JP2019092999A - Clothes folding device and clothes folding method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a clothes folding device and a clothes folding method without complicated device configuration.SOLUTION: This clothes folding device includes a first holding device 101 and a second holding device 102, pinches a collar part of a T-shirt TS and holds two predetermined positions separated in both shoulder direction using the first holding device 101 and the second holding device 102 or holds two predetermined positions of the hem part of the T-shirt TS to hang the T-shirt TS, fold inwards the outside region of a virtual straight line BL1 of the T-shirt TS using two virtual straight lines BL1 passing through two holding positions, respectively, places approximately half of the T-shirt TS from the lower end while feeding the T-shirt TS of which outside region is folded inward in the opposite direction to the folding direction. returns the T-shirt TS in the opposite direction to the feeding direction, and folds the T-shirt TS by overlapping the other half of the T-shirt TS on the placed portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 21

Description

  The present invention relates to a clothes folding apparatus and a clothes folding method.

  While developing a thin material having a deformability such as piled clothes, etc., development of an apparatus for collapsing neatly is being advanced. For example, in WO 2015/198791 (Patent Document 1), a processing apparatus of an object to be processed is disclosed.

International Publication No. 2015/198791

  When an object to be treated is folded using the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, in addition to the hand for holding the object to be treated, a mounting device that performs rotational movement and horizontal movement is required, and the device configuration Becomes complicated.

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a garment folding apparatus and a garment folding method which do not complicate the apparatus configuration.

  The clothes folding apparatus is a clothes folding apparatus including a first holding device and a second holding device, and using the first holding device and the second holding device, sandwiching the collar portion of the clothes. Hold the predetermined position apart in the direction of the two shoulders at two places, or hold the predetermined position of the skirt of the clothes at two places to suspend the clothes and pass the two gripped positions respectively With the two virtual straight lines as folding positions, the area outside the virtual straight line of the garment is folded inward, and the garment whose outer area is folded inward is sent out in the opposite direction to the folding direction. The clothes are folded by placing approximately half of the clothes from the lower end and returning the clothes in the direction opposite to the delivery direction, and overlapping the other half of the clothes on the placed area.

  In another embodiment, the image processing apparatus further comprises an image acquisition device for acquiring image information of the suspended clothes, and the front and back of the clothes is determined based on the image information of the clothes, and the outside of the virtual straight line of the clothes is determined. When the area is turned inward, the clothes are turned toward the back side of the clothes based on the result of the judgment of the front and back of the clothes.

  In another form, the first gripping device and the second gripping device include a pair of gripping members for gripping the clothes, and the gripping members extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the gripping direction. It has a member.

In another form, the pressing member has an annular or plate-like form.
This clothing folding method is a clothing folding method using two robot arms, and two predetermined positions separated in the direction of both shoulders across the collar of the clothing using the two robot arms. Holding or holding two predetermined positions of the skirt of the clothes using two of the robot arms, and suspending the clothes, and two virtuals passing through the two griped positions. Using the two robot arms as a straight line folding position, folding the area outside the virtual straight line of the clothes inward, and using the two robot arms as an inner area on the outer side of the clothes Placing the approximately half of the clothes from the lower end while feeding out the clothes folded back in the direction opposite to the folding direction, and using the two robot arms to perform the clothes The serial feeding direction back in the opposite direction, and a step of superimposing on the placing portion the other half of the garment.

  In another embodiment, the step of suspending the clothes includes the step of judging the clothes from the image information of the clothes, and the step of folding the area outside the virtual straight line of the clothes inward is the step of The step of folding the clothes toward the back side of the clothes based on the result of the front / back determination of the clothes is included.

  According to the clothes folding method and the clothes folding apparatus, it is possible to provide the clothes folding apparatus and the clothes folding method without complicating the device configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a whole perspective view of the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus in embodiment. It is a top view of T-shirt with a sleeve as an example of clothes. It is a figure which shows the 1st expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 2nd expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a top view of T-shirt with a sleeve as an example of clothes. It is a figure which shows the 3rd expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 4th expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 5th expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 6th expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the step which determines the side of a 1st holding point and a 2nd holding point which has a collar side in which a collar part is located. It is a figure which shows the 7th expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 8th expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 9th expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 10th expansion | deployment step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 1st folding step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 2nd folding step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 3rd folding step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 4th folding step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 5th folding step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 6th folding step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 7th folding step using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the pinching member used for the holding | grip apparatus of the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the holding | grip state of the clothes using the holding | grip apparatus of the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus of embodiment.

  The method of unfolding sleeved clothes, the method of folding sleeved clothes, the unfolding apparatus of sleeved clothes, the unfolding apparatus of sleeved clothes, the unfolding apparatus of clothes, and the unfolding apparatus of clothes according to the present invention It explains, referring to. In the embodiments described below, when the number, the amount, and the like are mentioned, the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the number, the amount, and the like unless otherwise specified. The same parts and corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions may not be repeated. It is planned from the beginning to use appropriately combining the configurations in the embodiments. In the drawings, the actual dimensional proportions are not described, but in order to facilitate the understanding of the structure, the proportions are partially different.

  In the following description, a T-shirt is used as an example of a sleeved garment, but it is not limited to a T-shirt. For example, in the case of a garment having a sleeve and a collar, such as a shirt, polo shirt, sweater, cardigan, work clothes, the following It is applicable to the embodiment.

(Clothing deployment folding device 1)
With reference to FIG. 1, the appearance of the garment developing and folding device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the clothes unfolding and folding apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. The clothes deployment and folding apparatus 1 is an apparatus having two functions of a clothes deployment apparatus and a clothes folding apparatus.

  The double-arm robot 100 is disposed at the center of the clothes deployment and folding apparatus 1. The dual-arm robot 100 has a base 110, to which a first arm 101 as a first gripping device and a second arm 102 as a second gripping device are attached. The first arm 101 corresponds to the left arm for a human, and the second arm 102 corresponds to the right arm for a human.

  Although the case where the dual arm robot 100 in which the first arm 101 and the second arm 102 are attached to one base 110 is adopted for one base 110 is described, the case of the first arm 101 and the second arm 102 is described. Each may use individually independent arms.

  At the tip of the first arm 101, a pinching member 101H is provided. At the tip of the second arm 102, a pinching member 102H is provided. The configurations of the pinching member 101H and the pinching member 102H will be described later. An articulated arm mechanism is adopted for the first arm 101 and the second arm 102, and when gripping clothes to be described later, the position of the gripping portion can be freely controlled.

  The 2D camera 210 is mounted on the head of the dual arm robot 100. The 2D camera 210 can be used to capture clothes as needed to obtain image information of clothes in 2D.

  Around the double-arm robot 100, a T-shirt pile stage S1, a measurement stage S2, a folding stage S3, and a stacking stage S4 are set around a clockwise rotation direction in plan view. As viewed from the T-shirt pile stage S1, the measurement stage S2 is positioned at about a 45 degree rotational position, and the folding stage S3 is positioned at a further 45 degree rotated position. As viewed from the T-shirt stacking stage S1, a stacking stage S4 is provided at a position rotated approximately 180 degrees. The arrangement position of each stage is merely an example, and is not limited to the arrangement position shown in FIG.

  A pile board 150 is disposed on the T-shirt pile stage S1, and a short sleeve T-shirt TS with short sleeves as an example of clothes is loosely placed. On the measurement stage S2, a 3D camera 200 for capturing a 3D image of the sleeved T-shirt TS and acquiring 3D image information of the sleeved T-shirt TS is disposed. Above the 3D camera 200, a mounting table 220 having a flat surface is disposed. A folding table 300 having a flat surface is disposed on the folding stage S3. A stacking base 400 having a flat surface is disposed on the stacking stage S4.

(Clothes development process)
With reference to FIGS. 2-14, the expansion | deployment process of the clothes using the clothes expansion | deployment folding apparatus 1 which has the said structure is demonstrated. In this case, a T-shirt TS having short sleeves (G1, G2) as shown in FIG. 2 is used as clothes to be expanded using the clothes expansion and folding apparatus 1.

  Figs. 3, 4, 6 to 9, and 11 to 14 show the first to tenth expansion steps using the clothes expansion and folding apparatus 1, and Fig. 5 shows a T-shirt TS with a sleeve. FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a step of determining which side of the first holding point and the second holding point the collar side is on which the collar portion is located.

  Referring to FIG. 3, using pinching member 101 H of first arm 101 of clothes expanding and folding apparatus 1, an arbitrary portion of T-shirt TS placed on stacking platform 150 of T-shirt stacking stage S 1 is gripped. lift.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the T-shirt TS is moved to the measurement stage S2, and the 3D camera 200 is used to acquire image information of the suspended T-shirt TS. Based on the image information of this T-shirt TS, the lowest point LP1 of the suspended T-shirt TS is identified.

  Referring to FIG. 5, the lowest point LP1 of the T-shirt TS identified above is either the sleeve end TS1 or the sleeve end TS3 of the T-shirt TS, or the skirt end TS2 or the skirt end TS4. .

  Referring to FIG. 6, the pinching member 102H of the second arm 102 is used to grip and lift the lowest point LP1 of the T-shirt TS. Thereafter, the gripping of the T-shirt TS by the sandwiching member 101H is released. Thus, in the present embodiment, the T-shirt TS is suspended in a state in which the skirt end TS4 is gripped by the sandwiching member 102H. The position at which the T-shirt TS is gripped by the sandwiching member 102H is referred to as a second grip point HP2.

  Referring to FIG. 7 again, using 3D camera 200, image information of suspended T-shirt TS is acquired. Based on the image information of this T-shirt TS, the lowest point LP2 of the suspended T-shirt TS is identified. In this case, since the lower end LP4 of the T-shirt TS is already positioned in the diagonal direction of the lower end TS4 of the T-shirt TS, since the lower end LP4 of the T-shirt TS is already gripped by the sandwiching member 102H. Sleeve end TS3 (see FIG. 5).

  Referring to FIG. 8, the pinching member 101H of the first arm 101 is used to grip and lift the lowermost point LP2 of the T-shirt TS. The position at which the T-shirt TS is gripped by the sandwiching member 101H is referred to as a first grip point HP1.

  As a result, at the edge of the sleeved T-shirt TS, at least two points of the T-shirt TS are gripped as the first gripping point HP1 and the second gripping point HP2 so that the sleeve of the T-shirt TS becomes the lowest point. T-shirt TS is suspended.

  Referring to FIG. 9, the 2D camera 210 is used to acquire image information of the suspended T-shirt TS. Based on the image information of the T-shirt TS, it is determined which side of the first holding point HP1 and the second holding point HP2 there is a collar side on which the collar CO of the T-shirt TS is located. The side of the first grip point HP1 and the second grip point HP2 on which the collar CO of the T-shirt TS is located is the straight line connecting the first grip point HP1 and the lowest point LP1, for example. It is determined which of the straight line connecting the second grip point HP2 and the straight line connecting the lowermost point LP1 the collar side is located.

  As an example of a method of determining whether the collar CO of the T-shirt TS is located on the side of the collar, referring to FIG. 10, a virtual shape convex downwards based on the outline of the suspended T-shirt TS. Assume a polygon. The area of the gap S10 generated between the outer contour line between the first grip point HP1 and the lowermost point LP1 and the outer contour line of the T-shirt TS located in the plane of the virtual polygon, and the second grip point HP2 And the area of the gap S20 generated between the outer contour line between the lowermost point LP1 and the outer contour line of the T-shirt TS located in the plane of the virtual polygon, It can be determined that the collar portion CO of the shirt TS is located on the side of the collar, and the side having a large clearance area can be determined to be the bottom of the T-shirt TS. In other words, it can be determined that the side with the smaller area of the gap is the top of the T-shirt TS and the side with the larger area of the gap is the side of the T-shirt TS.

  Next, referring to FIG. 11, the 3D camera 200 is used to acquire image information of the suspended T-shirt TS. Based on the image information of the T-shirt TS, the collar side grips the third gripping point HP3 at a predetermined distance from the lowermost point LP1, and holds the T-shirt TS at the second gripping point HP2 not located on the collar side Open and deploy T-shirt TS. The predetermined distance from LP1 to the third gripping point HP3 is preferably any distance from the end of the sleeve of the T-shirt TS to the approximate center of the collar. In the case of holding a plurality of points, the predetermined distance does not have to be equal between the points, and may be different.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the first deposit hand 103 holds the second gripping point HP2 before releasing the gripping of the second gripping point HP2 by the sandwiching member 102H of the T-shirt TS. Next, after holding the third holding point HP3 by the holding member 102H, the holding of the second holding point HP2 by the primary deposit hand 103 is released. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, the T-shirt TS is expanded.

  Next, referring to FIG. 14, the developed T-shirt TS is placed in a developed state while being placed on the mounting table 220. The upper half of the T-shirt TS is placed on the mounting table 220, and the lower half of the T-shirt TS hangs down from the mounting table 220.

  By the above steps, the deployment of the T-shirt TS using the clothes deployment and folding device 1 is completed. Thus, based on the image information of the suspended T-shirt TS shown in FIG. 9, the collar CO of the T-shirt TS is positioned on either side of the first holding point HP1 and the second holding point HP2. By adopting the step of determining whether there is a collar side, the process required to deploy the T-shirt TS can be reduced, and as a result, the time required to deploy the T-shirt TS can be shortened.

  When expanding the T-shirt TS, hold the at least two points of the T-shirt TS as the first holding point HP1 and the second holding point HP2 so that the sleeve of the T-shirt TS becomes the lowest point From the image information of the T-shirt TS, from the lowest point LP1 of the T-shirt TS, hold one or more points at a predetermined distance from the lower point LP1 of the T-shirt TS, and hold the first holding point on the hem side of the T-shirt TS The HP1 or the second gripping point HP2 may be released and deployed.

  Further, in FIG. 13, two places of the first gripping point HP1 and the third gripping point HP3 are gripped with the collar portion CO in between, but two points at a predetermined distance from the lowest point LP1 in FIG. The holding of the T-shirt TS at the first holding point HP1 and the second holding point HP2 may be released separately, and the T-shirt TS may be expanded.

  In addition, it is preferable that 1st holding point HP1 and 3rd holding point HP3 as two points which exist in predetermined distance from lowest point LP1 are two points of right and left both shoulders.

(Garment folding process)
Next, with reference to FIGS. 15 to 21, the clothes folding process of the unfolded T-shirt TS using the clothes unfolding unit 1 will be described. FIGS. 15 to 21 are views showing first to seventh folding steps using the clothes unfolding and folding apparatus 1.

  Referring to FIG. 15, the 3D camera 200 is used to identify the positions of the skirt end TS2 and the skirt end TS4 of the hanging lower half of the T-shirt TS placed on the mounting table 220.

  Referring to FIG. 16, the fourth gripping point HP4 in the vicinity of the foot end TS2 is gripped by the sandwiching member 101H of the first arm 101, and the fifth gripping point HP5 in the second arm 102 is in proximity with the foot end TS4. The T-shirt TS is suspended by being gripped by the pinching member 102H.

  Referring to FIG. 17, T-shirt TS is moved to folding stage S3. The 2D camera 210 is used to acquire image information of the suspended T-shirt TS. Based on the image information of the T-shirt TS, the front / back judgment of the T-shirt TS is performed based on the shape of the collar portion CO. Here, the front of the T-shirt is the front side, and the back is the rear side. In FIG. 17, the side facing the 2D camera 210 is the front.

  If the front / back judgment can be made at the time of the collar side judgment in FIG. 9, it is not necessary to use the 2D camera 210 in the above steps. The front and back judgment method in FIG. 9 can be made by recognizing characteristic points such as the shape of the collar, the print of the tag or logo of the collar, the pattern of the shirt, and the like.

  If the front / back judgment can be made at the time of the collar side judgment, an optimum T-shirt TS fold can be realized, and the occurrence of an unnecessary operation can be suppressed.

  Referring to FIG. 18, the region outside T-shirt TS is folded inward at an imaginary straight line BL1 passing the fourth holding point HP4 and an imaginary straight line BL1 passing the fifth holding point HP5. At this time, the T-shirt TS is folded back toward the back side of the T-shirt TS based on the result of the front / back judgment of the T-shirt TS. In the figure, since the back side of the T-shirt TS faces the clothes expansion and folding apparatus, the T-shirt TS is folded back in the direction of the arrow R1. Specific configurations of the sandwiching member 101H and the sandwiching member 102H will be described later.

  Referring to FIG. 19, it is assumed that T-shirt TS is folded along virtual fold line BL2 in the figure.

  Referring to FIG. 20, while placing the lower end of the suspended T-shirt TS on the folding stage 300 of the folding stage S3, the T-shirt TS is fed out in one direction (FW direction in the figure), Mount approximately half of the T-shirt TS.

  Referring to FIG. 21, the T-shirt TS is returned in the direction (BW direction in the figure) opposite to the one direction (FW direction in the figure), and the other half of the T-shirt TS is overlapped on the placed portion. Complete the folding of the T-shirt TS. Thereafter, the orderly folded T-shirts TS are placed on the stacking table 400 provided on the stacking stage S4.

  By the above steps, folding of the T-shirt TS using the clothes developing and folding apparatus 1 is completed. As described above, by using the pinching member 101H of the first arm 101 and the pinching member 102H of the second arm 102, the T-shirt TS is suspended by holding the predetermined position of the skirt of the T-shirt TS at two places. T-shirt TS in which the area outside T-shirt TS is folded inward and the area outside T-shirt TS is folded inward with virtual straight line BL1 passing through two griped positions as the folding position. Approximately half of the T-shirt TS was placed from the lower end while feeding out in the direction opposite to the direction of folding, and the other half of the T-shirt TS was placed by returning in the direction opposite to the direction of feeding the T-shirt TS. Over the part, T-shirt TS is folded. In addition, when folding T-shirt TS by this process, you may use 2 or more robot arms supplementarily.

  By adopting this process, the process required to fold the T-shirt TS can be reduced, and as a result, the time required to fold the T-shirt TS can be shortened.

  In the state shown in FIG. 16, the case where the T-shirt TS is held in the upside-down state by gripping the skirt of the T-shirt TS is shown, but both sides of the T-shirt TS collar It is possible to fold it by the same process even if it is suspended in a state where two predetermined positions separated in the direction of the shoulder are grasped.

(Specific configuration of the pinching member 101H (pinching member 102H))
Specific configurations of the sandwiching member 101H of the first arm 101 and the sandwiching member 102H of the second arm 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23. FIG. In addition, since the pinching member 101H and the pinching member 102H may have the same structure, only the pinching member 101H will be described below. FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of the pinching member 101H, and FIG. 23 is a view showing a gripping state of clothes using the pinching member 101H.

  Referring to FIG. 22, the sandwiching member 101 H has a support base 11 and a rotation base 12 fixed to the tip of the first arm 101. The rotation base 12 is controlled so as to freely rotate in the R1 direction in the drawing with the Z direction as a rotation center axis. The rotation base 12 is controlled such that a pair of arm members 13 can be closed and opened (R2 direction in the drawing) with one end on the rotation base 12 side as a rotation center.

  The pinching member 101H has an arm member 13 extending in the gripping direction. The arm member 13 is provided with an annular pressing member 15 extending in the lateral direction (X direction) with respect to the axial direction (Z direction) of the arm member 13. The arm member 13 and the pressing member 15 may be integrated. When holding the T-shirt TS, the pressing member 15 is disposed so as to extend from the virtual straight line BL1 toward the outside of the T-shirt TS.

  The pressing member 15 shown in the drawing is provided at the position opposite to the arm member 13 so that its thickness becomes thinner outward. This is because the thickness becomes thinner at the tip side of the pressing member 15, and when the T-shirt TS is held, the pinching member 101H is released and the first arm 101 is pulled out of the T-shirt TS, the T-shirt TS is held. This is to prevent the sticking member 15 from being caught. Further, the pressing member 15 may be provided so that the thickness thereof is reduced outward at the position opposite to the rotation base 12 and the position on the base 12 side.

  In this case, since the friction between the T-shirt TS and the pressing member 15 can be further reduced when the pinching member 13 is extracted from the T-shirt TS after the T-shirt TS is folded, the shape of the folded T-shirt TS is made more It is easy to pull out the pinching member 101H from the T-shirt TS without collapsing. Furthermore, when the pressing member 15 has rounded corners or a non-cornered shape, the friction with the T-shirt TS can be further reduced, and the T-shirt can be folded more orderly.

  As described above, the pressing member 15 has a certain width in a direction substantially perpendicular to the gripping direction so that the T-shirt TS can be folded, and the T-shirt TS is extracted after being folded. It is preferable to use a shape or a material that is less likely to catch. The pressing member 15 may have a constant thickness as a whole.

  A distal end member 14 is attached to a distal end portion of the arm member 13 via a coil spring 16. The distal end member 14 is linearly moveable with respect to the arm member 13 via a coil spring 16. The tip member 14 is used when picking up one T-shirt TS placed on the floor of the pile platform 150. At this time, by adjusting the pressing force between the tip member 14 and the T-shirt TS according to the friction of the T-shirt cloth, even when a plurality of T-shirts TS are piled up on the pile board 150, the upper T Only one shirt can be peeled off. In this case, the pressing force required may be obtained by providing a pressure sensor such as a force sensor on the hand side and acquiring it from the hand, or applying a pressing stroke known from robot teaching to the spring constant of the coil spring 16 You can also get it. Thus, by using a coil spring, the pressure sensor can be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, since the coil spring 16 is provided, it is possible to pick up only one T-shirt TS from a plurality of T-shirts stacked one on another without using a pressure sensor or the like. In the suspended state of the T-shirt TS, the tip end member 14 can compensate for the holding force of the plate-like holding member 101H. The tip end member 14 may be provided at least at either one of the sandwiching members 101H and 102H.

  A rubber sheet 17 is attached to the inner surface of the arm member 13 at mutually opposing positions. The rubber sheet 17 can sandwich the T-shirt TS by the rubber sheet 17 when the T-shirt TS is suspended. Thereby, the suspended state of the T-shirt TS can be stabilized.

  When the T-shirt TS is held by the holding member 101H, it is desirable that the ground contact surface between the holding member 101H and the T-shirt TS be the tip member 14 and the rubber sheet 17. At that time, the pressing member 15 may also be grounded to the T-shirt TS, but if at least the tip member 14 and the rubber sheet 17 contact the T-shirt TS, the T-shirt TS is stably suspended and expanded. And can be folded. In addition, when the pinching member 101H is pulled out of the T-shirt TS, if the pressing member 15 is designed to be further away from the T-shirt TS than the tip member 14 and the rubber sheet 17, friction with the T-shirt TS is reduced. Can be folded more neatly.

  Referring to FIG. 23, by using sandwiching member 101H having the above-described form, T-shirt TS can be stably suspended, and a pressing member can be extended from virtual straight line BL1 to the outside of T-shirt TS. The provision of the reference numeral 15 makes it possible to sandwich the T-shirt TS located outside from the virtual straight line BL1 and fold the T-shirt TS inward in a stable state.

  As a form of the pressing member 15, an annular form is adopted in the present embodiment, but the form is not limited to this form. If it is a form extending outward from the virtual straight line BL1 to the outside of the T-shirt TS, various other forms such as a bar-like form, a plurality of bar-like forms, a semicircular form, a plate-like form, etc. are possible. It may be any shape as long as it can hold the T-shirt TS and fold the T-shirt TS. More preferably, when closing the arm member 13 and sandwiching the T-shirt TS, the tip member 14 and the rubber sheet 17 sandwich the T-shirt TS in a flat state with respect to the T-shirt TS, and the pressing member 15 slightly When provided in a separated state, the T-shirt TS and the sandwiching member 15 have a small contact surface, so that the T-shirt TS can be folded without applying an excessive force. Also, after being folded, the pinching member 15 can be easily removed from the T-shirt TS. However, if the shape extending toward the outside of the T-shirt TS becomes too complex, resistance tends to increase when the hand is pulled out, and stable handling tends to be difficult.

  It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of the present invention is indicated not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include all the modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Garment deployment folding device, 11 support base, 12 rotation base, 13 arm members, 14 tip members, 15 pressing members, 16 coil springs, 17 rubber sheet, 100 double arm robot, 101 first arm, 101H, 102H sandwiching members , 102 second arm, 103 primary deposit hand, 110 base, 150 pile platform, 200 3D camera, 210 2D camera, 220 platform, 300 folding platform, 400 stacking platform, BL1 virtual straight line, BL2 virtual folding line, HP1 1st holding point, HP2 2nd holding point, HP 3 3rd holding point, HP 4 4th holding point, HP 5 5th holding point, LP1, LP2 lowest point, S1 pile stage, S2 measurement stage, S3 folding stage, S4 Stacking stage, S10, S20 gap, T1 first oblique side, T2 second oblique Side, TS T-shirt, TS1, TS3 sleeve end, TS2, TS4 bottom end.

Claims (6)

A clothing folding apparatus comprising a first gripping device and a second gripping device, comprising:
Using the first gripping device and the second gripping device, two predetermined positions separated in the direction of both shoulders across the collar of the clothes are gripped, or two predetermined positions of the skirt of the clothes are Hold the clothes and put them in a suspended state,
The area outside the virtual straight line of the clothes is turned inward, with the two virtual straight lines passing respectively through the two gripped positions as the folding positions.
Approximately half of the garment is placed from the lower end while feeding out the garment in which the outer region is folded inward in the direction opposite to the folding direction;
Folding the garment by returning the garment in a direction opposite to the direction of delivery and overlapping the remaining half of the garment onto the placed portion;
Garment folding device. It further comprises an image acquisition device for acquiring image information of the suspended clothes.
Determining the front and back of the clothes based on the image information of the clothes;
The garment folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the area outside the virtual straight line of the garment is folded inward, the garment is folded toward the back side of the garment based on the result of the front / back determination of the garment. . The first gripping device and the second gripping device include a pair of gripping members for gripping the clothes,
The clothes folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pinching member includes a pressing member extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to a gripping direction.   The clothes folding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pressing member has an annular or plate shape. A method of folding clothes with two robot arms,
Using two of the robot arms, hold a predetermined position away from each other in the direction of both shoulders across the collar of the garment at two locations, or using two of the robot arms at a predetermined position of the skirt of the garment Holding two places and hanging the clothes,
Using the two robot arms to turn the area outside the virtual straight line of the clothes inward, with the two virtual straight lines that respectively pass through the two gripped positions as the folding positions;
Placing approximately half of the garment from its lower end while delivering the garment, in which the outer region of the garment is folded inward, in a direction opposite to the folding direction using two of the robot arms;
Using the two robotic arms to return the garment in a direction opposite to the delivery direction and to stack the other half of the garment on the placed portion;
A clothes folding method comprising: The step of suspending the clothes is
Determining the front and back of the clothes from the image information of the clothes;
The step of folding inward the area outside the virtual straight line of the clothes is:
The step of folding the clothes toward the back side of the clothes based on the result of the front / back determination of the clothes;
The clothes folding method according to claim 5.

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