IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC WEBS AND CORDS, AND IN THE MODE OR MODES OF MANUFACTURING ARTICLES FROM THE SAME
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHRISTOPHER
NICKELS, of York Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, send'
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Thirteenth day of March, in the eighth year of Her reign, 'did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Christopher Nickels, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Christopher Nickels, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Christopher Nickels,
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 mentioned,
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 MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC WEBS AND CORDS, AND IN THE MODE OR
MODES OF MANUFACTURING ARTICLES FROM THE SAME;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Christopher Nickels, 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 at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance, with. the said proviso, I, the said
Christopher Nickels, do hereby declare that the nature of my 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 consists, first, of improvements in manufacturing narrow
elastic webs and cords by the use of india-rubber as a weft.
Secondly, the Invention consists of improvements in the manufacturing
narrow or wide elastic webs by applying india-rubber as warp when weaving
fabrics by a mode of cross weaving.
And, thirdly, the Invention consists of improvements in manufacturing
narrow or wide elastic webs by applying india-rubber threads, covered or
uncovered, as a weft when weaving fabrics by cross weaving.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, I will proceed
to describe the means pursued by me.
In the manufacture of narrow elastic webs and cords, as heretofore
practised, the strands of india-rubber used have constituted the warp or part
of the warp, and the weft employed has been of silk, cotton, or other fibrous
material, and therefore the elasticity has been longitudinally of the webs
or cords so produced. At the same time I would remark, that other elastic
fabrics have been made by weaving in suitable hand looms, wherein the weft
employed has been strands of india-rubber, in some cases covered and in
others, uncovered, before shooting, the same into warps, of cotton, silk, or other
yarn, such fabrics being made with a view to be cut up into various shapes,
and for the most part the same have been intended to be made into what are
called laced stockings, knee caps, &c. In fabrics thus made to be cut in
various directions, inequality or irregularity of selvages or edges was not
material. It is well known that india-rubber strands or threads used for
weaving purposes are in what is called a non-elastic state, and that elasticity
is obtained thereto by heat; and I have discovered, in a course of a series of
experiments to make elastic webs for braces, garters, and other articles, and
also in making elastic cords, for various uses, by employing india-rubber
strands or threads as weft, with warps of cotton, silk, or other fibrous material,
that owing to the heat of the weaver's hands in receiving and throwing the
shuttle, the india-rubber is liable to be elasticated more or less, which causes
bad or irregular selvages to the webs and inequalities in the cords when
woven by hand looms, which renders such webs and cords unsightly. I there-
fore prefer and recommend that in carrying out my Invention of manufacturing
narrow elastic webs and cords with india-rubber, weft, engine looms be used,
(though I do not confine myself thereto, that is, looms where many narrow

page_text: fabrics, such as ribbon, webs, or cords, may be woven side by side at the same
time, the various shuttles being moved through and through the various warps
by the working of the loom, as is well understood in working such description
of looms, by which I am enabled to make elastic webs with india-rubber shoot
or weft having good selvages, owing to the shuttles not being handled and
the india-rubber remaining in the non-elastic state when weaving. In weaving
elastic webs, according to my Invention, I prefer that the india-rubber strands
used as weft should not be covered, and that the webs should be of tabby or
broken twill weaving, the warp threads used being of cotton, silk, worsted, or
other fibrous materials; and the warp of the selvages or edges I prefer to be
arranged for making round or corded selvages; so that the weft of india-rubber
may be covered by the warp at the edges as well as at the other parts of the
weaving. And webs constructed according to the first part of my Invention
will be found to possess very peculiar properties of elasticity, for, in addition to
the lateral elasticity consequent on the india-rubber being transversely of the
fabric, there will be found to be considerable longitudinal elasticity; and in
drawing out a portion of such web longitudinally; it will be found that the web
widens as it is elongated, which is a character which no other narrow elastic
webbing heretofore made possesses. And in order that the web may be flat
and be prevented from curling, I use the spun warp of cotton, silk, or other
fibrous materials, alternately thrown or twisted in opposite directions, that is
to say, one warp thread or series of warp threads thrown or twisted to the
right, and the other warp thread or series of warp threads thrown or twisted
to the left, by which means I obtain a flat web without liability to curl. And
I would also remark, that should it be required to introduce india-rubber
threads as part of the warp, either covered or uncovered, in the process of
manufacture of such narrow elastic web; this can be done by the introduction
of longitudinal threads of india-rubber in the usual way, by which means a
compound web can be produced having india-rubber thread running at right
angles, or longitudinally, as well as transversely; and I apply such narrow
elastic webs to the manufacture of braces, garters, girths, rollers, bands, and
also to other uses, by applying straps, buckels, clasps, or other fastenings
thereto. In making cords by weaving, I also employ india-rubber as weft
in place of weft of cotton or other yarn; and I work the loom suitably' to
cause each of the warps in the loom to be so opened as to produce a close
tubular weaving, as is well understood in weaving the common roller blind or
union cord, by which means I am enabled to make elastic cords of a very
peculiar character, applicable for a variety of purposes, elasticity being
obtained by heat in the usual manner; and should it be thought requisite to

page_text: have an india-rubber central cord, it can be introduced in the usual manner
of introducing strands as cores into such tubular cords, but such forms no part
of my Invention.
The second part of my Invention has for its object the weaving elastic webs
whether wide or narrow, by combining a mode of cross weaving with the use
of india-rubber warp threads or strands, by which I obtain an elastic web of a
very peculiar character. It is well known that in weaving with crossed warps,
varied, open, or reticulate weavings have been produced by the varied manner
in which the different warp threads have been caused to cross each other when
weaving the same into a fabric; and I have discovered that a modification of
such crossing of the warp threads in weaving is more favorable for obtaining a
greater extent of elasticity when india-rubber threads are used as part of a
warp, than any other class or description of weaving by warp and shuttle. The
mounting or arranging the harness of a loom suitable for weaving cross
weavings being well understood, it will only be necessary to describe the motions
employed in the mode of cross weaving I employ according to this part of
my Invention. The warps of silk, cotton, or other fibrous material employed
are wound upon a beam at the back of the loom in the ordinary manner, and
strands of india-rubber, forming part of the warp, are wound upon another beam
in a similar manner. The strands of silk, cotton, or other fibrous material are
divided, and pass through a pair of heddles, and then through half leaves and
standards in the ordinary manner. The strands of india-rubber are supported
by a frame or heddle, so as that they may be raised and lowered to enable the
shuttle alternately to pass under and over them.
But in order that my mode of cross weaving, whereby I introduce strands
of india-rubber longitudinally, may be understood, I will now describe the
motions to which the loom is subject, by which, aided by the Diagrams
annexed, a workman accustomed to such descriptions of looms will readily
be able to produce fabrics according to my Invention. At motion No. 1
the sled has been opened by the ordinary heddles, and the india-rubber
strands are raised, so that the shuttle will pass under them. a and b
represent the upper and lower half leaves, and c, d, their standards. The
india-rubber strands are represented by the dots e, and the ordinary warp
threads by dots f,f. The shuttle passes through the shed, the batten beats
up the work, and motion No. 2 takes place, when the india-rubber strands
descend to allow of the shuttle passing over them; the other parts remain
the same as in motion No. 1. The shuttle passes through the shed, the
batten beats up, and motion No. 3 takes place, when the ordinary heddles
(carrying that part of the warp composed of silk, cotton, &c.) cease to act,

page_text: and the shed is opened by the half leaves and standards, as shown, the
india-rubber warps are raised, so that the shuttle may pass under them. The
shuttle passes through the shed, and motion No. 4 takes place, as shown, and
the india-rubber strands are arranged so that the shuttle passes over them.
The shuttle passes through the shed, the batten beats up, and the parts are
again brought into the position for No. 1 motion; by which it will be found
that the india-rubber strands will be enclosed in the crossings formed by the
warps, and the weft will be alternately on the upper and on the under side of
the india-rubber strands, and the warp of silk, cotton, or other fibrous material
will not proceed in straight lines, but will, by my mode of cross weaving, be
drawn across the warps of india-rubber, producing covering thereto. And I
would remark, that, if desired, strands of india-rubber, forming part of the warp,
may be arranged to lay longitudinally between those enclosed within the
crossing, and which would then be passed alternately over and under by the
weft only. In thus introducing india-rubber strands or threads into warps, for
producing fabrics by cross weaving, I prefer that they should be uncovered,
and that the other parts of the warp, which are to be of cotton, silk, or other
yarn or thread of fibrous materials, should cover the india-rubber in the act
of weaving. In weaving fabrics by cross weaving having india-rubber at inter-
vals apart (such intervals being greater or less, depending on the quantity of
india-rubber the manufacturer is desirous of introducing), the india-rubber
threads or yarns thus to be introduced into fabrics made of cross weaving are
to be in what is called the non-elastic state, and elasticity is to be obtained by
means of heat, as heretofore practised when rendering other woven fabrics
(containing india-rubber elastic).
The third part of my Invention has for its object the introduction of india-
rubber threads wherever it may be thought necessary, covered or uncovered, as
weft in cross weaving generally; and for this purpose, when I wish so to intro-
duce india-rubber thread as weft, I withdraw the shuttle with weft of silk,
cotton, or other fibrous material, and introduce a shuttle containing covered
india-rubber thread, and proceed to use such india-rubber thread as weft, as in
the ordinary process of cross weaving; and when I wish to use uncovered
india-rubber thread, I place an extra harness at the back, and bring it in
while making the sheath, as is well understood and adopted in the ordinary
mode of covering the shute. Figure A shows a section of a portion of fabric
such as the loom might be producing previous to the introduction of the
uncovered india-rubber weft; and Figure B, a longitudinal section of a portion
of the fabric produced when the uncovered india-rubber weft is introduced,
by which means I make the materia! clastic or non clastic at pleasure.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would have it understood that
I do not claim the use of india-rubber as weft generally in fabrics; but what
I claim is,
Firstly, the weaving narrow elastic webs and cords when india-rubber is
used as weft, as herein described. Also, I claim the weaving of narrow elastic
webs where india-rubber thread is used as weft in combination with 'round
corded or covered edges or selvedges, as herein described.
Secondly, I claim the application of india-rubber threads or yarns in com-
bination with a mode of cross weaving, as described.
And, lastly, I claim the application of india-rubber thread, either covered or
uncovered, as weft in cross weaving generally, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Christopher Nickels, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.