Laundry Suction Chamber Discharge for Continuous Cloth Flattening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spreader apparatuses for laundry often experience downtime due to cloth misfeeds, where pieces of laundry are dropped into the suction chamber, leading to potential fan damage and disruption of the air flow, requiring manual intervention to clear the obstruction.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus incorporates a suction box system with a suction chute, intermediate chamber, and air access gate, along with a discharge conveyor and gate, to allow for controlled discharge of cloth from the suction chamber without stopping the fan, reducing the risk of fan damage and maintaining continuous operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a suction box system is used to flatten laundry, then flattening efficiency is improved, but cloth misfeeds may occur causing downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The suction box system is equipped with a discharge conveyor and air access gate that enable automatic discharge of misfed cloth without requiring manual intervention or system shutdown. The system serves itself by detecting and clearing obstructions autonomously, maintaining continuous operation and resolving the contradiction between high flattening efficiency and operational reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If the suction fan operates continuously to maintain air flow, then flattening quality is maintained, but misfed cloth may block apertures and damage the fan
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge conveyor extracts misfed cloth from the suction chamber and removes it from the system before it can block the apertures or damage the fan. This separation of the harmful element (misfed cloth) from the vulnerable component (fan) allows continuous fan operation to maintain flattening quality without risking damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The air access gate provides preliminary protection by allowing temporary reduction of suction when misfeed is detected, preventing cloth from being drawn against the apertures before the discharge conveyor can remove the obstruction. This preemptive action protects the fan while maintaining continuous operation.
3Productivity
If the suction chamber is designed with apertures for air flow, then suction efficiency is improved, but misfed cloth may block the apertures
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge conveyor acts as an intermediary mechanism between the suction chamber and the external environment, continuously removing misfed cloth before it can reach and block the apertures. This intermediate action maintains high suction efficiency through the apertures while eliminating the blockage risk.
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 solution enables efficient and uninterrupted processing of laundry by allowing unhindered discharge of misfed cloth, reducing downtime and preventing fan damage, while ensuring continuous air flow and efficient flattening of laundry.
Implementation Method 1
a suction box system with a suction chute, suction chamber and a suction fan communicates with a rear portion of the suction chamber via a number of air flow passages to establish suction
Implementation Method 2
an apertured wall of the suction chamber is arranged to extend upwardly away from the bottom of the suction chamber whereby the risk that the cloth in the suction chamber is drawn against the apertures to block them and damage the fan is reduced since the effect of gravity must be overcome
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an apparatus (100) for receiving and spreading out/extending cloth (3), such as pieces of laundry, comprising a set of spreader clamps (120) for releasably receiving a pair of corners of said cloth (3) and for spreading out of said cloth (3), a suction box system (S) including: a suction chute (170) connected with a front portion of a suction chamber (200) and having a mouth for receiving said cloth (3), and a suction fan (119) communicating with a rear portion of said suction chamber (200) via a number of air flow passages (185), the suction fan (119) establishing suction in said suction chamber (200) and said suction chute (170), whereby said suction box system (S) additionally includes a discharge conveyor (C) for the discharge of cloth (3) collected in said suction chamber (200), a discharge gate (320) selectively openable for said discharge, and an air access gate (430) operable for temporarily reducing suction applied by said fan (119) through said air flow passages (185).