JP7705159B2 - A cloth spreading device that spreads the cloth and a cloth feeding device that transports the spread cloth to the next process - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cloth spreading device that spreads cloth and a cloth feeding device that transports the spread cloth to the next process.

The cloth products handled in the so-called linen supply industry include linen products such as bath towels and face towels, and when these linen products and other cloth products are collected from customers, they are washed, ironed, folded, and then delivered to the customers in a repeated process. At that time, the cloth products are spread out by workers and fed into a cloth feeder for transport to the next process, and then fed to a folding device that folds them into a specified shape according to the customer's request.

There are two main methods for feeding cloth: one is to find one or both ends of the cloth and feed it in, and the other is to feed one side of the cloth onto a conveyor and then automatically find both ends of the cloth and spread it out. One such method is disclosed in JP 2015-80566 A.

The above invention is a cloth spreading device in which cloth is placed on an input conveyor approximately in the center in the conveying direction, and when it is transported to a predetermined position in front of the input machine main body, both left and right sides of the cloth are squeezed toward the center of the cloth and the cloth is deposited and handed over at the left and right rear ends.The invention has a catch member that holds the left and right rear ends of the cloth and is positioned on the main body side of the input machine at a position lower than the positions of the left and right spreading members, and when the spreading members move to a standby position and the catch member moves to a deposit and handover position between them, a lifting means is positioned on the main body side of the input machine which contacts the left and right rear ends of the cloth and lifts them to a position higher than the spreading members, and the left and right rear ends of the cloth lifted by the lifting means are held by the spreading members as close to the tip as possible, and the cloth is spread out by the operation of the spreading members.

The above invention is a deposit-dropping machine that automatically deposits and transfers cloth items, and by holding the end of the cloth as close as possible to the rear end with a catch member, it is possible to ensure that one side of the tip of the cloth is maintained in a straight, unfolded state when it is deposited.

However, there is a demand from the so-called linen industry to quickly process fabrics such as sheets, towelettes, blankets, face towels and bath towels, and there is a need for a fabric spreading device that spreads the fabrics to be processed in this way, and a fabric feeding device that transports the spread fabrics to the next process.

JP 2015-80566 A

The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned points, and its object is to provide a fabric spreading device that spreads fabrics such as sheets, towelettes, blankets, face towels and bath towels in order to quickly process such fabrics, and a fabric feeding device that transports the spread fabrics to the next process.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a fabric spreading device of a first aspect spreads fabric having a right corner and a left corner and one side therebetween, and includes a left sensor unit that detects the left corner, a right sensor unit that detects the right corner, a left spreading unit that holds one side and moves in a left direction, and a right spreading unit that holds one side and moves in a right direction, the left spreading unit moves in a left direction while holding one side, and when the left sensor unit detects the left corner of the fabric, the left spreading unit clamps the left corner of the fabric and the right spreading unit moves in a right direction while holding one side, and when the right sensor unit detects the right corner of the fabric, the right spreading unit clamps the right corner of the fabric.

In addition, the fabric spreading device of the second aspect is the same as the first aspect, but has an spreading drive unit that drives the left spreading portion in a leftward direction and the right spreading portion in a rightward direction, and when the spreading drive unit is driven, the left spreading portion moves in a leftward direction and the right spreading portion moves in a rightward direction.

In addition, the cloth spreading device of the third aspect is such that, in the second aspect, the left spreading section has a left soft roll section that moves leftward by the spreading drive section while holding one side and moves downward, and a left free roller section that clamps the left corner section and the left soft roll section when the left soft roll section moves downward, and the right spreading section has a right soft roll section that moves rightward by the spreading drive section while holding one side and moves downward, and a right free roller section that clamps the right corner section and the right soft roll section when the right soft roll section moves downward, and the left sensor section detects the left corner section, and the left soft roll section and the left free roller section fix the left corner section, and when the right sensor section detects the right corner section, the right soft roll section and the right free roller section fix the right corner section.

In addition, in a fourth aspect, the cloth spreading device in the second aspect has a left spreading section which, in turn, has a left roll section which moves leftward by the spreading drive section while holding one side, a left roller section, and a left fixed chuck which clamps the left corner detected by the left sensor section, and a right roll section which moves rightward by the spreading drive section while holding one side, and a right roller section and a right fixed chuck which clamps the right corner detected by the right sensor section, wherein the left roll section and the left roller section move leftward while clamping one side, and the left fixed chuck clamps the left corner detected by the left sensor section, and the right roll section and the right roller section move rightward while clamping the one side, and the right fixed chuck clamps the right corner detected by the right sensor section.

A cloth feeding device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention has the cloth spreading device according to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention.

Because the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, it is possible to provide a fabric spreading device that spreads fabrics such as sheets, towelettes, blankets, face towels and bath towels in order to quickly process them, and a fabric feeding device that transports the spread fabrics to the next process.

1A is a side view of an inserting device having a cloth spreading device, and FIG. 1B is a plan view of the inserting device having the cloth spreading device with a portion thereof omitted. 1A is a front view of an insertion device having a fabric spreading device, FIG. 1B is a partially enlarged front view of FIG. 1C is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which the center of the insertion device and the center of the fabric are misaligned when the fabric is attached to the insertion clamp. 1A is a schematic side view showing a state in which a cloth is attached to the cloth spreading device, and FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a cloth is attached to the cloth spreading device. 1A is a schematic front view showing a state in which cloth is attached to the cloth spreading device, and FIG. 1A is a schematic front view showing a state in which the fabric attached to the fabric spreading device is about to be spread, FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the left spreading part in the state of A, FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of the right spreading part in the state of A, and FIG. 1D is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the fabric attached to the fabric spreading device is about to be spread. 1A is a schematic front view showing a state in which a cloth attached to the cloth spreading device is being spread, B is an enlarged view of the left spreading part in the state of A, C is an enlarged view of the right spreading part in the state of A, and D is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a cloth attached to the cloth spreading device is being spread. 1A is a schematic front view showing a state in which the fabric attached to the fabric spreading device is spread out, FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the left spreading part in the state of A, FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of the right spreading part in the state of A, and FIG. 1D is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the fabric attached to the fabric spreading device is spread out. 1A is a schematic side view showing a state in which the bottom of the fabric is about to be sucked into the suction section, FIG. 1B is a schematic side view showing a state in which the bottom of the fabric is sucked into the suction section, and FIG. 1C is a schematic plan view of FIG. 1A is a schematic side view showing a state in which a cloth is about to be placed on a transfer conveyor, and FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a cloth is about to be placed on the transfer conveyor. 1A is a schematic front view showing a state in which a tilted piece of cloth is about to be corrected by the correction device, and FIG. 1B is a schematic front view showing a state in which the tilted piece of cloth has been corrected by the correction device. 1A is a front view of an input device having a cloth spreading device according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 1A is a schematic front view showing a state where the device is attached to the fabric spreading device of the second embodiment, FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the left spreading part in the state of FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of the right spreading part in the state of FIG. 1D is a schematic plan view showing a state where the device is attached to the fabric spreading device. 1A is a schematic front view showing a state in which a cloth attached to the cloth spreading device of the second embodiment is about to be spread, FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the left spreading part in the state of A, FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of the right spreading part in the state of A, and FIG. 1D is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a cloth attached to the cloth spreading device of the second embodiment is about to be spread. 1A is a schematic front view showing a state in which the fabric attached to the fabric spreading device of the second embodiment is spread out, FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the left spreading part in the state of A, FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of the right spreading part in the state of A, and FIG. 1D is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the fabric attached to the fabric spreading device of the second embodiment is spread out.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the fabric spreading device 10 will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. The fabric spreading device 10 of the first embodiment is disposed in an input device 500 for inputting the fabric W spread by the fabric spreading device 10 into a folding device (not shown) which is the next process, and constitutes a part of the input device 500.

The cloth spreading device 10 allows an operator (not shown) to find one side WH of a cloth W such as a sheet, towel blanket, blanket, face towel, or bath towel, and simply attach that side WH to the cloth spreading device 10, and while spreading the cloth W flat, the cloth W is conveyed to the next process so that the center part 501 in the width direction of the input device 500 coincides with the center part WC of the cloth W. Therefore, when the cloth W is attached to the cloth spreading device 10 in the input device 500, the center part 501 in the width direction of the input device 500 and the center part WC of the cloth W can be attached offset without being aligned.

The fabric spreading device 10 is disposed between a pair of input clamps 300, 300 in a front view (see FIG. 2B ). The pair of input clamps 300, 300 are for temporarily hanging the fabric W, and are used by an operator (not shown) to hang the fabric W to be processed next in advance during the process of spreading the fabric in the fabric spreading device 10 as described later.

The input clamp 300 has a claw portion 310 and a rotatably rotating clamp portion 320, and holds the fabric W between the claw portion 310 and the clamp portion 320. The fabric W can be hung between the claw portion 310 and the clamp portion 320, and the fabric W held between the claw portion 310 and the clamp portion 320 can be released by rotating the clamp portion 320 backward. This will be described later.

The cloth spreading device 10 has a left spreading section 20 that moves in a left direction L when viewed from the front, and a right spreading section 50 that moves in a right direction R when viewed from the front, by a spreading drive section 70 described later.

The left spreading section 20 has a thin plate-shaped left bracket section 21 that serves as the main body, a left mounting section 22 for mounting a left soft roll section 23 (described later) attached to the left bracket section 21 so that the left soft roll section 23 can be moved up and down, a wheel-shaped left soft roll section 23 whose rotation is prevented when it is crushed and deformed when it moves downward (moving downward; the same applies below), and a wheel-shaped left free roller section 25 that pinches the left soft roll section 23 and the fabric W when the left soft roll section 23 moves downward. The left bracket section 21 also has a left fabric detection sensor 26 that detects the presence of the fabric W. Also, below the left mounting section 22, there is a left sensor section 27 that can detect the left corner WL of the fabric W.

The right spreading part 50 has a thin plate-like right bracket part 51 which is a main body, a right mounting part 52 for mounting a right soft roll part 53 (described later) attached to the right bracket part 51 so as to be movable up and down, a wheel-like right soft roll part 53 whose rotation is prevented when it is crushed and deformed when it moves downward, and a wheel-like right free roller part 55 which pinches the right soft roll part 53 and the fabric W when the right soft roll part 53 moves downward. The right bracket part 51 also has a right fabric detection sensor 56 which detects the presence of the fabric W. Also, below the right mounting part 52, there is a right sensor part 57 which can detect a right corner part WR of the fabric W. In this way, the left spreading part 20 and the right spreading part 50 have an almost symmetrical configuration.

The expansion drive unit 70 has a belt portion 71 that is annular in plan view, and a motor-like driving portion 72 that drives to rotate the belt portion 71. The expansion drive unit 70 has a base portion 75, and the left expansion portion 20 and the right expansion portion 50 move in the left direction L or the right direction R along the base portion 75. The left bracket portion 21 of the left expansion portion 20 is attached to one portion 71A of the belt portion 71, and the right bracket portion 51 of the right expansion portion 50 is attached to the other portion 71B of the belt portion 71. The position of the one portion 71A of the belt portion 71 and the position of the other portion 71B are arranged to be shifted by half a circumference of the belt portion 71 that is annular in plan view. Therefore, when the belt portion 71 rotates in a predetermined direction S, the left expansion portion 20 expands symmetrically in the left direction L, and the right expansion portion 50 expands symmetrically in the right direction R.

As described above, the left spreading section 20 and the right spreading section 50 are attached to the spreading drive section 70, which is further attached to the front-rear direction moving section 510 for moving in the direction from the front f to the rear r of the insertion device 500. The front-rear direction moving section 510 has a front-rear drive section 520 made up of motors, a front-rear belt section 530, a bracket section 540 attached to the front-rear belt section 530, and a rail section 550 for restricting the front-rear movement of the bracket section 540. The front-rear drive section 520 is connected to a drive belt 521, and the drive belt 521 is driven to rotate the pulley 522, which drives the front-rear belt section 530, and the bracket section 540 moves along the rail section 550, so that the left spreading section 20 and the right spreading section 50 in the cloth spreading device 10 move in the direction from the front f to the rear r.

The cloth W is attached to the cloth spreading device 10 having the above-mentioned configuration. Specifically, an operator (not shown) places one side WH of the cloth W in the pair of open feeding clamps 300, 300, the vertical gap between the left soft roll unit 23 and the left free roller unit 25 arranged between the pair of feeding clamps 300, 300, and the vertical gap between the right soft roll unit 53 arranged above and the right free roller unit 55. Here, the operator does not need to align the center WC of the cloth W with the center 501 of the feeding device 500.

Next, the left fabric detection sensor 26 and the right fabric detection sensor 56 each detect the presence of the fabric W. When the left fabric detection sensor 26 and the right fabric detection sensor 56 detect that the fabric W is placed between the left soft roll part 23 and the left free roller part 25 and between the right soft roll part 53 and the right free roller part 55 arranged above, the left soft roll part 23 and the right soft roll part 53 arranged above both move downward, and one side WH of the fabric W is sandwiched between the left soft roll part 23 and the left free roller part 25. Also, the right soft roll part 53 and the right free roller part 55 are sandwiched. At this time, the left soft roll part 23 and the right soft roll part 53, which are flexible, are slightly deformed, and their rotation is prevented. In this state, one side WH of the cloth W is sandwiched between the left soft roll portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25 and also between the right soft roll portion 53 and the right free roller portion 55.

At this time, the clamp unit 320 rotates backward (see FIG. 3A), opening the gap between the claw unit 310 and the clamp unit 320, and the input clamps 300, 300 release the fabric W held by the input clamps 300, 300. In this state, one side WH of the fabric W is sandwiched between the left soft roll unit 23 and the left free roller unit 25, and the fabric W sandwiched between the right soft roll unit 53 and the right free roller unit 55 begins to move backward in the r direction by the front-rear direction moving unit 510 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B). At this time, both the left soft roll unit 23 and the right soft roll unit 53 that have moved downward are slightly deformed (see FIG. 4B).

After that, the left soft roll part 23, which has been moved downward and deformed, and the right soft roll part 53 both move slightly upward (moving upward; the same applies below), and the deformed left soft roll part 23 and right soft roll part 53 return to their original circular shapes (see Figs. 5B and 5C). At this time, the left spreading part 20 moves in the left direction L when viewed from the front by the spreading drive part 70, while simultaneously moving the right spreading part 50 in the right direction R when viewed from the front. At this time, one side WH of the cloth W is rotatably held between the left soft roll part 23 and the left free roller part 25, and is rotatably held between the right soft roll part 53 and the right free roller part 55.

2C, the cloth W is attached to the right. In this state, when the left spreading part 20 moves in the left direction L as seen from the front while the right spreading part 50 moves in the right direction R as seen from the front, the left sensor part 27 disposed below the left mounting part 22 detects the left corner WL of the cloth W. Specifically, a light beam emitted from the left sensor part 27 is irradiated onto the cloth W, and the cloth W is detected while the light beam is reflected, so that the left corner WL of the cloth W has not yet been detected. However, when the left spreading part 20 moves further and the cloth W passes through the area of the light beam emitted from the left sensor part 27, the light beam emitted from the left sensor part 27 is scattered without being reflected, and the presence of the left corner WL is detected.

A slight time lag occurs between the position of the light beam emitted from the left sensor unit 27 and the position of the left soft roll unit 23, and at this time, the left soft roll unit 23 moves downward again, and the left corner WL of the fabric W is pinched and fixed between the left soft roll unit 23 and the left free roller unit 25 (see FIG. 6AB). In this state, the right sensor unit 57 disposed below the right attachment unit 52 has not yet detected the right corner WR of the fabric W.

With the left corner WL of the fabric W clamped and fixed between the left soft roll portion 23 and the left free roller portion 25, the left spreading portion 20 moves in the left direction L by the spreading drive portion 70 while the right spreading portion 50 moves in the right direction R by the spreading drive portion 70, and the right sensor portion 57 disposed below the right attachment portion 52 detects the right corner WR of the fabric W. Specifically, a light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57 is irradiated onto the fabric W, and the fabric W is detected while the light beam is reflected, so that the right corner WR of the fabric W has not yet been detected, but when the right spreading portion 50 moves further and the fabric W passes through the area of the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57, the light beam emitted from the right sensor portion 57 is scattered without being reflected, and the presence of the right corner WR is detected.

There is a slight time lag between the position of the light beam emitted from the right sensor unit 57 and the position of the right soft roll unit 53, and at this time, the right soft roll unit 53 moves downward again, and the right corner WR of the cloth W is clamped and fixed between the right soft roll unit 53 and the right free roller unit 55.

At this time, the spreading drive unit 70 moves the left spreading unit 20 in the left direction L while the right spreading unit 50 moves in the right direction R, and since these movements are both symmetrical, when the left corner WL of the fabric W is clamped and fixed between the left soft roll unit 23 and the right soft roll unit 53, and the right corner WR of the fabric W is clamped and fixed between the right soft roll unit 53 and the right free roller unit 55, the center WC of the fabric W coincides with the center 501 of the feeding device 500 and the fabric W is spread out (see Figure 7).

The bottom portion WS of the spread fabric W is sucked into the suction unit 570 (see FIG. 8AB). This causes the portion WS to flutter and the entangled state is resolved. The fabric W is then moved further backward in the r direction by the front-rear direction moving unit 510 and placed on the conveyor 560 (see FIG. 9AB). The fabric W is conveyed further backward by the conveyor 560, and the bottom portion WS of the fabric W is kept sucked into the suction unit 570. At that time, the left side W1 of the spread fabric W may tilt to the right (see FIG. 10AB). In this case, the left side W1 can be corrected by the correction device 580, which has a plurality of left sensors 581, for example, 16 left sensors 581, a plurality of right sensors 585, for example, 16 right sensors 585, and a correction belt 587.

For example, when the left side W1 of the spread fabric W is tilted to the right, 12 of the 16 left sensors 581 react, and 14 of the 16 right sensors 585 react. In this case, the control unit (not shown) moves the correction belt 587 in the direction of the arrow T (the direction in which fewer sensors react), correcting the tilt of the fabric W in contact with it. It goes without saying that the opposite action occurs when the right side W2 is tilted. After that, the correction belt 587 moves to the left or right until the number of reacting sensors among the left sensors 581 and the number of reacting sensors among the right sensors 585 become the same, correcting the tilt of the fabric W. The fabric W is then transported to the next process by the transport conveyor 560.

While the fabric W is being spread in the above-mentioned process, an operator (not shown) can attach the next fabric W to the pair of input clamps 300, 300 in advance. One side WH of the fabric W is found, and the side WH is attached to the pair of input clamps 300, 300. After that, the left soft roll unit 23, the left free roller unit 25, the right soft roll unit 53, and the right free roller unit 55 are positioned between the pair of input clamps 300, 300, and the above cycle is repeated again.

Next, a second embodiment of the fabric spreading device 100 will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. The fabric spreading device 100 of the second embodiment is disposed in an input device 600 for inputting the fabric W spread by the fabric spreading device 100 into a folding device (not shown) which is the next process, and constitutes a part of the input device 600.

The cloth spreading device 100 allows an operator (not shown) to find one side WH of a cloth W such as a sheet, towel blanket, blanket, face towel, or bath towel, and to simply attach the side WH to the cloth spreading device 10, so that the cloth W can be spread flat and the center 601 in the width direction of the input device 600 can be aligned with the center WC of the cloth W. This is the same as the cloth spreading device 10 of the first embodiment. The difference from the input device 500 is whether the cloth spreading device 10 of the first embodiment or the cloth spreading device 100 of the second embodiment is arranged. Therefore, the same components in the cloth spreading device 10 of the first embodiment and the cloth spreading device 100 of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description may be omitted.

The fabric spreading device 100 is disposed between a pair of input clamps 300, 300 in a front view. The pair of input clamps 300, 300 are for temporarily hanging fabric W, and as will be described later, are used by an operator (not shown) to hang the fabric W to be processed next in advance during the process of spreading the fabric W in the fabric spreading device 100. The pair of input clamps 300, 300 have already been described, and the same reference numerals may be used to omit the description thereof.

The fabric spreading device 100 has a left spreading section 120 that moves in a left direction L when viewed from the front, and a right spreading section 150 that moves in a right direction R when viewed from the front, by the above-mentioned spreading drive section 70. Note that the same components as those of the fabric spreading device 10 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

The left expansion section 120 has a thin plate-shaped left bracket section 121 which serves as the main body, a left mounting section 122 for mounting the left roll section 123 described later which is attached to the left bracket section 121 so that the left roll section 123 can move up and down, and a wheel-shaped left roll section 123 which moves downward.

The left spreading unit 120 also has a wheel-shaped left roller unit 125. When the left roll unit 123 moves downward, the wheel-shaped left roller unit 125 pinches the fabric W between the left roll unit 123 and the left roller unit 125, and is arranged so that the fabric W can be moved by rotating together with the left roll unit 123. Also, below the left attachment unit 122, there is a left sensor unit 27 that can detect a left corner WL of the fabric W. Also, the left bracket unit 121 has a left fabric detection sensor 26 that detects the presence of the fabric W. The left sensor unit 27 and the left fabric detection sensor 26 have the same configuration as those of the fabric spreading device 10.

Furthermore, the left bracket portion 121 has a left fixed chuck 130 disposed inside the left roll portion 123 and the left roller portion 125. The left fixed chuck 130 has a left first member 131 and a left second member 132, and clamps and fixes a left corner portion WL of the cloth W as the left first member 131 disposed above moves downward.

In addition, the right expansion portion 150 has a thin plate-shaped right bracket portion 151 that serves as the main body, a right mounting portion 152 for mounting the right roll portion 153 described later that is attached to the right bracket portion 151 so that it can move up and down, and a wheel-shaped right roll portion 153 that moves downward.

The right spreading unit 150 also has a wheel-shaped right roller unit 155. When the right roll unit 153 moves downward, the wheel-shaped right roller unit 155 pinches the fabric W between the right roll unit 153 and the right roller unit 155, and is arranged so that the fabric W can be moved by rotating together with the right roll unit 153. Also, below the right attachment unit 152 is a right sensor unit 57 that can detect a right corner WR of the fabric W. Also, the right bracket unit 151 has a right fabric detection sensor 56 that detects the presence of the fabric W. The right sensor unit 57 and the right fabric detection sensor 56 have the same configuration as those of the fabric spreading device 10 (see FIG. 12 ).

Further, the right bracket portion 151 has a right fixed chuck 160. The right fixed chuck 160 has a right first member 161 and a right second member 162, and fixes a right corner portion WR of the cloth W by the right first member 161 disposed above moving downward.

The expansion drive unit 70 has a belt portion 71 that is annular in plan view, and a motor-like driving portion 72 that drives the belt portion 71 to rotate. The expansion drive unit 70 also has a base portion 75, and the left expansion portion 120 and the right expansion portion 150 move in the left direction L or the right direction R along the base portion 75. The left bracket portion 121 of the left expansion portion 120 is attached to one portion 71A of the belt portion 71, and the right bracket portion 151 of the right expansion portion 150 is attached to the other portion 71B of the belt portion 71. The position of the one portion 71A of the belt portion 71 and the position of the other portion 71B are arranged to be shifted by half a circumference of the belt portion 71 that is annular in plan view. Therefore, when the belt portion 71 rotates in a predetermined direction, the left expansion portion 120 and the right expansion portion 150 expand symmetrically.

As described above, the left spreading section 120 and the right spreading section 150 are attached to the spreading drive section 70, which is attached to a front-rear direction moving section 510 for moving in a direction from the front f to the rear r of the insertion device 500, and the front-rear direction moving section 510 has a front-rear drive section 520 made up of motors, a front-rear belt section 520, a bracket section 530 attached to the front-rear belt section 520, and a rail section 540 that restricts the front-rear movement of the bracket section 530. This point is the same as in the first embodiment.

Thus, the difference between the fabric spreading device 100 of the second embodiment and the fabric spreading device 10 of the first embodiment is that the left spreading section 20 has a left roll section 123, a left roller section 125, and a left fixed chuck 130 instead of the left bracket section 21 and the left soft roll section 23. Also, the right spreading section 50 has a right roll section 153, a right roller section 155, and a right fixed chuck 160 instead of the right bracket section 51 and the right soft roll section 53.

The cloth W is attached to the cloth spreading device 100 having the above-mentioned configuration. Specifically, an operator (not shown) places one side WH of the cloth W in the pair of open feeding clamps 300, 300, the vertical gap between the left roll section 123 and the left roller section 125 placed between the pair of feeding clamps 300, 300, the vertical gap between the left first member 131 and the left second member 132 of the left fixed chuck 130, the vertical gap between the right roll section 153 and the right roller section 155, and the gap between the right first member 161 and the right second member 162 of the right fixed chuck 160. Here, the operator does not need to align the center WC of the cloth W with the center 601 of the feeding device 600. This is the same as in the first embodiment.

Next, the left cloth detection sensor 26 and the right cloth detection sensor 56 each detect the presence of cloth W. The left cloth detection sensor 26 and the right cloth detection sensor 56 detect that the cloth W is placed in each of the above-mentioned gaps.

At this time, the left roll unit 123 moves downward and sandwiches the side WH between the left roller unit 125 and the left roll unit 123. Also, the right roll unit 153 moves downward and sandwiches the side WH between the right roller unit 155 and the left roll unit 123.

At that time, the clamp unit 320 rotates backward in the same manner as described above (not shown), thereby opening the gap between the claw unit 310 and the clamp unit 320, and the input clamps 300, 300 release the cloth W held by the input clamps 300, 300. In this state, the front-rear moving unit 510 starts to move the cloth spreading device 100 backward in the r direction (see FIG. 12 ).

Thereafter, the left roll unit 123 and the left roller unit 125, which are sandwiched so as to contact one side WH, rotate together, causing the left spreading unit 120 to move in the left direction L. Also, the right roll unit 153 and the right roller unit 155, which are sandwiched so as to contact one side WH, rotate together, causing the right spreading unit 150 to move in the right direction R.

In this state, when the left spreading part 120 moves in the left direction L as seen from the front while the right spreading part 150 simultaneously moves in the right direction R as seen from the front, the left sensor part 27 disposed below the left attachment part 22 detects the left corner WL of the cloth W. Specifically, a light beam emitted from the left sensor part 27 is irradiated onto the cloth W, and the cloth W is detected while the light beam is reflected, so that the left corner WL of the cloth W has not yet been detected, but as the left spreading part 120 moves further and the cloth W passes through the area of the light beam emitted from the left sensor part 27, the light beam emitted from the left sensor part 27 is scattered without being reflected, and the presence of the left corner WL is detected (see FIG. 13 ).

There is a slight time lag between the position of the light beam emitted from the left sensor unit 27 and the position of the left fixed chuck 130, and at this time, the left first member 131 of the left fixed chuck 130 moves downward, and the left corner WL of the cloth W is clamped and fixed by the left second member 132. In this state, the right sensor unit 57 arranged below the right attachment part 52 has not yet detected the right corner WR of the cloth W.

While the left corner WL of the cloth W is clamped and fixed between the left first member 131 and the left second member 132 of the left fixed chuck 130, the left spreading part 120 moves in the left direction L by the spreading drive part 70, while the right spreading part 150 moves in the right direction R by the spreading drive part 70, and the right sensor part 57 disposed below the right attachment part 52 detects the right corner WR of the cloth W. Specifically, a light beam emitted from the right sensor part 57 is irradiated onto the cloth W, and the cloth W is detected while the light beam is reflected, so that the right corner WR of the cloth W has not yet been detected, but as the right spreading part 50 moves further, when the cloth W passes through the area of the light beam emitted from the right sensor part 57, the light beam emitted from the right sensor part 57 is scattered without being reflected, and the presence of the right corner WR is detected.

There is a slight time lag between the position of the light beam emitted from the right sensor unit 57 and the position of the right fixed chuck 160, and at this time, the right first member 161 of the right fixed chuck 160 moves downward, and the right corner WR of the cloth W is clamped and fixed by the right second member 162.

At this time, the spreading drive unit 70 moves the left spreading unit 120 in the left direction L while the right spreading unit 150 moves in the right direction R, and since these movements are both symmetrical, when the left corner WL of the fabric W is clamped and fixed by the left fixed chuck 130 and the right corner WR of the fabric W is clamped and fixed by the right fixed chuck 160, the central portion WC of the fabric W coincides with the central portion 601 of the feeding device 600 and the fabric W is spread out.

The spread out cloth W is further moved backward in the r direction by the front-rear direction moving unit 510 and placed on the transport conveyor 560. The process thereafter is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, if the spread out cloth W is tilted, it is corrected by the above-mentioned correction device 580 and is transported to the next process by the transport conveyor 560.

10 Cloth spreading device 20 of the first embodiment Left spreading section 21 Left bracket section 22 Left attachment section 23 Left soft roll section 25 Left free roller section 26 Left cloth detection sensor 27 Left sensor section 50 Right spreading section 51 Right bracket section 52 Right attachment section 53 Right soft roll section 55 Right free roller section 56 Right cloth detection sensor 57 Right sensor section 100 Cloth spreading device 120 of the second embodiment Left spreading section 121 Left bracket section 122 Left attachment section 123 Left roll section 125 Left roller section 130 Left fixed chuck 131 Left first member 132 Left second member 150 Right spreading section 151 Right bracket section 152 Right attachment section 153 Right roll section 155 Right roller section 160 Right fixed chuck 161 Right first member 162 Right second member 300 Input clamp 310 Claw portion 320 Clamp portion 500, 600 Input device

Claims (5)

To spread out a piece of fabric having a right corner, a left corner and one side therebetween,
A left sensor unit for detecting the left corner portion;
a right sensor unit for detecting the right corner;
a left expansion portion that holds the one side and moves leftward;
a right expansion portion that holds the one side and moves in a right direction ,
When one side of the fabric is attached to the left spreading portion and the right spreading portion,
The left spreading part moves leftward while holding the one side, and when the left sensor part detects a left corner of the fabric, the left spreading part clamps the left corner of the fabric, and the right spreading part moves rightward while holding the one side, and when the right sensor part detects a right corner of the fabric, the right spreading part clamps the right corner of the fabric. A fabric spreading device. a spreading drive portion that drives the left spreading portion in a left direction and drives the right spreading portion in a right direction,
2. The cloth spreading device according to claim 1, wherein the left spreading part is moved leftward and the right spreading part is moved rightward when the spreading drive part is driven. the left spreading section is moved leftward by the spreading drive section while holding the one side, and includes a left soft roll section which moves downward, and a left free roller section which holds a left corner portion with the left soft roll section when the left soft roll section moves downward;
The right spreading section has a right soft roll section which is moved to the right by the spreading drive section while holding the one side, and which moves downward, and a right free roller section which holds a right corner portion with the right soft roll section when the right soft roll section moves downward,
The left sensor unit detects the left corner portion, and the left soft roll unit and the left free roller unit fix the left corner portion,
The cloth spreading device according to claim 2, wherein when the right sensor portion detects the right corner portion, the right soft roll portion and the right free roller portion fix the right corner portion. the left spreading unit includes a left roll unit that is moved leftward by the spreading drive unit while holding the one side, a left roller unit, and a left fixed chuck that clamps the left corner portion detected by the left sensor unit;
the right spreading unit includes a right roll unit that is moved rightward by the spreading drive unit while holding the one side, a right roller unit, and a right fixed chuck that clamps the right corner portion detected by the right sensor unit,
The left roll unit and the left roller unit move leftward while sandwiching the one side, and the left fixed chuck holds the left corner portion detected by the left sensor unit,
3. The cloth spreading device according to claim 2, wherein the right roll portion and the right roller portion move rightward while sandwiching the one side, and the right fixed chuck clamps the right corner portion detected by the right sensor portion. A cloth feeding device comprising the cloth spreading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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