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(11) | EP 3 006 134 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
| published in accordance with Art. 153(4) EPC |
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| (54) | TOOL FOR FORMING AND RELEASING LASHING |
| (57) Tool for metallic wire tying and untying, comprising a resistant elongated body,
defining between the end sections thereof two tubular channels (1) which open into
the outside area through said end sections (2), at least, and extends from the opposite
end section into a coaxial pin (6) |
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention refers to a tool for wire tying and untying, both metallic and non-metallic, specially intended for tying and untying any type of structure in which wires and other metallic elements are used, especially when torsion must be done on said tying so as to actually effecting the tying or untying, for the correct fastening of the structure it is applied to, or for the removal of said fastening.
[0002] The object of the invention is that said tying and untying, in the structures being intended for it, can be carried out in a fast, universal, autonomous, efficient and effective manner, with the least manual work possible, especially in tasks involving fastening, stretching and torsion of the wire or material, as well as being able to use any wire and other materials, regardless the thickness and rigidity thereof, and without said thickness and rigidity being a hindrance to use effective and mechanical means, and solve situations which other systems cannot solve.
[0003] Therefore, the invention belongs to the technical field of tying and untying when forming any type of structures made by human beings, and those involving human beings and nature, wherein torsion and grip must be applied to the fastening material, both when tying and when untying said fixing material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is well known the great importance that nowadays is given to the imperative tying on any type of structure, both human and those being symbiotic between human and nature. This tying is intended to be made with quality materials, generally wires, and in a fast, efficient and resistant manner, where this tying is perfectly fastened by applying the maximum torsion without breaking thereof. Clear examples of that are found in the metallic structures making up the formwork of any type of works, as well as in the construction and/or repair of farming or agricultural elements such as enclosed areas, fencing including L type posts or posts bent at 90-degree angles, in vineyard trellises, spiked protectors as individual protection for trees and plants, metallic cage protectors as individual protection for trees, gardening work, housework, in facilities and maintenance tasks in buildings and equipment of any type, and many other examples of tying from other areas. Untying must also be performed in the aforementioned areas, as for example when an individual protector, or a portion thereof, must be removed from a tree to be subsequently installed in another in which, in turn, a new tying will be required.
[0005] There are tying systems which are currently known, being the first of them the manual tying, where a wire, as the most commonly element used, is urged to pass through the areas in the structure intended to be fastened, to be clamped afterwards, on the loose ends of said wire, with hand tools such as pliers and pincers, with repetitive torsion being applied by the operator upon turning their wrist, wherein said wire is repeatedly loosened and clamped with said hand tools so as to apply the correct torsion and fastening. As for untying, it is also carried out with said hand tools, rotating them in the opposite direction to that of the initial tying and performing the repeated actions of clamping, loosening and clamping again that this operation requires. This new invention becomes necessary, since working with hand tools is arduous, slow, sometimes inefficient because of the tying quality, subject to working accidents and occupational disease because of repetitive movements and entrapment by the hand tools, as well as to physical weariness upon performing the untying, which often leads to directly cutting off the wire once tied, with said material or wire being left useless for another new tying and subsequent untying, where necessary, until the material resists a given number of torsions in one direction or the other. Although there are many commercially available machines to fasten wires or other materials to structures, such as rebar tying machines and vineyard tying machines, which usually incorporate material or wire coils, these are quite expensive, the wire they use is very thin, and it is not possible to use them in many cases, on the one hand because they simply cannot fasten structures and posts having specific shapes, such as L-shaped posts,- that is, posts bent at a 90-degree angle-, which, in turn, have holes in one or both of the posts or structure faces so as to pass the wire through, and in which tying and untying can only be made with hand tools; and on the other hand, because when the material or wire is launched and sent mechanically to the fastening area on the corresponding structure, this smashes against parts of said structure, hindering the tying, and causing that the wire can only pass through manually, as it is clearly the case in the installation of metallic cages used as individual protectors for trees, because of the small orifice left by the electro-welded rods. Furthermore, in the cases where it is possible to pass the wire through, even so, it usually smashes against some elements of the structure, which leads to repeating the operation more than once so as to attain the correct fastening thereof. This is the major cause why the wires being used by these automatic systems are so thin and fine, as it is not possible to use thicker wires or materials as those used for hand tying, since said rebar tying machines cannot make the thicker ones pass, at a high speed and mechanically, through the structure intended to be tied or fastened using such devices, and so said thinner wire has to be passed through by winding it two or three times around the structure to be tied up, and this is why coils of thicker wire are not even manufactured for these machines; whereas hand tying with a thicker wire only requires it to be wounded once around the structure to be tied or fastened. It is obvious that wire tying with said thinner wires is less consistent that one performed manually with a thicker wire, since the former are only intended for a slight fastening that makes it possible to keep the structure configuration temporarily, in order to subsequently pour the concrete which will form the final body, in the case of constructions; and in the case of vineyards, its function is only to attach the vine shoot or branch to a cable so that said vine shoot takes a determined direction during the growth thereof. On the contrary, if it is specifically used (if possible) for tying structures forming the individual electro-welded mesh cage protectors for trees, where animals so powerful as bovine animals, wild boars and deer usually rub against and push over, said tying is not effective since it is not consistent and the protectors are kept even for decades. In the case individual protectors for trees, referred to as "spiked protectors", since they are artificial spiky bushes, animals never push, but the wind and the passing years keeps untying such a weak tying made with said mechanical elements. Furthermore, another important restriction and deficiency that such mechanical devices feature, is the impossibility, in every case, of subsequently untying the initial tying, and therefore the impossibility, in every case, to reuse the material of the original tying for a new tying or for another use. Another disadvantage and crucial deficiency is that they do not allow the autonomy and universality of performing a tying action with a wire which is thicker and more reliable for every type of use, mainly the farming and agricultural use indicated above for fencing and individual protectors for trees, not only for the reasons already stated, but for the high cost of said mechanical devices, so it makes no sense to acquire them to carry out the tying only for a limited number of times; and that, in turn, the tying and untying is usually made manually, the latter when possible, as it has been set forth above. Consequently, rebar tying machines and vine shoot tying machines have been created exclusively for tasks circumscribed to said areas, without solving several and universal generalized situations. Therefore, there is a need for the present invention, consisting of a system in the form of a multi-use and universal tool for every kind of tying and untying using every wire thickness commercially available which is required in each specific case and also those which can be originated in the future, being provided, for the tying and untying, with own mechanical torsion movement generating means, or being these generated by human strength or by power supply sources, either derived directly from a power supply network or from own and autonomous sources installed in the system, wherein the latter have been fed directly from a power supply network (batteries), or else said power is generated directly by means of solar collectors or the like, including battery and power charge systems being carried by the operator managing the system in rucksacks, shoulder pouches, belt pouches or the like, which transmit said power to the system-tool cordlessly or through a cable. Likewise, the system-tool is intended to use force and movement generating tools, which in this case is turned into torsion capacity over the wire or material, commercially available, such as electric screw-unscrew drivers and every type of drills that would be coupled to the system-tool set forth herein, being many of them cordless and very user-friendly, much more lighter, quite cheap, and at the same time autonomous and much more available to society in general than the rebar and shoot vine tying machines. The system-tool herein presented cannot be considered as a simple screw drill or accessory for those mechanical movement generating devices, on the one hand, as mentioned above, because this system can be provided with a mechanical gear that supplies it with movement and being fed by the power sources already indicated above, and on the other hand, because said drills or accessories have well defined functions of drilling, boring, cutting, sandpapering, polishing, bevelling, and many others, but none of them being directed to perfectly tying and untying a wire or another material which forms the fastening of the desired structures; furthermore, while said drills and accessories only have one specific function, the system-tool disclosed has at least three, which are tying, untying, and in both cases holding the wire or material to elicit excellent tying and untying, as well as making it possible for the material or wire to be reused without any wear thereof. Thus, the present invention, on the one hand, avoids the tedious, slow and inefficient manual tying and untying, carried out with hand tools by operators, and on the other, can perform tying in situations in which rebar tying machines and vine shoot tying machines cannot, or do not carry out with it with the intended force, durability and efficiency required, as well as carrying out with the untying where they cannot, and all that with the possibility for tools generating force and movement to be coupled to them in order to acquire the required torsion, which are cheaper, more available and lighter than the aforementioned mechanical devices. Also in every case, the tying is much stronger and much more durable, both because of the greater thickness of the material or wire used and the strength of torsion given by the rotational movement without risk for breaking the wire or the material employed, making sizing to a desired scale possible, so as to use thicker fastening material or wire if possible. Increase in productivity and elimination of occupational risks, is remarkable with respect to the usual tying and untying made by operators with hand tools, since, for example, while the installation of an electro-welded mesh cage forming an individual protector for trees takes a long time, relative to the corresponding tying, about 15 minutes between two people, the system presented herein has been proved to take 3 minutes to complete the same installation, requiring only one person to carry out with it. There are millions of said protectors that have been installed worldwide, about a hundred thousand and even millions in Spain during the last 30 years, being tied up using hand tools as it is stated in public registers, since most of them have been granted or even co-financed with European Community funds. On the other hand, repetitive and harmful movements for the operator wrist, arm and shoulder are avoided, as well as the possible entrapment by the wire or the hand tool, since the operator hands are never within the fastening and torsion area of the wire or material to be used. This invention is so efficient and effective within this technical field that it ties and fastens even with thick steel wire, which is very rigid and not easily malleable, with a perfect finish, something that nowadays cannot be carried out with by an average operator manually (thereby, using ductile wire), nor by the current tying machines used for rebar and shoot vine tying, which can only use very thin and weak steel wires, and only for the tasks specified above.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] According to the present invention, the tool consists of a resistant elongated body defining, between the end sections thereof, two tubular axial channels that open into the outside area through at least one of said end sections, with both axial channels optionally opening into the outside area through both end sections. The elongated body extends from one of the end sections into a coaxial pin having a smaller section, whereas an elbowed arm may protrude at the opposite end section in the form of a hook.
[0007] The two axial channels on the elongated body can extend, from the end section where the coaxial pin starts from, into tubular tapered portions which are open in the free ends thereof.
[0008] The autonomous tying and untying system disclosed herein, satisfactorily solves the problem stated above, preferably in the form of two hollow and metallic cylindrical tubes, although these can be more than two and be made of any kind of material and in any shape, such as square, triangular, etc., being about 5 cm long, although they can also be elongated or shortened according to the specific use thereof. The diameter is 3 mm long for 0.5 mm thick wires, but it can be a longer or shorter diameter depending on the thickness of the wire or material to be used when fastening the structure.
[0009] The tubes may or may not have notches throughout the structure, especially at the initial part thereof with respect to the structure to be fastened or tied, which can be referred to as inlets for the wire or material to be introduced into the system-tool, since in this way the wire, when being twisted by the rotational movement, tends to enter those notches which serve as a brake for the wire over its natural tendency to leave the tubes orifices and cause a higher quality torsion, resulting in an excellent fastening; furthermore, those notches can be adjusted in different models according to the level of rigidity which is produced on fastening or tying.
[0010] Facing the tubes, with respect to the structure to be tied and being attached to said tubes, for cases in which a stronger tying is intended using wires with a higher steel content and thicker than those used in the tying made only with the tubes, one or more hooks can be installed (since it is an accessory of the system-tool for the cases indicated) either tapered or not, and having any geometrical shape and being made of any size and material, preferably arranged in the vertical of the horizontal axis being formed by the tubes when stationary (if there are two, or most of them if they are more than two), although this arrangement of the hook with respect to the tubes can be configured as desired, depending the precise moment in which the knot and the tourniquet-shaped twisting are to be started by the hook. The object of the hook or hooks is to generate the final knot or tourniquet to fasten the structure in a strong and suitable way, by exerting the desired pressure, and wherein the initial knot made by the tubes leads the hook to generate its own knot or tourniquet, since, for the hook to carry out with this, the wire or material needs to be completely enclosed as it runs through, something which is initially done by the tubes, and all that, both the initial knot and the secondary knot or tourniquet, under the same rotational movement and in the same direction. Finally, as the wire that was initially inserted into the tubes comes out therefrom, by the action of its own knot and the one secondarily made by the hook(s), once the tourniquet is adjusted to a desired pressure, the whole system is readily removed by taking the hook(s) out of the wire ring which is formed by the tourniquet, remaining ready for the next operation. The tying would, in this case, be comprised of two knots, the first a consequence of the tubes action, and the second and stronger consequence of the tourniquet made by the hook, this being much stronger and resistant than any other knot made by the systems and machines analysed herein, and also than the knot made only by the tubes. In this sense, the system can be configured at will so that, at the precise moment of generating the second knot or tourniquet, the first knot generated by the tubes, which has only been used for making the strong tourniquet, begins to untie. Likewise, the knots or tourniquets made with this system, even those made with rebar tying machines, will be tighten even more subsequently if desired or required, only keeping the hook(s) in the circular grooves left upon making the tourniquet. Likewise, if the initial tying generated using this system is intended to be untied with other machines, such as rebar tying machines, or even those made manually, and taking into account that there is no wish to recover the material or wire, it should be enough to pass the hook/s through the wire ring left by the tourniquet-like tying or through any gap left in the hand tying, to exert more pressure in the same twisting direction that the initial tying, and the material or wire will end up breaking, but with the waste product still in the groove where the hook/hooks has been inserted, removing it completely from the structure which it was tied to in a very easy manner, thus allowing this operation, whereas other systems do not allow it, and being much faster and safer than hand cutting the tying off with pliers or pincers. It can also be untied using the same procedure, making the system-tool rotate in the opposite direction to that followed for the initial tying, making it possible for the material or wire to be reused, if desired so.
[0011] The hook(s) can be detachable, since it is a part of the system-tool that can be used or not, depending on the user will for each particular case, or else the system-tool can be manufactured without a hook, for those cases in which tying is required but there is no need for it to be too rigid, a feature that is provided by the two or more tubes on their own, as it has been stated above. Similarly, the system-tool can be manufactured with a fixed hook(s), especially for fastening structures using a wire or material being extremely thick and with a very high steel content. And finally, they will allow a future untying by coupling the tool to the initial knot and causing the rotation thereof in the rotating direction opposite to the initial tying. In case more than one hook is used, these can be attached to each other with or without a separation between them, wherein some of them are higher and thicker than the others, and are arranged in an angle different to the others, such that they can clamp the wires or material to be fastened in a better way, and can perform an optimal tying and untying, wherein it is necessary to take out of the knot or tourniquet only one of all the hooks employed.
[0012] The tubes are attached to each other, whether they are two or more, and, in turn, these are attached to a rotational axis in form of a metallic solid cylindrical bar of about 7 cm long and 8 mm thick, yet said axis could be of any material, length, thickness and geometrical shape, since the object thereof is that this invention can be coupled to any force and/or generating system to produce, by means of torsion, the knots and tourniquets which are used by this system-tool, whether owned, designed specifically, or using those commercially available for other areas. The tubes will be joined parallel to this axis (if they are two, as usual), and they, in turn, will also be arranged on a horizontal plane at 0 grades, or they can be turned about in the initial portion receiving the wire and opposite to where they are attached to the axis, at different degrees, even in a winding form all along part or all the length of the tubes, so as to enhance the tensioning effect of the wire inserted therein and the torsion effect in the tying when making the movement. This system featuring hollow tubes to hold the wire or material to be tied, is much faster and more agile than others, such as pincers or wire clamps, since the wire is easily fitted into the hollow tubes, whereas it is more difficult and slower to hold them with pincers or wire clamps, and it is also less reliable if there is not enough force exerted in this catching or clamping, also having the risk of an occupational accident, unlike the hollow tubes system, with or without the hook. However, the hollow tubes can additionally make use of those solutions, as parts of the system, to reinforce the fastening function thereof in a fast way, as the essence of this system-tool is based on the torsion of the wire or material, at the same time as there is resistance exerted upon the wire or material coming out of the system, into which it was easily inserted when it was introduced through the orifices of the tubes, and all that upon the same rotational movement. This allows the system-tool to be provided with the capacity of performing tying and untying with two or more wires, or other materials, at the same time and upon the same rotational torsion movement, as well as tying and untying using wires previously braided, which provides a great fastening or tying, without no effort at all, in those cases where it cannot be made by operators manually, nor by rebar or vine tying machines.
[0013] The two or more end portions of the wire will be inserted in the two or more end sections of the tubes, wherein the wires have already been passed by the structure area which is intended to be fastened and tied by any appropriate means, and in case of using the hook, they will have overtaken it, each wire through each of the outer sides thereof, leaving said hook between the wires or material to be fastened.
[0014] The inner part of the hollow tubes may be rough or may be fluted, so as to enhance the wire resistance to come out of the tubes, by applying the movement that will cause the wire torsion forming the corresponding tying, or a first tying in case of using the hook, in order to generate a tension in the wire, and thus obtaining a stronger and perfect tying and fastening, as well as performing the same function in the subsequent untying when it is counter-rotated with respect to the initial rotation for performing the tying; nevertheless, the inner part of the tubes can also be smooth. Furthermore, the tubes can also be passed through, totally or partially, randomly or not, by small rods, plates or screws, but with a gap between them all along the tubes, the purpose also being, in the cases indicated, to provide a given resistance to the natural movement of the wire, or the material being used, to come out of the tubes, when the torsion provided by the rotational movement of the system is taking place by means of the axis thereof, which transforms the energy it receives into torsion for the wire or material, and thus, to tense the wire and thereby a stronger and more perfect tying or fastening. In the same sense, in order to hold and/or stretch the wire within the tubes, there are also many strategies and systems that can be used, such as a tapered finish of the tubes which prevents the wire or material from coming out when tensioning or torsion is being applied on it, and thus forming the knots or tourniquets at the other end section of the tubes; using any type of end trap-clamps, either being activated by the rotational movement itself only, or by the introduction of the wires and/or material through the tubes activating them; using solid bodies within the tubes that hold and/or stretch the wire or material against the inner wall of the tubes by action of the centrifugal force of the rotational movement, by means of magnets being arranged in the tubes or by means of magnetization which makes the wires or metallic materials resistant to come out, proving the wires or material with hand pincers at the end of the tubes, once having passed through them, that is, any system or gear that stops, holds and/or stretches the material or wire housed within the tubes for the appropriate torsion and making of knots or tourniquets.
[0015] However, the preferred and optimal embodiment, regarding times, material, raw material resources, easy configuration, economy of movements, tying and untying accuracy, and versatility for different types of tying and fastening, taking into account the tests carried out, is represented by two cylindrical hollow metallic tubes, attached to each other, both at the same height with respect to the rotational axis thereof, featuring in the circular walls of the tubes notches or holes used as an inlet access for the wire or material to be fastened. A conical hook is also attached to the tubes at the front side thereof, and with a separation of some centimetres, in an L-like shape, starting from the lower base of the tubes to rise vertically at an angle of 90 degrees, facing inlet openings for the wire of the hollow tubes. The hook may be detached from the system according to the type of tying or fastening which is intended, and to the thickness and rigidity of the wire or material to be used, as it has been stated above. Finally, on the other end section, the tubes end in a way similar to a funnel, having a tapered hollow section, and the tubes are attached on said end to a cylindrical metallic solid axis, which will provide rotational movement by any means, either mechanical or manual, which is coupled to the system-tool set forth herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] To implement the present description and in order to provide a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred embodiment thereof, a single sheet of a plot is attached as part of this description, with an illustrative but not limitative purpose, which represents schematically and in perspective, the autonomous tying and untying system made according to the object of the present invention.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0017] According to the embodiments in figures 1 y 2, the tool of the invention consists of an elongated body which may comprise two tubes (1), attached to each other all through the length thereof. On one of the sections thereof the tubes are closed by means or lids (2) provided with bores (3). The inner surface of the tubes (1) can be rough. On the opposite side, the tubes (1) are finished off in divergent projections (1'), in the form of funnels which end up in the outlet (5).
[0018] Between the projections (1') there protrudes a pin (6) of a smaller section and on the opposite side, figure 1, an elbowed arm (4) may protrude in form of a hook, with which additional torsion can be attained.
[0019] Having described the tool, to carry out with the twisting of a metallic tying the ends of the wire which will form the tying are introduced through the bores (3), until they protrude through the outlets (5). The tool is connected, by means of the pin (6), to a rotational driving device, either mechanical or manual, such as a drill, screw driver, etc., generating the torsion of the tying ends, after which the tool can be removed or detached.
[0020] Likewise and with a reverse rotation, the tool can be used for untwisting or loosening the metallic tying.
[0021] According to another possible embodiment, the body forming the tool can be a solid body, having two tubular axial channels starting from one the end sections, which may or may not open into the opposite end section.
1. Tool for wire tying and untying, either metallic or not, characterized in that it is made up by a resistant elongated body, defining between the end sections thereof
two tubular axial channels opening into the outside area through at least one of said
end sections, and it extends from the opposite end section into a coaxial pin of a
smaller section.
2. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the two axial channels open through the two end sections of the elongated body.
3. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the elongated body is made up of two tubes, attached and joined to each other longitudinally.
4. Tool according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the axial channels extend from the end section the coaxial pin starts from, in tubular
tapered tubular sections.
5. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the elongated body has a tubular structure, being closed at the end sections thereof
by means of lids, one of which is provided with at least two inlet bores, whereas
the coaxial pin and the tapered tubular sections protrude from the opposite end section.
6. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an elbowed arm, in the form of a hook, protruding from the elongated
body at the end opposite to end where the coaxial pin is arranged.