IMPROVEMENTS IN MANGLES OR MACHINES FOR IRONING OR CALENDERING
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Reese, of Baltimore, in the County of Baltimore,
and State of Maryland, United States of America, Merchant, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANGLES OR MACHINES FOR IRONING OR CALENDERING."
Sealed the 11th November 1879, and dated the 13th May 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Reese at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th May 1879.
CHARLES REESE, of Baltimore, in the County of Baltimore, and State of Mary-
land, United States of America, Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANGLES OR
MACHINES FOR IRONING OR CALENDERING."
My Invention relates to that class of mangles in which the cloth to be ironed or
smoothed around a roller placed on a stationary bed or table and rolled back and
forth under a moving weighted platen, and the Invention consists in the employ-
ment of a platen so hung or connected above the bed or table as to be constrained
to a pendulous or swinging movement over the table, while its entire weight in
operation comes upon the roller around which the cloth is wound.
The construction of my improved machine is as follows:-Between two vertical
side-frames is fixed a solid bed or table, having preferably a concave upper surface.
The side frames extend considerably above the bed and between them. Over the
bed is arranged a platen or pressure-block, having preferably a convex under
surface corresponding to the concave surface of the bed or table. Fixed to or
forming a part of the platen and projecting vertically above it is an arm or frame,
which is so connected at or near its top to the side-frames, that the platen can
move horizontally only in the manner of a pendulum, while it is also permitted
some vertical movement.
This connection may be accomplished by forming a vertical slot in each side
frame near its top, which slots are engaged by studs or pins projecting from the
platen arın or frame. To raise and lower the platen a lever may be provided,
pivoted to or between the side frames, and arranged to engage the platen arm or
frame, so that as the extremity of the lever is pulled down the platen will be lifted,.
and to hold the platen suspended when raised, the upper portion of the slots in the
side frames may be curved into a horizontal position, and by means of the lifting
[Price 6d1

page_text: lever the platen frame be moved to one side until its studs rest in the horizontal
portions of the slots. These methods of hanging and manipulating the platen and
its frame may be varied as experience or the judgement of the builder will suggest.
The platen may be made sufficiently heavy of itself to give the necessary pres-
sure in use, or it may be pressed down by springs or otherwise if preferred.
In operating my machine the cloth to be ironed or smoothed is wrapped closely
around a roller, the platen is raised, the roller laid on the center of the concave
bed or table, the platen lowered upon it, and then by means of a suitable handle
pushed back and forth in the manner of a pendulum, the roller revolving between
it and the bed until the cloth is sufficiently smoothed, when the platen is again
lifted and the roller and the cloth removed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Reese in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
November 1879.
CHARLES REESE, of Baltimore, in the County of Baltimore, and State of Mary-
land, United States of America, Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANGLES OR
MACHINES FOR IRONING OR CALENDERING."
My Invention relates to that class of mangles in which the cloth to be smoothed
or ironed is wound around a roller placed on a stationary bed or table, and rolled
back and forth beneath a swinging weighted platen hung above it; and the Inven-
tion consists in guiding the upper portion of the platen by keepers, or in slots or
grooves in the upper framework of the mangle, and providing it with an arrange-
ment of a lever or levers, and rests or supports whereby it may be readily lifted,
and when lifted will be 'securely sustained; and also in the relative conformations
of the surfaces of the bed and platen, all as will be fully hereinafter set forth.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical mid-section of my improved
mangle, a roller carrying the cloth to be smoothed being in place; Figure 2 is a
section of the upper part of the same taken in the plane of the line x, x, in
Figure 4 Figure 3 is a side; and Figure 4 is a front elevation, the platen being
lifted and the roller removed; and Figure 5 is a sectional view showing a modifi-
cation of the lifting and sustaining device.
Let A, A, represent two vertical supporting frames of suitable shape, one on each
side of the machine, and B a solid bed or table rigidly secured between them in a
horizontal position. The bed and frames may be of any suitable materials, but I
prefer to make the bed of wood, or to face it with wood, and to make the frames of
iron and connect them together by stay-rods a, a; C is a cylindrical roller around
which the cloth or clothing to be smoothed is wrapped, and which in operation is
laid on the surface of the bed B; D is a platen arranged over the bed B, and so
hung or connected to or between the side-frames that it is constrained to a pen-
dulous movement over the bed, its entire weight in operation coming upon the
roller C. The platen is capable of being lifted up so as not to bear upon the roller;
has by preference a weight sufficient to give the necessary pressure to the cloth or
clothes, and is or may be provided with a suitable handle b by which to swing it.
From the upper portion of the platen project on its opposite sides two studs or
shaft-ends c, c, which enter vertical or nearly vertical slots or grooves d, d, through
or in the side-frames, one slot being in each frame. The slots serve as guides for
the. studs c, c, and keep them from moving horizontally, while they are free to move
vertically a short distance. The platen by being thus connected to the side-frames
is constrained to a swinging or pendulous movement, while unlike a pendulum, its
weight is not normally upheld at the center from which it swings, but is borne by
the roller C which is placed under it. It is also capable of sufficient vertical
movement to accommodate rolls of different diameters, and to perinit of its being
lifted off the roller so that the latter may be removed.
So far as described the operation of my machine is as follows:-The cloth or
clothing to be smoothed or ironed is first closely wound around the roller C in the
usual manner, and, the platen being raised, the roller is laid on the center of the
bed B. The platen is then lowered until its entire weight rests upon the roller,
and it is then, by means of its handle b, pushed or swung back and forth, as
indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1. As the platen moves in this way the
roller C rolls back and forth under it, and over the surface of the table or bed, and
the pressure of the platen upon it uniformly compresses the cloth which is wound
upon its surface. This rolling is repeated several times or until the cloth is
sufficiently compressed, smoothed, and polished, when the platen is lifted, the roller
taken out, and the cloth removed. During the operation the diameter of the roll.

page_text: of cloth upon the roller C gradually decreases under the pressure of the platen, and
by the above-described method of hanging the platen the latter is permitted to
The platen
descend and accommodate itself to the varying thickness of the roll.
may of itself have the necessary weight to give the required pressure in operation;
or, if preferred, it may be pressed down by means of a spring or springs, or in
factories by steam or hydraulic pressure.
To enable the operator to readily and easily raise and lower the platen I provide
a lever, or preferably a pair of levers or double lever E, fulcrumed to or between
the side-frames A, A, and its short arm or arms taking under the studs c, c, so that
by pulling down its long arm or arms its short arms lift the platen, the studs c, c, of
the latter passing up in the slots or grooves d, d. In case a single lever E is used
it should be arranged centrally or about midway between the side-frames, and
might be fulcrumed on a cross-shaft or other provision; but I prefer to use two
levers, one at each side of the machine, between the platen and the side-frames, and
to connect them by a horizontal bar or handle e, as shown. This construction gives
greater steadiness and strength than when a single lever is used. If preferred the
levers may be arranged just outside of the side-fraines.
It is important that some means should be provided for sustaining the platen
when it has been raised, and it is desirable that this should be accomplished auto-
matically, or as part of or continuation of the operation lifting. I prefer to attain
this result by the construction shown in the first four Figures of the Drawing.
The slots or grooves d, d, are deflected to one side, either abruptly or, as I prefer,
in a gentle curve, until a substantially horizontal position is given to their
extremities. The lower side of this horizontal portion of each slot forms a rest or
bearer which receives and upholds the stud c of the platen when the latter has
been raised, as clearly shown in Figure 3. Just in front of the rest for between
it and the vertical portion of the slot d is a slight rise or elevation g to prevent the
unintentional escape of the stud from the rest.
The fulcrum of the lifting lever is arranged on the same side of the slots d, d,
that the latter are deflected toward and preferably in a lower plane than the
upholding rests f, f. By this arrangement the depression of the long arm of the
lever first lifts the studs c, c, through the vertical portions of the slots d, d, and
then moves them laterally over the elevations g, g, onto the upholding rests f, f.
Here they will remain of themselves as the entire weight of the platen must be
lifted a short distance, while the studs pass back over the elevations g, g, before the
platen can descend.
To effect the lowering or descent of the platen I provide the short arm of the
lever E with a projecting toch arranged above the lifting surface, and of such
length as to contact with the stud, and as the long arm of the lever is lifted to push
it along until it passes over the elevation g and reaches a portion of the slot
sufficiently inclined to cause it to complete the descent of itself. I prefer to leave
sufficient space between the end of the toe h and the extremity i of the lever to
enable the latter to clear the studs after they are lowered into place when the long
arm of the lever is raised, so that the latter may be thrown up vertically out of the
way of the operator, as shown in Figure 1. But if this capability on the part of
the lever is not deemed desirable the space between h and i may be filled up,
leaving only a slot for the reception of the stud c.
In Figure 5 I have shown a modification of the above-described lifting device.
Instead of forming the rest f and elevation g in a deflected portion of the slot d, I
form them upon the lifting lever E, its lifting surface being nearest the fulcrum, a
nose or elevation g next, and a concave rest f towards its extremity. With these
parts upon the lever a simple straight slot d may be used as shewn. The operation
of this form is essentially the same as that of the other, namely, that the depression
of the long arm of the lever first lifts the platen, and then so suspends it that it
cannot descend until the lever is moved back.
It will be observed that the upper surface of the bed B is concave, and that the
under surface of the platen D is convex, the two surfaces when the palten is at rest

page_text: being substantially parallel. By this form the clothes upon the roller are evenly
compressed without straining or drawing them at any part of the swing of the
platen, and all tendency of the roller to fly out of the machine as the platen is
swung outward is obviated. This latter result is due to the concavity of the bed,
which is an important feature of my Invention. To produce the best effect the
lower surface of the platen should be the segment of a cylinder, of which the studs
c, c, are in the axis, and the surface of the bed should be parallel therewith when
a roll of average diameter is in place. It may sometimes be preferable, however, to
form the platen from a curve of larger radius, or the bed from one of smaller radius,
that the studs c, c, may rise as the platen is swung to either side of the center, as
by such a conformation the platen will be given an increased tendency to return to
its central position of rest.
In the Drawings I have shown my improved mangle as of self-contained and
portable form, but if preferred in any particular case it may be built permanently
into the laundry or other room or building where it is to be used, the walls of the
same taking the place of the frames A, A, the bed B being fixed to the floor, and
the slots d, d, formed in brackets dependent from the ceiling or attached to the
walls.
If desired, the bed, platen, or roller, or any two or all of them, may be heated,
either by making them hollow and introducing steam, or by the use of gas, or in
any other known and practicable way.
I wish it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise method of hanging
or connecting the platen to the side-frames, or to the precise construction of lifting
levers and sustaining device which I have shown in the Drawings, as these features
may be varied somewhat in their details without departing from my Invention.
For instance, in lieu of engaging the studs c, c, in grooves or slots d, d, in the side-
frames they may be embraced by links pivotted to the side-frames, whereby they
will be permitted vertical or nearly vertical but not longitudinal play. Or the
slots d, d, may be formed in the short arms of the levers E, and the platen lifted
with the slots by the depression of the long arms of the levers.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of my Invention, I declare
that I claim,
First. A mangle consisting of a fixed bed B having a concave surface, a roller C,
and a platen D so hung as to be constrained to a pendulous movement, while its
entire weight in operation comes upon the roller, substantially as set forth.
Second. A mangle consisting of side-frames A, A, a fixed bed B having a concave
upper surface, a roller C, and a pendulous platen D having a convex under surface,
substantially as set forth.
Third. The combination with the side-frames A, A, and bed B of the platen D,
provided at or near its top with studs c, c, engaged by keepers forming part of or
attached to the side-frames, substantially as set forth, whereby the studs are kept.
from moving horizontally, but are permitted to move vertically or nearly so.
Fourth. The combination of the platen D, provided with projecting studs c, c,
with the side-frames A, A, provided with vertical or nearly vertical slots or
grooves d, d, engaging the studs, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. The combination with the side-frames A, A, bed B, and platen D of a
lifting lever or levers E, fulcrumed to or between the side-frames, and taking under
some part of the platen, or some part through which the platen can be lifted, sub-
stantially as set forth.
Sixth. The combination of the side-frames A, A, and their slots d, d, the platen D
and its studs c, c, and the lifting lever or levers E with upholding rests or bearers
ff, for the studs when lifted, substantially as set forth.
Seventh. The side-frames A, A, provided with slots d, d, and rests or bearers ƒ, f,
in combination with the platen D and its studs c, c, and with the lifting lever or
levers E, substantially as set forth.
Eighth. The lifting lever E provided with a lifting surface and an upholding
rest on its short arm in combination with the side-frames A, A, provided with

page_text: vertical or nearly vertical slots or grooves d, d, and the platen D provided with
studs c, c, substantially as set forth, and as shown in Figure 5.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Reese, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord 1879.
CHARLES REESE
(TO)