Method of folding items of laundry

摘要

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). This avoids unnecessary idling times, and for relatively long items of laundry to be folded longitudinally during continuous, relatively slow onward transportation through the longitudinal-folding station (13).

主权项

1. A method of mechanically folding items of laundry (10) and/or stacking items of laundry (10), wherein the items of laundry (10) are transported through at least one longitudinal-folding station (13), the items of laundry (10) are folded longitudinally at least once in the longitudinal-folding station (13) and the folded items of laundry (10) are stacked at a plurality of stacking locations, wherein the items of laundry (10) are transported through the longitudinal-folding station (13) at a transporting speed adapted to their size, wherein the transporting speed is adjusted such that relatively small items of laundry (10) are transported through the longitudinal-folding station (13) more quickly than larger items of laundry (10), and wherein the relatively small items of laundry (10) are accelerated in the longitudinal-folding station (13) and the larger items of laundry (10) are slowed down in the longitudinal-folding station (13), such that the at least one longitudinal-folding operation has been completed when a leading front transverse edge (36) of the items of laundry (10), said front transverse edge running transversely to the direction (12) in which the items of laundry (10) are transported through the longitudinal-folding station (13), is located in the region of an outlet end (34) of the longitudinal-folding station (13).