Improvements in Apparatus for Rubbing and Smoothing Felt and Felt Hat Bodies.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 14th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 20th Jan., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Rubbing and Smoothing Felt and
Felt Hat Bodies.
I GILES ATHERTON of Virginia Mill, Stockport, in the County of Chester,
Hat Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (communicated
to me by George Yule of Newark, New Jersey, in the United States of
America,) to be as follows:-
My invention relates to machinery principally adapted to be used in the treat-
ment of hat bodies or of forms or felt fabrics used in the manufacture of hats.
Certain machines used in the smoothing of felt hat bodies are known to some
extent in the trade as "rubbing off" machines. In such machines I employ two
rubbers vibrating on a vertical axis and actuated by means of excentrics or cranks
on a shaft arranged with its axis parallel with the axis of the rubbers or there-
abouts. The excentrics are connected by means of links with the rubber levers
and are arranged so that the two rubbers move in opposite directions.
Each rubber is provided with a bed of vulcanised caoutchouc over which the
usual sand paper is stretched.
Provision is made to receive more than one layer of sand paper so that by
removing an used piece a fresh piece is exposed. The hat body is held and
rotated by means of conical rollers so as to draw forward the hat brim and cause
all parts of it to be successively acted upon. One of these rollers is carried by a
hinged arm and is acted upon by a spring or load to impart a yielding pressure
of the rollers upon the hat brim. The axes of the said rollers make an angle
with a centre line drawn through the line of motion of the rubbers in order that
the rollers may impart a rotating motion to the hat and such angle is variable to
suit different sizes of hats. The rollers receive motion from a worm on a vertical
shaft and are mounted in a frame which carries a worm wheel which gears with
the said worm and is connected by gearing with the rollers. The said frame is
adjustable partly around the axis of the worm shaft so that the gearing together
of the worm and wheel is not affected by such adjustment. The frame may be
adjusted by hand and secured by means of a bolt or screw or be adjustable by
turning a worm shaft or a screw engaging with a swivel nut or be otherwise
suitably adapted to be adjusted partly around the axis of the vertical worm
shaft.
Dated this 12th dan of Moh 1902
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street; Manchester, Agents.
COMPLETE
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Rubbing and Smoothing Felt and
Felt Hat Bodies.
I GILES ATHERTON of Virginia Mill, Stockport, in the County of Chester,
Hat Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (communicated
to me from abroad by George Yule of Newark, New Jersey, in the United
States of America,) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement and
accompanying drawings
My invention relates to machinery principally adapted to be used in the

page_text: treatment of hat bodies or of forms or felt fabrics used in the manufacture of
hats.
Certain machines used in the smoothing of felt hat bodies are known to some
extent in the trade as "rubbing off" machines. In such machines I employ two
rubbers vibrating on a vertical axis and actuated by means of excentrics or cranks
on a shaft arranged with its axis parallel with the axis of the rubbers or there-
abouts. The excentrics are connected by means of links with the rubber levers and
are arranged so that the two rubbers move in opposite directions. Each rubber is
provided with a bed of vulcanised caoutchouc over which the usual sand paper is
stretched. Provision is made to receive more than one layer of sand paper so
that by removing an used piece a fresh piece is exposed.
The hat body is held and rotated by means of conical rollers so as to draw
forward the hat brim and cause all parts of it to be successively acted upon.
I will describe the improved apparatus more fully with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 of the said drawings is a front view of the machine.
Fig. 2 is a back view and Fig. 3 is a plan.
The framing of the machine consists principally of a standard which is provided
with bearings for two vertical spindles a and b the former carrying the rubber
arms or levers e c³ and the latter being turned with two excentrics.
T'he
The
The upper arm c is fixed to the spindle a the arm e¹ being loosely mounted upon
the spindle. The lower end of the spindle is connected by a link a¹ with a treadle
lever whereby the spindle can be slid upward in its bearings when required the
spindle when so raised sliding in the boss of the arm e but carrying upward
the other arm c. The outer end of each arm is provided with a rubber e.
construction of these rubbers is illustrated by Figs. 4 and 5 the former being a
cross section and the latter a side view of the rubber upon the upper arm c.
foundation of each rubber consists of a metal plate e which is cast upon or applied
to the end of the rubber arm. This plate is faced with a cushion el of vulcanised
rubber and over this cushion are stretched a number of layers of sand paper e².
This paper is securely held by means of two clamping levers or bars ff which
are tightened down upon the edges of the paper by means of screws and nuts f¹ƒ³.
These parts are left out in Fig. 1 for the reason that they can be shown more
clearly in the detached figs.
The two rubbers have a short vibrating movement one rubber by preference
always moving in a direction contrary to that of the other rubber. Each of the
arms is formed with a shorter arm and such shorter arm is jointed to the
end of a link which is mounted upon one or the other of the two excentric parts
of the spindle h. The said parts have only a small excentricity so that the
vibratory movements of the rubbers are short and quick. The spindle is driven
at a suitably high speed from a back shaft h seen in Figs. 2 and 3.
A belt upon
the pulley upon this shaft passes through holes in the framing and drives a
pulley a upon the spindle.
The hat brim to be operated upon is introduced between the two rubbers the
upper rubber being raised to admit the brim by acting upon the treadle. As the
hat brim is rubbed and smoothed the hat is rotated by the apparatus illustrated
in Figs. 2 and 3. Two conical rollers ii are employed to draw forward the hat
brim. The upper roller i is fixed or formed upon a shaft which is mounted to
revolve in a bearing ; which is hinged to a part / which is fitted to turn partly
around the axis of an upright shaft l.
The upper roller is thus free to move toward and from the lower roller to some
extent and is pressed toward the said lower roller by means of a spring.
A worm
The two rollers are connected together by means of spur gearing m.
wheel indicated by dotted lines at a in Fig. 3 is fixed upon the bottom roller
spindle and gears with a worm o which is fixed upon the upper end of the shaft l.
A band pulley p upon the bottom end of the last named shaft is connected by a
band with a pulley p' upon the spindle b so that the shaft is caused to revolve

page_text: and to drive the two conical rollers through the worm and wheel and the
connecting gearing. When the hat brim is introduced between the two rubbers
it is also passed between the two conical rollers which revolve in directions to
draw the brim away from the rubbers whereby the hat is caused to revolve. The
part & carrying the conical rollers is adjustable upon the axis of the shaft in order
to suit different sizes of hats the conical rollers being adjusted nearer to the
rubbers for a small hat than for a larger hat. When adjusted the parts can be
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is.
fixed by means of a screw r.
1. The combination of parts constructed and adapted to act substantially as and
for the purpose set forth and indicated.
2. The excentric shaft or spindle 6 imparting vibratory motion to the arms c c¹
carrying the rubbers substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
3. The rubbers each having an elastic cushion e¹ and having provision for the
attachment of sand paper in layers and means for securing the same substantially
as set forth and indicated.
4. In a machine of the indicated nature the rubber e carrying two, three or
more pieces of sand paper in layers as and for the purpose set forth.
5. The conical rollers adjustable with relation to the rubbers and applied and
actuated so as to draw the hat brim in a direction away from the rubbers substan-
tially as set forth and indicated.
Dated this 13th day of December 1893.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.