US1963038A - Shirt ironing machine - Google Patents

Description

June 12, 1934. A. VARGO SHIRT IRONING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 31. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN TOR.

June 12, 1934. A. VARGO SHIRT IRONING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 31, 1951 ]NV[ )VTOR. I BY a. Q

I Fay.

Patented June 12, 1934 SHIRT IRONING MACHINE Andrew Vargo, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to Edward H. Liefeid, Bridgeport, Conn.

Application August 31, 1931, Serial No. 560,350 Renewed March 9, 1934 Claims.

This invention relates in general to ironing machines, and more particularly, to improvements in a shirt bosom ironing machine which serve to protect the free ends of collars and other 5 parts of the shirt from improper wrinkling and creasing.

In machines for ironing shirt bosoms it is desirable to iron as close to the neckband as possible without crushing the band, and it is especially desirable to iron without creasing th bosom and crushing the collar of shirts of the collar attached type.

It is customary to provide a neckband form and clamping device on ironing machines which serves to hold neckbands of shirts in a predetermined position during ironing, and it has heretofore been proposed to provide small vertically disposed pins or other projections on the neckband form for protecting the free ends of collars.

However, in these previous proposals it was necessary to perform several separate operations each time a shirt with a collar attached was ironed. In particular, it was necessary to turn in and turn back first one and then the other of the free ends or points of the collars in back of the pins or other projections. These were slow, time-consuming operations which, if not done carefully, would result sometimes in crushing or improperly creasing the collar.

The difficulty is not that the engagement of the heated plate would do any damage to the collar but rather that if the collar ends should be caught between the two plates it would be given a crease or fold where these are not wanted. This crease or fold cannot be ironed out by merely placing it in the collar ironingmachine for it requires practically rewetting the collar and unavoidably the bosom in order to take out the crease.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device or arrangement for protecting the free ends or points of collars during the bosom ironing operation and especially to provide a device of this type which requires less time to operate, and one which is simpler and more efificient than those heretofore proposed. With this object in view, the present invention provides a safety shield preferably made integral with a neckband clamping device, adapted to sweep across the bosom a short distance toward the neckband and to automatically, without manual man'pulation of the collar or its ends, move the collar ends to a safe, out-of-the-way position and maintain them there during the bosom ironing operation.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings- Figure l is a front elevation of the main operating parts of a shirt ironing machine embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the neckband clampmg device and safety shield of the present invention in its intermediate position.

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2, but shows the parts in the final or clamping position.

Fig. 4 is a view looking at the front of the neckband clamping device and collar safety shield of the present invention in its full operative position.

In the drawings there is shown a shirt ironing machine comprising a base 10 with vertical standards (not shown) supporting a combined steam table stationary platen 11. Above the platen and mounted upon suitable supports for 7 either vertical or oscillating movement into opcrating or ironing engagement with the platen is a movable presser 12. Preferably, the platen is provided with a large convex upper surface 13 cushioned, and fabric covered, and themovable 0 presser is provided with a concave lower surface 14 of highly polished uncovered metal, the general arrangement being such that steam heat and pressure may be applied by the mating surfaces 13 and 14 to a shirt or other article placed there- 8 between, in the now well-known manner.

To iron partially closed front shirts, that type wherein a small gap and only one or two buttons are provided beneath the neckband for pulling the shirt over the users head, the shirt is passed onto the stationary platen by pulling it over the head end 15 of the platen. In the case of ironing coat-type shirts which are open entirely down the front it is merely necessary to wrap the shirt around the platen until the edges of the split 9 portion are adjacent each other or they may be overlapped and one or two buttons secured in the buttonholes.

To properly locate and maintain the shirt on the platen, to prevent unnecessary wrinkling of 10 the bosom, and to protect the neckband from being crushed by the movable presser 12, a neckband form 16 is provided on the head end 15 of the platen 11, and projects slightly above the top surface thereof to accommodate various size neckbands.

Preferably, the form 16 is made slightly smaller than the smallest neckband normally placed thereon, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, so that it is possible to have the neckband buttoned together at the time of pressing or have them separated if desired, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, particularly.

It is desirable to clamp or hold the shirt in proper position on the platen so that it will not move between the time of assembly and working engagement of the movable presser thereon, which would cause wrinkles to be .pressed into the shirt bosom. This is particularly necessary around the neckband and upper bosom part which is always the most conspicuous part of the shirt while it is being worn, other parts being hidden by a coat, sweater, vest or the like.

The neckband clamping device provided in the present machine comprises a flexible metal band.

17 of substantially circular form which, although it is normally maintained in an out-of-the-way inoperative position, as shown by full lines in Fig. 1, may be moved downwardly onto the top of the shirt bosom, as shown in Fig. 2, and may be pulled backsolidly against the neckband vform 16 to securely clamp the neckband of the shirt to the form and thereby prevent any displacement which might tend to cause wrinkles or creases to be ironed in the shirt.

The operating mechanism of the neckband clamping device comprises aniain arm .18 pivotally mounted on a stud '19 and capable of "a "limited range of clockwise movement from the .position shown in Fig. 1, and on :its upper end the arm is provided with a pivotal connectioni20 to a block 21 for the resilient band 17. 'Theframe 10 is provided with a verticalstandardl22 upon which a crank plate 23 is pivotally mounted on a stud 24, and has three pivots 25, 26 and 27. The

pivot thas a'spring connection 28 with the offset ifinger29 portion of the main'arm 18, while the pivot '26 has a lever 30 connection with the :resilient band block 21 at 31and the third .pivot .27 thereon has a yielding connection 32 with the finger .33. The :entire clamping device is oper- .ated through rotation'of :the crank plate 23 by .a long lever 34 with a ball 35 at its upper end, and :by movement'of this ball-topped lever into :the positions A, 2B and C, shown in Fig. I1.

Thus, it is merely necessary for the operator to move the ball-topped lever 34 from the position A to the. position =13 after a shirt has been :properly located upon the stationary platen :1-1, whereupon the crank'plate 23 movesin a-counterclockwise :direction upon the :stud 24 to move the .pivot 25 downwardly and through the compression-spring connection .28 move the 'main :arm 18 in a clockwise direction. At :the same time the crank plate moves the .pivot 26 and'interconnected lever 30 :tothereby cause the resilient strap -frame :17 to move in a clockwise direction about itsip'ivo't 20,:and'by the time the 'ball-topp'edlever "34 reaches the position B the resilient band will :have :moved down onto the shirtbosom *and be slightly spaced from the neckband 'form :16 as shown by section lines in "Fig. 1 :and by full 'lines in Fig. 2.

Upon further movement of tthe sball-topped lever 34 from the position B to the position 10 resultant counterclockwise movement of :the zpivot 26 merely moves a lower section 36 .of the lever -30 without :causing further "movementco'f the ruplper ilever section 3"! as permitted by :a'yielding connection38 therebetween and as caused by the lower edge of the resilient band 17 engaging the top ofthestationary platen 1L1 andiby'a-strap or finger 39 carried by the -"blook 21 engaging the 'buttons' lo and ll on top of the collar .form,:as -shown in 'Fig. l. The main purpose of the latter strap or finger 39 is to take up some of the load imposed upon the resilient band when it is moved in a clockwise direction into engagement with the stationary platen.

In this movement of the ball-topped lever from the position 3 to the position C the pivot 27 in its continued counterclockwise movement moves a flange l2 of a connecting bolt 13 into engagement with a face 44 of the finger 33, and, because the yielding connection 32 is stronger than the spring 28, it causes the arm 18 to be moved in a counterclockwise direction again and this causes the resilient band 17 to be moved securely against the front face of the neckband form 16 to clamp the'neckband of a shirt securely thereto, as shown in Fig. 3.

Preferably, the neckband form is provided with a recessed portion 45 which will accommodate the buttonon the neckband to thereby minimize the possibility of crushing buttons, and, if desired, the formlmay'beprovided with a second recessed portion 46 of slightly less depth to accommodate the built-up portion of the cooperating buttonhole without crushing the rim of said buttonhole together-urmecessarily.

After the neckband has been thoroughly clamped inthis manner and the balance of the shirt front is clamped :down onto the platen by other well-known means the movable presser is brought into engagement with the top surface of the stationary platen in order to press the bosom of the shirt. After the shirt bosom has been properly pressed it is merely necessary for the operator to swing the ball-topped .lever back into the position A whereupon the resilient band is first movedforwardly then upwardly into its .inoperative position by the means .hereinbefore described.

When the neckband isclamped in thisImanner there 151110 danger of its turning over :and being forced down upon the bosom of the shirt to cause needless wrinkling as the movable presser 12 and a :rim 47 defining the neckband .form clearance aperture 48 moves down into engagement with the shirt bosom inclose proximity to the neckband. Particularly, there is no possibility-of the shirt front being moved'out ofr-position during travel of the movable presser xtoward the shirt and fixed platen, which would .result in .improper creasing. I

Neckband type shirts have been exceedingly popular and in vogue for many years .and the problem of preventing the conspicuous .part of .the shirt near the neckband .irorn moving and being improperly creased .and prevent the neckband from coming into engagement with the shirt bosom during the ironing operation of .the latter has heretofore been solved with the use of clamping devices similar to the one'hereinbefore described. Until recent ,years the majority 01"" shirts requiring a neatly ironed 'bosom were of the neckband 'type for use with a separated starched collar 'made from various materials. A later voguebrought in'soft collars, but even these were separable and for use with the neckband type of shirt.

The latest and increasing popular vogue with men is the use of shirts with collars attached,

"because of the convenience obtained by-dispensing with the use of a pair ofloose-collar buttons points by hand during the operation of ironing. This was no great hardship or inconvenience when the proportion of collar attached shirts was small in comparison with the number of neckband shirts normally ironed in commercial laundries. However, it proved to be an inconvenience when collar attached shirts were used in increased quantities, for it rendered one of the operators hands incapable for use in other auxiliary operations during much of the time required to iron a shirt, and created a hazard of crushed fingers because the operators fingers while holding the collar points would often be very close to the normal path of travel of the movable presser toward the stationary platen.

Efforts in the past to overcome this hazard and inefficiency resulted in the provision of a pair of pins or projections rising vertically from the neckband form and so arranged that the operator might twist or turn the free ends of the collar in back of the pins previous to the bosom ironing operation. However, these arrangements required considerable manipulation of the collar, for each end had to be handled separately in placing it in back of the pins or other projections and were of necessity slow because the operator had to be careful not to crease or bend the free ends to such an extent as to cause improper wrinkling and creasing. And, with some of these proposals it was also necessary to manually disengage free ends of the collar from the pins after the shirt bosom had been properly ironed which, of course, also added to the time required to iron the shirt.

These disadvantages are overcome in the present invention by the provision of a safety shield 50, preferably made integral with the neckband resilient strap 17 which extends a substantial height above the latter and which is sufficiently Wide to overlap the free ends of any collar attached shirt intended to be ironed in the machine which serves to move the collar ends into a safety zone and maintain them there during the ironing operation.

Preferably, the safety shield is made slightly concave in form to correspond with the radial front of the neckband form 16 and is made of substantially the same height as the highest attached collars which might be on shirts placed in the machine. Also, it is made just wide enough to overlap the gap between the collar ends, yet not so wide that it impairs the resil iency of the band 17.

With this invention, it is merely necessary for the operator to place the shirt upon the stationary platen 11, as above described. When this is done, the collar portion has a natural tendency to project upwardly from the neckband, as shown in Fig. 4. However, it may lean forwardly or backwardly somewhat, depending upon the length of the points and the stiffness of the material. Even if they do not initially lean forward, they may do so as a result of the operator straightening the bosom out on the top surface 13 of the stationary platen.

If the movable presser 12 should be brought down on the bosom while the collar ends are projecting forwardly, the latter would be creased down upon the bosom or over the end of the neckband strap 17, unless means are provided to avoid this, or unless the operator holds the collar ends back with her hands while lowering the presser, an extremely dangerous operation.

With the device of the present invention, after the shirt bosom is laid out upon the top surface 13 of the stationary platen the operator merely swings the ball-topped lever 34 from the position A to the position C whereupon the resilient band 17 andsafety shield 50 is moved down and over the top free ends of the collar into the int'ermediate position B, as shown in Fig. 2, and then to the left across the top of the platen 11 and moves the free drooping ends of themollar rearwardly or to the left into a safety zone so that they will always be out of the path of the rim 47 of the neckband form clearance slot 48, and thereby prevent all likelihood of any portion of the collar being crushed by the movable presser 12.

This is an especially advantageous feature, for should the collar or any part thereof be crushed or pressed down, usually on the shirt bosom, in an irregular manner it is nearly always necessary to pass the entire shirt through the wash again in order to work out the improperly applied creases in both the bosom and collars Heretofore, it was customary to manually manipulate the free ends of the collar, turning them in back of pins or other projections extending vertically from the top of the neckband form 16. This, however, meant a considerable loss of time and sometimes caused undesirable creases in the collar if the operator was not extremely careful in folding the collar ends in back of the projections, and sometimes the collar ends would become disengaged from the projections and because of inherent resiliency and lack of support would move into the path of the movable presser. All of these disadvantages are overcome with the simple safety shield provided by the present invention, for it spares operators the trouble and time of manually manipulating the free collar ends, placing them in back of projecting bands, lessens the possibility of improperly creasing the collar, and positively moves and insures maintaining the free ends of the collar out of the path of the movable presser.

After the shirt bosom has been ironed it is merely necessary to throw the ball-topped lever from the position C to the position A again whereupon the resilient neckband clamping strap and the collar safety shield is simultaneously moved back into the intermediate station B and then into the inoperative position shown in Fig. 1, and the operator may remove the shirt to replace it with another which is to be ironed.

Other variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to obtain Letters-Patent, is:-

1. In a shirt bosom ironing press, the combination of a pair of relatively movable ironing plates; a neckband form on one of said plates, and a clearance for the neckband form in the other plate having a substantially circular rim which is adapted to iron a shirt bosom close to the neckband; means for clamping the neckband of the shirts to said form; and a shield carried by said means and extending a substantial distance above the neckband form when said means is in clamping position, whereby the free ends of the shirt collar will be held from engagement with the circular rim when said plates are relatively moved.

2. In a shirt bosom ironing press, the combination of a pair of relatively movable ironing plates; a neckband form on one of said plates LAD of relatively small iheight, and 5.13: 5 clearance for the ,neckband-form, in the-otherplate defined fornhwhen the strap is in clamping position,

=wherebyothe 'free ends ofg-the shirt collar will be held fr om engagament ;with therim when said plates are relatively moved.

53. In -a -shi-rt bosom ironingpress the combination-of :a pair of relatively movable ironing plates; a neckband form on one of saidplates,

anda;clearance .for the neekband .form in the other; plates comprising a substantially circular rimwhichis 7 adapted: to iron a shirt :bosom :close to the neckband; and a combined neckband clamping strap, of substantiallythe same height as Ethe neckband form ,for clamping a neckband to saidfform,- and asafety shield which extends a substantial distance above the neckband :form -for moving qthefreeends of the collar into an area lof-safet'y above saidcollar form and free from en agement with the circularprlm when said plates are relatively moved.

4.1m a'shirt bo-som ironing press, the combination of 'a (pair of relatively "movable ironing plates; a neckband-form on one of said platesof relatively small :height, 1 and a clearance 'for "the tance aboveathen-eckband formatoxoverlie collar ends of narrowlwidth' so that itawi-llnot impair the resiliency of the neckband holdingimeansand will maintain :the free ends .of theshirt'collar from engagement with the rim when said plates are relativelymoved.

'5. In aishirtbosom; ironing press -the combination of a pair of relatively-movableironingiplates; a zneckban'd .form on one of said plates, and a clearance .for the =neckband form in the other plate having a substantially: circular rim which is, adapted to iron a shirtbosom closeto ,thezneckband; ;.a. strap for clamping the t-rneckband .of the shirt on the form; means for'moving said strap toward :and from said neckband form; .and :a

safety shieldxon said strap and extending agsubstantial: distance above the neckband form when said strap is -in .c1amping position "for :positively movingthe free-endstof-the shirt collarinto :.a

safety zone overlying said :neckband .form and outiof the pathof travel wof'the circular=rim when said'strap is moved toward theneekbandform.

ANDREW 'VARGO.

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