CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO THAT CLASS OF MACHINERY COMMONLY CALLED OR KNOWN BY THE NAME OF WARP MACHINERY, EMPLOYED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF LACE AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1833

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HERBERT, of Nottingham Park, in the County of Nottingham, Lace Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of March, in the third year of His
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-
three, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Herbert, His especial licene, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Herbert, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Herbert, my executors,
administrators, 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 " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO THAT CLASS OF MACHINERY COMMONLY CALLED OR
KNOWN BY THE NAME OF WARP MACHINERY, EMPLOYED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
LACE AND OTHER FABRICS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said William Herbert, shall 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 His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited*.

page_text: 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
William Herbert, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to, be, performed, is particularly described
and ascertained by the following description thereof, (reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say)-
2
My improvements apply to that peculiar principle or construction of ma-
chinery commonly called or known by the name of the warp lace machine, and
consist in the means of actuating or working such machinery by steam, water,
or other rotary power. The particular construction and mode of working the
warp lace machinery is so well known by the trade that a detailed description
of its parts and operations are unnecessary. I have, therefore, in the accom-
panying Drawings merely exhibited the general features of the warp lace
machine for the purpose of shewing a convenient manner of adapting my
improvements thereto, and the objects of their several parts in connection with
that construction of machinery.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereto annexed represents a front view, taken
geometrically, of the complete machine, as it would appear in working order.
Fig. 2 is a back view of the same, in which most of the improved parts are
seen as adapted to the original machine. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken
vertically through the machine near the middle; and the following Figures
represent the operative, parts of the improved mechanism in detached views
taken transversely through the machine in the same direction as Fig. 3. The
actuating parts of the mechanism are all-mounted upon a rotary shaft extend-
ing horizontally along the back of the machine, which is driven by toothed
gear through the agency of a rigger, drum, or pully and band leading from
any first mover. The new parts seen in the back view Fig. 2 may be described
generally under the following. heads, A, A, being the main shaft. whereon all
the actuating parts are mounted, which is driven by a rigger B and toothed
gearing C, D, with a clutch box for throwing the machine in and out of action.
The main shaft being thus made to revolve, E is the segment rack, pinion
tappet and crank by which at intervals the up and down vibratory movements
of the guide bars are effected through the agency of jointed rods below, as
shewn more particularly in Fig. 4. F are the cams for moving the guide bars
in and out (that is, to and fro), by means of a sliding bar attached to the guide
bar carriage, as represented in Fig. 5. These movements of the guides are
for the purpose of laying the threads over the shafts of the needles and

page_text: drawing their loops under the beards. G is the alternating tappet with a cam
above attached to the tail pole of the presser bar, by which the presser bar in
front is forced down upon the beards of the needles which hold the loops of the
work. H is a vertical lever, on the upper end of which a pin or arm,
extending from the side of the tail pole of the sinker bar, rests, for the purpose
of keeping the bar with the sinkers in front depressed while the machine
throws the threads over the needles. As the main shaft goes round a cam
forces this lever H out of its perpendicular position, when the pin or arm slips
off and allows the tail pole to fall, which causes the sinkers in front to be
elevated; this will be best seen in the section of the whole machine at Fig. 3.
I is the cam and friction roller connected with the swinging rods called the
back tackle for knocking over, by which the sinker bar is advanced for the
purpose of sending forward the work previously formed on the needles. This
will be perceived by the detached Figure 6. K is the rotary tappet, and the
cam affixed to the tail pole of the sinker bar, by the elevation of which the
sinker bar becomes depressed. This will also be seen in the section Fig. 3.
L is the cam acting on the other tappet of the swinging rods of the back
tackle for driving the sinker frame back in opposition to I, shewn also in the
detached Figure 6. M and C are the continuous rotary wheels fixed at the
ends of the main shaft, with tappets on their faces, which act upon levers
carrying the clicks that drive the ratchets on the fancy wheels or Dawson
wheels, one of which is represented in the detached Figure 7.
Having thus pointed out generally the several contrivances by which I
actuate the operative parts of a warp lace machine by rotary power in place of
manual labour, I shall proceed to describe more particularly the detail of each
movement, the object being well understood by workmen in that branch of
business. The segment rack E, seen in profile at Fig. 4, is formed by a wheel
fixed on the main shaft, a segment or portion of the periphery of which only
has teeth. A pinion a turning upon a stud fixed in the end frame of the
machine is placed coincident with the wheel E, in order that the teeth of the
segment, as the wheel revolves, may at intervals drive the pinion round;
and, in order that the teeth of the pinion and the rack may come accu-
rately into gear, a tappet 6 on the face of the wheel strikes as it goes
round upon a wiper c, extending from the side of the pinion, and causes
the teeth of both to take into each other. A rod d is attached to the
side of the pinion by an excentric pin or crank, and the reverse extremity
of the rod is jointed to a lever e at bottom, which vibrates upon a fulcrum
pin in the centre. A parallel rod f is also connected by a joint to the
opposite end of the lever at bottom, and at top to the front of the guide bar

page_text: carriage g. Hence it will be seen that, as often as the pinion a is made to
revolve, the guide bars will receive a tilting vibratory movement, which as
before said, is for the purpose of enabling the guides to lay their threads over
the shafts of the needles.
Fig. 5 represents the mechanism for moving the bar and carriage 9,
with the guides, to and fro upon its vibrating arms h. The cam F is fixed
upon the main shaft, as shewn in the back view, Fig. 2, and in revolving
presses against the roller at the top of the small rocking lever i. This lever
vibrates upon a fulcrum pin passed through its centre, which is fixed in the
end frame of the machine. The lower end of the working lever is jointed
to the back extremity of the sliding bar k, the opposite end of the sliding
bar being attached by a joint to the vibrating arm h of the guide bar carriage.
Hence it will be perceived that, when the cam Facts against the roller at the
top of the rocking lever i, the guide bar with the guides will be driven
forward away from the needles, which brings the loops of the threads under
the beards of the needles. The alternating tappet G (see Fig. 2) is intended
to come into operation only once in two rotations of the main shaft; its object
is to raise the tail pole of the presser bar, when the presser bar is required to
be brought down upon the beards of the needles. The boss of the tappet is
seen slidden back, and as it revolves, passes free from the cam; but a toothed
pinion 1, fixed on the main shaft, turns the wheel m (of twice its diameter);
and at every second rotation brings an enclined plain o against the end of the
tappet shaft, which causes it to slide laterally. The boss of the tappet being
by these means brought immediately under the cam p, the rotation of the
tappet now raises the tail pole, and brings the presser bar q in front down on
to the beards of the needles (see Fig. 3). On the next rotation of the tappet,
an inclined plain on the side of the camp strikes against the boss, and slides
the tappet back again away from the cam, so as to place the tappet out of
operation until it is brought in again at the second rotation by the inclined
plain o, as before. The tappet K fixed upon the main shaft in revolving
passes under the cam r, attached to the tail pole of the sinker bar, and raises
that tail pole, which consequently depresses the sinkers s in front (see Fig. 3):
when that tail pole is thus elevated, the vertical lever H is by the power of a
spring t brought into a perpendicular position, as shewn by dots in the last-
mentioned Figure; and on the tappet K leaving the cam r, the arm or pin t,
near the end of the tail pole, falls on to the top of the vertical lever, and rests
there. The sinkers s by these means remain depressed, keeping the work
back, while the guides lap the threads over the needles for the next series of
stitches; but at the precise time when the sinkers are required to rise, a cam

page_text: u, fixed on the main shaft, comes round, and by pressing against a roller v on
the side of the vertical lever, forces that lever out into the enclined position,
and by the pin t slipping off the top of the lever, the tail pole is allowed to
fall, and consequently the sinker bar, with the sinkers s, immediately rises.
The sinkers are advanced for the purpose of taking forward the work by the
cam I fixed on the main shaft, through the means of the mechanism shewn at
Fig. 6. As the cam I revolves its larger radius at the desired time acts
against the friction roller w, mounted in an arm extending from the sliding
rod x of the back tackle y, and the sinker bar, which is attached to the sliding
rod in front, carries the sinkerss by these means forward. When it is
required to make the sinkers recede a similar cam L (see Fig. 2), also fixed
upon the main shafts, acts against a similar friction roller z, mounted in 'an
arm extending from a corresponding sliding rod x of the back tackle y, which
brings the sinkers back again. This will also be perceived by reference to
Fig. 6. The mode of giving the pattern by means of the fancy wheels, or
Dawson's wheels, placed at the end of the machine, is fully understood by
workmen in the trade. I have therefore only to say that tappets are placed
upon the sides of the wheels C and M, which, as the main shaft goes round,
act upon levers N, N, and thereby give the up and down movements to the
clinks o, o, by which the ratchets on the barrels of the Dawson's wheels are
driven round, as shewn in Fig. 7.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Herbert, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three.
WILLIAM (L.S.) HERBERT.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of September,
in the fourth year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth, the
said William Herbert came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery,
and acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form, above written. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Jnrolled the Twenty-first day of September, One thousand eight hundred
and thirty-three.