Garment collar former

An apparatus for use in finishing garment collars as a part of laundering of the garments, comprising:

• at least two support members, a first one of said support members being movable relative to a second one of said support members from a first position to a second position, wherein at least one of said first and second support members has a divergent portion that includes an outer, collar support surface and wherein said collar support surface moves relative to the other of said first and second support members in a direction toward said other support member when said first support member is moved from said first position to said second position;
• a heat source thermally coupled to said collar support surface;
• and
• a control mechanism having a control element that is coupled to said first support member and that is movable between two positions under operator control, wherein said control element controls the position of said first support member relative to said second support member with said first support member being at said first position when said control element is placed in one of said two positions and said first support member being at said second position when said control element is placed in the other of said two positions;
• wherein said first support member contains said collar support surface and further comprising a second heat source thermally coupled to an outer collar support surface of said second support member.

An apparatus for use in finishing garment collars as a part of laundering of the garments, comprising:

• at least two support members, a first one of said support members being movable relative to a second one of said support members from a first position to a second position, wherein at least one of said first and second support members has a divergent portion that includes an outer, collar support surface and wherein said collar support surface moves relative to the other of said first and second support members in a direction toward said other support member when said first support member is moved from said first position to said second position;
• and
• a control mechanism having a control element that is coupled to said first support member and that is movable between two positions under operator control, wherein said control element controls the position of said first support member relative to said second support member with said first support member being at said first position when said control element is placed in one of said two positions and said first support member being at said second position when said control element is placed in the other of said two positions;
• wherein said support members together form an axially-split conical support structure which extends from a smaller axial end to a larger axial end.

An apparatus for use in finishing garment collars as a part of laundering of the garments, comprising:

• at least two support members located adjacent each other and disposed in a generally vertical orientation, a first one of said support members being movable in a generally horizontal direction relative to a second one of said support members from a first position to a second position, said first one of said support members being movably biased towards said first position, wherein said first support member includes an outer, partially conical, downwardly-diverging, collar support surface, and wherein said collar support surface moves relative to said second support member in a direction toward said second support member when said first support member is moved against said bias from said first position to said second position;
• a heat source thermally coupled to said collar support surface;
• and
• a control mechanism having a control element which is coupled to said first support member and is movable between two positions under operator control, wherein said control element controls the position of said first support member relative to said second support member with said first support member being at said first position when said control element is placed in one of said two positions and said first support member being at said second position when said control element is placed in the other of said two positions, whereby said control element is operable to move said first support member from said first position to said second position against said bias.

An apparatus for use in finishing garment collars as a part of laundering of the garments, comprising:

• at least two support members, a first one of said support members being movable relative to a second one of said support members from a first position to a second position, said first one of said support members being movably biased towards said first position, wherein said first support member includes an outer, collar support surface, and wherein said collar support surface moves relative to said second support member in a direction toward said second support member when said first support member is moved against said bias from said first position to said second position;
• a heat source thermally coupled to said collar support surface;
• and
• a control mechanism having a control element which is coupled to said first support member and is movable between two positions under operator control, wherein said control element controls the position of said first support member relative to said second support member with said first support member being at said first position when said control element is placed in one of said two positions and said first support member being at said second position when said control element is placed in the other of said two positions, whereby said control element is operable to move said first support member from said first position to said second position against said bias;
• wherein said support members together form an axially-split conical support structure which extends from a smaller axial end to a larger axial end.

A collar former comprising:

• a split-cone section having at least two partially conical support members, each of which has two axial ends, an inner surface, and an outer, collar support surface, said support members being pivotally connected together at the smaller of said axial ends to form an axially-split conical support structure, said support members being outwardly biased from each other such that, in the absence of an external force overcoming said bias, said support members are horizontally spaced apart at the larger of said axial ends;
• a base section attached to said split-cone section to support said axially-split conical support structure in a generally vertical, downwardly diverging orientation, said base section including an elongated stand and a lower base support, said elongated stand having two ends and being rigidly connected at an upper one of said ends to one of said support members and at a lower one of said ends to said lower base support;
• at least one heat source thermally coupled to said support members;
• and
• a control mechanism comprising a lever, foot pedal, and cable, said lever having two ends and being pivotally attached near said lower end of said elongated stand, said foot pedal being attached to a first end of said lever, said lever being connected via said cable to a first one of said support members such that downward actuation of said foot pedal is transferred via said cable to said first support member to move it toward the other of said support members against said outward bias.

A method for finishing garment collars as a part of laundering of the garments, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a plurality of support members that together define an axially-split support structure,
• (b) placing a collared garment over said plurality of support members such that the garment is supported by engagement of its collar with said support structure,
• (c) moving at least one of said support members in a direction away from at least one other of said support members to thereby apply a circumferentially-expansive force on the collar, and
• (d) heating the collar while said circumferentially-expansive force is applied to the collar.