbin net or twist lace machines, or in
machines acting similarly thereto, and being composed or partly composed of
wool, or other felting material, are to be milled, felted, or fulled in like manner
to that in which woollen fabrics are felted, and to which process separately I
make no claim. This part of my Invention not consisting of the process or
mode of weaving, when separately considered, nor to the process of felting or
fulling separately considered; my Invention consisting of the new manu-
facture herein described, and such fabrics may be raised, cropped, and finished
like woollen cloths or fabrics made in looms by shuttle weaving, as well
understood.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention, which relates to the
manufacture of cut piled fabrics when making such fabrics in warp machinery.
I would state in respect to this part of my Invention that warp fabrics have
before been made with cut pile, the pile being cut at the time of making such
fabric, but the means of holding and cutting the loops heretofore resorted to
have been inconvenient. The construction and manner of working of warp
machinery being well understood, it will not be necessary to describe the same
here further than is requisite for pointing out the arrangements of apparatus
for holding and cutting the loops.

page_text: frame as, together with other Figures of the Drawings, will enable me
to describe one means of performing this part of my Invention.
Figure 2 shows part of a front view separately of the hooks and cutter
for holding and cutting the loops. Figure 3 shows a trausverse section of
Figure 2, and Figure 4 shows part of a longitudinal view and transverse
section of the cutter separately, showing how the cutter is caused to rise and
cut the threads when the cutter is moved lengthwise for that purpose. The
cutter a, it will be seen, is capable of motion lengthwise on the bar b, which
carries the two rows of hooks c, c, and such bar & has an up and down motion
communicated to it by means of cams, as shown, so that the hooks can rise up
and take the looping threads between them, and thus hold them so as to
produce the desired size of loop. The use of hooks, however, for making loops
on warp fabrics is not new, the peculiarity of this arrangenient being the use
of two hooks in combination with a cutter, as here shown, whereby the loops
are held by the hooks, so that on the cutter moving between them the cut is
made under the most favorable circumstances in respect to the holding of the
loops. The Drawings show the two lace wheels which govern the working of
the guide bars d and e. The guide bar d carries the pile yarns, which I
generally make of wool, but other yarn may be employed so long as it is suitable
for making a close pile. The guide bar e carries the yarns or thread for the
body or ground of the fabrics. The lace wheels show the mode of working or
looping on the needles which I prefer, but I do not confine myself thereto.
The cams shown are those for actuating the cutter, and for raising and
lowering the hook bar, and for moving the hooks to and from the needles.
These Drawings also shew other canis, which are for actuating the several
frame as, together with other Figures of the Drawings, will enable me
to describe one micans of performing this part of my Invention.
Figure 2 shows part of a front view separately of the hooks and cutter
for holding and cutting the loops. Figure 3 shows a trausverse section of
Figure 2, and Figure 4 shows part of a longitudinal view and transverse
section of the cutter separately, showing how the cutter is caused to rise and
cut the threads when the cutter is moved lengthwise for that purpose. The
cutter a, it will be seen, is capable of motion lengthwise on the bar b, which
carries the two rows of looks c, c, and such bar & has an up and down motion
communicated to it by means of cams, as shown, so that the hooks can risc up
and take the looping threads between them, and thus hold them so as to
produce the desired size of loop. The use of hooks, however, for making loops
on warp fabrics is not new, the peculiarity of this arrangement being the use
of two hooks in combination with a cutter, as here shown, whereby the loops
are held by the hooks, so that on the cutter moving between them the cut is
made under the most favorable circumstances in respect to the holding of the
loops. The Drawings show the two face wheels which govern the working of
the guide bars d and e. The guide bar d carries the pile yarns, which I
generally make of wool, but other yarn may be employed so long as it is suitable
for making a close pile. The guide bar e carries the yarns or thread for the
body or ground of the fabrics. The lace wheels show the mode of working or
looping on the needles which I prefer, but I do not confine myself thereto.
The cams shown are those for actuating the cutter, and for raising and
lowering the hook bar, and for moving the hooks to and from the needles.
These Drawings also shew other cams, which are for actuating the several
parts as written thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING B.
Figure 5 shows another section of a warp machine for cutting the pile of
warp fabrics as the same are being made by such description of machinery;
but in place of each of the loops being taken hold of by two hooks with
the knife cutting between them, the loops are each held on an enlargement
on the side of a single hook. In other respects the working of the machinery
is the same as that shown in the Drawings marked A, the same cut of
lace wheels and cams there shown being used in this machine. The knife,
however, in this machine, in place of working between two sets of hooks,
works in an angular space formed in each of the hooks, across which the
loop is formed and held, and this is done by the hooks a passing up amongst

page_text: the pile threads and drawing them down on the enlargement shown on the
sides of the hooks around which the loop is held; and the size of the loop
depends on the diameter of the enlargement, as will readily be understood on
examining this Drawing; and it will be understood that as the knife is drawn
endwise and rises up it will enter the angular spaces of the hooks and cut
the loops which are held across such angular openings. In the two arrange-
ments shown there are only two guide bars employed, one for making the
body of the fabric and the other for making the pile. This may be varied
and more guide bars used, more particularly for the ground of the fabric; and
I have in the Drawings marked C shown an arrangement for making fabrics,
such as carpets, with strong backs with linen yarn. These Drawings show
the cut of lace wheels which I prefer for this fabric, and also the cut of cam
which I employ for working "the machine." In other respects the cams shown
in Drawings marked A are those which are employed. In making fabrics
with cut pile, according to this part of the Invention, the fabrics may be of one
or several colors of yarns, or printed yarns may be employed, as now employed
in making carpets, the pattern being elongated in proportion to the lengths of
the loops; and I would state that, in order to give strength to such fabrics,
either longitudinally or transversely, I can introduce yarns longitudinally or
transversely as inlaid threads, without their looping, as is well understood
when making other warp fabrics; or I can introduce threads or strands of
gutta percha longitudinally or transversely, as other threads or strands have
heretofore been introduced into warp fabrics, and then by passing such fabrics
over or between heated surfaces the threads of gutta porcha will become
melted, or partially melted, and run together at the back of the fabric.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the details as herein described, so long as the peculiar
character of any part of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is,―
First, the mode of manufacturing milled, fulled, or felted fabrics, herein
described; and,
Secondly, I claim the means herein described of holding and cutting the
loops of warp fabrics; and I also claim the combining gutta percha threads
with warp fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said Christopher Nickels, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Eleventh day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
.
CHRISTOPHER (L.S.) NICKELS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of August, in
the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Christopher Nickels 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 Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.