GB2142938A - Garment pressing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A garment 25, is placed on a form 30 which is adjusted, for example by projection of side sections 37, so as to spread the garments 25 for the pressing operation. A pair of pressing heads 12, 13 are then moved into position to sandwich the form 30 between them and press the garment 25. Steam, air and/or vacuum are sequentially applied to the garment 25 while it is pressed, for example via the form 30 and/or the pressing heads 12, 13 which may be hollow with perforated walls. Similar garment types can be steam finished and pressed in one operation on a single adjustable form, thereby significantly reducing handling time, floor space and number of operators. The form may also be removed and interchanged for different types of garments eg skirts. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Garment pressing machine This invention relates to a garment pressing machine for blouses and similar garments, such as shirts and T-shirts, and for skirts.

In the garment industry to give the final pressed finish to blouses and similar garments and to skirts, these garments are steamed, pressed and then cooled by vacuum on a steam press. The press has a rigid bottom surface and a mating top surface. As the garments are tubular in design and can vary in size (chest diameter waist diameter and hem diameter) they are usually pressed section by section until, in each case, the whole garment has been covered. It may take as many as six pressing operations to cover a single garment.

In other instances garments are steam finished and subsequently pressed in two separate operations on different machines.

An object of the present invention is to provide a machine capable of steam finishing and pressing garments in one operation on a single adjustable form so as to reduce pressing time, handling time, floor space and the number of operators.

With this object in view, the present invention provides a garment pressing machine comprising an adjustable form adapted for reception of a particular type of garment, a mechanism for bringing a number of separate pressing heads into position to sandwich the adjustable form between them so as to press any garment located on the form, and means for providing steam and vacuum to the garment during the pressing operation.

The adjustable form is preferably mounted on a base which includes a control system with electric timers to control supply of steam, air and vacuum to the garment.

Within the scope of the invention there are two basic types of form, one type for pressing blouses and similar garments and another type for pressing skirts. It should be appreciated that each basic type can be modified and adapted for use with different garments. For example the blouse-type form can be adapted for pressing pyjama tops and knitwear tops and if extended lengthwise can be used for pressing dresses, overalls, housecoats and many other kinds of garments which need not be individually listed.

Each form has a corresponding set of pressing heads and the base of the machine is advantageously designed so that the different forms and pressing heads are interchangeable.

Conveniently there are a pair of pressing heads arranged at opposing sides of the form.

One of the pressing heads is advantageously mounted on a carriage and is readily movable so as to give an operator access to the form to load a garment thereon.

It is envisaged that each form will have two adjustable side sections which will be retracted during loading or unloading of a garment, but will be moved to projecting positions so as to spread the garment for the pressing operation. These side sections advantageously have detachable edge sections so that different shapes thereof may be fitted for different sizes and styles of garment.

The form, whether for skirts or for blouses or similar garments, preferably comprises two parts which face one another with a gap therebetween, in which case the side sections, are guided between the parts and, when retracted, are located almost entirely within the gap.

Moreover, the form is preferably hollow and made of perforated sheet metal so that steam, air and vacuum can be applied to the garment by way of the form.

The invention will be described further, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a preferred practical embodiment of the garment pressing machine of the invention, the approximate position of the form being indicated in dot-dash lines; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the front and rear parts of a first type of form used for pressing blouses and similar garments; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts of the form shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the first type of form with side sections in position; Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a mechanism for adjusting the positions of the side sections of the first type of form; Figs. 6 and 7 are plan diagrams to a reduced scale illustrating how the mechanism of Fig. 5 operates;; Fig. 8 is a front view of the first type of form with a blouse loaded thereon; Fig. 9 and 10 are front views of a modofied form of the type used for pressing knitwear tops, which form has swingable arms to receive sleeves; Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the garment pressing machine shown in Fig. 1 with the first type of form for pressing blouses etc, mounted thereon and with a blouse loaded thereon; Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the front and rear parts of a second type of form used for pressing skirts; Fig. 13 is a plan view of the parts of the form shown in Fig. 13; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the second type of form with side sections in positions;; Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a mechanism for adjusting the positions of the waist band parts of the side sections and a mechanism for adjusting the positions of the lower parts of the side sections of the second type of form both mounted on a support frame; Fig. 16 is an enlarged perspective view of one edge section of the second type of form; Figs. 17 and 18 are perspective views of the second type of form with a skirt mounted thereon; and Fig. 19 is a perspective view of the garment pressing machine shown in Fig. 1 with the second type of form for pressing skirts mounted thereon and with a skirt loaded thereon.

As illustrated generally in Fig. 1, a preferred embodiment of the garment pressing machine of the invention comprises a form 10, the position of which is indicated in dot-dash lines, mounted on a base 11 and a pair of pressing heads 12, 13 arranged at the front and rear of the form 10 respectively. The pressing heads 12, 13 are shaped so as to mate with the front and rear of the form 10 respectively, when brought into abutment therewith. There are two basically different types of form 10, a first for pressing blouses and similar garments, such as shirts, T-shirts, waist-coats, knitwear tops etc., and a second for pressing skirts and these will be described in detail hereinafter.As mentioned previously, the first type can be modified and elongated to deal with yet further types of garments such as dresses, overalls, housecoats etc., but such modification is not specifically illustrated.

The base 11 is designed in such a manner that the different forms and the corresponding mating pressing heads may be interchangeably fitted thereto. The base 11 comprises a control system 14 with electric timers to control supply of steam, hot air and vacuum.

Built into the base 11 is a fan unit 15 and a heating battery 16 to give hot air, a solenoid valve 17 to control the steam and a vacuum valve 18 to control the application of vacuum.

The services, namely, steam, compressed air and vacuum are generated elsewhere and brought to the base 11.

The front pressing head 12 is mounted on a carriage system 19 so that it can be moved to one side to give an operator access to the front of the machine to load successive garments onto the form 10.

When the form has been loaded, a start pedal is depressed which operates a carriage cylinder 20 to move the front pressing head 12 into line with the form 10. Air is then applied to respective cylinders 22, 23 connected to the pressing heads 12, 13 to move them against the form 10 loaded with the garment and sandwich the form 10 between them. By this method pressure is applied to the garment.

The type of form used for pressing blouses and similiar garments (hereinafter, for simplicity, simply referred to as blouses) is illustrated in Figs. 2 to 11. This form 30 comprises two hollow parts 31, 32, referred to for convenience as front and rear parts respectively. Each part 31, 32 has a straight face 33 and a curved face 34 and the respective straight faces 33 are separated by a gap 35.

The parts 31, 32 are made out of perforated metal sheet padded to give a soft external pressing surface on the respective curved faces 34. A respective steam coil 36 is located in the chamber inside each part 31, 32 and serves to keep the perforated sheet hot.

This stops condensation when steam is passed into the chambers and out through the perforations to the garment.

Two adjustable side sections 37 fit into the gap 35 between the fixed parts 31, 32, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. These side sections 37 are perforated and padded. The side sections 37 are adjustable inwardly and outwardly of the form 30 by means of a linkage mechanism 38, as shown in Figs. 5 to 7. This mechanism 38 is supported by blocks 39 and guides 40 and is actuated by a lever 41.

Respective interchangeable edge sections 42, each consisting of a perforated metal framework into which soft rubber has to be pushed, fit onto the adjustable side sections 37. The framework is perforated to allow steam and air to pass through.

In use, appropriate edge sections 42 are selected and the form 30 is firstly reduced to its smallest size by retraction of the side sections 37. The body of a blouse 25 of woven material (see Figs. 8 and 11) is then loaded over the form 30 which is expanded to suit the exact contour of the blouse 25 by projection of the side sections 37.

If, as in the example illustrated in Figs. 8 and 11, the blouse 25 is fitted with sleeves, the cuffs are each located on a spring clip 26 at the end of a pivotal rod 28 and tension is applied to hold the sleeves in their natural form while air is blown into the sleeves from the form 30 so as to render them free from creases. To minimise the handling time of the blouses the top of the form 30 can be recessed to allow a hanger to be supported inside each blouse during pressing.

Alternatively, in order to press the sleeves of knitwear garments, the form 30 is fitted with pivotal "arms" 27, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, over which the sleeves are drawn.

Returning to the arrangement shown in Fig.

11, with the blouse 25 held in the pressing positions, perhaps by application of a holding vacuum, the two pressing heads 12, 13 are brought into position and pressure is applied to trap the form 30 covered by the blouse 25 between the two mating surfaces of the respective heads 12, 13. Any holding vacuum is of course, released at this stage as the heads 12, 13, now hold the blouse 25. The time-controlled solenoid valve 17 is then actuated to allow steam to pass into the front and rear parts 31, 32 of the form 30. The steam passes out through the perforated sheet onto the blouse 25 to soften the fibres thereof.

The steam is then shut off and the fan 15 and the heating battery 16 are actuated to circulate hot air through the gap 35 from their hollow parts 31, 32 to dry the blouse 25 and spread the sleeves. Thereafter, the pressing heads 12, 13 are withdrawn from the blouse 25 and the vacuum valve 18 is actuated to apply a vacuum to the hollow parts 31, 32 of the form 30 to cool the blouse 25. The pressed blouse is then removed from the form 30.

The second type of form used for pressing skirts is illustrated in Figs. 12 to 19. This form 40 is similar in many respects to the first form 30 suitable for blouses and similar garments and the same reference numerals are used for identical or analogous parts. Obviously, the exact shape of the two parts 31, 32 of the form 40 is different from the form 30, so that this form 40 has the correct contour for skirts.

Besides this the only other important differences is in the construction and mechanism for adjustment of the side sections 37.

To give the form 40 greater flexibility the adjustable side sections 37 are each divided into two, a waist band part 46 and a lower part 48. The two parts 46, 48 are joined together by a hinge 47, as shown in Fig. 14.

The adjustable side sections 37 are supported and operated by a linkage mechanism.

The waist band part 46 is operated by a linkage 56 and the lower part 48 is operated by a separate linkage 58, both of which are shown mounted on a support frame 57 in Fig.

15. The linkages 56, 58, the support frame 57, and the side sections 37 are disposed within the gap 35. Interchangeable edge sections 49, of a similar sort to those on the first type of form are fitted to the lower pans 48 of the side sections 37.

By applying air to the top of a waist band operating cylinder 66, the diameter of the waist band part 46 would be reduced in size via the linkage 56. By applying air to the bottom of the waist band operating cylinder 66, the diameter of the waist band part 46 would be increased in size. Similarly, by applying air to the top of a lower part operating cylinder 67, the hem diameter would be increased in size and to the bottom of the cylinder 67 would reduce the hem diameter.

In use, the form 40 is firstly reduced to its smallest size by retraction of the side sections 37. A skirt 55 is then loaded over the form 40 and the waist band parts 46 of the side sections 37 are expanded by the air cylinder 66 to hold the waist band in tension, as shown in Fig. 17. The lower parts 48 of the side sections 37 are then expanded to tension the hem and the rest of the skirt 55 as shown in Fig. 18. A vacuum may then be applied to the front and rear hollow parts 31, 32 of the form 40 to hold the skirt 55 exactly where required, or hold pleats etc., The foregoing is, of course, illustrative and not limitative of the scope of the invention and variations are possible. For example, the pressing heads themselves may be formed hollow with perforated walls facing the form so that steam can be sprayed onto a garment located on the form from one or both pressing heads. Moreover, as previously emphasised, the machine of the invention can be used for pressing a wide variety of garments e.g.

skirts, blouses, knitwear tops, shirts, waistcoats, jackets, coats, overalls, dresses, it only being necessary to modify the shape of the form and, in some instances, the pressing heads to deal with different garments to those mentioned in the foregoing description by way of example.

Claims (10)

1. A garment pressing machine comprising an adjustable form adapted for reception of a particular type of garment, a mechanism for bringing a number of separate pressing heads into position to sandwich the adjustable form between them so as to press any garment located on the form, and means for providing steam, air and vacuum to the garment during the pressing operation.

2. A garment pressing machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the adjustable form is removably mounted on a base which includes a control system with electric timers to control supply of steam, air and vacuum to the garment.

3. A garment pressing machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2 including a pair of pressing heads arranged at opposing sides of the form, one of the pressing heads being movably mounted on a carriage so as to allow access to the form for loading a garment thereon.

4. A garment pressing machine as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the form has two adjustable side sections which are retracted for loading or unloading of a garment, but are movable to projecting positions so as to spread the garment for pressing.

5. A garment pressing machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein the side sections have detachable edge sections.

6. A garment pressing machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein the form comprises two parts which face one another with a gap therebetween, the side sections being guided between the parts and when retracted locate almost entirely within the gap.

7. A garment pressing machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the form is hollow and is made out of perforated sheet metal so that steam, air and vacuum can be applied to the garment by way of the form.

8. A garment pressing machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the surface of the form is padded.

9. A garment pressing machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one of the pressing heads is hollow and has a perforated wall facing the form so that steam, air or vacuum can be applied to the garment by way of this pressing head.

10. A garment pressing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 2 to 11, or Figs. 12 to 19 of the accompanying drawings.