AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR IRONING AND PRESSING CLOTH OR OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Laurent Berenger, Tailor, of 13, Rue Gaillon,
Paris, in the Empire of France, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR IRONING AND PRESSING CLOTH OR OTHER MATERIALS."
Sealed the 26th January 1869, and dated the 3rd November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Laurent Berenger at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd November 1868.
I, LAURENT BERENGER, Tailor, of 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, in the
Empire of France, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR IRONING AND PRESSING CLOTH OR OTHER
MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to economise the heavy labour required
in ironing and pressing cloth or other materials in the manufacture of
clothes or other articles. For this purpose I suspend the iron to be made
use of on a frame carrying rollers or wheels, which frame traverses on
rails or a platform fixed above the cloth or material to be ironed or
pressed. I suspend the iron to this frame by a screw or other mechanical

page_text: appliance, which serves to lift the iron from the material to be operated
upon and to give any desired pressure by means of the iron upon the said
material. The screw may be made hollow to serve as a chimney to
convey the products of combustion from the iron when it is heated, as I
prefer that it should be, by an inside fire of charcoal, gas, or other fuel.
I also construct a slightly raised platform upon which the cloth or
material is placed to be operated upon with a central pin or pivot, by
which means the cloth or material upon the platform can be submitted to
the action of the iron in any direction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Laurent Berenger in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LAURENT
BERENGER, Tailor, of 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, in the Empire of France,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Laurent Berenger, Her special licence
that I, the said Laurent Berenger, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Laurent Berenger, executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR IRONING AND PRESSING CLOTH OR OTHER MATERIALS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Laurent Berenger, my exe-
cutors.or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner. the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Laurent Berenger, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say:-
The object of this Invention is to economise the heavy labour required
in ironing and pressing cloth or other materials in the manufacture of
clothes or other articles. For this purpose I suspend the iron to be made
use of on a frame carrying rollers or wheels, which frame traverses on
rails or a platform fixed above the cloth or material to be ironed or
pressed. I suspend the iron to this frame by a screw or other mechanical
appliance which serves to lift the iron from the material to be operated
upon and to give any desired pressure by means of the iron upon the
said material. The screw may be made hollow to serve as a chimney to
convey the products of combustion from the iron when it is heated (as I
prefer that it should be) by an inside fire of charcoal, gas, or other fuel. I
also construct a slightly raised platform upon which the cloth or material
is placed to be operated upon with a central pin or pivot, by which means
the cloth or material upon the platform can be submitted to the action of
the iron in any direction.
And in order that my Invention be more fully understood I will
proceed to explain it conjointly with the 6 Figures of the accom-
panying Drawing in which the same letters indicate the same parts
throughout all the Figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan, partly in section, through the line E, E, Figure 2;
Figure 2 a front elevation, partly in section, through F, F, Figure 1;
Figure 3, plan of the iron when in position in the machine; Figure 4,
plan of iron in section through G, G, Figure 5; Figure 5, longitudinal
elevation of iron; Figure 6, transverse section of iron through H, H,
Figure 5.
A, Figure 2, is a strong table supporting the apparatus above it by the
two standards B, B; the upper ends of these standards support the
extremities of the rails or platform, composed in this case of four parallel
bars of iron C, C, D, D; between the upper pair of bars C, C, and the lower
nein of hanc D D are the wallons
oving the frame 4 in which

page_text: centre of which an unthreaded aperture fallows the screw to pass. In
this aperture or hole fis fixd a key g, which fits easily into a groove or
slot cut down the length of the screw. When the fly wheel is turned
the key g, acting in the slot h, turns the screw round, but the aperture in
the wheel and the slot h allows the screw to rise and fall without
changing the height of the wheel. Attached to the frame b are the side
guiding rollers i, i, and, if preferred, I add a further pair of rollers j, j,
indicated in red lines, Figure 2, which work upon the upper surface of
the bars C, C. In this way the framb b is supported and allowed to glide
freely backwards and forwards along the course of the rails C, C, D, D,
carrying with it the screw d. The bottom of the screw is fitted with and
supports a socket piece k, which turns freely round, the screw being
connected to the same by the little screw k', which enters into a groove
cut in the bottom plain part of the screw. The upper part of the socket
piece k carries the quadrant attached to or forming one piece with it.
The piece and quadrant can be set in any required position by the nut
and handle m upon the lower end of the rod n, the upper end of which
rod n enters into a hole in the arm n¹ of the frame b. The lower end of
the socket piece is dovetailed to receive the iron to be made use of, and
is fitted with a set screw 2 to hold the iron when placed in position (see
dotted lines, Figure 3). The iron I prefer is made with the lateral edges
rounded off to mount the seams but with the point left square to penetrate
and open the seams, and I otherwise modify the form according to the
fuel to be employed.
The iron represented in the Drawings is a hollow iron to be employed
when charcoal is used as the fuel; its upper part has the dovetail o' by
which it is attached to the socket piece k. The upper part may be hinged
to the iron at o, forming a lifting lid, as seen in Figure 6, and retained
by the spring catch p when shut down, or it may be turned horizontally
upon a pivot q, as arranged at Figure 2. The iron may also be fitted
with a sliding door at the back to remove the ashes. The fuel is
supported by the moveable grate 8, and air is admitted for combustion
by the holes t, which are made in a direction oblique to the sides to
prevent the fall of ashes upon the material being pressed. Whatever form
of iron is used it is fitted with a handle u turning horizontally upon the
standard v, to which it is attached by a screw 10. The handle is retained
in different positions by a spring x, which enters into little grooves cut in
the portion of the handle at a¹; this handle serves to remove from and

page_text: to place the iron in the machine and also enables the workman to use it
as an ordinary iron without the machine if occasionally required to be
worked by hand; in such case the position is indicated in red lines,
Figure 3. y is the raised platform upon which the cloth is placed to
be ironed, supported on legs y' and turning as required upon the central
pin .
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the best means
with which I am acquainted for carrying it into practice, I claim,―
Firstly. The system of standards supporting rails or platform over a
work table.
Secondly. A travelling frame provided with rollers and guide rollers
working upon said rails or platform carrying a screw, to which an iron
fixed or movable is attached, and by which pressure or not, as required,
can be given to the materials to be ironed or pressed.
Thirdly. A hollow screw by which the products of combustion can
be carried from the iron when heated by an inside fire.
Fourthly. A raised or level platform for the material capable of being
turned upon its centre, as described.
Fifthly. The iron, substantially as described in my Specification and
illustrated in the six Figures of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Laurent Berenger, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
5 Witness,
W*. MORGAN-BROWN.
LAURENT BERENGER. (L.S.)