IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF FINISHING HOSIERY AND OTHER LOOPED FABRICS
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BATES, 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
Westminster, the Fourth day of June last past, in the second 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, 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
PROCESS OF FINISHING HOSIERY AND OTHER LOOPED FABRICS;" 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 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.

page_text: 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 (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to certain modes of finishing hosiery and other looped
fabrics, known by the names of lambs-wool, worsted, angola, and cotton, by
the means herein-after mentioned and explained.
According to the ordinary process pursued previous to my former Patent,
angola and cotton goods were finished by being submitted to a process of
ironing by hand; lambs-wool goods were not usually either ironed or pressed,
but if occasionally they were pressed, it was without having legs or shapes
inserted into them; worsted goods were usually pressed, but not upon legs or
shapes; and rough or undressed goods were generally merely put upon legs
and exposed to heat by means of a stove to give them size and shape. And
in my former Patent I did describe a certain mode of finishing goods made
of elastic stocking fabric, and known by the name of lambs wool, worsted, and
angola, by placing within them legs or other shapes, according to the nature
of the articles to be operated on, and in that state submitting the fabric to the
hot pressure of any suitable surfaces produced by the heat of fluids; and I
have since discovered that pressure under such circumstances, that is, having
shapes or forms inserted into the articles to be pressed, is beneficial, even
though the surfaces are not heated. And one part of my present Invention
relates to the pressing such angola, cotton, worsted, and lambs-wool knit.or
looped fabrics with suitable shapes or forms within them, and whether roughed
.or dressed by the aid of flat or other pressing surfaces, worked by screw or
other presses; and in performing this part of my Invention, supposing the
articles to be finished according to this part of my Invention to be stockings,
each stocking has a thin flat leg or shape of wood or other suitable material
inserted into such stocking; in this state they are to be submitted to pressure
in a similar manner to that described in my former Patent; but the operation
takes longer time, that is, from ten to fifteen minutes or more and in case
rollers be used as the press, then it is desirable to pass the articles through
*several times or by a very slow movement. At the same time I would remark
that I do not consider rollers so good a description of press as the various
kinds of presses having flat surfaces. I have mentioned stockings as the
. articles to be treated or finished; I would, however, remark that the same
description applies to other articles, and the only difference is the flat shapes
or forms of wood or other suitable material put into the article to be treated

page_text: or finished according to this part of my Invention; by this mode of working I
dispense with the application of heat.
Another part of my Invention relates to the application of heated shapes,
legs, or forms in the finishing of stockings or other knit or looped goods of
lambs-wool, worsted, angola, or cotton, and subjecting such stockings or other
knit or looped goods of lambs-wool, worsted, angola, or cotton to pressure
whilst they are inserted on such heated shapes, legs, or forms, and the same
is performed by heating the flat legs or other forms or shapes before inserting
them into the stockings or other articles to be finished by this process, and
such heating may be performed in any suitable manner. I have found that
any degree of heat which will not burn or cockle the articles under operation,
quickens and improves the process of pressure when using legs, forms, or
shapes within the articles operated on; and the best means I am acquainted
with for heating the legs, shapes, or forms consists of an oven or such
like vessel heated by means of steam of fifteen to twenty pounds on the
square inch, though other apparatus or means may be resorted to; my
Invention not relating to the modes of heating the legs, forms, or shapes
inserted into the knit or looped articles of lambs-wool, worsted, angola, or
cotton, but to the application of such beated shapes, legs, or forms in the
finishing of such descriptions of goods; and having inserted such heated legs,
forms, or shapes, into the goods to be pressed, I place them between two
surfaces of a press; and I prefer placing them in single layers, using, by
preference, flat-surfaced presses; and where more than one layer is placed.
in a press at one time, it is desirable to place between each layer a smooth
sheet of millboard or other suitable material, in order to keep the layers
separate; and in case no such millboard or other material be placed between
the layers, then it it is desirable to have the goods placed on the legs, forms, or.
shapes with the outside towards the legs, forms, or sliapes, particularly where:
great pressure is required; and by this means, and submitting the goods to
pressure as above described for three to ten minutes, according to the extent
of finish desired, a very beneficial operation of finishing will be obtained.
Another part of my Invention. relates to other means of applying heat in
the process of finishing knit or looped fabrics of lambs-wool, worsted, angola,
and cotton when the articles are placed on legs, forms, or shapes; and consists
of employing heated surfaces produced by the heat of fire or flame, or by
heating surfaces with fluids without such fluid being in contact therewith or
contained therein, and in place of employing heated surfaces containing hot
fluids, as was the case in my former Patent.
And in order to give the best information in my power as to this part of

page_text: my. Invention, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, and
which I believe will be found in practice the best for performing this part of
my Invention.
And I would first remark that the legs, shapes, or forms inserted into the
goods may be heated or not when performing this part of my Invention; and
I prefer that, in place of heating the surfaces of the press itself, to employ flat
plates of copper, or iron, or other suitable material; and in case of iron, I put
sheets of millboard between the goods and iron plates, which being heated, are
to have a layer of the goods with legs, shapes, or forms inserted therein,
as above explained. And I prefer having the goods in single layers placed
between two such plates, and then the plates and the goods between them
placed in any suitable press, preferring those with flat surfaces, and thus sub-
mitting to pressure from three to five minutes. And it should be stated that
in heating such plates, care is to be observed not to heat them to such an
extent as would burn, or cockle, or otherwise injure the fabrics. And I usually
employ iron ovens heated by the direct action of fire, or the same may be
heated with steam or other fluid. In case it be preferred to heat the surfaces
of the press itself, this may be done by having suitable openings in such sur-
faces to receive burning charcoal, or hot irons, or gas, which being previously
heated are to be placed in the hollow surfaces of the press; and in case rollers
be used as the pressing means, then the same should be formed with suitable
hollow axes to receive heated iron or gas, thereby to heat the pressing surfaces
of the rollers. But I would remark in respect to this part of my Invention,
that I prefer to use plates separately heated by any convenient means, and to
place between each two of them a layer of the articles having legs, shapes, or
forms inserted therein, and submitting them in that state to the action of any
suitable press or pressure; and I prefer placing millboard between the articles
and the plates; the object of the present Invention being the employment
of suitable heated surfaces, heated by any other means than hollow surfaces
heated by steam, hot water, or other fluids, when such employment of heated
surfaces is combined with the employment of legs, shapes, or forms inserted.in
the articles undergoing the finishing process. It should be remarked that in
treating or finishing knit or looped angola goods to hot pressure, it is desirable.
that they should be placed on legs, shapes, or forms in a damp state.
Another part of my Invention relates to submitting knit or looped fabrics of
lambs-wool, worsted, angola, and cotton when on legs, shapes, or forms, to the
action of steam, whereby the character and appearance of such goods will be
improved. And in order to perform this part of my Invention, having placed
á number of stockings on legs, or drawers, shirts, waistcoats, gloves, or other

page_text: articles on proper shapes or forms, I place them in a suitable chamber, which
will contain steam, and I either suspend them in such chamber or have a series
of open shelves on which the articles are laid; and I prefer placing them in
single layers, and in this state allow them to remain in what may be called
a steam bath for about three minutes, and then immediately press them whilst
they are hot and damp from the action of the steam; or I permit them to dry
on the legs, shapes, or forms, and in some cases without pressing them at all.
The steam I use is five pounds pressure on the square inch; the chamber or
bath being provided with an outlet to run off the condensed steam. The steam
chamber I prefer to be quadrangular, sufficiently strong to resist the pressure
employed, and having a door or opening readily removed, in order, readily to
place in and remove the goods, and yet sufficiently steam-tight_to waste but
little steam.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would have it under-
stood that what I claim is,-
First, the mode of finishing knit or looped fabrics of lambs-wool, worsted,
angola, and cotton, when on shapes or forms, by means of pressure without
heat, as herein described.
Secondly, I claim the mode of finishing knit or looped fabrics of lambs-wool,
worsted, angola, and cotton, by means of pressure, when on heated shapes, as
above described.
Thirdly, I claim the mode of employing heated surfaces in combination with
the employment of legs, shapes, or forms, when such heat is obtained to the
surfaces by any other means than by steam, hot water, or other fluids circulating
in the hot-pressing surfaces, as above described.
And, fourthly, I claim the mode of treating knit or looped fabrics of lambs-
wool, worsted, angola, and cotton, when on legs, shapes, or forms, by means of a
steam bath, and either with or without pressure, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bates, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and thirty-nine.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Second day of December, in
the year of our Lord 1839, the aforesaid William Bates 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.
Inrolled the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
Inrolled the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.