Garment treatment method and apparatus

Claim 1

Apparatus for pressing garments of heat settable fabrics comprising: a. A buck including an upper wall having an upper surface, a lower wall and sidewalls defining a chamber, a pressing pad extending over the upper surface of the buck, and means for communication between the chamber and a major area of the pressing pad; b. A source of steam connected by a conduit to the chamber and a control means within the conduit for regulating the flow of steam to the chamber; c. A heating unit defining at least one entrance port through which the interior of the unit communicates with the atmosphere and at least one chamber port through which the interior of the unit communicates with the chamber, and including a valve which is urged into a closed relationship with the entrance port to prohibit egress of air through the entrance port into the atmosphere when the pressure within the heating unit exceeds atmospheric pressure and permits ingress of air through the entrance port into the heating unit when the pressure within the unit is below atmospheric pressure, and heating means constructed and arranged to heat the air prior to its entry into the chamber; d. A concave head pivotable into engagement with the buck, said head having flexible sidewalls and a continuous rim, and flexible porous material extending between the sidewalls and engaging the rim to be retained thereby between the sidewalls and form a pressing surface and define a chamber; and e. A source of vacuum connected by a conduit to the chamber.