DE1241787B - Abwaelzfolding machine - Google Patents

Description

GERMAN PATENT OFFICE

German KL: 8 d - 20/60

EDITING LETTERING - ™ Brille

File number: C 25947 VII a / 8 d

1241787 Filing date: January 9, 1962

Display day; June 8, 1967

The invention relates to a roll folding machine for transverse folding of laundry items or the like which pivotally mounted on a belt conveyor guided by rollers by means of clamping members a drive controlled by a feeler finger with intermediate clamping of the leading edge of the folded item can be pressed against a stop bar.

In the case of the gear folding machines in question, a fold is made transversely to the feed direction in the the folded item of laundry od Garment grasped by its leading edge and off the surface of the conveyor track is lifted off and set so that the rear part of the laundry item lying on the conveyor is conveyed through under the leading edge. When doing this by rolling off the rear Part of the item of laundry under the front part of the item of laundry forming the folded edge reaches approximately the middle the leading edge is released and then falls onto the one just below the clamping point continuous trailing edge.

A pincer-like clamping device is used to grasp and lift the front edge of the folded item known, which is pivotably mounted above the conveyor about an axis lying transversely to the conveying direction is and with outer gripping elements approximately at the level of the conveying level against the Förderriehtung lies, while the opposing jaw is slightly at a distance above, so that the edge of the folded item between both jaws can run in. When the edge of the folded goods has reached a certain position, the lower jaw pressed against the upper jaw, and the gripping device taking it along the folded edge swiveled up. The control of the gripping device takes place in this known arrangement by means of sensing fingers protruding from below through the conveyor, which are supported by the The edge of the folded item can be swiveled and actuated the switch.

In another known arrangement, the upper jaw of the gripping device is at a distance above of the conveyor belt, and the lower jaw protrudes in the open position of the gripping device obliquely down towards the conveyor belt. In front of the gripping device are comb-like on a pivot axis Lifting fingers arranged below the conveyor are provided, which are inclined upwards approximately in alignment with the lower clamping jaws pointing obliquely downwards against the conveying direction are pivotable. The front edge of the folded goods runs up over the lifting fingers up to the lower roll folding machine

Applicant:

Chicago Dryer Company, Chicago, Jll. (V. St. A.) Representative:

Dr.-Ing. Η. Ruschke, patent attorney,
Munich 27, Pienzenauer Str. 2

Named as inventor:
Eduard Friedrich Kamberg,
Des Piaines, JB. (V. St A.)

Claimed priority;

V. St. v. America January 31, 1961 (86 118)

ren gripping jaws, which when a certain position of the folding edge is reached with the front edge of the

he presses the folded item against the fixed upper folding jaw. To simplify the arrangement, it is known in a modification of this known Abwälzfolding machine, instead of the clamping Lifting fingers that can be swiveled up by the conveying level are at a relatively low height above the conveying level to provide protruding fixed lifting fingers, the lower pivotable clamping jaw must be swiveled away accordingly. In another form of modification the rolling cross fold at the transition between two conveyor belts, with the lifting fingers through a in the conveying direction over the end of the front conveyor to a distance over the next conveyor Replaced protruding guide plate, with the lower pivoting jaw out of alignment can also be swiveled up with the guide plate up to the clamping position in contact with the fixed jaw In these known arrangements, the clamping device is controlled accordingly from above or feeler fingers protruding through the conveying level below, which pivot when the edges of the folded goods pass through and operate the corresponding switch.

For synchronous control of the lifting and clamping device, it is known that through the conveying level The lifting finger that can be swiveled up and the from one position aligned with the swiveling up

709 589/138

th lifting fingers in a clamping position on the upper fixed jaws pivotable lower To couple clamping jaws by means of a parallelogram linkage.

In all of these known arrangements, the leading edge of the fabric after running onto the lower jaws raised with this. This is particularly the case with the faster Cycle sequence necessary rapid stroke movement of the lower clamping jaw the risk that the edge of the folded material on the jaws as a result of their connection with the rest on the conveyor Part of the folded goods and, due to their inertia, slides back more or less uncontrollably or slips off the lower jaw completely. This makes the folds especially fast Operation is not completely uniform or the cycle sequence is limited.

It is the object on which the invention is based to create such a roll folding machine, in the case of the very fast cycle sequence and, as a result, rapid movements of the lifting and Clamping organs held the edge of the folded item exactly at the predetermined point in the clamping device is, so that when the clamping device is released, the feeler finger is dependent on the actuation of the switch the front edge of the goods to be folded falls exactly on the rear edge of the goods to be folded. According to the Invention this is achieved by the combination of the following known features, namely, that the leading edge of the folded goods is controlled by means of the belt conveyor reaching from below Lifting fingers can be lifted from the belt conveyor level and that the clamping members are controlled by means of a Drive can be pressed from above against a fixed terminal strip attached at a distance below them. The invention consists of the total combination of these features.

With this arrangement according to the invention, the leading edge of the folded material is on the through the lifting fingers and the stationary clamping strip serving as the lower clamping jaws supported by the ramp, until it is fixed by the clamping members from above.

For precise control of the position of the leading edge of the folded item on the terminal strip, it is preferred the sensing finger controlling the clamping drive is guided in a slot in the stationary terminal strip.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings using an exemplary embodiment explained. In the drawings shows

F i g. 1 partially broken and schematically a side view of a folding machine according to the invention,

F i g. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial plan view of the FIG. 1 shown machine in a partially broken away housing,

F i g. 3 to 6 are schematic partial side views showing the steps involved in folding a bed sheet show and

7 is a perspective view of a folded bed sheet after it has been discharged from the folding machine.

F i g. 1 shows a folding machine 10 with opposing side walls 12 and 14. The walls 12 and 14 are held at a distance from one another by transverse struts 16 . An enlarged section of a cross strut is shown in FIG. On the opposite side walls 12 and 14 are

adjustable bearings 18 attached, in which parallel rollers 20 and 20 a are rotatably mounted, run over the three groups of continuous conveyor belts. The bands 22 are shown in plan view in FIG. 2 shown. The uppermost belts form a conveyor 24; the lowermost belts form a conveyor 26, and the belts located midway between these two conveyors form a conveyor 28.

The in F i g. Conveyor 30 , partially shown in FIG. 1, can be the output conveyor of an automatic ironing or flattening machine.

The motor 36 drives the rollers 20 a, which move the various belts 22 of the three conveyors 24, 28 and 26. The motor 36 (FIG. 1) is located on the inside of the machine near the side wall 12 . The motor 36 drives the pulley 38 (FIG. 1) by means of the belt 40. A sprocket 44 is attached to the shaft 42 of the pulley 38 , which via a chain 45 (FIG. 1) the sprockets 46, 48 and 50 drives, which are attached to the end portions of the rollers 20 a.

The diameters of the sprockets 46, 48 and 50 have a decreasing size, so that as a result the two lower conveyors 28 and 26 move faster than the conveyor 24 immediately above. 1 shown chain engagement in the chain wheels 46, 48 and 50 and as a result of the resulting direction of rotation, the direction of movement of the upper strands of the conveyors 24 and 26 runs towards the delivery table 34 . The upper run of the intermediate conveyor 28 moves in the opposite direction, ie towards the receiving side of the illustrated folding machine 10.

The F i g. Figures 3 through 6 show the manner in which the folds are carried out. After passing under the end of the switching arm 54 , the front edge L of the bed sheet S runs on upwardly inclined, transversely aligned lifting fingers 60 which are fastened to a rotating rail 62. After moving over the fingers 60 , the front edge L of the bed sheet S rests against the switch 64 of an electrical switch 66 and deflects this switch arm 64 from its vertical position in the manner shown in FIG. 1, so that this switch 66, which is shown in FIG Row with the electrical switch 56 actuated by the switching arm 54 is closed.

When switch 66 is closed, an electrical circuit is established for a conventional solenoid-operated four-way valve 70 (FIGS. 1 and 6). The valve 70 is connected to a compressed air supply via a pipe 72. When the coil is switched on, a spring-loaded valve body located within the valve 70 is moved so that compressed air can flow into the lower cylinder sections of the air cylinders 74 and 76 (FIGS. 1 and 6). As a result, the two pistons located in the cylinders (not shown) move upwards. A housing 73 (FIG. 2) covers the air cylinders and the devices located on the outside of the wall 12.

When the piston rod 78 of the air cylinder 74 and the fork head 80 attached to the piston rod move upwards, the link 82 connected to the fork head 80 via a bolt 84 is moved upwards (FIG. 4). The link 82 in turn rotates the rail 86 in the right direction on its pin 86 c (FIG. 2) by means of an intermediate arm 88,

Claims (1)

which is rotatably attached to the handlebar 82 and firmly connected to the rail 86. By turning the rail 86 clockwise, a clamping rod 90 executes a downward rotary movement with a clamping load. The clamping rod 90 is connected to the rotary rail 86 via a plurality of support fingers 92 that are spaced apart from one another. The distance between the support fingers 92, which connect the clamping rod 90 and the rotating rail 86 to one another, is shown in FIG. 2 to see. The plate 57 is held in a stationary position by a bracket 96 which is mounted on the opposing side walls 12 and 14 of the machine. The plate 57 has a slot 59 which enables the switching arm 64 to pass through and the switching arm 64 to oscillate. Simultaneously with the supply of compressed air into the lower portion of the air cylinder 74, compressed air is also directed by means of the solenoid valve 70 via a conduit 102 into the lower portion of the air cylinder 76 so that the piston (not shown) in the cylinder 76 as well as the piston rod attached to the piston 98 and the fork head 100 can be moved upwards (FIG. 6). The upward movement of the fork head 100 also moves a link 104 upward, which is rotatably connected to the fork head 100 by means of a bolt 106. The upward movement of the handlebar 104, by means of an arm 63, rotates the rail 62 in the right direction, on which the oblique fingers 60 are fastened. The fingers 60 are consequently removed from the raised, inclined position of FIG. 3 to the lowered horizontal position of FIG. 4 moves, in which they lie below the level of the upper sections of the belts of the conveyor 24. By retracting the fingers 60, the portion of the bed sheet S that adjoins the portion clamped between the clamping bar 90 and the anvil plate 57 can be removed from the moving belts of the conveyor 24 below the clamping device in the position shown in FIG. 4 illustrated manner can be moved. If the bed sheet is to be folded once so that two webs are superimposed, then the clamping bar 90 must be lifted out of contact with the front portion of the sheet S. This leftward rotary movement of the rail 86 is initiated when the end edge T of the bed sheet S disengages from the switch arm 54 of switch 56, so that the switch 54 assumes its normal vertical position. The switching arm 54 lies in the space between two bands 22. The return of the switching arm 54 to its vertical position shown in FIG. 5 opens the switch 66 and interrupts the circuit which switches on the coil of the solenoid valve 70. The return spring therefore moves the valve. In the new position, the movable valve body of the solenoid valve 70 supplies compressed air to the upper end portions of the air cylinders 74 and 76b by means of the air lines 112. The pistons located inside the cylinders and the piston rods attached to them are therefore pressed downwards. During the reverse movement of the pistons, the air within the cylinder is also forced out of the cylinder chambers and is returned to the solenoid valve 70, from which the air flows out through outlet openings. The outlet opening 114 of the solenoid valve 70 (FIG. 6) has an air control valve 116, for example a needle valve, so that the air expelled from the cylinder 76 flows out at a controlled rate and the fingers 60 slowly to their initial inclination according to FIG . 3 and 6 return. As a result of this slow return, the rear portions of the folded bed sheet are not touched and creased. However, the upward movement of the hold-down bar 90 immediately releases the leading edge portion of the sheet S. The relative position between the front edge L and the end edge T of the bed sheet S after the bed sheet front section has been released by the clamping rod 90 depends on the distance between the two switching arms 64 and 54. If the switching arm 54 is too close to the hold-down rod 90, then the front edge L of the bed sheet S falls down when released and protrudes beyond the end edge T. If, on the other hand, the switching arm 54 is too far away from the hold-down rod 90, the front edge L of the bed sheet S falls onto a bed sheet section which lies inward of the bed sheet edge T. Any device for adjusting the distance between the switches 56 and 66 can be used, for example turnbuckles 120 which are screwed onto threaded rods 122, one end of which is firmly attached to a switch. The turnbuckles 120 are screwed onto threaded rods 124, the other ends of which are anchored to a section of the machine. The once folded sheet S, which moves with the conveyor 28, is detected by the obliquely arranged finger 60 a of the hold-down rod 90 a and the other folding elements located above the conveyor 28 and below the conveyor 24 (FIG. 1). These elements, which fold the sheet a second time as it moves with the conveyor 28, correspond exactly to the elements shown in FIG. 3 to 6 have been described, but these elements are inclined in the opposite direction. F i g. Figure 1 also shows that these elements causing the second folding in the sheet S have the same reference numerals as the corresponding elements which effect the first folding, with the addition of the suffix "a". Upon reaching the end portion of the conveyor 28, the twice-folded sheet S falls onto the third conveyor 26 below, which moves in the opposite direction to the conveyor 28 and feeds the folded sheet to an output table 34. Patent claims: 1. Abwälzfaltmaschine od for transverse folding of laundry items. The like. In which pivotable Clamping elements mounted over a belt conveyor guided over rollers by means of a feeler finger controlled drive with intermediate clamping of the leading edge of the folded item a stop side can be pressed, characterized by the combination of the following for themselves well-known features, namely that the leading edge of the folding material controlled by means of Lifting fingers (60) reaching below through the belt conveyor can be lifted out of the belt conveying plane and that the clamping members (86, 90, 92) by means of