IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR IRONING, SMOOTHENING, GLOSSING, PRESSING, OR FINISHING FABRICS, ALSO FOR DRESSING AND POLISHING OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1885

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I MATTHEW HESLOP of 18 Queen Victoria Street in the City of London,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
IRONING, SMOOTHENING, GLOSSING, PRESSING, OR FINISHING FABRICS, ALSO FOR
DRESSING AND POLISHING OTHER MATERIALS," to be as follows:―
The object of this invention is a certain construction and arrangement of
detailed appliances by which all the movements, of ironing, smoothening, glossing,
polishing or pressing usually effected by hand can be accomplished mechanically.
The invention is intended for general use in Laundries and manufactories for
ironing, smoothening, or glossing finishing or otherwise similarly operating upon
starched or unstarched fabrics and for pressing or ironing seams or other parts of
garments, particularly where heat is required, also for polishing other materials
such as metal wood, paper stone and the like.
The working parts of the machinery or apparatus can be driven by steam or
other motive power or by foot or hand. When the machinery is driven by power
it is provided with a shaft having a fast and loose pulley, also bevil gearing driving
a disc which forms the prime mover and regulator of speed by a roller which can
be set at any point on the radius of the revolving disc. The axle of this roller
imparts its motion by pinion or other gearing to another shaft upon which I fix one
or two eccentrics or two shafts may be used one for each eccentric so as to effect
both an oscillating and a reciprocating motion of the iron, smoothener presser
or other tool attached to an arm or tube.
When the machinery or apparatus is driven by foot or hand the disc and bevil
gearing are not used but the power is applied directly to a wheel or crank or other
gearing on which the two eccentrics are fixed, or when one shaft is used separately
for each eccentric the motion may be communicated by wheel or pinion or other
gearing from the one to the other.
To effect a variable or uniform stroke or travel of the smoothener on a horizontal
lane I use an eccentric of peculiar construction in accordance with my application
or Patent No 10,714 of the year 1884. Upon the one or two revolving shafts

page_text: above mentioned and which receive motion from the said driving gear and disc
I fix the two eccentrics one of which is connected by rod with a horizontal lever so
as to produce an oscillating movement to the right or left of the centre line of the
driving arm or tube upon which the smoothener, presser, or other tool is supported.
The other eccentric (which produces a reciprocating motion) is connected by rod
with a vertical lover centred upon the frame of the machine upon which it can
oscillate. This centre is provided with means and jointed in such a manner as to
admit of the lever rising or falling or moving sideways or to and fro thereby
adjusting itself to any angle or degree of travel of the smoothener presser or tool
on a horizontal or vertical plane.
The action of the two eccentrics is regulated by hand lever and clutch by which
the one may be put in uniform or variable motion while the other remains at rest
or both can be put into variable or uniform motion simultaneously thereby causing
any desired movement of the smoothener presser, or tool either in straight or
curved lines or in tremulous, vibratory, circular or elliptical motion over any given
range on a table surface or from any given spot.
The smoothener presser or tool is supported by a ball and swivel-joint on the end
of the driving arm or it may be a tube to contain gas or steam pipes for heating
the smoothener and also for carrying off the heated or spent gas or vapours, said
smoothener being provided with a handle by which it may be turned round in any
direction horizontally vertically or to any angle without regard to any mechanical
motion that may be imparted to it.
The back end of the tube or driving arm is held in a kind of universal joint on
the upper end of the vertical lever above mentioned.
The tube or driving arm rests and is capable of moving to and fro in a jointed
carrier or bearing mounted on a centre pin supported by the frame in a cross-bar
said carrier having a quadrant which can be held by a clutch of the presser-bar, the
lower part of which embraces a double inclined block which can be moved side-
ways on a slide-bar by a hand lever to raise or lower the smoothener or cause any,
required degree of pressure on the table.
In the practical use of my invention I construct a table in such a manner that it
can be modified to suit the various processes of ironing, glossing, pressing or
polishing. Said table may be made stationary or nove mechanically and may be
attached to the frame in fixed or movable bearings and of any required shape. For
general laundry and like uses it is preferable to employ a table provided with two
rollers and an endless blanket, the movement of which may be continuous or
intermittent.

page_text: Improvements in and Connected with Machinery or Apparatus
for Ironing, Smoothening, Glossing, Pressing, or Finishing
I MATTHEW HESLOP of 18 Queen Victoria Street, in the city of London,
Consulting Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
IRONING, SMOOTHENING, GLOSSING, PRESSING, OR FINISHING FABRICS ALSO FOR
DRESSING AND POLISHING OTHER MATERIALS "
and in what manner the samo is
to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The object of this invention is a certain construction and arrangement of
detailed appliances by which all the movements of ironing, smoothening, glossing,
polishing or pressing usually effected by hand can be accomplished mechanically.
The invention is intended for general use in laundries and manufactories for
ironing, smoothening, or glossing, finishing or otherwise similarly operating upon
starched or unstarched fabrics and for pressing or ironing seams or other parts of
garinents particularly where heat is required also for polishing other materials such
as metal, wood, paper, stone and the like.
The working parts of the machinery or apparatus can be driven by steam
or other motive power or by foot or hand. When the machinery is driven by
power it is provided with a shaft having a fast and loose pulley, also bevil gearing
driving a disc which forms the prime mover and regulator of speed by a roller
which can be set at any point on the radius of the revolving disc. The axle of this
roller imparts its motion by pinion or other gearing to another shaft upon which
I fix one or two eccentrics, or two shafts may be used, one for each eccentric so as
to effect both an oscillating and a reciprocating motion of the iron, smoothener,
presser or other tool attached to an arm or tube.
When the machinery or apparatus is driven by foot or hand the disc and bevil
gearing are not used, but the power is applied directly to a wheel or crank or other
gearing on which the two eccentrics are fixed or when one shaft is used separately
for each eccentric the motion may be communicated by wheel or pinion or other
gearing from the one to the other."
To effect a variable or uniform stroke or travel of the smoothener, presser or
other tool on a horizontal plane I use an eccentric of peculiar construction in
accordance with my Patent No 10,714 of the year 1884. Upon the one or two
revolving shafts above mentioned and which receive motion from the said driving
gear and disc, I fix eccentrics one of which is connected by rod with a horizontal
lever so as to produce an oscillating movement to the right or left of the centre line
of the driving arm or tube upon which the smoothener or presser or other tool is
supported. Another eccentric (which produces a reciprocating motion) is connected
by rod with a vertical lever centred upon the frame of the machine upon which it
can oscillate. This centre is provided with means and jointed in such a manner as

page_text: to admit of the lever rising or falling or moving sideways or to and fro thereby
adjusting itself to any angle or degree of travel of the smoothener presser or other
tool on a horizontal, inclined, or vertical plane.
The action of the two eccentrics is regulated by hand lever and clutch by which
the one may be put in uniform or variable motion while the other remains at rest
or both can be put into variable or uniform motion simultaneously thereby causing
any desired movement of the smoothener, presser or other tool either in straight or
curved lines or in a tremulous, vibratory, circular or elliptical motion over any
given range on a table surface or from any given spot.
The smoothener, presser or tool is supported by a ball and swivel joint on the
end of the driving arm or it may be a tube to contain gas or steam pipes for
heating the smoothener and also for carrying off the heated or spent gas or
vapours, said smoothener being provided with a handle by which it may be turned
round in any direction horizontally, vertically, or to any angle without regard to
any mechanical motion that may be imparted to it.'
The back end of the tube or driving arm is held in a kind of universal joint on
the upper end of the vertical lever above mentioned.
The tube or driving arm rests and is capable of moving to and fro in a jointed
carrier or bearing mounted on a centre pin supported by the frame in a cross bar,
said carrier having a quadrant which can be held by a clutch of the presser bar the
lower part of which embraces a double inclined block which can be moved sideways
on a slide bar by a hand lever to raise or lower the smoothener or cause any
required degree of pressure on the table.
In the practical use of my invention I construct a table in such a manner that it
can be modified to suit the various processes of ironing, glossing, pressing or
polishing. Said table may be made stationary or to move mechanically and may
be attached to the frame in fixed or movable bearings and of any required shape.
For general laundry and like uses it is preferable to employ a table provided with
two rollers and an endless blanket, the movement of which may be continuous or
intermittent.
In the drawings annexed to this specification I show its application for laundry
purposes or for dressing fabrics generally where a heated iron is required to be
passed over the same.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 a back view of the
same.
It is composed of a frame A supporting a shaft B which may be driven by
power from a pulley C. The shaft B has a bevil pinion D gearing into a bevil
wheel E on a vertical shaft F whose upper end carries a disc G for transmitting
motion to a roller H this being arranged upon a shaft I and capable of sliding
thereon by a clutch J actuated by a lever K to regulate the speed of the shaft I
according to the distance the roller H is thrown from the centre of the disc G. The
shaft I transmits its motion by the wheel L to the wheel M this being on the main
shaft N for giving motion to the eccentric discs P, Q one of which P gives an
oscillating movement by rod R to a centre pin S whose upper end carries a block T
for giving a horizontal, or inclined oscillatory motion to an arm U, this forming a
conveyor of steam, heated air, or gas to an iron V which works across, over, and
upon a board preferably provided with an endless travelling belt W which can be
moved intermittently or as desired by the handle X or continuously if desired by
power for successively bringing fresh parts of the fabric under treatment.
The eccentric disc Q produces a horizontal or inclined reciprocating action or a
to and fro movement of a vertical lever Y centred upon a transverse shaft Z. This
lever Y has another joint at right angles at a and has attached to it another lever b
whose upper end is connected by a kind of universal joint c to the arm U which
has a to and fro motion within a socket d forming part of the block T, said socket d
being so jointed to the block T as to be lifted by a quadrant shaped collar e whose
fore end is embraced by a fork f on the upper end of a bar g which has a lifting or
depressing action by a rhomboidally shaped block h-which can be moved to or fro

page_text: in said bar by the lever i when the iron or other tool has to be lifted clear of the
table as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1.
I have referred to this machine being driven by power but by dispensing with
the disc G it may be worked by the hand wheel j or by foot and treadle.
The eccentric disc Q is connected to the lever Y by a rod p and the eccentric
discs P, Q are capable of adjustment in their throw according to the set of the
rhomboidal blocks k, l, these being governed by the levers m, n, within reach of an
attendant.
The rhomboidal blocks k, l, are of special arrangement and are fully described in
the specification of my preceding patent N° 10714 of the year 1884.
I have described this machine as for general Laundry purposes but instead of
fitting an iron on the end of the bar U any other appliance may be substituted by
which stone, slate, metals or other surfaces may be reduced, smoothed, dressed,
polished or otherwise operated upon, the bar U being capable of a reciprocating, a
circular, an oscillatory, an inclined, an angular, an elliptical, a to and fro or a
transverse movement, or a combination of the above, at the will of the operator, the
pressure is also capable of adjustment.
In the case of surfacing, smoothening or polishing wood, such, as say French
polishing, the polishing pads, brushes or other appliances can be affixed to the
arm U.
Having now particularly described the nature of my said invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is
The particular combination and arrangement of the machine shown at Figures 1,
2 and 3 of the annexed drawings or any mere modified arrangement of the parts
thereof for the purpose or purposes herein before set forth or any equivalent purpose
or purposes.