Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Ironing Wearing Apparel or the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Mar., 1895-Accepted, 13th Apr., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means or Apparatus for Ironing Wearing Apparel
or the like.
I WILLIAM AUGUST EDWIN HENRICI, of 762 Broadway, Chelsea, County
of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Manufacturer do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
Following statement :-
This invention has for its object the production of a machine for use in laundry
work, for the purpose of rapidly and effectively ironing certain portions of wearing
apparel, such as collars and cuffs, secured permanently to or detached from shirts,
the sleeve or wristbands of shirt sleeves, etc.
By means of the invention to be hereinafter to be described this branch of
laundry work is not only greatly facilitated with a great saving of labor, but the
work produced possesses great uniformity in finish and is of better quality than
can be attained by hand save with most laborious and painstaking skill.
A rotatable work-support is employed, which sustains the work while being
ironed, and also feeds it beneath a constantly heated iron, which is so under the
control of the operator that it can be instantly applied to the work with regulated
pressure, or removed therefrom at will.
Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of an ironing machine embodying the invention,
a portion of the work-support being broken out to show the jacket or cover.
1!ierefor;
Fig. 2 is a right hand side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view of the irun, showing more clearly the manner
of heating it, and
Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the head of the machine substantially as shown in
Fig. 1, the work-support and iron, however, being shorter to accomodate the
machine more particularly to narrow portions of apparel, as for instance collars
or neck bands.
The ironing machine is shown as mounted upon a preferably metallic column
or base A, of suitable height to bring the working parts conveniently within reach
of the operator.
A stand A shown as secured by bolts to the top of the column has bearings for
a main shaft a, having fast thereon a gear a' and usual fast and loose pulloys B, B',
by which rotation may be transmitted to the shaft.
Uprights A, A have bearings for a shaft b to which is secured, preferably
between the bearings a large gear & in mesh with gear a', one end of the shaft
projecting horizontally beyond the upright As and having fast thereon a work-
support, shown as a cylindrical sleeve embracing the shaft, and covered with
a jacket 6 of some suitable yielding material adapted to make a desirable bed
for the work while being ironed.
Preferably india rubber is employed, fitted closely upon the sleeve b' and then
vulcanized thereon, the outer end of the work-support being covered, if desired,
with a suitable cap 6*.
To the upright A*, which is inade longer than A, is pivoted at e* one end of
a swinging arm or carrier c for the iron, the free end of the carrier being slotted
C

page_text: at o², see Fig. 3, to receive therein the pivot d* of the iron d, the latter being
hollowed or concave on its upper side and having upturned ears through which
the pivot is extended.
Adjusting screws in the ends of the slot engage the pivot d* and move it in
one or the other direction laterally for a purpose to be described.
A radius bar e, shown as bent to clear the gear, is pivoted at ¹ to the
upright A and at its other end it is pivotally connected to the iron at e
the fulcra o* and being in the same vertical plane, and normally the pivotal
points d and are in a single vertical plane, whereby movement of the iron
towards or from the work-support will be in a vertical path, and its face d³, which
is parallel to the axis of rotation of the work support, will be moved in parallelism
thereto, the arm c and bar e forming a parallel movement mechanism for the iron.
As the iron is sometimes desired to press harder at one end than the other,
the screws are provided by which the pivot d* may be thrown to one side or
the other, slightly canting the iron so that its face d will not be in exact
parallelism with the work-support, and the lowest portion of the face d' of the iron
will bear the hardest upon the work on the support.
The outer end of the iron overhangs the work-support in the wrist-band and
cuff machine, in order to prevent the formation of a crease in the sleeve.
To the side of the base A is pivoted a treadle T normally held lifted by a strong
spring s, and pivotally connected by a stiff link f and forked head f¹ thereon to
the radius bar e, so that the operator by placing her foot upon the treadle T may
at will depress the iron, while both hands are left entirely free to manage the
work as it is fed along by the rotation of the work-support.
When the treadle is released the spring acts to lift the link and thereby the
iron into its normal position adjacent to but not resting upon the support, a lug a³
on the base having a screw a' therein to form an adjustable limiting stop for the
upward movement of the treadle.
To heat the iron da receptacle his rigidly secured to its concave side, with a
tube projecting therefrom horizontally in the concavity of the iron, shown in
dotted lines Fig. 1 and full lines Fig. 3, said tube having a series of perforations h
in its under side to form burners in close proximity with and to heat the bottom of
the iron d.
By valves m and n, connected respectively with sources of air and gas by flexible
or slightly yielding pipes m², n³, a mixture of air and gas in proper proportions is
conveyed by pipe to the chamber 4, in which it is very thoroughly mixed,
passing thence to the burner pipe h¹.
To accomodate the pipe the carrier c is annularly enlarged at 10, and the
radius bare similarly at 15, said enlargements surrounding the pipe and
permitting its movement and also the movements of the carrier and bar.
In Fig. 4 the work-support g is much shorter than is shown in Fig. 1, and the
iron g' is shorter than the work-support to offset a neck band from the bosom as it
is ironed, the other parts of the machine being as before described.
When in operation the work-support is continuously rotated, and the operator
applies a piece of work thereto, depressing the treadle to press the iron d upon the
work, the rotation of the support drawing it along beneath the iron, the pressure
put upon the work being regulated by the operator.
Preferably the edges of the iron are rounded as shown in Fig. 2, the face d'
of the iron being substantially tangent to the surface of the work-support when
pressed against it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inveu-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The use, in an ironing machine, of a rotatable support to sustain and feed the
monk
.
salatiale station in
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hostine dovino therefor and
maene to move

page_text: 2. The use, in an ironing machine, of a rotatable cylindrical work-support
having a yielding jacket, an adjacent iron, a heating device therefor, and means to
move the iron towards the support, to press the work thereupon, substantially
as described.
.
3. The use, in an ironing machine, of a heated iron, a cylindrical rotatable work-
support adjacent thereto and provided with a rubber jacket vulcanized thereon,
and means to press the iron upon the work held on the support, substantially as
described.
4. The use, in an ironing machine, of a rotatable cylindrical support to sustain
and feed the work, an iron pivotally supported above the said support, and means
to move the iron towards and in parallelism with the axis of the work-support,
substantially as described.
5. The use of a cylindrical rotatable work-support, a shell-like iron, a gas
burner carried by and to heat the iron, connections between said burner and a
source of supply, a swinging carrier for the iron, and means to positively move the
carrier to force the iron against the work upon the support, substantially as
described.
6. The use, in an ironing machine, of a rotatable cylindrical work-support, an
iron adjacent thereto, means to heat the iron, a swinging arm to which the iron is
pivoted, a radius bar pivoted to the arm at one end and having a fixed pivot at the
other, and means to move the iron towards or from the work-support, and in
parallelism with its axis, substantially as described.
7. The use, in an ironing machine, of a rotatable cylindrical work-support, a
heated iron, a swinging arm to which the iron is pivoted, means to adjust the iron
thereon, a radins bar to direct the movement of the arm and iron, and means to
move the iron towards and from the work-support, substantially as described.
8. The use, in an ironing machine, of a rotatable work-support, an iron, parallel
motion mechanism supporting the iron, and means to move the iron towards or from
the work-support, substantially as described.
9. The construction and arrangement or combination of parts of apparatus so
as to co-operate together to effect the ironing of certain parts of wearing apparel
as set forth.
"
1000,
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.