US531518A - Expanding hat-block - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

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Patented Dec 2-5, 1894.

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s. B. DUNHAM. EXPANDING HAT BLOGK. No. 531,518. Patented D 25, 1894.

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EXPANDING HAT BLOCK.

'Nq. 531,518. Patented Dec 25, 1.894.

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. ing my invention.

bury, in the county. of Fairfield and State of and adapted to be held in any given position tions or segments of the block platesand .vention, I will proceed now to describe the plan viewof the block; Fig. 4 is a plan of PATENT OF ICE.

SAMUEL DUNHAM, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

EXPAN DING HAT-BLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,518, dated December 25, 1 894.

v Application filed March 19,1894: Serial No. 504,307- m d m To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL E. DUNHAM, a citizenof the United States, residing at Dan- Oonnecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Expanding Hat- Blocks, of which the following is a full, clear,

This invention" relates to machines -for blocking hats, and the object of the invention is to provide for the ready expansion and contraction of the block. n

In my invention the several segments or sections composing the block of appropriate shape are assembled about a central standard or spindle and are'made movable toward and upwardly and outwardly from such standardmediums, such as levers all'of which are con nected to a common lifting device which is slidable up and down the standard or spindle by a suitable actuator. I apply to the secleaves, which overlap the adjacent edges of adjacent segments so as to cover the spaces between the segments when the said segments are moved away from each other laterally, the said plates and leaves preserving the surface of the block in uninterrupted continuity.

Having thus stated the principle of my inbest mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, and thenwill particularly point out and distinctly claim the part or improvement which I claim as my invention. 4

In theaccompanying drawings illustrating my invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure l isa sectional elevation of a machine embody- Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional elevation,taken in the plane of line 2-2 Fig. 5, of the block detached. Fig. 2 is a plan of the operating collar. Fig. 3 is a top the assembled lever supports. Fig. 5 is a hori-" zontal cross-section of the block, on a still larger scale, the section being taken substantiallyin the plane of line 55 of Fig. 2. Fig- 6 is an inside elevation of one of the segments, and Fig.7 is a longitudinal section thereof.. Fig. Sis an inside elevation of one of the covering leaves, and Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation of a modification. I

In Fig. 1, I haveshown my invention as applied in .connection withsome of the mechstruction and have mounted upon it a hat clamping mechanism of substantially the construction shown in Fig. 1.

2 is a vertical standard or spindle, on which the hat block is mounted, as I will proceed now to describe. This hat block is composed of a number of segments or sections 3, each of which is provided with the double-cared sockets 4, 5, near the top and bottom. When these segments are assembled their upper ends are embraced between an inverted saucer-shaped plate 6 and a radially slotted spring plate '7, which plates are mounted upon a spindle 8, which is secured inla socket in the {upper end of the spindle 2, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, the plate 7 resting upon a shoulder or collar 9 on the said'spindle 8.

The spindle 2 is shouldered at 10, and" upon this shoulder is mounted, a plate 11, having an internal flaring or beveled or Wedge shaped cavity, and above this plate is mounted a similarly recessed plate 12, and between these two plates 11 and 12, are secured a series of brackets 13, equal in number to .the number of segments or sections composing the block. The ends 14, 14, of these bracketsare beveled to correspond with the bevel in the plates 11 and 12, so thatwhen the several brackets 13 are assembled between the plates lland 12 and the upper plate 12 is pressed home by means, for example, of a set nut or other device, 15, the beveled ends 14. of the brackets will be crowded in thebeveled cavities of the It will be understood that the outwardly-projecting portions of the brackets are made in two parallel parts, and in the space between these parts, at the upper ends thereof, is j ournaled in each bracket a friction roller 17, and at their lower ends is secured a roller or pin 18. The supporting medium for each segment or section 3 is shown as a lever 19 which is passed between the parallel ears of the brackets 13 and secured at one end between the ears 4 of the respective block segments. Opposite the roller 17 this lever 19 is swelled out into a projecting or bulging cam, and opposite the roller or pin 18 the lever is concaved, for a purpose presently appearing. The segments are secured at their lower ends to the brackets 13 bymeans of links 20 pivoted to the segments in the ears 5 and to the lower portions of the brackets.

21 is a collar or annulus surrounding the spindle or standard 2 and provided with an internal groove 22 and an opening 23 from the outside leading to said groove.

24 are segments of a cylinder, each provided with a curved projection 25 which is adapted to pass downwardly through the opening 23 in the collar 21, and thereafter to be turned into the groove 22, until as many of these cylindrical segments are arranged within the collar as there are levers 19. Each of these cylindrical segments is provided with a socket 26 at its upper end and in the socket of each segment is pivoted the lower end of one of the levers 19. These cylindrical segments constitute supports for the lovers 19, and will he hereinafter referred to as lever supports and collectively they constitute with the collar 21, a lifting device for the levers.

The collar 21 is mounted upon parallel rods 27, and these rods in turn are secured to a collar 28 which surrounds the spindle or standard 2 and is freely movable thereon longitudinally.

One means for moving the collar 28 and thereby moving the collar 21, and so expanding or contracting the block, consists of a lever 29, pivoted to the frame at 30 and connected in any suitable manner with the collar 28, so that by raising or lowering the lever the collar 21 may be raised or lowered correspondingly. This lever 29 is provided with adjusting mechanism 31, 32, of any usual or approved construction, and it is also provided with an adjustment-locking lever 33. A lever 34 pivoted at 35 to the frame is connected with a collar or strap 36, made fast to the standard or spindle 2, so that by raising or loweringthesaid lever 34, the standard orspindle 2, and hence the block, may be raised and lowered as desired. Any adjustment of the block made by meansof the lever 34 is secured by means of the adj ustment-locking levers 37, and the throw of the lever 34 is regulated by the ordinary regulating mechanism 38, 39. Thus it will be seen that the block as a whole may be raised or lowered as desired independently of any expansion or contraction of the said block, and so also, the said block may be expanded or contracted at will, quite independently of the vertical movement of the block as a whole.

In order to cover the spaces between the adjacent edges of the segments composing the block, I provide thin metallic leaves 40, having their edges reduced in thickness so as not to break the contour of the block, and in order to show these leaves plainly in the drawings, I have exaggerated their proportions considerably, particularly in Figs. 3 and 5. Each leaf is provided with a rib 41 having an upper projection 42 and a lower projection 43. On the top of the collar 21 is arranged an outwardly flaring rim or socket-piece 44, slotted radially to receive projections 43 of the ribs 41. Between the nut 15 and the plate 12, or otherwise, I arrange a radially slotted plate 45, in the slots of which the projections 42 of the leaves play and the leaves thus have provision for guidance at top and bottom, and they are sustained at the top by a cross'pin 46 overlying the slotted plate 45, and they are connected at the bottom with the sections by means of cross-pins 47, which engage slitted ears 48 on said sections. Obviously theleaves are free to move back and forth with the block sections and cover the openings between said sections as the block is expanded, so that at all times the surface of the block is preserved in unbroken continuity.

The operation has been sufficiently indicated by the foregoing description, but it may be observed that in preparing the hat body for the blocking machine, it is taken from the kettle in its conoidal form, to the tip stretcher where its tip is stretched out laterally, and thence it is removed to the brim stretcher where its loweropen end is spread out in horizontal curves to start the brim, when it is in condition to be applied to the blocking machine, as indicated by the solid black lines in Fig. 1. The hat body in the rough being clamped in the machine, the block is then moved bodily, by means of its spindle 2, up into the hat body a distance suilicient to enable the operator to block a hat of the desired size. The further movement of the spindle being stopped, the collar 21 is then given its independent upward movement and as the collar 21 is moved upwardly the levers 19 also are moved with it and carry upwardly with them the block segments, and said levers are forced outwardly by their cam surfaces riding against the friction rollers 17, thereby simultaneously also moving outwardly the block segments and so expanding the block. By this compound, simultaneous upward and outward movement of the block sections, the hat body is stretched uniformly throughout its quarters to the band, insuring a practically uniform distribution of the fibers, without thinning and thereby weakening any part of the crown. In the old style block where the block sections are moved outwardly only, the hat body is thinned out and weakened in places. and this objection iswholly avoided by my construction whereby the stretch is applied upwardly and outwardly at the same time, by a sort of rolling action.

During this upward and outward movement of the block sections, the spindle 8 is free to rise in its socket in spindle 2 to permit the sections to rise without becoming detached from spindle 2, and the upper ends of such 10 sections may move laterally within the confines of the plates 6 and 7 without escaping therefrom, the plates 6 and the leaves 40 covering the spaces between the expanded sections and preserving the continuity of the blocks surface. On the return movement,

the pins or rollers 18, acting against the le-' vers, cause the said levers to withdraw the segments toward one another and thereby contract the block. The links inthe move- 20 ments of the levers 19 cause the lower ends of the segments to follow the movement of their upper ends.

As shown in Fig. 10, in order to get different shaped hats with the same block, I may add 2 5 any number of different sizes or different shaped plates 6, and secure them by a countersunk screw or other convenient fastening. What I claim is 1. In a hat blocking machine, a hat block 0 comprising a number of longitudinally. and

laterally movable sections or segments, a supporting medium for each of such sections movably connected therewith and having a longitudinally and laterally defined path of move- 5 ment, a lifting device common to all of such supporting mediums, and an actuator for such lifting device, whereby upon the upward movement of the lifting device the said supporting mediums are caused to move up- I 40 wardly and outwardly simultaneously and to transmit corresponding motions to their respective block-sections, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a vertical standard or 4 5 spindle, a hat block comprising a number of sections or segments assembled about the said spindle, a series of brackets corresponding in number to the number of sections or segments constituting the blockand assembled about the said spindle radially and clamped thereto, a series of levers corresponding in number to the number of brackets and segments passed through and guided in their movements by the said brackets and connected at one end with thesaid segments, and a movable collar standard about which the said segments are" assembled and to which they are secured, levers, and a lifting device for suchlevers for operating the said segments, the said lifting device consistingof a series of cylindrical segments and an annular collar provided with an internal groove and'an external entrance to such groove, thesaid cylindrical segments being provided with external projections adapted to be entered into the internal groove of the said collar through its external opening, and means to raise and lower the saidlifting device, substantially as described.

4;. The combination with a vertical spindle or standard, of a hat block composed of a series of segments, brackets clamped to said spindle and containing rollers or pins arranged at obliquely opposite points, and cam-like levers connecting the said brackets and segments and engaging the rollers in said brackets, a collar slidable upon the said spindle and containing supports for such levers and means to move the spindle bodily, and independent means to move the collar containing the lever supports independently, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a spindle or'standard, of a hat block comprising a series of se ments or sections assembled about the said spindle or standard, a second spindle arranged of the segments are arranged, and means to connect the segments with the spindle and to expand and contract them relatively to the spindle, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a spindle or standard provided with a shoulder 10, of a number of brackets having their upper andlower ends beveled, a correspondingly beveled recessed plate situated upon the shoulder of the spindle to receive one of the ends of the said brackets anda similarly beveled and recessed plateapplied to the upper ends of the brackets and about the spindle and fastened to the spindle and block sections or segments, and levers for connecting the said sections or segments and the said brackets, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a hat block comprising a number of segments or sections and means to expand and contract the said block, of thin metallic leaves overlapping adjacent sections in. substantially the external plane of the sections and without materially increasing the circumference of the block, and made as separate structures from the said blocksections, and interlocking connections between the leaves and block-sections affording a support for the said leaves and to cause them to move with the sections as the said sections are moved to expand or contract the block, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a hat block comprising a series of segments or sections and means to expand and contract the block, of leaves having ribs interposed betweenv the adjacent edges of the said segments, the leaves themselvesoverlapping the block seg ments or sections externally soas to preserve the continuity of the block practically un- IIO broken, inward projections on said ribs at top and bottom, a block spindle, and supports on such spindle for receiving the said projections and sustaining said leaves, and an interlocking connection between the leaves and the block-sections causing the leaves to move with the block-sections, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. The combination with a spindle or standard, of a series of segments or sections assembled about said spindle or standard, means to connect the segments with the spindle and to expand and contract them collectively relatively to the spindle, a removable plate applied to the spindle to cover the openings between the segments when they are expanded, and a number of similar plates of diiterent size applicable to the end of the spindle to permit the use of one block for a number of difierently shaped hats, substantially as described.

10. In a hat blocking machine, a hat block comprising a number of longitudinally and laterally movable sections or segments, a supporting medium for each of such sections movably connected therewith and having a longitudinally and laterally defined path of movement, connectors movably joining the lower portions ofthe sections to a fixed portion of the apparatus, alifting device common to all of such supporting mediums, and an actuator for such lifting device, whereby upon the upward movement of the lifting device the said supporting mediums are caused to move upwardly and outwardly simultaneously and to transmit corresponding motions to their respective block-sections, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of January, A. D. 1894:.

SAMUEL E. DUNIIAM. Witnesses:

L. LEGRAND HOPKINS, NORMAN Honors.

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