US2741045A

US2741045A - Ironing pads

Info

Publication number: US2741045A
Application number: US158779A
Authority: US
Inventors: Norman J Merkin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-04-28
Filing date: 1950-04-28
Publication date: 1956-04-10
Anticipated expiration: 1973-04-10

Description

April 10, 1956 MERKlN 2,741,045

IRONING PADS Filed April 28, 1950 PIII'UIQJ co vvvlv IIIQDQ' 24 x ZZ. j/ [l INVENTOR HTTORNEV United States Patent TO This invention relates to ironing pads and more particularly to ironing pads of the heat reflecting type.

Numerous attempts have been made to overcome the disadvantages of the usual soft, resilient ironing pad and to speed up the ironing operation by providing a heat reflecting surface in conjunction with the ironing pad to reflect the heat of the iron into the bottom side of the material being ironed, the usual arrangement taking the form of a sheet of metal foil or other heat reflective material placed above or below the ironing pad. Such arrangements have not been satisfactory, however, for if the metal foil is placed on top of the pad, the moisture from the material being ironed will not be absorbed by the ironi ng pad, consequently a longer time to perform the ironing operation will be required, while if the metal foil is placed beneath the ironing pad, the moisture from the material being ironed cannot pass through the ironing pad and hence the pad soon becomes too wet for use.

I have found that a satisfactory ironing pad of the heat reflecting type must satisfy a number of requirements, some of which are conflicting to a certain extent. the surface of the ironing pad must be resilient to permit ironing around buttons and the like, and must be without projections to present a smooth surface to the material being ironed. Second, the surface of the ironing pad in contact with the material being ironed must be waterpermeable to permit the moisture in the material being ironed to pas-s through the surface of the ironing pad. Third, the portion of the pad near the surface in contact with the material being ironed should not retain the moisture from the material being ironed,'as otherwise that portion of the pad will become so wet that the ironing operation must be stopped and the pad dried or a dry pad provided.

By my invention, for the first time in the art, I have provided a flexible resilient surfaced heat reflecting ironing pad which'satisfies the above enumerated requirements, and which may be economically constructed.

It is a feature of my invention that the portion of the ironing pad near the surface contacting the material to be ironed is kept dry and warm during the ironing operation so that the ironing operation may be continued indefinitely without the necessity of drying or replacing the pad.

For the purpose of more fully explaining further features and advantages of my invention, reference is made to the following drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic view partly broken away, of an ironing pad embodying my invention, and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the ironing pad of Fig. 1 taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the ironing pad of my invention comprises in general a relatively thin sheet of a water-permeable heat reflecting material 12, such as metal foil having a large number of perforations 22, said sheet having adjacent each side thereof a relatively thick First,

2 resilient pad 14 of water permeable heat insulating ma terial, such as cotton batting or other fibrous material.

In the preferred embodiment of the ironing pad 10 of my invention, a sheetof thinflexible metal foil 12 having a shiny, heat reflecting surface, preferably aluminum foil of'about one to two-thousandths of an inch in thickness, is placed between two relatively thick pads '14 of cotton batting or similar water-permeable fibrous material, said pads serving to provide the necessary resiliency of the ironing pad as well as to insulate the metal foil 12 to prevent-it'fromlosing the heat stored therein to either the atmosphere or othersu'rfaces in contact with'the ironing pad 10. Covers 16 of water-permeable fabric, preferably unbleached muslin or a'similar open weave fabric, are provided on theouter surfaces of the cotton batting pads 14, to retain said pads in position, said covers being retained in position by stitching 18 extending between said covers and through the pads14 and the sheet of metal foil 12. The stitching is preferably made in the form of a number of relatively closely spaced lines 20 giving a quilted ironing pad of firm though resilient construction. The sewing operation will, in addition to stitching the pad together, perforate the metal foil in a large number of places, thus providing a large number of perforations 22 in the metal foil without the necessity of a separate perforating operation. In addition to holding the ironing pad together, the stitching 18 provides capillary passages through the perforations 22 to aid in the removal of moisture from the upper pad 14, as hereinafter more fully explained. The stitching 18 should preferably be in the form of a lock-stitch to place the knots intermediate the surfaces and avoid projecting knots at the surface of the ironing pad 10 which would cause a rough surface on the material being ironed. A binding strip 24 may be provided to bind together by stitching the outer edges of the ironing pad 10 if it is desired to give said pad a finished appearance.

In use, the ironing pad 10 of my invention is placed on any suitable ironing surface, and the material to be ironed is moistened in the usual manner and placed on the ironing pad 10. As heat is applied to the upper surface of the material to be ironed by the usual electric iron or the like, the moisture in the material being ironed will be driven through the upper cover 16, the upper pad 14 and through the perforations 22 in the sheet of metal foil 12 into the lower pad 14 and lower cover 16, the perforations serving to provide a passage for the water vapor in the upper pad 14 while the stitching 18 serves to provide a large number of capillary passages along which condensed moisture may pass. The heat of the iron will be reflected back from the metal foil 12 to the lower surface of the material being ironed through upper pad 14 and cover 16, thus speeding up the ironing operation.

As the ironing operation progresses, the moisture will collect in the lower pad 14 on top of the ironing surface, but upper pad 14 will remain warm and dry due to the heat reflecting effect of the sheet of metal foil 12, which continuously heats and dries the upper pad 14, the moisture therefrom passing through the perforations 22 in the metal foil 12 into the lower pad 14 as hereinbefore explained.

Though a preferred embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, for instance, the metal foil might be perforated before being inserted between the resilient pads. These and other modifications are contemplated as within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A laminated ironing pad comprising a relatively thin water-permeable fabric cover, a relatively thick resilient water-permeable pad of heat-insulating fibrous material on the underside of said cover, a sheet of thin perforated metal foil having a heat-reflecting surface positioned on the underside of said pad, a relatively thick resilient waterpermeable pad positioned on the underside of said foil, and a relatively thin water-permeable fabric cover positioned on the underside of said last-mentioned pad, said lamination being bound together by a plurality of rows of stitching, said stitching extending through the laminated structure and extending through the perforations in said foil, said stitching providing capillary passages through said perforations to aid in the removal of moisture from said first-mentioned pad.

2. A laminated ironing pad as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said metal foil is aluminum and further includes a relatively thin binding fabric extending around the edge of, and stitched to, said lamination.

3. A laminated ironing pad comprising a relatively thick resilient water-permeable pad of heat-insulating fibrous material, a sheet of thin perforated metal foil having a heat-reflecting surface positioned on the underside of said pad, a relatively thick resilient water-permeable pad positioned on the underside of said foil, and spaced apart, binding stitches passing through the laminated pad and extending through the perforations in said foil.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS l,ll6.35l Evans Nov. 3, 1914 l,l46,349 Ross July 13, 1915 1,616,356 Diener Feb. 1, 1927 2,050,052 Galvin Aug. 4, 1936 2,278,517 John Apr. 7, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 446,943 Great Britain 1936