Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Feb., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 21st Sept., 1888
I, JOSEPH APPLEYARD Wire Belt Sewing Machine Works Portland Street,
Manchester Road, Bradford in the county of Yorkshire, Machine Maker, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved Ironing and Glossing Machine for linen
collars, cuffs, shirt-fronts and other similar articles.
The object of this invention is to construct a machine that will iron and gloss a
number of articles at the same time, and give the articles a more even gloss than can
be given by hand or by the existing machines.
The invention includes an automatic apparatus for reversing the reciprocating
table at any distance of traverse according to the length of the articles required to
be ironed or glossed.
The machine consists of a suitable frame-work of two sides and two ends. To
the inner sides of the said side frames, I fix a number of brackets in which brackets
are placed a number of small wheels or trundles. On the top of the said small
wheels or trundles, I place a table, which is actuated by the driving screw. On the
underside of the said table I fix a bracket containing a metal nut to which the
driving-screw is connected.
The said driving-screw is supported by three bearings, two of which are in the
end-frames, whilst the third bearing is in a bracket, the said bracket being fixed
on the side of one of the heretofore mentioned ends. At each end of the afore-
said driving-screw, I fix a piece of tempered steel which work against the ends of
two tempered steel set screws.
Between the bearing in the bracket and the bearing in the frame end upon
which the said bracket is fixed, I fix three strap pulleys upon the driving-screw,
two of the said pulleys being loose upon the end of the said driving-screw, and
the other being fast, and also only half the width of the other two. The pulleys
are driven by two belts, one of the belts being straight the other crossed which
are for the purpose of giving the driving-screw a reciprocating motion.

page_text: In order to make the machine automatic in its reversing motion, I pass a rod
through a lug fastened on the heretofore mentioned bracket fixed to the underside
of the table, upon which rod and on each side of the said lug, I fix a dog with a
thumb-screw the said dogs, being caught by the said lug, carry the afore mentioned
rod until the driving-screw is reversed.
On one end of the rod I attach a spring, one end of the said spring being
attached to a bracket, the said bracket being fitted to the frame of the machine;
whilst the other end of the spring is attached to the strap guard. At the other
end of the aforesaid rod I fix a brake for the purpose of holding the driving belts
in position until the table has traversed the required distance. "I fix another rod
to the strap guard for the purpose of setting the machine in motion or for
stopping it.
At the top of the table I fix a rack the said rack being geared into a wheel which
is fastened to the roller or cylinder.
The said wheel is of a smaller diameter than the roller or cylinder, thus causing
the roller or cylinder to revolve quicker than the said table, which movement gives
the gloss to the articles operated on. I can also obtain a similar result with a wheel
being larger in diameter than the roller or cylinder. The roller or cylinder is
heated by steam or gas, or any other suitable heating agent.
For the purpose of raising or lowering the roller or cylinder, I have a lever fixed
to a shaft the said shaft passing from one of the aforesaid side frames to the other
and being connected to the blocks in which, the roller or cylinder works by means
of two rods. To the aforesaid shaft I have a weight connected by another lever for
the purpose of putting pressure on the table.
In order to make the machine work by hand I fix a geared wheel or wheels off
the side of the side frames and allow the said geared wheel or wheels to come into
contact with a rack that is fixed to the table.

page_text: Fig. 1, 1s a side elevation of the machine.
Fig. 2, is a plan of the same.
Fig. 3, is a front view of the machine.
Fig. 4, is a part side elevation shewing application of hand motion.
Fig. 5, is a plan of fig. 4, shewing the method of fixing the ironing-cloth.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the various figs.
The machine is constructed by means of two frames or standards a, a, being
connected at the ends by two stays b, b¹. To the two inner sides of the said
standards a, a. I fix a number of brackets c, in which are placed a number of
small wheels or trundles, and upon the said wheels or trundles, I place the table d,
which is actuated by means of a driving screw e, the said driving-screw being connected
to the said table d, by means of a bracket f, containing a nut, the said bracket
being fastened to the underside of the table d, thus as the screw e, I made to revolve
so must the table be propelled backward or forward; or I may dispense with the
brackets C, and the trundles and run the table d in the two groves m³, let in the two
standards a, a' which groves are provided with holes for the purpose of catching the
waste oil.
The herebefore mentioned screw e, is supported by three bearings g, two of which
are fixed to stays b, the other being fixed in a bracket h, the said bracket h, being fixed
by means of set screws to the aforesaid stay b, and in order to prevent the back lash
caused by the reversing of the screw e, which reversing motion will be hereinafter
lescribed, I fix at each end of the said screw e, a piece of tempered steel which
work against the ends of two tempered steel set screws. I also have upon the said
screw e, three strap pulleys i, two of which run loose and the other is made fast,
which are driven by two straps, one crossed and the other straight for the purpose.

page_text: of the reversing motion. The before mentioned bracket A. is used as a guard against
the pulleys as well as being a support to the screw e. In order to make the machine
automatic in its reversing motion, I pass a rod j, parallel with the screw e, through a
lug n, projecting from the hereinbefore mentioned bracket f, and through the stay b
fastening at one end of the said rod j a spring, the said spring being attached to a
bracket fitted to the stay b, and at the other end to the guide-forks ; whilst at the
other end of the rod, I attach a brake / which is fastened to the stay b¹, for the
purpose of holding the belts in position until the before mentioned table d, shall have
travelled the required distance, and in order that I may obtain the self reversing
motion I have two movable dogs m, fitted to the rod j one on each side of the afore-
said lug n, which lug in its motion with the table d, catches first one of the said
dogs m, and then the other each time carrying the rod ja sufficient distance to carry
the belts on and off the fast pulley; the said dogs being movable they can be fastened
at any distance from each other, and in any position; thus allowing the traverse of
the table to be any distance or any position according to the length of the articles in
operation.
When the machine is to be set in motion or to be stopped I make use of a second
rod 0, which is attached at one end to the guide-forks whilst at the other is a
handle.
For the direct purpose of ironing and glossing I have a roller or cylinder P, which
is heated internally by gas, steam or other suitable heating agent for which purpose a
pipe is supplied with a cock, or when gas is the heating agent, an extra pipe may be
supplied to convey air into the roller or cylinder p, in order to obtain a better heat;
for this purpose I supply, as a development of my invention described in the
Provisional Specification the bellows s, the said bellows supplying the necessary
quantity of air to the roller or cylinder. The said bellows are worked automatically
by a lever t, the said lever being brought into connection with an eccentric fixed upon
the screw e, by means of a rod, thus as the screw revolves the said bellows are brought
into operation.
In order to produce a rich gloss upon the articles operated on I fix a rack u, upon
the table d, which rack is geared into the wheel v, the said wheel being of a less
diameter than the aforesaid roller or cylinder p, upon which the wheel is fixed; thus
making the roller or cylinder to revolve quicker than the traverse of the table;
which motion produces the gloss on the articles operated on; or I may produce a
similar result by having a wheel larger in diameter than the roller or cylinder p,
when the said roller or cylinder will be made to revolve slower than the traverse of
the table.
For shaping the collars, cuffs and such articles as require to be shaped, I have a
roller W, with a toothed wheel attached fitted on the top of the roller or cylinder p,
but geared into the wheel v, that is fixed to the said roller or cylinder p, and when
the articles have been ironed and glossed by passing through the ironing and glossing
machine they are run between the roller or cylinder p, and the roller w, and coming
in contact with a curved plate e, on the other side of the rollers receive the requisite
shape. In order to allow for various thicknesses of articles passing through the
shaping rollers, I supply a spring at each end of the roller w, which spring is fitted in
the block 2, in which the roller or cylinder p and the roller w rest.
For the purpose of raising or lowering the roller or cylinder p, 1 fix a lever <¹ to
a shaft d¹ the said shaft passing from standard a to standard a¹ being connected to the
blocks in which the roller or cylinder works by means of two rods e². To the
aforesaid shaft d', I have a weight f¹, connected by another lever g¹ for the purpose
of putting pressure on the articles operated on.
For the purpose of fixing the ironing cloth shewn in figs. 4 & 5, I fix two angle
castings with a number of pins set in the pins being for holding the cloth; then I
have two holes bored through the casting through which I place two hooked-
bolts with thumb-screws; the said hooked-bolts being slipped into two eyes on the
underside of the table d, and in order to lighten or release the cloth, I turn the thumb-
screws that are on the aforesaid hooked-bolts.

page_text: In order to make the machine work by hand, I disconnect or dispense with the
herein before described bracket f attached to the underside of the table d, and fix a
geared wheel or wheels with a handle attached off the side of the standard a, and
allow the said geared wheel or wheels to come into contact with the rack u, that is
fixed upon the said table d.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1st. The rack geared with a wheel or wheels for the said purpose of producing the
gloss substantially as shewn and described.
2nd. The direct combination of the driving screw and pulleys for the purpose of
actuating the table forward or backward substantially as shewn and described.
3rd. The method of the self-acting reversing motion at any distance of traverse
and in any position by means of the rod ; and all its connections, substantially as shewn
and described.
j
4th. The application to the Ironing and Glossing machine above described where
gas is the heating agent of an automatic bellows, in order to develop a greater heat
substantially as shewn and described.