Other

Finishtech, Inc.

Jensen Gmbh

Chicago Dryer Company

Stanley G McCabe

Logan D McCabe

Articles of laundry, such as towels, of different sizes are sorted. The articles are clamped from a jumble. The clamp moves upward for sensing a size. For sorting, different size articles are blown to different tracks, such as different conveyors. The articles, resting on the conveyors, are conveyed to different exits for the different sizes.

Pre-sorter for articles of laundry

In laundry processing, a conveyor rotates a textile article in a first stage. The article is held while part of the article rests on the conveyor. By conveying while held, the textile article rotates, positioning an edge of the article. In a second stage, the conveyor conveys the article to a clamp. This clamp holds the article while the conveyor reverses direction and a blower attempts to flatten the article if folded. The textile article rotates, positioning the edge of the article to be more parallel with the direction of conveyance. In a third stage, the article is dragged by the edge over a gap where gravity and blowing attempt to flatten the article. In a fourth stage, the flattened article is positioned over a stack. A blower directs air at a center of the article to blow out the corners and assist in maintaining position.

Separator and stacker for textile articles

A separator separates sheets from a bundle. Slack in the strap used to raise and lower a clamp is used to determine when the clamp reaches the bundle. A non-horizontal conveyor tilts beneath the clamp to receive multiple articles, and then tilts over another bin to deposit the articles. The second bin includes an angled surface, which is straightened to shift the articles for clamping. The clamp is supported by, but not attached to, a support connected with the drive. When the clamp reaches the pile, the clamp stops but the support may continue to move. The clamp is tiltable. The article is transferred by an air jet onto a surface with a roller separated from the surface. Upon transfer, the roller forms a nip with the surface. The article is deposited on an exit conveyor having a flexible, raised portion.

Separator for articles of laundry

A separated article of laundry is dragged over a plurality of wheels or belts. The wheels or belts adjust the amount of overhang on each side, making an edge of the article more horizontal. A clamp clamps the edge and drags the article of laundry from the wheels or belts. Resistance, such as by a pinch arm, may assist in untangling the article of laundry as the article is dragged. Sensors adjacent the belts or wheels measure a size of the article of laundry. A folder adjusts based on the size. For example, the types of folds to be made, the placement of runners for folding, or the output sorting are adjusted. The folder may operate more efficiently by providing time for the folder to adjust to the size of the article of laundry prior to feeding from the spreader.

Linen spreader apparatus and method

An article is selected and spread from a load of articles. A first clamp moves along a run to remove an article. By changing orientation of the run, articles may be removed from different locations. A second clamp rotates while holding the article. The rotation generally flattens out the article. A third clamp grabs a portion of the article and further spreads the article. This process may detangle or untwist the article. The untwisted article is dragged over a belt. The belt adjusts the amount of overhang on each side. A plate lifts a resulting edge. The article is clamped at that edge and dragged over a roller. The roller moves into contact with a conveyor. The conveyor conveys the article to find a leading edge. The article is then conveyed in a spread position.

Two paths parallel paths feed a common path. A clamp removes separate articles in each parallel path. Each path positions articles on opposite sides of a surface, such as a conveyor. In a back and forth motion, another clamp sequentially clamps the articles of laundry from the opposite sides and places each article on the surface. Another clamp extends through the surface to sequentially clamp the articles on a trailing edge. The clamp moves the articles linearly off the surface and rotates the articles onto another surface, such as a lower surface. On the other surface, the article is conveyed to a pick-up position. A pair of clamps drag the article by an edge onto a stacked position. The stack is adjusted in height to position the stack for receiving the next article.

Article of laundry spreader and stacker

A towel spreader is provided. A trailing corner is clamped to isolate an edge of a towel where the edge is either along a fold in a towel or along an outer extremity of the towel. The towel is then flattened in a single or two layers using motion and gravity while being held along the identified edge. The same or a different trailing corner is then rotated such that a back outer extremity edge of the towel is perpendicular with a direction of movement of a conveyor. By clamping the back edge while continuing to move a downstream conveyor and blow air on the towel, the towel is flattened out. The spread towel is then passed downstream for further processing, such as folding.

Laundry article spreader apparatus and method

Apparatuses and methods spread a towel from a load of towels. The towels are rectangular, such as hand, wash or beach towels. A trailing corner is first identified to isolate one short edge from another short edge. The entire towel is then transported from one side of a center line of a conveyor to another side. Once on the other side, an end of the towel is brought into contact with a moving belt. The moving belt tensions the towel by causing friction downwards or away from the direction the towel is being moved. The clamped corner is moved back to the other side of the center line and released on the conveyor. A pinch belt, such as a pinch belt on one side of the conveyor, conveys one end of the towel in a bunch. The conveyor conveys one portion of the towel while the pinch belt conveys the bunched portion. The conveyor conveys the towel off the end of the conveyor until a trailing corner is detected. A pinch roller is then placed against the conveyor to clamp the trailing corner. The pinch belt conveys the bunch to pinch rollers adjacent to the end of the conveyor. As a result, the towel is suspended by one corner off of the conveyor and an opposite short edge end of the towel is bunched and held in the pinch rollers. The short edge connected with the identified corner wall hangs from the conveyor in an exposed, straight position. A rotatable clamp grabs the edge at several locations. The towel is then suspended from the short edge and provided to one of various other processes, such as automated folding.

Spreader apparatus and method for articles of laundry

A laundry feeder method and apparatus for feeding laundry articles to a spreader apparatus is provided. The feeder allows large king size sheets, as well as other sized laundry articles, to be conveniently readied for spreading by a user. A fixed target is provided on the feeder. The user merely drapes a portion of the laundry article over the fixed target or inserts an edge of the article into a moveable clamp. The moveable clamp then moves along a track to the fixed target for clamping the laundry article. The clamp is then moved away from the fixed target, pulling the laundry article to the spreader, such as the spreader disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,627. Multiple fixed targets and associated moveable clamps may be provided to increase the throughput.

Laundry feeder method and apparatus

An apparatus and method are provided for transferring a flatwork article. A transfer mechanism grips a leading edge portion of the article between leading corner portions thereof and moves the article from a loading station to a pickup station. A positioning device locates a trailing edge portion of the article at the pickup station for engagement with a moving mechanism. A moving mechanism picks up the trailing edge portion of the article at the pickup station and moves the article to a desired location.

Apparatus and method for feeding flatwork articles

This apparatus for separating wet laundry articles (e.g., bed sheets) has an air cylinder-operated entry clamp which picks up a pile of such articles outside the entry end of the apparatus and lifts them into the apparatus, an entry conveyor which helps move the laundry articles into the apparatus, a lower conveyor which receives the laundry articles after they are dropped by the entry clamp and carries them toward the opposite end of the apparatus, a curved baffle plate against which the laundry articles on the lower conveyor pile up at the opposite end, an air cylinder-operated separator clamp which moves up-and-down and back-and-forth substantially along the centerline of the lower conveyor and picks up the laundry articles piled against the baffle plate and then drops them onto the lower conveyor, removal clamps which move up past the opposite side edges of the baffle plate and pick up individual laundry articles and carry them up and back toward the entry end of the apparatus, an exit conveyor running horizontally cross-wise above the lower conveyor for receiving the laundry articles after they are dropped by the removal clamps, and a motor-driven roller next to the exit conveyor for depositing the lower parts of these articles onto the exit conveyor.

Apparatus for separating laundry articles

A spreader feeder apparatus for laundry flatwork pieces, such as bed sheets. The apparatus has a hanger for releasably gripping the opposite top corners of the flatwork piece and carrying the suspended flatwork piece away from the entry side of the apparatus and toward its exit side. The opposite side edges of the suspended flatwork piece are engaged by upper and lower sets of spreader belts, which spread it laterally in opposite directions. The upper sets of spreader belts release the flatwork piece after it has been spread, and pusher mechanisms push it onto a horizontal conveyor, which carries it toward the exit side of the apparatus.

Spreader feeder apparatus

A spreader, counter, folder and stacker for laundered articles. The articles are discharged as circulated about an elongated bin. Clips on an endless chain pick the articles up from the bin one by one and elevate them. The clips are released by a cam to drop the articles one by one on traveling catches which pull them for spreading and carry them over a retarded rotation brush. This places a drag on the articles and elongates them for transfer one by one to a spreader bar. A series of spreader bars are provided and each carries the article draped over the bar past the radial tine of a counter. As each article engages a radial tine a drive is energized to a brush conveyor and a counted stack of articles is stacked on the conveyor and discharged from the conveyor to be picked up for use.

Laundry spreader, counter, and folder

Dispenser for rolls of paper toweling of standard size and width, accommodating withdrawal of clean roll toweling from a cabinet for use and rolling the spent toweling in a spent towel compartment in the cabinet, for disposal. The roll of clean toweling is inserted in the cabinet from the top and rests on an inclined divider plate separating a clean towel compartment from the spent towel compartment and also bears against a rear wall of the cabinet. The clean toweling is drawn from the cabinet along the divider plate and passed over a sensing switch which establishes an energizing circuit to a winding motor under the control of a limit switch energizing the winding motor upon withdrawal of the toweling and after a time delay sufficient to dry the hands. The clean toweling, as unrolled, passes out of the cabinet through a slot at the top of a recessed portion of the front of the cabinet for use. The used toweling extends through a slot spaced beneath the first slot into the spent towel compartment and is connected at its free end to a spindle. In passing into the cabinet, the spent toweling passes along the arm of a normally closed limit switch, and when under tension, opens the switch to deenergize a drive motor for the spindle. The spent toweling is wound on the spindle, as the motor is energized and the spindle is releasably coupled to the motor. The top of the cabinet is hinged to afford access to the clean towel compartment to insert a roll of clean toweling in the compartment while the front wall of the cabinet is hinged to afford access to the spent towel compartment.

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Lubbock, TX, United States of America

Stanley G McCabe