Safety system for pressers

In a pressing machine including a buck on which atricles to be pressed may be arranged, and a head movable downwardly to a closed position against said buck, said buck and head having steam holes provided in the mating surfaces thereof, and including manually activated operating means operable when actuated to close said head against said buck, maintain it thereagainst for a predetermined time period while delivering steam to the holes of said buck and head, then shut off said steam and open said press, all in an automatically controlled, predetermined cycle, a safety system comprising:

• a. deactivating means operable when actuated to interrupt said operating cycle by shutting off said steam and opening said press,
• a safety member carried movably by said press head and having mutually independent primary and secondary movement relative to said head, being operable by said primary movement to actuate said deactivating means, said safety member being disposed relative to said press head at such a position that it engages and is moved in its primary movement relative to said head by the hand or arm of the operator if said hand or arm was caught in the press as it closed, and wherein said secondary movement of said safety member relative to said head constitutes or arm was caught in the press as it closed, and wherein said secondary movement of said safety member relative to said head constitutes a scanning pattern relative to said head as and after said head is closed, whereby to find and engage the operator's hands or arms regardless of the attitude of said hands and arms, said safety member remaining operable at all positions of said secondary scanning movement to actuate said deactivating means by means of the primary movement thereof when it engages the operator's body, and
• c. scanning means initiated by manual initiation of said operating means to initiate the secondary movement of said safety member.