Clamp for an item of laundry

{
  "publication_number": "US9630780B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Clamp for an item of laundry",
  "abstract": "A clamp for feeding items of laundry to a laundry treatment machine that can be easily actuated and that can enhance performance and reliability when items of laundry are fed, for example, to a mangle or the like, by configuring at least one clamping element of the clamp as a clamping lever having an insertion aid with a guideway for the sliding insertion of a section of the item of laundry into a clamp mouth.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A clamp (18) for an item of laundry (10), comprising: a clamp housing (26); a clamp mouth (32); at least one movable clamping element comprising at least one clamping lever (37, 38) pivotally mounted on the clamp housing (26) about a pivot axis (39), the at least one clamping lever (37, 38) having a first end (41, 42) configured as a nose-like projection (50, 51) protruding into the clamp mouth (32); and a common preloaded spring (40) for preloading the at least one clamping lever (37, 38), wherein the at least one clamping lever (37, 38) comprises an insertion aid having a guideway (47, 48) for the guided insertion of a section (24) of the item of laundry (10) into the clamp mouth (32), wherein the guideway (47, 48) ascends diagonally on an underside of the clamp housing (26) toward the clamp mouth (32) and extends into the clamp mouth (32).",
    "2. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guideway (47, 48) lies with its entire length below an opening of the clamp mouth (32).",
    "3. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance of the guideway (47, 48) to the clamp mouth (32) decreases continually.",
    "4. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guideway (47, 48) ascends obliquely from below the clamp housing (26) to the clamp mouth (32) and has a linear configuration.",
    "5. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guideway (47, 48) ascends obliquely from below the clamp housing (26) to the clamp mouth (32) and has a curved configuration.",
    "6. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second end (43, 44) projecting beyond the clamp housing (26), with the guideway (47, 48) running between the first end (41, 42) and the second end (43, 44) of the clamping lever (37, 38) on an underside (45, 46) of the clamping lever (37, 38).",
    "7. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the section (24) of the item of laundry (10) is fixable in the clamp mouth (32) by the first end (41, 42) of the clamping lever (37, 38) through the common spring (40) of the clamping lever (37, 38).",
    "8. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the common spring (40) is a restoring means which preloads the clamping lever (37, 38) so as to close the clamp mouth (32).",
    "9. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the clamping lever (37, 38) for inserting the section (24) of the item of laundry (10) into the clamp mouth (32) is movable against the preload of the restoring means while the section (24) of the item of laundry (10) slides along the guideway (47, 48).",
    "10. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the clamping lever (37, 38) for inserting the section (24) of the item of laundry (10) into the clamp mouth (32) is movable against the preload of the restoring means while the section (24) of the item of laundry (10) slides along the guideway (47, 48).",
    "11. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivot axis (39) is arranged at an approximately centered position between the first end (41, 42) and the second end (43, 44) of the clamping lever (37, 38).",
    "12. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivot axis (39) of the clamping lever (37, 38) is positioned closer to the first end (41, 42) of the clamping lever (37, 38).",
    "13. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivot axis (39) of the clamping lever (37, 38) is positioned closer the second end (43, 44) of the clamping lever (37, 38).",
    "14. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, for the purpose of introducing the section (24) of the item of laundry (10) into the clamp mouth (32), the item of laundry (10) with this section (24) is movable along the guideway (47, 48).",
    "15. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamp housing (26) comprises a plurality of the clamp mouths (32).",
    "16. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 15, wherein the plurality of the clamping levers (37, 38) are arranged at a distance relative to one another and are mounted on a common clamp housing (26).",
    "17. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the clamp housing (26) further comprises at least one clamp mouth bridge (34, 35), wherein each of the plurality of the clamping levers (37, 38) is assigned its own one of the at least one clamp mouth bridge (34, 35).",
    "18. The clamp (18) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamp housing (26) comprises a plurality of the clamping levers (37, 38) that are jointly actuatable."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "Technical Field\n\nThe invention relates to a clamp for an item of laundry having a clamp housing, a clamp mouth, and at least one movable clamping element.\n\nPrior Art\n\nClamps of this type are used in laundries, for example in devices for feeding in particular large items of laundry (bed sheets, tablecloths, etc.) to a mangle or to another laundry treatment machine, but also in the conveying systems as well as in the storage and sorting lines of laundries.\n\nIt has been shown that the handling involved for known clamps of this type, above all the manual introduction of a section of the item of laundry into a clamp mouth of the clamp, is relatively complicated and thus time-consuming.\n\nThe invention is therefore based on the object of further developing a clamp of the type described at the outset so that it can be easily loaded.\n\nTo achieve this object, the clamp according to the invention is a clamp for an item of laundry having a clamp housing, a clamp mouth, and at least one movable clamping element, characterized in that the at least one clamping element is configured as a clamping lever with an insertion aid having a guidance means for the guided insertion of a section of the item of laundry into the clamping mouth. Clamps of this type have a clamp housing with a clamp mouth in which one section of the item of laundry can be held, and at least one movable clamping member. According to the invention, the at least one clamping member is configured as a clamping lever with one insertion aid having a guidance means for the directed insertion of one section of the item of laundry into the clamp mouth.",
  "cpc": [
    "B65G 17/20",
    "D06F 55/02",
    "D06F 67/04",
    "D06F 93/00",
    "D06F 95/00",
    "F16B 2/185"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B65G 17/20",
    "B66C 1/48",
    "D06F 55/02",
    "D06F 67/04",
    "D06F 93/00",
    "D06F 95/00",
    "F16B 2/18"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Herbert Kannegiesser GmbH and Co"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Jürgen Sielermann",
    "Lars Herzog",
    "Engelbert Heinz"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2015-05-05",
  "publication_date": "2017-04-25",
  "grant_date": "2017-04-25",
  "priority_date": "2014-05-09",
  "application_number": "US-201514703936-A",
  "family_id": "53002473",
  "cited_by_count": 2,
  "citations": [
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    "US4013202A",
    "GB2103072A",
    "NL8205032A",
    "US4702508A",
    "US4938517A",
    "US4834442A",
    "GB2243816A",
    "US5226688A",
    "USD443489S1",
    "US6652016B2",
    "US20140291123A1"
  ]
}