JP3634300B2 - Cloth folding device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus that can fold and fold cloths.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An apparatus that folds a cloth that has been washed and dried in two or more times is known, and an apparatus that folds and folds cloth is also known (Japanese Patent No. 2808439). The present invention was created by the inventor who is also the applicant of the present application. For example, two sheets can be stacked and folded, so that bed making becomes remarkably easy.
[0003]
However, if there is a problem with the fabric, it may take time to resolve it. For example, if the torn sheets overlap, the tearing will not be noticeable, and discovery will be delayed, and if the dirt is also inside, it will be the same. In addition, when a problematic fabric is found in a state where two sheets are overlapped, it is necessary to peel it off. Further, when the fabric is shipped without finding any defects, the reliability of the trader is lowered, but the ratio may be higher than when handling the fabric one by one.
[0004]
Another problem arises when several types of fabric need to be processed. A device that processes only the cloths that are folded and folded, such as sheets, and a device that processes the futon cover, blanket cover, etc., commonly called frame wrapping or whole wrapping, must be installed separately. This is because a large space is required.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned points, and the problem thereof is to make it possible to fold cloths that do not require overlapping folds with a single apparatus together with the cloths. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to sort out several kinds of cloths by type by detecting the characteristics of the cloths when they are not folded over. Another object of the present invention is to prevent a defective product from being mixed in a folded product or a folded product by detecting an abnormality in the cloth.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a transport conveyor that transports cloth, a first folding unit that folds one cloth in a transport process including the transport conveyor, and a plurality of cloths stacked in a transport process. A first inspecting unit for detecting the characteristics of the cloth in the first stage of the conveying process, and a plurality of cloths in order to determine which of the second folding part to be folded, and each of the first and second folding parts to be operated; It has a second inspection section for finding abnormalities in fabrics such as tears and dirt that are difficult to fold after being folded, and a section for separating folded fabrics, and abnormalities are discovered. The present invention provides a cloth folding apparatus that removes cloth from the process. The cloth in the present invention includes not only a single cloth such as a sheet or a table cover, but also a product made by sewing the cloth and generally capable of being conveyed and folded in the same manner as a single cloth.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The cloth overfolding apparatus according to the present invention can perform folding of one cloth and folding of a plurality of cloths.
[0008]
The apparatus first has a transport conveyor which is a means for transporting cloths. It can be said that the conveyance process including the conveyance conveyor passes through the present apparatus, and each part is provided along the conveyance process. In the transport process, the transport conveyor refers to a portion having an overlapped portion.
[0009]
In the transfer conveyor in the transfer process, a first folding unit that folds one piece of cloth and a second folding unit that folds a plurality of pieces of cloth are provided. The first folding part and the second folding part may be provided so as to overlap each other as shown in the illustrated embodiment, or may be provided side by side on the left and right.
[0010]
The cloths that are folded one by one in the first folding section are mainly for frame-shaped wrapping that wraps a hanging cover, envelope-shaped wrapping that wraps frame-wrapping and blankets, and all types of wrapping. . The cloths that are folded by the second folding part are mainly for sheets. When it is necessary to fold sheets one by one without overlapping two sheets, the sheets are passed through the first folding section.
[0011]
In order to configure the folding unit, the front end of the conveyor conveys one piece of cloth is a folded part that turns obliquely downward, and the overlap conveyor for conveying the cloth that overlaps one piece of cloth is described above. The guide means for sending the cloth from the conveyor to the stacking conveyor is installed between the conveyor and the stacking conveyor. A folding conveyor is installed at the folding section, and a folding means for folding cloth is provided between the folding section and the folding conveyor. Providing separation means for separating is one of the preferred forms of the lap folding apparatus of the present invention. In this case, a 1st folding part is comprised by a conveyance conveyor, a folding conveyor, and a folding means, and a 2nd folding part is comprised by a stacking conveyor, a conveyance conveyor, a folding conveyor, and a folding means. The folding means includes a folding knife, air jet injection, and forward / reverse change of the cloth conveying direction by the conveyor.
[0012]
In order to decide whether to operate the first folding part or the second folding part, the type of cloth is determined in advance. Here, the meaning of the type of cloth includes not only those having different shapes and structures as described above, but also those having different sizes. For this purpose, a first inspection unit for detecting the characteristics of the cloth is provided in the previous stage of the conveyance process. Since the first inspection unit determines which of the first or second folding unit is to be operated according to the characteristics of the cloth, it is provided at a position prior to folding, and this position is set at the front stage of the conveyance process. It stipulates.
[0013]
The first inspection unit detects the characteristics of the cloth. For example, as a means for detecting an element characterizing the shape and structure of the cloth, there is a means for determining the thickness of the cloth, or the cloth. There is a length measuring means for measuring the length in the conveying direction of the kind. From the determination of the thickness of the cloth, it can be determined whether it is of a single layer structure or a multilayer structure. The length measurement in the conveyance direction is used as cloth size information. Therefore, the characteristics of the target fabric are grasped by the thickness determination and the length measurement. Further, the length measuring means makes it possible to fold a plurality of cloths with their center portions accurately aligned.
[0014]
Further, the second inspection unit is also provided for detecting an abnormality of a kind of cloth, such as dirt or tearing, which becomes difficult after a plurality of cloths are folded and folded in the previous stage of the conveying process. The best way to find defects and defective products that are irregularly shaped, such as dirt or tears, and whose location is difficult to predict, is to use cloth filming with a video camera and analysis of the data. As this type of technology, for example, there is an inspection system using a video camera, which can be used. By removing dirt, the working environment becomes hygienic.
[0015]
The system includes, for example, a process in which photographing data by a CCD is processed by a data processor. See FIG. As shown in the figure, when one unit cannot cover the entire width of the cloth, a plurality of CCDs are used together to cover the entire area. Considering that the cloth is being conveyed at a constant speed, it is sufficient for the observation method to scan in a slit shape in the left-right direction perpendicular to the cloth conveyance direction. See FIG. The output result of the data processor is illustrated in FIG. 19, but if there is a hole penetrating the cloth, there is almost no reflection, and conversely, if there is even a slight disturbance in reflection, it will be different from the surface without scratches. I understand that. Therefore, since the part showing the reflectance between them is an abnormal part that should be excluded because it is abnormal, the output of the data processor is sent to the control panel of this equipment, and the cloth is excluded from the process Reward what to do.
[0016]
【Example】
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 1 and 2 show a cloth fold device 10 installed together with a distributor 45. FIG.
[0017]
Washed cloths input in the preceding process are fed from the ironing device 50 called a roll ironer shown in FIG. 18 to the input unit 12 of the conveyor 11 of the folding device 10 through the conveying process. The conveyor 11 has a gentle slope from the front lower side to the rear upper side, and can be loaded at a low position. On the other hand, the front end portion in the transport direction is a folded portion 13, and after the folding, the conveyor conveyor 11 turns obliquely downward. The folding part 18 which cooperates with the folding conveyor 14 provided in the lower side is comprised. A stacking conveyor 15 is installed on the upper side of the transporting conveyor 11, and the leading end of the transporting conveyor 11 is configured so that the cloth hanging from the leading end of the transporting conveyor 11 and the cloth hanging from the leading end of the stacking conveyor 15 do not touch each other. It protrudes outward from the tip of 11.
[0018]
A folding knife 16 that moves toward the folding port for folding the cloth between the folding section 13 and the folding conveyor 14 of the conveyor 11 is provided as folding means, and the cloth that hangs down from the leading end of the conveyor The separating means 17 for separating the cloth hanging from the front end of the stacking conveyor is provided so as to be movable inward and outward. Here, the conveyor 1 4 and the folding knife 16 folded to the transport conveyor 11 constitutes the first folding unit 18 for folding a sheet of cloth (see Fig. 14), the overlapping conveyor 15 and conveyor 1 1 The folding conveyor 14 and the folding knife 16 constitute a second folding part 18-2 for overlapping folding (see FIG. 10). Reference numeral 19 denotes undulating guide means for sending cloths from the front stage of the conveyor to the lap conveyor.
[0019]
Which of the first folding part 18-1 and the second folding part 18-2 is to be operated is determined in advance according to the type and necessity of the cloth. Therefore, the 1st test | inspection part 20-1 is provided in the front | former stage of the conveyance process, and the 1st test | inspection part 20-1 has the length measurement means 21 which measures the conveyance direction length of cloth. As the length measuring means 21, a pulse generator that rotates in contact with the cloth in the conveying process and converts the shaft rotational speed into an electrical pulse signal is used as an encoder. In this case, the above length is an element that characterizes the cloth, and the length of the sheet is converted into the number of pulses, stored, and used.
[0020]
As another feature detection means applicable to the cloth in the conveyance process, a thickness determination unit 29 is provided. The thickness discriminating unit 29 moves in contact with the cloth in the conveying process like the length measuring unit, and can detect the thickness without contact with a sensor for detecting a change in the position of the vertical surface. The method of using sensors can be taken. As shown in FIG. 17, the output value obtained by the thickness discriminating unit 29 is output as the thickness 0 (zero), the thickness of one sheet, the thickness of two sheets, etc. Displayed, based on the output value, no change in the thickness of one sheet. Sheets, etc., two sheets in the middle, and changes in the middle of one sheet. If there is no change in the thickness, the envelope-shaped whole wrapping or the like is discriminated.
[0021]
For example, the number of pulses is set as follows.
1800 or less ......... Single bed sheets 1801 to 2000 ......... Semi-double bed sheets 2001 to 2200 ......... Double bed sheets 2201 or more ......... King size bed sheets This setting can be freely changed by the device controller And
[0022]
The second inspection unit 20-2 uses the video camera 22 in order to find defects that appear on the surface of the cloth being moved by the transport conveyor 11. The strip-shaped imaging region over the entire width of the cloth by the video camera is illuminated by the illumination unit 23, and the abnormality is discovered and analyzed by making the best use of the optical characteristics. FIG. 18 shows an outline of the principle and configuration. The contrast of the shooting location is improved by using the illumination and the dark color plate 24 in parallel, and the difference in reflectance for each color component is obtained by using a color camera. It can be discriminated whether there is (26) or a minor flaw such as a repaired part or a flaw (27). The flow of judgment is shown in FIG.
[0023]
In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 31 denotes a second folding conveyor that performs four foldings for the second folding. A second folding knife 32 that moves toward the folding opening is provided between the folding conveyor 14 and the second folding conveyor 31 that are located above and close to each other. The second folding conveyor 31 also serves as a conveyor for carrying out the folded product to the next process, and the folded product carried out is conveyed to the upper distributor via the cross folder 33 for the third folding.
[0024]
The cross folder section 33 is approximately 90 degrees different from the previous front-rear direction, and has a left-right transport path 34. Therefore, the third folding is performed in a direction orthogonal to the first and second folding directions. It will be folded. The cross folder section 33 has a knife 35 for folding the cloth into the folding slot, and performs the third folding on the cloth sent from the end conveyor 36 whose direction of the front end is changed. A method of feeding the feed conveyor 37 without performing the third folding can also be selected.
[0025]
The feed conveyor 37 extends from the bottom to the top and has an extending portion 38 that extends in the horizontal direction as it is, and has been folded into a distribution portion composed of several dropping portions 40-1 provided along the extending portion. Transport fabrics. Reference numeral 39 denotes a cloth holding conveyor for guided conveyance in the vertical direction. Each drop unit 40-1 has a double-opening support plate 43 (FIG. 3), and a stopper 42 for separating and dropping folded cloths at the stacking unit 41-1 under each open plate 41. It is also a place where distribution is performed at -1..., And the stacking portions 41-1 are provided in a part of the conveyor that sends out the cloth folded products according to type.
[0026]
In the conveying process of the apparatus, a plurality of sensors A are provided as means for detecting the characteristics, abnormality, or position of the cloth Z, respectively. Sensors A, D, and E are for length measurement, and sensors B, C, and F to O are for cloth position detection, but all sensors are also used for cloth Z monitoring. A canceling conveyor 44 is provided in the vicinity of the end of the main folding apparatus 10 in order to remove the cloth Z that has been found and removed from the process.
[0027]
In the fabric folding apparatus 10 according to the present invention configured as described above, when the fabric loaded on the conveyor 11 is a fabric to be overfolded, the fabric is overlapped by the guide means 19. It is guided upward (FIG. 6) and becomes the first cloth Z1. For the cloth, the inspection result of the thickness discriminating section 29 in the first inspection section 20-1 is used. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the cloth is a single piece, a frame-like piece, or an envelope shape. The type of cloth is determined. Based on the determination result, the type is determined, the different types are canceled from the conveyor 44, and the same type of cloth is sent to the distribution device 45 and distributed for each type of cloth.
[0028]
After the cloth Z1 moves forward and the sensor C at the leading end of the stacking conveyor is turned on, about one half of the first cloth Z1 hangs down from the leading end of the stacking conveyor based on the length measurement data from the sensor A. 15 stops and the guide means 19 falls (FIG. 7). Here, the separating means 17 moves to the outside near the first cloth Z1.
[0029]
Next, when the second cloth Z2 is put into the conveyor 11, the sensor B at the leading end of the conveyor is turned on via the length measuring sensor A (FIG. 8), and the second cloth Z2 is separated. It moves toward the inside of the means 17 and the tip of the second cloth Z2 hangs down from the tip of the conveyor 11 (FIG. 9). Furthermore, the overlap conveyor 15 is activated at the timing when the first cloth Z1 overlaps (outside) the second cloth Z2, and exactly calculated from the length measurement data of the two cloths Z1 and Z2. The half position is folded by the folding knife 16 toward the folding port of the second folding part 18-2 (FIG. 10).
[0030]
The cloth subjected to the overfolding is conveyed to the second folding section (FIG. 11), and is discharged to the distribution device 45 after the second folding (FIG. 12). During this time, the first inspection unit 20-1 detects an abnormality in the first cloth Z1 or the second cloth Z2 together with the length measurement as feature detection by the first inspection unit 20-1. It has been broken. The detection result by the first inspection unit 20-1 is sent to the distribution device 45, and the cloth is operated in response to the determination result of which one of the sheets is for a single bed to a king size bed, for example. The cloths that are stopped by the stoppers 42-1 and have the same size are distributed by size (see FIG. 20). The inspection result by the second inspection unit 20-2 is sent to the control panel 56, and at the same time, an alarm with an abnormality is notified to nearby workers by a notification means made of light or sound. As a result, abnormal cloth drops from the front end of the conveyor and is removed from the process, and is thrown onto the canceling conveyor 44. Then, it is confirmed whether the dirt requires re-washing and sent to the respective processing routes 47 and 48 (see FIG. 19).
[0031]
FIGS. 13 to 16 show a folding process in which folding is not repeated. The cloth Z goes straight on the conveyor 11 from the feeding section 12 and hangs down from the tip, and is divided into two parts based on the length measurement data. The folding knife 16 performs a folding operation with respect to the portion having the length of 1 and folding in half is performed (FIGS. 14 and 15). The folded fabrics transferred to the folding conveyor 14 are measured by the sensors D and E, and the second folding is performed by the second folding knife 32 on the basis of the data, and is sent to the next process in the folded state. After folding, the sheet is conveyed to the distributor 45 in the same manner as in the case of the overlap folding.
[0032]
FIG. 21 shows the entire structure of the above-described fold or distribution system. The cloth is exemplified as a sheet, and the work process is divided depending on whether the sheet is folded two times or only one sheet is folded. In the case of overlapping folding, only one stacking is shown, but this can be distributed for each size as described with reference to FIG.
[0033]
When making a bed with folded sheets, the two sheets overlap and fold, so treat the two sheets as a single sheet, expand it, set it on the bed, and place the chest on the upper sheet. It is sufficient to fold back the portion corresponding to, and the operation can be completed very easily (FIG. 22). On the other hand, in the past, the first sheet is first spread and set on the bed, then the second sheet is spread and set on the first sheet, and then the chest is touched by the chest of the sheet. It is necessary to fold back, and it takes time, and at the same time, there is a possibility that the method of setting the two sheets becomes uneven. Accordingly, the advantage of the present invention is not limited to the process reduction, but also contributes to the improvement of the customer service.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured and operates as described above, the cloths can be overlapped and folded at the same time, and can be distributed according to size. Can be folded, and in that case, it is possible to determine the type by inspecting the cloth by the first inspection unit, and to distribute the type for each type, and to the entire target cloth by the second inspection unit By inspecting the fabric, it is possible to detect abnormalities in the fabric, so it removes defects such as torn fabrics and dirt that become extremely difficult after repeated folding from the process. Only complete processed products can be provided, and the durability of the device is improved because the folding action is reduced by lap folding.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view showing an entire processing apparatus including a cloth folding apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a distribution device.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a stopper portion of the distribution device.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the stopper portion.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of each part of the operation related to the embodiment of the cloth folding apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the loading of the first piece of cloth into the apparatus for overfolding.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing sagging of the first piece of cloth.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the loading of a second piece of cloth.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing sagging of a second piece of cloth.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing overlap folding.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing conveyance and length measurement of the folded fabrics.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing the second folding of the folded fabrics.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the loading of cloth for folding one sheet.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing single folding.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing conveyance and length measurement of a single folded fabric.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing the second folding of a single folded fabric.
FIG. 17 is a principle explanatory view showing thickness determination in a first inspection unit.
FIG. 18A is a schematic diagram of a second inspection unit.
(B) Principle explanatory drawing which shows abnormality determination in the 2nd test | inspection part.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a second inspection unit.
FIG. 20 is a process diagram illustrating sorting according to the size of the fabric.
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a processing procedure in the present invention.
FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing a difference in bed making process due to a difference in fabrics.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cloth folding apparatus 11 Conveyor 14 Folding conveyor 15 Overlapping conveyor 16 Folding knife 17 Separation means 18-1 First folding part 18-2 Second folding part 19 Guide means 20-1 First inspection part 20-2 First 2 Inspection unit 25, 26, 27 Abnormality in cloth 29 Thickness determination unit 40-1, 40-2, 40-3, 40-4 Dropping unit 41-1, 41-2, 41-3, 41- 4 Stacking sections 42-1, 42-2, 42-3, 42-4 Stopper 44 Cancel conveyor 45 Distributor

Claims (5)

A transport conveyor that transports the cloth, a first folding section that folds one piece of cloth in the transport process including the transport conveyor, a second folding section that folds a plurality of cloths in the transport process, In order to determine which of the second folding sections to operate, the first inspection section that detects the characteristics of the cloth in the previous stage of the transport process, and tearing that becomes difficult after multiple sheets of cloth are folded and folded It has a second inspection section for detecting abnormalities in cloth such as dirt, and a section for separating folded cloth, and the cloth in which the abnormality is detected is removed from the process. Cloth folding device. The front end of the conveyer that conveys one piece of cloth is a folded portion that turns diagonally downward, and the overlap conveyor for conveying the cloth that overlaps one piece of cloth is located above and above the conveyer. Install the guide means to send the cloth from the conveyor to the stacking conveyor between the conveyor and the stacking conveyor, and install the folding conveyor at the folding part of the conveyor. In addition, a folding means for folding the cloth is provided between the folding section and the folding conveyor, and a separating means for separating the cloth hanging from the leading end of the conveyor and the cloth hanging from the leading end of the stacking conveyor is provided and transported. The first folding unit is configured by the conveyor, the folding conveyor, and the folding means. Second folding portion is constituted by write means further folded overlapping folding apparatus cloth according to claim 1, wherein the comprises a duty post for fractionation of cloth. The first inspection unit has a length measuring means for measuring the length of the cloth in the conveying direction, determines the size of the cloth based on the output value obtained by the length measuring means, and folds the cloth for folding. part or folded fabric piled folding apparatus cloth according to claim 1 or 2, wherein was set to control the operation of part plant for fractionation of compounds. The first inspection unit has means for discriminating the thickness of the fabric, specifies the type of the fabric based on the output value obtained by the thickness discrimination unit, and controls the operation of the folding unit and the like. The cloth folding apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The second inspection unit includes at least one video camera for photographing the cloth conveyed by the conveyance conveyor over the entire width, and a data processor for processing the imaged data, and output by the data processor. The cloth folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the result is displayed on the control panel, and the presence of abnormality is taught to the surroundings by a sensory notification means.

Images