The present invention concerns a processing plant for processing pieces of cloth entering the plant at a receiving end and being advanced as a succession of pieces of cloth lying on a conveyor.

General examples of compacting devices are disclosed in eg. DE 469,675, US 4,765,554, US 9,884,694 and CN-A-106276354.

Summary

The object of the present invention is inter alia to improve the efficiency of such a plant. Thus, more pieces of cloth may be advanced by the conveyor, and processed by a sorter, if included. In addition, where identifying/analysing apparatuses are used, less time or energy may be required for performing the identifying/analysing of each piece of cloth on the conveyor, by each piece of cloth lying in accordance with the invention on the conveyor in a mechanically compacted form with a relatively small footprint.

This is achieved in that the plant comprises a compacting device configured to receive a succession of the pieces of cloth lying on a conveyor with a given footprint and to reduce one by one the footprint of each piece of cloth by compaction, the plant being configured to continuously advance a succession of the compacted pieces of cloth by a conveyor from the compacting device to a discharge end of the plant. In addition, the plant comprises at least one of: a) a separator device arranged downstream of the receiving end and configured for separating pieces of cloth in a batch from each other to form the succession of pieces of cloth that is received by the compacting device, b) an apparatus arranged upstream of the discharge end and configured to receive the succession of compacted pieces of cloth from the compacting device and for identifying each piece of cloth, c) an apparatus arranged upstream of the discharge end and configured to receive the succession of compacted pieces of cloth from the compacting device and for detecting foreign matter associated with each piece of cloth, and d) a sorter station at the discharge end, for sorting the compacted pieces of cloth (C) continuously advanced to the discharge end into a receptacle or bin assigned to each piece of cloth.

Preferably, the pieces of cloth are linen or garment. Linen and garment will generally not have the same resiliency as rugs or mats.

Further embodiments are defined in the dependent claims, leading to advantages presented below.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 a is a perspective view of an embodiment of a plant of the invention,

Fig. 1 b is a side view of one embodiment of the sorter shown in fig. 1 a,

Fig. 1 c is a side view of another embodiment of the sorter shown in fig. 1 a,

Figs. 2a-2c are side views showing a separator device of the plant of fig. 1 a,

Figs. 3a-3e show, schematically and from the side, different embodiments of a compacting device of the plant of fig. 1 a, and

Fig. 4a and 4b show alternative embodiments of the plant of the invention. Detailed description

The invention will now be explained in more detail below by reference to preferred embodiments.

Fig. 1 a is a perspective view of a processing plant 1 for processing pieces of cloth that enter the plant 1 at a receiving end 5 and which preferably are to be sorted and delivered into corresponding bins 66 located at a cloth discharge end 6 of the plant 1 . A batch of several such pieces of cloth may by way of example comprise pieces of linen and/or pieces of clothing/garment, of different size and colour, mixed together and to be sorted.

The plant 1 is typically part of an industrial laundry with washers, cloth ironers and cloth folders; depending on the operation the pieces of cloth C entering the plant 1 may be dry (soiled or clean) or wet (soiled or clean).

In the shown embodiment the processing plant 1 includes a first station 20 to which batches of several pieces of cloth are delivered by a first conveyor belt 2, typically as heaps with the pieces of cloth being in an intertwined state. Separating the pieces of cloth from one another for a subsequent sorting is particularly burdensome.

The first station 20, shown also in figs. 2a-2c, includes a separator device acting to separate the pieces of cloth C of each batch B from one another. The first station 20 includes, in the shown embodiment, a receiving chamber 22, the bottom of which optionally being defined by a conveyor 21 , receiving the batches B from the first conveyor belt 2. A robotic arm 24 moves continuously up and down and has a gripper configured for picking up the individual pieces of cloth C of the batch B, one after another. Another, transversally moving gripper GR then takes over each piece of cloth C picked up by the first robotic arm 24, such as by gripping onto a suspended portion of the piece of cloth C, and moves to the side into a dumping position shown in fig. 2b, drawing in this process the piece of cloth C along a surface 26 (which may be a conveyor belt as shown, or a stationary surface), to then dump the pieces of cloth C one after another onto a receiving conveyor 3 (see fig. 3a) on which the pieces of cloth C each come to lie more or less spread out, spaced from one another and with a given footprint.

Such a separator device 20 configured as shown generally and schematically in fig. 2a is disclosed in WO19137585 and marketed by the present Applicant under the trade name “Thor Robot Separator”. DK patent application no. 2012 70,011 and European patent no. 1 ,370,724 disclose other examples of separator devices for separating pieces of cloth from batches of pieces of cloth.

Referring again to fig. 1 a, a further conveyor 4 downstream of the first conveyor belt 2 serves to continuously convey a succession of the pieces of cloth C towards the discharge end 6, lying one after the other on the further conveyor 4. The further conveyor may, without departing from the invention, be defined by subsections that are arranged one after another; the subsections normally, but not necessarily, run at the same speed, and they may convey the compacted pieces of cloth C in a single direction or be arranged relative to one another so as to change the direction in which the pieces of cloth C are conveyed relative to the surrounding building.

Further stations 40, 50 arranged downstream of the first station 20 include suitable apparatus, such as camera- and X-ray equipment, for identifying/an- alysing the individual compacted pieces of cloth C continuously entering the further stations 40, 50 one after another lying on the further conveyor 4, in the form of the aforementioned succession of pieces of cloth C. RFID-tags embedded in the pieces of cloth C may also be used for the identifying, with the X- ray equipment used for detecting the presence of any foreign bodies, such as pens or metal items that need to be removed from the respective piece of cloth C.

The data resulting from the identifying/analysing is then used by a computer (not shown) which acts as a controller for a sorter station 60 that includes the aforementioned bins 66, by assigning a particular bin 66 to each piece of cloth C. By way of example, one of the bins 66 may be for linen while another one may be for shirts of a given colour. A piece of cloth C in any given bin 66 may be further processed by delivery to an ironer and/or folder.

The sorter station 60 is preferably of the overhead cascading type with a series of conveyor belt gates 61 , each including a respective conveyor belt, to which sorter station 60 the individual pieces of cloth C are continuously delivered, in the shown example via a vertical elevator 62. Each conveyor belt gate 61 is arranged above a corresponding bin 66.

In a presently less preferred embodiment of the sorter station 60, seen from the side in fig. 1 b, each conveyor belt gate 61 is pivotally mounted and configured to be turned down by the controller into a dropping position. In this manner, a piece of cloth C delivered from one conveyor belt gate 61 to an adjacent, downstream conveyor belt gate 61 turned down into the dropping position by the controller will fall into the bin 66 below that conveyor belt gate 61 . In fig. 1 b the conveyor belt gate 61 to the left has been positioned in the dropping position by the controller whereby a piece of cloth C advanced from the left will fall into the bin 66 directly below that conveyor belt gate 61 .

In a presently preferred embodiment of the sorter station 60, seen from the side in fig. 1 c, each conveyor belt gate 61 is configured for reverse movement of the respective conveyor belt, as shown by arrow R. In this manner, a piece of cloth C delivered from a particular conveyor belt gate 61 to an adjacent, downstream conveyor belt gate 61 will fall into the bin 66 below that particular conveyor belt gate 61 by reversing movement of the adjacent conveyor belt such that the piece of cloth passes through a gap G’ between the two adjacent conveyor belt gates 61 . This gap G’ may by way of example be in the order of 10cm - 30cm, preferably in the order of 20cm, measured perpendicularly to the surface of the conveyor belt gate 61 and up to the adjacent, upstream conveyor belt 61.

Obviously, other types of sorters 60, such as sorter stations 60 that include deflectors arranged along the shown further conveyor 4 and controlled by the aforementioned controller to deflect the pieces of cloth C moving continuously on the conveyor 4 sideways into a corresponding bin 66, may be used in the context of the present invention.

In the shown embodiment of the processing plant 1 , a second station - referenced by numeral 30 - is arranged downstream the first station 20 and includes in accordance with the invention a compacting device.

The compacting device 30 generally operates in the way that continuously incoming pieces of cloth C that each define a given footprint on the receiving conveyor 3, are each mechanically compacted to reduce that footprint so that they will each fit on a smaller area on the conveyor 4 to which they are then continuously transferred.

By way of example the footprint of a piece of linen C lying spread out to some extend may be reduced by 50% or more by the compacting device 30.

As the pieces of cloth C are advanced away from the second station 30 lying on the further conveyor 4 their compacted form preferably remains unaffected or substantially unaffected. The aforementioned compaction allows, according to one aspect of the invention, for the use of sorters 60 of the aforementioned cascading type wherein the conveyor belt gates 61 are designed with a relatively small belt length L and/or width, corresponding to the selected footprint-reduction brought about by the compacting device 30, i.e. such that any given conveyor belt gate 61 may support on their conveying surface a compacted piece of cloth C without portions of the compacted piece of cloth C hanging over the edges of the conveyor belt gate 61 .

It is noted that, irrespectively of the type of sorter 60 used, a compacting as described may allow for an easier subsequent separation from each other of the pieces of cloth C collected in any given bin 66 by reducing the risk that the pieces of cloth C become intertwined as they land in their assigned bins 66.

Moreover, as a result of the compacting less time or energy may be required for performing the identify ing/analysing of each piece of cloth C at the further stations 40, 50. By way of example, X-ray analysis of the compacted piece of cloth C may be carried out in less time than the time it takes for the un-com- pacted piece of cloth C to pass the X-ray equipment 40, with the conveyor 4 supporting the pieces of clot C running at the same speed.

In a further embodiment of the processing plant 1 shown in figs. 4a and 4b, the further conveyor 4 may be supplied, at a location upstream the further stations 40, 50 and in a coordinated manner, with a separate stream of pieces of cloth C, preferably from a separately fed, additional compacting device 30 discharging the separate stream of pieces of cloth C, wherein the compacting devices 30 may be of the same type. In this manner a relatively high number of compacted pieces of cloth C may be accommodated per unit length of the further conveyor 4 in that the space between successive compacted pieces of cloth C from one compacting device 30 is filled up in a coordinated manner with compacted pieces of cloth C from the additional compacting device. Thereby, at a given speed of the further conveyor 4 a high number of pieces of cloth C may pass the further stations 40, 50 for identification and analysis per unit time, compared to a plant 1 without any compacting or with only one compacting device 30.

The compacting at the second station 30 will now be explained by reference to a presently preferred type of compacting device defining the second station 30. Embodiments of this preferred type are shown in figs. 3a-3d and all involve a coreless rolling up of the individual pieces of cloth C into respective, more or less tightly wound individual rolls R. While the drawings show the rolls R schematically as being cylindrical or near-cylindrical in cross-section the skilled person will understand that the shape obtained after the rolling up will depend on several factors, such as the flexibility of the incoming pieces of cloth C. Such a rolling up has been found to be convenient where the pieces of cloth C are pieces of linen or clothing/garments.

A common feature of the embodiments shown in figs. 3a-3d is that the individual pieces of cloth C enter at one end 31 of the compacting device to be individually compacted and discharged in compacted form at another end 32, with the footprint of each piece of cloth C being reduced in the direction between the first and second end 31 , 32. In fig. 4a the compacting device 30 shown in the lower left portion is of this rolling up-type; sections l-l and ll-ll in fig. 4a show schematically how this rolling up brings about a change in the footprint of the pieces of cloth C on the receiving conveyor 2, 3, with their extension E along the length of the receiving conveyor 2 being reduced so they will fit on the conveyor belt gates 61 that have a length L less than the extension E.

In fig. 3a the second station 30 acting as a compacting device is shown as including a continuously moving first endless belt 3 on which the shown piece of cloth C is advanced lying in a generally flat and somehow spread out configuration, as shown schematically. The first endless belt 3 conveniently may define the receiving conveyor 3 discussed above in connection with fig. 2 and immediately following the first station 20.

The first endless belt 3 cooperates with a second endless belt 35, which may run at a speed different from the speed of the first endless belt 3. The second endless belt 35 is arranged at a selected angle relative to the first endless belt 3, such that the two endless belts 3, 35 converge to define a gap G. The second endless belt 35 runs such that its lower side or face F2 moves in a direction opposite the upper side or face F1 of the first endless belt 3 during the rolling up. When a leading edge of the piece of cloth C reaches the second endless belt 35 it is caught by the oppositely running second endless belt 35, and a rolling up or curling is brought about, in principle in the way discussed in US 4,765,554. For discharge, the direction of movement of the second endless belt 35 is reversed whereby the first and second endless belts 3, 35 together force the rolled up piece of cloth C through the gap G.

Discharge through a gap G that is relatively narrow may in one embodiment be assisted by the upper side F1 of the first endless belt 3 flexing slightly, as indicated by arrow T in fig. 3a.

Fig. 3b shows a variant of the compacting device 30 of fig. 3a, wherein discharge of the rolled up piece of cloth C through a relatively narrow gap G is by turning the second endless belt 35 in the direction indicated by arrow T, in principle as shown in US 4,765,554.

Fig. 3c shows a presently preferred embodiment wherein the gap G is relatively wide to allow for the aforementioned discharge when the direction of movement of the second endless belt 35 is reversed. Fig. 3d shows yet another variant where the compacting device 30 includes a series of rollers 35’ in lieu of the aforementioned second endless belt 35, in principle as disclosed in DE 469 675, with the rolled up piece of cloth C exiting the compacting device 30 through the shown gap G.

In an alternative embodiment where rolling-up is not foreseen, compacting may be by using a yielding structure, such as a plate hinged at an upper end or a hanging-down elastic flap, replacing the structure 35 shown in fig.3b, wherein the yielding structure defines a restriction providing for a piling-up of the piece of cloth C to reduce its footprint, and wherein the yielding structure yields in the direction of the arrow T shown in fig. 3b to allow for the piled-up piece of cloth C to eventually escape through gap G for transfer to the further conveyor 4.

It is noted that, while not described herein, alternative compacting devices for mechanically compacting the individual pieces of cloth C to reduce their footprint may also find use without departing from the gist of the present invention. Such other compacting devices may by way of example involve the use of movable rams acting on the individual pieces of cloth C, or the pieces of cloth C being advanced against a reciprocating surface which is moved away once the footprint has been reduced. Compacting may also be by advancing the pieces of cloth C through a constriction, defined by way of example by opposite side walls 30 along the receiving conveyor 2, 3 converging in the direction of movement, as shown in figs. 2b and 4b. In these cases the piece of cloth C assumes a piled up configuration as a result of the compaction to reduce the footprint, as illustrated schematically in sections ll-ll and Ill-Ill in fig. 4b where dimension E is reduced.

In the embodiment discussed above the pieces of cloth C supplied to the compacting device 30 are pieces of cloth C that have been separated from a heap B at the shown first station 20. However, the pieces of cloth C may enter the plant 1 on the first conveyor 2 already as a succession of individual pieces of cloth C, each lying one after another more or less spread out on the first conveyor 2 with a given footprint, as shown in figs. 4a and 4b. They may then be fed directly into the compacting device 30, or via the first station 20 with movement of the robotic arm 24 temporarily halted. The advantages discussed above in relation to sorting and identifying/analysing are still achieved. It is noted that the footprint reduction may be by reducing the initial extension E of the foot print in a direction along the length of the receiving conveyor 2, 3 (as illustrated schematically in fig. 4a) and/or by reducing the initial extension E of the footprint in a direction perpendicular to the length of the receiving conveyor 2 (as illustrated in fig. 4b).