Abstract:
A bale dewiring system for removing one or more wires wrapped around a bale from the bale includes a frame, a bale receiving region defined by the frame and defining a longitudinal direction, an upper compression platen mounted to the frame for vertically moving into contact with the bale to compress the bale, and side compression plates movable in the longitudinal direction into contact with the bale to compress the bale. A rail is operably mounted to the upper platen for vertical movement therewith. A cutting assembly is mounted to the rail for movement along the rail for cutting the one or more wires. A winding assembly is operably mounted to the frame and includes a rotating winding element having a wire receiving region and a wire winding region for winding the cut wires to remove the wires from the bale.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a system for handling and dewiring bales. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a system for removing wire from bales, controlling decompression of the bale and collecting the removed wire. 
   Many items are bundled or baled for handling, transport and storage. For example, recycled materials are often gathered and bundled together, in a bale, for ease of transportation and handling. In the case of plastics for recycling, the bale of material for recycling is maintained by wire that is wrapped around the material to compress the material. 
   The material is often well compressed. As such, as the wire is severed or removed from the bale, the material will rapidly expand to a less compressed (or decompressed) state. In order to use the material, e.g., feed the material into a recycling process, the wire must be removed and the material loosened. Subsequent processes can include sorting, foreign object removal and cleaning. 
   Typically, dewiring (or more generally depackaging) operations were carried out manually. In such an operation, an operator would manually cut the wire or strapping. Moreover, such manual operations can be time consuming and can possibly cause injury. 
   One known automated dewiring system is configured such that as the wires are cut and the bale expands, the material expands into a confined space. As such, the space into which the material can expand is limited. In the event that the material expands to a volume greater than anticipated, the material can be come lodged in the system and disrupt operations. 
   In such a system the wires are cut by a saw that traverses along the entire length of the bale. While this functions well to sever the wire, it tends to burn the recycling materials due to the friction generated by the blade rotating through the material. 
   Accordingly, there is a need for a bale dewiring system that compresses a baled load prior to severing the baling wires. Desirably, such a system is configured to control the expansion of the bale (after the wire is cut), and to collect the wire after cutting for disposal. Most desirably, such a system minimizes operator time and attention required to maintain the system operating. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A bale dewiring system is configured for removing one or more wires wrapped around a bale from the bale. The system includes a frame, a receiving region for receiving the bale, an upper compression platen mounted to the frame, side compression plates, a cutting assembly and a wire winding assembly. 
   The upper compression platen moves vertically into contact with the bale to compress the bale. The cutting assembly is mounted to a rail that is mounted to the upper platen for vertical movement with the platen. The rail is mounted transverse to the longitudinal direction of the dewiring system. 
   The side compression plates are movable in the longitudinal direction into contact with the bale to compress the bale, and out of contact with the bale. The bale is compressed prior to cutting the wires to control the rate of decompression of the bale. The side compression plates move in a direction transverse to the movement of the cutting assembly. 
   The winding assembly is configured to wind the cut wire. The winding assembly includes a rotating winding element having a wire receiving region and a wire winding region. 
   In a present system, the cutting element is movable into contact with the bale and wire to cut the wire and out of contact with the bale following cutting the wire. Movement into and out of contact with the bale is controlled by a sensor that senses when the cutting element is near a wire and moves the cutting element into contact with the wire. Movement of the cutting element is independent of the cutting assembly movement along the rail. 
   The winding element is configured having a rotating shaft. A longitudinal slot is formed in the shaft for receiving the wire such that wire winds around the shaft as the shaft rotates. The winding assembly can include a sleeve and a retaining cap operably connected to the sleeve. The sleeve and cap are spaced from one another. The sleeve is disposed about the shaft and the retaining cap is disposed above the sleeve and movable longitudinally along the shaft between a loading/unloading position and a winding position. When in the loading/unloading position, the cap is raised and is spaced from an end of the shaft and the sleeve is disposed at the shaft wire winding region. When in the winding position, the cap is at the top of the shaft and the sleeve is disposed longitudinally downward away from and exposing the shaft wire winding region. 
   In such an arrangement, the sleeve includes a longitudinal slot and the sleeve slot and shaft slot align with one another when the sleeve and cap are in the loading/unloading position. A present system includes a plurality of winding assemblies and a common drive is operably connected to each of the assemblies for driving the rotating elements together. 
   The system includes a conveyor for moving the bales along the longitudinal direction. An operator station is positioned adjacent the winding assemblies at the longitudinal end of the system. A gate disposed between the operator station and the winding assemblies. The gate is configured to move between an open position and a closed position when the winding elements are rotating. A wire guide is associated with each of the winding assemblies. The wire guides are disposed between the winding assemblies and the receiving region to guide the wires between the bale and the winding assemblies. 
   These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The benefits and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a bale dewiring system embodying the principles of the present invention, the system being shown with a bale in the receiving region; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the bale dewiring system; 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the bale dewiring system; 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of the upper carriage; 
       FIG. 5  is a front view of the carriage; 
       FIG. 6  is a top view of the upper platen; 
       FIG. 7  is a front view of the upper platen; 
       FIG. 8  is a side view of the saw assembly mounted to the saw rail; 
       FIG. 9  is a side view of the saw assembly; 
       FIG. 10  is a front view of the saw assembly mounted to the rail; 
       FIG. 11  is a front view of the saw assembly; 
       FIG. 12  is a front view of the receiving region gate; 
       FIG. 13  is a side view of a winding assembly; 
       FIG. 14  is a front view of the winding assembly; and 
       FIGS. 15A and 15B  are illustrations of the winding assembly, showing the post, sleeve, cap and connecting arm, in the loading/unloading position and the winding position, respectively. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated. 
   It should be understood that the title of this section of this specification, namely, “Detailed Description Of The Invention”, relates to a requirement of the United States Patent Office, and does not imply, nor should be inferred to limit the subject matter disclosed herein. 
   Referring now to the figures and in particular to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a bale dewiring system  10  embodying the principles of the present invention. The system  10  is configured to safely remove wire W (or strapping) from a compressed bale B with minimal operator interface. Bales can be, for example, cardboard, plastic or fiber material that is highly compressed. Briefly, in operation, the system  10  receives a bale B, compresses the bale (to control later expansion), severs or cuts the wire or strapping W, releases the bale B (in a controlled manner) and winds the wire W for disposal. 
   The dewiring system  10  includes a conveyor  12  to move bales B into the system  10  and to move the decompressed material out of the system  10 , a receiving station  14 , a compression station  16 , a cutting station  18 , and a wire winding station  20 . The conveyor  12  is configured to receive a wired or strapped bale B and convey the bale B in the compression station  16 . The conveyor  12  receives the bale B with the wire W oriented in the direction of movement of the bale (indicated generally by the arrow at  22 ); that is, the wires W are oriented along the path of travel of the bale B. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that this orientation is quite advantageous over the transverse orientation of known systems. In this orientation, the direction of expansion or decompression of the bale B is in the direction of travel  22  of the bale B, i.e., along the conveyor path  24 . Thus, expansion of the bale B is not limited by the sides  26  of the apparatus that define the conveyor path. Rather, the bale B is allowed to expand in the direction of travel  22 , along the conveyor, without undue restriction by the side walls  26  of the apparatus  10 . 
   The compression region  16  includes an upper platen  28  that compresses the bale B downward, and a pair of lateral or side plates  30  that compress the bale B inward in the direction of baling. That is, in the compression region  16 , the bale B is compressed downward and inward in the compressed direction. 
   The upper platen  28  is moved or driven by a plurality of hydraulic cylinders  32  that “pull” the upper platen  28  downward. In a present bale dewiring device  10 , a carriage  34  carries the upper platen  28  and the four cylinders  32  drive the carriage  34  to move the upper platen  28 . Cylinders  32  are positioned at about respective corners of the carriage  34 . 
   As seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 , the  32  cylinder is mounted, at an upper end, to a fixed portion of the frame  36 . A lower end of the cylinder  32  is mounted to a foot  38 , to which a leg  40  of the upper platen carriage  34  is also mounted. In this manner, as the cylinder  32  retracts, it “pulls” the foot  38 , raising the carriage  34 , which in turn raises the upper platen  28 . Conversely, extension of the cylinder  32  “pushes” the foot  38  down, which, in turn lowers the carriage  34  and the platen  28  (which compresses the bale). 
   The side plates  30  and the cutting assembly  42  are likewise carried by the carriage  34 . In this manner, the entirety of the compression station  16  and the cutting assembly  42  are moved up and down with raising and lowering of the upper platen  28 . 
   Longitudinal side compression is accomplished by the side plates  30  that, like the upper platen  28 , move toward and away from the bale B to effect the desired compression. The side compression plates  30  are suspended from the carriage  34  and move toward and away from one another by actuation of a drive  44 . In a present system  10 , side plate  30  drive is effectuated by a plurality of (lateral) hydraulic cylinders  44  that move the compression plates  30  toward and away from one another. The lateral cylinders  44  are positioned at about the top of the carriage  34 , out of the way of the bale B (i.e., out of the receiving area  14 ). The side (plate) compression is provided so that decompression of the bale B, following cutting of the wires W, occurs in a controlled manner. That is, the bale B is compressed by inward movement of the side plates  30 . The wires W are then cut and the bale B expands (decompresses) up against the side plates  30 . The side plates  30  are subsequently reversed and moved outward in a controlled manner to allow controlled decompression (or expansion) of the bale B. 
   The cutting assembly  42  is operably mounted to the upper platen  28  for (up and down) movement with the platen  28 . The cutting assembly  42  is mounted to a bridge or rail  46  that is mounted to the upper platen  28  for traversing across the top of the dewiring apparatus  10 . A cutting device  48 , such as the illustrated saw, moves along the rail  46  transverse to the bale B, in such a manner as to traverse the bale B transverse (substantially perpendicular) to the wires W. That is, the saw  48  moves transverse to the direction of movement of the bale B in the apparatus  10  to cut the wires W that hold the bale B compressed. 
   In that the saw  48  develops a fairly considerable amount of friction as it moves through the bale B, the dewiring apparatus  10  includes a sensor  50  that senses the presence of the wire W and is operably connected to a controller  86  that actuates a drive  52  to move the saw  48  downward into contact with the wire W (and the bale B) to cut the wire W. In this manner the saw  48  reciprocates up (out of contact with the bale B) when it is in a position other than for wire W cutting. This prevents generating unnecessary friction by maintaining the rotating saw blade  54  out of contact with the bale B when the blade  54  is not cutting wire W. This saves wear on the saw blade  54 , reduces heat generation in the material and can reduce contamination and destruction of the material due to overheating and/or burning. 
   The wire sensor  50  moves along the rail  46  with the saw assembly  42 . The sensor  50 , however, is positioned low (relative to the saw assembly  42 ) so that it contacts or is in close proximity to the bale B. In this manner, the sensor  50  remains close to (or on) the bale B, while the saw  48  moves up and down into and out of contact with the bale B as the blade  54  nears the wire W. Close proximity of the sensor  50  to the bale B, and eliminating the up-and-down movement of the sensor  50  permits the sensor  50  to more accurately sense the location of the baling wires W. 
   In order to remove the wires W from the bales B (after being cut), the apparatus  10  includes a wire winding station  20  having a plurality of wire winding assemblies  56 . The wire winding assemblies  56  are configured to collect the wires, into a readily handled winding (e.g., a “ball” of wire), for easy, safe handling. 
   The winding assemblies  56  (five shown in the illustrated embodiment) each include a winding post  58  operably connected to a drive  60  to rotate the post  58 . The post  58  has a longitudinal slot  66  formed therein for receiving the wire W. As such, with the wire W pulled into the post slot  66 , as the post  58  rotates, the wire W is pulled from the bale B and wound onto the post  58 . In a present embodiment, the posts  58  are driven by a common drive  60  having a shaft  64  and mating crown gears  62  (one set for each post  58 ) to drive each of the posts  58  from the shaft  64 . 
   In order to retain the wires W on their respective posts  58  and guide the wires W, each winding assembly  56  includes a stationary wire guide  68  around which the wire W is threaded. The guide  68  provides a predetermined path through which the wire W traverses toward the winding post  58 . The guide  68  is spaced from the post  58  (and positioned between the bale B and the post  58 ) to prevent tangling of the wire W as it is pulled from the bale B onto the post  58 . 
   The assembly  56  also includes a retaining cap  70  and sleeve  72  that move (as a single unit) up and down on the post  58 , such that the cap  70  moves into and out of engagement with the top  71  of the post  58 . The cap  70  and sleeve  72  are connected to one another by a connecting arm  76 . The retaining cap  70  and sleeve  72  move down so that the cap  70  is engaged with (e.g., disposed at the top  71  of) the post  58  as the wire W is wound on the post  58 . This prevents the wire W from inadvertently exiting the top of (slot  66  in) the post  58 . The retaining sleeve  72  is disposed around the post  58  and, like the post  58 , includes a longitudinal slot  74 . The sleeve  72 , however, does not rotate with the post  58 . Rather, when the wire W is being loaded onto the winding assembly  56 , the retaining cap  70  and sleeve  72  are in the up or loading/unloading position ( FIG. 15A ). In this position, the cap  70  is raised and is spaced (upwardly) from the top  71  of the post  58 . Also while in this position the sleeve  72  is up, and is longitudinally at about the same height as the post  58  (thus surrounding the post  58 ). In the loading/unloading position the post slot  66  and the sleeve slot  74  are aligned with one another. 
   The cap  70  and sleeve  72  then move downward ( FIG. 15B ). This positions the cap  70  at the top of the post  58  to prevent the wire W from corning off of the post  58 . This also drops the sleeve  72  from about the post  58 , thus exposing the post  58 . Although the sleeve  72  drops down, the wire W remains threaded through the post slot  66 . 
   The drive  60  is then actuated and the wire W is wound onto the post  58 . When winding is complete, the cap  70  and sleeve  72  move up. This raises the cap  70  from the post  58  and, at the same time, moves the sleeve  72  up about the outside of post  58 , thus pushing the wound wire W up on the top or lip  88  of the sleeve  72  and off of the post  58 . The wire W is thus set up on top of the post  58  and sleeve  72  and is readily removed. Because the wire W winds around the post  58 , it forms a “ball” of wire that is safe and easy to handle and ready for disposal. 
   In a present embodiment, the caps  70  and sleeves  72  from each of the assemblies  56  mounted to a common bracket  78  to move the caps  70  and sleeves  72  between the loading/unloading and winding positions together. The bracket  78  can be moved up and down (i.e., driven) by, for example, the exemplary cylinder  80 , or like drive device. 
   The apparatus  10  can include safety gates and safety bars. A first entrance gate  82  extends across the entrance to the receiving station  14 . The gate  82  moves up and down, to move into place after placing the bale B in position on the conveyor  12 . 
   A guard  92  ( FIG. 1 ) is positioned between the winding assemblies  56  and the operator station  84 . As the winding assemblies  56  are actuated (as the caps  70  and sleeves  72  move down to expose the posts  58 ), the guard  92  moves up to prevent the operator from reaching in to the area of the winding assemblies  56  and to prevent debris for being ejected from about the winding assemblies  56 . 
   In use, the entrance gate  82  is up and an operator loads the bale B into the dewiring apparatus  10 . It is anticipated that the bale B will be loaded into the apparatus  10  using a forklift. The bale B is placed on the conveyor  12 , with the wires W oriented in the direction of movement  22  of the conveyor  12 . 
   The operator then actuates a control system  86  to begin a cycle. The entrance gate  82  closes and the upper platen  28  moves down to contact and downwardly compress the bale B. The side compression plates  30  move inward to inwardly compress the bale B (in the direction of the baling wire W orientation). 
   The cutting assembly  42  is actuated and the saw assembly moves along the rail  46 . As the saw  48  moves along the rail  46 , the sensor  50 , which is positioned low on the rail  46 , senses the presence of a wire W, and signals the saw  48  to reciprocate downwardly and cut the wire W. The saw  48  then reciprocates back up, out of contact with the bale B (and the wire W) as the cutting assembly continues to move along the rail  46 . When the presence of another wire W is sensed, the saw  48  again reciprocates downwardly to cut the wire W and back up out of the bale B when cutting is complete. 
   When the saw assembly  42  reaches the terminal side of the rail  46 , the saw  48  reciprocates up (if in the downward position), the upper platen  28  begins to raise, moving away from the bale and the side compression plates  30  move away from the bale B. Due to the compressed nature of the bale B, the bale B expands; however, expansion is contained and is controlled by controlling the speed at which the upper platen  28  moves up and the side plates  30  move away from the bale B. 
   Following the upper platen  28  reaching the uppermost position and the side plates  30  reaching the outermost position, the operator (typically) actuates the conveyor  12  in the rearward direction to move the decompressed bale B toward the winding assemblies  56 . At this point in time, the winding assemblies  56  are in the loading/unloading position (as opposed to the winding position). The operator then loosens the cut wire W from the bale B and positions the wire W through the sleeve slot  74  and the winding post slot  66 . 
   The winding assembly  56  is then actuated which raises the (winding assembly) guard  92 , while lowering the cap  70  and sleeve  72 . This positions the cap  70  on the top of the post  58  (to prevent the wire W from jumping from the post  58 ) and exposes the post  58 . The drive  60  rotates to rotate the post  58  which winds the wire W onto the post  58 . When winding is complete, the drive  60  stops, the cap  70  and sleeve  72  rise which pushes the coiled wire W off of the post  58 , up on to the lip  88  of the sleeve  72  and into the space  90  between the cap  70  and sleeve  72 . The coiled or balled wire W is then readily removed and discarded. The operator can then start the conveyor  12  to move the (unbaled and) loosened material from the dewiring apparatus  10  to a downstream process. 
   All patents referred to herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, whether or not specifically done so within the text of this disclosure. 
   In the disclosures, the words “a” or “an” are to be taken to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any reference to plural items shall, where appropriate, include the singular. 
   From the foregoing it will be observed that numerous modification and variations can be effectuated without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated is intended or should be inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.