Abstract: An apparatus for taking out laundry articles from a laundry pile by a pull gripper which is arranged for seizing one or more laundry articles in the laundry pile, and a lifting mechanism arranged for lifting the pull gripper and the minor batch of laundry articles clear above the pile. The lifting mechanism is arranged for conveying the pull gripper and the laundry articles to a position above a support, and the pull gripper is arranged for releasing the laundry articles above the support whereby the laundry articles are deposited on the support. The laundry articles are loosened from each other which facilitates the separation of the individual laundry articles from the pile. According to the invention the pull gripper is moved by the lifting mechanism as a restricted, guided movement by a combined vertical and horizontal movement whereby a more efficient loosening of the laundry articles is obtained as well as a higher degree of repetitive accuracy.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of advancing substantially rectangular pieces of cloth to a cloth treatment apparatus, such as a rotary ironer, whereby the piece of cloth is initially spread out and advanced in its spread-out state and at a given rate of conveyance between a subjacent conveyor and a superjacent conveyor that abut on the subjacent conveyor; and whereby folded edges, if any, on the frontmost and/or the rearmost border(s) of the piece of cloth, seen in the direction of conveyance of the subjacent conveyor, are completely or partially straightened in the plane of the piece of cloth prior to the piece of cloth entering said cloth treatment apparatus.