Patent GB-586475-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to ironing machines
IPC: D06F65/06
Filed: 1943-11-08
Abstract: 586,475. Ironing - machines. ELECTRIC HOUSEHOLD UTILITIES CORPORATION. Nov. 8, 1943, No. 18530. Convention date, April 23. [Class 138 (ii)] In an ironing-machine having a roll 12, Fig. 1, adapted to engage or be engaged by, a shoe 16, and two separate driving trains whereby an electric motor 30 can (1) rotate the roll, and (2) move either the roll or the shoe into contact with the other, mechanical means controlled by the operator are provided for putting the driving trains into operation in sequence and so that both driving trains cannot be in operation simultaneously. In the construction shown, the shoe is movable towards and away from the roll and is moved by a gear train driven through a clutch from one end of the motor shaft, while the roll is driven through a separate clutch and gear train from the other end of the motor shaft. Operation.-The two clutches are controlled by a single knee or other lever 112 having three positions. In the normal position "A," both clutches are disconnected and the shoe may be either in engagement with, or disengaged from, the roll. Movement of the lever from normal position "A" to right-hand position "B" causes the shoe-clutch to be engaged for part of a revolution of a shoe-operating shaft and then automatically disengaged, whereby the shoe is moved out of or into engagement with the roll. Movement of the lever from "B" to "A" merely resets a clutch-engaging trigger. A second movement from "A" to "B" causes the shoe-clutch to be re-engaged for the remainder of the revolution of the shoe-operating shaft, and the shoe returns to its original position. Repeated movement of the lever from "A" to "B" thus results in the operation of the machine simply as a press. In the left-hand position "C," the roll-clutch is engaged and the roll continues to rotate while the lever is held in this position. Movement of the lever from normal position "A" to ironing position "C" is, however, prevented by an interlock unless the shoe is in roll-engaging 'position. Roll-mechanism.-The roll 12 is supported on bearings 19 on a stationary tube 20 fixed to an upright 11 secured to a sheet metal base or housing 10. The roll is driven through a pinion 40, Fig. 2, on the right-hand end of the motor shaft, meshing with a gear 41 connected by a clutch 54, Figs. 3 and 5, with a pinion 57 and a train of gears 86, 89, 90, 93, 94, the last gear being connected by a coupling 95 to a shaft 22 secured at its far end to the roll. The gears 86-94 are mounted as a unit on a bar 76 which is located in pivots 11c, 32a in the upright housing 11 and prevented from rotation by a gear shaft 80 fitting in a socket 32b. The gears are lubricated by an idle gear 72 which runs in'oil as shown in Fig. 2. The clutch comprises three internal teeth 54 formed in a disc 51 secured to the gear 41, these teeth being adapted to be engaged by three long teeth of the pinion 57 when the latter is slid downwards by a clutch spring 68. The clutch is disengaged by means of a crank-pin 101 on a shaft 100 having an arm 105 connected for lostmotion through a pin 107 and slot 106a to an arm 106 fixed to the knee lever 112 which has its pivot at 109. When the lever is in position "C," to which it is urged by a spring 114, the clutch is engaged by its spring 68, but when the lever is moved to positions "A" and "B" the clutch is disengaged. Shoe-mechanism.-The shoe 16, Figs. 1 and 28, is pivoted at 121 to an arm 120 loose on a shaft 123 and normally connected through a spring 136 and a quick-release device 138 to an arm 124 fixed to the shaft, so that in an emergency the shoe can be immediately released from the roll, to the position shown in broken lines, by rotating a handle 132 through 90‹. In order to rock the shaft 123, by which the shoe 16 is carried, the left-hand end of the motor shaft 30b, Fig. 11, is coupled by a spring 168 to a clutch and gearing in a casing 163, this gearing driving a shaft 162, Fig. 7, having a cam 159 engaged by a roller 157 on a spring-loaded two-part arm 152, 153 carried by a boss 143, Fig. 6, fixed to the shaft 123. The arm part 152 is fixed to the boss 143 and is fixed to one end of a torsion bar spring 150, the other end of which is fixed to the right-end of a tubular shaft 145 having the arm part 153 fixed to its left end. The two parts 152, 153 are thus coupled by the spring 150 and are normally kept in alignment by a pin 155 and lug 152a with the spring stressed as shown in Fig. 6. A flywheel 170 is provided on the motor shaft to assist in moving the shoe. The clutch in the shoe-operating gear casing 163 comprises a sliding pinion 189, Fig. 19, which drives the cam shaft 162 through gears 193, 196 and is adapted to engage three clutch teeth on a disc 191 fixed to a gear 180 driven by the motor shaft through the spring 168. The clutch is controlled by the knee lever 112 through a link 231, Fig. 11, acting through a trigger device on a link 207 connected to an arm 206 directly acting on the clutch. The trigger device comprises a trip lever 235, pivoted at its upper end to the rod 231, guided at its lower end in a slot 238 and provided with a shoulder 235a normally in abutment with a shoulder 245d on a lever 245 pivoted at 219 and connected to the link 207. As the knee lever moves from "A" to "B" the shoulder 235a first rotates the lever 245 clockwise and then rides over the shoulder 245d to allow the link 207 to return to normal position. The arrangement is such that each time the link 207 is pulled the clutch is engaged and the cam shaft makes a partial revolution, after which the clutch is automatically disengaged. With the cam 159 in the position shown in Fig. 7, in which the shoe is disengaged from the roll, a single engagement of the clutch, caused by movement of the knee lever to position "B," rotates the cam through nearly 270‹ until the high point "D" bears against the roller 157 and the shoe is pressed against the roll, the clutch being then disengaged. The next pull on the link re-engages the clutch and rotates the cam through the remainder of the 360‹ to remove the shoe from the roll. Thus, the cam has a slow rise when bringing the shoe against the roll, and this allows a motor of small power to be used. The clutch pinion 189 is slid into and out of engagement with the clutch disc 191 by a spring-loaded disc 200 having two unequallyspaced cam fingers 202 adapted to be engaged by a spring cam arm 204 on a rock shaft 205 provided with the arm 206 controlled by the link 207. Thus, when the knee lever is moved to position "B" the link is pulled and the spring arm 204 is rocked away from whichever finger 202 is bearing on it, and the disc 200 is actuated by its spring 210 to cause the clutch 189, 191 to be engaged and the cam shaft 162 to be driven. The link 207 having been released immediately by the trigger device, the arm 204 is returned by a spring 212 to its normal position so that the next finger 202 makes contact with the arm which acts as a cam and raises the disc 200 to disengage the clutch. Interlock.-In order to prevent movement of the knee lever 112, Fig. 1, from position "A" to position "C" with consequent engagement of the roll-clutch, unless the shoe is engaged with the roll, the rod 231 connecting the knee lever to the shoe-clutch control-mechanism is connected through a lever 230, Fig. 11, 'to a second lever 218, that is also pivoted at 219 and co-operates with a time disc 215, Fig. 15, on the cam shaft 162. The disc is provided with a notch 216 in its periphery that registers with the angled end 222 of the lever 218, only when the shoe-engaging mechanism is at rest with the shoe engaging the roll. In all other positions, the disc prevents counter clockwise rocking of the levers 218, 230 and thus prevents movement of the knee lever from "A" to "C."