CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING HATS
Year: 1832

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HODGE, of Margaret Street, Dovor Road, in the County of Surrey, Hat Dyer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Nineteenth day of July, in the third year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Hodge, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Hodge, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Hodge, my exors, adñors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING HATS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William
Hodge, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as, in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with 'the said proviso, I, the said
William Hodge, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described

page_text: and ascertained in and by the Drawing hereunto annexed, and the figures
and letters marked thereon (that is to say):
My Invention consists,―
:-
day of
"
First, in an improvement on the machine for which John Bowler, of Castle
Street, Southwark, in the County of Surrey, obtained His Majesty's Royal
One
Letters Patent, bearing date the
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, and to whom these present Letters
Patent are to be assigned, and to which said Letters Patent a Specification
was duly inrolled; and my improvement in such machine consists in so con-
structing the same that the partitions (on which the blocks are placed) are
made to slide, whereby the hats may be more conveniently placed in the
machine and taken therefrom.
Secondly, my Invention consists of apparatus to be used as substitutes for
blocks, and which I call suspenders.
In order that my Invention may be fully described and understood, I will
describe the Drawing hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a machine constructed according to
my improvement, but in the present instance the same is shewn as cylindrical,
in order to accommodate it to the generality of dye kettles now in use; but
the same may be of a rectangular figure similar to that described in the
Specification of the said John Bowler, or of any suitable figure. Figure 2
shows one of the partitions separately. In the machine every other of these
partitions is made to slide in a groove formed at top and bottom across the
machine, and in these grooves or on the frames of the partitions a, a, are
affixed friction rollers in order that the partitions may be more readily slided
backwards and forwards when it is desired either to fill the same with hats to
be dyed, or to remove them when they have undergone that process. In
Figure 1, b, b, shows the partitions which are affixed to the top and bottom
rings A, A, of the machine, and the partitions a, a, slide in the grooved ways
c, c. d, d, are two pivots or axes by which the machine is suspended, and on
which it is caused to turn round, as will be fully described hereafter. The
machine is hung by its axes d, d, on the frame e, which is raised or lowered by
means of a crane, or by blocks and tackle by the eye f. 9, 9, are the upright
bars on which the blocks or substitutes therefore are affixed; but I have not
thought it necessary either in Figures 1 or 2 to show any more than two
blocks (in Fig. 1) in their places, in order to prevent confusion, but they are
to be affixed at the parts h, h, Figs. 1 and 2. Figure 3 shows on a larger
.scale the plan of one of my suspenders or substitutes for blocks. Figure 4 is a

page_text: g.
side view thereof, whereby the parts by which it is affixed to the bars I will
be clearly seen. Figure 5 shows a back view of part of one of the bars
Figure 6 represents a plan of the stretcher, and Figure 7 is an edge view
thereof; and Figure 8 is the handle or winch by which the substitute for the
block is made to expand or contract. I should here observe that the machine
as drawn is intended to have these suspenders or substitutes for blocks, and
the manner of applying them will be more fully described hereafter; but it
will be evident that the machine may be made capable of receiving the
common blocks, either by applying similar pegs to those described in the
Specification of the said John Bowler at the parts h, h, or by any other con-
trivance ; but I will confine my description of the machine having my
substitutes for blocks, as a mechanic will readily understand how to vary the
means when wooden blocks are to be used. i, i, Figures 3 and 4, are two
halves of a substitute for a block, formed according to my Invention, consisting
of two bent plates of copper which form the cylinder for receiving the body of
the hat, and j, j, are the tops of the two halves which form the circular top for
the crown of the hat; and I prefer to leave the upper parts open, as shown in
the Drawing, that the dye liquor may more readily penetrate to the hat,
though it is not essentially necessary that it should be so left. k, k, are rods or
arms by which the two halves of the suspender i are connected to the bars 9,
and the application of these arms will be clearly seen in Figs. 4 and 6. These
arms are brought together at their lower end, and formed into an eye dk, by
which the same is hinged to the bar 9 (see Figure 4.) 7, Figures 4 and 5,
is a screw, having a shoulder m which turns on the projection h of the bar g,
and the head or end of the screw passed though a hole in the bar g, in which
it is retained by a pin n; and in order to be able to get such pin through the
head of the screw, there are mortices o cut in the sides of the bar g. In
Figure 5 it will be seen that there is a circular recess sunk on the other side
of the bar g, into which the end or head of the screw passes, and the pin n
acts against the bottom of this recess, as shown in the Drawing, so that it will
be evident that by means of the winch Figure 8 the same may be turned
round, but it will be retained in its position with respect to the bar g by means
of the collar m and the pin n; and it will be seen that the handle or winch
Figure 8 has slits cut in it to take hold of the ends of the pin n, which
projects on each side of the head or end of the screw. Figures 6 and 7
represents a stretcher formed of two parts, one part affixed within each of the
halves of the suspender i, i, by means of two ears affixed for that purpose, as
shown in these Figures at p, p, and they are retained in these ears by means
of pins on which the ends of the stretcher turn. q is a nut in which the

page_text: screw l-turns; and in Figures 6 and 7 it will be seen that the forked arms of
the stretcher are attached to this nut q by the pins r, but such forked arms are
permitted to move in order to admit of the length of the stretcher, being
extended or contracted, as will be hereafter described. I would observe that
I do not confine myself to the use of the stretcher here described, as it will be
evident that the expanding of the two parts of the block may be obtained by
other contrivances, though I conceive the one described, is particularly suited
for the purpose.
Having now described the various parts of, the apparatus, and the manner
of combining the same, I will describe the manner of using the machine.
A number of hats are to be placed on the suspenders i, i, in the following
manner-The sliding partitions a, a, are to be slided out about half way, by
which means the one half of the suspenders or blocks i, i, which are on the
fixed partitions b, b, will be more conveniently got at and filled with hats, and
by means of the handle or winch, Figure 8, the screws must be caused to turn,
and by the aid of the stretcher the two halves i, i, will be forced apart till the
hat is securely held thereon; and this is to be pursued till the suspenders on
the one half of the fixed partitions of the machine.are filled with hats, and in
the meanwhile another workman may be filling the suspenders of the halvas of
the sliding partitions which project out of the machine. This done, the
'partitions a are to be slided back till the other halves project beyond the other
side of the machine, and this will enable the workmen to fill the remainder of
the suspenders on the partitions 6 in like manner to that above described, and
also those on the partitions a, and at the same time with great facility.
When the, machine is full the partitions a are to be slided into their places,
'and there held catches or otherwise, and the machine will be ready to be
lowered into the dye kettle. It will here be desirable to observe; that it is
well known to the hat trade that in dying hats it is necessary alternately to
dip them into the dye liquor for a time, and then to expose them to the
atmospheric action; but the time which these operations require depending on
the quality of the liquor, and also on the quality of the hats, and all which is
well known, and is not in any way changed by the application of my Inven-
tion, and as heretofore must depend on the judgment of the workman, no
further description of that part of the process will be required. The machine
having been kept in the kettle the desired length of time, it is to be raised out
thereof, and when sufficiently high above the liquor, the machine is to, be
'swung round on its axes in such a direction that any liquor which may remain
in the hat will be drained out, and with this advantage, that the draining will
'take place from the crown downwards; by this means the brims will hang

page_text: downwards from the top of the hat, and thus prevent the brims sticking to the
hats, which would prevent an even dye being obtained; and when the hats
have been submitted sufficiently long to the action of the atmosphere the
machine is to be again lowered into the kettle, but with this difference, the
opposite end of the machine, and that which before was uppermost, is now to
enter the kettle first and become the lowermost end. The machine is again
to remain immersed in the dye liquor, and afterwards to be again submitted to
the atmospheric action, and these operations are to be continued till the dyeing
is complete; and when sufficient time has been allowed the hats may be
removed by sliding the moveable partitions as before described, and by means
of the winch, Figure 8, contracting the suspenders i, i. By the application of
the above-described substitutes for blocks considerable time will be saved in
the process of dyeing by the shortness of the time which is occupied in
cooling the hats.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into action, all the parts of which I usually construct of
copper or other material not prejudicially acted on by the dye liquor, I would
have it understood that what I claim as my Invention is,―
First, the constructing the partitions a, a, in such a manner that they may be
slided backwards and forwards to facilitate the putting the hats on and taking
the hats off from the blocks or substitutes therefore, as above described; and
Secondly, I claim the apparatus Figures 3 and 4, which I call suspenders or
substitutes for blocks, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hodge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three.