Clothes folding machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional clothes folding machines require multiple stages for longitudinal-line folding, leading to increased size and time consumption, and often result in clothes being disheveled due to longer folding distances, with prior solutions failing to efficiently integrate primary and secondary folding at a single layer.
Innovation Solution
A clothes folding robot machine with a folding unit that includes a main board and sub-boards spaced apart with different height differences, allowing simultaneous longitudinal-line folding of both sleeves during loading, and adjustable folding guides to maintain clothes in a folded state and accommodate varying garment sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple stages are used for longitudinal-line folding, then folding completeness is improved, but machine size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines primary longitudinal-line folding and secondary longitudinal-line folding into a single stage by integrating multiple folding folders (first folder, second folder, third folder) that operate simultaneously on different sleeves of the garment. This merging of folding functions into one stage reduces the machine size while maintaining complete folding capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the vertical dimension by stacking multiple folding folders at different heights within a single stage. The first folder is positioned at a first conveyer layer, the second folder at a second conveyer layer below it, and the third folder at a third conveyer layer, allowing simultaneous folding operations in the vertical space rather than requiring horizontal expansion.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple stages are used for longitudinal-line folding, then folding completeness is improved, but folding time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous folding action by having multiple folders operate simultaneously in parallel. While the loading unit conveys the garment through the first folder for primary folding of one sleeve, the second and third folders are concurrently performing secondary folding on other sleeves, eliminating sequential waiting time and achieving continuous productive action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary folding actions in advance by having the first folder execute primary longitudinal-line folding on one sleeve while the garment is being conveyed, before the garment reaches subsequent folding stages. This preliminary action allows other folders to simultaneously work on different sleeves, optimizing the overall folding timeline.
3Manufacturing precision
If longer folding distance is used, then folding thoroughness is improved, but clothes become disheveled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the folding process into distinct primary and secondary folding operations performed by different folders on different sleeves. Each folder handles a specific folding task over a shorter, controlled distance, preventing the garment from being dragged or disheveled over long distances while ensuring thorough folding through multiple specialized folding actions.
Data Source
AI summary
Proposed is a clothes folding machine, which includes a case, a loading unit disposed at an upper portion of the case and conveying a clothes item gripped by grippers into the case, a folding unit including a longitudinal-line folder folding both sleeves of the clothes item conveyed by the loading unit along longitudinal lines and a transverse-line folder folding the clothes item along transverse lines several times, and an unloading unit disposed at a lower portion of the case and conveying the clothes item folded by the folding unit outside the case.