CN111321547B

CN111321547B - Laundry treatment system

Info

Publication number: CN111321547B
Application number: CN201811524595.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张树荣; 潘超; 杨帆; 袁泉
Original assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd; BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd; BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2018-12-13
Filing date: 2018-12-13
Publication date: 2023-01-17
Anticipated expiration: 2038-12-13
Also published as: CN111321547A

Abstract

A clothes treatment system comprises a first clothes treatment device, a second clothes treatment device, a mechanical arm and a track, wherein the second clothes treatment device is arranged close to the first clothes treatment device and is used for further treating clothes treated by the first clothes treatment device, the mechanical arm is arranged near the first clothes treatment device or the second clothes treatment device, and the mechanical arm is arranged on the track and can move along the track. The scheme can realize that the mechanical arm runs the clothes to be treated between at least two clothes treating devices which are matched for use, and can increase the working path of the mechanical arm and improve the flexibility of the clothes treating system.

Description

Laundry treatment system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, in particular to a clothes treatment system.

Background

At present, after a washing machine finishes a washing program, the washing machine needs to be aired or dried manually; when the clothes dryer finishes the procedure, people are also required to dry or stack clothes. When a user does not timely treat the laundry in the washing machine or the dryer, the laundry may generate a bad smell or wrinkles after being placed for a long time, which is very inconvenient.

In some laundry systems, the drying, folding, etc. of the laundry may be accomplished by a robot arm or a robot. However, the range of operation is limited and the handling operation is not flexible due to the length of the arm of the robot.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a clothes treatment system with a movable mechanical arm.

A clothes treatment system comprises a first clothes treatment device, a second clothes treatment device, a mechanical arm and a track, wherein the second clothes treatment device is arranged close to the first clothes treatment device and is used for further treating clothes treated by the first clothes treatment device, the mechanical arm is arranged near the first clothes treatment device or the second clothes treatment device, and the mechanical arm is arranged on the track and can move along the track. The scheme can realize that the mechanical arm runs the clothes to be treated between at least two clothes treating devices which are matched for use, can increase the working path of the mechanical arm, and improves the flexibility of the clothes treating system.

In a possible embodiment, the rail is provided at a side of the first laundry treating device and/or the second laundry treating device.

In a possible embodiment, the rail is disposed above, or below, or to the left, or to the right of the first and/or second laundry treating devices. The positions of the tracks can be set according to the combination mode and the placing position of the clothes treatment equipment, and the track setting of different combination modes is realized.

In a possible embodiment, the rail is disposed between the first and second laundry treating devices. The movement cost of the mechanical arm can be reduced.

In a possible embodiment, the first and second laundry treating devices are stacked one on top of the other, or are placed side by side.

In one possible embodiment, the first laundry treating device is a washing machine, and the second laundry treating device is a dryer; alternatively, the first laundry treating apparatus is a dryer and the second laundry treating apparatus is a clothes stacker.

In one possible embodiment, the robotic arm and the track are connected by a lead screw drive.

In one possible embodiment, the robotic arm and the track are connected by a rack and pinion drive.

In one possible embodiment, the system further comprises a controller configured to: when the first clothes treatment device finishes the treatment, the mechanical arm is controlled to grab the clothes and move to the vicinity of the second clothes treatment device along the track.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a laundry treatment system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the track arrangement position in the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another track set position in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of yet another track set position in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5a is a schematic view of a manipulator in an operating state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5b is a schematic view of a robot in a storage state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a laundry treating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, a laundry treating system 10 includes a first laundry treating device 100; a second laundry treating device 101 disposed adjacent to the first laundry treating device 100 and further treating the laundry treated by the first laundry treating device 100.

In one embodiment, the first laundry treating apparatus 100 may be a washing machine, and the corresponding second laundry treating apparatus 101 may be a dryer, i.e., a combined system of a washing machine and a dryer.

In one embodiment, the first laundry treating device 100 may be a washing machine, and the corresponding second laundry treating device 101 may be a clothes drying apparatus, i.e., a combined system of a washing machine and a clothes drying apparatus.

In one embodiment, the first laundry treating apparatus 100 may be a clothes dryer, and the corresponding second laundry treating apparatus 101 may be a clothes stacker, i.e., a combined system of a clothes dryer and a clothes stacker.

In one embodiment, the laundry treatment system 10 may also be a combination washer, dryer, and clothes stacker. In addition, other combinations that can cooperate with each other to perform the laundry treatment are also within the scope of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the washing machine, the dryer, and the clothes stacker can be stacked one above the other, or side by side.

The laundry treating system 10 further includes a robot arm 102 and a rail 103 disposed near the first laundry treating device 100 or the second laundry treating device 101; the robot 102 is disposed on the rail 103 and can move along the rail 103.

For example, in a combination of a washing machine and a dryer, the rail 103 may be disposed at one side of the combination, may be disposed at a side of a cabinet of the washing machine and the dryer, may be at an upper side, a lower side, left and right side walls, etc., or may be therebetween, as shown at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in fig. 2 or 3.

The rail 103 may be disposed at one side of any one of the washing machine and the dryer. In this case, the robot arm 102 needs to be engaged so that it can carry the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer.

The length of the track 103 can be set according to actual needs. In one embodiment, when the washing machine and the dryer are stacked one on another with the rail 103 disposed at one side, for example, the left side, the length of the rail 103 may be set to the sum of the lengths of the left sides of the washing machine and the dryer. Preferably, the rail 103 is provided at a middle position of the left side surfaces of the washing machine and the dryer, as shown in fig. 4. This reduces the length of the track and the length of the path over which the robot arm operates.

The rail 103 may be in contact with the first laundry treating device 100 or the second laundry treating device 101, or may be in non-contact with the first laundry treating device or the second laundry treating device by using other methods such as hanging.

In one embodiment, the robotic arm 102 may be coupled to the track 103 via a lead screw drive arrangement to drive the robotic arm 102 along the track 103.

In one embodiment, the robotic arm 102 may be coupled to the track 103 via a rack and pinion arrangement to drive the robotic arm 102 along the track 103.

In one embodiment, the robot arm 102 has at least one joint point such that it is extendable or retractable to a side of the laundry treating apparatus.

In one embodiment, the front end of the robot arm 102 is further provided with a robot arm for grasping clothes and the like. The manipulator can translate or rotate to be matched with the mechanical arm to realize different functions.

As shown in fig. 5a and 5b, the robot arm 102 is disposed on a sidewall of the washing machine. Fig. 5a is the position of the robot arm 102 in operation, and fig. 5b is the state where the robot arm 102 is retracted to the side of the washing machine.

In one embodiment, fig. 6, the laundry treatment system 10 further includes a controller 104, the controller 104 controlling the movement of the robot arm 102 by controlling the transmission structure. The controller 104 is configured to: when the first laundry treating device 100 finishes treating, the robot arm 102 is controlled to grab the laundry and move to the vicinity of the second laundry treating device 101 along the rail 103.

In one embodiment, the path of movement of the robotic arm 102 may be preset. When the robot 102 receives the control signal, the robot 102 moves from the initial position to the designated position, and the robot 102 is extended to work according to the preset movement path. For example, a motion trajectory of the mechanical arm 102 to move the clothes grabbed from the washing machine to the dryer or a motion trajectory of the mechanical arm 102 to move the clothes grabbed from the dryer to the clothes stacker is preset.

In one embodiment, the preset path also includes a motion track of the mechanical arm 102 to assist in opening a door of a washing machine or a door of a clothes dryer or a clothes stacker or the like.

In one embodiment, the controller 104 may be a main control unit, which is connected to the control units of the washing machine, the dryer, the clothes drying equipment, the clothes stacker, and the robot arm, respectively. The controller 104 may also be one of the control units of a washing machine, a dryer, a clothes drying apparatus, a clothes stacker, a robotic arm 102.

In one embodiment, when the controller 104 is provided as a stand-alone main control unit, it may be disposed near a space, such as a balcony, where a washing machine, a dryer, a clothes drying facility, a clothes stacker, and the robot arm 102 are located.

In one embodiment, the controller 104 may also control the operation of a clothes dryer, clothes stacker, clothes drying apparatus. For example, when the mechanical arm 102 moves to the vicinity of the dryer, the dryer is controlled to operate by sending a control signal, including controlling to open and close a door of the dryer, starting a drying program, and the like. When the mechanical arm 102 moves to the vicinity of the clothes drying equipment, the clothes drying equipment is controlled to work, including controlling the clothes drying equipment to move to the vicinity of clothes to be dried by sending a control signal, opening a clothes drying clamp and the like.

The operation method of the clothes treating system 10 will be described in an embodiment, specifically, a combination of a washing machine, a dryer and a clothes folding machine is taken as an example.

The user puts the laundry to be treated into the washing machine and starts a washing treatment process.

When the operation of the washing machine is finished, a signal is sent to the controller 104. The controller 104 receives the signal, and controls the robot 102 to start operating according to the preset operating path. Specifically, the robot arm 102 is changed from the storage state to the extended state, and enters the washing machine to grab the laundry. In this process, the washing machine 100 may open the door through its own motor control system, or the door may be opened with the assistance of the robot 102.

Then, the mechanical arm 102 is controlled to move from the end of the rail 103 near the washing machine to the end of the rail 103 near the dryer. The robot 102 operates the grasped laundry to the dryer according to a preset path. In the above manner, after the laundry is completely transferred to the dryer, the dryer enters a drying process.

In another case, the laundry may be operated to the dryer in divided portions, for example, to dry the laundry in a preset number of pieces or weight of the laundry.

After the operation of the clothes dryer is finished, the manipulator 102 moves from a position on the rail 103 close to the clothes dryer to a position on the rail 103 close to the clothes folding machine by using the same flow as the above, and the dried clothes are operated to the clothes folding machine, and the clothes folding machine enters a clothes folding program.

After the robot arm 102 completes the work, it enters the storage state.

While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A clothes treatment system is characterized by comprising a first clothes treatment device (100), a second clothes treatment device (101) which is arranged close to the first clothes treatment device (100) and is used for further treating clothes treated by the first clothes treatment device (100), a mechanical arm (102) and a track (103) which is arranged near the first clothes treatment device (100) or the second clothes treatment device, wherein the mechanical arm (102) is arranged on the track (103) and can move along the track (103), the mechanical arm (102) has a storage state and an extension state, the mechanical arm (102) can be stored at one side of the first clothes treatment device (100) or the second clothes treatment device (101) in the storage state, and after the first clothes treatment device (100) finishes working, the mechanical arm (102) can start working according to a preset working path and can grab clothes from the storage state to the extension state.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the rail is provided at a side of the first laundry treating device (100) and/or the second laundry treating device (101).

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the rail (103) is provided above, or below, or to the left, or to the right of the first laundry treatment device (100) and/or the second laundry treatment device (101).

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the rail (103) is disposed between the first laundry treating device (100) and the second laundry treating device (101).

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first laundry treating apparatus (100) and the second laundry treating apparatus (101) are stacked one on top of another or placed side by side in a left-right direction.

6. The system according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that the first laundry treatment apparatus (100) is a washing machine, the second laundry treatment apparatus (101) is a clothes dryer; alternatively, the first laundry treating device (100) is a clothes dryer and the second laundry treating device (101) is a clothes stacker.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the robotic arm (102) and the track (103) are connected by a lead screw drive.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the robotic arm (102) and the track (103) are coupled via a rack and pinion drive.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a controller (104) configured to: when the first clothes treatment device (100) finishes treatment, the mechanical arm (102) is controlled to grab clothes and move to the vicinity of the second clothes treatment device (101) along the track.