US2174393A - Moisture-applying device - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 26, 1939. J w, LE 2,174,393

MOI STURE APPLYING DIWIOI'I Filed Sept. 10, 1936 INVENTOR; 114/. .Sfee/c ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOISTURE-APPLYING DEVICE James W. Steele, Kansas City, Mo. Application September 10, 1936, Serial No. 100,150 6 Claims. (01. 68-221 The present invention relates to moistening devices, such as are used by ironers in laundry operations, and the primary object in View is to devise an improved appliance adapted for emcient and convenient use by laundry workers for moistening garments in such operations as shirtfinishing and the like.

Accordingly the invention comprises an improveddevice whereby the ironer may convenlo iently dampen a spot, or a more or less extended area of the garment, without wetting the hands or any interruption of the work of ironing or finishing of the garment.

It is further sought to provide a device whereby the amount of dampening or moistening may be readily regulated, and the use of-which may also be confined to that particular spot or area to be dampened, for which purpose the device is so constructed as to provide a guard against moistening other parts of the garment with which it may come in contact.

It is another'object of the invention to provide a device of this character which may be either self-contained as regards maintaining its own supply of the moistening liquid, or may include an accessory vessel of an improved form for supplying such moistening liquid in an emcient manner as regards supplying the proper amount of liquid for moistening purposes.

It is also sought to provide a construction of a simple and inexpensive character, which may be readily and economically constructed, and in which the parts that require renewal from time to time may be furnished at small cost.

With the foregoing general objects in view, the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating forms of construction suitable for carrying out the aforesaid objects, after which those features and combinations deemed to be novel and patentable will the several parts making up the head or pad structure of the moistening device;

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing a modified form of construction; and

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view, representing a section taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

In ironing operations, as usually carried out by the ironer in finishing a garment, such as a shirt or similar garment, the operator dips a sponge or cloth in a pan of water, squeezes out the surplus water, and then rubs the cloth or sponge over the spot or portion of the garment to be ironed. Some of the obvious objections to such a procedure are the loss of time in wetting m the sponge or cloth, and regulating the amount of moisture it carries, as well as the difliculty of regulating it properly; also the physical inconvenience of handling such wet sponges or cloths, the time lost in squeezing out excess water, and w wiping the moisture from the hand after such operations, and frequently the operators hand is cramped and stiffened from handling a hot iron with what moisture is left on the hand. Some have tried to overcome these objections by using 20 a spray gun, but this has proved too expensive on account of the construction and also the necessity of providing piping for the fluid to the points of operation. Again, such spray operations also have the same objection as the old 25 methods always used, viz., the difliculty of regulating the amount of water applied to the garment and the allocation of such moisture as desired to the particular points to be dampened.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 6 of the drawing, 0 illustrating the preferred form of construction for embodying my proposed improvements, these views, show the device as comprising a duplex form of head or pad member carried by a handle member I0, to which the moistening pad 5 structure isattached by a suitable screw device l2. This pad structure may conveniently be made up of a pair of duplicate plates l4 formed with longitudinal guard flanges l6 and also with a plurality of spacing bosses l8 (see Figures 4 0 and 6). These plates (which should be of noncorrosive material) are for the purposeof clamping between them a web of suitable wicking ma terial 20 of such length as to be folded upon itself as shown in Figures 1 and 5 and also for 'enclosmg short sections of suitable moisture-retaining material such as felt or the like, thus forming moisture applicators or pads 23 in head or roll form along the guard flanges l6, when the parts are assembled as illustrated in Figure 1.

The plates H are centrally perforated as indicated at H for the screw l2, for which an opening 20' is also provided in the web 20, and the screw may be formed with an elongated head l2 (Figure 3) to limit its turning movement when assembling and securing the parts to the handle ll.

The spacing bosses l8 serve to prevent the plates I I from clamping the wicking material too tightly-which would tend to restrict the capillary flow of the liquid through said material. The guard elements 16 perform a protecting function, for preventing moistening contact of the pads 23 against projecting portions of the garment (such as a collar) which it may be preferred not to dampen by the operation of the device. They also enable the operator, by suitable pressure applied through the handle, to express extra moisture from the pads, as required for the dampening operation.

For maintaining a suitable supply of liquid (such as water) for the appliance, I provide a shallow vessel 25 of appropriate size, which may be supported upon the ironing table surface or in a bracket of the type now ordinarily attached to such tables. Preferably the vessel 25 is provided with a flanged false bottom plate 26, suitably perforated as indicated at 26', and also supported on a moderately weak spring 26. This false bottom member is to protect the moistening pads from silt or foreign matter collecting in the bottom of the vessel; and the spring 28 serves to support the pad device normally above the liquid level (as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1), while permitting the device to be depressed or dipped below said level (as represented by the full lines in said view) when sufficient pressure is applied to the handle ill by the operator.

The vessel 25 may also be formed with a sloping flange 30 around its upper edge, and this flange may also be formed with suitable recesses 3| adapted for use in wiping the pads 23 to remove excess moisture-by a wiping engagement through said recesses.

A modified form of the appliance is shown in Figures 7 and 8, where the device is illustrated as comprising a handle member connected with a frame 36 which provides a cross-bar 31 for the moistening material 36 which is simply wound around the bar 3|,thus resulting in a roll form of pad similar to the pads 23. To retain the material 38 in this wound state, a bail member 40 is pivoted at ll to the sides of the frame 36, with the intermediate portion of the bail resting against the roll of material 38; and this intermediate portion of the bail also carries a guard element (of non-corrosive material) projecting alongside the roll 38 and serving the same purpose as the guard elements l6 in the preferred form of construction.

The sides of the frame 36 are also formed with bosses or lugs 44 to serve as supports when the appliance is rested upon the table,said lugs being of a size suflicient to support the roll 38 of moistening material out of engagement with the surface upon which the device is resting.

In this form of the appliance, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, provision is also made for supplying the moistening fluid through the handle and frame, which are shown as provided with a duct or channel 46 for feeding such fluid to a row of orifices 46 in the under side of the cross-bar 31 (see Figure 8). Any appropriate connection may be made to the handle, either in the form of a hose, bulb or other well-known type of fluid-supply means, for maintaining a proper supply of the liquid for moistening purposes, as will be readily understood. Obviously, if desired, this same method of feeding the liquid to the pad structure might be embodied in the form of construction illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 in lieu of the vessel means there shown.

In the use of the improved appliance, and referring to Figures 1-2, the operator wets the rolls "or pads 23 by placing same in the vessel and dipping into the liquid,which is accomplished by hearing down with suflicient pressure upon the false bottom 26 to submerge the lower pad 23 in said liquid. If desired, the pad may be allowed to drain for a moment on said false bottom' 26, and thereafter any excess moisture remaining may be removed by wiping the pad through one of the recesses 3 l in the top flange 30. The operator now gives the device a half-tum so as to bring the clipped pad up over the other pad 23,whereupon, in addition to the moisture already drawn by capillary attraction to the lower pad, additional moisture will flow by gravity from the upper to the lower pad to replenish the supply of moisture needed by the latter in the use of the device. In this use, the operator is enabled to make such selective application of the moisture as may be required, either to a small spot by simply touching one end of the pad to the spot on the garment to be dampened, or to a larger area by drawing the pad either straight across, or at an angle, as may be judged necessary to cover that area. If in such movement the device is manipulated adjacent to a raised portion of the garment (such as the collar or neckband of a shirt), the guard feature l6 protects that portion from coming in contact with the wet pad, and the operator is saved from slowing up the speed of operation in the effort to avoid dampening those parts of the garment.

This same guarding or protecting feature, and its advantage, also characterizes the use of the form of the device shown in Figures 7-8.

It is therefore seen that the improvied device is capable of use with a minimum of labor and lost motion on the part of the operator, as compared with prior devices, since no extra movements (such as squeezing of a rag or sponge) are required for removal of excess water,--this being accomplished by mere drainage and by capillary flow from one pad to the other; and any use of the recesses in flange 30 is by a simultaneous movement as the device is removed from the vessel. Obviously also the objection as to getting the operators hands wet is entirely overcome, since the hand never comes in contact with any portion of the pad structure. The nature of the pad construction moreover enables the dampening opera tion to be carried out not only with great facility but with all the necessary accuracy as regards wetting only those portions of the garment to which the moisture should be applied, and with the greatest dispatch. In this connection it is also to be noted that the improved device may be readily operated by one hand while the ironing operation is continued without any interruption by means of the other hand.

It is to be further noted that in either form of construction the operator is enabled, by suitable pressure so exerted as to cause the pad roll to be compressed (either by the guard flanges l6 or by the bail portion 31), to produce additional moistening effect by the squeezing action thus exerted upon the pad structure.

It will therefore be apparent that I have devised a practical and eflicient appliance for the carrying out of the aforesaid objects of my invention; and while I have shown and described what I have a,174,sos

found to represent satisfactory forms of embodiment of the improved construction, it is of course evident that various equivalent types of construction may be employed for accomplishing my purpose in substantially the same manner. I therefore desire to reserve the right to make whatever changes or modifications may be deemed to fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A laundry moistening device comprising, a handle member, a moisture-applying pad structure carried by said handle member and comprising a pad element exposed for moisture-applying purposes, and a rigid projection adjacent to said pad element and operable by pressure from the handle member to compress the pad element and thereby increase the flow of moisture therefrom.

2. A laundry moistening device comprising, a handle member, a moisture-applying pad structure carried by said handle member and comprising a pad element exposed for moisture-applying purposes, and a guard extending alongside said pad element to shield the latter against contact with raised portions or the surface being moistened.

3, A laundry moistening device comprising, a handle member, a moisture-applying pad structure carried by said handle member and comprising a pad element exposed for moisture-applying purposes, and a rigid projection adjacent to said pad element and operable by pressure from the handle member to compress the pad element and thereby increase the ilow of moisture therefrom, said projection also extending in position to shield said pad element against contact with raised portions of the suriace being subjected to the moistening treatment,

4. A moisture-applying device comprising a handle member, a moisture-applying pad structure carried by said handle member and comprising a pad element exposed for moisture-applying purposes, a guard extending alongside said pad element to shield the latter against contact with raised portions of the surface being moistened, and means intermediate said handle and said pad element for maintaining the latter out of contact with a supporting surface when the device is resting idly thereon.

5. A moistening device comprising, a handle member, and a moisture-applying pad structure carried by said handle member and comprising a pair of pad elements connected by wicking material for transmitting moisture from either pad element to the other, and a pair of plates clamping said material between said pad elements and provided with means for securing said plates to the handle member, said plates being formed with flanges extending alongside said pad elements and serving as means for compressing said elements to increase the flow oi. moisture therefrom and also as guards for shielding said elements against contact with raised portions of the surface being subjected to moistening treatment.

6. A laundry moistening device comprising, a handle member, a pair oi. clamping plates carried by one end of said handle member, a moistureapplying pad structure comprising a web of wicking material enclosing quantities of moistureretaining material to form applicator rolls extending longitudinally along opposite edges of said plates with the axes 01' said rolls parallel to said edges, and means for securing said plates to the handle member and in clamping engagement with the intermediate portion of said wlcking material between said rolls.

JA S W. T E.

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