Clothes folding machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12116722-B2
Application number	US-202017624699-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 23, 2020
Priority date	Jul 4, 2019
Publication date	Oct 15, 2024
Grant date	Oct 15, 2024

Abstract

Proposed is a clothes folding machine, which includes a case, a loading unit disposed at an upper portion of the case, having a plurality of grippers, and conveying a clothes item gripped by the grippers into the case, a folding unit including a longitudinal-line folder folding both sleeves of the clothes item along longitudinal line to overlap and a transverse-line folder configured to fold the clothes item along a transverse line to overlap, and an unloading unit disposed at a lower portion of the case and conveying the clothes item folded by the folding unit outside the case.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A clothes folding machine comprising:
a case;
a loading unit disposed at an upper portion of the case, having a plurality of grippers, and conveying a clothes item gripped by the grippers into the case;
a folding unit including a longitudinal-line folder folding both sleeves of the clothes item along longitudinal line to overlap and a transverse-line folder configured to fold the clothes item along a transverse line to overlap; and
an unloading unit disposed at a lower portion of the case and conveying the clothes item folded by the folding unit outside the case,
wherein the longitudinal-line folder is disposed at a same single stage together with the loading unit,
wherein the longitudinal-line folder includes:
a main board supporting a body part of the clothes item conveyed by the loading unit such that the body part can slide, and
a plurality of sub-boards installed to be able to transversely move with respect to the main board and folding the sleeves along the longitudinal lines, respectively, by transversely pushing the sleeves simultaneously with conveying by the loading unit,

wherein the sub-boards are mounted on a plurality of fixed plates, respectively, to be able to transversely move,
wherein the fixed plates are spaced apart from each other with different height differences under the main board,
wherein the sub-boards are smaller in size than the fixed plates, and
wherein front ends of the fixed plates protrude toward a front of the case further than front ends of the sub-boards.

2. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , wherein the sub-boards are spaced apart from each other with different height differences under the main board.

3. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , wherein the sub-boards each include:
an entry guide formed such that a width gradually increases toward a downstream side from an upstream side of a path of the clothes item; and
a fold maintainer formed with a constant width from the entry guide.

4. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , wherein front guides, which are inclined downward toward the front of the case and to which the clothes item is loaded, are formed at the front ends of the fixed plates, respectively, and lift the sleeves hanging down from the main board.

5. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of guide protrusions guiding straight movement is formed on a bottom surface of each of the sub-boards, and
wherein a plurality of guide grooves is formed at the fixed plates to be able to be coupled to the guide protrusions.

6. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , further comprising:
a driving motor driving each of the sub-boards such that the sub-boards can transversely straightly move;
a screw connected with the driving motor to rotate; and
a sliding member connected to a side edge of each of the sub-boards, having a nut portion coupled to the screw therein, and mounted to be able to slide along the screw.

7. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , further comprising:
a driving motor driving each of the sub-boards such that the sub-boards can transversely straightly move;
a ball screw connected with the driving motor to rotate; and
a slider thread-fastened to the ball screw at an inner side thereof and transversely sliding along the ball screw.

8. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , further comprising:
a driving motor driving each of the sub-boards such that the sub-boards can transversely straightly move;
a pinion gear connected with the driving motor through a shaft to rotate;
a rack gear engaged with the pinion gear and converting rotational motion of the driving motor into straight motion; and
a support rotatably supporting the shaft and connected to each of the sub-boards.

9. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , wherein the sub-boards are rotatably mounted on top surfaces of the fixed plates, respectively, and are rotated between a first position where the sub-boards open in parallel toward an upstream side of a path of the clothes item and a second position where the sub-boards transversely close, and
wherein the fixed plates are spaced apart from each other with different height differences under the main board.

10. The clothes folding machine of claim 9 , further comprising:
a driving motor driving each of the sub-boards such that the sub-boards can be transversely rotated; and
a rotary shaft of which a first side is connected with the driving motor and a second side is coupled to a corner of each of the sub-boards to rotate each of the sub-boards.

11. The clothes folding machine of claim 1 , wherein the sub-boards are disposed to protrude toward an upstream side of a path of the clothes item further than the fixed plates.

12. The clothes folding machine of claim 11 , wherein a protrusion is formed on a transverse outer side of each of the sub-boards, and the protrusion protrudes in a curved shape toward the upstream side of a path of the clothes item from a side of each of the sub-boards.

13. A clothes folding machine comprising:
a case;
a loading unit disposed at an upper portion of the case, having a plurality of grippers, and conveying a clothes item gripped by the grippers into the case;
a folding unit including a longitudinal-line folder folding both sleeves of the clothes item along longitudinal line to overlap and a transverse-line folder configured to fold the clothes item along a transverse line to overlap; and
an unloading unit disposed at a lower portion of the case and conveying the clothes item folded by the folding unit outside the case,
wherein the longitudinal-line folder is disposed at a same single stage together with the loading unit,
wherein the longitudinal-line folder includes:
a main board supporting a body part of the clothes item conveyed by the loading unit such that the body part can slide, and
a plurality of sub-boards spaced apart from each other in an up-down direction with different height differences with respect to the main board, installed such that a first side in a transverse direction can be rotated in the up-down direction about a second side, and simultaneously folding the sleeves along the longitudinal lines, respectively, simultaneously with conveying by the loading unit,

wherein the second sides of the sub-boards are coupled to first sides of a plurality of fixed plates by hinge shafts, respectively, the first sides of the sub-boards are rotated in the up-down direction between a first position where the sub-boards are horizontally positioned and a second position where the sub-boards are inclined downward, and
wherein the fixed plates are spaced apart from each other with different height differences with respect to the main board.

14. The clothes folding machine of claim 13 , further comprising driving motors driving the sub-boards such that the first sides of the sub-boards can be rotated, respectively.

15. A clothes folding machine comprising:
a case;
a loading unit disposed at an upper portion of the case, having a plurality of grippers, and conveying a clothes item gripped by the grippers into the case;
a folding unit including a longitudinal-line folder folding both sleeves of the clothes item along longitudinal line to overlap and a transverse-line folder configured to fold the clothes item along a transverse line; and
an unloading unit disposed at a lower portion of the case and conveying the clothes item folded by the folding unit outside the case,
wherein the longitudinal-line folder is disposed at a same single stage together with the loading unit, and
the longitudinal-line folder

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Chae Aekyung
• Kim Keunjoo
• Moon Chanwoo
• Lim Choongho

Classifications

• D06F89/023 Primary

  of shirts · CPC title

• D06F89/026 Primary

  Details, e.g. collar holders · CPC title