US3926424A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Folding apparatus
Assignee: NEWJENSEN Corp 2775 NW 63RD COURT FORT LAUDERDALE FL A CORP OF FL
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Filing: 1973-12-13
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Granted: 1975-12-16
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Expires: 1993-12-13
Abstract
Abstract An improved folding apparatus for laundry articles being advanced by a conveyor having a pick up and drop, first folder, and leading and trailing photoelectric sensors at this folder for controlling its operation in response to the arrival of the leading and trailing edges of the article. The sensors also control a timing circuit for a second folder operating in two stages: beginning with the movement of the leading edge of the article past the trailing sensor; and beginning with the movement of the trailing edge of the article past the leading sensor.
Inventors
- 👤 Roland W Gerstenberger
- 👤 William E Field
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 16:04
CPC Classifications
D; D06; D06F; D06F89/00; H; H03; H03K; H03K17/00; H03K17/28; H03K17/292
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
486 words
A folding apparatus for folding laundry articles and comprising: means for transporting a laundry article along a predetermined path, a pick up and drop folder positioned along said path, for folding the article, said folder having a blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and thereafter dropping said leading edge on the trailing edge of the article as it moves past, and means to raise said blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and to lower said blade for dropping and releasing the leading edge of the article, a roll folder positioned along said path beyond said pick up and drop folder for folding the article again, timer means controlling the operation of said roll folder, and sensor means at said pick up and drop folder for sensing successively the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article past it, said sensor means being operably coupled to both said pick up and drop folder and said timing means for the roll folder: a. to cause said blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised in response to the movement of the leading edge of the article past said sensor means; b. to cause said blade to be lowered in response to the movement of the trailing edge of the article past said sensor means; and c. in response to the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article in succession past said sensor means, to actuate said timer means to cause said roll folder to fold the article as it moves past; said sensor means comprising a leading sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article before it reaches said blade, and a trailing sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article after it reaches said blade, and further comprising relay means responsive to both the leading sensor and the trailing sensor to cause the blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised when both sensors have sensed the leading edge of the article. said relay means including contacts for automatically disconnecting the same from said trailing sensor after the latter senses the leading edge of the article and for atuomatically reconnecting the same to said trailing sensor after the leading sensor senses the trailing edge of the article, said relay means having further contactS; said timer means including capacitance means adapted to be electrically charged and discharged, and control circuit means actuated by said further contacts of said relay means for charging said capacitance means at a slow rate beginning with the movement of the leading edge of the article past the trailing sensor and at a quadrupled rate beginning with the movement of the trailing edge of the article past the leading sensor so as to time the operation of said roll folder for folding the once-folded article again at the middle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
486 words
A folding apparatus for folding laundry articles and comprising: means for transporting a laundry article along a predetermined path, a pick up and drop folder positioned along said path, for folding the article, said folder having a blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and thereafter dropping said leading edge on the trailing edge of the article as it moves past, and means to raise said blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and to lower said blade for dropping and releasing the leading edge of the article, a roll folder positioned along said path beyond said pick up and drop folder for folding the article again, timer means controlling the operation of said roll folder, and sensor means at said pick up and drop folder for sensing successively the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article past it, said sensor means being operably coupled to both said pick up and drop folder and said timing means for the roll folder: a. to cause said blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised in response to the movement of the leading edge of the article past said sensor means; b. to cause said blade to be lowered in response to the movement of the trailing edge of the article past said sensor means; and c. in response to the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article in succession past said sensor means, to actuate said timer means to cause said roll folder to fold the article as it moves past; said sensor means comprising a leading sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article before it reaches said blade, and a trailing sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article after it reaches said blade, and further comprising relay means responsive to both the leading sensor and the trailing sensor to cause the blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised when both sensors have sensed the leading edge of the article. said relay means including contacts for automatically disconnecting the same from said trailing sensor after the latter senses the leading edge of the article and for atuomatically reconnecting the same to said trailing sensor after the leading sensor senses the trailing edge of the article, said relay means having further contactS; said timer means including capacitance means adapted to be electrically charged and discharged, and control circuit means actuated by said further contacts of said relay means for charging said capacitance means at a slow rate beginning with the movement of the leading edge of the article past the trailing sensor and at a quadrupled rate beginning with the movement of the trailing edge of the article past the leading sensor so as to time the operation of said roll folder for folding the once-folded article again at the middle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said relay means includes a relay, and amplifier means connected between said relay and said sensors for controlling said relay.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said amplifier means includes a pair of emitter coupled transistors having a bias network including said sensors.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
Apparatus according to claim 3 in which said sensors are coupled in parallel with each other in said bias network, and said contacts are operable to disconnect and reconnect said trailing sensor from said bias network.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
444 words
A folding apparatus for folding laundry articles comprising: means for transporting a laundry article along a predetermined path, a pick up and drop folder positioned along said path for folding the article, said folder having a blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and thereafter dropping said leading edge on the trailing edge of the article as it moves past, and means to raise said blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and to lower said blade for dropping and releasing the leading edge of the article, a roll folder positioned along said path beyond said pick up and drop folder for folding the article again, timer means controlling the operation of said roll folder, and sensor means at said pick up and drop folder for sensing successively the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article past it, said sensor means being operably coupled to both said pick up and drop folder and said timing means for the roll folder: a. to cause said blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised in response to the movement of the leading edge of the article past said sensor means; b. to cause said blade to be lowered in response to the movement of the trailing edge of the article past said sensor means; and c. in response to the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article in succession past said sensor means, to actuate said timer means to cause said roll folder to fold the article as it moves past; said sensor means comprising a leading sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article before it reaches said blade, and a trailing sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article after it reaches said blade; and means responsive to both the leading sensor and the trailing sensor to cause the blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised when both sensors have sensed the leading edge of the article, said last mentioned means being automatically disconnected from said trailing sensor after the latter senses the leading edge of the article, said timer means including capacitance means adapted to be electrically charged and discharged, and means for changing the charge on said capacitance means at a slow rate beginning with the movement of the leading edge of the article past the trailing sensor and at a quadrupled rate beginning with the movement of the trailing edge of the article past the leading sensor so as to time the operation of said roll folder for folding the once-folded article again at the middle.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
444 words
A folding apparatus for folding laundry articles comprising: means for transporting a laundry article along a predetermined path, a pick up and drop folder positioned along said path for folding the article, said folder having a blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and thereafter dropping said leading edge on the trailing edge of the article as it moves past, and means to raise said blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and to lower said blade for dropping and releasing the leading edge of the article, a roll folder positioned along said path beyond said pick up and drop folder for folding the article again, timer means controlling the operation of said roll folder, and sensor means at said pick up and drop folder for sensing successively the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article past it, said sensor means being operably coupled to both said pick up and drop folder and said timing means for the roll folder: a. to cause said blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised in response to the movement of the leading edge of the article past said sensor means; b. to cause said blade to be lowered in response to the movement of the trailing edge of the article past said sensor means; and c. in response to the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article in succession past said sensor means, to actuate said timer means to cause said roll folder to fold the article as it moves past; said sensor means comprising a leading sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article before it reaches said blade, and a trailing sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article after it reaches said blade; and means responsive to both the leading sensor and the trailing sensor to cause the blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised when both sensors have sensed the leading edge of the article, said last mentioned means being automatically disconnected from said trailing sensor after the latter senses the leading edge of the article, said timer means including capacitance means adapted to be electrically charged and discharged, and means for changing the charge on said capacitance means at a slow rate beginning with the movement of the leading edge of the article past the trailing sensor and at a quadrupled rate beginning with the movement of the trailing edge of the article past the leading sensor so as to time the operation of said roll folder for folding the once-folded article again at the middle.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
451 words
A folding apparatus for folding laundry articles comprising: means for transporting a laundry article along a predetermined path, a pick up and drop folder positioned along said path for folding the article, said folder having a blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and thereafter dropping said Leading edge on the trailing edge of the article as it moves past, and means to raise said blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and to lower said blade for dropping and releasing the leading edge of the article, a roll folder positioned along said path beyond said pick up and drop folder for folding the article again, timer means controlling the operation of said roll folder, and sensor means at said pick up and drop folder for sensing successively the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article past it, said sensor means being operably coupled to both said pick up and drop folder and said timing means for the roll folder: a. to cause said blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised in response to the movement of the leading edge of the article past said sensor means; b. to cause said blade to be lowered in response to the movement of the trailing edge of the article past said sensor means; and c. in response to the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article in succession past said sensor means, to actuate said timer means to cause said roll folder to fold the article as it moves past; said sensor means comprising a leading sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article before it reaches said blade, and a trailing sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article after it reaches said blade, and means responsive to both the leading sensor and the trailing sensor to cause the blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised when both sensors have sensed the leading edge of the article, said last-mentioned means being automatically disconnected from said trailing sensor after the latter senses the leading edge of the article, said timer means including capacitance means adapted to be electrically charged and discharged, and means for changing the charge on said capacitance means at a slow rate beginning with the movement of the leading edge of the article past the trailing sensor and, beginning with the movement of the trailing edge of the article past the leading sensor, at a rate equal to said slow rate multiplied by a selected number effective to time the operation of said roll folder for folding the once-folded article again at the middle.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
451 words
A folding apparatus for folding laundry articles comprising: means for transporting a laundry article along a predetermined path, a pick up and drop folder positioned along said path for folding the article, said folder having a blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and thereafter dropping said Leading edge on the trailing edge of the article as it moves past, and means to raise said blade for lifting and retaining the leading edge of the article and to lower said blade for dropping and releasing the leading edge of the article, a roll folder positioned along said path beyond said pick up and drop folder for folding the article again, timer means controlling the operation of said roll folder, and sensor means at said pick up and drop folder for sensing successively the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article past it, said sensor means being operably coupled to both said pick up and drop folder and said timing means for the roll folder: a. to cause said blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised in response to the movement of the leading edge of the article past said sensor means; b. to cause said blade to be lowered in response to the movement of the trailing edge of the article past said sensor means; and c. in response to the movement of the leading and trailing edges of the article in succession past said sensor means, to actuate said timer means to cause said roll folder to fold the article as it moves past; said sensor means comprising a leading sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article before it reaches said blade, and a trailing sensor positioned to sense the leading edge of the article after it reaches said blade, and means responsive to both the leading sensor and the trailing sensor to cause the blade in the pick up and drop folder to be raised when both sensors have sensed the leading edge of the article, said last-mentioned means being automatically disconnected from said trailing sensor after the latter senses the leading edge of the article, said timer means including capacitance means adapted to be electrically charged and discharged, and means for changing the charge on said capacitance means at a slow rate beginning with the movement of the leading edge of the article past the trailing sensor and, beginning with the movement of the trailing edge of the article past the leading sensor, at a rate equal to said slow rate multiplied by a selected number effective to time the operation of said roll folder for folding the once-folded article again at the middle.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-12-15 | 1979-06-16 | 1979-12-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-12-15 | 1983-06-16 | 1983-12-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-12-15 | 1987-06-16 | 1987-12-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |