WO2005038121A2

WO2005038121A2 - Method and device for supplying laundry items to a laundry processing device

Info

Publication number: WO2005038121A2
Application number: PCT/EP2004/011324
Authority: WO
Inventors: Engelbert Heinz; Lars Herzog; Friedhelm Mehrhoff
Original assignee: Herbert Kannegiesser Gmbh
Priority date: 2003-10-17
Filing date: 2004-10-09
Publication date: 2005-04-28
Also published as: EP1678367A2; DE10349018A1; WO2005038121A3

Abstract

Laundry items (10) are stretched out and centered in the middle by an input conveyor (12), e.g. a mangle. The items of washing (10) are transported to a spreading device (17) by means of a supply conveyor (11). Said spreading device transfers the laundry items (10) to an input conveyor (12). Known devices (input devices) are not able to supply laundry items (10) to the mangle in such a way that the full potential of high-performance mangles is used and mangles can mangle the laundry items (10) with the high degree of quality required. According to the invention, the supply conveyor (11) is provided with a triangular-shaped conveying surface and is formed by two superposed conveyors between which the respective laundry item (10) can be stretched out. As a result, the laundry item (10) can be transferred to the spreading device (17) in a stretched out state.

Description

Method and device for feeding laundry items to a laundry treatment device

description

The invention relates to a method for feeding laundry items to a laundry treatment device according to the preambles of claims 1, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. Furthermore, the invention relates to devices for feeding laundry items to a laundry treatment device according to the preambles of claims 13. 19, 21, 23 and 25 respectively.

Items of laundry are stretched out and centered by an input requestor for a laundry treatment device, for example a mangle. The laundry items are stretched out and centered automatically so that enough laundry items can be fed in order to be able to utilize the performance of the laundry treatment device as fully as possible. Such an efficient input must, however, also take place in such a way that the laundry items can be processed, for example ironed, in high quality by the laundry treatment device. Finally, the items of laundry must be entered into the ironer in such a way that they leave the laundry treatment device with the front edge aligned and centered in relation to the respective web on which the treatment is taking place, so that they can then be folded exactly by machine. Known methods and devices of this type either only partially or insufficiently meet the requirements mentioned.

The invention has for its object to provide methods and devices for the rapid feeding of laundry items to a laundry treatment device, which allow the necessary conditions for a high quality treatment and in particular further processing of the laundry items.

A method for solving this problem has the measures of claim 1. Accordingly, it is provided that the respective laundry item is spread out from the feed conveyor, for which purpose the feed conveyor has a triangular top conveyor and a triangular bottom conveyor. Between the mutually facing strands of both triangular conveyors, the feed conveyor spreads the item of laundry during the further transfer. ports in the input direction. Due to the spreading of the laundry article ^'from the feed conveyor can further handling, and in particular the further transport of the garment, quicker and done especially precise.

5 According to a preferred embodiment of the method, the two superposed conveyors of the feed conveyor ensure that the item of laundry is moved both in the input direction and transversely or at least at an angle to it. Overall, there is a divergent movement of the laundry item in the input direction, which leads to the laundry item spreading out in the input direction. The divergent movement of the

10 items of laundry come about because, due to the triangular design of the conveyors, their two edges run obliquely to the main conveying direction (input direction), and in opposite directions to one another, so that the edges of the conveyors diverge in the input direction, whereby the feed conveyor widens in the input direction.

It is further provided that the movement of the item of laundry diverging in the input direction is initially carried out at a higher speed than the conveying speed of the feed conveyor, which supports the lateral spreading of the item of laundry and takes place very quickly. After spreading out the laundry

20 there is no longer any divergent movement of the laundry item in the input direction. This avoids that after the item of laundry has been spread out there is no excessive transverse stretching leading to folds.

A further method for solving the problem mentioned at the outset, which may also be a preferred development of the method described above, has the measures of claim 4. Accordingly, an upper edge region of the stretched laundry item is placed directly on the input requester. As a result, the previously usual placing of the upper area of the item of laundry onto a depositing bar which is movable in the input direction and which only places the upper edge area of the item of laundry on the requesting device can be dispensed with. According to the method according to the invention, the intermediate step of placing the upper edge of the item of laundry on the laying bar can thus be omitted. Rather, the upper edge area of the item of laundry is deposited directly on the input device. This direct transfer of the item of laundry to the requestor can be done more quickly and, above all, more easily. The upper edge section of the item of laundry is preferably deposited pneumatically by, for example, inflation on the input requester.

A further method for solving the above-mentioned object, which may be a preferred development of the methods described above, has the measures of claim 6. Accordingly, the operator is given a signal in front of the feed conveyor when a subsequent item of laundry can be fed to the feed conveyor depending on the treatment speed of the laundry treatment device. This is based on the knowledge that the conveying speed of the feed conveyor is higher than the treating speed of the laundry treatment device. The operator can therefore not see whether the previous item of laundry has been input into the laundry treatment device behind the feed conveyor. In such a case, if the operator would feed a new item of laundry to the front of the feed conveyor immediately after it became free, this could result in inadmissible overlapping of several items of laundry behind the feed conveyor. Such overlaps are avoided by the method according to the invention, in that the operator is only given a signal for placing a new item of laundry on the feed conveyor when, based on the measured treatment speed of the laundry treatment device, it is certain that successive items of laundry can no longer converge behind the feed conveyor.

A further method for solving the problem mentioned at the outset, which can also be a further development of the methods described above, has the measures of claim 8. Accordingly, the side edge position of the respective item of laundry is determined in at least one spreading clamp after the gripping process. Due to various effects, the spreading clamps can catch the upper edge area of the item of laundry with more or less close proximity to the lateral position. As a result, the side edges of the item of laundry can be in the brackets to different degrees. The result is that the respective item of laundry is not held exactly in the middle between the spreading clamps. When the item of laundry is subsequently centered with respect to the center of the input conveyor or the center of a path of the input conveyor, the spreading clamps are dependent on the positions. If the laundry were held a little off-center between the spreading clamps, one would be exact centering of the item of laundry not possible. The method according to the invention detects an off-center offset of the laundry item with respect to the spreading clips and takes this into account when centering or centering the laundry item, so that the respective laundry item is always exactly centered, even if it (slightly) hangs off-center between the spreading clips.

The position of at least one edge or corner region of the item of laundry is preferably determined in one or both spreading clamps by a length measuring element assigned to at least one spreading clamp. This determines how far the longitudinal edge of the item of laundry dips into the at least one spreading clamp. The or each length measuring element expediently extends parallel to a (horizontal) connecting line between the adjacent spreading clamps, so that the respective length measuring element determines a dimension that runs transversely to the direction in which the item of laundry is input. This dimension preferably extends over the entire clamping length of at least one spreading clamp.

A further method for solving the problem mentioned at the outset, which may also be a preferred development of at least one of the methods described above, has the measures of claim 10. According to this, it is provided that, depending on the spacing of the spreading clamps when catching the item of laundry, the spacing of the spreading clamps is determined when the item of laundry is almost stretched. This is based on the knowledge that larger, preferably wider, items of laundry can and must have a greater minimum (central) sag than smaller (narrower) items of laundry. If a wide item of laundry is to be taken over by the spreading clamps, they are at a greater distance when the item of laundry is caught. This indicates a larger item of laundry that must have a larger minimum sag. The minimum sag increases proportionally with the size of the laundry. On the basis of the determined size of the item of laundry that has not yet been fully spread, the spreading clamps can then be moved apart at a relatively high speed until the permissible minimum sag of the upper edge of the item of laundry is reached. As a result, the item of laundry can be quickly spread out while protecting it as much as possible. Previously customary sensors for determining the sag of the upper edge of the item of laundry can thus be dispensed with. Another method for solving the problem mentioned at the outset, which may also be a preferred development of the methods described above, has the measures of claim 12. Accordingly, it is provided that a clamping bar, which is used to hold the lower portion of the item of laundry when transferring the same to the input requester, is kept closed when the upper edge region is transferred to the input requester, and preferably shortly thereafter. As a result, the item of laundry remains held by the clamping bar not only during the transfer of the upper edge region of the item of laundry to the input device, but also for a time after the upper edge area of the item of laundry has been placed on the rotating input device. As a result, the front edge of the item of laundry is stretched in the input direction by the person requesting it, as a result of which the area of the front edge of the item of laundry is straightened, smoothed and any folded-over corners or front edge areas are stripped out. In this way, the item of laundry is placed particularly precisely and evenly on the input requester.

A device for achieving the object on which the invention is based has the features of claim 13. In this device, the feed conveyor is formed from a lower conveyor and an upper conveyor, both of which have essentially triangular transport surfaces. The transport surfaces formed by mutually directed strands of the conveyors lie opposite one another, so that the item of laundry to be fed to the treatment device can be transported between the transport surfaces. Due to the triangular shape of the transport surfaces, the item of laundry is simultaneously spread out laterally in the direction of input. The device therefore not only takes on the further transport of the item of laundry in the input direction, but also the spreading out of the item of laundry, as a result of which the operator does not have to insert the item of laundry into the feed conveyor when it is spread out.

In a preferred device it is provided that the lower conveyor is assigned a central depositing section. The upper conveyor does not have such a storage section, so that the storage section of the lower conveyor is not covered by the upper conveyor. The operator can therefore place the piece of laundry in the unfolded state on the laying section of the lower conveyor without the upper conveyor hindering the operator. When transporting the This item of laundry passes over the deposit section between the upper and lower conveyors, from which the item of laundry is laterally stripped out in the direction of input during further transport.

According to a preferred development of the device, opposing, inclined edges of the two triangular conveyors are associated with brush belts which can be driven all around. At each inclined edge of the feed conveyor there are therefore upper and lower brush belts which can engage on opposite sides of the item of laundry. The synchronously running brush belts can preferably be driven at different speeds. First, the brush belts are driven at a relatively high speed, which is greater than the input speed of the feed conveyor. As a result, the item of laundry is very quickly stretched sideways. In this way, the piece of laundry is largely stretched apart before the front edge thereof leaves the feed conveyor. After the item of clothing has been slipped out sideways, the speed of the brush belts is reduced in such a way that they do not exert any significant or only slight lateral tensile forces on the item of clothing, in particular do not move over the items of laundry with slippage, as a result of which the item of clothing is not stretched out excessively to the side , which could lead to cross folds. Rather, the brushes of the brush belts exert a uniform force against the feed direction on the rear edge of the laundry in this state, which leads to a smooth streaking of the rear edge and the rear corners of the item of laundry, which has a decisive influence on the quality of the subsequent treatment steps, that is to say, improves.

It is also provided that the upper conveyor is designed to be movable relative to the lower conveyor. The upper conveyor can preferably be pivoted with respect to the lower conveyor, so that the distance between the strands of the conveyors facing one another can be changed at least partially. This makes it possible to adjust the distance of the conveyors to the type of laundry. It is also preferably provided that the pressing force of the upper conveyor caused by the weight of the upper conveyor on the lower conveyor and thereby the pressing force which the conveyors exert on the item of laundry can be varied. For this purpose, provision can be made, for example, to apply a force to the upper conveyor in the upward-pivoting sense, but this force is smaller than the weight of the upper one Conveyor so that the upper conveyor is supported but not lifted from the lower conveyor. In this way, the pressing force of the laundry item between the superimposed conveyors corresponds to only a part of the weight of the upper conveyor. As a result, the items of laundry are handled gently when they are transported through between the stacked conveyors of the feed conveyor.

A further device for solving the above-mentioned object, which may also be a preferred development of the device described above, has the features of claim 19. Accordingly, two strip-like clamping means are preferably arranged in the shaft-like space between the feed conveyor and the input device, from or between which the item of laundry can be clamped at a distance from the upper edge. In addition, at least one transfer means is arranged above the clamping means. The clamping means hold the lower part of the item of laundry in the shaft-like space, while the transfer means transfers the upper part of the item of laundry to the input requester. By means of the clamping means in connection with the transfer means, which can be a blowpipe working with compressed air or also a mechanical knock-off bar, there is no need for the laying bar which is customary in known devices of this type and which transfers the upper edge of the item of laundry to the requestor after initially the upper edge of the item of laundry has been placed on the filing bar. With the device according to the invention, the laying bar and the double laying process caused thereby can be dispensed with.

The clamping means are preferably formed by a (first) clamping bar arranged fixedly under the front of the input conveyor and a (second) clamping bar which is movable relative to the first clamping bar. This second clamping bar, which can be moved back and forth, is located on the side of the shaft-like intermediate space facing the feed conveyor between the feed conveyor and the input conveyor. Due to the fact that the fixed first clamping bar is arranged under the front of the input conveyor, the item of laundry can be clamped by both clamping bars immediately before the start of the input conveyor, so that a reliable and simple transfer of the item of laundry to the requestor is only possible with the aid of a blowpipe or a bar is. A further device for solving the above-mentioned object, which may also be a further development of the devices described above, has the features of claim 21. The clamping means in the space between the feed conveyor and the input device makes it possible to clamp the item of laundry at a distance from an upper transverse edge. As a result, a (larger) lower end region of the item of laundry is held against falling off by the clamping means when the item of laundry is to be handed over to the input requester. The upper area of the item of laundry is transferred to the requestor by a transfer means, whereby the upper area of the item of laundry can be deposited directly on the requestor. The transfer means is preferably a blowpipe or, alternatively or additionally, a cut-off bar. The direct placement of the upper area of the item of laundry on the input device leads to a reliable and, above all, very rapid transfer of the item of laundry to the input device.

A further device for solving the above-mentioned object, which may also be developments of the previously described devices, has the features of claim 23. The scraper conveyor at the lower end of the chute-like space between the feed conveyor and the input device enables larger items of laundry to be spread out and stretched in the chute-shaped space. As a result, otherwise customary pits between the feed conveyor and the input device are unnecessary. The stripping conveyor ensures that the item of laundry, after it is caught by the spreading clamps, is spread out flat and hangs freely. As a result, the lower part of the same is spread out when the upper edge of the item of laundry is spread. At the same time, the conveying out of the hanging part of the laundry item calls for an even pull over the entire width of the laundry item, which runs perpendicular to the direction of expansion. Items of laundry that have been entered off-center and thus conveyed into the shaft-shaped space can be conveyed over the entire length of the part after centering by means of spreading clamps. Thus, the pull described above causes lateral forces in the event of a lateral offset between the centered upper laundry section and the lower section, which effects a lateral alignment of the lower part of the laundry item with the upper one. In addition, the outfeed conveyor clears the shaft-like space for a next item of laundry, if this is in the shaft-like space should reach before the previous item of laundry has been completely pulled out of the space by the requestor.

A further device for solving the above-mentioned object, which may also be a further development of at least one of the devices described above, has the features of claim 25. In this device, at least one of the spreading clamps has a plurality of sensors. Each spreading clamp is preferably provided with a plurality of sensors. The sensors determine the position in which the respective edge of the item of laundry is clamped in at least one spreading clamp provided with sensors.

Preferably, the plurality of sensors of each spreading clamp are arranged next to one another at uniform intervals to form a sensor strip. All sensors lie on a common line that is parallel to the front edge of the item of laundry or an imaginary connecting line between the spreading clamps. The extent to which the respective spreading clamp overlaps the or each side edge of the item of laundry, that is to say the depth, with which the respective side edge of the item of laundry is immersed in the relevant spreading clamp is thereby determined. It is thus possible to determine whether a side edge dips further into the spreading clamp than the opposite side edge, that is to say the item of laundry is not held exactly in the middle between the spreading clamps. This lateral offset of the item of laundry between the spreading clamps can be used to correct the travel of the spreading clamps for centering the item of laundry in front of the center of the input conveyor or each path of the input conveyor, so that even if the item of laundry is held off-center between the spreading clips, the item of clothing is centered exactly the requestor is done.

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. In this show:

1 is a schematic plan view of the device,

2 is a schematic side view of the device with a piece of laundry placed in a feed conveyor; 3 shows the device of FIG. 2 with a piece of laundry located between the feed conveyor and a subsequent input request,

4 shows the device in a view of FIGS. 2 and 3 with the item of laundry handed over to the requestor,

5 is a plan view of the device,

Fig. 6 is a side view of the device, and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a device according to a second embodiment of the invention.

The devices shown here are used to enter laundry items 10 stretched flat (spread) into a laundry treatment device, for example a defect (not shown). The devices have a feed conveyor 11 and an input conveyor 12. The input conveyor 12 is arranged at a short distance behind the feed conveyor 11 with respect to the input direction 13. This creates a narrow, vertical space 14 with a shaft-like shape between the feed conveyor 11 and the input conveyor 12. 2 to 4, both the feed conveyor 11 and the input conveyor 12 are aligned horizontally. However, the feeder 12 is at a level below the level of the feed conveyor 11 (Fig. 2). It is also conceivable to arrange the feed conveyor 11 and the input conveyor 12 in a slightly inclined manner, namely in an increasing direction in the input direction 13 (FIG. 6).

At the lower end of the shaft-like intermediate space 14 there is a short stripping conveyor 15, the length of which extends beyond the width of the intermediate space 14 both in the direction of the feed conveyor 11 and towards the input conveyor 12. The stripping conveyor 15 can be directed horizontally (FIG. 3), but may also rise slightly in the input direction 13 (FIG. 6).

Both the feed conveyor 11 as well as the input conveyor 12 and the stripping conveyor 15 each have several lying next to one another at a slight distance Arranged straps 16 which can be driven all around. The belts 16 of the input conveyor 12 and the stripping conveyor 15 lie next to one another at slight intervals. In contrast, there are larger gaps between the belts 16 of the feed conveyor 11 (FIG. 5). The belts 16 of the input conveyor 12 and also of the stripping conveyor 15 run in such a direction that the input conveyor 12 and also the stripping conveyor 15 transport the laundry item 10 in the input direction 13.

The device also has a spreading device 17, which is located behind the feed conveyor 11, as seen in the input direction 13, in the upper region of the intermediate space 14 between the feed conveyor 11 and the input conveyor 12. The spreading device 17 has two spreading clamps 18, which are preferably are of the same design but are arranged in mirror image. The spreading clamps 18 are fastened to carriages 19 which can be moved on rails 20 in a manner known per se. The running rails 20 are arranged, preferably connected in a stationary manner to the feed conveyor 11, in such a way that the spreading clamps 18 can be moved together and apart on a horizontal path which runs transversely to the input direction 13. Each spreading clamp 18 has a fixed clamping leg 21 and a pivotable clamping leg 22. Between the clamping limbs 21 and 22 of each spreading clamp 18, an upper edge region of the same starting from a longitudinal side edge of the laundry item 10 can be clamped. The spreading clamps 18 thus grip the item of laundry 10 at opposite, upper corner regions, by engaging from the outside an upper section of a longitudinal side edge starting from each corner region.

The device has a clamping means 23 arranged in the intermediate space 14 under the spreading device 17. The clamping means 23 is formed from an elongated, horizontal clamping strip 24, which is arranged in a stationary manner under a front end of the input conveyor 12. A vertical clamping surface 25, which extends across the entire intermediate space 14 in a horizontal direction transverse to the input direction 13, lies approximately perpendicularly below the foremost position of the input conveyor 12 (FIG. 3). A second clamping strip 26 of the clamping means 23 is designed to be movable. This clamping strip 26 is located on the side of the intermediate space 14 facing the feed conveyor 11. A clamping surface 27 of the clamping strip 26 can be changed in its distance from the clamping surface 25 of the fixed clamping strip 24 such that the clamping surfaces 25 and 27 can be moved together as well as apart , The device also has two separate blowpipes 28 and 29. Both run horizontally across the entire width (transverse to the input direction 13) of the intermediate space 14. The blow pipe 28 is arranged above the intermediate space 14, on the side of the intermediate space 14 facing the input device 12. The blow pipe 29 is located in the upper region of the Gap 14, namely on the side of the feed conveyor 11. The blow pipe 29 is below the feed conveyor 11, but above the input conveyor 12. Outlet nozzles for compressed air, not shown, from the blow tube 29 are directed towards the front end of the input conveyor 12. The outlet nozzles for compressed air from the blowpipe 28 are directed essentially vertically, either to the foremost position of the input conveyor 12 or a short distance in front of the foremost position of the input conveyor 12 into the intermediate space 14. The blowpipes 28 and 29 point in FIG in a manner known per se has a large number of outlet nozzles for compressed air which are distributed at correspondingly uniform distances from one another over the entire length of the blowpipe 28 and 29.

The feed conveyor 11 is designed in a special way, namely triangular in plan view (FIGS. 1, 5 and 7). The feed conveyor 11 has a base area in the manner of an isosceles triangle with an obtuse-angled tip 30 at the front end. Side edges 31 and 32 run divergingly, for example at an angle of more than 100 ° to the input direction 33, in the direction of the rear end of the feed conveyor 11.

The feed conveyor 11 is formed from an upper conveyor 33 and a lower conveyor 34. Both conveyors 33 and 34 are equally triangular and approximately the same size. Only the lower conveyor 34 has a deposit section 35 which extends beyond the tip 30 of the feed conveyor 11 and projects forward in the input direction 13. In the area of this storage section 35, the upper conveyor 33 does not cover the lower conveyor 34 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5).

Both the upper conveyor 33 and the lower conveyor 34 have spaced-apart belts 16, which are distributed over the entire surface of the conveyors 33 and 34 and run in the input direction 13, so that of the belts 16, the conveyors 33 and 34 and the item of laundry 10 can be transported in the input direction 13. The straps 16 of the upper conveyor 33 and the lower conveyor 34 lie one above the other, the upper conveyor 33 or the lower conveyor 34 possibly having a smaller number of belts 16 than the other conveyor 33 or 34. Directional strands of the belts 16 of the upper conveyor 33 and the lower conveyor 34 each form a triangular conveying surface. The respective item of laundry 10 can be transported through the feed conveyor 11 in the input direction 13 between the conveying surfaces, in particular the strands of the belts 16 of the upper conveyor 33 and the lower conveyor 34 facing one another. Each of the conveyors 33 and 34 shown in the figures has a belt 16 in the middle. However, several belts 16 lying next to one another can also be arranged here. Because of the triangular base of the conveyors 33, 34, the middle belts 16 are longest. The middle belt 16 of the lower conveyor 34 is longer than the middle belt 16 of the upper conveyor 34 to form the depositing section 35, which protrudes towards the tip 30 of the upper conveyor 33 against the input direction 13.

A peripheral brush belt 36 is assigned to both side edges 31 and 32 of both the upper conveyor 33 and the lower conveyor 34. The all-round drivable brush belts 36 of the upper conveyor 33 and the lower conveyor 34 are arranged one above the other in a vertical plane. By assigning the brush belts 36 to the oblique side edges 31 and 32 of the conveyors 33 and 34, the transport direction of the brush belts 36 runs obliquely to the input direction 13. Between the brush belts 36 of the upper conveyor 33 and the lower conveyor 34, this extends in the area of the The laundry conveyor 10 is located in the feed conveyor 11. The brush belts 36 can be driven at different speeds, namely at an initial higher speed which exceeds the speed of the drive of the belts 16 and a lower speed which is lower than the speed of the belts 16.

The upper conveyor 33 is movable relative to the fixed lower conveyor 34. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the upper conveyor 34 can be pivoted about a horizontal pivot axis 37 running transversely to the input direction 13. This pivot axis 37 is located at the rear end of the feed conveyor 11, preferably runs through the axis of rotation of a common drive shaft for all belts 16 of the upper conveyor 33. The front, tip end of the feed conveyor 11 is supported on length-changing are supporting elements, which in the exemplary embodiment shown are two preferably pneumatic Baig cylinders 38. The front end of the upper conveyor 33 is connected to a cross member 40 which extends transversely to the input direction 13. The cross member 40 is supported on the base frame of the device by means of two Baig cylinders 38 at each end of the cross member 40 on two parallel supports, in particular support arms 39 (FIG. 5). The Baig cylinder 38 can be subjected to different pressures. If the baig cylinders 38 are subjected to a pressure which leads to a lifting force of the baig cylinders 38 which is greater than the supporting weight of the upper conveyor 33 at its front tip 30, the upper conveyor 33 can be pivoted up relative to the lower conveyor 34. If the baig cylinders 38 are subjected to a pressure which is less than the support weight of the upper conveyor 33, the upper conveyor 33 is supported in relation to the lower conveyor 34 in such a way that the upper conveyor 33 only has part of its weight on the lower one Supports conveyor 34.

A fixed guide member 41 is assigned to the storage section 35. The guide member 41 surrounds the storage section 35 approximately in a U-shape. For this purpose, the guide organ 41 is located in front of the storage section 35 and on opposite sides thereof (FIGS. 5 and 7). The lateral areas of the guide member 41 run slightly diverging in the input direction 13. The entered item of laundry 10 is influenced by the guide member 41 in such a way that the left and right sides of the item of laundry are reliably separated from one another. At the same time, the item of laundry 10 is streaked out without creases in the central region. The given band length of the guide member 41 and the almost horizontal infeed direction of the laundry item 10 mean that the hanging lateral areas of the laundry item 10 are also spread out smoothly. In this expanded state, the laundry item 10 is transferred with its front edge directly into the brush belts 36 of the feed conveyor 11.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, two spreading clips 18 are assigned two sensors, not shown. The sensors are located on or in preferably a fixed clamping leg 21 of each spreading clamp 18. The sensors are spaced apart from one another on an imaginary horizontal connecting line which runs parallel to the straight-line movement path of the spreading clamps 18 which extends transversely to the input direction 13. Blow nozzles, not shown in the figures, are arranged over a front region of the input conveyor 12. The blow nozzles are evenly distributed over the width of the input conveyor 12. The blowing nozzles generate air jets which are directed obliquely to the input direction 13 to the outside and to the upper run of the input conveyor 12. For this purpose, the blow nozzles arranged on one half of the feed conveyor 12 are equally directed obliquely outwards, while the blow nozzles located on the other half of the feed conveyor 12 also produce air jets pointing outwards in the opposite direction.

The device shown in FIG. 7 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention differs from the device of FIGS. 5 and 6 in that the possibility of multi-place input is created in front of the feed conveyor 11. For this purpose, two pairs of clips 42 are provided, which are located to the left and right of the storage section 35. An operator can hang a piece of laundry 10 independently of one another in each pair of clips 42. The item of laundry 10 is transferred from the respective pair of clamps 42 to the storage section 35. For this purpose, each pair of clamps 42 is fastened to a cantilever 43 which can be pivoted so that it reaches the depositing section 35. In addition, each arm 43 can be shortened telescopically, as a result of which the middle upper part of the laundry item 10 held by the pair of clips 42 can be pulled onto the depositing section 35 and deposited thereon.

The methods according to the invention are explained below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 of the first exemplary embodiment of the device:

An operator manually places a front central area of each item of laundry 10 onto the depositing section 35 and thereby enters it into the feed conveyor 11.

If a piece of laundry 10 has already been entered into the feed conveyor 11, the next item of laundry 10 is only placed on the deposit section 35 of the feed conveyor 11 when the operator indicates an optical and / or acoustic signal that the device for entering a additional items of laundry in the feed conveyor 11 is free. This signal is generated by measuring the Treatment speed of the laundry treatment device, for example a defect, or the input conveyor 12. This is based on the knowledge that the treatment speed of the laundry treatment device is lower than the feed speed of the feed conveyor 11. If the feed conveyor 11 transports the laundry items 10 to the input conveyor 12 faster than the processing of the Laundry items 10 can take place in the laundry treatment device, laundry items 10 cannot be fed to the feed conveyor 11 in immediate succession. By knowing the processing speed of the laundry item 10 in the laundry treatment device, it can be calculated when a subsequent laundry item 10 may be entered into the feed conveyor 11 so that there is no overlap of the laundry items 11 behind the feed conveyor 11. If the preceding item of laundry 10 has run through the device to such an extent that the subsequent item of laundry 10 can no longer catch up with it, the operator is given the signal at the start of the feed conveyor 11 to place a new item of laundry 10 on the deposit section 35 of the input conveyor 12. This can be done in the manner of a traffic light, for example in that an orange light indicates to the operator that no subsequent item of laundry 10 may yet be placed on the depositing section 35. Only when a green signal appears can the operator place a subsequent item of laundry 10 on the depositing section 35 of the feed conveyor 11.

After manual placement of the item of laundry 10 on the depositing section 35 of the lower conveyor 34, the item of laundry 10 is transported in the input direction 13 by the belt 16 of the depositing section 35. After leaving the depositing section 35, the item of laundry 10 arrives between the upper conveyor 33 and the lower conveyor 34. The item of laundry 10 is transported in the input direction 13 between the belts 16 of both superimposed conveyors 33 and 34 running in the input direction 13. At the same time, after passing the tip 30 of the feed conveyor 11, the item of laundry 10 is moved obliquely outwards along the side edges 31 and 32 of the conveyors 33 and 34 by the brush belts 36, which run obliquely to the input direction 13 and engage the top and bottom of the item 10 of laundry transported. To this end, the brush belts 36 are initially driven outward in opposite directions at a relatively high speed. The result is that the item of laundry 10 is very quickly removed from the feed conveyor 11. is spread. The speed of the brush belts 36 is chosen so that they can exert an outward slip relative to the laundry item 10. The brush belts 36 are driven at a relatively high speed only in such a period of time which is sufficient to completely spread items of laundry 10 of maximum width onto the feed conveyor 11. The speed of the brush belts 36 is then significantly reduced or the brush belts 36 may also be completely stopped, so that they no longer exert any lateral tensile forces on the laundry item 10, in particular no or no significant slippage between the brush belts 36 on opposite sides of the laundry item 10.

The item of laundry 10 is then completely spread out on the feed conveyor 11 before the leading transverse edge of the item of laundry 10 has reached the end of the feed conveyor 11.

As soon as the leading transverse edge of the laundry item 10 has been conveyed away over the rear side of the feed conveyor 11, the laundry item 10 with the leading transverse edge hanging freely downward enters the intermediate space 14 between the feed conveyor 11 and the input conveyor 12. In this case, a vertical air curtain is created by the blowpipe 28 generated, which is immediately in front of the input requestor 12. This air curtain means that the item of laundry 10 with the leading transverse edge reliably arrives in the intermediate space 14 and cannot be deposited on the input device 12 unintentionally.

As soon as the item of laundry 10 is suspended so freely in the intermediate space 14 that the leading transverse edge reaches the stripping conveyor 15, the item of laundry 10 is transported with this (lower) transverse edge by the stripping conveyor 15 at the lower end of the intermediate space 14 below the input conveyor 12 in the input direction 13 ,

As soon as the item of laundry 10 arrives in the intermediate space 14 with the leading (lower) transverse edge, the spreading clamps 18 which have been moved as far apart as possible and are still open are moved together, and only so far that the spreading clamps 18 are as close as possible to the vertical longitudinal edges of the Laundry 10 are located. This is done by sensor control of the Spreading clamps 18, which scans the lateral longitudinal edges of the laundry item 10 and moves the spreading clamps 18 into corresponding positions. As a result, the spreading clamps 18 continuously follow the vertical longitudinal side edges of the item 10 as the item 10 of laundry enters the intermediate space 14.

The corners of the item of laundry 10 located at the rear in the input direction 13 are also scanned by sensors. As soon as the corners have reached a position relative to the spreading clamps 18, which allow the opposite corners of the now upper edge of the laundry item 10 to be gripped, the spreading clamps 18 are closed. If the sensors detect that the item of laundry 10 has been transported obliquely by the feed conveyor 11 into the intermediate space 14, that is to say the upper transverse edge of the item of laundry 10 is not aligned horizontally, the opposite corners are clamped by the spreading clamps 18 with a time delay, as a result of which the upper ones are aligned horizontally Transverse edge of the laundry 10 comes about. The spreading device 17 is able to catch the item of laundry 10 at the upper edge after leaving the feed conveyor 11, in such a way that the upper edge is aligned horizontally at the same time.

The sensors assigned to the spreading clamps 18 determine the position of the item of laundry 10 between the spreading clamps 18 holding it. The sensors determine that the item of laundry 10 is clamped off-center between the spreading clamps 18 by a longitudinal edge of the item of laundry 10 dipping further into a spreading clamp 18 than in FIG the opposite spreading clamp 18, the degree of this eccentricity can be determined using the sensors. When centering the laundry item 10 in the middle in front of the input device 12, the measure of the eccentricity of the laundry item 10 between the spreading clamps 18 is taken into account. The centering of the item of laundry 10 with respect to the input device 12 is therefore not centered with respect to the spreading clamps 18, but centered with respect to the item of laundry 10, even if the item of laundry 10 is not located centrally between the spreading clamps 18.

The method according to the invention furthermore provides for the distance between the spreading clamps 18 to be determined when they have gripped the laundry item 10. This distance of the spreading clamps 18 does not correspond to the full width of the laundry item 10, because when the laundry item 10 has been gripped by the spreading clips 18 at the opposite upper corners, the upper edge of the laundry item 10 still has a relatively large sag. This sag can be reduced to a minimum even without knowing the exact width of the laundry item 10. The invention is now based on the knowledge that the sag and thus the remaining spreading path is proportional to the stretched width of the laundry item 10. Larger items of laundry 10 have a smaller sag than smaller items of laundry 10. Starting from the distance between the spreading clamps 18 after the item of laundry 10 has been grasped and the relatively large sag of the upper edge of the item of laundry 10, the path is now determined on the basis of the proportionality of the sagging described above , with which the spreading clamps 18 can be moved apart in order to fully spread the upper edge of the item of laundry, to the extent that the upper edge only has a tolerable minimum sag. The method according to the invention thus makes it possible to completely or almost completely spread the upper edge of the laundry item 10 without precise knowledge of the actual width of the laundry item 10. Because of this, it is possible to quickly move the spreading clamps 18 apart after the laundry item 10 has been grasped to the previously calculated positions of the spreading clamps 18 with the laundry item 10 fully or almost completely spread. Subsequently, the spreading clamps 18 can be set with a previously set spreading force (still further) are moved apart until the item of laundry 10 is completely spread apart.

During the complete stretching or spreading of the laundry item 10 and also the centering of the laundry item 10 with respect to the center of the input conveyor 12, the stripping conveyor 15 remains in operation, as a result of which it always holds or brings the lower region of the laundry item 10 in a freely hanging position, whereby stresses in the lower part of the laundry 10 when spreading and centering the same by the spreader 13 cause the hanging part of the laundry 10 to be aligned with the holding position of the upper part of the laundry 10.

For the transfer of the laundry item 10 to the input conveyor 12, after the spreading and centering of the laundry item 10 in the middle in front of the input conveyor 12, the laundry item 10 is first clamped beneath the spreading device 17. The clamping means 23 is used for this purpose. When the laundry item 10 is conveyed into the intermediate space 14 between the feed conveyor 11 and the feeder 12, the lower part of the laundry 10 has reached between the spaced apart (extended) clamping strips 24 and 26 of the clamping means 23. In order to clamp the item of laundry 10 below an upper region thereof held by the spreading clamps 18, the movable clamping strip 26 is moved against the fixed clamping strip 24. The item of laundry 10 that is now clamped over the entire width below an upper section between the clamping strips 24 and 26 can now be handed over to the requestor 12 with the upper section. For this purpose, the spreading chambers 18 are opened and at the same time. compressed air is blown through the blow pipe 29 against the side of the upper edge region of the item 10 of laundry facing the feed conveyor 11. As a result, the upper region of the laundry item 10 previously held by the spreading clamps 18 shortly before the start of the input conveyor 12 reaches the input conveyor 12. During this transfer process of the upper part of the laundry item 10 to the input conveyor 12, the latter is in operation, that is, its belts 16 are driven continuously in the input direction 13. According to the invention, the clamping means 23 is only opened a certain time after the upper area of the laundry item 10 has been placed on the input device 12 by moving the movable terminal strip 26 away from the fixed terminal strip 24. During this time, the input device 12 exerts a stripping force in the input direction 13 on the front edge region of the laundry item 10 still held by the clamping means 23, which leads to the front edge of the laundry item 10 being or being aligned precisely with the input device 12 and, in particular, turned back corners or edges of the front area of the laundry 10 are stripped. After the later opening of the clamping means 23, the laundry 10 is fed by the input requester 12 in the input direction 13 to the laundry treatment device, for example a defect, and is thereby entered into the defect or the like.

If the item of laundry 10 has been fed into the ironer or the like by the input requester 12 to such an extent that the next item of laundry 10 can be transported into the intermediate space 14 by the faster-running feed conveyor 11, the operator in front of the feed conveyor 11 receives the signal which can be generated in the manner described in the introduction for entering the following item of laundry 10. The methods according to the invention are not only suitable for the above-described device consisting of feed conveyor 11, input feeder 12, a space 14 between feed feeder 11 and input feeder 12 and a spreading device 17 in the area of space 14, but also for devices for feeding laundry items to one Laundry treatment devices which have a different structure, in particular no or a differently designed feed conveyor, no intermediate space 14 or no spreading device 17.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 items of laundry 39 support arm

11 feed conveyor 40 traverse

12 input 41 control organ

13 Entry direction 42 Pair of brackets

14 space 43 outrigger

15 stripping conveyor

16 belt

17 spreading device

18 spreading clamp

19 carriages

20 running track

21 clamping legs

22 clamping legs

23 clamping medium

24 terminal block

25 clamping surface

26 terminal block

27 clamping surface

28 blowpipe

29 blowpipe

30 top

31 page margin

32 page margin

33 upper conveyor

34 lower conveyor

35 storage section

36 brush belt

37 swivel axis

38 Baig cylinders

Claims

claims

1. Method for feeding laundry items (10) to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, wherein each individual laundry item (10) is manually fed to a feed conveyor (11), which preferably has a triangular conveying surface, which spreads the laundry item (10) and the laundry item (10) is passed to an input requester (12), who inputs the item of laundry (10) into the laundry treatment device, characterized in that the item of laundry (10) from the feed conveyor (11) between an upper conveyor (33) and a lower conveyor (34 ), each with an approximately triangular conveying surface.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the laundry (10) is moved by each conveyor (33, 34) both in the input direction (13) and at an angle to the input direction (13), preferably the inclined in the input direction (13), in particular, divergent movement of the item of laundry (10) is initially carried out with conveying means which are driven at a speed which is higher than the rate at which the item of laundry (10) is transported in the input direction (13), in particular subsequently the conveyors (33, 34) exert a smaller or no diagonal, divergent conveying movement on the item of laundry (10).

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the laundry (10) is pressed by the upper conveyor (33) with a force against the lower conveyor (34) which is adjustable, preferably less than that of the weight of the upper Conveyor (33) exerted pressing force on the respective item of laundry (10).

4. Method for feeding laundry items to a laundry treatment device, preferably a mangle, the respective laundry item (10) being fed onto a feed conveyor (11) from which the laundry item (10) is stretched out and in an approximately vertical, shaft-like intermediate space (14) is transported between the feed conveyor (1 1) and an input request (12) that follows at a distance, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that for transferring the item of laundry (10) to the input requestor (12) the item of laundry (10) is fixed below an upper area in the intermediate space (14) and the upper area of the item of laundry (10) is placed directly on the input device (12).

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper region of the item of laundry (10) is deposited pneumatically and / or mechanically on the input device (12).

6. Method for feeding items of laundry (10) to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, wherein a feed conveyor (11) is manually loaded with one item of laundry (10) at a time and an input request (12) following the feed conveyor (11) feeds the item of laundry (10) is entered into the laundry treatment device, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one operator is given a signal in front of the feed conveyor (11) if, depending on the treatment speed of the laundry treatment device or the input conveyor (13), the feed conveyor - Whose (11) can be loaded with a subsequent item of laundry (10).

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the operator is given an optical and / or acoustic signal when the next item of laundry (10) on the feed conveyor (11) can be given and preferably another signal, in particular another optical and / or acoustic signal, which the operator receives if the loading of a subsequent item of laundry (10) cannot yet take place.

8. A method for feeding laundry items (10) to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, wherein a laundry item (10) is stretched out by spreading clamps (18) and centered in the middle of a respective path of the laundry treatment device in front of an input requester (12), in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the position of a marginal or corner area of the respective item of laundry (10) is determined in at least one spreading clamp (18).

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the position of the item of laundry (10) in the at least one spreading clamp (18) is determined by a length measuring element assigned to at least this spreading clamp (18), the respective length measuring element determining a length dimension , which is in the same direction as the travel of the spreading clamps (18) for centering the item of laundry (10), the position with which the item of laundry (10) is held in the spreading clips (18) preferably being used when calculating the central centering of the item of laundry ( 10) for the relevant path of the input conveyor (12) or the center of the input conveyor (12) is taken into account.

10. Method for feeding laundry items (10) to a laundry treatment device, in particular a defect, the laundry items (10) being stretched out by spreading clamps (18) and in the extended state being handed over to an input requester (12) leading to the laundry treatment device, in particular after one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, depending on the spacing of the spreading clamps (18) after taking over the item of laundry (10), the spacing of the spreading clamps (18) to achieve a predetermined (minimal) sag of an upper edge of the item of laundry held between the spreading clamps ( 10) is calculated.

11. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spreading clamps (18) at a high speed up to

When the calculated predetermined sag of the upper edge of the item of laundry (10) is reached, the spreading clamps (18) are then moved apart at a reduced speed and / or predetermined force to such an extent that the upper edge of the item of laundry (10) is completely stretched.

12. Method for feeding laundry items to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, wherein the laundry item (10) is fed to a feed conveyor (11), the laundry item (10) behind the feed conveyor (11) is taken over by a spreading device (17) and is fully spread and then that The item of laundry (10) is transferred to an input requester (12), in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the item of laundry (10) is clamped below an upper area before being transferred to the input device (12) and then the upper area of the item of laundry (10) is transferred to the input requestor (12), the item of laundry preferably being released only for a time after the transfer to the input requestor (12).

13. Device for feeding items of laundry (10) to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, with a feed conveyor (11) and an input requester (12) arranged behind the feed conveyor (11) for inputting the spread laundry item (10) into the laundry treatment device, thereby characterized in that the feed conveyor (11) has an approximately triangular transport surface and that the feed conveyor (11) is formed from an upper conveyor (33) and a lower conveyor (34).

14. The apparatus according to claim 15, characterized in that the lower conveyor (34) has a central, projecting storage section (35) and the lower conveyor (34) from the upper conveyor (33) in the area of this storage section (35) is free.

15. The device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that opposite, inclined side edges (31, 32) of both conveyors (33, 34) are associated with brush belts (36) which can be driven all round, in particular the brush belts (36) can be driven at different speeds, preferably the brush belts (36) are initially driven at a speed which leads to slippage in particular with respect to the side edges of the item of laundry (10).

16. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper conveyor (33) can be moved relative to the lower conveyor (34) in such a way that the distance between the strands of the conveyors (33, 34) which are directed towards one another can be at least partially changed, preferably the upper conveyor (33) can be pivoted relative to the lower conveyor (34), for example about a pivot axis (37) running transversely to the input direction (13) at the rear end of the upper conveyor (33) in the input direction (13).

17. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a front area of the triangular upper conveyor (33), in particular a front tip (30) thereof, can be raised.

18. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the weight with which the upper conveyor (33) presses against the lower conveyor (34), in particular a piece of laundry (10) lying thereon, can be changed, in particular reduced, such that the upper conveyor (33) rests only part of its weight on the item of laundry (10) located on the lower conveyor (34).

19. Device for feeding items of laundry to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, with a feed conveyor (11), on each of which a piece of laundry (10) can be placed manually and with an input request (12) downstream of the feed conveyor (11) , a shaft-like, vertical space (14) being formed between the feed conveyor (11) and the input device (12), in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one guide means is assigned to the shaft-like space (14) such that A leading end region of the item of laundry (10) can be guided into the intermediate space (14) in the hanging state by the guide means.

20. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide means is designed as at least one preferably vertical air curtain, which preferably extends close to the input requestor (12).

21. Device for feeding items of laundry to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, with a feed conveyor (11), a subsequent input conveyor (12) and a shaft-like intermediate space (14) between the feed conveyor (11) and the input conveyor (12), in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one clamping means (23) extending transversely to the input direction (13) is arranged in the intermediate space (14), of which the item of laundry (12) is spaced from its upper edge can be clamped and at least one transfer means is arranged above the clamping means (23), the upper region of the item of laundry (10) located above the clamping means (23) being depositable by the transfer means onto the input requester (12).

22. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clamping means has two clamping strips (24, 26), one clamping strip (24) being arranged fixedly under the front end of the input conveyor (12) and the second clamping strip (26) for first terminal block (24) is relatively movable.

23. Device for feeding items of laundry (10) to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, with a feed conveyor (11), an input requestor (12) following in the input direction (13) and a shaft-like intermediate space (14) between the feed conveyor (11) and the input device (12), in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a stripping conveyor (15) is arranged in the region of the lower end of the shaft-like intermediate space (14).

24. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the stripping conveyor (15) can be driven in the input direction (13) and / or the stripping conveyor (15) extends approximately horizontally or slightly inclined, preferably rising in the input direction (13).

25. Device for feeding items of laundry to a laundry treatment device, in particular a mangle, with an input device (12) and a spreading device (17) arranged in front of the input device (12) with at least two spreading clamps (18), in particular according to one of the preceding claims , characterized in that at least one spreading clamp (18) has a plurality of sensors.

26. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensors of the or each spreading clamp (18) are arranged at a distance from one another, preferably the sensors of all spreading clamps (18) a common, in particular horizontal line, which extends transversely to the input direction (13).