CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON AND ADDITIONS TO A MACHINE FOR THE MAKING OR MANUFACTURING OF BOBBIN LACE, OR LACE NEARLY RESEMBLING FOREIGN LACE
Year: 1813

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HEATHCOAT, of Loughborough, in the County of Leicester, Lace Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I, the said John Heathcoat did, by my Petition, humbly repre-
sent to His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Third that I had
found out and invented CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON AND ADDITIONS TO A
MACHINE FOR THE MAKING OR MANUFACTURING OF BOBBIN LACE, OR LACE NEARLY
RESEMBLING FOREIGN LACE," for which I obtained His aforesaid most Excellent
Majesty's Letters Patent bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, One
thousand eight hundred and nine, and that such improvements would make
the machine more perfect and complete, and by far more useful to the public;
that in regard I was the first and true Inventor thereof, and that the same had
never been made by any other person or persons whomsoever to my knowledge
or belief, I humbly prayed His said Majesty to grant unto me, my exors,
adñiors, and assigns, His Royal Letters Patent under His Great Seal of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain, for the sole use, benefit, and advantage of
my said Invention, within that part of His said Majesty's United Kingdom
of Great Britain called England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, for the term of fourteen years pursuant to the Statute
in that case made and provided; His said most Excellent Majesty, being
willing to give encouragement to all arts and inventions that might be for the
public good, was graciously pleased to condescend to my request, and there-
fore. by His Royal Letters Patent, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-
ninth day of March, in the fifty-third year of His reign, of His special

page_text: grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, did give and grant unto me,
the said John Heathcoat, my exors, aduiors, and assigns, His special
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John
Heathcoat, my exors, adñññors, and assigns, and every of them, by myself,
and themselves, or by mine and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents,
or such others as I, the said John Heathcoat, my exors, adiñors, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter, during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend my said Invention within that
part of His Majesty's said United Kingdom of Great Britain called England,
His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner
as to me, the said John Heathcoat, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, or any of
them, should in our discretion seem meet, and that I, the said John Heathcoat,
my exors, admors, and assigns, should and lawfully might have and enjoy the
whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage, from time to time coming,
growing, accruing, and arising by reason of the said Invention, for and during
the term of years therein mentioned, to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the
said license, powers, priviledges, and advantages therein-before granted or men-
tioned to be granted unto me, the said John Heathcoat, my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, for and during and unto the full end and term of fourteen years from
the date of these Presents next and immediately ensuing, and fully to be
complete and ended, according to the Statute in that case made and provided;
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that if I, the said John
Heathcoat, should not particularly describe and ascertain 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, and cause the same to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery.within two calendar monthis
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that then the
said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby
granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, anything therein-
before contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding, as in and
by the said Letters Patent, relation being thereunto had may more fully and
at large appear.
:
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Heathcoat, in compliance with
the said proviso, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are parti-
cularly described and ascertained in manner following, and in and by the
Drawings hereunto annexed, upon four separate sheets or pieces of paper,
numbered Number One and Number Two, Number Three and Number Four,

page_text: in which the particular numbers placed to each of the several Figures are.
continued higher in succession than the numbers in my former Specification, -
so that whenever any number shall be hereafter mentioned in the present
Writing not exceeding forty-seven, the same shall and doth refer to my said.
former Specification; and if exceeding forty-seven, the same shall- and doth
refer to my present Specification. And the said four Sheets or Drawings are.
explained as follows (that is to say):-
I do substitute and make a frame of iron, as represented in the Drawings
Number Three and Number Four, instead of wood, because iron is less subject';
to alteration by accident or time, and in every other respect preferable. The.
piece Number Three, for support of the guide bars, is altered by the holes;
being cut open at top, and Number Four and Twenty-six are done away with,.
and their office is performed by a piece called the snap, which consists of a.
number of bolts, bars, or pieces called jacks, placed, fixed, and adjusted upon
the piece Forty-nine, and attached to the top of the spindle Forty-eight, as
shewn in the Sheets Number One and Number Three, represented at Forty-
eight, Forty-nine, Fifty, Fifty-one (sce Sheet Three and the enlarged part in
Sheet Number One). The end a, of Fifty, being connected with the bottom
of the racking lever Twenty. When the said leaver moves a notch the snap.
plate and the jacks are moved on the spindle Forty-eight, through a space
equal to the thickness of a jack, and the said four jacks on the further.
side give motion to the back guide bar by bearing against a small wheel.
in the end of the spindle (see Figure Three upon Sheet Number Two),
and the other four move the front guide bar; and the said jacks Number
Two, Four, Five, and Seven are set more prominent than the jacks Number
One, Three, Six, and Eight, by the quantity of one twentieth part of an
inch, and the guide bar spindles must be from the center of each the dis-
tance of the thickness of four jacks, and the connecting part to the bottom
of Twenty must be made of such length as that when the leaver Twenty
is in the back notch the front spindle shall bear against the jack Number
One (Sheet Three), and the back spindle against the jack Number Five;
and the adjustments and dimensions must be so made as that every notch.
by or through which Number Twenty is brought up shall bring a different
jack to the spindle till in the upper notch, when the front spindle shall bear
against Number Four and the back against Number Eight; and if, upon
moving the leaver a notch the snap plate should be moved more or less than
a jack, the upper or wedge part of Number Twenty must be made more
obtuse or accute, as the case may require. The parts Fifty-two are fixed on the.
opposite side of the iron frame in such a position that the ends a of the springs

page_text: shall bear against the ends of the guide bar spindles and force the guide bars
respectively to the snap bits or jacks. The cradle bits Number Twelve are
fixed on the upper edge of the cradle ends, which are made thicker for that
purpose, in an horizontal instead of the side or vertical position, and the holes
are cut open at the top to admit the conducting bars being taken out occa-
sionally; and studs are fastened into the ends of the cradle which rest upon the
cradle nuts. And further, the pivots of the screws which formerly held the
eradle being cut off, the cradle nutts are consequently lowered a little, and one
on each side the machine must have a recess for the stud to lay in to keep
the cradle in its due position. Number Fifty-four is a picee called the turn-
again plate substituted for Twenty-eight and Twenty-nine; and the said
turnagain plate is held in its due position by the ends b of the brasses bearing
upon the inner conducting bars, and the said plate Fifty-four is about three
quarters of an inch longer between its two extremities a (which are fitted up
both alike) than the width of the guides. Number Fifty-six b, is a lever fixed
to the cradle by the hole (a), upon which it moves, and a wire or round bar
being put to the hole e, passes to the end of the handle (c), which gives motion
to the turnagain plate by the insertion of (d) into (c). Number Fifty-three,
the shaded parts, represents two bits of iron screwed upon the inner conducting
bars at both ends thereof to guide and stop Fifty-four. And further, I do
cast the saddles Fifteen together and in one piece with the outer bar Sixteen,
instead of screwing the same to the said bars; and the inner conducting bars
are screwed to the saddle pieces, as usual; and this renders it necessary to use
a counter in a curved form, and the bottom of Forty-one being thicker than
formerly, I make the counter about twice as thick as the comb. I likewise
put a plate similar to (a) in 18 in the former Drawings to the other outer bar
in a similar form, and for the like purpose.
Number Sixty-one in Sheet Number Two represents the guides, being an
improvement of Forty-six, made in a better and more convenient form.
Thirty represents an improvement of Thirty in former Drawings. Instead of
Thirty-one working on the bar, it now is put on a pin put through the bits a
for that purpose; and instead of the part a of Thirty-two working on a fast
pin, I use a small steel spring b. Number Fifty-eight represents the major
leavers, being an improvement of an addition to Forty-seven in former
Drawings. K is an additional leaver, it is fixed in the nut M, by the
sockett (for the situation of which nut see Forty-seven in Figure Forty-two
of former Specification), through which there is a hole to receive the spindle b
of L. These leavers are moved by the handles E and F, being connected by
the upright parts (L) and the end a of K, passes under a pin put in the end

page_text: of the back long shifting bar Thirty-seven, and, when acted upon, raises the
said bar out of the space between the conducting bars; and (L) raises both the
back Thirty-six and Thirty-seven into and out of the notches of Forty-one.
The turnagain plate Fifty-four is worked by the handle c Fifty-six; that is
to say, when the leaver Nineteen is put into the bottom or furthermost notch
of Twenty-one, then Fifty-four is moved to the right, so as to receive a brass
Forty-one between a and b; and again, when the shifting bars are changed,
then Fifty-four carries Forty-one three quarters of an inch to the left, which
takes it past the blade of the shifting bars, consequently this brass will be
left in this situation until the other division shall have been carried to the same
place, at which time the said brass is returned to the place it was taken from,
excepting that it will be in the other division of brasses. And after the
twisting is completed, excepting the act of bringing both divisions of brasses
from the back to front, a similar operation is performed at the other end, but
in a reversed manner, by which one brass is taken out of the front or first
division of brasses into the second. This mode takes away the necessity of
shifting the brasses by the hand, as directed in the former Specification. And
further, instead of straps passing over pulleys, as formerly, I use leavers to
communicate the motions, and also to counterbalance the weight of the
machinery where required (see Fifty-nine), assisted by worm springs, as shown
in the Drawings. In wide pieces it is particularly necessary to make the edges
strong, or the wires put across will break them; and it is useful to hang as
much weight to the edge threads as they will sustain without breaking; and
I put a stripe of pasteboard or other proper material round the roller to
lengthen the edges. Pins or points may be put into the roler to hold the
work regular. The part (a) of Forty-one is scooped or ground, so as to make
a recess for the side (b), which sides are now principally made of tin plate.
One end of a wire or worm spring is put to the back bar D, the other end
being attached to the right-hand standard, whereby the bottom point bar Ten
is held to the right, which obviates the necessity of taking hold of the handle
of Ten at the time of taking up with the top points. Sixty represents a plate
which is screwed to the back of the standard (h) Fourteen, and a pin is put in
the handle (c) of Ten to work against this plate and prevent the points from
entering too far through the threads. And farther, in order to keep the back
short shifting bar Thirty-six in the notch of Thirty of Forty-one in wide
machines, it is necessary to put a spring on the back bar Thirty, the end of
which is made to bear upon Thirty-six. Number Twenty-three in the former
Drawings is substituted by a strong worm spring, and the worm spring Eleven
in Sheet Four is substituted instead of the spring 9 Eleven and Thirteen of

page_text: the former Drawing. Number. Fifty-seven is a handle to work the front short
shifting bar. Number Sixty-two represents a plate, which is screwed on the
right-hand standard for Twenty to work in, the pin being fastened in Twenty.
Number Sixty-three represents a stop to gage the back and front arms
Number Five. Number Sixty-four represents a plate to stop the top point
bar at certain distances. backward and forward.
The Drawing, Sheet Number Four, represents.a front view of the improve-
ments, shewing the situation of the same in the machine, and likewise such
variations as are required in making the machine of an extended width.
And lastly, Sheet Three represents an end view of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Heathcoat, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the fifty-third year
of the reign of His said most Excellent Majesty King George the
Third, by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, and in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirteen.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-ninth day of May,
in the year of our Lord 1813, the aforesaid John Heathcoat came before
our said Lord the King in His 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 Twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirteen.