Patent ID: 8720326

Claim:
A sealing head for a strapping machine for feeding a steel strapping material around a load, tensioning the strapping material and welding the strapping material to itself in an end-to-end weld, the strapping material conveyed along a strap path, the sealing head comprising: a body; a drive; an end grip disposed at about an inlet to the body; a cutter; an anvil; a shuttle configured to move transverse to the strap path; a grip clamp; and a loop grip disposed downstream of the end grip, the loop grip carried on a loop grip carriage, the loop grip carriage movable in a direction along the strap path, wherein a leading end of strapping material is secured by the end grip, a loop portion of the strap is gripped by the loop grip and severed by the cutter to form a loop end of the strapping material, the loop end being secured by the grip clamp, wherein the loop grip carriage moves the loop end toward the leading end as current is passed though the loop end and the leading end to weld the loop end and leading end to one another in an end-to-end weld, and wherein the cutter and the grip clamp are carried on the shuttle.