Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A combination automatic molding machine and associated cooling rack for pressed items, such as hats, using advanced features which produce a pressed items, such as a completed hat form from an unshaped configuration of a moldable material, such as felt, wool or straw. The combination can also be used to produce other flexible, inelastic fabric structures, such as molded insulation members within a wall or vehicle body. When a hat is first taken from the hat molding machine at a first large size, it is then placed upon the cooling rack, where the size is further varied by placing corresponding male crown inserts extending up from a flange placed upon the cooling rack. Preferably the male inserts are made of ABS Plastic. In effect, the molding rack is used to vary sizes for each hat upon the cooling rack. While the hat is in a warm, malleable state of a large size, the hat thus formed is squeezed through a fenestration hole of a smaller size reducer. A larger sized hat is squeezed through the hole, to reduce the open crown size from a predetermined larger size to a predetermined smaller size. The hat is further sized smaller by placing an annular foam ring sweat band within the hat. Preferably, the foam is polyethylene foam covered by a porous, sweat absorbing material, such as satin. Use of a foam sweatband can further change the size in one hat, since in its compressed state the foam sweat band will accommodate a slightly larger hat size, such as 73/8, as opposed to a slightly smaller hat size, such as 71/4. Furthermore, in an alternate safety guard embodiment, the hat molding machine portion includes a guide track, upon which track a transparent guard is raised or lowered, to alternately expose and deny access to the moving parts of the manually accessible control panel.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim