Improvements in the Manufacture of Hats and Apparatus relating thereto.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd July, 1893-Accepted, 6th Jan., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Hats and Apparatus relating
thereto.
I, PHILIPPE PAUL, ARIES, of 21 Boulevard Poissonniere, Paris, in the Republic
of France, 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 :-
My invention relates to certain improvements in the manufacture of hats and in
the machinery or apparatus therefor, and has for object the production at a very
much reduced cost of hats of finer quality and greater durability than those of
ordinary manufacture and capable of being more readily and effectively cleaned.
In applying my invention I form the shell or body of the hat of several layers of
common cloth, canvas or lawn to which a solution of gum-lac is applied for the
purpose of stiffening and agglomerating the layers. Upon this shell or body I affix
by the aid of any suitable glutinous substance a coating of hares' hair or other
similar hair, after which it is dried on a stove or by means of a current of air. It
is then put in a lathe where by means of a brush or sponge steeped in a solution of
alcohol the hair is laid in the desired direction. Finally it is curled or finished by
means of an iron in the ordinary way. The hat thus finished is trimmed in a suitable
manner for sale.
In order that my invention may be the better understood reference is had to the
accompanying sheet of drawings, on which-
Figure 1 represents a transverse vertical section through a machine constructed
according to my invention, Figure 2, a front elevation of the same, Figure 3, a plan
as seen from above, and Figure 4, an elevation of a series of machines or apparatus
arranged to work simultaneously.
The first operation consists in forming the shell or body which may be of any
desired shape. To effect this several layers of canvas, common cloth, or lawn are
superposed upon a pedal machine of ordinary construction- -see Figure 5-com-
prising two hollow dies or blocks A A¹ arranged one immediately above the other.
These dies or blocks A A' are heated by means of annular gas burners a a', the
upper die A. being attached to a frame P, and the lower die A¹ to a plate or disc E
secured on the upper end of the vertical spindle F. A vertical motion is imparted
to the spindle F and lower die A' by means of a pedal M, pivotted at c through the
levers L L', the whole being mounted upon a frame or foundation P.
At the upper portion of this frame P is a bush D screwed externally, through
which the vertical spindle F passes, and upon this bush is a hand-wheel C, the boss
of which is correspondingly screwed for the purpose of adjusting the position of, and
pressure exerted by the lower die A' when raised by means of the pedal M. Upon
the pedal M being depressed the spindle F is raised, and with it the lower die or
form A'. At this moment the slots in the ring or collar B are disengaged from the
keys e, and it is then by turning the screwed hand-wheel C,-which in the act of
rising carries with it the ring or collar B which butts against the projection of the
keys e-that the two forms A A' are pressed against each other. By turning the
hand-wheel C in the opposite direction the lower form A¹ will be released.
The layers of canvas or cloth lawn are thus pressed together and united by means
of a solution of gum-lac in order to produce the crown in a single piece. The brim
is then formed in a similar manner being folded and pasted to the inside of crown,
and it is an essential feature of my invention that the entire formation of the shell
or body of the hat takes place on this machine, that is to say, the crown of the hat

page_text: having been formed the brim is then made of a number of layers of canvas cloth
united together by a solution of gum lac and pasted to the inside of the crown, the
two are then pressed together in the pedal machine and thus form the shell or body
of the hat. The shell having been shaped is coated with a solution of gum-lac in
order to stiffen it. It is then dried and lightly rubbed on a lathe for the purpose of
removing all roughness and creases. A further solution of gum-lac but of thinner
consistency is then applied after which it is again dried. This having been
accomplished a coating of paste, glue or other adhesive substance is next applied
for the purpose of securing the hairs upon the same.
The fixing of the hair is effected in the apparatus shewn on Figures 1, 2, and 3
of the accompanying drawings. The shell having been secured upon the spring
clips c' and c, within the chamber X formed in the centre of my apparatus, the
hairs to be fixed are fed through the lid T into the sieve Q arranged immediately
above the shell. Motion is imparted to the apparatus by means of the crank B, or
by a belt operating the pulley shewn in dotted lines on the shaft C on Figures 2
and 3. The rotation of the shaft C is transmitted to the two lower shafts H. I. by
means of the pulleys D E F & G, or by any suitable mechanism. The shaft H
communicates a rotary motion to the inclined rod or shaft K by means of the
bevelled gearing J L operating through the universal joint O, and the shaft I an
angular or vibratory motion by means of the cam-wheel L engaging with the
tappet, secured upon the shaft M. The inclined rod or shaft enters the
chamber X, through the opening a provided in the front panel V of the apparatus
and upon the upper end of this rod is attached the spring-clip b. by means of the
fly-nuts a in such a way as to enable it to be turned in an upward or downward
direction according as it is desired to lay the hair or pile upon the inside or the
outside of the shell.
The shaft C has a cam or tappet P arranged to engage with a stud or
projection R attached to the sieve Q. At the lower portion of the apparatus is a
sliding-door or shutter S for the purpose of permitting the surplus hair to fall into
the drawer S¹ arranged immediately below. At the back of the apparatus is a
metal support Y which may be fixed or arranged to travel on rails secured at
the back of the apparatus. As soon as the drawer S' becomes filled with the
surplus hair which falls through the sliding door S, this latter is closed and the
drawer S removed and placed upon the support Y, in order that the contents may
be fed into the sieve Q, through the opening which is provided for this purpose.
This opening t may be circular in form and is preferably glazed for the purpose of
enabling the attendant to inspect the sieve during the process.
In the arrangement shewn in Figure 4, as soon as the drawer becomes charged
with hair it is placed on the travelling support and its contents fed into the
several machines by the attendant by means of a shovel.
The coating of the shell involves two operations-the coating of the exterior
and that of the interior surface. To effect this it is only necessary to reverse the
position of the spring-clip and proceed with the coating as on the other side.
The shell having been coated is removed to a stove or dried by a current of air.
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. In the manufacture of hats,-shells or skeletons consisting of a number of
layers of common cloth, lawn or other suitable textile material coated with a
solution of gum-lac, and covered with the hair of hares, substantially as and for
the purposes described.
2. In the manufacture of pile hats,-the combination of a vibrating sieve with
a rotating and jolting rod carrying a spring-clip capable of being secured in
alternative positions by wing-nuts, and arranged to carry the shell to be coated,
substantially as shewn and described on the accompanying sheet of drawings.
3. In the manufacture of pile-hats a piling machine comprising the combination

page_text: of a vibratory sieve, a rotating and jolting rod, a spring-clip secured by wing nuts
and capable of upward or downward adjustment, a drawer for the surplus
material, a travelling support for the drawer to permit of its contents being
distributed through a number of machines when the same are used in series,
substantially as and for the purposes described and shewn on the accompanying
sheet of drawings; and
4. Hats formed or made upon a shell of lawn or common textile fabric shaped
by means of a pedal machine of ordinary construction, stiffened with a solution
of gum-lac, and covered with adhesive substance, on which hair is regularly
affixed by means of the machine previously described, the finished hat being
dressed on the lathe by a pad or brush steeped in alcohol solution substantially as
described.
For the Applicant,
GEDGE & FEENY,
Agents.