IMPROVE- •MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF. HATS.
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of the firm of
Robertson, Broomall, and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the
City of London, Patent Agents, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
•MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF. HATS. A. communication.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 13th May 1853.
I; RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of the firm of Robertson,
Brooman, and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in that part of the forming
hat bodies technically called "sizeing or planking." the operation being
the shrinking or reducing the hat body, as at first made, to the proper
size and form for making the finished hat. The improvement consists
of a trough capable of holding water maintained at a high temperature,
in which is a broad elastic endless band, stretched upon rollers, which
may be rotated from the outside. This band supports the hat body while
being acted upon by a semicircular rocker, which effects the shrinking

page_text: or working into shape. The motion of the rocker also imparts a slow
onward motion to the belt, by which means every part of the hat body
is successively subjected to its action in the same manner as when the
operation is performed by hand. At A, is a view of the trough contain-
ing hot water, acidulated if need be. B, are two ratchet wheels upon
the ends of the shafts holding the rollers. At C, is seen the hardlener
and shrinker. This is semicircular in shape upon its face, which is
broad enough to cover the endless band, and is suspended over the
trough upon a shaft, so that its face will press upon said band, as seen
in Figure 2. An arm D, projects out to form a handle to vibrate the
hardener. From the hardener a pair of adjustable pawls are also fixed
upon arms E, which extend to and play upon the ratchet wheels B.
As the effect of the vibrations of the hardener is to cause the ratchet
wheels to rock back and forth in one place, this would not be the
correct action; the pawls must so work that at each vibration the
belt carrying the hat body shall progress a little onward in order that
the hardener may act over the whole surface, commencing at one end
and finishing when the body has travelled through. To accomplish
this, one of the arms E, must be longer, or the centre pin holding the
pawls may play in a slot, so that it can be moved out or in, and hell in
its proper place by h set screw; the longer arm then will throw the
pawl over more teeth than on the opposite side, and thus at cach
vibration of the hardener an additional tooth or teeth, as the case
may require, will be taken up, and the band urged along accordingly.
At F, are feed boards, to hold and take off the hat body upon feeding in
at one side and drawing them off at the other as they are lifted
out finished. The operation is as follows:-A hat body to be sized
is placed upon the endless band G, in a proper manner. The
hardener is then set in motion (the trough A, being filled to its
proper height with hot water). As the band works along by slow
stages, vibrating backward and forward also at the same time, the
body is brought under the influence of the pressure and action of the
hardener C; this effects the shrinking and hardening gradually, in the
same manner as done by hand, the hat body being moved and worked
in the liquid, and the felting completed in the proper way. In
this manner a series of bodies are kept continually passing through.. If

page_text: a number of machines are to be used in one building the hardeners
may be driven by power, in which case one attendant will be sufficient
for several. Instead of immersing the hat bodies in a trough of hot
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 12th November 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of the firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Efer reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her
special licence that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my exccutors, 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 THE MANUFACTURE
OF HATS," communicated to me by a foreigner residing abroad, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Richard Archibald
Brooman, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 1, the said Richard Archibald Brooman,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-

page_text: ,tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
This Invention relates to improvements in that part of the process of
forming hat bodies technically called "sizeing or planking," the opera-
tion being the shrinking or reducing of the hat body, as at first made, to
the proper size and form for making the finished hat. The improve-
*ments consist of certain apparatus to be used for this purpose. The
apparatus is composed of a trough capable of holding water main-
tained at a high temperature, in which is a broad elastic endless band,
stretched upon rollers, which may be set in rotation from the outside;
this band supports the hat body while being acted upon by a semicir-
cular rocker, which effects the shrinking or working into shape. The
motion of the rocker also imparts a slow onward movement to the belt,
by which means every part of the hat body is successively subjected to
its action in the same manner as when the operation is performed by
hand.
.
Figure 1, of the Drawings annexed represents the improved appa-
-ratus. A, is the trough for hot water, which may be acidulated if need
be. B, B, are two ratchet wheels upon the ends of the shafts holding
the rollers B³, B', which carry the endless supporting band B². C, is
the hardener and shrinker, which is semicircular in shape upon its
face, and is broad enough to cover the endless band. It is suspended.
over the trough upon a shaft C', so that its face will press upon the
band B², as seen in the detached view, Fig. 2. D, is a projecting arm,
which forms a handle to vibrate the hardener. The hardener also
carries a pair of adjustable pawls E, E, which are fixed upon arms
E, E, and extend to and play upon the ratchet wheels B, B. As the
effect of the vibrations of the hardener is only to cause the ratchet
wheels to rock backwards and forwards in one place, this would not
be the correct action; the pawls must therefore so work that at each
vibration the belt carrying the hat body shall progress a little onward
in order that the hardener may act over the whole surface, com-
mencing at one end and finishing when the body has travelled through.
To accomplish this, one of the arms E, must be longer than the other,
or the centre pin holding the pawls may play in a slot, so that it can be
moved out or in, being held in its proper place by a set screw; the

page_text: longer arm will then throw the pawl over more teeth than the pawl on
the opposite side, and thus at each vibration of the hardener an addi-
tional tooth or teeth, as the case may require, will be taken up, and the
band urged along accordingly. F, F, are feed boards to hold the hat
bodies before they are introduced, and receive them when taken off the
endless band, feeding in at one side and drawing them off at the other
as they are lifted out finished.
The mode of operating with the apparatus is as follows:-A hat
body to be sized is placed upon the endless band B², in a proper
manner, and the hardener is then set in motion, the trough A, being
filled to a proper height with hot water. As the band works along by
slow stages, vibrating backwards and forwards; also, at the same time
the body is brought under the influence of the pressure and action of
the hardener C, which effects the shrinking and hardening gradually, in
the same manner as is done by hand, the hat body being moved and
worked in the liquid, and the felting completed in the proper way. In
this manner a series of bodies may be kept continually passing through
the apparatus. If a number of machines are to be used in one
building, the hardeners may be driven by power, in which case one
attendant will be sufficient for several machines. Instead of immersing
the hat bodies in a trough of hot liquid, the work may be sprinkled
from time to time.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim
is,-
The hardener, in combination with an endless flexible apron carrying
the hat bodies, having a vibrating and onward motion, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of November,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.S.)