IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DRESSING, AND GETTING UP OF HOSIERY GOODS MANUFACTURED FROM. LAMB'S WOOL AND OTHER YARNS, AND IN MACHINERY FOR RAISING THE NAP ON THE SAME, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LEGS AND OTHER FORMS OR SHAPES FOR STOCKINGS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF HOSIERY
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE. PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BATES, of the Borough of Leicester, Fuller and, Dresser, 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 Nineteenth day of March, in the seventh year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Bates, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I,.the said William Bates, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Bates, my exors, adiñors, 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 DRESSING, AND GETTING UP OF HOSIERY
GOODS MANUFACTURED FROM. LAMB'S WOOL AND OTHER YARNS, AND IN MACHINERY
FOR RAISING THE NAP ON THE SAME, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LEGS AND OTHER
FORMS OR SHAPES FOR STOCKINGS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF HOSIERY;", in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William Bates, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, 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 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
William Bates, 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 Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say) :--
In dressing and getting up hosiery goods made of lamb's wool and other
yarns, it is usual to employ hot stoves for drying the same, by which the color
and feel is deteriorated. And the first object of my Invention consists of certain
means of drying such descriptions of goods by placing them between dry absorbing
surfaces when on or separate from legs or other forms or shapes, and thus
depriving such goods of moisture, whereby better color will be retained, and better
and softer feel will result, thus avoiding the injurious effects of the use of hot
stoves, which are known to produce a harshness of feel and a loss of freshness
of the color, particularly in delicate colors. Supposing the articles to be
treated, according to this part of my Invention, are lamb's wool stockings;
after they have been scoured, milled, and brimstoned, as is well understood, I
take them whilst in the wet state, and put them upon thin wooden legs, or
the shapes may be of other suitable material, with the wrong side of the fabric
outwards. I then place them between surfaces of thick dry cotton fabrics, or
other absorbing material may be used, and which I prefer to be dried in a
stove before being used; and I submit the goods to a slight pressure for about
an hour, then relieve the same from the pressure, and subject the stockings to
a brushing machine on the wrong side, for the purpose of loosening up the
surface and raising a nap thereon. The stockings are then turned and put on
legs or shapes of wood, or other suitable material, with the right side out-
wards; and I place them again between press papers or millboard, and submit
them to a slight pressure for about an hour, when they will be found suffi-
ciently dry and nicely shaped, soft to the feel, and the color uninjured, and
losing little weight in the process of dressing and getting up. In a similar
manner other articles of hosiery are to be dressed and got up, using proper
shapes, according to the nature of the article.
Another part of my Invention consists of submitting stockings and other
articles of hosiery made of lamb's wool and other yarns, treated as above
described, and when in a wet state, to pressure for about an hour, between two

page_text: surfaces of thick dry cotton fabric, or other suitable absorbing material (instead
of using legs or other forms or shapes), and then placing them between fresh
dry cloths for another hour, and then steaming and damping or otherwise
finishing them in the ordinary manner.
Another part of my Invention consists of improvements in machinery for
raising a nap on hosiery goods made of lamb's wool and other yarns, and con-
sists in so arranging the cylindrical brushes used, that they having been used
for some time may be caused to be moved or to revolve in the opposite
direction, by means of which the wires used in making the brushes will not be
liable to be laid in one direction, and by which the brushes used will work
for a much longer time with good effect than was formerly the case.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a front elevation of a machine having my improvements
applied thereto; Figure 2 is a side elevation, and Figure 3 is a side elevation
in section of the machine. a is the main or driving axis, which receives
motion from a steam engine or other power by a strap acting on the pulley b,
which is affixed on the axis a. On the axis a is also affixed the drum c, which,
by means of the endless band or strap, gives motion to one of the drums d, on
the axis of the lower brush e, the upper and lower brushes e, e, being geared
together by cog wheels f, f, affixed on their axes. On the axis of the lower
brush e is affixed the pinion g, which takes into and drives.the cog wheel h on
the axis i, the axis i being capable of adjustment, as is shown. To the cog
wheel h is affixed the pinion j, which takes into and drives the cog wheel k,
affixed on the axis of the lower of the grooved feeding rollers 1, the upper
grooved roller being moved by the lower one. The articles of hosiery are
placed on the table m, and pushed up to the feeding rollers 1, and by them the
same are moved to the cylindrical brushes e, e. The feeding rollers are kept
pressed together by levers n, acted on by springs, the levers pressing on the
brasses of the upper feeding roller. The brushing cylinders e, e, have brushes,
consisting of straight wire teeth, which I prefer to be set in india rubber, as is
well understood when making wire cards. The lower brush e has a pinion g
and driving drum d affixed on each end, so that when the brushes have been
working some time in one direction, the cylinder brushes e, e, with their
supports, are to be turned end for end, so that they may be worked or caused
to revolve in an opposite direction; the drum and pinion on either end of the
lower brush being driven by the driving strap, whichever end for the time
being is at that side of the machine where the drum.c is placed. By this

page_text: means the teeth or wires of the brushes will not be laid in one direction. This
apparatus is applicable for brushing hosiery fabrics, whether dry or wet.
And one part of my Invention consists in submitting hosiery goods whilst in
a wet state, and before they are placed on the legs or shapes, or when they
are placed upon legs or shapes, to the action of brushes, which will be found
materially to improve the finish given to such goods.
Another part of my Invention consists in making legs, or other shapes or
forms used for dressing and getting up hosiery goods, with raised edges or
borders. By this means the stockings or other articles put on such legs or
shapes have a hollow space between them and the shapes, as will readily be
understood on examining Figures 4, 5, and 6, where a side view, an edge
view, and a section of a leg or shape for a stocking is shewn, and other shapes
are to have similar borders formed thereon; and in some cases I make the
legs or shapes without the middle part, particularly where the legs or shapes
are made of metal, as shewn in Figure 7. In these cases the legs or shapes
will consist of a rim or border only of the shape of the article to be treated:
By the use of this part of my Invention a more raised nap may be obtained,
and the articles will look more bulky, in consequence of their not being
pressed against the surface of the legs or shapes. This part of my Invention
may also be used advantageously in getting up goods not having a raised nap
formed thereon.
Having thus described the nature of my 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 precise details herein described so long as the peculiar
character of either part of my Invention be retained. But what I claim
is,―
.
First, the mode of dressing and getting up hosiery goods, by causing them
when in the wet state, and with or without legs or other shapes, to be dried
by means of dry cotton cloths or other absorbing surfaces, and with or without
the aid of a press.
་
And I also claim the submitting hosiery goods made of lamb's wool and
other yarns to be brushed when in a damp or wet state before they are placed
on legs or shapes, or when they are placed on legs or shapes.
Secondly, I claim the mode of applying cylindrical brushes for brushing and
raising the nap on hosiery goods made of lamb's wool and other yarns,
whereby the cylinders may be changed in the direction of their action, as
herein described. And,
Thirdly, I claim the applying a raised edge or border to legs and shapes

page_text: used in dressing and getting up hosiery goods, and the applying of legs or
shapes, consisting of rims or borders only, for the same purpose, as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bates, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
WEBMDERED, th
Seventeenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid William Bates came before our
5 snid 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
And also the
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.