Aprons of Ironing and other Machines. IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE ENDLESS APRONS OF IRONING AND OTHER MACHINES
Year: 1886

page_text: Aprons of Ironing and other Machines.
I, ALEXANDER HENRY REED, of Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Hill,
Cannon Street, in the county of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of said invention for ČERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR ADJUSTING
THE ENDLESS APRONS OF IRONING AND OTHER MACHINES and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention relates to machines employing endless aprons, such, for example
as ironing machines or mangles; and it consists in attaching to the ends of a
rising and falling guide roller under which the apron passes connecting rods by
which the operator can readily even the apron and prevent it from running to
one side, through levers, which are so arranged as to enable the operator to raise
or lower one end of the roller independent of the other end, or both ends.
simultaneously, to lift the roller free from the apron.
This improvement is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which
Fig. 1 is an end view of an ironing machine to which this invention is applied."
Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing parts of the machine broken away.
Similar letters indicate corresponding parta
The letter A designates the frame of the machine which is provided with
vertical slots B, in which are placed the journal boxes C, that form the bearings
for the ends of the rising and falling roller D. Under the roller D is passed
the apron E which extends thence over guide rollers R R¹, thence under the
cylinder F to the guide roller R2 and over the guide roller R³, back to thé
rising and falling roller D. The guide rollers R, R', R, R³, have their bearings in
boxes r, which move in slotted standards 8, and are exposed to the action of
springs t, so that the apron E is held close up against the cylinder F. U is a
basket from which the articles to be ironed are taken. When the machine is
started the articles are successively introduced between the apron and the
cylinder over the guide roller R* and as the same are caught between the apron
and the cylinder they are carried round under the cylinder and discharged over
the guide roller R¹ unto the table T. The cylinder F is preferably heated by
037

page_text: steam or hot air and if desired the guide rollers may also be heated, so that the
articles during their passage beneath the cylinder are exposed to heat and pressure
whereby they are rendered smooth and sufficiently dry for immediate use.
The inner ends of the journal boxes C are provided with conical surfaces G
which tend to prevent the apron from running to one side or the other, and to
restore it to its true path whenever its edges may have swerved therefrom.
. In order to provide additional means for keeping the apron in its true path,
secured upon the ends of the roller D are connecting rods H, H, whose ends are
provided with holes in which the ends of the journal are free to turn.
The
connecting rods H, H, are secured at their upper ends to the outer ends of
levers I, I, which turn on pivots J, secured to the frame of the machine. The ends
of the levers to the left of the pivots form handles K K, by which the levers are
operated. These handles pass behind curved racks L L, which are supported on
the frame and which have teeth M on their convex sides, that are engaged by a
dog N, which is provided on the outer part of the handle, and which is so arranged,
that when a lever has been operated to raise or lower one end of the roller D, the
adjustment is secured by sliding the dog N into engagement with the teeth of the
rack, as is shown in the drawings, and the dog is then locked by the set screw O.
The dog is so arranged on the side of the Landle of the lever as to project therefrom
sufficiently to bring it in the plane of the rack. When the dog is drawn back, the
lever is free to be moved to new positions.
By this improvement compensation is made for unequal wear of the guide rollers
and of the cylinder, and for any unequal stretching or shrinking of the apron, by
raising or lowering one or the other end of the bottom guide roller, as occasion
requires, and also enables the roller to be raised free from the apron when desired.
For convenience, the teeth of the rack may have numbers marked on them, thereby
enabling the operator to know when the lower guide roller D is parallel to the
cylinder F. The improvement is shown as applied at each end of the roller D.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
-
1. The combination with the main frame, the cylinder, the vertically movable
guide roller located beneath the cylinder, and the apron passing under the cylinder
and said guide roller, of mechanism for raising and lowering either end of the guide
roller independent of the other end, or both ends simultaneously, consisting of a
pair of vertically moveable rods connected with and supporting the ends of the
guide rollers, and pivoted levers having a pivotal connection at one end with the
rods, substantially as described.
2. The combination in an ironing machine, of the main frame, the cylinder, the
vertically moveable guide roller located beneath the cylinder, the apron passing
under the cylinder, and the said guide roller and boxes, in which the latter is
journalled, with a pair of vertically moveable rods having their lower ends
connected with and supporting the ends of the guide roller, the pair of levers
pivoted to the frame and having pivotal connections with the upper ends of the
rods, the racks on the frame, and dogs on the levers for locking the levers in their
adjusted position, said rods and levers serving to raise and lower either or both
ends of the guide roller, substantially as and for the purpose described.
· Dated this tenth day of Anonst. 1886