A DEVICE FOR CUTTING AND REMOVAL OF THE STRAPPING BANDS FROM AN OBJECT

Abstract: A device for cutting and removal of the strapping bands (10,11) from an object (7,8,9), said device comprising a framework (2,52) adapted to be placed over a conveying track (6) for supplying the object (7,8,9) to the device, said framework (52) being provided with supports (13,16,19,50,51) for at least one clamping-cutting-means (24), which is supported in such a way that it is movable in respect to at least one wall of the object (7,8,9) to search for a strapping band (10,11) lying against said wall, said band (10,11) being clamped by the means (24) and cut off, after which the cut off end by moving said means (24) is brought to a band receiving station (36).

Description: The invention relates to a device for cutting and removing the strapping bands from an object, said device comprising a framework which is fixedly positioned over a conveying track by which the object is supplied to the device, said framework being provided with supports movable in respect of said framework and carrying a means for gathering, cutting and removal of said bands. Such a device is known by US-A-3,513,522. This known device is designed for removing strapping bands from bales of hay and comprises a first vertically movable cutter frame which carries the cutting means and is positioned tranverse to the supply direction of the bales and a second vertically movable frame carrying gathering hooks or jaws. The cutting means are in the shape of three pairs of shearing blades, one pair for each of the tie bands which longitudinally encircle the bale of hay. The jaws cooperate to gather the three severed tie bands so that they can be wound around a rotating reel. So this known device is only suitable for cutting and gathering bands which longitudinally encircle an object, that means that the bands have to be applied in a vertical plane which has to run in the supply direction of said conveying track. Further the removed bands have to be wound around a shaft after which said shaft is longitudinally moved and the wound bundle of bands is wiped from the shaft, dropped into a conveying trough and conveyed to a trash barrel. So this known device is rather cumbersome and is only suitable for removing a given number of bands which are applied in a given direction around an object, while further the bands have to be suitable for being wound around a shaft to be removed in the described way. The object of the invention is to improve the known device such that it is suitable for cutting and removing strapping bands which are applied around an object in various directions and in various numbers, while the bands can be made of materials with different properties. According to the present invention the device comprises at least one clamping-cutting means being movably supported by at least one support beam, said support beam being movable in respect of said framework such that said clamping-cutting means is movable in three mutually perpendicular directions when searching for a strapping band present around an object being supplied to said device and for bringing a band to a band receiving station after said band is cut off. By means of a device according to the invention each band present on a wall of an object, brought into said device, can be removed and positively fed to a band receiving station so that it does not matter how many bands are applied on the object. The device according to the present invention in particular can be used for strapping bands from a pallet on which objects have been placed which have to be transported. In many cases a frame of angle steel is applied onto such a load, said angle steel being fixedly connected to the pallet by means of said strapping bands. The strapping bands can either consist of rope, of plastic or metal. According to an embodiment of the invention it can be provided, that the clamping-cutting means is rotatably connected to a support element which in its turn is movably supported by said support beam. In this way the clamping-cutting means can first be brought towards the surface of an object on which one or more strapping bands are present. In practice strapping bands are often applied at right angles to each other and by rotating the clamping-cutting means mutually perpendicular bands can be severed and removed. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the device comprises a first horizontal support beam running transverse to the supply direction of said conveying track, a second horizontal support beam being movable along said first beam and extending in the supply direction of said conveying track, said support element, carrying the clamping-cutting means, being movable along said second support beam. In case of such a device the first support beam can be moved downwardly towards an object which has been brought in the device till said support beam is arrived at the desired height. After this the clamping-cutting means, connected to the support element, can be brought in engagement with a strapping band by moving the second support beam in respect of said first support beam and/or by moving the support element along said second support beam. In this case the first support beam is ascertained by the height of the object and the strapping bands, extending themselves over the top of the object, are searched for. According to another embodiment the device comprises a first horizontal support beam running either transverse or parallel to the supply direction of said conveying track, a second vertical support beam being movable along said first beam, said support element carrying the clamping-cutting means being movable along said second support beam. In this case the clamping-cutting means may come into engagement with those portions of the strapping bands extending in a substantially vertical direction along a vertical wall of the object. In that case as well a side wall as well a front or rear wall of the object, as seen in the supply direction of the object, may be searched for strapping bands, when the strapping bands are cross-wise applied around the object. In the first described case only the top side of the object has to be searched so that such an embodiment, generally speaking, will be preferred. It is preferred that the support element is executed such that the clamping-cutting-means can be brought into two positions which are at 90° with respect of each other. Generally speaking this will be sufficient to seize all strapping band one after each other, to cut and to remove these. According to the invention the clamping-cutting-means comprises a set of clamping jaws which can seize a strapping band and a set of cutting jaws which can severe the strapping band beside the portion of this which is clamped by means of the clamping jaws, means being present to activate the clamping jaws and the cutting jaws one after the other. In particular the clamping-cutting-means will be provided with a guide wheel which can cooperate with a part of the object. In particular this part can be a frame which is present on the load which has been brought onto a pallet as described above. Controlling the clamping-cutting-means may take place by means of photo-electric cells. In a way described hereafter these cells can observe when a strapping band is present between the clamping jaws, after which this strapping band is clamped and thereafter cut off by the cutting jaws. The clamping jaws will supply the cut off band to a band receiving station in which the band is pulled in and then is shredded, granulated or reduced in smaller pieces in one way or another. The small pieces of material or granules e.g. can be removed by means of a hose or can be received directly in a bag so that it is possible to remove the band in an easy way. Movement of the clamping-cutting-means, activating the clamping and cutting jaws and supplying the end of a severed band to the shredder of granulator, generally speaking, will take place by means of cylinders and by pressurized medium and being controlled by a relay or PLC-control. It may be mentioned also that US-A-4,348,801 describes a device for cutting and removing strapping bands from a bale,such as a bale of paper. The device comprises a number of clamping-cutting means being fixedly mounted to a frame which is suspended by slings to a hook. The hook is mounted to the outer end of a cable running to an overhead trolley carried by a track such that the frame may be moved in a direction at right angles to the plane in which the strapping bands are tied around a bale. The distance between two bands substantially has to correspond with the distance between two clamping-cutting means. The invention will be elucidated by means of embodiments, shown in the drawing, in which: Fig. 1 schematically shows a front view of a first embodiment of a device according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows a side view of the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a plan view of the device according to the Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 shows a plan view of a clamping-cutting-means as applied in the device according to the Figs. 1-3; Fig. 5 shows a side view of a band receiving station with a shredder employed in the device according to the Figs. 1-3; and Fig. 6 schematically shows a top view of another embodiment of the device according to the invention. The Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show various views of the device 1, being composed of a framework 2, formed by two vertical legs 3, and a horizontal beam 4. As in particular appears from Fig. 2 the legs 3 are mounted on the floor 5 and can be connected to this if wanted. The framework 2 is placed over a roller track 6 serving for supplying a pallet 7 to the device, on said pallet 7 a load 8 is provided with a frame 9 on this load. Around the pallet 7 and the frame 9 strapping bands 10 and 11 are provided. The strapping bands 10 extend over the front and rear side of the pallet, as seen in the supply direction indicated by the arrow 12 in Fig. 2. The strapping bands 11 extend over the side walls of the pallet so that they are perpendicular to the strapping bands 10 as seen on the top surface of the pallet. (Fig. 3). Between the vertical legs 3 of the framework 2 a first support beam 13 is mounted such that it is movable upwardly and downwardly in the direction of the arrow 14, indicated in Fig. 1. This movement can take place by means of the motor 15 and by means which are not further indicated, but e.g. can be formed by a chain or such like. Along the first support beam 13 a second support beam 16 is movable in the direction of the arrow 17. The movement of the beam 16 takes place by means of the motor 18 and by further means, not being indicated. Along the second support beam 16 a support element 19 is movable in the direction of the arrow 20. To that end the support beam 16 can have a C-shaped cross section. The means for moving the support element 19 along the beam 16 also are not indicated, but can be formed by a motor-driven chain or such like. From the support element 19 a shaft 21 extends downwardly and on this shaft a support plate 22 is rotatably mounted, said support plate 22 being provided with a shaft 23 to which the clamping-cuttting-means 24 is rotatably mounted. The clamping-cutting-means 24 is controlled by a cylinder 25 connected with the support plate 22. The rotation of the support plate 22 to two different mutually perpendicular positions takes place by means of a cylinder-piston-arrangement 26, the cylinder of which is connected to the support element 19 and the piston rod to the plate 22. By rotating the support plate 22 by 90° the clamping-cutting-means 24 can act upon the strapping bands 10 as well as upon the strapping band 11 as seen in the top view shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is showing a top view of the support element 19 provided with the shaft 21 with the support plate 22 rotatably mounted on it. The support plate 22 is carrying the shaft 23 on which the clamping-cutting-means 24 is rotatably mounted. This clamping-cutting-means 24 comprises a frame 27 carrying a set of clamping jaws 28 and a set of cutting jaws 29. One jaw of each set of jaws can be movable in respect of the other for clamping and cutting respectively a band 10 or 11, said bands being indicated in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 also shows a section of the frame 9 which was already described and which is positioned on the load 8 on the pallet 7. The strapping band 10 or 11 serves for obtaining a firm connection between the frame 9 and the pallet 7. For controlling the movement of the clamping-cutting-means 24 the support plate 22 is provided with a number of photo-electric cells 30-33. The photo-electric cells 30 and 31 take care of guiding the clamping-cutting-means 24 along the related edge of the frame 9 by moving said means 24 in the direction of the arrow 34. The photo-electric cells 32 and 33 can observe when the clamping-cutting-means 24 is coming to lie above the pallet or when it leaves the pallet respectively. Further a photo-electric cell 35 is present which can observe when a strapping band is coming to lie between the clamping jaws 28. Fig. 5 shows the shredder device 36, from which only the most important parts are indicated and described below. Primary this is the retracting pin 37 below which a strapping band 10, being cut off, is brought by means of the clamping-cutting-means 24. The pin 37 is pivotably mounted so that it can be moved in the direction of the arrow 38 and can pass between two rolls 39 which are spaced from each other but are pressed towards each other when the band 10 has passed, as by means of the cylinder 40 activated by pressurized medium. Then the band 10 is taken along by the rotating rolls 39 and is supplied to the shredder 41 which is positioned inside the device 36. The shredded material is removed by means of the hopper 42 to which a hose 43 can be connected leading to a not indicated bag or such like. It is clear that also a bag can be directly connected to the hopper 42. The retracting pin 37 can be moved out of the space below the rolls 39 e.g. by first moving it in longitudinal direction and by afterwards pivoting back the pin to the position shown in Fig. 5. The working of the device according to the present invention now is mainly the following. In the not activated position of the device the first support beam 13 is present in its highest position with the clamping-cutting-means 24 between the shredder device 36 and the track of a pallet 7. A pallet 7 to be handled is now running over the roller track 6 till below the device 1 and is positioned about on the desired place by means of the photo-electric cell 44 (Fig. 3) cooperating with the reflector 45 and is brought into its place exactly by means of the photo-electric cell 46. The photo-electric cell 44 is mounted to the track 6. The first support beam 13 now is brought downwardly and is stopped by means of a photo-electric cell 47 (see Fig. 1), cooperating with the reflector 48. Now the clamping-cutting-means 24 is brought towards the pallet 7 and will stop above the edge of the pallet by means of a photo-electric cell in such a way that it is already positioned in longitudinal direction. Then the means 24 is moved rearwardly till the beginning of the pallet. As soon as a photo-electric cell is no longer observing the pallet the means 24 will stop and will move again forward till the photo-electric cell is covered again. Now the means 24 stands still to wit at the beginning of the search position. Now the support beam 13 is moving somewhat downwardly till a guiding roll 49 (see Fig. 4) mounted to the clamping-cutting-means 24 is engaging the frame 9 by which the means 24 is somewhat rotated in respect of the plate 22. By this rotation a proximity switch is activated which the movement of the support beam 13 will be stopped. Now the lowest clamping jaw 28 will be present inside the edge of the frame 9. The clamping-cutting-means 24 is moved forwardly along the frame 9 controlled by means of the photo-electric cells 30 and 31 mentioned above, see Fig. 4, and will stop as soon as the related clamping jaw 28 is shifted below the first strapping band 10, which can be observed by means of the photo-electric cell 35. By means of the cylinder 25 now the clamping-cutting-means 24 is somewhat lifted and it is moved from the edge to the center of the pallet where the tension in the band is less than near the edge. Now the clamping jaws 28 are closed so that the band 10 is firmly clamped and then is cut off by means of the cutting jaws 29. Now the first support beam 13 is moved upwardly so that the clamping-cutting-means 24 is free to move above the pallet. The means 24, together with the clamped end of the strapping band 10 is now moved to the shredder device 36 and the means is bringing the band 10 near the retracting pin 37. In the way as described above the band is passing between the rolls 39 after which the one roll 39 is moved to the other and the band is supplied to the shredder 41 by means of the rolls. After the delivering of the band 10 to the shredder device 36 the clamping-cutting-means 24 is moved again to its initial position to search for the second strapping band. When the related bands 10 are removed the clamping-cutting-means 24 is rotated through 90° by means of the cylinder 26 so that the bands 11 can be searched for. It is obvious that depending on the direction of the bands 10 and 11 either the support element 19 will be moved along the support beam 16 or the support beam 16 will be moved along the support beam 13. In Fig. 2 the support plate 22 is rotated to such a position, in respect of the support element 19 that the clamping-cutting-means 24 is suitable to seize and cut the bands 11 and in this case the support element 19 is moved along the support beam 16. Fig. 6 is showing an alternative embodiment in which the clamping-cutting-means 24 is not acting upon the strapping bands 10 and 11 at that place where these extend themselves over the top surface of the loaded pallet, but there where they extend along the vertical walls of the loaded pallet. To that end the clamping-cutting-means 24 can be movably mounted on a support beam 50, which e.g. can be positioned in two mutually perpendicular positions in view of the fact that it is pivotably mounted to a support 51 which is telescopically supported by means of the column 52. Principally the working of the device shown in Fig. 6 corresponds with that of the device shown in Figs. 1-4, and described above. It will be obvious that it is also possible to seize the strapping bands at other places such as also at the bottom side of the pallet. Also more than one clamping-cutting-means might be used so that no pivoting of the clamping-cutting-means is necessary in case of the embodiment according to the Figs. 1-3. All these possibilities, however, are within the reach of an expert and so need no further elucidation.

Claims: A device for cutting and removing the strapping bands (10,11) from an object (7,8,9), said device comprising a framework (2,52) which is fixedly positioned over a conveying track (6) by which the object (7,8,9) is supplied to the device, said framework (2,52) being provided with supports (13,16,19,50,51) movable in respect of said framework (2,52) and carrying a means (24) for gathering, cutting and removal of said bands (10,11), characterized in that the device comprises at least one clamping-cutting means (24) being movably supported by at least one support beam (16,50), said support beam being movable in respect of said framework (2,52) such that said clamping-cutting means (24) is movable in three mutually perpendicular directions when searching for a strapping band (10,11) present around an object (7,8,9) being supplied to said device and for bringing a band (10,11) to a band receiving station (36) after said band is cut off. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping-cutting means (24) is rotatably connected to a support element (19) which in its turn is movably supported by said support beam (16,50). A device according to claim 2, characterized in that said device comprises a first horizontal support beam (13) running transverse to the supply direction of said conveying track (6), a second horizontal support beam (16) being movable along said first beam (13) and extending in the supply direction of said conveying track (6), said support element (19), carrying the clamping-cutting means (24) being movable along said second support beam (16). A device according to claim 2, characterized in that said device comprises a first horizontal support beam (13) running either transverse or parallel to the supply direction of said conveying track (6), a second vertical support beam being movable along said first beam (13), said support element (19) carrying the clamping-cutting means (24) being movable along said second support beam. A device according to one of the claims 2 - 4, characterized in that the support element (19) is executed such that the clamping-cutting-means (24) can be brought into two positions which are at 90° with respect to each other. A device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clamping-cutting-means (24) comprises a set of clamping jaws (28) which can seize a strapping band (10,11) and a set of cutting jaws (29) which can sever the strapping band (10,11) beside the portion of this which is clamped by means of the clamping jaws (28), means being present to activate the clamping jaws (28) and the cutting jaws (29) one after the other. A device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clamping-cutting-means (24) is provided with a guide wheel (49) which can cooperate with a part (9) of the object (7,8,9). A device according to one of the claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the controlling of the clamping-cutting-means (24) takes place by means of photo-electric cells (30-33), some of these cells (32,33) being suitable to observe when a strapping band (10,11) is coming to lie between the clamping jaws (28), after which this strapping band (10,11) is clamped and thereafter cut off by the cutting jaws (29). A device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the band receiving station (36) comprises a retracting pin (37) by which the end of a band (10,11) which is clamped by means of the clamping-cutting-means (24), is brought between two rolls (39) which are spaced from each other but are pressed towards each other after the band (10,11) has passed, in such a way that the band (10,11) is brought into a shredder (41). A device according to one of the claims 6 - 9, characterized in that activating the clamping and cutting jaws (28,29) and supplying the end of a severed band (10,11) to the shredder device (36) takes place by means of cylinders activated by pressurized medium and being controlled by a relay or PLC-control.

Inventors: VAN UITERT, JOHANNES HENDRIKUS
Applicants: SPECIAAL-MACHINEFABRIEK J.H. VAN UITERT B.V.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B65B69
IPC codes: B65B69