US2254955A - Tensioning and guide device for ironing cords - Google Patents

Description

F. P. YETT Sept 2, 1941.

TENSIONING AND GUIDE DEVICE FOR IRONING CORDS Filed Dec. 12, 1940 I INVENTOR PM a? yaw Patented Sept. 2, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT oFrrcE TENSIONING AND GUIDE DEVICE FOR IRON- IN G CORDS Frank P. Yett, Jeannette, Pa.

Application December 12, 1940, Serial No. 369,799 2 Claims. (Cl. 248-51) One object of my invention is to provide means in connection with an electric iron and an ironing board, for taking up the slack in the cord or cable that carries the wires which supply electrical current to the smoothing iron.

Another object'of my invention is to provide a guide device for supporting an electric cable of the character referred to, in such manner that the device will have pivotal or swiveling move-' ment on an ironing board, so that its angularity will be automatically changed in accordance with irregular movements of a smoothing iron on an ironing board.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a perspective view showing my device in operative position upon an ironing board, and Fig. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale showing the cord tensioning and guide elements of Fig. 1.

The apparatus is adapted for use on any conventional surface such as a table top or an ironing board 3 and comprises a bracket 4 that has a clamping lug 5 and a clamp screw 6 whereby the bracket may conveniently be attached to an ironing board or table top. An upright 1 is rigidly connected to the bracket 4 and has a central upstanding stud 8 which serves as a pivot pin for a swiveled bracket 9. The bracket 9 has upstanding ears l and II between which rollers l2 and I3 respectively are journaled, on pins or shafts l and I6 respectively. The bracket 9 also carries upstanding posts or ears I! in which a retaining roller i8 is rotatably supported by a bolt l9 which has a wing nut that can conveniently be removed to permit removal of the roller l8 and placing of an electric cord or cable on the guide rollers l2 and Hi, the roller it, when replaced, serving to prevent accidental displacement of the cord from the rollers l2 and it.

any suitable material, but I prefer some insulating material such as wood, as an element oi safety in case the cord should become frayed and, the wires therein be exposed.

The cord 2| has the usual plug element 24 which may be inserted in a receptacle or outlet, whether such outlet is located in the baseboard. side wall molding or the ceiling of a room. The other end of the cord can be hooked to irons having terminals at either their ends or their sides.

- A hook 2|a carried by the iron base has finger The guide bracket 9 has a central recess for receiving the stud 8, so that such bracket will have pivotal movement on a vertical axis. The cord Ed is connected to a fiat iron 22 in the usual manner, and it will be seen that as the iro is moved to one longitudinal edge or the other of the board 3, the guide bracket 9 will swivel on its support, so that the cord 2i will remain in correctly seated position in the groove of the roller l2. Also, the placing of the rollers l2 and I3 near the front and rear edges of the bracket 9 tends to centralize the weight imposed on the-bracket by the pull on the cord through movement of the smoothing iron and the weight element hereinafter referred to. The bracket 9 is therefore not so likely to bind on the pivot element 8.

portions engaging the finger piece Zlb of the ter- -minal sockets on the iron cord, to prevent disconnection of the cord 2| from the iron. The fingers may suitably be spring wire. A slack take-up metal weight 25 which may be or aluminum only 3 oz. in weight, and in the shape of a T pipe fitting is held in adjustedposition upon the cord M by a clamping block 26 which may suitably be of wood, and is split in its upper portion, the lower end fitting in the threads formed in the upper branch of the T. A bumperelement 2'! of cork or rubber is fitted into the lower end of the weight 25, to cushion the fall of the weight. At its upper end, the bushing 26 is held in tight engagement with the cord by a clamping collar 28 and a screw 29, the elements28 and 29 functioning after the manner of an ordinary garden hose clamp. The cord 2! extends through the bushing 26 and a bushing 21a in the side branch of the fitting 25, and the weight is adjustable therealong as above indicated. Passing of the cord through the sldeof the weight prevents damage thereof by the weight bumping the floor. In order to prevent the weight 25 and the cord from swaying excessively, I provide a guide bracket 30 that may suitably be of wood and is provided with wooden guide rollers 31! and 32, the roller 32 being removably supported by a bolt 33, to permit convenient insertion of an electric cord into the guide. The shank of the bracket 30 extends through a hole in the upright l and is detachably supported therein, it being held against the holes in the shank of the bracket. I

It will be seen that during use of the iron, the cord and the weight 25 will be drawn upwardly, the guide bracket at being at such height that it will let the weight rise a suilicient distance to permit the iron to cover substantially the whole board. For longer boards, the weight element 25 could be moved still further down and the weight of that portion of the cord at the rear of the upright I could be depended upon to take up the The elements l, 9, l2, l3 and it may be made of slack when the iron moves back to nearly the position shown in Fig. 1. By making the upright I of considerable height, there is less danger of that portion of the cord in the vicinity of the .smoothing iron coming in contact with the articles on the ironing board than would be the case if a guide pulley or pulleys. were mounted directly at the rear-edge of the board. I have found that the upright 1 may suitably be one foot or more in length. Also. it will be seen that the bracket 4 and the upright can be mounted at any desired location on the end or at the side of an ironing board or table top, and that the guide bracket 8 will, nevertheless, always be in position to properly guide the ironing cord. It is also to be noted that a weight element fixedly connected to the cord as is the member 25 is preferable to a V pulley, since it will work equally well whether the end 24 of the cord is plugged into the baseboard Or at a higher point in the wall.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with an iron cord, of a slack take-up and guide device therefor, comprising an upright member, means for connecting the lower end of the member to an ironing board,

a bracket mounted on the upper end of said member, for swiveling movement on a vertical axis, a guide roller on said bracket, for supporting the cord. a stationary guiding bracket 01; the upright member, and having engagement with the cord, to guide the cord and prevent swaying thereof, and a weight carried by that portion of the cord which normally is below the guiding bracket.

2. The combination with an iron cord, of a slack take-up and guide device therefor, compriling an upright. member, means for connecting the lower end of the member to an ironing board, a bracket mounted on the upper end of said memher, for swiveling movement on a vertical axis. a guide roller on said bracket, for supporting the cord, a stationary guiding bracket on the upright

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