US2351956A - Semiautomatic operating device for garment presses - Google Patents

Description

June 20, 1944. w. s. GRAHAM SEMI-AUTOMATIC OPERATING DEVICE FOR GARMENT PRESSES Filed April 30, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet l W 5 G'Ta am June 20, 1944. w s GRAHAM 2,351,956

SEMI-AUTOMATIC OPERATING DEVICE FOR GARMENT PRESSES Filed April 30, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Graham June 20, 1944.

w. s. GRAHAM 2,351,956

SEMI-AUTOMATIC OPERATING DEVICE FOR GARMENT. PRESSES Filed April 30, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 20, 1944.

w. s. GRAHAM 2,351,956

SEMI-AUTOMATIC OPERATING DEVICE FOR GARMENT PRESSES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 50, 1942 gnu: nfcw Vl l 'raiza/m Patented June 20, 1944 SEMIAUTQMA'IIG OPERATING DEVICE FOR GARIVIENT PRESSES Wallace Scott Graham, Lancaster, 01110 Application April 30, 1942, Serial No. 441,177

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an attachment which is adapted to be applied to all types of manually operated garment presses, and to provide a semiautomatic operator for closing and opening the press head and for maintaining the press head in a. closed position for a predetermined period of time.

More particularly, it is an aim of the invention to provide a device by means of which the closing of a press head by a foot pedal and the opening of the press head by an upward pushing movement thereof is dispensed with, and in lieu thereof the operator by the simple expedient of pulling the press head slightly toward a closed position will cause the device, constituting the invention, to be placed in operation thereby for exerting the necessary additional pressure to close and hold the press head closed, and to thereafter return the press head to a fully opened position.

Still a further aim of the invention is to provide manually controlled valves, forming a part of the attachment and by means of which the speed of movement of the press head can be regulated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a. manually regulated means for varying the time interval that the press head will be retained in a fully closed position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means actuated, as the press-head begins to move toward an open position for opening the valve of the suction line of the press in order that the moisture can be removed from the press buck, and the garment mounted thereon.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a garment press showing the attachment applied thereto,

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary, front elevational view of the same,

Figure 3 is an enlarged, vertical, sectional view taken substantially along the plane of the line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the plane as indicated by the line,44 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevational view of a portion of the attachmentand showing the parts in full lines in a partly lowered position and in dotted lines in a fully lowered position,

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the plane of the line 8-6 of Figure 5,

Figure 7 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view taken substantially along the plane of the line 1-1 of Figure 1,

Figure 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevational view of a part of the attachment,

Figure 9 is an enlarged, horizontal, sectional view taken substantially along the plane of the line 9-9 of Figure 2,

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken substantially along the plane of the line ifl-l ll of Figure 2,

Figure 11 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical, sectional view of the valve housing which is mounted in the suction line, and

Figure 12 is an enlarged, horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the plane of the line l2-i 2 of Figure 5.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, l5 designates generally a conventional garment press and which includes a base IS, a table IT, a press fbuck l8, and a press head l9 which is mounted in the usual manner by a lever 20 which is pivoted to a standard 2| which rises from the back edge of the table II. The rear end of the lever 20 is pivotally connected to one end of a link 22 which is pivotally connected at its opposite end to an end of a link 23, the oppositev end of which, link 23, is pivotally connected to a bearing standard 24 which rises from the bottom of the base It. A link 25 is pivoted at one end thereof to the link 23 near its first mentioned, upper end and is pivotally connected at its opposite end to a similar link 26. The opposite end of the link 26 is pivoted at 21 to the base IS. A lever 28 is likewise pivoted at one end thereof to the bearing standard 24 and extends forwardly therefrom relatively to the base It and has one end of a link 29 pivoted thereto, intermediate of its ends. The opposite end of the link 29 is pivotally connected to the link 26, intermediate of the ends thereof. It will be readily apparent that the links 25 and 26 combine to form a toggle joint, and the complementary links 22 and 23 likewise combine to form a second toggle Joint. The parts previously described constitute parts of a, conventional garment press and form no part ofthe. present invention, which will hereinafter be described, but are illustrated and described, merely to better illustrate the ap plication of the invention, and it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to use with a garment press of the type illustrated but is adapted for use on all types of garment presses, as will hereinafter become readily apparent from the following description of the invention, considered with the accompanying drawings.

The invention, designated generally 33 includes a housing, designated generally 3|, which is suitably supported on the base l3. The housing 3|, as best seen in Figure 3, is provided with a removable cover 32 and contains a cylinder 33 which is disposed in the rear part thereof and which is provided with closed ends. A piston 34 is slidably mounted in the cylinder 33 and has a piston rod 35 depending therefrom and extending through and slidably disposed in a stufling box 33 which is mounted in the bottom of the housing 3|.

The rear portion of the housing 3| is provided with a rearwardly, projecting portion which forms a valve casing 31 and which is provided with a substantially upright, circular opening 33. The valve casing 31 is provided with a passage 33 which communicates with the opening or bore 33 and which opens outwardly of the upper part thereof and to which is connected a pipe 43. The opposite end of the pipe 40, not shown, is connected to a source of supply of steam, compressed air, or other suitable fluid or liquid under pressure. Disposed in the pipe 43 is a reducing valve 4| of conventional construction and which functions in a conventional manner to limit the pressure of the steam entering into the bore 33 so that the pressure of the steam therein will at all times be uniform. As best seen in Figure 3, the rear wall of the housing 3| is provided with an upwardly extending passage 42, which extends from the opening or bore 38 and which opens into the upper end of the cylinder 33, and a downwardly extending passage 43 is likewise extended from the bore 33 and which opens into the cylinder 33 adjacent its lower end. A valve stem 44 extends horizontally through the bore 33 and is iournaled in the valve housing 31. A valve 45 is disposed in the bore 33 and is keyed to the stem 44. Valve 45 has an arcuately shaped head 43 which tumably engages the circular outer wall of the bore 38 and which is of a length circumferentially, of substantially less than 180 degrees. The head 43 is provided with an elongated outwardly opening recess 41 the ends of which are spaced from the ends of said head. As best seen in Figure 4, one side wall of the valve casing 31, designated 43, is removable for applying and removing the valve 45. Said side wall 43 and a portion of the housing 3| are recessed to provide a port 49 forming an exhaust'port and which opens into an exhaust pipe 53 which is attached to the outer side of the housing 3| and to the removable wall 43. A valve housing 5| is in threaded engagement with an opening 52 near the top and bottom of the housing 3|. Valve housings 5| open into the passage 42 and 43 and are internally threaded to receive valves 53, having valve stems 54 projecting outwardly therefrom and provided with knobs 55. The valves 53 have tapered inner ends 53 which are adapted to seat in recesses 51, when the valves 53 are advanced by being turned in one direction for closing the passages 42 and 43. The upper valve, which controls the passage 42, is designated generally 53, and the lower valve,

which controls the passage 43, is designated genorally '3.

Housing 3| is provided with an outwardly projecting, perpendicularly disposed extension 33 having an outwardly opening groove 3|, which extends from end to end thereof and which is wedge shaped in cross section, as seen in Figure 4. Groove 3| forms a guide for a bar 32 which is slidably mounted therein and which is similarly shaped in cross section. In Figure 12, a plate or bar 33 is disposed across the upper end of the guide groove 3| and is attached to the enlargement 33 by fastenings 34. The enlargement 30, intermediate of its ends, is provided with a transverse slot 33, through which extends one end 33 of a lever 31, which lever is pivotally mounted, near its end 33 by means of a pin 33. which extends'through the portion 30. An arm 33 is keyed to one end of the valve stem 44 and extends forwardly therefrom and has its free end disposed above and in the path of movement of lever end 33 so that when said end is swung upwardly the arm 33 will be moved upwardly for turning the valve 43 in a clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 3. A pin 13 projects outwardly from the bar 32 and a detent 1| is pivotally mounted, intermediate of its ends, on the pin 13 for swinging movement relatively to the bar 32. A second pin 12 projects outwardly from the bar 32, above the pin 13. Detent 1|, adjacent its upper end, is provided with a laterally opening notch 13 to engage the pin 12 when the detent 1| is disposed longitudinally of the bar 32, as seen in Figure 5. The detent 1| is provided with a notch 14 in its lower end which is adapted to engage the upper side of the free end of the arm 33. A spring latch member 13 is attached to one of the fastenings 34 and depends downwardly therefrom and is provided with a hook 13 at its lower end which is arranged to engage the pin 12, when the bar 32 is moved to a raised position, as seen in dotted lines in Figure 3, for holding said bar in a raised position, and also for engaging the detent 1| to rock it to a position substantially obliquely to the longitudinal axisof the bar 32, for positioning its notch 14 over the free end of the arm 33, as likewise seen in dotted lines in Figure 3. The portion 33 is provided with a longitudinally extending outwardly projecting cam portion 11, as best seen in Figure 5, which is disposed to engage the upper end of the detent 1|, as the bar 32 moves downwardly, for swinging the detent 1| from its dotted line position in Figure 3 to the positions as seen in full lines and in dotted lines in Figure 5, for moving the notch end 14 out of engagement with the arm 33 after the arm has been swung downwardly by the detent 1| to its full line position in Figure 5.

The forward, restricted portion of the housing 3| is provided with a cylinder 13 having an upwardly opening upper end formed by an opening 13 in the cover 32. A plunger 30 is slidably disposed in the cylinder 13 and extends outwardly through the opening 13 and is provided with a head 3| at its upper end. A rod 82 is secured at its upper end to the head 3| and extends downwardly therefrom. The other end, 83, of the lever 31 is disposed in the path of movement of the rod 82 so that when the plunger 33 moves downwardly, the lower end of the rod 32 will engage the lever end 83 and swing it downwardly from its full line to its dotted line position of Figure 5, to thus cause the lever 31 to be rocked for raising the arm 89. The housing II is provided with an integral extension 84 at the bottom of its forward part which is provided with a bore 85 which communicates with the lower end of the cylinder I8. A pipe 88 has, one end disposed in the bore 85 and extends outwardly therefrom.

Referring particularly to Figure 2, the opposite end of the pipe 88 is connected to a T joint 81 intermediate of the endsv of said joint. Pipes 88 and 89 are connected at their adjacent ends to the opposite ends of the joint 81. A manual shut-off valve 90 is mounted in pipe 88 and a manual shut-oil valve 9I is mounted in pipe 89. The opposite end of the pipe 88 extends downwardly and into a vessel or container 92, which is supported thereby, and terminates adjacent the bottom thereof. Pipe 88 is also provided with a check-valve 93 which opens in a direction away from the vessel 92. The opposite end of the pipe 89 extends into the vessel 92 and pipe 89 is also provided with a check-valve 94 which opens in a direction toward the vessel 92. Vessel 92 is adapted to contain a suitable cushioning liquid, such as 011, glycerine, or water.

When the plunger 80 is moving upwardly it will create a suction in the lower part oi. the cylinder I8 for drawing the cushioning liquid (Figure 7), from the vessel 92 through the pipe 88 and into the cylinder I8. When the plunger 80 is moving downwardly the fluid will be forced outwardly from the bottom of the cylinder I8 and back into the vessel 92 through the pipe 89, the check- valves 93 and 94 preventing the liquid from flowing in the other direction through the pipes 88 and 89, respectively.

Housing 3| is provided with a depending bearing 95 through the lower end of which the piston rod 35 slidably extends. The piston rod 35 is provided with a crosshead 96 below the bearing 95 and adjacent its lower end. Crosshead 96 is adapted to engage the lower end of the bearing 95 to limit the upward movement of the piston 34. The lower end of the slide bar 82 is pivotally connected at 91 to the crosshead 98 so as to slide with the piston 34. A rod 98 is connected at its upper end to the head 8| and extends downwardly on the outer side of the housing 3I and has its lower end disposed in the path of upward movement of crosshead 98 so that as the crosshead moves upwardly the plunger 80 will be raised and the limit of the upward movement of the plunger is likewise controlled by the crosshead engaging the bearing 95. A pair of links 99 are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the lower end of the piston rod 35, below the crosshead 98 and are pivotally connected at their opposite, lower ends to the forward end of the lever 29 which extends outwardly through the base I6 through a perpendicular slot I therein which extends from the rear thereof.

A bar MI is suitably attached to the forward part of the base I8. An inverted L-shaped lever I02 is pivotally connected at the apex to the bar IM and has one arm I03 extending laterally therefrom and its other arm I04 depending downwardly. The depending arm I04 is provided on its outer side and adjacent its lower end with an elongated, outwardly projecting flange I the upper end of which is curved inwardly, relatively to the base I8, and the lower end of which is curved outwardly. The crosshead 98, as best seen in Figure 9, is provided with an inwardly extending flange I08 which is disposed at an oblique angle to the perpendicular and A suction pipe line I01, forming 'a part of theconventional garment press I5, extends to the III haust port 49.

press buck I8, at one end thereof, not shown, and has its opposite end connected to suitable suction means not shown, and for creating a suction in the pipe I01 in a direction as indicated by the arrows I08. A valve I09, as best seen in Figures 2 and 11, is interposed in the pipe I01 and is provided with a downwardly extending, slidably mounted valve stem IIO. As best seen in Figure 10, a collar II I is secured to the valve stem H0 and a second collar H2 is adjustably connected to the stem IIO, above the collar III. The free end of the arm I03 is provided with an opening II3 which loosely engages the rod IIO, between the collars III and H2. An expansion coil spring H4 is mounted on the stem IIO between the collar III and the arm I03 to normally hold the lever I02 in its position of Figure 2. As seen in Figure 11, the valve I09 is arranged to open on the upward movement of the stem H0 and to close on the downward movement thereof. As the piston rod 35 moves downwardly the cam element I08 rides over the outer side of the flange I05, which forms a cam for swinging the lever arm I04 to the right or to its dotted line position of Figure 8, and on past the lower end of the flange I05. This causes the arm I03 to swing downwardly thereby compressing the spring II4 so that the arm I03 can move relatively to the stem IIO. When the cam element I08 moves beyond the lower end of the flange I05 the spring Il4 returns the arm I03 and the lever I02 to its full line position in Figure 8. When the piston rod 35 moves upwardly the cam element I08 engages the opposite, inner side of the flange I05 to swing the arm I04 to the left and the arm I 03 upwardly, as seen in the dot-dash lines in Figure 8. This causes the arm I03 to engage the collar II2 to move it upwardly for opening valve I09. After the cam element I08 is moved beyond the upper end of the flange I05 the lever I02 will return by gravity to its normal position of Figure 2 and the valve I09 will close by gravity and also due to the suction in the pipe line I01.

Assuming that the valve 45 is in its position as seen in Figure 3, in which position the piston 34 and plunger will be in their raised positions, the operator of the press by grasping the handle II5 of the presshead I9 and pulling downwardly thereon to move the presshead slightly toward a closed position, will cause the adjacent ends of the links 22 and 23 to swing outwardly and the adjacent ends of the links 25 and 28 to move downwardly thereby causing the forward end of the lever 28 to swing downwardly slightly to move the piston 34 slightly toward a lowered position. This will cause the detent II to swing the valve arm 89 downwardly from its dotted line position of Figure 3 to its full line position of Figure 5 thereby moving the valve 45 in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 3, so that the passage 42 will be open and the passage 43 closed except for its communication by means of the recess 41 with the ex- The steam under pressure will then flow from the bore 39 through the passage 42 into the upper end of the cylinder 33 and above the piston 34 to force the piston 34 downwardly from its position of Figure 3 to its lower, dotted line position of Figure 5. It will be readily obvious that the other parts connected to the been swung downwardly to rock the end of the lever 61, designated l3, upwardly, the detent II will be moved out of engagement with the arm 69 by the cam member 11. As the piston 34 moves downwardly the steam in the lower portion of the cylinder 33 will be exhausted through the passage 43, the recess 41 and the exhaust port 43. The crosshead 98 when moving downwardly moves away from the lower end of the rod 3| and the plunger 80 thereafter moves downwardly by gravity and the speed of its movement is regulated by manual adjustment of the valve 9| so that the plunger 30 will reach a lowermost position at a predetermined time after the piston 34 has reached its lowermost position. During the downward movement of the piston 34 the cam element I06 will ride over the outer side'oi the flange I", as previously described, without aflecting the position of the valve I09. It will thus be readily apparent that the presshead I! will be closed and held in a closed position by the piston 34 until the plunger 80 has substantially reached its lowermost position, at which time the rod 32 will contact the elevated, lever-end 83 to swing said end down wardly to return the valve 45 to its position 0! Figure 3, as previously explained. This will expose the passage 43 so that the steam can flow therethrough to the lower end or the cylinder 33 for raising the piston 34. Likewise, as seen in Figure 3, the piston moves upwardly and the steam thereabove will pass outwardly through passage 42, recess 41 and exhaust port 43. As the piston 34 moves upwardly the crosshead 90 win engage the rod as to carry the plunger ll upwardly and to draw fluid from the receptacle 3! into the lower part of the cylinder ll. Furthermore, during the initial upward movement of the piston the 'lever I02 will be rocked in a clockwise direction. as seen in Figure 8, to open the valve I09, as previously explained, so that the suction in the pipe line I01 will draw the moisture from the garment disposed on the press buck It. It will be readily apparent that the speed of movement of the piston can be regulated by adjustment of the valves 53 and 53 and to some extent by adjustment of the valve 90. Furthermore, on the upward movement 01 the piston 34 the forward end of the lever 23 will be raised for returning the links to their positions of Figure 1 thereby to elevate the presshead I9.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that after the initial downward movement of the press head I! by the manual effort-of the operator the pressing operation is carried through automatically and the speed of the operation and the length of time that the press remains closed can be varied at the will oi the operator. The cylinder l8, plunger 34, vessel 32 and the pipes connecting the vessel and the cylinder combine to form a dash pot which aflords an effective means for controlling the length-of time that the press is held in a closed position. Likewise, as previously explained, the attachment 30 automatically operates the suction means which withdraws the steam from the garment after the pressing further description of the attachment 3!! is considered unnecessary. Likewise, it will be readily apparent from the preceding description that the attachment 30 can be readily adapted'to manually operated presses of all types.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated, and may obviously be resorted to, provided they fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims, as only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A semi-automatic operating attachment for garment presses, comprising a cylinder, a piston slidably mounted therein and having a depending piston rod connected to the head-closing toggle of a garment press, a supply line for a piston actuating medium having branch passages opening into the ends of the cylinder, a valve interposed in the supply line for controlling the flow of the medium to one or the other of the branch passages, means connected to the piston rod for actuating said valve near the beginning of the downstroke of the piston to position said valve so that the medium will pass to the upper end of the cylinder to force the piston down for closing the presshead, and gravity actuated means for actuating the valve, after the piston has reached the lower end of its stroke, for moving the valve so that the medium will be admitted to the lower end of the cylinder for forcing the piston upwardly to open the press head.

2. An attachment as in claim 1, and an exhaust port for the medium, controlled by the valve, for releasing the medium from the end of the cylinder toward which the piston is moving.

3. An attachment as in claim 1, and means for regulating the speed of movement of the piston to regulate the closing and opening speed of the press head.

4. An attachment as in claim 1. said gravity actuated means being adjustable for varying the interval between the time the piston reaches the lower end of its stroke and the time at which the valve is actuated by said gravity means.

5. An attachment as in claim 1, and a latch element for engaging said first mentioned means,

when it is in a fully raised position, for holding the piston in a raised position.

6. An attachment as in claim 1, means for normally regulating the flow of the medium through the branch passages for regulating the speed of movement of the piston, and manually controlled means, forming a part of the gravity means, for regulating the interval between the time the piston reaches its lowermost position and the time when the valve is actuated by the gravity means.

7. An operator for use with garment presses comprising in combination with a press-head toggle of a garment press a cylinder, a piston slidably mounted therein, a piston rod connected to the piston and to said press head toggle, a supply line for steam, avalve for controlling the supply line for admitting steam alternately to the ends of the cylinder to reciprocate the piston, means for actuating the valve just after the piston has begun to move away from one end of the cylinder to admit steam to said end of the cylinder, and means rendered operative through and bythe last-mentioned movement of the piston for actuating the valve after the piston has reached the other end of its movement to admit steam to the opposite end of the cylinder-to move the piston in the opposite direction.

8. An operator as in claim 7, said last mentioned means including a dashpot comprising a cylinder and plunger, said plunger being movable by gravity in one direction to actuate the valve, said plunger being actuated by the piston rod for movement in the other direction, and pipes for admitting a liquid to and releasing the liquid from the dashpot cylinder for regulating the the valve, and a cam guide to engage the detent to move it out of engagement with the arm after the valve has been actuated thereby.

WALLACE SCOTT GRAHAM.

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