IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CURLING AND FINISHING THE BRIMS OF HATS."
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Vero, of Hill Top House, Long Street, Atherstone,
in the County of Warwick, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR CURLING AND FINISHING THE BRIMS OF HATS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Vero at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th September 1878.
CHARLES VERO, of Hill Top House, Long Street, Atherstone, in the County of
Warwick. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CURLING AND FINISHING THE
BRIMS OF HATS."
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for curling and
finishing the brims of bats.
For this purpose I mount the hat, the brim of which is required to be curled,
upon a fixed block standing up from a flat table. On to the top of the brim and
surrounding the crown of the hat I place a stiff template divided into two or more
parts which cover over so much of the brim as is not required to be curled over.
To curl over the outer edge of the brim which projects beyond the outer edge of
the template I employ rollers which are caused to travel around and bear against
the edge of the brim and bend it upwards, and then turn it over on to the top of
the template. The rollers are carried by the lower end of an arm which hangs
downwards, and is carried by an axis mounted in bearings above the block on
which the hat is mounted and concentric with the centre of the block.
The arm carrying the rollers which are to act against the edge of the brim of the
hat is drawn inwards by a spring to cause the rollers to bear against the edge of
the brim, and as the axis above mentioned is rotated the rollers roll around the
edge of the brim and first bend it upwards and then turn it over on to the top of
the template. Two or more rollers are for this purpose carried on the arm, the first
roller turning the edge of the brim upwards, and the succeeding roller or rollers
Pride 71

page_text: bending it over upon the template in the manner required, the peripheries of the
rollers being suitably shaped to effect these objects.
If a flat curl is to be given to the brim, that is, if the turned-over portion of the
brim is to be flat and parallel or nearly so with the uncurled portion, then the
templates are flat or nearly so near their outer edge, but if other shaped curls are
to be given to the brim the outer edge of the template is shaped accordingly.
Before the edge of the brim of a hat is thus curled over it is necessary that it should
be heated and softened.
To effect this I heat by a circular heated iron caused to revolve around it. The
axis of this circular revolving iron I also carry by a swinging arm from the axis,
which is above the block on which the hat body is placed; the lower end of the
arm is also drawn inwards by a spring towards the hat body, and an adjustable
pad carried by the arm rests against the crown of the hat, so that as the axis above
the hat body is revolved and the heated circular iron is caused to roll around and
press upon the brim of the hat it is kept at the required distance from the crown,
so that it shall only act upon the portion of the brim which it is required to curl
over. When the outer portion of the brim has thus been sufficiently heated the
templates before mentioned are placed on to the brim, and it is, curled by the
turning over rollers before mentioned.
After the brim has been turned over, and to smooth and flatten it down the
heated iron is again caused to revolve over it, and a cool roller in rear of it carried
by the same arm which carries the heated iron may likewise be caused to bear upon
the top of the curled-over rim and smooth it down.
If the curled-over brim is not to be flat the finishing heated iron and roller are
shaped at their periphery to conform to the shape of the brim.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Vero in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th March 1879.
CHARLES VERO, of Hill Top House, Long Street, Atherstone, in the County of
Warwick. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CURLING AND FINISHING THE
BRIMS OF HATS."
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for curling and
finishing the brims of hats.
For this purpose I mount the hat, the brim of which is required to be curled,
upon a fixed block standing up from a flat table. On to the top of the brim and
surrounding the crown of the hat I place a stiff template divided into two or more
parts which cover over so much of the brim as is not required to be curled over.
To curl over the outer edge of the brim which projects beyond the outer edge of
the template I employ rollers which are caused to travel around and bear against
the edge of the brim and bend it upwards, and then turn it over on to the top of
the template. The rollers are carried by the lower end of an arm which hangs
downwards, and is carried by an axis mounted in bearings above the block on
which the hat is mounted and concentric with the centre of the block.
The arm carrying the rollers which are to act against the edge of the brim of the
hat is drawn inwards by a spring to cause the rollers to bear against the edge of
the brim, and as the axis above mentioned is rotated the rollers roll around the
edge of the brim and first bend it upwards and then turn it over on to the top of
the template. Two or more rollers are for this purpose carried on the arm, the first
roller turning the edge of the brim upwards, and the succeeding roller or rollers
bending it over upon the template in the manner required, the peripheries of the
rollers being suitably shaped to effect these objects.
If a flat curl is to be given to the brim, that is, if the turned-over portion of the
brim is to be flat and parallel, or nearly so, with the uncurled portion, then the
templates are flat, or nearly so, near their outer edge, but if other shaped curls are
to be given to the brim the outer edge of the template is shaped accordingly.
Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the Drawings hereto annexed show a machine constructed
according to my Invention. Figure 1 is a front view of the machine; Figure 2, an
end view; and Figure 3, a plan of the same.
A is the flat table or bed; B, an arched frame which passes over the top of this
bed; C is a vertical axis above the centre of the bed, and mounted in bearings
carried by the frame B. On the axis is fixed a pulley D to allow of the axis being
turned by a driving strap passing over the pulley. Standing up from the centre of
the table or bed is a block upon which the hat body to be operated on is mounted;
the block may either be a rigid block, or it may be an expanding block, which can
be caused to contract or expand to adapt itself to different sizes of hat bodies.
The expanding and contracting of the body may be effected by apparatus below
the bed. There are many ways known of making expanding hat blocks, so that it
is not necessary to describe here any one special construction. E is a right-angled
bent arm; one limb of this arm passes horizontally and radially through a slot in
the axis C; the other limb hangs down vertically towards the bed, and serves to
carry the rollers which are to be brought to act upon the brim of the hat. At its
lower end it carries two horizontal arms G, H, which are free to turn around it;
the arm G carries two rollers I, J; the roller I serves to turn upwards the edge of
the brim of a hat, and the roller J to bend over this turned-up edge. The rollers
are caused to bear with a uniform pressure against the edge of the brim by reason
of part of the arm being composed of a spring G¹; this spring at one end is attached
to a boss which is free to turn around the lower end of the arm E, and at the other
end is jointed to a block that carries the rollers I, J. The boss, which is free to
turn around the end of the arm E, carries a pawl K, which can be dropped into one
or other of the notches of a notched wheel L, which is fast on the arm, and the
spring arm so retained and caused to hold the rollers I, J, against the edge of the

page_text: brim of a hat. By lifting up the pawl the arm is set free to turn around the
arm E, and the rollers I, J, can then be moved away from the hat.
The spring G' is, as shewn, a bent spring, so that it not only allows the
rollers I, J, to play to and fro horizontally, but also keeps them pressed downwards
towards the bed or table, and allows them to rise somewhat in case the thickness of
the felt forming the brim requires them to do so.
On the horizontal limb of the arm E is carried a roller M; this bears against the
edge of a template N; this template is concentric with the axis C, and is made fast
to two blocks 0, 0, which stand downwards from the under side of the top portion
of the frame B. Coiled springs E' connected at one end to the axis C, and at the
other to the arm E, tend to draw the vertical limb of the arm E inwards towards
the axis, and they are of sufficient strength to always keep the roller M against the
edge of the template N, and as the template N is of the same form, that is, has the
same amount of difference between its length and breadth as the template P which
is placed above the brim of the hat, the rollers I, J, will always be pressed with a
uniform pressure against every part of the edge of the brim.
In place of the roller M being made to bear against the exterior edge of a
template the template might be of a ring form, and the roller caused to bear against
its inner edge. In this case the inner edge of the template may be of precisely the
same form as the outer edge of the template P above the brim, and may be fixed
concentrically with in place of at right angles to it. The roller M is carried by a
slide which can be shifted to and fro along the arm E, and be secured to it in any
desired position by set screws, according to the size of hat that is being acted on.
In place of the springs E¹ being applied to draw the vertical limb of the arm E
inwards towards the axis C, they might be applied to draw it away from the axis;
in this case the roller M would be arranged to bear against the opposite side of the
template N.
The horizontal arm H, like the arm G, is a spring arm, and is similarly provided
with a pawl to prevent its turning around the end of the arm E. The spring of
this arm is a flat spring; to allow its outer end to have a certain amount of hori-
zontal play the outer end has descending from it a rod Q1 which carries a circular
heated iron Q. The iron is free to turn around the rod Q', and may be pressed
downwards by a coiled spring above it. The heated iron may be a plain roller, as
shewn, and serve to bear against the outer portion of the brim of a hat, and keep
it heated and softened during the time it is being turned up by the rollers I, J; or
the lower portion of its circumference may be shaped so as to conform to the section
of the brim when curled over, so that it may serve as a finishing iron to iron over
the brim after it has been curled. The arm H is jointed at H' to allow of its end
being turned up for the iron Q to be taken on and off. When the end is turned
down it can be locked and held by a bolt H²
. Separate views of the arms G and H constructed in the manner above described
are shown at Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7. I would however remark that they may be
otherwise constructed and yet allow of the rollers carried by them having a certain
amount of play, both horizontally and vertically.
The template P, which is placed above the brim of a hat before commencing to
curl it over, is made in two parts, as shewn, which, when they have been placed
over the brim of a hat, are locked together by turn buttons or other fastenings. To
hold down the template and keep it from moving I use wedge pieces R, R, the
lower ends of which are caused to press down on to the top of the template and
hold it fast. The upper ends of these wedge pieces are jointed by horizontal joints
with a bar S which itself is free to turn on a vertical joint at the bottom of the
shaft C; thus the wedge pieces can be caused to hold fast the template P without
interfering with the shaft C being rotated.
Before the edge of the brim of a hat is curled over it is necessary that it should
be softened by heat.
This may be effected by placing the hat bodies on to heated flues in the ordinary
manner prior to commencing to curl the brim; or it may be effected by means of a

page_text: circular revolving iron caused to roll over and around the brim, the brim during
the time being covered by a moistened fabric so as to give a moist heat to the brim,
as is well understood.
In order to cause a circular heated iron to roll over and around the brim of a hat
to heat it the hat may be placed on to a block in a machine similar to the one above
described, and the arm E of such a machine may carry at its lower end a spring
arm G, as shewn at Figure 8. The axis of the heated circular iron is carried near
the outer end of the arm, and this end of the arm also carries an adjustable pad, as
shewn, to rest against the crown of the hat, so that as the axis above the hat body
is revolved the heated circular iron is caused to roll around and press upon the brim
of the hat, and it is kept at the required distance from the crown by the pad
bearing against the side of the hat body. When the outer portion of the brim has
become sufficiently heated the hat is placed into the machine shewn at Figures 1, 2,
and 3, for the brim to be curled, as before explained.
Afterwards, if the ironing down of the brim has not been completed in the
machine shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 3, the hat may again be placed into the machine,
shewn at Figure 8, for the turned over portion of the brim to be ironed down
by the revolving circular roller. If the curled over brim is not to be flat then the
periphery of the finishing iron is shaped to the form of the curl required.
For curling the brim of hats of soft felt or other soft material by heated revolving.
irons I employ the arrangement shewn at Figures 9. a is a circular revolving iron
with a groove around its periphery; this iron is heated below by a gas burner; b is
a smaller roller drawn inwards towards the iron a by a spring c. The brim of the
hat to be curled is led under a guide d, and then between the roller b and iron a.
As the iron revolves the brim is caused to travel round, and its edge is thereby
curled and get.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same,
I would have it understood that I claim,-
First. The employment of rollers, substantially in the manner herein-before
described for turning up and curling over the brims of hats.
Second. The combination of apparatus for curling and finishing the brims of hats,
substantially as herein-before described, and illustrated by Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the
Drawings.
Third. The combination of apparatus, illustrated by Figure 8, for heating the
brims of hats to prepare them for curling, and which is also applicable for finishing
the brims after they have been curled.
Fourth. The combination of apparatus for curling the brims of hats by revolving
rollers, substantially as shewn at Figures 9.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Vero, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twelfth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
CHA³. VERO. (L.S.)