Package making – Partial cover application – Band or tube
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-24
2003-12-02
Rada, Rinaldi I. (Department: 3721)
Package making
Partial cover application
Band or tube
C053S399000, C053S588000, C100S025000, C100S026000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06655117
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a conventional arch type strapping machine, a strapping band is fed to a band guide in an arch member to wind the band around an article to be strapped, and the strapping band is cut and bonded to form a loop, whereby the article is strapped. Such arch type strapping machine is provided with a sealing mechanism for the strapping band. The sealing mechanism comprises a first gripper (hereinbelow, referred to as a right gripper) for fixing a top end of the strapping band fed into the band guide, a second gripper (hereinbelow, referred to as a left gripper) for fixing a rear portion of the strapping band after the band has been pulled back to be tightened and a compression head for compressing and bonding (in many cases, melt-bonding) the top end and the rear portion of the strapping band and cutting the rear portion of the band. The right gripper, the left gripper and the compression head are operated by driving cams attached to a shaft for sealing which is rotated and driven by a motor for sealing.
In the conventional arch type strapping machine, a step for pulling back the strapping band at a high speed and a step for tightening the band at a high torque intervene between the operation of the right gripper and the operation of the left gripper. Accordingly, in the operation of the above-mentioned sealing mechanism, it is necessary that the rotation of the shaft for sealing is once stopped after the right gripper has been operated, and the shaft for sealing is again rotated to cause the operations of the left gripper and the compression head after the step for pulling back the band at a high speed and the step for tightening the band at a high torque have been finished. Accordingly, it is difficult to rotate the shaft for sealing at a high speed whereby a demand of shortening the cycle of strapping can not be satisfied sufficiently. Further, the service life of the sealing mechanism is short because the number of times of temporary stop of the driving system in the sealing mechanism is many.
Further, in a conventional arch type strapping machine, an article is strapped by performing a band feeding step for feeding a strapping band into a band guide in an arch member, a first tightening step for winding the strapping band around an article to be strapped by returning quickly the band fed into the band guide, a second tightening step for tightening strongly the strapping band wound around the article by returning the band, and a step for bonding (in many cases, melt-bonding) a rear portion and a top end of the band wound around the article to be strapped and cutting the band. The band feeding step and the first and second tightening steps are carried out by a driving mechanism comprising a plurality of rollers for running and tightening the strapping band.
Such driving mechanism for the strapping band makes the size of the arch type strapping machine large because a plurality of driving rollers are used, e.g., a driving roller for performing the band feeding step as well as the first tightening step and a driving roller for performing the second tightening step being provided separately. Accordingly, this is contrary to a demand of reducing the size of the arch type strapping machine.
Further, in a conventional arch type strapping machine, an article is strapped with a strapping band in such a manner that the strapping band is fed into a groove formed in a band guide having a channel-like shape in cross section, an open side of which is pushed to an inner surface of the arch member; the strapping band fed into the band guide is wound around the article to be strapped by returning the band at a high speed; the strapping band wound around the article is tightened by pulling it back, and the cutting of a rear portion of the band and bonding (melt-bonding) of the rear portion to an top end of the band is conducted. The returning of the strapping band at a high speed is conducted immediately after the state that the strapping band leaves entirely or partly from the band guide, such state being obtainable by opening forcibly the band guide in a direction departing from the inner surface of the arch member with which the band guide is brought into contact.
The width or the height (in particular, the height) of the groove of the band guide is formed to be relatively small so that the strapping band can be certainly passed without causing the bending of a top end of the band. In the operation for opening the band guide, there is a possibility that the strapping band follows the movement of the band guide due to a frictional force between an inner surface of the groove and the strapping band, and the band remains in the groove. If the strapping band is tightened at a high speed in the state that the strapping band remains in the groove, an unusual deformation is caused instantaneously in the band guide at the time of leaving the strapping band, whereby the band guide is damaged.
Further, in a conventional arch type strapping machine, the strapping band is rewound from a band roll fitted to a band reel which is attached to an outer side of the arch type strapping machine, to be stored temporarily in a band accommodation chamber in the strapping machine. Then, the strapping band in the band accommodation chamber is successively fed into the band guide.
In many cases, the band reel comprises a supporting shaft having an end supported by the main body of the strapping machine, a reed portion attached to the supporting shaft so that at least a part (in many cases, a rear side plate) is removable from the supporting shaft, the reel portion being adapted to mount the band roll for the strapping band, and a nob attached to a rear end of the supporting shaft to fix the reel portion. When a used band roll mounted on the band reel is replaced by a new one, the nob and, for instance, the rear side plate are removed from the supporting shaft; the core member of the used band roll is removed from the reel portion; a new band roll is attached to a reel portion, and then, the rear side plate and the nob are fixed again to the supporting shaft.
In many cases, the structure for fitting the nob to the supporting shaft comprises a male screw formed in a rear end (the free end) of the supporting shaft and a female screw formed in the nob so that the nob can be fitted to the supporting shaft by rotating it several times of turn. Accordingly, in the replacement of the band roll, it is necessary to turn back the tightly fastened nob, and the nob is tightly fastened by rotating after new band roll is mounted. Accordingly, the working for replacing the band roll is troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an arch type strapping machine having a sealing mechanism for cutting and bonding a strapping band fed into the band guide of the strapping machine, which is capable of achieving the speed-up of strapping operations and having a long service life.
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an arch type strapping machine having a strapping band driving mechanism for feeding the strapping band into the band guide and pulling back the band, which is suitable for reducing the size of the strapping machine.
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an arch type strapping machine having a band reel adapted to mount a band roll on which the strapping band fed into the band guide is wound, which permits the fitting and the removal of a nob easily.
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an arch type strapping machine having a band driving-out device which can provide a state that the strapping band leaves certainly from a groove for receiving the band at the time of opening the band guide without losing a smooth opening operation of the band guide.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arch type strapping machine having a sealing mechanism which comprises a right gripper for fixing a top end of a strapping band fed into a band guide of the arch typ
Desai Hemant M
Nichiro Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Rada Rinaldi I.
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