IMPROVE. MENTS IN SMOOTHING IRONS
Year: 1863

page_text: ET
NT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN SMOOTHING IRONS."-A communication from abroad by the
Society Jean Charles and Company, of Marseilles, in the Empire of
France.
Sealed the 1st December 1863, and dated the 5th June 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th June 1863.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention.
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SMOOTHING IRONS," a communication from abroad from
the Society Jean Charles and Company, of Marseilles, in the Empire of
France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain arrangements whereby the handles of
smoothing irons are made removeable at pleasure from the body of the iron,
and the hand of the ironer is protected from the heat radiated therefrom.
According to this Invention, it is proposed to adapt the handle of a smoothing
iron to a plate or shield which rests upon and covers the upper surface of the
"iron" itself, and so protects the hand of the operator from the heat radiated
from the body of the "iron."

page_text: Suitable attaching studs and guides are formed on the upper surface of the
"iron," for enabling the plate or shield to be readily adjusted in its proper
place thereon, and any convenient form of spring, sneck, or catch is fitted to
the handle, whereby it can be locked or secured to the body of the iron. These
snecks or catches are acted upon by the finger or thumb of the operator press-
ing against or upon a lever or button, which opens the catch and releases the
handle and plate from the iron.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th December 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SMOOTHING IRONS," a communication to me from abroad by the
Society Jean Charles and Company, of Marseilles, in the Empire of France,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors or administrators, by an instruinent in writing under my hand
and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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 follow-

page_text: ing statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
The said Invention relates to certain arrangements whereby the handles of
smoothing irons are made removable at pleasure from the body of the "iron,"
and the hand of the ironer is protected from the heat radiated therefrom.
According to this Invention, it is proposed to adapt the handle of a
smoothing "iron" to a plate or shield which rests upon and covers the upper
surface of the "iron" itself, and so protects the hand of the operator from the
heat radiated from the body of the "iron."
Suitable attaching studs and guides are formed on the upper surface of the
iron," for enabling the plate or shield to be readily adjusted in its proper
place thereon, and any convenient form of spring, sneck, or catch is fitted to
the handle, whereby it can be locked or secured to the body of the "iron."
This sneck or catch is acted upon by the finger or thumb of the operator
pressing against or upon a lever or button, which opens the catch and releases
the handle and plate from the iron.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of the improved
"smoothing. iron with movable handle; Figure 2 is an elevation of the rear
end of the iron; " Figure 3 is a similar view of the front end thereof. a is
the handle of the "iron," which being taken in the right hand, the side of the
forefinger will naturally come in contact with the lever b, which is acted upon
by a spring c, and by applying a moderate pressure to this lever, the hook or
sneck will be released from the notch or recess e in the stud 2, attached to
the "iron," when the handle with the plate /, which is connected therewith,
can, by a slight backward movement, be instantly detached from the
main body P of the "iron." In order to replace the handle, it is simply
requisite to bring the holes f", ", in the plate f (Figures 2 and 3) over two
inclined catches 1 in the rear end of the "iron" P (Figure 1), and to depress
slightly the fore part of the handle, moving it forward at the same time.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of a second arrangement, which differs only from
the first in the mode of connecting the handle with the body of the "iron."
Figure 4 is an elevation of the rear end of the "iron," and Figure 5 is a
similar view of the front end thereof. In coupling the handle a with the
body P¹ of the iron, the plate is brought into proper position (determined

page_text: by the stops m and n) over the "iron" P¹. By depressing by means of the
thumb the button I, the small catch or pin K is withdrawn, when the fore
part of the handle and plate will descend and rest upon the iron. On
releasing the button, the catch or pin K will be forced by the spring o into its
corresponding notch or hole in the stud attached to the iron, and the handle
and plate will thus be locked on to the "iron." In the first arrangement the
handle must be pushed towards the front when connecting it to the "iron,"
and in the second arrangement it must be pushed towards the rear. The
action of the pin K is obtained by means of an incline i on the spindle of the
button I sliding against a corresponding incline o¹ on the spring o, which
carries the pin K.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,
First, the general constructions and arrangements of "smoothing iron'
having movable handles, as herein-before described.
Second, the application and use to and in smoothing irons of a plate or
shield connected with the handle and lying over the surface of the "iron,"
with which it is so connected as to be readily removed therefrom, substantially
as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)