Apparatus for smoothing and drying damp laundry

An apparatus for ironing laundry which comprises a heated, rotatable cylinder for pre-drying laundry to be ironed which is situated in an enclosed area to conserve heat. Laundry is directed around this pre-drying cylinder by a complementary pair of guiding conveyor belts and is then transferred to at least one cylinder and corresponding mangle trough for ironing. Laundry is directed through the mangle troughs and cylinders by means of an additional guiding belt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to an apparatus for smoothing and drying damp 
laundry, in which this apparatus comprises a heated, driven cylinder and a 
mangle trough, laundry guiding means for transporting the laundry 
associated with the heated, driven cylinder in such a way that they 
encircle the same to a very large extent. 
PRIOR ART STATEMENT 
The combination of a heated, activated cylinder with a multitrough mangle 
is already known (U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,956, Int. Cl.: D 06 f, 61/100). In 
this apparatus, the cylinder is enclosed to a very large extent by 
revolving laundry transporting belts and revolving laundry guiding belts. 
The laundry is laid on a separate conveyor and brought by this conveyor to 
the cylinder. The front edge of the piece of laundry falls from this 
conveyor into the entry nip formed by the cylinder and the revolving 
laundry transporting belts. The piece of laundry is moved between the 
laundry transporting belts and the laundry guiding belts on the outside of 
the cylinder jacket. 
However, the aforementioned known apparatus does not provide for a 
condition in which the laundry is securely guided within the apparatus, 
while the maximum possible use is made of a quantity of heat, expenses 
involved with manufacture and servicing being held to a minimum. 
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The main object of this invention is to provide an appartus for smoothing 
and drying damp laundry, in which a heated, driven cylinder, a transfer 
section and a trough mangle are protected as much as possible against 
ambient temperature, with the laundry pieces being fed to the cylinder 
without a separate feed conveyor and a separate intermediate conveyor from 
the trough mangle. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
With the apparatus of this invention, it is possible to combine a 
pre-heating or pre-drying unit with a trough mangle, in which conveyor 
belts 3 are arranged, the utilization of which serves as a guide zone in 
the feed zone, as a guiding element in the vicinity of cylinder 2, and as 
a support and additional drying zone in the conveying zone, resulting in 
as much protection as possible for the laundry piece, in view of the fact 
that the conveyor system (conveyor belts 3 and laundry guiding belts 14) 
derives its movements by means of engagement with the circumference of 
cylinder 2, and that the conveyor system associated with the pre-heating 
or pre-drying unit operates independently from the conveyor system of the 
subsequently arranged trough mangle. Thereby, and through the rolling 
friction that is originated by the preheating or pre-drying unit, 
wear-and-tear on the laundry guiding belts 14 is correspondingly reduced. 
The screen-type structure of the conveyor belts 3, results in improved 
transport of the laundry piece, and additional drying in the transfer zone 
3b. In addition, transport of the laundry piece is improved by the fact 
that, in each instance, one laundry guiding belt 14 will lie in the middle 
of the conveyor belt 3 and, in each instance, a laundry guiding belt 14 
will lie in the spacings of the conveyor belts 3. Furthermore, a shorter 
sliding path for the laundry piece from the pre-heating or pre-drying unit 
to the trough mangle unit is created by the transfer zone 3b that extends 
up to the proximity of the entry nip 12 and by the convenient arrangement 
of the conveyor bracket 11, i.e., between the convex guiding elements 10b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
As is apparent from FIG. 1, a cylinder 2 is arranged on a frame 1. Several, 
and at least two conveyor belts 3, which are guided over reversing rollers 
4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, as well as over the spherically shaped guiding rollers 9 
and 10, revolve around the rotatably mounted driven cylinder 2, which may, 
for example, serve as a pre-heating or also as a pre-drying cylinder. 
Reversing rollers 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 as well as the guiding rollers 9 and 10 
are also mounted on frame 1. The preferably screen-like structure of the 
conveyor belts 3 makes them air-permeable. 
The guiding of the conveyor belts 3 occurs herein in such a way that they 
ascend upwardly between the reversing rollers 4 and 5, in other words in 
the direction of the laundry transport (represented symbolically in FIG. 1 
by an arrow), thereby forming, at the same time, a favorable feed region 
3a for placing of the laundry piece. The conveyor belts 3 encircle 
cylinder 2 as much as possible after the reversing roller 5. 
The reversing roller 6, viewed in a vertical direction, is preferably 
situated over the central axis, in the immediate proximity of the exterior 
of the circumference of cylinder 2. A transfer zone 3b is delineated by 
the previously described arrangement of shifting roller 6 and the 
arrangement of guiding roller 10 in the immediate proximity of the mangle 
trough 19 and next to entry nip 12 of mangle cylinder 18, and next to 
mangle cylinder 18 itself; which cause the conveyor belts 3 to form a 
trnasfer zone 3b. In transfer zone 3b, the laundry piece rests freely on 
the conveyor belts 3. In addition to the advantageous manner of guiding 
the conveyor belts 3 herein and the consequent advantageous transport of 
the laundry piece, an additional drying or pre-drying of the laundry piece 
here occurs, becaus of the temperature prevailing in the inside 
compartment of the apparatus of this invention, which is further promoted 
by the screen-type structure of conveyor belt 3. 
The guiding roller 10 is arranged directly in front of the mangle through 
intake, in other words in the vicinity of the entry nip 12. This guiding 
roller 10 effects the shifting and guiding of the conveyor belts 3. 
Transfer brackets or fingers 11 are preferably arranged between the 
conveyor belts 3 below the side carrying the laundry piece, in the area of 
guiding roller 10. These transfer brackets are further situated between 
the convex guiding elements 10b of guiding roller 10, and extend most 
extensively inside entry nip 12. The laundry piece is thereby slidably 
introduced from the transfer area 3b of the trough mangle. 
Conveyor belts 3 are guided to the contact zone 3a by reversing shifting 
rollers 7, 8 and 4 and by the guiding roller 9. Guiding roller 9 is 
similar to the guiding roller 10, no transfer brackets 11 being provided 
since delivery of a laundry piece does not take place at this guiding 
roller 9. In order to stretch the conveyor belts correspondingly and 
maintain them under a predetermined tension, for example, a tensioning 
device 13 is arranged in the region where the conveyor belts 3 no longer 
transport the laundry piece. In FIG. 1, tensioning device 13 is preferably 
represented as a tensioning roller arranged in the area of the conveyor 
belts 3 between the guiding roller 10 and reversing roller 7. This 
position of tensioning arrangement 13 can be changed in relation to the 
conveyor belts 3 so that the contact pressure of the conveyor belts 3 onto 
cylinder 2 can be preferably adjusted. The tensioning arrangement 13 can 
be designed so each conveyor belt 3 can be tensioned separately through a 
tensioning roller. It is also possible, to use one or several of the 
reversing rollers 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 as tensioning rollers. 
For a secure guiding of the piece of laundry, especially in the area from 
the reversing roller 5 to cylinder 2 and from cylinder 2 to the reversing 
roller 6, laundry guiding betls 14 are additionally provided, preferably 
inside the heat-insulated casing 26, which are guided over reversing 
rollers 5, 6, 15 and 16 and over cylinder 2. A tensioning device 17 is 
preferably arranged between reversing roller 15 and reversing roller 16. 
Each laundry guide belt 14 is separately tensionable by this tensioning 
arrangement 17. The laundry guide belts 14 herein are preferably arranged 
in such a way that, in each case, at least one laundry guide belt 14 rests 
on the conveyor belt 3 and a laundry guide belt 14 will always lie in each 
division of the conveyor belts 3. If several laundry guide belts 14 are 
used that rest on the conveyor belt 3, then the distance of all laundry 
guide belts 14 arranged over the entire width of cylinder 2 is preferably 
the same. The movement of the conveyor belts 3 and laundry guide belt 14 
necessary for transporting the laundry pieces is derived from the rotation 
of the driven cylinder 2. 
As shown in FIG. 1, a two-trough mangle is subsequently arranged to the 
described pre-heating or pre-drying unit. However, it is also possible to 
subsequently arrange only one or more than two trough mangle units, 
without departing from the concept of the invention. The trough mangle 
unit possesses, essentially, one heated mangle trough 19 and a perforated 
mangle cylinder 18 wrapped with an air-permeable, preferably plastic 
covering. The mangle cylinder 18, and also the mangle troughs 19, are 
mounted in the frame 20. 
The ironing pressure necessary for smoothing and further drying the laundry 
is achievable and adjustable by means not illustrated, such as pneumatic 
cylinders. Preferably, the mangle cylinder 18 herein is pressed into the 
mangle trough 19. The drive of the mangle cylinder 18 herein is designed 
in such a way that circumferential speed is slightly greater than that of 
cylinder 2. The circumferential speed of the mangle cylinder following the 
mangle cylinder is also slightly higher than that of mangle cylinder 18. 
In addition, each mangle cylinder 18 is connected to a suction device (not 
shown) for drawing off steam occurring in the drying of the washing. 
A heated trough bridge 21 is arranged at the exit of mangle trough 19 to 
transfer the pieces of laundry from the first to the second trough unit, 
the trough bridge also communicating with the entrance of the following 
mangle trough. 
Laundry guiding belts 22 are provided in order to safely guide the pieces 
of laundry in the trough mangle, especially in the area of trough bridge 
21; the laundry guiding belts are guided around the rollers 23 and 24, in 
the vicinity of the ironing area of the mangle troughs 19 around the 
mangle cylinder 18 and between the mangle cylinders over trough bridge 21. 
A tensioning device 25 makes it possible to separately stretch each 
laundry guiding belt 22. The laundry guiding conveyors 22 may be 
completely arranged within or locally outside the casing 26. Movement of 
the laundry guiding conveyors 22 is effected by the rotating movement of 
the mangle cylinder 18 or by the mangle cylinders, when several mangle 
units are provided. 
The forwarding arrangement 28 of a folding machine may, for example, be 
arranged at the exit of the last trough mangle unit of the apparatus of 
the present invention. 
In order to most extensively prevent thermal energy losses, this apparatus 
for smoothing and drying damp laundry has a thermally insulated casing 26. 
In addition a protective device 27 is provided at the laundry entrance, in 
feed region 3a, which, when the apparatus is in operation, protects the 
entire apparatus on operation. In the case of shutting-off of the appartus 
of this invention, an additional controlled, switchable, preferably 
electromagnetic brake acts upon cylinder 2. 
FIGS. 2 and 3 show the diagrammatic representation of the guiding roller 
10. The guiding roller 10, which is rotatably mounted in frame 1, 
comprises basic roller body 10a with the spherical guiding elements 10b 
assembled thereon at a distance from each other. A conveyor belt 3 runs on 
each guiding element 10b. Gears 10c are additionally provided between the 
spherical guiding elements 10b, in which transfer brackets are arranged.