Method for feeding laundry items to a mangle or another laundry treatment device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual feeding of laundry items to mangle or folding machines is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and previous automation attempts have failed due to difficulties in reliably grasping adjacent corners of laundry items with reasonable mechanical effort.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that use imaging techniques to determine the surface profile of laundry items, allowing for the automatic gripping of targeted corners, and employing mechanical means to stretch and position the laundry for reliable automated feeding, eliminating manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual feeding of laundry items is used, then操作简单性 is maintained, but productivity is low and labor intensity is high
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses imaging devices to automatically detect and determine the positions of laundry corners, and the stretching device automatically adjusts laundry orientation, enabling the system to serve itself without manual intervention for corner identification and orientation adjustment
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical operations for corner detection and orientation adjustment are replaced by an automated system combining imaging devices, image processing algorithms, and mechanical stretching mechanisms
2Productivity
If previous automation attempts were made, then productivity was improved, but reliability of corner grasping deteriorated due to difficulty in reliably finding and grasping adjacent corners
Solution Approach 1:
The laundry is stretched in advance to create a standardized configuration with clearly defined corners and edges before the grasping operation, making corner detection and reliable grasping possible
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging device continuously monitors the laundry position and corner locations, providing feedback to the control unit which adjusts the stretching and grasping operations accordingly to ensure reliable corner acquisition
3Manufacturing precision
If stretching of laundry item is performed, then corner positioning accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stretching device serves multiple functions: it separates laundry items, creates standardized orientations, defines corner positions, and facilitates subsequent grasping operations, making the added complexity worthwhile through multi-functionality
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient and reliable automatic feeding of laundry items to treatment devices, reducing labor costs and minimizing errors in orientation and positioning, ensuring consistent and efficient processing.
Implementation Method 1
the positions of the free corners that form during stretching of the laundry item, preferably at diagonally opposite corners, are automatically determined when determining the surface profile of the laundry item, preferably using an imaging method
Data Source
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AI summary
Laundry items (10) are fed from a feeding machine to a mangle or other laundry processing device. Operators load the laundry items (10) into the feeding machine. This is labor-intensive and time-consuming. The invention provides that when a corner (23) of a hanging laundry item (10) is held, the lowest corner (28) of this laundry item (10) is grasped and stretched, causing the remaining corners (31, 32) of the laundry item to form such that they assume graspable positions. Through the measures described, tasks previously performed manually before the feeding machine can be carried out reliably and fully automatically in a simple manner.