GB2058656A

GB2058656A - Manual pressing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2058656A
Application number: GB7932702A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: WEISFELD D
Current assignee: WEISFELD D
Priority date: 1979-09-20
Filing date: 1979-09-20
Publication date: 1981-04-15

Abstract

Manual pressing apparatus having upper and lower pressing members (10, 12) and a support member (14), having a frame (18) and an arm (16) pivotably mounted on the support frame at point (20) and attached to upper member (10) by connection e.g. handle (38) attached to the arm (16) allows the upper member (10) to be manually pressed against the lower member (12). A second mechanical connection includes two rotatable pieces (42, 46) connecting arm (16) to supporting frame (18). A member (44) pivotable relative to the arm has an adjustable abutment part (70) abutting against link piece (42). A second handle (60) enables member (44) through bar (56) to pivot relative to the arm to bring abutment part (70) into contact with link piece (42), to increase pressure between the two pressing members. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to manual pressing apparatus The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to manual pressing apparatus, and more particularly, to manual pressing apparatus for the purpose of transfer printing or fusing interlinings to clothing materials to form a composite laminate of two cloth materials, thus saving labour and also thickening otherwise thin material.

A pressing apparatus of this type generally has a pressing head comprising an upper and a lower pressing member, both of which are substantially rectangular in section. It is usual to pivot the upper relative to the lower member about an axis adjacent to one of the longer sides of the rectangle (hereinafter referred to as the rear) and articles to be pressed may be inserted in the opposite longer side (hereinafter referred to as the front).

It is known to provide a pressing apparatus having an upper pressing member and a lower pressing member forming the pressing head, which is mounted on a supporting frame, the upper member being attached to arms pivotable on the supporting frame. In such a pressing apparatus the arms are attached to intermediate positions along the rear edge of the upper member.

Such an apparatus allows the pressing members to have a long pressing head in a direction parallel to the pivot axis and maintain suitable pressure along the whole of the upper member by correct positioning of the arms. An apparatus of this type is disclosed in British Patent Specification No. 1,319,233.

Such a system has the disadvantage that the amount of force with which the upper member presses on the lower member is limited due to the nature of the mechanical linkage.

According to the present invention there is provided a pressing apparatus comprising an upper pressing member, a lower pressing member and at least one support member; said support member including: a supporting frame in fixed relation to said lower pressing member; an arm pivotally mounted on said supporting frame and being attached to the upper supporting member; a first mechanical connection to apply said upper pressing member to said lower pressing member with a first pressure; and a second mechanical connection to increase said first pressure to a second pressure.

The apparatus according to the present invention may be operated manually to apply a considerable pressure to any particle placed between the pressing members.

Preferably, the first mechanical connection is in the form of a handle attached to the arm and allowing the upper member to be manually pressed against the lower member. Such motion may be opposed by a spring or other resilient member, thereby biasing the pressing apparatus so that it returns to the open position, in which the upper member is not in contact with the lower member, when no force is applied.

The second mechanical connection includes two linking pieces connecting the arm to the supporting frame and arranged to be mutually rotatable, and rotatable relative to the arm and to the supporting frame a member pivotable relative to the arm and having an abutment part which abuts against one of the linking pieces, and an operating handle by which the member may be pivoted relative to the arm to bring the abutment part into contact with the linking piece.The pressure of this abutment forces the arm to pivot, hence increasing the pressure that the upper member exerts on the lower member The present invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 shows a side view of a support member according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of a pressing apparatus according to the present invention; and Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of a pressing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring first to Figure 1 , the pressing apparatus comprises an upper pressing member or plattern 10, a lower pressing member or buck 12 and a support member 14. The support member 14 has an arm 16 and a supporting frame 18, the arm 16 being arranged to pivot relative to the frame 1 8 about an axis 20. The frame 18 has a substantially rectangular base formed by connecting two side pieces 22 together with the rods bolted to the side pieces 22 at points 24 and 26. The side pieces 22 have a first part with supporting pads 28 to which the buck 12 is bolted and a second part which is substantially triangular with the pivot axis 20 at its apex.

The arm 1 6 is "L" shaped, the upper part of the "L" acting as the support for the plattern 10 and the lower part having a bore which receives a pair connected to the frame 1 8 to form the pivot point 20. The upper part of the arm 16 is in the form of an oblate ring, as is clear from Figures 2 and 3 and thus has an aperture 30 in its upper surface.

Adjacent the end of the arm 1 6 furthest from the pivot point 20 are provided four lugs 32, two on each side of the aperture 30. The plattern 10 is also provided with two lugs 34 which are spaced so that one of the lugs 34 passes between the two lugs 32 on one side of the aperture 30 whilst the other lug 34 passes between the two lugs 32 on the other side of the aperture 30. The plattern 10 can then be secured in place by a pair of bolts 36 which pass through bores in the lugs 32 and 34.

A first handle 38 is provided at the end of the upperpart of the arm 1 6 furthest from the pivot point 20. This allows the pressing apparatus to be closed by manually lowering the arm 1 6. This movement may be resisted by a spring (not shown) which is provided to bias the arm 1 6 into a raised position. For example, the spring may be connected between the end of the upper part of the arm 16 adjacent the pivot point 20 and the tie rod connecting the side pieces 22 at point 26.

The end of the lower part of the arm 16 adjacent the pivot point 20 is connected to the upper part of the arm 1 6 whilst at the end of the lower part furthest from the pivot point 20 is provided a bore. A rod 40 passes through this bore and provides a pivot axis for a first linking piece 42 and a member 44, the end of which furthest frqm the rod 40 passes through the aperture 30 in the upper part of the arm 1 6. The first linking piece 44 is also connected, at its end furthest from the rod 40, to a second linking piece 46 which is triangular in shape, the apex being provided with a bore which receives a rod 48 which passes through a corresponding bore in the first linking piece, thereby connecting them and allowing them to be mutually rotatable. The base of the second linking piece 46 is pivotally connected to the side pieces 22 of the supporting frame 18 at a pivot point 50.Hence, raising the handle 38 rotates the arm 1 6 relative to the frame 1 6 about the pivot axis 20 and the first linking piece 42 pushes on the rod 48 as it is moved by the arm 16, thereby rotating the second linking piece 46 about the pivot point 50 in the direction of the arrow 52.

Similarly, depressing the handle 38 causes movement of the second linking piece 46 in a direction opposite to the arrow 52.

As an alternative to the method of spring biasing the arm 1 6 described previously, a spring (not shown) may be connected between the rod 48 and the tie rod connecting the side pieces 22 at point 24. Such a spring will force the second linking piece 46 in the direction of the arrow 52 thereby raising the arm 1 6.

The end of the member 44 furthest from the rod 40, where it passes through the aperture 30, is provided with a bore which receives a rod 54 which provides a pivot axis between the member 44 and a tie bar 56. At its end furthest from the member 44, the tie bar 56 is connected to a point 58 which is an intermediate distance along a handle 60. One end of the handle 60 is pivotally connected to a block 62 which is rigidly attached to the arm 16. The other end of the handle is free to move. Thus, manually moving the handle 60 in the direction of the arrow 64 rotates the handle 60 about its point of attachment to the block 62, thereby pulling the tie bar 56 in the direction of arrow 66 and rotating the member 44 about the rod 40.

The member 40 is provided with a projection 68 which has a threaded bore which receives a rod 70 projecting towards the first linking piece 42. As the member 44 is pulled in the direction of the arrow 66 by the handle 60, the rod 70 will abut against the first linking piece 42. The pressure of this abutment will force the first linking piece 42 downwardly and rearwardly, relative to the frame 18, as the second linking piece 46 rotates in a direction opposite to the arrow 52. Such movement causes the arm 16 to be forced down due to the force applied on the rod 40 by the first linking piece 42. Hence the pressure of the plattern 10 on the buck 12 is increased. The amount of this pressure can be adjusted by moving the rod 70 in its threaded bore closer to, or further from, the first linking piece 42.

If, for example, the rod 70 is moved away from the first linking piece 42, then it will require a greater movement of the member 44 before abutment occurs. Therefore for equal movements of the handle 60 the first linking piece 42 will be forced down less if the rod 70 is initially positioned further from the first linking piece.

If the handle 60 is rotated sufficiently far in the direction of the arrow 64 then it can occur that the point 58, the pivot point of the handle 60 in the block 62, and the rod 54 can all lie on a straight line. In this position the handle is locked, although this locking is non-positive, since the force applied to the pivot point 58, due to the pressure of the rod 70 on the first linking piece 42 which is transmitted via the member 44 and the tie bar 56, passes through the pivot point of the handle in the block 62. Hence there is no moment acting on the handle 60 and it therefore does not rotate. By adjustment of the size of the tie bar 56 and the block 62, and the position of the point 58 on the handle 60, the position of the member 44 in this locked position can be chosen to provide a suitable abutment force of the rod 70 on the first linking piece 42.

Figure 2 shows a pressing apparatus in which one support member 14 is provided for the plattern 10 and the buck 12. In the embodiment shown the handle 60 is shown in the raised position and connects to blocks 62 on both sides of the arm 16 and two tie bars 56 are provided connecting the handle 60 to the member 44. Of course, it is also possible to provide a handle which connects to only one side of the arm 1 6.

and having only one tie bar.

The upper pressing member 10 is electrically heated, the power being supplied by cables (not shown) which may be carried in the arms 16.

Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the pressing apparatus in which two support members 14 are provided to support the plattern 10 and the buck 12. Such an embodiment allows a long plattern 10 to be used without losing pressure along its length. The handle 60 is shown in a lowered position. Also, as is clear from the figure, the handles 38 and 60 of each support member 14 are connected together to ensure that the arms 1 6 are moved simultaneously.

Claims

1. A pressing apparatus comprising an upper pressing member, a lower pressing member and at least one support member; said support member including: a supporting frame in fixed relation to said lower pressing member; an arm pivotally mounted on said supporting frame and being attached to the upper supporting member; a first mechanical connection to apply said upper pressing member to said lower pressing member with a first pressure and a second mechanical connection to increase said first pressure to a second pressure.

2. A pressing apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the first mechanical connection is in the form of a handle attached to the arm and allowing the upper member to be manually pressed against the lower member.

3. A pressing apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein a spring biases the pressing apparatus so that it returns to the open position, in which the upper member is not in contact with the lower member, when no force is applied.

4. A pressing apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the second mechanical connection includes two linking pieces connecting the arm to the supporting frame and arranged to be mutually rotatable, and rotatable relative to the arm and to the supporting frame, a member pivotable relative to the arm and having an abutment part which abuts against one of the linking pieces, and an operating handle by which the member may be pivoted relative to the arm to bring the abutment part into contact with the linking piece.

5. A pressing apparatus constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.