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Statement of the case.

glue and starch, and then the body was removed from between the forms and dried. The immersion of the body, while between the perforated forms, in a solution of glue or starch, as described by Williams, was deemed necessary, in order to cause the fibres to adhere together after the body was removed from the influence of the exhausting apparatus. The fur fibres, by Williams's process, were so glued or stuck together that they could not be felted afterwards.

In 1839-this date must be observed-a certain William Ponsford discovered, that when a mass of fur or fibrous material capable of felting is disintegrated, and deposited in a condition proper for felting, and is immersed for an instant in very hot water, that the hot water will, of itself, cause an incipient felting of the fibres, so that a continuous fabric of fur of the shape of the "former" can be then removed from the "former" and finished by the hand of the workman; and he further discovered, that if the bat* be surrounded carefully with a soft cloth, its texture will not be disturbed during the operation of immersion, by reason of the water percolating or passing through it. The mode of applying this discovery was described in the English patent of Ponsford in 1839 as follows:

"The hair as it passes from the blowing machine is to be tossed or thrown into the air, from which it is to be sucked or drawn down upon hollow perforated cones or moulds of metal or wood, with an exhausting cylinder beneath. When the hair has been received on one of those perforated cones or moulds to a sufficient thickness, a cowl of linen or flannel is to be drawn gently over it, and then a hollow perforated cover, of copper or any other suitable metal, is to be dropped over the cowl: the cone or mould is then to be immersed in a vat or tub of boiling hot water, and there allowed to remain for about a minute, after which it is to be taken out, and the metal cover and flannel or linen cowl removed, when the bat or layer of hair will be found felted to a degree that it may be readily finished off by the workman in the usual manner at the oven."

As illustrating the history of the art, and fixing the true relations to it of subsequent discoveries, rather than as directly bearing on the case in issue, it may be mentioned that in 1842 a certain Fosket began experiments in this same branch of business,

* A “bat" is a hat-body in the process of formation.

Statement of the case.

A

and obtained a patent January 23, 1846, three months before Wells obtained his original patent. * Fosket's machine consisted of a combination of a vibrating bowstring disintegrating apparatus, worked by a wheel, as in figure 7; a hollow perforated revolving vacuum cone and a trunk or conductor, partially surrounding the disintegrater at one end, and extending to the cone, for the purpose of guiding and directing the fur between the disintegrating mechanism and the cone. The patent of Fosket was reissued March 23, 1858, two years anterior to the Wells reissues of 1860. A person named Robertson, and Hezekiah Miller, a Philadelphian, had previously made certain improvements, not necessary to be specially presented; the former in 1838, the latter in 1839.

[graphic]

Fig. 7.

The present controversy related to the formation of the "hatbody," or foundation of the hat on the perforated cone, and the removal of it when formed from the cone without injury to the texture; the former matter being the principal question.

A fur hat-body is required to be made of uniform thickness in the direction of its circumference, and of varying thickness from brim to tip, thin at the tip and along the crown, and thick at the band and brim; but thickest at the junction of the brim with the crown, termed the band. To secure lightness with the requisite strength calls for such a distribution of the material as will concentrate most of it where strength is most required.

Wells, from whom, as already mentioned, the complainant derived title, obtained a patent, April 25, 1846, for a machine for forming, on hollow perforated cones, fur hat-bodies, and for a process of removing the body from the cone after it had been so formed, in such a condition as to its texture that its fibres could be subsequently felted together to a proper degree by hand. His machine (figure 8, page 79,) consisted of a revolving brush (F) to separate and throw the fibres of fur, a perforated vacuum cone (0) to receive the fur, and an intermediate trunk (M) to convey the fur to the cone. The aperture of this trunk nearest to the cone had a hinged hood or deflector (s) at its upper extremity, which vibrated

* Wells's reissue, No. 1087, referred in its preamble to this patent of Fosket, reciting it as a prior patent.

Statement of the case.

up and down and regulated the deposit of fibres on the cone, so as to make the brim of the hat-body thicker than the tip.

Wells's specification, in its important parts, was as follows; and it is important for the reader to observe not only what is described, but how far in the description Wells describes an improvement on a machine; in other words, a machine itself, or part of one; and how far something less concrete, as a mode of operation; the allegation of the defendants having been, that in this specification-the specification, to wit, of the original patent-nothing but a machine was described.

"It has long been essayed to make hat-bodies by throwing the fibres of fur, wool, &c., by a brush or picker cylinder, into a perforated cone, exhausted by a fan below to carry and hold the fibres thereon by the currents of air that rush from all directions towards and through the apertures of the cone, and thus form a bat of fibres ready for hardening and felting, but from various causes all these attempts have failed. I have, however, so improved this machine in various important particulars as to remove all the objections, as proved by the test of experiment.

"My improvements consist in feeding the fur, after it has been picked, to a rotating brush, between two endless belts of cloth, one above the other (bb); the lower one horizontal, and the upper inclined, to gradually compress the fur, and gripe it more effectually where it is presented to the action of the rotating brush, which, moving at a great velocity, throws it in a chamber or tunnel (M,) which is gradually changed in form towards the outlet, where it assumes a shape nearly corresponding to a vertical section passing through the axis of the cone, but narrower, for the purpose of concentrating and directing the fur thrown by the brush into the cone (o;) this casing being provided with an aperture (N) immediately under the brush (F,) through which a current of air enters, in consequence of the rotation of the brush and the exhaustion of the cone, for the purpose of more effectually directing the fibres towards the cone, which is placed just in front of the delivery aperture of the chamber, or tunnel, which aperture is provided at top with a bonnet or hood, hinged thereto, and at the bottom with a hinged flap, to regulate the deposits of the fibres on the cone or other former,' with the view to distribute the thickness of the bat wherever more is required to give additional strength. . . . Its top is gradually elevated and sides contracted so as to make the delivery aperture nearly of the form of the cone, but narrower and higher."

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and

The Wells disintegrating arrangement is shown in figure 9, its operation was that of brushing the fur while held between the

Fig. 9.

Statement of the case.

feed-rollers (d d'.) Wells's language

was

"As the fibres are first presented they are brushed and 'properly laid by the downward action of the brush,' and when 'liberated' are carried down the curved surface of a chamber, &c., or tunnel."

Wells next described the mode of operation, and afterwards made his claim thus: the same observation applying here, as above, as to the importance of the reader's noting not only the thing described, but also whether this thing was a machine-in the concrete-or something of a more abstract kind.

"What I claim, &c., is the arrangement of the two feeding-belts (b b',) with their planes inclined to each other, and passing around the lips (d d') formed substantially as described, the better to present the fibres to the action of the rotating brush (F,) as described in combination with the rotating brush and tunnel or chamber (M,) which conducts the fibres to the perforated cone or other former placed in front of the aperture or mouth thereof, substantially as herein described. I claim the chamber (M) into which the fibres are thrown by the brush, in combination with the perforated cone or other former' (o) placed in front of the delivery aperture thereof, for the purpose and in the manner substantially as herein described, the said chamber being provided with an aperture (N,) below and back of the brush, for the admission of a current of air to aid in throwing and directing the fibres on to the cone or other former, as described. I also claim the employment of the hinged hood (s) to regulate the distribution of the fibres on the perforated cone or other former, as described. And I also claim providing the lower part or delivery aperture of the tunnel or chamber with a hinged flap (q,) for the purpose of regulating the delivery of the fibres to increase the thickness of the bat where more strength is required, as herein described, in combination with the hood, as herein described."

In the original machine of Wells, the movable hood, it seemed, did not distribute the fur on the cones perfectly, and it was subsequently improved by Burr & Taylor, who made the trunk of copper or other flexible metal, regulated by a movable top.

Wells also described and claimed in his original patent a process of removing the body after it was formed, which consisted in sur

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