IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FELTING HAT BODIES AND OTHER ARTICLES OR MATERIALS REQUIRING TO BE FELTED
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Samuel Royle at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd November 1870:
I, CHARLES SAMUEL ROYLE, of Stockport, in the County of Chester,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FELTING HAT BODIES AND OTHER ARTICLES OR
MATERIALS REQUIRING TO BE FELTED," to be as follows:-
On a suitable frame I mount two cylinders or rollers, which are by
preference placed parallel to each other and on the same horizontal
plane, and are made to rotate in the same direction by pulleys and
straps, friction pulleys, wheels, or any other ordinary and suitable
means. They are placed at such a distance apart that when the roll of
material which is to be felted is placed between them whilst they are
in motion they bind or bite it and cause it to rotate, by which a gentle
but quick felting action is produced.
When it is intended to operate on a material that requires to be
carefully and gently treated the surfaces of the cylinders are made
smooth, and they are placed close together; on the contrary when

page_text: material to be felted requires stronger treatment the cylinders are placed
further apart, and their surfaces are made corrugated or otherwise
irregular, thus increasing their "bite or bind," and thereby producing
more felting actions.
be
The rollers may be made of any suitable diameter, and they may
either both of the same diameter or of unequal diameters, and they may
be caused to revolve so that their surfaces run at the same or at different
velocities,
When it is required that the material shall traverse from one end of
the cylinders to the other and thus free itself from them I place the
cylinders at such a degree of inclination (that is, not quite parallel) to
each other as will cause the material to traverse at the required speed;
when the material is not intended to traverse along the cylinders they
are placed parallel to each other.
The material when being felted is kept hot by means of a shower or
jet of hot water or steam from a pipe placed between the cylinders.
This machine will perform double the amount of work by the addition
of one cylinder, treble the amount of work by the addition of two
cylinders, and so on, all the cylinders working side by side and in the
same horizontal plane,
The principal advantages to be derived from my Invention are,-
Firstly. The great simplicity of the machine, the consequent small
amount of wear and tear, and the case with which it is managed.
Secondly. The using of only two cylinders instead of three or more as
hitherto employed in machines of this class, which affords great facility
to putting the material in the machine and taking it out when it is
preferred that it shall not traverse and thus free itself.
Thirdly. The material can be put in or taken out without removing
any part of the machine.
Fourthly. Allowing the use of large cylinders, thus giving more
surface to operate on the material, and at the same time making the
surface nearly flat like hand felting, thus producing more and better
félt.
The machine can be made to felt any number of rolls at the same
time, each of which will be equally as well felted as though it was the

page_text: only roll in the machine simply by making the cylinders of sufficient
length.
The machine possesses adaptability to any thickness of roll, from one
hat to one, two, three, or more dozens.