Pressing machines for use in the laundry,dry cleaning and clothing industries

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the disadvantages observed in certain presses is an unevenness in the pressure in different parts of a pressing zone located between, say, a movable pressing head and a stationary buck. This unevenness in pressure is the result of the contour of a pressing surface on the head being different from the contour of the surface or surface against which it is pressed. These contour differences may be due to manufacturing inaccuracies in the head or buck, or be caused by the shape and nature of the items being pressed.

A disadvantage of the above kind is particularly unsatisfactory in the garment manufacturing industry— where it is known to use presses in which textile pieces coated with thermoplastic cement are cemented together when the pieces are subjected to heat and pressure between two pressing surfaces—because unevenness in the applied pressure results in a non-uniform bond.

In one form of known press for carrying out cementing operations there is a movable, heated pressing head arranged to co-act with a stationary buck upon which is laid a counter pressure body formed by a plurality of small, fluid filled rubber bags joined together along their edges to form the unitary body. The textile pieces are laid on the counter pressure body and the pressing head is lowered towards the buck to apply the required heat and pressure. Compressive pressure is therefore applied to the bags which act as cushions and it is believed that this engenders a substantially even resultant pressure over the textile pieces.

In another press for carrying out cementing operations, the stationary buck is vertical and a counter pressure body formed of a series of small inflatable rubber bags is fitted around the sides of the buck. Tubular textile pieces to be cemented together are fitted around the counter pressure body which, by an inflation of the bags, is expanded radially outwardly to fill out the textile pieces. Two or more pressing heads moving from different directions then apply heat and pressure to the textile pieces supported on the inflated counter pressure body.

In another known press for pressing garments a pivotable buck is mounted above a stationary buck. Mounted on the underside of this buck is a rubber bag which is inflatable by steam. A garment is first laid on the buck and the head is then lowered towards the garment. Next the bag is inflated by steam pressure so that an undersurface of the bag is pressed by the stream against the garment to apply substantially even pressing pressure thereover. After pressing the bag is deflated and the head is then raised out of the way to allow the garment to be removed.

The foregoing presses have the disadvantage that the operator has to lay out the textile pieces or articles on the buck while the pressing head is inoperative. The pressing operation is then carried out after which the head is moved out of the way again for the operator to remove the pressed pieces or article from the buck and place the next piece or article in place. This period of waiting until the head is out of the way before the pieces and articles can be set out and removed is wasteful of the operator’s time and slows the production of pressed textile pieces and articles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the invention is to provide a pressing machine for textile pieces and textile articles in which a substantially uniform pressure is applied over the whole pressing zone and has a relatively fast rate of production in terms of pressed pieces and articles.

According to the invention this object is achieved in a pressing machine for use in the laundry, dry cleaning, garment manufacturing and similar industries in which textile pieces and textile articles are subjected to heat pressure in a pressing zone between first and second pressure surfaces at least one of which pressure surfaces is movable relative to the other, the pressing machine comprising in combination: a flexible sheet constituting the first pressure surface; a tubular gaiter of flexible material, said gaiter being open at both ends and a first end of the gaiter being mounted in a gas tight joint on the flexible sheet; a member having a second end of the gaiter mounted thereon in a gas tight joint such that a hollow inflatable chamber is defined internally of the gaiter by the said gaiter, flexible sheet and member; conveyor means for carrying textile pieces and articles into the pressing zone and then out of said zone; means for supplying gas under pressure to the chamber interior to inflate said chamber so that the sheet is moved towards the second pressure surface to press the conveyor means and textile pieces and articles against said second pressure surface, the pressing pressure of the sheet being due to the gas pressure therein; the sheet being sufficiently flexible for it to adjust to the contour of the textile pieces and articles when the sheet is exercising pressing pressure on said pieces and articles; and means for removing gas from the chamber to deflate said chamber after pressing to retract the sheet from the conveyor means and said second pressure surface.

Such a press provides a relatively simple means for achieving the application of a substantially even pressure over the textile pieces and articles being pressed.

3.500,566 first, because the pressing pressure results from the gas pressure on the sheet and, secondly, because of the ability of the flexible sheet to adopt a shape which is substantially complementary to the contour of the surfaces against which the sheet is pressed. Also, by providing conveyor means, textile pieces and articles can be loaded on the conveyor, carried into the pressing zone and pressed, and while pressing is taking place further pieces and articles can be loaded on the conveyor by the operator at one side of the machine, and these further pieces and articles are then carried into the pressing zone as the previous pieces and articles are carried therefrom by the conveyor for removal by the operator. The operator’s time is therefore more usefully employed and a relatively rapid rate of production can be established.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

- In order that the full nature of the invention may be understood it will now be described with reference to ₂₀the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of press for cementing textile pieces together, which press is formed with a movable pressing head to which the invention is applied; 25

FIG. 2 is a perspective fragmentary view of the pressing head in FIG. 1 together with a diagrammatic circuit showing means for supplying gas under pressure to the head and means for removing pressurised gas from the head; . . 30

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the pressing head in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section on the line IV—-IV in FIG. 3 showing the flexible pressing surface of the head in both pressing and retracted positions;

FIG. 5 is a section on the line V—Ύ in FIG. 3 showing textile pieces on a stationary buck being pressed by the flexible pressing surface;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detail section of a corner of the pressing head in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic side view of a modification 40 of the press in FIG. 1, in which modification of the invention is applied to a buck;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrammatic side views of scissors type presses with the invention applied to the pressing head and buck respectively. 45

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 6, a press particularly for use in cementing together textile pieces or articles to which thermoplastic cement has been applied is shown generally at 2 and has a main body part 4 on which is mounted a hollow beam 6 supporting a pressing head 8 which is movable up and down by any siutable means known per se through predetermined distances. A stationary buck 10 (FIG. 5) with a rigid, substantially horizontal upper pressing surface 12 is located below the pressing head and is heated to a suitable temperature by any suitable means known per se, for example, by electrical or steam heating means. An upper run of a flexible conveyor band 14 is located between the pressing head and buck. This conveyor band is movable and haltable by any suitable means known per se so that when textile pieces such as shown at 16, 18 are laid on the band they can be conveyed by band movement into a position between the pressing head and buck and halted there for pressing, and then conveyed away afterwards. The conveyor 14 is relatively thin so as not to present a substantial barrier to the passage of heat therethrough from the buck, and can be formed of a synthetic plastics film or textile fabric having good heat endurance.

The pressing head 8 is formed with a rigid base plate 20 formed with an upstanding peripheral rim 22, a central rib 24 of box-like section, and strengthening struts 26. A pair of spaced open ended pipes 28, 30 mounted on the head pass straight through the interior of the rib 24, and have lower ends fitted in gas tight joints in respective openings in the base plate 20.

An open ended tubular gaiter 32 of a flexible heat resistant elastomeric material, for example, a silicone rubber, has an upper end fitted around a lower part of the rim 22 and is bonded to the rim in a gas tight joint by adhesive as well as by being clamped thereto by channel shaped strips 34 secured to the rim by bolts or screws 36. As shown in FIG. 6, the gaiter is clamped to each curved corner of the rim 22 by a metal pad 38 with a curved clamping face braced against the gaiter by a pressure ₁₀ screw 40 screwably fitting through a bracket 42 having arm 44 positioned against inner faces of a pair of adjacent clamping strips 34 in which the arms 44 are located by screws 36.The lower end 46 of the gaiter (FIGS. 4 and 5) is bonded in a gas tight joint by adhesive to an upper sur15 face of a thin, rectangular, flat sheet 48 of flexible material in a position adjacent the peripheral edge of the sheet. Preferably, the sheet 48 is a thin, flexible sheet of metal, and stainless steel sheet about ,0.022 inch thick has been found to be satisfactory. However, thin sheets of other metals, for example, aluminium can be used if desired.

Each tube 28, 30 is connected to a flexible pipe 50 or 52 (FIG. 1) connected to one port in a three-way valve 54 (FIG. 2) having an air compressor 56 connected to a second port and a suction pump 58 connected to a third port. When valve 54 is operated to connect the air compressor 56 with the pipes 28, 30 pressurised air is blown into the chamber 59 defined in the interior of the gaiter 32 by the gaiter, the plate 20 and the sheet 48. The flexible nature of the gaiter permits the chamber 59 to inflate. This results in the sheet 48 being moved downwards into a position such as is shown in full lines in FIG. 4, the plate 20 being held stationary. If when the chamber 59 is in an inflated state and the valve 54 (FIG. 2) is operated to cut off the compressor 56 and connect the suction pump 58 to the pipes 28, 30 instead; the pressurised air is exhausted for the chamber. This creates a partial vacuum therein and the chamber deflates. Under this circumstance the gaiter adopts the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4 and the sheet 48 abuts against a rest plate 60 attached by screws 62 to the underside of the base plate 20 but spaced therefrom by distance pieces 64, which can be of a thermally insulating material. The rest plate 60 is formed with a plurality of holes 66 and is so dimensioned that gaps exist between its peripheral sides and the gaiter 32. One purpose of the rest plate is to act as a baffle to the gas entering the chamber 59 so that the gas becomes relatively evenly dispersed therethroughout.

The pressing machine in FIG. 1 through 6 operates in the following manner. When the machine is initially turned 50 on, suction is applied to pipes 28, 30 to establish a partial vacuum in the chamber 59 and results in the sheet 48 of the deflated chamber abutting against the rest plate 60 as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4. With the sheet 48 in this position the head 8 is then lowered until the 55 under- or pressing-surface of the sheet is slightly spaced above the conveyor band 14. Textile pieces such as shown at 16, 18 are then placed upon the conveyor 14. The piece 18 may be a piece of suiting and the piece 16 a piece of interlining to which a thermoplastic cement has previously 60 been applied. The conveyor is started and halted when the textile pieces are oyer the heated buck 10 (FIG. 5). Valve 54 (FIG. 2) is then operated to cut off the suction pump 58 and connect in the air compressor 56, so that pressurised air is supplied to the chamber 59 through pipes 65 28, 30. This causes the chamber to inflat and the pressing surface of the sheet 48 to press the band 14 and textile pieces 16, 18 against the heated buck so that heat therefrom will cause the cement to bond the two pieces. As will be seen in FIG. 5 the sheet 48 is sufficiently flexible for 70 it to substantially adopt the contour of the surfaces against which is pressed by the air under pressure, and because the gas pressure on the upper face of the sheet is substantially uniform thereover, then a substantially even pressure is applied over the textile pieces. After the elapse of sufficient 75 time for adequate bonding, the valve 54 is operated to cut

3,500.566 out the compressor 56 and bring in the pump 58 to exhaust the chamber 59 thereby deflating it and retracting the sheet 48 from the pressing position. The conveyor 14 is again started and carries the bonded textile pieces from the pressing zone. The pressing operations can then be repeated with further textile pieces laid on the conveyor.

The repeated application of the sheet 48 against the heated buck 10 allows the sheet to become heated. It is of advantage to form the rest plate 60 of material having a good thermal capacity so that when the sheet then abuts against the rest plate some of the heat is transferred to the plate which after several operations of the machine becomes fairly hot and acts as a heat store or sink. Such a heat store helps to keep the sheet 48 hot so that heat is applied to the textile pieces from the upper pressing surface as well as from the lower one and results in a very effective bonding and pressing operation. When all the bonding operations are finished the pressing head 8 is raised vertically into a totally inoperative position.

The press in FIG. 7 is provided with a movable conveyor band 14α, on which textile pieces to be cemented together are laid, and a heated pressing head 8α movable up and down as indicated by the doubleheaded arrow A. Located below the upper run of the conveyor band is a buck 10α to which a flexible gaiter 32α is adhesively bonded and also clamped by strip 34α. An inflatable chamber similar to that described in FIGS. 1 through 6 is completed by a flexible sheet 48α bonded to the gaiter.

To carry out a pressing operation the head 8α is lowered into close proximity to the band 14α, which band then conveys the textile pieces into position below the head. Air under pressure is supplied through a pipe 28α to inflate the chamber thus raising the sheet 48α into a position where it presses the textile pieces and the upper run of the conveyor against an underside of the head 8α. After pressing, suction is applied to the pipe 28α to deflate the chamber and lower the sheet 48α; the up and down movement of the sheet being indicated by the double headed arrow a.

In the scissors action press in FIG. 8, a pressing head 86 is mounted on an arm 706 pivotable by means known per se in the direction indicated by the double headed arrow B to raise and lower the pressing head relative to a stationary heated buck 106. The pressing head is provided with an inflatable chamber substantially as previously described which is in part defined by a flexible gaiter 326 carrying a flexible sheet 486 acting as an upper pressing surface. Textile pieces or articles to be pressed are laid upon the buck, and the pressing head 8α is pivoted downwards until the sheet 486 is slightly spaced from the pieces or articles. Air under pressure is supplied through a pipe 286 to inflate the chamber and move the sheet 486 downwards into the pressing position. Afterwards suction is applied to the pipe 286 to deflate the chamber and retract the sheet 486. The up and down movement of the sheet 486 as a result of inflation and deflation is indicated by the double headed arrow b.

In the scissors action press in FIG. 9, an arm 70c is pivotable in the direction of the double headed arrow C to raise and lower a heated pressing head 8c relative to a buck 10c. This buck is provided with an inflatable chamber substantially as previously described which is in part defined by a flexible gaiter 32c carrying a flexible sheet 48c acting as lower pressing surface. Textile pieces or articles to be pressed are laid upon the sheet 48c and the pressing head is lowered downwards until it is slightly spaced for the textile pieces or articles. Air under pressure is applied through a pipe 28c to inflate the chamber and raise the sheet 48c into the pressing position. Afterwards suction is applied to the pipe 28c to deflate the chamber and lower the sheet 48c. The up and down movement of the sheet 48c as a result of inflation and deflation is indicated by the double headed arrow c.

In the pressing machines described above the pressing head is movable. The invention can be applied to a machine with a stationary head provided the wall of the gaiter has sufficient depth to allow the sheet constituting one of the pressing surfaces to move into the pressing position and yet be retractable through a sufficient distance to ₅ allow work to be inserted into and removed from the pressing zone.

If desired, the flexible sheet can have a shaped or curved pressing surface shaped to correspond to and co-act with the other pressing surface provided on the press.

IQ Instead of using a metal sheet, a flexible sheet of a heat resistant synthetic plastic material, for example, nylon orf Teflon can be used if desired.

The invention has been particularly described as applied to a press for cementing textile pieces together; it 15 should be understood however that the invention can be applied to other forms of presses for use in the laundry, dry cleaning and garment manufacturing industries in which it is desired to apply an even pressure over the textile pieces or articles being pressed.