JP7540278B2 - Binding Equipment - Google Patents

Description

This relates to bundling equipment that uses wire to bind objects such as reinforcing bars.

Reinforcing bars are used in concrete structures to increase their strength, and are tied together with wire to prevent them from shifting from their designated position when the concrete is poured.

Conventionally, a binding machine known as a rebar binding machine has been proposed, which is held by a worker and used to wrap wire around two or more rebars, twist the wire around the rebars, and bind the two or more rebars with the wire (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, technology has been proposed that applies to tying equipment that uses a rebar tying machine (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-34405 JP 2013-35052 A

In equipment that uses a rebar tying machine, the rebar tying machine moves up and down relative to the rebars to be tied, and also moves away from the tie-able position. When the rebar tying machine moves in this way, it is necessary to be able to guide the wire to the wire feed unit provided in the rebar tying machine.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a tying device that can guide wire to a tying mechanism such as a rebar tying machine.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a binding device comprising: a binding mechanism for binding objects with a wire; a reel housing section for housing a reel around which a wire is wound; and a wire feeding mechanism for feeding the wire from the reel housed in the reel housing section to the binding mechanism ; and in order to enable the binding mechanism to move in a direction intersecting a surface on which the objects to be bound are arranged, the binding mechanism is movable relative to the reel housing section. The binding mechanism comprises a wire feeding section that feeds the wire in a first direction and winds it around the object to be bound, and feeds the wire wound around the object to be bound in a second direction opposite to the first direction and winds it around the object to be bound; and a wire guide that guides the wire fed to the wire feeding section and prevents the wire from coming off the wire feeding section . The wire feeding section comprises a pair of feeding members that feed the wire by a rotational motion, and the wire guide comprises a wire position regulating section that regulates the position of the wire along the axial direction of rotation of the feeding members. The wire position regulating section has a shape that regulates the radial orientation of the wire, and is configured as an opening facing the wire feeding section .
The present invention also provides a binding facility that includes a binding mechanism that binds objects to be bound with a wire, a reel accommodation section that accommodates a reel around which wire is wound, and a wire feeding mechanism that feeds the wire from the reel accommodated in the reel accommodation section to the binding mechanism, and the binding mechanism is movable relative to the wire feeding mechanism so as to be able to move in a direction intersecting a surface on which the objects to be bound are arranged. The binding mechanism includes a wire feeding section that feeds the wire in a first direction and winds it around the object to be bound, and feeds the wire wound around the object to be bound in a second direction opposite to the first direction and winds it around the object to be bound, and a wire guide that guides the wire fed to the wire feeding section and prevents the wire from coming off the wire feeding section. The wire feeding section includes a pair of feeding members that feed the wire by a rotational motion, and the wire guide includes a wire position regulating section that regulates the position of the wire along the axial direction of rotation of the feeding members. The wire position regulating section has a shape that regulates the radial orientation of the wire, and is configured with an opening that faces the wire feeding section.

In the present invention, the wire guide that guides the wire fed to the wire feed section prevents the wire from coming off the wire feed section.

In the present invention, even if the bundling mechanism moves relative to the wire feed mechanism, the wire is prevented from coming off the wire feed section and can be guided to the wire feed section.

1 is a side view illustrating an example of a binding facility according to a first embodiment. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a binding facility according to a first embodiment; 1 is a side view of a main portion showing an example of a binding apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of the reinforcing bar binding machine of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a wire feeding section. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a wire feeding section and a wire guide. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing an example of a wire feeding section and a wire guide. FIG. 4 is a plan cross-sectional view showing an example of a wire feeding section and a wire guide. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a wire guide. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an example of a binding portion. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an example of a binding portion. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a control function of the binding apparatus. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of binding reinforcing bars by a reinforcing bar binding machine in a binding facility. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an operation of binding reinforcing bars by a reinforcing bar binding machine in a binding facility. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an operation of binding reinforcing bars by a reinforcing bar binding machine in a binding facility. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 13 is a side view of a main portion showing an operation of guiding a wire by the wire guide. FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of a binding facility according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a side view of a main portion showing an example of a binding equipment according to a second embodiment. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. FIG. 13 is a side view showing an example of the binding equipment of the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of a binding facility according to a third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a side view of a main portion showing an example of a binding apparatus according to a third embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. FIG. 13 is a side view of a main portion showing an example of a binding apparatus according to a fourth embodiment. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. FIG. 13 is a side view of a main portion showing an example of a binding apparatus according to a fifth embodiment. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. FIG. 23 is a side view showing an example of the binding equipment of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing an example of a binding facility according to a sixth embodiment. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a control function of the binding apparatus. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of feeding a wire by the wire feeding device. 13 is a plan sectional view showing a modified example of the wire feed portion and the wire guide. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a wire guide. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another modified example of the binding equipment of each embodiment. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another modified example of the binding equipment of each embodiment. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another modified example of the binding equipment of each embodiment. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing still another modified example of the binding equipment of each embodiment.

Below, we will explain the embodiment of the bundling equipment and wire feeding mechanism of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

<Configuration Example of the Binding Equipment of the First Embodiment>
FIG. 1A is a side view showing an example of a bundling equipment of the first embodiment, FIG. 1B is an oblique view showing an example of the bundling equipment of the first embodiment, and FIG. 1C is a side view of a main part showing an example of the bundling equipment of the first embodiment.

The binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment includes a reinforcing bar binding machine 1A that binds reinforcing bars S, which are the binding objects, with wire W, and a wire feed mechanism 2A that feeds wire W to the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. The reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is attached to a lifting mechanism 111A and supported by a base portion 112A so that it can move (lift) in the vertical direction, which is a direction that intersects with the placement surface SF of the reinforcing bars S. This allows the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A to be movable relative to the wire feed mechanism 2A supported by the base portion 112A.

Figure 2 is a side view showing an example of a reinforcing bar binding machine according to the first embodiment. Reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is an example of a binding mechanism, in which wire W is fed in the forward direction indicated by arrow F, wound around two crossed reinforcing bars S, and the wire W wound around the reinforcing bars S is fed in the reverse direction indicated by arrow R to be wound around the reinforcing bars S. After that, the wire W is twisted and the reinforcing bars S are bound with the wire W.

To achieve the above-mentioned functions, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is equipped with a wire feed unit 3A that feeds the wire W in the forward and reverse directions, and a wire guide 4A that guides the wire W fed to the wire feed unit 3A. The reinforcing bar binding machine 1A also has a curl forming unit 5A that forms a path for winding the wire W fed by the wire feed unit 3A around the reinforcing bar S, and a cutting unit 6A that cuts the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S. The reinforcing bar binding machine 1A further has a binding unit 7A that twists the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S, and a drive unit 8A that drives the binding unit 7A.

The wire feed unit 3A is equipped with a pair of feed gears 30 (first feed gear 30L, second feed gear 30R) as feed members that clamp and feed one or multiple parallel wires W. The wire feed unit 3A rotates the feed gear 30 by transmitting the rotational motion of a feed motor described below. As a result, the wire feed unit 3A feeds the wire W clamped between the pair of feed gears 30 along the extension direction of the wire W. In a configuration in which multiple wires W, for example two wires W, are fed, the two wires W are fed in a parallel state.

The wire guide 4A is provided at a predetermined position upstream of the wire feed section 3A with respect to the feed direction in which the wire W is fed in the forward direction. In a configuration in which two wires W are fed, the wire guide 4A regulates the radial orientation of the two wires W, aligns the two entering wires W in parallel, and guides them between a pair of feed gears 30 (the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R).

The wire guide 4A has a shape such that the opening downstream in the feed direction of the wire W fed in the forward direction regulates the radial direction of the wire W. In contrast, the opening upstream in the feed direction of the wire W fed in the forward direction has a larger opening area than the opening downstream. For example, the wire guide 4A is configured with a tapered opening such that the opening area is largest on the introduction side of the wire W fed from the wire feed mechanism 2A shown in Figures 1A to 1C, and the opening area gradually decreases thereafter. This allows the wire W fed by the wire feed mechanism 2A to be guided between the pair of feed gears 30 even if the height or orientation of the rebar binding machine 1A changes.

The curl forming section 5A includes a curl guide 50 that curls the wire W fed by the wire feed section 30, and a guide 51 that guides the wire W curled by the curl guide 50 to the binding section 7A. In the rebar binding machine 1A, the feed path of the wire W fed by the wire feed section 3A is regulated by the curl forming section 5A, so that the trajectory of the wire W becomes a loop Ru as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2, and the wire W is wound around the rebar S.

The curl forming unit 5A includes guide members 53a and 53b that guide the wire W fed in the forward direction and give the wire W a curl. The guide member 53a is provided on the introduction side of the wire W fed by the wire feed unit 3A in the curl guide 50, and is positioned radially inside the loop Ru formed by the wire W. The guide member 53b is provided on the discharge side of the wire W fed by the wire feed unit 3A in the curl guide 50, and is positioned radially outside the loop Ru formed by the wire W.

The curl forming unit 5A is equipped with a guide member moving mechanism 54A that retracts the guide member 53a. After the wire W is wound around the reinforcing bar S, the guide member moving mechanism 54A retracts the guide member 53a in conjunction with the operation of the binding unit 7A.

The cutting unit 6A includes a fixed blade unit 60, a movable blade unit 61 that cuts the wire W in cooperation with the fixed blade unit 60, and a transmission mechanism 62 that transmits the operation of the binding unit 7A to the movable blade unit 61. The cutting unit 6A cuts the wire W by rotating the movable blade unit 61 around the fixed blade unit 60 as a fulcrum axis. The transmission mechanism 62 transmits the operation of the binding unit 7A to the movable blade unit 61 via the moving member 83, and rotates the movable blade unit 61 in conjunction with the operation of the binding unit 7A to cut the wire W.

The bundling unit 7A includes a wire locking body 70 to which the wire W is locked. The detailed configuration of the bundling unit 7A will be described later. The driving unit 8A includes a motor 80 and a reducer 81 that reduces speed and amplifies torque.

When the rebar tying machine 1A is used in a form that is held by the operator, it has a main body 10A and a handle 11A, and a battery 15A is removably attached to the handle 11A.

Figure 3A is a perspective view showing an example of a wire feed unit, and next, the configuration of the wire feed unit 3A will be explained with reference to each figure.

The first feed gear 30L, which constitutes one of the pair of feed gears 30, has teeth 31L that transmit driving force. In this example, the teeth 31L have a shape that constitutes a spur gear, and are formed on the entire circumference of the outer periphery of the first feed gear 30L. The first feed gear 30L also has a groove 32L into which the wire W is inserted. In this example, the groove 32L is formed as a recess with a substantially V-shaped cross section, and is formed in the circumferential direction on the entire circumference of the outer periphery of the first feed gear 30L.

The second feed gear 30R, which constitutes the other of the pair of feed gears 30, has teeth 31R that transmit driving force. In this example, the teeth 31R have a shape that constitutes a spur gear, and are formed around the entire outer circumference of the second feed gear 30R. The second feed gear 30R also has a groove 32R into which the wire W is inserted. In this example, the groove 32R is formed as a recess with a substantially V-shaped cross section, and is formed along the circumferential direction around the entire outer circumference of the second feed gear 30R.

The wire feed section 3A is arranged such that the groove portion 32L of the first feed gear 30L faces the groove portion 32R of the second feed gear 30R, with the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R sandwiching the feed path of the wire W.

In the wire feed section 3A, the teeth 31L of the first feed gear 30L mesh with the teeth 31R of the second feed gear 30R while the wire W is clamped between the groove 32L of the first feed gear 30L and the groove 32R of the second feed gear 30R. This allows the rotational driving force to be transmitted between the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R.

The wire feed unit 3A includes a feed motor 33 that drives one of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R, in this example the first feed gear 30L, and a drive force transmission mechanism 34 that transmits the drive force of the feed motor 33 to the first feed gear 30L.

The driving force transmission mechanism 34 includes a small gear 33a attached to the shaft of the feed motor 33 and a large gear 33b that meshes with the small gear 33a. The driving force transmission mechanism 34 also includes a feed small gear 34a to which the driving force is transmitted from the large gear 33b and which meshes with the first feed gear 30L. The small gear 33a, the large gear 33b, and the feed small gear 34a are each composed of a spur gear.

The first feed gear 30L rotates as the rotational motion of the feed motor 33 is transmitted through the drive force transmission mechanism 34. The second feed gear 30R rotates following the first feed gear 30L as the rotational motion of the first feed gear 30L is transmitted by the meshing of the teeth 31L and 31R.

As a result, the wire feed unit 3A feeds the wire W clamped between the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R along the extension direction of the wire W. In a configuration for feeding two wires W, the two wires W are fed in parallel due to the frictional force generated between the groove 32L of the first feed gear 30L and one wire W, the frictional force generated between the groove 32R of the second feed gear 30R and the other wire W, and the frictional force generated between the one wire W and the other wire W.

The wire feed unit 3A switches the rotation direction of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R by switching the rotation direction of the feed motor 33 between forward and reverse, thereby switching the forward and reverse feed direction of the wire W.

The wire feed unit 3A is configured to press the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R toward each other in order to clamp the wire W between the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R. That is, the wire feed unit 3A is configured to clamp the wire W between the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R and to be able to displace the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R in a direction in which they move toward and away from each other in order to load the wire W between the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R. In this example, the second feed gear 30R, which receives the driving force of the feed motor 33 from the first feed gear 30L and is not directly transmitted to the driving force of the feed motor 33, is displaced relative to the first feed gear 30L.

The wire feed unit 3A is provided with a first displacement member 36 that displaces the second feed gear 30R in a direction that moves it closer to and away from the first feed gear 30L. It is also provided with a second displacement member 37 that displaces the first displacement member 36. The first displacement member 36 and the second displacement member 37 displace one or both of the pair of feed gears 30 in a direction that moves them closer to and away from each other. In this example, as described above, the second feed gear 30R is displaced in a direction that moves it closer to and away from the first feed gear 30L.

The first displacement member 36 has one end supported by the second feed gear 30R rotatably supported by the shaft 300R. The other end of the first displacement member 36 is supported by the support member 301 of the wire feed section 3A rotatably with the shaft 36a as a fulcrum.

The first displacement member 36 has a shaft 36a, which serves as a fulcrum for rotation, oriented parallel to the shaft 300R of the second feed gear 30R. As a result, the first displacement member 36 is displaced by rotation around the shaft 36a, moving the second feed gear 30R toward and away from the first feed gear 30L.

The first displacement member 36 has a pressed portion 36b at one end that is pressed by the second displacement member 37. The pressed portion 36b is provided to the side of the portion that supports the shaft 300R of the second feed gear 30R.

The second displacement member 37 is supported by the support member 301 of the wire feed unit 3A so as to be rotatable about the shaft 37a. The second displacement member 37 also has a pressing portion 37b on one end side sandwiching the shaft 37a, which presses the pressed portion 36b of the first displacement member 36.

The second displacement member 37 is displaced by a rotational movement with the shaft 37a as a fulcrum, and the pressing portion 37b presses the pressed portion 36b of the first displacement member 36, and the pressing portion 37b releases the pressure on the pressed portion 36b.

The wire feed unit 3A includes a spring 38 that presses the second feed gear 30R against the first feed gear 30L. The spring 38 is, for example, a compression coil spring, and presses the other end side of the second displacement member 37 that sandwiches the shaft 37a.

The second displacement member 37 is displaced by a rotational movement with the shaft 37a as a fulcrum due to the pressure of the spring 38, and the pressing portion 37b presses the pressed portion 36b of the first displacement member 36. When the pressing portion 37b of the second displacement member 37 presses the pressed portion 36b of the first displacement member 36, the first displacement member 36 is displaced by a rotational movement with the shaft 36a as a fulcrum. As a result, the second feed gear 30R is pressed in the direction of the first feed gear 30L by the force of the spring 38.

When the wire W is loaded between the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R, the wire W is clamped between the groove portion 32L of the first feed gear 30L and the groove portion 32R of the second feed gear 30R.

In addition, with the wire W sandwiched between the groove portion 32L of the first feed gear 30L and the groove portion 32R of the second feed gear 30R, the teeth portion 31L of the first feed gear 30L mesh with the teeth portion 31R of the second feed gear 30R.

Figure 3B is a perspective view showing an example of a wire feed section and wire guide, Figure 3C is a side cross-sectional view showing an example of a wire feed section and wire guide, Figure 3D is a plan cross-sectional view showing an example of a wire feed section and wire guide, and Figure 3E is a perspective view showing an example of a wire guide. Next, the configuration of wire guide 4A that guides wire W to wire feed section 3A will be described.

The wire guide 4A is configured so that the upstream opening 40A in the forward feed direction of the wire W is larger in opening area than the downstream opening 40B. In this example, the wire guide 4A is configured with a tapered opening such that the opening area of the upstream opening 40A, which is the introduction side of the wire W fed from the wire feed mechanism 2A, is the largest, and the opening area gradually decreases from there, forming a guide surface 42A that guides the wire W with a tapered slope. The upstream opening 40A of the wire guide 4A is configured in a square, circular, etc. shape.

The wire guide 4A also includes a wire position regulating section 44A that regulates the position of the wire W along the axial direction of the rotation of the pair of feed gears 30 (first feed gear 30L, second feed gear 30R) of the wire feed section 3A and prevents the wire W from coming off the wire feed section 3A. The wire position regulating section 44A is configured by providing an opening through which the wire W passes, with the groove 32L of the first feed gear 30L and the groove 32R of the second feed gear 30R aligned with the axial direction of the rotation of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R. In this example, the wire guide 4A is configured with a downstream opening 41A that faces the pair of feed gears 30 (groove portion 32L of the first feed gear 30L and second feed gear 30R) of the wire feed section 3A with respect to the feed direction of the wire W fed in the forward direction. The wire position regulating portion 44A has a shape such that the opening 41A facing the pair of feed gears 30 regulates the radial direction of the wire W. In a configuration in which the reinforcing bar S is bound with two wires W, the wire guide 4A is configured in an oval, rectangular, or other shape in which the length in the longitudinal direction along the direction in which the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R face each other is equal to or greater than the diameter of two wires, and the length in the lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is equal to or greater than the diameter of one wire. As a result, the radial direction of the two wires W that have passed through the wire guide 4A is guided in the direction in which the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R face each other at the downstream opening 41A of the wire guide 4A that constitutes the wire position regulating portion 44A. In addition, the position of the wire W along the axial direction of the rotation of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R is regulated by the downstream opening 40A of the wire guide 4A constituting the wire position regulating section 44A. This prevents the two wires W that have passed through the wire guide 4A from moving along the axial direction of the rotation of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R and coming off the groove portion 32L of the first feed gear 30L and the groove portion 32R of the second feed gear 30R. As shown in Figures 3C and 3D, the wire guide 4A may have a downstream opening 41A facing the pair of feed gears 30 of the wire feed section 3A tapered in such a way that the opening area increases toward the downstream end face by chamfering the end face, as long as the radial direction of the two wires W that have passed through the wire guide 4A and the position along the axial direction of the rotation of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R can be regulated.

Figures 3F and 3G are cross-sectional plan views showing an example of a bundling section, and the configuration of the bundling section will be described below with reference to each figure.

The bundling unit 7A includes a wire locking body 70 to which the wire W is locked, and a rotating shaft 72 that operates the wire locking body 70. The bundling unit 7A and the drive unit 8A are connected by a motor 80 and a rotating shaft 72 via a reducer 81, and the rotating shaft 72 is driven by the motor 80 via the reducer 81.

The wire locking body 70 includes a center hook 70C that is connected to a rotating shaft 72, a first side hook 70R and a second side hook 70L that open and close relative to the center hook 70C, and a sleeve 71 that activates the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L and shapes the wire W into a desired shape.

The center hook 70C is connected to the tip of the rotating shaft 72, which is one end of the rotating shaft 72 along the axial direction, via a structure that allows it to rotate relative to the rotating shaft 72 and move axially together with the rotating shaft 72.

The wire locking body 70 rotates about the shaft 71b, opening and closing the tip of the first side hook 70R in the direction of approaching and separating from the center hook 70C. The tip of the second side hook 70L also opens and closes in the direction of approaching and separating from the center hook 70C.

The sleeve 71 has a convex portion (not shown) that protrudes from the inner circumferential surface of the space into which the rotating shaft 72 is inserted, and this convex portion fits into a groove of a feed screw 72a formed along the axial direction on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 72. When the rotating shaft 72 rotates, the sleeve 71 moves in the forward and backward directions, which are along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 72, according to the rotation direction of the rotating shaft 72, due to the action of the convex portion (not shown) and the feed screw 72a of the rotating shaft 72. The sleeve 71 also rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 72.

The sleeve 71 has an opening/closing pin 71a that opens and closes the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L.

The opening/closing pin 71a is inserted into the opening/closing guide hole 73 provided in the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L. The opening/closing guide hole 73 extends along the movement direction of the sleeve 71 and has a shape that converts the linear movement of the opening/closing pin 71a, which moves in conjunction with the sleeve 71, into an opening/closing operation caused by the rotation of the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L about the axis 71b.

When the sleeve 71 of the wire locking body 70 moves in the rear direction indicated by the arrow A2, the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L rotate about the shaft 71b in a direction away from the center hook 70C due to the trajectory of the opening/closing pin 71a and the shape of the opening/closing guide hole 73.

As a result, the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L open relative to the center hook 70C, and a feed path through which the wire W passes is formed between the first side hook 70R and the center hook 70C, and between the second side hook 70L and the center hook material 70C.

When the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L are open relative to the center hook 70C, the wire W fed by the wire feed section 3A passes between the center hook 70C and the first side hook 70R. The wire W passing between the center hook 70C and the first side hook 70R is guided to the curl forming section 5A. The wire W is then curled by the curl forming section 5A and guided to the bundling section 7A, passing between the center hook 70C and the second side hook 70L.

When the sleeve 71 of the wire locking body 70 moves forward as indicated by the arrow A1, the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L move in a direction approaching the center hook 70C by rotating about the axis 71b due to the trajectory of the opening/closing pin 71a and the shape of the opening/closing guide hole 73. This causes the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L to close against the center hook 70C.

When the first side hook 70R closes against the center hook 70C, the wire W sandwiched between the first side hook 70R and the center hook 70C is locked in a manner that allows it to move between the first side hook 70R and the center hook 70C. When the second side hook 70L closes against the center hook 70C, the wire W sandwiched between the second side hook 70L and the center hook 70C is locked in a manner that prevents it from slipping out from between the second side hook 70L and the center hook 70C.

The sleeve 71 has a bending section 71c1 that presses and bends one end of the wire W, i.e., the tip side, in a predetermined direction to form the wire W into a predetermined shape, and a bending section 71c2 that presses and bends the other end of the wire W, i.e., the terminal side, cut at the cutting section 6A, in a predetermined direction to form the wire W into a predetermined shape.

By moving forward as indicated by arrow A1, the sleeve 71 pushes the tip end of the wire W, which is engaged with the center hook 70C and the second side hook 70L, with the bending portion 71c1, bending it toward the rebar S. Also, by moving forward as indicated by arrow A1, the sleeve 71 pushes the end end of the wire W, which is engaged with the center hook 70C and the first side hook 70R and cut at the cutting portion 6A, with the bending portion 71c2, bending it toward the rebar S.

The binding section 7A includes a wire locking body 70 and a rotation restricting section 74 that restricts the rotation of the sleeve 71 in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating shaft 72. In the binding section 7A, the rotation restricting section 74 restricts the rotation of the sleeve 71 in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating shaft 72 depending on the position of the sleeve 71 along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 72, and the sleeve 71 moves in the front-to-rear direction due to the rotation of the rotating shaft 72. In addition, when the restriction on the rotation of the sleeve 71 by the rotation restricting section 74 is released, the sleeve 71 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating shaft 72.

Next, the wire feed mechanism 2A will be described with reference to each figure. The wire feed mechanism 2A includes a wire pull-out mechanism 22 that feeds the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the reel 20, a first wire guide unit 23 that guides the wire W between the reel 20 and the wire pull-out mechanism 22, and a second wire guide unit 24 that guides the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the wire pull-out mechanism 22.

The bundling equipment 100A includes a reel housing 21 that houses a reel 20 wound with a wire W. The reel housing 21 houses the reel 20 wound with the wire W so that it can be pulled out, allowing it to rotate and be detached. The wire W may be a wire made of a metal wire that can be plastically deformed, a metal wire coated with resin, or a twisted wire. The reel 20 has one wire W wound around a hub portion (not shown) so that the wire W can be pulled out from the reel 20.

In this example, the reel storage section 21 stores two reels 20 aligned along the axial direction with the axis of rotation oriented horizontally to the vertical direction in order to use two wires W in the rebar tying machine 1A. The reel storage section 21 is configured independent of the wire feed mechanism 2A supported by the base section 112A, and the rebar tying machine 1A supported by the lifting mechanism 111A on the base section 112A is configured to be movable relative to the reel storage section 21.

The wire pull-out mechanism 22 of the wire feed mechanism 2A includes a pull-out roller 22a that pulls the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24, and a drive unit 22b that moves the position of the pull-out roller 22a in a direction intersecting the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24. The pull-out roller 22a contacts the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24, and moves in a direction intersecting the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24 between an upper limit position P1 as a first position that is a standby position, and a lower limit position P2 as a second position for pulling the wire W.

As a result, the wire pull-out mechanism 22 applies a pulling force between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24 to the wire W between the reel 20 and the first wire guide unit 23 and the wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 by moving the pull-out roller 22a from the upper limit position to the lower limit position.

The first wire guiding unit 23 is provided with rollers 23a, 23b, and 23c as an example of a wire guiding member on the upstream side of the wire pull-out mechanism 22 with respect to the feed direction of the wire W sent from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage unit 21 to the rebar binding machine 1A. The first wire guiding unit 23 guides the path along which the wire W pulled out from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage unit 21 is sent in the direction of roller 23a with roller 23b, and guides the path in the direction of the second wire guiding unit 24 with roller 23a. Note that the rollers 23a, 23b, and 23c are each independent in configuration corresponding to the two wires W, but the two wires W may be guided by the common rollers 23a, 23b, and 23c. The two wires W may also be guided by a single roller.

The second wire guide unit 24 is provided with a roller 24a as an example of a wire guide member downstream of the wire pull-out mechanism 22. The second wire guide unit 24 uses the roller 24a to guide the path along which the wire W is fed in the direction of the rebar binding machine 1A.

The rollers 23a and 23b of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 are provided at approximately the same height in the vertical direction and contact the wire W from below. The rollers 23a and 23b of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 are supported on an axis that intersects with the vertical direction. The rollers 23a and 23b of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 are rotatably supported on an axis, for example, and the rollers 23a and 23b of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 rotate in response to the feed of the wire W. The wire guide member is not limited to a rotating roller, but may be a non-rotating cylindrical or columnar member, and the non-rotating member is not limited to a cylindrical or columnar member, but may be a member whose sliding surface for the wire W is formed of a curved surface or a flat surface.

The first wire guide unit 23 is equipped with a load applying means for applying a first load in the feed direction of the wire W. The load applying means is realized by a configuration for applying a predetermined load in the rotation direction of the rollers 23a, 23b, a configuration for making the contact angle (length) between the rollers 23a, 23b and the wire W different from the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24, etc. The configuration for making the contact angle (length) between the rollers 23a, 23b and the wire W different from the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 can be realized by making the diameter of the rollers different, bending the feed path of the wire W to change the contact angle (length) of the wire W, etc.

The second wire guiding unit 24 is equipped with a load applying means for applying a second load in the feed direction of the wire W. The load applying means is realized by a configuration for applying a predetermined load in the rotation direction of the roller 24a, a configuration for making the contact angle (length) between the roller 24a and the wire W different from the rollers 23a, 23b of the first wire guiding unit 23, etc. The configuration for making the contact angle (length) between the roller 24a and the wire W different from the rollers 23a, 23b of the first wire guiding unit 23 can be realized by making the diameter of the rollers different, bending the feed path of the wire W, changing the contact angle (length) of the wire W, etc.

In this example, the first wire guiding section 23 is provided with roller 23c between roller 23a and roller 23b as a load applying means. Roller 23c contacts the wire W from above and bends the feed path of the wire W, thereby increasing the contact angle (length) between rollers 23a, 23b and the wire W relative to roller 24a of the second wire guiding section 24. This makes the load applied to the wire W guided by the first wire guiding section 23 greater than the load applied to the wire W guided by the second wire guiding section 24, such that the first load is greater than the second load.

The wire pull-out mechanism 22 has the pull-out roller 22a at the upper limit position P1 contacting the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 from the upper side, which is opposite to the side where the rollers 23a, 24a contact. The wire pull-out mechanism 22 moves from the upper limit position P1 to the lower limit position P2 in a direction in which the pull-out roller 22a intersects with the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24.

As a result, the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 is pulled downward by the pull-out roller 22a. Then, the wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24, and the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the reel 20 housed in the reel housing unit 21 are sent between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24.

At this time, depending on the magnitude of the load on the wire W guided by the first wire guide unit 23 and the load on the wire W guided by the second wire guide unit 24, the wire W on the first wire guide unit 23 side or the wire W on the second wire guide unit 24 side is switched to be fed.

The wire feed mechanism 2A is equipped with an upper limit detection sensor 25a that detects when the pull-out roller 22a is at the upper limit position P1, and a lower limit detection sensor 25b that detects when the pull-out roller 22a is at the lower limit position P2.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the control function of the binding equipment. In the binding equipment 100A, the control unit 110A controls the motor 80 and the feed motor 31 of the rebar binding machine 1A. The control unit 110A controls the amount of rotation of the motor 80 to control the position of the sleeve 71, and performs the operation of locking the wire W with the wire locking unit 70, the operation of cutting the wire W with the cutting unit 6A, and the operation of twisting the wire W with the wire locking unit 70.

The control unit 110A also controls the forward and reverse rotation of the feed motor 31 to feed the wire W in the forward direction to wind the wire W around the reinforcing bar S, and to feed the wire W in the reverse direction to wrap the wire W around the reinforcing bar S.

Furthermore, the control unit 110A controls the motor 22c of the drive unit 22b of the wire feed mechanism 2A. Based on the position of the pull-out roller 22a detected by the upper limit detection sensor 25a and the lower limit detection sensor 25b, the control unit 110A controls the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 22c to lower or raise the pull-out roller 22a.

<Operation example of the bundling equipment of the first embodiment>
Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of binding reinforcing bars using a reinforcing bar binding machine in a binding equipment, and Figures 6A to 6B are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of the operation of binding reinforcing bars using a reinforcing bar binding machine in a binding equipment. Next, with reference to each figure, the operation of binding reinforcing bars S with wire W using the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A will be explained.

In step SA1 of FIG. 5, the binding equipment 100A moves the rebar S so that the crossed portion of the rebar S to be bound is positioned opposite the curl forming section 5A of the rebar binding machine 1A, and in step SA2, moves the rebar binding machine 1A so that the portion of the rebar S to be bound is between the curl guide 50 and the induction guide 51 of the curl forming section 5A.

When the control unit 110A receives a signal to tie the rebar S, in step SA3, it drives the feed motor 31 in the forward direction, and causes the wire feed unit 3A to feed the wire W in the forward direction indicated by the arrow F. In the rebar tying machine 1A, the two wires W are fed in parallel along the axial direction of the loop Ru formed by the wires W.

The wire W fed in the forward direction passes between the center hook 70C and the first side hook 70R and is fed to the curl guide 50 of the curl forming section 5A. By passing through the curl guide 50, the wire W is given a curling tendency to be wound around the reinforcing bar S by the guide members 53a and 53b.

The wire W that has been curled by the curl guide 50 is guided by the induction guide 51, and is further fed in the forward direction by the wire feed unit 3A, whereby the wire W is guided by the induction guide 51 between the center hook 70C and the second side hook 70L. The wire W is then fed until its tip abuts against the feed restriction unit 90. The feed path of the wire W fed by the wire feed unit 3A is restricted by the curl forming unit 5A, so that the trajectory of the wire W becomes a loop Ru as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 6A, and the wire W is wound around the reinforcing bar S. When the wire W is fed to a position where its tip abuts against the feed restriction unit 90, the control unit 110A stops driving the feed motor 31.

After stopping the forward feed of the wire W, the control unit 110A drives the motor 80 in the forward direction. In the operating range where the rotation restriction unit 74 restricts the rotation of the sleeve 71 linked to the rotation of the rotating shaft 72, the rotational movement of the rotating shaft 72 is converted into linear movement, and the sleeve 71 moves forward in the direction of the arrow A1.

When the sleeve 71 moves forward, the opening/closing pin 71a passes through the opening/closing guide hole 73. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3G, the first side hook 70R moves in a direction approaching the center hook 70C by rotating about the shaft 71b as a fulcrum. When the first side hook 70R closes against the center hook 70C, the wire W sandwiched between the first side hook 70R and the center hook 70C is locked in a form that allows it to move between the first side hook 70R and the center hook 70C.

The second side hook 70L also moves toward the center hook 70C by rotating about the shaft 71b. When the second side hook 70L closes against the center hook 70C, the wire W sandwiched between the second side hook 70L and the center hook 70C is locked in a manner that prevents it from slipping out from between the second side hook 70L and the center hook 70C.

After the sleeve 71 is advanced to the end position of the range of motion where the first side hook 70R and the second side hook 70L close to lock the wire W, the control unit 110A temporarily stops the rotation of the motor 80, and in step SA4, drives the feed motor 31 in the reverse direction. This causes the pair of feed gears 30 to rotate in the opposite direction.

As a result, the wire W clamped between the pair of feed gears 30 is fed in the reverse direction indicated by the arrow R.

The wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S and locked by the wire locking body 70 is locked in such a manner that the tip portion sandwiched between the second side hook 70L and the center hook 70C does not slip out from between the second side hook 70L and the center hook 70C. In addition, the wire W locked by the wire locking body 70 is locked in such a manner that the portion sandwiched between the first side hook 70R and the center hook 70C can move between the first side hook 70R and the center hook 70C in the circumferential direction of the loop Ru along the feed path of the wire W.

As a result, the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar S is wound around the reinforcing bar S by feeding the wire W in the reverse direction indicated by the arrow R, as shown in FIG. 6B. When the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A feeds the wire W in the reverse direction, the wire feed mechanism 2A does not feed the wire W in the reverse direction. Therefore, when the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A feeds the wire W in the reverse direction, the wire W slackens between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24.

When the wire W is pulled back to the position where it can be wound around the rebar S, the control unit 110A stops driving the feed motor 31 in the reverse rotation direction, and then drives the motor 80 in the forward rotation direction to move the sleeve 71 forward as indicated by the arrow A1. The forward movement of the sleeve 71 is transmitted to the cutting unit 6A, causing the movable blade unit 61 to rotate, and the wire W held by the first side hook 70R and center hook 70C is cut by the action of the fixed blade unit 60 and the movable blade unit 61.

When the wire W is cut, the bent portions 71c1 and 71c2 move in a direction that contacts the rebar S. As a result, the tip side of the wire W that is engaged with the center hook 70C and the second side hook 70L is pressed toward the rebar S by the bent portion 71c1, and is bent toward the rebar S using the engagement position as a fulcrum. As the sleeve 71 moves further forward, the wire W that is engaged between the second side hook 70L and the center hook 70C is held in a state where it is sandwiched by the bent portion 71c1.

The end of the wire W, which is engaged with the center hook 70C and the first side hook 70R and cut at the cutting portion 6A, is pressed toward the rebar S by the bending portion 71c2, and is bent toward the rebar S using the engagement position as a fulcrum. As the sleeve 71 moves further forward, the wire W engaged between the first side hook 70R and the center hook is held in a state where it is sandwiched by the bending portion 71c2.

After bending the tip and end of the wire W toward the rebar S, the motor 80 is further driven in the forward direction, causing the sleeve 71 to move further forward. When the sleeve 71 moves to a predetermined position and reaches the operating range for twisting the wire W locked by the wire locking body 70, the restriction on the rotation of the sleeve 71 by the rotation restricting part 74 is released, and the sleeve 71 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating shaft 72.

As a result, the motor 80 is further driven in the forward direction, causing the wire locking body 70 to rotate in conjunction with the rotating shaft 72, twisting the wire W in step SA5 and binding the reinforcing bar S with the wire Wd.

The control unit 110A detects the load on the motor 80, and when it detects that the load on the motor has reached a predetermined value, for example the maximum load, it stops the forward rotation of the motor 80 at a predetermined timing.

After stopping the forward rotation of the motor 80, the control unit 110A rotates the motor 80 in the reverse direction to move the sleeve 71 backward to a position where the first side hook 70R is open relative to the center hook 70C and the second side hook 70L is open relative to the center hook 70C, and returns the wire bundling body 70 to the standby position. When the wire W that has bound the rebar S is released from the wire bundling body 70, the control unit 110A moves the rebar binding machine 1A to the standby position in step SA6.

Figure 7 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device, and Figures 8A to 8E are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device. Next, the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2A will be described.

In the binding operation of the rebar binding machine 1A described above, the wire feed mechanism 2A feeds the wire W in the reverse direction in step SA4, and then in the next binding operation, pulls out a predetermined amount of wire W from the reel 20 before feeding the wire W in the forward direction in step SA3.

In step SB1 of FIG. 7, the control unit 110A controls the drive unit 22b to rotate the motor 22c in the forward direction, and lowers the pull-out roller 22a from the upper limit position P1 in the direction of the arrow Do. In the wire pull-out mechanism 22, the pull-out roller 22a is lowered from the upper limit position P1 to the lower limit position P2 along a direction intersecting the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

When the pull-out roller 22a starts to descend from the upper limit position P1, the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 is pulled downward, and the wire W between the reel 20 and the first wire guide unit 23 and the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 are pulled between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24. Therefore, the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 and the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the reel 20 stored in the reel storage unit 21 are sent between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24.

As described above, the load on the wire W guided by the first wire guiding section 23 is greater than the load on the wire W guided by the second wire guiding section 24, and is configured such that the first load is greater than the second load.

In addition, in the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, when binding the reinforcing bar S with the wire W, the wire W is fed in the reverse direction so that the wire W is wound around the reinforcing bar S. When feeding the wire W in the reverse direction in this reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, the wire feed mechanism 2A does not feed the wire W in the reverse direction. Therefore, when feeding the wire W in the reverse direction in the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, the wire W slackens between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24, as shown in FIG. 8A.

As a result, when the wire W is pulled by the pull-out roller 22a of the wire pull-out mechanism 22, first, as shown in step SB2 of FIG. 7 and FIG. 8B, the first load is greater than the second load, and the excess wire W that has slackened in the wire W feed path 26 between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24 is pulled in between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24, as shown by arrow R1.

When the excess wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24 is fed and the slack in the wire W is eliminated, the pair of feed gears 30 of the wire feed unit 3A are stopped and do not rotate, so the wire W cannot be fed in the wire W feed path 26 between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24. As a result, the feed gear 30 becomes a load, increasing the tension on the wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24, and the load of the feed gear 30 is added to the second load, resulting in the second load + feed gear load > first load.

When the second load + feed gear load > the first load, as shown in step SB3 in FIG. 7 and arrow F1 in FIG. 8C, the wire W is pulled out from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage section 21 and fed between the roller 23a of the first wire guide section 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide section 24. When the pull-out roller 22a moves to the lower limit position, the amount of movement of the pull-out roller 22a is set so that the slack in the wire W in the feed path 26 between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide section 24 is eliminated and the amount of wire W required to bind the rebar S with the rebar binding machine 1 can be pulled out from the reel 20.

When the control unit 110A detects with the lower limit detection sensor 25b that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the lower limit position in step SB4 of FIG. 7, it switches the rotation direction of the motor 22c from forward to reverse, and raises the pull-out roller 22a in the direction of the arrow Up, as shown in step SB5 of FIG. 7 and in FIG. 8D. When the control unit 110A detects with the upper limit detection sensor 25a that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the upper limit position in step SB6 of FIG. 7, it stops the rotation direction of the motor 22c in step SB7. As a result, the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is slackened between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

In the next binding operation performed by the rebar binding machine 1A, the wire W is fed in the forward direction in step SA3, and the slackened wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24 is fed in the direction of arrow F2, as shown in FIG. 8E.

In this way, depending on the magnitude of the load on the wire W guided by the first wire guide unit 23 and the load on the wire W guided by the second wire guide unit 24, it is possible to switch between feeding the wire W on the first wire guide unit 23 side or the wire W on the second wire guide unit 24 side.

As a result, when the rebar binding machine 1A feeds the wire W in the reverse direction to wind the wire W around the rebar S, any slack in the wire W that occurs in the wire W feed path 26 between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 can be eliminated by pulling out the wire W with the wire pull-out mechanism 22. In addition, the amount of wire W required to bind the rebar S with the rebar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20 by pulling out the wire W with the wire pull-out mechanism 22.

Figure 8F is a side view of the main part showing the operation of guiding the wire with the wire guide, and next we will explain the operation of guiding the wire W to the wire feeding section 3A with the wire guide 4A between the rebar binding machine 1A and the wire feeding mechanism 2A.

The wire guide 4A is configured so that the opening 40A on the upstream side with respect to the feed direction of the wire W fed in the forward direction is larger in opening area than the opening 41A on the downstream side. In this example, the wire guide 4A is configured with a tapered opening such that the opening area is largest on the introduction side of the wire W fed from the wire feed mechanism 2A, and the opening area gradually decreases from there.

As a result, when the lifting mechanism 111A is driven, the height and orientation of the rebar binding machine 1A changes, and the rebar binding machine 1A moves relative to the wire feed mechanism 2A, the wire W can move in a radial direction that intersects with the feed direction of the wire W within the upstream opening 40A in the wire guide 4A, where the wire W fed from the wire feed mechanism 2A is introduced.

In contrast, the wire guide 4A has a wire position regulating section 44A at an opening 41A downstream of the feed direction of the wire W fed in the forward direction. The wire position regulating section 44A has an opening 41A facing the pair of feed gears 30, which is aligned with the groove 32L of the first feed gear 30L and the groove 32R of the second feed gear 30R along the axial direction of the rotation of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R. In addition, the wire position regulating section 44A has a shape in which the opening 41A facing the pair of feed gears 30 regulates the radial direction of the wire W. As a result, even if the height or orientation of the rebar binding machine 1A changes, the wire W guided by the second wire guiding section 24 of the wire feed mechanism 2A can be guided to the downstream opening 41A by the guide surface 42A of the wire guide 4A, and can be guided between the pair of feed gears 30 by the wire position regulating section 44A. Therefore, the wire W can be prevented from coming off between the pair of feed gears 30. In this example, the two wires W can be prevented from moving out of the groove 32L of the first feed gear 30L and the groove 32R of the second feed gear 30R along the axial direction of the rotation of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R. For example, as shown in FIG. 8F, even when the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A descends, the wire W guided by the second wire guide unit 24 of the wire feed mechanism 2A can be kept guided between the pair of feed gears 30 by the downstream opening 41A of the wire guide 4A constituting the wire position regulating unit 44A. Therefore, when the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A rises to the binding position as shown in FIG. 1C, the wire W can be fed by the wire feed unit 3A. Note that the pair of feed members are not limited to gears having grooves, but may be a roller that is rotated, or a configuration in which a belt is hung on multiple rollers arranged in parallel along the feed direction of the wire W. Even with such a configuration, the position of the wire W along the axial direction of the rotation of the feed member can be regulated to prevent the wire W from coming off the feed member.

<Configuration example of bundling equipment according to the second embodiment>
FIG. 9A is a perspective view showing an example of the bundling equipment of the second embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a side view of a main part showing the example of the bundling equipment of the second embodiment.

The binding equipment 100B of the second embodiment includes a reinforcing bar binding machine 1A that binds the reinforcing bar S, which is the binding object, with wire W, and a wire feed mechanism 2B that feeds wire W to the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. In the binding equipment 100B of the second embodiment, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A may be the same as that of the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment. In addition, the wire feed mechanism 22 and the second wire guide section 24 of the wire feed mechanism 2B may be the same as those of the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment.

The first wire guiding unit 23 is equipped with a load applying means for applying a first load in the feed direction of the wire W. The load applying means is realized by a configuration for applying a predetermined load in the rotation direction of the rollers 23a, 23b. In this example, the load applying means is configured such that the roller 23a is non-rotating and the wire W slides on the outer circumferential surface of the roller 23a. In contrast, the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24 is configured to rotate in response to the feed of the wire W. As a result, the load applied to the wire W guided by the first wire guiding unit 23 is greater than the load applied to the wire W guided by the second wire guiding unit 24, and the first load is greater than the second load.

<Operation example of the bundling equipment of the second embodiment>
10A to 10E are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device, and next, the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2B will be described. Note that the operation of binding reinforcing bars S in the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is similar to the operation explained in the flowchart of Fig. 5. Also, the flow of the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2B is similar to the operation explained in the flowchart of Fig. 7.

In the binding operation of the rebar binding machine 1A described above, the wire feed mechanism 2B feeds the wire W in the reverse direction in step SA4, and then in the next binding operation, performs an operation of drawing out a predetermined amount of wire W from the reel 20 before feeding the wire W in the forward direction in step SA3.

In step SB1 of FIG. 7, the control unit 110A controls the drive unit 22b to rotate the motor 22c in the forward direction, and lowers the pull-out roller 22a from the upper limit position P1 in the direction of the arrow Do. In the wire pull-out mechanism 22, the pull-out roller 22a is lowered from the upper limit position P1 to the lower limit position P2 along a direction intersecting the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

When the pull-out roller 22a starts to descend from the upper limit position P1, the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 is pulled downward, and the wire W between the reel 20 and the first wire guide unit 23 and the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 are pulled between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24. Therefore, the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 and the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the reel 20 stored in the reel storage unit 21 are sent between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24.

As described above, the load on the wire W guided by the first wire guiding section 23 is greater than the load on the wire W guided by the second wire guiding section 24, and is configured such that the first load is greater than the second load.

In addition, when the rebar tying machine 1A winds the wire W around the rebar S, the wire W is sent in the reverse direction, causing the wire W to slacken between the rebar tying machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24, as shown in FIG. 10A.

As a result, when the wire W is pulled by the pull-out roller 22a of the wire pull-out mechanism 22, first, as shown in step SB2 of FIG. 7 and FIG. 10B, the first load is greater than the second load, and the excess wire W that has slackened in the wire W feed path 26 between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24 is pulled in between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24, as shown by arrow R1.

When the excess wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24 is fed and the slack in the wire W is eliminated, the pair of feed gears 30 of the wire feed unit 3A are stopped and do not rotate, so the wire W cannot be fed between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24. As a result, the feed gear 30 becomes a load, increasing the tension on the wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24, and the load from the feed gear 30 is added to the second load, resulting in the second load + feed gear load > first load.

When the second load + feed gear load > the first load, as shown in step SB3 of FIG. 7 and arrow F1 in FIG. 10C, the wire W is pulled out from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage section 21 and fed between the roller 23a of the first wire guide section 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide section 24. When the pull-out roller 22a moves to the lower limit position, the amount of movement of the pull-out roller 22a is set so that the slack in the wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide section 24 is eliminated and the amount of wire W required to bind the rebar S with the rebar binding machine 1 can be pulled out from the reel 20.

When the control unit 110A detects with the lower limit detection sensor 25b that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the lower limit position in step SB4 of FIG. 7, it switches the rotation direction of the motor 22c from forward to reverse, and raises the pull-out roller 22a in the direction of the arrow Up, as shown in step SB5 of FIG. 7 and FIG. 10D. When the control unit 110A detects with the upper limit detection sensor 25a that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the upper limit position in step SB6 of FIG. 7, it stops the rotation direction of the motor 22c in step SB7. As a result, the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is slackened between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

In the next binding operation performed by the rebar binding machine 1A, the wire W is fed in the forward direction in step SA3, and the slackened wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24 is fed in the direction of arrow F2, as shown in FIG. 10E.

As a result, in the wire feed mechanism 2B as well, the wire W is wound around the reinforcing bar S, and the slack in the wire W that occurs between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide section 24 due to the operation of feeding the wire W in the reverse direction by the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A can be eliminated by the operation of pulling out the wire W by the wire pull-out mechanism 22. In addition, the amount of wire W required to bind the reinforcing bar S by the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20 by the operation of pulling out the wire W by the wire pull-out mechanism 22.

<Configuration example of bundling equipment according to the third embodiment>
FIG. 11A is a side view showing an example of a binding equipment of the third embodiment, FIG. 11B is an oblique view showing an example of a binding equipment of the third embodiment, and FIG. 11C is a side view of a main part showing an example of a binding equipment of the third embodiment.

The binding equipment 100C of the third embodiment includes a reinforcing bar binding machine 1A that binds the reinforcing bar S, which is the binding object, with wire W, and a wire feed mechanism 2C that feeds wire W to the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. In the binding equipment 100C of the third embodiment, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A may be the same as that of the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment. In addition, the wire feed mechanism 22 and the second wire guide section 24 of the wire feed mechanism 2C may be the same as those of the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment.

The first wire guiding unit 23 has rollers 23a and 23c upstream of the wire pull-out mechanism 22 in the feed direction of the wire W sent from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage unit 21 to the rebar binding machine 1A. The first wire guiding unit 23 guides the path along which the wire W pulled out from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage unit 21 is sent in the direction of roller 23a with roller 23b, and guides the path in the direction of the second wire guiding unit 24 with roller 23a.

The first wire guide 23 includes a wire slack absorbing mechanism 23d that absorbs slack in the wire W. The wire slack absorbing mechanism 23d includes a slack absorbing roller 23e that is provided between the rollers 23a and 23b, and a spring 23f that biases the slack absorbing roller 23e downward in a direction that intersects with the wire W between the rollers 23a and 23b.

In the first wire guide section 23, the slack absorbing roller 23e contacts the wire W between rollers 23a and 23b from above, the side opposite to the side where rollers 23a and 23b contact. The slack absorbing roller 23e is biased downward by spring 23f in a direction intersecting the wire W between rollers 23a and 23b, and the height position is determined by the balance between the biasing force of spring 23f and the tension applied to the wire W.

<Operation example of the bundling equipment of the third embodiment>
Fig. 12 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device, and Figs. 13A to 13F are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device. Next, the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2C will be described. Note that the operation of binding reinforcing bars S in the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is the same as the operation explained in the flow chart of Fig. 5 and the like.

In the binding operation of the rebar binding machine 1A described above, the wire feed mechanism 2C feeds the wire W in the reverse direction in step SA4, and then in the next binding operation, pulls out a predetermined amount of wire W from the reel 20 before feeding the wire W in the forward direction in step SA3.

As described above, when the rebar tying machine 1A winds the wire W around the rebar S, the wire W is fed in the reverse direction, causing the wire W to slacken between the rebar tying machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24, as shown in FIG. 13A.

This reduces the tension applied to the wire W in the wire feed mechanism 2C. When the tension applied to the wire W decreases, the biasing force of the spring 23f becomes greater than the tension applied to the wire W, and the slack absorbing roller 23e moves down in the direction of arrow D1, in a direction that intersects with the wire W between rollers 23a and 23b.

When the slack absorption roller 23e descends, the wire W between rollers 23a and 23b is pulled downward. As a result, as shown in step SC1 of FIG. 12 and FIG. 13B, the excess of the slackened wire W is pulled between rollers 23a and 23b of the first wire guide unit 23, as indicated by arrow R1.

In step SC2 of FIG. 12, the control unit 110A controls the drive unit 22b to rotate the motor 22c in the forward direction, and lowers the pull-out roller 22a from the upper limit position P1 in the direction of the arrow Do. In the wire pull-out mechanism 22, the pull-out roller 22a is lowered from the upper limit position P1 to the lower limit position P2 along a direction intersecting the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

When the pull-out roller 22a starts to descend from the upper limit position P1, the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 is pulled downward, so that the wire W between the reel 20 and the first wire guide unit 23 and the wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 are pulled between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24.

As a result, the tension applied to the wire W in the wire feed mechanism 2C increases. When the tension applied to the wire W increases, the biasing force of the spring 23f becomes relatively smaller than the tension applied to the wire W, and the slack absorbing roller 23e rises in the direction of arrow U1 along a direction intersecting the wire W between rollers 23a and 23b. Therefore, first, as shown in step SC3 of FIG. 12 and FIG. 13C, the wire W between rollers 23a and 23b of the first wire guiding unit 23, whose slack has been absorbed by the wire slack absorbing mechanism 23d, is pulled between roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24, as shown by arrow F1.

When the biasing force of the spring 23f and the tension applied to the wire W are balanced, as shown in step SC4 of FIG. 12 and arrow F1 in FIG. 13D, the wire W is pulled out from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage section 21 and fed between the roller 23a of the first wire guide section 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide section 24. When the pull-out roller 22a moves to the lower limit position P2, the excess amount of wire W in the wire W feed path 26 between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, where slack is absorbed by the wire slack absorption mechanism 23d, and the second wire guide section 24 is eliminated, and the movement amount of the pull-out roller 22a is set so that the amount of wire W required to bind the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20.

When the control unit 110A detects with the lower limit detection sensor 25b that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the lower limit position P2 in step SC5 of FIG. 12, it switches the rotation direction of the motor 22c from forward to reverse, and raises the pull-out roller 22a in the direction of the arrow Up, as shown in step SC6 of FIG. 12 and FIG. 13E. When the control unit 110A detects with the upper limit detection sensor 25a that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the upper limit position P1 in step SC7 of FIG. 12, it stops the rotation direction of the motor 22c in step SB7. As a result, the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is slackened between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

In the next binding operation performed by the rebar binding machine 1A, the wire W is fed in the forward direction in step SA3, and the slackened wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24 is fed in the direction of arrow F2, as shown in FIG. 13F.

As a result, by providing the wire slack absorption mechanism 23d in the first wire guiding section 23 in the wire feed mechanism 2C as well, the slack in the wire W that occurs between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding section 24 when the rebar binding machine 1A feeds the wire W in the reverse direction to wind the wire W around the rebar S can be absorbed and eliminated by the wire slack absorption mechanism 23d. In addition, the amount of wire W required to bind the rebar S with the rebar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20 by pulling out the wire W with the wire pull-out mechanism 22.

<Configuration example of bundling equipment according to the fourth embodiment>
FIG. 14 is a side view of a main portion showing an example of the binding equipment according to the fourth embodiment.

The binding equipment 100D of the fourth embodiment includes a reinforcing bar binding machine 1A that binds the reinforcing bar S, which is the binding object, with wire W, and a wire feed mechanism 2D that feeds wire W to the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. In the binding equipment 100D of the fourth embodiment, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A may be the same as the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment. In addition, the wire feed mechanism 22 and the first wire guide unit 23 of the wire feed mechanism 2D may be the same as the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment or the binding equipment 100B of the second embodiment.

The second wire guiding section 24 has rollers 24a and 24c downstream of the wire pull-out mechanism 22 in the feed direction of the wire W sent from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage section 21 to the rebar binding machine 1A. The second wire guiding section 24 guides the feed path of the wire W pulled out by the wire pull-out mechanism 22 in the direction of roller 24b with roller 24a, and in the direction of the rebar binding machine 1A with roller 24c.

The second wire guide section 24 is equipped with a wire slack absorbing mechanism 24d that absorbs slack in the wire W. The wire slack absorbing mechanism 24d is equipped with a slack absorbing roller 24e provided between the rollers 24a and 24b, and a spring 24f that biases the slack absorbing roller 24e downward in a direction that intersects with the wire W between the rollers 24a and 24b.

In the second wire guide section 24, the slack absorbing roller 24e contacts the wire W between rollers 24a and 24b from above, the side opposite to the side where rollers 24a and 24b contact. The slack absorbing roller 24e is biased downward by spring 24f in a direction intersecting the wire W between rollers 24a and 24b, and the height position is determined by the balance between the biasing force of spring 24f and the tension applied to the wire W.

<Operation example of the bundling equipment of the fourth embodiment>
15A to 15F are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device, and next, the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2D will be described. Note that the operation of binding reinforcing bars S in the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is similar to the operation explained in the flowchart of Fig. 5. Also, the flow of the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2D is similar to the operation explained in the flowchart of Fig. 12.

In the binding operation of the rebar binding machine 1A described above, the wire feed mechanism 2D feeds the wire W in the reverse direction in step SA4, and then in the next binding operation, pulls out a predetermined amount of wire W from the reel 20 before feeding the wire W in the forward direction in step SA3.

As described above, when the rebar tying machine 1A winds the wire W around the rebar S, the wire W is fed in the reverse direction, causing the wire W to slacken between the rebar tying machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24, as shown in FIG. 15A.

This reduces the tension applied to the wire W in the wire feed mechanism 2D. When the tension applied to the wire W decreases, the biasing force of the spring 24f becomes greater than the tension applied to the wire W, and the slack absorbing roller 24e moves down in the direction of arrow D1, in a direction that intersects with the wire W between rollers 24a and 24b.

When the slack absorption roller 24e descends, the wire W between rollers 24a and 24b is pulled downward. As a result, as shown in step SC1 of FIG. 12 and FIG. 15B, the excess of the slackened wire W is pulled between rollers 24a and 24b of the second wire guide unit 24, as indicated by arrow R1.

In step SC2 of FIG. 12, the control unit 110A controls the drive unit 22b to rotate the motor 22c in the forward direction, and lowers the pull-out roller 22a from the upper limit position P1 in the direction of the arrow Do. In the wire pull-out mechanism 22, the pull-out roller 22a is lowered from the upper limit position P1 to the lower limit position P2 along a direction intersecting the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

When the pull-out roller 22a starts to descend from the upper limit position P1, the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 is pulled downward, so that the wire W between the reel 20 and the first wire guide unit 23 and the wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 are pulled between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24.

As a result, the tension applied to the wire W in the wire feed mechanism 2D increases. When the tension applied to the wire W increases, the biasing force of the spring 24f becomes relatively smaller than the tension applied to the wire W, and the slack absorbing roller 24e rises in the direction of arrow U1 along a direction intersecting the wire W between rollers 24a and 24b. Therefore, first, as shown in step SC3 of FIG. 12 and FIG. 15C, the wire W between rollers 24a and 24b of the second wire guiding unit 24, whose slack has been absorbed by the wire slack absorbing mechanism 24d, is pulled between roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24, as shown by arrow R1.

When the biasing force of the spring 24f and the tension applied to the wire W are balanced, as shown in step SC4 of FIG. 12 and arrow F1 in FIG. 15D, the wire W is pulled out from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage section 21 and fed between the roller 23a of the first wire guide section 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide section 24. When the pull-out roller 22a moves to the lower limit position P2, the excess amount of wire W in the wire W feed path 26 between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, where slack is absorbed by the wire slack absorption mechanism 24d, and the movement amount of the pull-out roller 22a is set so that the amount of wire W required to bind the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20.

When the control unit 110A detects with the lower limit detection sensor 25b that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the lower limit position P2 in step SC5 of FIG. 12, it switches the rotation direction of the motor 22c from forward to reverse, and raises the pull-out roller 22a in the direction of the arrow Up, as shown in step SC6 of FIG. 12 and FIG. 15E. When the control unit 110A detects with the upper limit detection sensor 25a that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the upper limit position P1 in step SC7 of FIG. 12, it stops the rotation direction of the motor 22c in step SC8. As a result, the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is slackened between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

In the next binding operation performed by the rebar binding machine 1A, the wire W is fed in the forward direction in step SA3, and the slackened wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24 is fed in the direction of arrow F2, as shown in FIG. 15F.

As a result, by providing the wire slack absorption mechanism 24d in the second wire guiding section 24 in the wire feed mechanism 2D as well, the wire slack absorption mechanism 24d can absorb and eliminate slack in the wire W that occurs in the wire W feed path 26 between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding section 24 when the rebar binding machine 1A feeds the wire W in the reverse direction to wind the wire W around the rebar S. In addition, the amount of wire W required to bind the rebar S with the rebar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20 by pulling out the wire W with the wire pull-out mechanism 22.

<Configuration example of bundling equipment according to the fifth embodiment>
FIG. 16 is a side view of a main portion showing an example of the binding equipment according to the fifth embodiment.

The binding equipment 100E of the fifth embodiment includes a reinforcing bar binding machine 1A that binds the reinforcing bar S, which is the binding object, with wire W, and a wire feed mechanism 2E that feeds wire W to the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. In the binding equipment 100E of the fifth embodiment, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A may be the same as the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment. In addition, the wire feed mechanism 2E, the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24 may be the same as the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment or the binding equipment 100B of the second embodiment.

The wire pull-out mechanism 22 includes a pull-out roller 22a that pulls the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24, and a drive unit 22b that moves the position of the pull-out roller 22a in a direction intersecting the wire W between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24.

The wire pull-out mechanism 22 has the pull-out roller 22a at the upper limit position P1 contacting the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 from the upper side, which is opposite to the side where the rollers 23a, 24a contact. The wire pull-out mechanism 22 moves from the upper limit position to the lower limit position in a direction in which the pull-out roller 22a intersects with the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24.

The wire pull-out mechanism 22 includes a wire slack absorbing mechanism 22d that absorbs slack in the wire W. The wire slack absorbing mechanism 22d includes a pull-out roller 22a that constitutes a slack absorbing roller, and a spring 22f that urges the pull-out roller 22a downward in a direction that intersects with the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24.

The wire pull-out mechanism 22 is urged downward by spring 22f in a direction intersecting the wire W between rollers 23a and 24a, and the height position is determined by the balance between the urging force of spring 22f and the tension applied to the wire W.

<Operation example of the bundling equipment of the fifth embodiment>
17A to 17G are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device, and next, the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2E will be described. Note that the operation of binding reinforcing bars S in the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is similar to the operation explained in the flowchart of Fig. 5. Also, the flow of the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2E is similar to the operation explained in the flowchart of Fig. 12.

In the binding operation of the rebar binding machine 1A described above, the wire feed mechanism 2E feeds the wire W in the reverse direction in step SA4, and then, in the next binding operation, pulls out a predetermined amount of wire W from the reel 20 before feeding the wire W in the forward direction in step SA3.

As described above, when the rebar tying machine 1A winds the wire W around the rebar S, the wire W is fed in the reverse direction, causing the wire W to slacken between the rebar tying machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24, as shown in FIG. 17A.

This reduces the tension applied to the wire W in the wire feed mechanism 2E. When the tension applied to the wire W decreases, the biasing force of the spring 22f becomes greater than the tension applied to the wire W, and the pull-out roller 22a moves down in the direction of the arrow Do along a direction intersecting the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24.

When the pull-out roller 22a descends, the wire W between rollers 23a and 24a is pulled downward. As a result, as shown in step SC1 of FIG. 12 and FIG. 17B, the excess of the slackened wire W is pulled between rollers 23a and 24a, as indicated by arrow R1.

In step SC2 of FIG. 12, the control unit 110A controls the drive unit 22b to rotate the motor 22c in the forward direction, and moves the pull-out roller 22a down in the direction of the arrow Do. When the pull-out roller 22a starts to move down by the drive unit 22b, the tension applied to the wire W in the wire feed mechanism 2E increases. When the tension applied to the wire W increases, the biasing force of the spring 22f becomes relatively smaller than the tension applied to the wire W, and as shown in FIG. 17C, the spring 22f is stretched against the biasing force.

When the pull-out roller 22a is further lowered by the drive unit 22b, as shown in step SC4 of FIG. 12 and arrow F1 in FIG. 17D, the wire W is pulled out from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage unit 21 and fed between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24. When the pull-out roller 22a moves to the lower limit position, the excess amount of wire W in the wire W feed path 26 between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, where slack is absorbed by the wire slack absorption mechanism 22d, and the second wire guide unit 24 is eliminated, and the movement amount of the pull-out roller 22a is set so that the amount of wire W required to bind the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20.

When the control unit 110A detects in step SC5 of FIG. 12 that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the lower limit position, it switches the rotation direction of the motor 22c from forward to reverse, and raises the pull-out roller 22a in the direction of the arrow Up, as shown in step SC6 of FIG. 12 and FIG. 17E. When the control unit 110A detects in step SC7 of FIG. 12 that the pull-out roller 22a has risen to the upper limit position, it stops the rotation direction of the motor 22c in step SC8. As a result, the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is slackened between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24. In addition, since the tension of the wire W is not applied to the pull-out roller 22a, the pull-out roller 22a is lowered from the upper limit position by the amount of expansion and contraction of the spring 22f due to the biasing force of the spring 22f.

In the next binding operation performed by the rebar binding machine 1A, the wire W is fed in the forward direction in step SA3, and the slackened wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24 is fed in the direction of arrow F2, as shown in FIG. 15F.

When the slackened wire W is fed in the direction of arrow F2 between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24, the wire W comes into contact with the lowered pull-out roller 22a by the amount of expansion and contraction of the spring 22f.

When the slackened wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide section 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide section 24 is further fed in the direction of the arrow F2, the tension on the wire W increases, as shown in FIG. 17G, the biasing force of the spring 22f becomes relatively smaller than the tension on the wire W, the spring 22f is stretched against the biasing force, and the pull-out roller 22a rises to the upper limit position.

As a result, by providing the wire pull-out mechanism 22d in the wire feed mechanism 2E as well, the slack in the wire W that occurs between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide section 24 when the rebar binding machine 1A feeds the wire W in the reverse direction to wind the wire W around the rebar S can be absorbed and eliminated by the wire slack absorption mechanism 22d. In addition, the amount of wire W required to bind the rebar S with the rebar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20 by pulling out the wire W with the wire pull-out mechanism 22.

<Configuration example of the bundling equipment according to the sixth embodiment>
FIG. 18A is a side view showing an example of the bundling facility of the sixth embodiment, and FIG. 18B is a perspective view showing the example of the bundling facility of the sixth embodiment.

The binding equipment 100F of the sixth embodiment includes a reinforcing bar binding machine 1A that binds reinforcing bars S, which are the binding objects, with wire W, and a wire feed mechanism 2F that feeds wire W to the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. In the binding equipment 100F of the sixth embodiment, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A may be the same as that of the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment. In addition, the wire feed mechanism 2F and the first wire guide unit 23 may be the same as that of the binding equipment 100A of the first embodiment.

The second wire guide unit 24 is provided with a wire feed restricting roller 24g that restricts the feeding of the wire W in a predetermined direction. The wire feed restricting roller 24g is an example of a wire feed restricting member that allows the feeding of the wire W in the forward direction from the wire feed mechanism 2F toward the rebar binding machine 1A, and restricts the feeding of the wire W in the reverse direction from the rebar binding machine 1A toward the wire feed mechanism 2F. As an example, the wire feed restricting roller 24g is provided with a non-rotating member that can be attached and detached from the roller 24a, and in the operation of feeding the wire W in the forward direction with the rebar binding machine 1A, the wire feed restricting roller 24g is separated from the roller 24a to allow the feeding of the wire W in the forward direction. In contrast, in the operation of feeding the wire W in the reverse direction with the rebar binding machine 1A and the operation of pulling out the wire W from the reel 20 with the wire feed mechanism 2F, the wire W is clamped between the roller 24a and the wire feed restricting roller 24g to restrict the feeding of the wire W in the reverse direction. As another example, the wire feed restricting roller 24g is supported by a support mechanism such as a one-way bearing that allows rotation in one direction and restricts rotation in the other direction, and rotates in response to the forward feed of the wire W, thereby allowing the wire W to be fed in the forward direction. In contrast, the roller does not rotate when the wire W is fed in the reverse direction, restricting the wire W from being fed in the reverse direction.

The wire feed mechanism 2F is equipped with a feed amount detection sensor 120 that detects the feed amount of the wire W. The feed amount detection sensor 120 is an example of a feed amount detection means, and detects the feed amount of the wire W fed in the forward and reverse directions. In a configuration in which the wire feed mechanism 2F feeds two wires W, the feed amount detection sensor 120 is configured to be able to detect the feed amount of each wire W. The feed amount detection sensor 120 is realized by using a member that rotates in response to the movement of the wire W and detecting the amount of rotation of the member, or by detecting the weight of the wire W returned by reverse feed, etc.

Figure 19 is a block diagram showing an example of the control function of the binding equipment. In the binding equipment 100F, the control unit 110B controls the motor 80 and the feed motor 31 of the rebar binding machine 1A. The control unit 110B controls the amount of rotation of the motor 80 to control the position of the sleeve 71 shown in Figure 1 etc., and performs the operation of locking the wire W with the wire locking unit 70, the operation of cutting the wire W with the cutting unit 6A, and the operation of twisting the wire W with the wire locking unit 70.

The control unit 110B also controls the forward and reverse rotation of the feed motor 31 to feed the wire W in the forward direction to wind the wire W around the reinforcing bar S, and to feed the wire W in the reverse direction to wrap the wire W around the reinforcing bar S.

Furthermore, the control unit 110B detects the amount of wire W fed in reverse by the rebar binding machine 1A using the feed amount detection sensor 120, and calculates the amount of movement required to move (lower) the pull-out roller 22a to the target lowering position where the amount of wire W required to bind the rebar S is pulled out by the rebar binding machine 1A.

Then, the control unit 110B controls the motor 22c of the drive unit 22b of the wire feed mechanism 2F, and controls the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 22c based on the position of the pull-out roller 22a detected by the upper limit position sensor 25a and the amount of movement required to lower the pull-out roller 22a to the target lowering position, thereby lowering or raising the pull-out roller 22a.

<Operation example of the bundling equipment of the sixth embodiment>
18C to 18G are operation explanatory diagrams showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device, and Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of feeding a wire with a wire feeding device. Next, the operation of feeding a wire with the wire feeding mechanism 2F will be described. Note that the operation of binding reinforcing bars S in the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is the same as the operation described in the flowchart of Fig. 5.

In the binding operation of the rebar binding machine 1A described above, the wire feed mechanism 2F feeds the wire W in the reverse direction in step SA4, and then in the next binding operation, pulls out a predetermined amount of wire W from the reel 20 before feeding the wire W in the forward direction in step SA3.

When the wire W is fed in the reverse direction to wind the wire W around the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, as shown in FIG. 18C, the wire W is clamped between roller 24a and wire feed restricting roller 24g to restrict the wire W from being fed in the reverse direction. When the wire W is fed in the reverse direction to wind the wire W around the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, the control unit 110B detects the amount of wire W fed in the reverse direction by the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A with the feed amount detection sensor 120 in step SD1 of FIG. 20.

In step SD2, the control unit 110B calculates the shortage of the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. Then, in step SD3, the control unit 110B calculates the movement amount for moving (lowering) the pull-out roller 22a to the target lowering position P21 where the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is drawn out, and calculates the rotation amount of the motor 22c for moving (lowering) the pull-out roller 22a to the target lowering position P21. The target lowering position P21 changes depending on the feed amount of the wire W reversed by the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. That is, the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is the sum of the feed amount of the wire W reversed by the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the amount of wire W drawn from the reel 20. For this reason, when the feed amount of the reversed wire W is small, the target lowering position P21 is lowered to increase the amount of wire W drawn from the reel 20. In contrast, if the amount of wire W fed backwards is large, the target lowering position P21 is raised to reduce the amount of wire W pulled out from the reel 20.

In order to pull out the wire W from the reel 20 using the wire feed mechanism 2F, in step SD4 of FIG. 20, the control unit 110B controls the drive unit 22b to rotate the motor 22c in the forward direction and lower the pull-out roller 22a from the upper limit position P1 in the direction of the arrow Do. In the operation of pulling out the wire W from the reel 20 using the wire feed mechanism 2F, as shown in FIG. 18D and FIG. 18E, the wire W is clamped between the roller 24a and the wire feed restricting roller 24g to restrict the feeding of the wire W in the reverse direction. In the wire pull-out mechanism 22, the pull-out roller 22a is lowered from the upper limit position P1 along a direction intersecting the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

When the pull-out roller 22a starts to descend from the upper limit position P1, the wire W between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 is pulled downward. This applies a force that pulls the wire W between the reel 20 and the first wire guide unit 23 and the wire W between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 between the first wire guide unit 23 and the second wire guide unit 24.

In the wire guiding section 24, the wire W is clamped between the roller 24a and the wire feed restricting roller 24g, and the reverse feed of the wire W is restricted. As a result, the excess wire W that has slackened between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding section 24 is not pulled between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding section 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding section 24 by the action of pulling the wire W with the pull-out roller 22a of the wire pull-out mechanism 22.

In contrast, since the wire W cannot be fed between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24, the wire W between the reel 20 and the first wire guiding unit 23 is pulled between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

As a result, the wire W is pulled out from the reel 20 stored in the reel storage section 21 in step SD5 and fed between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding section 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding section 24.

When the pull-out roller 22a descends to the target lowering position P21, the wire W is pulled out from the reel 20 so that the sum of the amount of wire W reversed by the rebar binding machine 1A, i.e., the excess wire W slackened in the wire W feed path 26 between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide section 24, and the amount of wire W pulled out from the reel 20, is the amount required to bind the rebar S with the rebar binding machine 1.

When the control unit 110B detects that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the target lowering position P21 from the rotation amount of the motor 22c in step SD6 of FIG. 20 as shown in FIG. 18E, the control unit 110B switches the rotation direction of the motor 22c from forward to reverse, and raises the pull-out roller 22a in step SD7. When the control unit 110B detects that the pull-out roller 22a has moved to the upper limit position P1 by the upper limit detection sensor 25a in step SD8 as shown in FIG. 18F, the control unit 110B stops the rotation direction of the motor 22c in step SD9. As a result, the amount of wire W required to bind the reinforcing bar S with the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is slackened in the feed path 26 of the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24, and between the roller 23a of the first wire guiding unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guiding unit 24.

In the next binding operation performed by the rebar binding machine 1A, when the rebar binding machine 1A feeds the wire W in the forward direction, as shown in FIG. 18G, the wire feed restricting roller 24g is moved away from the roller 24a to allow the wire W to be fed in the forward direction. Therefore, by the operation of feeding the wire W in the forward direction in step SA3 in FIG. 5, the wire W that is loose in the wire W feed path 26 between the rebar binding machine 1A and the second wire guide unit 24 and the wire W that is loose between the roller 23a of the first wire guide unit 23 and the roller 24a of the second wire guide unit 24 are fed in the direction of arrow F2.

In this way, in the wire feeding mechanism 2F, the feed amount of the wire W is detected by the feed amount detection sensor 120, and the pull-out roller 22a is moved (lowered) to the target lowering position P21 where the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S is pulled out by the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A, so that the wire W is wound around the reinforcing bar S. The operation of feeding the wire W in the reverse direction by the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A can eliminate slack in the wire W that occurs in the feed path 26 of the wire W between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24. In addition, the amount of wire W required to tie the reinforcing bar S by the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A can be pulled out from the reel 20 by the operation of pulling out the wire W by the wire pull-out mechanism 22, in accordance with the excess amount of wire W due to slack in the wire W feed path 26 between the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A and the second wire guiding unit 24.

The configuration for pulling out the wire W from the reel 20 may include a configuration that includes a gear or roller that rotates by clamping the wire W, the rotation of which can be controlled, on the feed path of the wire W, or a configuration that drives the reel 20.

<Modification of bundling equipment>
When the reinforcing bar tying machine 1A is applied in a form that is held by an operator, it is configured to include a main body 10A and a handle 11A, and a battery 15A is detachably attached to the handle 11A, as shown in Fig. 1A etc. In contrast, as shown in Fig. 11A etc., it may be configured such that the main body 10A does not include a battery, and power is supplied from an external source. Also, as shown in Fig. 11A etc., it may be configured such that the reinforcing bar tying machine 1A is attached to the tip of a robot hand 114A that is displaceable in the up-down, left-right and rotational directions, and the robot hand 114A is attached to a lifting mechanism 111A.

Figure 21A is a plan cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the wire feed section and wire guide, and Figure 21B is a perspective view showing an example of a wire guide. Next, we will explain a modified wire guide 4B that guides the wire W to the wire feed section 3A as a modified example of the bundling equipment of each embodiment.

The wire guide 4B is configured so that the upstream opening 40A in the forward feed direction of the wire W is larger in opening area than the downstream opening 40B. In this example, the wire guide 4B is configured with a tapered opening such that the opening area of the upstream opening 40A, which is the introduction side of the wire W fed from the wire feed mechanism 2A, is the largest, and the opening area gradually decreases from there, forming a guide surface 42A that guides the wire W with a tapered slope.

The upstream opening 40A of the wire guide 4B is rectangular, circular, or the like. The wire guide 4B has a partition 43B that separates the upstream opening 40A. The wire guide 4B is configured to bind the reinforcing bar S with two wires W, with one wire W passing through one opening 40A1 separated by the partition 43B, and the other wire W passing through the other opening 40A2.

In addition, the wire guide 4B has a downstream opening that faces a pair of feed gears 30 (groove portion 32L of the first feed gear 30L and second feed gear 30R) of the wire feed section 3A with respect to the feed direction of the wire W fed in the forward direction, and the wire position regulating portion 44A is configured with an opening 41A facing the pair of feed gears 30 so as to regulate the radial direction of the wire W. The wire guide 4B is configured with an oval, rectangular, etc., in which the length in the longitudinal direction along the direction in which the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R face each other is equal to or greater than the length of the diameter of two wires, and the length in the short direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is equal to or greater than the length of the diameter of one wire. The downstream opening 41A of the wire guide 4B is not partitioned by a partition portion. As a result, the radial direction of the two wires W that have passed through the wire guide 4B is guided by the downstream opening 41A of the wire guide 4B in a direction along the direction in which the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R face each other. In addition, the position of the wire W along the axial direction of the rotation of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R is regulated by the downstream opening 40A of the wire guide 4A that constitutes the wire position regulating portion 44A. As a result, the two wires W that have passed through the wire guide 4B are prevented from moving out of the groove portion 32L of the first feed gear 30L and the groove portion 32R of the second feed gear 30R along the axial direction of the rotation of the first feed gear 30L and the second feed gear 30R.

Figures 22A to 22C are perspective views showing other modified examples of the bundling equipment of each embodiment. Figures 22A to 22C show a modified example of the bundling equipment 100A of the first embodiment as an example of the reel storage section.

In FIG. 22A, the reel storage section 21 stores two reels 20 arranged front to back with the axis of rotation oriented horizontally to the vertical direction in order to tie reinforcing bars S with two wires W in the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A. Also, in FIG. 22B, two reels 20 are stored arranged one above the other with the axis of rotation oriented horizontally to the vertical direction. Furthermore, in FIG. 22C, two reels 20 are stored arranged left to right with the axis oriented vertically. Note that when the axis is oriented vertically along the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 21C, the reel 20 does not have to be configured to be rotatable.

Figure 23 is a perspective view showing yet another modified example of the binding equipment of each embodiment. Figure 23 shows a modified example of the binding equipment 100B of the second embodiment as an example. In the binding equipment of each embodiment, the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A is configured to bind the reinforcing bar S with two wires W fed in parallel, but the reinforcing bar binding machine 1A may also be configured to bind the reinforcing bar S with one wire W. In this case, the wire feed mechanism 2B is configured such that the reel storage section 21 stores one reel 20, the wire pull-out mechanism 22 pulls out one wire W, and the first wire guide section 23 and the second wire guide section 24 guide one wire W.

1A, 1B... rebar binding machine, 2A. 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F... wire feed mechanism, 20... reel, 21... reel storage section, 22... wire pull-out mechanism, 22a... pull-out roller, 22b... drive section, 22c... motor, 22d... wire slack absorption mechanism, 22f... spring, 23... first wire guide section, 23a, 23b, 23c... roller, 23d... wire slack absorption mechanism, 23e... slack absorption roller, 23f... spring, 24... second wire guide section, 24a, 24b... roller, 24d... wire slack absorption mechanism, 24e... slack absorption roller roller, 24f...spring, 24g...wire feed regulating roller, 25a...upper limit detection sensor, 25b...lower limit detection sensor, 3A...wire feed section, 30...feed gear, 31...feed motor, 4A, 4B...wire guide, 40A, 41A...opening, 42A...guide surface, 43B...partition section, 5A...curl forming section, 6A...cutting section, 7A...binding section, 70...wire retainer, 8A...drive section, 80...motor, 100A, 100B...control section, 120...feed amount detection sensor (feed amount detection means), W...wire

Claims (9)

a binding mechanism for binding objects to be bound with a wire;
a reel housing section for housing a reel around which a wire is wound;
a wire feeding mechanism that feeds a wire from the reel accommodated in the reel accommodating section to the binding mechanism,
The binding mechanism is movable relative to the reel housing section so that the binding mechanism can be moved in a direction intersecting with a surface on which the binding object is disposed,
The binding mechanism includes a wire feeding unit that feeds a wire in a first direction, winds the wire around an object to be bound, and feeds the wire wound around the object to be bound in a second direction opposite to the first direction to wind the wire around the object to be bound; and a wire guide that guides the wire fed to the wire feeding unit and prevents the wire from coming off the wire feeding unit .
The wire feeding unit includes a pair of feeding members that feed the wire by a rotational motion,
the wire guide includes a wire position restricting portion that restricts a position of the wire along an axial direction of rotation of the feed member,
The wire position restricting portion has a shape that restricts the radial direction of the wire and is configured with an opening that faces the wire feed portion.
Binding equipment. a binding mechanism for binding objects to be bound with a wire;
a reel housing section for housing a reel around which a wire is wound;
a wire feeding mechanism that feeds a wire from the reel accommodated in the reel accommodating section to the binding mechanism,
The binding mechanism is movable relative to the wire feed mechanism so that the binding mechanism can be moved in a direction intersecting a surface on which an object to be bound is disposed,
The binding mechanism includes a wire feeding unit that feeds a wire in a first direction, winds the wire around an object to be bound, and feeds the wire wound around the object to be bound in a second direction opposite to the first direction to wind the wire around the object to be bound; and a wire guide that guides the wire fed to the wire feeding unit and prevents the wire from coming off the wire feeding unit.
The wire feeding unit includes a pair of feeding members that feed the wire by a rotational motion,
the wire guide includes a wire position restricting portion that restricts a position of the wire along an axial direction of rotation of the feed member ,
The wire position restricting portion has a shape that restricts the radial direction of the wire and is configured with an opening that faces the wire feed portion.
Binding equipment. The binding equipment according to claim 2, wherein the wire guide is configured such that an upstream opening into which the wire fed from the wire feeding mechanism is introduced has a larger opening area than a downstream opening in the feeding direction of the wire fed from the wire feeding mechanism to the wire feeding section. The bundling equipment according to claim 3 , wherein the wire guide has a wire position regulating portion formed at the downstream opening. The binding equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the wire guide has a largest opening area on the introduction side of the wire fed from the wire feed mechanism, and the opening area gradually decreases therefrom. The binding mechanism binds objects to be bound with a plurality of wires,
The wire feeding unit feeds a plurality of wires arranged in parallel in a radial direction,
The wire guide has an opening facing the wire feed section, the opening being provided downstream with respect to the feed direction of the wire fed from the wire feed mechanism, and regulates the radial orientation of multiple wires. The binding equipment described in any one of claims 1 to 5. The binding mechanism binds objects to be bound with two wires,
The wire feeding unit feeds two wires arranged in parallel in a radial direction,
The opening facing the wire feed section has a length in a longitudinal direction along the direction in which the two wires are arranged in parallel that is equal to or greater than the diameter of two wires, and a length in a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction that is equal to or greater than the diameter of one wire.
The bundling facility according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The opening is configured as an oval or a rectangle.
The bundling installation according to claim 7. The wire feeding mechanism feeds a wire between the bundling mechanism and the reel housed in the reel housing.
The bundling installation according to claim 2.

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