US1952511A - Stretcher for hosiery driers - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1934. J PRIDHAM r AL 1,952,511

STRETCHER FOR. HOSIERY DRIERS Filed Dec. 9, 1932 I I5. 4 W mm 3 JMMZ A ttorm' Patented Mar. 27, 1934 UNITED. Y STATES STRETCHER FOR HOSIERY DRIERS John Henry Pridham and James Clarence Pridham,- Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application December 9, 1932, Serial o. 646,394

4 Claims. (01. 223-17) The invention appertains in particular to stretchers for hosiery driers, but it is also susceptible of use in drying many other articles.

Hosiery drying forms in which internal heat is supplied are widely employed today as a part their original leg length.

The present invention comprehends a simple and exceedingly serviceable stretcher which in practice has proven to be of great commercial value to a laundry due to the facility with which hosiery can be dried and simultaneously restored to leg size.

According to the present invention stretching takes place automatically upon the application of the device and a distinctive advantage of its adoption results in that each leg of a pair of socks is made to exactly correspond to one another.

The invention substantially consists of jaw members hinged together and adapted to girth a heated form so that the article upon the form will be gripped uniformly around its circumference by wire tufts with which the jaws are internally faced. The jaws are drawn down the form by weights to stretch the attached articles as they become elastic due to heating.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a steam-heated form depicting the invention fitted about a hose for drawing it down on the form as it dries.

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross section of the wire tuft by which the hose is held.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the jaws.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the figures throughout the drawing of the invention.

The reference character 5 denotes a conventional heated form for drying hose.

The form is supported upon a table 6 and steam is admitted into its interior through a pipe '7 and returned by way of the pipe 8. A sock 9 is shown on the form-by Way of illustration.

The stretcher preferably comprises a pair of incurvate members 10 and 11 adapted to encircle 5 the sock form. The members are pivoted or hinged to each other at 12 by means of knuckles 13. The pivotal pin 14 is disposed as far from the said form as conveniently possible in order to enable the members 10 and 11 to swing away from each other on substantially parallel lines in the initial opening movement.

The members are faced internally with tufts of wire 14', 14" to engage and grip the hose uniformly around its girth. The tufts are composed of a multiplicity of short fine wires bent at an angle as at 15 in the direction of the pull on the hose in order to increase the grip upon it. The jaws, composed of the members 10 and 11 and the tufts 14', 14", are free to open and close by means of the hinge 12. It is preferable to provide the jaws with interfitting lugs 16 that prevent them from becoming relatively askew.

The tufts are formed of stretcher fillet which consists of a flexible canvas back 17 from which the wires protrude. The stretcher fillet is detachably secured in the jaw members by the provision of channel-shaped slots 18 in which the backs 17 are inserted. This enables the stretcher fillet to be readily removed and replaced. Each jaw has an outwardly extending handle 19 by which it may be manipulated. The handle may be cast integrally with the jaws and enables them to be easily opened and closed.

The jaws are also supplied with pierced cars 20, one upon each side of the form. The cars are attached to a flexible element 21 that extends downwardly to and through the table to a weight 22. This weight applies the necessary tension on the jaws to stretch the hose.

In the use of this device, upon placing the hose to be dried upon the form the jaws are grasped by the handles 19 in order to close them about the cuff of the hose. The wire tufts uniformly catch in the hose around its girth thus securing an even grip upon it. The weight exerts a steady pull on the jaws causing them to stretch the hose as it becomes heated. The jaws are opened to remove them from the hose and are allowed to rest on the table until the next hose is placed upon the form.

The stretcher is particularly easy to manipulate. It can be quickly attached and removed from the hose on the form. The stretching is automatic and the degree to which the article is stretched is regulated by the weight.

It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the device without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is therefore not intended to limit it to the precise disclosure of the obs preferred construction set forth in the accompanying drawing.

What we claim is:-

1. A stretcher for a drying form of the class described comprising complementary gripping jaws, said jaws being interconnected and being free of physical connection with the form, short closely-disposed wires providing a facing for the jaws for engaging a textile article on the form, and means for urging the jaws along the form in a direction to stretch the article.

2. A stretcher for a drying form of the class described comprising complementary gripping jaws adapted to circumpose the form, said jaws being interconnected and being free of physical connection with the form, a multiplicity of resilient gripping elements providing an internal fac ing for the jaws, and means for urging the jaws along the form in a direction to stretch the article.

3. A stretcher for a drying form of the class described comprising a pair of arcuate jaws for disposition about the form, said jaws being hinged to each other, and being free of physical connection with the form, short closely-disposed Wires providing an internal facing for the individual members for engaging a textile article on the form, and means for urging the members along the form in a direction to stretch the article.

4. A stretcher for a form of the class described comprising complementary members adapted to fit about the form, said members having channelshaped slots interiorly disposed, stretcher fillets having back fitted in said slots, and means for urging the members along the form.

JOHN HENRY PRIDHAM. JAMES CLARENCE PRIDHAM.

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