US2241373A - Garment pressing machine - Google Patents

Description

Maya, 1941;

s. H. RAWLINSON E TAL GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE Filed Aug. '5, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 In wen tors George H. Rawlz'nsan Richard A'Bgrvlinaan TI 4 By Patented 6, 1941 GARMENT ranssmo. MACHINE George H. Rawlinson and Richard A. Rawlinson,

Portland,

Greg.

Application August 5, 1938, Serial No. 223,251

16 Claims. (o1. 223-57) This invention relates topressing machines and, more particularly, to machines in which upright forms ,or bucks, especially those adapted for use with shirts, coats and the like, will be moved into position between pressing elements, will be held in such position during the pressing operation, and will then be moved but of such position after the pressing operation.

This invention relates more specifically to pressing machines employing a buck such as that described in our pending application, Serial No. 201,352, filed April 11, 1938, and is an improvement over. the pressing machine described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,126,577, issued August 9, 1938,

The object of this invention is to provide an improved machine in which a plurality of upright bucks may be employed and each buck in turn brought into proper pressing position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rotating carriage or turret mounting for the bucks whereby the upright bucks will be brought into and out of operative enga ement witli the pressing elements or press jaws by. rotation of the carriage.

A further object is to provide a pressing machine of the rotating carriage type in'which a pair of movable press jaws,'or one movable and one relatively fixed press jaw, may be employed.

A more specific object of this invention is to. provide a machine employing a pluralityof bucks of the type described incur above mentioned In the drawings: I Fig. l is a perspective .view of one embodiment of our invention; v

Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevation of a modifled form of our invention, with portions of the mechanism omitted for the sake of clarity;

Fig'. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse section corresponding to the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of part of the garment stretching mechanism of Fig. l; f Fig. 5 is a corresponding end elevation;

Fig. 6 is atransverse section on the line 6-6 Fig. 7 is a similar section showing certain part in changed position;

V of the garment form or .Abuck of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical medial section sisting principally of spaced standards l0 and co-pending application, Serial No. 201,352, in

which each buck has side-stretching elements and in which these side-stretching elements will be caused to stretch the side portions'of the gar- .ment on the buck simultaneously with the pressing operation thereby insuring, the proper pressing and stretching of the portions of thegarment beneath the arm holes. 1 I

A still further object of this invention is to provide a pressing machine of the type indicated in which suitable controls are included so that movement of the bucks into and out of position between the pressing elements, operation of the pressing elements, and, in particular, the stretching of the side portions of each garment during the pressing operation, can be easily and properly controlled by a single operator.

The manner in which these objects and other advantages are obtained in our invention will.

be brought out in the following description of preferred embodiments of our pressing machine, and of certain partsithereof, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

II and a header I2, is rigidly mounted on a suitable base I3, the frame and .base being preferably hollow metalcastlngs. A rotatable carriage I4 is journaled for free rotation on thecylindrical lower end of the tandard I I, the carriage having equally-spacedradial arms l5, l6, and I1. These arms are channel-shaped in cross section and each arm serves as a supporting guide-way for a sliding block 18. A garment .form or buck II 'is vertically mounted on each block it. The

blocks i8 and their superimposed bucksv I! are normally held at. the outer ends of the carriage arms I5, It, and H by compression springs (not shown) disposed in the said arms. The manner in which the blocks 18 are mounted'in the armsis the same as that described in the United States Letter Patent No. 2,126,577, above mentioned,

to which reference is made. The'bucks it are thus'slidable inwardly towards the vertical axis of the carriage ll.

A The press element or press jaw 2| is resiliently connected, by means of interposed rubber blocks or springs 22, to a supporting bracket 23 which is rigidly mounted on the standard II, and this pres jaw 2| is prevented from sagging on these resilient connections by ahanger 24 which depends from a carriage 25 adapted to roll on suitable ways provided in the header l2. The other press element or jaw 20 is reciprocably-mounted 'on the standard It by means of a pair of par- 'allel shafts 2t slidably disposed in the standard II and secured to a pressure plate 2'! firmly attached to the press jaw 20. A hanger 28 serves as a rolling support for this press jaw in the same manner as hanger 24. The press jaws 20 and 2| are chambered metal castings having their pressing surfaces shaped to fit the bucks l9, and have inlet and outlet connections 29 and 30, connected by flexible tubing to a suitable source of steam supply (not shown).

Any suitable means may be employed for moving the press jaw 20 against the buck and pushing the buck against the other press jaw 2i in the pressing operation. We have found it satisfactory to use a conventional compressed air thrustor 3| and toggle mechanism 32, one arm of which has its upper end pivotally mounted in a stationary bracket 33 secured to the standard l0, and the other arm of which is pivotally attached to the pressure plate 2! secured to thepress jaw 26. A tension spring 3 3 connected to the toggle mechanism 32 and to the 'base it causes the press jaw 20 to return to the retract= ed position shown in Fig. 1 when the air pressure is relieved in the compressed air cylinder of the thrustor 3!.

Each of the arms 55, i6, and ii of the carspring 38 normally holds the latch 35 in its upper position in the housing 3?. The latch may be manually disengaged from the pin 35 so as to permit rotation of the carriage it, by means of suitable connection with a pedal it (Figs. 1 and 9), located at the operators station, these connections in this case consisting of a linkage (ii (Fig. 3) coupled to the latch 36 and to an arm 42 carried on a rock shaft Q3 which has a depending arm 44 pivotally connected by a rod 65 to one end of a lever B? fulcrumed at 88 and pivotally attached at its opposite end to the pedal rod ill. The latch 36 is, of course, automatically retracted when the pin 35 contacts the arcuate surface thereof during partial roe tation of the carriage it but when a buck has been brought into proper pressing position between the press jaws the latch' immediately locks the carriage against further rotation. Various other forms of latch mechanism could of course be substituted in place of that illustrated and it is not our intention to limit this latching means to any particular construction.

-While it would be possible for the operator to rotate the carriage M by hand, when stepping on the release pedal 40, we have found it preferable to provide simple mechanical coordinated means for releasing the latch and imparting rotation independently of the operation of the pedal 40, the'pedal 40 therefore being used only when it is desired to rotate the carriage by hand. A compressed air operated thrustor or jack 5 (Figs. 1 and 9) is mounted on a suitable bracketsecured to the base-l3 and is connected to a source of compressed air by a hose or pipe 48. A valve 49 (Fig. 9) is interposed in the air line 48 and is connected to the rod 8| of a pedal 80. The pedal rod 8l (as shown in Figs. 3 and 9) is pivotally attached to an arm 89 fixed to a shaft riage carrying the bucks i9 is in turn held, when 90 which is threaded through a bearing 9| in alinement with the shaft 43, the adjacent ends of shafts 43 and 90 terminating in a jaw clutch 92. The arrangement is such that arcuate-movement of the arm 89, mused by depressing the pedal 80, advances the shaft 90 in the threaded bearing 9| and brings the two .elements of the clutch 92. into engagement thus coupling the shaft 90 to the shaft d3 so that further movement of the pedal rod Bi releases the latch 36 and opens the valve d9 permitting compressed air to enter the jack 6B. When the compressed air is introduced into the jack Git the ram 53 thereof engages an angular bracket or lug 5! fixed to each of the carriage arms i5, i6, and H, and thus starts rotation of the carriage it so that the next buck will be swung into position. The ram- Bilis retracted by a tension spring '52 when the air pressure is relieved by release of the pedal 88.

The bucks i9 used in this machine are preferably of the type shown in the co-pending application, Serial No. 201,352, and are provided with suitable collar clamping means HQ (Fig. 1), suitable sleeve supports (not shown), means ill for holding the bottom of the shirt in place, and

- flexible movable'stays 53 (Figs. 1, 4, and 8) vertically disposed at each side of the buck, the stays being caused to move toward or away from the sides of the buck by the rotation of the shaft 54 through the medium of suitable mechanism within the buck, shown in Fig. 8 and also described in the co-pending application, Serial No. 201,352. The end of the shaft 5% extending into the buck. l9 carries a pinion 55 which coasts with sector gears 56 and Eli having attached arms 58 and 59 connected to equalizers t9 and 5!, the ends of these equalizers being pivotally coupled by rods 52 and S3 to the flexible stays 53 substantially as shown in Fig. 8. The outer end of the shaft lid is journaled in a bracket 54 (see Figs. d and 5) which is secured to a bracket $55 fastened to the bottom of the buck. Rotation -may be imparted to the shaft tit either manually by means of a hand lever 6t, keyed to the extremity of said shaft, or by means of a pawl lever ti adapted to engage a ratchet wheel S8 secured to shaft 56 adjacent the bracket M. A semicircular brake band 69 tensioned by springs "it held against a fixed shelf angle it exerts sufiicient friction on a pulley it keyed to the shaft 56 to retain the flexible stays 53 in any position set by manipulation of the hand lever 56 or pawl lever @i. The pawl lever 67 is pivotally carried on a pin it fixed in a yoke i i mounted for free rotation on the shaft 5 5 and consisting of two parallel plates disposed on each side of the ratchet wheel 6!, the yoke id normally resting on a stop 15 (see Figs. 4, 6, and 7) rigid on the bracket 64, and the pawl lever 81 is normally held disengaged from the ratchet wheel 88 and in abutment with a stop pin It by a tension spring it connected to the pawl lever 61 and the yoke it. Thus w provide two means for rotating the shaft 54 and thereby actuating the garment stretching stays 53. This is an important feature in our invention. It permits initial tension to be applied to the garment sides by manipulation of the hand lever 68 and provides for further tension to be applied during the actual pressing operation by pressure on the pawl lever 81. For applying such pressure on the pawl lever 61 we provide a compressed air thrustor or jack I8 (see Fig. 1), similar to the carriage-rotating jack .6. The jack 1! is carried on a suitable bracket setomatically controlled by the thrustor II which in turn is actuated by the pedal 84. Referring to Fig. 9, a rod 82 connects the pedal 84 with a valve 85 interposed in the air line- 86, leading from a source of compressed "air to the thrustor '81. when compressed air is introduced into the" thruster ii the ram thereof (not shown) is thrust upwardly, and, by virtue of the toggle mechanism 82, closes themress jaws, and, at the upper limit of its stroke, permits compressed air to pass into pipe '18 leading to-the jack 18. The ram 88 (Fig; 1) is thus thrustoutwardly into-contact with the lower end of the pawl lever 81. This causes the upper end of lever 61 to engage'one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 68. Further outward travel of the f ram 88 moves the pawl lever 61 and yoke ll in an upward arc (see Fig. '7), .and thus rotates the ratchet wheel 68 and shaft 54.: This additional partial rotation of shaft 54 causes the flexible stays 53 to be extended still further awayfrom the sides of the buck 1'8 and thus provides further stretching of. the sides of the garment. The additional stretching of the sides insures the proper pressingoi. the'side' portions of Sh-8 881,

ment below thearmholes in the manner de scribed in the co-pending application, Serial No.

201,352. It is important, however, that this ad ditional stretching of the side portions oi the garment should take 'place after the press jaws are in pressing. engagement with the buck, and it is mos desirable that this particular part of they pressing operation be controlled automatically so 5 that it will-not occur in the pressingv machine until the press jaws are in pressing position.

The entire operation of the machine .now is as follows, referring to Fig. 1. The operator,- stationed nearthe control pedals, M, 80, and .84, drapes a shirt or similar garment-on a buck 19 in the manner described in the co-pending application, Serial No. 201,352, and then actuates the hand lever 65 to place initial tension on the side seams of the garment. Next the operator depresses pedalBil whichreleases the latch 86 "and actuates the jack 46 so as to rotate the carriage IE and swing the draped buck into position between the press jaws 2B and 2|, the latch 88 then holding the supporting arm and buck in this location. which operates the compressed air thrustor 8|. This moves the press jaw against the buck and forces the buck against the press jaw and then actuates the jack 18 which causes the pawl lever 61 to move the flexible stays 58 outwardly, thus providing the additional desired stretching during the pressing operation. Meanwhile the operator' places another garment on the buck which has been swung-to position at the operator's station.

While we have shown and described our press:

ing machine as controlled by the intermittent operation of the pedals 80 and 84, obviously numerous forms of control-devices could be substituted for'the pedal controls. It would even be 6 of s r s r in means. carriage locking possible to have automatic or electrically actuated controls operating the latch 86, the jack 88. the compressed air thruster 8Landthe jack I8 in properly timed sequence. It is not our intention to limit our invention to the specific me-' chanical controls illustrated, and described.

In Fig. 1 we have shown the press'jaw 2| .as being resiliently mounted on a standard H but not otherwise movable. However, if desired, the machine could be-made with both press jaws equally Then the operator depresses pedal 81 and simultaneously movable. Such a modification is illustrated, more or less schematically, in Fig. 2 in which the press jaws to! and I8! are each reoiprocably carried on .the standards I88 5 'and I84 respectively oi the machine irames'.'--".la pair of compressed airthrustors I81 and toggle] mechanisms I08, identical to the compressed air thrustor 8| and toggle mechanism 82,-shownin Fig. 1, (except that only one thrustor need have '10 a connecting pipe to the jack 18), in thiscase are operated in unison to close the press'jawsabout an interposed buck 185 when the buck is.

brought into proper position by rotation ofthe carriage I08. The latch means, carriage rot'a'ts '15 means, and garment stretching mechanism;

however, are the same as those in the machineillustrated in Fig. 1. We claim:

1." Inc. garment pressing machine, a ca fi se 20 rotatable on a vertical axis, a plurality of up-;

' right bucks mountedlon said rotatable. -carriage'.

3 a pair of upright pressing jawssupportedabove 'said-carriage'and located, respectively,.insideof p a andoutsid'e of the circularpath of'said bucks,

WherebyIupon the rotation of said carriage; said bucks will be' broughtserially into position be tween said pressing jaws. means forlocking said 1 carriage against further rotation when ,one of said bucks has been brought into said'position. and means for bringing said jaws and said positioned'buckinto pressing relationship. 2. In a garment pressing machine of the char-- ing jawsv and a plurality of upright bucks movable serially into pressing position between said jaws,

means on each of said bucks for stretching .the sides of a garment on the buck, manual means 1 for operating said side-stretching means and additional separate automatic 1 means for further '4() operating said stretching means after saidfljaws have been brought into pressing engagement with "z the buck.

3. In a garment pressing machine of thecharacter described including a. pair of upright pres'slug-jaws and a plurality oi upright bucks movable serially into pressing position between said'jaws, means for moving .one of said jaws, means on each'of said bucks for stretching the sides of a garment on the buck, and means controlled by said jaw-moving means for further operating said stretching means after said jaws have been brought into pressing engagement with the buck.

4; In a garment pressing machine, a rotatable carriage, a pair of upright pressing jaws supported above "said carriage, one of said jaws being 80- riage, means for locking said carriage against further rotation. when one of said bucks is positioned between said jaws, means for moving said laws and a positioned buck into pressing relationship, and means for-controlling the actuation means and jaw moving means.

5. In a garment pressing machine, a rotatable carriage, a pair of upright pressing jaws supported for horizontal movement above said carriage. a pluralityof upright bucks carried by said carriage adapted, when said carriage is rotated, to be positionedserially between said pressing .jaws, means for rotating said carriage, means for locking said'carrlage against further rotation "when'one of said bucks is positioned between said acter described including, a pair of upright press-.

7.. In augarrnent pressing machine, pairi of spaced vertical frnade rigid" with sai hub and buck mountings adjacent the ends "f s. of said-arms, said buck mounting fbeingjcharf,

acterized by a spring sustained carriage that j yieldable under;,the influence ofrpress'ing' jaw on a buck mounted on the carria e 12; A pressing *machine of i the J character described,'icomprising a base a pairoi vertical s beams mounted ingspaced relationship -,on'-'fthe' i base and opposed pressing jawsoperablymounte' ed on the beams, a turntable mounted ongone of; the beams and rotatable in a plane beneath the" pressing jaws, and a plurality of buck's mounted on the turntable in position for successive registhe base, a pair fof, opposed press jaws mounted' I on .tliegbeams; means tor;operati sftm"laws-a turntable axially mounted on on rtne beams to turn in a'plane beneath the aws, and a plurality of bucks mounted 'onf hel I tive registry between theijaws. l n V I,

n a g rme t pres i em in a base, a

turntable for bonse'cw" pair of vertical beam'smade rigid with the base in spaced relationshipj a pair of press'iaws op-'- erativelymounted rewo k 'e r ssit pace tween the beams, in opposed relationship,'a turn'- table substantially coaxially mounted onan in termediate portion of onefofjthe"beams that is rotatable in ,a plane I below the pr ss "laws and normal to the artis of itsmountin'g, and'a pluralityof pressing. budge, mounted on the turntable .in'" spaced relationship that are movable uponrotation of said turntable."

intoland out of. registry'with the pressing jaws 4. 9.1]ln a garment pressing machine, a base, a-

-pairfoi spaced verticaljbeams having their lower ends made rigid with" the base, atensionbeam that embodies a track member made rigid-with the respective tops of the verticalbeams, a press Jaw mounted on eachbeamvin opposed relationship'to the othe'ryjaw, means ior working the jaws and means'fo'r, guidingthejawsthat includes a carriage'movable along the track ofthe tensionbeam. I

10, I n a pressing' macl'iine, abase,. spacedver'-- tical beams made rigid'with the base at their lower-ends, and a tension member maderigid I with the tops of the beams to define a generally rectangular spaceabove the base, opposed pressing-Jaws that are. respectively mounted on the vertical beams to engage a pressing buck there- I between and react againstthe beams, a tum-' table mountedijor rotation in a plane beneath the jaws, aplu'rality of pressing bucks mounted in spaced relationshinonfthe turntable to consecutively registerfwith the jaws and means in part on the turntable andin part made rigid with the base that areeflective to define'registration ube-bucks,witb,.t e,;laws.

character described comprising a hub portion,

tration between the jaws. i

13. In a pressing machine, a base,,-a frame superposed on thebase, opposed vertical pressing jaws op'eratively mounted within the frame, a plurality of garment bucks mounted for movemeritihtdandfiout ofyregistry with the jaws, a turntable :'upon which the-bucks are mounted to rotatetherewith, a mounting for saidturntable to position it horizontallybeneath thejaws, said bucks being yieldingly mounted on said turntable whereby to enable each buck to accommodate itself to said jaws when said jaws enclose the buck during the pressing operation.

14.- In a garment pressing machine, a pair of pressing jaws, abuck movable into and out of pressing position between said jaws, extensible members on said buck for stretching a garment on the buck, means for extending said members,

vmanual means for operating said member-extending means and separate automatic means in said machine for further operating said memberextending means when said jaws are in pressing pressing engagement of the pressing elements a with the form.

16. A garment pressing machine includinga support, a pair of pressing jaws on said support, a movable carriage on said support, expandible garment carrying bucks on said carriage, means for mounting said bucks for lateral movement relative to saidcarriage, means supported entirely on said bucks and separated from said carriage for expanding said bucks, means for actuating the carriage to move said bucks serially into and out of position between said pressing jaws, I

, and means for efl'ecting movement 01 one o! the v .t n a -r r-ie' rnte laeressinsx ac e of arms extending in uniform radial spacing from pressing jaws against a positioned buck and for effecting lateral movement of said positioned buck toward the other pressing jaw.

GEORGE H. RAWLINSON. RICHARD A. RAWLINSON.

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