US2195043A - Wire tying machine - Google Patents

Description

March 26, 13940. l P. WRIGHT 2,195,043

WIRE TYING ACHINE Filed Jan. I5, 1939 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 .Maxch 26, 1940. P. WRIGHT wm: 'mue MACHINE Filed Jan.- s, 19:59

8 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 26, 1940. P. WRIGHT wim: TYING MACHINE Filed Jan. 3, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 P. WRIGHT WIRE TYING MACHINE Filed yJan.

March 26, l1940.

esmas-sheet 4 gmc/nm P. WRIGHT WIRE TYING MACHINE- Filed Jan. s,l 1959 March 26, 19.40.

8 Sheets-Sheet 5 mnu HHHHH Skim/man March 26, 1940. P. WRIGHT WIRE- TYING MACHINE Filed. Jan. 5, 1939 a sheets-'sheet 6 March 26, 1940. P WRIGHT 2,195,043

WIRE TYING .MACHINE Y Filed Jan. 3, 1939 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 www www my I A www 'Umm HHM W Wu Filed Jan. 5, 1959 March 26, 1940.

Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES l WIRE TYING MACHINE Parvin wright, seattle, wash., signor tu The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., al corporation of Connecticut Application January 3,

` 32 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for twisting a knot in overlapped portions of a wire in the securement of packages, and has for its object to provide a construction lof an automatic type which is simple in parts and more efficient in operation than those heretofore proposed.

With these and other 'objects in view the invention resides in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts as will be disclosed more fully hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification andsin which like numerals designate like parts in\all the viewsy Fig. 1 is a vertical side elevational view of the machine with various parts shown somewhat diagrammatically, the purpose being to show the general assembly of parts and their approximate relationships;

Fig. 2 is a vertical front elevational view of the machine with some of the operating parts omitted and others shown somewhat diagrammatically; f

Fig. 3 is a detail diagrammatic view to illustrate a mechanism for interrupting the feed of l the lpackages to be banded;

Fig. 4.is -a detail view partly in section and partly in elevation to illustrate the arrangement ,and operation of the mechanism for feeding the wire to and from the twister mechanism, said rangement and operation of the wire feed rolls,

said view taken as on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the twister mechanism and its associated parts;

Fig. 'l is a detail view partly in section and' partly in elevation, taken as on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating the twister mechanism and its associated parts; i

Fig. 8 is a detail view partly in section and partly in elevation, taken as on the line 8--8 of Fig. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating the twister mechanism and its associated parts;

Fig. 9 is a detail view partly in section and partly in elevation to illustratethe operation and arrangement of the wire feed rolls, said view 1939, Serial No. 249,127

(Cl. 10th-31) Fig. 10 is a detail view partly in section and partly in elevation to illustrate a clutch device for controlling the operation of the twister mechanism;

Fig. 11 is a detail view of a portion of the clutch mechanism shown in Fig. 10, said view taken as on the line II-ll thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows; y

Fig. 12 is a foreshortened view partly in section and partly in elevation tofillustrate the control mechanism by which the wire is -fed by the feed rolls rst in one direction and then in the oppo- -site direction; Y

Fig. 13 is a detail elevational view illustrating the clutch device shown in Fig. 10, as well as the means for tensioning the wire around the package and holding the wire so tensioned;

Fig. 14 is 'a vertical transverse sectional view taken as on the line M--Il of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrates the means for holding the tensioned wire during the twisting operation;

Fig. 15 is a plan View partly in section and partly in elevation. taken as on the line |5--l5 of Fig. 13 and looking in the direction of the arrows, said view to illustrate the construction of the means for tensioning the wire;

Fig. 16 is a detail plan View mostly in section to illustrate the lower or gripping portion of the tensioning device shown in Fig. 15; l

Fig. 17 is a detail view illustrating the latch and the release therefor used in connection with the mechanism for elevating a package to a position where the applied wire is twisted about said package, said View taken as on the line |1-I1 of Fig.

1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 18 is a detail view showing a modification of the means for elevating a package to wire twisting position;

Fig. 19 is a plan view in more or less diagram to illustrate the drive connections for the wire feed rolls; I y

Fig. 20 is a partial perspective view illustrating a portion of the twisting mechanism; and

Fig. 21 is a View of the completed and twisted knot.

This invention covers anautomatic machine for tying a wire band around a box or other package and comprises generally a twister head with associated cutters for severing the blghts of the wire after the knot has been completed and means for positively ejecting the twisted knot from .the twister pinion, 'as' well as feed mechanism for nrst passing the wire from a reel lto and around (as a loop) the package to be banded un e and then shifted to operate for drawing the slack out of the loop, means for tensioning the "wire after the slack has been removed from the loop, and cooperating mechanisms for synchronizing the various operations.

` 'I'he machine is provided with suitable framework constituting a support for the various mechanisms, the numeral 2 generally designating the top plate or bed of the machine and to which most of the mechanism is supportedly attached, 3 indicating generally the twister mechanism, 4 an electric motor or other source of power for actuating the wire banding, tensioning, and tying mechanisms, 5 an elevator for raising the box 6 to a position where the bights of the wire are twisted to secure the package, 1 a loop forming guideway for the wire and substantially surrounding the box to be banded, 8 a foot lever for moving the elevator 5, and 9 a reel of the wire .I0 for banding the package.

'Ihe elevator 5 comprises a plurality of vertical parallel plates IVI spacedV from each other to pass upwardly between conveyor rollers such as I2 ilxedly carried by the framework of themachine and substantially horizontally aligned with a series ofV conveyor rollers I3 over which a box is fed to the banding machine, and also aligned with another series of conveyor rollers I4 over which the banded box passes from the machine. In

Fig. 2 there is shown a box I5 raised by the elevator into wire 'tying position, and another box I6 on the conveyor rollers I3 ready for passage onto the elevator 5 after the box `I5 has been banded and discharged from the machine.

As best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the machinev has three rollers I1, I8 and I9 interconnected by yokes such as at each end of the rollers in such manner that the outside rollers I1 and I9 can be moved about the central and iixed roller I8, so that when the roller I1 is above the plane of the aligned rouers lz, la and I4, the ruer I9 will be below such plane. One of the elevator plates II carries near its upper extremity a lateral extension such as 2| and which may be a lug or pin, which extension contacts the yoke 20 when the elevator is moved downwardly, to bring about oscillation of the yokes 20. The spacing of the central roller I8 from the rollers I1 and I9 is preferably made unequal to cause gravitational oscillation ofthe yokes, thereby normally urging the roller I1 upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2 to intercept and stop the advancing movement of the box lII toward the elevator, said roller I1 being moved downwardlyV to release said box I 8 when the extension 2| on the elevator plate .II in its downward movement contacts the yokes 20, this occurring only after the preceding box I5 has been\ banded. Preferably the series of conveyor rollers I3 are mounted in an inclined plane so that the urge lof gravity may assist in moving the boxes/ toward this machine.

The elevator 5 has a depending arm 30 to which ispivoted as at 3| a lever'32 one end of which has a handle 33 and the other end of which is pivoted as at 34 to the frame of the machine. A bar 35 substantially parallel to the lever 32 has its opposite ends pivoted respectively as at 36 to the elevator arm 30, and as at 31 to the frame of the machine below the pivotY 34 of'said lever. 'Thus it will be understood from Fig. 1 that the elevator arm 30, the lever 32, the bar 35 and the frame of the machine, all constitute a parallel linkage whereby, when said linkage is oscillated, the elevator 5 will be raised and/or lowered. The handle 33 is provided to permit `manual assistance in the upward movement of the elevator.

A vertical lifter rod 38 has secured thereto a collar 39 near its lower extremity, said extremity passing through an opening in the inner end 40 of the foot lever 8 fulcrumed at 4I, a second collar` 42 being secured to the extremity of said lifter rod below the foot lever, the two collars being-spaced from each other as desired to permit any necessary inoperative play or delayed action of the foot lever as will be pointed out later. -Thus it will be understood that when the foot lever is. depressed at one end, the other end 40 will contact the collar 39 and raise the lifter rod 38.

A plate 43, near its lower end, is pivoted as at 44 to the lever 32 of the parallel linkage heretofore described, and at the upper end of said plate there is provided a lateral extension or ear 45 through which the lifter rod 38 slides, and around said lifter rod there is provided a relatively vstrong helicalspring 46 whose ends bear against the collar 39 and the ear 45. Therefore it will be seen that when the foot lever 8 moves the lifter rod upwardly, the spring 49 will be compressed and ultimately cause the plate 43 to move upwardly and in turn raise the elevator 5. The tension of the spring 46 is made such as to give the necessary yieldability and slightly delayed action inthe raising of the elevator and hold the box 6 against the twister head under spring tension. A latch4 mechanism generally identified by the numeral 41 in Fig. 1 is employed to hold the lifter rod 38 in elevated position as when said box is up-against the twister head, said latch being released after the twisting operation and severance of the ends o'f` the twisted bights of the wire, all as will be disclosed in more detail later on.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the twister mechanism is generally identified by the numeral 3 and comprises a train of gears for operating a slotted twister pinion, the detailed description and operation of which will appear hereinafter. In a vertical plane with the axis of the twister pinion, and rigidly carried by the frame of the machine is `the more or less oval guideway 1, of substantially U-shape in transverse section, for forming the loop of banding wire, and from Fig. 1 it will be seen that this guideway substantially surroundsthe box when in position to be banded, the open side Iof the U-shape guideway being inwardly directed toward the box so that, when the slack of the wire is drawn from the loop, the loop of wire may leave the guideway and come into surface contact with the box. In Fig. 2 there has been shown a duplication of the guideway 1 at 50, and a duplication of the twister mechanism 3 at 5I, vsince in some casesit may be desired to provide a box simultaneously with plural bands, particularly if the boxes are large, it being understood that the second guideway 5I) will be likewise positioned in the vertical plane with the axis of the twister pinion of the second twister mechanism 5I.

The reel 9 has its trunnions 52 disposed in the fork of a supporting bracket shown in Fig, 1

' at 53, said bracket at its lower extremity being pivoted as at 54 to the framework of the machine and having the extremity of one arm of the fork adapted to be engaged by a hook or latch 55 carried b y the machine framework, for holding the reel in more or less rigid position on ,the machine. When `the reel has been emptied of its Wire, the bracket 53 is unlatched and swung about the pivot 54 to the dotted line position to recel e. a new reel of wire 9', and then the bracke is returned to its latched position shown in ful lines in F'ig. 1. The other arm of the bracket fork carries any suitable brake device generally indicated by the numeral 56 and adapted to bear against the periphery of the reel to create such a friction therewith as will prevent undue unwinding of the reel as the wire l0 is withdrawn therefrom, and said arm also carries a pair of friction rollers 51 and 58 between which the wire |0 passes in leaving the reel, said friction rollers being under. spring tension as by forming their supporting member 59 of leaf spring material, all as will be readily understood.

An electric motor or other source of power is indicated by the numeral 4 for revolving the power shaft 60 having the worm 6| thereon driving the worm gear 62 keyed to a transverse shaft 63, and upon the front end of the shaft 63 is loosely mounted the gear 64 having secured thereto as by one or more pins 65, a feed foil 66, see Figs. 4 and 5. With particular reference to Figs. 5, 9 and 19 it will be seen that the shaft 63 also has keyed thereto the gear 61 enmeshed with the pinion 68 keyed to a stub shaft 69 substantially parallel with the shaft 63, and keyed to the opposite end of the shaft 69 is a gear 10 -always enmeshed with the gear 64 which. is loose on shaft 63. The gear 10 has secured thereto as by the pins 1| (see Fig. 4) a feed roll 12 cooperating with the feed roll 66. This pair of feed rolls may have their peripheries formed as desired but in the drawings they have been shown respectively as male and female rolls. The two shafts 63 and 69 are disposed in suitable bearings above the bed plate of the machine and the feed rolls 66 an'd 12 are of such diameters that the wire |0 will bein a substantially horizontalplane in lower tangential contact therewith.

Secured to the bed plate 2 of the machine but depending therefrom is a bracket 80 forming a substantial journal for arock shaft 8|, said shaft provided at one end with a `Thead providing the oppositely extending arms 82 and 83 (see Fig. 4), the arm 82 carrying a transverse pin 84 upon which is loosely mounted the gear 85 adapted to enmeshA with ,the gear 64, said gear 85 having secured theretoa's by the pins 86 the feed roll 81 coacting with the feed roll 66. The other arm 83 of the T'head carries a similar transverse pin 88 upon which is loosely mounted the gear 89 adapted to enmesh with the gear 10, said gear 89- having secured thereto as by the pins 90 the feed roll 9| coacting with the feed roll 12. The opposite end of the rock shaft 8| is provided with any suitable means for giving oscillatory motion thereto but in Figs. 5 and 9 said rock shaft is illustrated as having its end formed as at 92 to separatingly key with the lower end of the lever 93 whose upper end is pivotally connected as at 94 with a push rod 95. 'Ihe two pins 84 andv 88 are below the bed plate of the machine and the feed Arolls 81 and 9| carried thereby are of such diameters that their peripheries will be substantially tangential. with the peripheries of the upper feed rolls 66 and 12 respectively.

Thus it will be understood from what has just been described that the transverse shaft 63 is constantly rotated by the power shaft 60 but that the feed roll 66 carried on the former has loose relationl or non-rotation therewith. .*I-Iowever, power from said shaft 63 is transmitted to the shaft 69 and this shaft has keyed, thereto the Vgears just mentioned.

gear 10 carrying the feed roll 12. In vother words, the gear 10 with its feed roll 12 is the only one of the feed roll gears that is positively driven from a constantly rotating shaft. But all four of the drive roll gears 64, 10, 85 and 89 are so mounted as to always be in mesh with each other, whereby rotation of the gear 10 by its shaft 69 will cause rotation of the other three gears. However, the

lower pair of gears 85 and 89 is mounted on the rock shaft 8| wherefore, and with particular reference to Fig. 4, when the lever or arm 93 is in the position shown, there will be deeper enmeshment between the gears 64 and 85 than between the other vertical pair of gears 10 and 89. When, however, the push rod 95 is moved to the left as seen in said Fig. 4, lever arm 9 3 will-slightly oscillate the rock-shaft 8| to reverse the `depth of enmeshment betweeny the.l two vertical pairs of 'I'his oscillation Vis quite slight but is sufficient to cause the two vertical pairs of feed rolls to alternately pinch the wire I0 to cause movement of said wire either toward or away from the twisting mechanism. Consequently, when the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 4, the left hand vertical pair of feed rolls, through their pinch, will cause the wire to be moved to the left in a direction from the reel to the twister,v

but when the pinch is transferred to the right hand vertical' pair of feed rolls (through oscillation of rock-shaft 8|) the wire will be moved to the right or in a direction from the twister to the reel, the wire l0 being shown in dotted lines'because it is located in front. of the feed gears.

The shaft 63, constantly rotated by the power shaft 60, has keyed or otherwise securely attached thereto the gear l|00 enmeshed with the companion gear |0| transversely but loosely mounted on the shaft |02 (see Figs. 4, 5 and 9), said shaft |02 extending'forwardly of the machine and having on its front end the upper gear of the twisting mechanism, said shaft |02 also controlling actuation of the device for holding the wire under tension during the twisting operation as well as controlling the release of the lifter rod 38.v Therefore a clutch is provided for locking the helical lgear |0| to the shaft |02.

This clutch comprises a member |03 secured to the shaft |02 for rotationtherewith, said member having a bore |04 substantially parallel to the axis of said shaft and within which bore is slidingiy fitted a pin |05 having a projection |06 extending through the wall of the member |03 and engaged outside thereof in a slot |01 in the end of a bell crank |08 pivoted as at |09 Yto said member, a. spring ||0 being provided to normally urge the bell crank to oscillate in a direction to move said pin |05 to the right as seen in Fig. 10

and into a hole formed in the face of lthe helical gear |0|. In other words, since said helical gear is constantly rotated, the hole in its face will move in a circular path about the the turning movement of the shaft |02, will strike the end of said trip and thereby cause oscillation of the bell crank to withdraw its associated pin alsl For protection, the helicalgear |0| has a plate H4 pivotally secured to the face thereof providedwith the hole III, the free end of said `plate normally covering said hole, and said plate has a portion of its inner edge upturned to provide, the abutment H5, see Figs. 10 and l1. Thus,

"through any possible ,failure of the trip H2 in functioning, or operating at the required time, the pin |05 might protrude from its bore and cause an undesired'engagement with the helical gear |0|., but the plate H4 is provided to cover -lsaid hole and require said pin to contact the inner edge of said plate to move said plate out ofits hole-covering position, the abutment H5 being provided to assure movement of said plate. A spring I |6 is provided to assure normal coverage of the hole by said plate.

To insure the-stopping of the rotation of the ,shaft |02 in proper position, and to hold the shaft in such position until the next coengagementl of the clutch |03 with the helical gear |0I, the rear end of shaft |02 has keyed thereto a cam H1 provided with a peripheral indention I I8 adapted to be engaged closely by a roller I |9 mounted at one end of a bar |20 whose other end is freely pivoted as at |2I to a portion of the framework or gear casing of the machine, said bar being under the urge of a relatively strong coil spring |22 operating as shown in Fig. 5 to force the roller I I9 into the indention H8.

Referring particularly to Figs. 6, 7 and 8, there is illustrated therein the twister mechanism and its associated parts. |30 and I3I designate two vertically parallelly spaced walls supported by the bed plate of the machine, between which pair of walls the twister gear train is disposed, the front end portion of the shaft |02 being journaled in the upper portion of wall I3I, with the main driving gear |32 of said train keyed to the extremity of said shaft. This main driving gear is adapted to enmesh with an intermediate gear |33 whose shaft |34 is supported by at least one of said walls, which gear |33 is enmeshed with a second intermediate gear |35 whose shaft |36 is supported in both of said walls, and the gear |35 is enmeshed with the twister pinion |31 whose trunnions are supported in said walls or in plates attached thereto, and the gear ratio may be made as desired according to the size of the twisted knot desired, preferably the two intermediate gears being of the same size. l

ToV the outer face of wall |30 is secured a jaw plate |38 provided with the wire receiving slot |39 in its extending end, and to the outer face of the other wall |3| there is secured a similar Vjaw plate |40 having the wire receiving slot |4| `in its extending end, the slots |39 and |4| of both plates being as usual of a width equal to the diameter of the wire I0 and being aligned withthe4 axis of the twister pinion |31 in the usual manner whereby, when the two bights of the wire areA placed into the full depth of said slots-.said wires will substantially coincide with the-axis of the twister-pinion for formation of ,thewisted knot shown in Fig. 20 and said jaw 70.

Y|44,vfthe upper end |45 of said cutter adapted to beactuated by a cam |46 formed on the protrudingend of shaft` |36 of the intermediateA 2,195,048 .;I05from the hole III of the helical gear |0| and twister gear |35. Thus it will be understood that in the rotation of said gear |35 its shaft cam |46 will oscillate the 'cutter |43 about its pivot and cause the lower end |41 thereof to move upwardly and cut one ofthe bights of the wire in close proximity to the end of the twisted knot, the edge of the slot |39 and the edge of the cutter end |41 cooperating in shearing effect on said bight. (See Fig.7).

To the outer face of the other jaw plate |40 is pivoted as at |48 a cutter |49 under tension of a spring |50, the upper end |5| of said cutter adapted to be actuated by a. cam |52 formed on the opposite protruding end of shaft |36 of the intermediate twister gear 35. Thus it will be understood that in the rotation of said gear |35 its shaft ca rn |52 will oscillate the cutter |43 about its pivot and cause the lower end I 53 thereof to move upwardly and cut the other bight of the wire in close proximity to the opposite end4 of the twisted knot, the edge of the slot |4| and the edge of the cutter end |53 cooperating in shearing effect on said bight. (See Fig. 8). The two cutters are actuated simultaneously and suitable stops such as the pin indicated at |54 in Fig. 8 are provided for each cutter against the tension of its spring and to position each cutter with respect to its actuating cam.

Journaled in the two walls |30 and |3| is a rock shaft |60 whose ends extend beyond said walls, and on one of said ends is secured a. depending arm I6| in sliding contact with the outer face of the wall 30, the lowermost end of said arm normally occupying aposition to the rear of the twisted knot in the twister pinion (see Fig. 7), and to the other of said ends of the rock shaft |60 is secured a similar depending arm |62 in sliding contact with the outer face of the other wall |3|, the lowermost end of this arm |62 likewise normally occupying a position to the rear of the twisted knot (see Fig. 8). These twoV depending arms serve as kickers in that they forcibly eject from the twister pinion, and from ,the jaw plates |36 and |40, the twisted knot after the rock shaft |60. A coil spring |61 is disposedA about said stem and. confined as shown in Fig. 8 between the arm |63 and the bar |66. The upper end |68 of said bar is adapted to contact with a cam |69 formed on or attached to the shaft |02 whereby, upon rotation of the shaft |02, said cam will oscillate the bar |66 and place said spring under considerable and increased tension. A latch or hook of leaf spring nature is provided for receiving and. holding the end |68 of said bar when the latter is moved downward, the end of said bar snapping under the yieldable hook. A coil spring I 1| is provided tending to retain the kicker arms 6| and I 62 against a shoulder such as |12 of the walls with which'theyV are associated, and in the normal position (above referred to) behind the twisted knot. Oscillation of the bar |66 does not occur until after the start of the twisting operation, and in Afact starts at a time between` the final two registrations of the slot of the twister pinion and the slots |39 and |4| of the jaw plates, wherefore it is impossible for said depending arms to kick the bights of wire out of the twister mechanism until and therefore to the twister pinion.

the final registration of the slot of the twister pinion .with the slots of the jaw plates. 'During this final registration, the tension of the spring |61 is so great as to cause oscillation of the rock shaft |60 by virture of the tensioning arm |63, overbalancing the tension of the spring and consequently actuating the kicker arms to eject the twistedknot from the twister pinion. 'I'he end |68 of the bar |66 remains latched under the hook |10 during this operation, but isreleased subsequently as will be disclosed in the operation of the machine. The arm |63 may be joined to the -kicker arm |62, if desired, to constitute a bell crank.

The main driving gear |32, of the twisting gear train, is a mutilated gear in that it has va number of teeth omitted to give an intermittent or delayed action to the intermediate gear |33 As previously stated the gear ratio may be as desired but, for example, if three twists are desired in the knot then the twister pinion |31' niustbe given three complete revolutions, and if this pinion has ten teeth then the intermediate gears must each have thirty teeth, and the mutilated main driving gear |32 must have no more than thirty teeth so that the knot may be formed in the one revolution of the main gear. quently the remainder of said gear is formed with a smooth peripheral edge |80 aligned with I the Yroots of the teeth so that the teeth of the intermediate gear |33 will have no coaction with this blank portion of the main gear.

An arcuate plate 8| is secured to a face of the mutilated gear in the region of such blank portion, the outside radius of said plate being equal to the maximum radius of said gear, with the outer peripheral edge I 82 of said p1ate` aligned `with the tips of the teeth of said gear as clearly shown in Fig. 7. From the outer face of said plate extend pins or projections |83 and |84` which are tangential to the peripheral edge |82 'of said plate, and the outside edge of said plate is not continuously circular butV is provided as at |85 with an inwardly extending portion or hollow, all for purposes presently to appear.

To one face of the intermediate gear |33 there -slidingly contact with the peripheral edge |82 of said arcuate plate, said concave edge terminating in the points |86 and |89 of such distance from the axis of the gear |33 that they may extend into the path of the projections |83 and |84 carried by the mutilated gear. A plate |90 covers the outer face of the block |86 and is of substantially the same configuration thereof except that the edge of said plate has a hump |9| at a position intermediate the points |88 and |89 of said block, said hump being of a radial extent to extend likewise into the path of said projections.

lWhen the locked clutch |03 and helical gear have caused rotation of the shaft |02, the

twisting mechanism is in the position shownin Figs. 6, 'z and a with the slot 'or the twister pinion registering with the slots |39 and III of the jaw plates, and ready to receive the wire preparatory to forming the next twisted knot. The parts are held in this position by virtue of the cam i and its roller ndetent ||9, see Fig. 5. After subsequentl operations of feeding the wire around the package, drawing the slack out therefrom and placing the wire under tension, which operations will be `later described, the trip ||2 will be moved from under the clutch lever thus causing the clutch pin |05 to be urged intoposition for engaging the hole of the helical gear when it next comes around, and again locking the clutch and gear to cause rotation of shaft |02.

In this rotation the stud or projection it, carried by the arcuate plate of the mutilated gear, will iirst strike the hump |9| of the plate |98 of the intermediate gear |33, and said stud and'said hump are so positioned on their respective gears that, when they so contact, the intermediate gear |33 will be correctly positioned for its teeth to be engaged by the first toothv |92 of the mutilated gear. This is made possible by the point |89 of the block |86 riding oil. of the periphery of the arcuate plate just prior to en-r gagement of said stud with said hump. The mutilated gear by its teeth then causes rotation of the gear train, giving. the necessary number of twists to the wires in the twister pinion by the time that the last tooth |93 of said mutilated gear is ready to leave, or break engagement wlth, the teeth of the intermediate gear.

At this time the point |89 of the block carried by the intermediate gear will be under the arcuate plate |8| of the mutilated gear, and any possible retrogradel movement of the intermediate gear |33, resulting from any cause, is prevented by sliding engagement between the .concave surface |81 of said block and the periphery of said arcuate plate. Continued rotation of shaft |02 causes the other stud |83 of the mutilated gear to strike the hump |9| of the plate |90 and to rotate the intermediate gear |33 slightly to provide a correspondingly slight over-twist in the knot. The purpose of this over-twist is to compensate for the inherent springiness or tension in the knot resulting from the twisting operation, thus insuring the required number of twists in the knot when ejected from the twister pinion; this overtwist also reducesto a minimum the frictional contact of the outer surface of the completed knot with the inner surfaces of the twister pinion slot and the slots of the jaw plates, when the knot is ejected.

Because of this slight over-twisting movement given -to the gear |33, the hollow |85 is provided in the periphery of-the arcuate plate |8| to receive the point |89 rocked thereinto by this movement, l,but after said stud |83 passes said hump then said point rides .out of said hollow and on to the remainder of the circular periphery of said plate; this gives a slight retrograde movement to .the gear |33 which is automatically transferred to the twister pinion, and this retrograde movement brings registration of the twister pinion slot with thejaw plate slots and easesv the tension on the over-twisted knot. However, when this occurs the parts will be in the position shown in Fig. '7 and at this time the trip'||2 will have operated the clutch |03 to cease rotation ofthe yshaft |02.

Adjacent and substantially parallel to the wall |30 of the twister head there is a rock shaft'200 having secured to one end thereof a depending v grip the end of the wire and hold the same against dog 20| whose foot is serrated or roughened to an,anvi1 202 aligned with the slot of the twister pinion, see Figs. 6- and 7. Said rock shaft has thereabout a coil spring 203 to normally urge said dog in holding position on said wire, said dog having on its outer face a plate 204 whose lower extremity is outwardly deected, said plate serving to guide the end of the wire under said dog when said wire is fed through the slot of the twister pinion. Said rock shaft has a pin 205 extending laterally therefrom toward the intermediate twister gear |33, said pin adapted to be engaged by a companion pin 208 mounted on the faceof said gear whereby, in the rotation of said gear, the two pins will coengage and the pin 205 will be moved downwardly and thus cause a clockwise rotary movement of said rock 'shaft (see Fig. 6) resulting in a release of the end of the wire by the holding dog 20|. The rock shaft is journaled in an ear 201 carried by said wall |30.

Pivotally mounted in said ear 201 is a depending latchV member 208 under the urge of a`spring 209, the lowermost end of said latch aligned with the anvil 202 and the slotted twister pinion, and

having formed thereon a shoulder or recess 2|0 ed detent 2|4 under the upward urge of a leaf,y

spring 2| 5, said detent 2|4 being disposed substantially within an opening 2|6 formed in one end of a. square bar 2|1 adapted to slide in correspondingly squared openings inthe walls of the twister head, said bar being rigidly attached as by the pin 2|8 to a block 2 I9 one vertical surface of which abuts the gear train housing wall |3| as a stop for limiting movement of said block in one direction (see Fig, 12).

In the upper portion of said block there is formed a circular bore Vfor slidingly receiving therethrough one end of the push rod 8 5, the extreme end of said rod being slidably journaled in said wall` |3|. Said push rod has attached thereto a collar 220 against which abuts one end of a coil spring 22| disposed about saidrod, the other end of said spring abutting against the op posite vertical surface of the block 2|9. Said block has attached thereto the latch hook |10 adapted to engage the end of the bar |86 for controlling actuation of the.kickers |5| and |82. Said push rod also has attached thereto a second collar 222 receiving thereag'ainst one end of a second coil spring 223 disposed about said push rod, the opposite end of said spring abutting against a wall 224 associated with the housing for the motor worm gear drive for this machine, said wall 224 slidably supporting said push rod.

Pivoted as at 230 to the extension 2|| of the wall |30 of the twister head is a bell crank 23| to the extremity of the upper arm of which is attached an operating rod 232 (see Figs. 1 and 7) extending downwardly and attached to the foot lever 8 through a portion of the framework of the machine, there being provided a spring 233 for normally urging this 'operating rod upwardly, the extremity 234 of the lower arm of said bell crank being positioned to contact the front end of the square sliding bar 2|1. Within the bell crank is housed a spring actuated pin 235 op,- erating against a shoulder` of the detent 2|2 carried by the rock shaft 200 (see Fig. l2).

'Thus it will be understood that when the foot pedal is depressed, the bell crank 23| will be oscillated and its arm 234 will cause a movement of the push rod tothe right as seen in the drawings thereby oscillating the arm 83 (see Figs. 4 and K12) and causing pinch relationship of the feed rolls Stand 81 upon the wire I0 Vto move said wire in a direction from the reel to the twister mechanism, and that the push rod will be held in its right hand position (as illustrated in Fig. 12) by engagement of the detent 2|2 of the rock shaft 200 with the tooth 2|3 of the detent 2 |4 carried by said square bar, the push rod then being under the tension of both of its springs 22| and 223. When the rock shaft 200 is oscillated counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 12, the two detents will be disengaged, whereupon the push rod 95 will move to the left as'seen in the drawings under the urge of its springs and cause reverse oscillation of the arm 83 to release the pinch action on feed rolls 6G and 81 but to bring about pinch action between the other vertical pair of feed rolls 12 and 92 (Figs. 4 and 9) and thereby cause the wire to move in a direction from the twister mechanism to the reel, this movement of the wire resulting in the removal of the slack from its loop about the box to be banded.

Attached to the pin 2|8 which holds the square bar 2|'l to the block 2|9, is one end of a trip rod 236 the opposite end of which is slidably supported in the wall 224 of the motor drive housing, said rod having two collars thereon, the collar 231 serving as a stop for one end of a coil spring 238 disposed about said rod, the other end of said spring bearing against one end of a weight 239 slidable on said rod, the other collar 240 serving as a stop'for the opposite end of said weight (see Figs. 12 and 13). 'I'he spring 238 is of only suiilcient strength to move the weight back against the rear stop collar 240, said weight being of sufficiently great transverse sectional area that al portion of anend thereof will contact the trip ||2 associated with the clutch |03 by means of which power is transmitted from the constantly rotating helical gear |0| to the shaft |02 for operating the twister mechanism. Thelower end of the trip |I2 is loosely bracketed as at 24| to the bed plate of the machine, and a coil spring 242 normally urges said 'trip to the right as seen in Fig. 13 up against the end of the clutchV |03 so that the upper end of said trip may be in the path of the arm 3 of the clutch bell crank |08 (see Fig. 10)

Thus it will be understood from Figs. 12 and 13 that, when the two detents 2|2 and 2|4 are disengaged, the push rod 95 under the urge of its strong springs, will snap to .the left as seen in said drawings, and this movement will cause the block 2|9 to have quick motion to the left which in turn y is imparted to the rod 236 and the weight 239 thereon, said weight continuing its movement to the'left due to the inertia thereof and against the slight tension of the light spring"1238, said weight striking thetrip ||2 with suiiicient force to move the latter out from under the arm ||3 of the clutch bell crank to permit the pin |05 of said clutch to move into position for engagement with the hole of the constantly rotating helical gear |0|. Thereafter the tension of the trip spring 242 will be suiiicient to return the trip ||2 to a position against the clutch |03 so that the upper end of said trip will be in the path of the end ||3 of the clutch bell crank so that the latter will be engaged by said trip, subsequently, and cause oscillation of the clutch bell crank to disengage the clutch pin |05 from its locking position in the hole of the helical gear |,0|. The weight spring 238 is Icy-passed by the trip U2, wherefore the weight 239 may again be urged against its stop collar 240 ready for a repetition of the movement just above described.

As above brought out, the vertical pair -of feed Yrolls 66 and 81 constitute the means for feeding the wire from the reel toward the twisting mechanism, and the other vertical pair of rolls 12 and 9| constitute the means for drawing the slack out of the wire loop around the box to be banded, and the gears 64, 85, 10 and 89 attached to said feed rolls are always in mesh with each other and are driven by the shaft 69 from the constantly rotating shaft 63, which has keyed thereto the helical gear |00. This drive is preferred since it provides a ratio through the gears 61 and 68 (Fig. 19) such as to cause rapid operation of the feed rolls, which is essential in automatic speed .machines This helical gear carries a pin 250 on its face which, in the rotation of said gear, is adapted to engagethe hook 25| formed at the end of a tensioning lever 252, said lever being in the form of a bell crank pivoted as at 253 in aV slot 254 of a gripper bar 255 which is yieldably supported by the bed plate of'the machine.

The pivot 253 of the tensioning lever 252 passes through one end of a plate 256 whose other end is laterally extended to forman ear 251 -provided with an opening for passage therethrough of the round shank portion 258 of the otherwise rectangular gripper bar 255 which portion 258 receives thereabout a pair of coil springs- 259 and 260 the tension of which may be varied and made as desired by the nuts 26| and 262 threaded on said portion, see Fig. 15. In other words the spring 259 is disposed between the nut 26| and the ear 251 of the plate 256, and the other spring 260 is disposed between the other nut 262 'and `the bracket 263 carried by the bed plate of the machine. l

Thus, after the arm 93 has been oscillated to release the feed-in rolls 66 and 81 from pinching contact with the wire, and to bring the pair of feed-out rolls 12 and 9| into pinching relation on the wire, the slack of the wire loop will be drawn out, and the wire brought into close contact with the sides of the box to be banded. Near the end of this operation, the pin 250 on the helical gear |00 will engage the hook 25| 4of the tensioning lever 252 and vcause said lever to be moved to the right as seen in Fig. 13, this movement causing the pivot pin 253 to move toward the end of its slot 254 with concurrent movement of the plate 256 to the right against the tension of its spring 259. Tensioning of the spring 259 ultimately overcomes the tension of the spring 260 and thereby causes movementl to the right of the gripper bar 255. 4

The left hand end of this gripper bar is downwardly directed and carries a pivoted dog 264 which, when rocked by this right hand movement of said bar, grips the wire against the oor of a slide 265 operating in the guideway 266 therefor (Fig. 16) and thereby gives the necessary tension to the wire about the box preparatory to the forma'tion of the twisted knot, the holding dog illustrat'ed in Fig. 14 being employed to-hold the coil end of the wire to prevent the feed-out rolls 12 and 9| from drawing the wire out of the machine after -the cutters have operated. A roller cam 261 mounted on the shaft |02 yurges the'tensio ing lever 252 downwardly to insure gripping'ac tion of the dog 264 during the tensioning operation. The slide 265 is preferably trough-shaped and a'tube 268 is preferably provide'din alignment with the open portion of said slide, said tube being. rigidly mounted in the frame of the guideway 266 land provided for the purpose of irlsuring alignment of the wire I0 with 4the tensioning dog 266. A stop 269 may be provided for the bell crank 252 for raising the hooked end 25| of the latter and holding the same in position for registrabley contact with the pin 250 of the miter gear |00.

Referring to Fig. 14, the shaft |02 is provided with a cam 215 adapted to oscillate a lever 216 pivotally supported at 211 on the bed plate of y the machine and having an extending arm 218 threadingly receiving a screw 219 the lower end of which is adapted to engage a dog 280 mounted on the pivot 211, said dog engageable with the tensioned wire in a suitable slotway in the bed plate 2 of the machine. After the wire has been tensioned about the box by the mechanism just previously described, the cam 215 operates the lever 216 to bring the dog 280 into tight holding relationship on the tensioned wire during the twisting of the knot and in.the interim between the actuation of the cutters and the actuation of the feeding-in rolls', thus retaining the coil end of 90 the wire in themachine. On the side of safety a bar 28| may be-provided receiving thereagainst a side of the lever 216 for counteracting a lateral thrust on said lever that may be caused by the tension of the tensioned Wire.

The device for` holding the lifter rod 38 is shown in` Fig. 17 and comprises a plate 282 sub-A stantially horizontally disposed and pivotally mounted at one end as at 283 to the bed plate 2 of the machine; This plate has an opening therethrough near its free endto permit passage therethrough of said lifter rod, said opening being of such shape and dimension that, when 'the plate is in its lowered position as seen in said gure, a`relatively sharp edge 284 of said opening will have a pinch or biting effect into the surface o f said rod and prevent downward movement of said rod. The extreme free end of said plate rests upon the end of one arm 285 of a bell crank pivotally supported as at 286 upon .50

the bed plate of the ma/hine, the other arm 281 of said bell crank carrying a roller 288 at its extremity which roller is adapted to be engaged by a cam 289 mounted upon the shaft |02. Thus it will be understood that after the knot has been twisted and the ends of the wire cut oi adjacent the twisted knot, and the twisted knot ejected from the twister mechanism, the cam 289 will operate said bell crank to raise the plate 282 from its gripping position and thereby release the lifter rod 38 which'is then free to fall, the fall of said rod permitting' the lowering of the banded box.

In case the box to be banded has considerable weight it may be desirable to augment the action of the foot lever with automatic means for rais,- ing the box tobanding position and therefore the apparatus illustrated in/Fig. 18 is provided. The lifter rod 38 has attached thereto a bracket 290 pivotally supporting the lower end of a rack 29| extending upwardly and placed under the urge of a spring 292 tending to force said rack in a direction to theleft as seen `in said drawings. or in a direction away from the rack gear 293 mounted for rotation with a worm gear 294 enmeshed with the worm 295 carried by an extension of the power shaft 60,-` said gear 293 disposed within a housing a portion of which is cut away as indicated at 296 to expose the teeth of said gear to the rack 29|, said gear rotating in the direction of the arrow to exert a lifting movement to said rack when the latter is moved into enmeshment therewith. The push rod 95 carries a collar 291 so positioned as to swing the rack 29| into avertical position as shown in full lines in the drawings to bring about engagement of the rack and the rotating gear, it being understood that said gear is constantly rotating due to its driving connection from the motor.

Thus it will be understood that when thefoot lever is depressed, the bell crank 23| will be oscillated (Fig. 12) to cause movement of the push,

rod 95 to the rightas seen in the drawings, and

this movement of the push rod through the collar 291 moves the rack 29| into gear engaging position whereupon the gear will cause upward movement of said rack and thereby assist in the Vupward movement of the lifter rod 38, and corresponding upward movement of the box 6 into the correct position for formation of the twisted knot in the encircling and securing wire band. The teeth of the rack terminate so that when the box has been lifted to this position there will be no enmeshment with the gear 293. the lifting rod 38 then being gripped by the device shown in Fig. 17 and held thereby in its elevated position. Upon disengagement of the detents 2|2 and 2|4, through oscillation of the rockshaft 200 to be described later in the operation of this machine, push rod 95 is released Aand moves to the left under the urge of its spring 223, thereby permitting the rock 29| `to swing to the left under the urge of its spring 292 into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 18 and out of engagement with the gear 293.

AThe operation of this machine is as follows: A box is positioned on the elevator 5 as indicated at 6 in Fig. 1 and then the foot lever 8 is depressed causing upward movement of the lifter rod 38 and through said rod corresponding'upward movement of the elevator to bring thebox into the position shown in Fig. 18 substantially against the twister head, said lifter rod automatically being latched in its raised position by the plate 282 shown in Fig. 17. Downward movement of the foot lever causes oscillation of the bell crank 23| the lower arm 234 of which vas seen in Fig. 12 and then (only however in the initial starting of the machine) the dog 20| is moved manually to the left as seen in Fig. 6 to bring its lower corner onto the shoulder 2| 0 of the holding latch 208. This movement of the dog 20| oscillates its rock shaft 200 against the tension of its spring 203 to cause the detent 2|2 of said rock shaft to engage the detent 2|4 associated with the push rod 95 to hold said push rod in its right hand position.

This movement of the push rod to the right oscillates the arm 93 to bring the vertical pair o f vfeed'rolls 66 and 81 into play to feed the wire I from the reel through the slotted twister pinion around they loop guideway 1 and again throughthe slotted twister pinion so that the free end of the wire strikes the lower end of the latch 208 and pushes it slightly to the left as seen in Fig. 6, and this movement of the latch releases the dog 20| from the shoulder 2I0 of said latch, whereupon said dog is free to snap (under the urge of the rock shaft spring 203) into the position shown in Fig. 6 to grip the end of the wire and hold the same against the anvil 202. 'I'he dog 20| and its latch 208 are so'positioned thatthe Wire in first passing through the twister pinion, passes to the side of said dog and its latch, but after forming the loop in the guideway 1 the free end of the wire in passing the second time through the twister pinion assumes a position along side the rst bight of the wire and is in alignment with said dogv and latch.

When the dog 20| is thus released from its latch 208, its movement into holding position just described on the end of the wire, causes oscillation of the rock shaft 200 sufficient to disengage the detents 2|2 and 2 I4 thus permitting the push rod 95 to snap quickly to the left asseen in Fig.-

12 under the urge of its spring 223, and thereby oscillate the arm 93 to release the vertical pair of feeding-in rolls 66 and 81 but to bring the pair of vertical feeding-out rolls 12 and 9| into play to pinch the wire and move said wire in a direction toward the reel, thereby drawing the slack out of the loop of wire around the box.

When the push rod 95 thus snaps to the left, the sliding weight 239, on the rod 236 associated with said push rod, strikes the trip ||2 to move the upper end thereof from under the arm ||3 of the bell crank |08 of the clutch member 03 (see Fig. 10) and said bell crank oscillates under the urge of its spring to bring the clutch pin into position for engagement with the hole of the constantly rotating helical gear |0|, and when said pin is engagedin said hole, the shaft |02 will be rotated with said helical gear and actuate the twister mechanism. Just before the twister mechanism operates the slack will have l been withdrawn from the wire loop about the box and the tensioning lever 252 actuated to cause the wire to be tensioned around the sides of the box.

The twisting mechanism provides a slightovertwist'whereby the slot of the twister pinion is moved slightly beyond registration with the slots of the jaw plates |38 and |40, thereby imprisoning the twisted knot, and at this time the kickers will have been fully tensioned Fig. 8) by the operation and latching of the bar |66, the holding dog 280 will have been actuated by the cam 215, and the cutters |43 and |49 will have been actuated to sever the ends of the two bights of the wire adjacent the ends of the twisted knot. Also at this time the pin 206 carried .by the intermediate twister gear |33 will have engaged and moved the pin 2,05 to oscillate the rock shaft 200 thus releasing the dog 20|, from the severed extremeend of the wire, and moving said dog into latched position on the shoulder 2|0 of the latch member 208. When the twister pinion moves backward from its over-twist position, its slot will register with the slots of the jaw plates, and the twisted knot will be kicked out and cleared of said jaws during the lowering of the banded box. After the kickers have `operated to release the twisted knot from the twister head, the cam 289 will cause release of the lifter rod 38 and permit the lowering of the elevator and its banded box.

At the completion of the twisting of the knot. the clutch |03 will have rotated to bring the end ||3 of its bell crank |08 into engagement with the upper end of trip ||2 and thereby cause oscillation of said bell crank to withdraw clutchholding .dog 280 Fig. 14 will have been released to permit the next feeding-in action ofthe pinch rolls 66 and 81, and the operations just described will be repeated. The various parts are designed and so positioned as to bring about the proper coordination and timing of the various mechanisms as should be evident.

From the foregoing description it will therefore be seen that by this invention there is provided an automatic 'wire tying machine provided with a wire tying head which includes the train of gears for rotating the twister pinion, the cutters, and the kickers for ejecting the twisted knot from the tying head. Below this tying head there is a box receiving floor comprising the plurality of spaced rollers I2, IT and I8, between which the box supporting plates il are adapted to pass, the roller I'I movable into a position to intercept the next following box, and

one of said supports having the projection 2| for vated box being retained against the tying head by the latch device generally identified by the numeral 41. Mechanical means for assisting inthe box raising are shown in Fig. 18 as including the constantly energized pinion 293 and the pivoted rack 29| engageable therewith.

'I'he wire feeding means'is constantly energized and comprises the four feed rolls 66 and 81 arranged as one vertical pair and the rolls 12 and 9| arranged as the other vertical pair, all four rolls being constantly geared together as shown in Fig. 4 for actuation in unison, each roll mounted upon a shaft, but only the roll 12 secured to its shaft and that shaft 69 constantly rotated in one direction only, the wire I being disposed substantially horizontally between the rolls of each vertical pair. The two lower rolls are supported in a yoke which is rockable by the arm 93 actuated by the push rod 95 thereby constituting means for shifting the lower rolls toward and away from their upper rolls without disconnecting their intergeared relationship, resulting in pinching'eiect of one vertical pair of rolls on the wire for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded, and then alternately resulting in .pinching effect of the other vertical pair of rolls on the wire for feeding the wire in a direction away from the box to remove the slack thereabout.

'With particular reference to Fig. 1 it'will be seen that the bracket 53 for supporting the reel 9 of wire is so constructed and pivotally supported on the framework of the machine as to constitute a lever for raising a heavy full reel of wire from the shop oor into wire feeding position upon the framework. In other words a full reel of wire can be rolled, in the position indicated at 9', to the unlatched bracket so that ythe reel trunnions will readily enter the fork of the two upper arms of said bracket, and then theextremity of the lowermost arm raised to swing both reel and bracket into the full line positions shown in this figure of the drawings. 'I'his is an important feature since it is not uncommon for some wire reels to weight several hundred pounds.

Lastly it is desired pointed out that this machine is admirably suited for handling wires of different transverse cross sectional shapes, round Wire having been used for many years. An important feature is the adaptability of thismachine to oval wire or wire havinga major and a minor axis, the wire being fed flatwise over the bed of the machine to and through the twister so 5. that the bights of the wire which are lapped in said twister are side by side with their major axes coaligned or in the same horizontal plane. In forming the twist, the bights are rolled in a direction transverse to said major axes whereupon, 10 in the resultant knot, the edges of one bight substantiallycontact the edges of the other bight. In other words the two bights are maintained in the twister pinion slot 'in fiat sidewise contact instead of in superposed contact of one flat bight over the other bight. The splicing of the oval wire may be stated in other words as consisting of twisting the two sidewise contacting bights along their minor axes around each other until the edges of their major axes coincide and their edges are in contact with each other, resulting in the creation of a longitudinal resistance in the l knot to a pulling strain, far beyond any similar resistance in a knot as heretofore-formed with 2 round wire. a It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of this invention and therefore it is desired not to be limited to the exact foregoing description except 3 as may be required by theclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a wire tying head; a box receiving floor disposed below said head and comprising a plurality of spaced members; an elevator comprising box supports adapted to pass betweeny said members; and means to lift said elevator to raise a box from said floor to said tying head.

2. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a wire tying head; a box re-\ ceiving iioor disposed below said head and comprising a plurality of spaced members; an elevator comprising box supports adapted to pass between said members; and means to lift said elevator to raise a box from said floor to said tying head, said means controlling actuation of the tying head. f A 50 3. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination' of a wire tying head a floor for receiving a box from a/spply of boxes, said oor disposed below said head and comprising a plurality of spaced members, one of said members 55 movable into a position to intercept the next following box; an elevator comprising box supports adapted to pass between said members, one of said supports adapted to remove the one of said oor membersA from its intercepting position; and means to lift said elevator to raise a box from said I iioor to said tying head.

Vthe combination of a wiretying head; a box receiving. oor disposed below said head and comprising a plurality of spaced members; an elevator comprising box supports adapted topass between said members; and means to lift said elevator to raise a box from said floor to said tying head, said means including a constantly energized pinion and a pivoted rack engageable therewith.

6. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire feeding means constantly energized; wire twisting means; and means for shifting the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around' the box and to tension the wire prior to operation of the wire twisting means.

7. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of` Wire feeding means comprising a plurality of coactingv wire pinching members, one only of said members constantly energized; wire twisting means; and means for shifting certain other members of the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around the box and to tension the wire prior to operation of the Wire twisting means.

8. Inv a wire tying machine for banding `boxes the combination of wire feeding means comprising a plurality of members constantly interconnected for coaction in unison, said members adapted to exert pinching action uponthe wire disposed therebetween, one only of said members 'constantly energized; wire twisting means; and means for shifting certain other members of the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around the box and to tension the wire prior to operation of the wire twisting means.

9. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire feeding `means comprising a plurality of feed rolls constantly geared together for coaction in unison, said feed rolls adapted to exert pinching action upon the wire disposed therebetween, one only of said feed rolls constantly energized; wire twisting means; and means 4for shifting certain other feed rolls of the Wire feeding means into positions first for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded and through the 4wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around the box and to tension the wire prior to operation of the wire twisting means.

10. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a source of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven from said source; wire twisting means; a clutch between said wire twisting means and said source; and means for shifting the Wire feeding means into positions for feeding the wire in opposite directions, said shifting means controlling said clutch.

' 11. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes @the combination of a source of operating power; Wire feeding means constantly driven from said source, said means comprising four feed rolls constantly geared together, each roll mounted upon a shaft, one only of said rolls secured to the combination of a source of operating power;

wire feeding means constantly driven from said source, said means comprising four feed rolls constantly geared together and disposed substanv tially in the form of a square. thus providing two v upper rolls and two lower rolls, the two lower rolls shiftabletoward and away from the two upper rolls, each roll mounted upon a shaft, one only of said rolls secured to its shaft and that shaft rotated from said source; wire twist-` ing means; a clutch between said wire twisting means and said source; and means for shifting the lower rolls of the wire feeding means into wire pinching positions with respectto the upper rolls for feeding the wire in opposite directions, said shifting means controlling said clutch.

13. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a source of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven from said source; wire twisting means including-a single operating shaft; a clutch between said shaft and said source; means for shifting the wire feeding means for movement of the wire in opposite directions, said shifting means controlling said clutch; and means operated from said shaft for controlling actuation of a wire tensioning device, for holding the tensioned wire, and for energizing ejectors of the twisted knot from the wire twisting means.

14. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a source of operating power including a constantlyy rotating member; wire feeding means constantly driven from saidv source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft upon which said member is loosely mounted; a clutch between said shaft and said member; means for shifting the Wire feeding means for movement of thewire in opposite directions, said shifting means controlling said clutch; and means operated from said shaft for controlling actuation of a wire tensioning device,4

for holding the ytensioned wire, and for energizing ejectors of the twisted knot from the wire twisting means.

-15.\ In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a source of operating power;

directions, said shifting means actuating a member the inertia of which controls said clutch in' one directional movement of the shifting means;`

and means operated'from said shaft forcontrolling actuation of a wire 'tensioning device, and for holding the ,tensioned wire.`

16. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a source of operating power;

wire feeding -means constantly driven `from said source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft; a spring vactuated clutch between said shaftand said source and including a trip member for controlling said clutch; means for shifting the wire feeding means for movement of the wire in opposite directions, said shifting means actuating a slidable weight the inertia of which controls said clutch in'one directional movement of the weight; and means operated from said shaft for controlling actuation of a Wire tensioning device, for holding the tensioned Wire, and for energizing ejectors of the twisted knot from the wire twisting means.

17. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes and provided with a wire twisting head the combination of wire feeding means comprising a set of four feed rolls constantly geared together for actuation in unison, each roll mounted upon a shaft, one only of said rolls secured to its shaft and that shaft constantly rotated in one direction only, said rolls disposed in the form of a square thus providing two vertical pairs of rolls, the banding wire disposed substantially horizontally between the rolls of each vertical pair; and means for shifting the lower rolls toward and away from their upper rolls without disconnecting their intergeared relationship, said shifting means comprising arockable yoke supporting the lower rolls and connections for rocking said yoke to bring about pinching action upon the `wire between said vertical pairs of rolls, such pinching action alternating between said pairs first to cause travel of the wire in a direction toward said head for the purpose of forming a loop of the wire around the box to be banded, and then to cause reverse travel of the wire to f draw the wire loop tightly about the box preparatory to the-twisting action of said head.

18. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire feeding means; wire tensioning means; wire twisting means; and means for moving a box to the twisting means, said moving means controlling actuation of all of the other said means. v

19. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire feeding means; wire' tensioning means; wire twisting means; and means for moving a box to the twisting means, said moving means automatically inaugurating actuation of all of 'the othersaid means.

20. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes and provided with a wire twisting head the combination of wire feeding means comprising a set of four feed rolls constantly geared together for actuation in unison, each roll mounted upon a shaft, one only of said rollssecured to its shaft and that shaft constantly rotated in one direction only, said rolls disposed in the form of a square thus providing two vertical pairs of rolls, the banding wire disposed substantially horizontally between the rolls of each vertical pair; and means for shifting the lower rolls" toward and away from their upper rolls without. disconnecting their intergearedA relationship to bring about pinching action upon the wire between said vertical pairs of rolls, such pinching action alternating between said pairs rst to cause travel of the wire'in a direction toward said head for the purpose of forming a loop of the wire around the box to be banded, and then to cause reverse travel of the wire to draw the wire loop tightly about the box` preparatory to the twisting action of said head.

21. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire feeding means 'constantly energized; wire twisting means; means for shifting the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse directionto remove the slack from the loop the combination of wire feeding means con-y thereof around the box; and means for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal `of such slack, said tensioning means independent of said feeding means.

22. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire feeding means constantlyfenergized from a rotating shaft; wire twisting means; means for shifting the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding thewire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse direction to removethe slack from the loop thereof around the box; and means for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal of such slack, said tensioning means independent of said feed- .ing means but controlled by a pin rotating with said shaft.

23. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire feeding means constantly energized from, a rotating shaft; Wire twisting means; means for shifting the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the Awire in a reverse direction to removethe slack from the loop thereof around vthe box; and means for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal of such slack, said tensioning means independent of said feeding means and including a hook and a pin, the pin rotating with said shaft, and the hook' movable into engagement with said pin.

v24. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes stantly energized; wire twisting means; means for shifting the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding the. Wire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around the box'; and means for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal of such slack, saidl tensioning means independent of said feeding means'and comprising a member for subjecting said tensioning means to a predetermined pressure.

25. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the` combination of wire feeding means constantly energized; wire twisting means; means for shifting the wire feeding means into positions lfirst for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the Wire in a ref verse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around the box; and means for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal of such slack, said tensioning means comprising a spring controlled member the pressure of which is adjustable in accordance with the strength of the banding wire used.

26. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire twisting means; means -to feed a wire around the box to be banded and through the twisting means, and then to-remove the slack from the loop of wire around the box;

and means for tensioning the wire .around the box after the removal of such slack, said tensioning means independent of said feeding means.

27. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire twisting means; means to feed a wire around the box to be banded and through the twisting means, and then to remove the slack from the loop of Wire around the box; and means for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal of such slack, said tensioning means independent of said feeding means and comprising a member for subjecting said tensioning means to a predetermined pressure.

28. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wire twisting means; means to feed a Wire around the box to be banded and through the twisting means, and then to remove the slack from the loop of wire aroundthe box'; and means' for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal of such slack, said tensioning means comprising a spring controlled member the pressure of which is adjustable in accordance with the strength of the.bandingwire used. f

29. In a wire tying machine for banding .boxes the combination of a source of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven from said source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft; a clutch between said shaft and said source, said clutch controlled by said wire feeding means; and means for tensioning the wire `around the box, said tensioning means independent of said feeding means and controlled by said shaft.

30. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a source of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven from said source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft; a clutch between said shaft and said source, said clutch controlled by said wire feeding means; and means for tensioning the wire around the box. said tensioning means independent of said feeding means and including a hook and a pin, the pin carried by a constantly rotating member, and the hook controlled by said shaft and movable into engagement with sai 31.'In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a source cf operating power; Wire feeding means constantly driven from said source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft; a clutch between said shaft and said source, said clutch controlled by said wire feeding means; and means for tensioning the wire around the box, said tensioning meansindependent of said feeding means and comprising a member for subjecting said tensioning means to a predetermined pressure said member controlled by said shaft.

32. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a source of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven from said source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft; a clutch between said shaft and said source, said clutch controlled by said wire feeding means; and means controlled by said -shaft for tensioning the wire around the box,

able in accordance with the strength of the banding wire used.

PARVIN WRIGHT.

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