AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR HOLDING HATS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Pyke, of Ely Place, Holborn Circus; in the
County of Middlesex for an Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
HOLDING HATS
"
"
i
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Pyke at, tlie Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd May 1883!
'
L
ALFRED PYKE, of Ely Place, Holborn Circus, in the County of Middlesex
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR HOLDING HATS."
31
JULY
My invention is chiefly designed to afford means whereby gentlemen can suspend
their hats beneath the chairs or other seats which they, occupy at dining room
places of entertainment or the like..
.‛༢。 "
For this purpose I provide a device having parts pressed outward by one or
more springs in such a manner that a hat of any ordinary size can be placed
thereon by slightly compressing the spring or springs, and will be retained thereon
by the elastic force of the said spring or springs. This device is so made tliat it
can be fixed to the underside of a seat or the like by screws or other suitable
means.
I sometimes make the said device with a flat bar or rod designed to be secured
to a seat by screws and having two smaller rods projecting from it at right angles.
These two rods carry a tube, in each end of which is enclosed a spring and over
these springs are placed caps which slide easily into the ends of the tube.
I provide the said caps with small pins fitting into slots in the ends of the said
tube. When this device is secured to a seat or the like, a hat can be suspended
therefrom by simply pressing one side of the interior of the hat against one of the
said caps and compressing the spring until the other cap can enter the hat, the
spring being then released the two caps are pressed against the sides of the hat
with sufficient force to sustain it.
By these means the hat is protected and its safety is ensured.
.

page_text: It is obvious that I might make the device in many different forms, the essential
feature thereof being the sustaining of the hat by the elastic force of springs
acting upon opposite sides of the interior of the hat.
The device above described may be fixed to the interior of a railway carriage, or
in any desired place; one great advantage possessed by it over the devices 5
heretofore employed for holding hats is that the exterior of the hat is kept out of
contact with surrounding bodies.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alfred Pyke in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd November
1883.
ALFRED PYKE, of Ely Place, Holborn Circus, in the County of Middlesex,
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR HOLDING HATS
"
My invention is chiefly designed to afford means whereby hats such as are
ordinarily worn by gentlemen, may be supported beneath chairs or other seats in
restaurants, dining rooms, churches, places of entertainment, or the like.
For this purpose I provide a device or apparatus which has one or more springs
so arranged that when a hat of ordinary size is placed thereon the said spring or
springs will exert a pressure upon opposite sides of the interior of the hat and
will thus hold or sustain the same. This apparatus is so made that it can be fixed
to the underside of a seat or to any other convenient support by screws or other
suitable means.
In the accompanying drawing I have shown an apparatus made in accordance
with my invention.
Figure 1 is a front elevation, and
Figure 2 is an underside view, partly in section.
Figure 3 is a view drawn to a reduced scale shewing a hat supported by my
apparatus.
a is a flat bar or rod designed to be secured to a seat or other support by screws
and having a bracket b projecting from it. This bracket carries a tube c in which
is enclosed a spring d and in each end of which is inserted a 'piston or plunger e.
Each of these plungers e is provided with a cushion or pad e' and is capable of
sliding freely in the tube c, but is prevented from being accidentally removed
therefrom by a screw finserted in the tube c and passing through a slot g in the
said plunger.
When this device is secured to a seat or other support, a hat can be suspended
therefrom by simply pressing one side of the interior of the hat against one of the
plungers e and compressing the spring d until the other plunger can enter the hat.
The spring will then press the two plungers against the sides of the hat with
sufficient force to sustain it. The hat will thus be protected from injury and its
safety will be ensured.
It is obvious that I may make my improved apparatus in various manners, its
essential feature being the employment of springs for acting upon opposite sides of
the interior of the hat for the purpose of holding or sustaining the latter. For

page_text: example, I may attach two curved springs to the centre of the flat bar so that
their ends will exert pressure upon the sides of a hat to hold or sustain the same.
The above described apparatus may be fixed to the interior of a railway
carriage or in any other place where it may be required. One great advantage
which it possesses over the devices heretofore employed for holding hats is that the
hat can be supported thereby without its exterior being in contact with other
objects.
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I claim :-
The improved apparatus provided with means for exerting elastic pressure
against the interior of a hat and thereby holding or supporting the same,
substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Alfred Pyke have hereunto set my hand and
seal this twenty first day of November in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.