Herbert Kannegiesser Gmbh

Jörg Sielmann

Engelbert Heinz

Lars Herzog

Kai Kröger

Christian Herzberg

Alexander Serikow

Jürgen Meier

Rene Pleitner

René Pleitner

During the transverse-folding operation of items of laundry, a number of layers are positioned one above the other so as to overlap one another. In order to achieve optimum folding quality, the aim is for layers of equal length to overlap, which is only rarely possible in practice. It is usually the case that the layers are of unequal length, and this gives rise to a difference in overlap. The invention makes provision for the difference in overlap to be eliminated, or at least to be minimized, in that it is determined whether a difference in overlap is present and the difference in overlap which may be established is corrected for the transverse-folding operation of the next-following item of laundry, which allows established differences in overlap to be compensated for automatically at least for the most part.

Method of, and apparatus for, folding items of laundry

In apparatuses for automatically folding items of laundry, items of laundry of different lengths usually are folded in an irregular sequence, resulting in idling and/or delays in particular in the longitudinal-folding station (). The invention provides for determining the length of each item of laundry () upstream of the longitudinal-folding station () and for accelerating short items of laundry as they are transported through the longitudinal-folding station (), whereas larger items of laundry are slowed down in the longitudinal-folding station (). Following completion of the longitudinal-folding operation, the respectively folded item of laundry is located at the end of the longitudinal-folding station () and, immediately following completion of the longitudinal folding, is transported away out of the longitudinal-folding station (). This avoids unnecessary idling times, and for relatively long items of laundry to be folded longitudinally during continuous, relatively slow onward transportation through the longitudinal-folding station ().

Method of folding items of laundry

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Bielefeld, Germany

Jörg Sielmann