IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS AND MACHINES FOR PRODUCING THE SAME
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATON left by Henry Killogg at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th September
1867.
I, HENRY KILLOGG, of the City and County of New Haven, State of Con-
necticut, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS AND MACHINES
FOR PRODUCING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar formation of or coating for hat bodies,
and machinery for performing the same, and consists in taking vegetable pulp,
whether perfectly dry or in the partially fluid condition in which it is usually
employed for commencing to form it into sheets of paper in paper making
machinery, and then mixing the same with a sufficient quantity of water (say
in the proportion of fifty to eighty parts or thereabouts of water to one of pulp)
in order to entirely separate the fibres from each other that they may all be
diffused through the water similarly to the manner in which particles or moats
float in the air, then introducing into the same animal fibre such as wool, and
from this mixture forming a hat body by placing the mixture into a vessel
above a former constructed from perforated metal or other suitable permeable
material, constantly agitating the mixture to preserve the above stated condition,
then by suction from below or pressure above forcing the water through the
former, leaving the fibrous mixture thoroughly mingled and packed in sufficient
quantity to form the body.

page_text: And that others skilled in the art may be enabled to thus produce hat
bodies, I will proceed to describe the manner of so doing, employing the
apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying 4 Sheets of Draw-
ings: The apparatus which I employ is more perfect than this shewn in Figs.
1 & 2, and will be more fully explained hereafter. A pulp is first prepared
from any vegetable pulping substance in the usual manner as for the
manufacture of paper, and after reducing this to a very liquid state by the
introduction of water in about fifty to eighty times the quantity used for the
manufacture of paper, as above stated, animal fibre, is introduced, preferring
wool, equal in quantity say of about five to one of wool. This fibre is thoroughly
intermixed with the above, and thus prepared the mixture is ready for use
for the formation of the hat.
I
The apparatus shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 consists of a cylinder A provided
with a plunger ring a which fits closely in the cylinder and is moved up or
down therein by a handle B. On the plunger ring a hat former C is placed,
this should be the form of the hat required to be produced and is made of woven
wire, or may be of metal finely perforated, and so that but little of the metal
will remain this former is raised with the plunger ring. To form a body entire
pour
the thoroughly mixed compound before described into the cylinder
above the former C, then slowly but steadily raise the plunger, which would
were it not for the perforations in the former create a vacuum below, but the
water passes through the perforations which are so small that the mixed
compound does not pass through, therefore the mixture remains above and is
closely packed upon the former, the mixture following the current formed by
the passage of the water through the former to different parts of the body
until it is completed and evenly covered. I thus continue to raise the former
and continue agitation of the mixture to prevent separation until the body is
drawn entirely from the water, that is, until the water has all passed below con-
tinuing the upward movement of the hat air will pass down through it to
supply the space formed by the ascending body, the tendency of which is to
press the water from and dry the body. The extent of this drying depends
upon the length of the cylinder which may be sufficient to completely dry the
body. If not made long enough to dry the body remove the body from the
former and dry it in any convenient or known manner. The body is then
complete and ready to receive the finishing operations of lining, binding, &c.
I find the best and most successful manner of removing the hat from the
former to be to suddenly reverse the plunger, giving it a quick downward
movement the air from below forcing the body from the former. The objects
of introducing the aniural fibre are, first, that without this fibre the perforations

page_text: in the former must necessarily be very fine in order to prevent the vegetable
fibres from passing through, and being so fine this vegetable fibre packs so
solidly upon the former that the water will. not pass through it, therefore the
fibre falls upon the former and remains in masses solidly and most unevenly
packed thereon. By the introduction of the animal fibre the particles of ve-
getable fibre are held in suspension as it were, the fibre more readily following
the currents in the water and leading the mixed fibre to those portions of the
body where the water most freely passes until the whole is evenly covered.
The animal fibre, after the body is formed, serves to very much strengthen the
body by uniting the particles in like manner as the hair used in plastering
mortar unites the particles of lime and sand and as in plastering without the
hair it could only be used in very thin coats and possess but very little strength
so in forming the hat body without the animal fibre the body must be very
thin and of comparitively little strength.
I have described this Invention thus far as forming the body entire, but the
same process may be employed to coat a body formed of "foundation" or
similar material. To do this, place the foundation body upon the former and
operate as described for forming the hat body. This last class of hats may be
coated only upon one side, on after one side has been coated the former may be
reversed and the other side be coated in like manner. By the mechanism
which I have described for my process the natural pressure of the atmosphere
is all that I. employ, and practically all that is required, yet the process may be
facilitated by increasing the pressure either upon the mixture above the fornier
or by suction from below.
I will now proceed to describe tho complete machine which I employ in the
production of the hat which I have described referring to Figs. 3, 4, 5,
and 6.
In the accompanying Drawings a represents a suitable frame, on the upper
platform 6 on which is mounted a vertical cylinder c open at the upper end,
and to this cylinder is fitted a piston d properly packed so as to work therein
water-tight or nearly so. The piston is an annular ring connected by brackets
e with a cylindrical piston rod f fitted to slide in a hole in the bottom of the
cylinder provided with a packing box of the usual construction, and to the
upper surface of this annular piston is secured the flat rim of the pervious
former g, whilst the body thereof extends into and through the annulus. The
inside and the upper rim of the said former should be of the form of the out-
side of the hat or other article to be made therein. In the bottom of the
cylinder there is a hole h, to which is fitted one end, of a pipe i the other end of
which is provided with a stop-cock j for the discharge of water from the inside

page_text: of the cylinder when it becomes desirable to clean out the cylinder; and from
this pipe a branch k extends up about two-thirds the height of the cylinder,
where it is bent over and provided with a valve 2 which when open permits the
accumulation of water in the cylinder above the [level of the said discharge
pipe to escape, but as the said pipe communicates with the bottom of the
cylinder, all the water which escapes must have passed through the meshes or
perforations of the former, and after the fibres shall have been deposited in the
former. The piston rod f is hollow for a considerable distance from the lower
end and threaded to receive a thread shaft m the lower journal of which is
fitted to turn in a step. This shaft is provided with a bevel cog wheel n which
is turned by a corresponding bevel wheel o on a shaft p on which two belt
pulleys q and turn freely by belts s and t from pulleys u, u, on the driving
shaft v, and the belts is crossed so that the two pulleys q, r, rotate in opposite
directions. A clutch w is feathered in the usual manner so that it will turn
with but be free to slide on the shaft p so that it can be made to clutch either
of the pulleys q or r to the shaft p. The driving shaft v being turned in
the direction of the arrow by any suitable motor, if the pulley r be clutched
to the shaft p it will be rotated in the direction of the arrow, and this will by
the turning of the threaded shaft m elevate the piston and when the clutch is
reversed and the pulley 9 is clutched to the shaft the motions will be reversed
and the piston drawn down. The shifting of the clutch is effected by a ship-
ping lever w¹ which turns upon a fulcrum pin x, the lower end of which lever
is received in a mortise in a sliding rod y provided with a forked arm z which
is fitted to a groove in the sliding clutch w. In this way whilst the driving
shaft is rotated by shifting the position of the shipping lever, the threaded
shaft can be turned in either direction to lift or depress the piston or stopped
at the will of the attendant. The stem of the valve / in the discharge branch
pipe k is provided with an arm a¹ connected by a rod b' with an arm c¹ of a
rock shaft d' which has an arm el attached to a spring f', the tension of which
keeps the valve closed, but as soon as the piston and pervious former have been
elevated to the required height an arm g' in the piston rod f comes into contact
with and lifts the arm e' of the rock shaft, and this by the connections described
opens the valve 1 to permit the escape of the surplus water in the cylinder, and
at the same time the said arm acts on a cam-like projection h³ on the ship-
ping lever wo which unclutches the shaft p, and then by moving the said
lever by band a little farther the shaft is clutched by the other pulley and the
piston is drawn down, the arm g¹ liberates the arm e¹ of the rock shaft d' and
the valve is then closed by the tension of the spring f'. To the lower end of
the rod is secure what I denominate a couching pad . It is a hollow

page_text: vessel made by preference of vulcanized india-rubber water-tight and nearly
filled with water or other liquid, and the outer surface covered with woolen
cloth such as used by paper makers for couching paper pulp. Above this
couching pad there is a concave disc secured to the lower end of the rod i,
but of less concavity then the convex form of the upper part of the pad to
permit the said pad to spread a little when the lower portion of it meets with
resistance. The rod t is also provided with three (more or less) spring arms k³,
to the outer ends of which is secured a ring corresponding with the rim of the
former, and which I denominate the rim coucher, the under surface of which
is also covered with couching cloth. The rod is fitted to slide freely in a
hole in a boss m' pivoted to the upper end of a standard n' so that when the
couching pad is elevated above the upper end of the cylinder, the boss can be
turned to one side to admit of removing for repairs or otherwise. The rod ¹
near the upper end is provided with an adjustable collar o' so that weights
fitted to the upper end of the rod may rest on it. Holes are formed through
the rod at different parts of its length to receive a pin p³ to act as a stop
to prevent the couching pad from rising beyond the desired height. Other
equivalent means may be substituted for the said pin and holes. Water is to
be put in the cylinder to the height of the discharge pipe k and the piston with
the former let down to its lowest position. The prepared fibres thoroughly
mixed in water like pulp for making paper, and sufficient in quantity to make
a hat or other article, is poured into the cylinder above the former where the
fibres will be diffused in the water previously in the cylinder and above the
former. The shipping lever wo¹ is then moved by the attendant to clutch the
pulley and the piston with its former then begins to rise. The water in the
cylinder filters through the meshes of the former and deposits the fibres on the
rim and inner surface of the former, and when the piston has risen to such a
height that the quantity of fibres deposited on the surface of the former is
sufficient to produce the required thickness for the tip of the hat the central
portion of it comes into contact with the lower portion of the couching pad
which is made of greater convexity than the concavity of the former but which
being hollow, of flexible material, and containing a liquid, will yield to the pres-
sure and gradually spread out by the continued rising of the piston thereby
gradually making pressure on the deposited fibres. The pressure in this way
is made first at the tip and gradually spreads out all around thereby couching
or laying the fibres from the centre to the circumference, the layer of fibres
gradually increasing from the tip to the rim, until finally the fibres which
have accumulated to a greater thickness on the rim of the former are there
couched by coming in contact with the under surface of the couching annulus

page_text: pad. All this time the couching operation has been performed by the rising
of the piston and former against the weight of the couching pad, and the rod
to which it is attached, and such additional weight as may be found necessary,
but at the end of the couching operation the rod is stopped by its pin p
striking against the top of the boss m' of the standard n', and the piston being
raised a little more a very considerable, pressure is brought to bear on the
couched fibres which are thereby consolidated. At this time the arm g¹ on the
piston rod lifts the arm e¹ of the rock shaft, opens the valve which permits
the discharge from the cylinder of the water which was put in with the fibres,
and the said arm at the same time acts on a cam-like projection q¹ on the
lower end of this, shipping lever w¹ by which the shaft p is unclutched by
which the further rising of the piston is stopped. By the foregoing operations
the fibres have become so consolidated that the fabric so formed is practically
impervious, and as it is necessary to remove it from the former without injury
the shipping lever is moved to clutch the shaft p to the pulley 9 which causes
the piston to descend into the cylinder, and as the upper part of the cylinder
was filled with air while the former was. elevated the resistance of the air
liberates the hat from the former so that it can be readily.taken out.
shape of the former is to be suited to the article which is to be made. .
Although particularly designed for the manufacture of hats the process first
described and apparatus last described may be employed for the manufacture
of other articles to which the material and process is adapted.
The
After, the hat has been removed from the machine it is better to dry it as
quickly as possible. To this end I form a mould of clay or other material
capable of rapid absorption as denoted in Figs. 7.& 8. The clay is burnt
but unglazed, and from, its nature is a powerful, absorbent. The mould is
formed to correspond to the hat or article produced, and into this mould the
hat or article is placed and compressed therein in any convenient manner so
as to express the water which is quickly absorbed by the mould, so that the
hat is removed dry and finished.. This mould may be ornamented or embossed
so as to give to the hat, the appearance of straw, or other desirable imitation
or design. The process of drying is still further. facilitated by heating the
mould to a degree not sufficiently high to burn, or injure the article to be
dried.