CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT PLUSH, AND ALSO IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WATSON, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Hat Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Second December, One thousand eight hundred and fifty, in the
fourteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Thomas Watson, Her especial license, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Watson, my exors,
admors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Thomas Watson, my
exors, admors, or assigns, shall 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 and
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HAT PLUSH, AND ALSO IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, that I, the said Thomas Watson, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her 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.

page_text: .
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Watson, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements in the manufacture of hat plush, and also in machinery
or apparatus employed in such manufacture, apply to that description of hat
plush commonly called "raised" plush only, whereon the pile or plush is raised
by carding, teasing, or other similar processes, and has no reference to what is
commonly called "cut" plush; and consist, first, in the application or employ-
ment of spun silk of every description to be used for the weft of the fabric
from which the pile or plush is raised, such silk being dyed in the hank, or
subsequently to the spinning process, and previously to its being woven. By
means of this improvement, I am enabled to produce hat plush of a much
superior color and higher gloss or finish than by the ordinary process of dyeing
the fabric in the piece, or after it is woven, as hitherto practised.
Secondly, my improvements consists in a certain novel method of dressing
and finishing such or similar "raised" hat plushes, and in an arrangement of
mechanism adapted to such purposes.
This part of my Invention will be more readily explained and better under-
stood by referring to the Drawing accompanying these Presents, and the
following explanation thereof. The Drawing is made to a scale of about onė
inch and a half to a foot, and has similar letters of reference marked upon
corresponding parts of the mechanism in all the Figures.
Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the apparatus complete; Fig. 2 is a horizontal
or plan view of the principal working parts of the same; and Fig. 3 is a
vertical section of the same. a, ȧ, is a furnace of brick work, the upper part
of which is covered in by an arch b, b, of cast iron or other suitable sub-
stance; c, c, is the main driving shaft, which is supported upon suitable
bearings, and is actuated in any convenient manner; upon this shaft c are
mounted two levers d; d, connected by tension rods, and carrying in suitable
bearings a calendering roller e, e, and a rotary brush f, f; the calendering
roller e; e, is driven by means of the spur gearing 9, 9, and the rotary brush
ff, is actuated by the spur gearing h, h; i, i, is a pulley keyed upon the shaft
'c, c, and giving motion to a pulley k by means of a strap. The pulley k is
keyed upon the axle of a roller 1, which is covered with worsted plush, and is
generally called a "velour," being for the purpose of giving a gloss and finish
to the plush; m is another pulley, keyed upon the driving shaft c, c, and
giving motion to a roller n, by means of the crossed strap o, o, and spur-

page_text: gearing p, p; the roller n is also covered with "velour," and acts against the
back of the plush or fabric, being employed merely for the purpose of dragging
the same; q, q, is a roller which is cover with cloth and revolves in a trough
r, containing water, being driven by the spur gearing &, s, and employed for
the
purpose of wetting the plush; t, t, is a strap for driving the roller u and
v; v is a strap for giving motion to the roller w; x, x, x, are three tension
rollers for keeping the fabric distended; and y is a roller provided with a
ratchet wheel and catch, and a hand wheel, and connected to the frame d, d,
by the straps and springs z, z.
The process of finishing hat plush by means of the above described
apparatus is as follows:-A piece of plush having been passed through the
machine as represented by the blue line, and the ends skewered or other-
wise connected, the apparatus being in the position represented in Fig. 1,
and the plate b, b, heated to the requisite degree, the machine is set in
motion, and the plush will then pass through the machine in the direction
indicated by the arrows, whilst the rotary brush f,.f, lays all the pile evenly
in the reverse direction. The cover of the trough r is then removed, as
shewn in dotted lines, when the roller q, q, revolving in the water and in
contact with the plush wets the pile. I would here remark that the water in
the trough must be kept at one uniform height by means of an overflow pipe
or other convenient means. The frame d, d, carrying the calendering roller
e, e, and rotary brush f, f, is then gradually lowered by means of the hand
wheel on the end of the roller y into the position shewn in Fig. 3, and the cover
of the trough r replaced. The heat and friction between the roller'e and plate
b, b, will effectually straigthen or remove the "curl "from the pile, at the same
time drying it, whilst the "valouring" roller 7, by rapidly revolving, imparts a
brighter gloss and finish to the pile. In some cases where an extra degree of
gloss or finish is required, an additional rotary brush, made of fine soft hair,
such as camels', and revolving rapidly, may be employed between the calendering
and valouring rollers, as represented in Fig. 1, by the dotted circle *. When
the plush is finished, the ends thereof are disconnected, and one end being
passed around the roller w, which when the plush is wound thereon may be
removed from the machine.
Having thus described the nature and objects of my said improvements in
the manufacture of hat plush, and also in machinery or apparatus employed in
such manufacture, together with the manner. of carrying the same into practical
effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention,―
First, the application or employment of spun silk of all descriptions and

page_text: colors dyed in the bank, i.e., subsequently to the spinning and previously to
the weaving process, in the manufacture of "raised" plush for such purposes.
And, secondly, the novel and peculiar construction and arrangement of
mechanism for finishing the same, as above described, and represented in the
Drawing, or any modification thereof, more especially the use or application of
a calendering roller and a heated surface, of whatever character or material.
such roller and surface may be constructed or composed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Watson, have hereunto set my]
hand and seal, the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
BARLOW, Extra.
THOMAS (L.S.) WATSON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirty-first day of May, in the
year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid Thomas Watson came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Second day of June, in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and fifty-one.