Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Jan., 1887.
Complete Left, 19th May, 1887.
* Complete Accepted, 21st June, 1887.
We JOSEPH OLDHAM and ORLANDO OLDHAM both of Hyde Road, Denton in the
County of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of our invention to be
as follows:-
The object of this invention is the construction of an arrangement of mechanism
whereby the settling and planking of felt hat bodies can be effected more speedily and
perfectly than heretofore and so as to approach more nearly if not to surpass hand
planking.
In performing our invention we fix a corrugated curved board or plate (hereinafter
called the platform) at the upper part of a wooden trough and so that the hot water
can overflow such platform during the settling and planking operation. Above this
platform we mount a correspondingly corrugated segmental board or plate (hereinafter
called the segmental plate) at the lower extremity of a pendulous rod suspended from
an arm projecting from one side of a cross bead and which is counterbalanced by a
sliding adjustable weight mounted upon a lever arm branching from the other side
of the same cross head. We impart an oscillating motion to the pendulous rod by
jointing it above the segmental plate to a connecting rod caused to reciprocate by
being connected through the intervention of a slide block (working in suitable guides)
with a revolving crank or eccentric upon a shaft driven by a belt or in any other
convenient manner.
And in order to raise the segmental plate hereinbefore described, for the insertion
of the hat forms between the corrugated surfaces, we arrange a treddle connected by
side rods with arms projecting from each outer extremity of the cross head and thus
we are enabled not only to raise the segmental plate, but to adjust the pressure upon
the hat bodies whilst under the settling and planking operation.

page_text: The action of this improved machine is as follows:-
The hat forms are first placed upon the platform and the pendulous plate is then
allowed to lower itself into contact with such form and, by its oscillation, to roll the
same to and fro in the hot water-an operation hitherto impracticable-until the
desired settling or planking is effected.
In this manner and by thus having a segmental corrugated plate oscillating above a
platform, curved and corrugated as aforesaid, and immersed in hot water we find that
the hat bodies are more perfectly and easily rolled and with an even pressure exerted
over the entire curved surfaces, thus imparting a fine surface to the hat bodies quite
equal to if not better than can be effected by hand planking and whereby the finest
quality of fur body can be planked, even such qualities as have hitherto required to be
done by hand.
This arrangement of mechanism permits all the working parts (which are constructed
of iron) to be out of the way of the acid-a source of great injury to machines of this
class as hitherto constructed.
JOHN G. WILSON,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in Machinery for Settling and Planking Felt Hat
Bodies.
We JOSEPH OLDHAM and ORLANDO OLDHAM both of Hyde Road, Denton in the
County of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of our invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is the construction of an arrangement of mechanism
whereby the settling and planking of felt hat bodies can be effected more speedily and
perfectly than heretofore and so as to approach more nearly if not to surpass hand
planking.
On the accompanying drawings Fig. 1. is a side view, Fig. 2. a front view, Fig. 3.
a side sectional view and Fig. 4. a plan of our improved mechanism.
In all the views a. is a curved and corrugated wooden board or plate (hereinafter
called the platform) fixed at the upper part of a wooden trough b. as illustrated and so
that the hot water contained in the trough can overHow such platform during the
settling and planking operations. Above this platform we mount a correspondingly
segmental and corrugated wooden board or plate (hereinafter called the segmental
plate c.) affixed at the lower extremity of a pendulous or radial rod c¹. This rod c³ is
suspended from an arm c² projecting from one side of a cross head d. which is counter-
balanced by a sliding adjustable weight mounted upon a lever arm d² branching
from the other side of the same cross head. We impart an oscillating motion to the
pendulous or radial rod c¹ by jointing it above the segmental plate c. to a connecting
rod e. caused to reciprocate to and fro by being connected (through the intervention
of a slide block e illustrated as working in a cylindrical guide e but which it is
obvious might be otherwise guided) with a revolving crank or eccentric upon a
shaft f. driven by a belt upon the fast and loose pulleys for by a winch handle or in
any other convenient manner.
It is preferred to have the corrugated surface of the platform a. and segmental
plate c. covered with hard wood pegs as seen more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. And in
order to raise the segmental plate c. for the insertion of the hat forms between the two
corrugated and pegged surfaces, we arrange a treddle g. connected by side rods g' with
arms g² projecting from each outer extremity of the cross head d. and thus we are
enabled not only to raise the segmental plate c. for the insertion and withdrawal of the
hat forms, but to adjust the pressure, if need be, upon the hat bodies whilst undergoing
the settling and planking operations. Stops i. are affixed on the inner. sides of the
rods g' to come into contact with the side frames and so prevent them descending
too far.
The action of this improved machine may be described as follows:-
-
The hat forms taken from the trough b. and rolled in the usual cloth are first placed
upon the platform a. and the pendulous plate c. is then allowed to lower itself into
contact with such forms (marked m. as illustrated in Fig. 3.) and by its oscillation to

page_text: roll the same to and fro along the platform a. which is by preference immersed in the
hot water an operation hitherto impracticable and which is continued until the
desired settling or planking is effected.
In this manner and by thus having a segmental corrugated plate oscillating above a
platform correspondingly curved and corrugated as aforesaid, we find that the hat
.bodies are more perfectly and easily rolled and with an even pressure exerted over the
entire curved surfaces thus imparting a fine finish to the hat bodies quite equal to if
not better than can be effected by hand planking.
We find that the finest quality of fur bodies can be thus planked even such qualities
as have hitherto required to be done by hand.
Hitherto the objections urged against machinery used for this purpose have been
that the hat forms have been worked too dry and as a consequence only a rough
surface has been obtained and in fact it has been impossible to obtain the desired
finish which has only hitherto been obtainable by hand planking.
This arrangement of mechanism, it will be observed, permits all the working parts
(which are constructed of iron) to be situated at the back of the machine behind the
splash board j. and all out of the way of the acid which has been a source of great
injury to machines of this class as hitherto constructed.
It will be apparent that, instead of mounting the segmental plate c. at the extremity
of the arm c² projecting from a cross head d. as hereinbefore described and illustrated,
that the segmental plate c. by means of its pendulous radial rod c¹might be suspended
from a fixed point above the trough, the rod being connected to the revolving
crank or eccentric to obtain the requisite to-and-fro motion, and the platform a. be so
arranged as to descend into the trough for the insertion and withdrawal of the hat
forms, but this we should consider to be a modification albeit a less convenient
arrangement of our invention.
We would here state that we are aware of an arrangement of mechanism for similar
purposes for which Letters Patent No. 2353 were granted to William Grimshaw on
the 7th day of August 1872, and hence we make no claim broadly to rolling hat forms
to and fro between two surfaces, one of which is stationary and the other reciprocating,
save and except in the manner hereinbefore described and as illustrated on the annexed
drawing.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of our invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
1st. The general arrangement and combination of mechanism for settling and
planking felt hat bodies substantially as hereinbefore described.
2nd. In a machine for settling and planking, the employment of a curved corrugated
platform in combination with a correspondingly formed segmental plate operated
substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated on the
accompanying drawing.
Datel this 18th day of May 1887.