Patent Description:
Cable ties, which are sometimes referred to as "band clamps," are typically used to bundle wiring, to secure back shells to cables, to secure heat shields to pipes, and secure signage to poles. Cable ties are generally comprised of a band with an interconnected head that acts as a buckle that secures a free end of the band after a predetermined tension has been achieved. Some bands have had operatively interconnected buckles or seals, instead of an integrated head, that are used to secure the band's free end.

Tensioning tools are used to tighten cable ties. For example, the tensioning tool described in <CIT> employs a band gripping mechanism (also denoted a "tension block") that repeatedly grips and moves a portion of the band, which tensions the band about objects being banded. More specifically, to tension the band, the tension block is first moved along a length of the band in a first direction, generally toward the objects being banded. The tension block then engages the band and moves generally away from the objects being banded to incrementally tension the band. The tension block grips the band with a cylindrical pin having an axis that is oriented along the width of the band. The cylindrical pin may be biased by a spring, or other biasing device, to ensure firm engagement with the band when the tension block is pulled away from the objects being banded. After the tension block has moved its full extent away from the objects being banded, the tension block is released from the band so that it can be moved to another location on the band to begin another incremented tension cycle. When the tension block is moved, band tension is maintained by a front gripper that selectively contacts the band between the tension block and the objects being banded.

<FIG> shows a band tightening tool <NUM> of the prior art and illustrates the tensioning steps described above. More specifically, the tension block <NUM> and the front gripper <NUM> spaced therefrom. The band <NUM> is threaded through both the tension block <NUM> and the front gripper <NUM>. The tension block <NUM> includes a proximal end <NUM> which is closer to the objects being banded <NUM> than a distal end <NUM>. The dashed outline of the tension block <NUM> represents the movement of the proximal end <NUM> towards the objects <NUM>. The tension block <NUM> further includes a platform <NUM> that supports the band <NUM> as it passes through the tension block <NUM>. The tension block <NUM> also includes a lateral opening <NUM> that inclines toward the platform <NUM> toward the proximal end <NUM> of the tension block <NUM>. The tension block <NUM> further includes a gripping pin (or gripper) <NUM> that is operatively positioned and movable within the lateral opening <NUM>. The pin <NUM> is biased by a biasing member (not shown) that moves the gripping pin <NUM> in the direction of arrow <NUM> to firmly engage the band <NUM>. When the tension block <NUM> moves in the direction of arrow <NUM>, the gripping pin <NUM> is not biased and is able to slide on the surface of the band <NUM>. However, when the tension block <NUM> is moved away from the objects <NUM> (i.e., in the direction of arrow <NUM>), the gripping pin <NUM> moves toward a proximal end <NUM> of the lateral opening <NUM> and frictionally engages and grips the band <NUM>.

The front gripper <NUM> also includes an inclined lateral opening <NUM> and a gripping pin <NUM> that moves within the opening <NUM>. The gripping pin <NUM> is biased toward a proximal end <NUM> of the opening <NUM>. When the tension block <NUM> is not tensioning the band <NUM>, i.e., moving in the direction of arrow <NUM>, the gripping pin <NUM> of the front gripper <NUM> frictionally engages the band <NUM> so that it is not slackened by a band tension counterforce acting in the direction of arrow <NUM>. Once the tension block <NUM> has completed its movement toward the front gripper <NUM>, it reverses direction, thereby causing the gripping pin <NUM> to securely engage the band <NUM> and pull it in the direction of arrow <NUM>. Movement of the band <NUM> in the direction of arrow <NUM> causes the gripping pin <NUM> to disengage from the band <NUM>, thereby allowing the band <NUM> to be pulled into the band tightening tool <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the interconnection of the blade <NUM> to the tool head <NUM>. Here, the prior art blade <NUM> is shown rotatably interconnected to the tool head <NUM> via a pin <NUM> that is attached to sidewalls of the tool head <NUM>. Forces acting on the blade <NUM>, which are generated by the knife <NUM>, will be reacted by the <NUM>. Forces will also be transmitted through the pin <NUM> to the sidewalls of the tool head, which often weakens or damages the same.

After the tension block and the front gripper perform their respective duties, the band is severed and clamped, i.e., locked to a buckle or seal. A stationary blade is provided beneath the front gripper and a movable knife is provided forward of the front gripper. The knife moves relative to the blade to sever a band located therebetween. More specifically, once the desired band tension is achieved, a linkage is used to move the knife closer to the blade which compresses the band and eventually severs the same. The gap between the knife edge and the blade edge is preferably maintained within a predetermined tolerance that will ensure bands are cut in the most effective manner, even after many cutting cycles.

One drawback of prior art tensioning tools is that downward pressure from the knife is transmitted through the band and to the blade, which stresses the blade and adversely affects its effectiveness. Band cutting is also adversely affected because the blade edge is spaced from the blade's attachment point, i.e., the location where pressure acting on the blade's cutting edge is reacted. Over time, the blade may be prone to flex, which can lead to fatigue and ultimately failure.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that cutting will eventually weaken the blade and cause it to yield or fracture. Unfortunately, the failure rate and mode is unpredictable, wherein the blade may fail after <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> bands are tensioned. When blades fail, the tools are shipped from the end user to the factory for blade or knife replacement, which is expensive, costly, and time consuming.

As alluded to above, blade support of prior art tools is not ideal and blade damage is common. The primary failure mode is blade edge degradation and, in some instances, fracture. More specifically, the blade of prior art tools is rotatably interconnected to a tool head. Further, the blade of some prior art tools possesses an internal non-cutting edge that engages the tool head to react loads generated at an external cutting edge of the blade when the knife contacts the band positioned between the knife and the blade. This complex design came from a desire to provide a blade with two edges such that when one was damaged, the blade could be removed and rotated to locate the previously non-used blade adjacent to the knife.

Another drawback of prior art tensioning tools is that the knife does not travel in a smooth, continuous manner, thus a gap between the knife and the blade is not consistent, which affects cutting performance and can increase blade loads. For example, if the space between the knife's cutting edge and the blade's cutting edge is too wide, knife travel may be inadequate to sever the band as material will deform between the knife edge in the blade edge. If the gap is too narrow, excess loads generated by the knife will be transferred to the blade and cause damage.

In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a banding tool that maintains tolerance between the knife and blade, which increases blade life.

In accordance with the invention, a band tensioning tool as defined in claim <NUM> is provided.

Other aspects of the invention are defined by the dependent claims.

Existing tools often have difficulty in cutting thinner cable ties. More specifically, because of tolerance stack between the cutter knife (moving portion) and the blade (stationary portion), the gap between the two components that affect cutting may vary over time. Often, the gap will generally increase over time and the cable tie will deform instead of severing as a knife passes the blade. It is thus another aspect of the present invention to control the distance between the blade's cutting surface and the knife. By maintaining a tight tolerance between these two components, thinner bands can be formed and severed without bending.

One embodiment of the present invention achieves this goal of maintaining tight tolerances by including a blade with an integrated knife housing. The knife housing includes a channel that slidingly receives the knife. In this fashion the tolerance between the knife and the blade is maintained because the knife's movement is limited by the knife channel. The blade edge also interacts with a load point that is near the blade edge, which reduces damaging loads acting on the blade. Furthermore, by maintaining the tolerance between the knife and the blade edge, the gap between these two components can be maintained after many uses.

Further aspects of the present invention are provided in the following embodiments:
A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge.

A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge, wherein the first channel has an internal profile, comprising a first planar surface, a second planar surface, and a third planar surface, wherein the second and third planar surfaces are generally orthogonal to the first planar surface.

A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge, wherein the first channel has an internal profile, comprising a first planar surface, a second planar surface, and a third planar surface, wherein the second and third planar surfaces are generally orthogonal to the first planar surface, wherein the knife has a first lateral surface and a second lateral surface that correspond with the second planar surface and the third planar surface of the first channel.

A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge, wherein the first channel and second channel are orthogonal.

A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge, wherein the knife includes a cutting edge, which cooperates with the blade edge to sever the band, and a band deformation edge spaced from the cutting edge, the band deformation edge adapted to contact a buckle associated with the band and deform the same.

A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge, wherein the knife is operatively interconnected to a cutter arm by way of a pin, wherein rotation of the cutter arm moves the knife from the first position of use to the second position of use.

A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge, wherein the knife channel and the band channel are formed in the same homogenous piece of material.

A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge, wherein the knife channel and the band channel are formed in the same homogenous piece of material, further comprising means for interconnecting to a head of the banding tool.

A band cutting apparatus for a banding tool, comprising: a knife; a first channel for operative receipt of the knife, the knife capable of assuming a first position of use away from an open, distal end of the first channel, and a second position of use adjacent to the distal end of the first channel; and a second channel adapted to receive a band, the second channel having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening further comprising a blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever a band positioned in the second channel and between the distal end of the first channel and the blade edge, wherein walls of the first channel substantially correspond with an outer profile of the knife.

A knife adapted for use in a banding tool having a blade member with a channel defined by planar surfaces, the blade member also having a blade edge spaced from an opening of the channel, comprising: a first lateral surface and a second lateral surface that correspond with corresponding planar surfaces of the channel of the blade member; a cutting edge, which cooperates with the blade edge to sever a band; and a band deformation edge spaced from the cutting edge, the band deformation edge adapted to contact a buckle associated with the band and deform the same.

A knife adapted for use in a banding tool having a blade member with a channel defined by planar surfaces, the blade member also having a blade edge spaced from an opening of the channel, comprising: a first lateral surface and a second lateral surface that correspond with corresponding planar surfaces of the channel of the blade member; a cutting edge, which cooperates with the blade edge to sever a band; and a band deformation edge spaced from the cutting edge, the band deformation edge adapted to contact a buckle associated with the band and deform the same, wherein the blade member includes a second channel adapted to receive the band, the second channel having a first opening near the opening of the channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the first opening comprising the blade edge that cooperates with the knife to sever the band positioned in the second channel and between the opening of the channel and the blade edge.

The present invention is set forth in various levels of detail in the Summary of the Invention as well as in the attached drawings and the Detailed Description of the Invention.

These and other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure of the invention(s) contained herein.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of these inventions.

To assist in the understanding of one embodiment of the present invention the following list of components and associated numbering found in the drawings is provided herein:.

In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

<FIG> show a banding tool <NUM> of embodiments of the present invention that is designed to tension and secure a band clamp comprising a band and a band locking head. The banding tool <NUM> includes a head <NUM> interconnected to a handle <NUM>. A tension handle <NUM> and a cutoff handle <NUM> are rotatably interconnected to the head <NUM> and move relative to the handle <NUM>. A hook <NUM> is also rotatably interconnected to the head <NUM> and is adapted to fix the tension of a band inserted into the head <NUM>. The head <NUM> also accommodates a blade <NUM> that is operatively associated with a knife <NUM>. As in the existing banding tools, a front gripper <NUM> is used to tension the band by operation of the tension handle <NUM>. The operation of this embodiment of the present invention is a very similar to that shown and described in <CIT> mentioned above.

<FIG> and <FIG> show the inner workings of one embodiment of the present invention. The handle <NUM> includes a spring <NUM> that is positioned about a rod <NUM>. The rod <NUM> cooperates with a transfer lever <NUM> to dictate the amount of tension that can be applied to the band. In operation, the tension handle <NUM> is cycled toward and away from the handle <NUM> to move a tension block <NUM> and a gripper to tension the band <NUM>. Again, the spring <NUM> position within the handle <NUM> will dictate the maximum tension that can be applied to the band as discussed in <CIT>. Once the desired tension is achieved, the hook <NUM> is moved toward the handle <NUM> to lock the band at the desired tension. The cutoff handle <NUM> then is rotated towards the handle <NUM> which rotates the cutter arm <NUM> and moves the knife <NUM> downwardly to sever the band <NUM>. Again, the mechanism contemplated by this embodiment of the present invention is similar to the Applicant's patents mentioned above.

<FIG> show the improved blade <NUM> and knife <NUM> of some embodiments of the present invention. More specifically, the blade of the prior art is replaced by a housing <NUM>, that is statically interconnected to the head <NUM>. The housing <NUM> includes the blade <NUM> with and integrated knife channel <NUM>. The knife channel <NUM> may have a square profile that prevents significant rotation of the knife <NUM> within the knife channel <NUM>. The blade <NUM> also includes a channel <NUM> for receipt of the band. As shown in <FIG>, the band channel <NUM> is adapted to receive a band such that the blade edge is positioned beneath the band and a knife <NUM> is positioned above the band.

Referring to <FIG>, in operation, when the cutoff handle <NUM> is actuated, the cutter arm <NUM> rotates along arrow <NUM>, which moves the knife <NUM> downwardly along arrow <NUM> to sever the band. As described in detail below, this configuration maintains a tolerance between the blade edge and the knife <NUM> such that stainless steel bands can be severed.

<FIG> shows the knife <NUM> of one embodiment of the present invention that includes a cutting edge <NUM> and a deformation edge <NUM>. That is, knife <NUM> may employs an arcuate cutting edge <NUM> and a cable tie head deformation edge <NUM>. The cutting edge <NUM> initially contacts the band and is used with the blade to sever the band. Thereafter, the deformation edge <NUM> contacts the cable tie's locking feature, e.g., the cable tie head, and deforms the same.

As one of ordinary skill will appreciate, the tool described herein can be made to operate pneumatically as shown in <FIG>. More specifically, the tensioning arm and cutoff handle can replace by a pneumatic system <NUM> such that pneumatic forces are used to operate the tension block and other associated components described herein. Such systems are described in the Applicant's patent described above.

Claim 1:
(Currently Amended) A banding tool, comprising:
a head (<NUM>) connected to a handle (<NUM>);
a knife (<NUM>) comprising a band cutting edge (<NUM>) having an arcuate shape and a buckle deformation edge (<NUM>) spaced from the band cutting edge (<NUM>); and
a blade housing (<NUM>) statically connected to the head (<NUM>), the blade housing (<NUM>) having a first channel (<NUM>) for operative receipt of the knife, the knife positioned away from an open, distal end of the first channel when in the first position, and positioned adjacent to the distal end of the first channel when in the second position, the blade housing having a second channel (<NUM>) adapted to receive a band, the second channel oriented orthogonal to the first channel and having a first opening near the distal end of the first channel, and a second opening spaced from the first opening, the second channel adapted to receive the band , the first opening further comprising a blade edge (<NUM>) integral with the blade housing (<NUM>) that cooperates with the band cutting edge (<NUM>) of the knife to sever the band positioned in the second channel and between said distal end of said first channel and said blade edge.