US 4,059,257 AGranted

Laundry folder

OwnerFrederick W. Granthaminventor

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A laundry folder for folding small pieces, having means for automatically centering the pieces transversely relative to a longitudinal center line and maintaining them so centered in their travel through the folder, including photo-electric cells for spotting the pieces and centering them, the centering means including transversely shiftable belt means and the photo-electric cells controlling the means for shifting the belt means; means for compensating for stretchability of laundry pieces such as knit shorts, so as to fold them in true straight line formation despite deformation as would otherwise be caused by the stretchability of the pieces; a wicket for placing the folded pieces on a supporting surface and means for lowering the supporting surface as the pieces are placed thereon in a stack, so that as the stack is formed, the top piece of the stack is always at substantially the same height.

Claims16

Dependent claims

In a laundry folder including conveyor means for receiving laundry pieces at an entrance end and carrying them through the folder and folding them and placing them on a supporting means at an exit end, and in which the conveyor means includes a feedboard at the entrance end on which the laundry pieces are placed, the feedboard including a belt member means forming a segment of the conveyor means, the conveyor means being so positioned and arranged for most effectively conveying the laundry pieces when they are placed on the feedboard in a transversely central position, the combination comprising:

means responsive to the position of a laundry piece on the feedboard out of its said transversely central position for shifting it into its said transversely central position, whereby the piece then is conveyed in such position by the conveyor means through the folder,
folding means including a french folder which includes a pair of main folding blades and a pair of auxiliary folding blades associated therewith, each pair having outside and inside edges, the main folding blades extending longitudinally and being spaced apart laterally, the pair of auxiliary folding blades being mounted on the main folding blades and extending generally longitudinally and pivoted for movement between an inner position in which their outer edges are coincident with the outer edges of the main folding blades and an outer position in which their outer edges diverge in direction along the line of progress of the pieces being folded, means for moving the auxiliary blades between their inner and outer positions, and means controlled by the movement of the piece being folded along the main folding blades for actuating the means for moving the auxiliary folding blades to their inner position at a predetermined point in the progress of the piece being folded along the french folding means whereby a portion of the piece is spread widely and the remainder of the piece is spread less widely, means for stacking folded pieces including a final supporting surface at the exit end of the folder, a wicket for receiving the pieces conveyed through the folder and movable for placing the pieces on a supporting surface, the supporting surface being vertically movable, clutch means for supporting the supporting surface normally in a fixed position but yieldable in response to predetermined pressure applied to the supporting surface for enabling it to be lowered by an extent in proportion to the pressure so applied, and operative for maintaining the supporting surface at each new position as thus moved, means for raising the supporting surface, and means responsive to the pieces being stacked to a predetermined extent on the supporting surface for actuating the means for raising the supporting surface.

A laundry folder having an entrance end and an exit end, conveyor means adapted for receiving, at the entrance end, laundry pieces to be folded, and conveying them through the folder and delivering them from the exit end, and means for folding the pieces in their progress through the folder, comprising

a feedboard at the entrance end including a conveyor component forming a segment of the conveyor means, the feedboard being adapted for receiving the pieces in a transversely central position, first and second PE cells at the feedboard and spaced laterally on opposite sides of a longitudinal line in register with a lateral edge of the laundry piece when it is in the transversely central position, and whereby when the laundry piece is so positioned, it covers the first of the PE cells but not the second PE cell,
the conveyor means in the feedboard including a pair of belt members, each member including a plurality of transversely spaced elements, the feedboard also including first and second transverse lead-in rollers spaced longitudinally apart, the belt elements of one member being trained on the first of those rollers, and the belt elements of the other member being trained on the second of those rollers, and the first roller being transversely movable relative to said second roller whereby to shift the belt elements trained thereon to the other belt elements, thereby being operative for shifting the laundry piece laterally on the feedboard as a whole,
means for shifting the first roller including a pair of air cylinders oppositely arranged and each operative for shifting the first roller in a corresponding lateral direction,
circuit means controlled by the PE cells for controlling the air cylinders and thereby the shifting of the first roller including a first portion rendered inactive when the laundry piece is thereover, and operative when exposed, when the laundry piece is shifted away from both of the PE cells, for controlling the respective circuit portion for in turn controlling the air cylinder for shifting the first roller for thereby shifting the laundry piece back into its central position whereby it covers that first PE cell,
the circuit including a second portion controlled by the second PE cell rendered inactive when that cell is exposed, but rendered active when it is covered as a laundry piece is shifted thereover, whereby the second circuit portion controls the corresponding air cylinder for shifting the first roller in corresponding direction for shifting the laundry to its said central position in which the second PE cell is exposed.

2 more elements

A laundry folder having an entrance end and an exit end and conveyor means for receiving a piece to be folded and conveying it through the folder and including means for folding the piece in its progress through the folder, comprising a supporting member for receiving the folded pieces as delivered through the exit end, the folder also including wicket means for receiving the folded pieces and placing them on the supporting member, the wicket means including a transverse shaft and a plurality of rods movable between a retracted position adjacent the conveyor means in which the folded laundry pieces are placed thereon and an advanced position in which it is generally horizontal and operative for placing the laundry piece on a supporting member top surface, and a friction clutch normally holding the supporting surface in an elevated starting position and enabling movement thereof downwardly in increments in response to the wicket means operating to stack the laundry pieces onto the supporting surface;

and means driving the friction clutch for elevating the supporting surface back to it starting position after the accumulation of a predetermined number of said pieces thereon thereby positioning the stack of laundry pieces for removal from the support member.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 05/615,925Filed 23 Sep 1975 · division
Priority: 18 Jun 1970
Granted: 22 Nov 1977
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

D06F 89/02
Apparatus for folding textile articles with or without stapling: of textile articles to be worn, e.g. shirts
B65H 45/04
Folding limp material without application of pressure to define or form crease lines: folding sheets
Y10S 493/937
Manufacturing container or tube from paper; or other manufacturing from a sheet or web: textile
D06F
Laundering, drying, ironing, pressing or folding textile articles