To JOHN HEATHCOAT, of Tiverton, in the county of Devon, lace-manufacturer, for his invention of a method or methods of weaving or manufacturing divers kinds of goods and wares, and for machines or machinery applicable thereto.-[Sealed 23d December, 1835.] THIS invention consists of new and improved mechanism and arrangements of machinery, whereby different articles, such as tapes, ribbons, edgings, and other narrow fabrics, may be manufactured with increased dispatch, and in less room or space than by the machinery in common use for such purposes. The chief point in which this improved method of weaving narrow fabrics differs from those commonly adopted, is, that the operation of weaving is performed in a transverse direction, that is, at right angles to the back and front of the machine, the tapes or other narrow fabrics standing edgewise ranged side by side, their faces being parallel to each other, and to the ends of the machine; whereas, in the ordinary methods of weaving, the weft threads are laid in or inserted between the warp threads longitudinally, in directions. parallel to the front of the machine. The machinery for effecting this object admits of modifications, in order to produce the different articles which may be required; but as the chief feature or principle of my invention will not be changed, although its application be modified, I do not limit myself to the particular forms and constructions of the several parts of the mechanism which I shall describe. For the illustration of my invention, however, I now proceed to explain one method of applying the same in the production of narrow tapes or ribbons. Plate VI., fig. 1, represents a portion of the front elevation of the machine; fig. 2, is a vertical section, taken transversely; and fig. 3, is an end view of the machine arranged for weaving tapes or ribbons: A, A, are end standards for supporting the machinery secured to the floor by their feet, and braced together by stays at the top; B, is the driving shaft, which derives its movement from any first moving power, by means of a strap acting upon its pulleys; and c, is the vertical shaft at the end of the machine, geared to the former by bevil wheels. Upon these two shafts are fixed the different wheels, cams, or cranks, which actuate the other parts of the machine; D, is the roller on which the warp threads are wound; E, E, E, is a series of guide plates, through the holes of which the said warp threads pass, and by which they are divided into sets, each set being conducted in a range standing at right angles to the axis of the warp roller: F, F, are a number of slender plates to act as headles, placed close behind each other, and extending along the length of the machine; through apertures formed between these plates the warp threads are conducted, and by their lateral movements, portions of the thread are carried to the right and to the left, for the purpose of crossing and opening the sheds of the warp for the passage of the shuttles. In order to make these openings between the different sets of warp threads wider and more distinct, a series of flat points or teeth G, G, G, is pushed forward through them, and then raised upwards about three inches, whereby the threads are disentangled from each other; for distinction, I call this part of the machine the rake; H, H, H, are the shuttles (one of which is shown in different positions in fig. 4,) on the bobbin of which the material is wound to form the weft, and which weft they are intended to carry through the respective sets of warp threads after the said threads have crossed each other; these shuttles slide on curved bolts from side to side across the machine; 1, 1, is the slay or reed for beating up the work, of which the slips or divisions are broad thin plates, put together so as to leave sufficient space between them for the warp threads to pass through, and to admit of their lateral movement; K, K, are a row of stationary pins or guides, for the purpose of keeping the work parallel with the shuttles, whilst the weaving goes on; L, is a small roller for preserving the face of the work in a line, and м, the work roller upon which, and close beside each other, the finished tapes or narrow ribbons are wound. From the foregoing general notice of the principal parts of the machine, and their relative positions, it will be seen wherein the arrangement in my method of weaving narrow fabrics differs from the methods in |