A control method for a clothes folding machine and a clothes folding machine

Abstract

The present invention discloses a control method for a clothes folding machine and the clothes folding machine. The clothes folding machine comprises a controller and a plurality of clothes conveying stations for driving clothes to be folded to move and fold, and a clothes storage station for receiving clothes. The clothes conveying stations and the clothes storage stations are both connected to the controller. The control method comprises the following steps: the controller controls the previous process station to control the action of the next process station according to the first working state of the next process station; and the previous process station controls its own action according to the second working state of the next process station. The meticulous process logic design and control method of the clothes folding machine of the present invention can give the clothes folding machine the ability to accommodate and process multiple pieces of clothes at the same time. The stations are logically connected and the actions are coherent, which avoids the stations from stopping for waiting or idling, improves the processing efficiency and utilization rate of the clothes folding machine, and also reduces power consumption.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of clothes folding machines, and in particular, relates to a control method of a clothes folding machine and the clothes folding machine. Background Art

[0002] At present, most families fold and dry clothes manually, either manually or with the help of a folding board, which is time-consuming and laborious. Moreover, with the increase in the number of clothes, folding clothes becomes more complicated. People do not know how to fold many clothes, which greatly affects people's life experience. The new generation of consumers are willing to accept the intelligent experience and are willing to pay for their preferences, but are unwilling to waste precious time on tedious things. The folding machine is a product derived from the upgraded demand for folding experience of the new generation of consumers. It helps people realize automatic folding of clothes and can effectively liberate people from complicated housework.

[0003] However, the current folding machines are not highly automated and intelligent. The entire folding machine can only process the next piece of clothing after one piece of clothing has been processed. The machine has insufficient capacity to process clothing at the same time, and the mechanism has a long idle time. It does not operate completely on demand, resulting in high energy consumption.

[0004] In view of this, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a control method for a clothes folding machine and a clothes folding machine thereof.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the basic concept of the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0007] The present invention discloses a control method for a clothes folding machine, the clothes folding machine comprises a controller and a plurality of clothes conveying stations for driving clothes to be folded to move and fold, and a clothes storage station for receiving clothes, the clothes conveying stations and the clothes storage stations are both connected to the controller, the method comprises

[0008] The controller controls the previous process station to control the next process station to move according to the first working state of the next process station; and

[0009] The previous process station controls its own action according to the second working state of the next process station.

[0010] Further, the first working state includes at least an "idle state" and a "non-idle state";

[0011] When the next process station is in the "idle state", the previous process station is controlled to move to trigger the next process station movement;

[0012] When the next process station is in a "non-idle state", the previous process station is controlled to wait for the next process station to be in an "idle state", or the previous process station is controlled to control its own movement / pause according to the second working state of the next process station.

[0013] Furthermore, the second working state at least includes a "transfer state" and a "pause state";

[0014] When the second working state of the next process station is the "transfer state", the previous process station is controlled to move; when the second working state of the next process station is the "pause state", the previous process station is controlled to pause.

[0015] Furthermore, the clothing transfer station includes a clothing transverse folding transfer station and a clothing flattening transfer station disposed below the clothing transverse folding transfer station;

[0016] When the clothing transverse folding conveying station is in an "idle state", the clothing to be folded is conveyed to the clothing transverse folding conveying station, and the clothing transverse folding conveying station performs the transverse folding task, and after completing the transverse folding task, the first working state of the clothing flattening conveying station is obtained;

[0017] If the clothes flattening and conveying station is in the "idle state", the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station is controlled to move to perform the clothes transfer task, and the clothes flattening and conveying station is triggered to move at the same time;

[0018] If the clothes flattening and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station suspends the clothes transfer task and waits for the clothes flattening and conveying station to be in an "idle state", or the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station controls its own action according to the second working state of the clothes flattening and conveying station;

[0019] When the second working state of the clothing smoothing and conveying station is the "transfer state", the clothing horizontal folding and conveying station continues the clothing transfer task and transfers the clothing to the clothing smoothing and conveying station; when the second working state of the clothing smoothing and conveying station is the "pause state", the clothing horizontal folding and conveying station pauses the clothing transfer task.

[0020] Furthermore, a first sensor is provided at the clothing entrance of the clothing leveling and conveying station;

[0021] When the first sensor senses the first position of the clothes to be folded, the clothes horizontal folding conveying station triggers the clothes flattening conveying station to move;

[0022] When the first sensor senses the second position of the clothes to be folded, the clothes have left the horizontal folding conveying station, and the clothes horizontal folding conveying station releases its own "idle state" to process the next piece of clothes to be folded, otherwise the clothes horizontal folding conveying station is in a "non-idle state".

[0023] Further, a second sensor having a certain distance from the first sensor is provided at the clothing outlet of the clothing flattening and conveying station, and the clothing conveying station includes a clothing folding and conveying station provided below the clothing flattening and conveying station;

[0024] After the movement of the clothes flattening and conveying station is triggered, the clothes to be folded are subjected to the clothes length measurement task and clothes flattening task at the clothes flattening and conveying station, and when the second sensor senses the first position of the clothes to be folded, the first working state of the clothes folding and conveying station is obtained;

[0025] If the clothing folding and conveying station is in the "idle state", the clothing flattening and conveying station is controlled to move to perform the clothing transfer task, and the clothing folding and conveying station is triggered to move at the same time;

[0026] If the clothes folding and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", the clothes flattening and conveying station waits for the clothes folding and conveying station to be in an "idle state", or the clothes flattening and conveying station controls its own action according to the second working state of the clothes folding and conveying station;

[0027] When the second working state of the clothing folding and conveying station is the "transfer state", the clothing flattening and conveying station continues the clothing transfer task; when the signal of the clothing folding and conveying station is the "pause state", the clothing flattening and conveying station pauses the clothing transfer task.

[0028] Furthermore, when the number of times the first sensor detects the first position of the clothes is equal to the number of times the second sensor detects the second position of the clothes, the clothes smoothing and conveying station releases its own "idle state", otherwise the clothes smoothing and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", and the clothes folding and conveying station controls its own actions according to the second working state of the clothes smoothing and conveying station.

[0029] Further, the clothing folding and conveying station includes a first clothing folding and conveying station, a second clothing folding and conveying station and a third clothing folding and conveying station, the second clothing folding and conveying station is arranged on one side of the first clothing folding and conveying station, and the third clothing folding and conveying station is arranged below the first clothing folding and conveying station and on one side of the second clothing folding and conveying station;

[0030] After the movement of the first clothing folding and conveying station is triggered, the clothing to be folded is transferred to the second clothing folding and conveying station for a certain length, and then the first longitudinal folding task is performed. After the first longitudinal folding task is completed, the clothing is transferred to the third clothing folding and conveying station for a certain length, and then the second longitudinal folding task is prepared, and at the same time, the first working state of the clothing storage station is obtained;

[0031] If the clothing storage station is in the "idle state", the second longitudinal folding task will be continued. During the second longitudinal folding task, the clothing storage station will be triggered to move to perform the storage task. After the storage task is completed, the clothing storage station returns to the "idle state" and publishes its own "idle state" to the clothing folding and conveying station;

[0032] If the clothing storage station is in a "non-idle state", the clothing folding and conveying station waits for the clothing storage station to be in an "idle state";

[0033] Preferably, the third sensor is arranged on the first clothing folding and conveying station, the fourth sensor is arranged on the second clothing folding and conveying station, and the fifth sensor is arranged on the third clothing folding and conveying station; when the third sensor senses the second position of the clothing to be folded, the clothing has left the clothing flattening and conveying station; the signal sensed by the fourth sensor is obtained to perform the first longitudinal folding task; the signal sensed by the fifth sensor is obtained to prepare for the second longitudinal folding task.

[0034] Furthermore, a sixth sensor and a seventh sensor for sensing the height of the stack of clothes are provided at the clothing entrance of the clothing storage station;

[0035] When the sixth sensor senses the first position of the clothes to be folded, the movement of the clothes folding and conveying station triggers the movement of the clothes storage station to perform the storage task; when the sixth sensor senses the second position of the clothes to be folded, the clothes have left the clothes folding and conveying station, and the clothes folding and conveying station releases its own "idle state", otherwise the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station is in a "non-idle state".

[0036] The present invention also discloses a clothes folding machine, which adopts the control method of the clothes folding machine as described above.

[0037] After adopting the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0038] The meticulous process logic design and control method of the clothes folding machine of the present invention can give the clothes folding machine the ability to accommodate and process multiple pieces of clothing at the same time. The workstation logic is compactly connected and the movements are coherent, which avoids the workstation stopping for waiting or idling, improves the processing efficiency and utilization rate of the clothes folding machine, and also reduces power consumption.

[0039] The specific implementation modes of the present invention are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] The accompanying drawings are part of the present invention and are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention, but do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0041] In the attached picture:

[0042] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the clothes folding machine of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the clothing storage station of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 3 It is a flow chart of the clothes folding process of the clothes folding machine of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 4 It is a process station signal interaction diagram of the clothes folding machine control method of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 5 It is a synchronous position diagram of quasi-parallel clothing processing and process conversion of the clothes folding machine control method of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 6 It is a design diagram of a multi-station state machine and synchronization mechanism of a clothes folding machine control method of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 7 This is a clothing quantity management diagram for workstations of the present invention.

[0049] In the figure:

[0050] 110, transverse folding conveying mechanism; 120, first guide plate; C1, first conveyor belt;

[0051] 210, flat conveying mechanism; C2-1, second conveying belt; S1, first sensor; S2, second sensor; 220, extrusion conveying mechanism; C2-2, extrusion conveying belt; 230, second guide plate;

[0052] 310, first clothing folding and conveying station; C3, third conveyor belt; 320, second clothing folding and conveying station; C4, fourth conveyor belt; 330, third clothing folding and conveying station; 340, third guide plate; C5, fifth conveyor belt; S3, third sensor; S4, fourth sensor; S5, fifth sensor;

[0053] CB1, first pressing and folding mechanism; CB2, second pressing and folding mechanism;

[0054] SN, storage platform; S6, sixth sensor; S7, seventh sensor; 811, support rod; 812, lead screw; 813, lead screw nut; 814, first drive motor; 815, upper slide rail; 816, lower slide rail; 821, frame; 822, guide rail; 823, second drive motor; 824, first synchronous belt; 825, first synchronous pulley; 826, slider;

[0055] A, first transmission path; B, second transmission path; C, third transmission path; D, fourth transmission path; E, fifth transmission path; F, sixth transmission path; G, seventh transmission path; H, eighth transmission path; I, ninth transmission path; J, tenth transmission path.

[0056] It should be noted that these drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the conceptual scope of the present invention in any way, but are intended to illustrate the concept of the present invention for those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present invention but are not used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0058] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the directions or positional relationships indicated by terms such as “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “inside” and “outside” are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0059] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0060] like Figure 1-2As shown, the present invention discloses a clothes folding machine, comprising a controller and a plurality of clothes conveying stations for driving clothes to be folded to move for folding, and a clothes storage station arranged below the clothes conveying stations for receiving clothes, wherein the clothes conveying stations and the clothes storage stations are both connected to the controller; specifically, the clothes conveying stations in the present invention comprise a clothes transverse folding conveying station, a clothes flattening conveying station connected to the clothes transverse folding conveying station, and a clothes folding conveying station connected to the clothes flattening conveying station, and the clothes pass through the clothes transverse folding conveying station, the clothes flattening conveying station, and the clothes folding conveying station in sequence, so that the clothes to be folded are in a folded state.

[0061] like Figure 3 As shown, the folding process of the clothes folding machine of the present invention includes designing a folding flap at the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station to fold and shape both sides of the clothes, and designing a squeezing mechanism that can adaptively adjust the squeezing distance of the clothes to ensure the flatness of the clothes at the clothes flat conveying station to complete the measurement of the length of the clothes; folding and shaping the clothes at the clothes folding and conveying station, and performing auxiliary shaping on the clothes for multiple times by the clothes folding machine to ensure the size of different clothes in the folding process and the folding quality of the clothes, and the folded clothes are stored at the clothes storage station.

[0062] Specifically, the clothing transverse folding conveying station includes a transverse folding conveying mechanism 110 and a first guide plate 120 arranged on one side of the transverse folding conveying mechanism 110, the transverse folding conveying mechanism 110 has two rotating rollers and a first conveyor belt C1 arranged on the two rotating rollers, the first conveyor belt C1 has a first conveying path A, and a second conveying path B connected to the first conveying path A is formed between the first guide plate 120 and the first conveyor belt C1. The clothing is conveyed along the first conveying path A to the second conveying path B and then conveyed downward. In order to enable the clothing to be smoothly conveyed in the first conveying path A, the first conveying path A can be set horizontally to ensure that the clothing will not slip on the first conveying path A, and it is also convenient to arrange the clothing in the width direction. When the first conveying path A is set horizontally, the second conveying path B is set inclined downward or vertically downward. When the clothing is conveyed to the second conveying path B, the clothing slides from the second conveying path B into the third conveying path C.

[0063] In order to allow the clothes on the first conveying path A to smoothly enter the second conveying path B, the clothes transverse folding conveying station further includes a width folding mechanism for transversely folding the clothes. The width folding mechanism is arranged on both sides of the first conveying path A. The width folding mechanism includes two folding flaps, which are flippably arranged on both sides of the first conveying path A perpendicular to the conveying direction. When the clothes folding machine does not fold the clothes in the length direction, the clothes are first arranged in the width direction, and the two folding flaps are folded in sequence or simultaneously. After the two sides of the clothes are folded, they are conveyed to the second conveying path B.

[0064] The clothing leveling and conveying station includes a leveling and conveying mechanism 210 and an extrusion and conveying mechanism 220. The leveling and conveying mechanism 210 includes two rotating rollers and a second conveyor belt C2-1 arranged on the two rotating rollers. The extrusion and conveying mechanism 220 is obliquely arranged between the lateral folding and conveying mechanism 110 and the leveling and conveying mechanism 210. The extrusion and conveying mechanism 220 may include two rotating rollers and an extrusion and conveying belt C2-2 sleeved on the two rotating rollers. A certain angle is formed between the second conveyor belt C2-1 and the extrusion and conveying belt C2-2 to form a third conveying path C. The specific angle of the angle may be 6 degrees. When the folded clothing is conveyed through the third conveying path C, the elasticity of the second conveyor belt C2-1 and / or the extrusion and conveying belt C2-2 is used to adapt to clothing of different thicknesses, so that the extrusion mechanism can squeeze the clothing to make the clothing flatter, and then enter the fourth conveying path D.

[0065] A first sensor S1 is provided at the clothing entrance of the clothing flattening conveying station, and a second sensor S2 is provided at the clothing exit. The first sensor S1 identifies that the clothing begins to enter the third conveying path C by detecting the leading edge of the clothing (i.e., the first position of the clothing), and identifies that the clothing has left the clothing horizontal folding conveying station by detecting the trailing edge of the clothing (i.e., the second position of the clothing).

[0066] The clothing smoothing and conveying station also includes a second guide plate 230 arranged on one side of the smoothing conveying mechanism 210, and a fourth conveying path D connected to the third conveying path C is formed between the second guide plate 230 and the smoothing conveying mechanism 210. After the clothing falls from the second conveying path B, it enters the third conveying path C, and then continues to be transported to the fourth conveying path D, and then falls from the fourth conveying path D to the fifth conveying path E.

[0067] The clothing folding and conveying station includes a first clothing folding and conveying station 310 and a second clothing folding and conveying station 320, wherein the first clothing folding and conveying station 310 includes two rotating rollers and a third conveyor belt C3 sleeved on the two rotating rollers, the third conveyor belt C3 is not arranged horizontally, but has a certain angle with the horizontal plane, and the third conveyor belt C3 has a fifth conveying path E connected with a fourth conveying path D, the second clothing folding and conveying station 320 includes at least three rotating rollers and a fourth conveyor belt C4 arranged on the rotating rollers, the fourth conveyor belt C4 can rotate in both directions, and can convey clothing in both forward and reverse directions, By changing the rotation direction at different stages of the process, different conveying control purposes of the clothes are achieved. The fourth conveyor belt C4 has a sixth conveying path F connected to the fifth conveying path E. An eighth conveying path H is formed between the first clothes folding and conveying station 310 and the second clothes folding and conveying station 320. The entrance end of the eighth conveying path H is located between the fifth conveying path E and the sixth conveying path F. The clothes fall to the fifth conveying path E through the fourth conveying path D, and then continue to be transported to the sixth conveying path F, so that part of the clothes is located on the fifth conveying path E and part is located on the sixth conveying path F, and then the clothes are folded in half and enter the eighth conveying path H.

[0068] Furthermore, the clothing folding and conveying station also includes a third clothing folding and conveying station 330, and the third clothing folding and conveying station 330 includes at least three rotating rollers and a fifth conveyor belt C5 arranged on the rotating rollers. The fifth conveyor belt C5 can rotate in both directions, and can convey clothing in both forward and reverse directions. Different conveying processes of clothing are achieved by changing the direction of rotational kinetic energy at different stages. The third clothing folding and conveying station 330 is arranged relative to the second clothing folding and conveying station 320 to form a tenth conveying path J connected to the eighth conveying path H. The third clothing folding and conveying station 330 is arranged below the first clothing folding and conveying station 310, and forms a ninth conveying path I connected to the eighth conveying path H and the tenth conveying path J between the third clothing folding and conveying station 330 and the first clothing folding and conveying station 310.

[0069] In addition, the first clothing folding and conveying station 310 is provided with a third sensor S3, the second clothing folding and conveying station 320 is provided with a fourth sensor S4, and the third clothing folding and conveying station 330 is provided with a fifth sensor S5; the third sensor S3 is located at the entrance of the fifth conveying path E, and determines that the clothing has entered the fifth conveying path E by detecting the leading edge of the clothing (i.e., the first position of the clothing), and determines that the clothing has left the clothing flattening conveying station by detecting the trailing edge of the clothing (i.e., the second position of the clothing); the fourth sensor S4 is used to detect that the leading edge of the clothing (i.e., the first position of the clothing) enters the sixth conveying path F, and is used for position control of the first longitudinal folding point; the fifth sensor S5 is used to detect that the leading edge of the clothing (i.e., the first position of the clothing) enters the ninth conveying path I, and is used for position control of the second longitudinal folding point;

[0070] Further, the clothing folding and conveying station may further include a third guide plate 340, which is disposed on one side of the second clothing folding and conveying station 320 and forms a seventh conveying path G connected to the sixth conveying path F with the second clothing folding and conveying station 320;

[0071] In order to enable the clothes to smoothly enter the folded conveying path, the clothes folding and conveying station is also provided with a retractable folding mechanism, which can press the clothes into the conveying path.

[0072] The folding mechanism includes a first folding mechanism CB1, which can press down the clothes at the entrance of the eighth conveying path H, so that the clothes form the creases required for the first longitudinal folding, and squeeze the clothes to be folded to the eighth conveying path H to prevent the clothes from not traveling along the established route and prevent the clothes from being unable to form a folded state. Preferably, the first folding mechanism CB1 can be set as a retractable plug plate, when the clothes need to pass, the plug plate is in a retracted state, which does not affect the conveyance of the clothes, and when the clothes reach the specified position, the plug plate is pressed down to crease the clothes, and the clothes are pressed into the next conveying path from the crease position.

[0073] The folding mechanism further includes a second folding mechanism CB2, which has substantially the same function as the first folding mechanism CB1, and can be extended to form the crease required for the second longitudinal folding, and press the clothes along the position of the crease into the tenth conveying path J, so that the clothes are conveyed along a predetermined route. Preferably, the second folding mechanism CB2 can be configured as a retractable plug-in plate, and when the clothes need to pass through, the plug-in plate is in a retracted state, which does not affect the conveying of the clothes, and when the clothes reach the designated position, the plug-in plate is pressed down to crease the clothes, and the clothes are pressed into the next conveying path from the crease position.

[0074] A movable storage platform SN is provided in the clothing storage station of the clothes folding machine. When the clothes are output from the clothing outlet, the storage platform SN can move horizontally and pass under the clothing outlet to receive the clothes. The clothing storage station includes a horizontal moving mechanism that can drive the storage platform SN to move horizontally, and also includes a vertical moving mechanism that can drive the storage platform SN to move vertically close to or away from the clothing outlet. The vertical moving mechanism can drive the storage platform SN to move up and down to adjust the height of the received clothes. The storage platform SN is installed on the horizontal moving mechanism and can reciprocate in the horizontal direction driven by the horizontal moving mechanism. The horizontal moving mechanism is installed on the vertical moving mechanism, and the vertical moving mechanism can drive the horizontal moving mechanism and the storage platform SN to reciprocate up and down as a whole.

[0075] Specifically, the vertical moving mechanism includes two crossed support rods 811 to form an X-shaped structure, and the middle part of the support rod 811 is connected by a fixed shaft and can rotate relatively. The vertical moving mechanism includes two groups of symmetrically arranged X-shaped structures to form a stable and retractable support structure. One end of the support rod 811 is fixed, and the other end can reciprocate in the horizontal direction, so as to realize the relative rotation between the two support rods 811, and then drive the storage platform SN to move up and down to adjust the height. The vertical moving mechanism also includes an upper slide rail 815 and a lower slide rail 816, one end of one of the support rods 811 of the X-shaped structure moves along the upper slide rail 815, and one end of the other support rod moves along the lower slide rail 816. The horizontal moving mechanism and the storage platform SN are arranged on the top of the support structure, and different heights are formed during the sliding process of the support rod 811. The vertical moving mechanism also includes a first drive motor 814, and the first drive motor 814 drives the support rod 811 to move through a transmission structure. Preferably, the first drive motor 814 drives the support rod 811 to move by a screw transmission method. The transmission structure includes a lead screw 812 and a lead screw nut 813. The lead screw nut 813 is fixedly connected to a movable end of the support rod 811. The lead screw 812 is connected to the first drive motor 814 through a coupling and rotates with the first drive motor 814. The lead screw nut 813 is sleeved on the lead screw 812 and moves horizontally with the rotation of the lead screw 812, thereby driving the support rod 811 to rotate to form different heights.

[0076] Among them, the vertical moving mechanism supports the horizontal moving mechanism through four supporting blocks at the top, and the horizontal moving mechanism includes a frame 821 supporting the storage platform SN, two guide rails 822 are provided on the frame 821, and four sliders 826 are fixedly connected to the bottom of the storage platform SN, and the sliders 826 are installed on the frame 821 and can reciprocate along the guide rails 822. The horizontal moving mechanism also includes a second drive motor 823, and the second drive motor 823 drives the storage platform SN to reciprocate horizontally through a transmission assembly. The transmission assembly includes a first synchronous belt 824 and a first synchronous pulley 825, and the second drive motor 823 is fixedly connected to the first synchronous pulley 825. The bottom of the storage platform SN is fixed on the first synchronous belt 824, and the second drive motor 823 drives the first synchronous pulley 825 to rotate, and the first synchronous belt 824 sleeved on the first synchronous pulley 825 moves accordingly. Since the bottom of the storage platform SN is fixed at a specific position of the first synchronous belt 824, when the upper surface of the first synchronous belt 824 moves, the storage platform SN moves with the first synchronous belt 824.

[0077] A sixth sensor S6 is provided on the top of the clothing storage station. The sixth sensor S6 is a photoelectric sensor. When the clothing is output from the clothing outlet and enters the clothing storage station, the light beam emitted by the sixth sensor S6 is blocked, so that the sixth sensor S6 feeds back a triggered signal. The clothing storage station also includes a seventh sensor S7. The seventh sensor S7 is used to detect the height of the existing stacked clothing when the storage platform SN continuously stacks clothing. The seventh sensor S7 is a photoelectric sensor. There is a certain distance between its installation height and the clothing outlet. The distance is greater than the thickness of the folded clothing, ensuring that there is enough space above the storage platform SN to receive the clothing. After the storage platform SN receives the clothing, the light beam emitted by the seventh sensor S7 is blocked due to the certain thickness of the clothing, so that the seventh sensor S7 feeds back a triggered signal. The storage platform SN is controlled to descend by a vertical moving mechanism. When the upper edge of the clothing drops below the seventh sensor S7, the seventh sensor S7 feeds back a non-trigger signal.

[0078] like Figure 4-7 As shown, the present invention also discloses a control method for a clothes folding machine, which includes a controller controlling a previous process station to control the action of a next process station according to a first working state of the next process station; and the previous process station controlling its own action according to a second working state of the next process station, so as to achieve coordination and cooperation of the actions of the previous process station and the next process station, thereby achieving the goal of parallel processing of clothes.

[0079] In the above technical scheme of the present invention, the number of clothes processed in parallel can be maximized, the workstation downtime or idling can be avoided, and the clothing processing efficiency can be improved. The first piece of clothing is in the storage process, the second piece of clothing is in the folding process, the third piece of clothing is on the second layer and is in the conveying or waiting state, and the fourth piece of clothing is on the first layer and is in the horizontal folding process or waiting to enter the next layer.

[0080] Among them, the first working state at least includes "idle state" and "non-idle state"; when the next process station is in the "idle state", the movement of the previous process station is controlled to trigger the movement of the next process station; when the next process station is in the "non-idle state", the previous process station is controlled to wait for the next process station to reach the "idle state", or the previous process station is controlled to control its own movement / pause according to the second working state of the next process station.

[0081] The second working state includes at least a "transfer state" and a "pause state"; when the second working state of the next process station is the "transfer state", the previous process station is controlled to move and transfer the clothes to the next process station; when the second working state of the next process station is the "pause state", the previous process station is controlled to pause.

[0082] Specifically, when the clothing transverse folding and conveying station is in an idle state, the clothing to be folded is conveyed to the clothing transverse folding and conveying station, and the clothing transverse folding and conveying station performs a transverse folding task. The transverse folding task of the station from the idle state is triggered manually, and can also be triggered by other clothing delivery mechanisms. After completing the transverse folding task, the first working state of the clothing flattening and conveying station is obtained;

[0083] If the clothes flattening and conveying station is in the "idle state", the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station is controlled to move to perform the clothes transfer task, and the clothes flattening and conveying station is triggered to move at the same time;

[0084] If the clothes flattening and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station suspends the clothes transfer task and waits for the clothes flattening and conveying station to be in an "idle state", or the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station controls its own action according to the second working state of the clothes flattening and conveying station;

[0085] When the second working state of the clothing smoothing transfer station is the "transfer state", the clothing horizontal folding transfer station continues the clothing transfer task and transfers the clothing to the clothing smoothing transfer station; when the second working state of the clothing smoothing transfer station is the "pause state", the clothing horizontal folding transfer station pauses the clothing transfer task.

[0086] A first sensor S1 is provided at the clothing entrance of the clothing smoothing and conveying station; when the first sensor S1 senses the first position of the clothing to be folded, the clothing transverse folding and conveying station triggers the movement of the clothing smoothing and conveying station; when the first sensor S1 senses the second position of the clothing to be folded, the clothing has left the transverse folding and conveying station, and the clothing transverse folding and conveying station releases its own "idle state" to process the next piece of clothing to be folded; when the first sensor S1 does not sense the second position of the clothing to be folded, it indicates that the clothing has not completely left the transverse folding and conveying station, and the clothing transverse folding and conveying station is in a "non-idle state".

[0087] When the movement of the clothes flattening and conveying station is triggered, the clothes to be folded are measured in length and flattened at the clothes flattening and conveying station. When the second sensor S2 senses the first position of the clothes to be folded, the first working state of the clothes folding and conveying station is obtained.

[0088] If the clothing folding and conveying station is in the "idle state", the clothing flattening and conveying station is controlled to move to perform the clothing transfer task, and the clothing folding and conveying station is triggered to move at the same time;

[0089] When the clothes folding and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", the clothes flattening and conveying station waits for the clothes folding and conveying station to be in an "idle state", or the clothes flattening and conveying station controls its own action according to the second working state of the clothes folding and conveying station;

[0090] When the second working state of the clothes folding and conveying station is the "transfer state", the clothes flattening and conveying station moves to continue the clothes transfer task; when the signal of the clothes folding and conveying station is the "pause state", the clothes flattening and conveying station pauses the clothes transfer task;

[0091] When the number of times the first sensor S1 detects the first position of the clothes is equal to the number of times the second sensor S2 detects the second position of the clothes, that is, the number of clothes on the clothes smoothing and conveying station is zero, the clothes smoothing and conveying station releases its own "idle state", otherwise the clothes smoothing and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", and the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station controls its own movement / pause according to the second working state of the clothes smoothing and conveying station.

[0092] When the movement of the first clothing folding and conveying station 310 is triggered, the clothing to be folded is transferred to the second clothing folding and conveying station 320 for a certain length, and then the first longitudinal folding task is performed. After the first longitudinal folding task is completed, the clothing is transferred to the third clothing folding and conveying station 330 for a certain length, and then the second longitudinal folding task is prepared, and at the same time, the first working state of the clothing storage station is obtained;

[0093] If the clothing storage station is in the "idle state", the second longitudinal folding task will be continued. During the execution of the second longitudinal folding task, the clothing storage station will be triggered to move to perform the storage task. After the storage task is completed, the clothing storage station returns to the "idle state" and publishes its own "idle state" to the clothing folding and conveying station;

[0094] If the clothing storage station is in a "non-idle state", the clothing folding and conveying station waits for the clothing storage station to be in an "idle state";

[0095] When the third sensor S3 senses the second position of the clothes to be folded, the clothes have left the clothes flattening and conveying station; the signal sensed by the fourth sensor S4 is obtained to perform the first longitudinal folding task; the signal sensed by the fifth sensor S5 is obtained to prepare for the second longitudinal folding task.

[0096] A sixth sensor S6 and a seventh sensor S7 for sensing the height of clothing stacking are provided at the clothing entrance of the clothing storage station; when the sixth sensor S6 senses the first position of the clothing to be folded, the movement of the clothing folding and conveying station triggers the movement of the clothing storage station to perform the storage task, and when the sixth sensor S6 senses the second position of the clothing to be folded, the clothing has left the clothing folding and conveying station, and the clothing folding and conveying station releases its own "idle state", otherwise the clothing folding and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", and the clothing flattening and conveying station controls its own movement / pause according to the second working state of the clothing folding and conveying station.

[0097] As shown in Table 1 and Figure 4-6 As shown, the above technical solution of the present invention is described below in conjunction with specific implementation methods:

[0098]

[0099]

[0100] Table 1 Workstation status jump and action table

[0101] The present invention Figure 4 , Figure 6 In Table 1, station 1 represents the clothing horizontal folding and conveying station, station 2 represents the clothing flattening and conveying station; station 3 represents the clothing folding and conveying station, and station 4 represents the clothing storage station.

[0102] The clothing horizontal folding and conveying station is responsible for the clothing horizontal folding tasks and the clothing transfer tasks to the clothing flat conveying station. The horizontal folding task of this station is triggered manually from the idle state, and can also be triggered by other clothing delivery mechanisms; when the clothing flat conveying station is in the idle state, or although it is in the non-idle state, it is in the transfer state in the non-idle state, the clothing horizontal folding and conveying station is controlled to start the clothing transfer task; when the clothing flat conveying station is in the pause state in the non-idle state, the clothing horizontal folding and conveying station is synchronously paused and transferred to the pause state. At this time, if the clothing flat conveying station returns to the transfer state, the clothing horizontal folding and conveying station will return to the transfer state synchronously accordingly. The clothing horizontal folding and conveying station and the clothing flat conveying station are in a synchronous coupling state of starting and stopping at the same time. When the tail end of the clothing passes through the first sensor S1, the first sensor S1 sends a falling edge signal, that is, the clothing has completely left the clothing horizontal folding and conveying station. At this time, the clothing horizontal folding and conveying station stops moving and enters the idle state;

[0103] In the above technical solution of the present invention, the clothing horizontal folding conveying station triggers the movement of the clothing flat conveying station according to the idle state of the clothing flat conveying station. After the clothing flat conveying station moves (that is, the clothing flat conveying station is in a non-idle state), the clothing horizontal folding conveying station controls its own movement and pause according to the transfer state and pause state of the clothing flat conveying station, so as to realize the synchronization between the clothing horizontal folding conveying station and the clothing flat conveying station; or the clothing horizontal folding conveying station waits for the clothing flat conveying station to be in an idle state according to the non-idle state of the clothing flat conveying station;

[0104] The clothing leveling and conveying station is responsible for the clothing length measurement tasks, clothing leveling tasks and clothing transfer tasks. When the clothing leveling and conveying station is in an idle state, the clothing folding and conveying station is controlled to trigger the clothing leveling and conveying station to move. The clothing leveling and conveying station controls the second conveyor belt C2-1 and the squeezing conveyor belt C2-2 to level the clothing. The clothing leveling and conveying station reads the detection signal of the first sensor S1 and the shaft encoder of the leveling and conveying mechanism 210 to determine the clothing length; when the first sensor S1 detects the second position of the clothing, the clothing length measurement task is completed; when the second position of the clothing leaves the rotating roller close to the second conveyor belt C2-1 in the squeezing and conveying mechanism 220, the clothing leveling task is completed, and the clothing leveling and conveying station uses the second sensor S2 to detect the head end of the clothing (i.e., the first position of the clothing). , triggering the conveying state to jump to the waiting state, indicating that the clothes have been conveyed to the end of the clothes flattening and conveying station and are ready to enter the clothes folding and conveying station, but whether to continue the movement and transfer depends on the state of the clothes folding and conveying station; the clothes flattening and conveying station reads the idle state of the clothes folding and conveying station, triggering the movement of the clothes folding and conveying station, and the clothes flattening and conveying station reads the transfer state and pause state of the clothes folding and conveying station to control its own movement and pause, so as to realize the synchronization between the clothes flattening and conveying station and the clothes folding and conveying station; the clothes flattening and conveying station publishes its own idle state, transfer state and pause state, which is used to facilitate the synchronization mechanism between the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station and the clothes flattening and conveying station, otherwise the clothes flattening and conveying station enters the "waiting transfer" state, waiting for the clothes folding and conveying station to be idle;

[0105] The clothes are transferred from the clothes flattening and conveying station to the clothes folding and conveying station, which requires the synchronous movement and pause of the two stations. If the clothes are too long, when the clothes reach the first longitudinal fold, the tail end of the clothes (i.e., the second position of the clothes) still stays on the clothes flattening and conveying station. At this time, the clothes folding and conveying station and the clothes flattening and conveying station enter a synchronous coupling state of starting and stopping at the same time. This coupling state continues until the tail end of the clothes (i.e., the second position of the clothes) leaves the clothes flattening and conveying station. At this time, if there are no new clothes on the clothes flattening and conveying station, it enters an idle state. If new clothes have entered the clothes flattening and conveying station, the clothes flattening and conveying station enters a conveying state. This state is maintained until the head end of the clothes triggers the second sensor S2. According to the state of the clothes folding and conveying station, the clothes flattening and conveying station enters a waiting for transfer or further enters a transfer state.

[0106] When the clothing folding and conveying station is in an idle state, the clothing smoothing and conveying station triggers the clothing folding and conveying station, and the clothing folding and conveying station starts and transfers the clothing together with the clothing smoothing and conveying station. When the clothing reaches the first longitudinal fold, it stops and the insert plate moves. Then the first clothing folding and conveying station 310, the second clothing folding and conveying station 320, and the third clothing folding and conveying station 330 cooperate to complete the first longitudinal fold. When the clothing enters the third clothing folding and conveying station 330, the fifth sensor S5 is used to locate the head end of the clothing (i.e., the first position of the clothing). The system will control the third clothing folding and conveying station 330 to continue moving a certain distance and stop according to the clothing length measurement result and the clothing folding plan. At this time, it reaches the second longitudinal fold and inquires the clothing storage station. If it is in an idle state, it continues the second longitudinal folding action. If it is not idle, the second longitudinal folding task is paused.

[0107] The storage platform SN of the clothing storage station rises to a specific position according to the positioning signal of the seventh sensor S7 and stands by to receive clothing. At this time, the clothing storage station is in an idle state. When the sixth sensor S6 detects the head end of the clothing, the clothing folding and conveying station triggers the clothing storage station to start moving to receive clothing. When the clothing storage station completes the receiving task and descends to its original position, it returns to an idle state.

[0108] Specifically, the clothing folding and conveying station controls the third conveyor belt C3, the fourth conveyor belt C4 and the fifth conveyor belt C5, as well as the first folding mechanism CB1 and the second folding mechanism CB2; the clothing folding and conveying station reads the third sensor S3 signal S3 to determine that the clothing has entered the clothing folding and conveying station; the clothing folding and conveying station reads the fourth sensor S4 signal to assist in controlling the clothing conveying distance and locating the first longitudinal folding position; the clothing folding and conveying station reads the fifth sensor S5 signal to assist in controlling the clothing conveying distance and locating the second longitudinal folding position; the clothing folding and conveying station reads the sixth sensor S6 signal to detect the leading end of the clothing to determine that the clothing begins to leave the station, and detects the trailing end of the clothing to determine that the clothing has left the station; the clothing folding and conveying station reads the idle state of the clothing storage station before starting the second longitudinal folding and continues the longitudinal folding action; the clothing folding and conveying station triggers the synchronous movement of the clothing storage station when the clothing begins to leave; the clothing folding and conveying station publishes its own idle state information, transfer state or pause state, so as to facilitate the synchronization mechanism between the clothing flattening and conveying station and the clothing folding and conveying station, as well as the synchronization mechanism between the clothing folding and conveying station and the clothing storage station.

[0109] The clothing storage station controls the storage platform SN and uses the seventh sensor S7 to locate the storage platform SN; after the clothing storage station completes the storage task (that is, the storage platform SN rises to receive the clothes and then lowers a certain height to return to its original position), it returns to the idle state and publishes its own state to the clothing folding and conveying station, waiting for a new trigger signal from the clothing folding and conveying station, thereby realizing the synchronization mechanism between the clothing storage station and the clothing folding and conveying station.

[0110] The present invention also provides a method for detecting the number of clothes at each station, especially a method for detecting the number of clothes at the clothes leveling and conveying station, combining Table 2 and Figure 7 , use the first sensor S1 arranged at the entrance of the workstation and the second sensor S2 at the exit to detect the beginning and end of the clothes. When the first sensor S1 detects the beginning of the clothes, it gives a rising edge signal, and the clothes quantity counter is increased by 1; when the second sensor S2 detects the end of the clothes, it gives a falling edge signal, and the clothes quantity counter is reduced by 1; when the counter value is 0, it is determined that there is no clothes on the workstation, and if the counter value is greater than 0, it is determined that there are clothes on the workstation, and the number of clothes can be determined by the counter value.

[0111] Transfer and Action illustrate T1 The sensor detects the front end of the clothing and gives a rising edge signal T2 The sensor detects the end of the clothing and gives a falling edge signal T3 The counter value is equal to 0 A1 The counter value increases by 1 A2 The counter value decreases by 1

[0112] Table 2 Clothes quantity management transfer and action description

[0113] In the above technical solution of the present invention, the quasi-parallel clothes folding processing technology based on the assembly line allows the clothes folding device to accommodate and process multiple pieces of clothing at the same time. The workstation logic is compact and the actions are coherent, avoiding the workstation downtime or idling, thereby improving the processing efficiency and utilization rate of the clothes folding device, and also reducing power consumption.

[0114] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention in any form. Although the present invention has been disclosed as a preferred embodiment as above, it is not used to limit the present invention. Any technician familiar with this patent can make some changes or modifications to equivalent embodiments of equivalent changes by using the technical content suggested above without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention. The implementation scheme in the above embodiment can also be further combined or replaced. However, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiment based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention still falls within the scope of the solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method for a clothes folding machine, the clothes folding machine comprising a controller and a plurality of clothes conveying stations for driving clothes to be folded to move and fold, and a clothes receiving station for receiving clothes, wherein the clothes conveying stations and the clothes receiving stations are both connected to the controller, and characterized in that: The method includes The controller controls the previous process station to control the next process station to move according to the first working state of the next process station; and The previous process station controls its own action according to the second working state of the next process station; The first working state at least includes an "idle state" and a "non-idle state"; When the next process station is in "idle state", the previous process station is controlled to move to trigger the next process station movement; When the next process station is in a "non-idle state", the previous process station is controlled to wait for the next process station to be in an "idle state", or the previous process station is controlled to control its own movement / pause according to the second working state of the next process station; The second working state at least includes "transfer state" and "pause state"; When the second working state of the next process station is "transfer state", the previous process station is controlled to move; when the second working state of the next process station is "pause state", the previous process station is controlled to pause; The clothing transfer station includes a clothing transverse folding transfer station and a clothing flattening transfer station arranged below the clothing transverse folding transfer station; When the clothing transverse folding conveying station is in an "idle state", the clothing to be folded is conveyed to the clothing transverse folding conveying station, and the clothing transverse folding conveying station performs the transverse folding task, and obtains the first working state of the clothing flattening conveying station after completing the transverse folding task.

2. The control method of the clothes folding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: If the clothes flattening and conveying station is in the "idle state", the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station is controlled to move to perform the clothes transfer task, and the clothes flattening and conveying station is triggered to move at the same time; If the clothes flattening and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station suspends the clothes transfer task and waits for the clothes flattening and conveying station to be in an "idle state", or the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station controls its own action according to the second working state of the clothes flattening and conveying station; When the second working state of the clothing flattening transfer station is the "transfer state", the clothing horizontal folding transfer station continues the clothing transfer task and transfers the clothing to the clothing flattening transfer station; when the second working state of the clothing flattening transfer station is the "pause state", the clothing horizontal folding transfer station pauses the clothing transfer task.

3. The control method of the clothes folding machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A first sensor is provided at the clothing entrance of the clothing leveling and conveying station; When the first sensor senses the first position of the clothes to be folded, the clothes horizontal folding conveying station triggers the clothes flattening conveying station to move; When the first sensor senses the second position of the clothes to be folded, the clothes have left the horizontal folding conveying station, and the clothes horizontal folding conveying station releases its own "idle state" to process the next piece of clothes to be folded, otherwise the clothes horizontal folding conveying station is in a "non-idle state".

4. The control method of the clothes folding machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: A second sensor having a certain distance from the first sensor is arranged at the clothes outlet of the clothes flattening and conveying station, and the clothes conveying station includes a clothes folding and conveying station arranged below the clothes flattening and conveying station; After the movement of the clothes flattening and conveying station is triggered, the clothes to be folded are subjected to the clothes length measurement task and clothes flattening task at the clothes flattening and conveying station, and when the second sensor senses the first position of the clothes to be folded, the first working state of the clothes folding and conveying station is obtained; If the clothes folding and conveying station is in the "idle state", the clothes flattening and conveying station is controlled to move to perform the clothes transfer task, and the clothes folding and conveying station is triggered to move at the same time; If the clothes folding and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", the clothes flattening and conveying station waits for the clothes folding and conveying station to be in an "idle state", or the clothes flattening and conveying station controls its own action according to the second working state of the clothes folding and conveying station; When the second working state of the clothing folding and conveying station is the "transfer state", the clothing flattening and conveying station continues the clothing transfer task; when the signal of the clothing folding and conveying station is the "pause state", the clothing flattening and conveying station pauses the clothing transfer task.

5. The control method of the clothes folding machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the number of times the first sensor detects the first position of the clothes is equal to the number of times the second sensor detects the second position of the clothes, the clothes smoothing and conveying station releases its own "idle state", otherwise the clothes smoothing and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", and the clothes folding and conveying station controls its own actions according to the second working state of the clothes smoothing and conveying station.

6. The control method of the clothes folding machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: The clothing folding and conveying station comprises a first clothing folding and conveying station, a second clothing folding and conveying station and a third clothing folding and conveying station, wherein the second clothing folding and conveying station is arranged at one side of the first clothing folding and conveying station, and the third clothing folding and conveying station is arranged below the first clothing folding and conveying station and at one side of the second clothing folding and conveying station; After the movement of the first clothing folding and conveying station is triggered, the clothing to be folded is transferred to the second clothing folding and conveying station for a certain length, and then the first longitudinal folding task is performed. After the first longitudinal folding task is completed, the clothing is transferred to the third clothing folding and conveying station for a certain length, and then the second longitudinal folding task is prepared, and at the same time, the first working state of the clothing storage station is obtained; If the clothing storage station is in the "idle state", the second longitudinal folding task will be continued. During the second longitudinal folding task, the clothing storage station will be triggered to move to perform the storage task. After the storage task is completed, the clothing storage station returns to the "idle state" and publishes its own "idle state" to the clothing folding and conveying station; If the clothing storage station is in a "non-idle state", the clothing folding and conveying station waits for the clothing storage station to be in an "idle state".

7. The control method of the clothes folding machine according to claim 6, characterized in that: A third sensor is provided on the first clothing folding and conveying station, a fourth sensor is provided on the second clothing folding and conveying station, and a fifth sensor is provided on the third clothing folding and conveying station; when the third sensor senses the second position of the clothing to be folded, the clothing has left the clothing flattening and conveying station; the signal sensed by the fourth sensor is obtained to perform the first longitudinal folding task; the signal sensed by the fifth sensor is obtained to prepare for the second longitudinal folding task.

8. The control method of the clothes folding machine according to claim 6, characterized in that: A sixth sensor and a seventh sensor for sensing the height of the stacked clothes are provided at the clothing entrance of the clothing storage station; When the sixth sensor senses the first position of the clothes to be folded, the movement of the clothes folding and conveying station triggers the movement of the clothes storage station to perform the storage task; when the sixth sensor senses the second position of the clothes to be folded, the clothes have left the clothes folding and conveying station, and the clothes folding and conveying station releases its own "idle state", otherwise the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station is in a "non-idle state", and the clothes flattening and conveying station controls its own action according to the second working state of the clothes horizontal folding and conveying station.

9. A clothes folding machine, characterized in that: A control method for a clothes folding machine as described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is adopted.

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