Small piece folder

Claim 2

In a laundry folding apparatus having a conveyor for advancing a laundry piece in a predetermined path, laterally adjustable guide means closely overlying the conveyor, and a pair of folding members extending up on the opposite outer sides of said guide means and laterally inward across said conveyor at opposite lateral inclinations to fold the opposite sides of the laundry piece up around said guide means as the laundry piece is advanced by the conveyor, each of said folding members having its back end located at the entrance end of said guide means and having its front end spaced therefrom in the direction of conveyor movement, the improvement which comprises: means for selectively positioning the back end and means for selectively positoning the front end of each of said folding members in different lateral positions in accordance with the lateral adjustment of said guide means for different fold widths of the laundry piece.

Claim 3

A folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for positioning the back end and the front end of each of said folding members selectively are adjustable to position them with one partially overlying the other laterally for narrower width folding or spread apart laterally in non-overlying relationship for wider-width folding.

Claim 4

A folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said guide means comprises a pair of guides overlying the conveyor longitudinally, and further comprising a rotatable rod transversely overlying the conveyor above said guides, said rod having oppositely screw-threaded portions thereon which are threadedly coupled respectively to said guides for simultaneously adjusting the guides laterally in opposite directions to adjust the fold width of the laundry piece in response to rotation of said rod in one direction or the other.

Claim 5

In a laundry folding apparatus having a conveyor for advancing a laundry piece in a predetermined path, laterally adjustable guide means closely overlying the conveyor, and a pair of folding members extending up on the opposite outer sides of said guide means and laterally inward across said conveyor at opposite lateral inclinations to fold the opposite sides of the laundry piece up around said guide means as the laundry piece is advanced by the conveyor, each of said folding members being an elongated rod extending from a location at the entrance end of said guide means toward the exit end of said guide means, an improved arrangement for selectively positioning said folding members in different lateral positions comprising: means on the apparatus defining a pair of slots at the entrance end of said guide means which receive the back ends of the respective folding members individually thereat, each of said slots having interconnected, laterally spaced recesses for snugly but slidably receiving the back end of the respective folding member at different laterally spaced positions; and means on the apparatus spaced from said slots in the direction of movement of the conveyor and which receive and engage the front ends of the respective folding members individually to locate said front ends at different positions laterally.

Claim 6

In a laundry folding apparatus having a conveyor for advancing a laundry piece in a predetermined path, laterally adjustable guide means closely overlying the conveyor, and a pair of folding members extending up on the opposite outer sides of said guide means and laterally inward across said conveyor at opposite lateral inclinations to fold the opposite sides of the laundry piece up around said guide means as the laundry piece is advanced by the conveyor, each of said folding members being an elongated rod extending from a location at the entrance end of said guide means toward the exit end of said guide means, an improved arrangement for selectively positioning said folding members in different lateral positions comprising: means on the apparatus defining a pair of slots at the entrance end of said guide means which receive the back ends of the respective folding members individually thereat, each of said slots having interconnected, laterally spaced recesses for snugly but slidably receiving the back end of the respective folding member at different laterally spaced positions; and means on the apparatus spaced from said slots in the direction of movement of the conveyor and which receive and engage the front ends of the respective folding members individually to locate said front ends at different positions laterally.

Claim 7

A folding apparatus according to claim 4, and further comprising means pivotally and slidably supporting each folding member adjacent its front end.

Claim 8

A folding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the respective slots at the entrance end and said last-mentioned means position the folding members with one partially overlying the other laterally for narrower-width folding and, alternatively, position the folding members spread apart laterally in non-overlying relationship for wider-width folding.

Claim 9

In a laundry folding apparatus having a conveyor for advancing a laundry piece in a predetermined path, a frame supporting said conveyor, laterally adjustable guide means closely overlying the conveyor, and a pair of folding members extending up on the opposite outer sides of said guide means and laterally inward across said conveyor at opposite lateral inclinations to fold the opposite sides of the laundry piece up around said guide means as the laundry piece is advanced by the conveyor, an improved arrangement for selectively positioning said folding members in different lateral positions comprising: means located on said frame at the entrance end of said guide means and defining a pair of laterally spaced slots which receive the back ends of the respective folding members individually, each of said slots having offset recesses which are spaced apart laterally of the conveyor and which snugly but slidably receive the back end of the respective folding member at different laterally spaced positions; and means located on said frame at each side of the conveyor beyond the entrance end of said guide means in the direction of movement of the conveyor for receiving and engaging the front ends of the respective folding members to locate the latter selectively at different lateral positions.

Claim 10

In a laundry folding apparatus having a conveyor for advancing a laundry piece in a predetermined path, a frame supporting said conveyor, laterally adjustable guide means closely overlying the conveyor, and a pair of folding members extending up on the opposite outer sides of said guide means and laterally inward across said conveyor at opposite lateral inclinations to fold the opposite sides of the laundry piece up around said guide means as the laundry piece is advanced by the conveyor, an improved arrangement for selectively positioning said folding members in different lateral positions comprising: means located on said frame at the entrance end of said guide means and defining a pair of laterally spaced slots which receive the back ends of the respective folding members individually, each of said slots having offset recesses which are spaced apart laterally of the conveyor and which snugly but slidably receive the back end of the respective folding member at different laterally spaced positions; and means located on said frame at each side of the conveyor beyond the entrance end of said guide means in the direction of movement of the conveyor for receiving and engaging the front ends of the respective folding members to locate the latter selectively at different lateral positions.

Claim 11

A folding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: SAID folding members cross each other vertically spaced apart when received in the laterally innermost recesses of said slots. and said folding members are laterally spread apart throughout their extent when received in the laterally outermost recesses of said slots.

Claim 12

A folding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said guide means comprises a pair of guides overlying the conveyor longitudinally, and further comprising a rotatable rod transversely overlying the conveyor above said guides, said rod having oppositely screw-threaded portions thereon which are threadedly coupled respectively to said guides for simultaneously adjusting the guides laterally in opposite directions to adjust the fold width for the laundry piece in response to rotation of said rod in one direction or the other.