GB1604748A

GB1604748A - Apparatus for ironing garments by means of steam and hot and cold air

Info

Publication number: GB1604748A
Application number: GB2536278A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: AZZOLINI F; PARRAVICINI G
Current assignee: AZZOLINI F; PARRAVICINI G
Priority date: 1977-09-13
Filing date: 1978-05-31
Publication date: 1981-12-16
Also published as: DE2822400A1; IT1051163B; ES468856A1; FR2402732A1; ES468855A1; JPS5493186A

Description

(54) APPARATUS FOR IRONING GARMENTS BY MEANS OF STEAM AND HOT AND COLD AIR (71) We, FULVIO AZZOLINI, of Via G.Di Vittorio, 358-Sesto San Giovanni, Province of Milano, Italy, and GIUSEPPE PARRAVICINI, of Via Capecelatro, 87, Milano, Italy, both of Italian nationality, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that patent may be granted to us, and the method b which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to apparatus for ironing garments.

Many systems are known and used at the present time for ironing garments, of which only those which use steam will be considered here because the invention relates to this category, and because they are based on the principle which is recognized to be the most rational and suitable for the purpose.

Among these, the most known and widespread are the following: 1) the steam iron, which feeds steam and also compresses and hot-dries in the same pass; 2) the suction ironing board, which is usually combined with the steam iron, and which gives improved drying of the garment by air suction; 3) the steam suction ironing board, which can dispense with the iron by carrying out two operations which are sufficient in themselves, even though not perfect; 4) the ironing press, which completes the functions of the previous board by applying a simultaneous pressure with an overlying mantle.

Although continuous development and the lightening of the working load on the operator have been considerable, the previously known devices have to be operated one by one and work on successive parts of a single article, or at the most on one complete article at a time. An attempt has been made with some success to evolve completely automatic operations in which the operator has only to dispose the garments on suitable devices and withdraw them therefrom.

Among these, the following more modern methods and relative apparatus deserve mention: 5) ironing bag device. A limp bag is placed inside the garment and is inflated for ironing so that it firstly emits saturated steam and then hot air. It comes in different versions for jackets, overcoats and trousers; 6) a steam cabinet, in which the garments can be ironed in small series, in a closed environment firstly of steam and then of hot air, the garments being simply hung on suitable hangers.

These last two methods have indisputable merits individually, and have for the first time succeeded m providing an ironing method which can be classed as industrial, but they each have serious drawbacks.

The inflatable bags are unable to create a tension in the fabric which is either uniform or extended over the essential arts. The steam emitted does not reach alJ the parts satisfactorily, especially where there are turnups or overlaps. The same applies to the air. A still more serious drawback is that the steam and air from the treatment are dispersed into the environment.

Steam and hot air cabinets would seem, because of their closed environment operation, to be a rational solution to the problem, but the practical results still leave much to be desired, in that garments extracted from said cabinets are not ironed completely satisfactorily.

According to the present invention we provide apparatus for ironing garments by means of steam and hot air comprising; a cabinet having a door openable to at least one garment treating chamber in the cabinet, means for introducing steam into the garment treating chamber, means for circulating hot air through the garment treating chamber, a bust formed of a perforated plate and having shoulder portions projecting therefrom for supporting a garment, means for coupling the bust to the cabinet for supporting the bust within the chamber, an horizontally extendable and retractable garment tensioning member supportable in said cabinet and adapted to act on a garment in said chamber, when extended, so as to put said garment under tension in a horizontal direction; and means securable to a garment in said chamber so as to apply tension thereto in a vertical direction.

Figure 1 shows a device for supporting and Ironing garments with sleeves; Figure 2 shows an accessory device for placing a skirt under tension; Figure 3 shows a device for supporting and ironing trousers Figure 4 shows the casing of an apparatus for steam and hot air treatment; Figure 5 shows the equipment layout of the apparatus for the supply of steam and hot air to a garment treating chamber; Figures 6, 7 and 8 each show one garment arranged on the respective device and fixed to the door of the garment treating cabinet for insertion therein; Fig. 9 shows a further device for hanging trousers; Fig. 10 shows a further device for supporting iac}ets and overcoats; 11 11 shows a device for eliminating the steam.

In Figure 1, the reference numeral 1 indicates a support bracket on which a garment to be treated is hung. The reference numeral 2 indicates a device consisting of a support framework and constituted bv a body portion 3 and two shoulders wit saddles 4, it being constructed of perforated plate, with the perforations distributed uniformly over the entire surface. A further device can be connected to the frame for supporting and stretching a garment of skirt type, this device being shown separately in Figure 2 and indicated generality by the reference numeral 5. It consists of two cylindrical skirt stretching clamps or cuffs 6 disposed with their axis vertical and supported respectively by a vertical spindle 7 at one and the other shoulder 4 of the frame. The spindle 7 is disPosed along a generating line of the cylindrical clamp or cuff 6, and is mounted to slide transversely to its axis along the shoulders, so displacing the relative clamp from a withdrawn position 6', shown by a dashed line in Figure 2, to a more outer position. The movement for placing under tension and vice versa is obtained by means of two connecting rods fixed at right angles to the spindles 7 and fixed at their other end to two cranks 9 which together form a single piece, and which are rotated by a shaft 10 on their common normal axis, this shaft being operated by a handle 11.

Figure 3 shows another ironing device, namely a support for creasing a pair of trousers and placing its waist under tension.

It consists of two < -shaped strips 13 disposed side by side in a horizontal tV layout, each with its outer side terminating in a vertical plate 14 projecting downwards in the form of a flap from the strip. The two strips 13 are joined together by a stirrup 15 forming a bridge between the two inner facing sides of the Vs and a support for the device, which can be connected to the bracket 1 instead of a frame 2. The stirmp is traversed by two horizontal parallel rods 16 and 17 which pass slidably through respective sleeves 18 and 19 until movement is pre vented by a snap-type stop, by means of a plate 20, the rod 16 supports for movement therewith a strip sector or arc 21 which is coplanar with the V strips 13. A clamp stop 22 is fixed to the sector 1 and is constituted by an angle plate 23, a lever 24 with rollers 25, and a spring 26, the stop engaging by its rollers 25 against the rear of the sector 21.

Similar clamp stops 22 are disposed externally, one on each side, against the sides of the strips 13 close to the vertices. The second rod 17 supports at the opposite end a plate 27 shaped in the from of a V, which engages as a fourth clamp against the two inner converging sides of the two Vs of the strips.

Before describing the apparatus in which the steam ironing is carried out, an explanation will be given of how the described devices 2, 5 and 12 are used, with reference also to Figures 6, 7 and 8. The frame 2 is used as a anger for jackets and overcoats, in addition to shirts and generally for all garments which can be hung from their shoulders.

To improve ironing, jackets 28 and overcoats 29 hung on the frame 2 (Figs. 6 and 7) are buttoned up and placed under tension by one or more clips 30 which apply a predetermined weight, these clips being hung on the lower edge of jackets and overcoats so as to place the material of the garment in a state of tension. To place the sleeve under tension, a fork spring 31 is inserted therein.

A skirt 32 (Fig. 8) is placed under tension very simply by holding its waist between the two cylindrical clamps or cuffs 6 of the device 5 and withdrawing the two clamps from each other so that they assume a slightly forced outer position by operating the handle 11. If the operator thinks it appropriate, clips with tension weights can also be fitted to the lower edge of the skirt.

A pair of trousers 33, indicated by a dashed and dotted line in Figure 3, is fixed to the device 12 by running the trouser waist along a perimeter formed by a number of mutually extendable parts, namely the plate 27, two strips 13 with their expansion pieces 14, and the sector 21. The rear point of the waist is fixed by the clamp 22 of the sector 21, and the beginning of the front crease of each trouser leg falls on a vertex 13a of the V of a strip 13, where it is fixed by the relative clamps 22. The front region of the trousers is engaged by the plate 27 which is forced inwards. On extracting the rod 16, the waist of the trousers is placed under tension by means of the sector 21. A clip 30 is fitted to the lower opening of each trouser leg in known manner in order to keep the trousers extended. Overall, the trousers are extended very effectively and uniformly, better than has so far been obtained, so facilitating the formation of the creases in the trousers without any force being applied at any point which could damage the material. Extending forks 31 could also be fitted to each trouser leg, and clips 30 could be fitted to the sleeves, either in combination or as an alternative.

A cabinet in which the steam ironing according to the invention can be carried out is shown in Figure 4 and its diagrammatic equipment layout in Figure 5. The cabinet 40 has a single door, and an elon gated prismatic housing 41 of rectangular cross-section. A rotatable door 42 is disposed on one side face to close an aperture 43 which occupies practically the entire front wall 44. The door 42 is rotatable about a vertical axis 45 coinciding with the centre line of the wall 44 and the door 42. Figure 5 is a very diagrammatic view of the treatment equipment from the rear of the cabinet.

Inside the cabinet 41 there is a lower chamber 46 containing a heating coil 47 for distributing superheated steam inside the cabinet; an upper compartment 48 in which there is an air heating radiator 49; a fan 50 for feeding air into the compartment 48; and a duct 51 which discharges the air and steam outside of the working environment.

At the outlet both of the fan 50 and duct 51 there is a flap-type check valve 52, and these together seal off the cupboard and prevent dispersion during the steam treatment.

Figure 9 shows a further device 100 for hanging trousers. This device, which can be fitted to the rotatable door 42 instead of the previously described device has the advantage over the previous device of greater ease of assembly and dismantling, and allows the seat of the trousers to be fully and reliably extended.

Whereas the previously described device 12 is characterized by marking the front creases, arrangement 100 requires the creases to be re-formed, as they are nearly obliterated at their tpp due to the complete extension of the fabnc.

The device 100 comprises a generally part cylindrical member 101 and a moveable member 102, which is also of generally part cylindrical configuration, both members being slightly inclined towards each other in the vertical direction in order to prevent the trousers sliding down. The member 101 is supported by a sleeve element 103 slidable on a horizontal crossbar 104 and can be fixed in a desired position therealong by means of a fastening bolt which engages the side wall of the crossbar. The moveable element 102 is resiliently urged by a spring 105 provided inside the horizontal crossbar 104 in a direction such as to exert a suitable pressure for keeping the trousers hanging at their waist.

The trousers when mounted in position appear as with the previously described device, i.e. with the same tensioning clips 30 fitted to the lower edges of the legs.

Figure 10 shows a frame 2, from which the handle 11 projects, this frame being for jackets and overcoats, and comprising an extendable bracket in that region m which it is coupled to the rotatable door 42, and consisting of an arm 110 telescopically slidable on the horizontal branch 111 of a bracket upright 112 for connection to the rotatable door 42. The frame 2, which is supported at the free end of the arm 110, can be rotated through 3600, so facilitating the application of the clips 30 and the tensioning devices 31, and giving better settling of the garment on the device, so reducing time while improving efficiency.

In addition as shown in this Figure, an extendable bag indicated by 113 and comrising an air deflector 114 is fitted on to the frame 2.

In this respect, it has been noticed that in certain cases the clips 30 fitted to the bottom of jackets to tension the material from the top downwards, as is necessary for ironing, do not always allow the slight inflation necessary at the breast and sides for perfect ironing.

This partial deficiency can be overcome by fitting an extendable nylon bag 113 into which part of the air from the fan 52 is fed from the outside by the deflector 114. The bag 113 becomes slightly inflated, so producing a slight outwardly directed pressure which produces a reaction against the tension generated by the aforementioned clips.

Figure 11 shows a device for eliminating the steam.

During the finish with hot air, the steam fed into the cabinet during steaming is expelled rearwards.

The presence of steam in the room is both annoying to the personnel and harmful to the already ironed garments, and must be eliminated. For this purpose the discharged steam is conveyed into a rear chamber 130, containing cellular baffles 131 of a special material to aid condensation of the steam by means of their large surface, and convey the condensed water mto a lower collector 132 from which it is discharged.

The rotatable door 42 could be constructed of glass, so making it possible, by means of suitable internal lighting, to check the ironing process and to take action should the fitted devices not be arranged in the most suitable manner.

The operation of the ironing apparatus described above is as follows: having closed the cabinet 40, superheated steam from the coil 47 disperses throughout its entire interior. After the schduled ironing time, which is shorter because of the previous tension applied to the material, steam delivery is terminated and the fan feeds drying air, which is heated to the required temperature by the air heater 49, and dries the garment to be treated, then leaving through the duct 51 and expelling all the steam. The garments are placed under tension mechanically by the described devices which are mounted on both the faces of the door 41 means of a bracket fixed to each face. The door, which is rotatable about the central axis 45, has been designed in order not to slow down the productivity of the apparatus 40 by means of idle times required for arranging the garments on the supports or tensioning members. In this respect, an operator places a garment as shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8, on a support or tensioning member fixed to the outside face of the door 42; places the garment under tension; rotates the door; and while steam ironing takes place followed by d3ing, he unloads an ironed garment and loads a new garment to be ironed. The two arrangements can be on respective sides of a rotatable door, for example one can be for a jacket on one side of the door and the other for trousers on the other side of the door.

The cabinet interior is preferably bounded by an internal semi-cylindrical wall 53 to enable the door to rotate, and at the same time reduce the internal volume and thus the steam and hot air consumption to a minimum.

In describing the preferred form of the invention, the general advantages attained have already been outlined, and these will now be discussed in depth.

The ironing obtained by the apparatus according described herein has proved very effective, and in fact beyond any initial theoretical forecasts.

This favourable effect can be explained as follows: the steam removes the rubbed appearance from the material by becoming absorbed by the fibres under the influence of the heat, and eliminates the tension and deformation, to stabilize the actual shape.

The slight tension in the fibres facilitates absorption of the steam and the fixing of the shape much more than high pressure, and without damaging the fabric.

The described arrangements have all been designed to favour the described specific effect of the process by facilitating uniformity and single direction of the tension, and the free access of the steam from each side, both internal and external, to the fabric fibes. For this purpose, the frame 2 for jackets etc. is made large to keep the garment round, so that the steam can diffuse into the hood formed by it, and the plate used for the frame is completely perforated to enable the steam to reach the surface resting thereon, this being very important at the lapels, which also become properly ironed. Likewise, the skirt 32 is kept open at the ton by the two cylindrical clamps or cuffs 6, to form a flattened tube of approximately oval cross-section. In the case of the trousers, the V strips 13 hold the opening of the garment wide at the waist, so that the garment appears as a double funnel, with angled points at the creases. Of no less importance is the ease with which the garments can be fixed and extended on the devices, especially trousers, which have never before been provided with a rational device for rapidly placing them under tension.

Our apparatus as described enables treatment by steam, heat and predetermined previous mechanical tension, in contrast to the traditional method using steam, heat and internal steam pressure, which is non-uniform and hardly adjustable, and to the more recent methods using only steam and heat in a treatment cabinet.

One known form of ironing apparatus applies the principle of steaming in a closed chamber and drying with air, and uses vibrations to facilitate spontaneous elimination of creases.

In the preferred form of apparatus according to the invention, simple vibration is replaced by mechanical tension exerted in all directions. Furthermore, the garments are not hung on simple hangers, but on adjustable anatomical supports which present the various garments for steaming and subsequent drying in anatomically gauged positions, in other words in the position in which they are used.

In known dress forms using an inflatable bag, steaming proceeds only from the bag interior, the steam leaving through the bag and not enabling total umform distribution of the steam to be obtained over all parts of the garment, whereas this happens in the closed chamber of a preferred form of apparatus of the invention.

In addition to this, the tension during the drying of the bag form is provided exclusively by the bag itself, which is thrust from its interior so that the lining becomes pressed against the material, so crumpling it and creating non-anatomical and irregular swel lings.

yin a preferred apparatus according to the invention, even in the embodiment which uses a bag, ventilation is distributed between the inside and outside of the bag, the task of which is not to provide all the tension.

The further, a preferred apparatus according to the invention can be provided with its own automatic steam generator, in addition to a version in which it is connected to an external steam source.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. Apparatus for ironing garments by means of steam and hot air comprising; a cabinet having a door openable to at least one garment treating chamber in the cabinet, means for introducing steam into the garment treating chamber, means for circulating hot air through the garment treating chamber, a bust formed of a perforated plate and having shoulder portions projecting therefrom for supporting a garment, means for coupling the bust to the cabinet for suPporting the bust within the chamber, an horizontally extendable and retractable garment tensioning member supportable in said cabinet and adapted to act on a garment in said chamber, when extended, so as to put said garment under tension in a horizontal direction; and means securable to a garment in said chamber so as to apply tension thereto in a vertical direction.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the bust supporting means is attached to the said door and includes an arm which is telescopically extendable in a horizontal direction, the bust being suspended from a free end of the arm in such a manner as to be free to swivel.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the doors rotatable about its central vertical axis, and the bust or horizontally tensioning member is coupled respectively to one or other of the front and back of the door.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, wherein the garment treatment chamber is semi-cylindrical the diametrically extending side of which is closeable by the door.

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the said garment tensioning means comprise an inflatable bag on said bust supporting means, the bag having at its upper region a member adapted to deflect part of hot air current supplied to the chamber so as to cause said bae to be inflated. to any one of . Apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the garment tensioning means is coupled to the bust supporting means and comprises at least two cuffs members arranged below said shoulder portions, each being coupled to a respective crank mechanism, both of which mechanisms are, rotatable about a common vertical axis to cause said cuff members to move away from, or towards, each other in a horizontal plane.

7. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the garment tensioning means comprise an arrangement of parts for supporting and applying tension in a horizontal direction to the waist region of a pair of trousers, said arrangement comprising a part cylindrical first plate member which in use engages the inner surface of the rear part of a pair of trousers, two second plate members of generally V-shaped horizontal cross section which m use engage the inner surface of the front crease lines of a pair of trousers, and third plate members which in use of the arrangement engage the inner surface of the waist region of the trousers intermediate the front crease lines and the rear part, at least the first plate member and second plate members being moveable relative to each other so as to apply tension to the waist region of a pair of trousers in a horizontal direction.

8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the said garment tensioning means comprise two part cylindrical members arranged so as to engage opposed inner surface portions of the waist of a pair of trousers or skirt or like garment, said part cylindrical members being inclined towards each other in the vertical direction so as to support a said garment, one of said part cylindrical members being adapted to be locked in a predetermined position on a rail, and the other of said part cylindrical members being slidably mounted on the rail, and spring means being provided so as to urge the other part cylindrical member in a direction away from the said one cylindrical member.

9. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the securable means for applying tension to a garment in a vertical direction comprises a weight adapted to be clipped on to a lower edge of a garment.

10. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further including expandible fork members insertable in a sleeve of a garment to apply thereto tension in a generally horizontal direction.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 1, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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Claims

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according to the invention can be provided with its own automatic steam generator, in addition to a version in which it is connected to an external steam source.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. Apparatus for ironing garments by means of steam and hot air comprising; a cabinet having a door openable to at least one garment treating chamber in the cabinet, means for introducing steam into the garment treating chamber, means for circulating hot air through the garment treating chamber, a bust formed of a perforated plate and having shoulder portions projecting therefrom for supporting a garment, means for coupling the bust to the cabinet for suPporting the bust within the chamber, an horizontally extendable and retractable garment tensioning member supportable in said cabinet and adapted to act on a garment in said chamber, when extended, so as to put said garment under tension in a horizontal direction; and means securable to a garment in said chamber so as to apply tension thereto in a vertical direction.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the bust supporting means is attached to the said door and includes an arm which is telescopically extendable in a horizontal direction, the bust being suspended from a free end of the arm in such a manner as to be free to swivel.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the doors rotatable about its central vertical axis, and the bust or horizontally tensioning member is coupled respectively to one or other of the front and back of the door.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, wherein the garment treatment chamber is semi-cylindrical the diametrically extending side of which is closeable by the door.

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the said garment tensioning means comprise an inflatable bag on said bust supporting means, the bag having at its upper region a member adapted to deflect part of hot air current supplied to the chamber so as to cause said bae to be inflated. to any one of . Apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the garment tensioning means is coupled to the bust supporting means and comprises at least two cuffs members arranged below said shoulder portions, each being coupled to a respective crank mechanism, both of which mechanisms are, rotatable about a common vertical axis to cause said cuff members to move away from, or towards, each other in a horizontal plane.

7. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the garment tensioning means comprise an arrangement of parts for supporting and applying tension in a horizontal direction to the waist region of a pair of trousers, said arrangement comprising a part cylindrical first plate member which in use engages the inner surface of the rear part of a pair of trousers, two second plate members of generally V-shaped horizontal cross section which m use engage the inner surface of the front crease lines of a pair of trousers, and third plate members which in use of the arrangement engage the inner surface of the waist region of the trousers intermediate the front crease lines and the rear part, at least the first plate member and second plate members being moveable relative to each other so as to apply tension to the waist region of a pair of trousers in a horizontal direction.

8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the said garment tensioning means comprise two part cylindrical members arranged so as to engage opposed inner surface portions of the waist of a pair of trousers or skirt or like garment, said part cylindrical members being inclined towards each other in the vertical direction so as to support a said garment, one of said part cylindrical members being adapted to be locked in a predetermined position on a rail, and the other of said part cylindrical members being slidably mounted on the rail, and spring means being provided so as to urge the other part cylindrical member in a direction away from the said one cylindrical member.

9. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the securable means for applying tension to a garment in a vertical direction comprises a weight adapted to be clipped on to a lower edge of a garment.

10. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further including expandible fork members insertable in a sleeve of a garment to apply thereto tension in a generally horizontal direction.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 1, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.