EP2792786A1

EP2792786A1 - Method and device for folding laundry

Info

Publication number: EP2792786A1
Application number: EP14001438.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ezio Gastaldi
Original assignee: Industria Tessile Gastaldi & C SpA
Current assignee: Industria Tessile Gastaldi & C SpA
Priority date: 2013-04-19
Filing date: 2014-04-22
Publication date: 2014-10-22
Also published as: ITMI20130642A1

Abstract

Laundry folding method and device, wherein the laundry folding device comprises an automatic folding machine and dispensing means which are able to uniformly distribute a solution containing a perfumed essence on at least one laundry element during the handling of the same along a folding path and, wherein the laundry folding method compries the steps of: (d) dragging at least one laundry element along a folding path, (f) folding at least once the laundry element on itself, and (e) distributing in an homogeneous way a solution containing at least one perfumed essence onto the at least one laundry element and on a side of the same which at the end of said step f) is internal to the same, whereby said step (e) is performed during said step (d).

Description

The present invention refers to a folding system and method for laundry, that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels and/or communities, such as in particular table linen, bed linen, bathroom sets and kitchen sets, such as for example table linen, sheets, pillow cases, napkins, towels and similar.
In particular, the present invention refers to a system and method for washing, dying, ironing and folding laundry, that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels and/or communities, said laundry being of the previously described type.
Presently industrial washing systems and methods provides the use of gems containing concentrated perfumed essences, which are applied to laundry sets at the end of a washing operation and before the same being dried and ironed.
Said perfumed essences have a very high concentration since during drying and ironing the washed laundry is warmed and/or dried in a drying station, such as for example for towels made of a sponged cotton and/or in an ironing and folding station, such as for pillow cases and other types of laundry for restaurants and/or hotels.
A first disadvantage is that during this phase, the essence highly reduces its concentration together with a corresponding reduction of the intensity of perfume, which results extremely poor, until it disappears.
This makes it almost useless to use perfumed gems on the laundry for restaurants and/or hotels.
The aim of the present invention is to realize a folding system and method for laundry, that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels and/or communities, which can permit to obtain a scent for a long period of time.
Another aim is to realize a folding system and method for laundry that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels, which permit to obtain a scent of the laundry, without slowing down or complications of the same.
A further aim is to permit to have a folding system and method for laundry that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels, which can be economically advantageous.
These aims according to the present invention are reached by realizing a folding system and method for laundry, which can be used in restaurants and/or hotels, such as shown in claims 1 and 9.
Further features of the invention are pointed out by the following claims.
Features and advantages of the folding system and method for laundry that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels according to the present invention will be more evident from the following exemplary and non-limitative description.
According to the present invention it is provided a folding system for laundry that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels and/or communities such as in particular table linen, bed linen, bathroom and kitchen sets, such as for example table linen, sheets, pillow cases, napkins and similar.
The folding system comprises an automatic folding machine for laundry which is provided with a plurality of motorised rolls which are able to deliver at least one laundry element along a folding path which is internal to said automatic folding machine.
In particular said automatic folding machine for laundry being positioned after an exit side of a drying station for laundry or after an exit side of a drying station for laundry.
Besides said automatic folding machine for laundry comprises a plurality of motorised folding blades which are able to reach a plurality of positions and furthermore which permit to obtain a plurality of foldings of said at least one laundry element, in particular coming in contact with said at least one laundry element and obtaining a plurality of foldings of the same.
According to the present invention said automatic folding machine for laundry comprises dispensing means which able to uniformly distribute a preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element preferably during the handling of the same along said folding path, in particular said dispensing means being positioned in proximity of a first position preceding along said folding path a second area, in which said plurality of motorised folding blades are positioned, said preferably aqueous solution comprising at least one perfumed essence.
Advantageously this permits to distribute said at least one perfumed essence without slowing down the function of said automatic folding machine.
In particular said dispensing means of said preferably aqueous solution are able to dispense the same on said at least one laundry element during the handling of the same along said folding path before the folding of said at least one laundry element itself, advantageously permitting to avoid a slowing down of the folding of said at least one laundry element, hence maintaining the same operating speed of said automatic folding machine.
Advantageously in this way said dispensing means are also able to dispense said preferably aqueous solution in particular on a surface of said at least one laundry element which at the end of the folding is at least partially internal respect to the same.
This permits to maintain the fragrance of said at least one laundry element for a very long time.
Preferably said dispensing means comprise spraying means which are able to spray, and in particular to nebulize, said preferably aqueous solution on a side of said at least one laundry element in a uniform way, said side being at the end of the folding results at least partially internal, advantageously without forming spots on the same and scenting the same in order to permit the persistence of the scent for a much longer time with respect to the systems and methods of the known art.
Advantageously said spraying means permit to uniformly distribute said preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element, and in particular over a surface of the same which at the end of the folding is at least partially internal to the same.
Preferably said solution is an aqueous solution containing at least one perfumed essence with a concentration included between 1 and 200 ml for litre of water and in particular included between 5 and 50 ml for litre of water.
This permits to advantageously reduce the consumption of said perfumed essence, by maintaining in any case a high fragrance for long periods, so that said aqueous solution permits to slow down the evaporation process of said perfumed essence and besides associated with that said spraying means permit to obtain very small drops of said aqueous solution which have a wide surface exposed to the air permitting to obtain a constant perfuming for long periods of time by using small quantities of perfumed essence.
Besides advantageously said spraying means permit to distribute said at least one perfumed essence diluted in water, avoiding at the same time the formation of a moist habitat hence of drops having a large size, sufficient for the formation of moulds.
Besides preferably said automatic folding machine comprises a tank containing said preferably aqueous solution, said tank being connected to said dispensing means.
In particular said tank is pressurized for maintaining constant the flow quantity of said preferably aqueous solution which is dispensed by said dispensing means, in order to have always the same dispensing time and the same dispensed quantity of said preferably aqueous solution.
In order to reduce at the minimum the presence of battery charges on said at least one laundry element said solution preferably comprises an antibacterial substance which in particular is present with a concentration comprised between 1 and 200 g for litre of water and in particular it is comprised between 5 and 50 g for litre of water.
Preferably said spraying means comprise a pressurized air container, and at least one pray gun associated to the same which permit to obtain a spraying of said at least one perfumed essence preferably diluted with water on at least one surface of said at least one laundry element.
Advantageously this permits to distribute in a completely homogeneous way said solution, and in particular said at least one essence and/or also said anti-bacterial substance, on said at least one laundry element reducing at the minimum quantities necessary and further reducing the possibility of formation of spots or moulds on the same.
Preferably said at least one spray gun comprises an outer body, an inner body, and also a spring and a spray nozzle which are all preferably realized with a metallic material as in particular stainless steel in such a way to avoid the corrosion of the same due to the water with a subsequent formation of a coloured spot on said at least one laundry element.
Preferably said automatic folding machine for laundry comprises control and command electronic means and besides it also comprises at least one sensor which is connected to the same, such as in particular at least one photocell.
Preferably said control and command electronic means are also connected with said dispensing means and in particular with said spray means, and preferably also with said air-pressurized container.
Preferably said at least one sensor is positioned along said folding path preferably before of said dispensing means and in particular also before of said plurality of motorized folding blades, said at least one sensor is able to detect the presence of said at least one laundry element in such a way to permit the activation of said dispensing means of said preferably aqueous solution during the handling of said at least one laundry element along said folding path, in particular before the activation of said plurality of motorized blades which permit the folding of said at least one laundry element.
Advantageously through said at least one sensor it permit to treat in an automatic way different kind of laundry and in particular laundry having different length, in a very simple and versatile manner.
Preferably said automatic folding machine comprises a fixed structure, in particular realized with a metallic material and having an upper wall and in particular also a first lateral wall, a second lateral wall, inside to said fixed structure said plurality of motorized rolls and said plurality of motorized folding blades are inserted.
In particular said upper wall of said fixed structure comprises an opening which opens towards said folding path and also with respect to an advancing direction of said at least one laundry element along said folding path said opening is realized before said plurality of motorized folding blades, and also in particular said opening is realized at a prefixed distance with respect to a detection sensor.
Advantageously said opening permits to have an easy access to said at least one laundry element in such a way to permit the positioning and the activation of said dispensing means and in particular of said spraying means without occupying space within said automatic folding machine and in particular without complicating or modifying the realization and the function of the automatic folding machine itself.
Advantageously this opening also permits to modify and easily adapt even the existing automatic folding machines by using an assembly of modification which permits to perfume and distribute said preferably aqueous solution and in particular said at least one perfumed essence with reduced costs.
In particular said dispensing means and in particular said spray means are positioned in correspondence of said opening for dispense or spray easily said preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element, advantageously permitting also an easy accessibility for maintenance of said dispensing means and in particular of said spray means which are positioned even more preferably externally respect to said fixed structure of said automatic folding machine.
Preferably said folding system also comprises an automatic folding machine for laundry which is able to wash said at least one laundry element and also it comprises in particular also an automatic drying machine for laundry which is able to dry said at least one laundry element.
In particular said automatic laundry machine and said automatic drying machine being positioned in series.
Advantageously in this way it is possible to make in a continuous manner the washing, the drying and the folding of said at least one laundry element obtaining at the end of this cycle said at least one laundry element, ready for another use.
According to another aspect it is provided an automatic folding method for laundry which can be used in restaurants and/or hotels and/or communities such as for example table linen, bed linen, pillow cases, napkins, towels and similar, said folding method being realized through an automatic folding machine of the type provided with a plurality of driving rolls and also provided with a plurality of motorised folding blades,
Said folding method comprising the following steps of:

d) make advance at least one laundry element previously dried and/or ironed along an internal folding path, which is internal to said automatic folding machine, in particular by means of a plurality of driving rolls;
f) fold at least once said at least one laundry element on itself in particular by at least one motorised folding blade of said plurality of motorised folding blades.

According to the present invention said method comprises a step of e) distribute in a homogeneous way a preferably aqueous solution, containing at least one perfumed essence, on said at least one laundry element and in particular on a side of the same which at the end of said step f) will be internal to said at least one laundry element itself; furthermore in particular said step e) being performed during said step d), and in particular also at the end of the same.
Advantageously this permits to distribute said at least one perfumed essence without slowing down the functioning of said automatic folding machine.
In particular said step e) permits to distribute in a homogeneous way said preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element before the performing of said folding step f) of said at least one laundry element, maintaining the same operating speed of said automatic folding machine since said step e) is performed during said step d) of advancing along said internal folding path.
Preferably said step e) comprises a step of g) spray said solution on said at least one laundry element.
Advantageously this permits to fragment said preferably aqueous solution in a plurality of drops which are advantageously distributed in an homogeneous and uniform way on said at least one laundry element and advantageously it also permits to reduce considerably the application times in such a way to avoid a slow down of said step f) of folding, hence increasing the productivity.
Advantageously said step g) also permits to reduce the possible formation of spots since it permits to distribute in a very accurate manner said at least one perfumed substance on said at least one laundry element.
Preferably said step g) being realized through a spray gun connected to a tank containing said preferably aqueous solution.
In particular said spray gun being realized with a stainless metallic material as preferably stainless steel, for avoid the formation of incrustation on the same with high times and costs for maintenance and for treat newly the laundry elements not correctly perfumed.
Furthermore preferably said spray gun comprises an inner body realized with stainless steel and also an inner spring and a nozzle realized with stainless steel to avoid incrustations and to avoid advantageously also the formation of corrosive products which could be sprayed on said at least one laundry element by staining the same or in any case damaging it.
Preferably said solution containing at least one perfumed essence is an aqueous solution in which said at least one perfumed essence is present with a concentration comprised between 1 and 200 ml for litre of solution and even more particularly comprised between 5 and 50 ml for litre of water.
Preferably said solution containing at least one perfumed essence also comprises an anti-bacterial substance in particular with a concentration comprised between 1 and 200 g for litre of solution and even more particularly comprised between 5 and 50 g for litre of water.
Preferably said method comprises a step of m) mixing said at least one perfumed substance with water, in order to obtain said aqueous solution, in which said at least one perfumed substance has a concentration lower than 5% and even more particularly comprised between 0,1 % e 1,5 %.
Preferably said method comprises a step of r) pressurize a tank containing said aqueous solution for maintaining constant the quantity flow of the same which is dispensed by said dispensing means, in such a way to have always the same dispensing time and the said dispensed quantity of said preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element.
Preferably said step g) comprise a step of n) nebulize said preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element in particular through the supply of pressurized air and in particular with a pressure included between 2,5 and 4 atm, in particular for reduce the size of the drops of said aqueous solution, in such a way to advantageously distribute in a very uniform way said aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element, obtaining advantageously an high surface exposed to the air and able to diffuse during the time in a gradual manner said at least one perfumed substance, even if the same is very diluted in said aqueous solution.
Preferably said method comprises a step of o) detect, in particular through at least one photocell, the presence of said at least one laundry element along said internal folding path; in the case that the presence of said at least one laundry element is detected then performing said step e) until it is detected said presence of said at least one laundry element itself.
Advantageously this permits to avoid a slowing down of said folding method and also permits to scent in an automatic way a plurality of laundry elements of different types and having different lengths, in a very simple and versatile way.
Preferably said method comprises a step of p) delay the execution of said step e) and in particular of said step g); said step p) being performed between said step o) and said step e).
Advantageously this permits to avoid to distribute said preferably aqueous solution before that said at least one laundry element has being subjected to said step e).
Preferably said at least one sensor is positioned along said internal folding path, preferably before of said dispensing means and in particular also before of said plurality of motorized folding blades, said at least one sensor is able to detect the presence of said at least one laundry element in such a way to permit the activation of said dispensing means of said preferably aqueous solution during the handling of said at least one laundry element along said internal folding path, in particular before the activation of said plurality of motorized blades which permits the folding of said at least one laundry element.
According to the present invention it is provided a washing, drying and folding method for laundry that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels such as for example table linen, bed linen, pillow cases, napkins, towels and their similar which comprises said folding method previously described and also comprising the following steps:

a) wash said at least one laundry element by obtaining said at least one washed laundry element;
b) dry said at least one laundry element and in particular b2) desiccate said at least one washed laundry element in the case in which it is made of cotton having a sponged shape, obtaining at least one dried laundry element;

Besides preferably said method also comprising a step of:

c) ironing said at least one dried laundry element in particular by a passage through a plurality of ironing rolls which permit to advance the same with a contemporary ironing along an ironing path.

Preferably said step b) provides to treat of said at least one laundry element for 10-45 seconds at a temperature included between 100 °C and 180 °C.
Preferably said step b2) providing to treat of said at least one laundry element for 20-45 minutes at a temperature included between 100°C and 120 °C.
It has been shown that a folding system and method for laundry which can be used in restaurants and/or hotels according to the present invention solve the aims previously described.
The so conceived folding system and method for laundry which can be used in restaurants and/or hotels of the present invention are susceptible to various changes and variants, all within the same inventive concept.
Besides, in practice the used materials, and also their sizes and components, can be of any kind according to the technical needs.

Claims

A folding system for laundry which can be used in restaurants and/or hotels and/or communities as in particular table linen, bed linen, bathroom sets and kitchen textiles, such as for example table linen, sheets, pillow cases, napkins, towels and similar, said folding system comprising an automatic folding machine for laundry which is provided with a plurality of motorised rolls which are able to drive at least one laundry element along a folding path which is internal to said automatic folding machine, said automatic folding machine further comprising a plurality of motorised folding blades which can take various positions and which permit to obtain a plurality of foldings of said at least one laundry element, characterized in that said automatic folding machine for laundry comprises dispensing means, which can uniformly distribute a preferably aqueous solution on at least one laundry element preferably during the handling of the same along said folding path, in particular said dispensing means being positioned in proximity of a first position preceding along said folding path a second area, in which said plurality of motorised folding blades are positioned, said preferably aqueous solution comprising at least one perfumed essence.
The folding system according to claim 1, characterized in that said dispensing means comprise spraying means which are able to spray and in particular to nebulize said preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element in an uniform way in particular on a side of the same which at the end of the folding results at least partially internal.
The folding system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said solution is an aqueous solution containing at least one perfumed essence with a concentration included between 1 and 200 ml for litre of water and in particular included between 5 and 50 ml for litre of water, besides preferably said automatic folding machine comprising a tank containing said preferably aqueous solution, said tank being connected with said dispensing means.
The folding system according to any of the claims from 1 to 3, characterized in that said solution comprises an antibacterial substance which in particular is present with a concentration included between 1 and 200 g for litre of water, and in particular included between 5 and 50 g for litre of water.
The folding system according to any of the claims from 1 to 4, characterized in that said spraying means comprise a container for pressurized air and at least one spray gun associated with the same, preferably said at least one spray gun comprising an outer body, an inner body and also a spring and a spray nozzle which are all preferably realized with a metallic material as in particular stainless steel.
The folding system according to any of the claims from 1 to 5, characterized in that said automatic folding machine comprises control and command electronic means and also comprises at least one sensor connected with the same, as in particular at least one photocell, preferably said at least one sensor being positioned along said folding path preferably before of said dispensing means and in particular also before of said plurality of motorised folding blades, said at least one sensor being able to detect the presence of said at least one laundry element in order to permit the activation of said dispensing means of said preferably aqueous solution during the handling of said at least one laundry element along said folding path.
The folding system according to any of the claims from 1 to 6, characterized in that said automatic folding machine comprises a fixed structure realized in particular with a metallic material and having an upper wall, and inside said fixed structure said plurality of motorised rolls and said plurality of motorised folding blades are inserted, said upper wall of said fixed structure comprising an opening which look towards said internal folding path and besides with respect to an advancing direction of said at least one laundry element along said internal folding path said opening being realized before said plurality of motorised folding blades, and besides in particular said opening being realized at a prefixed distance with respect to a detection sensor, in particular said dispensing means being positioned in correspondence of said opening and also being positioned even more preferably externally respect to said fixed structure of said automatic folding machine for dispense or spray in an easy way said preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element.
The folding system according to any of the claims from 1 to 7, characterized by comprising an automatic washing machine for laundry which is able to wash said at least one laundry element and also comprising in particular an automatic drying machine for laundry which is able to dry said at least one laundry element, in particular said automatic washing machine and said automatic drying machine being positioned in series.
An automatic folding method for laundry which can be used in restaurants and/or hotels and/or communities, such as for example table linen, bed linen, pillow cases, napkins, towels and similar, said folding method being realized through an automatic folding machine of the type provided with a plurality of driving rolls and also provided with a plurality of motorised folding blades, said folding method comprising the following steps of: d) make advance at least one laundry element previously dried and/or ironed along an internal folding path, which is internal to said automatic folding machine, in particular by means of a plurality of driving rolls; f) fold at least once said at least one laundry element on itself, in particular by at least one motorised folding blade of said plurality of motorised folding blades; characterized in that said method comprises a step of e) distribute in a homogeneous way a preferably aqueous solution containing at least one perfumed essence on said at least one laundry element and in particular on a side of the same which at the end of said step f) will be internal to said at least one laundry element itself; furthermore in particular said step e) being performed during said step d), and in particular also at the end of the same.
The automatic folding method according to claim 9, characterized in that said step e) comprises a step of g) spray said solution on said at least one laundry element, preferably said step g) being realized by means of a spray gun connected to a tank containing said preferably aqueous solution, in particular said spray gun being realized with a stainless metallic material as preferably stainless steel.
The automatic folding method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that said solution containing at least one perfumed essence is an aqueous solution in which said at least one perfumed essence is present with a concentration included between 1 and 200 ml for litre of solution, and even more particularly included between 5 and 50 ml for litre of water, preferably said solution containing at least one perfumed essence also comprises an antibacterial substance in particular with a concentration included between 1 and 200 g for litre of solution, and even more particularly included between 5 and 50 g for litre of water.
The automatic folding method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that said step g) comprise a step of n) nebulize said preferably aqueous solution on said at least one laundry element in particular through the supply of pressurized air and in particular with a pressure included between 2,5 and 4 atm.
The automatic folding method according to any of the claims from 9 to 12, characterized in that it comprises a step of o) detect, in particular through at least one photocell, the presence of said at least one laundry element along said internal folding path; in the case that the presence of said at least one laundry element is detected then performing said step e) until it is detected said presence of said at least one laundry element itself.
The automatic folding method according to any of the claims from 9 to 13, characterized in that it comprises a step of p) delay the execution of said step e) and in particular of said step g); said step p) being performed between said step o) and said step e).
A washing, drying and folding method for laundry, that can be used in restaurants and/or hotels such as for example table linen, bed linen, pillow cases, napkins, towels and their similar, which comprises said folding method according to any of the claims from 8 to 13 and also comprising the following steps of: a) wash said at least one laundry element by obtaining said at least one washed laundry element; b) dry said at least one laundry element and in particular b2) desiccate said at least one washed laundry element in the case in which it is made of cotton having a sponged shape, obtaining at least one dried laundry element; said steps a) and b) being performed in sequence before said step d); preferably said method also comprising a step of c) ironing said at least one dried laundry element in particular by a passage through a plurality of ironing rolls which permit to advance the same with a contemporary ironing along an ironing path.
The washing, drying and folding method according to claim 15, in which said step b) provides to treat of said at least one laundry element for 10-45 seconds at a temperature included between 100 °C and 180 °C, preferably said step b2) providing to treat of said at least one laundry element for 20-45 minutes at a temperature included between 100 °C and 120 °C.