US3863557A

US3863557A - Strapping machine

Info

Publication number: US3863557A
Application number: US277596A
Authority: US
Inventors: Yukio Takahashi
Original assignee: Ikegai Corp
Current assignee: Ikegai Corp
Priority date: 1971-08-09
Filing date: 1972-08-03
Publication date: 1975-02-04
Anticipated expiration: 1992-02-04
Also published as: FR2150028A5; JPS5113080B2; DE2239199B2; DE2239199C3; IT964862B; CA980239A; GB1371274A; JPS4827897A; DE2239199A1

Abstract

A strapping machine, which comprises a base section provided with a sealing device consisting of a press member installed slidably on said base section, said press member being provided with a heater to melt the plastic band to be bound as it presses two sides of said band uniformly and a press surface to bind the thus melted two sides of the band uniformly. The machine also has a delivery device to feed and rewind the band by means of a feed roller and a reel, and a top plate having a groove and installed on the base section, whereby the band supplied by said delivery device and pushed out of said groove is wound around the package placed on the top plate, while the tip of the band is inserted in the joint of said sealing device.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Takahashi 14 1 Feb. 4, 1975 1 1 STRAPPING MACHINE [75] Inventor: Yukio Takahashi, Tokyo, Japan [73] Assignee: lkegai Tekko Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan [22 Filed: Aug. 3, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 277,596

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 9, 1971 Japan 46-60064 [52] US. Cl. ..100/33 PB, 53/198 R, 156/502 [51] Int. Cl B65b 13/32 [58] Field of Search 100/33 R, 33 PB; 156/583, 156/483, 494, 502; 53/198 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,269,300 8/1966 Billett et a]. 100/33 PB 3,368,323 2/1968 Wood 53/198 R 3,397,105 8/1968 Takami 100/33 PB 3,470,814 10/1969 Tschappu 100/33 PB 3,494,280 2/1970 Kobiella 100/33 PB 3,577,910 5/1971 Feldkamp 100/33 PB 3,759,169 9/1973 Goodley 100/33 PB 3,771,436 11/1973 Sato 100/33 PB Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite Attorney, Agent, or FirmWo0dhams, Blanchard & Flynn [57] ABSTRACT A strapping machine, which comprises a base section provided with a sealing device consisting of a press member installed slidably on said base section, said press member being provided with a heater to melt the plastic band to be bound as it presses two sides of said.

band uniformly and a press surface to bind the thus melted two sides of the band uniformly. The machine also has a delivery device to feed and rewind the band by means of a feed roller and a reel, and a top plate having a groove and installed on the base section, whereby the band supplied by said delivery device and pushed out of said groove is wound around the package placed on the top plate, while the tip of the band is inserted in the joint of said sealing device.

9 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 41975 SHEET 1 [IF 9 PATENTEI] FEB 4 I975 SHEET t UP 9 FIG? PATENTED 41975 3, 863,557

SHEET 60F 9 FIG. IO

PATENTEI] FEB M875 SHEET 7 OF 9 FIG.

FIG. l2

PATENTEDFEB 191s SHEET 80F 9 FIG. 13

FIG. I4

PATENIED w" SHEET 9 BF 9 FIG. l5

1 STRAPPING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION a. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a strapping machine particularly, a strapping machine for use in strapping packages with a thermo-adhesive strapping band.

b. Description of the Prior Art The conventional strapping machines of this kind have such defects as follows:

1. They are generally provided with a cutting mechanism and a sealing mechanism, said cutting mechanism being for the purpose of cutting the band in a desired length prior to sealing and utilizing a cutter, heat plate or the like. However, because of concurrent provision of separate cutting mechanism and sealing mechanism, the resulting machine as a whole tends to be not only complicated but also large-sized.

2. The sealing mechanism is generally composed of a plate-shaped or wedge-shaped heater to be inserted in the overlapping portion of the loop of band cut by said cutting mechanism, a press member to press said band upwardly and a holding member to hold said overlapping portion of the band, and is designed to work as follows: the heater is inserted between two ends of the band held at a prescribed distance; then the press member is pressed upward against the band to thereby melt the confronting surfaces of two ends of the band; next, the heater is then pulled out while leaving the pressure intact or is pulled out upon releasing it from pressure and the band is again subjected to pressure to be joined bythe melted confronting surfaces of two ends thereof.

Accordingly, at the time of pulling out the heater, the melted refuse of the band is apt to adhere to the heater to interfere with the subsequent melting operation, entailing such troubles as generation of smoke and smell on the occasion of sealing.

3. The sealing mechanism generally lac-ks a groove to guide the band to the position assigned for effecting the sealing because of its provision at the time of construction of the machine being technically difficult and is so devised as to have the underlying band cut off already when the sealing of the band is performed, and therefore, the band is apt to be held in a very unstable condition, entailing its contractive deformation and making is very difficult to attain the informity of the resulting joints.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machine which makes up for the aforementioned defects of the conventional strapping machines.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machines, which is devised to install the heater on the press member so as to make them move en bloc and is therefore very simple in construction of this section of machine as compared with the conventional strapping machines which are generally devised to make the heater and the press member move by means of separate actuating devices.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machine, which is deviced to make the heater perform the melting of the confronting surfaces of the band 'and the cutting of the band in succession at the time of the forward stroke of the press member and is therefore very simple in construction of this section of machine as compared with the conventional strapping machines which are generally devised to make the heater and the cutter move by means of separate actuating devices.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machine, which is devised to make the heater move while linearly contacting the confronting two surfaces of the band to be joined to thereby melt the contact surfaces, and is thereof effective in preventing the adhesion of the melted refuse of the band to the heater and minimizing the generation of smoke and smell as compared with the conventional strapping machines which are generally devised to bring the heater into surface contact with the band to melt it.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machine, which is devised to melt two ends of the' band uniformly by the heater and seal them uniformly by pressing with the press surface of the press member moving in the wake of the thus melted two ends of the band, whereby a stable sealing strength can be expected.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machine, wherein the press mem' ber consists of a portion provided with a groove to guide the tip of the band to the clip and a portion provided with a press surface, said two portions being divided by an opening disposed in the center of the top of the press member in order to hold the heater, said portions being devised to move en bloc and therefore the construction of the machine is very simple as compared with the conventional strapping machines which are generally divised to move similar portions by means of separate actuating devices.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machine, wherein the portion provided with a groove to guide the tip of the band disposed on the top of the press member is devised to slip out gradu ally in the direction of movement of the band in the course of melting and sealing by pressing of the band, whereby the band can be held stably at the time of melting and sealing, the overlap of the band can be uniform and free of any divergence, and the sealing strength can be uniform, as compared with the conven tional strapping machines which are generally devised to perform the sealing and cutting of the band upon pulling back the band after the piloting portion of the band has completely passed the point of binding.

Still an additional object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machine, which is devised to perform the cutting of the band after sealing and is therefore capable of forming uniform joints free of any contractive deformation of the band.

A particular object of the present invention is to provide a strapping machine, which is devised to stop the feed roller and the holding roller so as to discontinue the feed of band temporarily at the time of melting and sealing of the band, resulting in such advantages that the relevant structure can be extremely simplified, the tension of the band can be maintained to be practically uniform and the uniformity of joints can be expected.

Another particular object of the: present invention is to provide a strapping machine, which is devised to make the tip of band contacting with the heater retreat rapidly to part from the heater after the cutting of the I band, so that unnecessary contact between the. band and the heater can be avoided to prevent the generation of smoke and smell attributable to a prolonged contact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 is a plan view of the general structure with its top plate removed of an apparatus embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a elevation view of the same apparatus as that in FIG. 1 as taken along the line ll II in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a part in the vicinity of the roller shaft on an enlarged scale of the same apparatus as that in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front view on an enlarged scale of the sealing device provided for the same apparatus as that in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a partial view ofa section as out along the line V V in FIG. 4 of the same sealing device as that in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6A is a side-view of a section as cut practically along the line VIA VIA in FIG. 8 of the same apparatus as that in FIG. 4 when the press member is in an upright position.

FIG. 6B is a fragmentary sectional area as cut along the line VIB VIB in FIG. 8.

FIG, 7 is a partial view of a section as cut along the line VII VII in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 8 is a elevation view ofa section as cut along the line VIII VIII in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a section as cut along the line IX IX in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of the control circuit.

FIGS. 11 15 are diagrams illustrative of the sequence of the working of the same sealing device as shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The apparatus shown in the accompanying drawing as an embodiment of the present invention may be divided broadly into two constituent devices, namely, the band-feeding device and the sealing device.

To begin with, the band-feeding device will be explained by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

On one side of the base section 1, there is pivotally installed the reel 15 with the band b wound round it by means of the shafts 11 and 12. The shaft 11 is equipped with the magnetic brake 21, the circuit of which is provided with rely contacts 85" and 86", as seen in FIG. 10. The shaft 11 is normally to be braked by means of the brake 21, when either

microswitch

83 or 84 is turned on to close the circuit, as described later on, so as to engergize either the

relay

85 or 86, whereby either the contact 85" or 86" is turned off to shut off the current for the brake 21 to thereby release the shaft. The shaft 12 is equipped with the spring 14 coiled round it. At the time of exchanging the reel 15, the shaft 12 is taken outside the base section 1 in defiance of the pressure of this spring 14, whereby the reel 15 is disconnected from the shafts 11 and 12, and can be lifted, taken out and replaced with a new one.

On the opposite side of base section I, there is installed the reversible motor 2 whose shaft is equipped with sprockets 3 and 3', said sprocket 3 being devised to transmit the turning effort to the sprocket 13 mounted on the shaft 11 and said sprocket 3 being devised to transmit the turning effort to the sprocket 5 mounted on the counter shaft 4 by means of the

chains

18 and 19, respectively. The pulley 6 mounted on the counter shaft 4 is devised to transmit the turning effort to the pulley 9 of the feed roller shaft 7 supported by the casing 22 of the sealing device through the belt 20. And, as shown in FIG. 3, the pulley 9 is installed on the shaft 7 through the one-way free running clutch 10, said shaft 7 being equipped with the feed roller 8. The outer diameter of this feed roller 8 is so designed as to render the peripheral speed of the feed roller a little higher than the peripheral speed of the roll of band b wound round the reel 15 at the time of said roll of band b having the maximum outer diameter, so that the band b between the feed roller 8 and the reel 15 never gets slack during the feeding of the band b, and the velocity difference between the feed roller 8 and the reel 15 is absorbed by the slip of the belt 20 stretched between the

pulleys

6 and 9. Meanwhile, in case of winding up the band b, the free running clutch works and the feed roller 8 does not rotate.

The operating lever 16 extends over the front and rear of the base section 1, the rear end of said lever being pivoted on the base section 1 while the front end of the same projecting outside the front wall of the base section 1. This operating lever 16 is always urged upwards and leftwards in FIG. 2 by the spring 17. Being manually pushed downwards, the lever causes the microswitch 83 disposed in the base section 1 to close the circuit (as seen in FIG. 10) in order to energize the relay 85, whereby the contact is turned off so as to release the shaft from the brake 21. And in the meantime, the contact 85", which is provided to operate the motor in the normal direction, is closed to make it operate in the normal direction, to thus supply the band b.

The lever 16 is next pushed rightwards in FIG. 2, and then the microswitch 83 is opened thereby and the microswitch 84 is concurrently closed, whereby the relay 85 is disenergized and the relay 86 is energized. Thereby the contact 86 which is provided for the purpose to operate the motor 2 in the reverse direction is closed and the contact 86" is concurrently opened, whereby the motor 2 runs in the reverse direction to roll back the band b, being released from the brake 21.

Once free from manual control, the lever 16 is brought back upwards and leftwards in FIG. 2 to the initial position, and thereby the microswitch 84 opens in order that the motor 2 stops its operation and the brake 21 again restricts rotation of the shaft 11.

Next, the sealing device will be explained in the following.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the press member 23 is oscilatably supported by the shaft 28 in the front of the casing 22 fixed on the base section 1. An elongated slotlike guide opening 26, through which passes the band b, is provided vertically in about the center of this press member 23, and an opening 27 communicating with said opening 26 is provided in about the center of the top end of-the press member. A groove 24 to guide the band b is formed on a' part of the round surface of the top end of the press member as divided by the opening 27, while the opposite part of said round surface as divided by the opening 27 constitutes the press surface 25 to press two ends of the band 12 together. These two parts of the round surface of the top end of the press member 23 constitute an arc centering around the center of the shaft 28, and the opening 27 is so devised as to hold the heater 37.

Near the bottom inlet of the guide hole 26, there is provided the flanged press roller 38 which is pivoted on the lever 39 by means of the pin 40, said lever 39 being pivoted on the press member 23 by means of the pin 41. This press roller 38 is pressed against the feed roller 8 by the working of the spring 42 only when it is in abeyance as shown in FIGS. 4, l1 and 12.

The heater 37 is installed on the lever 43 which is pivoted on the lever 44 by means of the pin 45, while said lever 44 is pivoted on the press member 23 by means of the pin 46. And, the spring 49 is stretched between the pin 47 provided for the lever 43 and the pin 48 provided for the press member 23, whereby an ascending effort is imparted to the lever 44, while one end of the lever 44 is pushed against the stopper 50 fixed on a side wall of the casing 22 to thereby lower the lever 44 in defiance of said ascending effort and the heater 37 is held on the bottom of the opening 27 of the press member 23. Besides, for the purpose of preventing the heater 37 from coming into direct contact with the bottom of the table 52 when the lever 44 is parted from the stopper 50, the pin 51 is provided on the press member 23 to restrict the ascent of the lever 44.

Referring to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7, 8 and 9, the side of the press member 23 is pivotally connected by a pivot pin 34 to the upper end of an arm 31, which arm has the central portion thereof fitted on the shaft 28. Arm 31 has an elongated slot 71 formed in the lower end thereof, which slot slidably receives therein a slide block 32 which is mounted on a projection 33 secured to the rotatable disc 30. Disc is secured to and rotatable with the shaft 29 which is rotatably supported on the casing 22. The shaft 29 is drivingly connected by means of a cam-and-coupling to a shaft 90, which shaft 90 is in turn adapted to be driven by the motor 36. The coupling 35 as illustrated in FIG. 8 has a projection 70 on the periphery thereof positioned for engaging the microswitch 81 so as to open the switch whenever the strapping machine is inoperative. One rotation of the shaft 29, and of the disc 30 carried thereby, causes one recipicating movement of the press member 23, whereby one strapping operation is completed as explained hereinafter.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 9, the table 52 is slidably laid between the

guide pieces

53 and 54 fixed on the top of the casing 22, and is devised to be pushed by the spring 55 disposed between the plate 72 fixed on the guide piece 54 and the projection 73 provided on the table 52 and advanced until said projection 73 strikes the stopper 57 provided on the guide 54. When the table 52 has thus advanced, its front end is so located as to cover the top of the press member 23. And the bottom side ofthis table 52 is provided with an arcuate surface which is compatible with the round surface provided on the top of the press member 23. The bottom side of the table 52 also has a groove 88 in which the clip 58 is accomadated for the purpose of clamping the band b. The projection 74 is also fixed to the bottom side of the slide.v

The clip 58 is pivotably supported at one end portion thereof by the pin 59 disposed in the end portion of the projection 74 defined on the table 52, and the other end portion thereof extends as far as to the groove 88 (shown in FIG. 68) formed on the lower surface of the table 52. A spring 56 is interposed between the upper surface of the clip 58 and the lower surface of the table 52, and a roller 66, which is pivotably supported by the pin 67 in the upper portion of the lever 87, pushes against lower surface of the clip 53 almost at the center thereof in order to thus support the clip 58. The lever 87 is pivotably supported in the lower portion thereof by the shaft of the crank lever 69 which is also pivotably supported by the casing 22.

The lever 87 is always biased into the position shown by a dot-and-dash line in FIG 6A, by means of the spring 56 and the torsion spring 68 interposed between the casing 22 and the lever 87. Accordingly, the clip 58 is forced thereby to have its free end biased downwards pivoting around the supporting pin 59.

The shaft 89 on the crank lever 69 jutting outside the casing 22 is adapted to engage the lower surface of the operating lever 16 as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The pin 60 is fixed on the projection 74 of the table 52, and the lever 61 which upper part confronts the pin 60 and the pin 67 is pivoted on the casing 22 by means of the pin 62. The cam roller 63 is pivoted on the lower end of this lever 61 by means of the pin 64, and said cam roller 63 is devised to be kept in contact with the surface of the aforesaid cam 35 by means of the torsion spring 65 coiled around the pin 62. With the rotation of the cam 35, the lever 61 turns counterclockwise in FIG. 6. If the clip 58 has been lifted by the crank lever 69 at this juncture, the lever 61 comes into contact with the pin 67 prior to its contact with the pin 60, whereby the crank lever 69 is turned counterclockwise, the clip 58 is allowed to descend, the pin 60 is pushed to make the table 52 move back together with the clip 58 as illustrated by dash dot lines.

Hereunder will be given an elucidation of the working of the present machine by reference to FIG. 11 and so forth.

FIG. 11 shows the state of the package a as put in a loop of band b and laid on the top plate of the base section. Prior to this, the press member 23 has come to a halt in the position as shown in the drawing, and the tip of band b has been suspended in the middle of the guide slot 26 of the press member 23. When the operating lever 16 is pushed down to press the microswitch 83 at this point, the motor 2 starts normal rotation to turn the feed roller 8 and the reel 15 in the direction of the arrow respectively and thrust out the band b through the opening 27 at the top of the press member 23 via the guide slot 26 of said press member 23. At this time, the operator hooks the band around and feels the tip or free end thereof through the void formed between the guide groove 24 and the bottom side of the table 52 until the type ofthe band is positioned in the groove 88 on top of the clip 58. When the operating lever 16 is further pushed down. the crank lever 69 turns and the clip 58 is pushed up by the roller 66 as shown in the solid line in FIG. 6, whereby the tip of the band b is held between the top side of the clip 58 and the bottom side of the table 52, and the band b is further fed out to form a loop of desired size. In this loop of the band b which is formed around the table 52 is positioned the package FIG. 12 shows the state of the band b when it has been pulled back. When the operating lever 16 is pushed rightward subsequent to the operation described in the foregoing, the microswitch 84 works to rotate the motor 2 in reverse direction. With this, the feed roller 8 and the reel 15 also turn in reverse direction to pull back the band b, whereby the package a is strapped. On this occasion, adjustment of the tightness of the strapping is performed by tactually controlling the time of pressing the operating lever 16. When the manipulation of the operating lever 16 is discontinued, said lever 16 is lifted leftward by the spring 17 as set forth in the foregoing, the motor 2 stops, and the magnetic brake 21 clamps the shaft 11 of the reel 15.

FIG. 13 shows the state of the press member 23 during its forward stroke and the heater 37 in the course of sealing the band b. To be precise, when the operator turns the switch 82 on after tightening the band b as above, the motor 36 moves, and the disc 30 rotates to turn the arm 31 counterclockwise (See FIG. 7), whereby the press member 23 also oscillates counterclockwise centering around the shaft 28. With this, the guide groove 24 of the press member 23 disengages from the table 52, that is, from the band b. At the same time, the lever 44 parts from the stopper 50, and turns clockwise (see FIGS. 13 and 14) relative to press member 23 centering aroung the pin 46 until it is brought into contact with the pin 51 by the urging of the spring 49. As a result, the lever 43 pivoted on the lever 44 by means of the pin 45 ascends, and the heater 37 held on it contacts the upper section b and the lower section b" of the band b.

Particularly, the heater 37 presses the upper band sectionb against the undersurface of the plate 52 and causes a partial melting thereof. At the same time, the heater 37 engages the lower band section b in the region of the arcuate corner 25 as formed on the pressing member 23, thereby causing a partial melting of the lower band section. Following this partial melting of the upper and lower band sections by the heater 37, continued rotation of the press member 23 causes the partially melted regions of the upper and lower bands to be superimposed and pressed together by the press surface 25, thereby sealing the band sections together.

During the swinging movement of the press member 23, as described above, the reel 15 is braked by the magnetic brake 21. However, since the press member is pivoted adjacent the center thereof on the shaft 28, the pivotal movement of the press member 23 also causes the press roller 38 on the lower end thereof to be moved away from the feed roller 8 toward to reel 15. This results in the band being automatically advanced through the slot 26 and discharged through the opening 27 adjacent the upper end thereof, with the lengths of band as discharged through the upper end of the slot 26 being equivilent to the length of band which is slide into the lower end of the slot due to the movement of the roller 38 toward the reel 15.

The actual pressing together of the melted portions of the upper and lower bands results from the continued swringing movement of the press member 23 beyond the melting position illustrated in FIG. 13. When the press member continues to swing (counterclockwise in FIG. 13) beyond the offstated position, the portion of the lower band b" which is melted by the heater 37 is fed outwardly around the curved edge 25 onto the outer press surface 25, which press surface causes the melted portion of the lower band b be superimposed with and pressed against the melted portion of the upper band b, whereby the upper and lower bands thus have their melted portions superimposed and confined between the press surface 25 on the lower convave surface formed on the table 52. In this matter, the melted portions of the bands b and b" are pressed together and accordingly bonded one to the other.

FIG. 14 shows the state of the band when the portions 12' and b" have been bonded or sealed together, as described above. When the prss member 23 reaches the end of its forward stroke, its speed slows down substantially until the member 23 comes to a halt. However, the heater 37 is still pressed against the lower band portion b in the region of the curved edge 25 formed on the press number 23. The heater is thus maintained against the lower band portion b at a fairly concentrated location for a substantial period of time, thereby causing substantial melting of. the lower band section b through a substantial portion of the width thereof. The region of this concentrated melting of the band is speaced from the point at which the upper and lower band portions have been previously sealed together. As the press member 23 comes to a stop, the rotation of cam 35 causes a swinging movement of lever 61 in a counterclockwise direction about the pin 62 as viewed in FIG. 6A. Lever 61 contact the pin 67 and causes lever 87 to be swung into the dash-dot position illustrated in FIG. 6A, thereby releasing the clip 58 which frees the tip of the band. The pivoting lever 61 also causes it to engage the pin 16 whereby the table 52 is retracted (leftwardly in FIG. 6A) in opposition to the urging of the spring 55. The retracting movement of the table 52, due to the tendancy of the table 52 to slide rearwardly out of the band loop, causes a temporary increase in the tension imposed on the band. This temporary increase in the tension imposed on the band is sufficient to cause a breakage or separation of the band at the location which was previously subjected to the concentration of heat.

FIG. 15 shows the state of the press member 23 when it has completed the backward stroke. With the progress of the rotation of the aforesaid disc 30, the press member 23 rapidly oscillates clockwise opposite to the previous direction, the lever 44 contacts with the stopper 50 to turn in the direction opposite to the previous direction, and the lever 44 along with the heater 37 held thereon descend to be supported by the opening 27 of the press member 23 again. On this occasion, the lever 61 returns to the position shown in FIG. 6A, whereby the table 52 and the clip 58 also advance again, and the clip 58 fully descends to its normal position as shown by dotted line in FIG. 68. And, as the press roller 38 has returned from the position shown in the dotted line to the position shown in the solid line in FIG. 15 while the reel 15 is in abeyance and does not work to feed the band, the portion of the band b existing inside the guide slot 26 of the press member 23 is pulled down to the extent equivalent to the distance of travel by the press roller 38 going away from the reel 15, and the free end or tip of the band is rapidly moved away from the heater 37 to retreat to almost the middle of the guide slot 26.

Through the foregoing procedure, a cycle of the working of the band b to strap the package a is completed, and by repeating this cycle, the strapping of packages a can be performed successively.

Although particular preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed hereinabove for the purpose of illustration, it will be understood that variations or modifications thereof which lie withinthe scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims are fully comtemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a strapping machine for forming a strap loop in surrounding relationship to an object, such as a package, the improvement comprising:

a frame;

a press member movable supported on said frame for oscillatory movement between first and second positions;

a heater device for at least partially melting a plastic band, said heater device being mounted on and movable with said press member and positioned for melting said band at two locations; and

said press member including a pressing surface for engaging said band and for pressing said two locations of said band together.

2. A strapping machine according to claim 1, further including linkage means connected between said heater device and said press member for movably supporting said heater device relative to said press member for movement between active and inactive positions relative to said press member, said linkage means main taining said heater device in said inactive position when said press member is in said first position, said linkage means moving said heater device into said active position wherein it is adapted to contact said band when said press member is moved from said first position toward said second position.

3. A strapping machine according to claim 2, wherein said linkage means moves said heater device into said active position when said press member is disposed between said first and second positions, said heater device when in said active position contacting said band at said two spaced locations, said linkage means causing said heater device to contact said band at a third location thereon when said press member approaches said second position, the speed of said press member being reduced as it approaches said second position whereby said heater device causes substantial melting of said band at said third location to permit separation of said band at said third location 4. A strapping machine according to claim 1, further including drive means connected to said press member for oscillating same between said first and second positions, said drive means including a rotatable drive member and lever means swingably mounted on said frame and drivingly connected to and oscillated by said rotary drive member, said lever means being drivingly connected to said press member for oscillating same, said drive means causing the speed of said press member to slow down as said press member approaches said second position, and said heater device being pressed against said plastic band when said press member approaches said second position so as to melt said band to a substantial depth thereof for permitting separation of said band at the melted portion thereof.

5. A strapping machine according to claim 1, wherein said press member is pivotally mounted on said frame lit) for angular oscillation about a pivot axis for movement between said first and second positions, said pressing surface as formed on said press member being arcuate and generated substantially about said pivot axis, first means movably supporting said heater device on said press member for movement radially outwardly of said press member from a first storage position into a second position wherein the heater device is disposed to contact and melt a plastic band, and second means mounted on said press member and coacting with said first means for causing said heater device to be automatically moved outwardly from said inactive position to said active position in response to movement of said press member in a direction away from said first position.

6. A strapping machine for a flexible band comprising: I

a base section, a press member pivotally mounted on said base section for oscillatory movement between first and second angularly spaced positions, said press member being pivotally supported substantially about its center and being normally maintained in said first position, said press member having an opening adjacent its upper end and a press roller mounted thereon adjacent its lower end, said press member having an elongated guide passageway extending therethrough from said opening to a position adjacent said press roller for permitting said band to be moved therethrough, a reel for a coiled band positioned adjacent and on one side of said press roller, a feed roll spaced from said reel and positioned on the other side of said press roller, said press roller being normally maintained in engagement with said feed roll when said press member is in said first position, drive means drivingly connected to said reel for permitting rotation thereofin opposite rotational directions for permitting feeding of said band through said passageway for tensioning of said band after it has been wound around an object, said drive means causing rotation of said reel when said press member is in said first position, and driving means connected to said press member for causing oscillation of same between said first and second positions, whereby movement of said press member from said first position towards said second position causes said press roller to be moved toward said reel whereby the band is fed out of said opening by a distance equivalent to the movement of said press roller as said reel is maintained stationery, and whereby movement of said press member from said second position back to said first position causes an equivalent retraction of said band into said passageway.

7. A machine according to claim 6, further including heater means mounted on said press member and movable therewith, said heater means being positioned for partially melting said band to permit same to be adhesively sealed together, and said heater means also being positioned for melting said band to separate a segment thereof from said reel when said press member is located closely adjacent said second position.

8. A strapping machine for securing a band around an object, such as a package, comprising:

a frame;

a table adapted to have said object supportingly positioned thereabove, said table being movably supported on said frame for reciprocating movement in a first direction;

a press member positioned below said table and pivotally supported on said frame for movement between first and second angularly spaced positions, said press member having an upper portion thereof disposed directly below said table when said table is in a forwardmost position, the upper portion of said press member being movable in a direction substantially transverse to said first direction when said press member is angularly moved from said first position toward second position;

means associated with said press member and said table for securing said band into a loop in surrounding relationship to said object when said press member is moved from said first position toward said second position;

power means;

first means connected between said power means and said press member for angularly oscillating same between said first and second positions; and

second means drivingly connected between said power means and said table for retracting said table to a rearmost position when said press member approaches said second position, said table when in said rearmost position being retracted sufficiently so as to not be disposed directly over the upper portion of said press member.

9. A strapping machine for securing a flexible band in surrounding relationship to an object, such as a package, comprising:

a frame having a table movably supported thereon, a press member movably mounted on said frame for oscillating movement, a clip member pivotally mounted for movement in a direction substantially transverse to the direction of movement of said press member, said clip member having a portion thereof positioned below said table and movable between open and closed positions for permitting the tip of the band to be clamped between said portion and said table when said clip member is in said closed position, lever means movable Supported on said frame beneath said table for controlling the opening and closing movement of said clip member, reel means rotatably supported on said frame and have a band wound thereon, drive means drivingly coupled to said reel means for permitting selective rotation thereof in either rotational direction, an operating lever movable supported on said frame and manually. movable, said operating lever when moved causing movement of said lever means for controlling movement of said clip member, and switch means mounted on said frame and positioned for coaction with said operating lever for selectively causing rotation of said reel means in either rotational direction.

Claims

1. In a strapping machine for forming a strap loop in surrounding relationship to an object, such as a package, the improvement comprising: a frame; a press member movable supported on said frame for oscillatory movement between first and second positions; a heater device for at least partially melting a plastic band, said heater device being mounted on and movable with said press member and positioned for melting said band at two locations; and said press member including a pressing surface for engaging said band and for pressing said two locations of said band together.

2. A strapping machine according to claim 1, further including linkage means connected between said heater device and said press member for movably supporting said heater device relative to said press member for movement between active and inactive positions relative to said press member, said linkage means maintaining said heater device in said inactive position when said press member is in said first position, said linkage means moving said heater device into said active position wherein it is adapted to contact said band when said press member is moved from said first position toward said second position.

3. A strapping machine according to claim 2, wherein said linkage means moves said heater device into said active position when said press member is disposed between said first and second positions, said heater device when in said active position contacting said band at said two spaced locations, said linkage means causing said heater device to contact said band at a third location thereon when said press member approaches said second position, the speed of said press member being reduced as it approaches said second position whereby said heater device causes substantial melting of said band at said third location to permit separation of said band at said third location.

4. A strapping machine according to claim 1, further including drive means connected to said press member for oscillating same between said first and second positions, said drive means including a rotatable drive member and lever means swingably mounted on said frame and drivingly connected to and oscillated by sAid rotary drive member, said lever means being drivingly connected to said press member for oscillating same, said drive means causing the speed of said press member to slow down as said press member approaches said second position, and said heater device being pressed against said plastic band when said press member approaches said second position so as to melt said band to a substantial depth thereof for permitting separation of said band at the melted portion thereof.

5. A strapping machine according to claim 1, wherein said press member is pivotally mounted on said frame for angular oscillation about a pivot axis for movement between said first and second positions, said pressing surface as formed on said press member being arcuate and generated substantially about said pivot axis, first means movably supporting said heater device on said press member for movement radially outwardly of said press member from a first storage position into a second position wherein the heater device is disposed to contact and melt a plastic band, and second means mounted on said press member and coacting with said first means for causing said heater device to be automatically moved outwardly from said inactive position to said active position in response to movement of said press member in a direction away from said first position.

6. A strapping machine for a flexible band comprising: a base section, a press member pivotally mounted on said base section for oscillatory movement between first and second angularly spaced positions, said press member being pivotally supported substantially about its center and being normally maintained in said first position, said press member having an opening adjacent its upper end and a press roller mounted thereon adjacent its lower end, said press member having an elongated guide passageway extending therethrough from said opening to a position adjacent said press roller for permitting said band to be moved therethrough, a reel for a coiled band positioned adjacent and on one side of said press roller, a feed roll spaced from said reel and positioned on the other side of said press roller, said press roller being normally maintained in engagement with said feed roll when said press member is in said first position, drive means drivingly connected to said reel for permitting rotation thereof in opposite rotational directions for permitting feeding of said band through said passageway for tensioning of said band after it has been wound around an object, said drive means causing rotation of said reel when said press member is in said first position, and driving means connected to said press member for causing oscillation of same between said first and second positions, whereby movement of said press member from said first position towards said second position causes said press roller to be moved toward said reel whereby the band is fed out of said opening by a distance equivalent to the movement of said press roller as said reel is maintained stationery, and whereby movement of said press member from said second position back to said first position causes an equivalent retraction of said band into said passageway.

8. A strapping machine for securing a band around an object, such as a package, comprising: a frame; a table adapted to have said object supportingly positioned thereabove, said table being movably supported on said frame for reciprocating movement in a first direction; a press member positioned below said table and pivotally supported on said frame for movement between first and second angularly spaced positioNs, said press member having an upper portion thereof disposed directly below said table when said table is in a forwardmost position, the upper portion of said press member being movable in a direction substantially transverse to said first direction when said press member is angularly moved from said first position toward second position; means associated with said press member and said table for securing said band into a loop in surrounding relationship to said object when said press member is moved from said first position toward said second position; power means; first means connected between said power means and said press member for angularly oscillating same between said first and second positions; and second means drivingly connected between said power means and said table for retracting said table to a rearmost position when said press member approaches said second position, said table when in said rearmost position being retracted sufficiently so as to not be disposed directly over the upper portion of said press member.

9. A strapping machine for securing a flexible band in surrounding relationship to an object, such as a package, comprising: a frame having a table movably supported thereon, a press member movably mounted on said frame for oscillating movement, a clip member pivotally mounted for movement in a direction substantially transverse to the direction of movement of said press member, said clip member having a portion thereof positioned below said table and movable between open and closed positions for permitting the tip of the band to be clamped between said portion and said table when said clip member is in said closed position, lever means movable supported on said frame beneath said table for controlling the opening and closing movement of said clip member, reel means rotatably supported on said frame and have a band wound thereon, drive means drivingly coupled to said reel means for permitting selective rotation thereof in either rotational direction, an operating lever movable supported on said frame and manually movable, said operating lever when moved causing movement of said lever means for controlling movement of said clip member, and switch means mounted on said frame and positioned for coaction with said operating lever for selectively causing rotation of said reel means in either rotational direction.