Improvements in Trousers-stretchers.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date claimed for Patent under oec. 100 OF
235
being date of first Foreign Application (in 12th Feb., 1892
United States of America),
Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 12th Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 12th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 26th Nov., 1892
Improvements in Trousers-stretchers.
I, GEORGE SUTHERLAND MACDONALD, of 178 Griswold Street Detroit, in the
County of Wayne, and State of Michigan, United States of America, 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:-
My invention relates to an improvement in trousers stretchers; and its object is
to provide a simple and inexpensive device for stretching the leg of the trousers
for the purpose of taking out the wrinkles.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a perspective of the device.
Fig. 2 is a perspective of the device open to receive the trousers.
Fig. 3 is a view of the device with the trousers in position.
One
In the drawings, A A are side frames pivoted together on the rod B at a.
of these side frames is provided with the extension a', which when the frames lie
parallel, as in Fig. 1, extends along the side of the opposite frame. Sliding on the
opposite frame is the ring a², adapted to slide over the extension a' when the frames
are in their parallel position and hold the same in that position. Connecting the
outer ends of the frames A A are the rods a³. Pivoted to the side frames near the
outer end are the auxiliary frames CC, consisting of the short side bars c and
the cross bar c¹. These frames C C are adapted to swing against the ends of the
frames A A and embrace an article placed between the cross-bar a³ and the cross
bar c'.
Around each side bar A and the short side bar c, adjacent to it and between the
pivot f and the cross-bars a³ c¹, 1 place a ring c², oblong in shape and with a short
diameter sufficient to slip easily along the bars A c and with a long diameter about
equal to the sum of the widths of the two side bars A c. Thus the ring c² when
moved to near the pivot fallows the two frames to be spread apart sufficiently to
allow the insertion between the cross-bars a³ and e' of the article to be stretched,
and then upon moving the ring toward the cross-bar a³, the two cross bars are
tightly clamped upon the article to be stretched. The ring c² is prevented from
slipping back on the side bar A by the pivot f. These rings c may be dispensed
with and any suitable catch employed to hold the auxiliary frame to the main
frame. I provide the cross bars a³ and c¹ with a rubber covering c³.
The operation of my device is as follows:
The sliding collar a is slid along on the side frames until the extension a¹ is
released, when the frames can be doubled up into the position shown in Fig. 2.
The auxiliary frames are then swung away from the main frames and the legs of
the trousers passed through, one end of the frame embracing the trousers above the
knee and the other near the bottom, when the rings c² are slid toward the end of
the side frames, forcing the auxiliary frames toward the main frames and embracing
the trousers and locking them between the frames. The stretcher itself is then

page_text: extended into the horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 3, and the ring a² slipped
into position over the extension a', holding the frame in its parallel position. Any
degree of tension can be given to the trousers, according to the position of the
stretcher when taking hold of the legs of the trousers. If but a slight tension is
to be given them, then the stretcher is engaged with the trousers when the frames
are set at an obtuse angle.
To provide for stretching the trousers from the top to the bottom, I make one
end of the stretcher wider than the other, the narrow end to grasp the bottom of
the trousers, and the wider end the top. I also provide one set of the side
frames A A, shorter than the opposite set, so that the stretcher may be folded
together, as shown in Fig. 3. In this case the cross-rods at the narrow end of the
stretcher swing inside of the cross rods at the opposite end. This adapts the
stretcher to be packed into a small space, and it may be conveniently carried in an
ordinary hand-bag.
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. In a trousers-stretcher, the combination, with two frames composed, respec-
tively, of side bars and end bars, one frame being of smaller dimensions than the
other, a cross rod pivotally uniting the inner ends of the side bars, locking means
for retaining the frames in a parallel position, frames pivoted to the outer ends of
the side bars, carrying cross-bars parallel with the cross-bars of the main frame,
means for holding the cross-bars together and a rubber covering on the cross-bars,
substantially as described.
Dated this 12th day of September 1892
F. W. BARKER,
Applicant's Agent.