Supports – Brackets – Specially mounted or attached
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-04
2001-01-16
King, Anita M. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Specially mounted or attached
C100S011000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06173932
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to tying or binding bales of compressed material. Specifically, the invention relates to an assembly for mounting a hand tying device to a bale of compressed material for assistance in tying wires or other binding devices wrapped around such a bale.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various types of bulk materials are shipped, stored, and otherwise processed and distributed in the form of compressed bales. For example, recyclable paper products are processed into compressed bales so that the paper may be more easily handled, and a greater amount of such products may be stored and shipped in a smaller space than would be possible with loose bulk material. As is appreciated, bales are substantially easier and more efficient to handle than the loose bulk material.
To form a bale, it is generally known to wrap such bales of compressible material with wire or other elongated binding devices to keep the bales in a compressed form, such as for shipping and storage. Wire is often most preferable as a binding material for its low cost and the ease with which it is handled. To bind a bale, the wire is wrapped in strands around the bale. The ends of the wire strands are overlapped and then twisted or tied together to form a continuous wire strand around the bales to keep the bales together.
One method of forming a bale automatically ties the bale. The compressible material is directed into an automatic baler where it is pressed into a bale by a ram and then moved by the ram through the baler. Continuous wire strands extend automatically across the bale path at different heights on the bale, and as the bale moves through the baler, the wire strands are wrapped around the front end and sides of the bale. An automatic tying system then engages the bale and wire strands and ties the wire strands around the bale, such as by twisting together the overlapped ends of the wire strands. Examples of various automatic balers and tying methods are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,120,238; 4,155,296; 4,167,902, and 4,459,904. While automatic tying apparatuses have proven suitable for baling and tying compressed bales in rapid succession in certain applications, they generally require complex and expensive machinery which has to automatically manipulate and twist the wires together to form the bale.
Alternatively, certain baling applications require hand or manual tying of the wires wrapped around a bale. Hand tying devices reduce the complexities and costs associated with automatic balers and tying systems, and are often utilized to supplement automatic balers. For example, when an automatic baler malfunctions, the bales cannot be properly wrapped and tied. This creates a slowdown in bale production and will usually mean a work stoppage until the automatic baler is repaired. Repairs are often not immediately made due to the necessity of scheduling a repair person. To ensure that bale production is not altogether stopped during repair situations and, to reduce the bale slowdown, hand tying devices are used. The wire is wrapped around the bale and tied manually with such a device. Still further, the particular material being baled may dictate that hand tying is required, because of the complexities involved in trying to design an automatic tying apparatus for the material.
Various different hand tying or splicing mechanisms are commercially available and have provided a means for manually twisting and tying two wires together, such as to bind a bale. However, such devices usually require two people to operate because of the tasks of manually wrapping the wire and tying the ends of the wrapped wire. For example, the wire ends will usually be tied on the sides of the bale. Therefore, one person must wrap the wire around the bale and hold the overlapped wire ends in position while another person actually twists and ties the wire ends together. As a result, use of existing hand tyers may be relatively inefficient and expensive due to increased labor costs.
Furthermore, it may take a relatively substantial amount of time to wrap and tie a single strand of wire around a bale. For example, in the inventor's experience, it will usually require 2-4 minutes for two people to wrap and tie one strand. A single bale may require 4-6 strands. As may be appreciated, manually wrapping and tying a bale with the available hand tying devices is inefficient.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus to rapidly and adequately tie and secure a wire or other similar binding device around a bale of compressed material.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive apparatus for assisting a person in manually tying a wire around a bale.
It is another objective of the present invention to reduce the number of people required to manually wrap and tie a bale.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a more efficient and cost effective means to manually tie bales.
These and other objectives will become more readily apparent from the Summary of the Invention and Detailed Description set forth hereinbelow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above objectives and other objectives are addressed by use of a novel and unique mounting device in combination with a hand tying device to tie a bale of compressed material. The mounting device comprises a pair of elongated members positioned generally parallel to each other and spaced from each other to form a generally planar body. One or more spacer elements are coupled between the pair of elongated members to secure the members together. A pair of legs extends from one end of the body, one leg coupled to each of said elongated members. The legs extend generally perpendicular to the body. Each of the legs includes a pointed mounting foot which depends from the leg and extends generally perpendicular to the leg and, therefore, generally parallel to the body. The mounting feet are configured to engage a generally horizontal surface of the bale to secure the body along a generally vertical side surface of the bale. That is, the mounting feet engage the top surface of a bale and preferably dig into the top surface, and thereby position the body along a side surface of the bale.
The mounting device includes stand-off elements extending from the other end of the body opposite the legs. The stand-off elements are generally perpendicular to the body and are configured for coupling to a hand tying device. To that end, the stand-off elements comprise mounting flanges which are configured for being coupled to a hand tying device, such as with bolts. The stand-off elements orient the hand tying device against the vertical side surface of the bale when the mounting device is placed on the bale. In that way, the hand tying device is secured to the side of the bale while the wire strand to be tied can be wrapped around the bale by a single person. The invention eliminates the need for a second person to maintain the wire tying device against the side of a bale while the wire is wrapped therearound. Therefore, the invention eliminates the need for having two people to efficiently tie a bale and thus reduces labor costs. Furthermore, because the hand tying device is maintained on the side of the bale, the time for wrapping a bale can be reduced from 2-4 minutes per strand to approximately 1-2 minutes, thus resulting in a substantial labor cost savings, and increasing the efficiency of the baling and tying process.
REFERENCES:
patent: 373472 (1887-11-01), Moser
patent: 376216 (1888-01-01), Stillman
patent: 399856 (1889-03-01), Eisenhart
patent: 664326 (1900-12-01), Kintzing
patent: 743520 (1903-11-01), Kennedy
patent: 875654 (1907-12-01), Christensen
patent: 985023 (1911-02-01), Fry
patent: 1177557 (1916-03-01), White
patent: 1507376 (1924-09-01), Hintz
patent: 1603638 (1926-10-01), Phillips
patent: 2061937 (1936-11-01), Fay
patent: 2318943 (1943-05-01), Holmes
patent: 2796662 (1957-06-01), Saum
patent: 2868239 (1959-01-01), Ellis
patent: 2986366 (1961-05-01), Wesson
patent: 3030060 (1962-04-01), Br
King Anita M.
L&P Property Management Company
Wood Herron & Evans LLP
LandOfFree
Mounting device for mounting a hand tying device to a bale... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Mounting device for mounting a hand tying device to a bale..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Mounting device for mounting a hand tying device to a bale... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2545561