US3485491A - Small piece folder - Google Patents

Small piece folder Download PDF

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Publication number
US3485491A
US3485491A US639233A US3485491DA US3485491A US 3485491 A US3485491 A US 3485491A US 639233 A US639233 A US 639233A US 3485491D A US3485491D A US 3485491DA US 3485491 A US3485491 A US 3485491A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
article
plate
folding
conveyor
leading edge
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
US639233A
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English (en)
Inventor
Henry John Weir
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Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
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Publication date
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Publication of US3485491A publication Critical patent/US3485491A/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
    • 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

  • a buckle folding machine having a conveyor and an overhead stop plate, a folding plate operable for clamping the leading edge of an article moving with the conveyor against the stop plate, the folding plate including an underside engagement member extending across the conveyor, and guide bar means upstream of the stop plate and extending below the stop plate in adjacent but spaced relation to the folding plate for restricting the radius of bow formed in the article, whereby thetrailing part of the article is carried by the conveyor downstream of the stop plate and the article is constrained to bend around the folding plate engagement member until the folding plate is dropped to release the leading edge whereupon the engagement member rests on the upper layer of the article as the article is moved away by the conveyor.
  • the invention relates to laundry folding machines and in particular to the kind of laundry folding machine in which the leading edge of an article to be folded is fed on to a movable folding plate; the folding plate moves upwards to clamp the leading edge against a stop plate; the following part of the article is fed forward beneath the plates on a moving conveyor and the folding plate is dropped to release the leading edge on to the trailing part of the article so that a fold is effected thereby.
  • the article is folded in half in this way, the timing being such that the leading edge is dropped on the trailing edge.
  • An object of the invention is to provide a folding machine which is particularly suitable for folding short and relatively stiff articles.
  • an engagement member on the underside of the folding plate, the arrangement being such that when the folding plate is dropped to release the leading edge the engagement member rests on the article as the article is drawn away by the conveyor.
  • This arrangement ensures that as the folding plate is dropped the leading edge tends to be drawn free in a positive manner by the conveyor acting in conjunction with the engagement member.
  • the engagement member should offer the minimum of drag to the article and although it is envisaged that it may comprise a free running roller or set of Wheels mounted to rotate on an axle runnnig parallel and near the edge of the folding plate it is preferably constituted by a smooth shoe or set of shoes. Preferably the shoe is formed by a curved metal sheet which may be integral with the folding plate.
  • the invention allows the provision of a further improvement which removes errors in folding due to the indeterminate length of the curve which is assumed by the article near the leading edge.
  • This improvement is a further feature of the invention and lies in the provision of a guide member which is fixed near and slightly below the stop plate and which runs parallel to the edge of the folding plate.
  • the guide member is in the form of a bar or is the lower edge of a plate mounted on the stop plate and its function is to restrict the size of the curve assumed by the article near the leading edge when it is clamped. As the leading edge is picked up the bow in the article which is formed is brought against the guide member which thereby keeps the size of the bow below a predetermined limit.
  • the provision of the engagement member in accordance with the invention allows the guide member to be used without risk of affecting the accuracy of the fold by interfering with the withdrawal of the leading edge of the article from the folding plate.
  • An object of a further feature of the invention is to provide a device which performs an improved second fold.
  • the conveyor terminates at its forward end in a flat run which i inclined downwardly, a pair of contra-rotating rollers is disposed immediately above the inclined run at the lower end thereof with their axes in a plane parallel therewith, and a tucking blade is provided immediately beyond the lower end of the inclined run to effect the tucking of the article between the contra-rotating rollers at a predetermined time.
  • a guide plate co-planar with the inclined run and spaced a short distance beyond the lower end thereof and the tucking blade is, a thin plate which moves longitudinally in the narrow gap between the guide plate and the inclined run.
  • FIGURE 1 is a diagram illustrating at a, b and respectively three stages in the folding of an article in a folding machine of the kind referred to;
  • FIGURE 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating at a and b two stages in the folding of an article in a machine in accordance with the invention
  • FIGURE 3 is a diagram illustrating a stage in the folding of an article in a modified machine in accordance with the invention
  • FIGURE 4 is a schematic side elevation of part of a folding machine according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • FIGURE 5 is a diagram illustrating the mechanism according to a feature of the invention by which the second fold may be effected.
  • FIGURE 1 there is shown at a a conveyor 1 moving in the direction indicated by the arrow.
  • a fold plate 2 is pivoted at 3 and is coupled to a pneumatic ram (not shown) which controls the movement of the plate about pivot 3 between the lowermost position shown and an uppermost position in which plate 2 contacts a stop plate 4,
  • the conveyor 1 is in the form of a set of parallel spaced bands which move together and there is provided a set of movable fingers 5 which are pivoted at 6 and controlled by a pneumatic ram (not shown) to move between the hands up to the position shown in order to guide on to plate 2 the leading edge 7 of an article 8 to be folded.
  • a pneumatic ram not shown
  • FIGURE 1b shows the position when the following part of the article is fed beneath the folding plates.
  • the article shown is assumed to be a starched pillow case and it will be seen that two bows 9 and 10 are formed therein as a result of the reluctance of the pillow case to bend.
  • the next stage of the folding operation is shown in FIG- URE 10 where it is seen that the folding plate 2 has been lowered in order to allow the leading edge 7 of the article to drop. It will be seen that the leading edge 7 of the article overlaps the trailing edge 11 by an appreciable extent, this representing an error in the fold which is due to the difficulty in accurately timing the dropping of the leading edge owing to the indeterminate length occupied by the curves in the pillow-case and in particular by bow 10.
  • FIGURE 2 shows at a a view corresponding to FIG- URE 1b but in which the movable folding plate 2 has fixed on its underside a felt covered roller 12 which is free-running and which is arranged close to and parallel the edge of the plate.
  • the pick-up of the article by the folding plate and the stage illustrated at FIGURE 2a are no different from the first two stages illustrated in FIG- URES 1a and b.
  • reference to F'IGURE 2b shows the position corresponding to FIGURE 10 in which the folding plate 2 has been dropped to release the leading edge.
  • the arrangement is such that the roller 12 rests on the article as it is fed forward by the conveyor.
  • FIGURE 3 shows a preferred form of the invention in which, in addition to roller 12, there is provided a fixed guide bar 13 which runs across the machine parallel to the edge of plate 2 and positioned slightly below the fixed stop plate 4.
  • the arrangement is such that as the leading edge of the article is picked up the how 10, which tends to be formed as the article is moved forward, is restricted in radius by abutment of the article against the bar 13. In this way even better folding accuracy is obtained.
  • the use of roller 12 in conjunction with bar 13 is particularly advantageous since this overcomes the etfect of the interference by the bar with the withdrawal of the leading edge of the article from the folding plates.
  • FIGURE 4 there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention in which the folding plate 2 is a hollow structure made of 16 gauge alloy or stainless steel bent to the configuration shown.
  • the lowermost part of the folding plate is constituted by a curved shoe 14 and the folding plate is allowed to rest on the trailing part of the article as it is drawn along, the smooth shoe sliding over it.
  • the shoe extends for the full width of the conveyor so that its ends do not interfere with the edges of the article.
  • Plate 2 pivots about axis 3 and is controlled in its movement by an air ram 15. Plate 2 is shown in its lowermost position, its uppermost position being indicated at 211.
  • the lift fingers 5 are shown in their uppermost position, their lowermost position being indicated at 5a.
  • the stop plate has a pad 16 of material which offers some grip for the leading edge of the article.
  • Fixed to the plate and extending across the full width of the conveyor is a substantially vertical plate 17, the lower edge 18 of which constitutes a guide member which performs the function of guide bar 13 of the FIGURE 3 arrangement.
  • FIGURE 5 there is shown the end part of conveyor 1 which, in accordance with a feature of the invention, is provided with a downwardly inclined straight run 19. This run is inclined at an angle of about 45 to the vertical. At the lower end of run 19 and positioned slightly above the conveyor there is provided a pair of contra-rotating rollers 20 and 21 which rotate in the directions indicated by the arrows. Rollers 20 and 21 are arranged so that the nip between them is just beyond the lower end of run 19.
  • a guide plate 22 is provided coplanar with and beyond the lower end of run 19 and in the gap between run 19 and the guide plate there is a tucking plate 23 which extends across the width of the conveyor and which is movable by an air ram (not shown) in a linear direction indicated by the arrows.
  • rollers 20 and 21 engage the upper part of the leading bow 25 in the article and thereby flatten this how to some extent.
  • the spacing of rollers 20 and 21 from the plane of run 19 is of the order of 1 /2".
  • timing for the various folding operations is effected, in conjunction with sensor devices for sensing the position of the article as it moves on the conveyor, by a timing device of the form described and illustrated in US. Patent 3,266,794.
  • a buckle folding machine comprising a conveyor for moving an article along a path, an overhead stop plate, a folding plate operable for clamping the leading edge of the article against the stop plate, said folding plate including an underside engagement member extending across the conveyor, and guide bar means upstream of the stop plate and extending below the stop plate in closely adjacent but spaced relation to the folding plate for restricting the radius of bow formed in the article, whereby the trailing part of the article is carried by the conveyor downstream past the stop plate and the article is constrained to bend around the folding plate engagement member until the folding plate is dropped to release the leading edge whereupon the engagement member rests on the upper layer of the article as the article is moved away by the conveyor.
  • a buckle folding machine comprising a smooth shoe curved in a convex manner from its upper edge substantially normal to the folding plate throughout approximately a quadrant with its lower edge substantially tangential to the conveyor.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Folding Of Thin Sheet-Like Materials, Special Discharging Devices, And Others (AREA)
US639233A 1966-05-18 1967-05-17 Small piece folder Expired - Lifetime US3485491A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB22188/66A GB1122902A (en) 1966-05-18 1966-05-18 Laundry folding machines

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3485491A true US3485491A (en) 1969-12-23

Family

ID=10175379

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US639233A Expired - Lifetime US3485491A (en) 1966-05-18 1967-05-17 Small piece folder

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US3485491A (fr)
BE (1) BE698637A (fr)
FR (1) FR1523048A (fr)
GB (1) GB1122902A (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4601695A (en) * 1984-04-06 1986-07-22 Fausto Pazzi Machine and method for the automatic folding of cloths
US5634875A (en) * 1993-12-08 1997-06-03 Elsner Engineering Works, Inc. Folding machine

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2821386A (en) * 1954-12-03 1958-01-28 American Laundry Mach Co Operating mechanism for folding blade
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
FR1358191A (fr) * 1963-05-30 1964-04-10 Kannegiesser & Co Maschf Procédé et dispositif pour la formation d'un pli plat sur une pièce notamment d'étoffe ou de linge
US3134587A (en) * 1960-10-26 1964-05-26 Sjostrom Machine Co Sheet folding machine
GB987743A (en) * 1963-03-02 1965-03-31 Kannegiesser & Co Gmbh Improvements in or relating to folding machines for laundered articles
FR1432525A (fr) * 1964-02-19 1966-03-25 Machine à plier des pièces de linge
US3310207A (en) * 1965-03-11 1967-03-21 Riegel Textile Corp Apparatus for everting and folding pillowcases, bags or the like
US3339914A (en) * 1964-06-23 1967-09-05 Frederick W Grantham Laundry folder

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2821386A (en) * 1954-12-03 1958-01-28 American Laundry Mach Co Operating mechanism for folding blade
US3134587A (en) * 1960-10-26 1964-05-26 Sjostrom Machine Co Sheet folding machine
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
GB987743A (en) * 1963-03-02 1965-03-31 Kannegiesser & Co Gmbh Improvements in or relating to folding machines for laundered articles
FR1358191A (fr) * 1963-05-30 1964-04-10 Kannegiesser & Co Maschf Procédé et dispositif pour la formation d'un pli plat sur une pièce notamment d'étoffe ou de linge
FR1432525A (fr) * 1964-02-19 1966-03-25 Machine à plier des pièces de linge
US3339914A (en) * 1964-06-23 1967-09-05 Frederick W Grantham Laundry folder
US3310207A (en) * 1965-03-11 1967-03-21 Riegel Textile Corp Apparatus for everting and folding pillowcases, bags or the like

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4601695A (en) * 1984-04-06 1986-07-22 Fausto Pazzi Machine and method for the automatic folding of cloths
US5634875A (en) * 1993-12-08 1997-06-03 Elsner Engineering Works, Inc. Folding machine

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR1523048A (fr) 1968-04-02
GB1122902A (en) 1968-08-07
BE698637A (fr) 1967-11-03

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