IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND THE MEANS FOR UNITING LACE TO BLOND AND OTHER FABRICS, AND ALSO IN THE APPARATUS USED FOR MANU- FACTURING OR CONVERTING THE SAME INTO BONNET AND CAP FRONTS, ROUCHES, AND SUCH LIKE SIMILAR ARTICLES OF MILLINERY
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Wheatcroft, of Brudenell Place, New
North Road, County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND THE MEANS FOR UNITING LACE TO
BLOND AND OTHER FABRICS, AND ALSO IN THE APPARATUS USED FOR MANU-
FACTURING OR CONVERTING THE SAME INTO BONNET AND CAP FRONTS, ROUCHES,
AND SUCH LIKE SIMILAR ARTICLES OF MILLINERY."
Sealed the 3rd June 1859, and dated the 19th February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Wheatcroft at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th February 1859.
I, SAMUEL WHEATCROFT, of Brudenell Place, New North Road, County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND THE MEANS FOR UNITING LACE TO
BLOND AND OTHER FABRICS, AND ALSO IN THE APPARATUS USED FOR MANUFACTURING
OR CONVERTING THE SAME INTO BONNET AND CAP FRONTS, ROUCHES, AND SUCH LIKE
SIMILAR ARTICLES OF MILLINERY," to be as follows:-
In order to unite two fabrics, say lace and blond, the materials are wound
on separate reels or drums, and then unwound from these, the blond travelling
in one plane, the lace in another more elevated; the former in its .course
passes one of its edges within a little slot guide, and is then carried beneath a
piece of sponge fixed in a bent funnel, which supplies water to it so as to wet

page_text: or moisten the edge of the blond, and disolve the stiffening material with
which it is dressed; travelling on from this it then passes under a guide having
a lateral adjustment for different sizes of fabrics, and into which the lace
passes, and by means of it the edge of the latter is caused to overlap the
adjoining edge of the former; on leaving this guide the two fabrics come into
contact, and pass under one or more pairs of rollers, which are heated by
means of a jet or jets of gas lighted in their interiors, so as to press and dry
the materials at the same time. The rollers are geared and put in motion by a
handle, or otherwise; instead of heating the rollers, a heated box or plate may
be used, or both modes may be combined; the finished material is received
on drums or reels; the whole apparatus is mounted on a suitable frame.
The next part of my Invention relates to the uniting and insertion of the
said lace and blond or other fabrics into bands, for the purpose of forming cap
or bonnet fronts, or such like similar articles of millinery. In order to effect
this, I construct a hollow polygonal shaped drum, preferably octagonal on its
outer periphery; this drum I mount on bearings, and heat it by means of gas
lighted on the interior, a principle and method of heating described in the
Specification of an Invention for which I obtained a grant of Letters Patent,
dated Sixth day of March, Eighteen hundred and fifty-eight. On each
exterior face of the drum, and extending nearly from end to end thereof, I
mount parallel to its axis two bars, one fixed, the other sliding; the sliding
bar is connected with a spring, so that when the former is urged towards the
fixed bar so as to grip anything between them, by means of a cam or eccentric
fixed on the face of the drum on the removal of the action of the cam, the
spring causes it to leave the fixed bar, and return to its first position; a cradle
rises over the drum, from which is suspended a knife or bar or box, to be used
according to the kind of fronts to be made; I also make use of an improved
form of box or clamp to those now applied, which consists in having an
additional tongue or slip hinged within the interior so as to hold another fold
of material. The action of the machine is thus :-The bands being prepared
and folded in the usual way, are moistened on the interior surface and inserted
between the parallel bars; the goffered material is then placed over the band
and inserted either by the knive pressing it down into the band, or by means
of the box or clamp; the bars are then made to approach and nip the
materials together; another face of the drums performs the same operation
until all are filled, when the cap fronts are taken out, finished, and dry, and
without a seam.

page_text: SPECIFICATION, in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Wheatcroft in the Great Seal Patent Office on tho
. 29th June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL.
WHEATCROFT, of Brudenell Place, New North Road, County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Samuel Wheatcroft, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel
Wheatcroft, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as 1, the
said Samuel Wheatcroft, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-:
after, during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,:
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN-
THE METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR UNITING LACE TO BLOND AND OTHER FABRICS,
AND ALSO IN THE APPARATUS USED FOR MANUFACTURING OR CONVERTING THE SAME:
INTO BONNET AND CAP FRONTS, ROUCHES, AND SUCH LIKE SIMILAR ARTICLES OF
MILLINERY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel
Wheatcroft, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Wheatcroft, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed; to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say :-
In order to unite two fabrics together, say, lace and blonde, the materials
are wound on seperate reels or drums, and then unwound from these, the
blonde travelling in one plane, the lace in another more elevated; the former
in its course passes one of its edges under a little slot guide, and is then
carried beneath a piece of sponge fixed in the narrow end of a bent funnel,
which supplies water to it so as to moisten or wet the edge of the blonde, and
dissolve the stiffening material with which it is dressed. Instead of the sponge.

page_text: and funnel a wheel continually wetted may revolve on the edge of the blonde;
travelling on from this they then pass under a guide, which has a lateral
adjustment for different sizes of fabrics, and into which the lace passes, and is
by means of it caused to overlap the adjoining edge of the blonde; on leaving
this guide the two fabrics come into contact, and pass under one or more
pairs of rollers, which are heated by means of a jet or jets ignited within
them, or by means of a stream of hot water or steam caused to pass through
them; the rollers are geared and put in motion by the hand or a strap,
or otherwise, by means of the pressure and the heat from the rollers;
the edges are caused to unite, and they are delivered on to a drum at the
other side in one piece and quite dry. Instead of heated rollers a similarly
heated box may be used, or the rollers and box may be used in combination;
the whole apparatus is mounted on a suitable frame.
In order more clearly to illustrate the before described Invention, I have
appended to this Specification the accompanying Drawings, the object of
which is to shew generally the construction and mode of using the said
machine, for the purpose above mentioned; it is not intended, however, that
the form therein shewn is the only arrangement and combination of the
different parts by which the main principles of my Invention can be applied
and carried into effect, as various alterations, modifications, and substitutions
may be adopted in the minor details to suit the peculiar position and the
particular requirements of the machine, and convenience of the user, but they
are calculated to shew generally the most simple and
Figure 1 is a plan, and Figure 2 an elevation of the machine for uniting
lace to blonde, as before described in a general manner. Similar letters refer
to the same parts in each of the Figures.
A is the stand or frame upon which the machine is supported; at one
extremity are mounted two reels a and b, on which are wound respectively the
lace and the blonde, or other similar materials to be united; c and d are two
tables, along which the lace and blonde travel after leaving the reels a and b,
having a guide d' under and into which the edge of the blonde enters; e is a
funnel containing water, having a cock e¹ to regulate the flow of the water to
the sponge inserted at the mouth of its narrow extremity; f, a guide by
means of which the proper lap is given to one of the fabrics; in this case the
lace and are two hollow rollers, having pinions mounted on the axis at
their extremities, and driven by means of motion communicated to the later
by the toothed wheel i; B is the side frame supportting the said arrangement
of hollow cylinders; k, a plate over which the united fabric travels after
leaving the rollers; p, p,.a pipe with proper stop-cocks for supplying the gas

page_text: to the interior of the hollow rollers by means of the junction pipes 9 & 1, when
it is ignited and heats them; s, s, breaks to regulate the pressure of the
rollers; u, a drum put in motion by means of a band or strap over a pulley
mounted or acted upon from the geared hollow rollers, and which receives the
material now united; v, v, & y, y¹, are guides to hold the material close to the
tables. The action is as follows:-The lace and blonde being unwound from
the reels a & b, pass along the tables c & d, the former being a little more
elevated than the latter. The edge of the blonde which has to be united to
the lace passes under the sponge e³, and is moistened or wetted by it; the laco
by means of the guide f is caused to overlap the moistened edge of the blonde,
and in this position the two pass between and are compressed by the heated
rollers by means of the moist sponge. The dressing on the blonde becomes
softened, and the action of the rollers is such as to cause the two edges to unite
and adhere by means of the dressing, which forms the medium of adhesion;
after leaving the rollers the united material is received on the plate k, when,
if it has not been quite dried by the rollers, it is now made so; from here it is
received on to the drum u. It will be seen that as soon as a fold of the
material is got round the drum u, and motion communicated to the rollers,
there will be a continuous motion throughout the machine, the motion being
transmitted from the rollers to the other parts, and the two fabrics to be
united will gradually be unwound from the reels at the one end and received
on the drum in one piece at the other.
The next part of my Invention relates to the uniting and the insertion of
the said lace and blonde, or such like similar fabrics into bands, for the
purpose of forming cap or bonnet fronts, or such like similar articles of
millinery. In order to effect this, I construct a hollow polygonal shaped drum,
preferably octagonal on its outer periphery. This drum I mount on bearings
so as to turn on its axis, and I heat the interior by means of gas ignited
within it, a principle and method of heating described in the Specification of
an Invention for which I obtained a grant of Letters Patent, dated Sixth day
of March, Eighteen hundred and fifty-eight. I propose in some cases,
however, to effect the same purpose by means of a stream of hot water or
steam passing through the interior. On each extreme face of the drum and
extending nearly from end to end thereof, I mount parallel to its axis two
bars, one fixed, the other sliding; the sliding bar is connected with a spring,
so that when the former is urged towards the fixed bar so as to nip anything
between them, by means of the action of a cam or excentric, on the removal
of this action the spring causes it to leave the fixed bar, and return to its first

page_text: position; a cradle or tie-bar rises over the drum, from which is suspended a
knife or bar or box, to be used according to the kind of fronts to be made.
In the Drawings, Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are intended to illustrate this
description, giving different views of the machine and its details. Figure 3 is
a front elevation, and Figure 4 an end elevation; Figures 5, 6, and 7 are views
of some of the details.
•
:
•
A, A, is a polygonal shaped drum (octagonal in the Drawings) hollow
throughout, and mounted so as to rotate on the side frames B, B, and beated
in the interior by means of ignited gas introduced through the tube c, c, which
is supported on the uprights d, d; motion is given to the drum A by means of
the wheel e and the handle or spokes f; g is a check wheel, acted on by the
lever h, through the spring i; k, a tie-bar or cradle holding the upper part
together. On cach face of the drum are two longitudinal bars r, r', the
former of which is fixed and imoveable, the latter free to move either to or
from the fixed bar; 8, 8, are excentrics or cams, placed one, on each face, and
just bebind the moveable bar, so as to actuate or urge it towards the fixed
barv,, spiral or other shaped springs, two of which are fixed on each
face to the moveable bar, so as to cause it to recede from the fixed bar, when
the action of the cam is reversed; t, t, a pair of hinged or free slips, preferably
of metal, which are inserted between the bars 7, 7", so that when the latter are
somewhat apart the slips form an angle, as shewn in Figure 5, and are
compressed, and hold firmly and material placed them, when the said bars
are brought together by means of the cam; t, t, are small weighted levers,
which tend to cause the said slips to open when the bars recede from each
other; t¹, t¹, are small guides to keep the slips steady in their positions; m, a
carriage suspended by pullies o, o, and the weights p, p, and sliding up and
down on the rods p', p', on the side frames; Figure 6 is a plan of this; within
this carriage is placed the box n (Figure 7), which is supported by the arms
, ; it will be seen that this box opens on hinges, so that a body or piece of
fabric may be inserted within it, and the box then closed so as to hold the
fabric; it is of the usual form adopted for that purpose. Instead of the
carriage and box, the suspended bar or knife may be adopted when thought
requisite. The action of this machine is thus:-The fabric, say the united
lace and blonde before mentioned, having been prepared in the usual manner
by goffering, and cut into the proper lengths, the object of this machine is to
form the cap or bonnet fronts or rouches, as the case may be, and by doubling
in some cases, or by insorting singly in others, the front, that is, the goffered
material within a band.

page_text: Different forms of boxes n are used for different kinds of fronts, according
as they are single, double, or triple, or partly single, double, or treble; but
these forms of boxes are well known. First, then, the band, which is generally
coarse net, tape, or silk, having been cut to the proper length, and folded in
one, two, or three folds, has its inner surface wetted or moistened with water;
in this state it is placed between the slips t, t, the folds forming a somewhat
similar angle to the slips; the prepared fabric in one, two, or three folds is
placed within the box n; the box is then shut, and a portion of the edge of
the fabric remains outside the closed box at n¹; the box being now put within
the carriage, the bars on the drum are brought immediately under the
carriage, which, at the same instant with the box, is made to descend, so that
the projecting fabric in the box n¹ is inserted between the folded band within
the slips v, v, and consequently the materials between them; at the same
moment the box is opened so as to leave the enclosed fabric, and the carriage
is made to ascend in a similar manner; another is enserted between the next
bars and slips, and so on, until the drum is filled, when they will be found dry,
and the bands firmly adhering to the fronts. When the knife is used instead
of the box and carriage, the front is then laid over the bars, the band having
been first inserted; the knife now descends, and causes the front to double on
itself, and urges the central portion within the band, and the two are nipped
or compressed, as before mentioned, and the front formed in this way.
Having now described my Invention, and the nature and construction of
the same, I would mention that I do not confine myself to the exact form,
arrangement, and disposition of parts shewn in the Drawings, as these may be
casily modified, and some parts substituted by other well-known equivalents;
but what I do claim is,-
First, the method of uniting lace to blonde or such like fabrics by the
method described in the Specification, and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the
Drawings, that is to say, by passing the two fabrics, one overlapping the
other, and either or both having the edges to be joined moistened between one
or more hollow heated rollers, boxes, or plates.
Second, the mode of heating the said rollers or boxes, or plates, by means
of gas ignited within, underneath, or adjacent to them.
Third, the method of heating such said rollers, boxes, or plates, by means of
a current of hot water or steam through, within, underneath, or adjacent
to them.
Fourth, the general arrangement of the different parts, or of other similar
well-known equivalents, for effecting and carrying out the said method of

page_text: uniting lace to blonde or such like similar fabrics, as illustrated in Figures 1
and 2 of the Drawings.
Fifth, the use of a triangular or polygonal-shaped drum, for the purpose of
forming the said lace, or blonde, or similar fabrics into bonnet or cap fronts or
rouches, and such like articles of millinery, as shewn generally in the annexed
Drawings in Figures 3 and 4.
Sixth, the method of heating the interior of the said drum by means by
means of a current of hot water or steam injected into the interior.
Seventh, the arrangement and the mode of actuating the slips t, t, by means
of the cams and the springs 2, 73, the levers 6, or the equivalents of each or
any of these.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Wheatcroft, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
SAMUEL WHEATCROFT. (L.S.)
JAMES WRIGHT,
42, Bridge Street, Blackfriars,
London, Witness.