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Automated sleeve expanderRelated Patent Categories: Textiles: Ironing Or Smoothing, Smoothing Implements, Flatirons, Combined, With Moistening MeansAutomated sleeve expander description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070163157, Automated sleeve expander. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/595,762, filed Aug. 3, 2005, the complete contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention generally relates to forms for use with steam treatment machines for clothing. More specifically, this invention relates to forms that support and stretch or expand sleeves for pre-steaming clothing prior to pressing. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] It is known in the art to pre-steam clothing such as suit coats and dresses using a steam treatment machine prior to pressing the clothing. Typically, to prepare sleeves of suit coats for pre-steaming, an operator must bend over to insert manual sleeve expanders into the sleeves of the clothing. To manually insert sleeve expanders, an operator must compress the sleeve expander by hand by squeezing the sleeve expander so that it can fit into the cuffed end of the sleeve. Once inserted into the sleeve, the operator releases the sleeve expander to allow it to expand and stretch the sleeve for steaming. The operator can then activate the steam treatment machine to steam the clothing. After being steamed, a fan dries the clothing. Once drying is complete, the operator bends over again and compresses the manual sleeve expander by hand and pulls the sleeve expander out of the sleeve. [0004] As can be seen, the process of using a manual sleeve expander is labor intensive and the repetitiveness of the operation over the course of a worker's shift can tire the operator's hands and back. Moreover, depending upon the design of the manual sleeve expander, the sleeve expander may pull down on the shoulders of the clothing possibly fatiguing the material and/or seams at the shoulders. [0005] Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a sleeve expander that requires less manual effort. It would also be advantageous to provide a sleeve expander than can either be integrated by the original equipment manufacturer into currently produced machine designs or retrofit onto existing machines already being used in the garment cleaning industry. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The invention provides a sleeve expander for use with a steam treatment machine that generally includes a base, a first expander arm, a second expander arm, and an actuator. The base supports the expander arms and actuator, and it has a mounting surface for connecting the sleeve expander to the steam treatment machine, preferably at a lower portion of the machine. The actuator is linked to the expander arms to move the first expander arm toward and away from the second expander arm during a steaming cycle so that the operator merely has to place the garment sleeves over the expander prior to initiating the steaming operation. [0007] In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a steam treatment machine that includes a pair of the sleeve expanders. The actuators of the sleeve expanders are tied into the control circuit of the steam treatment machine so that the sleeve expander arms automatically expand during the steaming operation and thereafter retract back to their initial position once the operation is complete. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] A preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements, and wherein: [0009] FIG.1 shows a perspective view of an automated sleeve expander mounted on a steam treatment machine; [0010] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the automated sleeve expander of FIG. 1 with the sleeve expander in an expanded position; [0011] FIG. 3 shows a side view of the automated sleeve expander of FIG. 1 with the sleeve expander in a retracted position; and [0012] FIG. 4 shows a front view of the automated sleeve expander of FIG.1 with the sleeve expanders rotated away from the steam treatment machine to steam clothing without sleeves. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0013] With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a pair of automated sleeve expanders 10 for use with a steam treatment machine 12 for stretching or expanding the sleeves on clothing such as a suit coat during steaming. The automated sleeve expanders 10 may be integrated by the original equipment manufacturer into a steam treatment machine 12 or may be retrofitted for use with existing steam treatment machines. [0014] As commonly known in the art, steam treatment machines 12 are comprised of a frame 20 and a steamer 22. The frame 20 is made from metal such as steel or aluminum and includes a lower portion 24 having a circular shape. The steamer 22 includes a fabric garment support 26, electrical controls 28, a foot pedal 30, a steam generator 32, and a fan (not shown). The fabric garment support 26 is commonly referred to as a suzi and is mounted on the frame 20 to support clothing for steaming. The fabric garment support 26 contains a mesh material to allow steam to pass through it and penetrate into clothing hung on the garment support 26. Both sleeved and sleeveless garments can be treated on machine 12, as is known to those skilled in the art. The electrical controls 28 include a timing circuit 36 for controlling the timing of the steaming and the fan. The foot pedal 30 is wired to the electrical controls 28 to allow the operator to initiate a machine cycle using timing circuit 36 that provides automated steaming of the clothing. The steam generator 32 is located within the frame 20 and generates steam that passes through the garment support 26. The fan is also located within the frame 20 and blows air through the garment support 26 to dry the clothing after steaming. [0015] The sleeve expander 10 generally includes a first expander arm 40, a second expander arm 42, an actuator 44, and a base 46 that supports the expander arms and actuator off a lower portion 24 of the machine frame 20. The actuator 44 is linked to the expander arms 40, 42 and operates under electronic control of the machine to move the second expander arm 42 in a forward and aft direction away from and back toward the first expander arm 40 as shown in FIG. 2. When used on the steam treatment machine 12, two such sleeve expanders 10 will typically be used, both of which can, but need not, have a "mirror image" construction as shown along with an identical function during operation of the machine 12. Accordingly, only one sleeve expander 10 will be described below and it will be appreciated that the following discussion applies equally to the other sleeve expander. To connect the sleeve expander 10 to the machine frame 20, the base 46 is bolted to the lower portion 24 of the frame 20. Alternatively, the base 46 may be fixed to the lower portion 24 through screws, rivets, adhesives, welds, clamps, etc. The base portion 46 contains a mounting member 50 and a flange 52. The mounting member 50 is a flat section of steel having a curved mounting surface that connects to the lower portion 24. The curved mounting surface at least loosely matches the curvature of the top end of the lower portion 24 to maximize the contact area of the mounting member 50 and lower portion 24 when they are bolted together. The flange 52 extends generally perpendicularly from the mounting member 50 in a generally vertical direction. [0016] Although the expander arms 40, 42 and actuator 44 can be connected as a group directly to the flange 52, the illustrated embodiment further includes the ability to pivot the expander arms out away from the garment support 26 so that they will not interfere with operation of the machine when it is used for sleeveless garments. For this purpose, a support member 54 is pivotally connected to the flange 52 by way of a spring loaded bolt 56. This support member 54 carries the first arm 40 as will be discussed farther below. The bolt 56 extends through holes in the support member 54 and the flange 52. The bolt 56 is secured by a nut 62 which applies pressure to the pivotal joint by way of a spring 58 and washer 60. Tightening the nut 62 on the bolt 56 compresses the spring 58 to provide the joint with an adjustable amount of resistance when the support member 54 is pivoted toward and away from the garment support 26. [0017] The first expander arm 40 is attached to the support member 54 opposite the bolt 56. In this embodiment, the support member 54 and expander arm 40 could be made a single component; however, by making them separate components secured together, the arm 40 can be made from wood whereas the support member 54 can be made of metal. The first expander arm 40 is sized lengthwise to accommodate a variety of sleeve sizes, from children's sleeves up to larger adult sizes. In addition, the first expander arm 40 is slightly curved in shape to provide even pressure along the back portion of the various sized sleeves. A slot 64 extends through the first expander arm 40 near the support member 54. [0018] A linkage member 66 is pivotally supported on the first expander arm 40 and support member 54 via a bolt 68 extending laterally through these components. The linkage member 66 extends from a first end 70, through the slot 64, and to a second end 72. The linkage member 66 pivots about the bolt 68 from a retracted position to an expanded position. When in the retracted position, the linkage member 66 is in near proximity to the first expander arm 40 as shown in FIG. 3. When in the expanded position, the linkage member 66 is pivoted away from the first arm as shown in FIG. 2. Continue reading about Automated sleeve expander... Full patent description for Automated sleeve expander Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Automated sleeve expander patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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