US20240052552A1

US20240052552A1 - Insertion unit and cloth insertion device including intermediate device

Info

Publication number: US20240052552A1
Application number: US18/267,451
Authority: US
Inventors: Yusuke MAESHIMA; Kiyonobu HOSOYA
Original assignee: Totofolder Manufacturing Inc
Current assignee: Totofolder Manufacturing Inc
Priority date: 2020-12-17
Filing date: 2020-12-17
Publication date: 2024-02-15
Also published as: JPWO2022130593A1; WO2022130593A1

Abstract

An insertion unit can be provided to save labor required for a cloth insertion operation. In addition, provided is a cloth insertion device including the insertion unit and an intermediate device. The insertion unit includes a lower section on which one side of a cloth is placed and that transports the cloth upward, and an upper section that is disposed above the lower section and that transports the cloth upward. The lower section includes a placement section on which the cloth is placed, the upper section includes a movable section that is rotatable upward and downward at a position above the placement section, the movable section having rotated upward rotates downward when the one side of the cloth is placed on the placement section, and the one side of the cloth is transported upward with the one side being sandwiched between the placement section and the movable section.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an insertion unit for inserting a cloth into a cloth insertion device and the cloth insertion device including an intermediate device.

BACKGROUND ART

Examples of a cloth handled in a so-called linen supply service include a linen product such as a bath towel and a face towel and an operation of delivering the cloth such as the linen product to a customer after cleaning, ironing, and folding the cloth when the cloth is brought back from a customer is repeatedly performed. At this time, the cloth is stretched by a worker and inserted into a cloth insertion device for transportation to a next step, so that the cloth is transported to a folding device that folds the cloth into a predetermined shape as desired by the customer.
Generally, there are two kinds of cloth insertion methods. One of the methods is a method of finding and inserting one end or both ends of a cloth and the other of the methods is a method of inserting one side of a cloth into a transportation conveyor so that both ends of the cloth is automatically found and the cloth is automatically unfolded. An example of such a method is disclosed in PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2018-510732.
An insertion unit described in the above-described patent publication, which is for attaching a cloth and is called a charging station, is disclosed in paragraph 0052 and FIG. 8 of the above-described patent publication. That is, there is a description stating that “charger stations 10′, 10″ and 10′″ may include upper and lower feeding conveyor belts 90 and 91, two sets of positioning rolls 92′ and 92″ and 93′ and 92″, and three motors (not shown). Meanwhile, the upper and lower feeding conveyor belts are controlled by one motor and each set of positioning rolls is controlled by a motor thereof. That is, the sets of positioning rolls is controlled by different motors.” and there is a description stating that “When a fabric (not shown) is fed to the charger stations 10′, 10” and 10′″, a first sensor 94 is influenced and the upper and lower feeding conveyor belts 90 and 91 start to travel. The fabric proceeds between the upper and lower feeding conveyor belts until the fabric influences a second sensor 95.” in paragraph 0054.
In the above-described device, a worker (not shown) needs to attach one side of the cloth, which is a fabric, so that the cloth is pressed to a space between the upper and lower feeding conveyor belts 90 and 91 in a one-by-one manner.
Such an operation does not cause a particular problem in a case where a small number of cloths are to be processed. However, forcibly performing such an operation in a case where a large number of cloth are to be processed is extremely disadvantageous and inconvenient and it is not possible to achieve further improvement in number of processable cloths in a cloth insertion operation.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

[PTL 1] PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2018-510732

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

The present invention has been made focusing on the above-described point and an object thereof is to provide an insertion unit to save labor required for a cloth insertion operation. In addition, an object thereof is to provide a cloth insertion device including the insertion unit and an intermediate device.

Solution to Problem

To solve the above-described problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides an insertion unit including a lower section on which one side of a cloth is placed and that transports the cloth upward and an upper section that is disposed above the lower section and that transports the cloth upward. The lower section includes a placement section on which the cloth is placed, the upper section includes a movable section that is rotatable upward and downward at a position above the placement section, the movable section having rotated upward rotates downward when the one side of the cloth is placed on the placement section, and the one side of the cloth is transported upward with the one side being sandwiched between the placement section and the movable section.
In addition, a second aspect of the present invention provides the insertion unit according to the first aspect, in which the upper section includes a pull-up portion for rotation of the movable section, a cylinder portion that is connected to the pull-up portion and is expandable and contractable, and an upper transportation section that transports the cloth together with the lower section, the pull-up portion is disposed at the movable section, and the cylinder portion is attached to the upper transportation section and the pull-up portion to be expandable and contractable.
In addition, a third aspect of the present invention provides the insertion unit according to the first aspect or the second aspect, in which the lower section includes a lower transportation section that transports the cloth placed on the placement section upward, and the lower transportation section is disposed to have a larger slope than a slope of the placement section as seen in a side view.
In addition, a fourth aspect of the present invention provides a cloth insertion device including an insertion unit that includes a lower section on which one side of a cloth is placed and that transports the cloth upward and an upper section that is disposed above the lower section and that transports the cloth upward, and in which the lower section includes a placement section on which the cloth is placed, the upper section includes a movable section that is rotatable upward and downward at a position above the placement section, the movable section having rotated upward rotates downward when the one side of the cloth is placed on the placement section, and the one side of the cloth is transported upward with the one side being sandwiched between the placement section and the movable section.
In addition, a fifth aspect of the present invention provides a cloth insertion device including an insertion unit that includes a lower section on which one side of a cloth is placed and that transports the cloth upward and an upper section that is disposed above the lower section and that transports the cloth upward, and in which the lower section includes a placement section on which the cloth is placed, the upper section includes a movable section that is rotatable upward and downward at a position above the placement section, the movable section having rotated upward rotates downward when the one side of the cloth is placed on the placement section, and the one side of the cloth is transported upward with the one side being sandwiched between the placement section and the movable section, an intermediate device that receives the cloth from the insertion unit, and a pair of stretching clamps.
In addition, a sixth aspect of the present invention provides the cloth insertion device according to the fifth aspect, in which the intermediate device includes a fixed catch roll unit, a movable catch roll unit that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit, and a delivery unit that is movable in a front-rear direction in order to deliver a right rear corner portion which is a right rear corner of the cloth transported from the insertion unit and a left rear corner portion which is a left rear corner to the pair of stretching clamps, and the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion of the cloth transported to the fixed catch roll unit are clamped by the fixed catch roll unit and the movable catch roll unit and the delivery unit moves to a front side so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion are clamped.
In addition, a seventh aspect of the present invention provides the cloth insertion device according to the fifth aspect, in which the intermediate device includes a fixed catch roll unit, a movable catch roll unit that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit, and a delivery unit that is movable in a front-rear direction in order to deliver a right rear corner portion which is a right rear corner of the cloth transported from the insertion unit and a left rear corner portion which is a left rear corner to the pair of stretching clamps, and the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion of the cloth transported to the fixed catch roll unit are clamped by the fixed catch roll unit and the movable catch roll unit and the delivery unit moves to a front side so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion are clamped, the delivery unit being attached to the cloth insertion device.
An eighth aspect of the present invention provides the cloth insertion device according to the fifth aspect, in which the intermediate device includes a stripping roll unit that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit, and the stripping roll unit comes into contact with the fixed roll unit so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion of the cloth are separated from the fixed roll unit.
A ninth aspect of the present invention provides the cloth insertion device according to the fifth aspect, in which the intermediate device includes a fixed catch roll unit, a movable catch roll unit that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit, and a delivery unit that is movable in a front-rear direction in order to deliver a right rear corner portion which is a right rear corner of the cloth transported from the insertion unit and a left rear corner portion which is a left rear corner to the pair of stretching clamps, the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion of the cloth transported to the fixed catch roll unit are clamped by the fixed catch roll unit and the movable catch roll unit and the delivery unit moves to a front side so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion are clamped, the intermediate device includes a lifting unit that lifts the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion, the delivery unit moves to the front side so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion are clamped, the delivery unit moves to a rear side with the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion being clamped, the lifting unit lifts the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion, and the lifted right rear corner portion and the lifted left rear corner portion are held by the pair of stretching clamps.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

Since the present invention is configured and acts as described above, it is possible to provide an insertion unit to save labor required for a cloth insertion operation. In addition, it is possible to provide a cloth insertion device including the insertion unit and an intermediate device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(A) of FIG. 1 is a front view showing a cloth insertion device including an insertion unit for insertion of a cloth and an intermediate device and (B) of FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the cloth insertion device including the insertion unit for insertion of the cloth and the intermediate device.

(B) of FIG. 2 is a side view showing the cloth insertion device including the insertion unit for insertion of the cloth and the intermediate device and (B) of FIG. 2 is a conceptual view showing a first stage in which a cloth w is disposed at a first position X, a second stage in which the cloth w is disposed at a second position Y, and a third stage in which the cloth w is disposed at the third position Z.

(A) of FIG. 3 is a conceptual side view showing the insertion unit and (B) of FIG. 3 is a conceptual view showing a state where an opening is present between a movable section and a placement section of the insertion unit.

FIG. 4 shows a side view extractively showing a lower section of the insertion unit, a view of the lower section as seen in a direction along arrow A, and a view of the lower section as seen in a direction along arrow B.

FIG. 5 shows a side view extractively showing an upper section of the insertion unit and a view of the upper section as seen in a direction along arrow A.

(A) of FIG. 6 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state where the cloth is placed on the placement section of the insertion unit and (B) of FIG. 6 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 6 .

(A) of FIG. 7 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state where the cloth is transported in the insertion unit and (B) of FIG. 7 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 7 .

(A) of FIG. 8 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state where rear end corner portions of the cloth are about to be held and (B) of FIG. 8 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 8 .

FIG. 9 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device of the cloth insertion device, a view of a fixed catch roll unit, a stripping roll unit, and a movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of a lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of a delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

FIG. 10 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device in a state where the cloth passes through a space between the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit, a view of the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of the delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

(A) of FIG. 11 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state where the rear end corner portions of the cloth are held and (B) of FIG. 11 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 11 .

FIG. 12 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device in a state where the cloth is clamped by the fixed catch roll unit and the movable catch roll unit, a view of the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of the delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

(A) of FIG. 13 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state where the rear end corner portions of the cloth are about to be delivered to the delivery unit and (B) of FIG. 13 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 13 .

FIG. 14 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device in a state where the rear end corner portions of the cloth are about to be delivered to the delivery unit, a view of the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of the delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

FIG. 15 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device in a state where the rear end corner portions of the cloth are delivered to the delivery unit, a view of the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of the delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

(A) of FIG. 16 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state after the rear end corner portions of the cloth are delivered to the delivery unit and (B) of FIG. 16 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 16 .

FIG. 17 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device in a state after the rear end corner portions of the cloth are delivered to the delivery unit, a view of the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of the delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

FIG. 18 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device in a state where the lifting unit is about to suck the rear end corner portions after the rear end corner portions of the cloth are delivered to the delivery unit, a view of the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of the delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

FIG. 19 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device in a state after the rear end corner portions of the cloth are sucked by the lifting unit, a view of the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of the delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

(A) of FIG. 20 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state after the rear end corner portions of the cloth are sucked by the lifting unit and (B) of FIG. 20 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 20 .

FIG. 21 shows a conceptual side view extractively showing the intermediate device in a state where the rear end corner portions of the cloth sucked by the lifting unit are held by a pair of stretching clamps, a view of the fixed catch roll unit, the stripping roll unit, and the movable catch roll unit as seen in a direction along arrow A, a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow B, a view of the delivery unit as seen in a direction along arrow C, and a view of the lifting unit as seen in a direction along arrow D.

(A) of FIG. 22 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state where the rear end corner portions of the cloth are about to be stretched by the stretching clamps and (B) of FIG. 22 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 22 .

(A) of FIG. 23 is a front view showing the cloth insertion device in a state after the rear end corner portions of the cloth are stretched by the stretching clamps and (B) of FIG. 23 is a side view of the cloth insertion device in the state shown in (A) of FIG. 23 .

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, insertion units 100 will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. The insertion units 100 are disposed at an insertion device 900 together with intermediate devices 600 which will be described later. The insertion device 900 includes, on both of right and left sides as seen in a front view, the insertion units 100 and the intermediate devices 600. Therefore, there is a case where only the insertion unit 100 and the intermediate device 600 disposed on the right side as seen in the front view are described and description of the insertion unit 100 and the intermediate device 600 disposed on the left side as seen in the front view is omitted with the same reference numerals given thereto.
As described above, regarding the insertion device 900 of the present example, the insertion unit 100 is disposed on each of the right and left sides as seen in the front view (refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 1 ). That is, two workers are placed at the insertion units 100 and 100 respectively disposed on the right and left sides and each worker inserts a cloth w. However, even in a case where only two workers insert the cloths w, the number of processable cloths, which is not inferior in comparison with the number of processable cloths related to a case where three workers performs insertion as in the related art, can be realized because of the effects of the insertion units 100 and the intermediate devices 600 which will be described later. As described above, regarding the insertion device 900 of the present example, there is a low probability of a decrease in number of processable cloths even in a case where the insertion device 900 is operated by a smaller number of persons in comparison with the related art. This point will be described later.
The insertion device 900 is a device in which one side wh of the cloth w is attached to the insertion unit 100, the cloth w is delivered to the intermediate device 600, the intermediate device 600 delivers the cloth w to a pair of stretching clamps 800 and 800, and then the pair of stretching clamps 800 and 800 stretches the cloth w and transports the cloth w to an ironer that performs ironing (not shown) which is the next step.
In addition, the cloth w will be described here. The cloth w refers to a bed sheet, a duvet cover, or the like, and is a cloth having a rectangular shape and the cloth w includes the cloth side wh which is a side on a front side in a transportation direction, a right rear corner portion RR which is a corner portion on a right rear side, and a left rear corner portion LR which is a corner portion on a left rear side (for example, refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 6 ) when the cloth w is stretched.
The cloth insertion unit 100 includes a lower section 110 that transports the cloth w upward and an upper section 170 that is disposed above the lower section 110 and that transports the cloth w together with the lower section 110. The lower section 110 includes a placement section 120 for placement of the one side wh of the cloth w and a lower transportation section 140. The placement section 120 is a section on which a worker (not shown) places the one side wh of the cloth w and an operation of inserting a cloth to the insertion unit 100 is finished when the one side wh of the cloth w is placed thereon. This point will be described later.
The placement section 120 includes a first placement roll unit 121 which is a cylindrical roller, a second placement roll unit 122 which is a cylindrical roller, a third placement roll unit 123 which is a cylindrical roller, and a fourth placement roll unit 124 which is a cylindrical roller and a placement belt portion 125, which is a band-shaped belt, is wound around the placement roll units. In addition, a belt portion 127 is wound around a timing pulley, which is disposed to be coaxial with the third placement roll unit 123 and has the substantially same diameter as the third placement roll unit 123, and is wound around a driving timing pulley 128 connected to a driving motor 126. The third placement roll unit 123 is driven and the above-described placement belt portion 125 orbits (for example, refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 ) when the belt portion 127 drives the timing pulley coaxial with the third placement roll unit 123 as the driving timing pulley 128 is driven by the driving motor 126.
In addition, the placement section 120 includes a distribution plate 130 that distributes the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w to the right and left sides respectively and that is provided in the vicinity of a tip end of the placement section 120. In addition, a sensor 131 that detects a state where the cloth w is placed on the placement section 120 is provided ahead of the first placement roll unit 121.
In addition, the lower transportation section 140 transports the cloth w placed on the placement section 120 to an upper side and the lower transportation section 140 is disposed to be inclined with respect to the placement section 120 as seen in a side view. That is, the lower transportation section 140 is disposed to have a larger slope than the slope of the placement section 120. In other words, the slope of the placement section 120 is smaller than the slope of the lower transportation section 140. Note that the slope of the placement section 120 is preferably a slope of 20 degrees to 25 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane and the slope of the lower transportation section 140 is preferably a slope of 50 degrees to 55 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. Since the placement section 120 is disposed at such an angle, a user (not shown) can attach the cloth w to the placement section 120 in a comfortable posture as if the user places the cloth w on the placement section 120 (for example, refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 ).
In addition, the lower transportation section 140 includes a first lower roll unit 141 which is a cylindrical roller, a second lower roll unit 142 which is a cylindrical roller positioned on an upper side, a third lower roll unit 143 which is a cylindrical roller, and a fourth lower roll unit 144 which is a cylindrical roller and a lower belt portion 145, which is a band-shaped belt, is wound around the lower roll units. In addition, a second lower belt portion 147 is wound around a timing pulley disposed to be coaxial with the fourth lower roll unit 144 and is wound around a pulley (not shown) of a lower driving motor 146. The fourth lower roll unit 144 is driven and the above-described lower belt portion 145 orbits when the timing pulley, which is disposed to be coaxial with the fourth lower roll unit 144 and has the substantially same diameter as the fourth lower roll unit 144, is driven by the second lower belt portion 147 as the second lower belt portion 147 is driven by the pulley (not shown) of the lower driving motor 146. Note that the second lower roll unit 142 is disposed at an upper end portion of the lower transportation section 140.
In addition, the lower section 110 includes a connection section 150 that connects the placement section 120 and the lower transportation section 140 to each other. In addition, the connection section 150 includes band-shaped connection belt portions 151 and 151 and the connection belt portions 151 and 151 are wound around the second placement roll unit 122 and auxiliary roll units 152 and 152, which are cylindrical rollers. The auxiliary roll units 152 and 152 are disposed to be coaxial with a rotation axis of the first lower roll unit 141 and have the same outer diameter as each other.
In addition, the lower section 110 includes a first chassis section 160 on which the placement section 120, the lower transportation section 140, and the connection section 150 are disposed and the above-described components are disposed to constitute a portion of the insertion unit 100 (for example, refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 ).
The upper section 170 includes a movable section 180 that transports the cloth w together with the above-described lower section 110 and an upper transportation section 200. The movable section 180 literally rotates in an upward direction and a downward direction, and includes a first cheddar roll unit 181 which is a cylindrical roller and a second cheddar roll unit 182 which is a cylindrical roller. In addition, a band-shaped cheddar belt portion 183 that is orbitably wound around the first cheddar roll unit 181 and the second cheddar roll unit 182, which is a cylindrical roller, is disposed (for example, refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 ).
In addition, the movable section 180 includes a first cheddar chassis 185 that supports the first cheddar roll unit 181 and the second cheddar roll unit 182 and that serves as a main body. The first cheddar chassis 185 includes a pull-up portion 186 that stands upright. The pull-up portion 186 will be described later. In addition, the upper section 170 includes a second connection section 230 that connects the movable section 180 and the upper transportation section 200 to each other. The second connection section 230 includes band-shaped second connection belt portions 231 and 231 and the connection belt portions 231 and 231 are wound around the second cheddar roll unit 182 and a first upper cheddar roll unit 201, which will be described later.
The upper transportation section 200 includes the first upper cheddar roll unit 201 which is a cylindrical roller and a second upper cheddar roll unit 202 which is a cylindrical roller. In addition, a band-shaped upper cheddar belt portion 203 that is orbitably wound around the first upper cheddar roll unit 201 and the second upper cheddar roll unit 202 is disposed at the upper transportation section 200. The upper transportation section 200 includes a second cheddar chassis 205 that supports the first upper cheddar roll unit 201 and the second upper cheddar roll unit 202 and that serves as a main body.
In addition, the upper transportation section 200 includes a cylinder portion 220 and includes a cylinder 221 having a cylindrical shape and a cylinder shaft portion 222, the cylinder 221 and the cylinder shaft portion 222 being disposed such that expansion and contraction can be performed. In addition, the cylinder portion 220 is attached to the upper transportation section 200 and the pull-up portion 186 such that expansion and contraction can be performed.
The cylinder 221 is attached to the upper transportation section 200, and the cylinder shaft portion 222 is attached to the pull-up portion 186. Specifically, the cylinder 221 is connected to a cylinder attachment portion 206 that is integrated with the second cheddar chassis 205 of the upper transportation section 200 and that protrudes upward and the cylinder shaft portion 222 is attached to the pull-up portion 186. Therefore, when the cylinder shaft portion 222 of the cylinder portion 220 is pulled into the cylinder 221, the pull-up portion 186 is pulled up, the movable section 180 is pulled up, and thus an opening K appears between the movable section 180 and the placement section 120. On the contrary, when the cylinder shaft portion 222 of the cylinder portion 220 is pulled out of the cylinder 221, the pull-up portion 186 is lowered, so that the opening K is closed (for example, refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 3 ).
The cloth w is attached to the cloth insertion unit 100 configured as described above. Specifically, at an initial state, the opening K is present between the movable section 180 and the placement section 120. That is, in a state where there is no cloth w detected by the sensor 131, the opening K is present between the movable section 180 and the placement section 120. In this state, a worker (not shown) disposes the one side wh of the cloth w such that the one side wh is placed on the placement belt portion 125 of the placement section 120. That is, the one side wh of the cloth w is placed on the placement belt portion 125 of the placement section 120. Such a state where the one side wh of the cloth w is placed on the placement section 120 will be referred to as a first stage in which the cloth w is disposed at a first position X (refer to (B) of FIG. 2 and (A) and (B) of FIG. 6 ).
When the one side wh of the cloth w is placed on the placement belt portion 125 of the placement section 120 as described above, the sensor 131 detects the presence of the cloth w. As a result, the cylinder shaft portion 222 of the cylinder portion 220 protrudes from the cylinder 221, the pull-up portion 186 is lowered, and the opening K is closed (refer to a movable section 180′ in (B) of FIG. 6 ).
Thereafter, the one side wh of the cloth w is sandwiched between the placement section 120 of the lower section 110 and the movable section 180 of the upper section 170 and the placement belt portion 125 and the lower belt portion 125 are driven, the lower belt portion being driven by the lower driving motor 146. When the placement belt portion 125 and the lower belt portion 145 are driven to orbit in this manner, the cloth w is transported upward.
Furthermore, the cloth w is transported upward while being sandwiched between the lower transportation section 140 and the upper transportation section 200 in a state where the one side wh of the cloth w is sandwiched between the placement section 120 and the movable section 180 and is delivered to the intermediate device 600 which will be described later.
As described above, a worker (not shown) only needs to place the one side wh of the cloth w on the placement section 120 in advance in a state where the opening K is present. Therefore, it is possible to save time and effort required to find both corner portions of the cloth w and it is not necessary to press the cloth w into a gap between an upper conveyor and a lower conveyor as in the case of a device in the related art. Therefore, such an operation can be omitted and thus it is possible to save labor, to improve the working efficiency, and to improve the number of processable cloths.
Next, the intermediate device 600 of the present example will be described. The intermediate device 600 includes a fixed catch roll unit 610, a movable catch roll unit 650 that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit 610, and a delivery unit 670 that is movable in a direction to a front side F and a direction to a rear side R in order to deliver the right rear corner portion RR which is the corner portion on the right rear side of the cloth w transported from the insertion unit 100 and the left rear corner portion LR which is the corner portion on the left rear side to the pair of stretching clamps 800 and 800. In addition, as will be described later, the fixed catch roll units 610 are disposed on both sides with respect to the second lower roll unit 142, which is a cylindrical roller of the lower transportation section 140 of the insertion unit 100, to be coaxial with the second lower roll unit 142 (for example, refer to a view as seen in a direction along arrow A in FIG. 4 and a view as seen in a direction along arrow A in FIG. 9 ).
In addition, the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w transported to the fixed catch roll unit 610 are clamped by the fixed catch roll unit 610 and the movable catch roll unit 650 and the delivery unit 670 moves to the front side F so that the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w are clamped. In addition, as will be described later, the delivery unit 670 can move to the rear side R in a state of clamping the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w so that the cloth w is held at a third position Z (refer to (B) of FIG. 2 ).
In addition, the intermediate device 600 may include a stripping roll unit 630 that can come into contact with the fixed catch roll unit 610 and that is disposed above the fixed catch roll unit 610. In addition, the intermediate device 600 may include a lifting unit 690 that lifts the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w. As described above, the intermediate device 600 may include the above-described components.
In addition, the fixed catch roll unit 610, the stripping roll unit 630, and the movable catch roll unit 650 are attached to the insertion unit 100 and the delivery unit 670 and the lifting unit 690 are attached to the insertion device 900. In this case, as will be described later, the delivery units 670 are disposed on right and left sides with respect to a main body portion 910 of the insertion device 900, can move in the direction to the front side F and the direction to the rear side R (that is, in a front-rear direction) of the main body portion 910, and can stand by on the rear side R. In addition, the fixed catch roll unit 610 and the movable catch roll unit 650 approach each other to come into contact with each other when the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w are to be clamped. Therefore, abrasion thereof can be suppressed and improvement in durability can be achieved.
The cloth w transported upward by the insertion unit 100 is transported with the one side wh being in the lead and the intermediate device 600 delivers the right rear corner portion RR, which is a right rear corner of the transported cloth w, and the left rear corner portion LR, which is a left rear corner, to the pair of stretching clamps 800 and 800. That is, in the insertion unit 100, the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w are held by the above-described components such that the cloth w that is transported with the one side wh being in the lead is, so to speak, hung upside down, the one side wh being on the front side in the transportation direction. Accordingly, the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w are delivered to the pair of stretching clamps 800 and 800.
The fixed catch roll unit 610 of the intermediate device 600 includes a pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611. The paired fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 are respectively disposed on right and left sides with respect to the first lower roll unit 142 of the lower transportation section 140 to be coaxial with the first lower roll unit. In addition, the stripping roll unit 630 includes a pair of rotatable stripping roller units 631 and 631, a stripping shaft portion 631 that pivotally supports the pair of stripping roller units 631 and 631, and a first cylinder portion 632 that moves the pair of stripping roller units 631 and 631 upward and downward and that is expandable and contractable. Expansion and contraction of the first cylinder portion 632 causes the pair of stripping roller units 631 and 631 to come into contact with or to be separated from the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611.
The stripping roll unit 630 is for preventing the cloth w from being caught in the upper cheddar belt portion 203 (refer to (B) of FIG. 6 ). In addition, the stripping roll unit 630 acts to guide the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w to a space between the fixed catch roll unit 610 and the movable catch roll unit 650.
In addition, the movable catch roll unit 650 includes a pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651 which are rotatable, movable catch shaft portions 652 and 652 that pivotally support the pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651 to be rotatable, and a pair of second cylinder portions 653 and 653 that drive the movable catch shaft portions 652 and 652. The movable catch roll unit 650 comes into contact with the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 or is separated from the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 as the pair of second cylinder portions 653 and 653 is expanded or contracted.
The delivery unit 670 includes a pair of chucks 671 and 671, the paired chucks 671 and 671 respectively include a pair of left chucks 672 and 672 and a pair of right chucks 673 and 673, the chucks are disposed at a chuck main body 675, the chuck main body 675 is connected such that the chuck main body 675 can be moved forward and backward by a third cylinder 678, and the third cylinder 678 is disposed at the main body portion 910.
The lifting unit 690 includes a pair of suction units 691 and 691 respectively sucking the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w with a vacuum.
The operation of the intermediate device 600 having the above-described configuration will be described. The cloth w, which is transported by the insertion unit 100 with the one side wh of the cloth w being in the lead, is transported thereto with the one side wh being in the lead. At this time, the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w hang down on both sides of the lower section 110, and when the corner portions are detected by a speed reduction sensor S1, the speed of transportation is reduced (refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 7 ).
The pair of stripping roller units 631 and 631 of the stripping roll unit 630 is lowered and the cloth w is sandwiched in such a manner that the stripping roller units 631 and 631 is brought into contact with the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 of the fixed catch roll unit 610 (refer to FIG. 9 ).
Furthermore, with the cloth w sandwiched in such a manner that the fixed catch roll unit 610 and the stripping roll unit 630 are brought into contact with each other, the fixed catch roll unit 610 and the movable catch roll unit 650 clamp the cloth w. That is, the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 and the pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651 of the movable catch roll unit 650 clamp the cloth w (refer to FIG. 10 ).
Thereafter, the cloth w is transported and when the cloth w is further transported with the cloth w clamped by the pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651 of the movable catch roll unit 650, a sheet catch sensor S2 detects the passage of the cloth w.
When the sheet catch sensor S2 detects the passage of the cloth w, rotation of the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 is stopped, rotation of the pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651 of the movable catch roll unit 650 is stopped, and the pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651 move toward the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 to come into contact with the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 so that the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w are held by the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 and the pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651. Note that such a state will be referred to as a second stage in which the cloth w is disposed at a second position Y (refer to FIGS. 11 and 12 ).
Next, the chuck main body 675 is moved to the front side F by the third cylinder 678 (refer to FIG. 14 ) so that the paired chucks 671 and 671 of the delivery unit 670 respectively hold portions of the cloth w that are immediately below the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR held by the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 and the pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651.
Furthermore, the chuck main body 675 is moved to the front side F by the third cylinder 678 such that the pair of left chucks 672 and 672 holds a portion immediately below the right rear corner portion RR and the pair of right chucks 673 and 673 holds a portion immediately below the left rear corner portion LR (refer to FIG. 15 ).
Thereafter, the delivery unit 670 is moved from the front side F to the rear side R by the third cylinder 678 so that the pair of left chucks 672 and 672 and the pair of right chucks 673 and 673 are moved from the front side F to the rear side R in a state where the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w are respectively clamped by the chucks. At this time, the delivery unit 670 is in a state of holding the cloth w. Note that such a state will be referred to as a third stage in which the cloth w is disposed at the third position Z (refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 16 ).
In the above-described third stage, the delivery unit 670 is in a state of holding the cloth w. At that time, since the delivery unit 670 is moved from the front side F to the rear side R by the third cylinder 678, the cloth w held at the position Z, at which the cloth w is held by the delivery unit 670, and the cloth w held at the position Y, at which the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w are held by the pair of fixed catch roller units 611 and 611 and the pair of movable catch rollers 651 and 651, do not interfere with each other. The cloth w can be held at each of the position X of the first stage, the position Y of the second stage, and the position Z of the third stage. That is, a so-called buffer can be provided. Since the insertion device 900 includes the insertion units 100 and the intermediate devices 600 on the right and left sides, the insertion device can include a buffer for six cloths w at maximum.
Next, the pair of left chucks 672 and 672 and the pair of right chucks 673 and 673 are disposed immediately below the pair of suction units 691 and 691 of the lifting unit 690 (refer to FIG. 17 ).
At this time, the pair of left chucks 672 and 672 is in a state of holding the portion immediately below the right rear corner portion RR and the pair of right chucks 673 and 673 is in a state of holding the portion immediately below the left rear corner portion LR so that the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR stick out to an upper side. At this time, since the cloth w is flexible, the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR may be bent (refer to FIG. 17 ).
At this time, the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR are respectively lowered by the paired suction units 691 and 691 of the lifting unit 690 (refer to FIG. 18 ).
The pair of suction units 691 and 691 of the lifting unit 690 is lowered and the paired suction units 691 and 691 respectively suck the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR (refer to FIG. 19 ). At this time, it is also preferable that the pair of left chucks 672 and 672 and the pair of right chucks 673 and 673 of the delivery unit 670 are disposed at positions that are offset from positions immediately below the pair of suction units 691 and 691 of the lifting unit 690. The positions of the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w may be offset from the position of the pair of suction units 691 and 691 that is lowered. Therefore, the delivery unit 670 is made offset so that the pair of suction units 691 and 691 is relatively caused to suck the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w.
When the paired suction units 691 and 691 respectively suck the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR, the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR are lifted (refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 20 ). Thereafter, the lifted right rear corner portion RR and the lifted left rear corner portion LR are respectively held by the paired stretching clamps 800 and 800. As described above, the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR of the cloth w can be delivered to the pair of stretching clamps 800 and 800 by the intermediate device 600, the cloth w being transported by the insertion unit 100 (refer to FIG. 21 ).
Thereafter, the pair of stretching clamps 800 and 800 stretches the cloth w (refer to (A) and (B) of FIG. 22 ) by spreading the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR to form a bilaterally symmetrical shape and the stretched cloth w is transferred to a transfer plate 810, transferred from the transfer plate 810 to a next-step conveyor 820, and transferred to a final conveyor 830, so that the cloth w is transported to a next step. Note that the intermediate device 600 can also be applied to an insertion unit in the related art in which the one side wh of the cloth w is inserted.
Regarding the insertion device 900 including the insertion unit 100 and the intermediate device 600, when a worker (not shown) places the one side wh of the cloth w on the placement section 120 of the cloth insertion unit 100 in a state where the opening K is present, the insertion unit 100 delivers the cloth w to the intermediate device 600, and the intermediate device 600 delivers the right rear corner portion RR and the left rear corner portion LR to the pair of stretching clamps 800 and 800, so that the cloth w is stretched to be bilaterally symmetrical. Therefore, the worker only needs to place the one side wh of the cloth w on the placement section 120 in a state where the opening K is present (the position X of the first stage). Furthermore, since the intermediate device 600 can cause the cloth w to stand by at the position Y of the second stage and the position Z of the third stage for the purpose of being stretched. Therefore, there is no state where the worker (not shown) waits for an operation of attaching the cloth w and thus improvement in number of processable cloths can be achieved.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

- 100: insertion unit
- 110: lower section
- 120: placement section
- 140: lower transportation section
- 170: upper section
- 180: movable section
- 185: first cheddar chassis
- 186: pull-up portion
- 200: upper transportation section
- 205: second cheddar chassis
- 220: cylinder portion
- 221: cylinder
- 222: cylinder shaft portion
- 600: intermediate device
- 610: fixed catch roll unit
- 630: stripping roll unit
- 650: movable catch roll unit
- 670: delivery unit
- 690: lifting unit
- 800, 800: pair of stretching clamps
- 900: insertion device
- 910: main body portion
- K: opening
- w: cloth
- wh: one side of cloth
- RR: right rear corner portion
- LR: left rear corner portion
- X: first position
- Y: second position
- Z: third position

Claims

1. An insertion unit comprising:

a lower section on which one side of a cloth is placed and that transports the cloth upward; and

an upper section that is disposed above the lower section and that transports the cloth upward,

wherein the lower section includes a placement section on which the cloth is placed,

the upper section includes a movable section that is rotatable upward and downward at a position above the placement section,

the movable section having rotated upward rotates downward when the one side of the cloth is placed on the placement section, and

the one side of the cloth is transported upward with the one side being sandwiched between the placement section and the movable section.

2. The insertion unit according to claim 1,

wherein the upper section includes

a pull-up portion for rotation of the movable section,

a cylinder portion that is connected to the pull-up portion and is expandable and contractable, and

an upper transportation section that transports the cloth together with the lower section,

the pull-up portion is disposed at the movable section, and

the cylinder portion is attached to the upper transportation section and the pull-up portion to be expandable and contractable.

3. The insertion unit according to claim 1,

wherein the lower section includes a lower transportation section that transports the cloth placed on the placement section upward, and

the lower transportation section is disposed to have a larger slope than a slope of the placement section as seen in a side view.

4. A cloth insertion device comprising:

an insertion unit that includes a lower section on which one side of a cloth is placed and that transports the cloth upward and an upper section that is disposed above the lower section and that transports the cloth upward, and in which the lower section includes a placement section on which the cloth is placed, the upper section includes a movable section that is rotatable upward and downward at a position above the placement section, the movable section having rotated upward rotates downward when the one side of the cloth is placed on the placement section, and the one side of the cloth is transported upward with the one side being sandwiched between the placement section and the movable section.

5. A cloth insertion device comprising:

an insertion unit that includes a lower section on which one side of a cloth is placed and that transports the cloth upward and an upper section that is disposed above the lower section and that transports the cloth upward, and in which the lower section includes a placement section on which the cloth is placed, the upper section includes a movable section that is rotatable upward and downward at a position above the placement section, the movable section having rotated upward rotates downward when the one side of the cloth is placed on the placement section, and the one side of the cloth is transported upward with the one side being sandwiched between the placement section and the movable section;

an intermediate device that receives the cloth from the insertion unit; and

a pair of stretching clamps.

6. The cloth insertion device according to claim 5,

wherein the intermediate device includes a fixed catch roll unit, a movable catch roll unit that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit, and a delivery unit that is movable in a front-rear direction in order to deliver a right rear corner portion which is a right rear corner of the cloth transported from the insertion unit and a left rear corner portion which is a left rear corner to the pair of stretching clamps, and

the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion of the cloth transported to the fixed catch roll unit are clamped by the fixed catch roll unit and the movable catch roll unit and the delivery unit moves to a front side so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion are clamped.

7. The cloth insertion device according to claim 5,

the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion of the cloth transported to the fixed catch roll unit are clamped by the fixed catch roll unit and the movable catch roll unit and the delivery unit moves to a front side so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion are clamped, the delivery unit being attached to the cloth insertion device.

8. The cloth insertion device according to claim 5,

wherein the intermediate device includes a fixed catch roll unit, and a movable catch roll unit that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit in order to deliver a right rear corner portion which is a right rear corner of the cloth transported from the insertion unit and a left rear corner portion which is a left rear corner to the pair of stretching clamps,

the intermediate device includes a stripping roll unit that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit, and

the stripping roll unit comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion of the cloth are guided to a space between the fixed catch roll unit and the movable catch roll unit.

9. The cloth insertion device according to claim 5,

wherein the intermediate device includes a fixed catch roll unit, a movable catch roll unit that comes into contact with the fixed catch roll unit, and a delivery unit that is movable in a front-rear direction in order to deliver a right rear corner portion which is a right rear corner of the cloth transported from the insertion unit and a left rear corner portion which is a left rear corner to the pair of stretching clamps,

the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion of the cloth transported to the fixed catch roll unit are clamped by the fixed catch roll unit and the movable catch roll unit and the delivery unit moves to a front side so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion are clamped,

the intermediate device includes a lifting unit that lifts the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion,

the delivery unit moves to the front side so that the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion are clamped,

the delivery unit moves to a rear side with the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion being clamped,

the lifting unit lifts the right rear corner portion and the left rear corner portion, and

the lifted right rear corner portion and the lifted left rear corner portion are held by the pair of stretching clamps.