Flexible goods removal device

Abstract

To provide a flexible article tale-out device capable of precisely taking out one flexible article from among a bundle of flexible articles.SOLUTION: There is provided a flexible article tale-out device comprising: turning plates 64, 64 that support a pair of rollers 72, 72 with an open position in between in an opening / closing movable manner; a forward / backward movement device 30 for moving forward / backward the pair of supported rollers between an insertion position of being inserted in a bundle of a plurality of clothes A and a separation position away from a bundle of a plurality of flexible articles; a roller closing movement device for moving the rollers 72, 72 toward a closed position when the rollers 72, 72 that move forward enter the insertion position; and a roller rotation device for rotating (autorotation) the pair of rollers in a direction where the clothes A are wound up when the pair of rollers move toward the closed position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a flexible article take-out device for taking out one flexible article from a pile of amorphous flexible articles such as clothes, cloth bags, towel products, etc. (hereinafter referred to as flexible articles). [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional flexible article take-out device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This conventional flexible article take-out device functions to take out one piece of clothing from a pile of multiple clothes (i.e., flexible articles) stored in a container. More specifically, this conventional flexible article take-out device has a gripper equipped with a pair of openable and closable clamping members, and is structured to pick up the clothing with the gripper.

[0003] Furthermore, a conventional flexible article take-out device is disclosed in Patent Document 2. In this conventional flexible article take-out device, a pair of conveyor belts are arranged facing each other, and these conveyor belts are rotated in opposite directions. Orbit By moving it, it is possible to pinch and remove one piece of clothing from a pile of clothes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special table 2004-533871 [Patent Document 2] WO2019 / 137585A1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the conventional soft article removal device described in the cited document 1, the clamping members of the gripper are simply inserted into the pile of clothes, and therefore there is a problem in that removal of clothes often fails.

[0006] In addition, the conventional flexible article removal device described in Reference 2 is structured to remove a single garment simply by rotating opposing conveyor belts, so there was also the problem that removal of the garment often failed.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems with conventional devices, and aims to provide a flexible item removal device that can accurately remove a single flexible item from a stack of flexible items. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The flexible article take-out device according to the present invention comprises a pair of rollers facing each other, roller support means for supporting the pair of rollers so as to be movable between an open position and a closed position, roller advance / retract movement means for moving the pair of rollers supported by the roller support means back and forth between an insertion position where the pair of rollers enter a bundle of multiple flexible articles and a separation position where the pair of rollers are separated from the bundle of multiple flexible articles, roller closing operation means for moving the pair of rollers toward the closed position when the rollers moved by the roller advance / retract movement means enter the insertion position, and roller rotation means for rotating the pair of rollers in a direction to roll up the flexible articles when the pair of rollers move toward the closed position. The roller support means is a rotating plate that rotates. It is characterized by:

[0009] Flexible articles include, for example, uniforms for doctors, nurses, etc., uniforms for company employees, other clothing, cloth bags, towel products, etc. In relation to the embodiments described below, the roller support means of the above configuration is the rotating plate 64, the roller advancing / retracting movement means is the roller advancing / retracting movement device 30, the roller closing operation means is a combination of the air cylinder 62, the sensor 77 and the control device 15, and the roller rotating means is the engagement member 74. However, each component is not limited to the specific structure given in the embodiment.

[0010] According to the flexible article take-out device described above, the roller moves from the open position to the closed position while rotating, so that it is possible to take out exactly one flexible article, such as clothing, from a bundle of flexible articles.

[0011] The device for removing soft articles according to the present invention Place In the above, the roller support means is a rotating plate that rotates. In relation to the embodiment described below, the rotating plate is a rotating plate 64. According to this aspect of the present invention, the rollers move between the open position and the closed position by rotating the rollers due to the action of the rotating plate.

[0012] In another aspect of the flexible article take-out device according to the present invention, the roller advancing / retreating means includes a guide member for guiding the advancing / retreating movement of the roller support means, and an electric motor as a power source for driving the roller support means. In relation to the embodiment described below, the guide member is a linear guide 32, and the electric motor is a servo motor. According to this aspect of the present invention, the roller can be quickly and accurately moved forward and backward relative to the stack of clothes.

[0013] In another aspect of the flexible article removal device of the present invention, the roller closing operation means includes a sensor for detecting the gap between the pair of rollers and the flexible article, a roller driving means for moving the pair of rollers between the open position and the closed position, and a control means for controlling the operation of the roller driving means based on the output signal of the sensor.

[0014] In relation to the embodiment described below, the sensor is a sensor 77 that moves back and forth together with the roller, the roller driving means is an air cylinder 62, and the control means is a computer-based control device 15. According to this aspect of the present invention, the roller can be moved from an open state to a closed state at a suitable timing depending on the distance to the flexible article.

[0015] In another aspect of the flexible article take-out device according to the present invention, the roller rotating means is a contact member that contacts the surfaces of the pair of rollers. In relation to the embodiment described below, the contact member is an engagement member 74. According to this aspect of the present invention, the rollers can be rotated on their axes with a simple structure.

[0016] In another aspect of the flexible article take-out device according to the present invention, the abutting member is a spring plate. By forming the abutting member by the spring plate, a preferable force can be applied to the roller by the spring force when the roller moves from the open position to the closed position, so that the flexible article can be firmly and strongly held by the roller. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the flexible article removal device defined in claim 1, the roller moves (revolves or, in some cases, moves parallel) from the open position to the closed position while rotating on its axis, so that exactly one flexible article, such as clothing, can be removed from a stack of flexible articles. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a uniform sorting device which is an example of a device to which a flexible article take-out device according to the present invention is applied. [Diagram 2] 1 is a front view of an embodiment of a flexible article take-out device according to the present invention; [Diagram 3] 3 is a left side view of the flexible article take-out device according to the arrow B in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 3 is a right side view of the flexible article take-out device according to the arrow D in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] 3 is a plan view of the flexible article take-out device according to the arrow F in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 3 is a plan cross-sectional view of the flexible article take-out device taken along line GG in FIG. 2. [Figure 7] 3 is a partially cutaway front view of a roller chuck unit, which is a main part of FIG. 2, showing a roller in an open state. FIG. [Figure 8] 8 is a left side view of the roller chuck unit taken along the arrow Q in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] 8 is a plan view of the roller chuck unit taken along the arrow R in FIG. 7. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a front view of the roller chuck unit with the roller in a closed state. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a front view of another embodiment of a flexible article dispenser; [Figure 12] 12 is a left side view of the flexible article take-out device according to the arrow B in FIG. 11. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, a flexible article take-out device according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In addition, in the drawings attached to this specification, components may be shown at different ratios from the actual ones in order to easily show characteristic parts.

[0020] 1 is an example of a uniform sorting device for a linen supply using a flexible goods take-out device according to the present invention. This uniform sorting device 1 has a flexible goods take-out device 2 according to the present invention, a foreign object detection device 3, a discharge device 4, a type identification device 5, a first type basket 6a, a second type basket 6b, a third type basket 6c, a fourth type basket 6d, and a fifth type basket 6e. A belt conveyor 7 is provided between these devices. A plurality of television cameras (not shown) are arranged at appropriate positions on the belt conveyor 7, and images taken by these television cameras are displayed on monitors 8a, 8b, and 8c.

[0021] The foreign object detection device 3 has an X-ray measurement device 11. The X-ray measurement device 11 acquires an X-ray image of the garment A being transported on the belt conveyor 7. By observing this X-ray image, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a foreign object in the pocket of the garment A. The discharge device 4 has a belt opening / closing unit 12. When the belt opening / closing unit 12 is in the open state, the garment A moving on the belt conveyor 7 falls into the discharge basket 4a. When the belt opening / closing unit 12 is in the closed state, the garment A passes over the top of the discharge basket 4a.

[0022] The type identification device 5 has a reader 13. An IC chip indicating the type of the clothing (for example, whether it is a lab coat or not, the color type, etc.) is fixed, for example, sewn, to each of the multiple garments A. The reader 13 reads the IC chip attached to the garment A. The first type basket 6a to the fourth type basket 6d are provided with belt openings 14a to 14d, respectively. When each of the belt openings 14a to 14d is in an open state, the garment A moving on the belt conveyor 7 falls into the type basket 6a to 6d belonging to the corresponding belt opening. When each of the belt openings 14a to 14d is in a closed state, the garment A passes over the corresponding type basket 6a to 6d. When the last belt opening 14d is in a closed state, the garment A falls into the fifth type basket 6e.

[0023] The uniform sorting device 1 has a control device 15 in an appropriate location, for example, inside the flexible goods take-out device 2. The control device 15 is, for example, configured by a computer that executes calculation processing according to a predetermined program to realize a predetermined operation. The control device 15 controls the operation of various devices provided between the flexible goods take-out device 2 and the fifth type basket 6e according to the program.

[0024] An operator puts multiple uniforms, i.e., clothes A, into the flexible goods input section 20 of the flexible goods take-out device 2. The put-in clothes A are piled up in a disorderly manner inside the flexible goods input section 20. Clothes A are an example of a flexible goods. The flexible goods take-out device 2 takes out one piece of clothing A from the pile of multiple pieces of clothing A, and sends it to the foreign object detection device 3 arranged downstream. The sent out piece of clothing A is sent by the belt conveyor 7 in this order to the foreign object detection device 3, the discharge device 4, the type identification device 5, and the type baskets 6a to 6e.

[0025] The foreign object detection device 3 captures an X-ray image of the garment A using the X-ray measurement device 11. If a foreign object (e.g., scissors or other metal object) remains in a pocket or the like of the garment A, the foreign object can be recognized by the X-ray image. In this case, the control device 15 opens the belt opening / closing part 12 belonging to the discharge basket 4a to the open state. This allows the garment A containing the foreign object to be collected in the discharge basket 4a.

[0026] The type identification device 5 determines the type of clothing A (e.g., what color is it? Is it a lab coat?, etc.) based on the image of clothing A acquired by the reading device 13. Based on the result of this determination, the control device 15 opens the corresponding belt opening / closing parts 14a to 14d to the open state. This allows clothing A of the same type to be stored together in each of the type baskets 6a to 6e.

[0027] The worker can perform an appropriate treatment for the same type of clothes A stored in each of the discharge basket 4a and the sorting baskets 6a to 6e. For example, the worker can perform a cleaning treatment under appropriate conditions for each type of clothes A.

[0028] (Soft goods removal device) FIG. 2 shows a front view of the flexible article take-out device 2 according to the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a left side view of the flexible article take-out device 2 according to the arrow B in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows a right side view of the flexible article take-out device 2 according to the arrow D in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG. 4. The part indicated by the arrow K in FIG. 4 is a view of the corresponding part from the direction indicated by the arrow L in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a plan view taken along the arrow F in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a plan cross-sectional view taken along the line GG in FIG. 2.

[0029] 2, 3 and 4, a flexible article feed section 20 is provided at the bottom of the flexible article take-out device 2. The flexible article feed section 20 has a conveyor belt 23 stretched around a drive roller 21 and a driven roller 22, and side walls 24 provided in the upper left and right areas of the conveyor belt 23 in Fig. 3. The conveyor belt 23 and the side walls 24 are supported by a machine frame 25, which is a framework structure that forms the general shape of the flexible article take-out device 2.

[0030] The drive roller 21 is driven to rotate by a power source (e.g., an electric motor) not shown. The conveyor belt 23 driven by the drive roller 21 moves in a circular motion in the direction indicated by the arrow H in Fig. 2. The side wall 24 is made of a metal that can be kept clean, such as stainless steel. The conveyor belt 23 is made of a flexible material that can be kept clean, such as polyurethane resin.

[0031] A roller advance / retract movement device 30 is provided at approximately the center of the flexible article take-out device 2 in Fig. 2. The roller advance / retract movement device 30 has a linear guide 32 that guides the roller chuck unit 31 to move linearly, and a servo motor 33 that is a power source. The linear guide 32 extends in the vertical direction in the figure. When the servo motor 33 is operated, the roller chuck unit 31 moves vertically while being guided by the linear guide 32. The roller advance / retract movement device 30 moves the roller chuck unit 31 linearly in both directions toward the conveyor belt 23 (i.e., downward in the figure) and away from the conveyor belt 23 (i.e., upward in the figure). In other words, the roller advance / retract movement device 30 moves the roller chuck unit 31 forward and backward relative to the bundle of clothes A on the conveyor belt 23.

[0032] In Fig. 2, a flexible goods receiving and conveying device 35 is provided on the opposite side of the flexible goods input section 20 with respect to the roller advancing and retreating moving device 30. The flexible goods receiving and conveying device 35 has a conveying belt 38 stretched around a driving roller 36 and a driven roller 37, and side walls 39 provided in the upper left and right areas of the conveying belt 38 in Fig. 4. The conveying belt 38 and the side walls 39 are supported by the machine frame 25. The driving roller 36 is driven to rotate by a power source (e.g., an electric motor) not shown. The conveying belt 38 driven by the driving roller 36 moves in a circular motion in the direction indicated by the arrow J in Fig. 2.

[0033] A flexible article removal device 42 is provided above the flexible article receiving and conveying device 35. This removal device 42 has a linear guide 44 that guides the clamping unit 43 to move linearly, and a servo motor 45 that serves as a power source. The linear guide 44 extends linearly from an obliquely upward direction toward the roller advancing and retracting movement device 30. When the servo motor 45 is operated, the clamping unit 43 moves up and down in an oblique direction while being guided by the linear guide 44.

[0034] 5, the clamping unit 43 has a pair of arm members 46 and a drive mechanism 47. The drive mechanism 47 has a built-in power source (e.g., an electric motor) and causes the arms 46 to open as indicated by arrow M and close as indicated by arrow N by the power of the power source.

[0035] In Fig. 2, a sensor unit 50 is provided in front of the conveyor belt 23 of the flexible article insert section 20 (to the right in the figure). As shown in Fig. 6, the sensor unit 50 is formed by arranging a plurality of photoelectric sensors 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d (four in this embodiment) at intervals in the width direction of the conveyor belt 23. Each of the photoelectric sensors 50a to 50d detects the garment A when the garment A conveyed on the conveyor belt 23 approaches within a predetermined distance. The photoelectric sensors 50a to 50d are provided in order to control the movement of the roller chuck unit 31 and the movement of the conveyor belt 23. The operation of the roller chuck unit 31 and the conveyor belt 23 will be described later.

[0036] (Roller chuck unit) 2 and 3, a movable block 51 is disposed at the upper end of the linear guide 32 of the roller advancement / retraction movement device 30. This movable block 51 is driven by a servo motor 33 and moves in the vertical direction in the figure while being guided by the linear guide 32. Brackets 52, 52 are fixed to this movable block 51, and a mounting plate 53 is fixed to the bottom surfaces of these brackets 52, 52, and a linear movement device 54 is fixed to the mounting plate 53.

[0037] The linear movement device 54 has a linear guide 55, a servo motor 56, and a movable block 57. The movable block 57 is driven by the servo motor 56 and moves linearly back and forth in the direction of arrow PP in Fig. 3 while being guided by the linear guide 55. The PP direction is parallel to the width direction of the conveyor belt 23 of the flexible article input section 20 (i.e., a direction perpendicular to the circulating direction of the conveyor belt 23). The roller chuck unit 31 is fixed to the movable block 57 via a connector 60.

[0038] Fig. 7 is an enlarged front view of the roller chuck unit 31. Fig. 8 is a left side view of the roller chuck unit 31 along the arrow Q in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the roller chuck unit 31 along the arrow R in Fig. 7. 3 FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the roller chuck unit 31 shown in FIG. 2 2 is an enlarged view of the roller chuck unit 31 shown in FIG.

[0039] 7 and 8, the roller chuck unit 31 has a housing 61 fixed to a connector 60. The housing 61 is shown in FIG. oh 7, the housing 61 is formed by fixing upper ends of two housing pieces 61a and 61b to the lower end of a connector 60. The housing 61 is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape when viewed from the top (i.e., the R direction) in FIG. 7. Inside the housing 61 are an air cylinder 62, a connector 63 fixed to the tip of an output shaft 62a of the air cylinder 62, and four rotating plates (i.e., rotating plates) 64. Of the four rotating plates 64, only the two rotating plates 64 on the front side are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0040] The connector 63 is shown in FIG. 7 7. The rotating plate 64 is a flat plate with a substantially triangular shape. The rotating plate 64 is attached to the side of the housing 61 by a shaft member 65 so as to be rotatable but not slidable in the vertical and horizontal directions. The rotating plate 64 is also connected to the connector 63 by a movable connecting member 66. The movable connecting member 66 has a U-shape when viewed from the direction of the arrow R in FIG. 7.

[0041] The movable connecting member 66 is rotatably connected to the connector 63 by an axis member 70 in Fig. 7, and is further rotatably connected to the rotating plate 64 by an axis member 71. The clamping roller 72 is supported by two sets of rotating plates 64 facing each other on the front and back sides in Fig. 7 (i.e., by two sets of rotating plates 64 facing each other on the left and right in Fig. 8). In this embodiment, the clamping roller 72 has a structure in which cylindrical urethane rubber is fixed around a metallic axis member.

[0042] An engaging member 74 serving as an abutment member is attached to the lower end of the narrow side surface of the housing 61 by a bolt 73. The engaging member 74 is bent into a substantially L-shape in FIG. 7 and extends to the center of the housing 61. Furthermore, a tip region 74a of the engaging member 74 is further bent upward and inclined upward inside the housing 61. The tip of the engaging member 74 is further bent upward at approximately 90°. In this embodiment, the engaging member 74 is made of a metal material having spring properties. However, the engaging member 74 may be made of a material that does not have spring properties.

[0043] In Fig. 8, photoelectric sensors 77, 77 are provided on both sides of the air cylinder 62. These photoelectric sensors 77 are fixed to the inner surface of the housing 61. The photoelectric sensor 77 emits light in the downward direction in Fig. 8, that is, toward the conveyor belt 23 of the flexible article inserting section 20 in Fig. 3. When the roller chuck unit 31 is driven by the motor 33 of the roller advancing and retracting movement device 30 to move downward in Fig. 3, the photoelectric sensor 77 also moves downward together with it. When the distance between the descending photoelectric sensor 77 and the garment A on the conveyor belt 23 approaches a predetermined distance, the photoelectric sensor 77 detects the garment A and outputs a signal.

[0044] 7 shows a state in which the output shaft 62a of the air cylinder 62 is protruded to the lowest point, and the rotating plate 64 is rotated outward most around the shaft member 65 as shown by the arrow S. At this time, the gap between the pair of clamping rollers 72 is at its widest (i.e., in an open state). In this flexible article take-out device, when the device is on standby, the clamping rollers 72 are in this open state.

[0045] On the other hand, when the air cylinder 62 is actuated and the output shaft 62a is retracted toward the main body of the air cylinder 62 as shown by the arrow T in Fig. 7, the rotating plate 64 rotates inward around the shaft member 65 as shown by the arrow U. This gradually narrows the gap between the two clamping rollers 72, and finally the two clamping rollers 72 come into contact with each other as shown in Fig. 10. This state is the closed state of the clamping rollers 72.

[0046] When the clamping rollers 72 rotate from the open state shown in Fig. 7 to the closed state shown in Fig. 10, the clamping rollers 72 come into contact with the lower surface of the engaging member 74, and are rotated inward as indicated by the arrow V in Fig. 7 due to frictional force. In other words, the clamping rollers 72 rotate (revolve) from the open state to the closed state while rotating (spinning) inward.

[0047] (Operation of flexible goods removal device) Since the flexible article take-out device 2 of this embodiment is configured as described above, the worker sequentially puts one or several pieces of clothing A, which are the subject of the work, onto the conveyor belt 23 of the clothing insertion section 20 in Fig. 2. Since the side walls 24 are provided, the put-in clothing A will not scatter to the outside. The put-in multiple clothing A are transported by the conveyor belt 23 in a messy pile and move toward the center inside the flexible article take-out device 2. At this time, the clamping roller 72 of the roller chuck unit 31 is in the open state as shown in Fig. 7.

[0048] When the moving garment A reaches the detection distance of any or all of the photoelectric sensors 50a-50d in Fig. 6, a detection signal is output from the photoelectric sensor that detected the garment A. This detection signal is sent to the control device 15 in Fig. 2. The control device 15 that receives the detection signal stops the rotation of the conveyor belt 23. When the conveyor belt 23 stops, the garment A detected by at least one of the sensors 50a-50d also stops. The control device 15 controls the stopping position of the garment A to be below the end 72a of the clamping roller 72 that is closer to the sensor 50 in Fig. 8. The stopping position of the garment A is controlled in this manner in order to allow the roller 72 to come into contact with the garment A over as wide an area as possible in the axial direction of the roller 72.

[0049] The control device 15 also determines where the garment A is located in the width direction of the conveyor belt 23. Once the position of the garment A in the width direction of the conveyor belt 23 has been determined, the control device 15 appropriately operates the servo motor 56 of the linear movement device 54 in Fig. 3, that is, appropriately controls the number of rotations (i.e., the rotation angle) of the output shaft of the servo motor 56 to move the roller chuck unit 31 an appropriate distance in the PP direction. As a result, the roller chuck unit 31 moves in parallel to the position recognized by the sensors 50a to 50d.

[0050] In addition to adjusting the position of the roller chuck unit 31 as described above, the control device 15 operates the servo motor 33 of the roller advancement / retraction movement device 30 in Fig. 3 to move the movable block 51 downward (i.e., forward). As a result, the roller chuck unit 31, which has moved to the position of the garment A identified in the width direction of the conveyor belt 23 by the photoelectric sensors 50a-50d, moves downward toward the garment A. Accompanying the downward movement of the roller chuck unit 31, the photoelectric sensor 77 in Fig. 8 also moves downward. When the downward moving photoelectric sensor 77 moves to a predetermined distance in Fig. 2 and detects the garment A on the conveyor belt 23, a detection signal is output from the corresponding photoelectric sensor 77, and this detection signal is transmitted to the control device 15 (Fig. 2).

[0051] The control device 15, receiving this detection signal, operates the air cylinder 62 in Fig. 7. Then, the output shaft 62a is pulled in the direction of the arrow T, which causes the rotating plate 64, and therefore the clamping roller 72, to start moving in the closing direction toward the closed state shown in Fig. 10. As the clamping roller 72 moves in the closing direction, it enters the bundle of clothes A on the conveyor belt 23, and when it reaches a position directly above the conveyor belt 23, it reaches the closed state shown in Fig. 10.

[0052] When the clamping roller 72 rotates around the shaft member 65 from the open state (FIG. 7) to the closed state (FIG. 10), the clamping roller 72 moves while abutting against the engaging member 74, so that the clamping roller 72 rotates (rotates) inwardly around the central axis X0 due to the action of frictional force. By such opening and closing movement (revolution) and rotation (rotation), the clamping roller 72 reliably rolls up and clamps only one garment A. Because the engaging member 74 is formed of a spring material, the rotation (rotation) force of the clamping roller 72 becomes stronger as the clamping roller 72 approaches the closed state (FIG. 10). As a result, the clamping force of the clamping roller 72 on the garment A becomes stronger.

[0053] When a relatively short predetermined time has elapsed since the clamping rollers 72 stopped at the lowest position immediately above the conveyor belt 23 in Fig. 2, the control device 15 operates the servo motor 33 to move the roller chuck unit 31 upward. As a result, only one garment A clamped by the clamping rollers 72 is lifted upward.

[0054] When the upwardly moving roller chuck unit 31 reaches the initial position shown in Fig. 2 or its vicinity, the control device 15 operates the servo motor 45 of the flexible article removal device 42 in Fig. 2 to move the clamping unit 43 forward toward the lifted garment A. At the same time, the control device 15 operates the drive mechanism 47 of the clamping unit 43 in Fig. 5 to close the arm member 46 in the N direction. As a result, the lifted garment A is clamped by the arm member 46.

[0055] Thereafter, the control device 15 (Fig. 2) returns the clamping rollers 72 to the open state shown in Fig. 7. After the clamping of the garment A by the clamping rollers 72 is thus released, the control device 15 returns the clamping unit 43 to its initial position, which is above the flexible article receiving and conveying device 35. As a result, the single garment A clamped by the arm member 46 is carried to the position above the flexible article receiving and conveying device 35.

[0056] Thereafter, the control device 15 opens the arm member 46 to the open position indicated by the arrow M in Fig. 5, whereby one garment A falls onto the conveyor belt 38 of the soft article receiving and conveying device 35 in Fig. 2. The dropped garment A is conveyed by the conveyor belt 38 and sent towards the foreign object detection device 3 in Fig. 1. In this way, one garment A is taken out of the pile of garments A inserted into the soft article insert section 20 and transferred to the receiving and conveying device 35.

[0057] (Function of sensor unit 50 in FIG. 6) 3, when considering picking up one garment A from a pile of garments A on the conveyor belt 23 of the flexible article inserting section 20, an important issue is where to place the clamping roller 72 of the roller chuck unit 31 in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3) of the conveyor belt 23. In this embodiment, effective positioning control is realized by a program in the control device 15 using the sensor unit 50 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6.

[0058] In Fig. 6, photoelectric sensors 50a-50d are arranged at intervals in order from one side end of the width direction of the conveyor belt 23 of the flexible article inserting section 20. The points at which the sensors 50a-50d detect the garment A are P1, P2, P4, and P5, respectively. P3 is the midpoint between the detection points P2 and P4. The positions of the detection points P1-P5 are determined by the characteristics of the sensors 50a-50d, and the control device 15 (Fig. 2) specifies the timing of stopping the conveyor belt 23, i.e., the position at which the garment A is stopped, based on these detection points P1-P5. As described above, this position is controlled to coincide with the end 72a of the clamping roller 72 in Fig. 8, which is closer to the sensor 50.

[0059] (When only one of the sensors 50a to 50d detects clothing) In this embodiment, there is a case where only one of the sensors 50a to 50d detects the garment A. In this case, the detection point (i.e., any one of P1, P2, P4, or P5) corresponding to the sensor (i.e., any one of 50a to 50d) that detects the garment is set as the detection point. For example, when the sensor 50a detects the garment A, the detection point is set as the detection point P1. The control device 15 in FIG. 2 moves the roller chuck unit 31 in FIG. 3 in the PP direction so as to coincide with this detection point.

[0060] (When two of the sensors 50a to 50d detect clothing) In this case, the detection point of the sensor closest to the center in the width direction of the conveyor belt 23 is given priority as the detection point. For example, when the sensor 5a (detection point P1) and the sensor 50b (detection point P2) detect a garment, the detection point P2 is first set as the detection point, the roller chuck unit 31 is aligned with this detection point, and the garment is clamped by the clamping rollers 72. If clamping at the detection point P2 is unsuccessful, the control device 15 in Fig. 2 returns the roller chuck unit 31 to the initial position (i.e., top dead center) shown in Fig. 3 once, and then moves the roller chuck unit 31 in the PP direction to align it with the next candidate point, detection point P1. Then, the clamping rollers 72 perform a gripping process again at the detection point P1.

[0061] (When the two central sensors 50b and 50c detect clothing simultaneously) In this case, the central detection point P3 is recognized as the detection point, and the roller chuck unit 31 performs a clamping operation on the garment at the detection point P3.

[0062] (When three sensors 50a to 50d detect clothing) In this case, the detection point corresponding to the middle sensor among the three is first selected and the garment is clamped. If the clamping process at that detection point is unsuccessful, the detection point corresponding to the sensor closer to the center in the width direction of the conveyor belt 23 is then selected as the next detection point and the garment is clamped. If the clamping process at this detection point is also unsuccessful, the detection point corresponding to the remaining sensor is then selected as the last detection point and the garment is displayed. For example, when three sensors, ie, the sensor 50a, the sensor 50b, and the sensor 50c, detect a garment, the garment is clamped in the order of the detection point P2, the detection point P4, and the detection point P1.

[0063] (When all four sensors 50a to 50d detect clothing) In this case, the center detection point is given priority, and then both ends are selected. For example, the center detection point P3 is selected as the detection point first. If the clamping process at the detection point P3 is unsuccessful, the detection point P1 is selected as the next detection point. Furthermore, if the clamping process at the detection point P1 is unsuccessful, the detection point P5 is selected as the detection point and clamping process is performed.

[0064] Even if the above clamping operation is performed, there are cases where the roller chuck unit 31 fails to clamp the garment A. In this case, the conveyor belt 23 is rotated in the opposite direction to the direction H in FIG. 2 to move the garment A backward. Then, the process is started over by bringing the garment A within the detection distance of the sensors 50a to 50d. This causes deviations in the positions of the individual garments A within the bundle of garments A, increasing the probability that the garments will be successfully clamped.

[0065] In this embodiment, five detection points are set using four sensors, but as explained above, clothing detection is performed using three or fewer detection points. This shortens the time required to determine whether to retry, and as a result, prevents a decrease in the processing power of the control device 15 (FIG. 2).

[0066] (Second embodiment of the flexible article take-out device) In the above embodiment, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the opening and closing direction of the clamping rollers 72 is aligned with the width direction of the conveyor belt 23 (i.e., perpendicular to the circulating direction of the conveyor belt 23). Alternatively, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, the opening and closing direction of the clamping rollers 72 can be aligned with the circulating direction of the conveyor belt 23 (i.e., parallel to the circulating direction). Even in this case, the garment A can be firmly gripped by the clamping rollers 72, 72.

[0067] 2 and 3, in which the opening and closing direction of the clamping rollers 72 is aligned with the width direction of the conveyor belt 23 (i.e., the direction perpendicular to the circulating direction of the conveyor belt 23), the position at which the conveyor belt 23 is stopped (i.e., the position at which the garment A is stopped) is aligned with the end 72a of the clamping roller 72 on the sensor 50 side in FIG. 8. In contrast, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, in which the opening and closing direction of the clamping rollers 72 is aligned with the circulating direction of the conveyor belt 23, it is preferable to align the position at which the conveyor belt 23 is stopped (i.e., the position at which the garment A is stopped) with the rotation center axis X0 of the clamping roller 72 closer to the sensor 50 in FIG. 7. This is preferable because it is possible to increase the area of ​​contact with the garment A of the pair of clamping rollers 72 that revolve around the shaft member 65 while rotating around their own center line X0.

[0068] (Other embodiments) Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the invention described in the claims. For example, in the above description, the flexible article take-out device according to the present invention is applied to the uniform sorting device shown in FIG. 1, but the present invention can be applied to various other devices.

[0069] In the above description, clothing A is used as an example of a flexible article, but the flexible article may be any article that is indefinitely shaped and flexible, such as a cloth bag or a towel product. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 1: uniform sorting device, 2: flexible goods removal device, 3: foreign object detection device, 4: discharge device, 4a: discharge basket, 5: type identification device, 6a-6e: type basket, 7: belt conveyor, 8a, 8b, 8c: monitor, 11: X-ray measuring device, 12: belt opening / closing section, 13: reading device, 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d: belt opening / closing section, 15: control device (roller closing operation means), 20: flexible goods input section, 21: driving roller, 22: driven roller, 23: conveyor belt, 24: side wall, 25: machine frame, 30: roller advance / retract movement device (roller advance / retract movement means), 31: roller chuck unit, 32: straight guide (guide member, roller advance / retract movement means), 33: servo motor (roller advance / retract movement means), 35: Flexible article receiving and conveying device, 36: Driving roller, 37: Driven roller, 38: Conveyor belt, 39: Side wall, 42: Flexible article removing device, 43: Clamping unit, 44: Straight guide, 45: Servo motor, 46: Arm member, 47: Driving mechanism, 50: Sensor unit, 50a-50d: Sensor, 51: Movable block, 52: Bracket, 53: Mounting plate, 54: Straight movement device, 55: Straight guide, 56: Servo motor, 57: Movable block, 60: Connector, 61: Housing, 61a, 61b: Housing pieces, 62: Air cylinder (roller closing operation means), 62a: Output shaft, 63: Connector, 64: Rotating plate (rotating plate, roller support means), 65: Shaft member, 66: Movable connecting member, 70: shaft member, 71: shaft member, 72: clamping roller, 73: bolt, 74: engagement member (contact member, roller rotating means), 74a: tip region, 77: photoelectric sensor (roller closing operation means), A: clothing (soft article), P1 to P5: detection points

Claims

1. A pair of rollers facing each other; a roller support means for supporting the pair of rollers so as to be movable between an open position and a closed position; a roller advance / retract movement means for moving the pair of rollers supported by the roller support means back and forth between an insertion position where the pair of rollers are inserted into the bundle of multiple flexible articles and a separation position where the pair of rollers are separated from the bundle of multiple flexible articles; a roller closing operation means for moving the pair of rollers toward the closed position when the rollers moved by the roller advance / retract movement means enter the insertion position; and a roller rotating means for rotating the pair of rollers in a direction for rolling up the flexible article when the pair of rollers move toward a closed position, The roller support means is a rotating plate that rotates. A flexible article removal device comprising:

2. 2. The flexible article take-out device according to claim 1, wherein the roller advancing / retreating movement means comprises a guide member for guiding the advancing / retreating movement of the roller support means, and an electric motor as a power source for driving the roller support means.

3. The roller closing operation means is a sensor for detecting a gap between the pair of rollers and a flexible article; a roller driving means for moving the pair of rollers between the open position and the closed position; a control means for controlling the operation of the roller driving means based on an output signal of the sensor; 3. The flexible article take-out device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

4. 2. The flexible article take-out device according to claim 1, wherein said roller rotating means is a contact member which contacts the surfaces of said pair of rollers.

5. 5. The flexible article take-out device according to claim 4, wherein the contact member is a spring plate.

6. The apparatus further includes a conveying means for conveying the flexible article, The opening and closing movement direction of the pair of rollers is perpendicular to the movement direction of the flexible article by the conveying means.

2. The flexible article take-out device according to claim 1.

7. A control device for controlling the operation of the conveying means, The control device stops the movement of the flexible article by the conveying means when the pair of rollers move toward the closed state, and the stop position of the flexible article coincides with the downstream end of the rollers along the moving direction of the flexible article.

7. The flexible article take-out device according to claim 6.

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