Year: 1899

page_text: I, ROBERT ARTHUR SMITH, Consulting Engineer, practising at 78, Palace Cham-
bers, 9, Bridge Street, Westminster, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
An apparatus whereby a constant and equally distributed pressure may be
maintained upon garments.
An ordinary trouser press as at present constructed consists of two boards
or surfaces, with their faces opposite capable of being forced together, the trousers,
being folded and placed between them but owing to the pressure being applied
through rigid surfaces, and to the varying thicknesses of the garments, it is
impossible to obtain an equally distributed pressure.
:
My improvement consists in the introduction of an envelope containing air
or fluid between the sides of the press and the garment so that compensation is
made for inequalities in the cloth due to thickness of folds, and the pressure is
distributed evenly over the whole surface.
I either employ the existing methods of applying external pressure in combina-
tion with my yielding envelope, or I produce my pressure by inflating one or
more envelopes subsequent to the said envelope or envelopes having been placed
along with the garments to be pressed in a suitable frame.
Dated this 27th day of October 1899.
ROBERT A. SMITH.
I, ROBERT ARTHUR SMITH, Consulting Engineer, practising at 78, Palace Cham-
bers, 9, Bridge Street, Westminster, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
An apparatus whereby a constant and equally distributed pressure may be
maintained upon garments.
An ordinary trouser press as at present constructed consists of two boards
or surfaces, with their faces opposite capable of being forced together, the trousers,
being folded and placed between them: but, owing to the pressure being applied
through rigid surfaces, and to the varying thickness of the garments, it is
impossible to obtain an equally distributed pressure.
My improvement consists in the introduction of an envelope containing air
or fluid between the sides of the press and the garment, so that compensation is
[Price 8d.]

page_text: made for inequalities in the cloth due to thickness of folds, and the pressure is
distributed evenly over the whole surface. I either employ existing methods of
applying external pressure in combination with my yielding envelope, or I pro-
duce my pressure by inflating one or more envelopes subsequent to the said
envelope or envelopes having been placed along with the garments to be pressed
in a suitable frame.
In the annexed diagram the boards A and B (Fig. 1) represent the sides of a
press which I preferably arrange so that they may be held apart at various dis-
tances by special clips C (Figs. 1 and 3) and hinges H (Figs. 2 and 3) to
accommodate one or more garments.
I accomplish this by making the halves of each hinge H easily detachable
from one another, that portion fixed to the board A carrying the hinge pin which
may be fitted in any of the holes provided in the lower portion fixed to board B
as shewn in Fig. 3.
Each clip C (Fig. 1) carries holes spaced at distances corresponding to the holes
in the lower half of hinge H which holes are for the stud S (Figs. 1 and 3) to fit
into, the clip C being free to swing on its hinge h¹ (Figs. I and 3) by which it
is fixed to board B.
The envelope E (Fig. 1) is formed of any air-tight flexible material, and is in
the form of a closed air-tight bag a little larger than the garment to be pressed
(see dot-and-point line Fig. 2) having a tube T (Fig. 1 and 2) fixed in it for con-
nection to an inflator. In this tube T I place the two-way valve or stop-cock V
(Figs. 1 and 2) for the double purpose of retaining the air in the envelope while
garments are being pressed and for allowing the said air to escape when the press
is about to be opened for the removal of the garments.
The valve V also contains-between it, and the inflator-a simple non-return
valve to prevent the return of the air to the bellows or pump P (Figs. 1 2 and 3)
while in the act of inflating the envelope.
The envelope having been placed in position with the trousers to be pressed-
the hinges being adjusted to the correct distance apart-the board A should be
pressed down and fastened by the clips C: when a few strokes of the pump P
will inflate the envelope and cause an evenly distributed pressure to be main-
tained on all parts of the garments irrespective of differing thicknesses owing
to seams and the like.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The combination of any form of apparatus for producing an external pres-
sure upon garments, with a yielding envelope containing air or other fluid, for
the purpose of equalising such pressure.
2. The combination of any form of apparatus used for pressing garments, with
an envelope having one or more yielding surfaces and containing air or other
fluid for the purpose of gaining equally distributed pressure, whether such pres-
sure be applied internally or externally to such pressing apparatus.
1
1 27th love of August 1900
ROBERT A. SMITH.