IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRESSING AND IRONING, APPLICABLE TO CLOTHING, BOOKBINDING, AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Thomas Hughes, of the Firm of Hughes
& Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRESSING AND
IRONING, APPLICABLE TO CLOTHING, BOOKBINDING, AND OTHER PURPOSES."―A
communication from abroad by Auguste François Dusnutoy, of
14. Boulevard des Italiens. Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 28th December 1860, and dated the 6th July 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Thomas Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th July 1860.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes & Son, Patent Agents,
123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PRESSING AND
IRONING, APPLICABLE TO CLOTHING, BOOKBINDING, AND OTHER PURPOSES," a com-
munication from abroad by Auguste François Dusantoy, of 14, Boulevard des
Italiens, Paris, in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
These improvements consist in a peculiar mechanism, whereby the requisite
pressure and heat for pressing and ironing are obtained and employed in a
more advantageous and regular manner than has hitherto been practised by
hand.
For this purpose I make use of a table on which the articles to be pressed and
ironed are placed, and of an iron of the requisite size suspended immediately.

page_text: above to obtain the pressure.
I either cause the table to ascend towards the
iron or the iron to descend on the table. I communicate motion either to the
table or the iron by means of a pedal which is connected with either of
the said parts by rods and levers in such a manner that the weight applied on
the pedal will be multiplied by this combination of parts, and more energetic
at the contact of the table and iron. In order to communicate a constant and
regular heat to the iron, I make it hollow, and introduce into the cavity one
or several jets of ignited gas, and in the case of a machine where the iron is
not stationary, I connect the gas burner or burners with the stationary supply
pipe by an elastic tube, so as to enable the said burner or burners to follow
the motion of the iron. In some cases for pressing or ironing tubular articles,
such as the sleeves of coats, legs of trousers, &c., instead of a flat table I make
use of a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical form placed horizontally and attached
solidly to a post by one of its extremities, and in such case instead of suspending
the iron to a rigid rod, I hang it on jointed rods, so that besides the vertical
motion mentioned I can communicate to it a limited lateral motion in all direc-
tions and in a horizontal plane; the pressure communicated consists in this case
in the weight of the iron augmented, if requisite, by a manual effort, the pedal
being merely instrumental in raising and lowering the said iron. By this
arrangement the sides of the iron are made available for pressing and ironing
as well as the bottom of the iron. When great pressure is required, I make
use of steam, and in such case I attach the table to a piston or plunger sliding
on a cylinder, which on the admission of steam, rises towards the iron, or I
make the table stationary, and cause the iron to descend by the same means,
and when great heat is required I cause the central part of the table where
the pressure takes place to be made hollow, and I place in it a metallic box
heated in the same manner as the iron above described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Thomas Hughes in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th January 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes & Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery
Lane, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me;
the said Edward Thomas Hughes, Her special license that I, the said
Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR PRESSING AND IRONING, APPLICABLE TO CLOTHING, BOOKBINDING, AND OTHER
PURPOSES," a communication to me from abroad by Auguste François Dusautoy,
of 14, Boulevard des Italiens, Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the con-
dition, amongst others, that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain 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
Offico within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, 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) :-
:-
These improvements are adapted to machinery, so as to supersede or assist
manual labor in ironing and pressing clothing and other articles.
In order that the Invention may be fully understood, I have represented in
the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings, four different descriptions of
machines, wherein the irons are heated by the direct action of gas and
the pressure applied mechanically.
The first of these four machines is represented by the Figures 1 to 4,
Sheet 1, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan of the machine; Fig. 2, a front elevation ;
Fig. 3, a plan in section through E, F, Fig. 2'; and Fig. 4, a lateral clevation
in section through A, B, Fig. 2.
a, a, is the framing of the machine; b, the table on which the pressure is
given; c, a small girder sustaining the table, and d, a column supporting the
girder immediately under the place where the pressure takes place; e, the
iron attached to a rod e', sliding in a fixed guide e²; the top part of this rod e' is
keyed in the lower boss or hub of a small hand wheel e', the top part of which
hub is provided with an internal screw, and receives the extremity of the

page_text: screwed rode
this arrangement serves to regulate the height of suspension
of the iron, and a second small hand wheel running on the screwed rod e
acts as a stop nut; the upper extremity of this rod e' is jointed to a lever f,
having its fulcrum in f', whilst from its other extremity is suspended a rod f²,
which is connected with the shaft 9, of the pedal g' by a lever g; h is a
balance weight attached to a lever h' having its fulcrum at h², which serves to
bring back the iron to its original position after each operation.
In order that the peculiar construction of this iron be better understood, I
have represented it on a larger scale by the Figures from 1 to 5 of accom-
panying Drawing, Sheet 2, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan from above; Fig. 2, ditto
from below; Fig. 8, a plan in section through M, N, Fig. 4; Fig. 4, a
elevation in section through Q, R, Fig. 5; and Fig. 5, a lateral elevation.
This iron is composed of a hollow box e of cast iron, or any other suitable metal
or material, suspended to the extremity of a rod e', by means of a washer i and a
cover i'; j is the gas jet entered in the iron, its flame and heat circulating through
the internal cavity, and making its exit at the lateral opening after having impar-
ted the requisite heat to the iron; is a cock to regulate the flame, and k is an
envelope or cover of non-conducting substances to prevent the radiation of heat
from the upper and lateral faces of the iron.
The substances to be pressed are placed on the table b, the workman then
lowers the iron e in contact with the said substances by means of the pedal 9',
and the above mentioned parts, and thereby communicates to them the requisite
pressure; when the said pedal is liberated, the iron is caused to rise by the
action of the balance weight h; it will thus be seen that the amount of heat
imparted to the iron can be augmented or diminished as desired, and that the
heat can be maintained constant and regular with little or no attendance, that
the pressure operated by the foot of the workman is applied with the greatest
facility and rapidity, and that by means of the multiplication of levers its
energy is considerably greater than it has been possible to apply by hand; it
will also be observed that in this new machine, the workman has both his
hands free to manipulate with. The single jet of gas burning in the iron can
be replaced by one or several rows of smaller jets, and the table itself at
the part where the pressure is effected may be provided with a metal box
heated in the same manner as the iron.
The second class of machines, which I will now describe, is represented by
the Figures 5 to 8 in Sheet 1 of accompanying Drawings, wherein Fig. 5 is a
plan complete; Fig. 6, a front elevation; Fig. 7, a plan of the under part;
and Fig. 8, a lateral elevation, part of which is in section through C, D,
Bi 6

page_text: This second machine differs from the first one above described in the manner
in which the pressure is applied, which, instead of being effected by the
descent of the iron on the fabrics or materials placed on a stationary table, is
accomplished by special mechanism, which raises the table, and the fabrics or
materials laid thereon in contact with the iron, which is stationary; 7 is the
table fitted on a cast-iron frame having its fulcrum at ; when at rest this
table descends by its own gravity into the position indicated in the Drawing';
it is raised in contact with the iron by the pedal m, the rods m', and m², and
the lever me; by this arrangement of parts the requisite pressure can be
obtained; the suspension rod of the iron in this machine is made in one
piece, its upper extremity being screwed and entered by means of the
lower hand wheel into the screwed projection n, whilst the upper hand
wheel which runs on the screwed rod serves as a stop nut.
I will now describe two other classes of machines constructed for hot-
pressing and ironing tubular parts of clothing or other articles, such as the
legs of trousers, the sleeves of coats, &c., in which machines the heating is
imparted in nearly the same manner, but the pressure is accomplished by the
dead weight of the iron, which can be augmented, if requisite, by the physical
force of the workman.
I have represented the first of these two machines in Sheet 1 by the Figures
from 9 to 12, wherein Fig. 9 is a plan; Fig. 10, a lateral elevation; Fig. 11,
a plan in section through G, H, Fig. 10; and Fig. 12, a front elevation.
o is the table which is fixed and stands out from the column o'; in shape it
resembles a long tapered horizontal beam secured at its largest extremity,
which form adapts it for receiving tubular parts of clothing; e is the iron which
is raised or lowered by the foot and moved in a horizontal direction by the
hand of the workman; it is suspended by a rod p to the running frame p¹,
provided with the two travelling pulleys p rolling on the horizontal bar p³, the
two extremities of which are received in the ends of levers p, p, having their
fulcra on the shaft p, which shaft carries also a third lever po, from which
descends a loaded rod 9, the lower extremity of which is connected to one end
of the pedal lever q'; when at rest the iron e assumes the position represented
in Figs. 10 and 12, and when in action it is brought down by the workman by
means of the pedal, until it is in contact with the fabrics or materials placed
on or around the table; the action of the pedal in this machine is only avail-
able for raising and lowering the said iron, or for diminishing the pressure
resulting from its gravity; in case this said pressure is not sufficient, it can be
augmented by the workman leaning on the iron in the usual. way; horizontal
motion is transmitted to the iron by the workman, it being free to travel in

page_text: one direction to the extent of the shaft p, placed above, and in the other
direction it can be caused to move to a limited extent; when lateral pressure
is required to be given, the pedal must be lowered, and the lateral face of the
iron employed for that purpose; when the iron is not in use it can be suspended
to a book or projecting rod r.
In order to hot-press or iron different parts of clothing, which could not be
dono conveniently on the projecting beam o, I attach to the said beam different
shaped rests, as may be required. I have represented one of theso rests or
forms by the Figures 13 to 15, Sheet 1, of which Fig. 13 is a plan; Fig. 14,
a side elevation; and Fig. 15, a front elevation.
This rest is used to hot-press shoulder pieces, and is composed of a metallic
collar 8, which is passed on the beam and attached to it by a screw and of an
inclined board ; when such a rest as this, standing above the beam, is em-
ployed, the length of suspension of the iron is diminished accordingly, either by
substituting a shorter rod or by making use of a compound rod, which can
be lengthened or shortened as required by means of a screw or other appro-
priate means.
In this description of machine I have found it preferable to make use of a
modification of the iron above described, in order to admit of its being worked
horizontally and inclined to the right or to the left. I have represented this
description of iron on a larger scale in the accompanying Drawing, Sheet 2,
by the Figures 6 to 8, wherein Fig. 6 is a plan; Fig. 7, a front elevation;
and Fig. 8, a lateral ditto.
..
e is the iron, which is heated by gas in the same manner as the one above
described, and suspended in a horizontal collar t, at the two centres t', t'; this
said collar being suspended at points u', u', in the vertical collar u, hung to a
vertical central rod v, on which it can turn horizontally; this arrangement
offers every facility for giving motion to the iron, which the workman holds by
the handle in non-conducting substances v¹.
I have represented a modification of this last machine in the Figures 16 to
18, Sheet 1, wherein Fig. 16 is a plan of the same; Fig. 17, a front elevation;
and Fig. 18, a lateral ditto. This machine differs from the one just described
by the iron being fixed and the table or beam moveable.
o is the beam, having its fulcrum at o³, and provided with an arm or lever o³
at right angles with the said beam, to the extremity of which lever is connected
a rod o', the other end of which is attached to the pedal o³; when at rest the
beam assumes the position indicated in the Drawing; in order to raise it the
workman presses on the above-mentioned pedal, whereby he brings the cloths
on or around the beam in contact with the iron, until its weight is completely

page_text: relieved from the rod to which it was suspended. If requisite to diminish the
amount of pressure thus obtained, the workman presses with less energy on the
pedal; if, on the contrary, he wishes to augment the pressure of the iron, he
keeps the pedal well down, and gives additional weight to the iron by leaning on
it with his hands.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the best means that
I am acquainted with for carrying the same into practice, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I do not confine myself to the precise details
and secondary arrangements herein specified; but what I claim is,-
Firstly, the manner of imparting heat to the irons by one or more jets of
gas directed within the cavities of the said irons and accompanying them in all
their motions.
Secondly, the arrangement adopted for suspending the iron, and mode of
operating in the two machines just described, whether the work be effected
between a stationary table and a moveable iron, or between a moveable table
and a stationary iron.
And, thirdly, the mode of suspension adopted for the iron employed in the
two latter machines, and the mode of operating, whether the pressure be
effected by the descent of the iron on a stationary table or beam, or by the
raising of the table towards a suspended iron, together with the arrangements
and parts described to facilitate the pressing and ironing tubular and irregular
articles, as all such improvements are herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying two Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, have hereunto
set my band and seal, this Fifth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES. (L.S.)