Improvements in Bundling Machines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Apr., 1894-Accepted, 23rd June, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THE INTERNATIONAL WOOD WORKING
MACHINE COMPANY, of Passaic, New Jersey, United States of America.]
Improvements in Bundling Machines.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm Haseltine, Lake & Company, Patent
Agent, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention relates to improvements in that class of machines which are
adapted for use in compressing and bundling articles of various kinds; and the
object of our invention is to produce a machine which is especially adapted for
bundling kindling wood into a compact, even bundle, and which is adapted also to
tie a wire, or other binder, about the bundle so that the same may be held firmly
together after it has been removed from the machine.
To these ends the invention consists of certain features of construction and
combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in
all the views.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the machine embodying our invention;
Figure 2 is a broken front elevation, partly in section ;
Figure 3 is a broken enlarged detail view of the compressing jaws and shows in
section the mechanism for cutting the binding wire and twisting the ends of the wire
together;
Figure 4 is a front elevation of the twisting mechanism;
Figure 5 is a detail vertical section of the same on the line 5-5 in Figure 3;
Figure 6 is an inverted plan view of one of the cutters and its support; and
Figure 7 is a broken detail view, showing the hinge plate for closing the opening
at the upper end and at one side of the frame.
The machine is provided with a suitable frame 10, comprising similar side pieces
which are arranged near together and fastened in any convenient way, and the
upper end of the frame is curved in the center, as shown at 11, and is open at the.
top so as to form a nearly circular opening 12 in which the wood to be bundled is
held. The open upper end of the frame is provided on one side with a back
plate 13 which forms an abutment against which the ends of the pieces of kindling
wood, or other material to be bundled, are placed and this back plate has at the
top a curved flange 14 which forms a portion of the opening, next the plate, into a
circular shape and on the opposite side of the frame is a plate 15, similar to the
flange 14, but which is hinged to the frame 10 at one end, as shown at 16, (see
Figure 7) and at the opposite end is secured by a spring catch 17.
arrangement enables the plate 15 to be thrown back when the jaws in the top of
the frame are to be filled, so as to facilitate placing the wood into position to be
bundled, and after this is done, the plate is thrown back, the catch 17 fastens it,
and the two plates or flanges 14 and 15 overlap the ends of the wood so that when
the jaws apply the pressure to the wood, the latter will not be crowded up in the
middle and out of the paths of the jaws.
This
In the upper portion of the frame are curved levers 18 which are pivotted on a
common fulcrum 19, and the upper ends of the levers are formed into curved
jaws 20 which swing between the opposite sides of the frame and between the
plates 14 and 15, the jaws having their upper ends adapted to abut, as shown at 21,
so that the opening 12 between the jaws and in the upper portion of the frame is

page_text: circular. It will be understood, however, that this opening may be made of any
desired shape.
The lower ends of the levers are normally held together by springs 22 which are
secured to bolts 23 on the levers, so that the jaws normally fly open to receive the
wood. The levers 18 are, at their extreme ends, pivoted to toggle levers 24 which
extend inward and are pivoted at their inner ends on a shaft 25, which is preferably
encased in a sleeve 26 and this slides in the vertical guide slots 27 in the sides of
the machine.
The shaft 25 is connected by connecting rods 28 with a treadle lever 29 which is
fulcrumed on one side of the machine, as shown at 30, and extends to the front of
the machine, where it terminates in a suitable foot plate 31. It will be seen then that
when the jaws are open, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 1, the treadle will be
raised and the inner ends of the toggle levers 24 will be raised while the lower
ends of the levers 18 will be moved inward. The wood may thus be easily placed
between the jaws, and when pressure is applied to the treadle lever 29, the inner
ends of the toggle levers 24 are pulled down, thus forcing outward the lower ends
of the levers 18 and the jaws 20 are thrown together with great force, so that the
wood held between the jaws is pressed into a compact bundle.
To hold the wood in its compressed condition, a wire 34 is employed, which is
fed to the jaws beneath a curved tension spring 32 which is fixed to one of the
jaws, near the top, by means of a set screw 33. The wire 34 is adapted to be
placed in position in the jaws when they are opened, and its free end is held
between the jaws of a pair of nippers 36 which are secured to the twister 35 on the
free end of the jaw 20 opposite the one carrying the tension spring. The members
of the nippers 36 are fulcrumed on studs 37 on a support 38 of the twister 35, and
they are normally pressed together by a suitable spring 39.
The free end of the
wire is pushed up between the jaws and the nippers which are roughened on their
inner faces, as shown in Figure 3, and as the tension on the wire is downward, the
strain of the wire has a tendency to force the jaws together so that the wire cannot
be accidentally released.
The wire is made to follow the inner faces of the jaws 20 by pressing it to place
therein, or simply dropping it in a loop in the jaws, and its free end is held in the
nippers 36, as described, and its body portion passes beneath the tension spring.
The two members of the wire thus pass between the knives or cutters 40 and 41,
which are secured to the opposite jaws at their upper and adjacent ends, and the
cutting edges 42 and 43 of the knives are adapted to slide close together when the
jawe are closed, as shown in Figure 3, so that the wire which extends between
the knives is thus cut off.
The knife 40 is fastened rigidly to one of the jaws and the knife 41 is fastened
to the under side of the support 38, which is secured rigidly to the opposite jaw.
After passing between the knives, the members of the wire extend between the
jaws 45 of the nippers 46, but the wires are only in this position when the jaws 20
are closed. The jaws 45 of the nippers 46 extend a little to one side of the
nipper members, as shown clearly in Figure 3, so as to be sure to catch the wire.
The nippers 46 are like the ordinary nippers, comprising two similar members
which are pivoted together near the center, and the nippers extend downward
through a hole 44 in the knife 43, so that they will hold the wires together at a
point beneath the knives and this arrangement enables the nippers to catch the two
ends of the wire, after the wire has been severed by the knives, so that the ends
may be twisted together, as hereinafter described. The nippers 46 are pivoted, as
shown at 47, and the jaws 45 are normally thrown open by a spring 49 which forces
the upper ends 48 of the nippers towards each other.
The wire, after passing the nippers, extends downward through slots 50 in
throat plates 51 which are secured to the lower edges of the upper ends of the
jaws 20, and the inner edges of the throat plates are made to abut. The nippers 46
are carried in a revoluble post 52 which is held to turn in the support 38 and which
extends upwards above the support, at which point it has a ring 53 secured to it,

page_text: and the ring is provided with an outwardly extending arm 54 which, at one end, is
provided with a handle 55 and at the other with a knob 56, so that it may be
grasped at either end and turned. It will be seen that by turning the post 52, the
nippers will be also turned and the wire held by them will be twisted.
A threaded stem 57 extends through the upper portion of the post 52, and is
threaded in the post so that it may be turned up or down, as desired. This stem
has a suitable handle 58 at the top and its lower end 59 is rounded slightly and
enters between the upper ends 48 of the nippers 46, and by turning the stem
downward it spreads the upper ends of the nippers and throws the jaws 45 together.
The post 52 is normally pressed upward by a spring 60 which encircles it, and when
the post is turned to twist the wire, the twisting and consequent shortening of the
wire causes the post to be drawn down against the tension of the spring, and the
operator knows, when the spring is closed, that the wire is sufficiently twisted and
refrains from turning the post any further, thus saving the wire from being broken.
When the machine is to be operated the jaws are permitted to fly open, as
specified, the plate 15 is swung back, the wire is pulled from beneath the tension
spring 32 and dropped into the jaws in a loop, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 3,
its free end being held in the nippers 36, the wood is fed into the machine upon the
wire and against the back plate 13, and when the opening 12 is full, the plate 15 is
closed, the treadle 29 is thrown down thus forcing the jaws together, and when the
jaws come together, the wire is caught between the knives 40 and 41 and severed,
and this leaves the free ends of the wire sticking up through the slots 50 and
between the jaws of the nippers 46. The operator then gives the handle 58 a turn
which screws down the stem 57 and closes the nippers 46 upon the free ends of the
wires. The post 52 and nippers 46 are then given two or three turns, by means of
the handle connected with the post, and thus the wires are twisted together. The
handle 58 is then turned back and the jaws 20 permitted to fly open, when the
complete bundle may be removed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
1. The combination, with the oppositely moving jaws adapted to form a bundle
between them, of a wire-holding device near the free end of one jaw, a wire-
holding device near the free end of the opposite jaw, nippers carried by one of
the jaws and adapted to engage the ends of a binding wire, and mechanism for
twisting the wire ends together, substantially as described.
2. In a bundling machine, the combination, of the oppositely arranged jaws,
movable towards and away from each other, wire holders on the free ends of the
jaws, a twisting device to unite the ends of the wire, and knives actuated by the
jaws and arranged to cut the wire, substantially as described.
3. A bundling machine, comprising oppositely arranged jaws having curved
adjacent faces to form a bundle, a lever mechanism for forcing the jaws together,
and an abutment plate arranged opposite the opening in the jaws and provided
with a top flange to overlap a bundle formed between the jaws, substantially as
described.
4. A bundling machine, comprising a supporting frame having an opening in its
top, a back plate arranged opposite one side of the opening and provided with a
top flange projecting above the opening, a hinged plate secured to the frame and
adapted to close the opposite side of the opening at the top, and a pair of oppositely
arranged swinging jaws provided with curved inner faces and held to move through
the opening adjacent to the back plate, substantially as described.
5. The combination, with the oppositely swinging jaws adapted to form a bundle
between them, of a wire-holding device near the free end of one jaw, a wire-holding
device near the free end of the opposite jaw, knives carried by the jaws and adapted
to sever the wire, nippers carried by one of the jaws and adapted to engage the

page_text: severed ends of the wire, and mechanism for twisting the wire ends together,
substantially as described.
6. The combination, with the oppositely arranged jaws, of a tension device or
wire-holder near the free end of one jaw, a wire-holding device near the free end of
the opposite jaw, knives carried by the jaws and adapted to sever a wire by the
-closing of the jaws, revoluble nippers carried by one of the jaws and extending
below the knives to engage the wire ends, mechanism for closing the nippers upon
the wire ends, and a device for twisting the nippers and wires, substantially as
.described.
7. The combination, with the oppositely arranged compressing jaws, of a tension
device near the free end of one jaw adapted to hold a wire, nippers arranged near
the free end of the opposite jaw to engage the end of a wire, knives carried by the
jaws and adapted to cut the wire when the jaws are closed, a revoluble post held at
the free end of one of the jaws, a second set of nippers carried by the post and
extending beneath the knives to engage the wire, and a vertically movable stem
held in the post and adapted to close the second set of nippers upon the wire,
substantially as described.
8. The combination, with the oppositely arranged compressing jaws, of slotted
throat plates on the lower portion of the meeting faces of the jaws to guide a wire,
a wire-holding device near the free end of one jaw, a wire-holding device near the
free end of the opposite jaw, knives carried by the jaws and adapted to sever the
wire by the closing of the jaws, a revoluble post held to turn above the knives, a
pair of nippers pivoted in the post and extending downward between the knives
and the throat plates, and a revoluble and vertically movable stem threaded in the
post and adapted to close the nippers upon the wire ends, substantially as described.
9. A bundling machine, having its parts constructed and arranged substantially
as shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing
Specification.
A word way of
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.