JP6912812B2 - Folding unit and folding method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a folding unit and a folding method.

Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, a folding device that automatically folds clothes is known. In this folding device, clothes can be automatically folded by using a plurality of manifolds.

Japanese Patent No. 5317239

However, in the conventional clothing processing apparatus, since a plurality of manifolds are driven to fold the clothing, the number of parts may increase due to the complexity of the driving mechanism, and the control may be complicated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a folding unit having a simple structure, which can reduce the number of parts and simplify the control.

The folding unit according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a mounting plate on which the clothing is unfolded and placed in a state where the sleeves of the clothing are hung outward, and a slide for sliding the clothing together with the above-described mounting plate. It is located below the above-mentioned mounting plate, and includes a folding portion that folds the sleeve portion of the garment inward in the width direction as the sliding portion slides.

Further, the slide portion may include a fixing portion for pressing the clothing against the mounting plate.

Further, the slide portion may be slid diagonally upward from the position where the clothing is placed.

Further, the folding portion may be provided with a guide plate that guides the sleeve portion of the clothing toward the inside in the width direction.

Further, it may be provided with a convolutional portion that protrudes in a direction intersecting the above-mentioned mounting plate and folds the garment in which the sleeve portion is folded in the height direction.

In the folding unit according to the position aspect of the present invention, the garment is placed in a state where the sleeve portion of the garment hangs outward and the garment is unfolded and placed, and the garment is held in a state where the collar portion of the garment is gripped. It includes a slide step of sliding and moving, and a folding step of folding the sleeve portion of the garment inward in the width direction with the slide movement of the slide portion.

According to the present invention, by placing the garment on the mounting plate and sliding the mounting plate by the sliding portion, the sleeve portion of the garment is folded inward in the width direction. Then, by projecting the folding portion in the direction intersecting the mounting plate, the clothes can be folded in the height direction. For this reason, for example, the folding unit has a simple structure, the number of parts is reduced, and control is simple, as compared with a configuration in which clothes are gripped by a plurality of manipulators and the manipulators are driven to fold the clothes. Can be.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structural example of the garment processing system in one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a top view of a storage basket used in the garment processing system shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the system structure of the garment processing system shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the deployment unit in the garment processing system shown in FIG. It is an enlarged view of the hand part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the control flow of the deployment unit shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining one example of the rotation operation of the hand part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining another example of the rotation operation of the hand part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the movement of the robot hand of the hand part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the movement at the time of grasping a garment by one of the robot hands of the hand part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the movement when the garment is lifted by the hand part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the posture change of the hand part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the movement at the time of grasping a garment by the other robot hand of the hand part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the movement which moves clothes by the crane part shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the movement which unfolds clothes by the robot hand shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which blows air to clothes by the blower part shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the folding unit in the garment processing system shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the mounting plate from the folding unit shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the state which put the clothes on the folding unit shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which the slide part was slid in the folding unit shown in FIG. In the folding unit shown in FIG. 20, it is a figure which shows the state in which the protruding plate of the folding part is projected. It is a figure which shows the plan view of the mounting plate in the folding unit shown in FIG. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a state in which the clothing shown in FIG. 19 is folded in the width direction due to the sliding movement of the slide portion. It is a figure which shows the plan view of the mounting plate in the folding unit shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The clothes processing system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is, for example, a system that automatically processes clothes C after washing into a usable state.
As shown in FIG. 1, the garment processing system 1 is composed of an unfolding unit 10 that unfolds the garment C housed in the storage basket 100, a folding unit 20 that folds the garment C unfolded by the unfolding unit 10, and a folding unit 20. It includes a storage unit 30 for storing the folded clothes C in the storage box 200. In the storage basket 100, for example, clothes after washing are stored.

The deploying unit 10 lifts and deploys the clothing C from the storage basket 100 in which the clothing C is housed. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage car 100 may be divided into a plurality of compartments. When the garment processing system 1 is used in a home, for example, the compartments of the storage basket 100 can be distinguished for each user of the garment C. Further, in the storage basket 100, clothing C may be separately stored for each genre such as underwear and T-shirts.
The folding unit 20 folds the garment C in the width direction and the height direction.

(System configuration)
As shown in FIG. 3, the clothing processing system 1 includes a control unit 40, which is a processor that controls each unit, a storage unit 50 that stores various programs and various data required for the control unit 40 to operate, and a storage unit 50. It includes an image analysis unit 60 that analyzes image data captured by the identification unit 13, which will be described later.

The control unit 40 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a graphic processing unit (GPU), or the like. The control unit 40 is not limited to these examples.
The storage unit 50 is realized by various media such as HDD, SSD, and flash memory. The control unit 40 executes the program stored in advance by the storage unit 50, and causes each unit of the garment processing system 1 to realize each function.

(Deployment unit)
As shown in FIG. 4, the deploying unit 10 includes an elevating part 11 that lifts the clothes C from the storage basket 100, a blower portion 12 that blows air toward the clothes C lifted by the elevating part 11, and the clothes C. An identification unit 13 for imaging and identifying clothing C is provided.

The deployment unit 10 is configured inside a rectangular parallelepiped frame body 300. In the following description, the directions along the frame bodies 300 that are orthogonal to each other are referred to as the front-rear direction X1, the left-right direction Y1, and the up-down direction Z1.
The elevating portion 11 includes a hand portion 14 that grips the clothing C, and a crane portion 15 that movably supports the hand portion 14 in the front-rear direction X1, the left-right direction Y1, and the up-down direction Z1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the hand portion 14 includes a plate-shaped hand portion main body 14A having a rectangular shape in a plan view orthogonal to the front and back surfaces, and a pair of robot hands 14B connected to the hand portion main body 14A. ing.
In the following description, the direction along the long side of the hand unit 14A in the plan view is the long side direction D1 of the hand unit 14A, and the direction along the short side of the hand unit 14A in the top view is the direction of the hand unit 14A. It is called the short side direction D2. Further, the direction orthogonal to each of the long side direction D1 and the short side direction D2 is referred to as the thickness direction D3.

The hand portion main body 14A is arranged so that the long side direction D1 coincides with the front-rear direction X1 in the state before the elevating portion 11 is driven. (See Fig. 4)
The elevating portion 11 includes a first rotating device 16 capable of rotating the hand portion main body 14A around the first rotating shaft A1 along the thickness direction D3. By driving the first rotating device 16, the hand portion main body 14A can be rotated around the first rotating shaft A1.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the posture of the hand portion main body 14A can be changed so that the long side direction D1 of the hand portion main body 14A coincides with the left-right direction Y1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the elevating portion 11 includes a second rotating device 17 capable of rotating the hand portion main body 14A around the second rotating shaft A2 along the short side direction D2. By driving the second rotating device 17, the hand portion main body 14A can be rotated around the second rotating shaft A2.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the posture of the hand portion main body 14A can be changed so that the long side direction D1 of the hand portion main body 14A coincides with the vertical direction Z1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pair of robot hands 14B are arranged on the lower surface of the hand portion main body 14A at intervals in the long side direction D1.
The elevating unit 11 includes a hand driving device 14C capable of moving the pair of robot hands 14B in the long side direction D1. In this embodiment, the hand drive device 14C is composed of a rack and pinion. By driving the hand drive device 14C, the pair of robot hands 14B can be brought close to each other or separated from each other.

Here, the structure of the robot hand 14B will be described in detail.
The robot hand 14B includes a pair of skewer-shaped grip portions 14D whose tips are bifurcated. The pair of grip portions 14D are arranged so as to face each other in the short side direction D2.
Of the tip portions of each of the pair of grip portions 14D, a protrusion 14E protruding inward in the short side direction D2 is formed at a portion located outside the short side direction D2. By catching the protrusion 14E on the clothing C, the clothing C can be easily gripped by the grip portion 14D.

The robot hand 14B includes a third rotating device 18 that can rotate the pair of gripping portions 14D around the third rotating shaft A3 along the long side direction D1 in synchronization with each other in the opposite direction.
When the third rotating device 18 is driven, the pair of gripping portions 14D rotate around the third rotating shaft A3 and approach or separate from each other. As a result, the garment C can be gripped by the pair of gripping portions 14D.

Further, the robot hand 14B includes a fourth rotating device 19 that can rotate the pair of gripping portions 14D around the second rotating shaft A2 at the same time.
When the second rotating device 17 is driven, as shown in FIG. 9, a pair of grip portions 14D located outside the long side direction D1 in the hand portion main body 14A are obtained, and the tip of the grip portion 14D is attached to the hand portion main body 14A. It can be rotated so as to face the outside of the long side direction D1.

As shown in FIG. 10, the crane portion 15 is composed of a plurality of columnar members 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, and 15E arranged in a telescopic manner.
The plurality of columnar members 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, and 15E have different outer shapes from each other. The plurality of columnar members 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, and 15E are arranged on the common axis O1.

The columnar members 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, and 15E are composed of a plurality of rod members 15G arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction with respect to the common axis O1. By forming the columnar members 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, and 15E with the plurality of rod members 15G, the weight of the crane portion 15 can be suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the crane unit 15 includes a moving device 5 that can move in the front-rear direction X1 and the left-right direction Y1. The upper end of the crane portion is connected to the moving device 5. The lower end of the crane portion is connected to the upper surface of the hand portion main body 14A via the first rotating device 16 and the second rotating device 17.
Among the crane portions 15, the columnar member 15A having the largest outer diameter is connected to the moving device 5. Among the crane portions 15, the columnar member 15E having the smallest outer diameter is connected to the hand portion main body 14A.

The moving device 5 includes a wire 5A for suspending the hand portion main body 14A and a winder 5B capable of winding the wire 5A. One end of the wire 5A is connected to the hand body 14A.
By opening the motor of the winder 5B, the hand portion main body 14A can be lowered downward by its own weight from the state shown in FIG. 4, and the crane portion 15 can be extended in the vertical direction Z1. Further, the crane portion 15 can be shortened in the vertical direction Z1 by winding the wire 5A with the winder 5B and raising the hand portion main body 14A.

The blower portion 12 is located at the lower end of the deployment unit 10, and is arranged at a position where the storage car 100 is placed and at a position adjacent to Y1 in the left-right direction. The blower unit 12 blows air from below to above.
The blower unit 12 is controlled by the control unit 40 at the timing of blowing air. The blower portion 12 blows air, for example, when the clothing C is located above the blower portion 12 together with the elevating portion 11.

The deployment unit 10 includes a rectifying plate 70 that rectifies the air blown from the blower unit 12.
The straightening vane 70 is arranged above the blower portion 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the straightening vanes 70 are formed in a rectangular grid pattern when viewed from above. The shape of the grid of the straightening vane 70 may be hexagonal or circular when viewed from above.

Even if the air blown from the blower unit 12 is a swirling flow, the swirling can be eliminated by passing through the straightening vane 70, and the air can be adjusted upward. When the clothes C receive the air arranged upward evenly, the clothes C lifted by the elevating part 11 are smoothly deployed in the horizontal direction.

The identification unit 13 includes a first identification unit 13A for identifying clothes C housed in the storage basket 100, and a second identification unit 13B for identifying clothes C deployed by blowing air from a blower.
Each of the first identification unit 13A and the second identification unit 13B includes an image pickup element that images clothing C using visible light.

The first identification unit 13A recognizes the uppermost portion of the clothing C housed in the storage basket 100 and identifies the position of the clothing C. When the storage car 100 is arranged in the deployment unit 10, the first identification unit 13A images the clothing C inside the storage car 100 from above, as shown in FIG. The processing of the captured data by the image analysis unit 60 will be described later.

The first identification unit 13A includes a drive device (not shown). By driving the drive device, the position of the first identification unit 13A can be changed. As a result, it is possible to avoid interference between the hand unit 14 and the first identification unit 13A when the hand unit 14 is moved, which will be described later.

The second identification unit 13B recognizes the identified portion of the clothing C and identifies the shape of the clothing C. The identified portion of the clothing C is, for example, a collar portion or a sleeve portion of the clothing C, and can be arbitrarily set. In the present embodiment, a configuration in which the collar portion is the identified portion will be described. The sleeve portion and other portions may be used as the identified portion. In addition, the identified portion of the clothing may be provided separately from the clothing. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, for clothes used in pairs such as socks, the pair of socks can be washed while being held by clips, and the clips can be used as the identified portion of the clothes.
As shown in FIG. 4, the second identification units 13B are arranged in pairs at intervals in the vertical direction Z1. The pair of second identification units 13B are arranged at positions that sandwich the hand unit 14 from the vertical direction Z1 when the hand unit 14 is located above the blower unit 12.

The second identification unit 13B includes a drive device (not shown). By driving the drive device, the position of the second identification unit 13B can be changed. As a result, when the hand unit 14 is not located above, the second identification unit 13B can be made to stand by at a predetermined position and stored.

(Folding unit)
As shown in FIG. 17, the folding unit 20 is configured inside the rectangular parallelepiped frame 400. In the following description, the directions along the frame bodies 400 that are orthogonal to each other are referred to as the front-rear direction X2, the left-right direction Y2, and the up-down direction Z2.
The folding unit 20 includes a mounting plate 21 on which the clothing C is unfolded and placed, a slide portion 22 that slides the clothing C along the mounting plate 21, and clothing as the slide portion 22 slides. It is provided with a folding portion 23 that folds the sleeve portion of C toward the inside in the width direction.

The mounting plate 21 is arranged so as to be inclined diagonally upward gradually toward the rear as the front and back surfaces are directed toward the rear. The mounting plate 21 has a substantially rectangular shape in which two sides extend in the left-right direction Y2 and the remaining two sides extend in the oblique direction in a plan view.
At the lower end of the mounting plate 21, the central portion in the left-right direction Y2 projects downward. The size of the mounting plate 21 in the left-right direction Y2 is smaller than the size of the front-rear direction X2.

The clothing C is placed on the mounting plate 21 with the sleeves hanging outward. At this time, the collar portion of the clothing C is located at the upper end portion of the mounting plate 21. The sleeve portion of the garment C is in a state of hanging downward from the outer peripheral edge portion of the mounting plate 21.
An opening 21B is formed in the folding unit. The opening 21B has a flat rectangular shape in which two long sides extend in the left-right direction Y2 and two short sides extend in the vertical direction Z2.

The slide portion 22 includes a fixing portion 22A that presses and fixes the collar portion of the clothing C against the mounting plate 21. The garment C placed on the mounting plate 21 has a collar portion held by the fixing portion 22A.
The slide portion 22 further includes a rail 22B extending along the vertical direction Z2 of the mounting plate 21, and a pair of first rotating arms 22C for driving the mounting plate 21 along the rail 22B.

When the first rotating arm 22C is rotated by the motor, the sliding portion 22 slides the clothing C along the rail 22B from the mounted position toward the diagonally upward direction. In the following description, the sliding direction of the slide portion 22 is referred to as a slide direction, and the direction in which the clothing C moves from the position where the clothing is placed on the mounting plate 21 is referred to as the rearward in the sliding direction. The slide direction may be the same as the horizontal direction.

The folding portion 23 is located below the mounting plate 21. As shown in FIG. 18, the folding portion 23 is arranged above the support plate 24 arranged below the mounting plate 21 and above the support plate 24, and guides the sleeve portion of the garment C toward the inside in the width direction. The guide plate 25 and the guide plate 25 are provided. The structure of the support plate 24 and the guide plate 25 will be described in detail.

The support plate 24 is arranged at a distance from the mounting plate 21 in the front and back directions. The shape of the support plate 24 in a plan view is the same as that of the mounting plate 21. The support plate 24 is formed with a slit 24A extending in the front-rear direction in a plan view. The garment C slides on the mounting plate 21 while the sleeve portion passes through the inside of the slit 24A.

The guide plate 25 includes a first guide plate 25A located below and a second guide plate 25B located above. A pair of the first guide plate 25A and the second guide plate 25B are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction. The pair of first guide plates 25A and second guide plates 25B are arranged so as to be surface objects with respect to the central portion in the left-right direction.
The first guide plate 25A and the second guide plate 25B are respectively arranged above the support plate 24 and with a gap between them and the lower surface of the mounting plate 21.

The first guide plate 25A includes a first guide piece 25C having a triangular shape in a plan view. The front and back surfaces of the first guide piece 25C face in directions intersecting each of the front-rear direction X2, the left-right direction Y2, and the up-down direction Z2.
The first guide piece 25C gradually extends toward the rear in the sliding direction of the garment as it goes inward in the left-right direction. Further, the first guide piece 25C has a shape that gradually tapers toward the inside in the left-right direction. The first guide piece 25C is fixed by the fixing piece 25D connected to the rear end portion in the slide direction.

The second guide plate 25B is connected to the second guide piece 25E having a rectangular shape in a plan view and the rear end portion of the second guide piece 25E in the slide direction, and has a substantially trapezoidal shape in a plan view. And have.
The front and back surfaces of the second guide piece 25E face outward and upward in the left-right direction Y2. The second guide piece 25E is located inside the first guide piece 25C in the left-right direction Y.
The front and back surfaces of the third guide piece 25F face the outside in the left-right direction Y2 and the front in the slide direction. The third guide piece 25F gradually extends outward in the left-right direction Y toward the rear in the slide direction.

As shown in FIG. 17, the folding unit 20 also includes a folding portion 26 that projects in a direction intersecting the mounting plate 21 and folds the garment C having the sleeves folded in the height direction. The convolution portion 26 is arranged below the mounting plate 21.
The convolution portion 26 includes a protruding plate 26A whose front and back surfaces face in the front-rear direction X2, and a pair of second rotating arms 26B whose front and back surfaces are slid upward.
When the second rotating arm 26B is rotated by the motor, the protruding plate 26A slides upward and slides in the direction intersecting the mounting plate 21. At this time, the protruding plate 26A passes through the opening 21B of the mounting plate 21.

(Storage unit)
The storage unit 30 stores the clothes C in the storage box 200 by distinguishing the position where the clothes C are stored based on the user information of the clothes C.
The containment unit has a crane (not shown). The crane grips the clothes C, and based on the command from the control unit 40, the clothes C folded by the folding unit 20 are stored in the storage box 200 at the position where the clothes C are stored. The storage position of the clothing C can be distinguished by the user and the genre of the clothing.

(Clothing processing method)
Next, a garment processing method using the garment processing system 1 will be described.
The garment processing method of the present embodiment includes a developing step, a folding step, and a storage step.
In the unfolding step, the clothes C are lifted and unfolded from the storage basket 100 in which the clothes C are housed. In the folding step, the garment C unfolded by the unfolding step is folded in the width direction and the height direction. In the storage process, the clothes C folded by the folding process are stored in the storage box 200.

First, the deployment process using the deployment unit 10 will be described in detail.
FIG. 6 is a flow showing the process of the deployment unit 10. When the accommodation car 100 is placed in a predetermined position, the first identification unit 13A moves to a position where the inside of the accommodation car 100 can be imaged. Then, the image analysis unit 60 analyzes the data captured by the first identification unit 13A.

The image analysis unit 60 calculates the coordinates of the clothing C in the storage basket 100 as step S1. Next, as step S2, the coordinates located at the uppermost position of the clothes C in the storage basket 100 are calculated. Next, as step S3, the hue of clothing C is acquired. Next, in step S4, the area of clothing C is calculated by calculating the area within the specific range using the acquired hue value.

Next, in step S5, the processing unit calculates the first coordinates of the garment C that is first gripped by the hand unit 14. Next, in step S6, the processing unit confirms the current coordinate position of the hand unit 14 and calibrates the elevating unit 11. Then, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, in step S7, the crane unit 15 and the hand unit 14 are driven, and the clothing C is gripped by the robot hand 14B of the hand unit 14.

Here, as shown in FIG. 10, when gripping the clothing C located at a deep position of the storage car 100, the hand portion main body 14A is oriented so that the long side direction D1 of the hand portion main body 14A faces the vertical direction Z1. The robot hand 14B is rotated so that the robot hand 14B extends outward in the long side direction D1 with respect to the hand portion main body 14A. As a result, the clothing C located at a deep position in the storage car 100 can be easily grasped by one of the pair of robot hands 14B, the robot hand 14B.

Next, in step S8, the control unit 40 calculates the second coordinates of the clothing C to be gripped by the other robot hand 14B. Then, in order to grip the second coordinate, the hand unit main body 14A was rotated as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, and the robot hand 14B on one side that gripped the first coordinate gripped the second coordinate. The posture of the hand portion main body 14A is changed so as to be located above the robot hand 14B on the other side. Then, by further changing the posture so that the long side direction D1 of the hand portion main body 14A coincides with the left-right direction Y2, the clothes C can be held by each of the pair of robot hands 14B. (See FIG. 13)

Next, as step 9, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the moving device 5 is driven to move the hand portion main body 14A so that the clothing C is located above the blower portion 12. At this time, the second identification unit 13B moves to a position where the hand unit main body 14A is sandwiched in the vertical direction Z2. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the blower unit 12 starts blowing air toward the clothing C. As a result, the garment C is unfolded in the horizontal direction. The second identification unit 13B images the unfolded clothing C from both the upper and lower sides of the clothing C.

Next, as step 10, the image analysis unit 60 analyzes the image data captured by the pair of second identification units 13B and calculates the spread rate of the clothing C. The spread ratio is calculated by comparing the size of the clothing C stored in advance by the storage unit 50 with the area size of the clothing C calculated from the actual imaging data. Then, the position and posture of the hand portion 14 are finely adjusted so that the clothing C is sufficiently spread. The spread rate may be calculated by estimating the shape and size of clothes by artificial intelligence.

Next, as step S11, the collar portion (identified portion) is detected. When detecting the collar portion, the shape of the clothing C stored in advance by the storage unit 50 is referred to for detection. The detection of the collar portion may be realized by, for example, mounting artificial intelligence on the control unit 40 and causing machine learning.
At this time, as step S12, the front and back of the clothing C are detected. Similar to the detection of the collar portion, the front and back determination can be detected by referring to the shape of the clothing C stored in advance by the storage unit 50. Here, since the second identification unit 13B is arranged in pairs so as to sandwich the clothing C in the vertical direction Z2, it is possible to reliably detect the collar portion and accurately determine the front and back regardless of the orientation of the clothing C. can.

Finally, as step S13, the inclination of the garment C is calculated. The inclination of the garment C can be calculated by referring to the shape of the garment C stored in advance by the storage unit 50, as in the case of detecting the collar portion. By calculating the inclination of the garment C, the garment C can be delivered to the folding unit 20 in the next step in a desired posture.

In the present embodiment, the hand portion 14 delivers the garment C to the folding unit 20 so that the collar portion is on the upper side. At this time, the posture of the garment C is adjusted so that the width direction of the garment C coincides with the left-right direction Y2 of the folding unit 20. The clothing C may be delivered to the folding unit 20 by the hand unit 14 or by using another mechanism.

Next, a folding method using the folding unit 20 will be described in detail.
The folding method according to the present embodiment includes a mounting step of unfolding the garment C and placing it on the mounting plate 21, a sliding step of sliding the garment C, and the sleeve portion of the garment C facing inward in the width direction. It is equipped with a folding process that folds in.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the mounting step, the garment C is placed on the mounting plate 21 with the sleeves hanging down.
As shown in FIGS. 20 and 22, in the slide process, first, the fixing portion 22A of the slide portion 22 grips the collar portion of the garment C. Then, in this state, the motor of the slide portion 22 is driven to rotate the first rotating arm 22C, and the slide portion 22 slides diagonally upward along the rail 22B. As the slide portion 22 slides, the clothing C slides diagonally upward from the placed position in the slide direction.

In the process of sliding the garment C, as shown in FIG. 23, the sleeve portion of the garment C is gradually folded inward in the width direction by interfering with the first guide piece 25C. Then, as shown in FIG. 24, the sleeve portion folded inward in the width direction is folded again along the slide direction by interfering with the second guide piece 25E. As a result, the sleeves are folded in two places.
Then, the garment with the sleeves folded on the back side of the mounting plate 21 slides backward in the sliding direction as prompted by the third guide piece 25F.

The folding method further includes a folding step of folding the clothing C whose sleeves are folded in the height direction. As shown in FIG. 21, in the folding step, the second rotating arm 26B rotates so that the protruding plate 26A projects in the direction intersecting the mounting plate 21. At this time, the projecting plate 26A projects so as to pass through the opening 21B of the mounting plate 21. At this time, the fixed portion 22A of the slide portion 22 is opened. As a result, the tip of the protruding portion pushes out the garment C, so that the garment C is folded.

Finally, in the storage process, the garment C in which the crane is folded is stored in the storage box 200. The control unit 40 determines the user from the shape of the clothing C by the image analysis unit 60, and stores the clothing C in a predetermined position for each user in the storage box 200.
The user is determined by referring to the user information for each clothing C stored in advance by the storage unit 50. The determination of the user may be realized by, for example, mounting artificial intelligence on the control unit 40 and causing machine learning. Further, when purchasing new clothing C, the user information may be stored in the storage unit 50 by registering the user information in the control unit 40 in advance.
The clothing C may be stored separately according to the genre of the clothing C.

As described above, according to the garment processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the garment processing system 1 includes a deploying unit 10 and a folding unit 20. Therefore, the clothes C housed in the storage basket 100 can be automatically unfolded and folded.
Further, the garment processing system 1 includes a storage unit 30 for storing the folded garment C in the storage box 200. Therefore, the user can use the folded clothes C as they are from the storage box 200 without separately storing the folded clothes C, and the convenience of the user can be improved.

Further, the deploying unit 10 includes an elevating portion 11 that lifts the clothes C, and a blower portion 12 that blows air from below to deploy the clothes C lifted by the elevating portion 11. Therefore, for example, as compared with a configuration in which the clothes C are gripped by a plurality of manipulators and the manipulators are driven to deploy the clothes C, the deployment unit 10 has a simple structure to reduce the number of parts and control. It can be simple.
Further, since the deploying unit 10 includes the identification unit 13 that captures and identifies the clothing C, the elevating unit 11 can reliably determine the clothing C to be lifted and perform an accurate operation.

Further, since the identification unit 13 recognizes the identified portion of the clothing C and identifies the shape of the clothing C, the type of the clothing C can be grasped.
Further, by comparing the position of the identified portion in the entire clothing C with the shape of the clothing C stored in advance, for example, even when the clothing C is randomly accommodated in the storage basket 100, the elevating portion The posture of the garment C when the 11 is lifted can be easily grasped.

Further, since the identification unit 13 recognizes the uppermost portion of the clothing C, for example, even when a plurality of clothing Cs are stacked one above the other and accommodated in the storage basket 100, the uppermost portion is located. By lifting the portion to be lifted, the elevating portion 11 can surely lift the clothes C one by one.

Further, since the deploying unit 10 is provided with the rectifying plate 70, it is possible to suppress the formation of, for example, a vortex by the blown air from the blower portion 12, and the rectification is performed from one direction, so that the clothes C can be effectively deployed. Can be made to.

Further, since the storage unit distinguishes the position where the clothes C are stored based on the user information, for example, when the clothes processing system 1 is used at home, the clothes C of each of the plurality of users are separately stored. By doing so, the convenience of the user can be further improved.

Further, by performing the unfolding step and the folding step, the clothes C housed in the storage basket 100 can be automatically unfolded and folded.
Further, the garment processing method includes a storage step of storing the folded garment C in the storage box 200. Therefore, by performing the storage process, the user can use the folded clothes C as they are from the storage box 200 without separately storing the folded clothes C, and the convenience of the user can be improved.

Further, according to the folding unit according to the present embodiment, the garment C is placed on the mounting plate 21 and the garment C is slid by the slide portion 22, so that the sleeve portion of the garment C is inside in the width direction. Fold in towards. Therefore, as compared with a configuration in which the clothes C are gripped by, for example, a plurality of manipulators and the manipulators are driven to fold the clothes C, the folding unit 20 has a simple structure, the number of parts is reduced, and the control is simplified. It can be something like that.

Further, since the slide portion 22 includes a fixing portion 22A for pressing the clothing C against the mounting plate 21 to fix the clothing C, the clothing C is less likely to come off from the slide portion when the slide portion 22 slides the clothing C. The clothes C can be slid smoothly.

Further, since the slide portion 22 slides the clothing C diagonally upward, the slide portion is suppressed from being bulky in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction as compared with the configuration in which the slide portion 22 slides straight in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction. be able to.

Further, since the folding portion 23 includes the guide plate 25, the sleeve portion of the clothing C interferes with the guide plate 25, so that the sleeve portion can be folded inward in the width direction. As a result, the folding portion 23 can be made into a simple structure.
Further, by projecting the folding portion 26 in the direction intersecting the mounting plate 21, the clothing C can be folded in the height direction.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the functions included in each means, each step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and a plurality of means, steps, etc. can be combined or divided into one. ..

1 Clothes processing system 10 Deployment unit 11 Elevating part 12 Blower part 13 Identification part 20 Folding unit 21 Mounting plate 22 Slide part 22A Fixing part 23 Folding part 25 Guide plate 26 Folding part 30 Storage unit 70 Rectifying plate

Claims (5)

With the sleeves of the clothes hanging outward, the mounting plate on which the clothes are unfolded and placed,
A slide part that slides the clothes and
It is located below the above-mentioned mounting plate, and includes a folding portion that folds the sleeve portion of the garment inward in the width direction of the garment as the sliding portion slides.
The folding portion includes a support plate arranged below the above-mentioned mounting plate and a guide plate arranged above the supporting plate and guiding the sleeve portion of the garment toward the inside of the garment in the width direction. Prepare,
The guide plate
A pair of first pair of support plates extending from each of the outer edge sides toward the center side and having the center side toward the downstream side in the direction in which the garment is slid from the outer edge side, forming a triangular shape in a plan view. The first guide plate with a guide piece and
The second guide piece, which is located inside the support plate in the left-right direction of the first guide plate and has a rectangular shape in a plan view, and the second guide piece, which is located downstream of the first guide plate in the direction in which the clothes are slid, are arranged. It has a trapezoidal shape in a plan view, extending from each of the outer edge sides of the support plate toward the center side, and the center side faces the upstream side in the direction in which the garment is slid from the outer edge side. A folding unit comprising a pair of a third guide piece and a second guide plate having the third guide piece. The folding unit according to claim 1, wherein the slide portion includes a fixing portion for pressing and fixing the garment to a mounting plate. The folding unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sliding portion slides the clothing diagonally upward from the placed position. Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the garment having the sleeve portion folded in a direction protruding in a direction intersecting with the above-mentioned mounting plate is provided with a foldable portion for folding the garment in the height direction of the garment. The folding unit according to item 1. With the sleeves of the garment hanging outward, the garment is unfolded and placed on the arranging plate.
A slide step of sliding and moving the clothes placed on the above-mentioned placement plate by the slide portion by the above-mentioned placement step,
By a folding portion provided with a support plate arranged below the above-mentioned mounting plate and a guide plate arranged above the supporting plate and guiding the sleeve portion of the garment toward the inside of the garment in the width direction. A folding step of folding the sleeve portion of the garment inward in the width direction of the garment with the sliding movement of the slide portion is provided.
The folding step is arranged below the above-mentioned mounting plate, extends from each of the outer edge sides of the support plate toward the center side, and the center side is downstream of the outer edge side in the direction in which the garment is slid. A first guide plate having a pair of first guide pieces forming a triangular shape in a plan view toward the side, and a rectangular shape in a plan view located inside the support plate in the left-right direction with respect to the first guide piece. The second guide piece to be formed and the first guide plate are arranged on the downstream side in the direction in which the clothing is slid , and extend from each of the outer edge sides of the support plate toward the center side, and the center thereof. The guide plate comprising a second guide plate having a pair of third guide pieces forming a trapezoidal shape in a plan view, the side of the garment toward the upstream side in the direction in which the garment is slid from the outer edge side of the garment. A folding method characterized by guiding the sleeves inward in the width direction.

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