Method for capturing an item of laundry

1. A method for capturing an item ( 11 ) of laundry, wherein the item ( 11 ) of laundry is grabbed or drawn by suction by a capturing means and is transported away by the capturing means, comprising:

ascertaining topography of the item ( 11 ) of laundry and creating an image of the topography of the item ( 11 ) of laundry using a three-dimensional image-generating, image-forming measure;

ascertaining at least one point ( 15 ) at which the item ( 11 ) of laundry is intended to be captured and/or can be captured by the capturing means on the basis of the topography;

selecting the at least one point ( 15 ) for capturing the item ( 11 ) of laundry from several alternatives selected from the group consisting of a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with a curvature, a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with a bend, a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with a fold, a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with an edge, and a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with in which tangents of two adjacent points on the item ( 11 ) of laundry form an extremely acute angle;

ascertaining the at least one point ( 15 ) of the item ( 11 ) of laundry from the several alternatives as a capturing point that can be grabbed by the capturing means in an expedient or rapid manner;

moving the capturing means to the at least one point ( 15 ) in a specifically controlled manner; and

capturing the item ( 11 ) of laundry with the capturing means.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional image-generating, image-forming measure is selected from the group consisting of a 3D camera ( 13 , 14 ) and a laser scanner.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the item ( 11 ) of laundry is captured at a fold or an edge or a corner of the item ( 11 ) of laundry.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising matching a spatial orientation of the capturing means to the at least one point ( 15 ) of the item ( 11 ) of laundry which is to be grabbed.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the capturing means is a grabber ( 16 ) or a suction device.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining the position of each point of the item ( 11 ) of laundry in space, or the distance of the said point in relation to the position of the capturing means, ascertaining the at least one point ( 15 ) at which the item ( 11 ) of laundry can be grabbed based on such position or distance.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein interfering influences are filtered out by the image-forming measures.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the item ( 11 ) of laundry has no capturing point ( 15 ), conveying away or reorienting the item ( 11 ) of laundry that has no capturing point ( 15 ), and then ascertaining once again the topography of the item ( 11 ) of laundry that has no capturing point ( 15 ).

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein only a single one of the item ( 11 ) of laundry is picked up by the capturing means.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

feeding the item ( 11 ) of laundry to corresponding further treatment apparatuses by the capturing means on the basis of the topography.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein properties of the item ( 11 ) of laundry are ascertained on the basis of the ascertained topography.

12. The method according to claim 10 , further comprising determining the weight of the captured item ( 11 ) of laundry using the capturing means.

13. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the interfering influences are optically filtered out by the image-forming measures.

14. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the interfering influences are an image background.

15. The method according to claim 11 , wherein properties of the item ( 11 ) of laundry are selected from the group consisting of the size of the item ( 11 ) of laundry, the shape of the item ( 11 ) of laundry, the color of the of the item ( 11 ) of laundry, and the type of fabric from which the item ( 11 ) of laundry is made.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein properties of the item ( 11 ) of laundry are ascertained on the basis of the ascertained topography, and wherein the properties of the item ( 11 ) of laundry are selected from the group consisting of the size of the item ( 11 ) of laundry, the shape of the item ( 11 ) of laundry, the color of the of the item ( 11 ) of laundry, and the type of fabric from which the item ( 11 ) of laundry is made.

17. A method for capturing an item ( 11 ) of laundry from a pile ( 12 ) of laundry, wherein the item ( 11 ) of laundry is grabbed or drawn by suction by a capturing means and is transported away by the capturing means, comprising:

ascertaining topography of the item ( 11 ) of laundry and creating an image of the topography of the item ( 11 ) of laundry using a three-dimensional image- generating, image-forming measure;

ascertaining at least one point ( 15 ) at which the item ( 11 ) of laundry is intended to be captured and/or can be captured by the capturing means on the basis of the topography;

selecting the at least one point ( 15 ) for capturing the item ( 11 ) of laundry from several alternatives selected from the group consisting of a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with a curvature, a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with a bend, a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with a fold, a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with an edge, and a region of the item ( 11 ) of laundry with in which tangents of two adjacent points on the item ( 11 ) of laundry form an extremely acute angle;

moving the capturing means to the at least one point ( 15 ) in a specifically controlled manner;

capturing the item ( 11 ) of laundry with the capturing means; and

separating the pile ( 12 ) of laundry containing the item ( 11 ) of laundry by way of the capturing means capturing the item ( 11 ) of laundry.