Improved Apparatus to be used in the Manufacture of Fur Hat Bodies.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 27th July, 1893-Accepted, 9th Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus to be used in the Manufacture of Fur Hat
Bodies.
I EDWARD TWEEDY ROBINSON of Wilton Street Denton, in the County of
Lancaster Hatter's Furrier, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
It is well known to persons conversant with the fur hat manufacture that a
certain amount of very fine short fur mixed with the ordinary fur gives an improved
"feel" and finish to the hats, but hitherto great difficulty has been experienced in
distributing short fur evenly throughout the body as had a tendency to form into
lumps and so destroy the uniformity of the surface.
The object of this invention is to construct an apparatus or appliance for feeding
or supplying a certain definite quantity or weight of very short fur to the hat body
during the ordinary process of its formation so that the said short fur shall be
evenly and thoroughly mixed and incorporated with the other fur forming
the body.
For this purpose I apply to the ordinary fur hat forming machine a vibrating or
oscillating sieve or its equivalent above and near the inner end of the travelling
apron upon which the ordinary fur is fed into the machine.
This sieve into which the very short fur is placed may be actuated in any
convenient manner but I prefer to form it in the shape of a trough with a sieve
bottom arranged across the aforesaid travelling apron and hinged at one end. The
other end is provided with a finger or projection resting upon a ratchet or cam
wheel attached to or forming part of the pulley which drives one of the pinions
actuating the feed motion and thus as this pinion and the ratchet or cam wheel
revolves the free end of the trough is constantly being jolted up and down. The
height of the finger or projection on the trough may be adjustable to regulate the
delivery of the short fur.
The apparatus is used in the following manner :-
A suitable quantity of the ordinary fur having been put on the travelling apron
extending beneath and preferably slightly beyond the vibrating sieve or trough a
certain predetermined amount of the very short fur is put into the latter which is
preferably at first raised slightly so that the ratchet or cam wheel does not move it,
until a short portion of the ordinary fur has been fed into the machine. The sieve
is then lowered and begins to vibrate or oscillate and sprinkle a layer of the very
short fur upon the ordinary fur on the travelling apron, the vibration or oscillation
being preferably regulated as above mentioned so that the charge of short fur
is completely emptied from the sieve rather before the whole of the ordinary fur
has passed under the same.
Thus a thin layer of unmixed long fur forms upon the inside and outside surfaces
of the hat body the bulk of which is a perfect mixture of the long and short furs
the latter being regularly and evenly incorporated with the former; and the
appearance and feel of the hat when finished are greatly improved.
Dated this 11th day of November 1892.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus to be used in the Manufacture of Fur Hat
Bodies.
I EDWARD TWEEDY ROBINSON of Wilton Street Denton, in the County of
Lancaster, Hatter's Furrier, 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 :-
It is well known to persons conversant with the fur hat manufacture that a
certain amount of very fine short fur mixed with the ordinary fur gives an improved
"feel" and "finish" to the hats, but hitherto great difficulty has been experienced
in distributing short fur evenly throughout the body, as it has a tendency to form
into lumps, and so destroy the uniformity of the surface.
The object of this invention is to construct an apparatus or appliance for. feeding
or supplying a certain definite quantity or weight of very short fur to the hat.body
during the ordinary process of its formation, so that the said short fur shall be
evenly and thoroughly mixed, and incorporated with the other fur. forming
the body.
The nature of my said invention, and the manner in which the same is to be
performed or carried into practical effect will be readily understood on reference to
the annexed sheet of drawings and the following explanation thereof.
Fig. 1 on the drawing is a side elevation of so much of a fur hat-forming machine
as is required to illustrate the application of my invention thereto, and
Fig. 2 is a transverse section of part of the same drawn to a larger scale.
a is part of the framing of the machine is the endless travelling apron for
feeding the fur, c is the trunk through which the fur is drawn and d is the revolving
perforated forming cone upon which the hat body is made and which is in
communication with the exhaust fan or fans.
For the purposes of my invention I apply to the ordinary fur hat forming machine
a vibrating or oscillating sieve e (or its equivalent) placed above and near the
inner end of the travelling apron b upon which the ordinary fur is fed into the
machine.
This sieve e into which the very short fur is placed may be actuated by any
convenient means but I prefer to form it in the shape of a trough e with sloping
ends and a sieve bottom e arranged across the said endless travelling apron band
hinged at one end as shown at f(Fig. 2). The other end is provided with a finger
or projection which (when the apparatus is at work) rests upon a ratchet or cam
wheel attached to, or forming part of the pulley i which drives one of the pinions
actuating the feed motion; and thus as this pulley i and the ratchet or cam wheel h
revolves the free end of the trough or sieve e is constantly being jolted up
and down.
The height of the finger or projection g on the trough ƒ may be adjustable
to regulate the delivery of the short fur; or the delivery may be regulated
by adjusting the height of a stop 7 upon which the finger or projection g falls, and
the apparatus is provided with a sliding wedge k which when placed beneath the
free end of the hinged trough or sieve e raises the finger or projection y up out of
the reach of the ratchet or cam wheel h (as shown on the drawing) and thus stops
the vibration of the trough or sieve e and consequently the delivery of the very
short fur.
The apparatus is used in the following manner : A suitable quantity of the
ordinary fur having been put on the travelling apron b extending beneath and
preferably slightly beyond the vibrating trough or sieve e a certain predetermined
amount of the very short fur is put into the latter which is preferably kept up by
the wedge k so that the ratchet or cam wheel does not move it until a short

page_text: portion of the ordinary fur has been fed into the machine and drawn onto the
forming cone d.
The sieve e is then lowered by withdrawing the wedge k and the finger or
projection g coming into contact with the ratchet or cam wheel h will cause the
sieve e to be vibrated or jolted up and down and sprinkle a layer of the very short:
fur upon the ordinary fur on the travelling apron b, the vibration or oscillation
being preferably regulated by the adjusting screw l, so that the charge of very
short fur is completely emptied from the sieve e rather before the whole or the
ordinary fur has been passed under the same.
Thus a thin layer of unmixed long fur can be formed upon the inside and outside
surfaces of the hat body, the bulk of which is a perfect mixture of the long and
short furs the latter being regularly and evenly incorporated with the former, and
the appearance and "feel" of the hat when finished are greatly improved.
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 :-
The improved apparatus to be used in the manufacture of fur hat bodies
consisting in the combination with an ordinary fur hat body forming machine of a
vibrating trough or sieve placed above and near the end of the ordinary travelling
feeding apron and operated so as to feed or distribute a certain definite charge of
very short fur thereupon substantially as and for the purpose herein before set forth
and illustrated by the drawings annexed.
Dated this 26th day of July 1893.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.