Patent Description:
As a conventional cloth spreading apparatus, for example, the one described in Patent Literature <NUM> that the applicant of this application has disclosed earlier is known. This cloth spreading apparatus includes cloth feeding units, a spreading unit that spreads fed cloths in a right-left direction, and an ejection unit that ejects the spread cloths. The feeding units are provided in a front part of the cloth spreading apparatus, at a plurality of locations spaced apart in the right-left direction, and each have a pair of feeding clamps that grasp adjacent corners of a cloth at a feeding position, and a raising-lowering device that raises and lowers the pair of feeding clamps between the feeding position and a delivery position above the feeding position.

The spreading unit has a pair of spreading clamps that receive the adjacent corners of the cloth from the pair of feeding clamps at the delivery position of each feeding unit and grasp these corners, and a lateral moving device that laterally moves the pair of spreading clamps together and makes the pair of spreading clamps grasp the adjacent corners of the cloth at the delivery position of each feeding unit, and then laterally moves the pair of spreading clamps in directions away from each other so as to spread the cloth in the right-left direction. The ejection unit has a belt conveyor that receives the upper edge part of the cloth having been spread in the right-left direction from the spreading clamps through an intermediate moving body, and pulls in the upper edge part rearward while sequentially pulling up the rest of the cloth on a lower side from the upper edge part to eject the whole cloth rearward.

In the conventional cloth spreading apparatus described in Patent Literature <NUM>, the lateral moving device moves a pair of spreading clamps together to the delivery position of each of the feeding units provided at a plurality of locations, makes the spreading clamps grasp the adjacent corners of the cloth, and then laterally moves the pair of spreading clamps in directions away from each other so as to spread the cloth in the left-right direction. Therefore, it remains difficult to sufficiently increase the processing efficiency by shortening the operating time from feeding to spreading.

When spreading multiple types of cloths, especially cloths that are different from one another in the width of the upper edge part, if a mixture of such cloths is present, spreading takes time as spreading a cloth having a large width at the upper edge part requires the pair of spreading clamps to move a long distance from the delivery positions at a predetermined interval from the pair of feeding clamps. Also in this respect, it remains difficult to sufficiently increase the processing efficiency.

To solve these problems with the conventional cloth spreading apparatus, it is conceivable to supply cloths from a cloth supply device to a cloth spreading apparatus, and as a conventional cloth supply device, for example, the one described in Patent Literature <NUM> is known. This cloth supply device detects the level of a lower end of a drooping upper edge part of a cloth and the level of a lowermost end of the cloth by a sensor while conveying, at a predetermined interval, a pair of clamps having grasped adjacent corners of the upper edge part of the cloth. Based on the width and the length of each cloth obtained from these levels, this device sorts the cloths by type and retains the cloths, before feeding them into a processing device on a type-by-type basis.

As another conventional cloth supply device, for example, the one described in Patent Literature <NUM> is known. In this cloth spply device, a plurality of pairs of feeding clamps having grasped adjacent corners of cloths at the respective feeding positions of feeding units provided at a plurality of locations is temporarily retained in a plurality of conveying paths, then merged into a common conveying path and conveyed therethrough, separated pair by pair near a cloth spreading apparatus, and sent to a common delivery position. Merging into the common conveying path and standing by are performed according to the type of cloth to avoid processing multiple types of cloths in a mixed manner.

However, even when cloths are sorted by type and the corners of each cloth are delivered to the pair of spreading clamps of the cloth spreading apparatus by these conventional cloth supply devices, a cloth having a large width at the upper edge part still requires the spreading clamps to move a long distance from the common delivery position when spreading the cloth. Thus, it was presumed to be difficult to sufficiently increase the processing efficiency.

The present invention aims to provide a cloth supply device that advantageously solves the problems with the conventional cloth spreading apparatuses as descried above.

The cloth supply device of the present invention is used for a cloth spreading apparatus that spreads in a left-right direction an upper edge part of a cloth between adjacent corners by respectively grasping these corners of the cloth with a pair of spreading clamps and ejects rearward the cloth of which the upper edge part has been spread. This cloth supply device is configured to convey fed cloths one by one and transfer the adjacent corners of the cloth to the pair of spreading clamps, and includes:.

In the cloth supply device of the present invention, the pair of conveying clamps respectively fed with the adjacent corners of the upper edge part of a cloth and grasping these corners pass side by side through the double measurement paths that extend parallel to each other at a predetermined interval. The sag sensor measures the degree of sagging of the upper edge part of the cloth between the corners respectively grasped by the pair of conveying clamps passing through the double measurement paths side by side. The cloth classification and supply control means respectively passes the pair of conveying clamps grasping the corners of the cloth through the double sag-specific supply paths corresponding to the degree of sagging of the upper edge part of that cloth among the multiple sag-specific supply paths that are specified according to the degree of sagging of the upper edge part and each branch off from the double measurement paths, and transfers the corners of the cloth from the pair of conveying clamps to the pair of spreading clamps that are positioned so as to correspond to the double sag-specific supply paths through which the pair of conveying clamps have been passed among the multiple sag-specific supply paths.

Thus, according to the cloth supply device of the present invention, the degree of sagging of the upper edge part of the cloth between the corners respectively grasped by the pair of conveying clamps that pass side by side through the double measurement paths extending parallel to each other at a predetermined interval is measured by the sag sensor. For a type of cloth of which the width at the upper edge part is inferred from the degree of sagging based on the measurement result, the conveying clamps are respectively passed through the double sag-specific supply paths corresponding to the degree of sagging of the upper edge part of that cloth among the multiple sag-specific supply paths specified according to the degree of sagging, and the corners are transferred to the spreading clamps disposed at corresponding positions. Thus, the moving distance of the spreading clamps in spreading a cloth can be reduced regardless of whether the width of the upper edge part of the cloth is large or small, and further of the difference in type of cloth, to thereby shorten the spreading time and sufficiently increase the processing efficiency.

In the cloth supply device of the present invention, the double measurement paths may both branch downward into the multiple sag-specific supply paths.

Thus, branching the measurement paths into the multiple sag-specific supply paths requires little of the factory floor area, so that the efficiency of the cloth supply space can be increased to reduce the facility cost.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings. Here, <FIG> is a side view showing one embodiment of a cloth supply device of the preset invention along with a cross-section of a cloth spreading apparatus that uses this cloth supply device. <FIG> is a sectional view of the cloth supply device of the embodiment as seen from part A in <FIG>. <FIG> is a plan view showing one example of the configuration of only a supply rail line among rail lines in the cloth supply device of the embodiment. <FIG> is a plan view showing one example of the configuration of only a retrieval rail line among the rail lines in the cloth supply device of the embodiment.

A cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> that uses the cloth supply device of this embodiment spreads washed cloths one by one to feed them into, for example, an iron roller in the next process at a cloth washing factory or the like. As illustrated in the sectional view of <FIG>, the front view of <FIG>, and the plan views of <FIG> and <FIG>, the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> includes a cloth supply device <NUM> of the embodiment that is disposed on a front side of the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> in place of a conventional cloth feeding unit, a spreading unit <NUM> that spreads fed cloths in a right-left direction, and an ejection unit <NUM> that ejects spread cloths. The spreading unit <NUM> and the ejection unit <NUM> are configured similarly to those of the conventional cloth spreading apparatuses described earlier.

Specifically, the spreading unit <NUM> has a pair of spreading clamps 2a that receive adjacent corners of a cloth C from a pair of conveying clamps at a predetermined delivery position and grasp these corners, and a lateral moving device 2b that laterally moves the pair of spreading clamps 2a together, makes the pair of spreading clamps 2a grasp the adjacent corners of the cloth C at the delivery position, and then laterally moves the pair of spreading clamps 2a in directions away from each other so as to spread the cloth C in the left-right direction. The ejection unit <NUM> has a catch base 3a as an intermediate moving body that receives, at its forward position, an upper edge part of the cloth C having been spread in the left-right direction from the spreading clamps 2a, and sucks and holds this upper edge part in the spread state onto an upper surface thereof by negative pressure, and a belt conveyor 3b that, as the catch base 3a moves backward and the negative pressure is removed, receives the upper edge part of the cloth C having been spread in the left-right direction, and pulls in this upper edge part rearward while sucking and holding it by negative pressure, and sequentially pulls up the rest of the cloth C on a lower side from the upper edge part to eject the whole cloth C rearward.

On the other hand, the cloth supply device <NUM> of the embodiment includes: a common conveying path <NUM> by which a pair of conveying clamps <NUM>, each having a lever-shaped claw that is urged to close by a spring and a travel roller, are conveyed while respectively grasping the adjacent corners of the fed cloth C; double measurement paths <NUM> that branch off leftward and rightward from the common conveying path <NUM> on the front side of the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> and extend parallel to each other at a predetermined interval LM; a sag sensor <NUM> that optically measures whether a degree of sagging of the upper edge part of the cloth C between the corners, respectively grasped by the pair of conveying clamps <NUM> that depart sequentially from the common conveying path <NUM> and pass through the double measurement paths <NUM> laterally side by side, is high or low based on, for example, whether the amount of light received is large or small, and outputs the result as an on-off signal; double inner supply paths <NUM> and double outer supply paths <NUM> as sag-specific supply paths that each branch off from the double measurement paths <NUM>; and a controller <NUM> as cloth classification and supply control means that has an ordinary computer. The common conveying path <NUM>, the measurement paths <NUM>, the inner supply paths <NUM>, and the outer supply paths <NUM> constitute a supply rail line <NUM> while being each formed by, for example, a rail with a substantially square U-shaped cross-section of which the central part on a downward-facing side is cut away along a longitudinal direction. Ordinary switching mechanisms <NUM> are provided at points where the measurement paths <NUM> branch into the inner supply paths <NUM> and the outer supply paths <NUM>.

Here, the double inner supply paths <NUM> extend parallel to each other at a predetermined interval L1, and the double outer supply paths <NUM> extend parallel to each other at a predetermined interval L2 that is larger than L1. Each of the inner supply paths <NUM> and the outer supply paths <NUM> has a substantially U-shape formed by connecting a descending path leading to the measurement path <NUM> and an ascending path facing the spreading unit <NUM> of the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> to each other at lower end portions thereof with an arc-shaped coupling part. In the descending path, the conveying clamp <NUM> travels by the force of gravity due to its own weight and the weight of the cloth C that it grasps. In a part from the coupling part to an upper end portion of the ascending path, for example, as in the conventional feeding unit, an endless timing belt disposed along a side part of the path is driven by a servomotor, a step motor, or the like, and one of many pins that are provided on this timing belt in a row in its extension direction so as to protrude is engaged with the conveying clamp <NUM>. Thus, a driving mechanism (not shown) that drives the conveying clamps <NUM> is provided to control the motion of the conveying clamps <NUM>.

Upon receiving an on-signal (the amount of light received being large) from the sag sensor <NUM>, the controller <NUM> determines that the cloth C has a high degree of sagging of the upper edge part, and passes the pair of conveying clamps <NUM> grasping the corners of that cloth C from the double measurement paths <NUM> respectively to the left and right double outer supply paths <NUM> by the switching mechanisms <NUM>. On the other hand, upon receiving an off-signal (the amount of light received being small) from the sag sensor <NUM>, the controller <NUM> determines that the cloth C has a low degree of sagging of the upper edge part, and passes the pair of conveying clamps <NUM> grasping the corners of that cloth C from the double measurement paths <NUM> respectively to the left and right double inner supply paths <NUM> by the switching mechanisms <NUM>. Further, the controller <NUM> determines the number of conveying clamps <NUM> remaining in the inner supply paths <NUM> and the outer supply paths <NUM> from the number of conveying clamps <NUM> that have passed through the switching mechanisms <NUM> and the number of times that the spreading clamps 2a of the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> have performed a spreading action. Then, the controller <NUM> disposes the pair of spreading clamps 2a in the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> so as to face the ascending paths of the left and right double supply paths in which the conveying clamps <NUM> are remaining among the left and right double outer supply paths <NUM> and the left and right double inner supply paths <NUM> through which the pair of conveying clamps <NUM> have been passed. The controller <NUM> releases a leading pair of conveying clamps <NUM> that are engaged by an ordinary engaging mechanism (not shown) in the descending paths of the supply paths in which the conveying clamps <NUM> are remaining, sends the leading pair of conveying clamps <NUM> to the ascending paths, and transfers the adjacent corners of the upper edge part of the cloth C from the pair of conveying clamps <NUM> that are driven by the driving mechanism to rise through the ascending paths to the pair of spreading clamps 2a.

Thus, according to the cloth supply device of the embodiment, since the pair of spreading clamps 2a receive the corners of a cloth C to be spread next at positions corresponding to the width of the upper edge part of the cloth C, the moving distance of the spreading clamps 2a in spreading the cloth C can be reduced regardless of whether the width of the upper edge part of the cloth C is large or small. As a result, the spreading time can be shortened and the processing efficiency can be increased.

At one or more locations, four locations in the example shown in the drawings, the cloth supply device <NUM> of the embodiment includes a feeding unit <NUM> as corner independent feeding means that has double feeding paths <NUM> extending side by side at a predetermined interval. Like the inner supply paths <NUM> and the outer supply paths <NUM>, each of the double feeding paths <NUM> in each feeding unit <NUM> has a substantially U-shape formed by connecting a descending path located on a side far from the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> and an ascending path located on a side close to the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> to each other at lower end portions thereof with an arc-shaped coupling part. In the descending path, the conveying clamp <NUM> travels by the force of gravity due to its own weight. In a part from the coupling part to an upper end portion of the ascending path, for example, as in the conventional feeding unit, an endless timing belt disposed along a side part of the path is driven by a servomotor, a step motor, or the like, and one of many pins that are provided on the timing belt in a row in its extension direction so as to protrude is engaged with the conveying clamp <NUM>. Thus, a driving mechanism (not shown) that drives the conveying clamps <NUM> is provided to control the motion of the conveying clamps <NUM>. The driving mechanisms of the respective double feeding paths <NUM> operate independently of each other. The controller <NUM> sequentially activates these driving mechanisms upon switch operation performed by a worker W according to the type of the width of the upper edge part of a cloth having been supplied to the feeding unit <NUM> by, for example, a supply conveyor S, so as to raise the pair of conveying clamps <NUM> at an interval according to the size of the width of the upper edge part of the cloth to be fed.

Therefore, according to the cloth supply device of the embodiment, one corner of a cloth to be fed is grasped by one of the pair of conveying clamps <NUM> at the lower end portion of the feeding path <NUM> according to the size of the width of the upper edge part of the cloth, and then the other corner of the cloth C, which has become easy to find as the conveying clamp <NUM> rises and pulls up the one corner, can be grasped by the other conveying clamp <NUM> at the lower end portion of the feeding path <NUM>. Thus, the efficiency of feeding the cloths C can be increased.

The double feeding paths <NUM> in each feeding unit <NUM> merge with each other at the upper end portions of their ascending paths and lead to a single retention path <NUM> that slopes downward toward the front side, and this single retention path <NUM> merges into the common conveying path <NUM> having a substantially U-shape as seen in a plan view. In each retention path <NUM>, the conveying clamp <NUM> travels by the force of gravity due to its own weight and the weight of the cloth C that it grasps. In the common conveying path <NUM>, an endless timing belt <NUM> disposed along a lower part of the path is driven by a servomotor, a step motor, or the like, and one of many pins <NUM> that are provided on the timing belt <NUM> in a row in its extension direction so as to protrude is engaged with the conveying clamp <NUM>. Thus, a driving mechanism <NUM> that drives the conveying clamps <NUM> is provided to control the motion of the conveying clamps <NUM>. The double feeding paths <NUM> and the single retention path <NUM> in each feeding unit <NUM> and the common conveying path <NUM> also constitute parts of the supply rail line <NUM>.

Here, at a point where the single retention path <NUM> of each feeding unit <NUM> merges into the common conveying path <NUM>, an ordinary engaging mechanism (not shown) is provided that retains one or more pairs of conveying clamps <NUM> in the retention path <NUM> and passes a leading pair of conveying clamps <NUM> among these conveying clamps <NUM> in a tandem state through the common conveying path <NUM>. The controller <NUM> receives input of the following pieces of data: the number of times that the worker W has performed switch operation for each type of cloth C; the number of conveying clamps <NUM> that have passed through each merge point in the common conveying path <NUM> as detected by a passage detector (not shown) of contact type, such as a microswitch, or of contactless type, such as an optical sensor, that is provided near that merge point on a downstream side thereof; and the number of conveying clamps <NUM> that have passed through the engaging mechanism as detected by a similar passage detector.

From these pieces of data, the controller <NUM> determines the types of the cloths C retained in the retention path <NUM> and the order of the pairs of conveying clamps <NUM> grasping these cloths C. When the same type of cloth as the type (e.g., A) of a cloth C that has passed through the common conveying path <NUM> from an upstream side thereof and passed through the merge point is present at the leading part of the retention path <NUM>, the controller <NUM> releases the leading pair of conveying clamps <NUM> engaged by the engaging mechanism at that merge point and passes the leading pair of conveying clamps <NUM> from the retention path <NUM> to the common conveying path <NUM>. When a type of cloth C (e.g., a second type B) different from the type of cloth C (e.g., the first type A) that has passed through the common conveying path <NUM> from the upstream side thereof and passed through the merge point is present at the first place in the retention path <NUM>, the controller <NUM> releases the leading pair of conveying clamps <NUM> in the retention path <NUM> with a pause by waiting for a certain time after the preceding type (e.g., the first type A) passes that merge point, or releases the leading pair of conveying clamps <NUM> after waiting until the same type of cloth C as the type (e.g., the second type B) of cloth C at the first place in the retention path <NUM> passes through the common conveying path <NUM> from the upstream side thereof and passes through the merge point, and passes the leading pair of conveying clamps <NUM> from the retention path <NUM> to the common conveying path <NUM>.

Thus, according to the cloth supply device of the embodiment, of the first type A and the second type B, for example, cloths C of the first or second type having the same width of the upper edge part can be continuously spread from the same transfer position with the spreading clamps 2a of the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM>. Therefore, the moving distance of the spreading clamps 2a in spreading the cloth C can be further reduced to thereby shorten the spreading time and increase the processing efficiency. In addition, the cloths C can be collected by type and ejected from the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM>.

Further, in the cloth supply device of this embodiment, the double measurement paths <NUM> each branch downward into the double inner supply paths <NUM> and the double outer supply paths <NUM> as multiple sag-specific supply paths.

Thus, according to the cloth supply device of the embodiment, branching the measurement paths <NUM> into the inner supply paths <NUM> and the outer supply paths <NUM> requires little of the factory floor area, so that the efficiency of the space for supplying cloths C can be increased to reduce the facility cost.

The cloth supply device of this embodiment further includes: quadruple return paths <NUM> that lead to the upper end portions of the respective ascending paths of the double inner supply paths <NUM> and double outer supply paths <NUM> and slope downward toward the front side; a common return path <NUM> which has a substantially U-shape as seen in a plan view and into which the quadruple return paths <NUM> sequentially merge; and conveying clamp supply paths <NUM> sloping downward toward the front side that branch off from the common return path <NUM> toward the respective feeding units <NUM>, and that each further branch in each feeding unit <NUM> into two paths leading to the upper end portions of the descending paths of the double feeding paths <NUM>. In each return path <NUM> and each conveying clamp supply path <NUM>, the conveying clamp <NUM> travels by the force of gravity due to its own weight. In the common return path <NUM>, an endless timing belt <NUM> disposed along an upper part of the path is driven by a servomotor, a step motor, or the like and one of many pins <NUM> that are provided on the timing belt <NUM> in a row in its extension direction so as to protrude is engaged with the conveying clamp <NUM>. Thus, a driving mechanism <NUM> for driving the conveying clamps <NUM> is provided to control the motion of the conveying clamps <NUM>.

The quadruple return paths <NUM>, the common return path <NUM>, and the conveying clamp supply paths <NUM> constitute a retrieval rail line <NUM> while being each formed by, for example, a rail with a substantially square U-shaped cross-section of which the central part on an upward-facing side is cut away along a longitudinal direction. At each point where the conveying clamp supply path <NUM> branches off from the common return path <NUM>, a passage detector (not shown) is provided that is similar to the one described above and provided close to the branch point in the common return path <NUM> on the upstream side thereof, and also an ordinally switching mechanism (not shown) that is similar to the switching mechanism <NUM> is provided. Using the switching mechanism, the controller <NUM> separates, one by one, the conveying clamps <NUM> that have been detected by the passage detector while passing through the branch point, and sequentially passes these conveying clamps <NUM> to the conveying clamp supply paths <NUM> of the four feeding units <NUM>.

Thus, according to the cloth supply device of the embodiment, empty conveying clamps <NUM> that have transferred the corners of the cloth C to the spreading clamps 2a in the respective ascending paths of the double inner supply paths <NUM> and double outer supply paths <NUM> pass through the return path <NUM> by falling under their own weight and gather in the common return path <NUM>. Then, these conveying clamps <NUM> are supplied pair by pair to the conveying clamp supply path <NUM> of each feeding unit <NUM>, returned from the conveying clamp supply path <NUM> to the upper end portions of the descending paths of the feeding paths <NUM>, and put on standby for being sent to the feeding paths <NUM> upon activation of the driving mechanism by switch operation performed by the worker W according to the type of the width of the upper edge part of the cloth to be fed. In this way, the task of feeding the cloths C can be efficiently performed.

While the present invention has been described above based on the example shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example and changes can be made as necessary within the scope of the description of the claims. For example, in the cloth supply device of the embodiment, the controller <NUM> is provided separately from a control device that is provided in the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM>, but the control device provided in the cloth spreading apparatus <NUM> may also be used as the controller <NUM> and the separate controller <NUM> may be omitted.

In the cloth supply device of the embodiment, the double measurement paths branch into the double inner supply paths <NUM> and the double outer supply paths <NUM> as the sag-specific supply paths according to the sag of the upper edge part. Alternatively, each of the double measurement paths may branch into a larger number of sag-specific supply paths.

In the cloth supply device of the embodiment, distinction is made between the first type and the second type of cloths C based on the difference in the width of the upper edge part thereof. Instead, distinction may be made, for example, based on the difference in the type of cloth, such as a sheet or a cover, that is distinguished from the difference in the width of the upper edge part thereof, or based on the difference in terms of customer or the like. Also in this case, a plurality of cloths of the same type can be continuously supplied to the cloth spreading apparatus to sufficiently increase its processing efficiency.

Claim 1:
A cloth supply device (<NUM>) used for a cloth spreading apparatus (<NUM>) that spreads in a left-right direction an upper edge part of a cloth (C) between adjacent corners by respectively grasping these corners of the cloth (C) with a pair of spreading clamps (2a) and ejects rearward the cloth (C) of which the upper edge part has been spread, the cloth supply device (<NUM>) being configured to convey fed cloths (C) one by one and transfer the adjacent corners of the cloth (C) to the pair of spreading clamps (2a),
characterized in that the cloth supply device (<NUM>) comprises:
double measurement paths (<NUM>) extending parallel to each other at a predetermined interval (LM) through which a pair of conveying clamps (<NUM>) that are respectively fed with the adjacent corners of the upper edge part of the cloth (C) and grasp these corners respectively pass side by side;
a sag sensor (<NUM>) that measures a degree of sagging of the upper edge part of the cloth (C) between the corners having been respectively grasped by the pair of conveying clamps (<NUM>) passing through the double measurement paths (<NUM>) side by side;
multiple sag-specific supply paths (<NUM>, <NUM>) that are specified according to the degree of sagging of the upper edge part and each branch off from the double measurement paths (<NUM>); and
cloth classification and supply control means (<NUM>) that passes the pair of conveying clamps (<NUM>) grasping the corners of the cloth (C) respectively through double sag-specific supply paths corresponding to the degree of sagging of the upper edge part of that cloth (C) among the multiple sag-specific supply paths (<NUM>, <NUM>), and transfers the corners of the cloth (C) from the pair of conveying clamps (<NUM>) to the pair of spreading clamps (2a) that are positioned so as to correspond to the double sag-specific supply paths through which the pair of conveying clamps (<NUM>) have been passed among the multiple sag-specific supply paths (<NUM>, <NUM>), wherein the sag-specific supply paths (<NUM>, <NUM>) into which each of the double measurement paths (<NUM>) branches are two paths of an outer supply path (<NUM>) and an inner supply path (<NUM>).