Improvements in Machinery for Ironing Shirt Sleeves or the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Apr., 1895-Accepted, 1st June, 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Ironing Shirt Sleeves or the like.
I, WILLIAM AUGUST EDWIN HENRICI of 762 Broadway, Chelsea in the
County of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Manufacturer, 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 has for its object the production of a machine for readily and
expeditiously ironing the sleeves of shirts or the like, the mechanism and con-
struction of the machine being very simple, strong and durable, with all the parts.
easy of access and manipulation.
In ironing shirts by machinery, the bosom and body are ironed separately, and
the sleeves cannot be properly and conveniently ironed in the body ironing machine,
and it is necessary, therefore, to provide a separate machine for ironing sleeves, and
I will now proceed to describe the same.
Fig. is a front elevation of a machine for ironing the sleeves of shirts,
partially broken out, to show the construction of the ironing roll and work
support.
Fig. 2 is a left hand elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1. .
Fig. 3 is a top view of the part of the machine shown at the left hand end
thereof, viewing Fig. 1, and
Fig. 4 is sectional detail of a part of the heating apparatus for the ironing roll
to be described.
The framework consists of end frames A, A*, connected by cross girts 2, 3, and 4
and a cross plate A¹, and to the cross plate a standard B is secured, as by suitable
bolts 6, said standard having bearings B', B', for the reduced end C of the work
support, shown as a cylinder C horizontally supported by the said bearings B', B',
the part of the journal supported by the bearing B' projecting beyond it and
having fast thereon a gear C¹ in mesh with a smaller gear D*, fast on the main or
driving shaft D, supported in suitable bearings A' on the upper part of the frame,
the said main or driving shaft having loose thereon a belt pulley D' forming one
member of a friction clutch, the other member D³, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1
being rotatable with said driving shaft but longitudinally movable thereon by
means of a suitable yoke lever D³ pivoted to a bracket A³, bolted or otherwise
secured to the frame; the free end of the clutch lever is notched, as at D', to he
entered by a cam segment D³, pivoted at D and provided with a rigid arm D',
movement of the arm on the pivot rocking the cam D³ in such manner that when
the arm D' is depressed from the position shown in Fig. 2, the cam will act to
force the two parts of the clutch into engagement to rotate the driving shaft, the
power being transmitted to the pulley by a suitable belt not shown.
The end frames have depending portions A at their lower end slotted to receive
therein bearing blocks A to receive therethrough a rock shaft A7 extending across
the machine, and at the right hand end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a treadle T is
rigidly secured to said shaft, the other end of the rock shaft having fast thereon an
arm A, having an opening in its end through which is extended a link D³,
threaded at its lower end and pivoted at 10 to the cam actunting arm D7.
A preferably adjustable collar a is screwed onto the rod D at the upper side of
the arm A, and a loose collar a' surrounds the rod below the arm A. and is held
up against it in a yielding manner by a spring & surrounding the rod, the lower end

page_text: C
of the spring resting on a collar a², held in adjusted position on the rod by a set
nut a".
A strong spring S, connected at one end to a bracket-like arm A' of the frame,
or to any other suitable fixed part thereof, is connected at its other end to the
ear as on the arm A to normally lift the outer end of said arm, and through the
rock shaft A', maintain the treadle elevated, the parts then being in such position
that the clutch trembers D' and D2 are out of engagement.
The roll C is covered with felt or a series of layers of thick cloth, as 20, to
provide a yielding surface upon which the work to be ironed is supported, the said
roll constituting a rotatable work support.
At the back of the frame, a standard E is rigidly secured and provided with
bearings e, e¹, for the journals f of a heavy, yoke-like, or other suitable carrier F
mounted to rock on its said journals, the upwardly extended arms of the carrier
being provided with enlarged bearings f¹, f to receive therein a hollow, reduced
journal portion of the hollow, yoke-like roll H, and prevented from longitudinal
movement in the bearings by an annular flange at one end of the bearing and
by a collar at the other end of the said bearing and secured to the journal
portion h.
The main or driving shaft D has fast thereon between its bearings a gear d,
meshing with an intermediate gear d', the hub of which is loosely mounted on
the journal of the carrier F, said intermediate gear d¹ in turn meshing with a
gear fast on the portion of the roll H, whereby rotation of the driving shaft
is transmitted to the roll H, and, inasmuch as the intermediate gear d' is concentric
with the axis of the rocking frame F, it will be obvious that the gears d, d', and d
will always remain in mesh, no matter what the angular position of the carrier
may be.
Rocker arms 9 are mounted upon the rock shaft A', and secured in adjusted
position thereon by suitable set screws g extended through the hubs g² of the said
arms and bearing against the shaft A', said arms being pivotally connected by
links g³ and g to suitable ears f³ on the carrier F, the links and arms constituting
toggle joints, whereby, by straightening the latter, the rocking carrier will be
turned upon its journals, and the ironing roll H will be brought more or less
closely against the work supporting roll C*, the pressure depending upon the
amount of force applied to the treadle T to actuate the rocking shaft A7.
The carrier F is made in a very solid and substantial manner, and its lower
portion F1 acts as a counterbalance to the weight of the ironing roll supported in
the bearings,, the construction described insuring absolute parallelism of the
axes of the work support and ironing roll, whether when pressed closely together
or slightly separated.
From the foregoing description and the drawings it will be obvious that the
depression of the treadle to move the ironing roll against the work support,
simultaneously and automatically throws into operative position the clutch, so that
the rotation of the said roll and support is effected at the time the ironing roll is in
position to iron the shirt sleeve, which the attendant inserts beneath the roll H
and upon the rotatable work support.
The springs is of sufficient stiffness to cause the operation of the clutch when
the treadle is depressed, and yet it will yield thereafter as the toggle joints,
referred to, are straightened to press the iron against the work support.
It is of course necessary that the ironing roll be heated, and I accomplish this
by means of a mixture of air and gas led into the ironing roll by means of a
pipe k, threaded at its outer end into one of the partition walls, as m, in a casing m*,
the said pipe k having perforations k' therein, in that part within the roll H, to
form burners, by the heat of which the roll is interiorily heated from one to the
other end.
A gas inlet n opens into the casing m*, and a pipe n¹ is threaded into a
partition m, the pipe n' extending into the pipe & and communicating with the
chamber between the two partitions by one or more openings, as n².

page_text: The air supply pipe o communicates with said chamber, and it will be seen from
an inspection of Fig. 4, that substantially a Bunsen burner is formed, some of the
air entering the gas tube n', through the opening n³, and some of it passing between
the tubes or pipes n' and k, the air and gas being thus properly mixed and in
proper proportions, the flow of the air and gas being controlled by suitable valves
in their inlet pipes.
The larger pipe is shewn in Fig. 4, as closing the end of the casing and
surrounding the pipe for a portion of its length, as shown in Fig. 1, the inner
end of the pipe communicating with an air inlet ³, which supplies it with
sufficient amount of oxygen to maintain combustion in the roll H.
The pipe, as shewn, is extended part way through the long journal of the
roll to the better introduce a plentiful supply of air thereinto, and the outer end
of the tube is preferably supported by a stay or cross tie h* at the outer end of
the roll.
Openings at the end of the roll H permit the products of combustion to pass
from that part of the roll, other portions passing through the other end thereof.
As shewn in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the casing m* has fast thereto or forming a part of
it an arm or bracket m³, which is secured by suitable bolts 15 to the bearing f',
so that the longitudinal axes of the ironing roll and of the several pipes or
tubes k and n' will coincide.
While the casing m* with its mode of attachment to the bearings forms a rigid
and strong support for the burner apparatus, it is advisable to support the outer
extremity of the tube ¹ as described, as a lighter tube may be used in consequence.
A bracket A10 supports a guard G below the work support, the upright inner
end G protecting the work from any possible injury by the mechanism.
In operation, the attendant inserts the sleeve between the ironing roll and work
support, presses the treadle T, and thus starts the rotation of the iron and support
to draw the sleeve between them as it is ironed, the pressure of the work being
varied by or through the treadle as the rocking carrier F is swung more or less
upon its journal.
A yielding cushion of rubber or other suitable material, as f* is shewn in Fig. 20
secured to the arm at the back of the machine, the said cushion receiving the
impact of the rocking frame when the treadle is released, and preventing jar.
One of the bearings, as e¹, of the rocking carrier F is connected by a brace "g
to the bearing B' of the work support, to thus cross brace the parts of the
apparatus, and to overcome any tendency to separate or work apart.
As soon as the sleeve has been ironed, the treadle is released, and the ironing
roll is immediately lifted from the work-support to permit the sleeve to be
withdrawn and another one inserted, the rotation of the ironing roll and support
ceasing when the treadle is fully raised.
The ironing roll is preferably made of steel and highly polished exteriorly.
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 use, in a sleeve ironing machine, of a work-support, a rotatable ironing
roll, a rocking carrier in which it is supported, and means to rock the carrier and
move the roll towards and from the work-support in parallelism therewith,
substantially as described.
2. The use, in a sleeve ironing machine, of a work-support rotatable in fixed
bearings, a rocking carrier having an ironing roll rotatable therein, and means
to rotate the roll and work-support and to press them together to iron the work,
substantially as described.
3. The use, in a sleeve ironing machine, of a yoke-like rocking carrier, an
ironing roll rotatably mounted therein, a work support towards and from which
the roll is moved by rocking the carrier, means to rotate the ironing roll, and
mechanism to rock the carrier on its pivots, substantially as described.

page_text: 4. The use, in a sleeve ironing machine, of a work-support rotatable in fixed
bearings, a rocking carrier having an ironing roll rotatable therein, a main driving
shaft, connections between it and the ironing roll and the work-support, and means
to cause rotation of the main shaft and to press the ironing roll against the work-
support, substantially as described.
5. The use, in a sleeve ironing machine, of a hollow rotatable ironing roll, a
burner extended thereinto, air and gas supply inlets for the burner, a cylindrical
rotatable work support and means to control the rotation of the roll and support
and to move one of them towards the other to grasp the work therebetween,
substantially as described.
6. The use, in a sleeve ironing machine, of a rocking carrier, a heated ironing
roll supported thereby, a rotatable work-support, a driving shaft and connections
between it and the roll and work support, a clutch controlling mechanism for the
shaft, and connections between said mechanism and the carrier, to rock the latter,
substantially as described.
7. The use, in a sleeve ironing machine, of a main driving shaft, a loose pulley
thereon, means to clutch it to the shaft, a rotatable ironing roll adapted to be
moved towards and from a work support, and means to throw the clutch into
operative position and move the roll towards the work-support, substantially as
described. .
Dated the 10th dow of A
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.