US3005630A - Apparatus for folding bed sheets and like articles - Google Patents

Apparatus for folding bed sheets and like articles Download PDF

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Publication number
US3005630A
US3005630A US737644A US73764458A US3005630A US 3005630 A US3005630 A US 3005630A US 737644 A US737644 A US 737644A US 73764458 A US73764458 A US 73764458A US 3005630 A US3005630 A US 3005630A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
conveyor
article
articles
lifting
gripping
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US737644A
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English (en)
Inventor
Bergman Lars Olof
Malmstrom Magne Harry
Uden Bengt
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
TVATTBOLAGET I MALMO AB
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TVATTBOLAGET I MALMO AB
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Publication of US3005630A publication Critical patent/US3005630A/en
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Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F89/00—Apparatus for folding textile articles with or without stapling
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H45/00—Folding thin material
    • B65H45/02—Folding limp material without application of pressure to define or form crease lines
    • B65H45/04—Folding sheets
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H45/00—Folding thin material
    • B65H45/02—Folding limp material without application of pressure to define or form crease lines
    • B65H45/06—Folding webs
    • B65H45/10—Folding webs transversely
    • B65H45/101—Folding webs transversely in combination with laying, i.e. forming a zig-zag pile
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S493/00—Manufacturing container or tube from paper; or other manufacturing from a sheet or web
    • Y10S493/937—Textile

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a folding apparatus of the type used in laundries for folding bed sheets and other rectangular articles and usually associated with a roller in which the articles are rolled transversely so that they emerge from the roller with one longitudinal edge as the leading edge.
  • the folding apparatus has a belt conveyor on which it receives and forwards the articles, and lifting and gripping means arranged at said belt conveyor and adapted to lift the grip, respectively, and temporarily to retain the leading edge of for instance a bed sheet arriving on said conveyor.
  • said means are actuated by sensing means which senses the leading edge of the bed sheet and then the trailing edge thereof and which causes the gripping means to release the leading edge of the article so that it falls down onto and coincides with the trailing edge, whereby the bed sheet is thus folded into two equal parts.
  • the apparatus usually comprises two sets of lifting and gripping means arranged one after the other at the belt conveyor so that the bed sheets can be folded twice, that is to say into four equal parts.
  • the general object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for folding bed sheets and like articles, which apparatus is capable of folding in a part of any desired proportion e.g. a third of the width of the article.
  • Another object is to equip a folding apparatus having a belt conveyor and lifting and gripping means for folding in a leading portion of an article carried by the conveyor over another portion of said article, with sensing means for sensing the position of both the front and the back of the article relative to the gripping means during the folding operation and causing the gripping means to release its grip, letting down any desired portion of the article onto the portion of the article remaining on the conveyor.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 are side elevations of the folding apparatus which is inoperative in FIG. 1 and shown during a folding operation in FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 1A is a fragmentary side elevation showing modified operating means
  • FIGS. 3 and 4 are a longitudinal section and crosssection, respectively, of a group of pneumatic-electrical 3,fifi5,630 Patented Oct. 24, 1961 sensing means which can replace the mechanic-electrical sensing means shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
  • FIGS. 5 and 6 are a longitudinal section and a crosssection, respectively, of a group of pneumatic-electrical sensing means in another embodiment
  • FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the apparatus in FIGS. 1 and 2 equipped with blowing means for controlling the performance of the article which is being folded.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 show a horizontal belt conveyor 1 which is composed of several parallel belts running about common guide rollers.
  • lifting means 2 consisting of a number of parallel lifting fingers 3 which are secured to a common transverse shaft 4 which is mounted in the frame and provided with a lever 5 connected to an armature 6 of a solenoid 7.
  • the shaft 4 also has a counterweight 8 on an arm 9, and said counterweight is so dimensioned that when the solenoid 7 is deenergized it holds the fingers 3 swung to the position shown in FIG. 1 in which they are inclined obliquely upwardly and forwardly, as seen in the direction of transport of the conveyor, and project upwardly beyond the upper run of the conveyor between the individual belts thereof.
  • the solenoid When the solenoid is energized it pulls the armature 6 down, thus swinging the fingers 3 below the level of the conveyor, as is shown in FIG. 2.
  • gripping means 10 is mounted above the conveyor.
  • said gripping means '10 consists of a row of parallel fingers 11 on a common shaft 12 which is mounted on the frame of the apparatus and has a lever 13 coupled to an armature 14 of a solenoid 15.
  • the solenoid 15 When the solenoid 15 is deenergized the gripping fingers 11 hang obliquely down against the direction of transport, their free ends being approximately at a level with and very close to the free ends of the upwardly swung lifting fingers 3.
  • the solenoid When the solenoid is energized it pulls the armature 14 down, thus swinging the gripping fingers 11 upwards against an abutment in the form of a stationary bar 16 which is secured to a part S of the frame.
  • the two solenoids 7 and 15 are connected in parallel to a delaying relay 17 which in turn is coupled via two lines 18, 19 to a source of current 2 0.
  • the relay 17 has a contact 21 which closes with a certain delay after the supply circuit 18, 19 has been closed.
  • a contact 22 which is mounted above the conveyor adjacent the lifting means 2 and which is provided with a feeler 23 which hangs down between a pair of the conveyor belts, thus holding the contact 22 open as long as the conveyor is empty, but which is lifted by the leading edge of an article carried by said conveyor, thus closing the contact.
  • an article is shown which is designated 24 and assumed to be a bed sheet.
  • the delay of the relay 17 is so chosen that the leading edge of the bed sheet has time to travel upwards along the lifting fingers 3 and some distance onto the gripping fingers 11 before the relay is energized, and when this happens the gripping fingers are swung upwards, clamping the leading edge of the bed sheet against the abutment 16 while the lifting fingers are simultaneously swung downwards, leaving the path free so that a successively decreasing portion of the bed sheet can proceed unimpededly carried by said conveyor. This is the situation shown in FIG. 2.
  • a contact 31 of a relay 32 which opens the contact when it receives a current impulse.
  • the relay is connected to the source of current 20 by a circuit consisting of a pair of main lines 33, 34 and several branch lines 35, 36, 37, 38
  • the contacts of one group 35a38a connected to the main line 33 and mounted in a row ahead of the lifting and grippingmeans are closed when their feelers depend freely, and open when their feelers are raised by an article on the conveyor, while the opposite is true of the contacts in the other group 3 b-38b connected to the main line 34, which contacts are mounted in a row after the lifting and gripping means.
  • the contacts are symmetrically interconnected via the lines 3538 so that the first contact in'one group is connected to the last contact in the other group, etc.
  • a switch 39 is inserted in one main line 34 of the sensing system, and the novel sensing system can rapidly and conveniently be cut out by means of said switch so that the apparatus can be used for different kinds of folding alternately.
  • the lifting and gripping means can be operated by for instance pneumatic piston motors instead of by the solenoids 7 and 15 directly, the solenoids serving instead for the adjustment of valves which in turn control the function of the piston motors.
  • FIG. 1A For the gripping means this is shown in FIG. 1A where the solenoid is designated 15, the valve 15", the pneumatic piston motor 15 and its piston rod 14' which is connected to the lever 13.
  • the solenoid is designated 15, the valve 15", the pneumatic piston motor 15 and its piston rod 14' which is connected to the lever 13.
  • the lifting means the arrangement is similar.
  • FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, 6, respectively, illustrate a belt conveyor in partial longitudinal section and cross-section and a pneumatic-electric sensing means arranged at said conveyor.
  • the conveyor shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 consists of a plurality of belts 101 which are spaced apart laterally and run in parallel over a table 102.
  • An opening 103 is provided in said table 102 below one of the spaces between the belts.
  • microswitches 104 which like the switches 35-38 in FIGSpl and 2 are coupled to a source of current and relay means in order, when opened or closed, to initiate the desired movement of the lifting and gripping means of the apparatus.
  • Each contact has a light-weight actuating lever 105 which is swingable and spring-loaded so as to be held, in the absence of external forces, in the position shown by full lines in FIG. 4.
  • the arm 105 At its free end the arm 105 has a vane 106 which in said position lies approximately horizontally directly below the opening 103.
  • a tube 107 is shown above said opening 103 and is mounted in a manner not shown on the frame of the apparatus and connected to a source of air under pressure. At the underside the tube has a row of holes 108 which form blowing air nozzles directed each towards one of the vanes 106.
  • FIGS. 5 and 6 also show a conveyor which consists of a plurality of conveyor belts 111 which run over 'a table 112, and of arow of microswitches 114 each of which has an adjusting arm 115 which, in the absence of external forces, is held in the position shown by full lines in FIG. 6 by spring load and which is provided 'in the transport direction of the conveyor and projecting upwardly between a pair of belts 111 beyond the'level thereof.
  • a row of passages 118 lead from the upper side of said elongated portion 117a downwards into the box 117 directly above and in the direction each towards one of the vanes 116.
  • At one end the projecting portion is formed as a ramp 117b so that an article 119 arriving on the conveyor unimpededly slides up on said ramp.
  • a suction conduit 1170 Connected to the box 117 is a suction conduit 1170 through which as certain vacuum can be produced in the box, air being sucked through the passages 118.
  • Said passages thus serve as blowing air nozzles, and as long as they are open the air streams delivered by said nozzles hold the arms 115 of the microswitches swung downwardly.
  • an article 119 is advanced over the projecting portion 117a of the box, it successively covers the passages, and due to their spring load the arms 115 are swung upwards in order then to be swung down again by the air streams generated in the box according as the trailing edge of the article 119 uncovers the passages 118.
  • the group of sensing means shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 or FIGS. 5 and 6 is intended in the folding apparatus to sense the position of either the front or the trailing edge of the article, and its contacts are therefore connected in series with a second row of sensing means contacts which correspondingly sense the position of the opposite portion of the article so that a desired movement is initiated in dependence on the position of the article in relation to the gripping means.
  • the pneumatic-electric sensing means require more equipment than the mechanic-electric ones, viz. an air pump, they present the advantage that they do not touch the articles sensed so that the risk of damages on both the articles and the sensing means is diminished or entirely avoided.
  • FIG. 7 shows a part of FIG. 2 completed With a tube 51 secured to a portion S of the frame of the apparatus and extending across the conveyor in the immediate vicinity of the gripping means 11 and ahead thereof as seen in the direction of motion of the conveyor.
  • the tube 51 is to be connected to a conduit for air under pressure and has on one side a row of holes or nozzles 52 for blowing air against and through the space between the conveyor and the gripping means.
  • the tube may have a slot which delivers a coherent air veil.
  • the blowing device of course incorporates a valve which regulates the supply of air, and like the lifting and gripping means this valve can be controlled by sensing means sensing the position of the articles in order that the supply of air shall be shut off between the folding operations.
  • the device in question functions in such a way that the delivered air stream first stretches the front portion of the article which is held lifted away from the conveyor by the gripping means 11, and forms a bight thereof which is advanced under the gripping means, and then blows air in under the portion of the article retained by the gripping means so that this portion is held more or less suspended in the air and does not impede the advance of the portion lying on the conveyor.
  • the apparatus comprising a frame, a belt conveyor on said frame for successively receiving and transporting the articles, the combination of lifting and gripping means including a gripping member for temporarily retaining above said conveyor the leading edge of each article arriving thereon, means for operating said lifting and gripping means, first sensing means immediately ahead of said lifting and gripping means and connected to said operating means and actuated by the leading edge of said articles for causing the lifting and gripping means to grip and lift the leading edge of the article arriving thereat on the conveyor and then by the trailing edge of each article arriving thereat on the conveyor for causing said gripping member to drop the leading edge of each article on the trailing edge thereof, thus folding the article in halves and forming a fold as the lead portion of the folded article which moves past the lifting and gripping means in the folded condition, a plurality of second sensing means arranged in two groups, one ahead of and one after said lifting and gripping means, to be actuated by the trailing edge and by the
  • said second sensing means comprise electric contacts, and the two contacts in each of said pairs are adapted to be closed simultaneously by the trailing edge and the leading portion, respectively, of an article, and are connected in series
  • said operating means includes a relay connected in series with all contact pairs, and a solenoid controlled by the relay and adapted, when energized, to operate said gripping member for releasing the leading edge of the article.
  • said second sensing means comprise electric contacts, and the two contacts in each of said pairs are adapted to be closed simultaneously by the trailing edge and the leading portion, respectively, of an article, and are connected in series
  • said operating means includes a relay connected in series with all contact pairs, and a solenoid controlled by the relay, a pneumatic piston motor for operating said gripping member and a valve operable by said solenoid for controlling said pneumatic piston motor.
  • vanes are placed in a suction box adapted to be connected to a vacuum source, and said nozzles are passages leading into said suction box and having their inlet openings located in a plane in which the articles are transported, in order to be covered by the articles.
  • nozzle means placed above said conveyor just ahead of said gripping member to blow air forwardly in the direction of movement of said conveyor between said conveyor and said gripping member.
  • said nozzle means consists of a tube extending across said conveyor and having a row of nozzles in one side.
  • said nozzle means consists of a tube extending across said conveyor and having a slot in one side.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Supplying Of Containers To The Packaging Station (AREA)
  • Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
  • Feeding Of Articles By Means Other Than Belts Or Rollers (AREA)
US737644A 1957-05-31 1958-05-26 Apparatus for folding bed sheets and like articles Expired - Lifetime US3005630A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE357701X 1957-05-31
SE210158X 1958-01-21
SE160558X 1958-05-16

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3005630A true US3005630A (en) 1961-10-24

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ID=27354905

Family Applications (1)

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US737644A Expired - Lifetime US3005630A (en) 1957-05-31 1958-05-26 Apparatus for folding bed sheets and like articles

Country Status (6)

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US (1) US3005630A (en, 2012)
BE (1) BE568116A (en, 2012)
CH (1) CH357701A (en, 2012)
FR (1) FR1206995A (en, 2012)
GB (1) GB847031A (en, 2012)
NL (2) NL103108C (en, 2012)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3079143A (en) * 1961-06-02 1963-02-26 B M M F Bornholms Mejerimaskin Folding device for transverse folding laundry pieces behind laundry mangles and the like
US3116059A (en) * 1961-03-06 1963-12-31 Ejnar Jonsen Og Son I S Device for transvbersely folding laundry pieces
US3276768A (en) * 1964-06-19 1966-10-04 Broadbent & Sons Ltd Thomas Machines for folding laundry flatwork and the like
US3680852A (en) * 1970-04-24 1972-08-01 Chicago Dryer Co Folder construction
US4577451A (en) * 1983-05-23 1986-03-25 Carle & Montanari S.P.A. Device for detecting the presence of an article in the recesses of the feeding disc of a wrapping machine
FR2963794A1 (fr) * 2010-08-13 2012-02-17 Bevy Andre Michel Louis De Module de pliage transversal, machine de pliage et procede de pliage correspondants

Families Citing this family (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1135409B (de) * 1960-12-23 1962-08-30 Ejnar Jensen Og Son I S Faltvorrichtung
US3094321A (en) * 1961-01-31 1963-06-18 Chicago Dryer Co Folding apparatus
US3113772A (en) * 1962-09-24 1963-12-10 Mc Graw Edison Co Cross-folder control
DE1167786B (de) * 1963-03-02 1964-04-16 Kannegiesser & Co Maschinenfab Abwaelzfaltmaschine, insbesondere zum Querfalten von Waeschestuecken hinter Waeschemangeln
DE1225594B (de) * 1964-04-16 1966-09-29 Kleindienst & Co Abwaelzfaltvorrichtung zum Querfalten von Waeschestuecken od. dgl.
DE1225595B (de) * 1964-04-16 1966-09-29 Kleindienst & Co Abwaelzfaltvorrichtung zum Querfalten von Waeschestuecken od. dgl.
FR2625518B1 (fr) * 1987-12-31 1991-06-07 Dijon Ctre Hospitalier Regiona Dispositif de pliage et d'empilage de linge monte devant une calandre d'installation de sechage et de repassage de linge

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1819028A (en) * 1930-04-24 1931-08-18 Leo M Kahn Folding device
US1980532A (en) * 1930-05-03 1934-11-13 American Laundry Mach Co Folding machine
US2054426A (en) * 1930-07-08 1936-09-15 American Laundry Mach Co Folding machine
US2740627A (en) * 1950-09-06 1956-04-03 Baker Perkins Ltd Machines for folding sheets and like articles
US2815946A (en) * 1955-04-07 1957-12-10 Broadbent & Sons Ltd Thomas Folding machines for laundry use

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1819028A (en) * 1930-04-24 1931-08-18 Leo M Kahn Folding device
US1980532A (en) * 1930-05-03 1934-11-13 American Laundry Mach Co Folding machine
US2054426A (en) * 1930-07-08 1936-09-15 American Laundry Mach Co Folding machine
US2740627A (en) * 1950-09-06 1956-04-03 Baker Perkins Ltd Machines for folding sheets and like articles
US2815946A (en) * 1955-04-07 1957-12-10 Broadbent & Sons Ltd Thomas Folding machines for laundry use

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3116059A (en) * 1961-03-06 1963-12-31 Ejnar Jonsen Og Son I S Device for transvbersely folding laundry pieces
US3079143A (en) * 1961-06-02 1963-02-26 B M M F Bornholms Mejerimaskin Folding device for transverse folding laundry pieces behind laundry mangles and the like
US3276768A (en) * 1964-06-19 1966-10-04 Broadbent & Sons Ltd Thomas Machines for folding laundry flatwork and the like
US3680852A (en) * 1970-04-24 1972-08-01 Chicago Dryer Co Folder construction
US4577451A (en) * 1983-05-23 1986-03-25 Carle & Montanari S.P.A. Device for detecting the presence of an article in the recesses of the feeding disc of a wrapping machine
FR2963794A1 (fr) * 2010-08-13 2012-02-17 Bevy Andre Michel Louis De Module de pliage transversal, machine de pliage et procede de pliage correspondants
WO2012020137A3 (fr) * 2010-08-13 2013-06-06 De Bevy Andre Michel Louis Machine de pliage avec un dispositif de pliage transversal

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NL103108C (en, 2012)
CH357701A (de) 1961-10-31
FR1206995A (fr) 1960-02-12
NL228223A (en, 2012)
GB847031A (en) 1960-09-07
BE568116A (en, 2012)

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