IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FORMING HAT BODIES, SKIRTS, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
FORMING HAT BODIES, SKIRTS, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF WOOL AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS."-A communication from abroad by John Hill
Prentice, of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, United States
of America.
Sealed the 5th May 1868, and dated the 27th January 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 27th January 1868.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
FORMING HAT BODIES, SKIRTS, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to that class of machines by which hat bodies,
skirts, and other articles are formed from a web of wool or other fibrous

page_text: material received from a carding or other machine by rolling up the
web on a former or formers of suitable shape supported upon a system
of rollers through which a rotary motion about its own axis is given to
the former while it has an oscillating motion about an axis perpendicular
to its axis of rotation.
The first part of the Invention consists in arranging the wheel
(through which the oscillating motion above mentioned is imparted)
in a vertical position instead of in the horizontal position which has
heretofore been customary, whereby the oscillating motion is rendered
more nearly equable throughout its entire range.
The second part of the Invention consists in transmitting the motion
from the wheel above mentioned to the oscillating frame which carries
the former or formers by means of a sun-and-planet motion and a wrist
pin set excentrically to the planet wheel, whereby the oscillating motion
of the frame and the former or formers is retarded at such points in
its range as may be necessary for the purpose of obtaining a greater
thickness of material upon such part or parts of the former or formers
as may be desired, as for instance, in forming hat bodies upon that
portion which is to make the brim or in forming skirts upon that portion
which is next below the waist.
The third part of the Invention consists in making the aforesaid
excentric wrist pin adjustable so that the degree of retardation of, the
motion which it produces may be increased or diminished.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal 25
Patent Office on the 27th July 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by Her 30
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the

page_text: thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY POR FORMING HAT BODIES,
SKIRTS, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," being
a communication to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, 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 calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):-
:-
This Invention relates to that class of machines by which hat bodies,
skirts, and other articles are formed from a web of wool or other fibrous
material received from a carding or other machine by rolling up the
web on a former or formers of suitable shape supported upon a suitable
system of rollers through which a rotary motion about its own axis is
given to the former while it has an oscillating motion about an axis
perpendicular to its axis of rotation.
The first part of the Invention consists in arranging the wheel,
through which the oscillating motion above mentioned is imparted,
in a vertical position instead of in the horizontal position which has
heretofore been customary, whereby the oscillating motion is rendered
more nearly equable throughout its entire range.

page_text: The second part of the Invention consists in transmitting the motion
from the wheel above mentioned to the oscillating frame which carries
the former or formers by means of a sun-and-planet motion and a wrist
pin set excentrically to the planet wheel, whereby the oscillating motion
of the frame and the former or formers is retarded at such points in
its range as may be necessary for the purpose of obtaining a greater
thickness of material upon such part or parts of the former or formers
as may be desired, as for instance, in forming hat bodies upon that
portion which is to make the brim or in forming skirts upon that portion
which is next below the waist.
The third part of the Invention consists in making the aforesaid
excentric wrist pin adjustable in such manner that the degree of
retardation of the motion which it produces may be increased or
diminished at pleasure.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is an elevation of the improved
apparatus, and Fig. 2 a plan view of the same, shewing the gearing, the
upper parts being shewn in dotted lines.
A is the bed plate of the machine, and on this plate is bolted a
standard B, the upper part of which forms the top slide of the moveable
frame which supports the rollers and the former. The lower part C of
the moveable frame rests on a pivot a attached to the bed plate. The
moveable frame is composed principally of a radial arm F which receives
the lower ends of the axes of four rollers D, D, and of which one
extremity pivots on to the centre formed by the top of the standard B,
while the other extremity furnished with guide rollers rests and rolls
on a circular way G that is supported on a sufficient number of small
pillars fixed to the bed plate of the machine, as shewn in Fig. 1. The
frame is also composed of bars H, II, that start from the radial arm F
and carry at their outer ends vertical supports I, I, the upper parts of
which are furnished with suitable arrangements (as shewn in the
Drawing) to sustain the upper ends of the axes of the rollers D, D.
Every facility is given, as may be seen in the Drawing, by means of
slide grooves, sockets, and screws in order to modify the inclination and
spread of the rollers D according to the shape of the former which will
rest on the rollers, as indicated by red lines in Fig. 1 of the accom-
panying Drawing. One of the rollers D has an arrangement of gearing
at its base by means of which a rotating movement on its own axis is

page_text: produced. This movement is by the weight of the former (which is
placed on the rollers and in close contact with them all) transmitted to
all the other rollers. This may always be modified and the movement
may be applied to one or more rollers. With regard to the oscillating
motion of the former (which is produced by the horizontal movement
of the rollers D by the effect of the circular motion of the moveable
frame without prejudice to the rotating motion of the rollers and the
former on their own axes) the following is the arrangement employed:
On the bed plate is mounted a small standard f carrying a fixed hori-
zontal shaft e on which a spur wheel d turns. This wheel gears into a
pinion o mounted on a shaft p, at one end of which is a pulley p¹ driven
(by means of a band) by any motive power whatever. To the lower part
of the moveable frame is attached an arm b, Fig. 2, which is connected
by the rod c to the wrist pin w which is carried by the spur wheel d,
but instead of being attached to it directly it is fixed to a plate g that
is fastened to a planet wheel mounted on a centre pin i on the side of
the wheel d. This wrist pin w is (as shewn in Fig. 2) excentric to the
planet wheel h which gears into a toothed pinion j solidly keyed on to
the shaft e on which the wheel d turns. This produces a sun-and-planet
motion and causes the vibration of the moveable frame with a retardation
during a portion of the oscillation proportionate to the distance at which
the wrist pin wo is fixed from the centre of this wheel. This irregularity
allows of obtaining according to circumstances more regularity in placing
the material, or on the contrary, more thickness at any required point
of the article to be manufactured. The plate g (by which the wrist
pin to is attached to the planet wheel h) is fixed to this wheel by means
of screws / traversing grooves in the plate which allows of changing the
position of the plate and of adjusting the wrist pin more or less near to
the centre of the planet wheel, so that the retardation in the oscillating
movement of the moveable frame and of the former should be more or
less long according to the effect required to be produced. Arrangements
may also be made for placing the wrist pin wo at any distance or point
around the centre of the wheel in order that the retardation may be
adjusted at the moment of the oscillation corresponding with the part
of the former where it is necessary to lay the stuff more equally or to
put on a greater thickness of material.
In Fig. 2 it may be seen that the shaft p which produces (by means
of the pinion o) the oscillating movement determines at the same time

page_text: (by means of the bevil gearing 9, 1) the rotary movement of the
rollers D and of the former on their own axes..
The changing motions of the various parts will be best understood by
referring to the Diagram, Fig. 3. If in this Figure e* represents the
centre of the driving wheel d*, * represents the aim which is connected
to the oscillating frame and swings on the centre a*, and c* represents
the connecting rod which is secured to the excentric wrist pin w* on
the driving wheel, the outer end of the arm * will swing through the
arc 2, 3, while the wrist pin travels from 2* to 3*, but while the wrist
pin travels back from 3* to 4* the arm 6* will swing through the arc
3, 4, which is much larger than the arc 2, 3, and while the wrist pin
travels through the last quarter of its circuit from 4* to 1* the motion
of the arm will be limited to the arc 4, 1. By placing the driving wheel
in a vertical position the motion imparted to the arm b will be the same
while the wrist pin w is passing through the upper half of its circuit as
it is while the wrist pin is passing the lower half, and the oscillation
of the frame C which carries the formers will be nearly equalized.
Instead of the wheel d a suitably shaped cam may be used and the
sun-and-planet motion above described may be dispensed with, at the
same time producing a retardation in the oscillation of the moveable
frame.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to
me as aforesaid, and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid,―
First. Placing the wheel d by which the oscillating motion of the
former is produced in a plane parallel with the axis of the pin or stud
in which the oscillating frame C (which carries the former) oscillates
instead of at right angles to the same, as and for the purpose
specified.
Second. I claim the use of the sun-and-planet gearing e, h, j, or
its equivalent in combination with the driving wheel d and oscil-
lating frame C which carries the former, as and for the purpose
set forth.
Third. The adjustable wrist pin w in combination with the sun-and-

page_text: planet wheels, driving wheel, and oscillating frame C, as and for the
purpose described.
In witness whereof I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fifth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)