US3797142A

US3797142A - Steam control method and apparatus for fabric pressing machine

Info

Publication number: US3797142A
Application number: US00310903A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Gerod
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-09-21
Filing date: 1972-11-30
Publication date: 1974-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 1991-03-19

Abstract

A method for selectively varying the vacuum pressure applied to the buck of a buck and swingable head type fabric pressing machine to establish the optimum vacuum pressure in accord with the weight and drying characteristics of the fabric to be pressed to assure effective drying and setting of the press in the fabric and a vacuum valve for presetting the vacuum pressure to the optimum value by adjustably venting the valve to the atmosphere. The valve is characterized by a vacuum line coupling means that may be removed from the valve without breaking the line connection to gain access to the valve biasing spring means, the valve, and valve seat for the purpose of servicing and replacement.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Gerod I [111 3,797,142 [451 Mar. 19, 1974 [76] Inventor: John T. Gerod, 312 N. Lincoln Ave., Scranton, Pa. 18504 [22] Filed: Nov. 30, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 310,903

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 73,775, Sept. 21. 1970, Pat No.

[52] US. Cl. 38/15 [51] Int. Cl. ..'D06f 71/34 [58] Field of Search 38/15, 16, 41

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2.424.623 7/1947 Monsarrat 38/15 2.644.254 7/1953 Schultz 38/15 2.663.954 12/1953 Goldman 38/15 2.682.121 6/1954 Schultz 38/15 2,784,509 3/1957 Ketchum et a1. 38/15 3.193.952 7/1965 Schlemon 38/15 2.703.939 3/1955 Clarke 38/41 2.533.188 12/1950 DeVitto 38/15 2.555.967 6/1951 Goldman 38/15 1.963.822 6/1934 Beede 38/15 3,484,965 12/1969 Hoisve et al.. 38/15 2,537,700 1/1951 Powell et a1. 38/16 3,593,440 7/1971 Schlemon 38/16 Primary ExaminerGeo. V. Larkin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Straugh, Nolan, Neale, Nies & Kurz 57 ABSTRACT A method for selectively varying the vacuum pressure applied to the buck of a buck and swingable head type fabric pressing machine to establish the optimum vacuum pressure in accord with the weight and drying characteristics of the fabric to be pressed to assure effective drying and setting of the press in the fabric and a vacuum valve for presetting the vacuum pressure to the optimum value by adjustably venting the valve to the atmosphere. The valve is characterized by a vacuum line coupling means that may be removed from the valve without breaking the line connection to gain access to the valve biasing spring means, the valve, and valve seat for the purpose of servicing and replacement.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures OONDENSAT E TANK PATENTEU "MI I 9 I974 SHEEI 2 OF 2 STEAM CONTROL METHOD AND' APPARATUS FOR FABRIC PRESSING MACHINE The present application is a division of my cope'nding application Ser. No. 73,775 filed Sept. 21, 1970, now Letters Patent No. 3,738,385 dated June 12, 1973.

BACKGROUND or INVENTION In the commercial pressing of fabrics and garments, it is customary to employ steam pressing machines of the type having pressing elements generally identified as the buck" and the head. A typical machine of this type is shown in US. Letters'Pat. No. 1,661,153 issued Mar. 6, 1928, to Herbert G. Bee'de. In such ma chines the buck is fixedly mounted on a stationary support frame and the head is hingedly mounted on the support frame to swing about an axis parallel to the 1ongitudinal axis of the buck between a pressing position in superposed mating engagement with the buck and a non-pressing position spaced upwardly from the buck. Suitable foot treadles and linkage arrangements are conventionally provided to swing, the head between its pressing and non-pressing positions and both the buck and head comprise hollow, elongated, metal bodies matingly tapered from one end to the other end, both ends being rounded. The upper face of the buck is formed by a perforated plate of convex cross-section and the mating face of the head is formed by a perforated plate of concave cross-section. Both mating faces are covered by foraminous padding or the like drawn smoothly over theirrespective opposed surfaces and secured in conventional manner under peripheral flanges to form steam emitting pressing faces for engag, ing the opposite sides of the fabric or garment to be pressed.

The buck and head are respectively separated into a heating chamber and a steam emitting chamber immediately adjacent their respective perforated plates and dry steam at about 80 pounds per square inchpressure is continuously passed through the heating chambers to maintain the buck and head, at operating temperature. Suitable piping fitted with a manually actuated main control valve, usuallyfoot operated, is provided to selectively bypass or supply dry steam from the. heating chambers to the steam emitting. chambers when the head is brought into its pressing position relative to the buck. The condensation forming in the head and buck is conventionally removed through condensate return lines containing serially connected check valves and leading to the steam generator to assure a supply of dry steam at all, times and prevent the formation of wet steam which will not guarantee the desired pressing ef-, fect. The selectively bypassed steam passes successively through the perforated plates and their respective padded surfaces to the fabric or garment being pressed to steam and shape the fabric or garment and setting of the shape to the desired pressed shaped is accomplished'by appropriate drying conventionally effected by supplying dry steam through the head while connecting the lowest point of the buck through a valved vaccum line connected to a vacuum pump to remove the condensate collecting in the padded surfaces and the fabric or garment being pressed. Prior to this invention, the vacuum line valve has been merely a conventional type two way diaphragm valve which is either completely closed or completely opened;

It has been determined that proper drying andsetting is essential to assure a proper pressing effect and that different fabrics or garments made from different materials necessitate differing drying rates to produce the desired set. The present invention is directed to a novel drying method and vacuum line valve therefore which will assure a proper drying of the many differing fabrics marketed today.

SUMMARY or THE INVENTION It, accordingly, is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel method of varying'tlie drying rate of conventional steam pressing machines by controlling the vacuum pressure applied to the buck during the' drying operation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a valve of the diaphragm type having a valved outlet to the atmosphere adapted to be preset to bleed varying amounts of ambient air into the vacuum line to retard the rate of steam passage through the fabric or garment being pressed and the consequent removal of the resulting condensate from the padded surfaces and thefabric or garment in accord with the weight and texture of the fabric or garment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further objects will appear from the following description and appended claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the buck and head of a conventional steam pressing-machine, the steam and condensate return lines provided therefore, and the conventional vacuum line fitted with the novel vacuum valve of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged left end elevational view of the novel vacuum valve of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the valve of FIG. 2 with the right end there broken away along a chordal plane through the condensate return line connection;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section through the valve of FIG. 2 taken substantially on line 44 looking in the direction of the arrows; and v FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a simple vacuum vent pipe section which may be installed in existing pressing machine vacuum lines to convert them to the methodof the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With continued reference to'the drawings wherein like reference numerals are employed throughout to indicate the same parts and particularly to FIG. 1, a conventionally constructed pressing machine of the general type shown in the aforementioned Letters Pat. No. 1,661,153 is diagrammatically illustrated. It comprises a stationary buck 10 andswingable head 11 supported conventionally by linkage (not shown) to swing downwardly from its illustrated non-pressing position into pressing position with its underside in full covering engagement-with the upperside of buck 10. Steam inlet lines 12 and 13, supplied with dry steam at about lbs. pressure from a common supply line 14' connected to a steam generator (not shown) and providedwith a shut-off valve 15 normally opened during pressing operations to continuously supply steam to the heating chambers 22 of buck 10 andhead 11 to maintain the metal chamber walls at operating temperature to condition the machine for pressing operations. This maintained heating minimizes condensation which is removed from chambers 22 through condensate return lines 16 and 17 serially connected to a common condensate return line 18 at a point between shut-off valve 19 connected in line 18 and a check valve 20 interposed between the adjacent ends of lines 17 and 18. Line 18 beyond valve 19 is conventionally connected to the steam generator (not shown) to return the removed condensate to the generator.

Buck 10 and head 11 are conventionally divided by metal partition walls 21 to separate heating chambers 22 from opposed steam emitting chambers 23, the opposing faces of which are formed by respective perforated plates and 26 overlaid by

foraminous padding

27 and 28 which form the pressing surfaces contacting the fabric or garment to be pressed. Bypass valves 24 mounted inside of buck 10 and head 11 on partition walls 21 and conventionally connected for operation by respective foot treadles (not shown) are provided to bypass dry steam from heating chambers 22 to steam emitting chambers 23 during the pressing operation as will be presently described. 3

The

plate members

25 and 26 are conventionally respectively of convex configuration in cross-section and mating concave configuration in cross-section and the

padding

27 and 28 conforms in cross-sectional configuration to the respective plates to provide mating convex and concave pressing surfaces.

The partition wall 21 of buck 10 adjacent one end (the right end in FIG. 1) is depressed and formed to provide a suction channel and outlet 29 connected through vacuum line 31 and the manually operated normally closed solenoid valve 32, provided by this invention to replace the conventional fully closed fully open solenoid operated vacuum valve of the prior art pressing machines, to a condensate accumulator tank 33 and vacuum pump 34 exhausting through line 35 to the atmosphere. Pump 34 is driven by an electric motor 36 in conventional manner.

The pressing machine of the present invention is conventionally operated to provide the initial steaming function. Such operation consists in smoothing the fab ric or garment to be pressed over the padding 27 of buck l0 and actuating a foot pedal (not shown) to swing head 11 downwardly into pressing position to engage the fabric or garment between the opposed padded faces of buck 10 and head 11. While maintaining head 11 in its pressing position the conventional foot treadles controlling bypass valves 24 are actuated simultaneously or selectively in customary manner to bypass dry steam under pressure from chambers 22 to steam emitting chambers 23. This bypassed steam passes outwardly in opposite directions through peforated plates 21 and the respective

foraminous paddings

27 and 28 to the opposite surfaces of the fabric or garment being pressed to steam the fabric or garment which then conforms closely to the contour of the mating padding surfaces. This steaming and pressing'operation, usually accomplished in a matter of seconds, removes all wrinkles that are present and moistens and shapes the portion of the fabric or garment exposed to the steam.

It then becomes essential to dry the pressed fabric or garment to set the wrinkle free shaped portion disposed between buck l0 and head 11. This drying operation, effected by supplying dry steam through head 11 while the buck is connected to the vacuum line to draw the supplied dry steam and ambient air through the steamed garment or fabric and into buck 10, is a most critical and important step, equally important as the pressing operation, since it sets the press in the fabric or garment and assures the desired finished quality and appearance. In the pressing of light materials, such as polyesters and the like, or a too rapid drying of any materials effected with too high a vacuum, an excessive amount of ambient air is sucked through the steamed fabric or garment into the buck 10 resulting in a cooling effect producing excessive amounts of condensation. This resulting excessive condensation moistens the fabric or garment and the padding 27 destroying the desired pressing and forming quality of the pressing operation, causes the fabric or garment to adhere to the padding 27 preventing easy removal of the fabric or garment from buck 10, and effects a cooling of the metal of the buck below the temperature required to assure the desired quality of the press. Avoidance of these problems using the fully closed fully open vacuum valves of the prior art can only be avoided by extreme expertise of the operator, seldom obtainable by the many existing commercial pressing establishments.

Applicant has solved these problems by modifying the prior art pressing method by varying the applied vacuum pressure in accord with the varying weight and drying characteristics of the fabric or garment being pressed. Thus, if the article being pressed is a light weight, fast drying material, such as a polyester fabric, the vacuum pressure applied is reduced to assure a lesser volume of dry steam and air passing through the fabric or garment and padding 27 and a reduced cooling effect. If the article being pressed is a heavy wool garment or a lined fabric the vacuum pressure is increased to its maximum valve or a point sufficiently below maximum value to assure proper drying and setting of the press. Since the optimum vacuum pressure for materials of varying weight and line or unlined articles may differ widely over a range between the maximum available pressure and a vacuum pressure approximately equal to the pound pressure of the supplied dry steam, it is contemplated that the optimum vacuum pressure be determined empirically. It is further contemplated that commercial establishments having relatively large quantities of articles of similar material in different weights and of different drying characteristics will sort the articles to be pressed into piles of like or similar character so the like or similar articles may all be pressed at the same setting of the vacuum pressure. This practice will avoid the necessity of resetting the vacuum pressure for. each article as it is reached for pressing and, therefore, increase the overall output of the machine to produce a high quality finished product.

In order to effectively practice applicants modified method, the vacuum valve 32 of the present invention is constructed with a main elongated valve body 41 of hexagonal configuration formed at one end with an enlarged cylindrical chamber 42 opening through the end, an adjacent, coaxially arranged, cylindrical chamber 43 of reduced diameter defining an annular shoulder 44 at the line of juncture of chambers 42 and 43 and on wall 45 .at the opposite end provided with a through coaxially arranged bore 46. One fiat wall of body 41 adjacent the one end is formed with a radially directed boss 47 having an'axially directed, slot-like, through air passage 48 intersecting chamber 42 and a right angularly directed cylindrical through bore 49 for a purpose to be presently pointed out. This same flat wall in axially spaced relation along body 41 is provided with a cylindrical threaded through bore 51 intersecting chamber 43 beyond shoulder 44 and adapted to threadeclly receive the threaded end of the run of vacuum line 31 leading to condensate accumulator tank 33. The opposite flat wall in coaxial, diametrically opposed relation to bore 51 is provided with a cylindrical through bore 52 of substantially smaller diameter adapted to mount a pressure gauge 50 for registering the effective vacuum pressure applied to buck 10.

Shoulder 44 is counterbored at 53 to form an annular recess which receives in press fitted relation an annular valve seat 54 which projects forwardly into chamber 42 to form a seat for a disc-like valve member 55. Valve member 55 is fixedly mounted on the threaded end 56 of an elongated valve stem 57 by a pair of adjustable clamp nuts 60. Stem 57 extends axially through chamber 43 and a combined sleeve bearing and seal 58 pressed fitted in end wall bore 46. The end of stem 57 remote from threaded end 56 projects outwardly from sleeve bearing 58 into end butted engagement with the reduced diameter end 59 of a cylindrical headed armature 61 of a normally deenergized solenoid actuator 62 of conventional construction fixedly mounted on body end wall 45. Solenoid actuator 62 is conventionally wired to a vacuum valve control pedal (not shown) of the type heretofore provided for actuating the fullyclosed, fully-opened -vacuum valve provided on the prior art pressing machines. I

Valve member 55 is normallybiased to its closed position illustrated in FIG. 4 by a tapered biasing spring 63 the smaller end of which seats on valve disc 55 in surrounding relation to the outer clamp nut 60 and its washer 64 which serve to retain the smaller end of spring 63 against undue lateral shifting movement relative to valve disc 55. The opposite end of biasing spring 63 seats on thediametrically opposed spokes 65 of a spring retainer ring 66 dimensioned to closely but freely enter chamber 42. Ring 66 is held against axial outward disassociation from chamber 42 by abutting engagementwith the end face of the reduced diameter end 67 of a hexagonally shaped coupling member 68 secured to the one end of body member 41 by a pair of diametrically opposed Allen headed screws 69 threaded into suitably tapped apertures formed in' the one end face of body member 41. Coupling member 68 has a coaxially arranged through bore 71 suitably tapped-to threadedly receive the run of vacuum line 31 which connects tooutlet 29 of partition wall 21 of buck Referring to FIG. 4, it will be appreciated that the above described vacuum valve structure provides a valvewhich may be readily disassembled for servicing of valve seat 54, valve disc 55 and spring 63 and its retainer ring 64 merely by-removing securing screws 69 to free coupling member 68 with vacuum line 31 attached for axial shifting movement relative to valve body 41 to withdraw the short reduced diameter end 67 from the end of chamber 42. Likewise, the solenoid actuator 62 mounted on 'valve' body end wall 45 is fully exposed for removaland servicing without disturbing the connections of the vacuum valve and vacuum line 31.

The annular bore 49 of boss 47 of valve body 41 rotatably mounts in close rotating fit the body 71 of a plug type throttling valve 72 having a through slot passage 48a dimensioned to mate with slot 48 and a knurled head 73 adapted to be grasped by hand to rotate valve 72 and increase or decrease the inflow of ambient air through passage 48 under influence of the vacuum applied to chamber 42 when valve disc 55 is unseated by energization of solenoid actuator 62. Valve 72 is retained against axial withdrawal from bore 49 by -a headed screw 74 threaded into a suitably tapped bore in the lower end of body 71. The throttling of the inflow of air through passage 48 into chamber 42 varies the effective vacuum pressure applied to buck 10 during the drying and setting operation. By suitable positioning of throttling valve 72 to admit more or less or no ambient air to enter through passage 48, the full vacuum pressure applied to buck 10 can be provided when required and the vacuum pressure can be readily reduced to any pressure to zero, when required, to properly effect drying and setting of the press in the articles being pressed. Once the optimum drying effect for a particular'class of articles is empirically determined, gauge 50 may be read and the reading can be recorded opposite a description of the articles on a record sheet fixed to the pressing machine to provide a ready refer ence for a future setting of throttle valve 72 for effectively drying and setting the press for like articles.

It will be appreciated from the preceeding description that applicant has provided an extremely effective and simple method and apparatus by which a pressing machine may be preset by even inexperienced operators properly instructed and supervised to assure a high -quality pressed finish of articles of varying weight and drying characteristics. It will be further appreciated that the apparatus required to practice applicants im- CONVERSION VALVE EMBODIMENT Referring for the moment to FIG. 5, a conversion valve 32a, which may be introduced into the vacuum line of existing pressing machines to adapt them for practicing the method of the present invention, is illustrated. While the valve element may be. introduced at any suitable point in the existing vacuum line, it is preferably installed upstream from the existing conventional on-off solenoid operated vacuum valve. As will be clear from FIG. 5, valve 32a comprises a main hexagonal body 81 having aligned, tapped bores 82, 83 at its opposite ends in communication with the opposite ends of a cylindrical chamber 42a corresponding to chamber 42 of valve32. One flat wall of body 81 is formed with a radially directed boss 47a identical to boss 47 of the preferred embodiment of this invention provided with an axially directed, slotlike, through air passage 48 intersecting chamber 42a midway between its ends and a right angularly directed cylindrical through bore 49. Through bore 49, like through bore 49 of the previous embodiment, rotatably mounts in close rotating fit the body 71 of a plug type throttling valve identical to throttling valve 72 of the preferred embodiment of this invention. Body 71 has a through slotpassage 48a operative upon rotation of body 71 to increase or decrease the inflow of ambient air through passage 48 under influence of the vacuum applied to chamber 42a when the conventional on-off solenoid operated vacuum valve is unseated by energization of its solenoid actuator. Valve 32a may most conveniently be introduced into the existing vacuum line by fitting the upstream portion of vacuum line 31 into one tapped bore, for example bore 82, and fitting a conventional pipe union'84 to bore 83 using respective 'pipe nipples 85 for connecting the union to bore -83 and the tapped bore (not shown) of the conventional solenoid operated vacuum valve.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A method for obtaining high quality steam pressing of fabric articles using conventional buck and swingable head steam pressing equipment comprising the steps of smoothing the article to be pressed over the pressing surface of the buck, swinging the head into mating pressing position relative to the article and buck, applying steam to the article to be pressed through the pressing surfaces of the buck and head in the conventional manner to steam the article, and then subjecting the steamed article to drying and setting of the press by applying steam through the head while applying a vacuum alone of preselected optimum pressure determined by the weight and drying characteristics of the fabric to the buck thereby assuring drying of the article and a proper setting of the press.

2. Apparatus for obtaining high quality steam pressing of fabric articles comprising in combination a conventional steam pressing machine having a buck, a swingable head and a vacuum pump and line arranged for pressing of fabric articles by smoothing the article to be pressed over the pressing surface of the buck, swinging the head into pressing engagement with the article and buck and applying steam to the article through the pressing surfaces of the buck and head in conventional manner to steam the article and vacuum line valve means for preselecting an optimum vacuum pressure in accord with the weight and drying characteristics of the fabric and applying it to the steamed article through the buck while supplying steam through the head to dry and set the press, said valve means comprising a body having a through passage defining an inlet port in fluid communication with the buck, an outlet port in fluid communication with said vacuum pump, on-off valve means disposed in said through passage operable for applying full negative pressure developed in the through passage by the vacuum pump to the buck, and a p'resettable throttling valve venting the through passage to the atmosphere whereby the effective negative pressure developed may be varied to establish said preselected optimum pressure.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining high quality steam pressing of fabric articles using conventional buck and swingable head steam pressing equipment comprising the steps of smoothing the article to be pressed over the pressing surface of the buck, swinging the head into mating pressing position relative to the article and buck, applying steam to the article to be pressed through the pressing surfaces of the buck and head in the conventional manner to steam the article, and then subjecting the steamed article to drying and setting of the press by applying steam through the head while applying a vacuum alone of preselected optimum pressure determined by the weight and drying characteristics of the fabric to the buck thereby assuring drying of the article and a proper setting of the press.

2. Apparatus for obtaining high quality steam pressing of fabric articles comprising in combination a conventional steam pressing machine having a buck, a swingable head and a vacuum pump and line arranged for pressing of fabric articles by smoothing the article to be pressed over the pressing surface of the buck, swinging the head into pressing engagement with the article and buck and applying steam to the article through the pressing surfaces of the buck and head in conventional manner to steam the article and vacuum line valve means for preselecting an optimum vacuum pressure in accord with the weight and drying characteristics of the fabric and applying it to the steamed article through the buck while supplying steam through the head to dry and set the press, said valve means comprising a body having a through passage defining an inlet port in fluid communication with the buck, an outlet port in fluid communication with said vacuum pump, on-off valve means disposed in said through passage operable for applying full negative pressure developed in the through passage by the vacuum pump to the buck, and a presettable throttling valve venting the through passage to the atmosphere whereby the effective negative pressure developed may be varied to establish said preselected optimum pressure.