702,759. Folding shirts after ironing. AMERICAN LAUNDRY MACHINERY CO. Feb. 5, 1951, No. 2836/51. Class 138 (2) A shirt folder comprises a pair of folding wings 23, 24 having respective axes of swing on a wing support 39, a pair of folding arms 25, 26 having respective axes of swing on an arm support 36, the wing axes being spaced apart to permit the wings to swing inwardly to superposed folded registry and outwardly to unfolded position, and the arm axes being spaced apart to permit the arms to swing inwardly to folded position substantially at the wing axes, and outwardly to an unfolded position beyond the wings, so that, when the wings and arms are in unfolded position with the body portion of a shirt beneath the wings and with the arms beneath the shirt sleeves, sequential movement first of the arms and then of the wings folds the shirt longitudinally. Folding arms and wings. The arms 25, 26 are hinged at 34, 35, respectively, to the member 36 which is freely tiltable on a shaft 27 rotatable in bearings 28, 29. Wings 23, 24 swing on hinges 37, 38, respectively, carried by the wing support 39 which is secured to the shaft 27. The arm support 36 is fixed to a plate 42 which carries a fluid power cylinder 43 for operating the folding elements. The cylinder 43 contains a piston whose rod 48 is attached to a roller carrier 44 which is vertically reciprocable on a guide rod 47 (Fig. 2). A pair of rollers 45, 46 are adjustably fixed in slots 41 in the carrier 44. On the other side of plate 42 is a front roller carrier 49 fixed to the carrier 44 by means of a lug 56 which extends through a slot 57 in the plate 42. The carrier 49 carries a pair of vertically adjustable rollers 54, 55 and a pair of guide rods 50, 51 which slide in fixed lugs 52 and 53. A pair of bell cranks 60, 61 are mounted on pivot studs 62, 63 on opposed edges of plate 42 and pivotally connected to links 64, 65. These, in turn, are pivotally connected to crank arms 66, 67 fixed to the hinge pins 35, 34 carrying the arms 26, 25, respectively. Thus when fluid pressure is admitted to cylinder 43 to move the roller carrier 44 upwardly, roller 45 contacts a cutout face 60a on bell crank 60 so as to swing bell crank 60 counterclockwise and arm 26 clockwise as seen in Fig. 2. Roller 46 effects movement of the arm 25 in a similar manner but a fraction of a second later in the cycle on account of its lower position on the roller carrier 44. On return motion of the roller carrier the operation is reversed. A pair of bell crank levers 70, 71 pivotally carried on brackets 72, 73, respectively, fixed to shaft 27 are provided for operating the wings 23, 24. A link 74 is pivotally connected to crank lever 70 and to a crank arm 75 attached to a hinge pin in hinge 38. The hinge pin is fixed to wing 24 which is thus folded inwardly when the roller 54 engages a cut-out surface 70a on crank lever 70. Wing 24 will precede wing 23 on folding and follow it on unfolding. The wings 23, 24 with their support member 39 and operating levers tilt with shaft 27, while the arms 25, 26 with their support member 36 and operating levers are free to tilt around but independently of shaft 27. An abutment on member 36, however, ensures that when the arm assembly is tilted it raises the wing assembly with it but the wing assembly can be tilted without the arm assembly. One arm 78 of a toggle linkage is fixed to the shaft 27, the other toggle arm 79 extending freely through a hole in a slide block 80 rotatably connected to arm 78. A spring 81 is compressed between the block 80 and another block 82 at the fixed pivot point 83 of arm 79. The two repose positions of the toggle correspond to the tilted and table level positions of the wing assembly. The arm assembly is biased toward tilted position by a spring 86 but held down by means of a latch bar 151 pivoted at 152 to a lug 150 on plate 42. A notch in the latch bar engages with a cross rod 153 under the influence of a spring 154 attached to a pin 155 on the latch bar. The latch bar is released by admitting fluid to a cylinder 158 whose plunger 157 swings a bell crank lever 156 clockwise so as to strike against the pin 155 and release the latch bar 151. The assembly can be returned to latched position by means of a pivotally mounted cylinder 159 whose piston rod 161 is pivoted to the assembly at 162. Tail folding mechanism. A Z-fold is produced in the shirt tail by means of a blade 33, Fig. 1, carried by side members 94 secured to a shaft 95 and provided with a counterweight 97. A notched edge portion 33a prevents the blade from catching on the shirt buttons. Inclined portions 33b assist in ensuring a straight transverse fold line in the shirt. The blade is operated by an air motor 98 (Fig. 13). Cooperating with the blade 33 is a, thin plate 104 secured to the member 39 and bifurcated to provide legs 105 whose front edge tips 105a afford support for a cardboard insert which normally overlies the legs. The plate 104 is bifurcated to afford a view of a collar block 107. The cardboard is inserted over the shirt and under a hold down plate 109. Prior to the folding operation, plate 109 is inclined upwardly (Fig. 16). When the blade 33 sweeps the shirt tail beneath plate 109, the control system causes the plate to snap downwardly. The plate 109 is secured to a bearing 112 which is free on shaft 27. A leg 113 on bearing 112 extends downwardly and forwardly (Fig. 16) and when plate 109 is elevated the leg is biased against a stud 114 on a bell crank 115 by a spring 116. When pressure is admitted to a cylinder 120 its plunger 119 pushes bell crank 115 counterclockwise against the action of a spring 118 clearing stud 114 from under leg 113 which is thereupon swung counter-clockwise so as to snap down plate 109. The plate 109 holds the'folded shirt tail and prevents it from being retracted when the tail folder returns to idle position. Collar block assembly (Fig. 17). The collar block assembly is in a recess 124 in the table and comprises an expandible and contractable ring made up of five resilient'metal segments 125 ... 129. Segments 126, 127 are jointed to segment 125 at A, B,.respectively. Segments 128 129 have a sliding overlap with segments 126, 127, respectively, and also with each other. A slide bar 130 is fixed to a block 131 attatched to segment 125. The bar 130 is slidable laterally and is pivotally connected to an operating rod 132 at 134. The bar and rod assembly is biased to the left in Figs. 16, 17; by a spring 135 compressed between a bracket 133 and a nut 136 fixed on rod 132. When rod 132 is moved to the left the collar block is expanded in a longitudinal direction. Lateral expansion is effected by connecting segments 128, 129 to slides 139, 140, respectively, which in turn are operated by forked ends of bell crank toggle members 141, 142 which are operatively connected to the slide bar 130 at 143. Therefore, movement of rod 130 to the left moves segments 128, 129 apart laterally. When fluid under pressure is admitted through a pipe 145 to a cylinder 144, a plunger 146 is moved to the right, compressing spring 135 and contracting the collar block. This is the normal pcsition when power is on. To expand the block the operator presses an air. control button 147 (Fig. 1), exhausting cylinder 144 and allowing the spring to expand' the block. Operation. The operator places a shirt in position on the table with the sleeves .overhanging arms 25, 26 and wings 23, 24, and with the plates 104, 109 tilted upwardly. He places the collar on the collar block and, by pressing button 147 to shut off the air pressure previously effective through pipes 165, 166, a valve 167 and pipe 145, spring 135 is allowed to expand the' collar block. In the condition shown in Fig. 13 air is admitted through pipe 165, a slide valve 171, pipe 173, a combination valve 174 and pipes 185, 186 to the upper end of cylinder 43 so as to hold the folding members in unfolded position. Air also goes through a pipe 187 to a combination valve 188, which is held open by a finger 189 on roller carrier 44, permitting air to continue through a pipe 190 to cylinder 159 which thus holds the arms 25, 26 down on the table with the help of the latch bar 151. The operator institutes an automatic cycle by pressing down wings 23, 24 while leaving plates 104, 109 raised. As wings 23, 24 are lowered the toggle 78, 79 (Fig. 2) operates the plunger of the valve 171, Fig. 5 (not shown) to allow air to flow through valve 171 to pipes 193, 194, through a slide valve 195 and 'a pipe 196 to the inlet of a combination valve 197 which at the moment is closed. Air also flows through a pipe 198, a slide valve 199, and a pipe 200 to the cylinder 98 which operates the tail folding blade. At the height of its stroke the tail folding mechanism moves the plunger of valve 199 to the right to cut off air flow to the bottom of cylinder 98 and introduce it through pipes 204, 206 to the top of cylinder 98 to return the tail folder to idle position. Simultaneously air flows through a pipe 207 to cylinder 120 to allow the plate 109 to snap down and hold the shirt tail. When the tail folder returns it operates mechanism, Figs. 6, 7 (not shown), which opens valve 197 to allow air to flow to the lower end of cylinder 43. The top of cylinder 43 is open to exhaust through a check valve 169 and valve 171, and its piston rod is moved upwardly to fold the arms 26, 25 and wings 24, 23 in turn. A strip from a stack in a receptacle 318 is then secured around'the shirt which is ready for removal when the collar block is released and the folding assembly elevated. The operator steps on a treadle, Fig. 4 (not shown) to close valve 174 and open a valve 175 by means of a common actuator 182. Air is thus admitted through a pipe 219 to trip mechanism 220 which allows valve 197 to close, and also through a pipe 221 to cylinder 158 which releases the latch bar 151. In rising, an abutment 151b on the l