AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR: PRESSING STRAW HATS AND BONNETS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Monroe Morse, of the State of Massachusetts, of the
United States of America, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR: PRESSING STRAW HATS AND BONNETS."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Monroe Morse at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration,
on the 15th March 1866, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
· Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, BE IT
KNOWN, that I, MONROE MORSE, of the State of Massachusetts, of the United.
States of Americal bave invented "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR PRESSING STRAW
HATS AND BONNETS," and I do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, to be fully described in
the following Specification and represented in the accompanying Drawings, of
which Figure 1 is' a top view, Figure 2 a front elevation, Figure 3 a rear.
elevation; and Figure 4 a longitudinal section of it.
In the said Drawings A represents the mould, which constitutes one end of
a hollow drum B for holding steam for heating the mould. The said drum
and mould are supported by three legs, a, a, b, to' two (a, à,) .of which a
vibratory head C is applied by means of two arms c, c; extended from it, and
being at their lower ends hinged to the two legs a,a. This vibratory head is.
to hold a solid elastic presser D composed of vulcanized india-rubber or other
suitable material or materials, it being formed so as nearly to fit to the concavity..

page_text: of the mould. At its rear it bears against a series of movable sectional plates
d, d, d, applied radially to the head C and a disc E arranged concentrically
within a circular aperture ƒ made within the head C, the mode of application
of the said plates being such as to enable them to yield or move inward at
their inner ends when the disc E is pressed inward. The disc E is fixed to a
screw g duly supported in a cross bar h fixed to the head C. A bar G is also
arranged on the screw g and so as to be capable of being revolved thereon, the
screw going through the middle of the bar. There are two nuts i, i, on the screw,
they being disposed with reference to the bar G as represented; they serve to
keep the bar on the screw and to adjust its distance from the disc E. The
bar G is to operate with two slide bars I, I, which are disposed on opposite
sides of the mould drum B and applied thereto by clasps k, k. Pins l, m, are
inserted and arranged in each of these bars, as shown in the Drawings.
Furthermore, there is connected with, the mould drum and a barn; which
joins the two slide bars.at two of their extremities, two pairs of toggle joints
O, P, each of which, by means of one of two. toggles: 9; 9, is connected with a
third toggle r, which, constitutes the shorter arm of a bent lever or treadle, S
the whole being arranged as represented. By forcing down the longer arm
of the said lever both sets of toggles will be shortened or moved so as to draw
back the two slide bars I, I, in a manner to carry their pins against the
bar G, and consequently crowd the series of sectional plates against the elastic
presser, whereby it will be forced into the mould and expanded so as to fit
thereto, or to press a hat close into the mould or against its inner surface
when such hat may be therein. These pins are not placed in each bar so that
one shall be directly over the other, but they are so arranged that the bar G,
when resting against, either the upper or lower side of one of the slide bars-
shall bear against one of the pins of each slide bar. As one pin of the pair of
cach slide bar is nearer to the bar G than the other the turning of the bar.
over its screw or reversing it will adjust. the mechanism for obtaining either.
a greater or a less degree of pressure from the toggles, that is, when the bar
rests against the inner pins the pressure of the toggles. will be greater than
when it rests against the outer pins. On the longer arm of the lever Shaving
been relieved from the force applied to depress it it, will be raised by a spring
S, the, same serving to throw. back the toggles to their normal positions. A
weight T, suspended from a rope t attached to the head C and going about a
pulley u serves to counterbalance. the said head. A bolting apparatus con-
sisting of two catches v, v, projecting from the mould, and also of two bolts.
w, w, arranged in.guides a, a, and jointed to two levers y, y, which are hinged
together, and arranged as represented in the Drawings, serves to lock the

page_text: head C to the mould while the toggles may be out of action, and such may bo
desirable for properly effecting the pressing of a bat.
With my Invention I am enabled to dispense with the hollow presser to be
inflated by steam or air; a solid elastic presser has been found to operate
much better. The advantage of having the head C to vibrate on centers is
that while moving away from the mould it tips more or less so as to bring the
presser into a more convenient position for reception of the hat than would be
the case were the axis of the presser to be kept in a straight line with that of
the mould during the retreat of the presser.
Having thus described my Invention or hat-pressing machine, what I claim
therein is as follows,-
I do not claim a hollow presser to be used with a hat mould and be
expanded by a liquid, or by air, gas, or steam when forced into it.
I claim the combination of a solid elastic presser with the mould, its head
and mechanism for expanding such presser by pressure against it, substantially
as specified,
I also claim the application of the head C to the mould, so that such head,
while being withdrawn from the mould, shall be brought into an inclined
position in order to facilitate the application of a hat to the presser.
I also claim the combination of the bar G, the slides I, I, and their pins
with the toggles or progressive levers O, P, q, q, r, and the foot lever S.
I also claim the combination and arrangement of bolts, catches, and levers
applied to the mould and the vibratory head, as described.
I also claim the combination of the adjusting screw 9 and its nuts i, i, with
the bar G, the vibratory head C, the diso E, and presser D.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 23rd day