L&p Property Management Company

Accent Packaging, Inc.

United States Steel Corporation

Other

U.S. Steel Supply Inc.

Stanwich Holdings, Inc.

John Wiedel

S Bernard Brouse

Gerald Lee Johnson

Albert Kupferschmidt

A wire strapping or tying device () is provided having a rotatable pinion-type knotter assembly () for twist-knotting of a pair of adjacent wire sections (), together with a shiftable knotter cover () movable between a home position for maintaining the sections () within the assembly () and a remote knotter access position allowing ready access to the knotter assembly (). The cover () is supported by arms () which are pivotal about an axis spaced from and generally parallel with the cover (). The cover () may be manually shifted to the remote knotter access position through an arc of at least 45&#xb0;. Also, the knotter assembly () includes a primary body () supporting a rotatable, slotted knotter pinion (). The body () is pivotally secured to frame plates (), allowing the body () to be pivoted to a convenient position for servicing of pinion (). Preferably, a mechanical operator assembly () is employed to sequentially operate all of the device components in a precise, timed sequence. A single drive assembly () preferably in the form of a piston and cylinder assembly () is used to actuate the assembly ().

Wire strapper for waste material baler

A mechanism for tying a bale of compressible material comprises a housing, a gear rotatably mounted with respect to the housing, and a drive mechanism operable for rotating the gear. A twister pinion is rotatably mounted with respect to the housing and is coupled to the gear to rotate when the gear rotates. The twister pinion includes a slot formed therein for receiving overlapped wire sections and twisting the wire sections upon rotation of the pinion. The twister pinion includes a sloped surface formed therein proximate at least one end of said slot. The sloped surface engages the overlapped wire sections and directs the wire sections inwardly toward a center axis of the pinion when the pinion is rotated.

Apparatus for tying and binding bales of compressed materials

An automatic tie system for a baler for tying a bale of compressible material comprises a reciprocating ram for pushing the bale along a path. A continuous strand of baling wire extends generally transverse to the path and engages the bale front end and wraps around the bale as it moves along the path. A reciprocating inserter arm engages the continuous wire strand to form a partial loop at the bale back end having an apex and an upstream wire section and a downstream wire section. A first gripper arm grips the upstream loop section when the loop is cut and moves the upstream loop section generally parallel to an incoming section of wire from a baling wire supply roll to create a supply wire overlap. A second gripper arm grips the downstream loop section and moves it adjacent to the bale and generally parallel to wire from a baling wire supply roll to form a bale wire overlap. A twisting mechanism engages the bale wire overlap and supply wire overlap and twists the overlaps to tie the bale with two in-line twists which have opposite hand twist orientations and lie generally flat against the sides of the bale. Another opposite hand twist reforms the continuous strand of baling wire.

Automatic tie system for baler

There is disclosed a wire twister pinion having a slotted body with a central gear portion presenting radially extending teeth defined an imaginary circle of predetermined diameter. The body also includes opposite end journal portions having a diameter at least as great as the predetermined diameter and merging with and supporting opposite ends of the teeth. The wire twister pinion is mounted within and substantially encased by a bearing block and further retained in the bearing block by a pair of yolks attached at opposite ends of the block. The bearing block includes a longitudinal bore for receiving the pinion body and the end journal portions of the pinion body are rotatably supported by the bearing block within the bore.

Wire twister pinion and assembly

There is disclosed an assembly mountable as a unit in a wire-tieing machine, including a bearing block in which a twister pinion is rotatably disposed. Wire restraining yoke members and cooperating cutter members are mounted to opposite ends of the bearing block.

Wire twister-cutter assembly

A yoke cover assembly for attachment to a wire tieing machine includes a body member which has recesses therein and wire engaging inserts removably attached thereto. The inserts are secured to the body member by roll pins. The inserts are seated in the recesses and engage wires when an end portion of the wires is being twisted by the wire tieing machine. The inserts are replaceable with other like inserts.

Wire knotter head yoke cover with replacement inserts

A feed and tensioning apparatus for wire strapping material includes a pair of wheels each having a smooth surfaced peripheral groove for contact with the wire. One of the wheels is rotatively mounted on an axis displaced from its central axis at an angle within the range of 5.degree. to 40.degree. on the exit side of the wheel with respect to the direction of travel of the wire during tensioning.

Wire feed and tensioning apparatus

A seal-less strapping head having an improvement for deflecting an angularly inclined overlying portion of the strap downwardly to prevent premature cut-off of the strap before the overlapped portions are fastened together. Apparatus is also provided for adjusting the elevation of the shear blade with respect to the movable die to accommodate severing a wide range of strap thicknesses. In another aspect, first and second frame sections are pivotally attached, the first section having cylinder means mounted thereon, the second section having cylinder means mounted thereon, the second section having a pair of dies housed therein for fastening the strap. Apparatus is provided for rotating the cylinder rod to vary the length engagement of a threaded member with a threaded portion extending axially from the cylinder rod to adjust the stroke of the upper die for various strap thicknesses.

Seal-less strapping head

Apparatus for positioning an edge protector to the edge of a package to be looped with strapping is provided. The apparatus includes a guide rail extending generally normal to the exposed package edge and an edge protector positioning apparatus mounted on the rail. The edge protector positioning apparatus has an edge protector application station adjacent the edge to be protected and is provided with an angularly oriented magazine which stores a stack of nested edge protectors each with its concave face foremost. Edge protectors are delivered to the application station from the magazine by means of a fluid motor operated pushing means which acts normal to the magazine to individually remove each edge protector therefrom. From the pushing means depend extended fingers having an edge protector support surface. A spring-biased separator assures individual edge protector application and spring-biased clamping means cooperate with the fingers of the pushing means to provide accurate edge protector placement on the package. Upon retraction of the pushing means and its extended fingers, the clamping retains the edge protector on the package during strapping. Following strapping, the apparatus is retracted from proximity with the package thereby releasing the edge protector.

Edge protector positioning apparatus

Apparatus is provided for plunging a fastener through a soft material preparatory to insertion of the fastener in a hard backing. The apparatus may be embodied as an attachment for a conventional fastener feed apparatus or as an improved form of feed apparatus itself. The improvement includes two telescoping members biased to a normal fully extended position. The members are engageable end-to-end with conventional telescoping elements of the feed apparatus and are axially movable with them. The force biasing the members apart is set so as to be substantially less than the force biasing the conventional elements to a fully extended position so that the fastener will be plunged through the soft material first upon application of a force, and then subsequently inserted into the backing upon application of additional force. Apparatus is provided for limiting the collapsed length of the members so as to control the depth of the plunge.

Fastener plunging apparatus

An improved strapping machine has a barrier for stopping travel of the strap at a precise location, a sensor which is activated by contact of the strap with the barrier so as to terminate operation of the strap feed means and a guide means for preventing buckling of the strap within the sealing assembly portion of the machine. In another aspect of the invention the clamping device has a first gripper located in fixed position during feeding and clamping, and a second gripper which is pivotable from a guide position to a clamping position. In a preferred form, one end of the second gripper bar serves as a shear anvil which co-acts with the blade to sever the strap. The shear anvil is adjustable so that the gap between the blade and anvil may be regulated to compensate for wear.

Growing community of inventors

Chicago, IL, United States of America

John Wiedel