Patent ID: 7127840

Claim:
An apparatus for spreading an article of laundry from a load of articles of laundry, the apparatus comprising: a frame; a moveable plate connected with the frame, the movable plate operable to support the article of laundry; a first clamp operable to drag the article of laundry onto the moveable plate; a sensor operable to sense the article of laundry on the moveable plate, the first clamp operable to release the article of laundry on the moveable plate in response to the sensor; a second clamp operable to grab the article of laundry from the moveable plate, the second clamp comprising at least two clamps positioned to grab the article of laundry at two locations, respectively; and a release operable to allow movement of the moveable plate in conjunction with the second clamp grabbing the article of laundry on the moveable plate, the moveable plate moving away from the second clamp.