Improvements relating to the Handles of Smoothing Irons or Flat Irons and Analogous Tools.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 6th Aug., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Handles of Smoothing Irons or Flat
Irons and Analogous Tools.
I, FRITZ OPDERBECK, Manufacturer, of Stefanienstrasse, 36, Dusseldorf, in the
German Empire, 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 detachable handles for all kinds of smoothing irons,
and has for its object, to construct the handle and smoothing iron in such a manner,
that the handle can be securely fixed and quickly removed by unskilled persons,
without entailing any unnecessary complication or expense.
The operations of fixing and removing the handle in the case of my improved
smoothing iron do not require any delicate or unusual manipulation, but merely
the movements which are necessary for working with the iron, and the fastening
device proper has not to bear the weight of the iron.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the smoothing iron embodying my invention;
Fig. 2 is a vertical section, and Fig. 3 a plan of the same; Figs. 4, 5 and 6
represent modifications.
In the construction represented by Figs. 1 to 3 the base A of the flat iron is
provided at a top with a longitudinal groove formed by a pair of guide rails or
bars a, and serving to receive a bar or rail b connected with the handle B. As
shown by Fig. 2, the rail b is adapted to slide in the groove longitudinally by a
movement parallel to the face of the iron, and the guide rails a, a, have short
flanges or thin cover plates which overlap the edges of the rail b and are permanently
fixed to the same, so as to prevent it from being lifted out of the groove.
When the smoothing iron is lifted by means of the handle, the weight of the
base hangs on the said flanges or fixed cover plates. For completely securing the
handle and rail b in the working position, it is only necessary to provide a
coupling device which prevents the rail from sliding forward or backward along
the groove formed by the guide rails a, in the manner indicated in Fig. 5 by dotted
lines. The coupling device illustrated by the drawings chiefly consists of a bolt e
which passes vertically through a perforation of the bar b and penetrates with
its extremity into a recess formed in the base A. The said bolt is provided with
a head or button resting on a bent piece of sheet metal d screwed on to the rail b,
and is surrounded by a helical spring cl which is adapted to press the bolt down-
ward. For removing the handle from the base, it is necessary to lift the bolt e
by hand and then to draw the bar 6 longitudinally out of the groove.
In the modification represented by Fig. 4, the base A of the smoothing iron has
a dove-tailed projection a¹ which fits into a dove-tailed groove of a plate b¹ con-
nected with the handle B and adapted to slide along the projection a¹
In the modification represented by Figs. 5 and 6, the guide groove is not formed
in the plate, nor by a pair of guide rails, but is cut into the surface of the
base A and situated below the same, while the handle B has a dove-tailed guide
bar a adapted to slide in the said groove,

page_text: The bolt and helical spring are guided in the wooden part of the handle B,
instead of requiring a separate hoop d.
Other coupling or locking devices may be employed, instead of the bolt and
spring described above, and which is specially suitable for the purpose. As will
be seen by reference to Fig. 5, the bolt c need not be touched by hand for coupling
the handle with the base. If the handle is made to rest on the base in the position
shown by dotted lines, the bolt will automatically recede and allow the part ² to
slide into the dovetailed groove of the base A, until the bolt reaches the recess
mentioned above, and drops into the same under the influence of the spring.
With smoothing irons having detachable handles as described, two or more
irons may be placed into the fire, one after the other, by means of the same handle,
and as the latter can be quickly and securely attached and detached, it performs the
function of a pair of tongs.
The shape of the groove and the general design of the iron and handle are,
of course, not limited by the examples shown by the drawings, but may be varied
without departing from my invention, and the same method of attaching the
handle may be applied to polishing or planing tools and other tools with detachable
handles.
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 1
claim is:
1. A smoothing or flat iron having a detachable handle connected with the
iron by means of a groove and a rail adapted to slide into the said groove by a
movement parallel to the face of the iron, and a detachable coupling device
adapted to lock the handle in the working position, substantially as described.
2. The improved means for attaching handles to smoothing or flat irons and
analogous tools, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 18th day of April 1898.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
Agents, 37 and 39, Essex Street, Strand, London.