AN IMPROVED IRONING AND PRESSING MACHINE
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Alfred Oldershaw of Leicester in the county of
Leicester Machinist for an Invention of "AN IMPROVED IRONING AND
PRESSING MACHINE'
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Alfred Oldershaw at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th December 1882.
HENRY ALFRED OLDERSHAW of Leicester in the County of Leicester, Machinist
"AN IMPROVED IRONING AND PRESSING MACHINE
3.
My "Improved ironing and pressing machine" consists of a pressing board of
any convenient length resting upon a cast iron plate or table which in its turn is
supported by two or more strong springs resting upon a cast iron bed plate-the
first mentioned plate or table is in connection with a system of levers actuated by
a treadle in such a way that when the treadle is pressed by the foot of the operator
the pressing board is lowered and the springs compressed and when the pressure of
the foot is removed from the treadle the board rises by the recoil of the springs.
The iron is a flat iron heated by a gas flame and supported by a carrier in such
a way that it can be turned upon an axis & brought over the gas flame and thus
heated when it is not in use
The carrier is connected by a swivel joint to a carriage which travels horizontally
in a path parallel to the length of the pressing board and is supported by a casting
forming the upper part of the framework of the machine. In order to guide the
carriage while travelling to and fro with the iron it is passed between two cheeks
of which the said casting is formed and is furnished with wheels which run upon
flanges cast upon the inside of the said cheeks or it may be guided in any other
convenient manner. The above mentioned casting forming the upper part of the
framework of the machine is supported upon a bracket or brackets from the above
mentioned bed plate or is otherwise rigidly connected with the said plate.
The iron can be raised or lowered by means of a screw passing through the
carriage and turned by a suitable handle or in any other convenient way.

page_text: When the machine is used for pressing and ironing the seams of the shoulders of
garments and for other similar work I remove the pressing board and substitute
for it a suitable horn or sleeve board.
At the back of the machine and flush or nearly flush with the pressing board is
a table for supporting those parts of the garment not being operated upon.
The action of the machine is as follows-the seam or other portion of the
garment or other substance to be ironed is placed upon the pressing board—the iron
having been heated is allowed to rest upon the garment-the machine having been
so adjusted that the garment is pressed strongly between the board and the iron
by the action of the above mentioned springs-the iron is then passed to and fro as
often as required by a suitable handle the pressure of the springs being at the
same time relieved and regulated at the will of the operator by the pressure of his
foot on the above named treadle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Alfred Oldershaw in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th June 1883.
HENRY ALFRED OLDERSHAW of Leicester in the county of Leicester Machinist.
"AN IMPROVED IRONING AND PRESSING MACHINE."
My improved ironing and pressing machine consists of a pressing board of any
convenient length resting upon a cast iron plate or table which in its turn is
supported by two or more strong springs resting upon a cast iron bed plate the
first mentioned plate or table is in connection with a system of levers actuated by
a treadle in such a way, that when the treadle is pressed by the foot of the operator
the pressing board is lowered and the springs compressed and when the pressure of
the foot is removed from the treadle the board rises by the recoil of the springs.
The iron is a flat iron heated by a gas flame and supported by a carrier in such
a way that it can be turned upon an axis and brought over the gas flame and thus
heated when it is not in use.
The carrier is connected by a swivel joint to a carriage which travels horizontally
in a path parallel to the length of the pressing board and is supported by a casting
forming the upper part of the framework of the machine.
In order to guide the carriage while travelling to and fro with the iron it is
passed between two cheeks of which the said casting is formed and is furnished
with wheels which run upon flanges cast upon the inside of the said cheeks, or it
may be guided in any other convenient manner.
The above mentioned casting forming the upper part of the framework of the
machine is supported upon a bracket or brackets from the above mentioned bed
plate or is otherwise rigidly connected with the said plate.
The iron can be raised or lowered by means of a screw passing through the
carriage and turned by a suitable handle, or in any other convenient way.
When the machine is used for pressing and ironing the seams of the shoulders of
garments and for other similar work, I remove the pressing board and substitute for
it a suitable horn or sleeve board.
At the back of the machine and flush or nearly flush with the pressing board is
a table for supporting those parts of the garments not being operated upon.
The action of the machine is as follows-the seam or other portion of the
garment or other substance to be ironed is placed upon the pressing board. The
iron having been heated, is allowed to rest upon the garment, the machine having
been so adjusted that the garment is pressed strongly between the board and the
iron by the action of the above mentioned springs-The iron is then passed to and
fro, as often as required, by a suitable handle the pressure of the springs being at
the same time relieved and regulated at the will of the operator by the pressure of
his foot on the above named treadle.
In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved
machine partly in section, Figure 2 is an end elevation, Figure 3 is a sectional side
view of the iron and its adjusting gear and carriage, Figure 4 is a cross section
of the same and Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the machine
shewing the extension S of the table A.
My improved ironing and pressing machine consists of a pressing board A
Figures 1 and 2 of any convenient length resting upon a cast iron plate or table B,
having vertical play, which in its turn is supported by two or more strong springs
one of which is shewn a D, Figure 1, where the casting is cut away to shew it,
The springs rest upon the framing C or they may be supported by collars, or

page_text: bushes, E fitting into the said framing.; in place of-the springs 'D, I could use levers
and weights or their mechanical equivalents, I prefer however to use springs.
The table B is connected by vertical bars FF with a system of links and levers LL
and a treadle T. The weight W adjustable on the lever ✗ serves to regulate the
pressure of the springs D. See Figure 2.
G Figures 1; 3, 4 and 5 is the iron which consists of two parts g and g¹.—g is
movable and works round g¹ as a pivot, g¹ being the pipe which supplies the gas
for heating the iron,-
--so that when desired g may be heated by being swung round
so as to be over the gas flame from gl. I may however also use an ordinary flat
iron supplied with gas flame in its interior and heated thereby in the usual well
understood manner.
:
The iron G is jointed at h to a carrier H preferably by a ball and socket joint;
H slides into an aperture on the carriage O and may be raised and lowered by the
handle M turning the screw N; O is provided with wheels oo which run on flanges
or. rails pp in the casting P.
The casting P forms the upper part of the main frainework of the machine and
is rigidly connected with C by the end frames R R,.
When the machine is used for pressing and ironing, the seams of the sleeve heads
of garments and other similar work, I adopt the arrangement shewn in Figure 5
where one end of the machine is left open and a horn or sleeve board S employed
instead of the board A.
At the back of the machine is a table V Figure 2 for supporting the parts of the
garments not being operated upon.
.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The seam or other portion of the
garment or other article or material to be ironed is placed on the board A and the
iron adjusted to the required pressure by screwing it down by handle M and
screw N upon the work until the springs D underneath the table are compressed
sufficiently to give the required pressure upon the work. The operator places his
foot upon the treadle T and slides the iron and its carriage backwards and forwards
upon the seam by the handle The pressure of. the iron upon the work being
meanwhile regulated at the will of the operator by the greater or less pressure of
his foot upon the treadle for whatever pressure is exerted at T acts against the
pressure of the springs and relieves the work by drawing the table downwards.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same I wish it understood that what I claim and desire to protect under the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is:
First In an ironing and pressing machine, regulating the pressure of the iron
upon the work by a mechanical combination consisting of a system of springs, or
their mechanical equivalents, which give the said pressure, and a system of levers
or their mechancical equivalents which by the action of the foot of the operator tend
to relieve the said pressure, substantially as described and shewn.
Second. In an ironing and pressing machine carrying the heated iron on a sliding
carriage provided with suitable means of raising and lowering the said iron, substan-
tially as described and shewn.
In witness whereof I the said Henry Alfred Oldershaw have hereunto set
my hand and seal this twelvth [sic] day of June in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
H. A. OLDERSHAW (L.S.)