US3193952A - Method for pressing garments - Google Patents

Description

G. SCHLEMON METHOD FOR PRESSING GARMEN'I'S Filed Feb. 4, 1963 July 13, 1965 MCI/UM SOURCE INVENTOR George Schlemon BY M, WIM

United States Patent 3 193352 METHQEB FER PRESENG GARMENTS George Schlenron, 306i Pharr tCourt NW., Atlanta, Ga. Filed Feb. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 259,769 5 (Ilaims. (ill. 33-15) This invention relates to a method for pressing garments and more particularly to a method for pressing garments which does not result in the excessive pressure and heat that tend to shine garments and damage synthetic fabrics and blends, and which for this and other reasons results in the improved pressing of garments and permits the use of an improved, inexpensive upper buck needing only relatively light structure to support and to raise and lower it.

Previously known methods for the commercial pressing of garments have employed presses having a pad covered lower buck, and an upper buck which is raised and lowered to engage a garment placed on the lower buck. The upper buck has generally an upper chamber in which steam under pressure is stored and a lower chamber into which steam from the upper chamber is released for application through a plurality of holes.

The storing of steam in the upper buck and the repeated release of steam into and out of the upper buck causes the upper buck to become quite hot. This causes a garment being pressed to be exposed not only to the heat of the steam, but also to the heat of the upper buck. It is the resulting excessive heat applied to the garment which with excessive pressure puts a shine on garments being pressed. It is this excessive heat which damages synthetic fabrics and blends and other heat sensitive materials. Moreover, because of the storing of high pressure steam and of the need to exert heavy pressure, upper bucks have been massive and have required large and expensive structure to support, raise and lower them.

Since steam is applied from the upper buck to the garment backed by the pad on the lower buck and before a drying vacuum is applied, previously existing methods for pressing garments have also resulted in excess steam being spread about the area of the press when the upper buck is lowered and pressed against the garment and the lower buck. Both this excess steam and the excessive heat of the exposed upper buck structure serve to make existing presses and methods of pressing garments hazardous to the operator of the press. This fact, and the massive structure of the upper buck necessar to hold and release steam and to exert large pressing pressures account for the failure of previously existing commercial methods and presses for pressing garments to be suitable for home use. The apparatus required has been too large, expensive, and hazardous for such use.

This invention completely eliminates these difficulties and limitations of previously existing methods for pressing garments. The method of the invention eliminates the massive, steam containing upper buck with its hazards to the operator and its excessive heat and pressure which damage synthetic fabrics and blends and which put a shine on other materials. It permits an improved upper buck of light and inexpensive construction which, although suitable for use with previously existing pressing methods, is particularly suited to the method of the invention.

These and other improvements are achieved because steam is introduced through the lower buck and diffused through the pad on the lower buck and into the garment while a vacuum on the upper buck draws the steam through the garment and out of the press where it can be exhausted or recirculated to the lower buck. The upper buck contains no stored steam and because the lower buck is covered with a pad, neither the up- 3,193,952 Patented July 13, 1965 er buck nor the lower buck will damage or shine materials or be a hazard to the operator.

Moreover, since the steam being introduced through the lower buck is completely contained within the press as it passes through the pad covered lower buck, the gar ent and the upper buck, there is no excess steam spreading about the area of the press to cause heat and make the operator uncomfortable or to present a hazard to the operator. Thus, the method of the invention described herein permits existing presses or improved presses specifically adapted to its use to eifectively press garments without danger of damaging or shining the garment and to be comfortably and safely use by the operator. improved presses specifically adapted to the method of the invention are of lighter and less expensive construction as well as completely safe and comfortable to use, and the home pressing of garments to commercial standards is entirely practical.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a press suitable to the method of the invention and showing the improved upper buck and the lower buck in section.

This drawing and the following detailed description disclose a preferred specific embodiment of the inven tion, but neither the method nor the apparatus of the invention are limited to the details disclosed since they may be embodied in other equivalent forms.

This invention is most easily understood by considering the sequence of steps used to press a garment. The garment is first placed on the pad 10 of the lower buck 11. The pad 10 is of known type having the usual porous and resilient layer of material 22 and the pressing surface 12 of the upper buck 13 is brought into contact with the garment with light pressure so as to only lightly hold the garment between the upper buck 13 and lower buck 11 and prevent creeping of the garment on the pad 19 of the lower buck 11.

Steam under seventy to eighty pounds pressure is then introduced into the chamber 14 of the lower buck 11 through an intake pipe 15. Steam under this pressure has been found to have adequate moisture content for the method of the invention. The steam diifuses throughout the chamber 14 and passes upward through a plurality of holes 16 in the upper plate 17 of the lower buck 11, through the pad 16 and into the garment being pressed. A vacuum is applied to exit pipe 18 and the chamber 19 of the upper buck 13 simultaneously with or shortly after the introduction of steam into the chamber 14- of the lower buck l1, and the steam entering the garment being pressed from the chamber 14 of the lower buck 11 is drawn through the garment and into the chamber 19 of the upper buck l3 and the exit pipe 18 through which it passes, to be exhausted or trapped for recirculation to the lower buck.

The application of a vacuum to the chamber 19 of the upper buck 13 while steam is being applied to the garment from the chamber 14- ot the lower buck 11, insures that the work area of the press operator adjacent the press will not become warm and uncomfortable or hazardous because of the presence of excess steam. The steam is contained by the pad 1 3 and the garment until it passes through the garment and is immediately drawn into the upper buck 13 after passing through the garment. Moreover, the application of the vacuum while steam is being applied to the garment also prevents excess moisture from collecting in the material of the garment. This improves the quality of pressing and makes drying the garment less difiicult.

subjecting pipe 18 and chamber 19 to a vacuum can be accomplished in any conventional manner as shown in the drawing and exemplified by the various plumbing arrangements shown in'the United States Patents No. 1,' 326,982 to Spencer; 1,501,685 to Parker; and 2,784,509

' to Ketchum, et a1; Y 1

pipe with a valve 2-1 of known type which permits either steam or dry air from the atmosphere or other suitable source to be introduced into chamber 14. The continuing vacuum, by itself and in combination with the application of a vacuum during the introduction of steam,

has the further advantage of keeping the lower buck 11, the pad 10 and the upper buck 13 free from moisture.

The vacuum further tends to draw off the'heatgenerated by the steam and therefore tends to maintain the The fact that steam is not stored in the upper buck V 13 and passes through the upper buck 13 only after it has lost some of its heat while passing through the 'pad 10 and the garment, prevents the upper buck 13- from being hot from the presence of steam. This, and the elimination of heat causing excess moisture by the vacuum as described above, insurethat the upper buck 13 will not become so hot as to shine the garment or damage synthetic fabrics or blends. As a matter of fact, the lack r of upper buck13 heatwill prevent a shine on garments even when substantial mechanical pressure is applied to the garment by the upper buck 13. Moreover, since the i steam-containing lower buck 11 is covered by a pad 10,

the lack of the excessive heat usually associated with the Even previously existing with presses constructed with the method of the inven-.

tion'in view, the method possesses the additional advantage of permitting the struction. V

This is because the upper buck 13' exerts only light pressure and does not contain steam under pressure. Not only may the upper buck 13 be less expensive, but the structure used to support and to raise and lower it may be less massive and expensive. able for home as well as commercial use because'it is relaupper buck 13to be of light contively inexpensive and less massive than previously existing presses, and because it avoids the escaping excess steam and the hot metal surfaces associated with previously existing methods for'pressing clothes.

Preferably, the improved press has an upper buck 13 with a single chamber 19, a pressing surface 12 constructed entirely of wire mesh 20, and meansof known type 'forapplying a .vacuum thr'ough exit pipe 18 to the chamber 19. The wire meshlfi is closely spaced mesh of known type having arough textured surface. The

wire mesh 20 may beone or aplurality of layers thick.

The result is a press suit- 6'0 d where such pressure is required by the material of the garment. r

'Whetlier used with the method of the invention or previously existing pressing methods, the rough texture'of the wire mesh 20 and the fact, that the wire mesh 26 does not readily retain heat help to prevent the crushing of material and the heat which shines garments when combined with either light or heavy mechanical pressure on the garments. Moreover, because each strand of wire mesh 20 isiof small diameter, a pressing surface 12 of wire mesh 2t) does not have any relatively large fiat portions to collect moisture or to mark the garment when the pressing surface 12 is in contact with the garment. Used with the method of the invention, the porousstructure of the wire mesh 20 of the pressing surface 12 also enhances theupward flow of steam and dry air under the influence ofthe vacuum applied to the chamber 19 of the upper buck 13. V a

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments here chosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims. V I

What is claimed as, invention is: V

1. A method for pressing a'garment with a garment press having an upper buck and a lower buck,"said method comprising, in combination, the steps of firstly placing the garment in pressing position on the'lower buck, secondly exerting light mechanical pressure on the gar- .ment. with the upper buclgthirdly passing steam into the garment through the lower buck only while simultaneously applying a vacuum to the garment through the upper buck, fourthly discontinuing the passage of steam into the garment through the lower buck while continuing the application of a vacuum to the garment through the upper buck, fifthly while passing dry air into the garment through the. lower buck, sixthly discontinuing the application of a vacuum to the garment through the upper buck and the passage of dry air into the garment through the lower buck, seventhly discontinuing the light mechanical pressure exerted on the garment by the upper buck, and finally re'movingthe garment from the lower buck. a

2. A method for pressing a garment with a garment press having an upper buck and. a lower buck, said method comprising, in sequence, the steps of exerting light mechanicalpressure on the garment with the upper buck, passing steam into the garment through the lower buck only while simultaneously applying a vacuum to the garment through the upper buck, discontinuing the passage of steam into the garment through the lower buck while continuing the application of a'vacuum to the garment through the upper buck, passing dry air into the garment through the lower buck, discontinuing the application of a vacuum to the garment through the upper buck and the passage of dry air into the garment through the lower buck, discontinuing the light mechanical pressure exerted on the garment by the upper buck. .3; A method for pressing a garment with a garment ress having an upper buck and a lower buck, said method comprising in combination, the steps of firstly passmg steam into the garment through the lower buck only while applying a vacuum to the'garment through the 7 upper buck, secondly discontinuingthe passage of steam However, it has been found that three layers of wire mesh 1 2t} provide a pressing surface 12 with suflicient strength to not only hold a garment and prevent creeping, but

also to exert adequate and substantial pressing pressure into the garment through the lower buck while continuing the application of a vacuum. to the garment through the upper buck, thirdly passing dry air into the garment through the lower buck, and finally discontinuing the application of'a vacuum to the garment through the upper buck and the passage of dry airinto thefgarment through the lower buck.

t. In a method for pressing a garment between an upper buck and a lower buck, the steps of firstly passing steam'into the garment through the lower buck only while simultaneously applying a vacuum to the garment through the upper buck, and secondly discontinuing the passage of steam into the garment through the lower buck while continuing the application of a vacuum to the garment through the upper buck.

5. In a method for pressing a garment positioned on a lower buck, the steps of in sequence exerting light pres- 5 sure on the garment with an upper buck, drawing steam through the garment from the lower buck only with a vacuum applied through the upper buck, and drawing dry air through the garment with the said vacuum after the drawing of steam through the garment has been discon- 10 tinued.

References titted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Spencer 3816 Parker 3815 Zeidler 38-66 Sando 3815 Braun 38-15 Braun 3815 Sayring 38-15 Schultz 38-15 Ketchum et a1. 3815 Paulsen 3815 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

5/19 Chase 3816 15 DAVID}. WILLIAMOWSKY, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A METHOD FOR PRESSING A GARMENT WITH A GARMENT PRESS HAVING AN UPPER BUCK AND A LOWER BUCK, SAID METHOD COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, THE STEPS OF FIRSTLY PLACING THE GARMENT IN PRESSING POSITION ON THE LOWER BUCK, SECONDLY EXERTING LIGHT MECHANICAL PRESSURE ON THE GARMENT WITH THE UPPER BUCK, THIRDLY PASSING STEAM INTO THE GARMENT THROUGH THE LOWER BUCK ONLY WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY APPLYING A VACUUM TO THE GARMENT THROUGH THE UPPER BUCK, FOURTHLY DISCONTINUING THE PASSAGE OF STEAM INTO THE GARMENT THROUGH THE LOWER BUCK WHILE CONTINUING THE APPLICATION OF A VACUUM TO THE GARMENT THROUGH THE UPPER BUCK, FIFTHLY WHILE PASSING DRY AIR INTO THE GARMENT THROUGH THE LOWER BUCK, SIXTHLY DISCONTINUING THE APPLICATION OF A VACUUM TO THE GARMENT THROUGH THE UPPER BUCK AND THE PASSAGE OF DRY AIR INTO THE GARMENT THROUGH THE LOWER BUCK, SEVENTHLY DISCONTINUING THE LIGHT MECHANICAL PRESSURE EXERTED ON THE GARMENT BY THE UPPER BUCK, AND FINALLY REMOVING THE GARMENT FROM THE LOWER BUCK.

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