FR2963794A1 - CROSS-FOLDING MODULE, FOLDING MACHINE AND CORRESPONDING FOLDING METHOD - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a transverse folding module of a folding machine (1) of textile articles (3) comprising: - conveying means (9) of textile articles (3) to be folded, - a stop (11). ) secured to the frame of the folding machine (1) and disposed above the conveying means (9), and - a finger clamp (13) arranged transversely above the conveying means (9) for raising an edge upstream of a textile article (3) to bend engaged on the conveying means (9) and pinch for a predefined time this upstream edge against the stop (11) during the advancement of the textile article (3) on the means conveying means (9) so as to produce a transverse fold. Said module comprises at the level of the conveying means (9) at least one suction means (17) of the textile article (3). The invention also relates to a machine comprising such a transverse folding module and a folding method with pouch.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the folding of textile articles, in particular the transverse folding of textile articles. Known folding machines have finger grips for transverse folding of a textile article. For this purpose, a finger clamp is positioned in a first low position at a conveying means of a textile article to be folded in the expectation that the article is mounted on the clamp, and when a length of predefined item is on the finger clamp, it is positioned in a second high position from pinching the edge of the article against a stop. The conveying means then drives the rest of the article allowing the formation of a loop. Once the article reaches a predefined bending position, the finger grip moves to a third position intermediate the first and second positions, releasing the edge of the article. The transverse folding of the article is thus achieved. Alternatively, there is provided a first means, for example comprising a plurality of fingers, at the conveying means to lift the article and pass it on a second means which in turn is placed against the stop to pinch the edge of the article. The second means is for example made by a sheet of the same width as the textile article to be folded. As before, once the predefined folding position is reached, this second means loosens the edge of the article. With these solutions, however, it has been found that the loop has some difficulty in forming. In addition, some textile articles such as those with elastics, gathers, fringes or textures more or less rough will have more or less difficulty to be dropped, while the lower parts of these articles, in adherence to the means conveying, will continue to advance, causing a lack of precision in folding. Moreover, according to these known solutions, an air blower is required for the BRT0513 - finger pliers & complete machine 2963794 -2- smooth running of the loop forming when the edge of the article is pinched against the stop and that the rest of the the article continues to advance on the conveying means. Indeed, in the absence of this blower the two faces of the article vis-à-vis touch each other, randomly slowing the advancement of the lower part of the article and thus causing the formation of false folds. However, with such a blow gun a loop of random amplitude is obtained according to the type of textile article to be folded, for example as a function of the dimensions of the article, of its thickness or even of its texture. This variable amplitude then causes an inaccuracy of the length folded down on the lower part of the article continuing to advance on the conveying means when the edge of the textile article is released. In addition, especially for small articles, the blower can make the lower part of the article remained on the conveying means advance faster than the conveying means supposed to drive this lower part. This still results in inaccuracies as to folding. To overcome this drawback, some solutions provide blower systems with different pressures, different air flow rates, or sequential blows, adjustable by program or by type of textile article to be folded. However, this results in a more complex folding machine and therefore more difficult to adjust. In addition, when the blowing stops, the loop formed during the pinching of the edge of the article against the abutment flattens very randomly, and the lower part of the textile article on the conveying means continues to advance. As a result, more or less important creases depending on the texture of the articles appear.

Furthermore, it has also been found that for certain textile articles, the loop remains formed and does not flatten, once the folding is completed. The upper and lower parts of the textile article are therefore not in contact and this generates creases during downstream bends. In addition, during the folding of an article with a traditional finger grip, the loop also has difficulty forming because the material composing the article must, like BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -3- " go back ", starting from a horizontal plane formed by the conveying means. The invention therefore aims to at least partially overcome one or more of these disadvantages of the prior art by providing a uniform transverse folding 5 regardless of the type of textile article to be folded, the formation of the loop is facilitated and allowing precise folding. To this end, the subject of the invention is a transverse folding module of a textile article folding machine comprising: a means for conveying textile articles to be folded, a stop integral with the frame of the folding machine, and disposed above the conveyor means, and a finger clamp disposed transversely above the conveying means for raising an upstream edge of a foldable textile article engaged on the conveying means and pinching for a predetermined time this upstream edge against the abutment 15 during the advancement of the textile article on the conveying means, so as to produce a transverse fold, characterized in that said module comprises at the level of the conveying means at least one suction means of the textile article. Said module may furthermore comprise one or more of the following characteristics, alone or in combination: the conveyor means comprises a plurality of full and parallel conveyor belts extending longitudinally in the direction of advancement of the textile article to be folded and the suction means has a plurality of aspiration hole alignments parallel to the longitudinal edges of said straps, and arranged so as to be partially covered by said straps, so that when generating a vacuum a suction is exerted both on said straps and on the textile article on the conveying means; said at least one suction means is disposed upstream of the finger grip; said at least one suction means is disposed downstream of the finger grip; the conveying means has an angle of inclination with respect to a plane BRT0513 - finger pliers & complete machine 2963794 -4- horizontal of the frame of the folding machine, so that the upstream part of a textile article engaged on the conveying means is at a height greater than the downstream portion of the textile article; said module comprises an actuator for moving the finger clamp between: a first low position in which the fingers of said clamp are interposed between the conveyor belts at an angle with the conveyor belts, so as to allow the edge upstream of the textile article to be folded engages on the finger-grip, - a second high position in which the ends of the fingers of said clip are positioned at the stop, so as to pinch the upstream edge of the textile article against the stop, and - a third intermediate position between the low and high positions so as to release the textile article engaged on said clamp; said module comprises position sensors of the textile article to be bent at predefined locations of the conveying means, and the actuator is configured to drive the finger clamp to the first lower position upon detection of the textile article at at least one location predefined by the position sensors, said module comprises a device for cleaning the position sensors from the depression generated by said at least one suction means; The finger grip has at each finger an ejector blow gun; said module comprises a compression means for flattening at rest the loop formed during the transverse folding of the textile article. The invention also relates to a folding machine comprising such a transverse folding module. Said machine may furthermore comprise one or more of the following features, alone or in combination: said machine comprises an engagement portion having a plurality of full and parallel conveyor belts extending longitudinally in the direction of travel of the machine. textile article to be folded, and a plurality of alignments of suction holes parallel to the longitudinal edges of said straps, and arranged BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -5- so as to be partially covered by said straps, so that during the generation of a vacuum suction is exerted both on said straps and on the textile article deposited on the engagement portion, said machine comprises a second transverse folding module disposed downstream of the first module of transverse folding, and a longitudinal folding module downstream of the two transverse folding modules with respect to a direction of advance of a textile article on a conveying means of said machine, so as to separate separately and successively two transverse folds of the textile article decreasing the length of the textile article before the longitudinal folding; said machine comprises a thickness compensating folding module comprising: a substantially flat folding zone; at least one folding flap fixed to at least one pivot axis, so that said at least one flap pivots between a first article receiving position to fold, and a second folding position in which said at least one flap is folded over the crimping zone, so as to fold the textile article, - at least one fabric intended to be in contact with the textile article to be folded and having a smooth surface, said fabric being fixed by a first edge to said at least one flap in the longitudinal direction of said at least one flap so as to cover said at least one pivot axis in the first position of said at least one flap; and means for energizing said at least one web connected to a second edge of said at least one web opposite the first edge; said machine comprises an inverter ply module comprising: - a first textile article conveyor to be folded comprising a first textile article conveying means and a first driving axis of said conveying means, 30 - a second textile article conveyor to folding comprising a second means BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete textile article conveying machine and a second driving axis of said conveying means, said second conveyor being arranged to form a substantially "V" angle With the first conveyor and such that the two conveyors are spaced from one another by a gap, a first actuating means for rotating the first drive axis, a second operating means for driving the second drive axis in rotation, - a first means for controlling the first actuating means 10 configured to control a slowing down of the first conveyor when an ar textile article to be folded from the first conveying means engages the second conveying means, and second means for controlling the second actuating means configured to control the inversion of the direction of rotation of the second drive axis. ; said machine comprises an evacuation module for folded textile articles comprising: - a means for transferring folded textile articles from a preceding folding station of the folding machine to an evacuation conveyor, said transfer means comprising a plurality of parallel longitudinal transfer bars, - a squeegee extending substantially perpendicular to the transfer means and movable in translation so as to cause the folded textile articles to the discharge conveyor, the squeegee having a plurality of interposed fingers 25 among said bars, said fingers are retractable between a first retracted position in which the fingers are arranged below said bars, and an extended position in which the fingers extend perpendicularly to said bars for driving folded textile articles towards the conveyor d 'evacuation. The invention also relates to a folding method with a corresponding pocket BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -7- comprising the following steps: a textile article is engaged on the conveying means, it is lifted and gripped for a predefined period of time the upstream edge of the textile article against the stop during the advancement of the textile article on the conveying means, by means of the finger clamp, the textile article is released at the end of the predefined period so as to transverse folding to the third from below, two longitudinal pleats are made to one-third on each side of the textile article, and a transverse fold is made so as to obtain a folded article having a pocket. BRT0513 - Finger Clamp & Complete Machine 2963794 -8- Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, given by way of example, without limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 schematically shows a side view of a folding machine with respect to the direction of advancement of a textile article to be folded on the machine, FIG. 2 a is a simplified representation of a textile article to be folded according to a principle of FIG. 2b shows the article of FIG. 2a after transverse folding to the third above, FIG. 2c represents the article of FIG. 2b after a first longitudinal folding to the third, FIG. FIG. 2c after a second longitudinal folding to the third, FIG. 2e shows the article of FIG. 2d after a final transverse folding, FIG. 3a is a simplified representation of a textile article to be folded according to a third-fold folding principle with a pocket, FIG. 3b shows the article of FIG. 3a after transverse folding to the third from below, FIG. 3c represents the article of FIG. 3b after a first longitudinal folding to the third, FIG. 3d represents the article of FIG. 3c after a second longitudinal folding to the third, FIG. 3e represents the article of FIG. 3d after a transversal fold in two halves, FIG. To simplify a textile article to be folded according to a one-quarter folding principle, FIG. 4b shows the article of FIG. 4a after a transverse folding to the BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine. 2963794 -9- half of the article FIG. 4c represents the article of FIG. 4b after a first longitudinal folding to the third, FIG. 4d represents the article of FIG. 4c after a second longitudinal folding to the third, FIG. Fig. 5a shows in a simplified manner a textile article to be folded according to a quarter fold principle by means of an inner double transverse folding, Fig. 5b shows the article of Fig. 4d after a transverse folding in two halves. FIG. 5a after a first quarter-fold, FIG. 5c shows the article of FIG. 5b after a second quarter-fold, FIG. 5d shows the article of FIG. 5c after a first longitudinal fold to the third FIG. 5e shows the article of FIG. 5d after a second longitudinal folding to the third, FIG. 5f represents the article of FIG. 5e after a final transverse folding, FIG. 6a is a simplified representation of an article. textile fabric to be folded according to a reduced quarter folding principle, Fig. 6b shows the article of Fig. 6a after a first transverse folding in half, Fig. 6c shows the FIG. 6b after a second transverse fold to the third of the folded article, FIG. 6d shows the article of FIG. 6c after a first longitudinal fold to the third, FIG. 6e represents the article of FIG. a second longitudinal fold to the third, FIG. 6f shows the article of FIG. 6e after a transverse folding into two BRT0513 - finger gripper and complete machine 2963794 -10- fmal, FIG. 7 schematically and simplifiedly illustrates a view side to the direction of advancement of a textile article to be folded, a first and a second successive transverse folding modules of the machine of FIG. 1, FIG. 8a partially and in a simplified manner represents a view from above of a conveying means 9 of the machine of FIG. 1, FIG. 8b partially and in a simplified manner shows a side view of the conveying means of FIG. 8a, FIG. 9 schematically represents e In a simplified view of the first transverse folding module and the second transverse folding module of FIG. 7, FIG. 10a schematically and partially shows a plan view of the conveying means of FIG. 10b illustrates partially and schematically a side view of the conveying means of FIG. 10a carrying an article to be folded, FIG. 11 is a simplified view of a side view of the first transverse folding module of the machine. 1 in a first lower position of a finger grip of the first module, FIG. 12 is a simplified view of a side view of the first transverse folding module of FIG. for pinching the upstream edge of an article to be folded, FIG. 13 is a simplified view of a side view of the first transverse folding module of FIG. third intermediate position of the finger grip for releasing the pinched article, FIG. 14 schematically and schematically illustrates a side view of a first and a second successive transverse folding module of FIG. 1 finger flap of the second transverse folding module; FIG. 15 partially and schematically shows a top view of the first transverse folding module of the second module of BRT0513 - finger gripper and complete machine 2963794 -11 - transverse folding, of a thickness compensation folding module and a final transverse folding module of the machine of Figure 1, Figure 16a shows schematically and simplified a front view of the folding module to compensation of thickness, with respect to the direction of advance 5 of a textile article to be folded, FIG. 16b partially represents a perspective view of a folding flap of the module 16a, FIG. 17a partially and schematically shows a front view of the folding flap of FIG. 16b in the receiving position of an article to be folded; FIG. 17b partially and in a simplified manner represents a FIG. 17c is a fragmentary front view of the folding flap of FIG. 17a. FIG. 17c partially and in simplified form shows a front view of the folding flap of FIG. 17b after pivoting in the folding position of a thick article, FIG. 17d partially and schematically shows a front view of the folding flap of FIG. 17b after pivoting in the folding position of a thin article, FIG. 18 schematically and simplifiedly illustrating a top view of the folding flap of FIG. FIG. 16b implanted transversely on the machine of FIG. 1 for transverse folding, FIG. 19 schematically and simplifiedly illustrates a side view with respect to the forward direction of FIG. a textile article, an inverter fold module of the machine of FIG. 1, FIG. 20 partially shows a simplified side view of the inverter fold module being folded of a thick article with a double compensation of the FIG. 21 schematically and schematically illustrates a side view of a first variant of an evacuation module of crushed textile articles of the machine of FIG. 1, FIG. 22 illustrates schematically a side view of a BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -12- second variant of an evacuation module of crumpled textile articles of the machine of Figure 1, Figure 23 is a front view of a squeegee for discharging a stack of textile articles onto a transfer means of an evacuation module of FIG. 21 or 22, FIG. 24 is a partial perspective view of the squeegee and the transfer means of FIG. 23, FIG. FIG. 26 schematically and schematically illustrates a side view of the evacuation module in a simplified and schematic view of the evacuation module of FIG. 22 after receiving a stack of crushed textile articles. of Figure 25 after transfer of the stack of textile articles received on a transient portion of the transfer means, Figure 27 schematically and schematically shows a side view of the evacuation module of Figure 26 illustrating the receipt of a new stack of articles folded during the holding of the previous stack on the transient portion, and Figure 28 schematically and schematically illustrates a side view of the evacuation module of Figure 27 after evacuation of a stack of textile articles 20 on an evacuation conveyor. In these drawings and in the rest of the description, the substantially identical elements bear the same references.

Folding machine as a whole: FIG. 1 shows a folding machine 1 for textile articles 3 (FIGS. 2a to 6f) of various categories of articles, such as tea towels, pillowcases, sponges, sheets of bath or pants, jackets, blouses and bathrobes. This folding machine 1 (FIG. 1) comprises several successive folding modules M1 to 30 M4 of textile articles 3 and an evacuation module M5 of the textile articles 3 BRT0513 - folded pliers & complete machine folded. More specifically, according to the illustrated embodiment, the folding modules are arranged as follows: a first transverse folding module M1, a second transverse folding module M2 downstream of the first transverse folding module M1 to perform a transverse folding separately from the first transverse folding module M1, a longitudinal folding module M3 downstream of the transverse folding modules M1 and M2, and a last transverse folding module M4.

Principles of folding obtained by the folding machine 1:

This particular arrangement of the folding modules M1 to M4 of the folding machine 1 allows for specific folding principles, with good folding quality and improved production. Some of these folding principles are now described.

1) One-third folding (FIGS. 2a to 2e) The third folding comprises: a first transverse fold exerted on the third of the article 3, along a transverse folding axis A1 illustrated in FIG. 2a, by folding back the article 3 above that is to say on the face of the article 3 opposite the face intended to be in contact with the machine 1 (Figure 2b), 25 - a second longitudinal fold to the third of the article 3 following a longitudinal folding axis A2 shown in Figure 2b, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in Figure 2c, a third longitudinal fold to the third of the article 3 on the other side of the article 3 along another axis longitudinal folding A3 shown in FIG. 2b, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in FIG. 2d, and BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine a last transverse fold at half the Article 3 as it stands (Figure 2d) already folded transversely and longitudinally, the latter fold is made sant along a transverse folding axis A4 illustrated in Figure 2d, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in Figure 2e. This folding principle can be applied for the folding of various articles, such as tea towels, placemats or sponges, bath towels. With such a folding, for example a towel folded according to this principle holds properly on a towel holder without unfolding, unlike a towel folded in the traditional manner with two longitudinal folds third followed by two folds 10 transverse to the third which unfolds a once placed on a towel rail. The transverse folds can be made from the front or rear of the article 3 relative to the direction of advance SA of article 3 on the machine 1 (Figure 1).

2) Folding with a third pocket (FIGS. 3a to 3e) This second type of folding differs from the first in that the first transverse fold is made by folding the article 3 from below (FIG. 3b). that is to say on the face of the article 3 intended to be in contact with the machine 1. Such folding from below is possible thanks to a transverse folding module M1 comprising a finger grip as detailed below.

Thus, the third fold with pouch comprises: a first transverse fold exerted on the third of the article 3, along a transverse folding axis A1 illustrated in Figure 3a, by folding the article 3 from below (Figure 3b), a second longitudinal fold to the third of the article 3 along a longitudinal fold axis A2 shown in Figure 3b, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in Figure 3c, a third longitudinal fold to the third of the article 3 of the the other side of the article 3 along another longitudinal folding axis A3 shown in FIG. 3b, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in FIG. 3d, and a last transverse fold at half of the article 3 such BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -15- already folded transversely and longitudinally, this last fold being made according to a transverse folding axis A4 illustrated in FIG. 3d, so as to obtain Article 3 folded in Figure 3e showing a Thus, at the end of the folding, it is possible to obtain the pouch 5 in which a prospectus or an object of decoration or hotel such as a soap can be slid. As before, this folding principle can be applied for the folding of various articles, such as tea towels, placemats or sponges, bath towels. With such a folding, for example a folded towel according to this principle also fits correctly on a towel holder without unfolding, unlike a towel folded in the traditional manner with two longitudinal folds third followed by two folds transverse to the third which unfolds. once on a towel rack.

These two previous third-fold principles make it possible to obtain, once the article 3 has been folded, dimensions similar to those obtained by traditional third-party folding principles.

3) Quarter folding (FIGS. 4a to 4e) For the quarter folding, provision is made for: a first transverse fold exerted at half of the article 3 along a folding transverse fold axis B1 illustrated in FIG. 4a, in folding article 3 over (FIG. 4b), a second longitudinal fold to the third of article 3 along a longitudinal folding axis B2 represented in FIG. 4b, so as to obtain article 3 folded in FIG. 4c , a third longitudinal fold to the third of the article 3 on the other side of the article 3 along another longitudinal folding axis B3 shown in FIGS. 4b and 4c, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in FIG. 4d, and a last transverse fold to half of the article 3 as it stands (Figure 4d) BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -16- already folded transversely and longitudinally, the latter fold being done according to a transverse folding axis B4 illustrated in FIG. 4d, so as to read article 3 folded in figure 4e. As before, this folding principle can be applied for the folding of various articles, such as tea towels, placemats or sponges, bath towels. Similarly, the transverse folds can be made from the front or rear of the article 3 with respect to the direction of advance SA of article 3 (Figure 1).

4) Fourfold folding by double transverse folding (FIGS. 5a to 5e) According to a variant, folding is provided by internal double transverse folding, that is to say with: a first transverse fold exerted at a quarter of the article 3 and from the front of the article 3, along an upstream transverse folding axis C1 illustrated in FIG. 5a, by folding article 3 over it (FIG. 5b), a second transverse fold exerted at a quarter of the article. 3 and from the rear of article 3, along a downstream transverse folding axis C2 illustrated in FIGS. 5a and 5b, by folding article 3 over (FIG. 5c), this second transverse fold is dissociated and independent of the first transverse fold, a third longitudinal fold to the third of the article 3 along a longitudinal folding axis C3 shown in FIG. 5c, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in FIG. 5d, a fourth longitudinal fold to the third of Article 3 on the other side of Article 3 along a fold axis e longitudinal C4 shown in Figures 5c and 5d, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in Figure 5e, and a final transverse fold to half of Article 3 as it stands (Figure 5e) already folded transversely and longitudinally, the last fold being along a transverse folding axis C5 illustrated in Figure 5e, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in Figure 5f. Two longitudinal plies have been described here, one third after the two plies BRT0513 - finger pliers and transverse complete machine. As an alternative, it is possible to provide a single longitudinal fold at a given predetermined value of the article, which may be at half, for example. With this folding principle, at the last transverse fold, there are only three thicknesses of article to be folded, reducing the risk of creating creases. In addition, once the article 3 folded, no edge or corner of the article 3 is visible but is inside the fold. This folding principle can be carried out on all kinds of articles, but is particularly suitable for folding articles of length up to twice the length of the longitudinal folding module, for example of length of the order d a 10 meter. This folding principle is also very suitable for folding articles whose outer corners and edges are not uniform and rectilinear such as fitted sheets or blankets whose elastics and fringes are found entirely inside the article. 3 folded providing a good quality of folding, and avoiding various 15 jams in the machine 1 during bending.

These two previous one-quarter folding principles also make it possible to obtain once article 3 folded dimensions similar to those obtained by traditional quarter folding principles. 5) Reduced Quarter Folding (FIGS. 6a to 6f) According to yet another variant, a folding is provided to reduce at the most the dimensions of the articles comprising: a first transverse fold exerted at half of the article 3, following a transverse folding axis D1 illustrated in FIG. 6a, by folding article 3 from above (FIG. 6b), a second transverse fold exerted by the rear of article 3 to a predefined value of article 3 chosen in FIG. depending on the desired final result, this value being for example one-third of the article 3 in the illustrated example, and along a transverse folding axis D2 illustrated in FIG. 6b, by folding the article 3 by BRT0513 Fingers & complete machine 2963794 -18- above (Figure 6c), a third longitudinal fold to the third of the article 3 along a longitudinal folding axis D3 shown in Figure 6c, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in the figure 6d, 5 a fourth longitudinal fold one-third of the article 3 on the other side of the article 3 following a longitudinal folding axis D4 shown in Figures 6c and 6d, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in Figure 6e, and a final fold transverse to half of the article 3 as it is (FIG. 6e) already folded transversely and longitudinally, the latter fold being made along a transverse folding axis D5 illustrated in FIG. 6e, so as to obtain the article 3 folded in FIG. 6f Two longitudinal folds are described here at third following the two transverse folds. As an alternative, it is possible to provide a single longitudinal fold at a given predetermined value of the article, which may be at half, for example. The transverse bends can be done from the front or the back. This gives reduced dimensions of the folded article 3. Indeed, this folding machine 1, having first one or two transverse folding modules can shorten the parts before longitudinal bending, for faster longitudinal bends. This folding principle can be carried out on all kinds of articles, but is particularly suitable for folding articles longer than twice the length of the longitudinal folding module, for example about one in length. metre.

For all these new folds, it was found that beginning with a first transverse fold, the length of the folded articles at one third and the length of the folded articles by one-quarter before the next folding steps were decreased by 33%. A textile article 3 to be folded can therefore arrive at the level of the longitudinal folding module with a standardized length regardless of the initial length of the article 3. BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -19- In addition, thanks to this reduction in length before any other folding, the folding times, especially at the level of the longitudinal fold module M3 and the final transverse fold module M4, are reduced by approximately 30% to 40%, especially at the level of the longitudinal fold module which may be about 50% shorter in length than the longitudinal ply modules of conventional machines. This makes it possible to manufacture shorter longitudinal ply modules, for example having a length of the order of one meter, and thus improves the production performance at lower cost.

The folding machine 1 and these different folding modules are now described in more detail.

Referring again to FIG. 1, to bring the textile articles to bend to the different folding modules of the machine 1, the latter comprises a conveyor 7 having an engagement portion E on which an operator deposits an article 3 to bend.

Serving portion E:

The conveyor 7 also comprises means for determining the type of article deposited so as to determine a suitable folding method. These determination means comprise position sensors 8, for example optical sensors occulted by article 3 on the engagement portion E. The determination means also comprise processing means for determining from the obscured sensors 8 the type of article to be folded, and select a folding program appropriate to the article 3 determined. The type of article can be determined for example according to the number of aligned sensors 8 occulted at the time of the filing by the operator of section 3 on the engagement portion E. Alternatively, the size of the article can measured by the number of sensors 8 obscured at the same time during the advancement of the article 3 on the BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -20- commitment portion E for a predefined duration to determine the category of the article and therefore the appropriate folding program. The start of the article to the various folding modules can be done automatically or manually according to the folding program. This conveyor 7 comprises a conveying means 9 of the articles 3 deposited on the engagement portion E to transport the articles 3 in a forward direction SA to the first folding module Ml.

First transverse folding module Ml: According to one aspect, a transverse folding module, for example the first transverse folding module Ml, better visible in FIG. 7, comprises: a stop 11 integral with the frame of the folding machine 1 and disposed above the conveying means 9, and 15 - a finger clamp 13 disposed transversely above the conveying means 9 to raise an upstream edge of a textile article 3 and pinch for a predefined time this upstream edge against the stop 11 in masked time during the advancement of the rest of the textile article 3 on the conveying means 9, so that a loop is formed. This finger clamp 13 makes it possible to produce a transverse fold through the front of the article 3 carried out over the entire width of the article, for example as illustrated in FIGS. 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b and 6b. The conveying means 9 (see FIGS. 8a, 8b and 9) comprises a plurality of full, i.e., non-perforated, parallel conveyor belts extending longitudinally in the advancing direction SA of the invention. textile article 3 to fold. In addition, for the maintenance of articles 3 on the conveying means 9, the conveyor 7 comprises one or more suction means 17. These suction means 17 when they are at the engagement portion E can serve maintaining articles 3 at the time of posting articles on this commitment portion E by an operator. BRT0513 - Finger Clamp & Complete Machine 2963794 -21- A suction means 17 has a plurality of suction holes 19 aligned parallel to the longitudinal edges of the straps 15, and arranged to be partially covered by the straps 15 Thus, during the generation of a depression, for example by a turbine T (see FIG. 1), a suction A is exerted on both the straps 15 and on the textile article 3 (see FIGS. ). Depending on the type of article to be maintained, the suction means 17 can be adapted. More specifically, the number of suction holes 19 allowing the passage of the depression may be more or less important, their diameters and shapes may vary, and also the drilling axes may be more or less distant from the 10 borders of the straps of For example, it can be provided that all the conveying means 9 comprise suction means 17 or that one or more suction means 17 are arranged upstream and / or downstream of the finger grip 13. In the example illustrated in Figures 7 and 9, there is shown a plurality of suction means 17 disposed upstream and downstream of the finger clamp 13. Thus, when determining the type of article to be folded on the E engagement portion, only some of the suction means 17 can be started or all suction means 17 according to the article. This principle has the advantage that the small width parts are maintained as well as large parts closing all 20 suction holes 19 for the passage of the vacuum. In addition, a suction means 17 allows the maintenance of a textile article 3 with a constant force during deposition and retains the same holding force during the advancement of the conveyor belts 15 to transport the items 3 to different folding modules. As a result, the speed of the articles 3 is identical to the speed of the conveyor belts 15 avoiding slippage of the articles 3 which may give rise to position errors. In addition, when the suction means 17 are installed under the straps 15 at various locations, the speed of advancement of the articles 3 in transfer from one point to another is constant. This or these suction means 17 thus give the article 3 a grip BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine homogeneous with respect to the conveying means 9 and ensure a constant speed advancement of the article 3 on the conveying means 9. Thus, an article 3 to bend advancing at the same speed as the conveyor belts 15, thanks to the use of these suction means 17 implanted under the 5 conveyor belts 15, it is possible to obtain with the finger nipper 13 a precise and quality folding, since the loop is formed in a uniform and regular manner regardless of the size or category of articles 3 when pinching an upstream edge of the article 3 by the clip to In addition, referring again to FIG. 7, the conveying means 9 may have an inclination angle α with respect to a horizontal plane H of the frame of the folding machine 1, so that the upstream part of a textile article 3 engaged on the conveying means 9 is always at a height greater than the downstream portion of the textile article 3. This inclination angle α1 is for example of the order of 20 °. Article 3 thus advances on an inclined plane and the overturning of the article 3 to form the loop by means of the finger grip 13 is made easier because of the gravity. Concerning the finger grip 13, it is set in motion by an actuator 21 between: a first low position illustrated in FIG. 11, a second high position illustrated in FIG. 12, and a third position intermediate between the low and high positions. FIG. 13. The actuator 21 comprises, for example, a system of two jacks mounted back-to-back, each cylinder operating with a double effect, making it possible to improve the precision of the positioning of the finger clamp in the various positions relative to each other. actuation with single-acting cylinders in which it is the weight of the clamp that causes the descent of the finger clamp. In the first low position (FIG. 11), the fingers of the clamp 13 are interposed between the conveyor belts 15 at an angle with the conveyor belts 15, so as to allow the upstream edge of the textile article 3 BRT0513 - finger pliers & complete machine 2963794 -23- engages the finger pliers 13. In the second high position (Fig. 12), the ends of the fingers of the pliers 13 are positioned at the abutment 11 , so as to pinch the upstream edge of the textile article 3 against the abutment 11. 5 And in the third intermediate position illustrated in FIG. 13, the clamp 13 is no longer in contact with the abutment 11 without returning to the level of the conveyor belts 15 so that the textile article 3 descends from the finger gripper 13. To facilitate the raising of the article 3 on the finger gripper 13 in the first lower position and also the descent of the article 3 of the finger grip 13 in the intermediate position ediaire to fall on the conveying means 9, the fingers of the clamp 13 may respectively comprise a wheel 23 at their ends. In addition, to further facilitate the descent of the article 3 of the clamp 13, the latter may comprise at each finger an ejector blow gun 25. This blow gun 25 of the article attached to the finger clamp 13 increases the precision of the fold when the finger clamp 13 releases the article 3 since the latter is not retained at the end of folding by the finger clamp 13 but easily disconnects from the finger clamp 13. Moreover, the first transverse folding module M1 comprises a detecting means 27 of the textile article 3 to be folded at a predefined location of the conveying means 9 visible in FIGS. 7, 9 and 11 to 14. This detection means 27 is used in combination with the sensors 8 detecting the article 3 at predefined locations. Specifically, the actuator 21 is configured to drive the finger clamp 13 to the first down position (Fig. 11) when at least one sensor 8 detects the beginning of the fabric article 3 at a predefined location, and the means detection device 27 serves for the adjustable gripping time of the article according to the desired type of folding determined for example in the detection of the article 3 by the sensors 8. The detection means 27 and the sensors 8 to be dust-free for reliable operation, they can be permanently cleaned by suction 30 taken in bypass on the suction means 17. BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -24- Further compression means 29 can be provided, such as 11 to 13, downstream of the finger grip 13 for flattening at a standstill the loop formed during the transverse folding of the textile article 3 by the finger grip 13 in order to avoid the creation of x folds at the loop during subsequent bends. The operation of this first transverse folding module M1 is now described once an article 3 has been placed on the engagement portion E of the conveyor 7 and a folding program has been launched.

Operation of the first transverse folding module M1: It can be provided that during a preliminary step, the type of article 3 deposited on the engagement portion E is detected by the sensors 8 and a suitable folding program is selected. The conveyor belts 15 cause the article 3 in the direction of advance 15 SA. The detection means 27 detects the presence of an article 3 at the predefined location on the conveying means 9 and the actuator 21 positions the fingers of the finger clamp 13 downwardly between each conveyor belt 15. Article 3 rises on the finger grip 13 (Figure 11). When a predetermined length depending on the bending program initiated is mounted on the finger clamp 13, the actuator 21 positions the clamp 13 upward thereby pinching the beginning of the article 3 against the stop 11 (Fig. 12) . The transverse folding begins. A loop is formed on the article 3 with a lower strand integral with the conveyor belts 15 in motion, and an upper strand becoming static and friction after the formation of the loop which does not disturb the advancement of the lower strand thanks to the principle of suction on either side of the conveyor belts 15. The article 3 arrives at the end of folding, as a function of the settings of the bending program launched, the actuator 21 puts the finger clamp 13 in the intermediate position, thus releasing the front end of the pinched article 3 so that it is found at the level of the BRT0513 - finger grip & complete conveyor belt 15 (FIG. 13). The release of the article 3 can be aided by the actuation of the ejector blower 25. The loop of the article 3 folded by the finger gripper 13 can subsequently be crushed by the compression means 29. 5 Such a transverse folding module M1 with a finger clamp 13 makes it easy to realize the various folding principles described above and in particular with a particular presentation such as for third-party folding with a pocket or folding a quarter by double transverse folding or for reduced quarter folding. Of course, certain operating steps can be reversed.

Second transverse folding module M2:

Furthermore, a transverse folding module, for example the second transverse folding module M2 (FIG. 1) comprises a finger flap 101. This finger flap 101 is pivotally mounted between a first rest position (see FIGS. 7) in which the finger flap 101 is disposed substantially in the plane of the conveying means 9, with the fingers interposed between the conveyor belts 15 and a second position (FIG. 14) in which the finger flap 101 forms an angle with the conveying means 9, so as to make a transverse fold from the rear of the article 3 when the conveying means 9 of the textile article 3 is stopped. The transverse folding module M2 may also include position sensors of an article 3 to fold so as to begin folding when the article is correctly positioned at the finger flap 101. In addition, the compression means 29 may be disposed downstream of this finger flap 101 to flatten the loop formed during the first transverse folding of the textile article 3 by the finger clamp 13 (Figure 14). In this case, the second transverse folding by the finger flap 101 is stopped at the same time as the compression means 29 flattens the loop formed by the BRT0513 - finger clamp & complete machine first transverse folding.

The operation of such a transverse flap folding module 101 is now described.

Operation of the second transverse folding module M2: It can be provided that during a preliminary step, the type of article 3 deposited on the engagement portion E is detected by the sensors 8 and a suitable folding program is selected.

Initially the finger flap 101 is in the rest position (Figure 1) so that an article 3 leaving the upstream folding station, for example the first transverse folding module Ml, can advance on the flap 101 According to the selected bending program, when a certain length of article 3 is passed over the finger flap 101, the latter pivots (FIG. 14), thanks to an actuator, not shown, to perform the transverse folding of the article. from behind, at a standstill. This transverse folding can be performed at the same time as the loop formed by a first transverse folding by the finger clamp 13 is crushed. Once the article has been folded transversely, the finger flap 101 returns to the rest position (FIG. ) waiting for a new article to fold.

For example, this second transverse folding module M2 makes it possible to obtain the folding illustrated in FIG. 5c for the quarter bending by double transverse folding or the one illustrated in FIG. 6c for the reduced quarter bending. Of course, certain operating steps can be reversed.

The second transverse folding module M2 folding at the rear, for example after the first transverse folding module M1 has transversely folded from the front before any other folding, offers many possibilities concerning the presentation of the folded articles, associated with increased production. These two successive and separate transverse folds are also necessary to fold the back of long items such as bath towels, fitted sheets, or BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine -26- 2963794 -27- long clothes such as blouses or bathrobes.

Longitudinal folding module M3:

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 15, the longitudinal folding module M3 comprises pivoting folding shutters 201, thanks to actuators 202 connected to the shutters by levers 202A (see FIG. 16a), and of a size proportional to that of the articles. 3 to fold arriving at the level of the folding flaps 201. These folding flaps 201 can be made as a solid surface plate without being perforated, in various materials such as metal, plastic, composite, conferring sufficient rigidity for folding and can be of varying thickness. In the example illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16a, 16b, the longitudinal folding module M3 comprises two lateral folding flaps 201 on either side of a substantially flat central folding zone 203. The assembly formed by the folding flaps 201 and the folding area 203 is supported by a base 205 connected to the frame of the machine 1, via movable armatures 229 subsequently described respectively associated with a folding flap 201. The folding flaps 201 and the folding area 203 extend longitudinally in the advancing direction SA of the article 3 to fold so as to allow longitudinal folding. In addition, at the level of the folding zone 203, the longitudinal folding module M3 has a conveying means 9 of textile article 3, for example as previously, comprising parallel full conveyor belts 25 extending longitudinally in the direction of Advancement SA of the textile article 3. As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 16a and 16b: firstly, each folding flap 201 is fixed directly without an intermediate piece to at least one pivot axis 207, and on the other hand At least one web of smooth surface 209 is attached to an associated folding shutter 201, each web 209 being intended to be in contact with the article 3 to BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -28- fold and connect 211. These fasteners may be for example fasteners by screwing, gluing, welding, crimping, or any other fastening means. Each folding flap 201 is therefore pivotally mounted (see FIGS. 17a to 17d) between: a first position (FIG. 17a) for receiving article 3 to be folded conveyed by a conveying means 9 upstream, and a second folding position ( FIG. 17c for a thick article or FIG. 17d for a thin article) in which the folding flap 201 is folded over the folding zone 203 forming an acute angle with the folding zone 203 so as to fold down the portion of the article. which extends over the folding flap 201 on the portion of the article 3 which extends over the folding zone 203. In the first position (FIG. 17a) according to the illustrated embodiment, the folding flap 201 is located below the pivot axis 207, in the second folding position (FIGS. 17c, 17d) the folding flap 201 is above the pivot axis 207. The pivoting speed of the flaps of FIG. Folding 201 can be set according to item 3 to fold.

Pivot axis 207 With regard to the pivot axes 207, in the illustrated examples, they have a circular section. Other forms may be provided such as hexagonal or oval, for example. The section and length dimensions of these pivot axes 207 are chosen proportionally to the size of the folding flaps 201. According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 16a to 17d, the pivot axes 207 are arranged at a distance from one another. height above the height of the crimping zone 203. This arrangement is required for machines folding textile articles 3 of varying thickness, for example folding both thin cloths, bath towels or bathrobes. greater thickness. BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -29- The mounting of the pivot axes 207 above the folding area 203 implies that the upper part of the conveying means 9 upstream is at the same level or higher than the top of the axes. pivoting 207; these pivot axes 207 are therefore arranged at a height substantially less than or equal to the height of the conveying means 9 upstream. Alternatively, the upstream conveying means 9 can be arranged lower than the top of the pivot axes 207, but in this case a leveling means between the pivot axes 207 and the upstream conveying means 9 is provided to make pass the items 3 above the pivot axes 207 as they advance. According to a variant not illustrated, the pivot axes 207 of the folding flaps 201 may be at the level of the folding area 203 for machines that do not have the need to have linen thicknesses to compensate. It is also possible for each pivot pin 207 to be mounted on a fixed or height-adjustable support 213 as illustrated by the two-way arrow F 1 in FIG. 16b, so as to adjust the positioning in height of the axis. 205 in the latter case, the positioning of the pivot axes 207 may be adapted for example to be at the same level as the tilting zone 203 or above the tilting zone 203 or at any intermediate position, depending on the article 3 to be folded. For example, moving the movable support 213 can be done using position cylinders or by spring that compresses or stretches. In addition, at the junction of the pivot axis 207 and the folding area 203, there may be provided a conduit 215, better visible in Figure 16b, perforated on its upper part, for the passage of a negative pressure. in order to supplement, if necessary, the maintenance of the article 3 during the folding phase, depending for example on the required folding quality or the type of textile article 3. The longitudinal edges of the crimping zone 203 are respectively attached to such a conduit 215. The number or shape of the orifices 217 provided on the upper part of the conduit 215 can be adapted according to the folding machine 1. The conduit 215 openwork BRT0513 - finger clamp & complete machine 2963794 -30- may be geometric in shape and of various sizes. Pressurized air evacuated through the plurality of orifices 217 can also lift the edge of a folded article 3 to pass over the pivot axis 207 when adjusting the gap between the flaps as described below. Thickness compensating fabric 209 With regard to the smooth fabric 209, it is fixed by a first edge 209a to the folding flap 201 in the direction of the length of the folding flap 201 at a position 10 more or less distant from the pivot axis 207 and so as to cover the pivot axis 207 in the first receiving position of the flap (see Figure 17a). In the example shown, the smooth fabric 209 extends over the entire longitudinal upper portion of the folding shutter 201 (see Figure 16b). By longitudinal upper part is meant the longitudinal part of the folding shutter 201 closest to the pivot axis 207. In addition, the smooth fabric 209 passes in the free zone between the pivot axis 207 and the conduit 215 which is fixed the folding area 203, and can descend vertically by being pressed (see Figures 16a to 17d) by gravity against a frame 229, thereby ensuring a seal at the pivot axis 207. This fabric 209 smooth allows to reduce the coefficient of friction on the side folding flaps 201 of an article 3 progressing towards the folding zone. The energizing means 211 is attached to a second edge 209b of the web 209 opposite the first edge 209a so as to tension the fabric 209 above the folding flap 201. This power-up means 211 may for example be a ballasting means or a spring or one or more cylinder (s). This arrangement of the tensioned fabric 209 fixed to the folding shutter 201 makes it possible to create a thickness compensation zone 218 (better visible in FIGS. 17a, 17b and 17d) between the folding shutter 201 and the fabric 209 enabling to bend items 3 of different thicknesses equally well by crushing (FIGS. 17c, 17d) correctly the pleats and this regardless of the uniformity or not of the thickness of the articles 3 over their lengths. In addition, this stretched smooth fabric 209 makes it possible to prevent a surplus of material BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -31- of an article 3 in the angle formed by the junction of the folding shutter 201 and the pivot axis 207, and thus avoids during the pivoting of the folding flap 201 to perform the folding on the article 3, to create a false fold at the area of formation of the fold and also to pinch the article 3 at the pivot axis 207, particularly for soft and thin articles. During the pivoting of the folding flap 201, the assembly formed by the folding flap 201 and the stretched integral fabric 209 is configured to have an advance towards the crimping zone 203. In fact, more precisely the fabric 209 advances in the direction This advancement is directly proportional to the angle of rotation described by the folding flap 201 and the diameter of the pivot axis 207 and inversely proportional to the thickness of the article 3 to to fold. Clearly, for a thin article, the web 209 may have a significant advance (Figure 17d) and for a thick article, the web 209 may have a lower partial advancement (Figure 17c). By this kinematics of the fabric 209, the article 3 is driven by the fabric 209 and is brought into the fold forming zone. In addition, the web 209 does not necessarily have a homogeneous advance as a function of the thickness variations of the article 3 to bend. This tensioned smooth fabric 209 thus makes it possible to exert a constant and homogeneous crushing force over the entire width of the article 3 at the end of folding by the folding flap 201, whatever the thickness variations of In the illustrated embodiment, there is shown a single fabric 209 on each folding flap 201. This fabric 209 can extend over almost the entire length of the folding flap 201. According to an alternative embodiment not shown, one can provide several webs 209 in parallel fixed to a folding flap 201 successively in the direction of the length of the folding flap 201, and similarly to the attachment of a single web 209 on a flap of folding 201 as described above. According to yet another alternative not shown, it can provide a retreat of the fabric 209 at the end of folding according to the thickness of the article which compensates for this BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -32- thickness. In this case, the fabric 209 no longer brings the article 3 to the fold forming zone during the pivoting of the folding shutter 201.

In addition, a driving force complementary to the conveying means 9 may be used, for example, depending on the nature of the articles 3 to be transported. For this purpose, referring again to FIGS. 15 and 16b, a blowing means connected to nozzles 219, 221 fixed directly to the surface of the folding flaps 201 intended to be in contact with the article 3 to be folded, can be provided. Example 10 illustrated, on the lower longitudinal surface of the folding shutters 201 not covered by the web 209 smooth. Thus, when the blowing means generates an air flow, an air cushion is formed between the article 3 to be folded and the folding flap 201. Among the nozzles 219,221 provided on the folding flap 201, first nozzles 219 can be oriented so as to direct the flow of air substantially in the advancing direction SA of the article 3 and optionally second nozzles 221 can be oriented so as to direct the flow of air substantially parallel to the centrifugal force generated during the pivoting of the folding flap 201. The nozzles 219, 211 may also be adjustable as required. In this case, an actuator makes it possible to modify the orientation of the nozzles 219,221. To prevent the directional air flow (s) passing via the nozzles 219,221 from passing below the folding shutter 201, thus losing energy, it is possible to predict, as can be seen in FIGS. 16a, 16b, that a surface plane 225 connected to a frame 229, comprises in the lower part for each folding flap 201, a seal 25 223 bearing the free longitudinal edge of the folding flap 201. In this way, the air flow or retain any their energy to create a driving force of advancement on the articles 3 and this even if the articles have a width greater than that of the folding flap 201 and cover the flat surface 225 being substantially in the same plane as the tilting zone 203 and substantially in the same plane as the folding flap 221, in the receiving position of BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine Article 3. In addition, the blowing means may be actuated at the end of the p In this case, the air flows passing through the nozzles 219,221 creating an air cushion between the folding flaps 201 and the folded article 3, allow the article 3 to disengage from the 5 folding flaps 201 which can return to the receiving position (Figures 16a, 16b, 17a) without unfolding the article 3 for example by gluing or suction effect or by static effect of Article 3 on the flap of folding 201.

Means for adjusting the gap between the lateral folding flaps 201 In addition, the folding flaps 201 may have a variation of the difference separating them, adjustable, for example by means of actuators not shown, according to each article 3 to bend, more precisely depending on the desired bending width. By adjusting the gap between the folding flaps 201, is meant a decrease as well as an increase in this difference. It is therefore possible to narrow the gap between the folding flaps 201 or to enlarge it. For this purpose, provision is made for at least one means for adjusting the distance between two lateral folding flaps 201. According to the illustrated embodiment, each folding flap 201 is integral with a frame 229 that can be moved in translation, such as the illustrate the arrows F2 in FIG. 16a, 16b so as to modify the gap between two lateral folding flaps 201. The folding zone 203 may comprise two plates 203a, 203b which are also integral with the movable armatures 229, for example by the intermediate of the conduit 215, and substantially offset in height relative to each other, so that when adjusting the gap between two lateral folding flaps 201, the two plates 203a, 203b move between a first position (Figure 16a) in which they overlap and a second position in which the two plates 203a, 203b are spaced apart. In addition, the adjustment means can adjust the gap between the folding flaps 201 at the same time as a textile article 3 advances on the conveying means 9 at the drawdown zone 203, either arriving from a post Folding upstream to be folded BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -34- by the folding flaps 201 or leaving the folding flaps 201 after being folded to go to a downstream position of the machine 1. Of course, there can be both an unfolded article 3 that arrives and a folded article 3 that comes out during the adjustment of the gap between the folding flaps 201. For such folding flaps 201, no conveying means 9 additional such as belts, bands, straps, chains, moving, is necessary in the outer lateral edges of the folding flaps 201, which facilitates the variation of width, in particular a tightening that is to say say a decrease in the gap between the flights and folds 201, during the conveying of an article 3 without deformation or deviation of the article 3 during its transfer to the folding zone nor during its evacuation. Indeed, the straps 15 of the conveying means 9 are in a fixed position in the direction transverse to the direction of advance SA of the article, that is to say that the straps 15 are in a fixed position in width independently of the variation of the gap between the two flaps 201 and therefore do not move transversely during an adjustment of the gap 15 between two folding flaps 201. In addition, since a folded article 3 can leave the zone of folding at the same time as an unfolded article 3 enters this area during the variation of width, thus eliminating the time losses of implementation of the fold width variations.

According to the embodiment described, the folding flaps 201 respectively equipped with a web 209 of thickness compensation are mounted in the longitudinal direction of the machine 1 relative to the direction of advance SA of an article 3. However, it is possible to mount these folding flaps 201 in the transverse direction of the machine 1 as shown in Figure 18 so as to allow transverse folding. In this case, such a folding module with folding shutters 201 with transversely extending thickness compensation can be used to perform for example a transverse folding from the back as an alternative to the second transverse folding module M2 described above after a first transverse folding by the front 30 made for example by the finger clamp 13 described above. BRT0513 - finger pliers & complete machine 2963794 -35- Such a thickness-compensated transverse folding module that can perform both front and rear folding allows the article 3 to be crushed.

The operation of a longitudinal folding module M3 as defined above is now described.

Operation of the longitudinal folding module M3: As previously, it can be provided that during a preliminary step, the type of article 3 deposited on the engagement portion E is detected by the sensors 8 and a folding program is selected. appropriate. With reference to FIGS. 15 to 16b, an article 3 to be folded is upstream of the longitudinal folding module M3. The pivot axes 207 may be at a fixed or adjustable position via the movable supports 213. In the latter case, depending on the type of sensed article, it is determined whether thickness compensation is necessary. If a thickness compensation is necessary, the top of the pivot axis 207 is positioned at a height greater than the folding area 203, otherwise the top of the pivot axis 207 is positioned substantially at the same level. 20 of course that it is possible that the pivot axes 207 are not adjustable in height and are mounted fixed at a height higher than the tilting zone 203. Article 3 then reaches at the level of the folding zone 203 and at least one folding flap 201 in the first receiving position (FIG. 17a) conveyed by a conveying means 9. In addition, it is possible to generate a flow of air passing through the first nozzles 219 oriented in the advancing direction SA of the textile article 3 to advance the textile article 3 to a folding position on the folding area 203 and the or the folding flaps 201. BRT0513 - fingernail At the same time, the movable armature 229 associated with each folding flap 201 can move to adjust the gap between the folding flaps 201 to the desired folding width. Since article 3 is in the folding position, the conveying means 9 stops, and the blowing means, if it has been used to generate a flow of air passing via the nozzles 219, stops. Article 3 can also be maintained by virtue of a depression which is established in the duct 215 fixed longitudinally to each folding flap 201. Next, a pivoting movement (FIG. 17b) of each folding flap 201 is carried out and therefore smooth web 209 for the thickness compensation integral therewith, from the receiving position (Figure 17a) to the folding position (Figure 17c or 17d). During the pivoting (FIG. 17b) of each folding flap 201 by nearly 180 °, regardless of the position angle of the folding flap 201, by the effect of the centrifugal force exerted on the article due to the speed of the folding flap 201, the portion of the article 3 remaining on the folding flap 201 is stretched on the folding flap 201 while the portion of the article 3 resting on the folding zone 203 remains stationary. In addition, it is possible to generate a flow of air passing via the second nozzles 221 of the same direction as the centrifugal force exerted on the article 3, so as to tension the article 3 resting on the folding flap 201, especially if this article 3 protrudes from the folding shutter 201. These fan nozzles 221 can greatly reduce the known defects of wave effects of the prior art. In addition, during the pivoting of each folding flap 201, as previously detailed, the associated smooth fabric 209 advances more (FIG. 17d) or less (FIG. 17c) as a function of the thickness of the article 3, which can be more or less uniform along its length, so as to crush the article 3. The time during which each folding flap 201 remains in the folding position can be set following the desired crushing on the article 3. Once the folding realized, a pivoting movement is effected in the direction BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -37- inverse of each folding flap 201 and thus of the integral smooth web 209, to bring them back to the first receiving position (FIG. 16a, 16b, 17a). At the same time, it is possible to generate a flow of air passing via the first 219 and / or the second 221 nozzles to detach the article 3 from the folding flaps 201. The folded article 3 leaves this folding zone for its part. and goes to a downstream station carried by the conveying means 9. Three options are then possible. Firstly, the folded article 3 leaves the folding zone and at the same time a new unfolded article 3 enters the fold zone at the folding area 203 and the folding flaps 201 as previously described conveyed by the conveying means 9 and possibly using the first nozzles 219 blowers without variation of the folding width and therefore without variation of the gap between two folding flaps 201. As a second option, the folded article 3 leaves the area at the same time, an unfolded article 3 enters this fold zone with a greater width variation than the previous fold width. Or, the folded article 3 leaves the folding zone, and at the same time, an unfolded article 3 enters on this folding zone with a width variation smaller than the previous folding width. In this third case, when the gap decreases, the longitudinal edges of the folded article 3 must, from the beginning of the advancement of the folded article 3, pass above the pivot axes 207, especially if it is at a height greater than the folding area 203, at the same time as the adjustment of the gap between the flaps. For this purpose, a pressurized air injection can take place in the conduit 215 at each pivot axis 207, to create an upward force to lift the longitudinal edge of the folded article 3 and pass it along. above the pivot axis 207 as it leaves the folding zone during a decrease of the deviation from a new, smaller article 3 entering the folding zone. Of course, certain operating steps can be reversed. 30 BRT0513 - finger pliers & complete machine -38-Latest M4 transverse folding module:

Finally, the last transverse folding module M4 is an inverting fold module (see FIG. 19).

An input detector 300 may be provided to detect the presence of an article 3 from an upstream folding station, such as the longitudinal folding module M3, and arriving at the inverting fold module M4. This inverter ply module M4 comprises a first conveyor 301 and a second conveyor 303. As can be seen in FIG. 19, these two conveyors 301, 303 are arranged one after the other at a "V" angle to effect a only fold on an article 3, the second conveyor 303 being partially below the first conveyor 301. This has the advantage that a folded article 3 goes directly to a downstream stacking system. The implantation of the conveyors 301,303 in "V" implies that an article 3 arriving at this level undergoes a pre-folding of the value of the angle between the two conveyors 301,303 simply by the transfer of this article 3 of the first conveyor 301 to second conveyor 303. Each conveyor 301,303 comprises a conveying means 9 associated. As before, the conveying means 9 may comprise a plurality of parallel parallel conveyor belts 15 extending longitudinally. In addition, the two conveyors 301, 303 are spaced from each other by a gap 305, through which the article 3 can pass after reversing the forward direction of the conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303. Thus, for an article 3 arriving for example from the longitudinal folding module M3, and transported on the two conveyors 301 and 303, only the portion of the article 3 located on the first conveyor 301 can undergo a folding action by folding effect on the another portion of article 3 on the second conveyor 303 (see FIG. 20). In addition, the first conveyor 301 is inclined at an angle a2 (FIG. 19) with respect to a horizontal plane H of the frame of the machine 1. The greater the angle of inclination a2 30, the smaller the portion of the article. 3 to be folded down is requested for BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -39- to be superimposed on the other portion of the article 3 on the second conveyor 303. In addition, the first conveyor 301 comprises a first axis d 307 of the conveying means 9 driven in direct rotation by a first actuating means 309, without intermediate piece such as: pulley, belt, tensioner, return, clutch. And, the first actuating means 309 is directly linked to a first control means 311 which can deliver start-stop commands, braking with adjustable intensities, reversal of the direction of advance between a first downward direction of advancement SA1 or a second opposite direction of travel SA2, of different speeds, or acceleration or deceleration of the first conveyor. The portion of the article 3 to be folded to rotate about the first drive axis 307, this implies that the diameter of the drive shaft 307 is substantially greater than or equal to the thickness of the textile article 3 to bend. The diameter of the drive shaft 307 must therefore, for example, be substantially within the thickness range of the thickest article to be bent by the machine 1. In fact, a thick article encounters more difficulties to perform. its rotation around an axis of small diameter that around an axis with a larger diameter. It is furthermore avoided that the various layers of article 3 due to upstream bends are offset from each other, creating wrinkles and bend offsets. The folding quality of the thick articles with a "V" inverting bend therefore depends on a mechanical compromise between the inclination of the first conveyor 301 and the diameter of the first drive axis 307. Similarly, the second conveyor 303 comprises a second drive axis 313 25 of the conveying means 9 driven in direct rotation by a second actuating means 315 without an intermediate piece. And, the second actuating means 315 is directly linked to a second control means 317 capable of delivering start-stop commands, braking with adjustable intensities, reversal of the direction of advance between a first direction of advancement SA1 'or a second opposite direction of advancing down SA2', of different speeds, or acceleration or BRT0513 - finger clamp & complete machine deceleration of the second conveyor. Conveyors 301,303 and their respective conveying means 9 are therefore driven directly without intermediate parts, which allows for simple drive mechanisms. Furthermore, the first control means 311 of the first actuating means 309 of the first driving axis 307 can control slowing down of the first actuating means 309 when a textile article 3 to be folded from the first conveying means 9 the first conveyor 301 engages on the second conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303, so as to avoid a surplus of material at the gap 305 during the inversion of the direction of rotation of the second drive shaft 313 of the second conveyor 303. Indeed, any inversion for folding requires a time to be made since it is necessary to count the downtime of the second conveyor 303 and the change of direction of rotation. The slowing down of the first conveyor 301 therefore makes it possible to retain the rear part of article 3 on the first conveyor 301 during this inversion and the article 3 will tend to be more or less taut above the gap 305. thus avoiding any excess material at the gap 305 may cause difficulty to initiate the folding of the article 3 see jams. In addition, the first control means 311 is configured to determine when to control the deceleration of the first conveyor 301 and the duration of this deceleration as a function of the textile article 3 to be folded. Furthermore, an output detector 319 may be provided to detect the presence of textile article 3 on a downstream zone of the second conveyor 303, and in this case, the control means 311 and 317 are configured to control an acceleration respectively of the first conveying means 9 of the first conveyor 301 and the second conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303, after inversion of the forward direction of the second conveyor means 9 of the second conveyor 303 if the downstream zone is free, and to command a stop conveying means 9 of the two conveyors 301 and 303 if the downstream zone is occupied. 30 301,303 Conveyor Speed Adjustment Flexibility Allows BRT0513 - Finger Clamp & Complete Machine 2963794 -41- to achieve a good bending quality with optimum production. Furthermore, the second conveyor 303 can be pivotally mounted as shown by the arrow F3, so as to adapt, during the folding of a textile article 3, the opening angle of the gap 305 between the two Conveyors 301,303 to the thickness of the textile article 3 being folded. For this, a single actuator 321, for example a compressed air cylinder, is provided for continuously driving the second conveyor 303 in a pivoting manner in a first direction so as to open the gap 305 to an opening angle predefined and immediately once the predefined opening angle reaches, in a second opposite direction to close the opening angle. During closing of the opening angle conditioned by the thickness of the article 3, it is possible to approach more or less the original opening angle of the gap 305, which generates a constant tightening of article 3 being folded whatever its variations of uniform thicknesses or not on its length. Only one of the conveyors is articulated by one of its ends by means of an axis of rotation allowing it to pivot, while the other conveyor is fixedly mounted on the frame of the machine 1. In the example described it is the first conveyor 301 which is fixed and the second conveyor 303 hinged but of course we can provide the opposite. In addition, the articulated conveyor is not necessarily at its end at the bend outlet as in the example shown but this is left to the choice of the manufacturer. Moreover, the predefined opening angle is variable, for example according to the selected folding program of article 3 to be folded. A processing device 323 can be provided to determine the type of article 25 detected for example by the sensors 8 on the engagement portion E and on the basis of the information transmitted by the input detector 300 concerning the arrival of a 3 at the inverting ply module M4, the processing device 323 transmits execution orders to the control means 311, 317, 321. The second articulated conveyor 303 does not remain in a fixed position 30 spacing given by the predefined opening angle according to a time of non-BRT0513 - finger pliers & complete machine 2963794 -42- activating actuator 321, and closing the opening angle is immediate once the predefined angle reached and stabilizes according to the thickness of the article 3 with an adjustable force of the actuator 321 to maintain the second conveyor 303 in equilibrium. Thus, increasing the value of the opening angle of the second conveyor 303 promotes the introduction of any article 3 between the two conveyors 301,303 during the reversal of the direction of advance of the article 3 on the second conveyor 303 and the gap between the two conveyors 301,303 is tightening more and more for a more homogeneous crush. In addition, a tension means 326 on the second conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303 activated for example by an adjustable spring 325, for example fixed by one of these ends at a fixed point 327 of the second conveyor 303 and the other end of the voltage means 326 shown in FIG. 19. This voltage means 326 applies a voltage to the conveying means 9 which provides a good coefficient of adhesion on the drive shaft 313 of the second conveyor 303. and a constant speed of the second conveying means 9 despite the passage in the gap 305 of an article 3 having different thicknesses and thus deforming the conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303. The second conveying means 9 can also be deformable elastically, so as to flex when an article 3 passes between the two conveyors 301, 303 via the gap 305 and the crushing force on an article 3 is greater than the setting of the tensioning means 32 5, so as to provide complementary compensation to keep a substantially parallel gap over its length. This additional compensation compensates for the deformations at the second conveying means 25 9 of the second conveyor 303 located below the first conveyor 301 to obtain the parallelism on either side of the gap 305. This ensures a regular tightening and homogeneous article 3 being bent. A flexible element 329, for example a flexible plate, can be fixed or held below the second conveying means 9 by means 331. This flexible element 329 makes the bending of all the conveyor belts BRT0513 Fingers & complete machine 2963794 -43- 15 (not visible in Figures 19 and 20) of the second conveying means 9. In addition, this flexible element 329 prevents a part of the article 3 on the conveying means 9 can to be introduced among the conveyor belts 15 which may cause jamming and malfunctions. In addition, for a better folding quality, it is possible to provide a complementary means of folding aid at the time of reversal of the direction of advance SA, such as a folding knife 333 performing, thanks to an actuator 334, a linear movement illustrated by the two-way arrow F4 in Figure 20, and / or a blowing means 335 for creating a uniform air gap and is for example 10 integral with the folding knife 333. This complementary means allows to strengthen the folding performance. According to the embodiment shown, the folding knife 333 is fixed on the second conveyor 303 via an axis of rotation R and is inclined at an angle a3 with respect to the second conveyor 303 so as to be centered at This folding knife 333 is mounted on the second conveyor 303 so that if the second conveyor 303 is continuously opened at a given angle, the folding knife 333 also undergoes angular variation substantially. equal to half the value of the opening angle of the second conveyor 303. For this, the axis of rotation R is connected to a connecting system, for example two links B1 and B2, connected to the frame of the machine 1. Furthermore, a position sensor 336 mounted on the knife 333 can be provided so that, upon detection of a predefined position, the actuator 334 drives the knife in translation during a predefined stroke. Thus, the action of the knife can be varied, for example depending on the thickness of the fold to be made and the article. For a thin article, we will choose a long race while for a thick article, it will be short. It is therefore possible to provide different adjustable races of the knife 333. The stroke of the knife 333 can be adjusted to approach more or less the knife 333 of the article without necessarily having contact with the article 3 being bent. BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -44- Regarding the blowing means 335, its implantation on the linearly movable folding knife 333 allows, according to the desired folding, to approach more or less the impact of the blade of the blade. The air on the article 3 at the gap 305. Thus, when the blowing means 335 is put into operation, the impact of the air gap is greater compared to an impact of a blade. air generated by a stationary blowing means further away and not adaptable according to the folding. The quality of folding is further improved and the M4 module is given a certain degree of flexibility.

Operation of the last folding module M4: At the start of the folding machine 1, it is possible to provide a preliminary emptying cycle of the inverter fold module M4. To do this, the first conveying means 9 of the first conveyor 301 is driven for a predetermined duration in the advancing direction SA2 amount. Likewise, the second conveyor means 9 of the second conveyor 303 is driven during this predetermined period of time in the advancing direction SA1 'amount. At the end of this predetermined period, only the first conveying means 9 of the first conveyor 301 changes direction and advances in the descending direction SA1; the second conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303 keeping the upstream direction SA1 '20 so as to eject the defective article 3 outside the machine, jammed or still waiting at the reversing fold by a machine stop, then in the end, the two conveying means 9 stop waiting for an article 3 to fold. The two conveyors 301, 303 are thus stopped and the second conveyor 303 is held in a first position with a minimum gap 305 predefined with the first conveyor 301 with a force given by the actuator 321 holding it just in equilibrium in the constricted position. The absence of contact between the two conveyors makes it possible to avoid premature wear of the conveying means. A step can then be provided in which the type of article 3 deposited on the engagement portion E is detected by the sensors 8 and a suitable folding program is selected. BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine 2963794 -45- When an article 3 leaves an upstream folding station such as the longitudinal folding module M3, the first conveyor 301 is started in the advancing direction SA1 descending from the means of conveying 9 of the first conveyor 301 at a nominal speed. When the article 3 is detected by the input sensor 300 substantially at the beginning of the first conveyor 301, the second conveyor 303 is started in the advancing direction SA1 'rising at a nominal speed of the same order as the nominal speed of the first conveyor 301. The article 3 arriving at the first conveyor 301 is transported in the advancing direction SA1 descending on the first conveyor 301 inclined. Then the beginning of the article 3 arrives on the second conveyor 303 in the advancing direction SA1 'amount. During the advancement of the article 3 on the conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303, according to the advancing direction SA1 'amount, the first control means can reduce the speed of the first conveyor 301 for a predefined duration, this reduction may be total or partial, for example from about 10 to 80% of the nominal speed and this regardless of the article 3. Clearly, a stop is possible. Adjustments of anticipations with respect to the beginning of folding on the various articles 3, position the moment when the slowing takes place before folding. Generally, a thick or very thick article will have a higher anticipation and a slower duration than for a thin article. The forward direction of the conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303 is reversed, so that the textile article 3 advances in the direction of advance SA2 'descending opposite the direction of advance SA1' amount. At the time of forward direction reversal for the second conveyor 303, the use for a predefined time of a speed lower than the nominal speed or a low amplitude acceleration for the second conveyor 303 allows Article 3 to pass gradually between the two conveyors 301,303 through the gap 305. At the time of inversion, this folding can be reinforced by the use of the folding knife 333 (see Figure 20) with linear movement and / or an air knife generated by the blowing means 335 integral with the folding knife 333, for example according to BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -46- the thickness of the articles 3 and their textures , to obtain a better quality of folding. It is not necessarily necessary to control the pivoting of the second conveyor 303 for the opening of the gap 305, because an article 3 is located at the entrance to the gap 305 between the two conveyors 301,303 undergoing a folding action by reversing the direction of travel of the conveying means 9 of the second conveyor 303, exerts a non-excessive force to open the gap 305 of the thickness corresponding to this article 3, at the moment when it It will begin to pass through the gap 305 between the two conveyors 301, 303, it is called auto-compensation. The force exerted is not excessive because the actuator 321, made for example in the form of a compressed air cylinder, maintains the second conveyor 303 in the original position of the gap 305 between the two conveyors 301,303 in equilibrium. In addition, according to the embodiment described, the tensioning means 326 facilitates self-compensation, in the manner of an air cushion on which the piston of the jack 321 rests. For an article of substantial thickness requiring compensation of thickness, it is possible to control the pivoting of the second conveyor 303 to a given position allowing the introduction of the article 3 in the gap 305 between the conveyors 301,303 and is closed immediately after pivoting the second conveyor 303 into reverse direction to uniformly crush article 3. The opening angle is closed with a clamping force adjustable by the actuator 321. This force is constant and homogeneous and also serves to maintain the second conveyor 303 with the 305 gap in original position. In this way, if an overthickness appears during folding the second conveyor again angularly deflects in self-compensation. The compensation is therefore constantly ensured during the folding of an article 3. There is no permanent fixed compensation but on the contrary continuous and evolutive. The pivoting time of the second conveyor 303 to open the gap 305 is taken into account from the beginning of the folding of the article 3. As soon as an article 3 leaves the area between the two conveyors 301,303, the latter 30 being released, the pivoting of the second conveyor 303 in the opposite direction ends for BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -47- finish closing the opening angle to end up again in the starting position with a minimum gap 305 between the two conveyors 301,303 while waiting for a new item 3 to fold. Once the beginning of the article 3 at the output of the second conveyor 303, after passage 5 between the two conveyors 301,303, it is checked whether the downstream zone, for example a stacking system, is free. If the downstream zone is not free, the article 3 stops at the output detector 319, and the conveying means 9 of the two conveyors 301, 303 are stopped. Article 3 is therefore stored and put on hold at the inverter ply module M4, even if the rear part of article 3 does not have its folding completely executed and is still between the two conveyors 301,303 . On the contrary, if the downstream zone is free, when the beginning of the article 3 arrives at the output detector 319, the first control means 311 increases the speed of the first conveyor 301, and likewise the second control means 317 15 increases the speed of the second conveyor 303. These increased speeds are higher than the nominal speeds of the two conveyors 301 and 303. By this principle of acceleration of the two conveyors 301 and 303, the article 3 is transferred more quickly to carry out operations at the same time. subsequent stations of the machine 1, and thereby a new article 3 from the upstream zone can be driven at the inverter fold module M4. In a variant, article 3 is transferred to the downstream zone while keeping the nominal speeds of the conveying means 9. Finally, when the rear part of the folded article 3 releases the output detector 319, a predefined time is waited for and stops the conveying means 9 of the two conveyors 301, 303 awaiting a new article 3 coming from the upstream zone. On the other hand, if an item 3 has been detected by the input detector 300 but is not detected after a time predefined by the output detector 319, the processing device 323 determines that there is a problem of operation such as jamming of article 3 or a jam and machine 1 is stopped. This malfunction can also be detected by an operator who initiates a stop BRT0513 - finger clamp & complete emergency machine. In this case, a dump cycle, as described above, is launched to release the inverter fold module M4 of any article and eject directly outside the machine 1 without any human intervention. Of course, certain operating steps can be reversed.

M5 evacuation module:

Referring again to FIG. 1, after the final transverse fold module 10 M4, a presser belt 401 can convey the folded articles 3 of various categories to the corresponding stacking system 404.

The presser belt 401 conveying the folded articles 3 can stop in various positions to group the articles 3 of the same category. The training of the articles 3 folded by the pressing belt 401 is effected by the upper part of the articles 3 in contact with the pressing belt 401 while the lower part of the articles 3 slides on the slide 403. This pressing belt 401 can according to the needs more or less crush the item 3 folded.

As can be seen in FIGS. 21 and 22, a slide 403 may comprise two plates 403a, 403b facing one another, for example spaced apart from one longitudinal opening, and these two plates 403a, 403b are pivotally or translationally movable. in order to drop the items 3 on an elevator 404 of the evacuation module or directly on a transfer means 405 of the articles 3 on an evacuation conveyor 407 via a finger scraper 409 410.

Transfer means 405 The transfer means 405 is held by a support 411 secured to the frame of the machine 1. The transfer means 405 comprises, for example, at least two portions: a BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -49- receiving portion 405a of textile articles 3 and a transitional portion 405b of a stack of textile articles 3 interposed between the receiving portion 405a and the evacuation conveyor 407, for placing on hold a stack of articles 3 before its transfer on the evacuation conveyor 407. In addition, the transfer means 405 can either: be fixed (FIG. 21); in this case the folded articles 3 fall from the drawer 403 to form a stack on the receiving portion 405a of a given height h between the drawer 403 and the transfer means 405, or be at least partially movable to pick up the articles 3 at the level of the drawers 403. In the latter case, the receiving portion 405a can be movable and form an elevator 404 (FIGS. 1 and 22) driven by an actuator 413 to perform a vertical translation movement, thanks to a guide 412, ascending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fixed transient portion 405b, to position itself beneath the drawer 403 thus avoiding the fall of the folded articles 3 and a shifting folds previously made. Once a stack of articles 3 has been received, this elevator portion 404 can perform a downward reverse vertical translation movement to reposition itself substantially at the same level as the transitional portion 405b of the transfer means 405 and allow the stack to be evacuated by the squeegee 409. When the transfer means 405 is fixed, the receiving portions 405a and transient 405b are made in one piece (see Figure 21). In more detail, with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24, the transfer means 405 comprises a plurality of longitudinal parallel bars 415 on the same horizontal plane, of number and size chosen according to the size of the stacks of articles. 3 to evacuate. These transfer bars 415 are spaced apart by an interval i so as to leave free passage for the fingers 410 of the squeegee 409 having the function of moving the stacks of articles 3 on these transfer bars 415 by sliding, without which an article 3 can be introduced into these intervals i. These transfer bars 415 may be relatively short when the transfer means 405 does not have a transitional portion 405b and there is direct evacuation of the piles formed on the conveyor of the transfer conveyor 405b. discharge 407 without intermediate storage or when the transfer means 405 has a transitional portion 405b distinct from the receiving portion 405a (Fig. 22). In contrast, when the receiving 405a and transient portions 405b are integrally formed (Fig. 21), the transfer bars 415 are longer to allow a stack to wait on the transitional portion 405b while releasing the receiving portion 405a so as to allow the formation of a new stack of articles 3. In order to reduce the coefficient of friction, can be provided on the upper part of the transfer bars 415 son 417 (see FIG 23 and 24) having a certain degree of elasticity and a good slip coefficient of nylon type, mounted in the longitudinal direction of the transfer bars 415. Of course any other means for decreasing the coefficient of friction can be used, one can use as an example the use of blowing systems to create an air cushion on each transfer bar 415. To further contribute to the reduction of the coefficient of friction, bars are chosen. transfer member 415 of substantially U-shaped cross-section, as can be seen in FIGS. 23 and 24.

Squeegee 409 With respect to the squeegee 409, it comprises a plurality of fingers 410 interposed among the transfer bars 415 in the intervals i between these transfer bars 415, and is movable in translation from a starting position upstream of the receiving portion 405a (FIGS. 22, 23, 25) to an evacuation position on the evacuation conveyor 407 so as to cause the folded textile articles on the evacuation conveyor 407. In addition, the fingers 410 are retractable between a retracted position in which the fingers 410 are arranged below the transfer bars 415 or BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -51- flush to these bars 415, and an extended position in which the fingers 410 extend perpendicularly transfer bars 415 (see FIGS. 21 to 28). An actuator 419 makes it possible to position the fingers 410 in the retracted or deployed position. Of course, one could provide a variant in which the fingers 410 are not retractable. These retractable fingers 410 are located next to each other on a support axis 421 arranged substantially transversely to the transfer means 405 and so that the fingers 410 are at the intervals i between the transfer bars 415. This support axis 421 is secured to a movable assembly 423 driving the squeegee 409 translationally forward to push a stack of articles 3 to the evacuation conveyor 407 or back to bring it back to the starting position before the receiving portion 405a. The mobile assembly 423 driving the squeegee 409 may, for example, comprise a carriage 423 mounted on guide means 425 allowing the movement of forward or backward movement horizontally, and can be actuated by an actuator 427 such as a single cylinder with locking system for one to several intermediate positions, a cylinder with different stages, or an electric motor, pneumatic or other, driving the carriage 423 through for example pulleys, belts, gears, chains, racks. In the case where the fingers 410 are retractable, it is conceivable that the fingers 410 pass above or below or flush with the transfer bars 415 by a vertical translational movement or rotation. In the latter case, the support shaft 421 of the fingers 410 is an axis of rotation with a freedom of rotation relative to the mobile carriage 423. The fingers 410 can therefore return to the starting position before the receiving portion 405a, whether occupied or not. of a stack of items 3 waiting passing under the transfer bars 415 or being flush with them. This principle of retractable fingers 410 combined with the transitional portion 405b of the transfer means 405, allows immediately after release of the receiving portion 405a to continue the production of a new battery that the previous battery is BRT0513 - finger grip & machine complete standby on the transitional portion 405b (see Figure 27) or evacuated (see Figure 28) on the evacuation conveyor 407. Moreover, the retractable fingers 410 may respectively have a general shape substantially staircase. One can of course provide fingers 410 plus 5 simple straight. This step form has at least three portions 410a, 410b, 410c such that the first part 410a fixed to the support axis 421 and the third part 410c free are parallel and the second part 410b of connection between the first 410a and third 410c parts is perpendicular to these first 410a and third 410c 10 parts. These different parts 410a to 410c can be made in one piece or alternatively an assembly of parts. Thus, in the retracted position of a finger 410, the third portion 410c is parallel to the transfer bars 415 and below them or flush, and in the deployed position the second portion 410b is parallel to the transfer bars 415 and below 15 the latter or flush, while the third portion 410c protrudes from the transfer bars 415. In addition, referring again to Figure 24, the support 411 of the transfer means 405 is arranged on both sides of the transfer means 405, and on the discharge conveyor side 407, the support 411 may have recesses extending the intervals i so as to allow the step fingers 410 of the squeegee 409 to pass to the 411. These fingers 410 can thus position an article 3 or a stack of articles 3 directly on the evacuation conveyor 407. For this, the upper part of this evacuation conveyor 407 is The fingers 410 may pass over this discharge conveyor 407. Furthermore, the discharge conveyor 407 may be mounted in a perpendicular direction by means of a recess 401. relative to the advancement of the squeegee 409 as illustrated in FIGS. 21 to 28 or alternatively in the same direction as the advancement of the squeegee 409.

The operating principle of such an exhaust module BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine M5 is now described.

Operation of the evacuation module M5: The squeegee 409 is in the starting position upstream of the receiving portion 405a of the transfer means 405 and the fingers 410 of the squeegee 409 are retracted. A predetermined number of folded textile articles 3 is picked up and stacked on the receiving portion 405a of the transfer means 405 by dropping the articles 3 on the receiving portion 405a or by an upward movement of the elevator 404 to move into position. below the drawer 403 and then by a downward movement to reposition substantially in vis-à-vis the transitional portion 405b. It is then checked whether the transient portion 405b is free. If the transitional portion 405b is free, the fingers 410 of the squeegee 409 are deployed among the transfer bars 415 as illustrated by the arrow F5 in FIG. 25, and the stack of textile articles 3 is pushed onto the transitional portion. 405b by linear movement of the squeegee 409 for example via the movable carriage 423 as illustrated by the arrow F6. The articles 3 thus slide on the transfer bars 415 until reaching the transitional portion 405b (FIGS. 26-27). It is then detected whether the evacuation conveyor 407 is free or occupied.

If the evacuation conveyor 407 is free (FIG. 26), the stack of textile articles 3 is continued as illustrated by the arrow F7 until the stack of articles 3 arrives on the conveyor. 407 evacuation (Figure 28). On the contrary, as long as the evacuation conveyor 407 is occupied (FIG. 27), the stack of articles 3 remains waiting on the transitional portion 405b. Once the evacuation conveyor 407 has been released, the stack of articles 3 waiting on the transitional portion 405b can be completely transferred to the evacuation conveyor 407. A new stack of articles 3 can immediately be formed at the level of the reception portion 405a released that the previous stack is put on hold on the transitional portion 405b (Figure 27) or is discharged on the discharge conveyor 407 (Figure 28). BRT0513 - Finger Clamp & Complete Machine -53- 2963794 -54- Once a battery has been evacuated on the evacuation conveyor 407 (Figure 28), the fingers 410 of the squeegee 409 are retracted as shown by the arrow F8 and returns the squeegee 409 at the receiving portion 405a by a linear movement illustrated by the arrow F9, to be able to push a new stack formed after the fingers 410 have deployed upstream of the receiving portion 405a, passing below the new one stack formed. The cells transferred to the evacuation conveyor 407 can then, by way of example, be evacuated to a storage mat 500 (see FIG. 1) or to a packaging machine such as a wrapper or the like. Of course, certain operating steps can be reversed. Thus, with such an evacuation module M5 (FIGS. 21 to 28), it is possible to immediately create another stack of articles 3 during the evacuation of the previous one with intermediate storing storage if the evacuation conveyor 407 is busy, 15 avoiding blocking production. In addition, the transfer means 405 and the squeegee 409 for the formation and evacuation of the batteries are very simplified mechanical manufacturing using no electric motor, pulleys, belts or conveyor belts.

It is therefore understood that a folding machine 1 as described, not only optimizes production but also the quality of folding. BRT0513 - finger pliers & complete machine

Claims (18)

REVENDICATIONS1. Transverse folding module of a folding machine (1) of textile articles (3), said module comprising: - conveying means (9) of textile articles (3) to be folded, a stop (11) integral with the frame of the folding machine (1) and arranged above the conveying means (9), and - a finger grip (13) arranged transversely above the conveying means (9) to raise an upstream edge of a textile article (3) to bend engaged on the conveying means (9) and to pinch for a predefined period this upstream edge against the stop (11) during the advancement of the textile article (3) on the conveying means ( 9) so as to produce a transverse fold, characterized in that said module comprises at the level of the conveying means (9) at least one suction means (17) of the textile article (3). 2. Module according to claim 1, characterized in that: - the conveying means (9) comprises a plurality of conveyor belts (15) full and parallel extending longitudinally in the direction of travel (SA) of the textile article (3) to be folded, and in that - the suction means (17) has a plurality of suction hole alignments (19) parallel to the longitudinal edges of said straps (15), and arranged so as to be partially covered by said straps (15), so that during the generation of a vacuum suction (A) is exerted on both of said straps (15) and on the textile article (3) on the means of conveying (9). 3. Module according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said at BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine-56- less suction means (17) is disposed upstream of the finger gripper (13). ). 4. Module according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least one suction means (17) is disposed downstream of the finger clamp (13). 5. Module according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveying means (9) has an angle of inclination (a1) with respect to a horizontal plane (H) of the frame of the folding machine (1). ), so that the upstream portion of a textile article (3) engaged on the conveying means (9) is at a height greater than the downstream portion of the textile article (3). 6. Module according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an actuator (21) for moving the finger clamp (13) between: a first low position in which the fingers of said clamp (13) are interposed between the conveyor belts (15) at an angle with the conveyor belts (15) so as to allow the upstream edge of the foldable article (3) to engage the finger grip (13). a second high position in which the ends of the fingers of said clamp (13) are positioned at the abutment (11), so as to clamp the upstream edge of the textile article (3) against the abutment (11); ), and a third intermediate position between the low and high positions so as to release the textile article (3) engaged on said clamp (13). 7. Module according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises sensors (8) of position of the textile article (3) to bend at predefined locations of the conveying means (9), and in that the actuator (21) is configured to drive the finger clamp (13) to the first low position upon detection of the textile article (3) at at least one location predefined by the position sensors (8). BRT0513 - finger pliers & complete machine 2963794 -57- 8. Module according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises a device for cleaning the position sensors (8, 27) from the depression generated by said at least one suction means (17). 9. Module according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the finger grip (13) comprises at each finger an ejector blow gun (25). 10. Module according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a compression means (29) for flattening at rest the loop formed during the transverse folding of the textile article. 10 Folding machine comprising a transverse folding module (Ml) according to any one of the preceding claims. 12. Folding machine according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises an engagement portion (E) having a plurality of parallel and full conveyor belts (15) extending longitudinally in the advancing direction ( SA) of the textile article (3) to be folded, and a plurality of suction hole alignments (19) parallel to the longitudinal edges of said straps (15), and arranged to be partially covered by said straps (15). ), so that during the generation of a vacuum suction (A) is exerted both on said straps (15) and on the textile article (3) deposited on the engagement portion (E). 13. Folding machine according to one of claims 11 or 12, characterized in that it comprises a second transverse folding module (M2) disposed downstream of the first transverse folding module (Ml), and a longitudinal folding module (M3) downstream of the two transverse folding modules (M1; M2) with respect to a forward direction (SA) of a textile article (3) on a conveying means (9) of said machine, so as to separately and successively achieve two transverse folds of the textile article decreasing the length of the textile article before the longitudinal folding. BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine 2963794 -58- 14. Folding machine according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that it comprises a thickness compensating folding module (M3) comprising: - a folding zone (203) substantially flat, 5 - at least one folding flap (201) fixed to at least one pivot axis (207), so that said at least one flap pivots between: - a first textile article receiving position (3) to be folded, and - a second folding position in which the at least one flap (201) is folded over the folding area (203), so as to fold the textile article (3), - at least one fabric (209) intended to be in contact with the textile article (3) to be folded and having a smooth surface, said fabric (209) being fixed by a first edge (209a) to said at least one flap (201) in the longitudinal direction of said at least one flap (201 ) so as to cover said at least one pivot axis (207) in the first position of said at least one flap (201), and means for energizing (211) said at least one web (209) connected to a second edge (209b) of said at least one web (209) opposite the first edge (209a). 20 15. Folding machine according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that it comprises an inverting fold module (M4) comprising - a first conveyor (301) for textile article (3) to fold comprising a first means for conveying (9) textile article (3) and a first driving axis (307) of said conveying means (9), a second conveyor (303) for textile article (3) to be folded comprising a second means conveying means (9) of textile article (3) and a second axis BRT0513 - finger gripper & complete machine (293) for driving (313) of said conveying means (9), said second conveyor (303) being arranged to form a substantially "V" angle with the first conveyor (301) and such that the two conveyors (301; 303) are spaced from each other by a gap (305); first actuating means (309) for rotating the first driving axis (307), a second operating means (315) for e driving the second drive axis (313) in rotation, - a first control means (311) of the first actuating means (309) configured to control a slowing of the first conveyor (301) when a textile article to be folded from the first conveying means (9) engages the second conveying means (9), and - a second control means (317) of the second actuating means (315) configured to control the inversion of the direction rotating the second drive shaft (313). 16. Folding machine according to any one of claims 11 to 15 characterized in that it comprises an evacuation module (M5) folded textile articles comprising: a transfer means (405) of textile articles ( 3) folded from a previous folding station of the folding machine to a discharge conveyor (407), said transfer means (405) having a plurality of parallel longitudinal transfer bars (415), a squeegee ( 409) extending substantially perpendicular to the transfer means (405) and movable in translation so as to cause the textile articles (3) folded towards the discharge conveyor (407), the squeegee (409) comprising a plurality of fingers ( 410) interposed among said bars BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine (415). Folding machine according to claim 16, characterized in that said fingers (410) are retractable between: a first retracted position in which the fingers (410) are arranged below said bars (415), and - a position deployed in which fingers (410) extend perpendicularly to said bars (415) for driving textile articles (3) folded towards the discharge conveyor (407). 18. A folding method with pouch implemented by a folding machine according to any one of claims 11 to 17, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - a textile article (3) is engaged on the means of conveying (9), the upstream edge of the textile article (3) is lifted and gripped for a predetermined time against the abutment (11) during the advancement of the textile article (3) on the conveying means (9). ), by means of the finger clamp (13), the textile article (3) is released at the end of the predefined period so as to make a transverse folding to the third from below, two longitudinal folds are made to the third of each side of the textile article (3), and a transverse fold is made so as to obtain a folded textile article having a pocket. BRT0513 - finger grip & complete machine -60-