Autonomous devices, systems, and methods for queuing folded laundry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laundry processing technologies rely on human intervention, leading to inefficiencies, contamination risks, and increased costs due to the need for manual handling and processing of laundry in both laundromats and industrial settings, which cannot efficiently handle diverse household laundry loads.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous robotic system that autonomously arranges and packs folded household laundry into an ordered packing queue using sensors and conveyors to efficiently process and pack diverse laundry items without human contact, reducing contamination risks and operational costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If human operators manually handle and process laundry in laundromats and industrial settings, then the process can be completed with simple equipment, but the time consumption and labor costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system performs laundry handling, folding, and queueing operations autonomously without human intervention. The robot navigates to washers, retrieves laundry, transports it to folding machines, and automatically queues folded items in shipping containers, enabling the system to serve itself and eliminating dependency on human operators for these tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual human operations with an autonomous robotic system equipped with sensors, navigational capabilities, and automated manipulation mechanisms. The robot uses vision systems to identify laundry items, robotic arms for handling and folding, and automated queueing mechanisms, substituting the mechanical human body with a programmable robotic system that operates continuously without fatigue.
2Reliability
If human employees process laundry loads, then the operation can proceed with basic equipment, but contamination risks from bodily fluids, bacteria, and viral matter increase
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous robotic system serves as an intermediary between the dirty laundry and the clean folding/queueing processes. The robot physically handles laundry without human contact, transferring it through controlled environments, and the automated folding and queueing occur in isolated compartments, preventing direct human exposure to potential contaminants while maintaining process continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system independently performs all laundry handling operations without requiring human employees to physically contact the laundry. The robot navigates, retrieves, transports, folds, and queues laundry autonomously, eliminating the contamination pathway that would exist if human hands directly handled the garments throughout the process.
3Manufacturing precision
If industrial folding machines are used for specific laundry types, then folding precision can be optimized, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous robotic system employs a single multi-functional platform that can handle various types of laundry through programmable instructions rather than dedicated machines for each laundry type. The robot uses sensors to identify article characteristics and adjusts its manipulation, folding, and queueing actions accordingly, providing universal functionality across different laundry categories without requiring separate specialized equipment for each type.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system achieves folding precision for different laundry types by dynamically changing operational parameters such as folding patterns, compression forces, and queueing arrangements based on sensor data about the specific article being processed. Rather than using fixed specialized machines, the robot modifies its mechanical actions and control parameters to accommodate sheets, towels, garments, and other laundry items with varying sizes, materials, and folding requirements.
4Ease of operation
If laundromat services outsource laundry processing, then household time investment is reduced, but the cost per load increases due to human labor and facility overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous robotic system enables laundromats to operate without human employees for core laundry processing tasks. The robot independently performs retrieval, transport, folding, and queueing operations, allowing the facility to function autonomously and reducing operational costs by eliminating the need to pay employees for these repetitive tasks while maintaining service availability for customers.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system can operate continuously without breaks, shifts, or fatigue, processing laundry loads around the clock. This continuous operation increases productivity and throughput capacity of the laundry facility, allowing more loads to be processed per day compared to human-staffed operations, thereby improving cost efficiency and reducing the cost per load while maintaining ease of access for customers.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems, and methods for autonomously queueing a plurality of folded household laundry articles in a packing queue are described. A packing system includes a rotating platform configured to rotate a folded laundry article for directional placement in the packing queue, at least one packing queue platform receiving the folded laundry article into a packing queue disposed thereon, and a double ended conveyor. The double ended conveyor includes a retrieving end and a depositing end. The conveyor is configured to be mounted to a gantry for traveling along the length of the queue platform and cantilevering the retrieving end over the rotating platform for retrieving the folded laundry article and the depositing end over the packing queue platform for depositing the folded laundry article onto either a surface of the packing queue platform or another folded laundry article of the plurality of household laundry articles.