IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS, AND IN APPARATUS
THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by William A. Baglin, of Brooklyn,
New York, and George Yule, 'of Newark, New Jersey, both in the United
States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th October 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
HATS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by
William A. Baglin, of Brooklyn, New York, and George Yule, of Newark, New
Jersey, both in the United States of America.
This Invention relates to an improvement in processes and apparatus for making
bats and uniting them to hat-bodies, the process for which will be first described,
and then the apparatus for practising the same.
My improved process for making bats consists in forming the bat by several
successive operations, the material of the bat being deposited upon different parts
of the usual forming cone at different times in figures of any shape determined by
the arrangement of the perforations in the cone.
My process for uniting a nap-bat to the body-felt of a hat consists
1st. In forming the nap-bat upon the exterior or interior of a cone of suitable
shape to match the body-felt.
2nd. In applying the body-felt to the nap-bat while upon the forming-cone and
pressing them both together.
3rd. In removing the body-felt and nap-bat from the cone together, and
4th. In sticking and scalding the same together in the usual manner.
In the Drawing annexed, Fig. 1 is a section of the carrier used for lifting the
body, applying it to the nap-bat, and removing the bat from the cone on which it
was formed; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the presser B used for pressing the
body into shape in the carrier A; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the carrier A and
body C to be placed over the bat formed upon a cone D; Fig. 4 is a vertical
section of the forming and loosening apparatus on the line x, x, in Fig. 5; Fig. 5
is a plan of the same with the cone and its attachments removed; Fig. 6 is a
[Price 6d1

page_text: sectional elevation of a suction-loosener; Fig. 7 is a view of a cone provided with
a tip-guard E; Fig. 8 is a view of a cone provided with a design-guard applied to
its tip; Fig. 9 is a view of a cone placed over an auxilliary design-cone, and Fig. 10
a view of a design-cone alone.
Figs. 1 to 6 represent the forming of a plain nap-back, and its union with a
body-felt, and will be first described; the body-felt referred to being one already
prepared in any suitable manner to receive a nap and to be scalded therewith an
furnished in any suitable or desirable manner.
The process of forming bats by blowing fur upon an exhausted perforated
surface being well known in the art, only such part of a forming machine is shewn
herein as is needed to illustrate my improvements.
In Fig. 4 there is therefore only shewn the turn-table of the machine and its
accompanying fan for producing the exhaust, the device for feeding the picker roll
and other essential attachments being omitted, and the blast outlet being shewn
combined with a wind-chest for blowing the bat from the cone when desired. W
is the suction-box; X, the fan; Y, the revolving table; and Z, the blast-pipe
leading the air away from the blower to a wind-chest w. The latter is provided
with an opening in the top, around which is formed a rib, or bead, or groove to
centre the cone D when placed thereon.
In some cases the top of the chest may be plain and provided with a nozzle to
lead the air upward inside the cone.
The cone D is represented upon the turn-table Y in Fig. 4 with a nap-bat F
formed upon it in the usual manner, the cone being shaped to fit the hat-body to
which the nap is to be stuck, and perforated just sufficiently to form a bat the size
of the body. To unite the bat with the body the latter is wetted in hot water and
inverted in a perforated cone A shaped to fit the hat-body.
A similar cone B provided with a handle b across its open end is then pressed
into the body to force it into close contact with the cone A, the latter being
preferably made with a ring flange a to sustain it in an inverted position upon a
work-bench, and a ring or eye to lift it.
The presser B serves to shape the body so that it will fit the nap-bat neatly,
and also secures sufficient adhesion between the body and the cone A to make the
latter sustain it and carry it to the nap-bat in a reversed position, as seen in
Figure 3.
The presser is shewn in operation in Fig. 3, the body C lying between the
cones A and B. The bat being formed and the hot moist body being pressed into
shape in the carrier A, the latter is placed with the body upon the forming-cone D
over the nap-bat, which immediately adheres by its outer surface to the inner
surface of the body. A gentle pressure upon the carrier serves to stick the two
together quite strongly, and if the forming-cone is entirely dry the body may then
be removed with the nap adhering to it. As the cone D is often wet, the nap is
liable to be defaced by portions remaining upon the surface of the damp metal,
and I therefore in practice remove the forming-cone from the table Y with the
nap, the body, and the carrier upon it, and immerse them all in scalding water to
consolidate the tender nap-bat and make it adhere closely to the body.
As the nap sticks still more to the cone D I employ some means to produce a
pressure upon the nap through the perforations inside the cone, and thus dislodge
it from the latter. For such purpose I have used a sprinkler supplied with hot
water, a blast of air, or a jet of steam, and have also exhausted the air from
the outside of the carrier to produce an atmospheric pressure inside the nap-bat
upon the cone D. The blast apparatus is shown in Fig. 4, where G is a valve
placed in the blast pipe Z, and H is a treadle connected with the valve, and
operating to open it for throwing a puff of air into the wind-chest and cone D
thereon.
An open relief pipe I is placed between the fan and valve G, and the latter
arranged to close the said pipe when it opens the passage in Z leading to the
chest 20

page_text: When placing his foot upon the treadle the operator seizes the carrier by its
flange a, and lifts the same with the body and its attached nap as the air pressure
forces the latter from the cone D. The carrier is then inverted upon a work-bench,
and the hat body removed from it and turned inside out to expose the nap to the
sprinkling and rolling required to stick it fully to the body preparatory to
scalding.
The exact fit secured between the body and nap by my method of shaping each
before uniting them, makes the union very complete and free from air blisters, and
the pressure applied to them both when upon the cone D and the dipping in hot
water before removal from the latter sticks them together so nearly that very little
rolling and sprinkling suffices to fit them for the scalding process, less than a
minute for each nap.
In Fig. 6 a box J exhausted of air by means of a pipe ; connected with a suitable
exhaust fan is shown provided with a hole i in its top, over which is set the flange
of a carrier A for inducing an air-pressure inside the contained cone D and nap F.
In this view, as well as in Fig. 4, the nap is shown detached from the cone D by
the air pressure.
The treadle H is shown provided with a balance weight h to keep the valve
against the opening in pipe Z, the air from the fan thus finding a free opening
through pipe I, except when the treadle is depressed. In the wind-chest w is also
shewn a steam pipe turned upward, which may be provided with a valve and
treadle, and used in lieu of the air from the pipe Z in the absence of means for
supplying a blast thereto conveniently.
With the above apparatus it will be seen that a plain homogeneous nap-bat can
be made and secured to the hat-body in much less time than by any previous
method, and that the saving in the valuable fur employed in making naps is very
considerable, for the reason that the naps require no cutting, tearing, piecing, or
trimming to fit them to the bodies, but may be made of the exact size to suit any
required bodies, variations in the depth of the nap on the cone D being easily
produced by pasting paper over the lower rows of holes, or otherwise closing
them.
By the use of the carrier described above it is obvious that a part of a bat could
be united with a hat-body as readily as the entire nap shown upon the cone D in
Fig. 4; I have therefore devised a means of forming and uniting a nap to the
brim of a hat in cases where none is required upon the tip on the same side of the
body, as is often the case with the lower side of a hat-brim.
The means consist in a hollow conical guard or shell made of imperforate
materials, and placed upon the upper part of the bat forming cone D, as at E in
Fig. 7, the fur being then attached only to the perforated band below the base of
the guard. A nap perfectly adapted to fit the brim of a hat-body is thus formed
in precisely the right location upon the surface of the cone D, and may be united
to a hat body at the precise point desired in the manner described above.
By similar means a band of fur or figure of any desired shape may be formed
upon any part of the cone D, and transferred to a corresponding point upon the
hat-body to produce a nap at such spot. By such means a nap of various colours
or qualities may be transferred to different points upon the body in a series of
operations, but I bave devised a shorter method of producing variegated naps by
the means shewn in Figures 8 and 10.
This process is based upon the plan of covering portions of the forming-cone
while the nap is deposited of suitable thickness upon the exposed perforations,
which may be of such shape as to produce some ornamented design or effect. After
such parts have been covered with the required nap, a part of the whole of the
remaining perforated surface is then uncovered, and as they exhaust will then
operate only upon such parts, they alone will in turn receive a deposit of fur to
form a nap adjacent at its margin to the other parts, and by which the whole will
become integral when the operation is complete.
By such means a nap may be formed of several colored bands, joined either by

page_text: straight or curved boundaries, or of some design breaking through a uniform
ground, the contrast being produced by different colors or qualities of stock.
Fig. 8 shows the means for producing a brim of different colors from the crown,
and consists in a guard K applied to the tip of the cone D while the nap is deposited
upon the brim portion. By removing the guard after the brim nap is complete,
the nap for the crown will be deposited upon the upper part of the cone, and the
fibres of the fur thoroughly interlocked at the line of junction, so that the whole is
a unit.
The guard in Fig. 8 is shewn with a serrated margin, but it is evident that the
margin may be made of any other pattern required, as a Grecian border. Instead of
applying a guard to the outside of the cone D, one may be shaped to fit the inside
of the same, and perforated only at the points where the designed deposit is
required. Such a guard is shown at L in Figure 10, the design consisting of two
scolloped bands with a row of dots between them. When the cone D) is used in
connection with such inside guard as L, the latter is set upon the turntable Y, and
the cone dropped upon it, when of course the nap will be first deposited in the
form of such figures.
By then removing the guard the remainder of the nap will be deposited between
and around the first formed figures, which may thus be made to appear when
transferred to the hat-body as red figures upon a blue, black, white, or other
ground. By applying two or more guards in succession to either the inner or
outer side of the forming-cone, a design may be produced of three or more
contrasting colours, and a multicolored design may also be produced by a single
guard, if the latter be moved into different positions in relation to the cone D.
Such an arrangement is shown in Figure 9, when a row of diamond shaped spots
is indicated in dotted outlines as formed in an inside guard M, the same being
represented with the cone set upon it. An index mark d is provided upon the
base of the cone D, and several marks or pins c are shown adjacent thereto on the
base of the guard cone M. It is obvious that if the pins c are placed at proper
distances apart they will serve to set the cone D in a series of positions upon the
guard M, in which a series of spots may be formed upon the outer cone of various
different colors adapted to contrast with one another, and the remainder of the nap,
which could be deposited between and around the row of spots by removing the
guard when all the spots were completed. From the above description it will be
seen that I contemplate a variety of modes in which to employ a guard for
protecting certain parts of the forming cone, and that in cases where a nap is to be
formed for only a portion of a body or the brim, a cone may be constructed with
perforations provided only at such part, the remainder being imperforate. Thus
the guard E, shown in Fig. 7, may be made as a part of the forming cone D, and
in such case would require no handle, as shewn at e, for removing it when desired;
but in cases when an entire nap was desired of several colors or qualities, it is
obvious that the guard and forming-cone must be distinct from one another, and
that the guard first used to protect a portion of the surface from the air-current
which induces the deposition of fur must be also constructed and operated as to
uncover in turn all the parts of the forming cone which are perforated to produce
a nap of the required size.
It is therefore plain that guards may be made and applied in other modes than
those described herein, as of flexible india rubber adapted to fit the tip of the cone
like the guard E or K, or adapted to embrace and adhere to some other part of the
said forming-cone; and I do not therefore limit myself to the precise mode of
constructing or applying the guard or guards employed to carry out this Invention,
but may modify the same as convenience or experience may suggest. Neither do
I limit myself to any particular means for removing the nap-bats from the forming-
cone, although there is a special advantage in the steam jet or blast by reason of
the heat and moisture imparted to the bat, whereas the use of air-blast or suction
tends to cool the hat-body, if previously steamed, and to impair the adhesion of the
nap and body to some extent. It has been found in practice that a steam jet

page_text: issuing from several nozzles, as shewn in Fig. 4 at g, is more effectual than any
other means for joining the nap to the body before removal from the forming cone,
and for separating the bat from the cone by its pressure or impulse upon the inner
side of the bat when supplied in sufficient volume. I do not limit myself to the
application of the said improved processes to the forming of nap-bats upon the
exterior of a perforated cone, as I have devised a means of depositing the fur on
the interior of the cone. To effect this I provide the turn-table Y with a truncated
cone open at the top and invert the forming-cone D therein, thus exposing the
exterior of the forming cone to the exhaust, and the interior of the cone to the
shower of fur fibres, which are then deposited in greatest volume at the hollow
bottom of the cone producing a bat of superior thickness at the tip.
To produce a bat of variegated character by this device the arrangement of the
various guards is reversed and the fibres deposited inside the perforated cone at
various desired points, as described above. I am fully aware that hats have been
made upon cones heretofore for the purpose of applying to hat bodies and making a
nap thereon, as in United States Patent, No. 222,891, granted to Ira Gill, Dec. 23,
1879, and I do not therefore claim forming a nap-bat upon a cone as new
in itself, but in such patented process as in others in which naps are deposited
upon a foraminous surface. The nap has not been shaped to fit the hat-body by
the forming operation, but has been subsequently torn, cut, or clipped into pieces of
the required shape and stuck on the hat-body usually in six sections by hand
labor. For such a process I am aware that bats have been made upon cones,
cylinders, and discs of perforated metal, but as the principal object of this Invention
is to supersede such clipping and fitting of a bat in fragments to a hat-body, I
consider as new the forming of a nap-bat in suitable shape to fit the body to which
it is to be stuck, and the securing of the bat to the body in one piece by any
suitable means.
The means I have described above are the best with which I am at present
acquainted, but as a nap bat formed in one piece of suitable shape to fit a body-felt
is a new article of manufacture, I do not restrict myself to the precise mode of
making and transferring it, herein set forth. To practice this Invention to the
best advantage, it is preferable to block the hat-bodies, and also to shrink them
to a uniform size that the precision attainable in the manufacture of the hats may
be instrumental in securing a perfect fit between the margin of the body and the
hat, and the utmost economy of the fur employed in forming the bats. Should
such nice economy be disregarded, the body-felts may be shaped exclusively by the
presser, shown in Fig. 2, and the bats formed of sufficient size to compensate for
slight inequalities in the dimension of the bodies; I am aware that the brim felt
for a certain kind of hat has been made upon a cone heretofore, and afterward
shrunk and sized and finished up for use with a crown of light woven fabric.
For this reason I do not claim the process of forming such a brim by the
apparatus above described, but as prior to this Invention no means was known for
transferring a nap-bat of annular conical form (like the nap for a hat brim) from
the forming cone to the hat-body, and as no such annular nap-bats have ever
before been known or used, I regard the annular conical nap-bat formed in one
piece as a new article of manufacture, and have claimed the same herein as my
Invention.
I therefore claim,-
1st. The process herein described for making bats, consisting in forming the bat
upon a cone in several successive operations, the material of the bat being deposited
upon different parts of the cone at different times in figures of predetermined shape,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2nd. The process herein described for removing a bat from a forming-cone,
consisting in the application of steam or air pressure to the interior of the forming-
cone, substantially as berein set forth.
3rd. The method herein described for uniting a nap-bat to a body felt, consisting,
1st, in forming the nap-bat upon an exhausted cone of suitable shape to fit the

page_text: body-felt; 2nd, in applying the body-felt to the nap-bat while upon the forming
cone, and pressing them both together; 3rd, in removing the body-felt and nap-
bat from the cone together; and 4th, in sticking and scalding the same together
in the usual manner.
4th. The process herein described for preparing hat-body felts for union with
nap-bats formed in one piece, consisting in shrinking the felts to an approximately
uniform size, and blocking them to secure an approximately uniform shape,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
5th. In a new article of manufacture, a nap-bat formed in one piece of suitable
shape to fit the body-felt to which it is to be applied, and adapted to be stuck
thereto and scalded without any clipping or fitting, substantially as herein set
forth.
6th. As a new article of manufacture, the annular conical nap-bat herein
described formed in one piece, and adapted to be stuck to the brim of a hat
without clipping or tearing, substantially as herein set forth.
7th. As a new article of manufacture, a nap-bat consisting of material of
different colors deposited in different parts of the bat in distinct locations,
patterns, or figures, substantially as herein set forth.
8th. As a new article of manufacture, a nap-bat consisting of material of different
colors disposed to form distinct figures appearing through a ground of uniform
color, said ground being formed by the body of the bat, substantially as herein set
forth.
9th. The carrier for hat bodies, consisting of a hollow cone A provided with
means for carrying it as flange a, a finger ring at the apex or equivalent device, as
and for the purpose set forth.
10th. In combination with the conical carrier A, the presser B constructed and
operated to press the hat body to the shape of the carrier, as and for the purpose
set forth.
11th. In combination with the fan X, the blast pipe Z, valve in the blast pipe
arranged and operated to admit air to the forming-cone D and wind-chest w, or
other suitable support for the forming-cone, substantially as herein set forth.
12th. In combination with the steam pipe g, a valve arranged and operated to
admit steam to the forming-cone D, and a table or suitable support for such cone,
substantially as herein set forth.
13th. In combination with the forming-cone D, the guard-cone E, for covering
the tip of cone D when forming an annular conical nap-bat, substantially as herein
.set forth.
14th. In combination with a forming cone D, the guard-cone K shaped with a
serrated, scolloped, or indented border, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
15th. The guard-cone L perforated only at certain points in figures of ornamented
shape, and operated in combination with the forming-cone D by placing the guard
cone inside the latter, substantially as herein set forth.
16th. In combination with the guard cone M formed with holes arranged in
ornamental patterns at m, and provided with a gauge mark or pin as c, the
forming-cone D provided with gauge or mark, as d, substantially as herein set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One