A fabric spreading device for spreading fabrics and a fabric feeding device for conveying the spread fabrics to the next process

Abstract

Provided are: a cloth unfolding device for unfolding a cloth in order to quickly process the cloth; and a cloth loading device for conveying said unfolded cloth to the next step.　A cloth unfolding device (10) that, in order to unfold a cloth (W) having a right corner section (WR), a left corner section (WL), and one side (WH) therebetween, comprises: a left sensor unit (27) for detecting the left corner section; a right sensor unit (57) for detecting the right corner section; a left unfolding unit (20) that holds one side and moves in the left direction (L); and a right unfolding unit (50) that holds one side and moves in the right direction (R). When the left unfolding unit moves in the left direction while holding one side and the left sensor unit has detected the left corner section of the cloth, the left unfolding unit holds the left corner section of the cloth; and, when the right unfolding unit moves in the right direction while holding one side and the right sensor unit has detected the right corner section of the cloth, the right unfolding unit holds the right corner section of the cloth.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cloth expanding device for expanding cloth and a cloth loading device for conveying the expanded cloth to the next process.

Background Art

[0002] Cloths handled in the so-called linen supply industry include linen products such as bath towels and face towels. When such cloths are collected from customers, they are repeatedly washed, ironed, and then folded and delivered to customers through a folding process. At that time, the operator expands the cloth and puts it into a cloth loading device for conveying it to the next process, and then it is conveyed to a folding device that folds it into a predetermined shape according to the customer's request.

[0003] There are roughly two types of cloth loading methods. One is to search for one or both ends of the cloth and load it, and the other is to load one side of the cloth onto a conveying conveyor and automatically search for both ends of the cloth and automatically unfold it. As such, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-80566 is disclosed.

[0004] The above invention is a cloth unfolding device that places the cloth on a loading conveyor at approximately the center in the conveying direction and, when conveying it to a predetermined position in front of the loading machine body, squeezes the left and right sides of the cloth toward the center of the cloth and delivers it at the left and right rear ends of the cloth. A catch member that holds the left and right rear ends of the cloth is arranged on the main body side of the loading machine at a position lower than the positions of the left and right unfolding members. When the unfolding members move to the standby position and the catch member moves to the delivery position between them, it contacts the left and right rear ends of the cloth and lifts it to a position higher than the unfolding members. Lifting means is arranged on the main body side of the loading machine side, and the left and right rear ends of the cloth that are as close as possible to the tip lifted by the above lifting means are held by the unfolding members and are configured to be unfolded by the operation of the unfolding members.

[0005] In the input device that automatically delivers fabrics, by holding a portion of the fabric end that is as close as possible to the trailing end with a catching member, one side edge of the leading end of the fabric can be fed in a linearly unfolded state.

[0006] However, there is a desire in the so-called linen industry to quickly process fabrics such as sheets, towel cloths, blankets, face towels, and bath towels. There is a need for a fabric spreading device that spreads such fabrics to be processed and a fabric input device that conveys the spread fabrics to the next process.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Disclosure of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] The present invention has been made by focusing on the above points, and the problem is to provide a fabric spreading device for quickly processing fabrics such as sheets, towel cloths, blankets, face towels, and bath towels and a fabric input device for conveying the spread fabrics to the next process.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the fabric stretching device according to the first aspect includes a left sensor unit that detects the left corner, a right sensor unit that detects the right corner, a left stretching unit that holds one side and moves leftward, and a right stretching unit that holds one side and moves rightward, for stretching a fabric having a right corner, a left corner, and one side therebetween. The left stretching unit moves leftward while holding one side. When the left sensor unit detects the left corner of the fabric, the left stretching unit clamps the left corner of the fabric, and the right stretching unit moves rightward while holding one side. When the right sensor unit detects the right corner of the fabric, the right stretching unit clamps the right corner of the fabric.

[0010] Further, the fabric stretching device according to the second aspect has, in the first aspect, a stretching drive unit that drives the left stretching unit leftward and drives the right stretching unit rightward. By driving the stretching drive unit, the left stretching unit moves leftward and the right stretching unit moves rightward.

[0011] Further, the fabric stretching device according to the third aspect has, in the second aspect, a left soft roller unit that moves leftward and downward while holding one side by the stretching drive unit, and a left free roller unit that clamps the left soft roller unit and the left corner when the left soft roller unit moves downward, for the left stretching unit; and a right soft roller unit that moves rightward and downward while holding one side by the stretching drive unit, and a right free roller unit that clamps the right soft roller unit and the right corner when the right soft roller unit moves downward, for the right stretching unit. When the left sensor unit detects the left corner, the left soft roller unit and the left free roller unit fix the left corner, and when the right sensor unit detects the right corner, the right soft roller unit and the right free roller unit fix the right corner.

[0012] Also, in the fabric spreading device of the fourth aspect, in the second aspect, the left spreading part includes a left roll part that moves leftward by the spreading drive part while holding one side, a left roller part, and a left fixed chuck that clamps the detected left corner part by the left sensor part; the right spreading part includes a right roll part that moves rightward by the spreading drive part while holding one side, a right roller part, and a right fixed chuck that clamps the detected right corner part by the right sensor part. The left roll part and the left roller part move leftward while sandwiching one side, and the left fixed chuck clamps the left corner part detected by the left sensor part. The right roll part and the right roller part move rightward while sandwiching the one side, and the right fixed chuck clamps the right corner part detected by the right sensor part.

[0013] Also, the fabric feeding device of the fifth aspect has the fabric spreading device of the first to fourth aspects.

Advantages of the Invention

[0014] Since the present invention is configured and operates as described above, it is possible to provide a fabric spreading device for quickly processing fabrics such as sheets, towel blankets, blankets, face towels, and bath towels, and a fabric feeding device for conveying the spread fabrics to the next process.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

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[0016] Hereinafter, the cloth expanding device 10 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments. The cloth expanding device 10 of the first embodiment is arranged in a feeding device 500 for feeding the cloth W expanded by the cloth expanding device 10 into a folding device (not shown) in the next process, and constitutes a part of the feeding device 500.

[0017] For the cloth expanding device 10, an operator (not shown) searches for one side WH of the cloth W such as a sheet, a towel, a blanket, a face towel or a bath towel, and by simply attaching that one side WH to the cloth expanding device 10, while flattening the cloth W, it is conveyed to the next process so that the central portion 501 in the width direction of the feeding device 500 coincides with the central portion WC of the cloth W. Therefore, when attaching the cloth W to the cloth expanding device 10 in the feeding device 500, it can be attached while being displaced without aligning the central portion 501 in the width direction of the feeding device 500 and the central portion WC of the cloth W.

[0018] The cloth spreading device 10 is disposed between a pair of input clamps 300, 300 in a front view (see FIG. 2B). The pair of input clamps 300, 300 are for temporarily hanging the cloth W, and are for an operator (not shown) to hang the cloth W to be processed next in advance during the process of spreading the cloth in the cloth spreading device 10 as described later.

[0019] The input clamp 300 has a claw portion 310 and a clamp portion 320 that rotates rotatably, and holds the cloth W between the claw portion 310 and the clamp portion 320. The cloth W can be placed between the claw portion 310 and the clamp portion 320, and when the clamp portion 320 turns backward, the cloth W held between the claw portion 310 and the clamp portion 320 can be released. This will be described later.

[0020] The cloth spreading device 10 has a left spreading portion 20 that moves in the left direction L in a front view and a right spreading portion 50 that moves in the right direction R in a front view by an expanding drive unit 70 described later.

[0021] The left spreading portion 20 includes a thin plate-shaped left bracket portion 21 serving as a main body, a left attachment portion 22 for movably attaching a left soft roll portion 23 (described later) attached to the left bracket portion 21 in the vertical direction, a wheel-shaped left soft roll portion 23 that is deformed and crushed when moving downward (moving downward; the same applies hereinafter) and whose rotation is blocked, and a wheel-shaped left free roller portion 25 that sandwiches the left soft roll portion 23 and the cloth W when the left soft roll portion 23 moves downward. The left bracket portion 21 has a left cloth detection sensor 26 for detecting the presence of the cloth W. Further, below the left attachment portion 22, there is a left sensor portion 27 that can detect the left corner portion WL of the cloth W.

[0022] The right expanding part 50 includes a thin plate-shaped right bracket part 51 serving as the main body, a right attachment part 52 for movably attaching a right soft roll part 53 (described later) attached to the right bracket part 51 in the vertical direction, a wheel-shaped right soft roll part 53 that is deformed and crushed when moving downward and whose rotation is blocked, and a wheel-shaped right free roller part 55 that sandwiches the right soft roll part 53 and the cloth W when the right soft roll part 53 moves downward. The right bracket part 51 has a right cloth detection sensor 56 for detecting the presence of the cloth W. Also, below the right attachment part 52, there is a right sensor part 57 capable of detecting the right corner part WR of the cloth W. In this way, the left expanding part 20 and the right expanding part 50 have a substantially symmetrical configuration.

[0023] The expanding drive part 70 has an annular belt part 71 in a plan view and a driving prime mover part 72 of motors for rotating the belt part 71. The expanding drive part 70 has a base part 75, and the left expanding part 20 and the right expanding part 50 move along the base part 75 in the left direction L or the right direction R respectively. The left bracket part 21 in the left expanding part 20 is attached to one part 71A of the belt part 71, and the right bracket part 51 in the right expanding part 50 is attached to the other part 71B of the belt part 71. The positions of one part 71A and the other part 71B of the belt part 71 are arranged with a half-turn shift in the annular belt part 71 in a plan view. Therefore, when the belt part 71 rotates in a predetermined direction S, the left expanding part 20 expands symmetrically to the left in the left direction L, and the right expanding part 50 expands symmetrically to the right in the right direction R.

[0024] Also, as described above, the left expanding portion 20 and the right expanding portion 50 are attached to the expanding drive portion 70, and the expanding drive portion 70 is further attached to the longitudinal movement portion 510 for moving in the front - rear direction from the front f to the rear r in the input device 500. The longitudinal movement portion 510 includes a longitudinal drive portion 520 composed of motors, a longitudinal belt portion 530, a bracket portion 540 attached to the longitudinal belt portion 530, and a rail portion 550 that regulates the longitudinal movement of the bracket portion 540. The longitudinal drive portion 520 is connected to a drive belt 521. When the drive belt 521 is driven, the pulley 522 rotates, the longitudinal belt portion 530 is driven, and the bracket portion 540 moves in the front - rear direction along the rail portion 550. The left expanding portion 20 and the right expanding portion 50 in the cloth expanding device 10 move from the front f to the rear r direction.

[0025] Attach the cloth W to the cloth expanding device 10 configured as described above. Specifically, an operator (not shown) places one side WH of the cloth W in the vertical gaps between the pair of input clamps 300, 300 in the open state, the left soft roller portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25 arranged between the pair of input clamps 300, 300, and the vertical gaps between the right soft roller portion 53 and the right free roller portion 55 arranged above. Here, the operator does not need to align the central portion WC of the cloth W with the central portion 501 in the input device 500.

[0026] Next, the left fabric detection sensor 26 and the right fabric detection sensor 56 each detect the presence of the fabric W. When the left fabric detection sensor 26 and the right fabric detection sensor 56 detect that the fabric W is placed between the left soft roll portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25 and between the right soft roll portion 53 arranged above and the right free roller portion 55, the left soft roll portion 23 and the right soft roll portion 53 arranged above both move downward, and one side WH of the fabric W is sandwiched between the left soft roll portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25. Also, it is sandwiched between the right soft roll portion 53 and the right free roller portion 55. At this time, the flexible left soft roll portion 23 and the right soft roll portion 53 are slightly deformed, and their rotation is blocked. In this state, one side WH of the fabric W is sandwiched between the left soft roll portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25 and also sandwiched between the right soft roll portion 53 and the right free roller portion 55.

[0027] At that time, when the clamp portion 320 rotates backward (see FIG. 3A), the space between the claw portion 310 and the clamp portion 320 opens, and the input clamps 300, 300 release the fabric W held by the input clamps 300, 300. In this state, one side WH of the fabric W is sandwiched between the left soft roll portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25, and the fabric W sandwiched between the right soft roll portion 53 and the right free roller portion 55 starts to move in the rearward r direction by the front-rear direction moving portion 510 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B). At this time, the left soft roll portion 23 and the right soft roll portion 53 that have moved downward are both slightly deformed (see FIG. 4B).

[0028] Thereafter, both the downwardly moving and deformed left soft roll portion 23 and the right soft roll portion 53 move slightly upward (move in the upward direction; the same applies hereinafter), and the deformed left soft roll portion 23 and the right soft roll portion 53 return to their original circular shapes (see FIGS. 5B and C). At this time, by the expanding drive unit 70, while the left expanding portion 20 moves in the left direction L in a front view, at the same time, the right expanding portion 50 moves in the right direction R in a front view. At this time, one side WH of the fabric W is rotatably held between the left soft roll portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25, and between the right soft roll portion 53 and the right free roller portion 55.

[0029] In addition, in FIG. 2C, the fabric W is attached closer to the right. In this state, while the left expanding portion 20 moves in the left direction L in a front view and at the same time, the right expanding portion 50 moves in the right direction R in a front view, the left sensor portion 27 disposed below the left attachment portion 22 detects the left corner portion WL of the fabric W. Specifically, the light beam emitted from the left sensor portion 27 irradiates the fabric W, and the fabric W is detected while the light beam is reflected. Although the left corner portion WL of the fabric W has not been detected yet, when the left expanding portion 20 further moves and the fabric W passes through the area of the light beam emitted from the left sensor portion 27, the light beam emitted from the left sensor portion 27 is scattered without being reflected, thereby detecting the presence of the left corner portion WL.

[0030] There is a slight time lag between the position of the light beam emitted from the left sensor portion 27 and the position of the left soft roll portion 23. At this time, again, the left soft roll portion 23 moves downward, and the left corner portion WL of the fabric W is clamped and fixed between the left soft roll portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25 (see FIGS. 6A and B). In this state, the right sensor portion 57 disposed below the right attachment portion 52 has not detected the right corner portion WR of the fabric W yet.

[0031] While the left corner portion WL of the cloth W is fixed with the left soft roller portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25 sandwiching it, as the left expanding portion 20 moves leftward in the L direction by the expanding drive portion 70 and the right expanding portion 50 moves rightward in the R direction by the expanding drive portion 70, the right sensor portion 57 disposed below the right attachment portion 52 detects the right corner portion WR of the cloth W. Specifically, the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57 irradiates the cloth W, and the cloth W is detected while the light beam is reflected. Although the right corner portion WR of the cloth W has not been detected yet, as the right expanding portion 50 further moves and the cloth W passes through the region of the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57, the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57 is scattered without being reflected, thereby detecting the presence of the right corner portion WR.

[0032] A slight time lag occurs between the position of the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57 and the position of the right soft roller portion 53. At this time, the right soft roller portion 53 moves downward again, and the right corner portion WR of the cloth W is fixed with the right soft roller portion 53 and the right free roller portion 55 sandwiching it.

[0033] At this time, by the expanding drive portion 70, the left expanding portion 20 moves leftward in the L direction and the right expanding portion 50 moves rightward in the R direction. Since their movements are both symmetric left and right, when the left corner portion WL of the cloth W is fixed with the left soft roller portion 23 and the right soft roller portion 53 sandwiching it, and the right corner portion WR of the cloth W is fixed with the right soft roller portion 53 and the right free roller portion 55 sandwiching it, the central portion WC of the cloth W coincides with the central portion 501 in the feeding device 500 and the cloth W is expanded (see FIG. 7).

[0034] The spread fabric W has its hem portion WS sucked by the suction portion 570 (see FIGS. 8AB). As a result, the portion WS flutters and the entangled state is eliminated. Further, this fabric W is moved further in the rearward r direction by the front-rear movement portion 510 and placed on the conveyance conveyor 560 (see FIGS. 9AB). The fabric W is further conveyed rearward by the conveyance conveyor 560 while maintaining the state in which the hem portion WS of the fabric W is sucked by the suction portion 570. At that time, the left side W1 of the spread fabric W may tilt to the right (see FIGS. 10AB). In this case, it can be corrected by the correction device 580. The correction device 580 has a plurality of, for example, 16 left sensors 581, for example, 16 right sensors 585, and a correction belt 587.

[0035] For example, when the left side W1 of the spread fabric W tilts to the right, 12 out of the 16 left sensors 581 react, and 14 out of the 16 right sensors 585 react. In this case, the correction belt 587 is moved in the direction of arrow T (the direction with fewer sensor reactions) by a control unit (not shown), and the tilt of the fabric W in contact therewith is corrected. Needless to say, when the right side W2 tilts, the operation is reversed. Thereafter, the correction belt 587 moves to either the left or the right until the number of reacting sensors among the left sensors 581 is the same as the number of reacting sensors among the right sensors 585, and the tilt of the fabric W is corrected. Thereafter, the fabric W is conveyed to the next process by the conveyance conveyor 560.

[0036] While the fabric W is being spread in the above-described process, an operator (not shown) can attach the next fabric W to a pair of input clamps 300, 300 in advance. One side WH of the fabric W is searched for, and that one side WH is attached to the pair of input clamps 300, 300. Thereafter, the left soft roll portion 23, the left free roller portion 25, the right soft roll portion 53, and the right free roller portion 55 are arranged between the pair of input clamps 300, 300, and the above cycle is repeated again.

[0037] Next, referring to the embodiments illustrated below, the fabric stretching device 100 of the second embodiment will be described. The fabric stretching device 100 of the second embodiment is arranged in a feeding device 600 for feeding the fabric W stretched by the fabric stretching device 100 into a folding device (not shown) in the next process, and constitutes a part of the feeding device 600.

[0038] For the fabric stretching device 100, an operator (not shown) can search for one side WH of the fabric W such as a sheet, a towel blanket, a blanket, a face towel or a bath towel, attach the one side WH to the fabric stretching device 10, flatten the fabric W, and align the central portion 601 in the width direction of the feeding device 600 with the central portion WC of the fabric W. This is the same as the fabric stretching device 10 of the first embodiment. The difference from the feeding device 500 is the difference in whether the fabric stretching device 10 of the first embodiment or the fabric stretching device 100 of the second embodiment is arranged. Therefore, the same components in the fabric stretching device 10 of the first embodiment and the fabric stretching device 100 of the second embodiment may be denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions may be omitted.

[0039] The fabric stretching device 100 is arranged between a pair of feeding clamps 300, 300 in a front view. The pair of feeding clamps 300, 300 are for temporarily hanging the fabric W, and are for an operator (not shown) to hang the fabric W to be processed next in advance during the process of stretching the fabric W in the fabric stretching device 100 as will be described later. The pair of feeding clamps 300, 300 have been described as above, and may be denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions may be omitted.

[0040] The fabric stretching device 100 includes a left stretching portion 120 that moves in the left direction L in a front view and a right stretching portion 150 that moves in the right direction R in a front view by the above-described stretching drive unit 70. The same components as those of the fabric stretching device 10 may be denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions may be omitted.

[0041] The left expanding part 120 includes a thin plate-shaped left bracket part 121 as the main body, a left mounting part 122 for movably mounting a left roll part 123 (described later) attached to the left bracket part 121 in the vertical direction, and a downwardly moving wheel-shaped left roll part 123.

[0042] Also, the left expanding part 120 includes a wheel-shaped left roller part 125. When the left roll part 123 moves downward, the downwardly moved left roll part 123 and the left roller part 125 sandwich the cloth W. The left roll part 123 and the left roller part 125 are arranged to enable the movement of the cloth W by rotating together. Further, below the left mounting part 122, there is a left sensor part 27 capable of detecting the left corner part WL of the cloth W. Also, the left bracket part 121 has a left cloth detection sensor 26 for detecting the presence of the cloth W. The left sensor part 27 and the left cloth detection sensor 26 have the same configuration as the cloth expanding device 10.

[0043] Furthermore, the left bracket part 121 has a left fixed chuck 130 disposed inside the left roll part 123 and the left roller part 125. The left fixed chuck 130 has a left first member 131 and a left second member 132. When the upwardly disposed left first member 131 moves downward, it sandwiches and fixes the left corner part WL of the cloth W.

[0044] The right expanding part 150 includes a thin plate-shaped right bracket part 151 as the main body, a right mounting part 152 for movably mounting a right roll part 153 (described later) attached to the right bracket part 151 in the vertical direction, and a downwardly moving wheel-shaped right roll part 153.

[0045] Further, the right spreading portion 150 has a wheel-shaped right roller portion 155. When the right roll portion 153 moves downward, the wheel-shaped right roller portion 155 sandwiches the downward-moved right roll portion 153 and the cloth W. However, the right roll portion 153 and the right roller portion 155 are arranged to enable the movement of the cloth W by rotating together. Further, below the right attachment portion 152, there is a right sensor portion 57 that can detect the right corner portion WR of the cloth W. Further, the right bracket portion 151 has a right cloth detection sensor 56 that detects the presence of the cloth W. The right sensor portion 57 and the right cloth detection sensor 56 have the same configuration as the cloth spreading device 10 (see FIG. 12).

[0046] Furthermore, the right bracket portion 151 has a right fixed chuck 160. The right fixed chuck 160 has a right first member 161 and a right second member 162, and when the right first member 161 arranged above moves downward, it fixes the right corner portion WR of the cloth W.

[0047] The spreading drive unit 70 has an annular belt portion 71 in a plan view and a prime mover portion 72 of motors for driving the belt portion 71 to rotate. Further, the spreading drive unit 70 has a base portion 75, and the left spreading portion 120 and the right spreading portion 150 move along the base portion 75 in the left direction L or the right direction R, respectively. Further, the left bracket portion 121 of the left spreading portion 120 is attached to one portion 71A of the belt portion 71, and the right bracket portion 151 of the right spreading portion 150 is attached to the other portion 71B of the belt portion 71. The positions of one portion 71A and the other portion 71B of the belt portion 71 are displaced by half a circumference in the annular belt portion 71 in a plan view. Therefore, when the belt portion 71 rotates in a predetermined direction, the left spreading portion 120 and the right spreading portion 150 will expand symmetrically left and right.

[0048] Also, as described above, the left expanding portion 120 and the right expanding portion 150 are attached to the expanding drive unit 70. The expanding drive unit 70 is attached to the front-rear moving unit 510 for moving in the front f to rear r direction in the input device 500. The front-rear moving unit 510 includes a front-rear drive unit 520 composed of motors, a front-rear belt unit 520, a bracket unit 530 attached to the front-rear belt unit 520, and a rail unit 540 that regulates the front-rear movement of the bracket unit 530. This is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0049] Thus, regarding the difference between the cloth expanding device 100 of the second embodiment and the cloth expanding device 10 of the first embodiment, the left expanding portion 20 is replaced with a left bracket portion 21 and a left soft roll portion 23. Instead, the left expanding portion 120 has a left roll portion 123, a left roller portion 125, and a left fixed chuck 130. Also, the right expanding portion 50 is replaced with a right bracket portion 51 and a right soft roll portion 53. Instead, the right expanding portion has a right roll portion 153, a right roller portion 155, and a right fixed chuck 160.

[0050] Attach the cloth W to the cloth expanding device 100 configured as described above. Specifically, an operator (not shown) places one side WH of the cloth W in the vertical gaps between the pair of input clamps 300, 300 in the open state, the left roll portion 123 and the left roller portion 125 arranged between the pair of input clamps 300, 300, the gap between the left first member 131 and the left second member 132 in the left fixed chuck 130, the vertical gap between the right roll portion 153 and the right roller portion 155, and the gap between the right first member 161 and the right second member 162 in the right fixed chuck 160. Here, the operator does not need to align the central portion WC of the cloth W with the central portion 601 in the input device 600. This is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0051] Next, the left cloth detection sensor 26 and the right cloth detection sensor 56 detect the presence of the cloth W respectively. The left cloth detection sensor 26 and the right cloth detection sensor 56 detect that the cloth W is arranged in the respective gaps described above.

[0052] At that time, the left roll portion 123 moves downward and clamps the one side WH between it and the left roller portion 125. Also, the right roll portion 153 moves downward and clamps the one side WH between it and the right roller portion 155.

[0053] At that time, the clamp portion 320 rotates rearward in the same manner as described above (not shown in the figure), and the space between the claw portion 310 and the clamp portion 320 opens, and the input clamps 300, 300 release the cloth W held by the input clamps 300, 300. In this state, the cloth spreading device 100 starts to move in the rearward r direction by the forward and backward moving portion 510 (see FIG. 12).

[0054] After that, by the left roll portion 123 and the left roller portion 125 that are clamped so as to be in contact with the one side WH both rotating, the left expanding portion 120 moves in the left direction L. Also, by the right roll portion 153 and the right roller portion 155 that are clamped so as to be in contact with the one side WH both rotating, the right expanding portion 150 moves in the right direction R.

[0055] In this state, while the left expanding portion 120 moves in the left direction L in a front view, and at the same time the right expanding portion 150 moves in the right direction R in a front view, the left sensor portion 27 disposed below the left attachment portion 22 detects the left corner portion WL of the cloth W. Specifically, the light beam emitted from the left sensor portion 27 irradiates the cloth W, and while the light beam is reflected, the cloth W is detected. Although the left corner portion WL of the cloth W has not yet been detected, when the left expanding portion 120 further moves, when the cloth W passes through the region of the light beam emitted from the left sensor portion 27, the light beam emitted from the left sensor portion 27 is scattered without being reflected, thereby detecting the presence of the left corner portion WL (see FIG. 13).

[0056] A slight time lag occurs between the position of the light beam emitted from the left sensor portion 27 and the position of the left fixed chuck 130. At this time, the left first member 131 of the left fixed chuck 130 moves downward and clamps and fixes the left corner portion WL of the cloth W with the left second member 132. In this state, the right sensor portion 57 disposed below the right attachment portion 52 has not yet detected the right corner portion WR of the cloth W.

[0057] With the left corner portion WL of the cloth W being fixed while being sandwiched between the left first member 131 and the left second member 132 of the left fixing chuck 130, the left expanding portion 120 moves in the left direction L by the expanding driving portion 70, and the right expanding portion 150 moves in the right direction R by the expanding driving portion 70. The right sensor portion 57 disposed below the right attachment portion 52 detects the right corner portion WR of the cloth W. Specifically, since the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57 irradiates the cloth W and the cloth W is detected while the light beam is being reflected, although the right corner portion WR of the cloth W has not yet been detected, when the right expanding portion 50 further moves and the cloth W passes through the region of the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57, the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57 is scattered without being reflected, thereby detecting the presence of the right corner portion WR.

[0058] A slight time lag occurs between the position of the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57 and the position of the right fixing chuck 160. At this time, the right first member 161 of the right fixing chuck 160 moves downward, and the right corner portion WR of the cloth W is fixed while being sandwiched by the right second member 162.

[0059] At this time, by the expanding driving portion 70, the left expanding portion 120 moves in the left direction L, and the right expanding portion 150 moves in the right direction R. Since their movements are both symmetric left and right, when the left fixing chuck 130 sandwiches and fixes the left corner portion WL of the cloth W and the right fixing chuck 160 sandwiches and fixes the right corner portion WR of the cloth W, the central portion WC of the cloth W coincides with the central portion 601 of the input device 600 and the cloth W is expanded.

[0060] The expanded cloth W further moves in the rearward r direction by the front - rear direction moving portion 510 and is placed on the conveying conveyor 560. After that, it is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, when the expanded cloth W is tilted, it is corrected by the above - mentioned correcting device 580 and conveyed to the next process by the conveying conveyor 560.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0061] 10 Cloth Expanding Device of the First Embodiment 20 Left expanding part 21 Left bracket part 22 Left mounting part 23 Left soft roll part 25 Left free roller part 26 Left fabric detection sensor 27 Left sensor part 50 Right expanding part 51 Right bracket part 52 Right mounting part 53 Right soft roll part 55 Right free roller part 56 Right fabric detection sensor 57 Right sensor part 100 Fabric expanding device of the second embodiment 120 Left expanding part 121 Left bracket part 122 Left mounting part 123 Left roll part 125 Left roller part 130 Left fixed chuck 131 Left first member 132 Left second member 150 Right expanding part 151 Right bracket part 152 Right mounting part 153 Right roll part 155 Right roller part 160 Right fixed chuck 161 Right first member 162 Right second member 300 Input clamp 310 Claw part 320 Clamp part 500, 600 Input device

Claims

1. To expand a cloth having a right corner, a left corner, and one side therebetween, a left sensor unit for detecting the left corner, a right sensor unit for detecting the right corner, a left expanding unit that holds the one side and moves leftward, a right expanding unit that holds the one side and moves rightward, and when the one side of the cloth is attached to the left expanding unit and the right expanding unit, the left expanding unit moves leftward while holding the one side, and when the left sensor unit detects the left corner of the cloth, the left expanding unit clamps the left corner of the cloth, and the right expanding unit moves rightward while holding the one side, and when the right sensor unit detects the right corner of the cloth, the right expanding unit clamps the right corner of the cloth. A cloth expanding device.

2. It has an expanding drive unit that drives the left expanding unit leftward and the right expanding unit rightward, and by driving the expanding drive unit, the left expanding unit moves leftward and the right expanding unit moves rightward. The cloth expanding device according to Claim 1.

3. The left expanding unit includes a left soft roll unit that moves leftward by the expanding drive unit while holding the one side and moves downward, and a left free roller unit that clamps the left soft roll unit and the left corner when the left soft roll unit moves downward. The right expanding unit includes a right soft roll unit that moves rightward by the expanding drive unit while holding the one side and moves downward, and a right free roller unit that clamps the right soft roll unit and the right corner when the right soft roll unit moves downward. When the left sensor unit detects the left corner and the left soft roll unit and the left free roller unit fix the left corner, and when the right sensor unit detects the right corner, the right soft roll unit and the right free roller unit fix the right corner. The cloth expanding device according to Claim 2.

4. The left expanding unit includes a left roll unit that moves leftward by the expanding drive unit while holding the one side, a left roller unit, and a left fixing chuck that clamps the left corner detected by the left sensor unit. The right expanding unit includes a right roll unit that moves rightward by the expanding drive unit while holding the one side, a right roller unit, and a right fixing chuck that clamps the right corner detected by the right sensor unit. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ While the left roll part and the left roller part sandwich the one side and move leftward, the left fixed chuck holds the left corner part detected by the left sensor part, and The cloth spreading device according to claim 2, wherein while the right roll part and the right roller part sandwich the one side and move rightward, the right fixed chuck holds the right corner part detected by the right sensor part.

5. A cloth feeding device having the cloth spreading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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