Patent ID: 8312808

Claim:
Apparatus for bundling bars, comprising: an accumulator rotatable about a horizontal axis, said accumulator comprising a plurality of wheels carried on and fixed relative to a rotatable support shaft extending along said axis, with a plurality of notches in the peripheries of said wheels spaced angularly around said axis, and with teeth in the peripheries of said wheels between said notches; and drive means for rotating said accumulator about said axis to sequentially locate said notches at: a) a first station at which bars are received in said notches and accumulated in batches; b) a second station at which said batches are tied into bundles; and c) a third station at which said bundles are delivered from said notches to a bundle collector; said drive means comprising endless chains threaded around sprockets, with said sprockets being arranged to partially wrap said chains around the peripheries of said wheels and in engagement with said teeth.