Identification means for garments

Abstract

The present invention relates to an identification means for laundry items, wherein the identification means can be connected to a garment, wherein the identification means has a pattern detectable by means of X-ray radiation. According to the invention, the pattern is a wire and contains information, wherein the information is stored by bending the wire, and the identification means is a component of a laundry label.

Description

[0001] Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025

[0002] 1

[0003] DESCRIPTION

[0004] Marking devices for clothing

[0005] The present invention relates to a marking means for laundry items, wherein the marking means is connectable to a laundry item, and to a method for marking laundry items with a marking means.

[0006] In various facilities, such as retirement homes, nursing homes, workplaces, or hospitals, the cleaning of work clothes or residents' laundry must be ensured. This need often cannot be met within the facility itself due to space and cost constraints, which is why the laundry is usually cleaned in large-scale laundries.

[0007] The problem is described in more detail below using nursing homes as an example. It goes without saying that the same problem exists for other facilities or for laundries in cities where various people wash their personal laundry. In nursing homes, the laundry consists primarily of residents' personal items. Residents have their personal laundry washed there. On average, a resident has approximately 220 personal items of clothing. These items can include clothing worn daily, but also pillows, tablecloths, or bed linens. On average, 100 items of clothing are used regularly, creating a corresponding need for cleaning these items. A nursing home typically has around 90 long-term care beds and approximately 20 to 30 short-term care beds. A resident drops off their laundry approximately 2 to 3 times a week, averaging 7 items per drop-off. A resident stays in the nursing home for an average of approximately...3 months in a nursing home.

[0008] When a resident's laundry is washed in a laundry facility, each item must be recorded and assigned to the resident in order to calculate the cleaning costs correctly and return the laundry to the right person. The problem with this is that when a resident is admitted to a nursing home, their personalized laundry is usually not already registered. (Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025)

[0009] 2 is marked. Especially when the laundry of several residents of a nursing home is washed together, the allocation can be very time-consuming.

[0010] Therefore, the first laundry of a new resident after moving into the care home and before the first cleaning at the laundry facility is usually placed in a bag or sack labeled with the necessary information to identify that resident. Alternatively, any other storage container suitable for separating residents' laundry can be used. The information typically includes the name of the care home and the resident's name. It may also include the care home's address and the unit the resident occupies. The bag or sack is generally reused for each cleaning. The information can also be stored on an RFID chip attached to the bag or sack. The care home can provide the bag or sack.

[0011] In the laundry, the bag or sack is opened. For each new resident, the laundry is entered into a computer system, such as an ERP system, as a new customer, with the corresponding resident identification information attached to the bag or sack. The label with the cleaning instructions for each individual item is read and entered into the computer system along with the information assigning the resident. Each item is then assigned to a cleaning program according to the cleaning instructions, for example, colored laundry at 30°C or white laundry at 60°C. Reading and entering this information into the computer system is a complex and labor-intensive process.

[0012] Sorting systems are therefore known that can separate the laundry from each resident's bag or sack. In such a system, the individual laundry items can be analyzed for their fiber composition using special sensors. This data allows for the identification of the laundry items and their assignment to a cleaning program, and this data can be stored as a data set in the computer system. [Identification of laundry items: Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025]

[0013] 3. The assignment to a cleaning program can be achieved, for example, through machine learning in conjunction with reading the label containing the cleaning recommendations. Advantageously, the laundry item can be recognized again during subsequent washes based on this data. In the sorting system, the number of laundry items per bag or sack can be counted to verify that the same number of items has been reassigned to the respective resident after cleaning. The problem with this is that when a resident's next bag or sack is returned, it cannot initially be determined whether the laundry items in the bag or sack are already recorded in the computer system or whether they still need to be recorded. If the data does not need to be recorded, this step can be skipped, significantly reducing the workload.

[0014] Once the data has been entered into the computer system, a label bearing this information or a identifier associated with the data record in the computer system, such as a number, is affixed to the garment, for example, by adhesive. The information is typically stored in a barcode, but storage in a QR code is also possible. Entering the information into the computer system and labeling the garments must be done for each new item and requires personnel time. However, garments that have already been labeled do not need to be entered and labeled again.

[0015] It is important to label each item of laundry at the laundry facility so that it can be traced throughout the entire cleaning process. For each facility, the laundry items are washed together. In a nursing home, for example, the laundry of up to 120 residents is washed together. However, each item of laundry from one facility is cleaned by different residents according to the cleaning programs in the same washing machine.

[0016] After washing, all the laundry from a facility, meaning the laundry of all residents, is delivered to the dispatch area. There, the information from the label Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025 is recorded.

[0017] Four barcodes are scanned at the laundry facility to allow the laundry to be returned to its individual residents. The laundry is sorted according to the residents based on the barcode. It is then folded and placed in the bag or sack assigned to the respective care home and resident.

[0018] This process is repeated with every wash. Occasionally, items of clothing without the laundry's label are found during or before delivery. A significant amount of staff time is required to correctly assign these items to the residents. To avoid this, each item would have to be individually checked for the laundry's label. This process is very time-consuming and difficult to automate, as the delivered items can be in all sorts of orientations and folds.

[0019] Therefore, in a few laundries, each item of laundry is fitted with an RFID chip in addition to the laundry's label. This RFID chip allows for the automated tracking and sorting of the laundry items. A disadvantage of these RFID chips is their high cost. Attaching them to all the laundry in a nursing home is not cost-effective given the short stays of the residents.

[0020] It is well known that X-ray machines are used in laundries to detect unwanted foreign objects that could damage the laundry and / or the laundry machines, and to sort them out before cleaning. X-ray machines are also used in medicine, for example. In this context, the X-ray machine registers the contrast created by the different attenuation of radiation in various tissue types. Bones, due to the calcium they contain, have a lower radiolucency than the surrounding soft tissue. Other applications of X-ray machines include security, such as baggage screening at airports, food production, and materials testing.

[0021] X-ray opacity refers to the permeability of materials to X-rays. X-ray opacity depends primarily on the density and atomic number of the material. Density is determined by the mass of the atoms in the material. (Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025)

[0022] 5. A specific volume, which increases with a smaller atomic distance. The varying X-ray transmittance of materials can be used for imaging with X-ray devices. According to Lambert-Beer's law, the intensity of the X-ray beam decreases exponentially with the path length traveled through the material; the absorption coefficient is material-dependent and increases with the atomic number.

[0023] Marking devices are known.

[0024] US Patent 4,126,778 A describes a method, system, and attachment for sorting articles, such as laundry. Each item contains as a component a quantity of several different materials of a type that, when irradiated with X-rays, gamma rays, or other radiation, produce secondary radiation at a characteristic energy level, the combination of which forms a code that uniquely identifies the article.

[0025] US Patent 2002 / 0044056 A1 concerns a system for identifying and counting items, such as laundry. The system uses a variety of spheres embedded in an item identification tag.

[0026] German patent DE 3804307 A1 discloses a device for identifying and counting laundry. The device includes means for emitting and detecting X-rays, making it possible to identify laundry items with markings that are opaque to X-rays.

[0027] US Patent 4,036,365 A describes a method, system, and attachment for conveying and sorting articles. Each article contains as a component a quantity of several different materials of a type that, when irradiated with X-rays, gamma rays, or other radiation, produce secondary radiation at a characteristic energy level, the combination of which forms a code that uniquely identifies the article.

[0028] The publication M. Obermann et al.: Non-destructive X-ray examination of weft Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025

[0029] Six knitted wire structures. In the 48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT), 2016, pp. 1-8, a textile with copper, silver, and nickel threads knitted in combination with textile yarns is disclosed. The resulting fabric is analyzed using X-rays.

[0030] The object of the present invention is to provide an optimized marking means for laundry items.

[0031] The problem is solved in a marking device according to the preamble of claim 1 by the marking device having a pattern recognizable by means of X-rays, wherein the pattern is a wire and contains information, wherein the information is stored by bending the wire, and wherein the marking device is part of a label of the laundry.

[0032] The marking element can be attached to the laundry items or the laundry label. The marking element can have a carrier layer that can be bonded to the laundry item or the laundry label. This bonding can be achieved, for example, by thermal adhesive. The pattern can be arranged on or within the carrier layer. The carrier layer can be made of, for example, an elastic plastic.

[0033] The pattern has a shape and texture that can be clearly identified using an X-ray machine. In particular, the pattern is distinguishable in the X-ray image from features commonly found on garments, such as buttons or zippers. This recognizability is especially evident with different orientations and / or folds of the garments. Recognition can be achieved through computer-aided pattern recognition, specifically through machine learning.

[0034] Advantageously, the pattern, along with the laundry's label, can be applied to the garment after the data has been entered into the laundry's computer system, for example, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. An ERP system is a software solution developed by Thielen Automation GmbH (24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025).

[0035] Seven key business processes of a company are combined and controlled in a single database. These include areas such as finance, human resources, logistics, purchasing, and sales. In particular, the labeling system can be flexibly designed. Its flexible form facilitates application to textiles and prevents damage during washing.

[0036] The marking device allows for a particularly advantageous check using an X-ray machine to determine whether data for a given item has already been entered into the computer system. If the data is already present, the laundry label does not need to be searched for and read manually, and the item can be automatically routed to the appropriate cleaning program. If no marking device is detected, the item can be rejected, and its data entered into the computer system. Furthermore, if each resident's bag or sack is scanned sequentially, the item can be easily assigned to the respective resident, even if it lacks a laundry label. This minimizes the risk of such an unrecorded item being found after washing. A resident's laundry can be scanned together or individually.It is advantageous that no new X-ray machine needs to be purchased for the laundry if one is already being used for foreign object detection.

[0037] The sample is a wire. The advantage of such a wire is that, due to its metal composition, it is particularly easy to identify in an X-ray image. Furthermore, wire is inexpensive and flexible. The wire can be easily integrated into an existing laundry label.

[0038] A particularly advantageous feature is that information can be easily stored in a wire by bending it. For example, the wire can be shaped into lettering. The lettering could be the resident's first and / or last name. Alternatively, the wire can also be shaped into geometric patterns. Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025

[0039] 8

[0040] The marking element is an integral part of the laundry label. Advantageously, the marking element does not need to be separately attached to the laundry label. For example, the wire can be glued onto the laundry label. Alternatively, the wire can also be embedded in the plastic of the laundry label.

[0041] Another embodiment of the invention consists in the pattern having a higher X-ray opacity than textiles.

[0042] In particular, the radiopaqueness can be greater than that of the fabrics or plastics used as the basis for the textiles. Advantageously, the pattern does not need to be thicker to be visible in an X-ray image. This increases wearing comfort.

[0043] Another embodiment of the invention consists in the pattern containing information.

[0044] The information can include, for example, the name of the laundry service. It can also be an identification number corresponding to the data record stored in the computer system. This allows information regarding the cleaning program to be used and / or the resident to be assigned to the garment even if the laundry service label is no longer legible or has been lost. The template can also contain information from the complete or partial data record in the computer system for this garment. For example, information about the resident can be stored in the template.

[0045] The pattern can be designed, for example, as a barcode or a QR code. Alternatively, the pattern can be applied to the laundry label or another carrier material on the garment, for example, using metallic printing or metallic paint.

[0046] The task is also accomplished by a method according to claim 3 with a Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025

[0047] 9 marking means according to the invention are solved by the following steps:

[0048] • Providing multiple storage units with separate personalized laundry for multiple people in a facility,

[0049] • Check whether data about the person is already stored in a computer system of the laundry,

[0050] • If the person is not registered in the laundry's computer system, enter the data for each item of laundry belonging to the resident into the laundry's computer system and attach the identification tag.

[0051] • If the person is registered in the laundry's computer system, each item of the person's laundry is checked with an X-ray machine to see if the identification marker is present,

[0052] • Sorting out laundry items that do not have a marking and entering the laundry item's data into the laundry's computer system,

[0053] • Cleaning of the laundry items,

[0054] • Sorting the laundry items according to the respective resident.

[0055] The storage units can be sacks or bags. These units can be labeled with information about the facility and the individual. This information can be stored on RFID chips. For example, each resident's sack or bag could be equipped with an RFID chip containing at least the resident's information. Typically, laundry for a facility is washed collectively.

[0056] The data on the storage unit can be used to check whether the person is already registered in the laundry's computer system. For example, the person's information can be automatically read from an RFID chip, barcode, or QR code attached to the bag or sack.

[0057] If no data record for the person is stored in the computer system, each item of laundry belonging to that person is recorded, along with data such as care instructions, the corresponding cleaning program, and information about which person owned the item. Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025

[0058] 10

[0059] The assignment of the garment to the specific item is stored in the computer system. The care label on the garment can be read. It is also possible to examine the garment's textiles using sensors, for example, imaging technology, and select the appropriate cleaning program. Afterwards, in addition to the laundry's standard label, the garment is marked with the inventive marking device.

[0060] If the person's information is stored in the computer system, the entire bag or individual items of clothing belonging to that person are passed through an X-ray machine. The X-ray machine checks for the presence of a marking. This marking is designed to be visible in the X-ray image regardless of the garment's orientation or fold. Detection can be automated using computer-aided pattern recognition. If the marking is detected on the garment, the usual cleaning process continues. If the marking is not detected, the garment is rejected. The advantage of this method is that it allows for early rejection in the laundry process, when the garment can be easily traced back to the individual. This way, all of a person's laundry can be processed through the X-ray machine sequentially.

[0061] If the garment lacks a marking, the system checks whether it is already registered in the computer system. For example, it can verify the presence of the laundry's label. If the garment is not yet in the system, its data is entered. The garment is then labeled with the laundry's label and a marking, and cleaned according to the information in the computer system.

[0062] After cleaning, the laundry items are sorted according to the person(s).

[0063] Advantageously, the inventive method can reduce the effort required for the

[0064] The amount of data entered into the computer system will be significantly reduced. Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025

[0065] Only laundry items belonging to new individuals or laundry items without any markings are entered into the computer system. This minimizes the risk of duplicate data records. The process of entering data into the computer system can be automated.

[0066] It is therefore advantageous that the laundry's computer system is an ERP system.

[0067] Finally, the use of a marking device according to the invention is part of the invention.

Claims

Thielen Automation GmbH 24059-P-WO / 31.10.2025 12 REQUIREMENTS 1. Marking device for laundry items, wherein the marking device is attachable to a garment, wherein the marking device has a pattern detectable by means of X-rays, characterized in that the pattern is a wire and contains information, wherein the information is stored by bending the wire, wherein the marking device is part of a laundry label.

2. Marking means according to claim 1, characterized in that the pattern has a higher radiopacity than textiles.

3. Method for marking laundry items in a laundry with a marking agent according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps: • Providing multiple storage units with separate personalized laundry for multiple people in a facility, • Check whether data about the person is already stored in a computer system of the laundry, • If the person is not registered in the laundry's computer system, enter the data for each item of laundry belonging to the resident into the laundry's computer system and attach the identification tag. • If the person is registered in the laundry's computer system, each item of the person's laundry is checked with an X-ray machine to see if the identification marker is present, • Sorting out laundry items that do not have a marking and entering the laundry item's data into the laundry's computer system, • Cleaning of the laundry items, • Sorting the laundry items according to the respective resident.

4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the laundry's computer system is an ERP system.

5. Use of a marking device according to one of claims 1 to 2 for laundry items in a laundry.