Devices, systems, and methods for repositioning a deformable laundry article are described. For example, a robotic device includes a conveyor configured to transfer the deformable laundry article outside of a work volume, two or more lifters including grippers individually anchored about the perimeter of the work volume, two or more sensors disposed at fixed locations about the work volume, and a memory storing data indicative of repositioned deformable laundry articles. A controller is in operative communication with the memory, the two or more sensors, and the two or more lifters. The controller is configured to receive a signal from the sensors, identify grip points on the deformable laundry article suspended above the conveyor, instruct a lifter to grip and lift an identified grip point to the suspension height, determine whether the deformable laundry article is repositioned, and instruct the lifters to lower the repositioned deformable laundry article onto the conveyor.

A cloth spreading apparatus includes: a spreading unit having spreading clamps that spread an upper-side part of a fed cloth in a right-left direction; and an ejection unit having an intermediate movable body that releases the upper-side part of the cloth that the intermediate movable body has received from the spreading clamps in the forward position and held onto an upper surface by sucking, and a belt conveyor that receives the upper-side part of the cloth released by the intermediate movable body and ejects the entire cloth backward. The ejection unit has: a large number of suction holes that are dispersedly disposed in the intermediate movable body's upper surface; a negative pressure source that sucks out air inside the intermediate movable body to form a negative pressure region inside the intermediate movable body; and sucking force maintaining means that maintains a sucking force of the suction holes

A cloth spreading apparatus includes: a spreading unit having spreading clamps that spread an upper-side part of a fed cloth in a right-left direction; and an ejection unit having an intermediate movable body that releases the upper-side part of the cloth that the intermediate movable body has received from the spreading clamps in the forward position and held onto an upper surface by sucking, and a belt conveyor that receives the upper-side part of the cloth released by the intermediate movable body and ejects the entire cloth backward. The ejection unit has: a large number of suction holes that are dispersedly disposed in the intermediate movable body's upper surface; a negative pressure source that sucks out air inside the intermediate movable body to form a negative pressure region inside the intermediate movable body; and sucking force maintaining means that maintains a sucking force of the suction holes

An automatic cloth spreading machine, that keeps the number of pieces processed even in the event of failure in handling, includes a separating device for separating pieces of cloth one by one from a mass of cloth made of a plurality of pieces of cloth by cloth handling devices, an edge locating device for locating an edge of each of the pieces of cloth having been separated one by one, a spreading device for spreading the piece of cloth, the edge of which has been located, and a discharging device for discharging the piece of cloth having been spread to a subsequent step. The separating device includes multiple units of cloth handling devices that perform the same process, and the multiple units of cloth handling devices simultaneously perform at least one of single- or multiple-step processes of separating pieces of cloth one by one from the mass of cloth.

An automatic cloth spreading machine, that keeps the number of pieces processed even in the event of failure in handling, includes a separating device for separating pieces of cloth one by one from a mass of cloth made of a plurality of pieces of cloth by cloth handling devices, an edge locating device for locating an edge of each of the pieces of cloth having been separated one by one, a spreading device for spreading the piece of cloth, the edge of which has been located, and a discharging device for discharging the piece of cloth having been spread to a subsequent step. The separating device includes multiple units of cloth handling devices that perform the same process, and the multiple units of cloth handling devices simultaneously perform at least one of single- or multiple-step processes of separating pieces of cloth one by one from the mass of cloth.

The present invention relates to linen spreader apparatus including a conveyor defining a machine direction, a pair of spreader clamps movable transversally to said machine direction towards each other, and away from each other for spreading out a piece of linen, at least one charger station, each charger station delivering a corner of a leading portion of a piece of linen to a respective one of said spreader clamps, a transfer beam for transferring a piece of spread out linen from said at least one pair of spreader clamps to said conveyor, said transfer beam having a leading edge and a trailing edge and being arranged to move back and forth in said machine direction between advanced and retracted positions, said leading edge of said transfer beam located in a region below said spreader clamps in said advanced position, said transfer beam being configured for temporarily holding on to a portion of said piece of linen as the transfer beam moves from said advanced position towards said retracted position, and an elongated transverse abutment structure having an abutment face, for holding a portion of said piece of linen between said leading edge of said transfer beam and said abutment face, pressurised air exits for directing said leading portion of said piece of linen onto said transfer beam when said piece of linen is released from said spreader clamps, wherein said transfer beam is having a main body, wherein said leading edge is movable to and from said main body.

The present invention relates to linen spreader apparatus including a conveyor defining a machine direction, a pair of spreader clamps movable transversally to said machine direction towards each other, and away from each other for spreading out a piece of linen, at least one charger station, each charger station delivering a corner of a leading portion of a piece of linen to a respective one of said spreader clamps, a transfer beam for transferring a piece of spread out linen from said at least one pair of spreader clamps to said conveyor, said transfer beam having a leading edge and a trailing edge and being arranged to move back and forth in said machine direction between advanced and retracted positions, said leading edge of said transfer beam located in a region below said spreader clamps in said advanced position, said transfer beam being configured for temporarily holding on to a portion of said piece of linen as the transfer beam moves from said advanced position towards said retracted position, and an elongated transverse abutment structure having an abutment face, for holding a portion of said piece of linen between said leading edge of said transfer beam and said abutment face, pressurised air exits for directing said leading portion of said piece of linen onto said transfer beam when said piece of linen is released from said spreader clamps, wherein said transfer beam is having a main body, wherein said leading edge is movable to and from said main body.

Laundry items are spread out by a spreading device during which a front edge of the laundry item is stretched out. Subsequently, a front edge strip of the stretched-out front edge is transferred onto a depositing strip which deposits the edge strip onto a feed conveyor which feeds it to a mangle. This front edge typically has a residual sag. In larger laundry items, the depositing strip can collide therewith as it moves down under the edge strip, impairing the mangling quality. Making provision to space the depositing strip from the edge strip, prior to the movement under the latter, to an extent that the edge strip does not collide with the depositing strip as the latter moves down results in the depositing strip accepting the edge strip with a rectilinear front edge and then the laundry item is fed to the mangle and inserted into the latter.

Laundry items are spread out by a spreading device during which a front edge of the laundry item is stretched out. Subsequently, a front edge strip of the stretched-out front edge is transferred onto a depositing strip which deposits the edge strip onto a feed conveyor which feeds it to a mangle. This front edge typically has a residual sag. In larger laundry items, the depositing strip can collide therewith as it moves down under the edge strip, impairing the mangling quality. Making provision to space the depositing strip from the edge strip, prior to the movement under the latter, to an extent that the edge strip does not collide with the depositing strip as the latter moves down results in the depositing strip accepting the edge strip with a rectilinear front edge and then the laundry item is fed to the mangle and inserted into the latter.

The automatic supply of items of laundry to a feeding machine for supplying the items of laundry to a mangle requires the formation of adjacent corners of an edge of the item of laundry, which edge is to be spread upstream of the feeding machine, which hitherto has not been able to be achieved automatically with sufficient reliability. The invention brings the respective item of laundry into a U-shaped configuration before same is supplied to the feeding machine and, starting from said configuration, to stretch apart said item of laundry with a spreading device having a conveyor cascade. This reliably forms the adjacent corners of the edge, which is to be stretched out, of the item of laundry, said corners being required for automatically feeding the item of laundry into the feeding machine. A reliable automatic supply of the respective item of laundry to the feeding machine is therefore ensured.