Rotary Laundry Cake Separation for Gentle Front-End Division
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for dividing laundry cakes in commercial laundries are inefficient, causing mechanical stress and inadequate separation, as they rely on lateral compression which is insufficient and stressful for the laundry items.
Innovation Solution
A method and device utilizing a rotating splitter driven about a horizontal axis to gently pull laundry items out from the front of the load, allowing for gradual and continuous separation with minimal mechanical stress, and a conveyor system that transports the laundry to the splitter for complete division, using a roller-like design with radially directed blades to gently extract items without damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If lateral compression is used to loosen laundry cakes, then the laundry cake is loosened, but the items of laundry are exposed to strong mechanical stresses and the division is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of compressing the laundry cake from the sides (lateral compression), the invention applies the dividing action from the front end of the laundry cake in the transport direction. The dividing device with splitter elements engages the front end face and pulls items outward, reversing the conventional approach and reducing mechanical stress while improving division effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts items of laundry from the front end face of the laundry cake by having the dividing device pull them outward in the transport direction. This extraction method allows for gradual separation without subjecting the entire laundry cake to strong compressive forces, thereby reducing mechanical stress while achieving effective division
2Productivity
If lateral compression is used to divide laundry, then division is attempted, but the division is insufficient and items are damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The invention reverses the conventional division approach by applying the dividing action from the front end rather than through lateral compression. This inversion enables effective division while minimizing mechanical stress on laundry items
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor system transports the laundry cake to position its front end face against the dividing device before division begins. This preliminary positioning ensures that the division process starts at the most accessible point (front end) and progresses systematically, improving division effectiveness while controlling mechanical stress
3Productivity
If the conveyor transports the entire laundry load to the divider, then complete division is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the conveyor function with the division function by integrating the dividing device at the discharge end of the conveyor. The conveyor transports the laundry cake and positions it against the divider, combining material handling and division operations into a unified system that achieves complete division without excessive complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The dividing device is designed with splitter elements that can handle various types of laundry loads (cakes, heaps, tangles) and perform multiple functions including division, separation, and gentle extraction. This multi-functionality allows the device to achieve complete division capability while maintaining reasonable system complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
Washed items of laundry are largely freed from the treatment liquid bound in them in a dewatering press. This creates a laundry cake (10) made up of connected laundry items. Before further treatment, the laundry cake (10) must be divided. So far, this has been done by laterally compressing the laundry cake (10). This does not result in sufficient division of the laundry cake (10). In addition, the items of laundry are exposed to considerable mechanical loads when they are pressed together at the sides. The invention provides for dividing the laundry cake (10) from the end face (15). A roller-like divider (20) is used for this purpose, which can be driven in rotation about a horizontal axis of rotation (31). This axis of rotation (21) runs parallel to the end face (15) of the laundry cake (10) to be divided. In the case of the invention, the laundry cake (10) is effectively broken up in a manner that is gentle on the items of laundry.