Max Co., Ltd.

Mitsuo Nishikawa

Jun Maemori

Hideo Hosaka

A binding lace for a novel automatic binder developed by the present inventors is disclosed. The binding lace is continuously thrusted from only one side of the binding lace into a lace guide positioned around an object to be bound and then travels while sliding along the lace guide without buckling to form loops of several turns overlapping each other. During travelling, the binding lace is sent in the lace guide without standing still, due to the properties of an outer portion and a core portion of the binding lace, while the binding lace always expands elastically outwardly in radial direction of the lace guide due to the larger rigidity and tensile stress of the core portion to hold a looped configuration with the loops having substantially the same diameter as the lace guide. After travelling stops, the binding lace is capable of holding the same diameter of the loops and a tip portion of the binding lace is held in the neighborhood of the overlap of the loops. The binding lace is pulled back to wind around the material to be bound. It has sufficient friction and elasticity in the outer portion of the binding lace, so that the tip portion of the binding lace is held by the bound material and at least one loop of the lace. In addition, the binding lace exerts a large tightening force by the core portion thereof, sufficient for binding a bundle of electric wires and gives a stable binding condition for a long time due to the outer portion thereof.

Binding lace for an automatic binder

An automatic binding device or binder for binding a long material such as a bundle of electric wires with a lace by actuating the mechanisms associated therewtih according to pilot signals produced when the lace passes through the mechanisms. In this respect, a lace used should afford given rigidity and flexibility. This binder includes a guide member which may be opened and closed, and is formed with guide channels running along its inner peripheral surface for guiding a lace for use in binding. The guide member is formed with a lead-in hole for a lace on one side and a lead-out hole on the opposite side. For smooth guiding of a lace through guide channels, there is used a reversibly rotatable roller mechanism or a combination of the roller mechanism with a vibrating mechanism for vibrating a lace being guided through the guide channels. The lace paid out through the lead-out hole from the guide member is gripped by a lace gripping mechanism on the tip portion of the lace. According to a signal produced in association with the movement of the lace gripping and portion thereof, the primary tightening operation due to the reverse rotation of the roller mechanism is effected, followed by the secondary tightening operation due to the movement of the lace gripping mechanism. Thereafter, the lace is cut in the opposite portions of a knot or a bound portion thereof by means of cutters, and then waste lace thus cut off or chip is removed by suitable means.

Growing community of inventors

Takasaki, Japan

Mitsuo Nishikawa