MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS
Year: 1885

page_text: 3330
I JOHN WHITFIELD THOMPSON, of Guest Road, Prestwich, in the County of
Lancaster, Buyer, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, to be as follows:
;
Bly, invention consists in shaping or imparting the "curl" to the brim of a hat
by means of a stamping or embossing process, my object being to obtain a cheap
and effectual substitute for the ordinary turning over or " curling" process.
In performing my Invention I block and press the crown and brim of the bat
in the usual manner and then remove the hat body to the setting press which is
provided with "he" and "she" formers or dies specially shaped so as to give the
edge of the briin the desired configuration resembling in appearance the.ordinary
curled brim.
In some cases it may be desirable to use additional strips of felt or other material
which are secured to the hat brim by pressure or otherwise in the setting or
other press.

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Hats.
1
I JOHN WHITFIELD THOMPSON, of Guest Road, Prestwich, in the County of
Lancaster, Buyer, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention consista in shaping or imparting the "curl" to the brim of a hat
by means of a stamping or embossing process, my object being to obtain a cheap
and effectual substitute for the ordinary turning over or curling process.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, reference being
had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 an end elevation of the dish or she frame
of a machine for pressing felt hat bodies, said dish being specially shaped and
grooved to form a she die for effecting 'the object of my Invention. Fig. 3 is a
vertical section on the plane of the line A A, Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a similar section
on the plane of the line B B, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an elevation, Fig. 6 a plan and
Fig. 7a transverse section of the top plate or he die which is also specially.
shaped and provided with a projection to correspond with the dish or she die.
In carrying my Invention into effect I block the hat body or form in the usual
manner and then place the said body or form in the dish or she frame a of the
pressing machine the dish being supported in a suitable framing (not shown) in the
usual manner. This dish a is specially shaped and formed on the upper surface so
as to give the desired shape to the brim of the hat and is in addition formed with
a groove b (shown most clearly in Fig. 3) for the purpose of putting the curl into
the brim. The dish and the groove b may be of any size or shape so as to shape
and curl the brim in the prevailing fashion.
The top plate or he die shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is shaped to fit on the upper
surface of the dish a and is formed with a projection c¹ corresponding with the
groove b in the dish a and after the hat body has been placed in the dish a the top
plate c is placed upon the hat body. Suitable hydraulic or other pressure is then
applied to the top plate c by any convenient means preferably by means of an
india-rubber bag connected to a force pump or other source of pressure and held in
a suitable plate or frame which is clamped or locked to the dish a so as to keep the
top plate c in position. The effect of the pressure thus applied is to force down
the top plate c thereby pressing the projection c¹ into the groove b and stamping
out the curl in the brim of the hat as well as imparting the required shape to the
brim. After the top plate c has been released and removed the hat can be taken
out and finished. In certain cases the top plate c may be dispensed with and
the curl obtained by hydraulic or other pressure acting directly on the brim and
pressing it into a groove or grooves in a she die such as a.
I have described the curling operation as being effected by means of a specially
prepared dish and top plate in the pressing machine but if desired, or more con-
venient the hat bodies may be first pressed and otherwise treated in the ordinary

page_text: manner and the curling operation subsequently performed in either the shaping
or the setting machine in a similar manner and by similar means to that already
described.
In some cases it may be desirable to employ separate strips of felt or other
material and secure them to the brim of the hat either after or during the operation
of curling by pressure or otherwise.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The herein described improvements in the manufacture of felt hats, said
improvements consisting chiefly in imparting a curl to the brim of the hat by
a stamping out or embossing process, substantially in the manner herein set forth,
for the purposes specified.
2. In machines for manufacturing felt hats, the use and application, either alone
or in combination with a top plate or he die, of a grooved dish or she die such as a,
and suitable means for applying pressure to the brim of a hat for the purpose of
stamping out or embossing the curl, substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and as illustrated by the accompanying Drawings.