Fabric flattening device

Abstract

This invention aims to reduce the cost of the negative pressure source and thus the fabric flattening device, and / or reduce the power consumption of the negative pressure source during the operation of the fabric flattening device. The fabric flattening device comprises: a flattening section having a flattening clamp that flattens the upper edge of the fabric to be fed in in a left-right direction; and a conveying section having an intermediate moving body and a belt conveyor, wherein the intermediate moving body releases the upper edge of the fabric that was collected from and held on the upper surface of the flattening clamp at the forward position while moving backward from a forward position, and the belt conveyor collects the upper edge of the fabric released by the intermediate moving body and conveys the entire fabric backward; the conveying section has: a plurality of suction holes distributed on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body and at least within a left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right width of the upper edge of the fabric; a negative pressure source that draws out air from inside the intermediate moving body to form a negative pressure area therein; and a suction force maintaining mechanism that maintains the suction force of the suction holes regardless of the width of the left-right width of the upper edge of the fabric.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a fabric flattening device for laying out fabric sheets one by one in a fabric washing factory or similar facility in order to feed washed fabric into an ironing roller or similar device in the next process. In particular, it relates to a fabric flattening device that maintains the adsorption force of the central moving body regardless of the width of the fabric in the left-right direction, thereby preventing the fabric from falling off in an inexpensive manner. Background Technology

[0002] As a conventional fabric flattening device, such as the fabric flattening device described in Patent Document 1 previously disclosed by the applicant of this application, the fabric flattening device includes a garment insertion section, a flattening section for flattening the inserted garment to the left and right, and a removal section for removing the flattened fabric. Here, the insertion section has a pair of insertion clamps that hold adjacent corners of the fabric at the insertion position, and a lifting device for moving the pair of insertion clamps up and down between the insertion position and a junction position above it. The flattening section has a pair of flattening clamps that retrieve and hold adjacent corners of the fabric from the pair of insertion clamps at the junction position, and a lateral travel device for moving the pair of flattening clamps laterally to unfold the fabric in the left and right direction. Furthermore, the conveying section includes: an intermediate moving body that, in its forward position, picks up the upper part of the fabric that has been unfolded to the left and right from the flattening clamp, and moves backward while adsorbing and holding the upper part; and a belt conveyor that, while picking up the upper part of the fabric released by the intermediate moving body during its backward movement and pulling it backward, also sequentially pulls up the remaining part of the fabric that is lower than the upper part, thereby conveying the entire fabric backward.

[0003] In the aforementioned conventional fabric flattening device, when the operator grasps the adjacent corners of the washed fabric and holds them in a pair of input clamps at the input position, the lifting device raises the pair of input clamps to the junction position. The pair of flattening clamps then collect and hold the adjacent corners of the fabric from the pair of input clamps at the junction position. The lateral travel device moves the pair of flattening clamps laterally in the direction of separation, thus unfolding the fabric to the left and right. The intermediate moving body, at the forward position, collects the upper part of the fabric unfolded to the left and right from the flattening clamps, while adsorbing and holding the upper part and moving backward. The belt conveyor, while collecting the upper part of the fabric released by the intermediate moving body during its backward movement and pulling it backward, also sequentially pulls up the remaining part of the fabric below the upper part, thus moving the entire fabric backward.

[0004] Existing technical documents

[0005] Patent documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-268571 Summary of the Invention

[0007] However, in the aforementioned conventional fabric flattening device, a negative pressure area is formed inside the intermediate moving body and throughout its entire left-right direction by a negative pressure source. Furthermore, multiple suction holes formed on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body and throughout its approximately entire left-right direction are connected to this negative pressure area. Therefore, depending on the width of the upper edge of the fabric to be held in the left-right direction, the range of suction holes that are not blocked by the upper edge of the fabric varies. When the upper edge of the fabric is narrow in the left-right direction, the range of suction holes that remain open is larger than when it is wide in the left-right direction. Air enters the interior of the intermediate moving body through these suction holes, thereby reducing the attractive force of the negative pressure area and thus reducing the adsorption force of the intermediate moving body that holds the upper edge of the fabric.

[0008] Furthermore, in order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to set up a negative pressure source with high attraction and keep this high attraction source always generated, so that even when the attraction in the negative pressure area is reduced to a minimum, the adsorption force of the intermediate moving body can be maintained at a strength that can reliably adsorb the upper part of the fabric. However, it has been found that if this is done, a new problem will arise: the negative pressure source will be generated, which will increase the cost of the fabric flattening device and the power consumption of the negative pressure source during the operation of the fabric flattening device.

[0009] The present invention solves the problems of conventional fabric flattening devices as described above. The fabric flattening device of the present invention comprises:

[0010] A flattening section having a pair of flattening clamps that hold adjacent corners of the inserted fabric and flatten the upper edge of the fabric, at least between the aforementioned corners, in a left-right direction; and

[0011] The conveying section includes an intermediate moving body and a belt conveyor. The intermediate moving body, while moving backward from a forward position, releases the upper edge of the fabric that was collected and held on the upper surface by the pair of flattening clamps at the forward position. Simultaneously, the belt conveyor collects and pulls in the upper edge of the fabric released by the intermediate moving body, and sequentially pulls up the remaining portion of the fabric below the upper edge, thus conveying the entire fabric backward.

[0012] The fabric flattening device is characterized by the following features:

[0013] The aforementioned moving-out section has:

[0014] Multiple suction holes are distributed on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body and at least within a left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric, thereby connecting the interior and exterior of the intermediate moving body.

[0015] A negative pressure source draws air out of the aforementioned intermediate moving body, creating a negative pressure zone within it; and

[0016] The adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the upper part of the fabric by the suction hole, regardless of the width of the upper part of the fabric in the left and right direction.

[0017] Invention Effects

[0018] In the fabric flattening device of the present invention, when the washed fabric is put into the device by an operator, the flattening part holds the adjacent corners of the fabric by a pair of flattening clamps and flattens at least the upper part between these corners in the left and right directions. The removal part picks up the upper part of the fabric from the pair of flattening clamps and holds it on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body at the forward position. Then, the intermediate moving body moves backward from the forward position while releasing the upper part of the fabric. Furthermore, while the belt conveyor picks up the released upper part of the fabric and pulls it backward, it also sequentially pulls up the remaining part of the fabric that is lower than the upper part and moves the entire fabric backward.

[0019] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, the plurality of suction holes of the transfer part are distributed on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body and at least within the left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric, thereby connecting the interior and exterior of the intermediate moving body. The negative pressure source of the transfer part draws out the air inside the intermediate moving body through its suction force, thereby forming a negative pressure area inside the intermediate moving body. Regardless of the width of the left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric, the adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the plurality of suction holes adsorbing the upper edge of the fabric through communication with the negative pressure area to a strength that can reliably adsorb the upper edge of the fabric.

[0020] Therefore, the fabric flattening device according to the present invention can maintain the adsorption force of the intermediate moving body to a strength that can reliably adsorb the upper edge of the fabric even without providing a negative pressure source with high attractive force, or even without making the negative pressure source always generate high attractive force. Thus, it is possible to reduce the cost of the negative pressure source and the fabric flattening device and / or reduce the power consumption of the negative pressure source during the operation of the fabric flattening device, thereby preventing the fabric from falling off the intermediate moving body in an inexpensive manner.

[0021] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, it is preferable that...

[0022] Inside the aforementioned intermediate moving body, multiple partitioned areas are divided in the left-right direction by fixedly configured partition components.

[0023] The aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism causes at least a portion of the partitioned areas within the intermediate moving body that are located within a left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric to become negative pressure areas through a common negative pressure source.

[0024] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, it is preferable that...

[0025] Inside the aforementioned intermediate moving body, multiple partitioned areas are divided in the left-right direction by fixedly configured partition components.

[0026] The aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism and the aforementioned intermediate moving body are respectively provided with separate negative pressure sources corresponding to the multiple partition areas, so that at least a portion of the partition areas located within the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric become the aforementioned negative pressure areas through the corresponding independent negative pressure sources.

[0027] On the other hand, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, preferably,

[0028] The negative pressure area is defined by the negative pressure source within the interior of the intermediate moving body and at least within the left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right width of the upper edge of the fabric.

[0029] The aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism blocks the aforementioned suction holes located outside the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the aforementioned fabric, thereby isolating them relative to the aforementioned negative pressure area.

[0030] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, it is preferable that...

[0031] Inside the aforementioned intermediate moving body, and at least within a left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right width of the upper edge of the aforementioned fabric, the aforementioned negative pressure area is defined by the aforementioned negative pressure source.

[0032] The aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism controls the attraction force of the negative pressure source in a manner that ensures the adsorption force of the upper part of the fabric is adsorbed by the adsorption holes, regardless of the width of the upper part of the fabric in the left-right direction.

[0033] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, it is preferable that...

[0034] A partition component capable of moving in the left-right direction is disposed inside the aforementioned intermediate moving body.

[0035] The aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism causes the aforementioned separating member to move in the left-right direction and divides the separating area within the aforementioned intermediate moving body and within the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper edge of the aforementioned fabric, and makes the separating area become the aforementioned negative pressure area through the aforementioned negative pressure source.

[0036] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, it is preferable that...

[0037] The aforementioned negative pressure source is fixedly installed in the aforementioned fabric flattening device and is connected to the interior of the aforementioned intermediate moving body via a deformable pipe.

[0038] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, it is preferable that...

[0039] The aforementioned conveying section includes a fabric width measuring unit, which measures the lateral width of the fabric based on the amount of movement of each of the pair of flattening clamps when at least the upper edge of the fabric is flattened in the lateral direction.

[0040] The aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the fabric on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body based on the measured left-right width of the fabric.

[0041] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, it is preferable that...

[0042] The aforementioned conveying section has a fabric width measuring section, which measures the lateral width of the fabric after the upper edge has been flattened to the left and right by the pair of flattening clamps.

[0043] The aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the fabric on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body based on the measured left-right width of the fabric.

[0044] Furthermore, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, it is preferable that...

[0045] The aforementioned conveying section has a fabric width input section for inputting a pre-determined left-right width of the aforementioned fabric.

[0046] The aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the fabric on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body based on the input left-right width of the fabric. Attached Figure Description

[0047] Figure 1 This is a front view showing the structure of one embodiment of the fabric flattening device of the present invention, omitting the input section.

[0048] Figure 2 (a) and (b) are side views showing the structure of the fabric flattening device according to the above embodiment in the state where the intermediate moving body is in the forward position and in the state where the intermediate moving body is moving backward, respectively.

[0049] Figure 3 This is an explanatory diagram showing a structural example of the fabric flattening device's delivery section in the above-described embodiment, viewed from above as the central moving body is in a state of observation.

[0050] Figure 4This is an explanatory diagram showing another structural example of the fabric flattening device's delivery section in the above-described embodiment, viewed from above as the central moving body is in view.

[0051] Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram showing another structural example of the fabric flattening device's delivery section in the above-described embodiment, viewed from above as the central moving body is in view. Detailed Implementation

[0052] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 This is a front view showing the structure of one embodiment of the fabric flattening device of the present invention, omitting the fabric feeding section. Additionally, Figure 2 (a) and Figure 2 (b) is a side view showing the structure of the fabric flattening device according to the above embodiment in both the forward position and the backward position of the intermediate moving body. In the figure, reference numeral 1 shows the main body of the fabric flattening device, reference numeral 2 shows the flattening part that flattens the inserted clothing to the left and right, and reference numeral 3 shows the removal part that removes the flattened fabric.

[0053] That is, the fabric flattening device of this embodiment is similar to the conventional fabric flattening device described above. In a fabric washing factory or the like, in order to flatten the washed fabric one by one in order to put it into the ironing roller, multiple, for example, three (not shown) feeding parts are provided at intervals between each other on the front surface of the device body 1 in the center and left and right sides of the device body 1. Each feeding part has: a pair of feeding clips in two sets near the two corners of the long side of the adjacent corner; a clip base on which the two sets of feeding clips are fixed in a left-right direction; and a lifting device for moving the clip base up and down.

[0054] The lifting device includes: a drive mechanism that drives, for example, an annular synchronous belt extending obliquely inward and upward from the lower front side of the device body 1 and partially engaging with the clamping base, via a servo motor or stepper motor; and a guide mechanism that extends obliquely along the synchronous belt and guides the lifting movement of the clamping base. By lifting and lowering the clamping base using the drive mechanism under the guidance of the guide mechanism, a pair of insertion clamps can be moved vertically between an insertion position and a handover position. The insertion position is set at approximately chest height of the operator to reduce the operator's workload, and the handover position is set at a position higher than the insertion position so that the lower edge of the fabric will not drag on the ground when it is flattened. Furthermore, the drive mechanism can be constructed using an actuator such as a cylinder or a linear motor instead of a servo motor or stepper motor.

[0055] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown in (a) and (b), a flattening section 2 is provided on the upper part of the main body 1. The flattening section 2 has: a pair of flattening clamps 2b that hold the two end corners of the long side of the fabric C by opening and closing the cylinder 2a; a pair of slides 2c that are fixed to the flattening clamps 2b; a guide rail 2d that extends to the left and right in the upper part of the main body 1 and guides the slides 2c to move horizontally in the left and right directions; and a lateral travel device (not shown) that enables the pair of slides 2c to move independently.

[0056] The lateral travel device is configured as an annular synchronous belt that extends along the guide rail 2d and is partially connected to the carriage 2c, driven by a servo motor or stepper motor. By moving the synchronous belt along the guide rail 2d, a pair of flattening clamps 2b move individually or collaboratively under the guidance of the guide rail 2d. After rising to the junction position, the pair of feed clamps collect and hold the upper edges of the fabric C near the corners. Figure 1 As shown, the fabric C is stretched near its two corners in the direction of separation, thereby flattening at least the upper part of the fabric C in the left-right direction of the device body 1. Furthermore, regarding the lateral travel device, other actuators capable of controlling speed and position can be used to drive the carriage 2c instead of servo motors or stepper motors.

[0057] Below the flattening section 2 is a conveying section 3, which includes: a gripping base 3a, which serves as an intermediate moving body and extends horizontally in the left-right direction of the device body 1, and has multiple suction holes 3b that hold the upper edge of the fabric C on the upper surface under the action of negative pressure introduced into the interior; a forward and backward device (not shown) that moves the gripping base 3a forward and backward in the front-back direction of the device body 1; a primary conveyor 4, which serves as a belt conveyor and is located below the gripping base 3a; and a secondary conveyor 5, which also serves as a belt conveyor and is connected to the rear of the primary conveyor 4. Here, both the primary conveyor 4 and the secondary conveyor 5 are the same as conventional conveyors, consisting of multiple annular conveyor belts extending in the front-back direction of the device body 1 arranged in the left-right direction.

[0058] The forward / backward device includes: a drive mechanism that drives, for example, an annular synchronous belt extending horizontally in the front-back direction of the device body 1 from the left and right sides within the device body 1 via a servo motor or stepper motor, and partially engaging with the gripping base 3a; and a guide mechanism that guides the horizontal movement of the gripping base 3a via a guide rail extending horizontally in the front-back direction of the device body 1 from the left and right sides within the device body 1 along the synchronous belt and also horizontally in the front-back direction of the device body 1 from the center within the device body 1, enabling the gripping base 3a to move horizontally under the guidance of the guide mechanism via the drive mechanism. Figure 2 The forward position shown in (a) is the same as Figure 2The fabric moves horizontally between the backward positions shown in (b), thereby enabling the gripping base 3a, which has moved to the forward position, to collect and hold the upper part of the fabric C, which is flattened in the left and right direction, from a pair of flattening clamps 2b.

[0059] In addition, such as Figure 2 As shown in (a), the take-out part 3 has a temporary holding device 6, which is arranged in multiple locations, such as three locations, in the left-right direction at the front of the main body 1. The rod-shaped temporary holding member 6a is pressed parallel to the front end of the gripping base 3a located in the forward position by a cylinder or the like from the front. The upper part of the fabric C that has been flattened is temporarily held between the temporary holding member 6a and the front end of the gripping base 3a. By using the temporary holding device 6 for temporary holding, the upper part of the fabric C released by the flattening clamp 2b can be reliably adsorbed on the upper surface of the gripping base 3a in a flattened state without falling off.

[0060] The gripping base 3a forms a slender, thin box-shaped structure extending to the left and right of the main body 1. At the aforementioned forward position, it holds the upper edge of the fabric C, which has been flattened to the left and right, in a flattened state from the flattening clamp 2b. While holding the upper edge by adsorbing it through the negative pressure acting from the inside on the upper surface through multiple suction holes 3b, it moves backward. During this backward movement, the negative pressure is stopped, releasing the upper edge of the fabric C and transferring it onto the primary conveyor 4. The primary conveyor 4 has a conveyor belt 4a with multiple small holes and a vacuum box 4b disposed below its conveying surface. The upper part of the fabric C is picked up by the conveyor belt 4a and held by the negative pressure from the vacuum box 4b. At the same time, the upper part of the fabric C is pulled backward and the remaining part of the fabric C below the upper part is also pulled up in turn, so that the entire fabric C can be sent backward. The secondary conveyor 5 can move the fabric C backward and put it into the ironing roller of the next process.

[0061] On the lower part of the front side of the main body 1, there is a channel-shaped vertically flattened section 7 extending vertically and open at the top. The lower part of the vertically flattened section 7 is connected to the blower 9 via a pipe 8. A second pipe 10 is formed on the back side of the vertically flattened section 7. This second pipe 10 is configured to connect the vacuum chamber 4b of the primary conveyor 4 to the blower 9. An opening and closing plate 11 is arranged between the pipes 8 and 10 and the blower 9. This opening and closing plate 11 can selectively open and close the openings of the pipes 8 and 10, thereby switching between the state of drawing air from the front surface of the main body 1 into the vertically flattened section 7 and the state of operating the vacuum chamber 4b of the primary conveyor 4.

[0062] The fabric flattening device of this embodiment also includes a control device 12, which is composed of a conventional computer with a central processing unit (CPU) and memory. Based on a pre-provided program, the control device 12 controls the operation of the lifting device and the lateral travel device, the opening and closing of the flattening clamp 2b, the forward and backward movement of the gripping base 3a, the generation and release of negative pressure in the gripping base 3a, the operation of the temporary holding device 6, the operation of the blower 9 and the opening and closing plate 11, and the operation of the primary conveyor 4 and the secondary conveyor 5. By controlling the operation of the lifting device and the lateral travel device using the control device 12, the feeding clamp and the flattening clamp 2b can move synchronously, thereby performing the handover operation of the two corners of the fabric C forming the upper edge.

[0063] In the fabric flattening device of this embodiment, when an operator grasps the adjacent corners of the washed fabric C, for example, the upper long side, at a certain input section and holds them respectively in a pair of input clamps at the input position, the lifting device of the input section raises the pair of input clamps to the junction position. At this time, a pair of flattening clamps 2b have moved to the junction position of the input section in advance and wait. Each set of input clamps passes through the side of each flattening clamp 2b at the junction position while opening by, for example, the action of a cam, delivering the corner of the fabric C to the flattening clamp 2b. At the same time, the... The corner of the fabric C is collected and held by the closing of each flattening clamp 2b. The lateral travel device causes the pair of flattening clamps 2b to travel laterally in the direction of separation from each other, thereby flattening at least the upper part of the fabric C to the left and right. The gripping base 3a, in the forward position, cooperates with the temporary holding device 6 to collect the upper part of the fabric C that has been flattened to the left and right from the flattening clamp 2b and adsorbs and holds it in the suction hole 3b. While adsorbing and holding the upper part of the fabric C, the upper part of the fabric C is released from the suction hole 3b by moving backward and stopping the internal negative pressure.

[0064] Then, the primary conveyor 4 collects the upper part of the fabric C released by the gripping base 3a during its backward movement onto the conveyor belt 4a and pulls it backward while holding it in place using the negative pressure adsorption in the vacuum box 4b. It also sequentially pulls up the remaining part of the fabric C below the upper part and sends the entire fabric C backward. While the primary conveyor 4 is pulling up the remaining part of the fabric C, the vertical flattening part 7 uses negative pressure to pull the remaining part of the fabric C into the interior from its upper opening and flattens the fabric C in the vertical direction. Then, the secondary conveyor 5 collects the fabric C from the primary conveyor 4 and moves it backward to the ironing roller of the next process (not shown).

[0065] In the fabric flattening device of this embodiment, the suction holes 3b are distributed in a plurality of ways on the holding surface of the upper surface of the gripping base 3a, which is slightly inclined forward in approximately the front half. These holes are distributed within a range corresponding to the maximum set left-right width of the upper edge of the fabric C, i.e., the maximum left-right width that the fabric flattening device can flatten. This allows communication between the interior and exterior of the box-shaped gripping base 3a. Furthermore, since it is sufficient for the suction holes 3b to be distributed within a range corresponding to the maximum set left-right width of the upper edge of the fabric C, narrow areas, such as the central portion of the upper surface of the gripping base 3a, where suction holes 3b are partially absent are also possible. Additionally, the fabric flattening device of this embodiment includes: a fan motor 13 that acts as a negative pressure source, drawing air out of the box-shaped gripping base 3a to create a negative pressure area therein; and a suction force maintaining mechanism 14 that maintains the suction force of the gripping base 3a's suction holes 3b adsorbing the upper edge of the fabric C regardless of the width of the upper edge of the fabric C in the left-right direction.

[0066] Figure 3 This is an explanatory diagram showing a structural example of the fabric flattening device's conveying section 3 of the above-described embodiment, viewed from above as the gripping base 3a, which serves as the intermediate moving body. In this structural example, a partition plate 14a, which is a partitioning component fixedly disposed inside the gripping base 3a, divides the fabric into multiple partitioned areas in the left-right direction. Specifically, in the example diagram, there is a partitioned area PR1 in the center, two partitioned areas PR3 on the left and right sides, and two partitioned areas PR2 in the middle of them. Each partitioned area PR1 to PR3 is as follows: Figure 2 As shown in (a) and (b), the common pipe 14d is connected via a deformable pipe 14b having at least one of flexibility and extensibility, and a cylinder-driven opening and closing damper 14c, which is connected to the suction port of a fan motor 13 fixedly disposed in the main body 1 of the device. The opening and closing damper 14c and the fan motor 13 are controlled by the control device 12.

[0067] The adsorption force maintaining mechanism 14 includes the control device 12, a partition plate 14a, pipes 14b and 14d, and an opening / closing damper 14c, and as follows: Figure 1As shown, the fabric width measuring unit has multiple light sensors 15 arranged in the left-right direction on the front surface of the main body 1 and connected to the control device 12. The control device 12 uses the light-receiving (OFF) and light-blocking (ON) output signals of these light sensors 15 to detect the position of the side edge of the fabric C after the upper part has been flattened in the left-right direction by the flattening part 2, thereby identifying the left-right width of the upper part of the flattened fabric C. The opening and closing dampers 14c of at least part of the multiple partition regions PR1 to PR3 inside the gripping base 3a that are located within the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right width of the upper part of the flattened fabric C, i.e., partition regions PR1 and PR2 in the example, are opened to connect partition regions PR1 and PR2 to the fan motor 13. On the other hand, the opening and closing dampers 14c of the partition region PR3 located outside the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right width of the upper part of the flattened fabric C are closed to block the attraction force of partition region PR3 relative to the fan motor 13.

[0068] Therefore, by making only the partition areas PR1 and PR2 negative pressure areas, air is prevented from entering the negative pressure area through the suction hole 3b of the partition area PR3, which is not blocked by the upper part of the fabric C of the flattened object, and the adsorption force of the partition areas PR1 and PR2 is reduced. Thus, the adsorption force of the gripping base 3a can be maintained regardless of the width of the upper part of the fabric C of the flattened object in the left and right directions.

[0069] Furthermore, the control device 12, as a fabric width measuring unit, can replace multiple optical sensors 15 and detect the amount of movement and stopping position of the flattening clamps 2b as the lateral travel device moves laterally to flatten the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened, based on the amount of motor movement, etc., and identify at least partially the dividing area located within the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened based on these measurements. Alternatively, the control device 12 may have a switch as a fabric width input unit, and the operator can input the dividing area located at least partially within the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened by operating the switch.

[0070] Alternatively, the aforementioned adsorption force maintaining mechanism and the multiple partitioned areas PR1 to PR3 inside the gripping base 3a can each be equipped with a separate fan motor 13. The control device 12 makes at least a portion of the partitioned areas PR1 to PR3 located within the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric C of the flattened object a negative pressure area through the corresponding independent fan motor 13. In this case, the attraction force of the independent fan motor 13 may not be so strong. Therefore, multiple small fan motors 13 can be fixedly arranged at the rear of the gripping base 3a instead of the device body 1.

[0071] Figure 4 This is an explanatory diagram showing another structural example of the fabric flattening device's conveying section in the above-described embodiment, viewed from above as the moving body. In this structural example, inside the gripping base 3a, at least within the left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric C, and within the entire left-right direction range of the gripping base 3a in the example, a common fan motor 13 is connected via multiple deformable pipes 14b having at least one of flexibility and extensibility, or multiple small fan motors 13 fixedly mounted on the gripping base 3a are directly connected to divide a negative pressure area VR. It also has, for example, two baffles 14e that block the two outer sides of the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric C to be flattened from the inside, and actuators such as cylinders that open and close these baffles 14e respectively. The control device 12 drives these actuators 14f to open and close the baffles 14e according to the left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric C to be flattened.

[0072] Therefore, by using baffles 14e to block the suction holes 3b located on the outer sides of the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened, air is prevented from entering the negative pressure area through these suction holes 3b, thus reducing the suction force of the suction holes 3b within the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened. This ensures that the suction force of the gripping base 3a is maintained regardless of the width of the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened. Furthermore, the number of baffles 14e and actuators 14f is not limited to two; more may be used.

[0073] Figure 5This is an explanatory diagram showing another structural example of the fabric flattening device's take-up portion in the above-described embodiment, viewed from above as the moving body. In this structural example, inside the gripping base 3a, a partition area PR is defined by two partition plates 14a, which are configured as partition members and can move in the left and right directions of the gripping base 3a. In this partition area PR, a common fan motor 13 fixedly disposed on the device body 1 is connected to multiple deformable pipes 14b, which have at least one of flexibility and extensibility, or multiple small fan motors 13 fixedly mounted on the gripping base 3a, thereby defining a negative pressure area. This negative pressure area is extended across a left and right direction range corresponding to the left and right width of the upper edge of the fabric C to be flattened by continuously or intermittently moving the two partition plates 14a in the left and right directions of the gripping base 3a using an actuator 14g such as a linear actuator controlled by the control device 12.

[0074] Therefore, the suction holes 3b located on the outer sides of the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened are removed from the negative pressure area, preventing air from entering the negative pressure area through these suction holes 3b and reducing the adsorption force of the suction holes 3b in the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened. Thus, the adsorption force of the gripping base 3a can be maintained regardless of the width of the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric C to be flattened.

[0075] The above description is based on the examples in the figures, but the present invention is not limited to the above examples and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the claims. For example, although the fabric flattening device in the above embodiment has a vertical flattening part 7 on the lower part of the front side of the device body 1, and the lower part of the vertical flattening part 7 is connected to the blower 9 through the pipe 8, a second pipe 10 is formed on the back side of the vertical flattening part 7 to connect the vacuum box 4b of the primary conveyor 4 and the blower 9, and the opening and closing plate 11 selectively opens and closes the opening of the pipe 8 and the opening of the pipe 10 to switch between the state of drawing air into the vertical flattening part 7 and the state of making the vacuum box 4b of the primary conveyor 4 work, the blower 9 can also be used as a common fan motor 13 fixedly configured on the device body 1 for adsorption and holding of the upper part of the fabric C to the gripping base 3a.

[0076] In addition, in the fabric flattening device of the present invention, although in a certain input section, the operator grabs the adjacent corners of the upper long side of the washed fabric C, for example, when it is put in, and holds them respectively in a pair of input clamps at the input position, and the lifting device of the input section raises the pair of input clamps to the junction position and delivers the two upper corners to a pair of flattening clamps 2b, it is also possible to replace or on this basis to have a known fabric buffer device, which arranges multiple fabrics and stores them in a suspended state, and delivers them one by one to the flattening clamps 2b.

[0077] Furthermore, the fabric C applicable to the fabric flattening device of the present invention can be two overlapping and relatively large pieces of fabric, such as a quilt cover with a large opening in the center of the outer fabric or a regular quilt cover without an opening in the center of the outer fabric; it can also be a single piece of fabric, such as a pillowcase, towel, sheet, or tablecloth, even if two pieces are overlapping but relatively small. In the above embodiment, although the conveying unit has one of two components—a fabric width measuring unit that measures the lateral width of the fabric based on the movement of each of the pair of flattening clamps, and a fabric width measuring unit that measures the lateral width of the fabric after the top edge has been flattened using multiple optical sensors 15—the conveying unit may also have both types of fabric width measuring units, used separately depending on the situation.

[0078] Alternatively, instead of opening and closing the baffle 14e via the actuator 14f, the control device 12 can control the fan motor 13 via an inverter or the like, and adjust the attractive force according to the left-right width of the upper part of the fabric C of the flattened object.

[0079] Industrial applicability

[0080] Thus, the fabric flattening device according to the present invention can maintain the adsorption force of the intermediate moving body to a strength that can reliably adsorb the upper edge of the fabric even without providing a negative pressure source with high attractive force, or even without making the negative pressure source always generate high attractive force. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of the negative pressure source and thus the fabric flattening device, and / or reduce the power consumption of the negative pressure source during the operation of the fabric flattening device, thereby preventing the fabric from falling off the intermediate moving body in an inexpensive manner.

[0081] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0082] 1. Main body of the device

[0083] 2. Flattening section

[0084] 2a cylinder

[0085] 2b Flattening clip

[0086] 2c carriage

[0087] 2D guide rail

[0088] 3 Moving out department

[0089] 3a Grab Base

[0090] 3b Suction Hole

[0091] 4. Primary Conveyor

[0092] 4a Conveyor Belt

[0093] 4b Vacuum Box

[0094] 5. Secondary Conveyor

[0095] 6 Temporary holding device

[0096] 6a Temporarily holding component

[0097] 7. Flattened section in the vertical direction

[0098] Pipes 8 and 10

[0099] 9. Blower

[0100] 11 Opening and closing plates

[0101] 12 Control devices

[0102] 13 Fan motors

[0103] 14 Adsorption force maintaining mechanism

[0104] 14a partition plate

[0105] Pipes 14b and 14d

[0106] 14c Opening and closing damper

[0107] 14e baffle

[0108] 14f, 14g actuators

[0109] 15. Light Sensor

[0110] C Fabric

[0111] PR, PR1~PR3 separated areas

[0112] VR negative pressure zone.

Claims

1. A fabric flattening device, comprising: The flattening section has a pair of flattening clamps that hold adjacent corners of the inserted fabric and flatten the upper edge of the fabric, at least between the corners, in a left-right direction. and The conveying section includes an intermediate moving body and a belt conveyor. The intermediate moving body, while moving backward from a forward position, releases the upper edge of the fabric that was collected and held on the upper surface by the pair of flattening clamps at the forward position. Simultaneously, the belt conveyor collects and pulls in the upper edge of the fabric released by the intermediate moving body, and sequentially pulls up the remaining portion of the fabric below the upper edge, thus conveying the entire fabric backward. The fabric flattening device is characterized in that... The conveying section has: Multiple suction holes are distributed on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body at least within a left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric, thereby communicating between the interior and exterior of the intermediate moving body; A negative pressure source that draws out the air inside the intermediate moving body to create a negative pressure zone inside it; and The adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the upper edge of the fabric at the suction holes, regardless of the width of the upper edge of the fabric in the left-right direction. Inside the intermediate moving body, multiple partitioned areas are divided in the left-right direction by fixedly configured partition components. The adsorption force maintaining mechanism causes at least a portion of the multiple partitioned areas inside the intermediate moving body, located within a left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right width of the upper edge of the fabric, to become the negative pressure area through a common negative pressure source.

2. A fabric flattening device, comprising: The flattening section has a pair of flattening clamps that hold adjacent corners of the inserted fabric and flatten the upper edge of the fabric, at least between the corners, in a left-right direction. and The conveying section includes an intermediate moving body and a belt conveyor. The intermediate moving body, while moving backward from a forward position, releases the upper edge of the fabric that was collected and held on the upper surface by the pair of flattening clamps at the forward position. Simultaneously, the belt conveyor collects and pulls in the upper edge of the fabric released by the intermediate moving body, and sequentially pulls up the remaining portion of the fabric below the upper edge, thus conveying the entire fabric backward. The fabric flattening device is characterized in that... The conveying section has: Multiple suction holes are distributed on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body at least within a left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric, thereby communicating between the interior and exterior of the intermediate moving body; A negative pressure source that draws out the air inside the intermediate moving body to create a negative pressure zone inside it; and The adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the upper edge of the fabric at the suction holes, regardless of the width of the upper edge of the fabric in the left-right direction. Inside the intermediate moving body, the negative pressure area is defined by the negative pressure source, at least within a left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right width of the upper edge of the fabric. The adsorption force maintaining mechanism blocks the suction hole located outside the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right direction width of the upper part of the fabric, thereby isolating it relative to the negative pressure area.

3. A fabric flattening device, comprising: The flattening section has a pair of flattening clamps that hold adjacent corners of the inserted fabric and flatten the upper edge of the fabric, at least between the corners, in a left-right direction. and The conveying section includes an intermediate moving body and a belt conveyor. The intermediate moving body, while moving backward from a forward position, releases the upper edge of the fabric that was collected and held on the upper surface by the pair of flattening clamps at the forward position. Simultaneously, the belt conveyor collects and pulls in the upper edge of the fabric released by the intermediate moving body, and sequentially pulls up the remaining portion of the fabric below the upper edge, thus conveying the entire fabric backward. The fabric flattening device is characterized in that... The conveying section has: Multiple suction holes are distributed on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body at least within a left-right direction range corresponding to the maximum set left-right direction width of the upper edge of the fabric, thereby communicating between the interior and exterior of the intermediate moving body; A negative pressure source that draws out the air inside the intermediate moving body to create a negative pressure zone inside it; and The adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the upper edge of the fabric at the suction holes, regardless of the width of the upper edge of the fabric in the left-right direction. A partition component capable of moving in the left-right direction is disposed inside the intermediate moving body. The adsorption force maintaining mechanism causes the separating component to move in the left-right direction and divide the separating area inside the intermediate moving body and within the left-right direction range corresponding to the left-right width of the upper side of the fabric, and makes the separating area become the negative pressure area through the negative pressure source.

4. The fabric flattening device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The conveying section has a fabric width measuring section that measures the lateral width of the fabric based on the amount of movement of each of the pair of flattening clamps when at least the upper edge of the fabric is flattened in the lateral direction. The adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the fabric on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body based on the measured left-right width of the fabric.

5. The fabric flattening device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The conveying section has a fabric width measuring section that measures the lateral width of the fabric after the top edge has been flattened to the left and right by the pair of flattening clamps. The adsorption force maintaining mechanism maintains the adsorption force of the fabric on the upper surface of the intermediate moving body based on the measured left-right width of the fabric.

Images