Package making – Partial cover application – Band or tube
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-27
2001-07-17
Vo, Peter (Department: 3721)
Package making
Partial cover application
Band or tube
C053S589000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260337
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to hand strapping tools, and more particularly to a new and improved hand strapping tool wherein the feed wheel mounting structure within the tool facilitates and simplifies the replacement of the feed wheel when necessary due, for example, to normal wear of the wheel as a result of its use within such hand strapping tools under strap tensioning conditions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hand strapping tools are conventionally used to apply strapping material, made of either plastic, steel, or similar materials, around various articles, packages, or loads. In operating such a conventional hand strapping tool, the feed wheel, which is an element or component of the tool tensioning unit, is driven by a suitable motor drive and serves to tension the strapping material to a predetermined amount of tension as determined by stalling of the motor when the predetermined amount of tension level is attained. Subsequently, the strapping is joined and severed and a new article, package, load, or the like is readied for a strapping operation. As a result of such multiple strapping operations involving such tensioning processes, feed wheels undergo wear and therefore need to be replaced. However, with conventional hand strapping tools, the replacement of the feed wheel is not especially convenient and is quite time-consuming as can be better appreciated as a result of reference being made to
FIGS. 1 and 2
of the drawings.
FIGS. 1 and 2
disclose a conventional hand strapping tool which is generally indicated by the reference character
10
. Briefly, the hand strapping tool
10
comprises a tension unit
12
which includes a motor drive, not shown, and a gearbox
14
operatively connected to the tension unit motor drive. An output feedwheel shaft
16
projects laterally outwardly from one side of the gearbox portion
14
of the tension unit
12
, and a portion of the external periphery of the feedwheel shaft
16
has a hexagonal configuration. A feedwheel
18
, having a complementary internal hexagonal peripheral surface, is adapted to be mounted upon the feedwheel shaft
16
so as to be driven by the feedwheel shaft
16
as a result of the driving force generated by the tension unit motor drive and transmitted by the gearbox
14
. The feedwheel shaft
16
passes through an aperture
19
of a breaker foot
20
, and the feedwheel
18
is maintained upon the outer or distal end of the feedwheel shaft
16
by means of an outer link
22
, the outer link
22
also being provided with an aperture
23
through which the free or distal end of the feedwheel shaft
16
passes. The outer link
22
is in turn mounted upon a position link
24
by means of a pin
26
, wherein the position link
24
and pin
26
comprise a sub-assembly. Position link
24
is mounted upon a support rod
28
through means of another pin
30
. A hanger rod
32
, as shown in
FIG. 2
, has casting flanges or mounting brackets
34
, only one of which is shown in
FIG. 2
, mounted thereon upon respective opposite sides of the tool.
The tension unit
12
, the feedwheel assembly comprising the feedwheel shaft
16
and the feedwheel
18
, and the outer link
22
are mounted upon casting flanges
34
through means of a pivot shaft
36
and a nut
38
. The pivot shaft
36
and nut
38
permit the tension unit
12
, the feedwheel assembly comprising the feedwheel shaft
16
and the feedwheel
18
, and the outer link
22
to be pivotally movable between operative and inoperative positions with respect to upper and lower straps which are to be tensioned and joined together and which are shown at
42
and
44
respectively. The pivot shaft
36
is seen to extend or pass through apertures
37
,
39
,
41
, and
43
respectively provided within the casting flange
34
, outer link
22
, breaker foot
20
, and the gearbox portion
14
of the tension unit
12
. The motor drive of the tension unit
12
is activated by means of a manual trigger lever
40
.
It can thus be appreciated that when the feedwheel
18
needs to be replaced, the pivot shaft
36
must first be removed from the tool
10
whereby the entire tension unit assembly comprising the tension unit
12
, the feedwheel shaft
16
and feedwheel
18
, and the outer link
22
are disengaged and able to be removed from the casting flanges
34
. The outer link
22
and the pin
26
must then be removed as a sub-assembly from the position link
24
whereby access to the feedwheel
18
upon the feedwheel shaft
16
is then achieved such that the worn feedwheel
18
can now be replaced. Once the new feedwheel has been placed upon the feedwheel shaft
16
, the reverse procedures concerning the disposition or mounting of the outer link
22
and pin
26
upon the position link
24
, as well as the disposition or mounting of the entire tension unit assembly upon the casting flanges
34
by means of the pivot shaft
36
, must then be performed. It can therefore be appreciated that replacement procedures with respect to the feedwheel
18
, comprising the disassembly of the tool component parts, and the re-assembly of such parts, as noted hereinabove, can be quite time-consuming.
A need therefore exists in the art for a hand strapping tool wherein the structural assembly of the tension unit, and in particular, the mounting of the feedwheel thereon, is such that replacement of the feedwheel as necessary due to wear or other conditions, is considerably simplified in order to render the replacement procedure for the feedwheel relatively easy, straightforward, and quick with minimum production downtime.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hand strapping tool.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved hand strapping tool which effectively overcomes the various structural drawbacks of conventional hand strapping tools.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved hand strapping tool wherein the structural mounting of the feedwheel upon the tension unit is such as to render the exchange or replacement of the feedwheel relatively simple, straightforward, and quick so as to minimize production downtime.
A further object of the preset invention is to provide a new and improved hand strapping tool wherein the improved structural mounting of the feedwheel upon the tension unit comprises a minimum number of component parts such that conventional or existing hand strapping tools may be easily and readily retrofitted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved hand strapping tool wherein the mounting structure for the feedwheel assembly comprises a two-part or two-piece outer link comprising an upper outer link member and a lower outer link member. The upper outer link member is mounted upon the pivot shaft in a manner similar to the outer link members of the existing or conventional hand strapping tools, whereas the lower link member is disposed upon the outer or distal end of the feed-wheel shaft so as to maintain the feedwheel mounted upon the feedwheel shaft. The lower link member is fixedly secured to the upper link member by means of two bolt or threaded fasteners. Accordingly, when the feedwheel needs to be replaced, the two bolt or threaded fasteners are simply removed from the outer link assembly comprising the upper outer link member and the lower outer link member whereby the lower outer link member is now able to be removed from the upper outer link member as well as from the outer or distal end of the feedwheel shaft thereby exposing or providing access to the feedwheel which may now be replaced. When the feedwheel is replaced, the lower outer link member is simply replaced upon the outer or distal end of the feed-wheel shaft, and the two bolt or threaded fasteners are reinserted so as to fixedly mount the lower outer link member upon the upper outer link member and thereby
Breh Donald J.
Chukwurah Nathaniel
Croll Mark W.
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
O'Brien John P.
LandOfFree
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