Laundry Spreader Clip Corner Positioning to Eliminate Ear Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for feeding laundry to treatment devices, such as mangels, result in 'ears' formation due to protruding corner tips, leading to impaired quality of treatment.
Innovation Solution
The method involves moving the corner regions of laundry items held by expansion clamps until their outermost points reach the clamping area, using rollers or clamping rollers to eliminate or reduce tip protrusion, ensuring corners no longer protrude during placement on the feed conveyor or storage bar.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If expansion clamps hold adjacent corners of the front transverse edge at a distance from the geometric corner point, then the spreading device can easily hold and spread the laundry item, but corner tips protrude from the expansion clamps causing stretched and bent corner areas that lead to ear formation during ironing
Solution Approach 1:
The corner regions are moved through the expansion clamps before the laundry item is placed on the feed conveyor, so that corner tips are eliminated in advance. This preliminary action prevents the formation of ears during subsequent ironing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful corner tips are extracted or removed from the system by moving the corner regions through the expansion clamps until the outermost corner points reach the clamping area. This eliminates the protruding tips that would otherwise cause quality defects.
2Manufacturing precision
If corner regions are moved through expansion clamps until outermost corner points reach the clamping area, then ear formation is avoided and treatment quality improves, but the complexity of the spreading device increases due to additional conveying means
Solution Approach 1:
The expansion clamps are given a dual function: they not only hold and spread the laundry item but also convey the corner regions through themselves to eliminate corner tips. This multi-functionality avoids the need for separate conveying devices, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveying function is merged with the holding and spreading function of the expansion clamps. By combining these functions into a single mechanism, the device complexity is minimized while still achieving the goal of eliminating corner tips.
3Manufacturing precision
If clamping elements are driven in a controlled manner to move corner areas through expansion clamps, then corner tips are eliminated and quality improves, but the device requires more complex drive mechanisms and control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The corner regions are moved through the expansion clamps using the clamping elements' own driving motion, without requiring separate conveying mechanisms. The clamping elements serve themselves to perform both clamping and conveying functions, reducing the need for additional complex drive and control systems.
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
This approach significantly improves the treatment quality of laundry by preventing 'ears' formation, maintaining treatment performance without reducing it.
Implementation Method 1
using rollers or clamping rollers to eliminate or reduce tip protrusion
Data Source
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AI summary
Laundry items (40) are supplied by devices referred to as feed machines, for example mangles. During the feed process, the corners of the laundry items (40) are transferred on clips, for example spreader clips (14). In the process, protruding peaks (42) of the laundry item are usually formed via the clamping points (44) of the spreader clips (14). Said peaks (42) primarily give rise to so-called ear formations when the front laundry item edge is stretched by the spreader clips (14). Said ear formations negatively impact the quality of the laundry items, in particular mangled laundry items. According to the invention, among others, the peaks (42) are to be eliminated in the spreader clips (14) in that the peaks (42) are transported through the spreader clips (14) until the laundry items (40) are held in the spreader clips (14) only at the outermost corner points (43). In this manner, the peaks (42) are virtually remedied in that no more ear formations which negatively impact the quality of the laundry items (40) can occur.