Strap winding disposal device

Description

[0001] This invention relates to metal strap handling and disposal.

[0002] Steel strapping is widely used for packaging by many industries including: aluminium, brick, cotton, jute, manmade fibres and wool. Disposal of strap material used in such industries is a major materials handling problem in terms of the collection, storage and disposable of such strap material.

[0003] Strapping is presently disposed of by placing it in waste bins and the like. Used or waste strapping invariably occupies far more space than its own volume and it is difficult to compress without the use of special compacting equipment. It is also difficult and dangerous to handle due to its springy nature.

[0004] The patent literature shows that attempts have been made to alleviate the problem of steel strapping disposal by winding the strapping into coil which may be made more easily disposed of.

[0005] One such example is to be found in US-A-3,910,089 which discloses a metal strapping coiling device including a driven roller, a pinch roller biased towards the driven roller to define a nip between the rollers into which the strapping to be coiled is introduced, the pinch roller being spring mounted to allow the passage of strapping seals and the like between the rollers, and deforming means positioned behind the nip between the rollers for inducing the strapping to form a self-closing coil.

[0006] The most difficult problem encountered in coiling strapping having applied seals is the deformation of the short strapping element which projects from the seal and the subsequent deformation of the seal itself. Unless both the short element and the seal itself are properly deformed, the strapping will not coil properly and the strapping will not therefore feed through the coiling device.

[0007] It will be appreciated that the arrangement described in US-A-3,910,089, which corresponds to the preamble of independent claim 1, does not address the above problem since the deforming means is in the form of a shaped nose member which is spring biased into engagement with the strapping as it emerges from the nip. The fact that the arrangement of US-A-3,910,089 does not properly deform the strapping seal is obvious from a consideration of Figure 4 of the drawings which shows the seal still in its original undeformed form.

[0008] Reference is also made to US-A-2,179,011 which discloses a hot strip coiling machine comprising a pair of rolls located on one side of the strip to be coiled and a third roll located on the opposite side of the strip, said third roll being movable between a position in which it co-acts with one of the first mentioned rolls to form a pinch feeding combination and a position in which it presses the strip against both of the first mentioned rolls to form a bending type feeding combination for the strip.

[0009] It is the object of the present invention to provide a used strap coiling mechanism which will result in the alleviation of the disposal problems referred to above in a manner which overcomes the above described deficiency of the prior art apparatus.

[0010] The invention therefore provides a metal strapping coiling device comprising a driven roller and a pinch roller, said pinch roller being rotatably mounted on a pivoted arm and biased towards the driven roller by biasing means to define a nip between said rollers into which the strapping to be coiled is introduced, pivoted deforming means positioned behind the nip between said rollers for inducing the strapping to form a self-closing coil, said biasing means enabling the nip between said rollers to be enlarged against the action of said biasing means to facilitate the passage of section modulus changes which occur when strapping seals, deformed portions of the strapping or the like pass between said rollers, characterized in that said deforming means comprises a deforming roller which is driven at substantially the same surface speed as said driven roller, said deforming roller having surface gripping means to minimize slippage when engaging the strapping, said deforming roller being mounted on means which pivots about the axis of rotation of said driven roller, said means being linked to said pivoted arm so that said deforming roller is pivoted with said pinch roller when section modulus changes are encountered.

[0011] Since the deforming roller is formed with surface gripping means, is driven at the same speed as the driven roller and pivoted with the pinch roller, it engages and deforms the strap projections in the area of the seal to allow better formation of said strapping into a coil.

[0012] The driven roller is preferably serrated to minimize slipping between said strapping and said nip rollers.

[0013] The strap coiling mechanism preferably includes a curved deflector bar which serves to guide the leading edge of the deformed strapping during initial formation of the self-closing coil.

[0014] The mechanism is preferably mounted on an elevated frame so that a storage container or drum may be located below the coiling region of the mechanism.

[0015] One preferred form of the coiling device will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :

Figure 1 is a sectional side view of the strap coiling mechanism;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the strap coiling mechanism of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the mechanism in use.

[0016] Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings, the strap coiling mechanism will be seen to comprise a driven roller 1 having a serrated peripheral surface (Figure 2), a pinch roller 4 rotatably mounted at one extremity of a pivoted crank lever 8, the pinch roller 4 being biased towards the driven roller 1 by means of a compression spring 6 engaging the other end of the lever 8, the biasing force being adjustable by means of an adjusting screw 7. A nip N is defined between the driven roller 1 and the pinch roller 4 and the nip N receives strapping S to be coiled. In the event that the strapping includes a seal S' or other similar connecting device, the pinch roller 4 will be deflected away from the driven roller 1, against the action of the spring 6, to allow the passage of the seal S' through the nip N.

[0017] A deforming roller 3 is rotatably mounted between a pair of side plates 10 which are pivoted about the axis of the driven roller 1 and linked to the pivoted arm 8 so that the deforming roller 3 is pivoted with the pinch roller 4 when seals S' pass through the nip N. The roller 3 is located behind the nip N in a position which causes the strapping S to engage the serrated surface of the deforming roller 3 to induce the strapping S to form a self closing coil C. A curved deflector bar 5 is located in a position to guide the leading edge of the deformed strapping S during the initial formation of the coil C.

[0018] The deforming roller 3 is driven at the same surface speed as the driven roller 1 by means of an idler gear 2, mounted on the rearmost plate 10 and which meshes with gears attached to the shafts supporting the driven roller 1 and the deforming roller 3 and defining gear train G.

[0019] The strap coiling mechanism is driven by an electric motor E through a gearbox G and a clutch C1. As shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the driven roller 1 and the deforming roller 3 are supported in bearings carried in supporting side plates 10 while the pinch roller 4 is carried in bearings mounted at the ends of the crank arms 8.

[0020] The strap coiling mechanism is preferably mounted on an elevated frame F so that a waste container W may be positioned below the exit region for the coil C when the end of the strapping S is reached. It will be appreciated that a closed coil of strapping such as hat shown in Figure 1 of the drawings will occupy far less volume within the waste container W than an uncoiled length of strapping.

[0021] While in the above embodiments a deforming roller is used to induce a self-closing coil of strapping S, any suitable deforming means may be used to achieve a similar end. However, the use of a serrated surface deforming roller is preferred since it more positively engages the seal area during the formation of the self-closing coil in the strapping S. Similarly, while the pinch roller 4 has been shown as being deflectable to allow the passage of strapping seals S′, similar results may be achieved by spring biasing the driven roller 1 for pivotable or vertical movement with respect to the pinch roller 4.

Claims

1. Metal strapping coiling device comprising a driven roller (1) and a pinch roller (4), said pinch roller (4) being rotatably mounted on a pivoted arm (8) and biased towards said driven roller (1) by biasing means (6) to define a nip (N) between said rollers (1, 4) into which the strapping (S) to be coiled is introduced pivoted deforming means (3) positioned behind said nip (N) between said rollers (1, 4) for inducing said strapping (S) to form a self-closing coil (C), said biasing means (6) enabling said nip (N) between said rollers (1, 4) to be enlarged against the action of said biasing means (6) to facilitate the passage of section modulus changes which occur when strapping seals (S'), deformed portions of said strapping (S) or the like pass between said rollers (1, 4), characterised in that said deforming means (3) comprises a deforming roller (3) which is driven at substantially the same surface speed as said driven roller (1), said deforming roller (3) having surface gripping means to minimize slippage when engaging said strapping (S), said deforming roller (3) being mounted on means (10) which pivots about the axis of rotation of said driven roller (1), said means (10) being linked to said pivoted arm (8) so that said deforming roller (3) is pivoted with said pinch roller (4) when section modulus changes are encountered.

2. Coiling device of claim 1, wherein said driven roller (1) has a serrated peripheral surface to minimize slippage between said strapping (S) and said rollers (1, 4).

3. Coiling device of claim 1 or 2, wherein said surface gripping means on said deforming roller (3) are in the form of serrations.

4. Coiling device of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising means (5) remote from said rollers (1, 3, 4) for further ensuring the formation of said self-closing coil (C) of said metal strapping (S).

5. Coiling device of claim 4, wherein said remote means comprises a stationary curved deflector bar (5) positioned to guide the leading edge of said deformed strapping (S) during the initial formation of said self-closing coil (C).

Ansprüche

1. Metallbandagierungsaufrollvorrichtung mit einer angetriebenen Rolle (1) und einer Klemmrolle (4), wobei die Klemmrolle (4) drehbar auf einem schwenkbaren Arm (8) befestigt ist und gegen die angetriebene Rolle (1) durch eine Vorspanneinrichtung (6) vorgespannt ist, um einen Spalt (N) zwischen den Rollen (1, 4) zu bilden, in den die aufzurollende Bandagierung (S) eingeführt wird, einer drehbaren Deformationseinrichtung (3), welche hinter dem Spalt (N) zwischen den Rollen (1, 4) positioniert ist, um die Bandagierung (S) dazu zu bringen, eine selbstschließende Spule (C) zu bilden, wobei die Vorspanneinrichtung (6) ermöglicht, den Spalt (N) zwischen den Rollen (1, 4) gegen die Wirkung der Vorspanneinrichtung (6) zu erweitern, um die Passage von Widerstandsmoment-Änderungen zu erleichtern, die vorkommen, wenn Bandagierungsverschlüsse (S'), deformierte Teile der Bandagierung (S) od.dgl. zwischen den Rollen (1, 4) durchlaufen, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Deformationseinrichtung (3) eine Deformationsrolle (3) aufweist, die im wesentlichen mit derselben Oberflächengeschwindigkeit wie die angetriebene Rolle (1) angetrieben wird, wobei die Deformationsrolle (3) eine Oberflächengreifeinrichtung hat, um Schlupf beim Erfassen der Bandagierung (S) zu minimieren, wobei die Deformationsrolle (3) auf einer Einrichtung (10) befestigt ist, die um die Rotationsachse der angetriebenen Rolle (1) schwenkt, wobei die Einrichtung (10) mit dem schwenkbaren Arm (8) verbunden ist, so daß die Deformationsrolle (3) mit der Klemmrolle (4) verschwenkt wird, wenn Widerstandsmoment-Änderungen auftreten.

2. Aufrollvorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, wobei die angetriebene Rolle (1) eine gezackte Umfangsoberfläche hat, um Schlupf zwischen der Bandagierung (S) und den Rollen (1, 4) zu minimieren.

3. Aufrollvorrichtung nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei die Oberflächengreifeinrichtung auf der Deformationsrolle (3) die Form von Zacken hat.

4. Aufrollvorrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 3, weiter mit einer Einrichtung (5) entfernt von den Rollen (1, 3, 4), um die Bildung der selbstschließenden Spule (C) aus Metallbandagierung (S) weiter zu sichern.

5. Aufrollvorrichtung nach Anspruch 4, wobei die entfernte Einrichtung eine feststehende, gekrümmte Ablenkschiene (5) umfaßt, welche positioniert ist, um den vorderen Rand der deformierten Bandagierung (S) wahrend des Anfangs der Bildung der selbstschließenden Spule (C) zu führen.

Revendications

1. Dispositif de bobinage d'une sangle métallique comprenant un rouleau mené (1) et un rouleau pinceur (4), ledit rouleau pinceur (4) étant monté rotatif sur un bras pivotant (8) et déporté vers le rouleau mené (1) par des moyens de déport (6) pour définir une ligne de pincement (N) entre lesdits rouleaux (1, 4), ligne dans laquelle est introduite la sangle (S) à bobiner, des moyens de déformation pivotants (3) positionnés derrière ladite ligne de pincement (N) entre lesdits rouleaux (1, 4) pour amener la sangle (S) à former une bobine auto-serrante (C), lesdits moyens de déport (6) permettant à la ligne de pincement (N) entre lesdits rouleaux (1, 4) d'être élargie en contrariant l'action desdits moyens de déport (6) pour faciliter le passage de variations du module de profil qui se produisent lorsque des sceaux de fixation (S') de la sangle, des portions déformées de la sangle ou autres passent entres lesdits rouleaux (1, 4), caractérisé en ce que lesdits moyens de déformation (3) comprennent un rouleau déformant (3) qui est entraîné sensiblement à la même vitesse de surface que ledit rouleau mené (1), ledit rouleau déformant (3) ayant des moyens de serrage en surface pour minimiser le glissement lorsque l'on engage la sangle (S), ledit rouleau déformant (3) étant monté sur des moyens (10) qui pivotent autour de l'axe de rotation dudit rouleau mené (1), lesdits moyens (10) étant reliés audit bras pivotant (8) de façon telle que ledit rouleau déformant (3) soit entraîné en rotation avec ledit rouleau pinceur (4) lorsque sont rencontrés des variations du module de profil.

2. Dispositif de bobinage selon la Revendication 1, dans lequel ledit rouleau mené (1) possède une surface striée pour minimiser le glissement entre ladite sangle (S) et lesdits rouleaux (1, 4).

3. Dispositif de bobinage selon la Revendication 1 ou 2, dans lequel lesdits moyens de serrage en surface sur ledit rouleau déformant (3) prennent la forme de dentelures.

4. Dispositif de bobinage selon l'une quelconque des Revendication 1 à 3, comprenant additionnellement des moyens (5) éloignés desdits rouleaux (1, 3, 4) pour assurer complémentairement la formation de ladite bobine auto-serrante (C) de ladite sangle métallique (S).

5. Dispositif de bobinage selon la Revendication 4, dans lequel lesdits moyens éloignés comprennent une barre déflectrice incurvée stationnaire (5) positionnée pour guider l'arête avant de la sangle déformée (S) pendant le début de la formation de la bobine auto-serrante (C).

Drawing