IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON HURDLES OR FENCES, AND OF CERTAIN OTHER ARTICLES, IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHICH WIRE- WORK IS OR MAY BE EMPLOYED
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED.
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County,
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her,
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twelfth day of December, in the fourteenth year of Her.
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege.
and authority, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors, adññors, and.
assigns, and such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors,
adors, 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 mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Planta-.
tions abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and
Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON HURDLES OR
FENCES, AND OF CERTAIN OTHER ARTICLES, IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHICH WIRE-
WORK IS OR MAY BE EMPLOYED," being a communication from a foreigner residing
abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and..
in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same, to be.
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months.
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,,

page_text: as in and by the same, reference being thereunto nad, win more runy and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say:-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
consists, firstly, in an improvement in the manufacture of woven metallic wire-
work, whether made of iron or other metal, such wirework forming or being
intended to form a component part of screens or sieves, roofs, frames of
buildings, staircases, guards for trees, and of fences of various descriptions,
whether plain or ornamental.
This improvement in the manufacture of woven wirework is effected by
preparing the flexible wire which is to constitute the warp and woof or filling, or
either, of the fabric, by crimping or crinkling it preparatory to its being used
in the process of weaving or interlacing it together. This crimping operation
consists in bending the wire to the same extent that the metal threads in
woven wirework are now bent by the action of a loom or weaving
apparatus, and the improvement refers to such flexible wire only as from its
great size has not generally been deemed capable of being economically woven
or interlaced to form wirework. The respective bends, flexures, or corruga-
tions in the wire must of course be made at such distances apart as shall
correspond with the size of the meshes to be produced between the wires of
the warp and filling, but when such meshes are made of a very large size, it
is found preferable to make the bends or crinkles three times as numerous as
the meshes, or the length of straight wire between any two adjacent, bends
would otherwise be objectionable.
In the Drawing forming part of this my Specification, Fig. 1 is a pro-
spective representation of a piece of my improved woven wirework, in which
a, a, &c. may be considered as the warp wires, and b, b, &c. as the weft or
filling wires, or vice versâ, there not being any apparent difference between
them in the manufactured article. Fig. 2 shews a crimped wire, seen laterally
as it makes a part of a piece of woven wirework. In this Figure the wire is
so drawn as to show the manner in which it is sometimes preferred to crimp
it when the meshes are to be of a very large size. Under this arrangement it
will be seen that there are two crinkles or bends c and d between every
crossing wire e, e; the woof or cross wires may be similarly crimped.

page_text: What I claim under this head of the Invention as an improvement in the
manufacture of articles in which wirework is or may be employed is the
crimping of wires to form such wirework before they are woven, and after-
wards weaving or interlacing them together; the crimping having been here-
tofore produced during the process of weaving, and in consequence thereof it
has generally been deemed very difficult, if not practically impossible, to
produce woven wirework made with other than wires of small gauge, or such
as could be bent easily or without the expenditure of much power; and I
would remark, that I claim this improved process or mode of manufacturing
woven wirework irrespective of any mechanism used to make the crimps or
bends of the wires, or for the purpose of interlacing or weaving such wires
together.
Another improvement in the manufacture of iron hurdles or fences and
certain other articles in which woven wrought iron or metal wire is used,
consists in the mode of making a surrounding frame to such woven wire or
wires, and combining the wires with such surrounding frame.
This improvement is represented at Figures 3, 4, and 5 of the Drawings
above mentioned, and is there exhibited in the shape of a panel or piece of
fence. In this improvement the fence is composed of wrought iron or other
proper metal wire or rods interlaced and a metal frame, the whole forming
an ornamental and economic fence, combining lightness with strength and
durability. The frame of the panel is composed of double bars a, a', of
wrought iron rolled with a groove b in them, every part of the said frame.
being composed of such bars put together, as shewn in Fig. 3, with the grooves
turned inwards; they thus compose strong rails or upright posts, notwithstand-
ing their lightness so far as height is concerned. The inner bars of this
frame are drilled with holes as shewn at i, i, Fig. 5, they being arranged at
proper distances apart for the reception of the ends of the wires of the woven
wirework of the panel, which, as shewn in the Figure at c, is composed of stout
iron or metallic wires, generally about one-fourth of an inch or greater in
diameter. After the flexible wires are woven together, their ends are passed
through the holes i, i, &c. in the inner grooved bar, and are subsequently
turned or. bent down into the groove, as shewn at d, Fig. 3. This being done,
the other grooved bar a is next placed over the inner bar, so as to cover the
ends of the wires, and it is properly secured thereto. I do not confine myself
to the use of two grooved bars, as it will be often sufficient to groove only
one of the bars, (viz..) the inner or outer one, the outer being a simple flat bar,
placed over and upon or under the groove of the other, as the case may require,
which groove would in such instance be rolled or made of a depth sufficient to

page_text: receive the bent ends of the wires. It is well known that it is a somewhat
difficult matter to rivet down the end of a wire when in such a position, such.
being necessary under other circumstances, but by providing a groove for the.
ends of the wire to lie in, and bending them down therein, the necessity for
rivetting is obviated, while at the same time a durable and cheap structure is
produced.
When the cap rail or bar is used, such bar serves to make a finish and.
prevent the displacement of the ends of the wires.. Should ornaments be;
applied to the top rail, as shewn at e, e, e, Fig. 3, they may be formed with a
split wrought iron or flexible metallic pin f (as shewn at Fig. 4). This split
pin is inserted in a hole bored in the top bar, after which the two parts of the
pin are bent down or spread out upon the under surface of the bar, as.
represented by the dotted lines at Fig. 4.
I claim the above-described mode of making fencing or woven wire panel.
work substantially as herein-before explained and exhibited in the Drawings,
and constituting the second head of this Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of June, in. the year of our:
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.