Apparatus for forming binding bands

Abstract: In the present invention, a lever (4) of a metallic binding hand is clipped by holding pieces (12, 13). A pair of forming pieces (23, 24) are located in the loop section (2A) of the binding section (2) of the metallic binding band. Deviation length between the forming pieces (23, 24) and directions of the outer circumferential arc faces thereof can be changed, so that the binding section (2) can be expanded into true circle shape.

Description: The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming metallic binding bands, which binds bound members such as gas hoses, etc. Conventionally, a binding band is used when, for example, a gus hose is connected to a pipe. The binding band 1 (see Fig. 8) has a binding section 2, whose both ends are overlapped and fixed to form like a ring, and a lever 4, which is overlapped and fixed on the overlapped section 3. And the binding band 1 further has a retaining piece for fixing the lever after binding on the binding section 2. The binding band 1 bound is shown in Fig. 10. The binding band is made by steps of cutting band-like material with a prescribed length to form the binding section 2, overlapping and fixing both ends of the binding section 2 to form the overlapped section 3, and overlapping and welding the one end of the lever 4 on the overlapped section 3 to fix, so that the binding section 2 is transformed into flattened shape (see Fig 9). Therefore, a further step of forming the binding section 2 into a true circle shape is required. To satisfy this requirement, the applicant has filed a forming apparatus [Japanese Provisional Publication (KOKAI) No. 63-126631 ] (see Fig. 11). This apparatus has a pair of forming pieces 8 and 9, whose outer circumferential faces are formed arc-shape and which are located in the loop section of the binding section to clip the lever 4 by clipping members 6 and 7. The forming pieces 8 and 9 are mutually moved away in order to expand the binding section to form like a circle. In the conventional forming apparatus, however, the loop section of the binding section is not formed a true circle because the forming pieces, whose shapes are the same, are moved to expand the loop section with same condition in spite that shape of the ends of the binding section are different each other as shown in Fig. 8. Namely, in the overlapped section 3 of the binding band 1, the lever 4 is bent in the tangential direction of the loop section 2A of the binding section 2 to have the lever face up. With this structure, the binding section 3 is bent U shape. If the forming pieces, whose shapes are the same, are moved with same condition, the parts of the loop section on each side of the overlapped section is differently transformed each other, so that the binding band 1 will be inferior one. Note that, the reason why the lever 4 is faced up and bent in the tagential direction with respect to the loop section 2A is to enlarge the amount of reducing the diameter of the loop section 2A when the lever 4 is turned. The present invention seeks to provide an apparatus for forming binding section of metallic binding band into true circle. In the present invention, the apparatus for forming a metallic binding bands, whose both ends of a band-like binding section have been overlapped to form into a flattened loop section and one end of a lever has been overlapped on the overlapped section as a starting piece, into true circle shape comprising, a pair of holding pieces clipping both sides of the overlapped section, on which the lever is overlapped to fix, of the starting piece, the front end of the one of the holding pieces, to which no lever is overlapped, is formed an arc-shaped bending section for bending the part of the binding section adjacent to the overlapped section acute angle with respect to the overlapped section, a pair of forming pieces provided beside the front end of the one of the holding pieces having the bending section, the forming pieces are located in the loop section of the starting piece clipped by the holding pieces, the forming pieces can be mutually moved close and away in the direction almost parallel to the overlapped section of the starting piece clipped by the holding pieces, outer circumferential faces of the forming pieces except opposite faces are formed arc-shape, the one of the forming pieces, which can be moved away from the holding pieces, is deviated prescribed length nearer to the overlapped section than the other, and a driving section for simultaneously moving the forming pieces away each other. Namely, in the present invention, the lever is clipped by the holding pieces and the forming pieces are mutually deviated as described above, so that the loop section of the binding section is expanded like true circle when the forming pieces are mutually moved away. The deviation length between the forming pieces and the directions of the outer circumferential faces of the forming pieces can be changed; so that metallic binding bands having various sizes can be formed. Note that, the shape of both ends of the binding section differ each other but desirable forming can be executed because the forming pieces are deviated each other with respect to the overlapped section. Other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the appending claims and the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a front view of the apparatus of the present invention; Fig. 2 shows a side view of the apparatus thereof; Fig. 3 shows a rear view of the apparatus thereof; Fig. 4 shows a side sectional view of a transforming mechanism; Fig. 5 shows a perspective sectional view taken along the line I - I of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 shows a side view of a feeding mechanism; Fig. 7 shows a sectional view taken along the line II - II of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the metallic binding band before binding; Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the metallic binding band before forming; Fig. 10 shows a front view of the metallic binding band binding; and Fig. 11 shows a front view of a conventional apparatus for forming metallic binding bands. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. Figs. 1-3 show front, side and rear views of the apparatus of the present invention. A metallic binding band, which will be formed by the apparatus of the present invention, as a starting piece. The binding band has the structure described on page 1 of the description so same numerals will be used in the following description to indicate elements of metallic binding bands. There is provided a lever-holding mechanism 11 in lower front of a vertical wall 15 as a supporting base standing on a base 10. The lever-holding mechanism 11 has a fixed block 12 and a movable block 13 for clipping the lever 4 of the binding band 1 as a pair of holding pieces. The fixed block 12 is fixed to the vertical wall 15 by a bolt. The movable block 13 can be moved close to and away from the fixed block 12, and is connected to an end of a rod 14a of a cylinder unit 14. The opposite faces 12a and 13a of the blocks 12 and 13 are respectively formed as a convex-arc face and a concave-arc face so as to clip the lever 4. There is provided a stopper 16 for supporting the lower end of the lever 4 below the faces 12a and 13a. The stopper 16 is provided on the vertical wall 15 and its height can be changed so as to locate the binding band 1 and so as not to deviate the location thereof. Note that, a step 13b as a receiving face for clipping the overlapped section 3 of the binding band 1 is formed at the upper section of the face 13a of the movable block 13. And a projected section 13c as a bending section for forming the bent section 2b of the binding section 2 is projected from the step 13b. There is provided a deflashing mechanism 17 for removing flashes on the sharpened end 4a of the lever 4 clipped by the blocks 12 and 13. The deflashing mechanism 17 has a rotary squashing body 17b which can be rotated on a vertical shaft 17a. The rotary squashing body 17b and the vertical shaft 17a can be reciprocally moved in the vertical direction with respect to the paper face of Fig. 1 toward the notch 18 of the vertical wall 15. Numeral 70 is a pressing piece, which can be reciprocally moved in the vertical direction with respect to the paper face of Fig. 1. The pressing piece 70 has a thin extended section 70a, which is extended downward. The extended section 70a can be got into the gap between the overlapped section 3 of the binding band 2 and the sharpened end 4a of the lever 4 so as to press the sharpened end 4a of the lever 4 when flashes on the sharpened end 4a of the lever 4 is squashed by the rotary squashing body 17. The pressing piece 70 is pierced and guided through the through-hole 15a of the vertical wall 15. As shown in Fig. 2, there is provided a vertical plate 12 on the base 10 and behind the vertical wall 15. A cylinder rod 74a of a cylinder unit 74, which is fixed on the vertical plate 72, is connected to the pressing piece 70 in order that the pressing piece 70 is projected from and retracted into the front face of the vertical wall 15. There is provided a switch 76 on the vertical plate 72. The switch 76 is turned on by an L-shaped switching piece 77 which is provided on the side face of the pressing piece 70 when the pressing piece 70 is moved backward, and the cylinder unit 74 is stopped. Successively, a transforming mechanism 19 for transforming a flattened loop section 2A of the binding section 2 into true circle will be described. The lever 4 of the binding band 1 is clipped by the fixed block 12 and the movable block 13. The loop section 2A of the binding section 2 is bent about the right angle with respect to the lever 4. A pair of forming pieces 23 and 24 are located in the loop section 2A of the binding section 2. The forming pieces 23 and 24 are moved by a cylinder unit 20, which is driven by air pressure or oil pressure and which is fixed on the rear face of the vertical wall 15, as a driving section (see Fig. 3). There is bored a through-hole 32, which allows the movement of the forming pieces 23 and 24 projected, in the vertical wall 15. The forming pieces 23 and 24 can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the though-hole 32. The outer circumferential faces of the forming pieces 23 and 24 are formed arc-shape so as to expand the flattened loop section 2A of the binding section 2 from inside to transform into true circle. The driving mechanism of the forming pieces 23 and 24 will be explained with further reference to Figs. 4 and 5. There are provided plates 36 and 36 in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the through-hole 32 on the rear face of the vertical wall 15, and they partially cover the through hole 32 to narrow the width thereof. The plates 36 and 36 have thin sections 36a and 36a partially covering the through-hole 32. Slide blocks 40 and 41 are fitted to the thin section 36a and 36a, and are slidable along the through-hole 32. L-shaped blocks 38 and 39 are fixed on the rear faces of the slide blocks 40 and 41 by bolts 37.... The slide blocks 40 and 41 also have L side shape and their parts are got into the through-hole 32. The forming pieces 23 and 24 are respectively fixed at parts of the slide blocks 40 and 41, which are got into the through-hole 32, with clipping blocks 22 and 25 by bolts 22 and 22 as fixing pins. There are bored long holes 23a and 24a in the forming pieces 23 and 24. The long holes 23a and 24a are bored in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the forming pieces 23 and 24. The forming pieces 23 and 24 also have concave sections 23b and 24b in which the head sections of the bolts 22... are buried. With this structure, the forming pieces 23 and 24 can be moved in the width direction of the through-hole 32 and can be rotated on the bolts 22 and 22, when the bolts 22 and 22 are loosened. Note that, as shown in Fig. 1, the forming pieces 23 and 24 are arranged to slightly deviate in the width direction of the through-hole 32 each other. Namely, the forming piece 23, which expands the part of the binding section 2 which is extended along the lever 4 from the lever-fixed side of the overlapped section 3, is provided close to the lever 4; the other forming piece 24 is provided slightly further from the lever 4 than the forming piece 23. The cylinder unit 20 is fixed at the standing section 38a of the L-shaped block 38. The front end of the rod 21 of the cylinder unit 20 is fixed at the standing section 39a of the other L-shaped block 39 (see Figs. 3 and 4). With this structure, when the rod 21 is extended by driving the cylinder unit 20, the L-shaped blocks 38 and 39 are mutually moved away along the slide blocks 40 and 41, and the forming pieces are also mutually moved away. The stroke of the movement of the L-shaped blocks 38 and 39 will be described. The stroke of the cylinder unit 20 or the forming piece 23 is adjusted by a screw rod 27 which is provided to a stay 26 and whose position in the longitudinal direction thereof with respect to the stay 26 is adjustable. When the screw rod 27 contacts the standing section 28a of the stopper 28 of the L-shaped block fixed on the vertical wall 15, the cylinder unit 20 or the forming piece 23 is limited its forward movement. When the cylinder unit 20 is retracted to the rearmost position, the stay 26 contacts a screw rod 29 provided at the standing section of the L-shaped block, to limit the movement (see Fig. 3). The strokes of the rod 21 of the cylinder unit 20, and the forming piece 24, is adjusted by a screw rod 30 which is provided to the vertical wall 15. When the standing section 39a of the L-shaped block 39 contacts the screw rod 30, the forward movement of the rod 21 is limited. When a screw rod 31 provided to the projected section 39b of the L-shaped block 39 contacts the standing section 28a of the stopper 28, the backward movement of the rod 21 is limited. Note that the retracted position of the rod 21 of the cylinder unit 20 is shown in Figs. 1 and 3, wherein the stopper 28 contacts the screw rods 27 and 31 and the forming piece 23 contacts the other piece 24. A through-hole 33 corresponding to the overlapped section 3 of the binding section 2 is bored in the vertical wall 15. An eject pin 34, which pierces forward through the through-hole 33 to eject the binding band 1 formed, is provided to the rear side of the vertical wall 15 as shown in Fig. 2. Numeral 35 is a micro switch, which is turned by the step section 34a of the eject pin 34 when the eject pin 34 ejects the binding band 1. A cylinder unit 78 for driving the eject pin 34 is provided on the vertical plate 72. Now, the function of the apparatus will be described. Before feeding the binding band 1, the movable block 13 is retracted by the cylinder unit 14 so as to separate the faces 12a and 13a each other. Next, the binding band 1 is fed by the feeding mechanism or a worker. When the binding band 1 is fed, the lever 4 is placed down and inserted into the gap between the facets 12a and 13a and clipped by the faces 12a and 13a to fix. Simultaneously, the loop section 2A of the binding section 2 is bent about the right angle to locate the forming pieces 23 and 24 in the loop section 2A of the binding section 2. Note that, in case of a straight lever, the lever may be bent by the fixed and movable blocks 12 and 13 when the lever is clipped thereby. Flashes are removed by the deflashing mechanism 17. Successively, the rod 21 of the cylinder unit 20 is extended to separete the L-shaped blocks 38 and 39 each other so that the forming pieces 23 and 24 are mutually moved away to expand the loop section 2A of the binding section 2. When the rod 21 contacts the screw rod 30, the stay 26 contacts the screw rod 29 to stop the cylinder unit 20, then the loop section 2A of the binding section 2 is formed into true circle. Next, the rod 21 of the cylinder unit 20 is retracted to move the forming pieces 23 and 24 close each other. When the rod 14a of the cylinder unit 14 is retracted, the movable block 13 is moved away from the fixed block 12. Simultaneously, the eject pin 34 is projected toward the front face of the vertical wall 15 to eject the binding band 1 from the gap between the faces 12a and 13a. The binding band 1 formed falls into a receiving section (not shown). After that, the micro switch 35 detects the projection of the eject pin 34, and then the eject pin 34 is retracted to home position. Note that, the binding section 2 has the bent section 2b which is bent as U shape at the overlapped section 3. Therefore, if the forming piece 24 is too close to the bent section 2b, the bent section 2b is transformed, so it is necessary to separate the forming piece 24 enough distance away from the bent section 2b so as not to transform the bent section 2b. While, the part 2a of the binding section 2 overlaps the lever 4 and is extended forward along the lever 4, so the part 2a can be formed arc-shape when the forming piece 23 is provided close to the overlapped section 3. The forming piece 23, which is moved away from the lever holding mechanism 11, is provided to deviate prescribed length nearer to the overlapped section 3 than the other forming piece 24. The reason why the forming pieces 23 and 24 are deviated each other is because the shape of both ends 2a and 2b of the binding section 2 are different each other. With above described process, the extremely accurate binding band 1 having almost true circular loop section 2A of the binding section 2 and the arc lever 4 can be gained. When the bolts 22 and 22 are loosened, the locations of the forming pieces 23 and 24 can be changed, so binding bands having various sizes can be formed. Next, the feeding mechanism as a delivering unit for feeding the binding band 1 to the transforming mechanism 19 will be explained with reference to Figs. 6 and 7. A vertical wall 46 is provided on the base 10 and on the front side of the vertical wall 15 to face each other. A guide rail 48 is provided in a space between the vertical walls 15 and 46. A movable block 50 can be reciprocally moved along the guide rail 48. As shown in Fig. 7, the movable block 50 is composed of two clipping blocks 50a and 50b and a gap 50c for clipping the lever 4 is formed therebetween. The location of the gap 50c coincides with the position at which the faces 12a and 13a of the blocks 12 and 13 clip the lever 4. A cylinder unit 52 is fixed on the vertical wall 46. The rod 51 of the cylinder unit 52 can be moved to and away from the vertical wall 15. A plate 54 is fixed at the front end of the rod 51. A pressing pin 56 is provided to the plate 54 and coaxial to the rod 51. A pin 58, which is fixed to the movable block 50, is pierced through a hole 54a of the lower part of plate 54. The pin 58 has a head section 58a for engaging. The pin 58 is wound round by a spring 60, which energized the movable block 50 and the plate 54 to move away each other. A guide plate 65 fixed on the one face of the vertical wall 46, which is facing to the vertical wall 15, with a inclination. An inclined cylinder unit 66 is fixed on the guide plate 65. A sliding piece 67 is fixed at the front end of the rod 66a of the cylinder unit 66. The guide plate 65 is slidably clipped by the sliding piece 67, so that the sliding piece 67 can be slide on the guide plate 65. An intermediate arm 68 is extended from the guide plate 65 toward the vertical wall 15. A driving arm 69 is diagonally extended downward from the front end of the intermediate arm 68, and its inclination is the same as the cylinder unit 66. A bending roller 64 is provided at the front end of the driving arm 69. Therefore, the bending roller 64 travels along the axial line "ℓ" when the rod 66a is extended by driving the cylinder unit 66. The flattened binding band 1 clipped by the clipping blocks 50a and 50b is located at position "A" (see Fig. 7). While the binding band 1 is located at the position "A", the bending roller 64 is located in the loop section 2A of the binding section 2 and is moved to position "B" by driving the cylinder unit 66, so that the loop section 2A of the binding section 2 can be bent about the right angle with respect to the lever 4. The lever 4 of the binding band 1 is got into the gap 50c between the clipping blocks 50a and 50b and is clipped thereby. The bending roller 64 is located at the position "A" in the loop section 2A of the binding section 2, and then the bending roller 64 is moved to the position "B" by driving the cylinder unit 66. Further, the movable block 50 is moved to contact opposite faces of the blocks 12 and 13 when the cylinder unit 52 is driven. The rod 51 moves forward to press the binding band 1 by the pressing pin 56 despite the movement of the movable block 50 is limited, so that the lever 4 is located in the gap between the opposite faces 12a and 13a. The loop section 2A of the binding section 2 has been bent about the right angle with respect to the lever 4 by the bending roller 64, so that the forming pieces 23 and 24 are located in the loop section 2A of the binding section 2. Note that, when the pressing pin 56 moves forward with the plate 54, the plate 54 moves forward on the pin 58 with compressing the spring 60. An embodiment of the present invention has been explained in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment. Having formed the starting piece 1 into a circular shape using the apparatus of the present invention, the loop section 2A may be looped around a member which is to be bound, such as a hose. As is known in conventional methods of forming binding bands, the lever 4 may then be rotated about its sharpened end 4A, and fixed by clasp 5.

Claims: An apparatus for forming a binding band into a predetermined shape comprising: a pair of holding pieces (12,13) for clipping a starting piece (1) of the band material; a pair of movable forming pieces (23,24) having arc shaped faces, the forming pieces (23,24) being movable towards and away from each other for forming the starting piece (1) into the predetermined shape of the binding band; and a driving section (20) for moving the forming pieces (23,24); the pair of holding pieces (12,13) are arranged to clip together an overlapped section (3) and a lever (4) of the starting piece (1), with the lever (4) overlapping the overlapped section (3); characterised in that: one of the holding pieces (12,13) which is distal from the lever (4) has an arc-shaped bending section for bending part (2) of the starting piece (1) adjacent the overlapped section (3) through an acute angle relative to the overlapped section (3); and the movable forming pieces (23,24) are relatively movable not only towards and away from each other but also at an angle to that movement to vary the relative separation of the forming pieces (23,24) and that one of the holding pieces (12,13) which is distal from the lever thereby to permit the starting piece (1) to be formed into a circle. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said forming pieces (12,3) has a long hole (23a,24a), whose longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the moving direction of said forming pieces (23,24), said forming pieces (23,24) are respectively fixed on a pair of slide blocks (38,39), which can be mutually slided close and away on a supporting base (15) by said driving section (20), by fixing pins (22,22), which are inserted into the long holes (23a,24a), and the mutual deviation length between said forming pieces (23,24) can be adjusted by changing the positions of the fixing pins (22,22). An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said forming pieces (23,24) has a long hole (23a,24a), whose longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the moving direction of said forming pieces (23,24), said forming pieces (23,24) are respectively fixed on a pair of slide blocks (38,39), which can be mutually slided close and away on a supporting base (15) by said driving section (20), by fixing pins (22,22), which are inserted into the long holes (23a,24a), the mutual deviation length between said forming pieces (23,24) can be adjusted by changing the positions of the fixing pins (22,22), and the rotational angle of said forming pieces (23,24) with respect to the fixing pins (22,22) also can be changed. An apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said driving section is composed of a cylinder unit (20), the cylinder of the unit (20) is fixed at the one of the slide block (38) and the front end of the rod (21) of the unit (20) is fixed at the other slide block (39). An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a delivering unit for delivering said starting pieces (1) to said holding pieces (12,13) and said forming pieces (23,24), said delivering unit can be moved close to and away from said holding pieces (12,13) and said forming pieces (23,24), and said delivering unit has a clipping section (50a,50b) for clipping the overlapped section (3) and the lever (4) of said starting piece (1), and an engage section capable of contacting the inner face of the loop section (2A) of said starting piece (1) clipped by the clipping section (50a,50b) so as to engage the loop section (2A) bent toward the one side of the overlapped section (3), to which no lever is fixed, about the right angle with respect to the overlapped section (3).

Inventors: YAMAZAKI ATSUO, YAMAZAKI, ATSUO
Applicants: MIHAMA MFG, KABUSHIKI KAISHA MIHAMA SEISAKUSHO
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B21D11
IPC codes: B21D53, B21D11