684,278. Ironing machines. BAKER PERKINS, Ltd. July 4, 1951. [July 28, 1950] No. 18926/50. Class 138 (ii). A machine for feeding sheets or like flat work to an ironing machine comprises a pair (or pairs) of releasable clamps or clips 8 in which the corners of the selected leading edge of the sheet are engaged by the operator, means for supporting the clips in the central zone of the machine and traversing them back and forth along divergent paths to stretch or tauten the edge of the sheet, a detector device operable by the taut or tautening edge when it is in a predetermined position to actuate clip release means to liberate the sheet and allow it to fall upon the feed bands 27 of the ironing machine while the clips return to and automatically stop at the starting position, or a succeding pair of clips move into and automatically stop in the starting position. Fig. 2 shows a plan of the machine with the clamps 8 carried by a pair of endless chains 5 passing round sprockets 6, 7. The chains are driven through shafting 9 and gearing 10, 11. by an electrically controlled clutch 13. When the operator closes a switch 19 by means of a push button or operating bar 20 a solenoid 16 is energised to actuate the clutch 3 and an electric motor 12 drives the shaft 9 so that the chains 5 make one complete cycle. The cycle is terminated when a limit switch 21 is operated by a stop 22 on one of the chains or by a clip, to de-energise the clutch solenoid 16. The clips 8 may comprise a pivotally mounted carrier 23, Fig. 4, having a roller 24 co-operating with a plate 25 to hold the sheet. The clip release means includes a light arm 29 pivoted near the end towards the operator and counterbalanced so that it normally lies in a horizontal position. When the taut edge of the sheet rises into contact with the arm 29, this arm closes a microswitch 30 in circuit with a solenoid 33, Fig. 4, whose plunger is linked to a spring biased lever 32 carrying a release bar 31. The bar 31 is arranged parallel with the chain 5 and just clear of an actuating arm 26 of the clip 8. Energizing of the solenoid 33 thus causes movement of the release bar 31 so that the arm 26 is actuated and the roller 24 holding the corner of the sheet is raised. The bars 31 are positioned to operate for a range of sheet sizes. The sheet then falls onto the sheet bands 27 the friction with which is sufficient to draw the sheet forward under the first roll 28 of the ironing machine. Puckers in the sheets are smoothed out by means of downwardly and outwardly directed jets of air from perforations in pipes 34 located above the bands 27 and connected to a compressed air manifold 35. The trailing portion of the sheet may be straightened out by paddles or bars 36a of a frame 36 which is rotated counter to the feed of the sheet by means of an independent motor 37 through gearing 38 and a belt drive 39. The motor 37 is preferably started by means of a switch lever (not shown) protruding between the feed bands 27 and contacted by the sheet as it falls onto the bands. In an alternative arrangement, the paddle device operates in a direction opposite to that of feed for a predetermined short period and its direction of rotation is reversed by an automatic or hand operated change-over switch. A pair of obliquely arranged rotary smoothing brushes (not shown) may also be provided, the axis of each brush being disposed parallel with a clip path. In order to prevent the operator putting the clutch 13 and starting the feeding operation before the iron has cleared the preceding sheet, a switch 40 is provided in the circuit of the solenoid 16, this switch being kept open by the sheet being fed by means of a roller 41 mounted on the end of a lever 42. As soon as the trailing edge of the sheet has passed under the roller 41, the lever 42 will fall and close switch 40.