An Improved Combined Trousers Presser and Stretcher.
Year: 1898

page_text: I, WILLIAM FREDERIC STEGGALL, Junior, Gentleman, of 68, Cambridge Road,
Mile End, London, E., do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to an improved apparatus for pressing and stretching
trousers by means of which the action of pressing the trousers causes them at the
same time to be stretched. According to my invention I provide an ordinary press
composed of a top and bottom plate or board coupled together near each end by
cross strips and vertical side bolts, or screws provided with adjusting nuts.
trousers are laid lengthwise between the plates or boards and the nuts or screws
at the rear end are screwed down to hold them tightly at that end.
The
To the forward bolts, or screws are connected two pairs of iron, or steel rods or
bars each pivoted together so as to cross one another and the forward ends of each
of which are connected together by a metal or wooden bar or cross-piece.
When the trousers have been secured in the press as described their upper ends are
placed between the said bars or cross-pieces at the ends of the pivoted rods or bars.
The screws or the nuts on the bolts at the forward end of the press are then
screwed down which action causes the bars or cross-pieces to be drawn together so
as to tightly grip the upper ends of the trousers and at the same time to stretch
them whilst the drawing together of the plates or boards presses the trousers
between them.
An Improved Combined Trousers Presser and Stretcher.
I, WILLIAM FREDERIC STEGGALL, Junior, of 68, Cambridge Road, Mile End,
London, E., Gentleman, 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 :-
This invention relates to an improved apparatus for pressing, and stretching
trousers, the act of pressing causing the trousers at the same time to be auto-
matically stretched.
For this purpose I provide an ordinary press composed of a top, and bottom

page_text: plate, or board coupled together near each end by cross-bars or strips and vertical
side bolts, or screws provided with adjusting nuts.
To each of the forward bolts, or screws is connected a set of pivoted bars crossing
each other and arranged in the manner of a lazy-tongs.
To the forward ends of these bars are connected two wooden, or metal cross-
pieces, or bars between which the upper end of the trousers is gripped in the act
of stretching.
The inner sides of these cross pieces, or bars and of the plates, or boards of the
press are slightly hollowed out, or recessed' at their centres for receiving the seams
of the trousers and permitting the whole surface of the latter being gripped, and
so pressed evenly. The trousers are laid lengthwise between the plates, or boards,
and the nuts at the rear end are screwed down to hold them tightly at that end.
The upper end of the trousers are then placed between the cross-pieces, or bars
at the forward end. The nuts on the bolts at this end are then screwed down
thereby causing the lazy-tongs bars to be stretched forward and the cross-pieces or
bars to be drawn together so as to tightly grip the top end of the trousers between
them.
Thus the act of drawing the plates or boards together to press the trousers also
causes them to be automatically stretched by means of the two sets of bars, or
lazy-tongs at the front end of the press..
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation,
Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 a cross-section of the presser plates, or boards of the improved
apparatus a, a, are the top and bottom presser boards and b, b' are the cross-bars
fixed to the outer sides thereof.
The bars are provided at each end with an open slot 62 and the bars b¹ with a
square hole 63, c, c are the side bolts formed with a square portion fitting into the
holes 63 and provided with adjusting thumb nuts c².
The nuts are each provided with a loose collar d to which is pivoted at d¹, a
bar e pivoted to and crossing anotherbar el engagingat one end with the square portion
of the bolts c¹. To the other ends of the bars e, el, are also pivoted other pivoted
cross-bars e², e³. The forward ends of these bars, on each side of the apparatus are
connected together by the cross-pieces, or bars f, f. The bars e, e¹, e² and e³ on
each side are arranged and act in a similar manner to that of a lazy-tongs, so that
as the nuts c² on the bolts c¹ are screwed down the cross-pieces or bars f, fare
not only brought together to grip the trousers placed between, but they are forced
or carried forward from the presser boards a, a¹ thereby stretching the trousers held
between the said boards. The outer ends of the cross-bars e2, 3 are formed with
two or more inclined slots et in which the axes f² of the bars f,ƒ³, are held, and by
means of which the distance between the said bars may be adjusted for receiving
one or more pair of trousers and the stretching power of the lazy-tongs regulated.
In some cases, I may form the bars e², e³ on one side of the stretcher with rectangular
openings or slots one of which is shewn at es, Fig. 4 instead of the inclined slots et
the spindles of the crosspieces f, f' being of rectangular section at that end to fit
into and be held in said slots.
When using the apparatus the nuts c² are loosened and the trousers placed
between the boards a, a'. The nuts on the rear bolts c are then screwed down to
hold the trousers tightly, after which the nuts on the front bolts c' are also screwed
down so as to bring the pressure of the top board a equally upon the trousers.
The inner surfaces of the boards are slightly hollowed out, or recessed as shewn
at 'a in Fig. 3; to leave room for the seams of the trousers so that the edges of the
latter may be as equally pressed as the centres.
The upper end of the trousers having meanwhile been placed between the cross-
pieces f, the screwing down of the nuts on the bolts c' causes the said end of the
trousers to be gripped between f and f whilst by the, action of the lazy-tongs
arrangement of bars carrying the latter, the trousers are stretched as before
described.
"

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1) The improved apparatus for pressing and stretching trousers comprising the
combination of a presser and a lazy-tongs arrangement attached thereto for
automatically stretching the trousers during the act of pressing them substantially
as described and shewn in the drawings.
(2) In a combined trousers presser and stretcher the combination of the plates,
or boards a, a recessed at a² and provided with cross-bars 6, 6' having slots b² and
holes b side bolts c, c¹, nuts c² fitted with collars d pivoted hars e, e¹, e², e³ inclined
slots e and cross pieces or bars f, f' substantially as described and for the purposes
specified.
J. B. FLEURET,
5, Hatton Garden, Holborn Circus, London, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.