Patent ID: 7421944

Claim:
A strap joint rotating assembly for use with a strapping machine of the type for feeding a strapping material around a load, positioning, tensioning and sealing the strapping material around the load, the strapping machine having a feed head for feeding the strapping material into the strapping machine, a strap chute through which the strapping material is passed and a sealing head to seal overlapping courses of the strapping material to one another to define a strap loop having a seal and defining a strap loop plane, the strapping material traversing from the feed head, through the strap chute and sealing head to define a strap path, the strap joint rotating assembly, comprising: a driven wheel having an axis of rotation generally perpendicular to the strap loop plane, the driven wheel positioned within a fixed portion of the strap chute; a pinch wheel has an axis of rotation and is carried on a wheel block, the wheel block pivots to move the pinch wheel into and out of the strap loop plane, the movement of the pinch wheel into the strap loop plane defines an arcuate path, in which the rotation axis of the pinch wheel is not parallel to the rotation axis of the driven wheel, the pinch wheel, when in the strap loop plane, having its axis of rotation parallel to the axis of rotation of the driven wheel, the pinch wheel being further movable linearly upwardly toward the driven wheel to pinch the strapping material between the driven wheel and the pinch wheel, wherein the driven wheel is driven to rotate the strap loop around the load and to reposition the seal around the load.