Marking devices for clothing

Abstract

The present invention relates to a marking device for garments and a method for marking garments. The marking device can be attached to the garment. Within the scope of the invention, it is proposed that the marking device has a pattern detectable by X-rays. Advantageously, the marking device can be used to verify whether a data record has been created for the garment.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a marking means for laundry items, wherein the marking means is connectable to a laundry item, and to a method for marking laundry items with a marking means.

[0002] In various facilities, such as retirement homes, nursing homes, workplaces, or hospitals, the cleaning of work clothes or residents' laundry must be ensured. This need often cannot be met within the facility itself due to space and cost constraints, which is why the laundry is usually cleaned in large-scale laundries.

[0003] The problem is described in more detail below using nursing homes as an example. It goes without saying that the same problem exists for other facilities or for laundries in cities where various people wash their personal laundry. In nursing homes, the laundry consists primarily of residents' personal items. Residents have their personal laundry washed there. On average, a resident has approximately 220 personal items of clothing. These items can include clothing worn daily, but also pillows, tablecloths, or bed linens. On average, 100 items of clothing are used regularly, creating a corresponding need for cleaning these items. A nursing home typically has around 90 long-term care beds and approximately 20 to 30 short-term care beds. A resident drops off their laundry approximately 2 to 3 times a week, averaging 7 items per drop-off. A resident stays in the nursing home for an average of approximately...3 months in a nursing home.

[0004] When a resident's laundry is washed at a laundry facility, each item must be recorded and assigned to the resident in order to calculate the cleaning costs correctly and return the laundry to the right person. The problem is that when a resident is admitted to a nursing home, their personalized laundry is usually not marked. This can be particularly time-consuming when the laundry of several residents in a nursing home is washed together.

[0005] Therefore, the first laundry of a new resident after moving into the care home and before the first cleaning at the laundry facility is usually placed in a bag or sack labeled with the necessary information to identify that resident. Alternatively, any other storage container suitable for separating residents' laundry can be used. The information typically includes the name of the care home and the resident's name. It may also include the care home's address and the unit the resident occupies. The bag or sack is generally reused for each cleaning. The information can also be stored on an RFID chip attached to the bag or sack. The care home can provide the bag or sack.

[0006] In the laundry, the bag or sack is opened. When a new resident arrives, their laundry is entered into the ERP system as a new customer, with the resident's identification information attached to the bag or sack. For each individual item of laundry, the label with the cleaning instructions is read and entered into the ERP system along with the customer information. Each item is then assigned to a cleaning program according to the instructions, for example, colored laundry at 30°C or white laundry at 60°C. Reading and entering this information into the ERP system is a complex and labor-intensive process.

[0007] Sorting systems are therefore known that can separate the laundry from each resident's bag or sack. In such a system, the individual items of laundry can be analyzed for their fiber composition using special sensors. This data allows for the identification of the laundry items and their assignment to a cleaning program, and this data can be stored as a record in the ERP system. The identification of the laundry items and their assignment to a cleaning program can be achieved, for example, through machine learning in conjunction with reading the label containing the cleaning recommendations. Advantageously, the laundry item can be recognized again during subsequent washes based on this data. The sorting system can count the number of laundry items per bag or sack to verify that the same number of items have been returned to the respective resident after cleaning.The problem with this is that when a resident returns a bag or pouch, it cannot be determined whether the laundry items inside are already entered into the ERP system or whether they still need to be entered. If the data does not need to be entered, this step can be skipped, significantly reducing the workload.

[0008] Once the data is entered into the ERP system, a laundry label containing this information or a identifier associated with the data record in the ERP system, such as a number, is affixed to the garment, for example, by adhesive. The information is typically stored in a barcode, but storage in a QR code is also possible. Entering the information into the ERP system and labeling the garments must be done for each new item and requires personnel time. However, garments that have already been labeled do not need to be entered and labeled again.

[0009] It is important to label each item of laundry at the laundry facility so that it can be traced throughout the entire cleaning process. For each facility, the laundry items are washed together. In a nursing home, for example, the laundry of up to 120 residents is washed together. However, each item of laundry from one facility is cleaned by different residents according to the cleaning programs in the same washing machine.

[0010] After washing, all the laundry from a facility—that is, the laundry of all residents—is delivered to the dispatch area. There, the information from the laundry's label is scanned to allow the laundry to be returned to its individual residents. The laundry is then sorted according to the residents using the barcode. Finally, the laundry is folded and placed in the bag or sack assigned to the respective care home and resident.

[0011] This process is repeated with every wash. Occasionally, items of clothing without the laundry's label are found during or before delivery. A significant amount of staff time is required to correctly assign these items to the residents. To avoid this, each item would have to be individually checked for the laundry's label. This process is very time-consuming and difficult to automate, as the delivered items can be in all sorts of orientations and folds.

[0012] Therefore, in a few laundries, each item of laundry is fitted with an RFID chip in addition to the laundry's label. This RFID chip allows for the automated tracking and sorting of the laundry items. A disadvantage of these RFID chips is their high cost. Attaching them to all the laundry in a nursing home is not cost-effective given the short stays of the residents.

[0013] It is well known that X-ray machines are used in laundries to detect unwanted foreign objects that could damage the laundry and / or the laundry machines, and to sort them out before cleaning. X-ray machines are also used in medicine, for example. In this context, the X-ray machine registers the contrast created by the different attenuation of radiation in various tissue types. Bones, due to the calcium they contain, have a lower radiolucency than the surrounding soft tissue. Other applications of X-ray machines include security, such as baggage checks at airports, food production, and materials testing.

[0014] X-ray opacity refers to the permeability of materials to X-rays. X-ray opacity depends primarily on the density and atomic number of the material. Density is determined by the mass of atoms in a given volume, which increases with decreasing atomic spacing. The varying X-ray transmittance of materials can be used for imaging with X-ray equipment. According to Lambert-Beer's law, the intensity of the X-ray beam decreases exponentially with the path length traveled through the material; the absorption coefficient is material-dependent and increases with the atomic number.

[0015] Marking devices are known.

[0016] US Patent 4,126,778 A describes a method, system, and attachment for sorting articles, such as laundry. Each item contains as a component a quantity of several different materials of a type that, when irradiated with X-rays, gamma rays, or other radiation, produce secondary radiation at a characteristic energy level, the combination of which forms a code that uniquely identifies the article.

[0017] US Patent 2002 / 0044056 A1 concerns a system for identifying and counting items, such as laundry. The system uses a variety of spheres embedded in an item identification tag.

[0018] German patent DE 3804307 A1 discloses a device for identifying and counting laundry. The device includes means for emitting and detecting X-rays, making it possible to identify laundry items with markings that are opaque to X-rays.

[0019] US Patent 4,036,365 A describes a method, system, and attachment for conveying and sorting articles. Each article contains as a component a quantity of several different materials of a type that, when irradiated with X-rays, gamma rays, or other radiation, produce secondary radiation at a characteristic energy level, the combination of which forms a code that uniquely identifies the article.

[0020] The publication by M. Obermann et al.: Non-destructive X-ray examination of weft knitted wire structures. In 48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT), 2016, pp. 1-8, discloses a textile with copper, silver, and nickel threads knitted in combination with textile yarns. The resulting fabric is analyzed using X-rays. The object of the present invention is to provide an optimized marking means for laundry items.

[0021] The problem is solved in a marking device according to the preamble of claim 1 by the marking device having a pattern recognizable by means of X-rays, wherein the pattern is a wire and contains information, wherein the information is stored by bending the wire, and wherein the marking device is part of a label of the laundry.

[0022] The marking material can be bonded to the garments. The marking material can have a carrier layer that can be bonded to the garment. This bonding can be achieved, for example, by thermal adhesive. The pattern can be arranged on or within the carrier layer. The carrier layer can be made of, for example, an elastic plastic.

[0023] The pattern has a shape and texture that can be clearly identified using an X-ray machine. In particular, the pattern is distinguishable in the X-ray image from features commonly found on garments, such as buttons or zippers. This detectability is especially evident with different orientations and / or folds of the garments. Detection can be achieved through computer-aided pattern recognition, specifically through machine learning.

[0024] Advantageously, the pattern, along with the laundry label, can be applied to the garment after the data has been entered into the ERP system. In particular, the marking element can be designed flexibly. Its flexible shape facilitates application to textiles and prevents damage during the washing process.

[0025] The X-ray machine allows for a particularly advantageous verification of whether data for a given item already exists in the ERP system. If the data is already present, the laundry label doesn't need to be searched for and read manually, and the item can be automatically routed to the appropriate cleaning program. If no label is detected, the item can be rejected, and its data entered into the ERP system. Furthermore, if each resident's bag or sack is scanned sequentially, the item can be easily assigned to the respective resident, even if it lacks a laundry label. This minimizes the risk of such an unrecorded item being found after washing. A resident's items can be scanned together or individually.It is advantageous that no new X-ray machine needs to be purchased for the laundry if one is already being used for foreign object detection.

[0026] The sample could be a wire. Such a wire is advantageous because of its metal composition, making it particularly easy to identify in an X-ray image. Furthermore, wire is inexpensive and flexible. It can be easily integrated into an existing laundry label.

[0027] A particularly advantageous feature is that information can be easily stored in a wire by bending it. For example, the wire can be shaped into lettering.

[0028] The marking agent can be part of the laundry's label.

[0029] Advantageously, the marking device does not need to be separately attached to the laundry item along with the laundry label.

[0030] Another embodiment of the invention consists in the pattern having a higher X-ray opacity than textiles.

[0031] In particular, the radiopaqueness can be greater than that of the fabrics or plastics used as the basis for the textiles. Advantageously, the pattern does not need to be thicker to be visible in an X-ray image. This increases wearing comfort.

[0032] Another embodiment of the invention consists in the fact that the pattern contains information.

[0033] The information can include, for example, the name of the laundry service. It can also be an assignment number to the data record stored in the ERP system. This allows information regarding the cleaning program to be used and / or the resident to be assigned to the garment even if the laundry label is no longer legible or has been lost. The template can also contain information from the complete or partial data record in the ERP system for this garment. For example, information about the resident can be stored in the template.

[0034] The pattern can be designed, for example, as a barcode or a QR code. Alternatively, the pattern can be applied to the laundry label or another carrier material on the garment, for example, using metallic printing or metallic paint.

[0035] The problem is also solved by a method according to claim 6 with a marking means according to the invention by the following steps: • Providing multiple storage units with separate personalized laundry for multiple people in a facility, • Check if data about the person is already stored in an ERP system, • If the person is not registered in the ERP system, create the data for each item of the resident's laundry in the ERP system and attach the identification tag. • If the person is registered in the ERP system, each item of clothing belonging to that person is checked with an X-ray machine to see if the marking device is present. • Sorting out the laundry items that do not have a marking and entering the data for the laundry item into the ERP system, • Cleaning of the laundry items, • Sorting the laundry items according to the respective resident.

[0036] The storage units can be sacks or bags. These units can be labeled with information about the facility and the individual. This information can be stored on RFID chips. For example, each resident's sack or bag could be equipped with an RFID chip containing at least the resident's information. Typically, laundry for a facility is washed collectively.

[0037] The data on the storage unit can be used to check whether the person is already registered in the laundry's ERP system. For example, the person's information can be automatically read from an RFID chip, barcode, or QR code attached to the bag or sack.

[0038] If no data record for a person is stored in the ERP system, each item of clothing belonging to that person is recorded, and the data, such as care instructions, the corresponding cleaning program, and information about which person the item belongs to, is stored in the ERP system. The care label on the garment can be read. It is also possible to examine the textiles of the garment using sensors, for example, imaging technology, and select the appropriate cleaning program. Afterward, in addition to the usual laundry label, the garment is marked with the marking device according to the invention.

[0039] If the person's information is stored in the ERP system, the entire bag or individual items of clothing belonging to that person are passed through an X-ray machine. The X-ray machine checks for the presence of a marking device. This marking device is designed to be visible in the X-ray image regardless of the garment's orientation or fold. Detection can be automated using computer-aided pattern recognition. If the marking device is detected on the garment, the usual cleaning process continues. If the marking device is not detected, the garment is rejected. The advantage of this method is that it allows for early rejection in the laundry process, when the garment can be easily traced back to the individual. This way, all of a person's laundry can be processed through the X-ray machine sequentially.

[0040] If the garment lacks a marking, the system checks whether it exists in the ERP system. For example, it can verify the presence of the laundry's label. If the garment is not yet in the ERP system, its data is created. The garment is then labeled with the laundry's label and a marking, and cleaned according to the information in the ERP system.

[0041] After cleaning, the laundry items are sorted according to the person(s).

[0042] The inventive method advantageously reduces the effort required to enter data into the ERP system. Only laundry items belonging to new individuals or laundry items without markings need to be entered into the ERP system. The risk of duplicate data records can be minimized. The process of entering data into the ERP system can be automated.

[0043] Finally, the use of a marking device according to the invention is part of the invention.

Claims

[1] Marking device for laundry items, wherein the marking device is attachable to a garment, wherein the marking device has a pattern detectable by X-rays, characterized by that the pattern is a wire and contains information, wherein the information is stored by bending the wire, and wherein the marking means is part of a laundry label. [2] Marking means according to claim 1, characterized by that the pattern has a higher X-ray opacity than textiles. [3] Method for marking laundry items in a laundry with a marking agent according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps: • Providing multiple storage units with separate personalized laundry for multiple people in a facility, • Check if data about the person is already stored in an ERP system, • If the person is not registered in the ERP system, create the data for each item of the resident's laundry in the ERP system and attach the identification tag. • If the person is registered in the ERP system, each item of clothing belonging to that person is checked with an X-ray machine to see if the marking device is present. • Sorting out the laundry items that do not have a marking and entering the data for the laundry item into the ERP system, • Cleaning of the laundry items, • Sorting the laundry items according to the respective resident. [4] Use of a marking device according to one of claims 1 to 2 for laundry items in a laundry.