Patent GB-848212-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in package and like binding mechanism
Inventor: CHEESMAN JOHN JAMES
IPC: B65B13/02
Filed: 1957-01-21
Abstract: 848,212. Binding packages. AUTOMATIC STRAPPING MACHINES Ltd. Jan. 15, 1958 [Jan. 21, 1957], No. 1437/58. Divided out of 848,211. Class 94(1). The invention relates to a mechanism for tying packages with flexible binding material and of the type in which the binding material passes through a connecting device, round the package, through a gripper and then into the connecting device again, whereafter the gripper closes and the binding material is drawn back by a reversed feed to form a closed loop around the package followed by an operation of the connecting device to join the overlapping parts together and by a severing action separating the looped parts of the material from the supply. The invention is described as applied to the manually controlled mechanism disclosed in Specification 698,181. According to the invention a handle that is movable in one direction for controlling said reverse feed and in the other direction for effecting another operation is associated with (a) means for locking the handle against movement to the reverse feed position until a previously tied package is removed from the machine and (b) means for preventing movement of the handle from a neutral position in the direction for effecting the other operation unless the handle has first been moved to the reverse feed position. Means (a). As shown in Fig. 2 the handle 26 is locked in its neutral position by the pin 28s engaging with the hook 32h. When a bound package is removed from the machine the binding thereon temporarily catches on a hook to withdraw a pin 32a for an instance from beneath.the lever 32c which then rotates clockwise to rest against a stop 32f. This movement raises the hook 32h and permits the handle 26 to be moved anti-clockwise when desired to initiate the reversed feed. After the reversed feeding operation the handle may be moved forward to effect the other operation and in doing so the pin 26s engages a face 32g on the downwardly deflected lever 32c to rotate the lever 32c anti-clockwise back to the position shown. The pin 32a, under spring pressure, then moves back under the lever 32c to lock it and thus the handle 26 in the position shown. Means (b). As shown in Fig. 3 this mechanism comprises a fixed stop 34a for engagement by a movable stop 34c pivotally mounted at 34d on lever 260, a fixed projection 34e for raising said movable stop as said lever swings to the left, a bell-crank latch 34m pivoted at 34g also on said lever and having an arm 34h which engages a fixed lift pin 34i as said lever swings to the right, said movable stop and said latch being adapted to inter-engage resiliently under the influence of a tension spring 34j. During movement of the lever 260 to the left to the Fig. 3a position, the movable stop 34c becomes raised by projection 34e so that the hook 34m of said stop passes the corner 34k of the latch, which is thereupon caused by the spring 34j to drop into engagement through its arm 34h with the curved periphery of the bearing part 34b, so that the movable stop becomes held raised by the latch, this setting of the parts leaving the handle entirely free for reciprocation at this stage in either direction as may be required for reverse feeding and also, after return to neutral, to be swung to the right with the movable stop 34c raised clear of the fixed stop 34a. During this clockwise swinging the latch becomes raised due to the engagement of its arm 34h with the lift pin 34i (see Fig. 3c) thereby releasing the movable stop ready for re-engagement with the fixed stop, as the lever 260 returns again to neutral. Additional or alternative means for preventing fouling of the joint or seal of the previously connected loop, if still in position in the binding plane, by the forwardly projected end of the strip, may be exactly as set forth in Specification 848,211. Preventing operation when material for forming joint is exhausted. The connecting device may be of the type using strip material 33a, Fig. 2, to form a sleeve around the overlapping ends of the binding material. A feeler 33 may be pressed by spring means 33b against the material 33a so that when this material 33a is exhausted the spring 33b deflects the feeler 33 to cause an arm 33c thereon to engage in a slot 32e in the lever 32c, thus preventing further operation of the machine.