Method and system for processing and transporting laundry items contained in a bag

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and system (100) for processing and transporting laundry contained in bags / sacks (10, 20, 30) by means of laundry treatment stations (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and a transport system for transporting the bags / sacks to, through and / or from and / or between the laundry treatment stations. The method comprises receiving one or more containers (8) of soiled, un-sorted laundry at a first laundry treatment station (1), emptying the containers (8) of soiled, un-sorted laundry by removing the soiled, un-sorted laundry from each container and introducing the soiled, un-sorted laundry into the laundry treatment station, processing the soiled, un-sorted laundry at the first laundry treatment station and then transporting the laundry from the first laundry treatment station to a second laundry treatment station (2).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for processing and transporting laundry before, during, and / or after washing contained in one or more bags / sacks, and / or one or more bags / sacks from which soiled laundry has been removed and emptied, by one or more different types and / or one or more same type laundry processing stations, and by a transport system for transporting the bags / sacks, and to a system for processing and transporting laundry before, during, and / or after washing contained in one or more bags / sacks, and / or one or more bags / sacks from which soiled laundry has been removed and emptied, by one or more different types and / or one or more same type laundry processing stations, and to a system for transporting the bags / sacks as defined in the introductory part of the independent claims.

Background Art

[0002] Before sorted laundry is washed at a laundry station by a motor-driven system and an automation system, many different types of systems are known for processing and transporting laundry before and / or after washing / laundry contained in one or more bags, and one or more emptied bags from which soiled laundry / laundry has been removed, by a fabric or laundry processing station, such as a station for sorting laundry. An example of a process for preparing laundry items is disclosed in British Patent Application Publication No. 2293807A.

[0003] The problem with the prior art solution is that the manual loading of soiled laundry from the bag into the automated sorting station is time-consuming and inefficient. This is because the capacity or ability of the first end of the sorting station to receive laundry is limited, so the sorting station can only receive a certain amount of soiled laundry at the first end and sort the soiled laundry that moves through the station until the sorted laundry reaches the second end of the sorting station and is loaded into an empty bag. Therefore, the sorting station forms the "bottleneck" / choke point of the entire processing system. In some cases, this may also mean that the worker or operator who feeds the soiled unsorted laundry into the automated sorting station generally has a higher capacity than the automated sorting station and must stop feeding laundry into the sorting station and wait until the sorting station has processed a sufficient amount of laundry before feeding in more laundry. Thus, there is a need to improve the capacity of the sorting station and also a need for an entire automated system for processing soiled laundry for cleaning. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present disclosure is to alleviate, reduce, or eliminate one or more of the above-mentioned deficiencies and drawbacks in the prior art, and to solve at least the above-mentioned problems. According to a first aspect, there is provided a method for processing and transporting one or more bags containing soiled laundry before washing and one or more emptied bags from which the soiled laundry has been removed, by one or more different types of laundry processing stations and / or one or more same types of laundry processing stations, and for transporting the bags to, through, from, and / or between the different and / or same laundry processing stations, and by a transport system for processing the clean laundry after washing, the method comprising receiving one or more containers of soiled unclassified laundry at a first end of one or more laundry processing stations, and filling the unclassified soiled laundry into empty bags configured to be transported to, from, and / or between one or more first and / or second ends of the laundry processing stations by the transport system and / or received there; emptying the containers of soiled unclassified laundry and putting the soiled unclassified laundry into the bags by manually filling it directly by hand at one or more manual laundry filling stations; and / or emptying the containers of soiled unclassified laundry by removing the soiled unclassified laundry from each container, putting the soiled unclassified laundry into a first end of one or more filling stations; transporting the bags after manually filling them with the soiled unclassified laundry; and / or transporting the bags from a second end of the filling station along the transport system to a second laundry processing station upstream of the filling station when the soiled unclassified laundry is filled at the second end of the filling station, the second laundry processing station providing intermediate storage / buffering between the bag filled with the soiled unclassified laundry and the soiled sorted laundry transported in another bag from one or more third laundry processing stations by the transport system, and sorting and transporting the bags with the soiled laundry to the same / common intermediate storage / buffering.

[0005] This increases the capacity of the processing system. This is because the filling station itself adds both processing capacity and filling / intermediate storage capacity as a first processing step before sorting begins, and that processing and intermediate storage capacity is further increased by using the additional buffering placed between the filling station and the sorting station as a second processing step for the laundry bags / sacks. This also enables the operator to focus for longer periods by only filling the bag buffer instead of intermittently filling the sorting system and waiting / going back and forth between tasks. This also creates a better workflow. Another advantage is that it gives an overview of the volume of the types of items that need to be received and processed in the laundry. When the operator fills the bag, the operator can assign a category (on the software interface) to the bag. Categories are, for example, towels, sheets, clothes, etc., all of which must be processed differently after the washing process (towels must be folded differently from sheets, sheets must be folded differently from clothes, etc.). Thus, the bag initially contains "unsorted" laundry but can still be roughly classified by the operator. And since the bag can be weighed at the filling station (before being lifted and transported to the storage / buffering station), the laundry facility can also roughly know how much laundry of each category it has received. This enables the laundry facility to plan better in advance so that, for example, continuously washing 10 bags of towels does not later become a bottleneck while there are no sheets available for the operator processing the sheets. Also, by obtaining an early overview of what and how much has been received, the laundry facility provides better performance by optimizing and avoiding bottlenecks much later in the pipeline / transport system and the system as a whole, and thus can create a strategy for which bag / sack should be prioritized for washing first.

[0006] According to some embodiments, the method comprises loading the bag directly from the container by hand rather than at a filling station, and then transporting the bag, when the bag is manually filled with soiled, unclassified laundry, along a transport system through one or more first junctions and one or more second junctions of the transport system into a buffering station upstream of the first and second junctions.

[0007] According to some embodiments, the method comprises transporting the bag, when the bag is manually filled with soiled, unclassified laundry, along a transport system through one or more first junctions and one or more second junctions of the transport system upstream of a filling station into a buffering station upstream of the first and second junctions.

[0008] According to some embodiments, the method includes transporting a bag filled with soiled, unsorted laundry along a transport system from a buffering station, through one or more third junctions of the transport system upstream of the buffering station, and further through one or more fourth junctions of the transport system upstream of the third junction; guiding a bag filled with soiled, unsorted laundry at a fourth junction of the transport system to further transport it from the fourth junction to a first end of one or more third laundry processing stations upstream of the fourth junction for sorting the soiled, unsorted laundry arriving in the bag; removing and emptying the contents of the soiled, unsorted laundry in the bag to the first end of the sorting station; transporting the emptied bag from the first end of the sorting station, further through one or more fifth junctions of the transport system upstream of the first end of the sorting station, to a fourth laundry processing station, such that an empty bag arriving from the sorting station is reused at a filling station and a sorting station; transporting the soiled, unsorted laundry from the first end of the sorting station through the sorting station while sorting the soiled, unsorted laundry by the sorting station to a second end of the sorting station where sorting is completed; filling an empty bag received there with the soiled, sorted laundry transported and received at the second end of the sorting station by the sorting station; and transporting the bag, when filled with soiled, sorted laundry, along the transport system from the second end of the sorting station, through first and second junctions upstream of the sorting station, past them to the first end of the buffering station, and into the buffering station upstream of the first and second junctions for common intermediate storage of both a sack having soiled, unsorted laundry and a bag having soiled, sorted laundry at the buffering station.

[0009] This further increases the capabilities of the processing system, while also increasing the overall flexibility of the system. This is because buffering is placed in the transport flow / path of the sack having either the soiled un-sorted laundry or the soiled sorted laundry between the filling station, i.e., upstream of the filling station, and the sorting station and the washing station, i.e., downstream of the sorting station and the washing station, so that the processing, filling, and operating storage capabilities are enhanced before the sorting and / or washing of the soiled laundry begins. Advantageously, the operator filling the sack with the soiled un-sorted laundry can work more efficiently and with a more uniform workload because buffering can be done independently of filling, for example, more sacks can be filled simultaneously without requiring the filling operation to be stopped, before they are sorted and washed. As an example, buffering can be done on weekdays and sorting and / or washing can be completed on weekends.

[0010] According to some embodiments, the method sequentially transports a bag filled with soiled unsorted laundry and a bag filled with soiled sorted laundry from a second end of a buffering station along a transport system, through a third junction of the transport system, and further to a fourth junction of the transport system, and guides a bag filled with soiled unsorted laundry to be further transported to a first end of a sorting station along one transport path of the transport system at the fourth junction of the transport system for sorting the soiled unsorted laundry, fills an empty bag with the soiled sorted laundry, and forms a bag having the soiled sorted laundry to be further transported into the buffering station, guides a bag filled with the soiled sorted laundry to be further transported to a first end of a fifth laundry processing station for washing the soiled sorted laundry along another transport path of the transport system at the fourth junction of the transport system, removes and empties the contents of the soiled sorted laundry in the bag to the first end of the washing station, transports the emptied sack from the first end of the washing station through a fifth junction or through one or more seventh junctions of the transport system upstream of the first end of the washing and sorting station from the second end of the washing station to an empty sack processing station for reuse of the empty sack at the filling station and the sorting station, and transports the soiled sorted laundry from the first end of the washing station through the washing station while washing the soiled sorted laundry by the washing station to the second end of the washing station where the washing is completed and the sorted and clean laundry comes out.

[0011] According to some embodiments, the method includes transporting an empty bag from the second or last end of the last portion of the empty sack handling station to one or more sixth junctions of the transport system upstream of the second or last end of the last portion of the empty sack handling station, or to one or more sixth and ninth junctions of the transport system upstream of the second or last end of the last portion of the empty sack handling station, and sequentially guiding the empty bag at the sixth and ninth junctions of the transport system to either the second end of the filling station or the second end of the sorting station, and receiving and filling with either the soiled sorted laundry exiting the sorting station or the soiled unsorted laundry exiting the filling station.

[0012] According to some embodiments, the method includes transporting an emptied container away from the filling station.

[0013] According to some embodiments, the method includes sequentially guiding a bag having soiled unsorted laundry and / or a bag having soiled sorted laundry at the second junction of the transport system to different transport paths and / or the same transport path of the buffering station before entering or when entering the buffering station.

[0014] According to a second aspect, there is provided a system for processing and transporting soiled laundry contained in one or more sacks before washing and one or more sacks from which the soiled laundry has been removed and emptied, the system comprising one or more different types of laundry processing stations and / or one or more same type of laundry processing stations, and a transport system for processing and transporting the bags to, through, from, and / or between those different and / or same laundry processing stations and for processing the clean laundry after washing, the system further comprising one or more first laundry processing stations configured to receive at a first end soiled, un-sorted laundry arriving from one or more containers containing soiled, un-sorted laundry, the one or more first laundry processing stations being configured to manually fill empty bags with the soiled, un-sorted laundry and / or transport the soiled, un-sorted laundry to a second end of the first laundry processing station, the un-sorted soiled laundry being configured to be transported by the transport system to the second end of a filling station and filled into an empty bag received there, a first laundry processing station; at least one second laundry processing station disposed upstream of the filling station, the at least one second laundry processing station being configured to receive at a first end a bag having soiled, un-sorted laundry arriving from the filling station and to provide intermediate storage as a buffering station for the bag having the soiled, un-sorted laundry and soiled, sorted laundry transported in another bag by the transport system from one or more third laundry processing stations configured to sort the soiled, un-sorted laundry; at least one third laundry processing station disposed upstream of the buffering station, the at least one third laundry processing station being configured to receive at a first end soiled, un-sorted laundry transported from a second end of the buffering station and removed from the bag to be emptied and transported to a first end of the third laundry processing station, and to sort empty bags transported by the transport system to a second end of a sorting station and received there, and fill them at the second end,A third laundry processing station configured to form one or more sacks having soiled sorted laundry, and at least one fourth laundry processing station disposed upstream of the sorting station, which at a first end receives empty bags arriving from the sorting station and further transports the empty bags from a second or last end of a last portion of the empty sack processing station to the filling station and the sorting station for reuse at the filling station and the sorting station; and at least one fifth laundry processing station disposed upstream of the buffering station, which at a first end receives a bag having soiled sorted laundry arriving from a second end of the buffering station and moves the soiled sorted laundry from the first end of the fifth laundry processing station through the fifth laundry processing station while washing the soiled sorted laundry to a second end of the fifth laundry processing station where the washed and sorted clean laundry exits (washing is performed).

[0015] According to some embodiments, the transport system comprises at least six junctions configured to sequentially guide / rout bags between at least five different laundry processing stations, wherein a first junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of a second end of a filling station and a sorting station and downstream of a first end of a buffering station, a second junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of the first transport junction and downstream of the first end of the buffering station, a third junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of a second end of the buffering station and downstream of the sorting station and a washing station, a fourth junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of the third junction of the transport system and downstream of the sorting station and the washing station, a fifth junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of a first end of the sorting station and the washing station and downstream of a first end of a fourth laundry processing station, and a sixth junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of a second end of the fourth laundry processing station and downstream of a second end of the sorting station and the filling station.

[0016] According to some embodiments, the transport system comprises at least three additional junctions, wherein a seventh junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of the fourth junction of the transport system and downstream of the washing station, an eighth junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of the seventh junction of the transport system and downstream of a last portion of an empty sack processing station, and a ninth junction of the transport system is disposed upstream of the sixth junction of the transport system and downstream of the last portion of the empty sack processing station.

[0017] According to some embodiments, each of the first, third, and fifth junctions of the transport system is configured to merge at least two different transport paths for the bags downstream of each of these junctions into one same transport path for the bags upstream of each of these junctions, and each of the second, fourth, and sixth junctions of the transport system is configured to divide / split one same transport path for the bags downstream of each of these junctions into at least two different transport paths for the bags traversing upstream of each of these junctions.

[0018] According to some embodiments, each of the first, third, and fifth junctions as well as the seventh and ninth junctions of the transport system is configured to merge at least two different transport paths for the bags downstream of each of these junctions into one same transport path for the bags upstream of each of these junctions, and each of the second, fourth, and sixth junctions as well as the eighth junction of the transport system is configured to divide / split one same transport path for the bags downstream of each of these junctions into at least two different transport paths for the bags traversing upstream of each of these junctions.

[0019] According to some aspects, the transportation system comprises a rail part / rail, and the buffering system comprises both sorted and unsorted soiled laundry articles / items. These articles / items can be guided from the same transportation rail system and the same buffering station common to both a bag having sorted soiled laundry articles / items and a bag having unsorted soiled laundry articles / items to one or more automatic sorting stations and / or one or more automatic washing stations. The method and system of the present invention is the idea of maintaining soiled laundry in a "hands-off" state after being filled into a bag until the soiled laundry becomes washed. This is a fundamental invention. That is, the operator loads unsorted soiled laundry such as cloth and / or clothes and / or sheets into the bag being processed, and automatically sorts and washes the soiled laundry without further manual labor.

[0020] Therefore, it should be understood that the disclosure provided herein is not limited to specific components of the devices or steps of the methods described. This is because such devices and methods can vary. It should also be understood that the terms used herein are for the purpose of describing only particular embodiments and are not intended to be limiting. Note that when used in this specification and the appended claims, the articles "a", "an", "the", and "said" are intended to mean that there is one or more of the elements unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to "a unit" or "the unit" can include several devices and the like. Also, the terms "comprising", "including", "containing" and similar expressions do not exclude other elements or steps.

[0021] Terms: The term "transport system" should be construed as a system comprising a transport route in the form of a rail section or a conveyor, or other similar means for transporting suspended bags in this field. The term "bag / sack" is, at the upper end, configured to receive laundry items through the opening at the upper end, carry the laundry items, and be opened at the lower end to remove and empty the laundry items when necessary, and be closed at the lower end when necessary during the processing of the sack / bag and its laundry contents, and should be construed as one or more semi-flexible or flexible containers. The term "upstream / downstream" should be construed as the direction of movement of the laundry, and the relative position between laundry processing stations along a transport route in the form of a rail section or a conveyor, or other similar means for transporting individual pieces and / or piles and / or suspended bags having laundry in this field.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] The above object, as well as further objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure, will be more fully understood by reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0023]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Next, the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, preferred exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in other forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments disclosed herein. The disclosed embodiments are provided to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. The straight and curved / bent white arrows, solid and dotted lines in the drawings visualize the direction of movement / transport of the laundry items and / or the containers / bags having the laundry items before and after washing.

[0025] The present disclosure relates to a method and system 100, 101 for processing and transporting laundry contained in a semi-flexible or flexible container or bag 10, 20, 30 having an upper and a lower part. The bags 10, 20, 30 are openable at the upper and lower parts. The processing and transportation of the bags 10, 20, 30 are interconnected with each other by being movably / operably connected to a transportation system 7 for transporting the bags 10, 20, 30 to, and / or through, and / or from, and / or between at least two or more laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, and 5 (see FIGS. 1 to 5). In some embodiments, one or more of the laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b, 5 (see FIGS. 1 to 5) use one or more conveyors 6 or conveyor belts 6 to transport the laundry and laundry items from a first end to a second end of each of the laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b, 5. In some embodiments, the laundry can be processed, for example, partially by hand, i.e., manually, or by one or more machines when filled in a bag. The laundry is filled as one or more items of soiled, unpacked laundry into an empty bag 30 and then labeled as bag 10, or the empty bag 30 is filled with one or more items of soiled, sorted laundry and then labeled as bag 20. The bags 10, 20 having one or more items of soiled laundry have their contents removed and emptied and are placed into associated laundry processing stations 3, 3a, 3b, and 5, such as one or more laundry sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b and / or one or more laundry washing stations 5.

[0026] As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, this method includes receiving one or more containers 8 of one or more items of soiled, unclassified laundry at one or more first laundry treatment stations 1, 1a, 1b (although not shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, one or more such containers 8 are also used by the systems and methods of FIGS. 3 to 5; otherwise, the soiled laundry would not be processed in those embodiments). This method comprises emptying the container 8 containing one or more items of soiled, unclassified laundry in sequence by removing the items of soiled, unclassified laundry from each container, and feeding one or more items of soiled, unclassified laundry into the first laundry treatment stations 1, 1a, 1b. In some embodiments, the container 8 may be an autonomously operating tipping cart or dump cart that is automatically transported, i.e., without any manual intervention, to and from the laundry stations 1, 1a, 1b to empty the contents of the soiled, unclassified laundry into the first laundry treatment stations 1, 1a, 1b, and / or the container 8 may be emptied by a robotic arm / crane or the like that selects items of soiled, unclassified laundry from the container 8 and then automatically feeds the soiled laundry into the laundry treatment stations 1, 1a, 1b. This automated approach of removing and emptying the soiled laundry from the container 8, by tipping the container and / or by picking the soiled laundry directly from the container using, for example, an automated arm, may, in other embodiments, be combined with manually emptying the container 8 to further enhance the flexibility of the method and system according to the present disclosure.As an example, one or more carts 8 having soiled and unsorted laundry may be self-driven and / or remotely controlled to empty the contents of the soiled and unsorted laundry into the laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, and / or one or more robotic cranes or arms may also be remotely operated to pick up the soiled laundry from the cart 8 and deposit the picked-up soiled laundry into the laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b. In some embodiments, the method includes emptying the container 8 of soiled and unsorted laundry and manually and directly filling the bag 30 by hand into one or more manual laundry filling stations, and / or emptying the container 8 of soiled and unsorted laundry by removing the soiled and unsorted laundry from each container 8 and depositing the soiled and unsorted laundry into one or more first ends of one or more filling stations 1, 1a, 1b. In some embodiments, the method includes processing the items of soiled and unsorted laundry in one or more first laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b and then sequentially transporting the items of soiled and unsorted laundry from the one or more first laundry processing stations to one or more of the other laundry processing stations 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, and / or 5. The method includes transporting the items of soiled and unsorted laundry in one or more bags 10 by a transport system 7 to one or more subsequent second laundry processing stations 2. The method includes transporting the items of sorted and soiled laundry in one or more bags 20 by a transport system 7 to one or more subsequent second laundry processing stations 2. The transport system 7, in some embodiments, comprises one rail section, and the bags 10, 20, 30 are suspended from and maintained in a suspended state from that rail section when transported along the rail section. The transport system 7, in some embodiments, comprises at least two rails, and one or more bags 10, 20, 30 are suspended from and maintained in a suspended state from each of those rails when transported along one or both or more rails.As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 5, this method involves transporting the bags 10, 20 after manually filling the bag 10 with soiled and unsorted laundry, and / or transporting the bag 10 from the second end of the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b when the bag 10 is filled with soiled and unsorted laundry, along the transport system 7 from the second end of the filling stations to the second laundry treatment station 2 for intermediate storage / buffering of the bag 10 filled with soiled and unsorted laundry upstream of the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b and the soiled and sorted laundry transported into other bags 20 from one or more third laundry treatment stations 3, 3a, 3b by the transport system 7, and sorting the soiled and unsorted laundry into the same / common intermediate storage / buffering 2.

[0027] Figures 1, 2, 4, and 5 show a system 100 of a plurality of fabric or laundry treatment stations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 shows another system 101 of a plurality of fabric or laundry treatment stations 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5, in which two or more first laundry treatment stations 1a, 1b are utilized for increasing the filling capacity of the laundry in system 101. In some embodiments of the systems 100, 101 of Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, two or more first laundry treatment stations 1a, 1b and / or two or more third laundry treatment stations 3, 3a, 3b may also be present for sorting items of soiled unsorted laundry to provide an increase in the filling and / or sorting capacity of the laundry in systems 100, 101. In some embodiments of the systems 100, 101 of Figures 1 to 5, two or more fourth laundry treatment stations 4, 4a, 4b may also be present for processing and transporting empty bags 30 to provide an increase in the storage and processing capacity of the empty bags in systems 100, 101. The systems 100, 101 include more than one second laundry treatment station 2 that functions as an intermediate and common storage and / or buffering station 2 for bags 10, 20 in some embodiments (not shown), and in some embodiments, this second buffering station 2 of system 101 in Figure 3 is made larger than that of system 100 of Figures 1, 2, 4, and 5, but in some embodiments, for example, by adding more rail sections / rails, i.e., the length of the rails, to the portion disposed in the common buffering station 2 of the transport system 7, the size, i.e., the storage capacity and storage volume of both systems 100, 100, may be further increased.

[0028] A first aspect of the present disclosure, as seen in FIGS. 1 to 5, shows a method for processing and transporting soiled laundry before washing contained in one or more containers / bags 10, 20 before washing and one or more bags 30 from which the soiled laundry has been removed and emptied, by one or more different types of laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5 and / or one or more laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5 of the same type or for the same purpose. The transport system 7, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, is configured to transport the bags 10, 20, 30 to, through and / or from different laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5 and to process the clean laundry after washing. The method according to the present disclosure comprises receiving, at a first end of one or more first laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, one or more containers 8 of soiled unclassified laundry. The first laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b are configured to fill an empty bag 30, which is transported by the transport system 7 to and received at a second end of the filling station, with the unclassified soiled laundry. The method according to the present disclosure comprises emptying the containers 8 of soiled unclassified laundry and introducing the soiled unclassified laundry into a first end of the first filling stations 1, 1a, 1b by removing the soiled unclassified laundry from each container. The method according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, when the bag 10 is filled with soiled unclassified laundry at a second end of the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b, transports the bag 10 from the second end of the filling station along the transport system 7 into one or more second laundry processing stations 2 for intermediate storage / buffering of one or more of the bags 10 having soiled unclassified laundry upstream of the filling station.

[0029] The method according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, comprises transporting the bag 10, when filled with soiled and unsorted laundry, along the transport system 7, via one or more first junctions I and one or more second junctions II of the transport system upstream of the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b, into the buffering station 2 upstream of the first and second junctions I, II.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure comprises transporting a bag 10 filled with soiled and unsorted laundry along a transport system 7 from a buffering station 2, through one or more third junctions III of the transport system upstream of the buffering station 2, and further through one or more fourth junctions IV of the transport system upstream of the third junction III. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure further comprises guiding, at a fourth junction IV of the transport system 7, the bag 10 filled with soiled and unsorted laundry from the fourth junction IV to one or more first ends of one or more third laundry treatment stations 3, 3a, 3b upstream of the fourth junction IV for sorting the soiled and unsorted laundry arriving in the bag 10. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure comprises emptying the contents of the soiled and unsorted laundry in the bag 10 by removing them to the first end of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure comprises transporting an empty bag 30 from the first end of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b, through one or more fifth junctions V of the transport system 7 upstream of the first end of the sorting stations, into one or more fourth laundry treatment stations 4, 4a, 4b, such that the empty bag 30 arriving from the sorting stations is reused at the filling station and the sorting stations 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure comprises transporting the soiled and unsorted laundry from the first end of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b through the sorting stations while sorting the soiled and unsorted laundry by the sorting stations to one or more second ends of the sorting stations where the sorting is completed. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure comprises filling an empty bag 30 transported to and received at the second end of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b by the sorting stations with the soiled and sorted laundry.As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure includes transporting bag 20, when filled with soiled sorted laundry, from the second end of sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b along transport system 7 to the first and second junctions I, II of the transport system upstream of sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b, passing through them to one or more first ends of buffering station 2, and into the buffering station upstream of the first and second junctions I, II for common intermediate storage of both bag 10 having soiled unsorted laundry and bag 20 having soiled sorted laundry in buffering station 2.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure sequentially transports the bag 10 filled with soiled unclassified laundry and the bag 20 filled with soiled classified laundry from one or more second ends of the buffering station 2 along the transport system 7, through the third junction III of the transport system, and further to the fourth junction IV of the transport system. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure transports the bag 10 filled with soiled unclassified laundry at the fourth junction IV of the transport system 7 along one or more transport routes / rails of the transport system to the first ends of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b for sorting the soiled unclassified laundry, and further induces the bag 20 filled with soiled sorted laundry into an empty bag 30 and transports it further into the buffering station. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure induces the bag 20 filled with soiled sorted laundry at the fourth junction IV of the transport system 7 along one or more other transport routes / rails of the transport system to the first ends of one or more fifth laundry treatment stations 5 for washing the soiled sorted laundry. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure includes taking out and emptying the contents of the soiled sorted laundry in the bag 20 to the first end of the washing station 5. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure includes taking out and emptying the contents of the washed clean sorted laundry from one or more second ends of the washing station 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the method according to the present disclosure transports the emptied bag 30 from the first end of the washing station 5 through the fifth junction V, or transports the emptied bag 30 from the second end of the washing station 5 through one or more seventh junctions VII of the transport system 7 upstream of the first ends of the washing and sorting stations 3a, 3b, 5 to the empty bag treatment stations 4, 4a, 4b for reuse of the empty bag 30 at the filling station and the sorting stations 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b.As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure transports soiled sorted laundry from the first end of the washing station 5 through the washing station while washing the soiled sorted laundry by the washing station, and transports it to the second end of the washing station 5 where the washing is completed and the sorted clean laundry comes out and is further processed.

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure transports an empty bag 30 from the second or last end of one or more of the last parts 4, 4a, 4b of the empty bag processing stations 4, 4a, 4b to one or more sixth junctions VI of the transport system 7 upstream of the second or last end of the last part 4, 4a, 4b of the empty bag processing station, or to one or more sixth and ninth junctions VI, IX of the transport system 7 upstream of the second or last end of the last part 4a, 4b of the empty bag processing station 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the method according to the present disclosure sequentially guides the empty bag 30 to either the second end of the filling stations 1a, 1b or the second end of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b at the sixth and ninth junctions VI, IX of the transport system 7 so as to receive and be filled with soiled sorted laundry going out from the sorting station or soiled unsorted laundry going out from the filling station.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the method according to the present disclosure transports each of the emptied containers 9 away from the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the method according to the present disclosure sequentially guides a bag 10 having soiled unsorted laundry and / or a bag 20 having soiled sorted laundry to different transport paths / rails and / or the same transport path / rail of the buffering station 2 at the second junction II of the transport system 7 before or when entering the buffering station 2.

[0034] A second aspect of the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, is for processing and transporting soiled laundry contained in one or more bags 10, 20 before and / or after washing, and one or more empty bags 30 from which the soiled laundry has been removed and emptied, by one or more different and / or the same types of laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5 and a transport system 7 for transporting the bags 10, 20, 30 to, through, from, and / or between different and / or the same laundry processing stations, and also shows systems 100, 101 for processing clean laundry after washing. The systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure operate according to the method of the present disclosure. The systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure include one or more first laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. The one or more first laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b are configured to receive soiled, unclassified laundry arriving from one or more containers 8 containing soiled, unclassified laundry at one or more first ends, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The first laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b are configured to transport the soiled, unclassified laundry to one or more second ends of the first laundry processing stations where the empty bags 30 transported to and received at the second ends of the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b by the transport system 7 are filled with the unclassified soiled laundry, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. The systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure include at least one second laundry processing station 2 disposed upstream of the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. The second laundry processing station 2 is configured to receive, at one or more first ends, bags 10 having soiled, unclassified laundry arriving from the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b and to provide intermediate storage as one or more buffering stations 2 for the bags 10 having soiled, unclassified laundry.As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure include at least one third laundry processing station 3, 3a, 3b disposed upstream of the buffering station 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the third laundry processing stations 3, 3a, 3b receive, at one or more first ends, the soiled and unsorted laundry transported from one or more second ends of the buffering station 2, removed from the bag 10, and emptied, and are sorted by the transport system 7 to the second ends of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b and received there, and filled at one or more second ends to form one or more bags 20 having soiled and sorted laundry. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure include at least one fourth laundry processing station 4, 4a, 4b disposed upstream of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the fourth laundry processing stations 4, 4a, 4b receive, at one or more first ends, the empty bags 30 arriving from the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b, and further transport the empty bags from one or more second or last ends of one or more last portions 4, 4a, 4b of the empty bag processing station to the filling stations and sorting stations 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b for reuse there. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure include at least one fifth laundry processing station 5 disposed upstream of the buffering station 2.As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the fifth laundry processing station is configured to receive, at one or more first ends, a bag 20 having soiled sorted laundry arriving from the second end of the buffering station 2, and to move the soiled sorted laundry from the first end of the fifth laundry processing station 5 through the fifth laundry processing station while washing the soiled sorted laundry, to one or more second ends of the fifth laundry processing station where the washed and sorted clean laundry exits after the washing is completed.

[0035] In systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the transport system 7 comprises at least six junctions I to IX configured to sequentially guide / route the bags 10, 20, 30 between at least five different laundry processing stations 1 to 5. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, comprise one or more first junctions I disposed upstream of the second ends of the filling stations and sorting stations 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b and downstream of the first end of the buffering station 2 in the transport system 7. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, comprise one or more second junctions II disposed upstream of the first transport junction I and downstream of the first end of the buffering station 2 in the transport system 7. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, comprise one or more third junctions III disposed upstream of the second end of the buffering station 2 and downstream of the sorting stations and washing stations 3, 3a, 3b, 5 in the transport system 7. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, comprise one or more fourth junctions IV disposed upstream of the third junction III of the transport system and downstream of the sorting stations and washing stations 3, 3a, 3b, 5 in the transport system 7. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, comprise one or more fifth junctions V disposed upstream of the first ends of the sorting stations and washing stations 3, 3a, 3b, 5 and downstream of the first ends of the fourth laundry processing stations 4, 4a, 4b in the transport system 7. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, comprise one or more sixth junctions VI disposed upstream of the second ends of the fourth laundry processing stations 4, 4a, 4b and downstream of the second ends of the sorting stations and filling stations 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b in the transport system 7.

[0036] In systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3, the transport system 7 includes at least three additional junctions VII - IX. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure include, as shown in FIG. 3, one or more seventh junctions VII disposed in the transport system 7 upstream of the fourth junction IV of the transport system and downstream of the washing station 5. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure include, as shown in FIG. 3, one or more eighth junctions VIII disposed in the transport system 7 upstream of the seventh junction VII of the transport system and downstream of the last parts 4a, 4b of the empty bag processing station 4. Systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure include, as shown in FIG. 3, one or more ninth junctions IX disposed in the transport system 7 upstream of the sixth junction VI of the transport system and downstream of the last parts 4a, 4b of the empty bag processing station 4.

[0037] In systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 - 5, each of the first junction I, the third junction III, and the fifth junction V of the transport system 7 is configured to merge at least two different transport paths / rails for the bags 10, 20 downstream of each of these junctions into one same transport path for the bags upstream of each of these junctions. In systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIGS. 1 - 5, each of the second junction II, the fourth junction IV, and the sixth junction VI of the transport system 7 is configured to divide or split one same transport path / rail section for the bags 10, 20 downstream of each of these junctions into at least two different transport paths / rails for the bags upstream of each of these junctions.

[0038] In systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3, each of the first junction I, the third junction III, and the fifth junction V of the transport system 7, one or more seventh junctions VII, and one or more ninth junctions IX is configured to merge at least two different transport paths / rails for the bags 10, 20 downstream of each of these junctions into one and the same transport path / rail for the bags upstream of each of these junctions. In systems 100, 101 according to the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3, each of the second junction II, the fourth junction IV, and the sixth junction VI of the transport system 7, and one or more eighth junctions VIII is configured to divide / split one and the same transport path / rail section for the bags 10, 20 downstream of each of these junctions into at least two different transport paths / rails for the bags upstream of each of these junctions.

[0039] In some embodiments, systems 100, 101 include one or more different types of laundry treatment stations 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5, as shown in FIGS. 1-5. In some embodiments, the transport system 7 comprises one and the same rail section and / or one or more different rail sections and / or a combination of one or more of the same type of rail sections for transporting the bags 10, 20, 30 to, through, and / or from and / or between the laundry treatment stations 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5 (see FIGS. 1-5). In some embodiments, systems 100, 101 comprise a combination of one or more different types of laundry treatment stations 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5, one or more of the same type of laundry treatment stations, and the transport system 7 for transporting the bags 10, 20, 30 to, through, and / or from and / or between the laundry treatment stations (see FIGS. 1-5).

[0040] The functions provided by the method and systems 100, 101 enable the transportation of pre-washing un-sorted and sorted soiled laundry and post-washing clean sorted laundry among, to, and from one or more or all of the laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5 by means of one or more devices and / or machines, power sources, electric motors, etc., operably controlled by one or more control units, which are known to those skilled in the art. One step provided by the method and systems 100, 101 relates to one or more or all of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b, where the individual articles / items of an unsorted batch of soiled laundry received at the first end of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b are first separated into smaller piles consisting of one or more pieces by one or more machines or robots controlled by one or more control units. This step comprises inspecting the smaller piles of one or more soiled laundry articles by one or more sensors (e.g., RFID scanners, cameras, etc.). Thereafter, the soiled laundry articles are transported by one or more conveyors of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b based on the information collected by the sensors and temporarily stored in one or more containers of the sorting stations. When a certain quantity of soiled laundry articles are sorted into any one storage container of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b, that container unloads a batch of sorted soiled laundry articles onto one or more other conveyors of the sorting stations. Next, the other conveyors of the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b transport the sorted soiled laundry articles to the second end of the sorting stations. There, the sorted soiled laundry articles are loaded into an empty bag 30. The bag filled with the soiled sorted laundry is then transported as a bag 20 with soiled sorted laundry to the buffering station 2 as a common intermediate storage for both the bag 10 with unsorted soiled laundry and / or the bag 20 with soiled sorted laundry.In some embodiments, the buffering station 2 comprises only the bag 10 with soiled un-sorted laundry, or only the bag 20 with soiled sorted laundry, or both the bag 10 with soiled un-sorted laundry and the bag 20 with soiled sorted laundry, in variable amounts / numbers during a specific period, e.g., on weekdays or weekends, depending on how many bags of soiled laundry, i.e., those with sorted or un-sorted laundry, of each category are being processed by the method in the system 100. The processing of the bags of soiled laundry in the other types of laundry processing stations 1, 1a, 1b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5, i.e., the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b, the buffering station 2 for storing the bags 10, 20 of laundry / fabric not yet washed, i.e., bags 10 having soiled laundry / fabric not yet sorted and / or bags 20 having sorted soiled laundry / fabric, the stations / storage 4, 4a, 4b of empty bags 30, and the station 5 for automatic washing of the sorted soiled laundry / fabric arriving in the bag 20, and in the transport system 7, is performed by using similar and / or corresponding equipment such as one or more machines or robots, power sources, electric motors, passages (rails and / or conveyors etc. if not directly filling the bag 10 by hand), etc., and by one or more sensors (e.g., RFID scanners, cameras, etc.) operably controlled by one or more control units providing more autonomous functions compared to the prior art, in a manner corresponding to that for the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b.

[0041] Reference numeral 1, 1a, 1b. Station for filling the bag 10 with un-sorted soiled laundry / fabric. 2. Station for intermediate storage / buffering of bags of laundry / fabric not yet washed, comprising the bag 10 having un-sorted laundry / fabric received from the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b and / or the bag 20 having sorted laundry / fabric received from the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b. 3, 3a, 3b. A station / system / machine for automatically sorting unsorted soiled laundry / linen arriving from buffering station 2 into bag 10, each bag being emptied into stations 3, 3a, 3b. 4, 4a, 4b. A station / storage for empty bags 30 arriving from sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b and / or washing station 5 to be delivered there for reuse at filling s1, 1a, 1b and sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b. 5. A station for automatically selecting sorted soiled laundry / linen arriving from buffering station 2 into bag 20, each bag being emptied into these stations 5. 6. A transport member / conveyor belt. 7. A transport / rail system for transporting bags suspended from a transport route / rail section. 8. A container / trolley / cart having unsorted soiled laundry / linen. 9. A container / trolley / cart not having unsorted soiled laundry / linen, i.e., an empty container / trolley arriving from filling stations 1, 1a, 1b after being emptied. 10. A bag having or ready / prepared to receive / fill unsorted soiled laundry / linen. 20. A bag having or ready / prepared to receive / fill sorted soiled laundry / linen. 30. A bag not having laundry / linen, i.e., an empty bag arriving from sorting and / or washing stations 3, 3a, 3b, 5 after being emptied. 100. One system for processing both unsorted and sorted soiled laundry / linen before washing and sorted clean laundry / linen after washing. 101. Another system for processing both unsorted and sorted soiled laundry / linen before washing and sorted clean laundry / linen after washing. I. A junction of the transport system 7 where a bag 10 with undifferentiated soiled laundry and a bag 20 with sorted soiled laundry merge / are guided to the same transport route / are routed. II. A junction of the system 7 where bags 10 with undifferentiated soiled laundry and / or bags 20 with sorted soiled laundry are received when they arrive at a buffer station, and those bags can be routed / have their routes changed to different transport routes and / or the same transport route in the buffer station before / while entering the buffer station. III. A junction of the system 7 where a bag 10 with undifferentiated soiled laundry leaving / going out of the buffer station 2 and a bag 20 with sorted soiled laundry are routed to the same transport route of the system 7. IV. A junction of the system 7 where a bag 10 with undifferentiated soiled laundry that has left the buffer station 2 is routed to one transport route leading to the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b, and a bag 20 with sorted soiled laundry that has left the buffer station 2 is routed to another transport route leading to the washing station 5. V. A junction of the system 7 where bags 10, 20 that have emptied their laundry at the sorting and / or washing stations 3, 3a, 3b, 5 are routed to the same one transport route leading to the empty bag processing stations 4, 4a, 4b for reuse as empty bags 30. VI. A junction of the system 7 where an empty bag 30 is routed to either one transport route leading to the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b for receiving undifferentiated soiled laundry or another transport route leading to the sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b for receiving sorted soiled laundry. VII. A junction of the system 7 where an empty bag 30 leaving the washing station 5 is routed to the same transport route as the empty bag processing stations 4, 4a, 4b for reuse. VIII. Junctions of system 7 where empty bags 30 arriving from washing station 5 and further downstream from empty bag handling stations 4, 4a, 4b are routed / diverted to different and / or the same transport routes at the first end of the last parts 4a, 4b of empty bag handling station 4 before being led to filling stations 1, 1a, 1b for receiving un-sorted soiled laundry or to the second end of sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b for receiving sorted soiled laundry. IX. Junctions of system 7 where empty bags 30 exiting at the second end of the last parts 4a, 4b of empty bag handling station 4 further downstream for reuse are routed to the same transport route before being routed to either the filling stations 1, 1a, 1b for receiving un-sorted soiled laundry or the second end of sorting stations 3, 3a, 3b for receiving sorted soiled laundry.

Claims

1. A method for processing and transporting soiled laundry before washing and empty bags (30) from which the soiled laundry has been removed, contained in one or more bags (10, 20), by one or more different types of laundry processing stations (1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5) and / or one or more same type of laundry processing stations, and by a transport system (7) for transporting the bags (10, 20, 30) through, from, and / or between said different and / or said same laundry processing stations and for processing the clean laundry after washing, the method comprising: Receiving one or more containers (8) of soiled, unclassified laundry at a first end of one or more laundry processing stations (1, 1a, 1b), and filling the empty bags (30) configured to be transported to and / or received at and / or between one or more of the first and / or second ends of the laundry processing stations (1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5) by the transport system (7) with the unclassified soiled laundry; Emptying the containers (8) of the soiled, unclassified laundry and loading the bags by directly manually loading the soiled, unclassified laundry into the bags at one or more manual laundry filling stations, and / or removing the soiled, unclassified laundry from each container to empty the containers (8) of the soiled, unclassified laundry and loading the soiled, unclassified laundry into the first ends of one or more filling stations (1, 1a, 1b); Transporting the bag (10) after manually filling it with soiled, unsorted laundry, and / or transporting the bag from the second end of the filling station (1, 1a, 1b) along the transport system (7) to a second laundry treatment station (2) upstream of the filling station when the bag is filled with soiled, unsorted laundry, wherein the second laundry treatment station (2) provides intermediate storage / buffering of the bag (10) filled with soiled, unsorted laundry and soiled, sorted laundry transported into another bag (20) from one or more third laundry treatment stations (3, 3a, 3b) by the transport system in the same / common intermediate storage / buffering (2). A method comprising the above. **Claim 2** The method according to claim 1, comprising transporting the bag (10) filled with soiled, unsorted laundry along the transport system (7) via one or more first junctions (I) and one or more second junctions (II) of the transport system upstream of the filling station (1, 1a, 1b) to the buffering station (2) upstream of the first and second junctions (I, II). **Claim 3** Transporting the bag (10) filled with soiled, unsorted laundry from the buffering station (2) along the transport system (7) via one or more third junctions (III) of the transport system upstream of the buffering station (2) and further via one or more fourth junctions (IV) of the transport system upstream of the third junction (III). Inducing the bag (10) filled with soiled, unsorted laundry at the fourth junction (IV) of the transport system (7) to be further transported from the fourth junction (IV) to the first end of one or more third laundry treatment stations (3, 3a, 3b) upstream of the fourth junction (IV) for sorting the soiled, unsorted laundry arriving in the bag. Taking out and emptying the contents of the dirty, unsorted laundry in the bag (10) to the first end of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b); Transporting the emptied bag (30) from the first end of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b) through one or more fifth junctions (V) of the transport system (7) upstream of the first end of the sorting station to a fourth laundry processing station (4), such that the empty bag (30) arriving from the sorting station is reused at the filling station and the sorting stations (1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b); Transporting the dirty, unsorted laundry from the first end of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b) through the sorting station while sorting the dirty, unsorted laundry by the sorting station to the second end of the sorting station where the sorting is completed; Filling the empty bag (30) transported to and received at the second end of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b) by the sorting station with the dirty, sorted laundry; For common intermediate storage of both the bag (10) having the dirty, unsorted laundry and the bag (20) having the dirty, sorted laundry in the buffering station, when the bag (20) is filled with the dirty, sorted laundry, transporting it from the second end of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b) along the transport system (7) to the first and second junctions (I, II) of the transport system upstream of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b), passing through them to the first end of the buffering station (2), and into the buffering station upstream of the first and second junctions (I, II); The method according to claim 2, comprising: Claim 4 The bag (10) filled with soiled, unsorted laundry and the bag (20) filled with soiled, sorted laundry are successively transported from the second end of the buffering station (2) along the transport system (7), via the third junction (III) of the transport system, and further to the fourth junction (IV) of the transport system. At the fourth junction (IV) of the transport system (7), the bag (10) filled with soiled, unsorted laundry is guided to be further transported along one transport path of the transport system to the first end of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b) for sorting the soiled, unsorted laundry, and the bag (20) containing the soiled, sorted laundry is formed by filling the empty bag (30) with the soiled, sorted laundry and further transporting it into the buffering station. At the fourth junction (IV) of the transport system (7), the bag (20) filled with soiled, sorted laundry is guided to be further transported along another transport path of the transport system to the first end of the fifth laundry treatment station (5) for washing the soiled, sorted laundry. The contents of the soiled, sorted laundry in the bag (20) are taken out and emptied at the first end of the washing station (5). The emptied bag (30) is transported from the first end of the washing station (5) via the fifth junction (V), or from the second end of the washing station via one or more seventh junctions (VII) of the transport system (7) upstream of the first end of the washing station and the sorting stations (3, 3a, 3b, 5) to the empty bag treatment stations (4, 4a, 4b) for reuse of the empty bag (30) at the filling station and the sorting stations (1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b). Transporting the soiled and sorted laundry from the first end of the washing station (5), through the washing station, while washing the soiled and sorted laundry by the washing station, to the second end of the washing station where the washing is completed and the sorted and clean laundry exits. The method according to claim 3, comprising the above.

5. Transporting the empty bag (30) from the second or last end of the last part (4, 4a, 4b) of the empty bag processing station to one or more sixth junctions (VI) of the transport system (7) upstream of the second or last end of the last part (4, 4a, 4b) of the empty bag processing station, or to one or more sixth and ninth junctions (VI, IX) of the transport system (7) upstream of the second or last end of the last part (4a, 4b) of the empty bag processing station (4). At the sixth and ninth junctions (VI, IX) of the transport system (7), respectively guiding the empty bag (30) to be filled by receiving either the soiled and sorted laundry exiting the sorting station or the soiled and unsorted laundry exiting the filling station, and sequentially guiding it to either the second end of the filling station (1, 1a, 1b) or the second end of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b). The method according to claim 4, comprising the above.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising transporting the emptied container (9) away from the filling station (1, 1a, 1b).

7. Guiding the bag (10) having soiled and unsorted laundry and / or the bag (20) having soiled and sorted laundry at the second junction (II) of the transport system (7) sequentially to different transport paths and / or the same transport path of the buffering station before entering or when entering the buffering station (2). The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5 or claim 6 when dependent on any one of claims 2 to 5.

8. A system (100, 101) for processing and transporting soiled laundry before washing contained in one or more bags (10, 20) and one or more bags (30) from which the soiled laundry has been removed and emptied, the system (100, 101) comprising one or more different types of laundry processing stations (1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4, 4a, 4b, 5) and / or one or more same type of laundry processing stations, and a transport system (7) for processing and transporting the bags (10, 20, 30) to, through, from, and between the different and / or same laundry processing stations, and for processing the clean laundry after washing. One or more first laundry processing stations (1, 1a, 1b) configured to receive soiled, unclassified laundry arriving from one or more containers (8) containing the soiled, unclassified laundry at a first end, the soiled, unclassified laundry being manually filled into the empty bags (30) and / or the soiled, unclassified laundry being transported to a second end of the first laundry processing station, the unclassified, soiled laundry being configured to be transported by the transport system (7) to the second end of the filling station (1, 1a, 1b) and filled into the empty bags (30) received there. At least one second laundry processing station (2) disposed upstream of the filling station (1, 1a, 1b), the second laundry processing station (2) being configured to provide intermediate storage as a buffering station (2) for the bag (10) having the soiled, unclassified laundry arriving from the filling station at a first end, the bag (10) having the soiled, unclassified laundry, and the soiled, sorted laundry transported in another bag (20) by the transport system (7) from one or more third laundry processing stations (3, 3a, 3b) configured to sort the soiled, unclassified laundry. At least one third laundry treatment station (3, 3a, 3b) arranged upstream of the buffering station (2), at a first end, the second end of the buffering station (2) From which the dirty, unsorted laundry transported from the bag (10) and taken out to the first end of the third laundry treatment station is received, and the sorting station (7) By the transport system (7), the empty bag (30) transported to the second end of the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b) and received there is sorted and filled at the second end. A third laundry treatment station (3, 3a, 3b) configured to form one or more bags (20) having sorted and soiled laundry; At least one fourth laundry treatment station (4, 4a, 4b) arranged upstream of the sorting station (3), at a first end, the empty bag (30) arriving from the sorting station (3, 3a, 3b) And the empty bag is further transported from the second or last end of the last part (4, 4a, 4b) of the empty bag treatment station to the filling station and the sorting station (1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b) for reuse. A configured fourth laundry treatment station; At least one fifth laundry treatment station (5) arranged upstream of the buffering station (2), at a first end, the bag (20) having soiled and sorted laundry arriving from the second end of the buffering station (2) And the soiled and sorted laundry is passed from the first end of the fifth laundry treatment station (5) through the fifth laundry treatment station while washing the soiled and sorted laundry. A fifth laundry treatment station (5) configured to move to the second end of the fifth laundry treatment station where the washed and sorted laundry comes out; The system (100, 101) further comprising.

9. The transport system (7) comprises at least six junctions (I - IX) configured to sequentially guide / route the bags (10, 20, 30) between the at least five different laundry processing stations (1 - 5). The first junction (I) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the second ends of the filling station and the sorting stations (1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b) and downstream of the first end of the buffering station (2). The second junction (II) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the first transport junction (I) and downstream of the first end of the buffering station (2). The third junction (III) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the second end of the buffering station (2) and downstream of the sorting station and the washing station (3, 3a, 3b, 5). The fourth junction (IV) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the third junction (III) of the transport system and downstream of the sorting station and the washing station (3, 3a, 3b, 5). The fifth junction (V) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the first ends of the sorting station and the washing station (3, 3a, 3b, 5) and downstream of the first end of the fourth laundry processing station (4, 4a, 4b). The sixth junction (VI) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the second end of the fourth laundry processing station (4, 4a, 4b) and downstream of the second ends of the sorting station and the filling station (1, 1a, 1b, 3, 3a, 3b). The system (100, 101) according to claim 8.

10. The transport system (7) comprises at least three further junctions (VII - IX). The seventh junction (VII) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the fourth junction (IV) of the transport system and downstream of the washing station (5). The eighth junction (VIII) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the seventh junction (VII) of the transport system and downstream of the last parts (4a, 4b) of the empty bag treatment station (4). The ninth junction (IX) of the transport system (7) is arranged upstream of the sixth junction (VI) of the transport system and downstream of the last parts (4a, 4b) of the empty bag treatment station (4), the system (100, 101) according to claim 9.

11. Each of the first junction (I), the third junction (III), and the fifth junction (V) of the transport system (7) is configured to merge at least two different transport paths for the bags (10, 20) downstream of each of these junctions into one same transport path for the bags upstream of each of these junctions. Each of the second junction (II), the fourth junction (IV), and the sixth junction (VI) of the transport system (7) is configured to divide / split one same transport path for the bags (10, 20) downstream of each of these junctions into at least two different transport paths for the bags following upstream of each of these junctions, the system (100, 101) according to claim 9 or 10.

12. Each of the first junction (I), the third junction (III), and the fifth junction (V) of the transport system (7), the seventh junction (VII), and the ninth junction (IX) is configured to merge at least two different transport paths for the bags (10, 20) downstream of each of these junctions into one same transport path for the bags upstream of each of these junctions. Each of the second junction (II), the fourth junction (IV), and the sixth junction (VI) of the transport system (7), and one or more eighth junctions (VIII) is configured to divide / split one same transport path for the bags (10, 20) downstream of each of these junctions into at least two different transport paths for the bags following upstream of each of these junctions. The system (100, 101) according to claims 9, 10, 11.

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