Laundry Feed Conveyor Alignment for Automatic Mangle Infeed
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for feeding laundry to ironers are inefficient, requiring multiple manual steps and lacking in reliability and throughput, as they do not effectively automate the process of aligning and centering items for smooth ironing.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that utilize a clamp to hold a longitudinal edge section of laundry, transferring it to a belt conveyor which centers and aligns the item transversely, ensuring it is fed automatically and efficiently to an ironer or similar machine, using a guide means and sensors for precise alignment and centering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual feeding methods are used for laundry items to ironers, then操作简单性 is maintained, but 生产率 is low and 可靠性 is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The feeding system is divided into multiple independent conveyor sections (first conveyor, second conveyor, third conveyor) each performing a specific function: separation, alignment, and feeding. This segmentation allows automated high-speed processing while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediate conveyors as mediators between the laundry source and the ironer. The first conveyor acts as an intermediary for separation, the second for alignment, and the third for precise feeding, enabling automated high-throughput processing without requiring direct manual intervention at each stage.
2Productivity
If multiple manual steps are used for feeding laundry, then 设备复杂性 is low, but 生产率 is low and 可靠性 is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The feeding process is segmented into three distinct conveyor stages, each handling a specific aspect of laundry preparation. This division enables parallel processing of multiple laundry items simultaneously, achieving high feed performance while keeping each individual conveyor unit relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The first conveyor performs preliminary separation and positioning of laundry items before they reach the second conveyor for alignment. This preliminary action ensures that items are properly prepared in advance, enabling the subsequent conveyors to operate at high speed without bottlenecks, thus improving overall feed performance.
3Productivity
If automated separation is used, then 生产率 is improved, but 可靠性 of feeding process deteriorates without proper alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The second conveyor performs preliminary alignment and positioning of laundry items before they are fed to the ironer. This preliminary action ensures proper orientation and placement, guaranteeing reliable feeding even at high automation levels where manual verification is eliminated.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that detect the position and orientation of laundry items on the conveyors. This feedback mechanism allows the automated system to monitor and adjust the feeding process in real-time, ensuring high reliability by detecting and correcting misalignments before they cause feeding failures.
4Productivity
If high-speed automated feeding is implemented, then 生产率 is improved, but 精确对齐 capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment function is separated from the high-speed feeding function by using dedicated conveyors. The second conveyor is specifically designed for alignment at a controlled pace, while the third conveyor handles high-speed feeding. This segmentation allows each stage to optimize for its specific function, maintaining alignment precision even at high overall productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The second conveyor performs preliminary alignment of laundry items before they are transferred to the third conveyor for high-speed feeding. This preliminary alignment action ensures that items are properly positioned in advance, allowing the third conveyor to operate at high speed without compromising alignment precision during the critical feeding moment.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Washed laundry items are spread out after singulation and fed to a mangle or similar machine. Efforts are underway to fully automate the singulation and feeding of the laundry items. To this end, the invention provides for the automatically singulated laundry item to be wound onto a belt conveyor with its front transverse edge oriented perpendicular to the feed direction (23). A guide (29) in front of the belt conveyor (25) aligns the front transverse edge of the laundry item as closely as possible to a right angle to the feed direction (23) during winding. After winding, the belt conveyor (25) centers the laundry item towards the center of the subsequent transfer conveyor (40). The belt conveyor (29) then deposits the laundry item onto a subsequent transfer conveyor (40), where the front transverse edge of the laundry item is aligned exactly perpendicular to the feed direction (23).