GB2293807A

GB2293807A - Process for the preparation of items of laundry

Info

Publication number: GB2293807A
Application number: GB9519120A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Udo Kroner; Engelbert Heinz
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-10-07
Filing date: 1995-09-19
Publication date: 1996-04-10
Also published as: GB9519120D0; FR2725460A1; DE19532395A1

Abstract

Soiled items of laundry (12) undergo pretreatment before being washed in laundries. In this arrangement, the items of laundry (12) received from various customers are checked and sorted according to type and degree of soiling. In order to automate the pretreatment it is proposed to transport the items of laundry (12) in a suspended manner along a conveying section (10) to check and sort the items in dependence on individual data assigned to each item of laundry (12). These data are retrieved at sorting locations (20, 21, 22, 23) arranged along the conveying section (10) and, thereupon, the items of laundry (12) are released from the conveying section (10) at the corresponding sorting location (20, 21, 22, 23) whereby automatic sorting of the items takes place in accordance with the washing treatment which is to be carried out in each case. <IMAGE>

Description

Process for the preparation, in laundries, of items of laundry 0 e c r i P t i O P The invention relate to a process for the preparation, in laundries, of items of laundry, in particular workclothing, according to the preamble of Claims 1 and 5.

In large-scale laundries, soiled items of laundry, in particular items of workclothing, are delivered in sacks or bundles. In this case, items of workclothing from various customers (usually firms) accumulate. Said items are different items of workclothing which, depending on their type and origin, have different types of soiling and/or degrees of soiling and different type of fabric and colours. As a result of this, preparation has to take place before the items of workclothing are actually washed.In this arrangement, the items of laundry are recorded and checked as regards their condition and the presence of foreign bodies and, in dependence on the abovementioned criteria, sorted in accordance with the corresponding treatment (washing programme, machine size) and any special treatments (finisher or the like).

Up until now, the preparation, in laundries, of the items of laundry, in particular items of workcloth- ing, has been carried out wholly or partially by hand.

This normally takes place in a number of steps. For example, items of laundry are first of all identified and examined for foreign bodies. Subsequently, the items of laundry are counted. Finally, the items of laundry are sorted in accordance with washing and finishing processes. This method of preparation requires a large amount of time-consuming work by hand and, moreover, is occasionally subject to error.

Using this as departure point, the object of the invention is to provide a process for the preparation, in laundries, of items of laundry, in particular items of workolothing, which can be carried out quickly and reliably with a small amount of manual work.

Since, using at least the data necessary for the preparation, individual preparation of the respective item of laundry takes place, the preparation in laundries can be automated. In dependence on the data assigned to it, each item of laundry can undergo the respectively allocated treatment.

Preferably, each item of laundry is provided with one or more data carriers. In addition, the data carrier of the respective item of laundry has stored on it at least those data which are necessary in order to carry out the corresponding pretreatments or to transport the items of laundry to the location where they have to be positioned in order that the respective treatment can be carried out. It is also conceivable to provide the data carriers with identification data, e.g. laundry-item numbers, the associated data for the preparation being stored in a central computer. As a result of the laundryitem number or the like read off from the item of laundry, the remaining data, which may be very much more comprehensive, are then taken specifically from the computer. This results in indirect access to the necess- ary data.

A further process for achieving the object of the invention, which process may also be a development of the abovementioned process, is given in Claim 5. Accordingly, individual pretreatment steps, a number of pretreatment steps or all the pretreatment steps take place with the items of laundry hanging freely on one or more conveyors or along a conveying section of one or more conveyors. In this manner, the items of laundry can be treated manually in an ergonomically favourable manner, being examined, for example, for foreign bodies.

According to a development of the process according to the invention, preparation in the form of sorting the items of laundry takes place as said items of laundry are transported along the conveying section. In this manner, the conveying section serves for transporting the items of laundry to specific positions, for example to a washing machine which is intended for washing specific items of laundry in dependence on their type and soiling, or to corresponding collecting containers or to conveyors for transporting them further.

The sorting of the items of laundry preferably takes place such that said items of laundry are released from the conveyor at specific locations of the conveying section. All the items of laundry which are intended to undergo the same treatment are, for this purpose, released from the conveyor at the same location of the conveying section. This release operation is preferably controlled in dependence on the previously manually input or read-in data of the respective item of laundry, namely sorting criteria, specific data resulting in the respec- tive item of laundry being released at the corresponding location of the conveying section.

According to a development of the process according to the invention, the items of laundry are checked as regards their condition and the presence of foreign bodies as they are transported in suspended manner on the conveying section. This check can be made during the continuous transportation of the items of laundry on the conveying section, but also during a brief standstill period of the items of laundry hanging on the respective conveyor of the conveying section. For this purpose, the conveying section is preferably assigned at least one buffer section. By virtue of the process according to the invention, the items of laundry are presented individually to the checker. The items of laundry pass to the checking station in the suspended state, as a result of which checking is made easier, in particular the checker has both hands free for quick checking.

It is further provided that the data read off directly or indirectly from the data carrier of the respective item of laundry contains information for special treatments. Said information can be used in order to feed the washed items of laundry specifically to a subsequent treatment appliance, for example a finishes, a continuous-flow drier, a press or a folding station.

Furthermore, the data carriers can contain information about the customer. The items of laundry delivered by a specific customer can thus be counted and an automated calculation of costs can take place.

In the case of the further preferred configuration of the process, the weight of the respective item of laundry is read off from the data carrier. These weight data permit a batch to be formed without the respective batch being weighed. The batch is formed during sorting of the items of laundry, in that the item of laundry respectively released from the conveyor at a release location is registered and the weight data of the items of laundry subsequently discharged at the same location are added to these values. Once the sum of the weight values has reached a specific value, the respective wash batch is complete. It can then be fed to the respective washing machine.

Finally, it is conceivable to provide the data carriers with data on the type, the colour, the material and/or the customer.

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic conveying section, in the course of which preparation takes place, and Figure 2 shows an alternative conveying section in a representation analogous to Figure 1.

The invention is provided in order to prepare a wide variety of items of laundry, which are delivered to a laundry in bundles or sacks from various businesses (customers), for washing (and, if appropriate, pretreat ment and post-treatment). The items of laundry are predominantly constituted by workclothing. For example, doctors' coats, surgical gowns and patients' gowns are delivered from clinics, these garments having to be in a sterile condition after leaving the laundry. Furthermore, doctors' coats have to be relatively well ironed and be folded in a precise manner. In contrast, heavily soiled overalls, jackets and trousers from, for example, car workshops are also delivered to the laundry. Owing to the heavy soiling, these have to undergo intensive washing.

In contract, the post-treatment, that is to say the ironing and folding, does not have to satisfy such high quality requirements for this type of workclothing. All items of laundry have to be examined before washing for foreign bodies, for example paper, tools, writing imple month or the like which have still been left in pockets.

These foreign bodies have to be removed from the pockets of workclothing before washing. Furthermore, the items of laundry have to be examined for damage. Damaged items of laundry have to be separated out. Finally, all the items of laundry have to be recorded and, in particular, counted in order that they can be registered and that a customer-specific calculation of the services rendered by the laundry can be carried out.

The invention is provided in order to automate the abovementioned activities to the greatest possible extent and to carry them out in a space-saving manner.

For this purpose, some, preferably all, of the preparations in the laundry take place on a conveying section 10 of one or more conveyors which follow one after the other. The items of laundry are transported further along the conveying section 10 in a suspended manner. In this arrangement, each individual item of laundry is clamped in a clamp 11 by means of an upper border region and is thus retained on the conveyor or on the conveyors. The clamps 11 are driven in circulation along the conveying section 10. The items of laundry, which are only repres- enter schematically in the figure, may be different items of laundry. It is only for the sake of simplicity that all the items of laundry have been provided with the same reference numeral 12.

At least one inlet station 13, which is indicated in Figures 1 and 2, is located at the beginning of the conveying section 10. However, usually a plurality of parallel input stations 13 are provided, these all opening into a common conveying section 10. A datareading station 14 adjoins the inlet station 13 or each inlet station 13. A data-reading station 14 may also be arranged at the respective inlet station 13. Said datareading station reads the (individual) data stored in a schematically represented data carrier 15 on each item of laundry 12. The data carrier 15 of each item of laundry 12 preferably contains the following information: customer data, weight data, data on the type of the item of laundry, colour, fabric type, type of washing to be carried out and/or data on the type of post-treatment (ironing, folding, disinfecting, etc.).The data which are read in are stored in a computer 16 and, if appropriate, processed. The inlet station 13 and data-reading station 14 are followed by a checking station 17. A sorting station 18 is located downstream of the checking station 17. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the sorting station 18 has four sorting locations 20, 21, 22 and 23 following one after the other in the conveying direction 19. Each sorting location 20, 21, 22 and 23 is assigned a movable collecting container 24. Furthermore, each sorting location 20, 21, 22 and 23 is assigned a release station 25. Each release station 25 serves for opening the clamp 11 at the corresponding sorting location 20, 21, 22 and 23.Consequently, the respective item of laundry 12 is released from the conveying section 10 at the corresponding sorting location 20, 21, 22 and 23 and is deposited into the collecting container 24 provided.

Each release station 25 is controlled by the computer 16, to be precise in dependence on those data which the data-reading station 14 has read off directly from the data carrier 15 of the items of laundry 12, which have been read out of the memory of the computer 16 after the laundry-item number or the like has been read out from the data carrier 15, or which have been input manually.

Each release station 25 is controlled such that it opens the clamp 11 when an item of laundry 12 with corresponding data is located at a specific sorting location 20, 21, 22 or 23. Since, in the case of the exemplary embodiment shown, four sorting locations 20, 21, 22 and 23 are present, the items of laundry 12 can be sorted in accordance with four different criteria, that is to say, for example, four different washing treat months. If sorting is to be carried out in accordance with a large or smaller number of different washing treatments, an appropriate number of sorting locations is necessary.

Departing from the representation in Figures 1 and 2, it is conceivable to arrange, beneath each release station 25, a guide shaft beneath which the respective collecting container 24 is to be positioned. In the simplest case, the guide shafts are open throughout. The guide shafts then serve simply to ensure specific discharge of the corresponding item of laundry 12 into the collecting container 24 provided. It is, however, also conceivable to provide the guide shafts with a closable base. The guide shafts then form an intermediate store, in that they temporarily accommodate, that is to say store, those items of laundry 12 which have been disengaged from the clamps 11 during the changeover of the collecting container 24 at the corresponding release station 25.

It is also possible to arrange the data-reading stations 14 at each inlet station 13 or at the beginning of the sorting station 18, upstream of the first sorting location 20.

The exemplary embodiment of Figure 2 differs from that of Figure 1 in that the checking station 17 is dispensed with and the conveying section 10 is correspondingly shorter. In addition, the operator 28 is no longer necessary in this exemplary embodiment. As for the rest, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts.

In the case of the exemplary embodiment of Figure 2, the inlet station 13 or a plurality of inlet stations 13 located one beside the other have multiple functions.

Thus, at the inlet station 13 or at each inlet station 13, an item of laundry 12 is suspended, by in each case one operator 27, in the clamp 12 of the circulating conveyor. The item of laundry 12, which then hangs down freely from the clamp, can be checked for foreign bodies by the same operator 27 before it is transported further.

Noreover, the data-reading station 14 is located at the inlet station 13 or each inlet station 13.

A first exemplary embodiment of the process according to the invention is explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference to Figure 1: The items of laundry 12 which are to be washed and, if appropriate, treated by other methods are delivered by the customers (businesses) predominantly in bundles or sacks. These items of laundry 12 are then brought in, for example in trolleys 26, for preparation.

The items of laundry 12 are removed individually from the trolleys 26 and, in the region of the inlet station 13 or of each inlet station 13, are introduced into a clamp 11 of the conveyor by at least one operator 27. The item of laundry 12 is introduced into the clamp 11 such that the respective item of laundry 12 is gripped in an upper region by the clamp 11 and can be transported along the conveying section 10 such that it hangs down freely. The clamps 11, which are driven in circulation at intervals along the conveying section 10, are provided with items of laundry 12 one after the other in this manner, to be precise with any items of laundry 12. The operator 27 can thus introduce the items of laundry 12 randomly into the respective clamp 11.

The items of laundry 12 are then transported along the conveying section 10 in the conveying direction 19 and separated. During the transportation, first of all, in the data-reading station 14 following the inlet station 13, the data are read in individually from the data carrier 15 of each individual item of laundry 12 and stored in the computer 16. The types of data read in from the data carrier 15 are, in particular, data with sorting criteria, o.g. customer data, data on the washing treatment (washing programme), data for controlling the post-treatment and/or weight data. Furthermore, the items of laundry 12 are counted at the data-reading station 14.

Alternatively, only the number or some other identification criterion of the respective item of laundry 12 is read off from the data carrier 15 at the data-reading station 14. The associated data have then been stored in the computer 16 and are correspondingly read off from there.

The checking station 17 is located in that region of the conveying section 10 which adjoins the datareading station 14. At said checking station, at least one further operator 28 checks manually that the items of laundry 12, hanging down freely from the clamps 11 of the conveying section 10, are intact and also checks manually for the presence of foreign bodies. The foreign bodies are removed from the items of laundry 12 by the operator 28. The operator 28 can separate out damaged items of laundry 12 by removing them from the clamps 11.

Progressing further along the conveying section 10, the checking station 17 is followed by the sorting station 18. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the items of laundry 12 can be sorted here in accordance with four different sorting criteria (e.g. washing sorting routines or washing programmes). Those items of laundry 12 which are intended to be washed by the same washing programme are released from the conveying section 10 of the corresponding sorting location 20, 21, 22 or 23 and deposited into a corresponding collecting container 24. Each collecting container 24 accommodates those items of laundry 12 which are intended to be washed in one wash batch. The items of laundry 12 are released at the corresponding sorting location 20, 21, 22 or 23 by the corresponding clamp 11 being opened automatically.This takes place by virtue of the release station 25 at each sorting location 20, 21, 22 and 23. Each release station 25 is controlled by the computer 16, to be precise in dependence on the data of the respective item of laundry 12 which has been read in or stored in the computer 16.

If, for example at the data-reading station 14, a reading is made from the data carrier 15 of the respective item of laundry 12 to the effect that said item of laundry 12 is intended to be discharged into the first collecting container 24 at the first sorting location 20, the computer gives a signal to the corresponding release station 25, whereupon, when the relevant item of laundry 12 has reached the first sorting location 20, the clamp 11 at the release station 25 is opened and the item of laundry 12 is discharged into the first collecting container 24. The same procedure applies for the other sorting locations 21, 22 and 23.

Alternatively, it is also conceivable to assign to each release station 25 at the sorting location 20, 21, 22 or 23 a data reader which reads off the washingprogramme-specific data at the respective sorting location 20, 21, 22 or 23 and compares it with the data for the respective washing programme which are assigned to each sorting location 20, 21, 22 and 23. If the data coincide, the clamp 11 at the relevant sorting location 20, 21, 22 or 23 is opened by the release station and the respective item of laundry 12 is deposited in the corresponding collecting container 24.

A wash batch is formed in the respective collecting container 24 by adding up the individual weights of the items of laundry 12 deposited in the respective collecting container 24. If, in this arrangement, a predetermined batch weight is reached, the batch is complete. The corresponding collecting container 24 is then transported to the appropriate washing machine and replaced by a new, empty collecting container 24. During this time, items of laundry 12 discharged at the respec- tive sorting location 20, 21, 22 or 23 are, if approp rate, stored intermediately in the guide shafts, which is closed at the base for this period of time.

The collecting containers 24 can be moved automatically to the respective washing machines. It is also conceivable to replace the collecting containers 24 by other conveyors, in particular belt conveyors.

The empty clamps 11 are transported back along the conveying section 10 to the inlet station 13, where they can be provided manually with further items of laundry 12.

Furthermore, at the data-reading station 14, data for special treatments which the items of laundry 12 are to undergo following the washing operation are read off from the data carrier 15 of each item of laundry 12.

Controlled by the computer 16, the items of laundry 12 coming from the washing machine are then transported further in a specific manner on conveyors or the like (not shown) for corresponding post-treatment, said poattreatment possibly being, for example, a finishing treatment, a pressing treatment, folding operations and/ or a disinfecting treatment. The invention is not restricted to the overhead-conveyor conveying section which is represented schematically, and in a vastly simplified manner, in the drawing. Rather, it is conceivable for a plurality of inlet stations 13 to be provided and/or for the conveying section 10 to have one or more buffer sections.The conveying section is then formed preferably from a plurality of individual conveyors which, at least in the region of the checking station 17 and the sorting station 18, are designed as overhead conveyors. The items of laundry 12, hanging on the same clamp 11, preferably run through successive conveyors and, if appropriate, storage sections.

A second exemplary embodiment of the inventive process according to Figure 2 differs from the process of Figure 1 in that the items of laundry are checked at the respective inlet station 13. This check takes place directly after the respective item of laundry 12 has been suspended in the corresponding clamp 11. The item of laundry 12, which then hangs freely beneath the clamp 11, is chocked by the same operator 27 who has previously suspended the item of laundry in the clamp 11. The operator 28 in Figure 1 may consequently be dispensed with.The items of laundry 12 are checked at the respec- tive inlet station 13 with the item of laundry still at a standstill, that is to say when the clamp 11, which is brought to a standstill in order to suspend the item of laundry 12, has still not been transported any further in the conveying direction 19. The data or the number or some other identification criterion of the item of laundry 12 is preferably read in at the respective inlet station 13 during the manual check. For this purpose, each inlet station 13 is assigned a data-reading station 14.

In the case of the process according to Figure 2, the sorting station 18 follows the inlet station 13. For this purpose, the items of laundry 12 are transported to the same sorting station 18 from all the inlet stations 13, a buffer section being arranged, if appropriate, upstream of the sorting station 18. Alternatively, each inlet station 13 may be assigned its own buffer section.

Claims

Process for the preparation, in laundries,

of items of laundry Claims: 1. Process for the preparation, in laundries, of items of laundry, in particular workclothing, characterized in that at least a number of items of data necessary for the preparation are used for controlling at least one operation (e.g. sorting operation) and/or conveyor, and the preparation for each item of laundry (12) takes place individually on the basis of said data.
2. Process according to Claim 1, characterized in that, in dependence on data which is specific to the items of laundry, in particular manually input or read-in data, the items of laundry (12) are specifically transported further along at least one conveying section (10) and/or are released from the conveying section (10).
3. Process according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the items of laundry (12) are sorted in depend once on data specific to the items of laundry.
4. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the data are read in directly or indirectly from a data carrier (15) assigned to the respective item of laundry (12), preferably using a datareading station (14).
5. Process for the preparation, in laundries, of items of laundry, in particular workclothing, preferably according to one or more of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that preparation takes place with the items of laundry (12) hanging freely.
6. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the preparation, in particular a check of the items of laundry (12), takes place with items of laundry (12) hanging on at least one conveyor, preferably in the course of at least one conveying section (10).
7. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the items of laundry (12) are sorted during their transportation along the conveying section (10).
8. Process according to Claim 7, characterized in that the items of laundry (12) are sorted by being released at specific locations of the conveying section (10), in particular sorting locations (20, 21, 22, 23).
9. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the items of laundry (12) are released from the conveying section (10) in dependence on the individual data of the respective item of laundry (12).
10. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the data of the items of laundry (12) contain at least the washing programme by means of which the respective item of laundry (12) is intended to be washed, and sorting of the items of laundry (12) preferably takes place in accordance therewith.
11. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that sorting locations (20, 21, 22, 23) along the conveying section (10) are assigned to the individual wash-programme-specific data.
12. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, at the sorting locations (20, 21, 22, 23), the washing-programme-specific data of the respective item of laundry (12) are retrieved and compared with desired data assigned to the respective sorting location (20, 21, 22, 23), and, in the case of coinciding data, at the corresponding sorting location (20, 21, 22, 23), the corresponding item of laundry (12) is released from the conveying section (10), preferably by disengaging the clamp (11) which retains the correaponding item of laundry (12).
13. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the items of laundry are suspended individually on a conveyor of the conveying section (10), in particular on clamps (11), preferably in such a way that they hang down freely from the conveyor.
14. Process according to Claim 13, characterized in that the items of laundry (12) are checked directly after being suspended on the conveying section (10).
15. Process according to Claim 13 or 14, characterized in that at least one checking station (17) is arranged along the conveying section (10), in which station the freely hanging items of laundry (12) are checked one after the other, the checking taking place preferably during a brief standstill period of the conveyor and of the items of laundry (12).
16. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 15, characterized in that data are read directly or indirectly with the items of laundry (12) hanging on the conveying section (10), in particular by the items of laundry (12) being transported one after the other past at least one data-reading station (14).
17. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, after the items of laundry (12) have been checked, sorting of the items of laundry (12) hanging on the clamps (11) of the conveying section (10) takes place, in that the items of laundry (12) are disengaged from the respective clamp (11) at specific positions (20, 21, 22, 23) of the conveying section (10).
18. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the conveyor or the conveyors of the conveying section (10) is/are designed as overhead conveyor or conveyors, on which the items of laundry (12) hanging on the clamps (11) can be transported further along the conveying section (10).
19. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the items of laundry (12) are stored intermediately in the region of the conveying section (10).
20. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 19, characterized in that a batch is formed during the sorting of the items of laundry (12), in that those items of laundry (12) which are to be subjected to a specific treatment are collected together.
21. Process according to one or more of Claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the weight of the respective batch is determined by an addition of the weight values read off from the respective item of laundry (12) of the corresponding batch.
22. Process substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.