IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BLOCKING AND PRESSING HATS AND BONNETS
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Davis Welch and
Alfred Phippen Welch at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 23rd February 1863.
We, JOHN DAVIS WELCH and ALFRED PHIPPEN WELCH, both of Gutter
Lane, in the City of London, and of Luton, in the County of Bedford, Straw
Hat Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BLOCKING AND PRESSING HATS AND BONNETS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of certain improvements in machinery for blocking
and pressing hats and bonnets, whether made of straw, felt, crinoline, or other
material.
We
propose to mount two vertical standards on a bed plate, which standards
are to support the entire machinery, the upper part of the standards support
a hot water tank surrounded by a jacket for the circulation of steam to main-
tain the heat thereof, the steam being conducted thereto and withdrawn by
suitable pipes. The upper part of the water tank receives a pipe in communi-
cation with a hydraulic press whereby any desired amount of pressure per
square inch may be given to the water; the bottom of the tank is constructed

page_text: of a disc or sheet of vulcanised india-rubber, set in a rather slack manner, or in
form of a bag, in order that it may bulge downwards or upwards by the weight
of the water and the upward mechanical pressure, and in order that it may
yield still further when hydraulic pressure is applied. Below this tank is the
situation of the block or mould for pressing the goods.
According to our Invention we propose to apply pressure either externally,
internally, or both, to hats or bonnets as required, and thus to constitute a
double-action machine. If we require to press internally we place a mould
of cement or other plastic material which will set of a hard smooth surface
upon a slab or table supported as hereafter described and sliding vertically in
slots cut in the standards. The mould is made as follows:-An iron dish or
pan of an inverted conical form receives the cement or other plastic material
forming the hollow mould. This pan or dish is fixed in a circular chamber
or vessel whose sides are perpendicular so that a space is created internally
with regard to the circular chamber and externally to the pan. Around
this space steam is circulated from a boiler by means of pipes so as to keep the
mould in a heated state. By this construction of mould we are enabled to
replace one form or shape with another by removing the cement out of the pan.
The rapidity of change effected by this method is a great feature in the Inven-
tion. The block for external pressure is constructed also of cement or other
plastic material. We first take a copper or other metal steam receiver, some-
what towards the form of the block, but smaller, on which we cast the block, the
object of which is to keep the block heated, as in the case where we use the
mould. The blocks may be changed as required, leaving the steam receiver
a fixture on the table which is brought under the diaphragm in like manner
to the mould. The blocks and moulds may be made of iron or other metal,
but the heated cement is most suitable for changing shapes. The pan or
dish with its outer casing is made removeable and is pulled out by means of
a hinge or pin on which it may be turned outwards horizontally. The lower
part of the standards contain a rack and pinion motion, worked by a handle
raising a table placed on the top of the vertical bar to which the rack is affixed,
the shaft of the pinion carries two pullies on which chains are passed descending
to a counterweight or iron slab, which serves to return the whole into position
when the handle is released.
Now the operation of the machine is as follows:-A rough bonnet or hat
is placed in the hollow mould, and the mould is then turned inwards under-
neath the india-rubber diaphragm. The rack and pinion is then actuated,
and the table is raised upwards towards the water tank, after which the
hydraulic pressure is applied, and the pressure and finish given by means of

page_text: the action of the india-rubber upon the surface of the goods by the heated
surface of the mould against which it is forced. The article is to be remove
by withdrawing the hydraulic and mechanical pressure, and by turning the
mould outwards from under the diaphragm, when another bonnet or hat may
be treated. The standards contain two or three grooves or slots at different
elevations for the purpose of forming rests for the table. Two projecting
slides, worked by a lever at the top of the pinion bar, serve to bear upon these
grooves or channels, and to prevent the table from sinking below their level.
A pressure indicator should be placed above the water tank to indicate the
hydraulic pressure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Davis Welch and Alfred Phippen Welch in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 22nd August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
DAVIS WELCH, and ALFRED PHIPPEN WELCH, both of Gutter Lane, in the
City of London, and of Luton, in the County of Bedford, Straw Hat Manu-
facturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her beirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Davis Welch and Alfred Phippen Welch, Her special licence
that we, the said John Davis Welch and Alfred Phippen Welch, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John
Davis Welch and Alfred Phippen Welch, our 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 FOR BLOCKING AND PRESSING HATS
AND BONNETS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John
Davis Welch and Alfred Phippen Welch, our executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Phippen Welch, do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This Invention consists of certain improvements in machinery for blocking
and pressing hats and bonnets, whether made of straw, felt, crinoline, or other
material.
In order that our said Invention may be completely understood we now
proceed to describe the best means we are acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference marked thereon,
as follows:-
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal vertical section of the machine. a, a, are
standards bolted to a bed plate or to a stone foundation; the upper part of the
standards support a hot water vessel b, surrounded by a jacket or casing c, into
which steam is admitted from a boiler by a pipe d, and after circulation
is carried off by the pipe e, shewn in dotted lines at the back of the vessel.
The upper part of the hot water vessel receives a pipe f, by which water is
forced from a hydraulic pump g into the vessel, whereby any desired amount
of pressure per square inch may be given to the water; the bottom of the tank
is furnished with a sheet or disc of vulcanised india-rubber hanging slack in
the form of a bag, as shewn by 6*, in order that it may bulge downwards by
the weight of the water, and accommodate itself to the shape of the goods to be
pressed. Below this tank is the situation of the block or mould for receiving
the goods, for by this Invention, we apply pressure either externally or inter-
nally or both externally and internally, to hats or bonnets, as the varying
nature of the fabrics require, and thus the machine is double acting.
The Drawing shews the application of a mould for pressing the goods inter-
nally; h is the mould formed of Keene's cement, Stourbridge or other fire-clay,
potter's earthen clay, stone china clay, or other plastic materials, dried or
baked, and mixed or not with ground flint, or of glass or of glazed pottery ware,
so as to obtain a hard smooth surface. This mould is set in an iron conical
pan i, which is placed in a heating chamber k, formed of iron, the exterior sides
being circular and perpendicular and the interior conical, as shewn; this chamber
is placed on the table ', of the horizontal bar I, and a pin or pivot m, working
in the socket m¹, serves to allow the table with its mould to be turned outwards
and forwards from the machine by the handle n. Steam is supplied from a boiler
to the chamber by the pipe of india-rubber or other flexible material o, and is
conveyed away by the corresponding pipe p. The horizontal bar is allowed

page_text: to be raised or lowered between the standards by means of the rack and
pinion q, q, actuated by the handle r; a counterbalance weight s, attached to
chains passing over pullies on the pinion shaft, serves to steady the descent of
the mould and chamber; t, t, are bolts or stops fixed or jointed to the arms u, u,
5 of a double action lever handle w; the use of these bolts is to hold the chamber
and mould in position when raised by the rack and pinion, by their insertion
into the slots or recesses a, formed in the standards.
By the construction of mould, as described, in its iron shell we are enabled to
change the moulds with great facility, several various shaped moulds being
kept ready for use in a heated state, either in ovens or in separate heating
chambers. We have merely to remove the mould with its iron shell from
the heating chamber, and replace it by another already in a heated state.
The great facility afforded by the construction of any number of moulds and
blocks of plastic material effected by this method is a main feature of the In-
vention. The block for external pressure, that is to say, the reverse method of
pressure to that effected by the insertion of the goods in the mould, and their
being placed upon a raised block of the internal form of the hat or bonnet, is
to be made as follows:-We take an iron base or frame of flat iron about half
an inch in thickness, see in vertical section Fig. 2, of an oval or somewhat
similar irregular outline, according to the shape of the goods, on which we form
the block 6 of the requisite pattern, the material or compound being the same
as that used for the mould, the iron serves as a foundation for the block and
strengthens it. The edge of the iron is to be bevilled so as to form a con-
tinuous angular outline with the plastic material, and prevents the thin edges
of the block from being broken or chipped. The block is to be hollow in order
that it may be placed over a conical iron steam chamber c, on which it fits;
several of these heating chambers may be kept separate from the machine and
ready heated for application according to the pattern of the goods.
The operation of the machine for internal pressure is as follows:-A mould
and shell having been placed in the heating chamber of the machine and
allowed to become sufficiently heated if placed in cold (or if previously heated
it will be ready for immediate use,) the table having been turned forwards or
outwards from the machine in order to receive the mould and heating chamber;
a bonnet or hat is placed in the mould, and a hood of felt, flannel, lawn, or
other adaptable material, according to the nature of the goods, is to be placed
in the hat or bonnet, the table with the mould is turned back into the machine,
and is to be raised by the handle rack and pinion up to the hot water reservoir,
whereby it will force up the india-rubber diaphragm or bag, causing it to press
completely over the entire inner surface of the hood and hat or bonnet. The

page_text: lever w is then to be moved so as to cause the bolts t, t, to enter the recesses,
when the winch handle may be released and the mould retained firmly in its
elevated position; the workman then operates the hydraulic pump 9, by means
of the handle, whereby any amount of pressure per square inch may be given
to the india-rubber diaphragm and transferred to the bonnet or hat in the mould.
This pressure may vary from 20 to 30 lbs. to the inch, or even to 200 or
300 lbs., as required, and may be continued for half a minute or more. The
workman then turns the tap y, which releases the surplus water and allows it
to run back through the pipe y*, to the tank g', which supplies the pump, then
the lever and bolts are withdrawn and the mould lowered by the rack and pinion,
and the hat or bonnet may be removed ready for the external pressure. The
operation of the machine for the external pressure will be readily understood.
The mould heating chamber and table being removed from the horizontal
bar by means of the crane a', fixed to the standard, such crane being provided
with a flat bar or surface and a star-shaped support with a pivot on the centre,
such pivot entering the socket underneath the table in place of the pivot on
the horizontal bar l, the crane is then turned out of the way to the side of the
machine, and another table with a conical heating chamber thereon with a
block as before described, being substituted, the hat or bonnet is placed on the
block, and a hood placed on the hat or bonnet; the table is then turned in-
wards to the machine, and the same operation of raising as before described
takes place. The water reservoir must previously be prepared by pressing up
the diaphragm and releasing some of the water, then the tap is to be closed,
and the diaphragm will remain somewhat inverted in the vessel so as to receive
the raised block. When the block is raised and fixed the hydraulic pump is
to be operated, and a similar result is obtained as in the former operation of
internal
pressure. Thus in one and the same machine we accomplish the two
processes of external and internal pressure. At the top of the hydraulic
vessel is a guage whereby the pressure is always indicated to the workman.
The table may be raised to several different elevations and retained accordingly
by means of a series of recesses a, being cut in the standards at different
heights, so that various sized goods may be pressed by one machine. The
hydraulic pump is to be made with two plungers, one large, and the other small,
so that when excessive pressure is required the large plunger may be rendered
inoperative by closing its induction pipe from the tank, leaving only the
smaller ram to be worked, whereby a pressure of 300 lbs. to the inch
effected. We also apply blocks of the herein described materials for pressing
may be
goods by hand.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in

page_text: which the same is to be performed, we would remark in conclusion that we do not
limit ourselves to the precise detail and configuration of parts we have described
and shewn, as the same may obviously be varied or modified without departing
from the principles thereof; but what we claim and desire to be secured to us
by the herein in part recited Letters Patent are, the construction and application
of moulds and blocks (for pressing hats and bonnets) of Keene's cement, fire-
clay, Stourbridge clay, potters' earthen clay, or stone china clay, glazed or not,
or mixed or not with ground flint, or of glass, arranged as described with
shells and frames of iron in or on the heating chambers, and the application of
such moulds or blocks in a heated state as described.
The application of such moulds and blocks in a heated state as described.
The application of the hot hydraulic pressure and the india-rubber diaphragm
as described applicable to pressing in moulds or on blocks in one and the same
machine as described.
And the general construction and combination of parts constituting the
machine for pressing and blocking hats and bonnets, either internally, externally,
or both, substantially as herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Phippen Welch, hath hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
ALEXR. PRINCE,
Patent Agent,
4, Trafalgar Square.
ALFRED P. WELSH. (L.S.)