USRE3217E - Improvement in machines for stretching hat-bodies - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EIOKEMEYER HAT BLOCKING MACHINE COMPANY, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNEES OF It. EIOKEMEYER.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR STRETCHING HAT-BODIES.`

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,553, dated February'ZB, 1865; Reissue No. 3,217, dated December l, 1868.

and also at the brim, to enable the hats to re-A 'ceive and maintain theform subsequently given to them by the operation of blocking.

Y The hat-body being of a conicalform, rounded 'at the tip, is, nevertheless, made with reference to the hat to be produced, andthe different I parts of it, which are afterward to be developedintothe tip, square side,crown, band, and brim 7 ofthe finished hat, are distin guished by imaginary lines or zones around the hat-body, and the same naines applied to them, the lower part of the sides being termed the brim,7 the upper part of the sides the side crown, the line of division between the side crown and brim the band, the rounded upper part the tip,7 and the dividing-line between the tip and side crown the square.

In stretching hat-bodies for blocking, the band is not generally stretched circumferentially, or but slightly stretched, the stretching being required in the crown and tip to produce the square or angular corner of the cylindrical or bell-crowned hat, and at the brim in order that the latter may be flat, or at right angles, or nearly so, to the side crown when blocked. Andit is necessary that the body shall be stretched more in those parts which require stretching than would be sufficient to conform it to the shape of the hat-block, because, if not overstretched before blocking, the hat will shrink when, in wear, it is exposed to moisture, and tend to resume its conical shape, but if overstretched and su'ered to shrink to the block, will retain its figure afterward under' ordinary wear and exposure.

' In stretching anat-body for square-crowned hats, the upper part of the hat-body is circumferentially stretched most at the square or angle of intersection between the side crown and tip, beginning to stretch gradually from the center of the tip and from the band, and increasing toward the square.

The lower partof the body is stretched'circumferentially most at the edge of the brim, beginning to stretch gradually from the band.

This stretching operation has hitherto been commonly performed by hand, notwithstanding the attempts that have been made to use expanding-blocks or expanding devices inside of the bodies for stretching the tips or crowns.

Hat-bodies are generally made of unequal thickness from tip to brim, but of equal thickness, as nea-r as may be, in the direction of the circumference, and the operation of stretchingsometimes called wet blocking7-by hand required great skill and care to stretch the parts requiring to be stretched, and preserve the requisite circumferential equality of thickness of the body without overstrainin g or tearing the hat.

AThe object of my invention is to perform this operation of stretching hat-bodies by machinery; and to this end I have invented the new and improved machine hereinafter described, whereby both the tip and brim, or either, may be properly stretched by the operation of the machine.

My said invention of a new and improved machine for stretchinghat-bodies consists, generally, of a radially-ribbed or skeleton former, whereon the hat-body is placed to be stretched, and the ribs of which act as internal supporting and stretching surfaces, and a series of eX- ternal stretching devices, which act upon the outside portions of the hat-body that are to be stretched in opposition to the internal action of the ribs of the skeleton former, and between the lines of support of the same, the internal and external supporting and stretching devices being so combined and arranged, with relation to each other and to the work to be done, that when they are brought together with force they operate to Vstretch the hat-body embraced between them in the required places to develop the desired shape of the hat; and

for vthe purpose of holding the hat-body in place upon the former, so that the proper portions will be stretched, a-clamping-ring is also combined with the machine.

-I have also made the exterior pressing or stretching devices radially adjustable in positionrelatively to the axis of the ribbed skeleton former, to accommodate the variations of form required 5 and in order to vary the degree of stretching of either the tip or brim at pleasure, `have made the external pressing or stretching devices independent of each other, and independently adjustable.

It will. be observed upon inspection of the machine, as illustrated in the drawings, that although the general principle and mode of operation of the parts of the machine which act to stretch the .tip are the same as in those parts that act to stretch the brim, the adaptation and arrangement'of the parts for the two operations are diiferent. The ribs which support the tip have curved or .otherwise inclined surfaces to conform to the rounded tip of the hat-body, and the ribs themselves are arranged so that the recesses between them extend inward to the axis-,or nearly so, in order to'give room for the portions of the' tip and side crown that are pressedin by the external stretching' devices, and the external stretching devices converge'v closely together -toact upon. the upper surfaceof the tip to be stretched. rEhe ribs which support the' brim lhave straight surfaces radiatingfroin a circle or cylinder rof the diameter ofthe band, and the recesses do not necessarily'extend inside of that circle or cylinder which may be 'the hub or-support of the ribs of the former. The ribs are more in number than lthe ribs which support the'tip, because of the greater surfaceV of the brim to be stretched by them, and the external stretching or pressing devices are not -convergedtogether so closely as those which act lupon `the tipi; and it will ralso be observed that theconstruction and arrangement, respectively," of th e parts-for stretching the tip and brim ofthev hat-body diier so much rthat neither` will i perform the oiice of the other, although both Will perform their offices at the same timeupon the same hat-body.

` For the purpose of y securing circumferential equalityl of action ofthe stretching devices upon the portions' of the hat-bodyto be stretched, and for convenience and accuracy of adjustment and facility of operating the stretching devices in a practical machine, Inhave mounted the internal stretching devices, which constitute the skeleton or ribbed former, concentrically uponthe upper end-of a verticalsliding spindle, which is movedv up andndown in guides- -in a frame by a leverfand have attachedt theV exterior `stretching devices to the frame-in po-l sitions concentric with the axis? ofthe ribbed former, so that `the latter may be lowered to put' onv and take off the hat-body, and lifted when the hat-body isput on, to bring the parts together :so as to stretch `allthe partsoperated and lower ribs e c and d d, `ring is attached by vertical rods g g to and below a head-piece, F, of such weight "asto :be capable of producing the requisite degree of pressure to holdl a hat-body upon the' for-meri upon equably in the direction of the circumference ofthe hat-body. :if the exterior andinterior' devices which act'upo'n the hat-body to stretch it were not guided in this or some equivalent manner, parts of al given Zone of the circumference of the body would be apt to stretch more than others, according to'their texture 5 but by causing the stretching-surfaces to act equably, by means of the frame and guides, uniformity in stretching is secured, as far as practicable in such operations;

To -enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction more particularly by reference to the'accompanying drawings, of whichc Figure l is a central vertical section of the machine. Fig. -2 is a plan of the radiallyribbed or skeleton former andthe lower series of stretching-rollers. Fig. 3 is a plan of the arrangement of the upper series of stretchingrollers.

Similar letters of reference indicate'corresponding partsn in the' several figures.

A is an upright frame, on the top of which is a stationaryv horizontal plate or table, B, having Va central circular opening, a, under and partly within which is situated theiskeleton former C, made of wood or other suitable material. This former C has lits vertical prole, of conical or VLother form, correspondingY with that of the hat-body before the stretching operation, and a portion of it at about theV middle ofits height is of complete circular form in its horizontal section, as shownat b b, in both iigures, but above and below thisportion it lhas a` number 'of vertical recesses,c cf,'be`i '.tween which are left a corresponding number of equidi'stant'radial ribs, d 'clj and ec, the ribs c c being above and those d d below the 'circullar portion 'b b, and the edges of, theseribs `form`the prole of the former. 4The former thus constructed is secured firmly and concen- .t-rically' upon the upper endj of 'a vertical spindle, J, which is arranged to slide up vand down in guides f j' in thecenter ofthe frame,

concentric with the opening 'a inthe 'table'l and which has Aapplied to it a lever or treadle,

l), by which it canv be liftedf'u'p' to lraiseithe- -former. i I Ev is a metal clamping-ring, having its interior of such size and formas to nt the circular portion l of the former between Vthe upper This clamping- In Fig. 1 a body is exhibited upon thev former in section. The rods work'through guides 'in Lal-stationary horizontal plate, G, which is supportedby vertical pillars h h upon the table B, and the ring E is thereby kept concentric `with the former. Theclamping-ring is supported, when not supported by the former, by means of a vertical screw, whichV screws through a tapped hole in the head-piece F, and the lower' end of which, bearing upon the plate Gr, prevents the ring E from descending below the position in which it is represented in Fig. 1.

K K are a series of thin round-edged rollers corresponding in number with the upper recesses c and ribs c of the former (l, arranged above the opening b, in the plate or table B, radial to the axis of the former and clampingring4 E, and opposite the center of the said recesses c. The axles 7c k of these rollers are supported in hangers L L, which are secured by screws J J to the plate G, the said screws passing through radial slots in the said plate to enable them to be adj usted toward and from the axis of the former.

The surfaces of the ribs c and of the rollers K are the stretching-surfaces for the tip and crown of the hat-body.

M M are a series of thin rounded-edged rollers corresponding in number with the lower recesses c and ribs d of the former G, arranged below the plate or table B, radial to the axis of the former and clamping-ring E, andopposite the centers of the said recesses c. rlhe axles 'm m of these rollers are supported in hangers NN, which are secured by screws n n and from the axis of the former.

The surfaces of the ribs d and of the rollers M are the stretching-surfaces for the brim of the hat-body.

The clalnping-ring E is so adjusted by the screw H, and the rollers K and M are so adjusted by setting the hangers L N, that when a'hat-body upon the former is in contact with the said ring, while the screw H rests upon the plate G, the edges of the rollers K and M are a short distance outside of the proiile of the former, as shown in Fig. l.

The operation of stretching a hat-body in this machine is as follows: The formerC is first allowed to descend to such a position as to permit the hat-body to be put on and drawn tightly over it. The body, wet with hot water or steam, is put on, and the former raised up by depressing the outer end of the treadle or lever D.

When the body comes in contact with the clamping-ring E, the weight of the said ring and the attached head-piece F cause the said ring to hold it with suficient iirmness against the circular portion b of the former to prevent' it from slipping between the ring and former,

and the continued upward movement of the former, produced by a suitable pressure upony the outer end of the lever or treadle, brings the body into contact with the rollers K and M, which are thus -made to press upon and stretch the portions of the body between the said rollers and the corresponding ribs of the former into the recesses c and c. The said portions are thereby stretched over the ribs dand` skeleton or ribbed and recessed former, substantially such as is herein described.

2. The combination and arrangement of the crown and tip supporting ribs with the upper series of stretching devices, substantially as described, operating to stretch the tip and side crown of the hat-body between them, substantially in the manner hereinbefore set forth. l

3. The combination and arrangement of the brim-supporting ribs with the lower series of stretching devices, substantially as described, operating to stretch the brim of the hat-body between them, substantially in the manner set forth.

4. In combination with the supporting-ribs of the skeleton former, the stretching devices, operating, as hereinbefore set forth, to stretch the hat-body between them at one operation, as required for blocking', substantially as dcscribed. n y 5. The clamping-ring, in combination with the ribs of the skeleton or ribbed former, operating to hold the hat-body thereon during the operation of stretching, substantially as described.

6. rlhe combination, in a machine for stretching hats, of the skeleton or ribbed andrecessed former, a clamping-ring, and a system of stretching arms or rollers, the whole combined and operating substantially as described.

7. Making the stretching devices for the tip or brim adjustable radially with relation to each other, so as to vary the degree of stretching of either tip or brim, substantially as described.

RUDOLF EIOKEMEYER.

Witnesses:

THEoDoRE FITCH, CHAs. CRooK.

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