Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Aug., 1886.
Complete Left, 11th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 14th June, 1887.
We GILES ATHERTON of the Virginia Mills Stockport in the County of Chester
Hat manufacturer and WILLIAM CARRICK of Carlisle in the County of Cumberland
Hat manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to the forming machines of the description now known as the
Gill Fur Former. In such a machine the forming cone is enclosed within a chamber
in which a partial vacuum is formed by the exhaustive action of a fan which withdraws
the air through the pervious cone so that the fur drawn into the chamber is directed
on to the cone and is deposited thereon in a layer. Previously to our invention the
cone has been removed from the machine previously to the damping of the fur and
preparatory to the immersion in water has been covered with cloths which have
caused loss of fur and there has been a tendency to a slipping or derangement of the
layer of fur. The principal object of our invention is to effect the wetting of the fur
before the removal of the cone from its position in the chamber. We mount inside
the chamber a perforated spray former which is extended in length and is shaped so as
to direct the spray upon the layer of fur over the whole length of the cone and so that
the whole or nearly the whole of the issuing spray shall be received by the cone.
said spray former is situated below the inlet board over which the fur passes when
entering the chamber. The said spray former is supplied with water the supply being
controlled by means of a cock or valve. To prevent the adhesion of the fur to the
inner wall of the chamber through the wetting of the same we make a portion or
portions of the said wall or of linings for the same so that it or they can be heated by
steam so that any water falling thereon is quickly evaporated. We provide the inlet
opening for fur with thin metal wings which can be adjusted by bending so as to give
the fur the direction which will furnish the best result. The air check or baffler which
is employed to regulate the flow of air through the cone is passed into position within
the cone automatically when the door is closed. A wheel upon the door runs up a
The

page_text: curved incline and depresses a rod which is connected with a lever which pushes up a
rod which carries the said check. When the door is opened the check is lowered so
as to be out of the way when the cone is removed. When the door has been opened
the water is turned on and the cone is slowly revolved. During the spraying it is
desirable to check the exhaust. This is effected by opening an air inlet door to an
extent which is adjustable so that it can always be opened to the extent which
has been found to be most suitable. The cone can be removed with less risk to the
layer of fur and there is less waste of fur owing to the dispensing with the application
of cloths and also there is a saving in time.
Dated this 10th day of Angust 1886.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.
- COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus Used in the Forming of Felt Hats.
We GILES ATHERTON of the Virginia Mills Stockport in the County of Chester Hat
Manufacturer and WILLIAM CARRICK Junior of Carlisle in the County of Cumberland
Hat Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement and accompanying drawings:-
:-
Our Invention relates to the forming machines of the description now known as the
Gill Fur Former. In such a machine the forming cone is enclosed within a chamber
in which a partial vacuum is formed by the exhaustive action of a fan which withdraws
the air through the pervious cone so that the fur drawn into the chamber is directed
on to the cone and is deposited thereon in a layer. Previously to our invention the
cone has been removed from the machine before the damping of the fur and
preparatory to the immersion in water has been covered with cloths which have caused
loss of fur and there has been a tendency to a slipping or derangement of the layer of fur.
The principal object of our invention is to effect the wetting of the fur before the removal
of the cone from its position in the chamber. We mount inside the chamber a
perforated spray-discharger which is extended in length and is shaped so as to direct
the spray upon the layer of fur over the whole length of the cone and so that the
whole or nearly the whole of the issuing spray shall be received by the cone.
prevent the adhesion of the fur to the inner wall of the chamber through the wetting
of the same we make a portion or portions of the said wall or of linings for the same
so that it or they can be heated by steam so that any water falling thereon is quickly
evaporated. The air check or baffle plate which is employed to regulate the flow of
air through the cone is passed into position within the cone automatically when the
door is closed,
To

page_text: In order that our invention may be fully understood we will describe the same with
reference to the drawings in the two accompanying sheets.
In the said drawings Fig. 1 represents a Front Elevation of the Gill Fur Former
having our improvements applied thereto.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine.
Figs. 3. 4. and 5 illustrate the action of parts of the complete machine.
opened the
In Figs. 1 and 2 a is the usual casing which is of a conical formation inside and is
made to open at the front two portions a¹ a¹ being hinged to the main portion a so that
they can be turned outward as represented in the drawings. Inside this casing is the
ordinary table b upon which the pervious former cone c is placed. The fur enters the
machine by the usual trough-shaped inlet d the bottom board of this trough extending
some distance into the casing. Below this trough we fix the spray discharger E. By
being below the trough it is out of the way of the falling fur and being a little to one
side of the centre its action can be watched when the door is open. This spray
discharger consists of a curved box having a finely perforated front the form and size
being such as that as nearly as possible the whole of the water discharged is directed
on to the layer of fur with which the former cone is covered. Water is supplied to
the spray discharger by means of a pipe f which is provided with a cock g. A second
pipe h which is also provided with a cock communicates with the bottom of the spray
discharger. The lever i of the upper cock g is connected with the lever of the lower
cock so that both move together or otherwise the two levers are formed in one piece or
the plugs of the two cocks are connected together or other suitable arrangements are
made for obtaining a concerted action whereby when the upper cock
lower one is closed and vice versa. The use of the lower cock is to drain the spray
discharger after the water has been shut off. When the inlet cock is closed the lower
outlet cock is opened and any water remaining in the spray discharger is permitted to
escape so that it may not continue to trickle through the perforations. A three-way
cock might be substituted for the two separate cocks. The lever i is connected with
a rod which extends to the front of the machine in order that the cocks can be
operated without the operator having to pass to the back of the machine. It is of
importance that the interior of the casing shall not be wet when the fur is admitted as
the presence of water would cause the fur to adhere to the casing. To prevent this,
so much of the interior of the casing as is liable to be wetted by the water from the
spray discharger is lined with a casing k made of copper or other suitable metal and
suitably adapted to be heated by means of steam so that any water which may fall
upon this casing will be quickly evaporated. Suitable pipes are provided for the
supply of steam to the casing and for the discharge of the water of condensation
therefrom. The linings b₁₁ on the hinged doors may consist of such steam heated
casings or they may be the ordinary linings or making up pieces as preferred.
During the spraying it is advisable to check the ordinary suction of air through the
former conc in order that the water may not be sucked out of the layer of fur. To
effect this checking an air inlet door m is provided. This door is opened and is kept
open to the required extent by any suitable means. In the example the door is
opened by the application of the foot of the operator to a treadle n. This part of the
apparatus is illustrated by Fig. 4. The said treadle is formed as a bell-crank lever
and the arin n' of this lever is connected by means of a hinged link o with the door m.
The parts are adjustably connected so that the extent to which the door is opened can
be regulated so as to so control the exhaustive action as to obtain the best effect.
When the foot is removed from the treadle the door closes. The dotted lines indicate
the position of the parts when the door is shut. Any other suitable means may be
adopted for opening the said door, and any other suitable form of air valve may take
the place of such door. The exhaust might also be checked by raising the revolving
table which carries the former cone the said table in such a case being carried by
supports which are mounted to slide vertically but we do not consider such arrange-
ment to be desirable. It is usual to support an air check or baffle plate inside the
former cone to check the passage of air through the upper part of the cone and thereby
to prevent the excessive accumulation of fur upon such upper part. In the example

page_text: this check plate is indicated by p and is mounted upon a sliding rod q. We connect
this rod with parts which are acted upon by one of the doors so that when the doors
are closed the rod is pushed upward so as to raise the plate into the required position
and on the contrary when the doors are opened the plate is lowered so as to facilitate
the removal of the former cone. The action of the parts which effect these movements
of the baffle plate are illustrated more clearly in Figs. 3 and 5. A chain is attached
by one end to the rod q and by the other end to a levers which is fixed upon a shaft
which is mounted to turn in a bearing bracket t. Upon the upper end of the same
shaft is fixed a shorter lever ". When the door a¹ is closed a stud or finger upon the
door comes into contact with the lever u and by pushing it inward moves the lever s
outward into the position represented in the Figs. whereby the chain is caused to draw
upward the rod 7 which thus raises the baffle plate. When the door is opened the
baffle plate drops out of the way so that the former cone can be readily lifted out of
the machine. We do not confine ourselves to the details of the parts which raise the
baffle plate so long as they are acted upon by the door and we may use for the purpose
an incline acted upon by a wheel upon the door as mentioned in our provisional
specification but we have adopted the arrangement illustrated in preference to the one
we first used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is :—
(1) The combination of parts forming the complete apparatus substantially as and
for the purpose set forth and indicated hereinbefore and in and by the accompanying
drawings.
(2) In a fur former of the indicated typo the spray discharger provided with a
water supply and adapted to discharge water spray at the required times upon the fur
which is upon the revolving forming cone substantially as and for the purpose set
forth and indicated.
(3) As additions to a fur former of the indicated type the spray discharger E and
the water inlet and outlet cocks connected together so that when one opens the
other closes.
(4) In Fur Former apparatus the steam heated lining substantially as and for the
purpose set forth and indicated.
(5) In Fur Former apparatus the air check or baffle plate arranged to be raised and
lowered and acted upon by parts which are controlled by the opening and closing of
the doors or of one of them substantially as and for the purpose set forth and
indicated.
(6) The air check p carried by a sliding rod which is raised when the doors are
closed by the action of a lever operated upon by one of the doors substantially as set
forth and indicated.
(7) The air door or valve m provided with means for opening the same to a
regulated extent during the spraying operation in order to check the exhaustive
action.
(8) In Fur former apparatus provided with means for wetting the fur before
removal of the former cone from the machine the regulation of the operation by opening
an air inlet so as to check exhaustive action.
101 1
1007
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.