EP0612879B1 - Apparatus for the automatic folding of laundry - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a folding device for automatically folding laundry items according to the preamble of claim 1.

Folding devices of the type mentioned are known for example from DE-A-34 19 146. They generally comprise a lay-on conveyor on which a piece of laundry to be folded is placed and fed to the folding device. The item of laundry then passes into a longitudinal folding device, where it is folded once or twice in the longitudinal direction, depending on the width. The item of laundry lies on the conveyor belts of a conveyor, with one or both side edges of the item of laundry being folded inwards by means of folding swords parallel to the conveyor belts, forming a longitudinal fold. The longitudinally folded item of laundry is conveyed further and transferred to a transverse folding device adjoining the longitudinal folding device. Usually there are two laundry conveyors arranged one behind the other in the conveying direction of the item of laundry, which are spaced apart from one another. A gap is formed between the laundry conveyors. The item of laundry is guided over the two conveyors mentioned until the point of the item of laundry at which a first transverse fold is to be applied lies above the column mentioned. The laundry conveyor connected downstream in the conveying direction mentioned reverses its conveying direction, while at the same time the item of laundry is pressed into the gaps by means of a folding sword and / or blow pipe by applying a first transverse fold. This column extends obliquely from the conveying surface of the laundry conveyors mentioned downwards, preferably at an angle of about 90 °. The piece of laundry folded once transversely passes through this column and is deflected to the right or left at the point of exit by attaching a second transverse fold and is thereby placed on a further laundry conveyor which is arranged below the two named laundry conveyors and extends from the column to the left and right. The deflection of the item of laundry to one side or the other is determined by the folding program, depending on whether the front edge of the folded item of laundry should be inside or outside. After the second transverse fold has been attached, the further laundry conveyor is also intended to discharge the item of laundry from the folding device.

Although such a folding device, as can be seen in principle from FIG. 1, works quite reliably, there are certain difficulties which have to be observed when folding items of laundry of different thicknesses, for example a thin blouse or thick work clothes. The gap opening or the gap width is to be adapted to the respective item of laundry so that it is properly conveyed along the gap. The adjustment range is large. So far, the gap width has been adjusted to the item of laundry with resilient means. When a piece of laundry is introduced into the column using the folding sword, the gap width has opened as far as necessary under the force of the laundry item. The difficulty now was that if the gap opening was adapted to the thinnest item of laundry to be folded, the opening forces for thick items of laundry became too large or, to prevent this, the basic setting of the gap width was adapted to a item of medium thickness, extremely thin items of laundry in the column no longer flawless were eligible for funding, but practically fell into the column. Provision has also been made to manually set the cheapest gap width before folding a series of similar items of laundry. This is cumbersome and requires an experienced person if you want to prevent attempts to be made.

A similar problem has so far existed in discharging a fully folded item of laundry with the aforementioned further conveyor. In the case of thick items of laundry in particular, the outer front edge of the item of laundry was in contact with an inlet of this laundry conveyor that was too narrow during the discharge process. The laundry had to be removed and folded again.

As a result of these problems, quality losses in folding had to be accepted.

It is the object of the present invention to overcome the difficulties described by improving the folding device.

The first-mentioned difficulty is eliminated with a folding device which has the features listed in the characterizing part of patent claim 1. If the folding device is additionally supplemented with the features of claim 9, the difficulties previously described in the second place can also be avoided.

Pneumatically acting cylinders are preferably used as the means for adjusting the gap width. However, other means such as hydraulic cylinders, electric motors with gears, etc. could just as well be used. In addition to adjusting the gap width, the resilient effect mentioned at the beginning can still only be maintained for a fine adjustment of the gap width; this is when the locking cylinder for the gap width is controlled via an adjustable pressure reducing valve.

The type of item of laundry, such as a blouse, smock, apron, overall, etc., by means of which its thickness and thus the gap width can be largely determined, can be entered, for example, via a data input device. This operating mode is advantageous if a series of similar items of laundry has to be folded.

Another embodiment variant provides that, for example, the thickness of the item of laundry which has already been folded longitudinally is determined directly with a measuring device which can be arranged in the longitudinal folding device or can be located directly at the entrance of the transverse folding device. This can be done, for example, by measuring the contact height of the longitudinally folded item of laundry on a conveyor belt using a light barrier with a light band.

A third possibility provides for the length of the item of laundry to be folded to be determined with a measuring device and for the item of laundry to be assigned to a specific type on the basis of the length. For example, blouses, aprons, overalls, in relatively small areas, have typical lengths. The gap width can then be set on the basis of the type of laundry item determined in this way. To measure the length of the item of laundry, a light barrier is sufficient, with which the passage time of a item of laundry through the light barrier can be measured. With the help of the known conveying speed, the length of the item of laundry can then be easily calculated.

A preferred embodiment of the transverse folding device provides that only one laundry conveyor is slidably arranged to change the gap width. In the exemplary embodiment shown, this is the one downstream of the column, seen in the conveying direction of the item of laundry Laundry conveyor. The laundry conveyor upstream of the column is stationary. A dual swapping of the stationary and movable laundry conveyor would also be conceivable. The setting of the gap width can be controlled so that this takes place before the insertion of a piece of laundry into the column. However, it can also have the effect that the gap width is still open or is opened briefly when a piece of laundry is introduced into the column, and is set to the previously determined value only a little later, after the first transverse fold has been formed.

A preferred embodiment provides that the gap width can take three predefined values with the setting means. The folding sword and / or blow pipe for inserting the laundry item that has entered the transverse folding device into the column can always be inserted centrally into the column, regardless of the sliding position of the movable laundry conveyor, due to its arrangement on the pivoting lever.

While the direction of entry of a piece of laundry into the transverse folding device is essentially horizontal and is determined by the contact surface of the two laundry conveyors connected in series, the gap preferably extends downward at approximately a right angle to the direction mentioned. At the lower end of the column, a further laundry conveyor is arranged, which extends to the right and left, relative to the column and approximately parallel to the direction of entry of the item of laundry mentioned. Depending on the type of folding, the item of laundry is deflected to the right or left to attach a second transverse fold. The finished piece of laundry is discharged from the transverse folding device via the further laundry conveyor, which is also the discharge conveyor. Due to the adjustability of the belts of the further laundry conveyor in the Areas of the lower end of the column are achieved so that both the deflection of the item of laundry arriving through the column is favored in the desired direction and, above all, the discharge of the fully folded item of laundry can take place without standing in one place.

It is particularly advantageous here that the belts of the further conveyor can be lowered in the region of the lower gap end before the laundry item is discharged, so that the inlet to the discharge conveyor section widens and a line of thick laundry items can be prevented.

• Fig. 1 schematisch eine Seitenansicht einer Falteinrichtung mit den hintereinander angeordneten Längsfalteinrichtung und Querfalteinrichtung,
• Fig. 2, 3 und 4 je schematisch einen vergrösserten Ausschnitt der Querfalteinrichtung der Fig. 1, wobei in der Fig. 2 die Spaltweite gross, in der Fig. 3 die Spaltweite mittel und in der Fig. 4 die Spaltweite klein ist und
• Fig. 5 vergrössert die Seitenansicht der Querfalteinrichtung, wobei insbesondere die Verstellmöglichkeit der Gurte des Austragförderers dargestellt ist.

The present invention is described in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment. Show it

• 1 schematically shows a side view of a folding device with the longitudinal folding device and transverse folding device arranged one behind the other,
• 2, 3 and 4 each schematically show an enlarged detail of the transverse folding device of FIG. 1, the gap width being large in FIG. 2, the gap width medium in FIG. 3 and the gap width small in FIG. 4 and
• 5 enlarges the side view of the transverse folding device, in particular the possibility of adjusting the belts of the discharge conveyor is shown.

The folding device according to FIG. 1 comprises a longitudinal folding device 1, which is followed by a transverse folding device 2. Both the longitudinal folding device and the transverse folding device have a machine frame 27, which is also a common machine frame can be designed. The longitudinal folding device 1 has a lay-on conveyor 28, on which a piece of laundry intended for folding can be placed in the spread-out state in order to be subsequently introduced into the longitudinal folding device. This essentially comprises a longitudinal conveyor 29 on which the item of laundry which is to undergo one or two longitudinal folds is placed. The item of laundry has been handed over to the longitudinal conveyor 29 by the support conveyor 28. By means of folding swords, not shown, which run parallel to the longitudinal conveyor 29, one or both sides of the item of laundry are turned towards the center in the longitudinal folding device to form one or two longitudinal folds. After the longitudinal folds have been applied, the item of laundry is conveyed further by the longitudinal conveyor 29 into the transverse folding device 2. The conveying direction is designated by reference number 3. The transverse folding device has two laundry conveyors 5, 6 connected in series in the conveyed direction. A first laundry conveyor 5 connects directly to the longitudinal conveyor 29 and a second laundry conveyor 6, always viewed in the conveying direction 3, connects to the first laundry conveyor 5. A column 7 is present between the two laundry conveyors mentioned. The first laundry conveyor 5 comprises a first lower conveying part 19 and a first upper conveying part 21. The second laundry conveyor 6 comprises a second lower conveying part 20 and a second upper conveying part 22. Like all other conveyors or conveying parts, the two lower conveying parts point transversely to the transverse folding device circumferential belts arranged side by side. These are designated 23 in the first lower conveyor section and 24 in the second lower conveyor section. The orbit of these belts in each of the lower conveying parts mentioned is essentially one L-shaped. One of the legs of the conveying parts mentioned is arranged approximately horizontally and forms the inlet path of a item of laundry marked 4 into the transverse folding device. The other legs of the L of the two lower conveying parts face each other, but are spaced apart. The width of said column 7 is formed by the distance between the spaced two leg parts 25 of the first lower conveyor part 19 and 26 of the second lower conveyor part 20. The depth of the column, which extends from the substantially horizontal inlet plane for the item of laundry 4, preferably downward at approximately a right angle, is determined by the length of the leg parts 25, 26 mentioned. The orbit of the belts 23, 24 of the lower conveying parts mentioned can easily be tracked on the basis of deflection rollers which are visible in the figures but are not provided with reference numerals. This also applies to the two upper conveyor parts 21, 22, the belts of which each rotate around two spaced apart rollers. The first upper conveying part 21 comprises a pressure device 41 with which this conveying part is pressed resiliently to the associated lower conveying part 19. Likewise, the upper conveyor part 22 of the second laundry conveyor 6 comprises a pressure device 42, which has the task of resiliently pressing the latter upper conveyor part against the associated lower conveyor part 20 of the second laundry conveyor.

Another laundry conveyor 3o is arranged below the first and second laundry conveyors 5, 6. It extends essentially in the horizontal direction and approximately parallel to the insertion level of the laundry items 4, which is characterized by the conveying direction 3. The further laundry conveyor 30 comprises a first upper conveying part 31, a second upper conveying part 32 and a lower conveyor part 33. The first upper conveyor part 31 is arranged below the first lower conveyor part 19 of the first laundry conveyor 5 and the second upper conveyor part 32 is arranged below the second lower conveyor part 20 of the second laundry conveyor 6. The lower conveyor part 33 of the further laundry conveyor 30 extends from the lower end of the column 7 to the right and left over the horizontal length of the two above-mentioned upper conveyor parts 31, 32.

The first upper conveyor part 31 forms, together with the lower conveyor part 33 of the further laundry conveyor 30, a discharge conveyor for a finished folded item of laundry. The discharge location and the discharge direction are identified with the reference symbol 50. The circumferential belts of the lower conveyor part 33 of the further laundry conveyor 30 have the reference symbol 34. Another pressure device 43 resiliently holds the belts of the first upper conveyor part 31 against the belts 34 of the lower partial conveyor. 8 denotes one of two spaced-apart side cheeks, between which the second laundry conveyor 6 and part of the second upper conveyor part 32 are mounted and with which the laundry conveyor 6 and said part of the second upper conveyor part 32 can be displaced in the horizontal direction. Sliding guides for the side walls 8, relative to the machine frame 27, are identified by 9, 9 'and 9''. The width of the column 7 is increased or decreased by moving the mentioned side cheeks 8. With 38, 39 and 40 are essentially blow pipes extending over the entire width of the transverse folding device, through which compressed air can escape, which causes or supports the generation of a transverse fold. A folding sword 16, which is intended to a piece of laundry 4 in to insert column 7 is located centrally above column 7. It is articulated to one end of a sword lever 17, the other end of which is pivotally connected to a pivot lever 18 in the center. The lower end of the pivot lever 18 is pivotally mounted on the machine frame 27 and the upper end of the pivot lever is pivotally connected to the side walls 8.

When the latter is displaced relative to the machine frame 27 in the horizontal direction predetermined by the displacement guides 9, 9 ', 9' ', the folding sword 16 is displaced by only half the amount of the side cheeks 8 due to the central mounting on the pivoting lever 18. that the folding sword is always centered on column 7.

An example of transverse folding will be described below with reference to the item of laundry designated 4, 4 ', 4''and4'''. The item of laundry passes from the longitudinal conveyor 29 in the direction indicated by 3 via the first laundry conveyor 5 and the second laundry conveyor 6 into the transverse folding device 2. At the point where a first transverse folding is to take place, the running direction of the second laundry conveyor 6 is reversed, the folding sword 6 lowered by a drive means, not shown, and blown compressed air out of the blow pipe 38 to support the folding sword. The item of laundry reaches column 7, forming a first transverse fold. This position of the item of laundry is denoted by 4 '. When leaving column 7 at its lower end, the item of laundry is deflected to the right or left, depending on the running direction of the belts of the further laundry conveyor 30. In our example, a running direction from right to left is assumed. In a first phase, the item of laundry 4 'is deflected to the left as it emerges from column 7, up to approximately that with 4 '' position. Now the direction of rotation of the further laundry conveyor 30 is reversed and at the same time the blow pipe 39 is actuated to dispense compressed air. The item of laundry now passes with the formation of a second transverse fold between the second upper conveyor part 32 and the lower conveyor part 33 of the further laundry conveyor 30. This position is identified by 4 '''. The item of laundry is now folded. The running direction of the further laundry conveyor 30 is now reversed again, so that the item of laundry passes between the first upper conveyor part 31 and the lower conveyor part 33 of the further laundry conveyor 30 to the discharge location 50. The folding process can vary depending on whether the front edge of a piece of laundry is to be on the outside or inside. After passing through column 7, the item of laundry can first be deflected to the right and then to the left, forming the second transverse fold, and can be discharged immediately. In this case, the blowpipe labeled 40 is used to form the second transverse fold.

The invention now provides, depending on the type of item of laundry, whether a thick or thin item of laundry has to be folded laterally, to change the width of the column 7 and, at the lower end of the column mentioned, the track of the belts 34 of the lower conveyor part 33 of the further laundry conveyor 30 adjust depending on the one hand in which direction a piece of laundry emerging from the column is to be deflected first and, on the other hand, whether a fully folded item of laundry is to be discharged from the folding device. These processes are described later.

The setting of the gap width is in any case dependent on the thickness of a piece of laundry to be folded. Three different variants for recording the type or the thickness of a piece of laundry to be folded is provided. The type of laundry can be entered, for example, by an operator on a data input device 13. The type of item of laundry can, however, as already stated above, be determined on the basis of its length. To detect the length, a light barrier, designated 15, is present in the longitudinal folding device, for example. The light barrier could also be arranged at another location, for example at the point of entry of the item of laundry into the transverse folding device 2. Another possibility can be to measure the thickness of the item of laundry directly. This can be done, for example, by means of the light barrier shown with reference numeral 14, which emits a light band transversely to the conveying direction 3, which is more or less interrupted depending on the height of the item of laundry resting on the longitudinal conveyor 29.

The gap width 7 is then adjusted on the basis of the signals evaluated in a control device (not shown), either the input device 13, the light band 14 or the light barrier 15. This is shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. These figures comprise only part of the transverse folding device. The further laundry conveyor 30, which is arranged below the column 7, is omitted.

The means for adjusting the width of column 7 are marked with 10, 11 and 12. A first pneumatic cylinder 10 is mounted in a horizontal position parallel to the displacement guide 9. Its front end is connected to the machine frame 27 and its rear end is attached to the cheek 8. By extending or retracting the piston rod of this cylinder 10, the second laundry conveyor 6 can be moved closer to the first laundry conveyor 5 or further away from it become. The width of the gap 7 is changed.

2 shows the largest possible width of column 7. The folding sword 16, which is articulated on the sword lever 17, is visible in the middle above the open column 7. The end of the sword lever 17 facing away from the folding sword 16 is pivotably mounted on the pivot lever 18 via the sword lever pivot bearing 46. The pivot lever 18, which is designed in the form of a plate, has a lower pivot point which can be pivoted about a shaft 44 connected to the machine frame 27 and an upper pivot point which is arranged on the side cheeks 8 and is designated by the reference symbol 45.

3 shows an average width of column 7. The first pneumatic cylinder 10 is pressurized with compressed air to extend its piston. The piston rod of a second pneumatic cylinder 11, which is firmly connected to the first laundry conveyor 5, has previously been fully extended. By extending the piston rod of the first pneumatic cylinder 10, the second laundry conveyor 6 is delivered to the first laundry conveyor 5, reducing the gap width of the column 7, until a stop 12 connected to one of the side cheeks 8 on the extended piston rod of the second pneumatic cylinder 11 pending. Since the pressurization of the first pneumatic cylinder 10 is smaller than the pressurization of the second pneumatic cylinder 11, the second laundry conveyor 6 remains in the position shown in FIG. 3.

4 shows the smallest possible gap width. The piston rod of the second pneumatic cylinder 11 is completely retracted and the piston rod of the first pneumatic cylinder 10 is fully extended. Due to the reduced pressurization of the first pneumatic cylinder 10, which is achieved, for example, by a pressure reducing valve, not shown, connected upstream of the pneumatic cylinder, a spring effect of the second laundry conveyor in the direction of its displacement movement can be maintained.

Also note the position of the folding sword 16 in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, which position is always centered on the column 7.

5 shows the possibility of adjusting the belts 34 of the lower conveyor part 33 of the further laundry conveyor 30. An adjusting roller 35, which is arranged in the area of the lower end of the column 7 below the belts 34, is slidably mounted in the said area for changing the belt orbit. A length compensation roller 37 is also slidably mounted and is arranged along the orbit of the belts 34. It serves to keep the straps 34 taut when adjusting the adjusting roller 35. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the adjusting roller 35 is connected to the length compensation roller 37 via a linkage 36, which is only shown symbolically. Pneumatic cylinders, not shown, which act on the linkage are intended for adjusting the linkage.

In the extended position of the straps 34 in FIG. 5, which is denoted by 47, that position of the adjusting roller and that course of the straps 34 are indicated which are then taken up to produce the second transverse fold when the front edge of the item of laundry, such as shown in Fig. 1, should be outside.

Should the piece of laundry be folded so that the The leading edge comes to lie on the inside, then the adjusting roller and, correspondingly, the length compensation roller are brought into the position in which the belts 34 assume the course shown in dash-dot lines with 48.

In order to discharge a fully folded item of laundry, the adjusting roller 35 and the length compensation roller 37 are lowered, so that the belts are given the course indicated by dashed or three-dot lines and designated by 49. The inflow of the laundry item between the first upper conveyor part 31 and the lower conveyor part 33 of the further laundry conveyor 30 is expanded. The entry point essentially forms a V, the legs of which converge towards the delivery point 50. This avoids queuing a piece of laundry.

The control of the various cylinders, not shown, and the reversal of the direction of travel of the various laundry conveyors is carried out by means of a control device, not shown. This receives the signals necessary for the control via transmitters, also not shown, arranged along the conveying path of the item of laundry to be folded, preferably in the form of further light barriers.

Claims (10)

1. A folding apparatus for automatic folding of flatwork, in particular articles of clothing, with a machine frame (27), with a longitudinal folder (1) and a transverse folder (2) following thereafter, two laundry conveyors (5, 6) being provided disposed in the transverse folder one behind the other in the conveying direction (3) of a flatwork article (4) arriving from the longitudinal folder, and being spaced apart by a gap (7) stretching essentially across the entire width of the transverse folder, and a flatwork article (4') being introducible into the gap while a first transverse fold is made, wherein means (8, 9, 9', 9'', 10, 11, 12) are foreseen to change the width of the gap and to adjust to the type or thickness, respectively, of flatwork article before the flatwork article is introduced.
2. A folding apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein a data entry device (13) is provided, it being possible to enter data therein on the type of flatwork article.
3. A folding apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the type of flatwork article can be determined by means of a measuring device (14), the measuring device being foreseen to measure the thickness of the flatwork article.
4. A folding apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the type of flatwork article can be detected from the length thereof, a measuring device (15) being provided for determining the length of the flatwork article.
5. A folding apparatus as set forth in one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein in the transverse folder (2) the first laundry conveyor (5) in the conveying direction (3) of an arriving flatwork article (4) is stationary, and the second laundry conveyor (6) which follows in the said conveying direction is disposed displaceably to change the width of the gap (7).
6. A folding apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein to displace the second laundry conveyor (6) adjustment means (10, 11, 12) are provided so that the width of the gap is adjustable by at least two, preferably three, predefined values.
7. A folding apparatus as set forth in one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein provided over the gap (7) above the two laundry conveyors (5, 6) is a folding blade (16) which is lowerable and which can be introduced into the gap, the folding blade being coupled approximately centrally to a pivoted lever (18) whose one end is pivotably connected to the machine frame (27) and whose other end is coupled to the second laundry conveyor (6).
8. A folding apparatus as set forth in one of the claims 1 to 7, wherein the two laundry conveyors (5, 6) each have lower conveying sections (19, 20) on which circulatory belts (23, 24) are disposed whose circulatory path is essentially L-shaped in each case, the gap being formed between and along two leg sections (25, 26) of the belts of the first and of the second laundry conveyor turned toward each other and running parallel to each other, and extending preferably at about a right angle to the said conveying direction (3).
9. A folding apparatus as set forth in one of the claims 1 to 8, wherein below the two said laundry conveyors (5, 6) a further laundry conveyor (30) is provided, wherein the further laundry conveyor can be driven reversibly and has two upper conveying sections (31, 32) and one lower conveying section (33), the first upper conveying section (31) being disposed below the first laundry conveyor (5) and the second upper conveying section (32) being disposed below the second laundry conveyor (6), and the lower conveying section of the further laundry conveyor extending below the two upper conveying sections, and wherein adjustment means (35, 36, 37) are provided to change the course of a belt (34) of the lower conveying section of the further laundry conveyor in the area of the gap (7), or, respectively of the ends turned toward each other of the upper conveying sections (31, 32).
10. A folding apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein using the adjustment means the circulatory path of the belts in the said area can be brought close to the lower front gap end defined by the first laundry conveyor or close to the lower rear gap end defined by the second laundry conveyor in order to make further transverse folds in the flatwork article, or can be moved away from the gap or, respectively, from the ends turned toward each other of the upper conveying sections, in order to carry the completely folded flatwork article out of the transverse folder.

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