BODI OF F AND OTHER County
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lansing E. Hopkins, of New York, in the
County of New York and State of New York, U.S. A., for the
Invention of THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT BODIES OF FUR AND OTHER
County of New York and State of New York, U.S. A., for the
Invention of "THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT BODIES OF FUR AND OTHER
LIKE SUBSTANCES."
Invention of "THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT BODIES OF FUR AND OTHER
"
LIKE SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 15th September 1858, and dated the 26th July 185%.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lansing E. Hop-
kins at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 26th July 1858.
I, LANSING E. HOPKINS, of New York, in the County of New York
and State of New York, U. S. A., do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT BODIES OF FUR AND OTHER
LIKE SUBSTANCES" to be as follows:-
Two difficulties have arisen in the formation of hat bodies upon a
cone, which arc, first, the wetting the fibres before they were removed
from the conc; and, secondly, a want of compactness and consistency
at that period of their manufacture. To wet the stock at this period
of the process, and then dry it before completing the felting, injures it.

page_text: It is believed that no good method has been heretofore adopted for
hardening hat bodies made on a cone without wetting them before they
are taken from the conc.
The apparatus is constructed as follows:- employ an endless feed
apron and rollers, together with a cylinder armed with points, called a
"picker," such as are now used in the manufacture of fur, and well
understood. Below this picker there is a recess or chamber, this chamber
communicates by a trunk or pipe with a fan. Through this chamber
a current of air is driven, which rushing past the picker drives forward
the fur towards the cone on which a hat body is to be formed. The
fan is a well-known device for exhausting the air from the cone upon
which the hat body is formed, and the air which is drawn into it, in the
process of collecting the fur thereupon, is driven forward into the air
chamber as above named, which may also receive an additional supply
from a fan at the side of the picker. Upon the side of the cone,
opposite that at which the fur is received, there are conical rollers
placed which press against the surface of the cone, and turn as the
cone revolves; and on the tip of the cone there are several small rollers
which fit and adapt themselves to the curve, and press down every part
of the fur as it is laid on the cone; the rollers should also have an end
movement. A pipe having a slit in its whole length, and curved to
correspond with the outline of the conc, may be employed, the slit
being covered with cloth; into this pipe steam is admitted, which dis-
penses a slight dew upon the fibre to warm but not to saturate it; this
pipe and the frame of rollers are so jointed as to be thrown back out of
the way. Before the commencement of the operation of depositing fur
upon the cone it is covered with a cloth made to fit it exactly, and
which is damped before applying it to the cone. When the hat body
is formed the cloth is removed with the fur from the conc.
It is pre-
ferred to deliver the fur upon the cone at two different points opposite
cach other. The hat bodies thus produced are next planked; for this
purpose an endless planking table is used, formed of two endless chains
of metal, one on cach side, with slots forming when stretched in a
straight line supported upon a railway; above this endless planking table
is an endless apron that rests upon it, and moves with the same speed;

page_text: this is composed of two metal chains, one on each side, to which is affixed
a cloth that is stretched between them, and the chains have guides to
keep them straight, and there is a second apron directly above the first
which passes around pullies. The apron drivers and the planking table
are geared together, so as to ensure their moving with the same speed.
There is a series of rollers extending across from side to side between
the upper and lower parts of the endless belt; these rollers can be
adjusted to bear with any desired pressure upon the planking table;
they are hung in a carriage which has a reciprocating motion. These
rollers are of two kinds, part of them being polygonal, the others are
cylindrical, and as the hat bodies pass along under them they move to
and fro with a short rapid motion, and thus produce the desired action
upon the hat bodics; and in order to cause the rollers to press properly
upon the apron their carriage slides are made to rise by being attached
to two or more short arms.
When the machine is put in motion the hat bodies are laid upon
one of the aprons, and pass with the aprons on to the planking table,
still remaining between the aprons. The whole move forward at pre-
cisely the same rate under the roilers which move to and fro, they being
at first raised so as to bear lightly and then harder till the felting is
finished.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Lansing E. Hopkins in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 21st January 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
LANSING E. HOPKINS, of the City and County of New York, in the
State of New York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of July, A.D. 1853, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Lansing E. Hopkins, my
executors, adminstrators, and assigns, and such others, from time to

page_text: time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdoin of Great Briton and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT BODIES
OF FUR AND OTHER LIKE SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Lansing E. Hopkins, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calender months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Lansing E. Hopkins, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement (that is to say):
Two difficulties have arisen in the construction of hat bodies on an
exhausted cone, which arc, wetting the fibres in some way before they
were removed from the cone; and, secondly, a want of compactness and
consistency at that period of their manufacture: to wet the stock at this
period, and then drying it before completing the manufacture, seriously
injures it, compelling the manufacturers at once to work up the hat
bodies as fast as they are formed, or to seriously injure their property,
and this in practice is found impossible; the bodies are made and sold
to the trade who manufacture them into hats from time to time after-
wards. No method has been heretofore adopted of hardening the
bodies without wetting them with water before they are taken from the
cone, which I avoid in my process.
The apparatus is constructed as follows:-I employ an endless feed
apron (a), and rollers (6), together with a cylinder (c), armed withi
points called a "picker," all of which devices have long since been
known and used in the manufacture of fur, and are well understood;
below this picker I have a recess (d), which I call an inclosed air
chamber, this chamber communicates by a trunk or pipe (e), with the
exhausting fan hereafter described; through this chamber a current of
air is driven by the exhaust fan past the picker, driving forward the

page_text: fur towards the cone (f), on which the hat body is to be formed.
The exhaust fan (g), is a well-known device for exhausting the air
from the cone upon which the hat body is formed, and the air passing
into it is driven forward into the air chamber above named, which may
also receive an additional supply from the fans (h) at the sides of the
picker. Upon the side of the cone opposite that at which the fur is
received I place a set of threc, more or less, conical rollers (i), which
press against the surface of the cone, and turn as the cone revolves;
on the curved part of the tip are several small rollers, clearly shown
at Fig. 2, which fit and adapt themselves to the curve, thus rolling
over every part of the surface, and pressing down the fur as it is worked;
and to facilitate the interlocking and hardening the body to a consis-
tency I cause the rollers to have an end chase by making the inequa-
lities in the revolving rim upon which the cone sets as at (k), against
which the ends of the journals of the rollers (i) rest, to move them up
and down. A long pipe (o), having a slit its whole length, and curved
to the section of the cone, may be employed by covering the slit above
named with cloth, and letting a slight breath of steam out upon the
fur, simply to warm but not to saturate it: this as well as the rollers are
jointed, so as to be thrown back from the cone at pleasure. Before
the cone is used it is covered with a thin cloth cover made to fit it,
which comes off with the body when made, and is then easily removed
from it. The steam tube is small and wound with cloth, and then a
casing, also having a slit in it, is put on over the cloth to cover it: this
is shown in Fig. 3. (m,) is the casing; (n,) the tube covered with
cloth; and (0) the steam tube before the cloth is put on this is an
important construction, and is thus named and illustrated in detail.
The purpose of the cloth cover over the cone is twofold: first, expe-
rience shows that the fur, when formed directly upon the perforated
metal cone, slides down in little rolls, occasionally injuring the fabrics,
and giving much trouble; this the cloth entirely prevents, and as it is
taken off with the fur body it can, if necessary, be retained in the body
to further harden it before being finally removed, while at the same
time the operation goes on without removing the cone from its seat,
Instead of making the conductor as above described and shown, I

page_text: "
sometimes make it in two parts, curving them around so as to have
their openings opposite each other, or nearly so, and then placing the
cone between them, and this device I prefer in making the best quality
of hats, as it lays the fur better. The construction of that part of the
machine by which this new effect is produced consists of two tubes of
curved form uniting in one at the picker (which is one of ordinary
construction), from thence the tubes run a short distance parallel,
having but a single partition between them, they then branch outward
with a gentle curve, and their cross section gradually narrows in breadth
and increases in height, their extreme ends curving inwards till their
openings are opposite each other; between these openings stands the
cone upon which the hat bodies are formed. On either side of the tubes,
near their extreme ends, are sliding shutters that can be made to slide
forward, and by so doing in some degree close the opening; by regula-
ting these shutters on one or the other, or both, I produce the effect
above named of strengthening the body in any desired part; I effect
this by the double outlet with more accuracy than could be done
in any other way, throwing the fur upon the cone in more than one
point.
I claim in the above device, in combining the hardening rollers
with the perforated cone by means of a yielding or hinged frame in
which they are placed substantially in the manner and for the purpose
herein described.
I also claim giving to said rollers in combination with said perforated
cone a vibrating endwise motion, as well as a rotary motion, substan-
tially as described, and for the purpose set forth.
I also claim blowing the exhaust air from the former (f) into the
chamber (d) for the purpose and in the manner described. And I
also claim the mode of forming the steam pipe outlet as above specified,
by covering the steam pipe with cloth, and incasing it with an outer
metal case. also claim covering the perforated cone, preparatory to a
deposition of fur thereon, with a covering of thin cloth, easily pervious
to air, upon which the fur is to be deposited, said cloth or fabric to be
removed at each operation with the hat body deposited thereon.
I also claim the bifurcated conductor and blast above described,

page_text: said conductor having its openings opposite cach other, or nearly so,
and having the cone between them, substantially in the manner and for
the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof. I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Witnesses,
L. E. HOPKINS. (L.s.)
W GREENOUGH, No. 6, Wall Street.
DANIEL CARPENTER,
of Brooklyn, New York.