QUILT ROLLING AND FOLDING MACHINE

Abstract: A machine for rolling and folding a quilt (16) having a plurality of filled tubes. The machine consists of a means for feeding a quilt (10), mandrel means (18, 19) adapted to receive the leading portion of the quilt (16), means for rotating the mandrel means (18, 19) whereby the quilt (16) is rolled onto itself, means (42) for folding the rolled quilt (16) onto itself about at least one fold crease extending perpendicularly of the longitudinal axis of the rolled quilt (16) and means for unloading the folded rolled quilt. Where required, the above-mentioned machine may also comprise means (14) for packing the folded rolled quilt into a bag (45).

Description: QUILT ROLLING AND FOLDING MACHINE FIELD OF THE INVENTION: This invention relates to the rolling, folding and packing of quilts. BACKGROUND ART: A quilt usually consists of two sheets of material that have spaced apart webs stitched or otherwise secured therebetween to define tubes that are filled with material such as down. After manufacture, a quilt is normally rolled into a cylindrical pack, folded onto itself and placed into a bag for distribution. Traditionally, this has been a manual task and it is an object of the present invention to provide a machine for automatically rolling and folding finished quilts. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION: According to the invention there is provided a machine for rolling and folding a quilt having a plurality of filled tubes, said machine comprising means for feeding a quilt, mandrel means adapted to receive the leading portion of the quilt, means for rotating the mandrel means whereby the quilt is rolled onto itself, means for folding the rolled quilt onto itself about at least one fold crease extending perpendicularly of the longitudinal axis of the rolled quilt and means for unloading the folded rolled quilt. " Preferably, the aforementioned machine further comprises means for packing the folded rolled quilt into a bag. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS : In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig 1 is a perspective view of a quilt rolling, folding and packing machine according to one embodiment of the invention, Fig 2 is a perspective view of the rolling and folding station of the machine of Fig 1 about to receive a quilt, Fig 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a winding mandrel and its operating mechanism of the machine of Figs 1 and 2 showing the winding mandrel in its opened position, Fig 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the winding mandrel and its operating mechanism of the machine of Figs 1 and 2 showing the winding mandrel in its closed position, Fig 5 is a perspective view of the rolling and folding station of Fig 2 supporting a rolled quilt, Fig 6 is a perspective view of the rolling and folding station with quilt supported thereon of Fig 5 showing the operation of the folding clamp, Fig 7 is a perspective view of the packing station supporting a bag of the machine of Fig 1 , and Fig 8 is a side elevational view of the packing station • of Fig 7 showing the operation of the bag 5 securing means. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: The quilt rolling, folding and packing machine of Fig 1 consists of a belt conveyor 10 driven by a motor 11 in the 10 direction of a rolling and folding station 12. Adjacent thereto is a folding platform 13 that supports a packing station 14. Loaded on the frictioned rubber belts 15 of the belt conveyor 10 is a quilt 16. In operation, the quilt 16 is moved by the conveyor 10 15 towards the rolling and folding station 12 where it is first detected by the proximity switch 17 which, communicating via a programmable controller (not shown) , leads to the opening of the jaws of a pair of winding mandrels 18 and 19. The opened jaws of both winding mandrels 18 and IS are shown in 20 Figs 1 and 2. Both winding mandrels 18 and 19 are of similar construction and are operated identically. Referring to the winding mandrel 18, the upper jaw 20 has a pair of teeth 21 on its underside that, when the upper * jaw 20 is closed upon the lower jaw 22, fit into a pair of 25 cavities defined by a complimentary rubber structure 23 on the lower jaw 22. Although not shown, the teeth 21 of the upper jaw 20 comprise an outer strip of shiny steel centred on a rubber cushion. As will become apparent upon further reading, this structure allows the quilt to be gently removed from the grip of the jaw for the folding operation. With the jaws of both winding mandrels 18 and 19 open, the quilt 16 is then conveyed up a pair of ramps 24 and 25 to a level where the leading portion of the quilt 16 is in the line of closure of the jaws of both winding mandrels 18 and 19 (shown in Fig 2) . At this point the leading edge of the quilt 16 is detected by the proximity switch 26 which, communicating via a programmable controller (not shown) , leads to the stopping of the conveyor 10 and the closing of the jaws of both winding mandrels 18 and 19 so as to grip the leading portion of the quilt 16. The mechanism by which the jaws of the winding mandrel 18 are closed upon the leading portion of the quilt 16 is shown in Figs 3 and 4. After detection by the proximity switch 26 the drive arm 27 of the rodless cylinder 28 is forced in the direction of arrow A along a track 29 of the cylinder 28. The drive arm 27 is connected to one end of a jaw drive shaft 30 that passes through a hollow mandrel winding shaft 31 supported by bearings 32. The other end of the jaw drive shaft 30 is connected to a track follower (not shown) that is itself connected to both jaws of the winding mandrel 18. The upper jaw 20 has a pair of pins 33 and 34 that respectively engage a pair of identical tracks (only track 35 shown in full) in the track housings 36 and 37. The effect of drawing the shaft 30 in the direction of arrow A is to cause both jaws 20 and 22 to also move in the direction of arrow A but with the upper jaw 20 also closing upon the lower jaw 22 through being forced to follow the track 35 of the housings 36 and 37. ♦ It is apparent that the comparative level of the 5 horizontal position of the track 35 with respect to the horizontal position of the leading portion of the quilt 16 will determine the degree of pressure applied by the upper jaw 20 on the quilt 16 supported on a lower jaw 22, and the distance to which the pins move along the track 35 in the 10 direction of arrow A will effect the tension between the opposite sides of the leading portion of the quilt 16. Once the jaws of both winding mandrels 18 and 19 have closed upon the leading portion of the quilt 16, a motor/gear box arrangement (not shown) causes a drive shaft 38 to rotate 15 in the clockwise direction of arrow B. The shaft 38 supports at two sights a pair of non-slip timing belts (only belt 39 is shown in Figs 3 and 4, whilst belt 40 is shown in Fig 1) each of which is also engaged around its corresponding mandrel winding shaft. The operations of both the timing 20 belts are identical. As shown in Fig 4, clockwise rotation of the drive shaft 38 causes the mandrel winding shaft 31 to also rotate in a clockwise direction taking with it the closed winding * mandrel 18 (that grips the quilt 16) and its housing 36. In 25 this manner, the quilt 16 is wound onto itself until it ι assumes the fully rolled configuration shown in Fig 5. The fully rolled quilt 16 is now ready for the folding operation (shown in Figs 5 and 6) . Supported on a shaft 41 is a fold clamp 42 having a fold bar 43 at its free end. The shaft 41 is adapted to be rotated by the action of a cylinder 44. The position of the fold clamp 42 along the shaft 41 is such that it corresponds to a position about one third the distance along the rolled quilt 16. In operation, the rod of the cylinder 44 retracts causing the shaft 41 to rotate on its bearings and lower the fold clamp 42 towards the rolled quilt 16. With the full retraction of the rod of cylinder 44, the fold bar 43 is pressed horizontally against the rolled quilt 16 causing it to distort in the manner shown in Fig 6 and, at the same time, gently slip inwardly from the grip provided by the jaws of the winding mandrels 18 and 19. The operator may then pull one end of the rolled quilt 16 out from its loose grip of the jaws of the winding mandrel 18 and fold that free end over the fold bar 43. The operator may then pull out the other gripped end of the rolled quilt 16 and fold this about the first folded portion so that the resulting quilt is folded crosswise into thirds. The folded rolled quilt is then slid out from the fold bar 43 and placed on the folding platform 13 adjacent the packing station 14 (as shown in Fig 7) . The packing station 14 includes a flexible packing bag 45, the opening of which is secured tightly about the tapered end of a chute 46 fixed to one end of the folding platform 13. The bag securing mechanism is shown in Fig 8. Clamped on the chute 46 is a bracket 47. The bracket 47 supports a roller 48 on a eccentric centre. The roller 48 can be rotated about its eccentric centre by manipulation of the handle 49. The roller 48 is adapted to press down on a portion of the bag 45 adjacent the opening, thus securing the bag 45 to the chute 46 when the handle 49 is in the position shown by the unbroken line. Raising of the handle 49 so that the roller 48 assumes the position shown by the broken line allows the bag 45 to be released from the chute 46, or when needed, the opening of an empty bag to be placed over the tapered end of the chute 46 for subsequent securing thereto. With the bag in place the operator may then slide the folded quilt 16 along the folding platform 13 and through the chute 46 into the bag 45. The size of the bag will determine the number of folded quilts that can be accommodated therein, before replacement with an empty bag. Whilst the quilt is being folded and packed, the next quilt is being fed by the conveyor so that the cycle may be repeated. Various modifications may be made in details of design and construction without departing from the scope or ambit of the invention.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A machine for rolling and folding a quilt having a plurality of filled tubes, said machine comprising means for feeding a quilt, mandrel means adapted to receive the leading portion of the quilt, means for rotating the mandrel means whereby the quilt is rolled onto itself, means for folding the rolled quilt onto itself about at least one fold crease extending perpendicularly of the longitudinal axis of the rolled quilt and means for unloading the folded rolled quilt. 2. A machine according to claim 1, f rther comprising means for packing the folded rolled quilt into a bag. 3. A machine according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the quilt is fed by means of a belt conveyor. 4. A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mandrel means comprise a pair of winding mandrels each having upper and lower jaws, said jaws being adapted to receive the leading portion of the quilt by clamping onto opposite ends of the leading portion thereof. 5. A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the means for clamping the jaws onto opposite ends of the leading portion of the quilt also effects an end to end tensioning across the quilt. 6. A machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rolled quilt is folded onto itself about at least one fold crease extending perpendicularly of the longitudinal axis of the rolled quilt, said fold crease being provided by a fold bar that is lowered onto the rolled quilt from a mounting on the machine.

Inventors: WONG PAUL CHARLES, WONG, PAUL, CHARLES
Applicants: AUSTRALIAN FEATHER MILLS, AUSTRALIAN FEATHER MILLS PTY. LIMITED
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B65B63
IPC codes: B65B63