An Improvement in the Construction of Sliding Tables of Shirt Ironing Machines.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 28th July, 1897.
Complete Specification Left, 28th May, 1898-Accepted, 23rd July, 1898
An Improvement in the Construction of Sliding Tables of Shirt
Ironing Machines.
JOHN WILLIAM SUTCLIFFE and HARRY SUTCLIFFE, both of 72, Wilberforce Road,
Finsbury Park, N., Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The board, on which the shirt bosom or other articles is or are ironed, is not
attached to the other part of the sliding table as in existing tables, but is loose;
also a number of these boards, preferably of wood and each fitted with a suitable
ironing bed, are provided for each table, the object of which, hereinafter will be
described.
In place of the casting or bed as fixed to the sliding table, a block or number of
blocks of any desirable material, shape or depth, is or are fixed; so that when the loose
board, with the shirt or article to be ironed, is placed on the block or blocks, an even
pressure is obtained froin the ironing roller.
A bead or risen ledge can be provided on the end of the block or blocks, nearest the
operator, and parallel with the ironing roller, so that the board with article to be
ironed may be quickly placed in position.
Between the bottom of the block or blocks and the bed of the table, we can place
springs or rubber buffers so that when a shirt bosom or other article of different
quality or thickness, is being ironed the action of the springs or rubber buffers, keeps
an equal pressure.
In the machine in general use, the ironing block or board being attached to the
sliding table, the time taken by the operator, in placing the shirt bosom or other
article in position, not only wasted, as the machine itself is doing no work, but the
motive power and heating apparatus is not being used.
The object of our invention will then be seen as our method of ironing is as
follows-two operators are required, one places the shirt bosom or other articles on a
loose board, as before described, and the other operator places the board on the block
or blocks and as soon as the article is ironed lifts the board off the block or blocks
and takes another board, which the other operator has prepared; there being a
number of boards all of which may be used in turn, the machine is always at work,
thus several times the amount of work is done, than by the ordinary method.
Clips, clamps or other devices may be used to keep the shirt bosom or other articles.
in position on the ironing board.
A great objection to the present construction of the sliding table, is that the felt
used for the ironing bed, becomes so saturated with moisture that the goods take a
much longer time to iron, and then sometimes are stained; but this objection is

page_text: entirely removed by our method, as having a number of boards, the felt is always
dry.
For our improvement no special machine is required, as by altering the tables of
the machines now in use, the same machines answer our purpose.
Dated this 97th dou of Lulu 1002
An Improvement in the Construction of Sliding Tables of Shirt
Ironing Machines.
We, JOHN WILLIAM SUTCLIFFE and HARRY SUTCLIFFE, both of 72, Wilberforce
Road, Finsbury Park, N., Engineers, 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 :—
Our invention relates to shirt front, or what are known in the trade as bosom
ironing machines, such machines having a sliding or reciprocating table and a
heated revolving roller and we improve the sliding table in such a way as to
enable us to iron a much greater number of shirt bosoms than can be ironed with
machines as at present constructed.
In ironing shirt bosoms by machines, having sliding tables and heated revolving
rollers, as heretofore constructed, the process has been slow and the ironing has
been indifferently done, as on account of there being a fixed, attached or hinged
bosom board it necessitates the machine operator arranging the shirt bosom upon
it, before starting the machine.
There are several disadvantages about this method.
Firstly. The heated revolving roller is not used to its fullest extent, for while the
operator is arranging the shirt bosom, the roller is not being used and the heat is
consequently wasted.
Secondly. It is difficult to arrange shirt bosoms satisfactorily, and in most cases
the neckbands of the shirts are ironed flat and they cannot be shaped correctly
afterwards.
Thirdly. The felt on the attached or fixed bosom board, after a number of shirt
bosoms have been ironed, becomes so saturated with moisture that it renders further
ironing unsatisfactory.
By the use of our invention, the above defects are overcome.
And in order that our said invention may be better understood we will now pro-
ceed to describe the same with reference to the drawing accompanying this
specification in which Fig. 1 shews a plan of the loose bosom board, one side of
which is covered with felt or padding, and this board is fitted with a device for
stretching the shirt front on such board. Fig. 2 shews the sliding table, with a
block fitted upon it. Fig. 3 shews the bosom board resting on the surface of the
fixed block.
Fig. 4 shews the bosom board with a shirt bosom in position upon it.
Figs. 6 and 7 are modifications which may be used in place of the block shewn at
Figs. 2 and 3.
Fig. 8 shews end view of sliding table without bosom board.
Fig. 9 shews elevation of the heated revolving roller and sliding table in position
beneath.
The same letters denote the same parts in all the views.
a shews the loose board. b the block fitted on the sliding table c. d shews the
ordinary heated revolving roller.

page_text: The block may be made of any suitable shape and must be of such thickness,
that when the loose bosom board a is placed in position the proper pressure will be
exerted upon it by the heated roller d, for ironing the shirt bosom. We fix a bead
or projection e on the lower end of the block b to determine the position of the bosom
board a on the block b so that the operator is enabled to place it squarely and quickly
thereon.
The operation of ironing a shirt bosom with our improvement adapted to the
sliding table is as follows:-
A shirt is passed over the loose bosom board a so that the bosom of such shirt may
he exposed to the surface of the heated revolving roller d, when the loose bosom
board is placed on the block b; the sliding table is then caused to pass under the
heated revolving roller in the ordinary way and when the shirt bosom is ironed, this
loose board is taken from the block b and another one provided with a shirt is put in
its place and the operation is repeated and so on.
It will thus be seen that no time is lost, as whilst one shirt is being ironed another
is being put on to another loose bosom board and is ready to place in the machine
immediately the previous shirt is ironed: This is done by the employment of two
operators.
No clips or clamps, such as those usually employed for holding the yoke and neck-
band in position, are necessary, with table having a loose bosom board according to
our invention as directly the revolving heated roller presses upon the bosom
board, the back of the shirt is held tightly between the bosom board a and the
block b.
It will be understood, that in order to adapt the loose bosom board to the class of
machines described, the fixed blocks now used for ironing bosoms on, must be made
shallower or otherwise reduced in height.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1. Constructing the tables of shirt ironing machines substantially as set forth.
2. In shirt ironing machines, the use, with a sliding table and a heated revolving
roller, of a loose bosom board for the purposes set forth, constructed and fitted to the
table of the ironing-machine substantially as herein before described and shewn in the
accompanying drawings.
2011