IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS."
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Payant, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, for the Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
HATS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Payant at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th September 1878.
CHARLES PAYANT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer. "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS."
The object of my Invention is to render hats buoyant in water, so that in case of
accidents they will answer the purpose of life preservers.
In performing my Invention, I make the body of the hat of felt or other mate-
rial in the ordinary manner, and in the side I apply a ventilating valve opening
inwards. The lining of the hat is made of india-rubber or other waterproof fabric,
and when the lining is drawn out the air rushes in through the ventilating valve
above referred to to inflate the hat and lining, or it may be inflated by the mouth
of the wearer. When the lining is inflated, the hat is converted into a life pre-
server, and is sufficiently buoyant to keep the head of the person holding it from
sinking in the water.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Payant in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th March
1879.
CHARLES PAYANT, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer.
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS."
" IM-
The object of my Invention is to render hats buoyant in water, so that in case of
accidents they will answer the purpose of life preservers.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Fig. 1 represents a section of a hat to which my improvements are applied, the
lining being inside the hat as it is when worn, and Fig. 2 shews the hat with the
lining drawn out to serve as a life preserver.
a is the body of the hat; b is the waterproof lining; and c, the valve seating
fixed to the lining by a nut and washers, as shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 3;
the valve c¹ is screwed up against the seating by the milled head c when required.
When the lining is drawn out by taking hold of the milled head, the air rushes
through the centre of the milled head c³, through the side passages under the
valve c', and through the hole in the valve seating c, into the space between the
lining and the body of the hat, which space is thus filled with air; but in order to
increase the buoyancy of the hat, the wearer, by blowing through the valve, can
inflate the lining to any extent required, and when the inflation is complete the air
is retained by screwing the milled head c² until the valve c' is brought against the
valve seating c.
The screw in one side of the valve seating c is to prevent tho
valve c' being unscrewed too far. The bat is thus converted into a life buoy
capable of sustaining a person in the water for any length of time.
Or my Invention may be modified by fixing the valve in the body of the hat.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described a convenient
manner of performing the same, I declare that I claim, making a hat buoyant by
means of a waterproof lining which is filled with air, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Payant, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Eighth day of March, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
nine.