CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES AND CANDLE WICKS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
CONNELL, of the City and County of Dublin, Gentleman, 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 Twenty-fourth day of November, in the seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Connell, Her especial licence, full power, sole power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said James Connell, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said James Connell, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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, 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, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES
AND CANDLE WICKS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
obliging me, the said James Connell, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be enrolled 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, 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
James Connell, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: 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):
My Invention of improvements in the manufacture of candles and candle
wicks consists in an improved mode of making or constructing the wicks of
candles, whereby the burning of the candles is improved and they are prevented
from guttering. The various descriptions of wicks, which I propose to use
according to the purpose for which they are intended, are shewn in the accom-
panying Drawing.
My improvements consist, firstly, in taking an ordinary platted or other
wick, consisting of any convenient number of strands, and platting or braiding
round the same, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2. I prefer eight strands for the
external platting, but a greater or lesser number may be made to answer
the purpose. a, in Figure 1, represents an internal wick or gut made by
platting, and b is the external one. In Fig. 2 the internal gut a consists of a
cord or number of threads arranged side by side as in an ordinary wick, and
the external platting or braiding is effected in the same manner as in Fig. 1.
It is evident that any other arrangement of threads may be employed for
making the internal gut or cord, but I have not thought it necessary to give
any further examples, as any cotton-wiek manufacturer will be able to apply
such other internal cords without further explanation; and what I claim under
this head is, platting or braiding round round an internal card or gut, composed
of a number of strands arranged and combined in any convenient manner, either
by platting, twisting, or otherwise, according to the will of the manufacturer.
My second improvement, consists in forming a wick of three or more
strands, and in which one strand is of much less substance than the others;
this wick is shewn at Fig. 3; and the small strand I prefer to be composed of
two or three threads twisted together, similar to sewing cotton. The peculiar
novelty which I claim in this wick is employing two strands of equal or nearly
equal substance, and a third of a much less substance.
My third improvement is shewn at Fig. 4, which is a diagram of the top of
a braiding machine. In one of the rose heads which work the spindles I fix
an additional spindle d, which carries a single thread, similar to sewing cotton
or thread, and when the machine is at work the spindle & revolves round the
centre of the rose head, and consequently passes round each strand separately
as it comes to a particular point of the rose head. The wick produced by this
arrangement of the braiding machine is shewn at Fig. 5, the single thread c
being colored red. I claim this description of wick, and also the application

page_text: of the additional spindle and bobbin d to the platting or braiding machine for
making the same.
The fourth part of my Invention consists of an improvement applied to the
ordinary platting or braiding machines, as shewn in Fig. 6. By my improve-
ment the entire machine is made to revolve round a centre f, but the guide
pulley e is stationary; and by this means the wick has a particular set or
twist given to it as it is being made. The same object may be effected by
causing the guide pulley e to travel round the rose heads, the machine
remaining stationary. I claim putting a set or twist into the wick by causing
either the braiding machine or the guide pulley e to travel round while the
wick is being made or produced.
My fifth improvement consists in laying the loose or extraneous fibres of the
yarn of which candle wicks are made, by passing the yarn over a flame of gas,
or otherwise singeing off the said fibres. The same object may also be effected
by passing the yarn through water very slightly sized, but I prefer the singeing
operation. I am aware that the loose or extraneous fibres on the outside of
candle wicks have been removed by singeing, but my object is to singe off
or otherwise lay or remove the loose fibres in the interior of the wick, so as to
render the same more porous, and allow the tallow to flow up more freely to the
flame; I therefore confine my claim to singeing off or otherwise laying
the loose or extraneous fibres of the yarn before it is manufactured into
candle wicks.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Connell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of May, in tho year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
JAMES (L.S.) CONNELL.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-second day of May,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid James Connell came before our
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year above written.