EP4048836A1 - Appareil de distribution de linge et procédé de distribution de linge - Google Patents

Appareil de distribution de linge et procédé de distribution de linge

Info

Publication number
EP4048836A1
EP4048836A1 EP20796805.8A EP20796805A EP4048836A1 EP 4048836 A1 EP4048836 A1 EP 4048836A1 EP 20796805 A EP20796805 A EP 20796805A EP 4048836 A1 EP4048836 A1 EP 4048836A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
laundry
piece
conveyor
delivery
delivery apparatus
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP20796805.8A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Mads Andresen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Inwatec Aps
Original Assignee
Inwatec Aps
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Inwatec Aps filed Critical Inwatec Aps
Publication of EP4048836A1 publication Critical patent/EP4048836A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F95/00—Laundry systems or arrangements of apparatus or machines; Mobile laundries 

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a laundry delivery apparatus, a method for automatic release of a suspended piece of laundry using the laundry delivery apparatus, and the use of a laundry delivery apparatus for automatic release of a suspended piece of laundry.
  • a fully automated laundry delivery apparatus comprises a unit wherein pieces of laundries are picked up from a pile of laundry and delivered to other modules for continued handling of the pieces of laundry.
  • a fully auto mated laundry delivery apparatus is not an option due to the presence of more than one module, e.g. the module for picking up a piece of laundry from the pile of laundry and delivering the piece of laundry to a delivery chamber of the laundry delivery apparatus, and a laundry receiving module for continued han dling of the piece of laundry.
  • the object of the present invention is inter alia to reduce the work load on a human operator, and increase the efficiency of the laundry delivery apparatus.
  • a laundry delivery apparatus having an automatic laundry release function
  • the laundry delivery apparatus for picking up a piece of laundry e.g. a towel from a pile of laundry and presenting the piece of laundry at a delivery chamber to an operator, comprises a first manipulator arm, a sec ond manipulator arm, a conveyor, a second surface, a nipping region defined between the conveyor and the second surface, a delivery chamber, an upper sensor, and a lower sensor.
  • the method for picking up a piece of laundry from a pile of laundry using a laundry delivery apparatus comprises transferring the piece of laundry onto a conveyor, conveying the piece of laundry towards a nipping region defined between the conveyor and a second surface, detect ing an end part (trailing edge) of the piece of laundry, suspending the piece of laundry from the nipping region above a delivery chamber of the laundry deliv ery apparatus, detecting the presence of a human hand within the delivery chamber or detecting a human hand being moved into the delivery chamber, releasing the suspended piece of laundry from the nipping region upon detec tion of a human hand within the delivery chamber.
  • Fig. 1 A is a schematic view of an embodiment of the laundry delivery apparatus of the present invention.
  • Fig. 1 B is a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of the laundry deliv ery apparatus of the present invention.
  • Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an operator introducing his hand into the delivery chamber of the laundry delivery apparatus of the present invention.
  • Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus, the apparatus having released the piece of laundry, the operator having gripped the released piece of laundry.
  • Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus showing a first manipulator arm in operation.
  • Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus showing a second manipulator arm in operation.
  • Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus showing a first piece of laundry having been conveyed into a retained position.
  • Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus showing a third piece of laundry being picked up.
  • FIGS. 1 a and 1 b show embodiments of a laundry delivery apparatus for pick ing up a piece of laundry 7 e.g. a towel, from a pile of laundry 10 and presenting the piece of laundry 7 at a delivery chamber 5 to an operator, comprising a first manipulator arm 8, a second manipulator arm 9, a belt conveyor 2 including an endless belt defining a first movable surface, a second surface 3 opposite an end of the first surface, a nipping region 4 defined between the first and second surfaces, a delivery chamber 5, an upper sensor 11 , and a lower sen sor 6.
  • a laundry delivery apparatus for pick ing up a piece of laundry 7 e.g. a towel, from a pile of laundry 10 and presenting the piece of laundry 7 at a delivery chamber 5 to an operator, comprising a first manipulator arm 8, a second manipulator arm 9, a belt conveyor 2 including an endless belt defining a first movable surface, a second surface 3 opposite an end of the first surface, a ni
  • the second manipulator arm 9 is for transferring the piece of laundry 7 from the first manipulator arm 8 to the conveyor 2 by releasing the piece of laundry 7 at a position above the conveyor 2, and the conveyor 2 is for conveying the piece of laundry 7 towards the nipping region 4.
  • the second surface 3 may be defined by a second belt conveyor, a roller, or any similar arrangement and may be moving passively by the moving of the conveyor 2, or actively by, e.g., a motor.
  • An upper sensor 11 is arranged to determine when an end part E (a trailing edge) of a piece of laundry 7 advanced by the conveyor 2 reaches the nipping region 4, and is configured to send a stop signal to a controller (not shown) controlling the movement of the conveyor 2, thereby stopping the movement of the conveyor 2 to retain the trailing edge E of the piece of laundry 7 by a clamping by the nipping region 4, with a leading portion F of the piece of laun dry 7 hanging freely suspended.
  • the upper sensor 11 may by way of example be a 3D vision sensor and may detect the trailing edge E of the piece of laundry 7 using visual image recogni tion, as described in the following publications: “A Study on Handling System for Cloth Using 3-D Vision Sensor, 3403-3408, Hiroaki Kobayashi et al. , 2008”, “ Vision System and Flexible Robot Hand for Cloth Handling Robot System, Seiji Flata et al., International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems 2008 Oct. 14-17, 2008 in COEX, Seoul, Korea”, “Using Depth and Appearance Features for Informed Robot Grasping of Highly Wrinkled Clothes, Arnau Ramisa et al.”.
  • a delivery chamber 5 for receiving the piece of laundry 7 which is retained by and suspended from the nipping region 4.
  • the lower sensor 6 sends a signal to the controller (not shown) controlling the conveyor 2 or controlling the conveyor 2 and the second surface 3 to start moving, until the trailing edge of the piece of laundry 7 has been conveyed completely through the nipping region 4, thereby releasing the piece of laundry 7 from the nipping region 4, and allowing the piece of laundry 7 to fall into the delivery chamber 5 and be gripped by the operators hand as it falls freely.
  • the nipping region 4 may be formed by arranging the conveyor 2 and the sec ond surface 3 in a way, wherein a part of the moving surface of the conveyor 2 is close to or in contact with a part of the rotating surface of the second surface 3, thus resulting in a nipping action acting on a piece of laundry 7 when passing through this nipping region 4, where a piece of laundry 7 passing through the nipping region 4 thus will be retained when the conveyor 2 is de activated.
  • the upper sensor 11 may be arranged at a predetermined distance from the nipping region 4. The upper sensor 11 will thus send a signal to the controller when a trailing edge E of a piece of laundry 7 passing the upper sensor 11 has been detected, resulting in the piece of laundry 7 being retained with the trailing edge E on the second conveyor 2 at a desired dis tance from the nipping region 4 when the belt conveyor 2 is stopped.
  • Fig. 1 b is a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of the laundry deliv ery apparatus 1 , wherein the nipping region 4 is defined between the conveyor
  • the roller may be supported by a spring, which will allow the nipping region 4 to compensate for laundries of different thickness.
  • the belts will flex or yield, thereby allowing a nipping region 4 to compensate for laundries of different thickness.
  • Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an operator introducing his hand into the delivery chamber 5 of the laundry delivery apparatus 1 , which delivery chamber 5 is monitored by a lower sensor 6, which may be a photocell or any other detection apparatus suitable for detecting the presence of a human hand.
  • a controlling unit e.g. a con troller, which controls the conveyor 2 or both the conveyor 2 and the second surface 3, whereupon the conveyor 2 or the conveyor 2 and the second surface
  • Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus 1 having released the piece of laundry 7 which is caught by the operator who then transfers the piece of laundry 7 onwards for further processing.
  • the releasing controller activates the conveyor 2 or both the conveyor 2 and the second surface 3 for a limited time, thereby conveying a next piece of laun dry 7 through the nipping region 4, until the trailing edge of that piece of laundry 7 has travelled into the nipping region 4.
  • the delivery chamber 5 may contain a bin for collecting pieces of laundry not caught by the operator.
  • Fig. 4 - 7 show schematic views of the initial steps of transferring a piece of laundry 7 from a pile of laundry, onto the conveyor 2, and finally into the nipping region 4 between the conveyor 2 and a second surface 3, inside a housing 1 of the laundry delivery apparatus.
  • Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus 1 showing a first manipulator arm 8 picking up a piece of laundry 7 from a pile of laundry 10, and a second manipulator arm 9 ready to grab a first piece of laundry 7 held by the first manipulator arm 8.
  • Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus 1 showing the second manipulator arm 9 having grabbed the first piece of laundry 7 from fig. 4, and ready to release the piece of laundry 7 at a position above the first conveyor 2 and showing the first manipulator arm 8 having already picked up a second piece of laundry 7a from the pile of laundry 10.
  • Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus 1 showing the first piece of laundry 7 having been partly conveyed through the nipping region 4 and being suspended therefrom at a trailing edge E of the first piece laundry 7. The figure further shows the second manipulator arm 9 having grabbed the second piece of laundry 7a, and the first manipulator arm 8 having travelled towards the pile of laundry 10.
  • Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus 1 showing the first piece of laundry 7 having been partly conveyed through the nipping region 4 and being suspended therefrom at a trailing edge E of the first piece laundry 7. The figure further shows the second manipulator arm 9 having grabbed the second piece of laundry 7a, and the first manipulator arm 8 having travelled towards the pile of laundry 10.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the laundry delivery apparatus 1 showing the piece of laundry 7 being suspended at the nipping region 4 above the delivery chamber 5 of the laundry delivery apparatus housing 1 , awaiting a release sig nal from the lower sensor 6 indicating the presence of a human hand or the movement of a human hand into the delivery chamber 5, the second manipu lator arm 9 standing by holding the second piece of laundry 7a, or moving the latter up along the first conveyor 2 as shown in fig. 5, and the first manipulator arm 8 standing by, having picked up a third piece of laundry 7b from the pile of laundry 10.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
  • Manipulator (AREA)
  • Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

Appareil de distribution de linge et procédé de capture d'une pièce de linge (7), par exemple une serviette, à partir d'une pile de linge (10) et de présentation de la pièce de linge (7) au niveau d'une chambre de distribution (5) à un opérateur utilisant l'appareil de distribution de linge (1), l'appareil de distribution de linge (1) comprenant : • un premier bras manipulateur (8), un second bras manipulateur (9), un convoyeur (2), une seconde surface (3), une région de pincement (4) délimitée entre le convoyeur (2) et la seconde surface (3), une chambre de distribution (5), un capteur supérieur (11), et un capteur inférieur (6), l'appareil de distribution de linge (1) étant conçu pour retenir et suspendre une pièce de linge (7) au-dessus d'une chambre de distribution (5) lors de la détection d'un bord arrière de la pièce de linge (7) à une distance prédéfinie de la région de pincement (4) à l'aide du capteur supérieur (11), l'appareil de distribution de linge (1) étant conçu pour relâcher la pièce de linge retenu et suspendu (7) lors de la détection d'une main humaine dans la chambre de distribution (5), la main humaine étant détectée par le capteur inférieur (6).
EP20796805.8A 2019-10-25 2020-10-23 Appareil de distribution de linge et procédé de distribution de linge Pending EP4048836A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DKPA201970666 2019-10-25
PCT/EP2020/079869 WO2021078931A1 (fr) 2019-10-25 2020-10-23 Appareil de distribution de linge et procédé de distribution de linge

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP4048836A1 true EP4048836A1 (fr) 2022-08-31

Family

ID=73013456

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP20796805.8A Pending EP4048836A1 (fr) 2019-10-25 2020-10-23 Appareil de distribution de linge et procédé de distribution de linge

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP4048836A1 (fr)
JP (1) JP7291803B2 (fr)
CN (1) CN115087775A (fr)
WO (1) WO2021078931A1 (fr)

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1802493B1 (de) * 1968-10-11 1970-07-16 Kanngiesser Maschinenfabrik Gm Zufuehrvorrichtung fuer Waeschestuecke zu einer Buegelmaschine,insbesondere Mangel
US4037725A (en) * 1976-01-19 1977-07-26 Roberts Harold G Laundry sorting machine
DK150272C (da) * 1982-09-14 1987-10-05 Jensen Ejnar & Soen As Apparat til centrering af udstrakte vasketoejsstykker, der skal overfoeres til et transportbaand
US8511599B2 (en) * 2010-03-04 2013-08-20 Richard LaLau Paper towel dispensing systems
DE102010053080A1 (de) * 2010-10-25 2012-04-26 Herbert Kannegiesser Gmbh Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Vereinzeln und/oder Vermessen von Wäschestücken
EP2947198B1 (fr) * 2013-01-18 2017-11-29 Purex Co., Ltd. Dispositif de séparation des textiles
EP3740094A4 (fr) * 2018-01-15 2021-12-29 Inwatec Aps Procédé de préhension, de déplacement et de libération d'un morceau de tissu avec un organe de préhension, et organe de préhension

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP7291803B2 (ja) 2023-06-15
JP2022534842A (ja) 2022-08-04
WO2021078931A1 (fr) 2021-04-29
CN115087775A (zh) 2022-09-20

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