CA1058585A - Tying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A tying machine for tying articles of various sizes utilizing a twist-tie ribbon. The tying machine may be quickly adjusted to control the length of the tying ribbon that is metered out by the machine and to center the article to be tied at the tying station in accordance with the size or diameter of the article to be tied.

Description

` 1051~585 .` I
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0136-EJD .

1 1 . : . TYING MACHINE
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- ~0 Summary of the Invention~
: This invention relates to a tying machine for tying articles with;a tying material oapable of being twisted to ~: form a tie and more`particularly to tying machines of *his : ~type for tying articles having a wide range~o~ sizes with a l5 ~ twist-tie ribbon and inoluding~:~provisions ior;quiokly~ad~usting the machine to aocommodate all:the ~arious size~artioles to be tied.
;; At~the present~time,-~there~is commeroially available tying machines capable of~tying artioles with tying materials that are twisted to form a tie. One:~suoh~tying machine is commercially available from the Plas-Ties Division of Royal :~ Industries, Inc. looated in Santa Ana, California and is .- exemplified by the disclosure in United States Patent No.
. 3,369~,573 ~ranted on Feb. 20, 1968. This semi-automa~ic tylng machine is~oapable of twist-tying artloles up to ; approximately 5/8-inch in diameter. Similar machines for : such tying jobs axe commercially available and~it presen~ly appears that the maximum diameter of an~article to be twist-tied is approximately one inch.~ These commercially ; 30 . ` ~
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1 available tying machines are restricted as to the size of the article to be tied by the opening,or throat,of the machine and the corresponding amount of tie material that is metered out relative to the restrictive throat. There are no known machines available that accommodate articlec to be tied of varying sizes and in particular articles up to two inches in diameter. In addition to the restrictions as to the sizes o~ the articles to be tied, there are certain articles that are packaged in a bag or the~like that could be twis~-tied 0 if a machine were~available to accommodate extra long products or products having awkward shapes that cannot be accommodated either by the throat or the construction of the machines.
To this end, it is presently popular to place articles in ¦ a bag, twist-tie~the baq and place the resulting bagged article in a box. S~imilar applications are found wherein drum linerc are~employed ond placed in the bag and tied.
In addition to bag tying applications, such a machine is~ ~
capable~of functioning as a bundling machine or twist-tying a number of articles together. For example, rubber tubing, 20 wood moldings and coils of wire may be twist-tied by the tying macbines. For tying heavy dense items including heavily weighted articles stored in a~bag that might cause the twist tie to beco~e untied,-tle strips having a plurality of reinforcing wires must ~e used if a~twist-tie ribbon is to be employed~ Accordingly, the overall configuration and width of both the entry thrcat for such bag tying machines as well as the overhang or clearance are important parameters to accommodate and extend the usage of the machin~s to presen~ day packaging applications.
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~51~585 In accordance with the present invention there is provided a machine for tying articles of varying diameter with a twist-tie ribbon capable of being twisted to form a tie, the apparatus comprising: means for advancing a preselected length of ri~bon from a continuous length of twist-tie ribbon; means for severing the preselected length of ribbon from its continuous length; means for twisting the ends of a twist-tie ribbon delivered thereto; movable means for receiving the ribbon from ; the advancing means and for forming the severed ribbon around an article to be tied while delivering the thus formed ribbon to the twisting means; the said forming means including means for `~ assuring that the ribbon is evenly pulled from the forming means at the twisting means; and drive means coupled to opçrate the advancing means, severing means, twisting means and forming means.
; 15 Also in accordance with the invention there is provided a machine for tying articles with a twist-tie ribbon capable of : being twisted to form a tie comprising; means for storing a continuous length of twist-tie ribbon having its free end extending outwardly therefrom; means receiving ~he free end of the tie material for metering out a preselected length of tie material from the storing means and for advancing the preselected length of ribbon from the continuous length; means for severing the pre-selected length of ribbon from the continuous length of tie material;
means for twisting the ends of a twist-tie ribbon delivered thereto; movable means for recèiving the ribbon from the advancing means and for forming the severed ribbon arc.und an article to be tied while delivering the thus formed ribbon to the twisting means;
the movable means including means extending adjacent the metering means for receiving the ribbon from the metering means for positive reception of the ribbon; said forming means including means for assuring that the ribbon is evenly pulled from the forming means

- 3 ~513585 at the twisting means; the twisting means being operable to twist the ends of the ribbon around each other thereby removing the ribbon from the forming means; means for positively controlling operation of the forming means for positive clearance of the article to be tied when positioned to be tied and positive placing of the ends of the ribbon at the twisting means; and drive means for actuating and operating the severing means, the forming means and the twisting means to twist-tie an article positioned to be tied, and wherein the means for metering out a preselected length includes an individual drive means for actuating the metering means and a timing means for controlling the length of time the individual drive means is actuated, the individual driving means being an electric motor and the timing means being electronic timing means.
15Further in accordance with the invention there is - provided a method of tying objects of varying diameter with a twist-tie ribbon including the steps of; adjusting the t~i~ng : ~ mechanism for feeding a preselected length of twist-tie ribbon from a supply of ribbon relative to the size of an article to be tied, for centering the artlcLe at a tying station; advancing a ` ~ preselected length of twist-tie ribbon to movable forming scissors : for forming the ribbon around an article to be tied; severing the preselected length of ribbon from its continuous length;
forming the ribbon around the article to be tied while the ribbon is carried to the tying station by the movable scissors to assure that the ribbon will be evenly pulled at the twist tying station;
causing the scissors to successively open around the article to be tied to assure clearance thereof and to close around the article to be tied while carrying the ribbon to the tying station;
and stripping the ribbon from the scissors while twisting the ends .

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:~)5~585 : of the ribbon upon itsel to twist-tie the article, and the step of adjusting the tying mechanism including adjusting the tying mechanism relative to the diameter of an article to be tied for centering the article at a tying mechanism station.
: 5 Still further in accordance with the invention there is provided a method for tying objects of varying diameter with a twist-tie ribbon including the steps of; providing a twist-tie ribbon tying machine having an adjustable opening to receive an article to be tied and means for adjusting the Iength of ribbon metered out for tying articles of variable diameter and fcr~o~ntering the article to be tied relative to the tying station in accordance with the size~of the article to be tied; adjusting , the machine for metering out a preselected length of tying ribbon correlated to the size of the article to be tied with the ribbon; adjusting the opening of the machine to center an article to be tied positioned in the opening in accordance with the diameter of the article relat~ve to the tying station;
: positioning and,c~ntering an~article to be tied at the machine ~ tying station; automatically~:twist-tying the positioned article : 20 with the tying mechanism in the following sequential steps;
severing the previously metered length of tying,ribbon from a continuous length of ribbon; using forming means to form the ribbon around the article positioned to be tied while delivering the formed ribbon to the::t~ing station of the machine, the forming step including assuring that the ribbon is evenly pulled from the forming means at the tying station; twisting the ends of the ribbon delivered at the tying station while stripping the ribbon rom the forming means; retracting the forming means to its "home" position while the ribbon is being twisted; metering out another preselected length of tying ribbon for the successive tying operation; withdrawing the twist-ti~d article from the tying mechanism; and de-activating the tying mechanism.

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The present invention provides an improved, novel, and relatively inexpensive tying machine capable of employing the twist-tie ribbons having either a single or a plurality of reinforcing wires embedded in the ribbon casing for tying S articles covering a wide range of sizes. The tying machine o~ the present lnvention is of heavy duty construction to cut and twist tying ribbons constructed of either plastic or paper and having embedded therein two reinforcing elements of 24-gauge wire~ The machine is adapted for twist-tying 0 such reinforced tying ribbons with up to 2-1/2 twists in order to securely hold tied articles up to 30 lbs. in weight. An advantageous feature of the tying machine of the present invention is that the machine may be quickly and simply adjus`ted by an operator to accommodate articles to be tied having various sizes whioh may range from approximately 3/8 inch to two inches in diameter. The tying machine may be readily adjusted by a relatively unskilled operator for adjusting the amount of tying material metered out by the .
machine and for adiusting th~ centering of the articles to be tied in accordance with their size to assure that the articles are centered at the tying station and that t~e tying ribbon is properly formed and centered around the bag neck or the article so that it will be securely tied. The machine also has the capacity to provide at least 30 ties per minute and this rate may be increased depending upon the skill of the operator.
When the tying machine is to ~e used in very cold environments such as in an ice plan~, the heated air generated .
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, 1 by the drive means for the machine can be blown back into the machine to maintain lt heated to render it operative for such environment without the requirement for a separate heater as is necessary in prior art tying machines. The S machine may also be readily adapted to operate on its side I, or in an upside down position without any interfexence with the normal opera~ion of the machine.
From a method standpoint, the present inven~ion compr~hends a method of tyi~g objects of varying diameters or sizes with 0 a twist-tie ribbon including the steps of adjusting the tying mechanism ~or feeding a preselected length of twist-tie ribbon from a source of supply relative to the size of the article to be tied. The preselected length of ribbon is fed to a forming scissors to form the ribbon around the article to be tied and prior to~being formed~around the article to be tied. It is deformed initially and then the deformed ribbon ~
is formed around the article and carried~to a tying station~ ¦
By causing the scissor~s to be opened and closed around the ~ article to be tied, while carrying the ribbon to the tying station, the preselected length of the twist-tie ribbon is formed around the artiale to be tied and positioned at the ; tying station ana is then stripped from the~scissors while twisting the ends of the ribbon upon itself to twist-tie the article.
The step of adjusting the tying mechanism may include adjusting the~mechanism relative to the size of the article to be tied for centering the article at the tying station.
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From a structural organization standpoint, ~be apparatus t . Com~
for tying articles o~preh~n~s means for storing a continuous 3 `
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105~585 1 }ength of tying material having the free end of the tying material coupled to means for metering out a preselected length of tying material from.the storage means, and means for severing the preselected length of tying material from its continuous length. Movable forming means are provided Por receiving the tying material from the metering means and forming the tying material around the article to be twisted thereto. The movable forming means extends adjacent the metering means for receiving the tying material from the 0 metering means to assure positive reception of ~he tying ma~erial including any camber ~he tying material may exhibit.
The apparatus includes means for receiving the tying material from the forming means~and twisting the ends upon itself .
thereby stripping the tie material from the forming means.
Means are provided for positively controlling the operation of the forming~means to assure both positive clearance of the article to be tied by the tie forming means and the positive-placement of the ends o~ the tying material at the twisting means. Drive means is co~pled to each of the aforementioned means for actuating the severing means, the ~ forming means and the twisting means to twist-tie the article.
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. These and other features of the present invention may be more fully appreciated when considered in the light of the following specification and drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tying machine embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partial, top plan view o~ the tying machine of ~IG. 1 with the cover removed;

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1 ~IG.3 is a partial, top plan view of the forming scissors shown in its inoperative ully retracted position ; on the machine;
FIG. 4 is a partial, top plan view of the forming ; S scissors moved to a position corresponding to the time that the forming retainer is lifted out of the path of the advancing ` tying material; ;
FIG. S is a partial,top plan view of the forming scissors moved to a fully extended position at the tying station and 10 illustrating a twist-tied article positioned at the tying " station;
FIG. 6 is a detached, top plan view o~ the camming control plate for controlling the movemënt and operation of the forming scissors as illustrated in Figs. 3-5;
FIG. 7 i8 a diagrammatic representation of the drive apparatus for the machine illustrating the coupling of the driven e~ements to the dri~e motors;
~ FIG. 8 is a partial, perspective view of a typical con-; struction of a tw1st-tie;
20 ~ ~IG. 9 is a detached, front elevational view of the twist-tie drive rollers illustxated in Figs. 2 and 7 with a twist~tie ribbon positioned therebetween;
FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of ~he ribbon storage spool and the braking apparatus therefor with the brake-off position illustrated in dotted outline~
FIG. 11 is an elevational view, with portions shown in section,of the ribbonretainer mechanism coacting with the ribbon forming scissors;
FIG. 1~ is an end elevational view of the ribbon retainer 30 mechanism illustrated in Fig. 11;
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,,,,, ,, ~ ` , 105~585 1 FIG. 13 is a d~ached, end elevation~l view o~ t~e inoperativ~ twisting mechani~m o~ th~ tying maahin~ o~
Fig. 1 and illustrating the ends of the ribbon in a position to be twisted; and FIG. 14 is an electrical schematic representation of the control circuite for the drive motors employed in the ~ying machine of Fig. ~.
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Now referring to the drawings, the tying machine 10 N of the present invention will be examined in d~tail.
Specifically referring to Fig. 1, the~general organization `~ of the tying machine 10 can best be appreciated. The tying machine 10 of the present invention is a semi-automatic machine and is adapted to employ tie material or ribbon R-capable of being tied by twisting it upon itself or twist-tie material R constructed of plastic or paper for coveriug a reinforcing wire or wires . Such tying ribbons~R are presently commercially available anù are employed in the present day tying machines of the prior art includin~ the tying machine disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,369,573 granted on Feb. 20, 1968. The general construction of such tying ribbons R can best be appreciated by referring to Fig. 8 which shows a tying ribbon R which may be a plastic and/or paper ribbon for embedding a reinforced wire 11 therein.
The tying machine 10 of the present invention is capable of employing ribbons R having a single reinforcing wire 11, ; or two reinforcing wires 11, within the same unified paper and/or plastia strip. ~he standard, commercially available tying ribbons are 5/32 of an inch in width and have a 24 gauge . `.

reinforcing wire. The tying machine 10 is useful to twist-tie articles with ribbons as wlde as 1/4 of an inch and having : two 24-gauge wires as reinforcing elements. At the other extreme, the ribbon R that may be used by the machine 10 S may be 1/8 of an inch in width and have a 24-gauge reinfoxcing wire 11. The tying ~achine 10 of the present invention includes a heavy duty power train to cut and twist the . aforementioned commercially available tying rlbbons.
. The tying machine lO of the present invention has a 0 capability that is no~ ~ound.in prior art machines in that it is capable of being guickly adjùsted to tie articles of varying sizes or diameters ranging from approxLma~ely 3/8 of an inch ~tD 2~ inches in diameter. In addition, articles weighing up to 30 pounds may be;tied by providing 2-1/2 twists : . 15 to the ribbon R~to a-ssure~that the weight;of the object will ~not cause the ribbon to become untwisted. In aocordance with ~ ~ the ability to tie:articles of varying sizes, the machine 10 :~ : is adjustable for feeding.and:metering tying ribbon R in l:engths ~of approximately.4 inches to 9~inches and to center the ; 2~ ;selected length of the rib~on in relationship to the article .~ to be tied. To acaommodate articles having the wide range of sizes, the machine 10 is considered a "wide throat" machine in that the throat for receiving the articles to be tied is wide enough.to allow the.articles to be received and positioned at the machine tying station. This is to be distinguished from pricr art machines and which machines are generally limited in the width of the throat and therefore cannot be used with the larger objects *hat the present invention can be used with. For example, the machine that . . `-`' -'~
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: lOS8585 1 is the subject o United States Patent 3,369,573 i5 limited to tying axticles of approximately 5/8 inch in diameter bec`ause of the restrictive openlng o~ the throat and the metered amount of tie material. With the throat T for the S tying machine 10 providing sufficient opening to accommodate all of the various articles to be tied, ~he amount or ribbon R
that is metered in accoxdance with the size of the article to be tied aan be readily adjusted so that ~he correct length o~ ribbon can be metered and utilized to twist-tie a wide 0 of objects.
The ribbon R utilized in the machine 10 is btored on a - spool S mounted to the rear of the machine, as best appreciated from examining Fig. 1. The spool is provided with a brake B
to control and allow the rotation of the spool S only during the feeding cyoles of the ribbon R into the nachine proper.
The machine 10 is illustrated with a coYer C having a hinged portion C~ at the forward end of the machine 10 and enclosing ~he throat T.~ The~hinged portion CH of the cover C ls ~ !
hin~ed~by~a hinge H arranged adjacent the forward, top end of 20 ~the ;cover C to allow the cover CH to be swung upwardly for exposing the throat T and the tying and forming stations of ; the machine as illustrated in Fig. 2. The tying machine 10 is adapted to be mounted on a bench or work station for normal tying operations~ to allow the operator to~readily place the articie to be~tied ~into the throat T at a fairly rapid rate and easily handle the article ;rrespective of the diameter or the shape thereof. To this end, the machine 10 has a capacity of at least 30 ties per minute and may be extended to 35 per minu~e dèpending upon the skill of ~he machine operator. As ~ ~`
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105858.

illustrated in Fig. l, the machine 10 is mounted on a stand S~ secured to the machine at the lower rear of the cover C.
The stand ST is of conventional const~uction and allows the machine to be mounted in the illustrated normal vertical relationship for tying operations. The stand ST mounts the machine 10 ~o also allow lt to be operat~d on i~s side and~or upside down in accordance with the configuration o the article to be tied. To accommodate the various size articles to be tied with the machine 10, the stand ST is mounted to the rear ` 10 of the machine to provide an overhang OH for the forward portion of the machine which allows the larger diameter articles and the like to be accommodated since they may be : .
moved inwardiy~beyond~the inner extremity of the throat T.
~o this end, the practical embodiment of the overhang OH
provided for the machine 10 may be approximately 12 inches measured as indicated in Fig~ 1 from the forward end of the `~ throat to the forward end o~ upstanding member STU of the stand 8T. The stand ST~also mounts the control switches and ~the like for actuating the machine as will become more - 20 evident immediately hereinafter.
In order to accommodate~objects of varying diameters and shapes the machine 10 is reguired to meter ribbon R from lengths of approximately 4 inches to approximately 9 inches and to center the length of the ribbon R in relation to the object to be tied. In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the centering is assured by moving the entire ribbon drive assembly one-half~the total tie length and then timing the ribbon feed motor to supply the other .

~ ` /3 1 one-half of the desired length. For this purpose, the ribbon drive assembly can be moved approximately 2-1/2 inches considering the total length of metered ribbon being between

4 and 9 inches and the total movement being one-half of the difference in tie Iengths from the smallest to the largest article to be tied. The ribbon R is advanced by the provis~on of a separate drive motor that may be co~trolle~ through an infinitely adjustable delay relay for timing the ribbon drive motor to meter out the precise length of ribbon to ma~e up 0 the difference between the adjustment o~ position of the ribbon drive assembly and the total amount of ribbon required.
For this purpose, as will be made evident hereinafter, the individual drive means for feeding the ribbon ~ is controlled by the delay relay to be energized for the c~rrect and precise amount of time to coact with a brake provided ~or the motor so that it may be stopped guickly to correctly meter the ribbon fed into the machine proper for the tying operation.
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These machine adjustments will be considered hereinafter.
The machine 10 as~illustrated in Fig. 2 will now be described with the machi~e considered a~ having been adjusted for tying objects within a paxticular range of sizes or diameters without requiring any adjustments. For example, objects falling within approximately 1/4 of an inch in diameter of any size for which the machine has been adjusted 2 may be tied by the machine 10 without requiring any further adjustment of the ribbon drive assembly.
Now referring to Fig. 2 the various stations comprising the tying machine 10 can be appreciated. The drive means for the machine 10 in this instance comprises two individual drive mo~ors having different functions. The main drive motot MDM

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~` ` ; 105~585 1 is mounted to the left rear of the machine as illustrated in Fig. 2 and powers all of the operations except the ribbon feed which is the function of the ribbon drive motor RDM
arranged on the opposi,te side of the machine from the motor MDM or in the upper right-hand corner as illustrated in Fig. 2.
The main drive moto~ MDM is continuously energized so that it `,is in operation ox rotating at all times. ~his condition ls provided for the motor ND~ to provide high Btarting torque ;: ~or the tying operation to ~acilitate the ribbon cutting opèrations by using the inertia of the motor armature and to employ an instantaneously engaging single'xevolution clutch , to cause the machine to cycle through a single revolution for each complete tying operation. It has also been found that with the motor MDM continuously energized the heated air - generated by the motor can be blown back in.to the machine 10 .
,for heating the machine.when it is utilized in ice plant ~ operations and thereby eliminating the need for a separate '~ heater.:' The ribbon R metered and fed out by the' ribbon drive motor RDM~is advanced through the ribbon feeding . 20 station RF arranged to receive'the ribbon R from the spool 5.
and advance i~ toward the ribbon forming station F arranged . forwardly thereof and adjacent the right-hand side of the ;. throat T, as can be best~appreciate~ from examining Fig. 2.
. The ribbon forming station functions to receive the ribbon R
~ 25 and form it around the article to be tied positioned in t; . ' ,throat T and while forming the ribbon transporting it to the ribbon twisting and tying station RT arranged on the opposite side of the throat T,. on the lef~-hand side as illustrated in Fig. 2, from the forming station F. The . ' . ~ , ~_;~ ' /S' `

105E~585 l ¦ ribbon former F is then retracted to its normal position while ¦ the ribbon is being twisted. At this point it should be noted that there is positioned at the inner end of the throat T a motor triggering arm ~IT arranged in the path of the article S ¦ to be tied as it is positioned in the ~hroat by ~he machine : I operator and is movable in response to the engagement with : ¦ the article to trigger and operate a switch LS-2 for energizing . I and cycling the main drive motor MDM.
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Now considering the ribbon feeding station RF in detail, .
10 ¦ it will be assumed that the ribbon R is withdrawn from the . . . ¦ spool S without reference to the action of the brake B. For I
I this purpose, the ribbon R is fed from the spool S and is ¦ immediately engaged by a pair of longitudinal1y extending ribbon guides 20 and 21 mounted side by:side to hold and guide `the ribbon between their planar surfaceo. T~e ribbon R is ~: guided by the outer~extremity of the guide 20 into the space :~ or channel between thè guides 20 and 21 as a result of.the . ~ . ..................................................... ;
additional length provided for ~he guide 20. The controlled : feeding of the ribbon R between the guides 20 and 21 causes it to emerge and~be delivered between the ~ibbon feed rollers 22 and 23 arranged immediately adjacent the exit end of the guides 20 and 21. The drive roller 23 is a serrated drive roller that is coupled to be driven by the ribbon drive motor . RDM and frictionally advances the ribbon R as a result of : 25 coacting with the idler xoller 22. The idler roller 22 is also a serrated rol1er and is provided with a groove 22G as ^ illustrated in Fig. 9 to accommodate the pro~ruding.reinforcing wire ll for the ribbon ~. With the controlled rotation of the drive roller 23 the precise amount of ribbon R is metered . ' ' '~.

1051~585 ~rom the spool S for the precise time interval of operation of the motor ~DM. It will be recognized that when khe ribbon R includes two reinforcing wires ll that the idlex roller 22 may be removed and a similar idler roller 22 may S be mounted in its place but having two grooves 22G to accommodate the two reinforcing wires ll. The idler roller ~ .22 may be readily removed from the machine for replacement i as a result of the provision of the pivotable cam arm 28 extending upstream of the roller 22 ~or pivoting the arm 26 0 which mounts the roller 22 and allows it to be pivoted in a clockwise direction away from the~drive roller 23. For ~his . puspose, the arm 26.is resiliently spaced from the ribbon guide 20 by means of a spring 27 mounted between the arm 26 and guide 20 and seaured in position b~. the cam 28 mounted on the opposite side of the arm 26 from the spring 27 adjacent the inner end of the arm 26 as illustrated in Fig. 2. The cam 28 is pivotally mounted by a pivot pin 29 to allow it to be rotated in~a clockwise:dire~tion to allow the arm 26 and the roller 22 to swing outwardly in accordance with the i 20 ~:movement of the cam 28. For gripping purposes~the cam 28 : i8 provided with a pair of upstanding:pins 30 and 31 to allow ~ . the cam 28 to be readily rotated for positioning the arm 26 : and the roller 23 at either of its two extremities. The ~am 28 will assume a position arranged approximately 90 to its normal position, as indicated by the dotted outline to allow the xoller 22 to be moved away from *he drive roller 23.
The ribbon R as it is advanced between the drive rollers 22 and 23 is fed to a pair of ribbon guides 24 and 25 for . .. ~, ' `
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1 I secuxing the ribbo~ th~rebetwcen in a fash~vn similar to ¦ the ~uides 20 and 21 arranged at the ribbon entry end of the ¦ rollers 22 and 23. Arranged near the ribbon exit end of the ¦ guides 24 and 25 is a ribbon cutting knife 26 mounted for

5 ¦ shearing the ribbon at that point from its continuous length.
¦ The knife 26 is reciprocally mounted and is controlled by ¦ the operating arm 27-which is controlled to move in the same ¦ reciprocal fashion. The knife 26 is slidably supported for ¦ i~s reciprocal movement by the bearing block 28 and is 0 I arranged opposite the anv~l 29 upon which it abuts at its ¦ extreme left-hand position as illustrated in Fig. 2. The ¦ knife 26 is coupled to the control arm 27 by means of a I connecting link 30 secured to the ri~ht-hand end of the ¦ ~nife 26 and also secured to the arm 27 so as to rigidly 5¦ couple the knife 26 to the arm 27. The arm 27 is controlled by the cam 31 through the provision of the arms 70, 71 and 72 secured therebetween. In this fashion the knife 26 moves I in unison with the control arm 27 which ~s controlled and ¦ actuated by the control cam 31 as will be made evident 201 hereinafter.
I As the ribbon R is fed from the drive rollers 22 and 23 ¦ through the guides 24 and 25, it is advanced to a forming station P The forming station F as illustrated in Figs. 2 I and 3 is illustrated with a ribbon forming scissors 32 in their 251 fully retracted or "home" position. The scissors 32 comprises a right scissor arm 32R and a left scissor arm 32L, as best seen in Fig. 3. ~he two scissor arms 32T and 32L are coupled together by a pin 33 ~hat couples the two arms for I movement outwardly and inwardly and linearly from i~s fully 301 .
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1 r~tracted position to the tying station R~ and back to i~s fully retracted positi~n, as is eviaent from ex~mining Figs.
4 and 5. The right-hand extensions for the arms 32R and 32L
are positively controlled as a resul~ o being coupled to S the cam plate 34 which has a pair of cam slots 34R and 34L
for controlling the mo~emen~s of the respective scissor arms 32R and 32L of the scissors 32. Each of the arms 32 and 32L are coupled to the individual slots 34R and 34L by means of coupling pins secured to right-hand extremities o~ the arms and adapted to ride in the cam slots 34R and 34L.
These coupling pins are identified as pins 32RP and 32LP
for the respective arms 34R and 32L. In the same fashion, . the coupling pin 33 for securing and coupling the two scisso.r anms also couples them to the longitudinal slot 34C~of the ~5 control cam 34 which controls the linear travel of the scissors 32 to the tying station and its return to its "home" position as a result of the pin 33 sliding there along under the urging of the associated linkages controlled from the basic control cam 31. For this purpose the scissors 32 are actuated by a bell crank 35 coupled to the scissors 32 at the arm 32L
. by a shackle link 36 for responding to the movements imparted to the bell crank 35 at the control-cam 31.
The forward ends or the left-hand ends ~as illustrated in ~ig. 3) of each of the scissor. arms 32R and 32L are provided 2 with ribbon receiving chutes 34RC and 32LC for loosely receiving the ribbon R as it is fed from the rollers 22 and 23 through the guides 24 and 25. The chu~e 32~C is mounted on and carried by the left scissor arm 32L in a fixed condition. The chute 32RC mounted on and carried by the i9 . . : ' 105~585 1 ¦ right-hand scissor arm 32R is arranged in alignment with ¦ the chute 32IC and the guides 24 and 2~. The chute 32~ is ¦ removable and is made as long as possible to maintain the ¦ unguided length of ri~bon ex~ending between the ribbon ~uides 51 24 and 25 and the chute 32RC to a minimum because of the ¦ high possibility that the ribbon R will be cambexed as a result of being stored on the spool S. The length of the chute 32 RC is further governed by the amount of clearance required for the chute 32RC when the scissors 32 opens up 0 to prevent the chute from engaging and being restricted by the cutting mechanism including the chamfered end of gu~de 24;
see Fig. 2.
The profile for the cam slots 34R and 34~ has been selected to not only positively control the opening and closing action of the scissor arms 32R and 32L but also to assure proper clearance between the scissors 32 an~ the article to be tied positioned in the throat T and to assure the positive placement of the ends o~ the ribbon R in relation to the twisting station RT at the moment that the twister hook begins~to~;revolve. This important feature assures reliable operation of the ~yin~ mac~ine 10 espe~ially with articles of the larger diameters that can be tied with the machine. The linear travel of the scissors 32 is control~ed by the linear slot 34C for tha cam plate 34 in which the pin 33 rides. The profiles selected for the cam slots 34R and 34L also assures exact positioning of the scissors 32 in the fully retracted position or in the "home" position along with the selection of the profile for the control cam 31. The linear stopping position of the scissors 32 at the "home"
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.. , 11 10585~5 ¦ position is det~rmined by a detent in the cam 31 which ¦ assures exact alignment with the chute 32RC downstream of the guides 24 and 25. The right-hand extremity of the cam l slots 34R and 34L are also contoured so that as the scissors 32 is moved away from its "home" position it will move linearly to the left approximately 3/8 of an inch without any opening action to the arms 32R and 32L so that the guide chute 32RC will clear the cutting mechanism as noted hereinabove. : . .
To assure that the ribbon R is pulled evenly from bQth : o~ the chutes 32R~ and 32LC at the twisting station RT there . . is further provlded a ribbon re~ainl~g mechanism mounted over the scissors 32 for coaction therewith. To this end the . pivot pin 33:-used as a fulcrum point for the scissor. arms 15 32~C and 32LC also functions with a retainer lifting arm 37 . which is secured to the plate 38 overlying the scissors 32 : . and in turn is secured to the frame of the machine 10 qee ~Fig. 2. The lifter arm 37 is secured to the plate 38 by ~ means of a retaining plate 39 secured to the plate 38 inter-.~ 20 mediate the ends of the~lifter arm 37. The lifter arm 37 . : is pivoted to the plate 39 by means of the pivot pin 40 so as to allow it to pivot about that point; see Fig. 11. The right-hand end of the lifter arm 37 mounts a roll pin 37P
engaging the plate 38. This same end of the arm 37 engage-~
2 the ùpper end of the fulcrum pin 33 for the scissors 32 andwhich pin 33 is adapted to travel along the bottom surface of the lifting arm 37. This bottom surface of arm 37 is defined as a cammin~ surface for the pin 33 as it slides there along to control the vertical movements of the lifter 3 : :

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"~ ) 1 ~05E~585 1 arm 37 as the pin 33 slides along the slot 34C o the cam ¦ plate 34. To this end, the right-hand extremity of the liftex ¦ arm 37 is of a planar coniguration and àllows the arm 37 ¦ to be maintained in its normal ribbon retaining position 5 ¦ until it engages the camming surface 37C which causes the ¦ arm 37 to swing upwardly in response thereto and to continue to progressively swing upwardly to a higher extent as the pin ¦ 33 travels beyond the surface 37C and along the inclined ¦ camming sur we 37I, as can be best appreciated from examining ;~ 10 I Fig. 11. This action causes the lifting arm 37 to be moved ¦ out of the path of the ribbon R as the scissors 32 continues ~ ¦ to move towards the tying station RT carrying the ribbon R
:~; I along with it~ The outer en:d of the lifting arm 37 carries the inverted U-shaped ribbon retaining and forming arm 41;
see Fig. 12. The function of the ribbon retaining and forming arm 41 is to.engage *he center portion of the ribbon R extending between the chutes 32RC and 32LC and to momentarily . : restrain its movement~and to~deform or kink the ribbon R
during the continuous~travel of the ribbon R to the tying 20 ~station ~T. This deforming operation:assures the~even pulling of the ribbon R'from the sc1ssors 32:at thé tying station RT.
The retaining of the ribbon R occurs during the initial advancement of the scissors 32 towards the tying~station RT
during the interval before the scissor arms 32R and 32L
begin to open, since it;is direckly in the path of the ribbon ~- R as the scissors are moved to the left linearly. The:
continued movement of the scissors~32 causes the arms 32R
and 32L to begin to open up when the ribbon R engages the for~ 41 and will remain in the path of the ribbon until the . . ~ .

~058S85 1 arms 32~ and 32L are fully opened~ The profiles for the cam slots 34R and 34L relative to the linear movement o~ the scissors 32 to the le~t is such that when the ribbon R engages the fork 41 the scissor; arms 32R and 32L begin to open up to clear the article positioned in the throat ~ adjacent the ribbon tying station RT. The fork 41 remains in the path of the ribbon R until the scissors 32 open to the extreme position at which time the lifting arm 37 has been engaged at its camming surfaces by the pin 33 to quickly raise the fork 41 0 away from the ribbon R. The exact time that this lifting action occurs in the traYel of the ribbon R is illustrated in Fig. 4 and which drawing further illustrates the resulting deformation of the ribbon about its central portion. The continuous linear travel of the scissors 32 to the tying - 15 station RT will cause bhe a~rms 3~R and 32L to begin to close and the ribbon to be formed about the article to be tied.
The formed ribbon R is delivered adjacent the twisting element 45 at the t~ing~statLon~RT and allows the ribbon R to be stripped therefrom as the twister 45 is ro*ated for twist-20 ~ tying the article~centered at that position. The scissors32 is retracted with the stripping of the ribbon R there~rom.
Now referring to Figs. 2 and 13, the ribbon twisting station RT will be examined. The ribbon twisting station ~T
basic~lly comprises a twist-tie twister hook 45 mounted to a rotatable shaft 46. The opposite end of the shaft 46 from the twister hook 45 mounts a sprocket 47 which is coupled to a chain 48 driven from the`motor MDM for rotating the twister hook 45. The twister hook 45 is mounted over a cavity 49 formed in the machine frame to ~llow it to freely rotate . ~ ' ' .
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. ' , 'i ; 1058585 1 as is evident fr~m examining Fig. 2. The normol inoperative position of the twister hook 45 is illustrated in Fig. 13.
The twister hook 45 includes the usual oppositely disposed twisting arms 45a for receiving the free ends of the ribbon R
S when ~n the inopèrative position and picking up khe ribbon ends with the arms 45a a~ter the twister hook 45 is rotated.
For this purpose, in the inoperative position of the twister hook 45, the openings defined by the arms 45a for the twister hook 45 are arranged to open in opposite directions and to 0 pick up the ends o~ the ribbon that are presented to it by the forming scissors 3~; see ~igs. 5 and 13. It should now be appreciated that with the rotation of the twister hook 45 ~; in the counterclockwise~direction the openings in the arms 45A of the hook 45~will pick up and secure the free ends of ~ ~ 15 thetying ribbon R and twist the ribbon upon itself with I ~ the continuous rotation of the hook 45. The hook 45 may be ~readily~adjusted~to provide 2-l/a tw1sts to the tying ribbon~
: R~or any convenient number of twists in accordance with the tying applicatlon due to the provision of a chain drive therefor.
The opposite end of the chain 48 is mounted to a stub ehaft 50 secured to the frame of the machine proper. The stub shaft 50 mounts a pinion gear 51 which is driven by the segment gear 52 which is adapted to drive the pinion 51 over a preselected portion of the operating cycle and thereby rotate the twister 49. The segment gear 52 is mounted to the same shaft as the control cam 31 and i9 driven by the main i drive motor MDM. ~ ~
At the rlbbon twisting station RT, there is also arxanged the motor triggering switch LS-2 which actuates the drive 30 motor UDM in response to the operation of the trigger orm . '~ .

1~358585 MT arranged i~ the throat T o the tying machine 10. The txigger arm MT h~s its one extremity extending into the left-hand inner end of the throat T and extending underneath the machine frame to pivotally move the switch operating arm S3 into engagement with the operating arm for the switch LS-2. When the article to be tied is positioned in the throat T it will engage the trigger~arm MT and cause the arm ;
53 to rotate counterclockwise and operate the switch LS-2 to a closed electrical condition and maintain it in ~his 0 condition as long as the article maintains the trigger arm MT out of the throat proper. The release of the arm MT b~ -the article will cause the switch LS-2 to return ta its normal open circuit condition.
~he drive means for the tying machine 10 comprises two electrical motors having different functions. All of the machine operations are actuated by the main drive motor MDM
except one and which function is activated by the ribbon drive motor RDM. The motor RDM feeds the ribbon R from the spool S into the machine proper.~ The mai~ drive motor MDM
includes a single revolueion clutch which may be a spring clutch~ The drive motor MDM and the associated spring clutch are of conventional, commercially available construction and are utilized to provide one revolution corresponding to a ~ ~single operating cycle for the tyi~g machine 10. The main drive`motor MDM is maintained energized at al1 times that the machine is electrically powered and the single revolution clutch is actuated in response to the operation of the trigger arm MT actuating the switch LS-2 and initiating the tying cycle. The output shaft of the main drive motor MDM

.. ~ 4 1 is positively coupled by means of a chain 5S to a shat 56 mounting the control cam 31 and the gear segment 52, The normal position or the deactuated position o the control cam 31 and the gear segment 52 is illustrated in Fig. 2.
The con~rol cam 31 and the gear segment 52 rotate in unison with the shaft 56 during the time intervals that the single revolution clutch is actuated.
The operations actuated by the main drive motor MD~
are controlled by the control cam 31 having a preselected 0 pro~ile for initiating the various operations of the tying machine lO in a particu~lar sequence. For this purp~se, the ' control ~am 31 mounts a connecting rod 57 se~ured adjacent the high profile portion of the cam 31 or the portion 3IHP~
The ~onnecting rod 57 has its opposite end secured to a 15 ~ link 58 which is~pivotally~æecured~to the frame of the machine lO and is adapted~to pivot about-the pivoting member 59 secured to the frame of the~machine. The link~58 is secured to the bell crank 35 for coupling~and controlling the movements thereof and there~y~the scissors 32. The~bell orank 35 is adjustably secured to the link 58 by the provision of the fastener 60 secured in the elongated slot 61 provided or the link 58. The bell crank 35 may carry a U-shaped element 62 mounted at the inner extremi~y thereo~ adjacent the link 58 and secured thereto for operating the switches LS-3 and LS-l arranged above one another and having operating arms LSA
extending therefrom. The switch LS-l has two operating arms~
while the switch LS-3 has a single operating arm identified in Fig. 2 as the arm LS~. The movements of the link 5B and bell crank 35 in~response to the movements of the connecting . ';.1 _. . _. ., . . _ . ,.. ,. .. .. ... . . . ... .. .. ... . .... ... .. .. . _ _ ____ _. __ .. :

105t~585 1 rod 57 ~re ef~ective for movably opexating the switch operating anms for the swltches LS~3 and LS-2 in the ~orrect time sequence of the machine opera~ing cycle, as will be explained, in detail hereinafter.
By referring to Fig. 7, it will be noted that the commercially available ribbon drive motor RDM is coupled by means o~ a chain 65 to a drive shaft 66 mounting the ribbon drive roller 23 so that it is driven in unison with ~he shaft 66. The motor RDM is provided with a brake of commercially 0 available construction~so that it can quickly stop the motor shaft and thereby precisely meter the ribbon R fed from the spools. As will be ma~e evident hereinafter, the metering of the ribbon R is also precisely~controlled through the use'of an electronic timer ~employed~for timing the energization period of the ribbon drive motor RDM.
Now referring to Fig.`~ lO, the arrangement of the ribbon storage spool S and the braking apparatus B utilized therefor will be'examined. It~will be~appreciated by those skilled ~in the art that some ~specific means for;preventing the~
~unraveling~of the~tying material R from the spool S during the time intervals that the tying machine 10 is not in operation :
and/or the time intervals that the ribbon R is not being unwound from the~spool'S. For this purpose, it is important to'have some braking apparatus associated with the spool S
to prevent the ribbon from coming unraveled during these~time intervals which may render the tying machine inoperative until the tying material can once again be tensioned on the spool S for proper operation,. ' The braking apparatus B illustrated in Fig. 10 is of conventional construction and is mounted to the same mounting , ,, ~ . ' ' , .:

1 ~ arm 70 which mounts the shaft 71 upon which the spool S
is mounted. For this purpose, the arm 70 secures at its free ¦ end a mounting shaft 71B securing the upstanding bracket arm I 72 which rotata~ly mounts an idler roller (or pulley)-'73'at 51 its free end. The idler roller 73 receives the free end of l the ribbon R from the spool S and the ribbon is wound around ¦ ~he idler roller 73 and extenqs therefrom in~o the machine proper as is evident from ex2mining Fig 2. ~he shaft 71B
secures the upstanding bracket arm 72 adjaaent the free end thereof. Intermediate the upstanding brac~et 72 and the end of shaft 71B, there is provided a torsion spring 74 mounted on the shaft 71B. The torsion spring 74 is secured , between a pair of collars 75 and 76 to tightly secure the spring 74 therebetween. One free end of the spring 74, or the ë~d 74E is rotatably secured as the result of engagement witb a shaft 77 seaured to ,the arm;70 outwardly of the position of the shaft 71 thereon. The opposite free end of the spring 74 is similarly~secur~ed to the mounting bracket 72 (not illustrated). The mounting bracket 72 includes a , ,20 ;longitudinally extending braking member 72B~which consists of a flat plate secured to the bracket 72 to engage the flanges' of the ~pools for'preventing the rotation thereof. It will be recognized that with the demand for ribbon R in the ma~hine 10 proper,,the tension produced on the ribbon at the bracket arm 72 will cause the arm 72 and roller 73 to be moved towards the machine, or forwardly, to,release the braking element 72B from the flanges of the spool S and thereby allow the ribbo~ R to be unwound from the spool S unti} the demand fo~ rI~bon i8 ~ati~ d by the t~n~$on ~n ~h- rib~on ~ b~n~
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` ! 1058585 l released, At this time, the brac~et ~rm 72 will move back ¦ to its normal position with the braking plate 72B engaging ¦ the spool flanges to prevent further rot~tion thereof.
¦ Now referring to Fig. 14, the electrical circuit diagram 51 for controlling the main drive motor MDM and the rib~on drive motor RDM will be examined. The motors are connected to a source of alternating current which may be a llO-volt source.
The circuit may also be converted for 220-volt and 50-cycle operation for use in foreign countries. The two drive motors 0 are manually activated by a pair of toggle switches illustrated . as switches SW-l and SW-2. Each of these switches are shown in their normal "O~f", or open circuit, position for maintaining an open~electrical circuit to:the two motors MDM
and RDM. The switch SW-l is connected in direct series circuit relationship with the main drive motor MDU across the alternating current source as illustrated in Fig. 14. The switch SW-2, which ls illustrated in the line below SW-l, is connected through the electronic timing element identified : j . as a TR-l and a switch ~S-l to:the ribbon drive motor RDM to 20 the opposite:side of the alternating current source, which is shown as the grounded side. Accordingly, ~ith the operation of both switches SW-l and 5W-2 the two motors are activated.
The ribbon driv.e motor RDM will not be energized at this ti~e since~an open circuit condition results through the switch 2 LS-l being maintained in its normally open circuit condition, The main drive motor ~DM will be energized once the switch S~-l is closed and will be maintained energized at all times that this; switch is closed. It will be recalled ~hat the main drive motor MDM utilizes a single revolution clutch fox 3 .
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, ll 10585B5 ~ l I ¦ actuating the machine's sequential operations. The clutch ¦ is instantaneousl~ engaged when it is pulsed by its control solenoid and which solènoid is identified in Fig. 14 as SOL
l and is arranged in series circuit relationship across the power source with the switch LS-2 and the normally closed relay co~tacts CR-l with the "On" terminal of the switch SW-l.
With the power switches actuated, then, this is the normal condition of the circuit for'controlling ~he drive motors.
With the main drive motor MDM energized at all times, 0 the singlè revolution clutch will be instantaneously engaged to comm~t the machine 10 to a single revolution once it`is triggered. Once the triggering action occurs, the machine `is caused to cycle through a complete operation'in response to the operation of the switch LS-2 by an article to be tied in the throat ~. At that time'the solenoid SOL is momentarily pulsed with a pulse of sufficient time duration to trip the `,~
clutch and to actuate the machine 10 and cause it to follow through its sequential operations. The switch LS-2 is actuated in response to the article being placed in the 2 throat T of the machine and engaging the tri~ger arm MT for causing the switch L5-2 to close. The switch LS-2 will be maintained in its' closed circuit condition while the article is positioned at the inner extremity of the throat T. The clutch once pulsed by the solenoid SOL will cause the machine 10 to be committed to one-full revolution. As the machine 10 goes through its various cycles of operation controlled by the cam 31, at the appropriate time, the bell crank 35 will be moved to cause the actuating element 62 to trip the operating arms LSA for the switches LS-l and 3 LS-3. This will cause the normally closed contact CR-l !
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l ¦~or the rela~ CRl to open ~nd de-energize the solenoid SOL and ¦to correspondingly e1Ose the normally open con~act CR-l that i3 larranged in series circuit relationship with the relay CRl. With ¦the closing of the contact CR-l, the relay CR will be maintained 5 ¦in a closed circuit condition when the switch LS-2 is closed.
¦ At this same time, the pair of contacts for the switch LS-l will have been closed by the element 62 so that the timer TR-l will be energized and close the contacts l and 3 for the timer l TR-l to thereby energize the ribbon drive motor RDM. The closing ¦ of the switch LS~3 (with LS-l) will assure energlzation of the .¦ relay CRl and keep the solenoid SOL out of the circuit until a single machine cycle is completed,. Similarly, the relay CRl will be powered by the closing of contacts ~9 and l0 for the relay TR-l arranged around'the switch LS-2 for this purpose.
15 This is a safety eature which has been introduced into the circuit by pro~iding the~con,tacts 9 and ll to provide a circuit path around the switch LS-2 for maintaining ~the relay CRl in operation. After the relay TR-1 times out for the preselected time interval, correlated to the~amount'of ribbon to be 20 ~metered, the ribbon drive motor RDM wil~1 become de-energized.
To assure that the motor RDN~is~quickly stopped so that the amount of ribbon R that is metered is carefully controlled, a motor brake is included with the motor RDM to cause it to stop re,volving very quickly. The,time of energization of the 2 motor RDM is adjustable by .adjusti,n~ the timer TR~
Referring now to Fig. 2 in particular, the adjustable features of the tying machine l0 will be examined. The machine l0 may bq adjusted very quic~ly to control the amount of ribbon R that is metered,therefrom in relation to the 3 sizes or diameters of the artlcles to be tied. In addition, the tying machine l0 is provided with adjustable means ~or I

``! 1058585 1 ¦ an article to be centered at the twister 45 to assure that the ribbon R is centered about a bag neck, ~or ~xample, and the ribbon ends will be properly received by the twister l hook 45. ~he metering of the ribbon R is controlled by two 51 di~ferent means. The total length of the ribbon R for properly tying a particular diameter bag, for example, is ~enerally known. One half of the ~ie length can be metered by adjusting ~he position of the entire ribbon drive assembly with the other one-half being provided by the adjustment of 10 . the timer TR-l for timing the interval of time that the motor RDM is energized and thereby advance the rlbbon R.
The ribbon drive assembly for this purpose is mounted on a movable plate AP which mount~ the ribbon drive motor RDM, ribbon guides 20 and ~l, ribbon drive rollers 22 and 23, guides 24 and 25, and the knife 26 so that the entire ribbon ~eed drive may be moved towards and~away from the ribbon forming station F in accordance with the amount of ribbon.
. required to be metered for the particular diameter of the article to be tied. The one-half length- of ribbon R to be 2 metered.by the adjustment of the plate AP is measured from the face of the ribbon~exit end of the guides 24 and 25 to the longitudinal center line of the twister hook 45 or the . shaft 46. For this purpose, the machine may be.calibrated aIong the side the plate AP in relation to the varying 2 diameters of the articles to be tied. The machine opera~or may then quickly adjust the position of the plate AP.. The adjustmen~ of the plate AP is provided for by means of the ad~usting;slot APS illustrated in the upper left-hand rorner . of the plate AP in Fig. 2, which longitudinally extends on 3 the plate. The selected position of the plate AP i~ fixed ~ ` 3 ~_ `

105858~i 1 ¦ by securing the adjusting screw AS to the ~rame of the machine through the slot ~PS. The operator need only loosen the adjustable screw AS, move the plate AP in the correct l direction in accordance with the desired amount of tape to be metered and then secure the screw AS to maintain the plate APS in the selected position.
Slmilarly, the timer T~-l can be readily adjusted by a movable arm or the like that may be calibrated for the .~ same range of bag neck diameters as the scale for the plate 0 AP and will control the remaining length of the ribbon R to be metered by the drive motor RDM.:
The article.to be tied must also be centered in the . throat T with respeat to the center o~ the twister 45 to cause the length of ribbon R to be centered about the bag 1 neck. For this purpose a centerlng plate TC is mo~ably secured to the inner end o~ the throat T to arrest and position the article to be tied at the:tyin~ station. The ~ ~ centering.plate TC is movable~towards and~away from the : : center line of the twisting shaft 46 and the linear slot . : .
:34C for the-cam plate 34. The plate TC is moved to position it at a distance of one-half o~ the diameter of a bag neck, for example,.from the center line of the twister 45. The position of the plate TC is secuxed by a removable fastener CF which secures the plate in a selected position and may be 2 loosened to allow the position of the plate to be moved in the desired direction for centering purposes.
With the above ~structure in mind, the complete operation of the tying machine 10 can now be described. It will be asswmed that the machine 10 has been adjusted for tying an 3 article of a particular diameter and no adjustments are ~ 33 . .

1 ¦ required fox metering the correct length of ribbon ~ or ¦ the centering of the article at the tying station, ¦ The tying operation is initiated by closing the switches I SW-l and SW-2 to activate the motors RDM and MDM. This will sl energize the main drive motor MDM and maintain it energized l as a result of the closing of the switch S~-l. The article ¦ to be tied may then ba placed into the throat ~ of the ¦ machine 10 and in doing so will engage the motor trigger arm MT which will be moved out of the path of the article to be 0¦ tied and thereby actuating the swltch aperator S3 for closing the switch LS-2. The closing of the bag switch L~ will momentariIy pulse the solenoid SOL to actuate the ~ingle revolution clutch associated with the drive motor MDM. With this action the tying machine 10 will be committed to complete a single revolution~for se~uen~ing through its operations. It will be assumed~that the ribbon R has been previously fed into the machine and~brought through the ribbon exit end o the guides~24 and 25 even with the cut-off knife 26. With the tripping of the switch LS-2, the control cam 31 will begin~ to rotate counteralockwise in response to the actuation of the slngle~revolution cIutch.
During the first 15 degrees of rotation of the contro~
cam 31, the ball bearing 70BB which is mounted to the free en,d of the bellcrank 70~at the detent 31D of the control cam 2 31 will be forced-out of the detent 31D. When the ball bearing 70BB is forced out of the detent 31D it will tra~el along the high portion -31HP of the cam ~1 and actuate the knife 26. The knife 26 is actuated through the movement transmitted through the series of secured arms provided by 3 the bell crank 70, arms 27, 30, 71 and 72 which force the 1 ¦ knife 26 to move to the le~t as illustrated in Fig. 2. In ¦ moving to the left, the knife 26 will shear the ribbon R from the xemaining portion of the ribbon extending upstream to the spool S. At this time, it will be recognized that the ribbon R will extend into the chutes 32RC and 32LC for the forming scissors 32. As the control cam 31 continues to rotate, the connecting rod 57 (which had been on bottom dead center) begins to pull bell crank 35 which is connected to the scissors 32 by the shackle link 36. The bell crànk 35 0 may cause the stroke of the conneoting rod 57 to be slightly multiplied. In respon~e to the movement Qf the bell crank 35, the scissors 32~will then advance in a ætraight line towards the article to be tied in the throat T. ~he motions of the scissors 32 are controlled by the cam plate 34 during lS the advancement of the scis60rs 32 towards the article~to be tied. During the initial movement of the scissors 32, the ribbon R will engage the fork 41 to be retained and thereby deformed. At the tLme when the ribbon R contacts the fork 41, I:
the arms of the scis60r6 3Z wil~l begin to open to clear 2 the;article to be tied that is;~held at the throat T of the machine 10. The fork 41 will remain in the path of the ribbon R until the scissors have fully opened to their extreme position as illustrated in Fig. 4. At this time the lifter arm 37 will quickly raise the fork 41 away from the ribbon R.
2 The scissors 32 will~continue to be advanced towards the tying station RT and the ribbon R will be formed around the article to be tied during this interval.
As a result of the ribbon R being deformed in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4, a tightening effect occurs as the 3 scissors 32 close around the article to be tied. This . . , ~ ',,.

,~ 35_ , , '~

` 11 1058585 1 I tightening e~fect is most pxonounced on bags or packages ¦ having the larger di~meter necks. The scissors 32 continue l in this fashion and completely close around the artîcle to be tied at the top dead center position of the cam 31 and which position }s illustrated in Fig. 5. At this time in the cycle of operation, the ribbon R is in a position to be picked up by the twister hook 45. At this time the twister hook 45 is actuated by the gear segment 52 engaging the pinion 51 and rotating the twister shaft 46 in response 0 thereto. As the twister hook 45 begins to rotate counter-clockwise, it will pick up the free ends of the ribbon R
and ~tr}p them from the scissors32 and begin the twist}ng tying operation. At th}s time, the scissors 32 will begin to retract from the tying station RT and move linearly in the opposite direct}on~from left to right to its ~homen position. ~ ~ ~
In moving from the tying station RT to "home", the scissors 32 moYe ~through the reverse sequence describ~ for the opening and closing of the scissor arms 32R and 32L.
As the scissors 32 approach the "home" position, the cam 31 is at the bottom dead center and the pin 33 for the scissors 32 will engage the lifter arm 37 to force }t back }nto its normal down position. The bell crank 70 will then drop into the detent 3~D for cam 31 just as the single revolution clutch on the main dr}ve motor MDM disengages to term}nate the cycle. The detent 31D for the cam 31 assures that the scissors 32 are exactly positioned at the 'Ihome'' position every tLme. The "home" position is defined slightly inwardly from the ~erminal end of the control ~m slots 34R, 34L and 3 34C to assure that~the scissors are not forced up against ~ 3 ~ `'`;

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1 10S858~ I

¦ the end walls. At this same point in time, the bell crank 35 will activate the operating armSLSA for the switches LS-3 and LS-l to place the ribbon drive motor RDM across the source of power and cause the ribbon drive roller 23 to rotate. With the actuation of the drive roller 23, the ribbon R will be advanced as a result ~f the coactio~ of the drive roller 23 with ~he roller 22. The ribbon will be advanced for the interval controlled by the relay T~-l to provide the correct metering of the ribbon for the successi~e tying operation. The ribbon motor RDM will be stopped when the time delay relay TR-l times out causing the brake associated with the motor RDM to quickly stop the motor and the feeding of the ribbon R. ~he article can then be removed from ~he throat T and the machine is ready for the next tying operation.
1If the next article to be tied~exceeds the diameter of the pre~ious article to require adjustment of the machine 10 for metering the ri W on R and the centering of the article~ !
these operations must be performed by the operater before the article can be tied. Once these adjuætmen s are completed, 2 the next article to be tied may ~e placed into the machine 10 at the throat ~ and the above sequence of operations is . , ~ .
repeated.

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Claims (12)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A machine for tying articles of varying diameter with a twist-tie ribbon capable of being twisted to form a tie, the apparatus comprising:-means for advancing a preselected length of ribbon from a continuous length of twist-tie ribbon;
means for severing the preselected length of ribbon from its continuous length;
means for twisting the ends of a twist-tie ribbon delivered thereto;
movable means for receiving the ribbon from the advancing means and for forming the severed ribbon around an article to be tied while delivering the thus formed ribbon to the twisting means;
the said forming means including means for assuring that the ribbon is evenly pulled from the forming means at the twisting means; and drive means coupled to operate the advancing means, severing means, twisting means and forming means.

2. A machine for tying articles with a twist-tie ribbon capable of being twisted to form a tie comprising;-means for storing a continuous length of twist-tie ribbon having its free end extending outwardly therefrom;
means receiving the free end of the tie material for metering out a preselected length of tie material from the storing means and for advancing the preselected length of ribbon from the continuous length;
means for severing the preselected length of ribbon from the continuous length of tie material;

means for twisting the ends of a twist-tie ribbon delivered thereto;
movable means for receiving the ribbon from the advancing means and for forming the severed ribbon around an article to be tied while delivering the thus formed ribbon to the twisting means;
the movable means including means extending adjacent the metering means for receiving the ribbon from the metering means for positive reception of the ribbon;
said forming means including means for assuring that the ribbon is evenly pulled from the forming means at the twist-ing means;
the twisting means being operable to twist the ends of the ribbon around each other thereby removing the ribbon from the forming means;
means for positively controlling operation of the forming means for positive clearance of the article to be tied when positioned to be tied and positive placing of the ends of the ribbon at the twisting means and drive means for actuating and operating the severing means, the forming means and the twisting means to twist-tie an article positioned to be tied, and wherein the means for metering out a preselected length includes an individual drive means for actuating the met? means and a timing means for controlling the length of time the individual drive means is actuated, the individual driving means being an electric motor and the timing means being electronic timing means.

3. A machine according to claim 1 or 2 including adjusting means for rapidly adjusting the tying apparatus for tying articles of varying sizes over a relatively wide range of sizes, the adjusting means including adjustable means for centering an article to be tied at the twisting means.

4. A machine according to claim 1 or 2 including adjusting means for rapidly adjusting the tying apparatus for tying articles of varying sizes over a relatively wide range of sizes, the adjusting means including adjustable means for centering an article to be tied at the twisting means and including actuating means movably mounted in the path of the article to be tied as the article is positioned at the twisting means for actuating the drive means.

5. A machine according to claim 1 or 2 including adjusting means for rapidly adjusting the tying apparatus for tying articles of varying sizes over a relatively wide range of sizes, the adjusting means including adjustable means for centering an article to be tied at the twisting means and including actuating means movably mounted in the path of the article to be tied as the article is positioned at the twisting means for actuating the drive means including ribbon storing means comprising a rotatable spool having the ribbon wound thereon and extending into the advancing means and including brake means for preventing unauthorized rotation of the spool.

6. A machine according to claim 1 or 2 including a frame with an article-receiving throat for receiving articles of varying sizes to be tied, and including adjustable stop means for centering the article to be tied.

7. A machine according to claim 1 or 2 including a frame with an article-receiving throat for receiving articles for varying sizes to be tied, and including adjustable stop means for centering the article to be tied, and including actuating means movably mounted in the throat in the path of an article to be tied for actuating the drive means.

8. A machine according to claim 2 including means for movably mounting the metering means and the severing means for adjusting the length of tie material that is metered out to accommodate articles of varying sizes.

9. A machine according to claim 1 or 2 including means for limiting the length of unexposed ribbon during the ribbon advancing operations including while the ribbon is being advanced from the advancing means to the forming means.

10. A machine according to claim 1 or 2 including means for limiting the length of unexposed ribbon during the ribbon advancing operations including while the ribbon is being advanced from the advancing means to the forming means and wherein the forming means comprises fork means mounted for movement towards and away from the twisting means while opening and closing around the various sized articles to be tied when positioned to be tied.

11. A method of tying objects of varying diameter with a twist-tie ribbon including the steps of:
adjusting a tying mechanism for feeding a preselected length of twist-tie ribbon from a supply of ribbon relative to the size of an article to be tied, for centering the article at a tying station;
advancing a preselected length of twist-tie ribbon to movable forming scissors for forming the ribbon around an article to be tied;
severing the preselected length of ribbon from its continuous length;
forming the ribbon around the article to be tied while the ribbon is carried to the tying station by the movable scissors to assure that the ribbon will be evenly pulled at the twist tying station;
causing the scissors to successively open around the article to be tied th assure clearance thereof and to close around the article to be tied while carrying the ribbon to the tying station; and stripping the ribbon from the scissors while twisting the ends of the ribbon upon itself. to twist-tie the article, and the step of adjusting the tying mechanism including adjusting the tying mechanism relative to the diameter of an article to be tied for centering the article at a tying mechanism station.

12. A method for tying objects of varying diameter with a twist-tie ribbon including the steps of:
providing a twist-tie ribbon tying machine having an adjustable opening to receive an article to be tied and means for adjusting the length of ribbon metered out for tying articles of variable diameter and for centering the article to be tied relative to the tying station in accordance with the size of the article to be tied;
adjusting the machine for metering out a preselected length of tying ribbon correlated to the size of the article to be tied with the ribbon;
adjusting the opening of the machine to center an article to be tied positioned in the opening in accordance with the diameter of the article relative to the tying station;
positioning and centering an article to be tied at the machine tying station;
automatically twist-tying the positioned article with the tying mechanism in the following sequential steps;
severing the previously metered length of tying ribbon from a continuous length of ribbon;
using forming means to form the ribbon around the article positioned to be tied while delivering the formed ribbon to the tying station of the machine the forming step including assuring that the ribbon is evenly pulled from the forming means at the tying station;
twisting the ends of the ribbon delivered at the tying station while stripping the ribbon from the forming means;
retracting the forming means to its "home" position while the ribbon is being twisted;

metering out another preselected length of tying ribbon for the successive typing operation;
withdrawing the twist-tied article from the tying mechanism; and de-activating the tying mechanism.