Improvements in Hat Body Tip Stretching Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hat Body Tip Stretching Machines.
I GILES ATHERTON of the Virginia Mills, Higher Hillgate, Stockport, in the
County of Chester, Hat Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention 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:-
--
The invention relates to the tip stretching machines used in the manufacture
of felt hats. In such machines the hat body is carried by a cage which is
caused to vibrate whereby the body is brought into contact with radiating fingers
which stretch the tip of the body or the part which is to constitute the crown of
the hat.
Heretofore the cage or skeleton frame carrying the hat body has been vibrated
continuously during the hat stretching operation, the vibrating motion being
arrested only when the operation of the machine upon the hat body has been
discontinued.
In the present invention an automatic clutch mechanism is connected with the
means for raising and lowering the cage spindle, and operates to engage the
vibrating mechanism for the spindle when the cage is raised and to disengage such
vibrating mechanism when the cage is lowered.
I will describe the invention more fully with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
In the said drawings,
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation
of the same with one of the legs broken away to expose the driving gear;
Fig. 3 is a plan of the bed frame and legs with a portion of its top plate broken
away and the driving gear shewn in section.
The remaining figs. are illustrative of details of the clutch mechanism.
In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 A is a foundation plate provided with feet B and sustaining
an upright column C having bearings D in which the spindle e carrying the
cage f is fitted to slide up and down vertically. A circular table E is fixed around
the upper bearing of the spindle and serves to hold the hats to be treated and to
prevent the water used in the moistening of the hat from flowing downward upon
the gearing below.
A groove E is formed upon the margin of the table and is connected by
outlets E³ with holes leading to the interior of the column C-which is formed as
a hollow casting-and from the bottom of this column the water is led away by
any suitable means.
Stretching fingers 9 which may be made of any suitable construction are shown
mounted upon the frame over the cage and are provided with a well known
adjusting cone h actuated by a hand wheel i. The fingers may be adjusted to
and from the cage f by any suitable means, as in similar machines, and the cage is
thus adapted to press the hat against the fingers with a greater or less degree of
force.
The cage spindle is vibrated by a connecting rod ; which is also used to raise
and lower the spindle.
The rod is attached by its lower end to a crank pin o and at its upper end is
pivoted to a coupling piece k which is secured upon the spindle e.
The part is provided with a guide which is fitted to slide in a slot / in the
column whereby the spindle and cage are prevented from revolving. The crank
pin o is formed on a cog wheel p which is pivoted to turn in a bearing q' upon the

page_text: end of an arm 9 which is mounted upon the driving shaft r. The arm q is attached
rigidly to a sleeve s which is mounted in a bearing bracket S upon the frame A and
the said arm is connected by a link with a treadle lever R.
The treadle lever is mounted upon a fulcrum R₁ and is provided with a foot
plate t. The depression of this foot plate operates to turn the arm q upward thus
raising the cog wheel P and elevating the attached rod j and cage spindle e toward
the fingers g.
A guard m' encloses and shields the gearing and being attached to the arm g
moves therewith.
The sleeves is mounted to turn in the bracket S as aforesaid and the driving
shaft is fitted to revolve in the said sleeve and in a bearing b and is provided with
a belt pulley P. This pulley can be connected with the shaft by means of the
clutch mechanism which is additionally illustrated by Figs. 4 to 8. The belt
pulley is loosely mounted upon the shaft and between the pulley and the
bearing S is a clutch hub at which is fast to the shaft. The pulley P can
be connected with the said clutch hub by means of a spring bolt a which slides
in the clutch hub and a spring a² tends to press this bolt into a hole in the pulley
hub pl.
A curved wedge u is formed upon the under side of a stop finger w which is
hinged to the bearing S by a pin v and this wedge is formed to engage with a
projection a' upon the bolt a when the stop finger is in the position indicated in
Figs. 6 and 7. The end of the sleeve s next to the hub at is formed with a
collar shaving a wiper s2 adapted to lift the stop finger when the sleeve is
turned by the raising of the arm q-as shown in Fig. 8-and thereby to relieve
the bolt. A seat v may be formed upon the stop finger to engage with the tooth as
shown in Fig. 8.
When the treadle is not pressed down the weight of the parts keeps the arm q
in its lower position-indicated in Fig. 7-the treadle being in its higher position-
indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2. At the same time the stop finger is resting
upon the clutch hub as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In Fig. 6 the stop finger is
supposed to have just been lowered on to the clutch hub and the projection on the
bolt to be just coming into contact with the wedge at its narrow end. As the bolt
would be carried further around the projection would slide along the inclined cam
surface of the wedge towards its wider end the result being that the bolt would be
withdrawn from its engagement with the hub of the belt pulley and the latter
would then run free upon the shaft.
When the treadle is depressed by the foot of the operator the turning of
the sleeve effected by the upward movement of the arm 9 causes the wipers to
bear upward against the stop finger whereby the wedge part is lifted away
from the projection upon the bolt and the latter being released is shot forward
by the reaction of the spring and engages with the hub of the belt pulley so
that the shaft is rotated and the vibrating movement is imparted to the spindle
and cage.
So long as the treadle is held down the cage continues to vibrate, and the
pressure of the treadle downward against a fixed stop raises the cage to an uniform
height so that a series of hat bodies when consecutively placed upon the cage may
be uniformly subjected to the action of the fingers g.
The resistance of the hat body to the stretching operation is very sensibly felt
by the operator through the reaction of the treadle and it has been found that the
operator may vary the strain imposed upon the hat body by yielding more or less
to such resistance and permitting the treadle to rise more or less as his judgment
directs. The apparatus thus permits the operator when first stretching the hat
body to operate with less force than at a later stage of the operation and at
its close to subject the hat to a stronger pressure. The apparatus is thus less
liable to injure the hat body than in the case of the ordinary machine wherein
the pressure upon the hat body is not so completely under the control of the
cperator.

page_text: When the foot of the operator is removed from the treadle or when the treadle
is permitted to rise sufficiently the cage is lowered to permit of the changing of
the hat body. The lowering of the cage withdraws the cams from its supporting
position and the stop finger falls into position to engage with and withdraw the
bolt a as aforesaid so that the vibrating movements of the cage cease until it is
again raised by pressing upon the treadle.
I do not claim the clutch mechanism as new apart from its combination with
the cage and spindle and I may use any other suitable clutch mechanism so long
as it is so constructed as that the raising and lowering of the cage engages and
disengages the clutch as in the example nor do I confine myself to the details for
vibrating the cage and for raising and lowering the same into and from working
position so long as the cage spindle is rapidly vibrated up and down and so long as
the cage can be lowered and raised into and out of working position and by the
same movements stopped and started by means of a connected clutch.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1) The combination of parts constituting the tip stretching machine substantially
as set forth and indicated."
2) In a tip stretching machine the combination with stretching fingers and a
cage moveable to and from the same of a spindle carrying the cage a connecting
rod jointed to the spindle and means for vibrating the rod and for in addition
raising the cage and lowering the same so as to elevate into working position and
withdraw the same substantially as set forth and indicated.
3) In a tip stretching machine the combination with stretching fingers and
a cage movable to and from the same of a spindle carrying the cage a con-
necting rod jointed to the spindle a crank for vibrating the rod an arm turning
upon the axis of a driving shaft with a bearing to support the crank and
gearing connecting the driving shaft with the crank substantially as set forth and
indicated.
4) In a tip stretching machine; the combination with stretching fingers and a
cage moveable to and from the same, of a spindle carrying the cage, a connecting
rod jointed to the spindle, a crank for vibrating the rod, a driving shaft and an
arm mounted to turn upon the axis of the same and carrying a bearing for the
shaft of the crank, gearing connecting the driving shaft with the crank, a treadle
for lifting the arm, and with clutch mechanism and means for controlling the same
so as to stop and start the vibrations when the cage would be lowered and raised
substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
5) In a tip stretching machine the means for raising and vibrating the spindle
rod e consisting of the connecting rod j jointed to the spindle a crank for
vibrating the rod a driving shaft and an arm mounted to turn upon the axis of
the same and provided with a bearing to support the crank and gearing connecting
the driving shaft with the crank substantially as and for the purpose set forth and
indicated.
Dated this 28th day of ML 1000
E. K. DUTTON. & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.