IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRAIDS AND PLATS
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CALEB
BEDELLS, of Leicester, Manufacturer, CHRISTOPHER NICKELS, of York Road,
Lambeth, Gentleman, and ARCHIBALD TURNER, of Lecester, Foreman to the
said Caleb Bedells, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Hor.
Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Nineteenth day of January, in the fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto us, the
Gaid Caleb Bedells, Christopher Nickels, and Archibald Turner, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Caleb
Bedells, Christopher Nickells, and Archibald Turner, our exors, adññiors, and
assigns,, or such others as we, the said Caleb Bedells, Christopher Nickels,..
and Archibald Turner, our exors, adñors, 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, the Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRAIDS AND
PLATS;" partly invented by us, and partly communicated from abroad; in'
which said Letters Patent is contained a provisoe that we, the said Cabeb.
Bedells, Christopher Nickels, and Archibald Turner, or some or one of us,*
[Price Sd.1

page_text: should cause a particular description of the nature of the 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Caleb Bedell's, Christopher Nickels, and Archibald Turner, do hereby declare
that the nature of the 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 Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the Figures and letters marked thereon; that is to say :-
The first part of the Invention relates to improvements in braid making
machines, whereby extra pipes (and consequently bobbins carried thereby)
areapplied, which do not travel from selvage to selvage of the fabric produced
by the machinery but are used to introduce extra threads for ornamenting the
fabric, and also, when fringes are made,attached to braided fabrics produced;
such extra threads act as tie threads, to keep the braided fabric more secure
from unravelling.
The construction of braid machinery being well understood, it will not be
necessary to enter into any description thereof, further than to show how the
present improvements are applied thereto and worked therewith, in order to
produce fabrics according to the first part of the Invention.
The Drawings marked Ashewa braid machine constructed to work accord-
ing to the Invention. The nature of each of the views shown in the Drawings
being written thereon, it will not be necessary to repeat such descriptions
here. The machine is shown to have nine heads, but this number may be
varied, as is well understood, according to the fabric to be produced; and those
heads, where the extra pipes are used, have extra grooves formed therein, and
we prefer that the other heads of the machine should also have extra grooves
in order that extra threads might, if desired, be introduced thereby, as a
machine may more readily be adapted to introduce extra threads into the:
fabric produced by other of the heads than those shown, by simply applying
the requisite mechanism hereafter described (to govern the working of the
ordinary pipes as well as the pipes which introduce the extra threads) to such
of the heads as are to be the means of working extra pipes. The Drawings
represent what may be called the ordinary pipes, colored yellow, and such
pipes, if worked without the extra threads, will produce a simple braid,
the extra pipes being colored pink; and it will be seen that the axes of the

page_text: heads are all hollow, which we prefer to be the case, as it allows the machine
to be either worked to produce common braids or braids with longitudinal
threads, and braids with fringes, by the aid of maundrils, according to the
Inventions for which two Letters Patent have already been granted to the
said Christopher Nickels, and to which Letters Patent Specifications fully.
describing the Inventions have been duly inroiled. The machine is
shown to be at work to produce braids with fringes, the fabric produced
being two braids, with the material for the fringes between them, which
fringe, being cut in the centre, will leave two fringed braids, such fringe
resulting from the application of a maundril a, according to one of the
aforesaid Inventions of the said Christopher Nickels; but if such maundril
were removed, and no longitudinal threads were introduced, the fabric
produced by the machinery shown, using only the ordinary pipes and the
extra pipes, would be an ordinary braid produced by the threads from the
bobbins of the yellow pipes, such fabric having ornamental threads of other
color or colors introduced and worked therein by the extra pipes colored pink.
And it will be found that when a maundriliis used as shown, the extra threads.
act to retain the braided fabrics more securely from unravelling, and may also
be of different colors to the threads carried by the ordinary pipes, and thus
also be a means of ornamenting the fabrics produced. When the machinery
is worked to produce fringed fabrics by the aid of a maundril, we introduce:
longitudinal threads into the braided portion of the fabrics. In order to.
introduce extra threads according to this part of the Invention, it is necessary:
in some degree to alter the form of the tappets or conductors, and to govern
their movements independently of the moving of the pipes, the pipes themselves.
heretofore being the only means of placing the tappets or conductors proper
for the working of the pipes. b, b, are the ordinary tappets or conductors, and
c, c, are the tappets or conductors which are altered to allow the tappets or
conductors acting with extra pipes. d,d are pinsagainst which the springs e, e,
rest, and, consequently, such springs at all times have a tendency to retain the
tappets in one direction, in order to guide the pipes correctly, there being four of
the tappets having such springs, and two other of the tappets have movements
controlld by cams placed on axes, as will be presently described. And we
apply the springs e,e, to the lower tappets, the upper tappets having the usual.
stops to prevent their being moved too far by the travelling of the pipes. On
examining the Drawings, it will be traced and readily understood that the
tappets with the springs are worked by means of the movement of the pipes
together with the springs, whilst those tappets which are governed by the cams.
are worked by the movement of the pipes and the cams, so that the pipes are.

page_text: ensured passing in the proper direction, notwithstanding the use of the extra
pipes, otherwise the ordinary pipes would cause the tappets to be so placed as
to prevent the proper circulation of the extra pipes through the heads in which
they are intended to work. Hence, it will be understood that, supposing a
machine to be constructed according to the parts, as shown, and threads were
applied to all the pipes, the fabric produced thereby would be an ordinary
braid, ornamented with the extra threads; that is, supposing no longitudinal
threads are used, and that no maundril is used; and further, supposing no
threads were applied to the extra pipes (under similar circumstances), the
machine would only produce a plain braid. The workmen carrying those
observations in his mind, will readily form and adjust his tappets, and other
parts connected with their working, in a manner correctly to produce fabrics
according to this part of the Invention. ff, are two axes which have each
a cog wheel g affixed thereon, which taking into is driven by a cog wheel h
fixed on one of the axis of the heads of the machine; and it will be seen that
there is a cam i affixed on each of the axis f,f, the object of each of which is
to act on a projecting finger on the axis of the tappets which that cam is to
work at the proper moment, in order to place the tappets in such a position
as to guide the extra pipes that they go correct, which they would not other-
wise do owing to the tappet being cut away to allow of the use of extra pipes,
as will be readily be understood on examining the Drawings.
By this
arrangement of tappets, and springs and cams, each set of the extra pipes,
which are colored pink, are respectively caused to work in two of the heads,"
whilst the same heads are the means of working the ordinary pipes for
producing a fabric.
The second part of the Invention relates to a mode of constructing braiding
machines, whereby braid or platted fabrics may be produced in such manner
that pipes of a circular braiding machine may be caused to pass out from the
revolving heads of the circular machine to other extra heads combined
and worked with a circular machine, by which means we are enabled to
obtain flat braided or platted fabrics double, to receive longitudinal tapes or
threads of india rubber or other material, according to whether it is desired
to obtain an elastic fabric or a non-elastic fabric. The construction of a
circular braiding machine, wherein the whole of the heads used have each the
same number of grooves to receive and transmit the pipes, being well under-
stood, will not require any description here.
The Drawing marked B shows a plan of the revolving heads and tappets,
arranged according to the second part of the Invention, which is all that will
be necessary to describe this part of the improvements. The various axes of

page_text: the various heads (which we prefer to be hollow) are geared together by cog
wheels as heretofore, and the tappets are of the ordinary construction, and are
worked by the simple action of the travelling of the pipes as heretofore.-
The heads x, x, are similar to those ordinarily used to work together, and if
the machine were to be simply a circular machine, all the heads thereof would:
be similar to x, x; but as some of the pipes are to depart from the circular
portion of the machine, the heads y,y have each an extra groove.. Supposing
it is desired to cause the pipes to depart out from the circle on each side
thereof, if it is only desired that some of the pipes with their threads should
pass out only on one side of the circle, then the heads of the circular machine
will be all like x, excepting one head y. The heads y work in conjunction
with the heads 2,, by which means it will be evident that, so far as the heads
y and are concerned, they will be making a flat web of plate or braid; and
if other heads bedded to work with the heads z, the width of the web will be
increased. The machine shown is for making a narrow web, and is prin-
cipally intended to introduce a narrow strip or tape of india rubber through
the tube w; or it may be several threads of india rubber, when elastic goods
are to be made, or a tape of other fibres when non-elastic goods are to be
produced; or there may be no longitudinal threads introduced by the tube w.
The difference, therefore, to be attended to by the workman in constructing
a machine according to this part of the Invention is, that the heads y are each
to have an extra groove to those shown at a, and that the heads y revolve
with the same surface speed with those marked x; consequently, the axes of
the heads y will revolve one fifth slower than the axes of the heads %, and
there will be additional pipes, according to the heads y and s used; and if
other heads are added to work with the heads s, or either of them, there will
be additional pipes in proportion thereto.
What we claim as the first part of the Invention is, the mode of con-
structing braiding machines, whereby extra pipes are used to introduce extra
threads, such threads not passing from selvage to selvage of the fabrics pro-
duced by the machinery.
And, secondly, we claim the mode of causing the pipes of a circular braiding
or platting machine to pass out of the circle into extra heads, as herein
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Caleb Bedells and Christopher Nickels
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Nineteenth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
CATER
REDELIS
CHRISTOPHER (L. s.) NICKELS.

page_text: AND. BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of July, in.
the year of our Lord 1841, the aforesaid Caleb Bedells and Christopher
Nickels came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknow-
ledged 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 Nineteenth clay of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.