Abstract: An apparatus whereby laundry items are fed automatically to a mangle. This is achieved in that splaying clamps are movable by a linear motor, wherein slides are assigned to a primary part of the linear motor or form the primary parts of the linear motor and a rail is assigned to a secondary part of the linear motor or forms the secondary part. Laundry items are fed in industrial laundry facilities to a mangle in an outspread state. This is performed by machine using apparatuses for feeding laundry items. Each laundry item attached to splaying clamps is deposited with an outspread front edge arranged to the front onto a feeding conveyor, which feeds the laundry item in the outspread state to the mangle. Here, the splaying can mean that the laundry item either is not completely outspread or that the laundry item is tensioned such that it is damaged irreversibly.

Abstract: A method for providing fresh air fed through a fan to a burner of a dryer, thereby charging the burner, when the dryer is operated with recirculating air. In commercial dryers in which the drying air is heated by a burner, it is customary to reuse the moist air leaving a drum containing the laundry to be dried as recirculating air. The recirculating air component is increased with increasing drying of the laundry. At the end of the drying operation, when the moist air no longer contains as much moisture as at the start, the moist air is used as recirculating air. The burner then no longer gets enough combustion air, which leads to an incomplete combustion. The dryer can be operated with a higher recirculating air component, an optimal combustion being guaranteed through the charging of the burner with fresh air. The invention permits more economical drying.

Abstract: A clamp for feeding items of laundry to a laundry treatment machine that can be easily actuated and that can enhance performance and reliability when items of laundry are fed, for example, to a mangle or the like, by configuring at least one clamping element of the clamp as a clamping lever having an insertion aid with a guideway for the sliding insertion of a section of the item of laundry into a clamp mouth.

Abstract: For the purpose of delivering a laundry item (10) to an ironer, the laundry item (10) is spread, by opposite corners of a lateral edge (20), by means of spreader clips (18, 19). In this case, deformations, or “ear formation” may occur at the corner regions (12, 13) of the laundry item (10) that are gripped by the spreader clips (18, 19). This “ear formation” is mostly irreversible, and in the long term results in damage to the laundry items (10). The invention creates a method and a device by which the laundry item (10) is delivered to an ironer in a gentle manner. For this purpose, at least one corner region (12, 13) of the laundry item (10) that is gripped by a spreader clip (18, 19) is captured by an imaging means as the laundry item (10) is being spread.

Abstract: A device for the sealing of an external drum of a continuous-flow washing machines in relation to the internal drum in a more reliable manner and to prevent the risk of treatment liquid flooding from the one treatment chamber into the adjacent treatment chamber if a seal leaks by providing separate seals between adjacent external drums by each of the end faces of the adjacent external drums which point to one another having assigned thereto an own, preferably identically realized seal. In continuous-flow washing machines stationary external drums are assigned to some treatment chambers in a rotatingly drivable internal drum. Said stationary external drums have to be sealed relative to the treatment chambers of the rotatable internal drum. If one common seal is provided between adjacent external drums, if there are leaks, this results in total failure with treatment liquid flooding from the external drum into the adjacent external drum.

Abstract: Contaminants, in particular stains, of cleaned or washed items of laundry can be on both sides. Therefore, it is necessary to examine washed or cleaned items of laundry on each side in respect of contaminants. This is very complicated. The invention provides for illuminating or transilluminating the items of laundry from one side by a lighting apparatus, as a result of which contaminants on this illuminated or transilluminated side of the items of laundry shine through to the opposite side. As a result, contaminants on both sides of the items of laundry are establishable from one side, which is directed away from the lighting apparatus, by way of a camera or the like. Therefore, as a result of the invention, it is not necessary to examine both sides of the items of laundry, either simultaneously or in succession, in respect of the presence of contaminants.

Abstract: In band ironers, laundry items are moved along a pressing surface of a stationary ironer roller by an ironer band that entrains the laundry items, wherein the laundry items slide with slip along a lateral surface of the ironer roller. As the speed of the ironer increases, slip between the laundry items and the lateral surface of the ironer roller increases. When the desired ironing quality makes less slip necessary, the circumferential speed of the ironer band has to be reduced, and the throughput of the band ironer suffers. The invention is to drive the ironer roller in a circumferential manner wherein the slip between the ironer roller and the laundry items is adjusted in an arbitrary manner as a result of adjusting the rotational speed of the drive of the ironer roller and/or the circumferential speed of the ironer band without reducing the throughput of the band ironer.

Abstract: During the transverse-folding operation of items of laundry, a number of layers are positioned one above the other so as to overlap one another. In order to achieve optimum folding quality, the aim is for layers of equal length to overlap, which is only rarely possible in practice. It is usually the case that the layers are of unequal length, and this gives rise to a difference in overlap. The invention makes provision for the difference in overlap to be eliminated, or at least to be minimized, in that it is determined whether a difference in overlap is present and the difference in overlap which may be established is corrected for the transverse-folding operation of the next-following item of laundry, which allows established differences in overlap to be compensated for automatically at least for the most part.

Abstract: Belt mangles, in which a revolvingly driven mangle belt runs along on the outside of the mangle body which is curved in a trough-like manner, convey in an entrained manner laundry items to be mangled along a smooth flattening face of the mangle body. Slippage between the mangle belt and the laundry items, which causes the quality of mangling to suffer, can occur. A mangle belt is provided with a structured outer face to bear on the laundry items to be entrained. The outer face is formed from a needled felt from highly temperature-resistant man-made fibers. On account of the structuring of the outer face of the mangle belt, a rough entrainment face or adhesion face, respectively, for the laundry items, that ensures slippage-free entrainment of the laundry items by the mangle belt while conveying the laundry items along the flattening face of the mangle body, is created.

Abstract: Items of laundry are fed from an input machine to a mangle or some other laundry-treatment arrangement. Operating personnel are employed to feed the input machine with the items of laundry. This is costly in terms of time and personnel. The invention makes provision for determining surface profiles of the items of laundry by means of imaging installations. From these surface profiles a location for the automatic gripping of the item of laundry or of a corner of same, and preferably also the position of the location or corner, is determined by electronic image processing, whereby the location or corner of the item of laundry can be securely gripped in an automatic and targeted manner. By virtue of the described measures, hitherto manual activities in front of the input machine can be easily performed in a reliable and fully-automatic mode.

Abstract: The sorting of laundry items, in particular dirty laundry items, has hitherto been carried out manually in most cases, which is costly in terms of personnel and time. High sorting capacities are therefore only possible with the corresponding personnel expenses. The invention provides that, at the start of sorting, specifically during their separation, and prior to their further transport to the individual sorting sites, the dirty laundry items are scanned by imaging techniques and, as a result of the appropriate image analysis, it is possible to determine the areas of the dirty laundry items to be preferably gripped and/or at least a number of sorting criteria, such as size and color. These measures result in a largely automated sorting procedure. These measures can be extended so as to achieve a fully automatic sorting procedure.

Abstract: In apparatuses for automatically folding items of laundry, items of laundry of different lengths usually are folded in an irregular sequence, resulting in idling and/or delays in particular in the longitudinal-folding station (13). The invention provides for determining the length of each item of laundry (10) upstream of the longitudinal-folding station (13) and for accelerating short items of laundry as they are transported through the longitudinal-folding station (13), whereas larger items of laundry are slowed down in the longitudinal-folding station (13). Following completion of the longitudinal-folding operation, the respectively folded item of laundry is located at the end of the longitudinal-folding station (13) and, immediately following completion of the longitudinal folding, is transported away out of the longitudinal-folding station (13).

Abstract: A method for storing scanned information concerning a relevant laundry item in a data storage means which is assigned to a carrier holding the laundry item. The laundry item is assigned to a storage means or an intermediate storage means with the carrier comprising its information by a conveying system. The laundry items are sorted by way of their individual information stored on the carriers, moved into corresponding storage sections of the storage means and at the same time are both sorted and formed into laundry batches. The laundry batch then includes laundry items which require a same treatment. The laundry batch can then be supplied, for example, to a continuous-batch washing machine where the laundry items of the laundry batch are washed and, where applicable, subject to further treatments in the manner predefined according to their information. The sorting of the laundry items is automated to a large extent.

Abstract: A device for the sealing of an external drum of a continuous-flow washing machines in relation to the internal drum in a more reliable manner and to prevent the risk of treatment liquid flooding from the one treatment chamber into the adjacent treatment chamber if a seal leaks by providing separate seals between adjacent external drums by each of the end faces of the adjacent external drums which point to one another having assigned thereto an own, preferably identically realized seal. In continuous-flow washing machines stationary external drums are assigned to some treatment chambers in a rotatingly drivable internal drum. Said stationary external drums have to be sealed relative to the treatment chambers of the rotatable internal drum. If one common seal is provided between adjacent external drums, if there are leaks, this results in total failure with treatment liquid flooding from the external drum into the adjacent external drum.

Abstract: Items of laundry (10) are fed, in laundries, to a laundry-treatment device with adjacent corners (25) of an upper edge (39) hanging beneath two clip carriages (22). It is customary for the items of laundry (10) to be stored in a sorted state on an interim basis upstream of the laundry-treatment device. The invention provides for adjacent clip carriages (22) of successive items of laundry (10) to be assigned in pairs to drivers (28) of a catch conveyor (26). The invention also provides for the sagging of the upper edge (39), and the lowermost location (40) of the lower edge (42), of the item of laundry (10) to be determined by a line-measuring device (26), in order for the item of laundry (10) to be identified in this way.

Abstract: Clamps are employed for feeding items of laundry to a laundry treatment machine, for example. There are well-known arrangements where the items of laundry are fed from a laundry hamper, dryer or the like to a mangle feeder using clamps in a largely or entirely mechanized and automated manner. However, it has been shown that the handling of the clamps in such an arrangement is relatively complicated and thus time-consuming. The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a clamp that can be easily actuated and which can enhance performance and reliability when items of laundry are fed, for example, to a mangle or the like. This is achieved by configuring at least one clamping element of the clamp as a clamping lever having an insertion aid with guidance means for the sliding insertion of a section of the item of laundry into a clamp mouth.

Abstract: A method for treating laundry and an inline washing machine that makes provision for water to be removed from the laundry selectively only in a water-removal press or in a water-removal press and a laundry centrifuge. Delicate items of laundry are subjected only to preliminary pressing in the water-removal press while water is then completely removed in the laundry centrifuge. In this way, a water-removal press can always be permanently arranged downstream of the washing machine and all the laundry, including delicate laundry, can pass through the water-removal press.

Abstract: A method for capturing an item of laundry in a reliable and efficient manner. Washed items of laundry usually leave a washing machine intertwined with one another as a pile of laundry. Before the items of laundry that come out of a washing machine in this way are subjected to further treatment steps, for example mangling or sorting, they have to be separated. In the method, the topography of the item of laundry is ascertained and at least one point of the item of laundry at which the item of laundry is intended to be captured and/or preferably can be captured by a capturing means is determined on the basis of this topography. The item of laundry is captured by the capturing means by specific control of the capturing means at this point.

Abstract: During the transverse-folding operation of items of laundry, a number of layers are positioned one above the other so as to overlap one another. In order to achieve optimum folding quality, the aim is for layers of equal length to overlap, which is only rarely possible in practice. It is usually the case that the layers are of unequal length, and this gives rise to a difference in overlap. The invention makes provision for the difference in overlap to be eliminated, or at least to be minimized, in that it is determined whether a difference in overlap is present and the difference in overlap which may be established is corrected for the transverse-folding operation of the next-following item of laundry, which allows established differences in overlap to be compensated for automatically at least for the most part.

Abstract: Belt mangles, in which a revolvingly driven mangle belt runs along on the outside of the mangle body which is curved in a trough-like manner, convey in an entrained manner laundry items to be mangled along a smooth flattening face of the mangle body. Slippage between the mangle belt and the laundry items, which causes the quality of mangling to suffer, can occur. A mangle belt is provided with a structured outer face to bear on the laundry items to be entrained. The outer face is formed from a needled felt from highly temperature-resistant man-made fibers. On account of the structuring of the outer face of the mangle belt, a rough entrainment face or adhesion face, respectively, for the laundry items, that ensures slippage-free entrainment of the laundry items by the mangle belt while conveying the laundry items along the flattening face of the mangle body, is created.