IMPROVEMENTS IN SHAPING, DRESSING, AND FINISHING HATS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ernest de Pass, of Fleet Chambers, 68, Fleet Street, in
the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHAPING, DRESSING, AND FINISHING HATS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE
PURPOSE." A communication from abroad by Simon Piron, of 17, Boulevart
Saint Martin. Paris, France.
Sealed the 31st May 1878, and dated the 3rd April 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ernest de Pass at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd April 1878.
ERNEST DE PASS, of Fleet Chambers, 68, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SHAPING, DRESSING, AND FINISHING HATS,
AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE." A communication from abroad by Simon
Pirou, of 17, Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris, France.
This Invention has for object the mechanically effecting of the operations known
in hat manufacturing as shaping, dressing, and finishing, such operations till now
not being able to be economically and advantageously executed except by hand and
by clever workmen, who in consequence command high prices.
The basis of this system consists in the successive use of four machines co-operating
for the said purpose, and which are herein-after described, one after the other, the
working of each being duly indicated.
The essential character of the first machine, called the "blocking machine," is to
combine the effects of two distinct pressures exercised separately, the one on the
brim of the hat, the other on the crown of the same. By these means hats of
different heights can be made with a single block or form.
A "blocking machine" constructed according to the Invention is as follows:-The
machine rests, as do all the others, on a table on which is a wooden drum sur-
rounded with iron hoops, and which can be raised upon a hinge. This drum
terminates upwardly in a rim or flange, on which are placed (in a recess or depres-
sion contrived for this purpose) perforated oval iron rings of square or rectangular
[Price fidl

page_text: section, the last of which when put in place at the height of the brim should cor-
respond to the outward shape of the hat to be blocked.
On the edge of the drum thus prepared is placed the brim of the hat, which, for
instance, is supposed to be a felt hat, and a flat iron plate having a hole in its centre
and turning on a hinge is lowered on the brim of the hat and presses it firmly
against the rim of the drum by means of suitably-arranged screws and nuts. A
wooden block is then introduced into the Imt, and penetrates therein to the desired
depth, and may extend above the level of the brim of the hat without inconvenience.
The edge by which the crown and brim of the hat are joined should be connected
very cleanly, this being a very essential condition to a good blocking or good
shaping (dressage).
After having brought the several parts constituting the pressing mechanisın in
position on the block, a screw is turned by means of a hand wheel, and during this
time a current of steam enters the drum by a passage contrived in the thickness of
the table, and comes directly in contact with the crown of the hat and goes through
to the brim by means of the holes in the oval rings, herein-before mentioned.
In reproducing in contrary order the operations just described, the blocking
machine is ready to receive another hat.
The first operation, that is to say, "blocking," being thus effected the hat with the
block in it is then mounted on the rotating shaft of a machine for ironing the
crown, the end of such rotating shaft being surewed into a piece placed in the centre
of the block, and the shaft being set in motion by pulley and strap.
The hot iron is held on its end in a moveable piece of wood, and is capable of
sliding in a groove contrived in such piece. The workman holds the handle of the
iron with the right hand, and with the left hand the end of the moveable piece. In 1
moving about the moveable picce of wood and the iron on the fixed table it will be
possible and easy to attain the different points of the surface of the crown of the hat
which is to be smoothed or ironed, and to exercise without fatigue on these points
very great elastic pressure, which can only be conveniently given by hand.
The second operation, that is to say, the smoothing or ironing of the crown, being
thus effected, the hat is submitted to the action of a brim press, which is constructed
as follows:-The brim of the hat is compressed between the surfaces of two plaster
blocks ("plots") hooped with iron, the upper one of which is provided with rollers
and guides for assuring the rectilineal movement communicated to it by the pressing
screw, and the lower one is held by a hollow wooden seat and its upper surface
covered with a number of cloths prepared with gumlac.
The plaster composition of which the blocks are composed has the advantage of
preventing the interior dressing or stiffening from appearing on the surface of the
brim of the hat.
From the brim press the hat passes to the shaping press, which according to this
Invention is as follows:-On the edge of a wooden matrix held on an iron cylinder
is laid the brim of the hat, and the matrix and the hat contained in it are placed on
the centre of a bell-mouthed cone fixed to the table, after having presented the brin
of the hat for some moments to a fire. A plate joined to the pressing screw holds
a peculiarly shaped india-rubber bag or pocket, which is filled with water, and a
cylindro-conical envelope surrounds the said pocket. On pressure being applied by
the screw, the bag or pocket and its envelope will descend, and as the pocket
comes in contact with the hat on the matrix the water will force the pocket
to press against the brim of the hat and will cause it to take the form or
shape of the edge of the matrix, and thereby the connection between the brim
and crown will be well and neatly formed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Ernest de Pass in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
September 1878.
"
ERNEST DE PASS, of Fleet Chambers, 68, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agent.
'IMPROVEMENTS IN SHAPING, DRESSING, AND FINISHING HATS,
AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE." A communication from abroad by Simon
Piron, of 17, Boulevart Saint Martin, Paris, France.
The object of this Invention is to effect the shaping, dressing, and finishing of
hats by mechanical means, these operations, till now, not being able to be economi-
cally and advantageously performed, except by the manual labour of skilled and
highly paid workmen.
This Invention is based on the successive employment of four machines, which I
will describe separately, and explain their working.
The essential feature of the first machine, which is a blocking or shaping
machine, is to combine the effects of two distinct pressures exerted separately, one
upon the brim, the other upon the body or crown (herein-after to avoid repetition
called "crown" only) of the hat. By these means I am enabled to make hats of
different heights with one and the same block or form.
One particular arrangement of the blocking or shaping machine constructed to
carry out the objects of this Invention is represented, by way of example, in the
annexed Drawings, Figure 1 being a front view, Figure 2 a side view, and
Figure 3 a central vertical section on the line a, 3, of Fig. 1.
This machine, like those herein-after described, is supported by a table A, which
is held at a convenient height by feet, not shown in the Drawings. Upon the
table A is placed a wooden drum B bound with iron bands or hoops, and capable
of being raised by turning on the hinge b. This drum has at its upper end an
inner flange or ledge b', on which oval iron rings, of square or rectangular section,
are placed in a recess formed for the purpose, and the last of these rings, when in
position, should correspond with the outer contour of the hat to be blocked or
shaped at the height of the brim. These oval rings have small holes in them, as
represented in the section Figure 3, for the purpose herein-after described. Upon
the flange of the drum thus prepared is placed the brim of the hat, which in the
present instance is supposed to be a felt hat, and is indicated by dot and dash lines.
C is an iron plate, open in the centre, and capable of turning on a hinge b²; this
plate is forced down upon the brim of the hat by means of suitably arranged screws
and nuts, and presses it against the flange of the drum. This having been done a
wooden block or form D is inserted into the hat and placed at the desired depth
therein; it can without inconvenience pass beyond the level of the brim of the hat,
as this brim is already held in the manner above described. This, as I have before
mentioned, also allows of the same block or form being used for hats of different
heights, and consequently effecting a great economy in the plant of the factory.
I should also remark that in working thus the "banding point," or connection
between the crown and the brim of the hat, should be very cleanly done, which is
one of the essential conditions of a good blocking or good shaping or dressing
(dressage).
When the different parts which comprise the mechanism for pressing upon the
block or form, and the arrangement of which, being well known need not be here
described, have been brought into the positions shewn in the Drawings, the screw E
is turned the desired amount by means of the hand wheel e; during this time a
jet of steam enters the drum by the pipe a fitted in the thickness of the table, and
comes directly in contact with the crown of the hat, and penetrates to the brin
through the holes in the oval rings, before mentioned.
By reversing the order of the movements above described the machine is made
ready to receive a fresh hat.

page_text: The first operation of the finishing of the hat, that is to say, the blocking or
shaping, having thus been effected, the hat containing the block or form is mounted
on the rotating spindle of a machine for ironing the crown, constructed for carrying
out the objects of the Invention. One particular arrangement of machine for this
purpose is shewn, by way of example, in Figures 4 and 5, Figure 4 being a side
view, and Figure 5 a front view, partly in section, taken on the line x, y, of Fig. 4.
The end of the rotating spindle F is screwed into a corresponding piece placed in
the centre of the block or form, and motion is imparted to this spindle by a pulley
and strap.
The hot iron is supported upon a moveable wooden piece G, as shewn in
Figure 5; it can thus slide in a channel contrived in the piece G. The workman
holds the handle of the iron in his right hand, and in his left the end g of the
moveable piece G. It will thus be easily understood that by moving the piece G,
and the iron which it supports upon the fixed table, it will be easy to reach the
different points or parts of the crown of the hat which is being ironed, and to exert,
without fatigue, so to say, on these different points or parts that strong elastic
pressure which, as is well known by persons conversant with the operations in
question, can only be suitably given by hand.
The second operation in the finishing of the hat, viz., the ironing of the crown,
having been effected, the hat is next submitted to the action of a brim press, con-
structed for carrying out the objects of this Invention. One particular arrangement
of press for this purpose is shewn, by way of example, in Figure 6. The brim of
the hat, as seen in this Figure, is pressed between two plaster blocks H, I. These
blocks are bound with sheet iron, and the upper face of the lower one is covered
with a certain number of pieces of canvas, prepared with gum-lac, and is carried by
a wooden support J open in the centre. Rollers and guides ensure the straight
movement of the upper block (a movement which is communicated to it by the
screw) without the possibility of lateral displacement.
The making of the blocks from plaster has the advantage of not producing a
certain injurious effect well known to hat manufacturers, owing to which the
internal sizing appears upon the surface of the brim of the hat.
From the brim press the hat is passed to a shaping press, which is likewise con-
structed for carrying out the objects of this Invention. One particular arrangement
of press for this purpose is shewn, by way of example, in Figures 7 and 8, Figure 7
being a front view, and Figure 8 a front view partly in section; the former Figure
shows the different parts in the positions they occupy before pressure is given, and
the latter shows the same parts in the positions they occupy after pressure has been
given. K is a wooden matrix supported by a sheet-iron cylinder; upon the edge
of this matrix the brim of the hat rests, as seen in Figure 7. The matrix and the
hat which it contains are placed (after holding the brim to the fire for a few
seconds) in the centre of a bell-mouthed cone L fixed on the table. The plate or
head M connected to the press screw supports, first, an india-rubber bag N filled
with water, and having in plan view the appearance of a woman's breast, and
secondly, a cylindro-conical piece O, which surrounds the said bag. The bell-
mouthed cone L and conical portion of the piece O have the same angle or taper so
as to fit exactly one into the other. It will thus be readily understood that the
upper plate or head MI, the india-rubber bag, and its cylindro-conical casing being
made to descend by means of the screw, the said india-rubber bag will change
(under the action of the pressure exerted, which is free or unrestrained) from the
form seen in Figure 7 to that shown in section in Figure 8, so that on the one hand
the brim of the hat will take exactly the form of the matrix, and on the other hand
the "banding point" or connection between the brim and the body of the hat will
be itself cleanly done, owing to the projecting part n, n, formed by the india-rubber
bag. The last operation in the finishing of the hat is thus effected.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which
the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,―
First. The mode or method of finishing hats mechanically, substantially as herein-

page_text: before described, that is to say, by the successive employment of machines arranged
and acting substantially in the manner of those shewn, by way of example, in the
annexed Drawings.
Second. The construction and employment of machines for blocking or shaping
hats, by means of which distinct pressures are simultaneously exerted upon the
brim and upon the crown or body of the hat, the said brim and crown or body
being submitted at the same time to the action of a jet of steam, substantially as
herein-before described and shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the annexed Drawings.
Third. The construction and employment of machines for ironing hats, in which
the support for the iron is so arranged as to allow the hand, without fatigue, to
effect the requisite strong elastic pressure, substantially as herein-before described
and shewn in Figures 4 and 5 of the annexed Drawings.
Fourth. The construction and employment of brim presses or machines for
pressing hat brims, in which the blocks are made of plaster, as and for the purpose
herein-before described with reference to Figure 6 of the annexed Drawings.
Fifth. The construction and employment of machines or presses for giving the
final shape to hats, in which the pressure is free or unrestrained, that is to say,
exerted in an open casing upon the brim of the hat and the corresponding inatrix
by an india-rubber bag filled with water, substantially as herein-before described
and represented in Figures 7 and 8 of the annexed Drawings.
Sixth. The particular arrangements of the several machines or apparatus, as
herein-before described and represented in the Drawings, for the purposes explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ernest de Pass, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twelfth day of September, in the year One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-eight.
WDNEST DE DANS
ERNEST DE PASS.
(LC)