EP3272659B1 - Manual strapping and/or sealing device - Google Patents

Description

• der Antrieb elektrisch arbeitet und wenigstens die Energieversorgungseinheit aufweist.

The invention relates to the combination of an external charging station for an energy supply unit and a manual strapping and / or locking device which is equipped with a drive for at least one locking unit and / or a tensioning unit, with

• the drive works electrically and has at least the power supply unit.

Such a combination is to be taken into account according to Art. 54 (3) EPC WO 2017/017522 A1 known. This is all about a holding device with an integrated contactless charging station for a strapping device. A charging station is integrated into the holding device, which is used to charge a rechargeable battery inserted in the strapping device. In principle, the battery can also be arranged permanently in the interior of the housing. The battery is placed in relation to a central handle opposite to the drive for the locking unit and the tensioning unit.

In the further prior art according to US 2010/0139805 A1 describes a mobile strapping device for steel straps. This in turn is equipped with a battery for power supply. Further details on the design of the battery are not described.

the DE 10 2013 226 232 A1 deals with a hand tool battery. This is equipped with a housing and at least one battery cell as well as an inductive charging unit. The inductive charging unit is detachably received in the housing.

An induction hand tool battery device is the subject of DE 10 2013 226 220 A1 . For this purpose, a cell unit and a secondary charging unit are provided, which are provided for direct energy consumption when the cell unit is charged.

Manual strapping and / or locking devices are essentially manually operable strapping devices, with the aid of which a strapping band is guided around packing material and at least tensioned. As a rule, the manual strapping and / or locking device in question also ensures that the strap ends of the strapping tape lying on top of one another after the strapping of the packing material are connected to one another. This can be done using a punched connection, a welded connection or with the aid of a closure sleeve. Such hand strapping and / or locking devices are described in many ways in the prior art, for which purpose only by way of example DE 1 241 343 referenced.

As part of the DE 20 2004 005 133 U1 The applicant describes such a manual strapping and / or locking device in which the locking unit operates pneumatically. In addition, a tensioning drive is provided for tensioning the strapping. A corresponding pneumatic drive requires the presence of a pneumatic energy supply in the working area of the device concerned.

For this reason, the EP 2 763 903 B1 already propagated an energy self-sufficient solution. In fact, the described sealing tool or manual sealing device for strapping is not only available via an electrically operating locking unit, but also via a power supply unit in the form of an accumulator.

The power supply unit or the accumulator provided at this point or a battery is detachably attached to one end of a gripping unit. This is intended to ensure permanent operation even when the accumulator or the power supply unit is empty. Because with the well-known teaching according to the EP 2 763 903 B1 the removable, empty battery can be exchanged for a fully charged battery.

Tool solutions with removable batteries are also in the further prior art, for example according to the EP 1 413 519 A1 already known. Here, a drive device of a portable strapping device is described, which is equipped with a tensioning device, a welding device and a cutting device. The motor or drive is used both to act on the clamping device or clamping unit and as a drive for the locking unit. A rechargeable battery which is releasably attached to the strapping tool is provided for supplying power to the drive.

the EP 3 031 584 A1 discloses a combination of an external charging station in the form of a case for a power supply unit in the form of a rechargeable battery and a handheld power tool, for example in the form of a drill or screwdriver tool, which is equipped with a drive for at least one active unit. The drive works electrically and has the power supply unit. This is designed as an integral part of the drive. The power supply unit is arranged together with the drive in a common drive housing. The power supply unit is electrically charged wirelessly by means of the charging station and the charging station is equipped for this purpose with a receiving area for the handheld power tool for detachable support.

In practice, however, problems arise at this point. Because a detachable accumulator can be lost after it has been replaced. The often harsh working conditions also mean that any detents or fastening lugs on the battery pack or on the manual strapping and / or locking device are damaged, so that a perfect connection between the detachable battery or accumulator and the strapping device in question is no longer possible or is no longer possible . This is where the invention comes in.

The invention is based on the technical problem of developing such a combination further in such a way that handling and operation are permanently facilitated.

To solve this technical problem, the combination of an external charging station for an energy supply unit and a manual strapping and / or locking device according to claim 1 is provided.

In contrast to the prior art according to the EP 1 413 519 A1 or according to the EP 2 763 903 B1 the manual strapping and / or locking device according to the invention expressly does not work with a detachably detachable power supply unit. Rather, the energy supply unit is integrated into the drive or the drive and the energy supply unit are arranged and received in a common drive housing. An exchange of the energy supply unit is consequently neither intended nor necessary according to the invention. Rather, the energy supply unit is (re) charged when it is installed.

The invention is based on the knowledge that today's energy supply units and in particular accumulators used at this point not only have a high output and a large charging capacity, but can also be recharged practically without limit. In fact, rechargeable batteries based on lithium ions are particularly advantageously used in this context. But it is also possible to use nickel-cadmium batteries or also nickel-metal hydride batteries or other types of batteries. In any case, such accumulators can be charged without problems and have a high energy density and an increased output compared to previous embodiments. This can be attributed, among other things, to the fact that lithium-ion batteries work with output voltages of 18 V, for example, so that sufficient electrical power is available to supply the drive with the help of the power supply unit. The drive actually works electrically and is supplied with the required electrical energy with the aid of the energy supply unit. With the aid of the drive, the locking unit is typically loaded and actuated. Alternatively or in addition, however, the tensioning unit can also be acted upon with the aid of the drive, as already in principle in FIG EP 1 413 519 A1 is described.

In order to charge the energy supply unit embodied as an integral part of the drive, the charging station for the energy supply unit is provided according to the invention. The charging station can be designed to be stationary. In general, however, a mobile charging station is propagated which, together with the hand-held strapping and / or locking device, which is also designed to be mobile, can be used at practically any conceivable location. According to the invention, the energy supply unit is electrically charged wirelessly by means of the charging station.

For this purpose, the charging station expediently has at least one inductive interface. The energy supply unit is electrically charged with the aid of the inductive interface. For this purpose, the inductive interface of the charging station generally has at least one charging coil which is inductively coupled to a corresponding charging coil of the energy supply unit when the manual strapping and / or locking device is placed on the charging station.

This means that an inductive coupling is observed between the charging coil inside the charging station and the charging coil assigned to the power supply unit, because the two charging coils have an electromagnetic coupling Alternating fields are inductively coupled to one another. The charging coil assigned to the energy supply unit represents, like the energy supply unit itself, an integral part of the drive and, like this, is arranged in the common drive housing. In other words, within the scope of the invention, the drive is generally composed of a motor and in particular an electric motor, the energy supply unit and the charging coil for the energy supply unit, and finally a rectifier. All of these elements of the drive are received together and protected in the drive housing.

The two charging coils on the one hand in the charging station and on the other hand as part of the energy supply unit are inductively coupled to one another via the electromagnetic alternating field. In addition, the power supply unit typically also has the rectifier, which converts the alternating current transmitted via the inductive interface into a direct current that can be stored in the accumulator. Lithium-ion-based batteries are used as possible and preferred batteries, as has already been explained above.

The charging station is also advantageously equipped with a transformer. With the help of the transformer, a mains voltage of, for example, 220 V is typically converted into a low-voltage alternating voltage in the range from 12 V to 30 V or up to 80 V. This low-voltage alternating voltage is transmitted to the manual strapping and / or locking device through the inductive coupling of the two charging coils. The rectifier now ensures that the low-voltage alternating voltage is converted into a low-voltage direct voltage so that the associated direct current can be stored in the accumulator.

In addition, according to the invention, it has been proven that the inductive interface is set up not only for energy supply, but also for data transmission. In this case, with the inductive coupling between the charging station and the hand strapping and / or locking device, not only electrical energy is transmitted to the power supply unit. Instead, starting from the charging station, data can also be transmitted to the hand strapping and / or locking device or a control unit provided. According to the invention, these data are parameters of the strapping band used, for example with regard to material, width, material thickness, achievable sealing strength, elasticity, etc. be adjusted. Such an adaptation is advantageous according to the invention in that the charging station in question is provided in the area of the dispenser for the strapping band.

That is, if the charging station is integrated, for example, in the dispenser for the strapping tape or is connected to the dispenser according to the invention, the charging station not only has an intuitive attachment in such a way that the manual strapping and / or locking device belonging to the dispenser is immediately available the charging station in question can be stored in the dispenser. The charging station is also advantageously attached because the dispenser is required for the operation of the manual strapping and / or locking device. This is because it takes care of the supply of the strapping. The dispenser including the charging station is designed to be mobile.

To place the hand strapping and / or locking device according to the invention on the charging station, the charging station according to the invention has the receiving area. The receiving area is set up for releasable support for the manual strapping and / or locking device. With the help of the described manual strapping and / or sealing device, bands made of metal or steel and, in particular, plastic bands can be processed. For this reason, the closure unit is advantageously also designed as a crimp closure unit, friction-weld closure unit, sleeveless closure unit, for example a punch closure unit, weld closure unit, etc.

For example, with a crimp closure unit or a sleeveless closure unit, for example a punched closure unit, steel strips can typically be coupled at their ends to be connected to one another. For plastic straps, the invention recommends a friction-weld closure unit or generally a weld closure unit as the closure unit. Of course, a welded closure unit can also be used to connect the ends of steel straps. In any case, the hand strapping and / or sealing device according to the invention is suitable for both steel strapping and plastic strapping.

If steel strip is processed and the ends of the steel strip are coupled to one another via a crimp closure, the crimp closure unit in this case can typically have two or more clamping jaws.

The clamping jaws can each be rotatably connected to a plate and in particular notch plate. In addition, the two clamping jaws are advantageously driven with the aid of a cam eccentrically regular. For its part, the cam is usually connected to the drive and can be set in rotation with the aid of the drive. The rotations of the cam take place eccentrically and are converted into a corresponding linear movement for rotating the two clamping jaws. With the aid of the clamping jaws, for example, a closure sleeve can then be attached to the strap ends of the strapping band to be connected. Of course, this only applies as an example.

In principle, with the help of the clamping jaws, the ends to be connected can also be coupled to one another via a punched connection. In this case, the closure unit is a sleeveless closure unit, for example a punched closure unit. This can e.g. B. be used for a punched connection in steel strips. If otherwise plastic straps or straps made of plastic are to be processed, the invention recommends that the closure unit in question be designed as a friction-weld closure unit or generally a weld closure unit. Corresponding models for such friction-welded closure units or, in general, welded closure units for strapping made of plastic can be found in FIG DE 10 2004 012 732 B3 , to which reference is expressly made. The weld closure unit can, however, also work in such a way that the strap ends of the strapping band to be connected are coupled to one another by welding points.

As a result, a manual strapping and / or locking device is made available which is designed to be particularly durable and works without problems. This is primarily due to the fact that the energy supply unit or the accumulator is an integral part of the drive. In addition, the power supply unit together with the drive are advantageously arranged in the common drive housing, both the drive and the power supply unit find a particularly protected attachment and arrangement. The energy supply unit can consequently neither be lost nor damaged during operation.

In this way, the housing for the hand strapping and / or locking device and in particular the drive housing can be designed to be closed, so that contamination or damage is avoided. As a result, the functional reliability is increased overall. This is also because permanent operation is guaranteed and the energy supply unit is constantly charged. This is because the charging station is provided for this purpose, which is also equipped with the required receiving area for the manual strapping and / or locking device for releasable support. This is where the main advantages can be seen.

Fig. 1

das erfindungsgemäße Handumreifungs- und/oder -verschlussgerät perspektivisch zusammen mit der zugehörigen externen Ladestation und

Fig. 2

einen schematischen Schnitt durch das Handumreifungs- und/oder -verschlussgerät nach der Fig. 1 im Bereich der Verschlusseinheit.

The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of a drawing showing only one exemplary embodiment; show it:

Fig. 1

the hand strapping and / or locking device according to the invention in perspective together with the associated external charging station and

Fig. 2

a schematic section through the hand strapping and / or locking device according to the Fig. 1 in the area of the locking unit.

A manual strapping and / or locking device is shown in the figures. This first of all has a housing 1. The housing 1 accommodates a locking unit 2 and a clamping unit 3 in its interior. With the help of the schematic in the Fig. 2 Shown closure unit 2 can be in Embodiment and not limiting a sleeve 5 to be connected to tape ends in the Fig. 1 Attach only indicated strapping band 4. The strapping 4 in the illustrated embodiment is one made of metal and in particular steel. Of course, the strapping 4 can also be made of plastic. The closure unit 2 is then not a crimp closure unit as described below and with reference to FIG Fig. 2 is explained in more detail, a friction-weld closure unit is used, as described in detail in the aforementioned DE 10 2004 012 732 B3 is described. However, this is not shown.

To now the sleeve 5 to the band ends to be connected of the Umreibungsbandes 4 according to the illustration in the Fig. 1 has to be attached in detail in the Fig. 2 The locking unit 2 shown and operating as a crimp locking unit has two or more clamping jaws 6 which are each rotatably connected to a common plate 7. The plate 7 can be adjusted in the linear direction with the aid of a cam 8, so that as a result the two clamping jaws 6 close the sleeve 5 and thereby couple the strap ends of the strapping band 4 to be connected to one another. The two clamping jaws 6 driven eccentrically with the aid of the cam 8 are ultimately pivoted by a drive 9, 10, 11, 12 or a motor and in particular an electric motor 9 as part of the drive 9, 10, 11, 12.

It can be seen that the electric motor 9 meshes on the outside with the cam 8 via a gear located on its output shaft, which in turn works via an eccentric 13 on the plate 7 and this in the in Fig. 2 indicated linear direction moved back and forth. As a result of this, the clamping jaws 6 which are each rotatably connected to the plate 7 can be opened and conclude. This is basically known in the prior art, including, for example, on the DE 1 241 343 or the utility model DE 20 2004 005 133 U1 the applicant is referred.

According to the invention, the drive 9, 10, 11, 12 is composed not only of the already mentioned motor or electric motor 9, but also at least one energy supply unit 10 as an integral part of the drive 9, 10, 11, 12. In the exemplary embodiment, the energy supply unit 10 is one or more accumulators 10, which in the present case are designed as lithium-ion accumulators 10.

It can be seen that the energy supply unit 10 is arranged together with the drive 9, 10, 11, 12 in the common housing 1 or a common drive housing 1 ′ as part of the housing 1. That is, the energy supply unit 10 is fixedly arranged in the interior of the housing 1 or the drive housing 1 'in question and is permanently installed therein.

In addition to the electric motor 9 and the energy supply unit 10 or the accumulator 10, the drive 9, 10, 11, 12 also has a charging coil 11 assigned to the energy supply unit 10. Finally, the drive 9, 10, 11, 12 also includes a rectifier 12, the function of which will be explained in more detail below.

Of particular importance for the invention is not only the fact that the energy supply unit or the accumulator 10 is integrated into the housing 1 or the associated drive housing 1 ', but also that the energy supply unit or the accumulator 10 is integrated with the aid of a external and mobile charging station 14 can be electrically charged wirelessly. For the wireless For charging the energy supply unit 10, the external charging station 14 is equipped with a charging coil 15. The charging coil 15 within the charging station 14 and the charging coil 11 assigned to the energy supply unit 10 in the interior of the housing 1 or the drive housing 1 ', of the manual strapping and / or locking device, taken together, define an inductive interface 11, 15.

The energy supply unit 10 is electrically charged with the aid of this inductive interface 11, 15. The wireless inductive charging process of the power supply unit 10 of the hand strapping and / or locking device takes place automatically when the hand strapping and / or locking device in question is releasably placed on the charging station 14, as is the case with the Fig. 1 indicates. For this purpose, the charging station 14 is equipped with a receiving area 16 for the hand strapping and / or locking device to be detachably placed thereon. A releasable latching between the charging station 14 on the one hand and the manual strapping and / or locking device on the other hand is even possible and conceivable in order to ensure the correct positioning and reception of the manual strapping and / or locking device on the charging station 14.

In this placed position, the manual strapping and / or locking device is in its parking or storage position. The manual strapping and / or locking device is removed from the charging station 14 for operation and for connecting the ends of the strapping band 4. The implemented inductive interface 11, 15 ensures that the energy supply unit 10 is charged for the entire duration of the positioning of the manual strapping and / or locking device on the charging station 14. As a result, the manual strapping and / or locking device is immediately ready for use.

As described, the inductive interface 11, 15 is composed of the charging coil 15 inside the charging station 14 on the one hand and the charging coil 11 inside the housing 1 or the drive housing 1 'of the hand strapping and / or locking device on the other hand. As soon as the manual strapping and / or locking device has taken up its parking or storage position in contact with the receiving area 16 on the charging station 14, the two charging coils 11, 15 are so close that the inductive interface 11, 15 implemented in this way electrical energy can be transmitted via the charging station 14 to the energy supply unit 10. Here, the invention proceeds in detail such that the charging station 14 is equipped with a mains cable 17, with the aid of which the charging station 14 is supplied with an input-side mains voltage of, for example, 220 V. A transformer 18 provided inside the charging station 14 now ensures that the aforementioned mains voltage is converted into a low-voltage alternating voltage, which corresponds to an output voltage in the range from 10 V to 80 V, for example. This low-voltage alternating voltage is applied to the charging coil 15 in the interior of the charging station 14.

Through the inductive interface 11, 15 between the charging coil 15 inside the charging station 14 and the charging coil 11 assigned to the power supply unit 10, the low-voltage AC voltage is transmitted to the charging coil 11 and, with the help of the rectifier 12 connected downstream of the charging coil 11, is converted into a direct voltage and a direct current for charging the power supply unit or the accumulator 10 converted.

The charging station 14 is advantageously arranged in the area of a dispenser or connected to this dispenser. The invention is based on the knowledge that for the operation of the manual strapping and / or locking device the strapping band 4 has to be fed from a corresponding storage device, namely the unwinding device, which is not expressly shown. As a result, the hand strapping and / or locking device is stored in the park or waiting position on or in the dispenser when not in use, namely placed on the receiving area 16 of the charging station 14. The dispenser, like the manual strapping and / or locking device, can be mobile and use it practically anywhere.

The drive 9, 10, 11, 12 can act on the locking unit 2 or, alternatively, the clamping unit 3. However, it is also possible to drive both the locking unit 2 and the tensioning unit 3 with the aid of the drive 9, 10, 11, 12. As described, the closure unit 2 ensures that the strap ends of the strapping band 4 in the exemplary embodiment are coupled to one another with the aid of the sleeve or clamping sleeve 5. In contrast, the tensioning unit 3 ensures that the strapping 4 is gripped and tensioned. For this purpose, the tensioning unit 3 may be equipped with appropriate gripping means for gripping and tensioning the strapping band 4, which is known in principle and is not shown in detail.

Claims (7)

1. Combination of an external charging station (14) for an energy supply unit (10), a hand strapping tool, which is equipped with a drive (9, 10, 11, 12) for at least one closing unit (2) and a dispenser provided for supplying strap, wherein

   - the drive (9, 10, 11, 12) works electrically and has at least the energy supply unit (10), wherein further

   - the energy supply unit (10) is designed as an integral part of the drive (9, 10, 11, 12) and in addition

   - the energy supply unit (10) together with the drive (9, 10, 11, 12) is arranged in a common drive housing (1'), wherein further

   - the energy supply unit (10) is electrically charged by means of the charging station (14), and the charging station (14) is equipped for this purpose with a receiving region (16) for the hand strapping tool for releasable support, wherein furthermore

   - the charging station (14) has at least one inductive interface (11, 15), with the help of which the energy supply unit (10) is electrically charged, and wherein

   - the inductive interface (11, 12) is not only designed for energy supply but also for data transmission, wherein the data are parameters of the strap used, and wherein

   - the dispenser is equipped with the charging station (14).
2. Combination according to Claim 1, characterized in that the inductive interface (11, 15) of the charging station (14) has at least one charging coil (15), which is inductively coupled to a corresponding charging coil (11) of the energy supply unit (10) when a hand strapping tool and/or closing device is placed on the charging station (14).
3. Combination according to Claim 2, characterized in that the two charging coils (11, 15) are inductively coupled to one another via an electromagnetic alternating field.
4. Combination according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the energy supply unit (10) is equipped with a rectifier (12), which converts the alternating current into a direct current that can be stored by an accumulator (10) as an energy supply unit (10) .
5. Combination according to Claim 4, characterized in that the accumulator (10) is designed as a lithium-ion accumulator, nickel-cadmium accumulator, nickel metal hydride accumulator or the like.
6. Combination according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the charging station (14) has a transformer (18), which converts a mains voltage into a low-voltage alternating voltage.
7. Combination according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the closing unit (2) is designed as a crimp closing unit, friction-welding closing unit, sleeveless closing unit, for example punched closing unit, welded closing unit etc.

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