US1999144A - Wire tying machine - Google Patents

Description

April 23, 1935. H, SPQOR 1,999,144

WIRE TYING MACHINE Filed June 2, 19:52 4 Shets-Sheet 1 12 4E5: I I I I I hz/arzzor- [van/175 00077 A ril 23, 1935. 1. H. SPOOR WIRE' TYING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m @lw ./.4 l w ,QNI NM r H Sm QW kw j m mm- 2 0. QIQI MN Q Bw R. Y Ila. a mm NW $5M Q 8 MN Q7 @N @E H .H MM 8 NW mm L [1 I b mm? I Q. .r mmx 9 mm kwm M fig MN m.. NW 9 @39 Mm nw Q @mw Q. 2 mm lg, kw G omw (.XQ o N. 0 MN O 0 9 0 0 [Q April 23, 1935. I. H. sPooR WIRE TYING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 [we/W: 121L212 35,0001;

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A ril 23, 1935. I. HJSPOOR 1,999,144

WIRE TYING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 2, 1932 jizuerzzor- 121cm jifipaor,

Patented Apr. 23, 1935 UNITED STATES WIRE TYING MACHINE Ivan H. Spoor, La Grange, Ill., assignor to The Gerrard Company, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application June 2, 1932, Serial No. 614,971

17 Claims.

.The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved wire tying machine which is small, light, compact and inexpensive, yet performs the tying operation efiiciently at a high 5 rate of speed, is thoroughly dependable, is automatic in all of the more important respects and may be used quite advantageously for those classes of tying work which heretofore only the big, costly and cumbersome machines known as 1" automatics have been considered suitable for.

While the foregoing statement is indicative in a general way of the nature of the invention, other more specific objects and advantages Will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a 15 full understanding of the construction, arrangement and operation of the improved machine. I

One form of the invention is presented herein by way of exemplification, but it will of coursebe appreciated that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other structurally modified forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the machine, showing the same attached to the front edge of a bundling table with the upper surface of the machine flush with the top of the table;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the machine, taken on approximately the line 3-3 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 4 is another vertical longitudinal section through the machine taken in the oposite direction on approximately the line 44 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal longitudinal section, taken on approximately the line 55' of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3 or the line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line 'l l of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the irregular line 88 of Fig. 3 or the line 8-8 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section, taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line |-I0 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical section, taken on the line ll-ll of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary vertical section, taken on the line l2-l2 of Fig.

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the left-hand end of the machine with the top plate removed; and

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary vertical section, taken 55 on the line |4 |4 of Fig. 13.

The particular machine which is shown in the drawings is adapted to be attached to the front edge of a wrapping, packing or bundling table Ill, with the fiat upper surface I I of the machine substantially flush with the top of the table. The machine can be conveniently used in this position to tie up practically anything that can be handled on a table or conveyor--one typical and highly advantageous use of the machine being the bundling of newspapers in the delivery room of a newspaper'plant.

The machine is automatic in some respectsbut not in others. For instance, the tensioning of the wire about the object, the twisting together of the overlapped ends, the cutting of the held wire portions at the extremities of the tie formation and the re-threading of the cut end of the wire from the coil back into the stationary gripper, are all operations which take place automatically in proper sequence once the machine has been set in motion. But before these operations start, the wire leading from the machine to the coil must first have been looped by hand around the object or group of objects resting on the table in overlapping relation to the machine. As soon as the wire has been looped about the object, the

machine is ready to perform the several above mentioned tie-forming operations, which it will do with great rapidity.

After each tying operation, the machine will come to rest with one end of the wire from the supply coil in operative position in a gripper l2 at the left-hand side of the machine and with the wire portion which extends from such end toward the' coil lying loosely in an upwardly opening groove l3 near the right-hand side of the machine, from which groove it can be easily lifted and looped about the next object to be tied.

In proceeding to tie an object which is resting on the table, the object is first pulled toward the operator into a position overlying the upper surface ll of the machine, with the particular portion of the object which is to receive the wire loop projecting toward the operator above a small supporting lip I 4 on the machine. The wire which is lying in the open groove I3 is then picked up and looped about the object in a counterclockwise direction. As the wire approaches the bottom of the object after having been trained about the other three sides'of the same, it is passed beneath the lip l4, pulled out horizontally toward the right-hand end of the machine above the groove l3 and moved downwardly. a little into an open gripper l5, which gripper will then automatically snap shut on the wire. All that remains for the operator to do is to press down on a horizontally extending control bar I 6, where upon the machine will start and the tie will be almost instantaneously produced.

As will be observed in the drawings, the machine is driven by an electric motor l1 (see Fig. 1) which is located beneath the table to which the machine is attached. The motor I1 is connected to a shaft IS in the machine by a belt 19 which is trained over pulleys 20 and 2i. The shaft I8 is intended to run continuously and is preferably provided at one end with a fly wheel 22. The other end of the shaft l8 extends into the casing 23 of the machine and terminates in a pinion 24 (see Fig. 3) which meshes upwardly and rearwardly with a gear 25. The gear 25 is journaled on a shaft 26 in the rear part of the casing. The gear 25, which is free to rotate on the shaft 26 when the machine is at rest, is

adapted to be connected to such shaft to place the machine in operation by means of a jaw clutch 21 which is splined to the shaft and is adapted to be moved axially thereof by means of a forked lever 28 into circumferentially interlocked engagement with a similarly shaped clutch formation 21 on the adjacent end of the gear 25.

The fork 28 is secured to a rock shaft 29, which shaft projects out through the front of the casing 23 and is provided on its front end with a head 36. The clutch 21 is urged at all times to engage with the opposed clutch formation 21' by the action of a spring 3|, but is held out of engagement when the machine is notin operation by a downwardly spring-pressed bolt 32 (see Fig. 1) which is normally positioned with the nose thereof in interlocked engagement with a notch 33 in the periphery of the head 39. The bolt 32 is slidably mounted in a block 34 which is in turn pivotally mounted on the front end of the shaft 29 behind the head 30. The block 34 is normally prevented from turning in a clockwise direction by the resistance of a spring 35, which spring is sufficiently strong to overcome the tendency of the spring 3| to oscillate the shaft 29 in a clockwise direction.

In order to throw the clutch 21 in to start the machine, it is merely necessary to depress the previously mentioned control bar I6 which bar extends horizontally along the upper front portion of the machine and is provided at its ends with a pair of small supporting arms 36 (see Fig. 5) which are pivotally mounted on a rod 31. Downward movement of the bar l6 causes a lever 38 therebeneath to oscillate downwardly. The lever 38 is pivoted to the casing on a stud 39 (see Fig. 1) and is provided with a small fork 40 which engages under the head of the bolt 32. The above described movement of the lever 38 serves to withdraw the nose of the bolt 32 from the notch in the head 30, which releases the shaft 29 and permits the spring 31 to rock the assembly and throw in the clutch 21, thereby causing the shaft 26 to start rotating.'

The shaft 26 carries a worm 4| which meshes upwardly with a worm wheel 42 on the rear end of a forwardly extending shaft 43. The driving ratio between the shaft 26 and the shaft 43 is such as to cause the latter to make one complete revolution during each operating cycle of the machine. The shaft 43 is provided, near the front of the casing, with a spiral gear 44 which meshes downwardly with a spiral gear 45 on a shaft 46. The shaft 46, like the shaft 43, makes one revolution during each operating cycle of the machine. The shaft 43 is provided on its front end with a head 41 which is provided at one point in its periphery with a recess 48 for coaction with the upwardly projecting end of a rod 49. The rod 49 is mounted in the previously described block 34 and may be projected or retracted with respect to the block by an adjusting screw 59 which may be turned by means of a knurled wheel 5|.

When the machine starts to operate as a resu of the control bar l6 being depressed, the head 41 on the front end of the shaft 43 will commence to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, thereby camming the rod 49 and the block 34 in which it is mounted toward the right against the yielding resistance of the spring 35, after which the upper end of the rod 49 will ride against the cylindrical periphery of the head 41 until the recess 48 in the head has returned to a position wherein the upper end of the rod 49 can spring back into it. As soon as this occurs, the movement of the block 34 in returning will rock the shaft 29 back through the coupling provided by the nose of the bolt 32, and the clutch 21 will be thrown out. bringing the machine to a quick stop.

The gripper I2 at the left end of the machine consists of a small head 52 (see Figs. l0, l1, l3 and 14) which is provided with a horizontally extending wire opening 53 and is mounted on the upper end of an upright stem 54. The stem 54 is journaled in the casing of the machine andis provided at its lower end with a cam follower 55 which is adapted to be moved by a cam 56 on the adjacent end of the shaft 46. During most of the operating period of the machine, and also when the machine is at rest, the follower 55 is positively held by the cam 56in a position wherein the wire opening 53 is at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the hereinafter described twisting mechanism through which the wire from the gripper !2 passes, but after the tie has been completed and before the machine has come to rest, the cam 56 will pass through an are wherein the follower 55 is opposite a recess in the cam, thereby allowing the follower to turn into such recess under the action of a torsion spring 51 on the stem, which turning movement will cause the opening 53 in the head of the gripper to move into alignment with the then cut end of the wire leading back to the coil, in readiness to receive such end. As soon as the opening 53 in the gripper l2 arrives in this aligned position, the other gripper 15 will move the cut end of the wire remaining in the machine toward the left into the opening 53, after which the gripper l2 will be turned back again into its holding position (see Fig. 13), making a right-angled bend in the end of the wire which will prevent the same from pulling out of the gripper 12 when the wire is subsequently looped and pulled taut about the next object to be tied.

The end of the wire which is held in the gripper l2 when the machine is at rest, extends back to the supply coil (not shown) through two forwardly opening slots 59 in two spaced side plates 59 (see Figs. 3, 8 and 9) and through a radial slot 69 in a centrally arranged twisting pinion 6|. In looping the wire by hand about an object in a counterclockwise direction preparatory to tying the same, the wire portion which is brought down again beneath the object is adapted to be moved back under the lip 14 into the slots 58 and 60 alongside the first wire portion and then pulled out horizontally to the right and placed in the open gripper l5.

The twisting pinion 6| is rotated by a gear 62 which is journaled on a stub shaft 63. The gear 62 is driven by a gear 64 which is non-rotatably associated with a gear 65 on a stub shaft 66. The gear 65 is in turn driven by a pinion 61 which is secured on a short extension shaft 26' at one end of the previously described shaft 28. The shaft 26 is adapted to be coupled at certain times with the shaft 26 by means of a jaw clutch 68. When the clutch 68 is thrown in, the pinion M will be rotated, causing the overlapped wire portions in the slot in the pinion to be twisted together between the side plates 59, which is the usual method of forming a twisted wire tie.

The gripper I5, which is located near the right end of the machine, consists of an upwardly projecting and rearwardly beveled flange 69 and a wedge-shaped block I9 which is shiftably mounted in a wedge-shaped recess II beneath a cover plate I2 behind the flange. The front edge of the block I9 is serrated and, is disposed in spaced parallel relation to the flange 69, for the reception therebetween of the portion of the wire which leads back-to the supply coil. The block 19 is normally urged to move toward the left and in consequence forwardly toward the flange 69 by means of a compressed spring 13 which is seated in a recess in a cross head Lt-on which the gripper mechanism is mounted. Until the wire has been placed in the gripper I5, however, the wedge block I9 wi l be held in its open position by the nose I5 of an upwardly spring-pressed latch I6, which nose is adapted to engage withi'n a notch TI in the front edge of the block. When' the wire, in being placed in the gripper, is moved downwardly into the open groove therein, it will engage with the nose I5 of the latch and will force, the latter out of engagement with the block I9, allowing the latter to close up on the wire in tightly clamped engagement with the same. After the tying operation has. been completed, and just before the machine comes to rest, the gripper I5 will move a-substantial distance toward the left to bring the small end of the block I9 into engagement with a projection I8 (see Fig. 13) on the casing of the machine, which projection will shift the block I9 toward the right in the cross head and allow the latch it to spring upwardly and lock the block in its open position.

The cross head I9 is slidably supported on the previously mentioned rod 31 and also on another rearwardly disposed parallel rod 37 (see Fig. 5). The cross head is pivotally connected to the ends of a U-shaped strap I9, and the strap is in turn connected with a rod 89 which extends loosely through an aperture in the center of the same. A compression spring BI is positioned on the rod 89 between a shoulder .on the latter and the center portion of the strap 79 for yieldingly forcing the latter to the right when the rod 89 is moved toward the right. A nut 82 is threaded on the outer end of the rod 89 at the far side of the strap I9 for pulling thestrap toward the left when the rod is moved inthat direction. The rod 89 is pivotally connected at 99 to the upper end of a curved lever 84. The lever 89 is pivoted to the casing at 85 and is provided intermediate its end with a cam follower 86 in the form of a roller for coaction with a large cam 8'! which is secured to the previously described cross shaft 43. As the shaft 43 turns, the cross arm 14 which carries the gripper l5 will be forced to move toward the right end of the machine, thereby tensioning the wire. The roller 86 is caused to follow the periphery of the cam 81 by the action of a. spring 88 (see Fig. The spring 88 is mounted on a rod 89 which is pivotally attached at 99 to the lever 84. The spring is compressed between the pivoted end of the rod 89 and a cross plate 9| through which the rod extends. The plate 9! is mounted on two supporting rods 92. When the high portion of the cam 81 moves out from under the roller 86, the spring 88 will move the lever 84, rod 89 and cross head 14 back toward the twisting mechanism of the machine.

The gripper I5, in moving toward the right end of the machine in pulling the wire tight about the object, will draw the wire down into the previously mentioned upwardly opening groove I3, which is formed in a shiftably mounted plate 93. The plate 93 is located between the gripper I5 and the twisting mechanism. After the wire has been drawn down into the groove I3, the plate 93 will be shifted rearwardly beneath a stationary plate 94 into a position wherein the groove I3 is entirely covered by the plate 94, thereby confining the wire loosely within a straight tube-like guideway. The plate 93 is shifted by means of a lever 95 which is pivotally mounted on a shaft 96 and is coupled to the plate by a loose rocking connection 9?. The lower end of the lever 95 bears against a cam 98 which is secured to the shaft 46. When the low part of the cam moves into a position opposite the lower end of the lever 95, it permits a compressed spring 99 to oscillate the lever in one direction to shift the plate 99 rearwardly, and when the high part of the cam engages with the lever, it oscillates the latter in the opposite direction and shifts the plate 93 forwardly, thereby opening up the wire guiding groove I3.

As soon as the machine is started, the front wireportion in the twisting mechanism, which may or may not have been pushed back by hand as far as it will go into the slots 58 and 69, is engaged by a pair of fingers l 08 gsee Fig. 8) which move rearwardly and force both of the overlapped wire portions into their proper positions in the slots. The fingers I99 are secured to the shaft 99, at opposite sides of the twisting mechanism, and the shaft 96 is oscillated in the direction necessary to move the fingers I99 rearwardly by a torsion spring I9I (see Fig. 4) which is attached to a projecting portion I92 of the shaft. The shaft 96 is oscillated in the other direction by means of a cam I93 (see Fig. 7) which is secured to the shaft 46 and operates against a lever I94 which is pivoted at its lower end to the casing. The lever I94 is pivoted at its upper end to a link I95 which is in turn pivoted to a small arm I96 on the shaft 96. The link I95 is provided with a shoulder portion I91 which abuts with one end of an axially shiftable pin I98 when the machine is at rest. The

pin. I98, which serves to hold the shaft 96 in the position shown in Fig. 7 against the action of the spring I9I, extends out through one end of the casing 23 and is connected by a link I99 (see Fig. 1) to the lever 38 of the starting device.

When the machine is started, the downward movement of the lever 38 will withdraw the end pin I08 will move resiliently back into a position in latched association with the link I05 under the action of a spring H which bears against the lever 38.

After the overlapped wire portions have been pushed back into place by the fingers I00 and have been twisted by the pinion 6I, the wire portions at the ends of the tie leading off to the grippers I2 and I are severed by a pair of knives II I and I I2 (see Figs. 8 and 9), which knives are attached respectively to the front edges of a pair of levers H3 and H4. The levers H3 and H4 are pivoted at their upper ends to the frame of the machine and are adapted to be engaged at their lower ends by cams H5 and H6 on the shaft 46. The knives III and I I2 are mounted on the levers H3 and I I4 in such relation to the slots in the coacting side plates 59 that the knife I II will out only the wire portion leading off to the gripper I2 while the knife I I2 will out only the wire portion leading off through the then closed groove I3 to the gripper I5.

After the excess wire portions have been cut away from the tie at the ends of the latter. the tie is ejected from the slots 58 and 60 of the twisting mechanism by means of another pair of fingers III (see Figs. 4 and 8) The fingers III are pivotally mounted on the shaft 98 and are provided with downwardly and rearwardly'extending portions I I 8 which are adapted to be engaged by a pair of cams H8 on the shaft 46. When the high parts of the cams I I8 ride up under the portions H8 of the fingers they cause such fingers to force the completed tie forwardly out of the slots 58 and 60.

The twisting mechanism is set in operation at the proper time following the tensioning operation by means of a cam I on the shaft 43. When a lever I2 I, which is pressed against the periphery of the cam I20 by a spring I22, reaches the relieved portion of the cam, it pivots about a center I23 under the action of the spring I22. The lever I2I is provided below its pivotal axis with a forked portion I24 which embraces the shiftable portion of the previously mentioned clutch 68. The movement of the lever I2! in entering the recessed portion of the cam I20, throws in the clutch 68 and starts the twisting pinion BI turning. At the same instant that this occurs, a stud I25 on one side of the cam I20 engages with and depresses the free end of a lever I28, which lever has an upwardly extending portion I21 which serves to withdraw a locking pin I28 from a recess I29 in the gear 65 of the twisting mechanism. The pin I28 is normally pressed into such recess by a spring I30 and is slidably mounted in an aperture in a block I3I, which block is pivotally mounted on the same center as the gear 65. The block I3I is capable of moving only through a small angle against the increasing resistance of a spring I32, which spring, together with the pin I28, serves to return the gears of the twisting mechanism into a position wherein the slot 60 in the pinion M is facing toward the front of the machine at the completion of the twisting operation, after having first permitted the slot 60 to turn past such position in order to impart a slight overtw st to the tie.

The nose of the pin I28 will spring back into the aperture I29 in the gear 65 as soon as the latter has made one complete revolution, and then the block I3I and the gear 65 will turn together as a unit through a small arc until the end of the lever I2I has engaged the high part of the cam I20 and thrown out the clutch 88.

After the clutch 58 has been thrown out, the spring I32 will move the twisting pinion 6| back again into a position wherein the slot 60 is in alignment with the slots 58. The portion I21 of the lever I26 which engages with the head of the pin I28 is slotted on an arc to permit the pin to move sidewise with respect to the lever. The lever I26 is returned to its normal position by a spring I33.

The operation of the machine will now be described. After the last tying operation, the machine will be left with vthe end of the wire from the supply coil booked in the gripper I2 at the left side of the machine and with the adjacent portion of the wire disposed within the aligned slots of the twisting mechanism. The object which is to be tied next is pulled by the operator out over thesupporting lip I4 of the machine and the wire leading back to the coil is then looped by the operator in a counterclockwise direction about the object, after which it is pushed back under the lip I4 into the slots in the twisting mechanism and pressed down into the gripper I5 near the right end of the machine. The

gripper I5 thereupon automatically clamps the wire against withdrawal.

The machine is then ready to be started. To start it, the control bar I6 is pressed down by the operator. This movement of the bar I8 causes the nose 33 of the bolt 32 to be withdrawn from the notch in the periphery of the head 30, and. as soon as the head 30 is released, the spring 3i throws in the clutch 21, starting the shafts 2G, 43 and 46 to rotating. The downward movement of the bar I6 also causes the end of the rod I00 to be withdrawnfrom in front of the end of the link I 05, thereby permitting the spring IOI to rotate the shaft 96 rapidly and move the loading fingers I00 rearwardly to force the overlapped wire portions into their proper positions within the aligned slots of the twisting mechanism.

The rotation of the shaft 43 acts through the cam 81 and lever 84 to move the gripper I5 toward the right end of the machine to place the looped wire under tension. When a predetermined amount of tension has been reachedwhich can be varied by adustment of the nut 82-the spring 8I will permit the gripper I5 to come to a stop even though the rod 80 and its associated lever 84 continue to move outwardly until the high part of the cam 81 has been reached. After the gripper I5 has moved into its tensioning position it will remain in that position throughout the greater part of the operating cycle of the machine, due to the great circumferential extent of the high part of the cam 81.

As soon as the gripper I5 has pulled the wire taut, the plate 93 which carries the groove I3 will shift into a position wherein the groove will underlie and be closed off by the plate 94, confining the wire in a straight tube-like guideway, where any bends or irregularities in the tightening wire will be smoothed out, thereby leaving the wire perfectly straight.

By the time that the gripper I5 has fully tensioned the wire about the object, the cam I20 will have turned into a position wherein it will allow the spring I22 to throw in the clutch 88 and start the twisting pinion SI to turning. After the pinion 6| has made a sufficient number of turns to impart the desired twist to the overlapped wire portions held in the slots in the side plates 50, the stud I25 on the cam I20 will act lead back from both ends of the tie through the lever. I26 to throw-out the clutch 68. The timing of the release of the clutch 6B is such, however, as to cause the slot 60 in the twisting pinion to turn a little past its forwardly openposition against the'yieldingresistance of the spring I32 after the pin I28 has snapped back into the aperture I29 in the gear 65, there by imparting a slight overtwist'to the tie.

At about the same time, the cutters III and H2 will be oscillated by the cams H5 and H6 on the shaft 46, causing the wire portions which to the grippers I2 and I5 to be severed at points closely ad-v iacent the ends of the tie.

The fingers m will then be actuated by the cams II9 on the shaft 46 to eject the completed tie from the slots inthe twisting mechanism, thereby-facilitating forward removal of the tied loop and bound object from the supporting lip I4.

After the tie has been completed and removed from the machine, the latter will automatically reload itself with wire before comingto rest. Thisis accomplished by the return movement of the gripper l5 which still'holds fastto the wire. The gripper Iipushes the wire end which" has been severed by the cutter I I2 through the slots 58 and 60 into the then aligned opening 53 in the gripper I2, after which the gripper I2 is turned by the cam 56 into a position at right angles to its former position, thereby bending the wire end and holding it securely against withdrawal in readiness for the next tying operation. As soon as the wire has been engaged by the gripper I2, the plate 93 which contains the groove I3 will be shifted forwardly, whereby to expose the wire in the groove and permit it to be lifted out and looped about the 'next, object. When the gripper I5 reaches its extreme left position, it is engaged by the projection 18 and is caused to automatically release the wire.

The machine is then in readiness for the next tying operation and will come to a stop as soon as the nose of the rod 49 drops into the recess 48. in the periphery of the head 41. The exact position of the head 41 in which the machine will come to a stop may be variedby changing the extent of projection of the rod 49 by means of the knurled wheel 5|. Ordinarily, the position of the rod 49 will be so adjusted as to permit the gripper I5 to start its movement toward the right before the machine actually stops. In this way, the effective stroke of the gripper I5 toward the right in tensioning the wire can be increased or decreased as desired, depending upon the amount of slack which is to be taken up in the wire, the compressibility and size of the object being tied and also the tension to be placed on the wire. The stroke of the-gripper it will of course always be the same, but by varying the position of the rod 89, the first part of the stroke may be caused. to take place before the machine comes to a stop, with the result that the position in which the gripper l 5 is found at the start of the next tying operation may be varied at will.

After the tie has been completed and the wire portions leading away from the ends of the tie have been cut off, the cut tip remaining in the gripper It will fall out of the opening 53 in the same, leaving such opening clear in readiness to receive the other cut end of the wire. To make sure that the cut wire tip will always leave the gripper I2, the cam 56 which operates'such gripper may advantageously be provided with a supplemental relieved portion in its face which of 'ajo'ining' sleeve or welding.

leaves a radially extending rib III at the end of the cam. Just before the gripper I2 turns into the position in which the other cut end of the wire is threaded into it, the cam will ride into the recess in front of the rib I24 and will be kicked back again by said rib, resulting in a rapidly oscillating movement of the gripper I2 which will serve to throw out the cut wire tip..

The word wire" as used in the following claims is intended to include within its meaning either round wire or flat band, and the word "tying is intended to include within its meaning the formation of any sort of joint, whether the twisting together of overlapped wire portionsv or the coupling together. ofeither overlapped or abutting flat band portions, by deformation, application I claim: 1

v 1. In a wire-tying machine, means for forming a tie in awire' l'oo'ped about an object, and means for re-loading "tlie machine with wire after a tie has been formedin'readiness for the next tie forming operation, said last -mentioned means releasing a portion of the wire upon completion of the re-loading operation to permit the wire to be looped by'hand about the next object.

2. In a wire tying machine, means for supporting an object to be tied on top of the machine in overlapping relation to the front edge thereof, a forwardly opening slot in the front of the machine for receiving overlapped portions of a wire looped about the object, means for moving the wire rearwardly in the slot before the tie forming operation, and means engaging the wire for automatically ejecting the completed tie from the slot after such operation.

3. In a wire tying machine, means for automatically loading the machine with wire after each wire tying operation, said means including at right angles thereto'to bend and thereby grip the wire.

5. In a wire tying machine, a traveling gripper which is movable in one direction to tension the wire and is movable in the opposite direction to project a new the machine, and a stationary guideway through which the wire is slidingly projected by the gripper under the inherent rigidity of the wire.

6. In a wire tying machine, wire straightening means comprising an upwardly opening guideway for the reception of a portion of the wire, means forclosing off the open top of the guideway, and means for moving the wire longitudinglly through the guideway in threading the ma- 0 me.

7. In a wire tying machine, means for tensioning the wire, and means associated with said tensioningmeans for straightening the portion of the wire which is to be threaded into the machine for the next tying operation, said straightening means comprising a confining guide of substantial length and means to draw the wire therethrough.

8. In a wire tying machine, in combination, a gripper for holding one end of a wire from a length of wire before it into 4 6 coil, means for tensioning, twisting and cutting portions of the wire to form a tie therein after the wire has been looped by hand about an.object with one end held by the gripper, and means for moving the new end of the wire into the gripper after the tie has been completed, whereby to secure such end while the wire is being looped and pulled taut about the next object.

9. In a wire tying machine, in combination, a gripper for holding one end of a wire from a coil, means for tensioning, twisting and cutting portions of the wire to form a tie therein after the wire has been looped by hand about an object with one end held by the gripper, means for moving the new end of the wire into the gripper after the tie has been completed, whereby to secure such end while the wire is being loopedand pulled taut about the next object, and means for varying the tension applied to the wire.

10. In a wire tying machine, in combination, a gripper for holding one end of a wire from a coil, means for tensioning, twisting and cutting portions of the wire to form a tie therein after the wire has been looped by hand about an object with one end held by the gripper, means for moving the new end of the wire into the gripper after the tie has been completed, whereby to secure such end while the wire is being looped and pulled taut about the next object, and means for straightening the wire before the same is advanced toward the gripper.

11. In a wire tying machine, a frame which is provided at its top with a substantially horizontal support for the object to be tied, and means within the frame beneath said support for joining together portions of a wire after the latter has been looped about the object, said frame being provided beneath said support with a forwardly opening slot through which the joined wire portions will pass when the tied object is withdrawn from the support in that direction.

12. In a package binding machine, means for joining together portions of a binder to form a loop, grippers at opposite sides of said means for holding the binder under tension during the joining operation, means for cutting the binder to free the looped portion thereof from the supply, and means for automatically transferring the cut end from the gripper at one side of the joining means to the gripper at the other side in preparation for the next joining operation.

13. In a package binding machine, means for joining together portions of a binder to form a loop, grippers at opposite sides of said means for holding the binder under tension during the joining operation, means for cutting the binder to free the looped portion thereof from the supply, and means for automatically transferring the cut end from the gripper at one side of the joining means to the gripper at the other side in preparation for the next joining operation, said transferring means including a wire guiding conduit through which the wire moves in being transferred.

14. A wire tying machine having a flat top for supporting an object to be tied and also having a forwardly opening slot in the front thereof immediately below the top' for the reception of overlapped wire portions looped about the object resting on the' table.

15. In awire tying machine, a wire supply, tying mechanism, a traveling gripper movable in one direction to seize and thread the wire into the tying mechanism and movable in the opposite direction to tension the threaded wire, and means operating upon the gripper to release the threaded and tensioned length of wire.

. 16. In a wire tying machine, a rotatable gripper for holding one end of the wire, said gripper being angularly movable into one position to receive the wire and angularly movable into another position at right angles thereto to bend and thereby grip the wire.

17. In a wire tying machine, means for twisting together two generally parallel overlapping portions of a wire after the latter has been looped around an parallel'overlapping relation, a gripper at one side of the twisting means for holding the end of one of the overlapping portions, and a second gripper at the other side of the twisting means for engagement with the other of the overlapping portions leading back to a supply of wire, said second gripper being automatically movable in one direction to place one of the wire portions where it will be in generally parallel overlapping relation to the other portion and in engagement with the first gripper when the wire is subsequently looped around theobject, and being automatically movable in the other direction to tension the wire about the object before the generally parallel overlapping portions are twisted together.

IVAN H. SPOOR.

object to bring the portions into such

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