JPH0410840B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a folding device for cloth towels, cloth towels, etc., and in particular, a device for folding cloth towels in a dry state and a wet state into an appropriate size. This invention relates to a device for folding wet towels and the like.

(Prior art and its problems) Conventionally, washed bulky cloth wet towels are manually folded in a moist state and then inserted and packaged in a bag, but this poses problems in terms of hygiene and efficiency. It is something that occurs.

Flat-folded cloth towels are generally considered a luxury item, but they are not mechanized. Since the cloth wet towels have a bulky volume, when rolled, the volume becomes too large, making them unsuitable for roll-wrapping and also losing the luxury appearance, so flat-fold packaging is desired. It is something that

In winter, it is painful to manually fold wet towels all day long.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, in view of the problems related to the present invention, it is possible to continuously, automatically and quickly fold bulky high-grade cloth wet towels in a dry state and a moist state. A receiving table consisting of a comb-shaped frame fixed to the machine frame is provided for the purpose of sequentially transferring cloth towels that are arranged and continuously supplied to the subsequent process, and is placed next to the receiving table so as not to touch the receiving table. The wet towels are sequentially transferred to the folding process section position by rotating an elevating and lowering conveying table, which is made of a comb-shaped frame and is capable of moving upward, forward, downward, and backward.

In the next step, a vertical folding table consisting of a comb-shaped frame supported by a hinge is used to fold approximately 120 mm of the vertical folding table in half in the direction of travel, starting from the approximately central position in the vertical direction.
After being folded in half by rotation, the paper is sequentially transferred, and then folded in thirds from both ends toward the center in a horizontally opposed manner using an opposing folding table installed in the next process, and then transferred to the next process. After folding the towels in half using a horizontal folding table device provided to fold the towels horizontally in half, the continuously folded cloth towels are sequentially transferred and supplied to the packaging machine via an output conveyor and a delivery conveyor. Because of this, it is intended to be self-driving.

(Example) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of an apparatus for implementing the present invention.

The folding process of the bulky cloth wet towel in a wet state will be described in detail. (In the following explanation, cloth wet towels in a dry state and a wet state will be referred to as wet towels.) First, there is a receiving table 6 made of a comb-shaped frame fixed to the machine frame, and a cloth towel that moves up and down, back and forth, etc. without touching the receiving table. Wet towels A-1 are continuously placed at regular intervals by a device (not shown) at appropriate positions on each of the receiving tables 6 and the surface of the up-and-down conveyance table 1, which has an elevating conveyance table 1 made of a comb-shaped frame. The implementation of the present invention will be described in order of steps, starting from the parts supplied by a device (not shown) for aligning and supplying them to one position.

First, towel A is placed on the receiving table 6.
-1 is lifted up from above the surface of the receiving table 6, and placed and held on the surface of the vertical conveyance table 1, and the vertical conveyance table 1 is moved forward from the A-1 position, and the vertical conveyance table 1 is moved forward from the A-1 position. At the 2nd position, the towel is appropriately lowered from the receiving table surface, and the wet towel is placed substantially on the receiving table surface at the A-2 position, and the elevating and lowering conveyance table 1 moves backward to return to its original position.

At the A-2 position, there is a vertical folding table 2 that is placed for the purpose of folding in half starting from the center position in the direction of travel, so the towel A-2 takes up approximately half the area and is placed on the table surface. The other approximately half area is placed on the surface of the vertical folding table 2, and the vertical folding table 2 is made of a comb-shaped frame that does not touch the lifting conveyance table 1,
The comb-shaped frame is pivoted and hinged so that it can be rotated approximately half a turn and reversed approximately 120 degrees toward the front in FIG. , the wet towel A-2 is rotated approximately 120 degrees and a half from the hinged portion located at the center of approximately half the area, and then reversed and returned to the original position. Wet towel A-
2 is folded in half starting from the center and placed on the receiving table surface.The wet towel at the A-2 position is raised by the operation of the elevating conveyance table 1 and is placed on the receiving table 6 from above. 2 is appropriately lifted up and moved forward to the A-3 position, and the elevating and lowering conveying table 1 is lowered and transferred to the A-3 position, after which it is moved backward and returned to the original position.

At the A-3 position, opposing folding tables 3, 3 made of comb-shaped frames supported by hinges are arranged facing each other and driven by a drive unit to be described later. The leading and trailing ends of the four-divided parts are rotated approximately 120 degrees facing each other toward the respective center positions, and returned to the original position of reversal. At the same time, the robot lifts and rotates approximately 120 degrees by driving a drive unit, which will be described later, and then returns to its original position.

After the wet towel A-3 is laterally opposed from both ends toward the center and folded back, the elevating transfer table 1 is lifted up from above the surface of the receiving table 6 at the A-3 position by the operation of the elevating transfer table 1. After moving forward and conveying the wet towel A-3 to the A-4 position and holding it at the A-4 position, the elevating conveyance table 1 descends and returns to its original position.

The horizontal folding table 4 has a comb-shaped frame so as not to come into contact with the elevating conveyance table 1.

The wet towel A-4 consists of a comb-shaped frame supported by a screw shaft, and is designed to be reversed horizontally by approximately 120 degrees and a half rotation. -4 position, the horizontal folding table 4 is rotated approximately 120 degrees and a half by being driven by a drive unit to be described later, and the wet towel A-4 is halved starting from the horizontal center. The horizontally folding table 4 is reversed and returned to its original position.

The wet towel that has been folded into the above state is
By the operation of the elevating conveyance table 1, it moves upward and forward at the A-3 position on the receiving table surface, moves to the A-4 position, descends, delivers the wet towel at the A-4 position, and then moves backward to return to its original position. .

At the A-4 position, the wet towel A-4 is placed at approximately half the area of each table of the horizontally foldable table 4 and the receiving table 6, which are made of a comb-shaped frame, and the horizontally foldable table 4 is moved up and down. It consists of a comb-shaped frame so as not to touch the table 1, and is hinged and pivoted so that it can rotate approximately 120 degrees.It is configured to rotate approximately 120 degrees and return to the original position when driven by a drive unit, which will be described later. Therefore, due to the operation of the horizontal folding table 4, the wet towel A-4
is to be folded into two on the 6th surface of the receiving table starting from the approximate center.

The folded towel A-4 is placed on the receiving table 6.
It is lifted from above by the elevating conveyance table 1, placed on the elevating conveyance table 1, and moved to the A-5 position.
The conveyor 5 consists of a plurality of grooved rollers formed so as not to touch each other and arranged opposite to each other, and small grooves are formed in the convex protrusions of the grooved rollers, and a plurality of round belts are suspended in the small grooves and rotated continuously. This is a moving conveyor 5.

Since the carry-out conveyor 5 rotates at a suitably slow speed, the lift conveyor table 1 descends and passes the wet towel A-5 onto the carry-out conveyor 5, and the lift conveyor table 1 moves backward and returns to its original position. I'm going home. The wet towel A-5 is transferred to section 7 of the transfer conveyor by rotation of the carry-out conveyor. The delivery conveyor 7 is made of grooved rollers so as not to come into contact with the delivery conveyor 5, and the grooved rollers are arranged opposite to each other, a small groove is formed on the convex surface of the grooved roller, and a plurality of endless round belts are hung around, and the delivery conveyor 7 is moved from the delivery conveyor 5 as appropriate. Because it is being rotated quickly, the transfer conveyor 7 is rotated appropriately and quickly in order to transfer the wet towels coming from the carry-out conveyor 5 to the desired position on the conveyor for introducing and supplying to the packaging machine in the subsequent process (not shown) in the desired shape. Place it and feed it to the packaging machine.

In this explanation, the operation at each position is explained, but originally each device sequentially feeds and folds the wet towels one after another. Further, each device has a comb-shaped frame, and each device operates in a state where they are not in contact with each other.

Hereinafter, the driving parts of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. 2, which shows the main parts.

First, the electric motor 13 is controlled by a control section (not shown) so that it rotates in synchronization with the speed at which wet towels are supplied from the previous process. Transmission is performed by a chain to the counter shafts 14 and 9 arranged oppositely,
The structure is such that one rotation of the counter shafts 14 and 9 corresponds to one reciprocating operation of each step. In the diagrams shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the elevating conveyance table 1 first moves forward by rising above the surface of the receiving table 6 in order to sequentially transfer the wet towels in the above-mentioned operation, and then descends below the surface of the receiving table. Elevating and descending conveyance table receiving rotors 23 and 23 are provided to hold the elevating and descending conveyance table 1, which is made of a comb-shaped frame configured to move backward and return to its original position, in order to move it back and forth.

A guide roller 10 is moved back and forth by the rotation of a crank wheel-shaped back and forth lever 12 fixed to the end of a counter shaft 9 provided to move the elevating conveyance table 1 back and forth. A rod is attached to and interlocked with a suitable position on the table 1, and one rotation of the counter shaft 9 makes one reciprocation.

Note that in this description, "front and back" refers to the direction in which the towel moves.

The rotation of the lifting cam 11 fixed to the approximate ends of each of the counter shafts 14 and 9 is controlled by a receiving roller 21 at the end of the shaft inserted into the lifting cradle 22 fixed to the machine frame and having a built-in slide bearing. An elevating and lowering conveyance table receiving roller 23 is provided at the other end, and the elevating and lowering conveyance table 1 is held and arranged to be raised and lowered.

The movement of the vertical folding table 2 will be described in detail. The main table 2 shown in Figs. 2 and 4 is comb-shaped so as not to come into contact with the elevating conveyance table 1 under any circumstances, and after being raised to a suitable position by hinge-supporting, it is rotated approximately 120 degrees and returned to its original position. The vertical folding table 2 is hingedly supported at the end of an arm 30 which is provided to be able to reverse and lower by the rotation of the elevating cam 28 and the crank-like eccentric rotation of the folding lever 29.

The other end is rotatably supported by a bearing fixed to the machine frame to form the arm 30, and this operation is performed by rotating the counter shaft 9 once in order to move once when the counter shaft 9 rotates once. The vertical folding cam 16 is fixed, a rotatable roller is provided on a lever that pivotally supports the rotation of the counter shaft 9 at the shaft end, and the lever is brought into contact with the vertical folding cam 16, and a chain is fixed to the other end. The lifting cam 2 is attached to the machine frame in the rear direction and is suspended from a rotatably driven chain wheel.
The chain was hung from a chain foil fixed to the end of the shaft to which the 8-fold lever 29 was attached by changing the direction through a universal joint (a chain joint that changes the direction of the chain by 180 degrees), and the end was tensioned appropriately. The vertical folding table 2 is held by a spring and is moved by the rotation of the chain. The opposing folding table 3 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 is made up of a plurality of approximately 170-degree semicircular plates assembled in a comb shape at appropriate intervals and fixed to a movable shaft. .

Appropriate comb-like intervals are those that are assembled and fixed at intervals that do not come into contact with the elevating and lowering conveyance table 1 installed side by side in any case.

Each of the opposing folding tables 3, 3 is arranged at the front and rear in the direction in which the wet towel advances, and a receiving table 6 fixed to the machine frame is provided at the center position.

The opposing folding tables 3, 3 have a horizontal folding table 4 provided in the subsequent process arranged at a gap position in the pitch length of the vertical movement of the elevating conveyance table 1. The horizontal folding tables 4 should operate at the same time.
Lateral folding cam 17 consisting of cams having the same starting point
This rotation is achieved by driving a toothed pulley, which is rotatably fixed to the machine frame via a rotary arm, to swing back and forth.

The opposing folding tables 3, 3 and the horizontal folding table 4 are fixed to the machine frame and are hinged to a bearing stand that is movable to a suitable position, and the shaft end of each table 3, 3, 4 is A toothed pulley 25 is fixed to the table 3, 3, 4, and an endless toothed belt is suspended between each table 3, 3, 4 and the driving toothed pulley. While moving upward (transferring wet towels), it stops in a horizontal position.

When the elevating conveyance table 1 descends and moves backward, the tables 3, 3, 4 rotate approximately 120 degrees, reversely rotate, and return to their original positions by operating transverse folding cams.

The distance between the opposing folding tables 3, 3 can be determined by rotating the handle shown in the diagram to move the bearing pedestal to a dimensional position that matches the size of the wet towel. In addition, the receiving table 6 consisting of a fixed table in the center position and the opposing folding table 3, the wet towels folded in two lengthwise in the previous process on the 3 sides are transferred and aligned by rotation of the elevating conveyance table 1. After placing the wet towel, the opposing folding tables 3, 3 simultaneously pick up both ends of the wet towel and invert and fold it toward the center, and the opposing folding tables 3, 3
The wet towel is arranged and configured to be rotated 120 degrees and folded at position A-3 in FIG. 1 as described above.

The facingly folded wet towels are transferred from the A-3 position to the A-4 position by rotation of the lifting conveyance table 1, and approximately half the area is aligned on the horizontal folding table 4, and the other half area is placed on the receiving table 6. When the elevating conveyance table 1 moves downward and backward, the horizontal folding cam 17 rotates, so that the horizontal folding table 4 is approximately
The wet towel is rotated 120 degrees and folded in half from approximately the center, and then rotated approximately 120 degrees in the opposite direction to return to the original position and while stopped, the lifting conveyance table 1 is rotated to transfer the wet towel to the A-5 position. It is something. 6th
At position A-5 in the figure, small grooves are formed on the convex surfaces of rollers consisting of a plurality of opposing grooves on each of the continuously rotating unloading conveyor 5 and delivery conveyor 7 that are rotatably pivoted to the machine frame. A plurality of endless round belts are suspended in the small grooves, and the plurality of grooves are formed in such a shape that they do not touch the rotation of the elevating conveyance table 1 in any case.

The carry-out conveyor 5 is arranged at the same surface height as the surface of the receiving table 6 so that the wet towels can be transferred appropriately, and the drive of the counter shaft 20 is set to the 5-axis end of the conveyor so that it rotates at approximately the transfer speed of the elevating conveyor table 1. The power is transmitted to the driving wheels 26 provided in the.

Further, the delivery conveyor 7 has a driving wheel 27 fixed to the shaft end of the delivery conveyor 5 and the delivery conveyor 7.
It is designed to rotate at a faster speed than the delivery conveyor 5 via a belt suspended between driving wheels 27 fixed to the shaft end.

When the wet towels are arranged on the carry-out conveyor 5, the wet towels are transferred to the transfer conveyor 7 section at the rotating speed of the carry-out conveyor 5. The delivery conveyor 7 is rotated at a suitably fast speed in order to transfer the folded towels in line to a packaging machine entrance conveyor for the purpose of supplying to packaging parts (not shown) provided at appropriate positions on the lower surface.
are arranged and configured.

Note that the horizontal folding cam 17 and the vertical folding cam 16, which will be described later, have a cam shape so that the operating speed (each vertical folding table, the opposing folding table, and the horizontal folding table) does not change due to the rotation of the drive unit. The cam has a shape that causes the small-diameter circumference (small-diameter ring) to move more rapidly than the outer circumference (large-diameter ring) due to the tension of the spring, so that the driving speed does not change. The folding tables 2, 3, and 4 are constantly operated at appropriate speeds to fold and rotate.

In addition, in the embodiment, each folding table 2,
3, 3, 4, etc., and the number of folds, etc., can be changed as appropriate for wet towels, towels, etc., and the device for folding towels, etc., which is the object of the present invention, can be folded depending on the shape, size, etc. The number of folds, the folding shape, etc. of the folding device for wet towels or the like can be arbitrarily configured.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention provides a hinge-supported comb which is provided to sequentially transfer and fold the wet towels by rotating the elevating conveyance table for the purpose of sequentially transferring the wet towels on the receiving table surface. The shaped frame is rotated approximately 120 degrees from a substantially central position in the direction of travel of the wet towel, and then reversed to the original position, and by the operation of the vertical folding table provided for the purpose of vertically folding the wet towel, An opposing folding system consisting of comb-shaped frames arranged opposite to each other with hinged shafts provided to fold the wet towel vertically in two, sequentially transport the folded wet towel by rotation of an elevating conveyance table, and fold the wet towel horizontally. By operating the opposing folding table for the purpose of folding the towel, the towel is rotated horizontally by approximately 120 degrees in opposite directions from both ends, and then reversed to its original position. The wet towels are folded in half again by the operation of a horizontal folding table, which is made of a hinged comb-shaped frame and is provided to sequentially fold the wet towels by rotating the lifting conveyance table, and whose purpose is to fold the wet towels laterally from the center position. It is something. Furthermore, the wet towels that were subsequently supplied were also folded into half in the vertical direction, and then further folded into thirds with both horizontally opposing ends toward the center, and then folded into half in the horizontal direction from approximately the center position. The wet towels are conveyed by a carrying-out conveyor, in which a plurality of endless round belts are suspended, and a plurality of endless round belts are arranged to sequentially rotate the lifting and lowering conveyance table and cylindrical grooved rollers are disposed to face each other, and a small groove is formed in the convex protrusion of each grooved roller. A device for folding wet towels, etc., which is provided with a conveyor and is configured to sequentially supply the folded wet towels to a packaging section by rotation of the carry-out conveyor and the delivery conveyor. Therefore, conventional manual folding requires a lot of labor and is not good in terms of hygiene.Especially in winter, it is painful to manually fold wet towels all day long. Since automatic folding is carried out in a continuous and sequential manner, which was considered difficult in the past, hygienic folding is performed without the use of human hands, and there is no disturbance of the folded towels when passing them on to the next process, and the packaging process is completed. Since it has an automated configuration that supplies the material non-stop, it has truly remarkable effects such as labor saving, high efficiency, extremely low processing costs, and great economic effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing approximately the entire structure of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entirety of the present invention, with main parts cut away. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the elevating conveyance table and its drive unit. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the vertical folding table and its drive unit. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the opposing folding table, the lateral folding table, and the drive unit thereof. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the carry-out conveyor, the delivery conveyor, and their driving parts. A-1 is the first step or the wet towel of the first step. A
-2 is the second step or the wet towel of the second step. A-3
is the third step or the towel of the third step. A-4 is the fourth step or the wet towel of the fourth step. A-5 is the 5th step or the wet towel of the 5th step. 1... Lifting conveyance table, 2... Vertical folding table, 3... Opposing folding table, 4... Horizontal folding table, 5... Carrying out conveyor, 6... Receiving table, 7... Delivery conveyor, 8... ... Synchronizer, 9 ... Counter shaft, 10 ... Guide roller, 11 ... Lifting cam, 12 ... Back-and-forth movement lever, 13 ... Motor, 14 ... Counter shaft,
15...Rot, 16...Vertical folding cam, 17
... Lateral folding cam, 18 ... Bearing stand, 19 ...
Belt, 20...Counter shaft, 21...Receiving roller, 22...Elevating pedestal, 23...Elevating conveyance table receiving roller, 24...Toothed belt, 25
...Toothed pulley, 26...Driving wheel, 27...Driving wheel,
28... Lifting cam, 29... Folding lever, 30...
...Arm, 31...Handle, 32...Chain,
33...Spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The lifting and lowering conveyance table for the purpose of sequentially transferring the wet towels on the receiving table surface rotates, and the hinge-supported comb-shaped frame provided for sequentially transferring and folding the wet towels is moved in the direction of movement of the wet towels. After rotating approximately 120 degrees from the approximately center position, it is reversed to the original position,
By operating the vertical folding table provided for the purpose of vertically folding the wet towel, the wet towel is folded vertically into two folds, and the folded wet towel is sequentially transferred by rotation of the elevating conveyance table to be folded horizontally. By actuating the opposing folding table, which is made of a comb-shaped frame arranged opposite to a hinged shaft support provided for folding,
The wet towel is rotated horizontally by approximately 120 degrees from both ends, and then reversed to its original position, so that the wet towel is folded into a three-fold shape from both ends. It is folded in half again by the operation of a transverse folding table, which is composed of a comb-shaped frame supported by hinges and provided for successive folding, and whose purpose is to fold from a central position in the transverse direction. Furthermore, the wet towels that were subsequently supplied were also folded into half in the vertical direction, and then further folded into thirds with both horizontally opposing ends toward the center, and then folded into half in the horizontal direction from approximately the center position. The wet towels are conveyed by a carrying-out conveyor, in which a plurality of endless round belts are suspended, and a plurality of endless round belts are arranged to sequentially rotate the lifting and lowering conveyance table and cylindrical grooved rollers are disposed to face each other, and a small groove is formed in the convex protrusion of each grooved roller. A device for folding wet towels, etc., which is provided with a conveyor and is configured to sequentially supply the folded wet towels to a packaging section by rotation of the carry-out conveyor and the delivery conveyor.