Wireworking – Joining wire – Implements
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-20
2003-12-30
Larson, Lowell A. (Department: 3725)
Wireworking
Joining wire
Implements
C140S093600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06668870
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to manually operated tools and a method of using the same, and more particularly to a new and improved manually operated wire twisting and tying tool which is especially useful in connection with the twisting and tying together of the free end portions of baling wire used in connection with the binding of baled products so as to secure the same in a compacted or compressed state or condition.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various types of loose material or packaging components are often processed and distributed in the form of compressed or compacted bales so that a greater amount or number of such loose material or packaging components may be stored or shipped within a smaller space. In addition, it is easier and more efficient to handle bales of material or packaging components than to handle the loose material or individual packaging components. When the loose material or packaging components are compressed or compacted into bales, it is generally known to wrap and tie such bales with wire or other similar binding devices or members so as to secure and maintain the bales in their compressed or compacted form while being stored or shipped. Wire is the most preferable binding device due to its low cost and ease of handling and manipulation. One method of conventionally forming a compressed or compacted bale of material or components, and of subsequently securing and maintaining the same in its compressed or compacted state, comprises the steps of depositing the compressible material or components into an automatic baler wherein the material or components are compacted or compressed into a bale by means of a suitable ram mechanism, and subsequently, the bale is conducted through a plurality of spaced wire wrapping stations such that a plurality of wire strands are wrapped around the bale at different locations thereof.
In order to secure together the free end portions of the wire strands wrapped around the bale of material or components, automatic wire twisting and tying apparatus have been used in conjunction with, or as integral parts of, the automatic baler apparatus, however, such automatic apparatus have proven relatively complex in structure, large and bulky in size, and expensive to manufacture. In addition, it is known that, due to the stresses impressed upon and inherent within the baling wires as a result of the wrapping of the same around the compressed or compacted bale of material or components, one of the major difficulties, which is uniquely problematic in connection with the tying together of the free end portions of the baling wire wrapped around the bale of material or components, comprises the fact that the free end portions of the baling wire normally tend to separate from each other. It is imperative, however, that the free end portions of the baling wire are maintained together in an overlapped state both before and during the twisting together of the free end portions of the baling wire in order to define or achieve the ultimately desired knotted structure which terminates the wrapped baling wire and maintains the wrapped baling wire in its secured state or condition upon the bale of material or components. Unfortunately, such automatic machines or mechanisms have not always been able to adequately address this problem or difficulty which has therefore rendered such automatic machines or mechanisms difficult and tedious to use.
In order to reduce the complexities and costs involved in connection with the use of automatic wire twisting and tying apparatus, hand tying techniques have also been employed within the industry. One known hand tying technique comprises the formation of a pre-wound loop upon a first end portion of the baling wire, the insertion of the second end portion of the baling wire through such pre-wound loop, and the twisting of the non-looped end portion of the baling wire around itself. This technique, however, has exhibited several operational problems which have rendered the same undesirable. For example, the termination tie is often inconsistent, leading to an imbalance in the stress levels accommodated by each end portion of the baling wire. In addition, such termination tie has often proven to be insufficiently strong due to poor quality levels characteristic of the twists formed within the termination tie. Accordingly, once the bale is removed from the baler apparatus, the failure of the tie leads to a failure of the bale and the need to reprocess the same. As a result, the industry has not enthusiastically embraced the use of such hand tying techniques and has subsequently adopted the use of manually operated tying devices or mechanisms.
One example of such manually operated tying devices or mechanisms is disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,289 which issued to Johnson on Jul. 13, 1999. In accordance with the teachings and description of such patent, and as disclosed within
FIG. 1
, which substantially corresponds to
FIG. 1
of the noted patent, it is briefly noted that the manually operated baling wire tying device or mechanism of Johnson is generally indicated by the reference character
10
and is seen to comprise upper and lower housing sections
12
a
,
12
b
. Each one of the upper and lower housing sections
12
a
,
12
b
comprises a cross-bar section
17
, and a pair of legs
16
a
,
16
b
project forwardly from each one of the cross-bar sections
17
. The legs
16
a
,
16
b
are respectively provided with semi-cylindrical openings
21
for respectively housing bearing members
28
which in turn have hub portions
22
of twister gears
18
a
,
18
b
rotatably disposed therein. Twister pinions
20
a
,
20
b
are respectively fixedly mounted within the twister gears
18
a
,
18
b
so as to be rotatable therewith, and a cover
34
and a locking structure
36
are operatively associated with each one of the twister gear and pinion assemblies
18
a
,
20
a
and
18
b
,
20
b
. The outer covers
34
, locking structures
36
, bearing members
28
, twister gears
18
a
,
18
b
, and twister pinions
20
a
,
20
b
are all individually provided with a radial slot so as to form together a collective slot
55
into which a pair of wires, to be twisted together, can be inserted.
The twister gears
18
a
,
18
b
comprise bevel gears, with the teeth thereof being illustrated at
25
, and a beveled drive gear
40
, having teeth
42
integrally formed thereon, is effectively interposed between the twister gears
18
a
,
18
b
such that the twister gears
18
a
and
18
b
are engaged with diametrically opposed regions of the drive gear
40
. The beveled drive gear
40
is operatively connected to a drive shaft
50
, and drive shaft
50
is fixedly connected to a crank handle
52
. Accordingly, when the crank handle
52
is rotated in a predetermined direction, such as, for example, in the clockwise direction as viewed from the front of the device or mechanism
10
and oriented along the axis of the beveled drive gear
40
, the latter is likewise rotated in the clockwise direction. Therefore, twister gear
18
a
, and its twister pinion
20
a
, will be rotated in the counterclockwise direction, as viewed along their respective axes and in the direction extending from the axially inner end of twister pinion
20
a
to the axially outer end of the hub portion
22
of twister gear
18
a
, while twister gear
18
b
and its twister pinion
20
b
will be rotated in the clockwise direction, as viewed along their respective axes and in the same direction as was used in connection with twister gear and pinion gear
18
a
,
20
a
. Accordingly, since the twister gears
18
a
,
18
b
and twister pinions
20
a
,
20
b
are rotated in opposite directions, the wire end portions of the baling wire, which are disposed within the twister pinions
20
a
,
20
b
, are effectively twisted with respect to each other around an axis which is common to such wire end portions and which extends along the common slot
55
so as to form a twisted termination knot.
While the aforenoted baling wire twisting and tying apparatus op
Johnson Gerald L.
Mork Brady L.
Rossum Eugene C.
Weeks Gregg Eugene
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Larson Lowell A.
Schwartz & Weinrieb
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