Method and devices for feeding laundry items to an insertion machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for automatically feeding laundry items to input machines, such as mangles, face challenges in reliably and efficiently spreading out items to be treated, particularly in forming adjacent corners for proper alignment and feeding.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that form a U-shaped configuration of the laundry item and then pull it apart using belt conveyors with varying speeds, creating adjacent corners that allow for fully automated feeding to the input machine without significantly extending the cycle time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a single item of laundry is manually hung in a U-shape over a narrow contact area and stretched by a widening feeder, then the laundry item is spread out for feeding, but the process requires manual intervention and cannot achieve fully automatic feeding
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp automatically forms the U-shaped configuration by pulling the laundry item through the stripping device, then releases it to form the configuration itself without manual intervention. The system uses the laundry's own material properties and the clamp's mechanical action to achieve the required shape, enabling fully automatic operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual hanging action is replaced by an automated clamp mechanism that pulls the laundry through a stripping device. The mechanical system uses coordinated movement of the clamp and stripping device to create the U-shape, substituting human manual operation with automated mechanical control.
2Shape
If the feeder width increases in the feeding direction to stretch out the laundry item, then the laundry is spread out, but the cycle time is significantly extended
Solution Approach 1:
The U-shaped configuration is formed in advance during the pulling process through the stripping device, before the actual feeding operation. This preliminary formation of the required shape eliminates the need for time-consuming stretching during the feeding cycle, reducing overall cycle time while achieving the necessary spread-out configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a static widening feeder that gradually stretches the laundry over time, the system uses dynamic coordinated movement of the clamp and stripping device to rapidly form the U-shape. The dynamic action creates the spread-out configuration quickly, minimizing the time required while achieving the desired shape.
3Manufacturing precision
If adjacent corners of the laundry edge are used for feeding to the mangle, then proper alignment is achieved, but automatically forming and positioning these corners is problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp and stripping device work together to automatically form the U-shaped configuration, which naturally exposes and positions the adjacent corners. The system uses the laundry's own structure and the mechanical action to create the required corner positioning, achieving precise alignment without complex additional corner-forming mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the configuration parameter of the laundry from a random or folded state to a specific U-shaped configuration. This parameter change automatically positions the adjacent corners in the required orientation for feeding to the mangle, achieving precise alignment through controlled configuration transformation rather than complex positioning mechanisms.
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
Enables reliable, largely automatic feeding of laundry items to input machines, effectively forming the necessary corners for alignment, thereby improving the efficiency and automation of the laundry treatment process.
Implementation Method 1
the piece of laundry is pulled apart by at least two successive belt conveyors in the feed direction
Implementation Method 2
pulling it apart in the feeding direction
Data Source
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AI summary
The automatic feeding of laundry items (10) to a feeder (11) for feeding the laundry items (10) to, for example, a mangle, requires the formation of adjacent corners (20, 42) of an edge (43) of the laundry item (10) that is to be spread out in front of the feeder (11). Until now, this has not been achievable automatically with sufficient reliability. The invention provides for bringing each laundry item into a U-shaped configuration before feeding it to the feeder (11) and then pulling it apart from this position using a stripping device (14) comprising a conveyor cascade (24). This reliably forms the adjacent corners (20, 42) of the edge (43) of the laundry item (10) that is to be spread out, which are required for the automatic feeding of the laundry item (10) into the feeder (11). This ensures reliable automatic feeding of each laundry item (10) to the feeder (11).