Automatic Bundling Tool Device

Abstract

This publication describes automatic bundling tool devices capable of tightening one-piece-ties with increased tolerance with respect to the thickness of the one-piece-tie (OPT) strap. In an aspect, disclosed is a bundling tool device that includes a tightening mechanism with a tightening gear unit with a tightening gear, and with a tightening roller unit with two tightening rollers, forming a gap in between tightening gear and tightening rollers. The gap is configured to hold a strap of a respective OPT processed by the device. The tightening gear includes teeth which are configured to fit into a serration of the strap. The tightening roller unit includes a lever with the two tightening rollers being arranged on the lever in a first end section of the lever, a turning point of the lever being arranged in a middle section of the lever, and an adjustment element of the tightening roller unit.

Claims

1. A bundling tool device configured for bundling a bundling good with a one-piece-tie (OPT) and configured for automatically tightening the OPT, the bundling tool device comprising: a tightening mechanism with a tightening gear unit with a tightening gear, and with a tightening roller unit with two tightening rollers, forming a gap in between tightening gear and tightening rollers, where the gap is configured to hold a strap of a respective OPT processed by the bundling tool device, and the tightening gear of the tightening gear unit comprises teeth which are configured to fit into a serration of the strap, wherein the tightening roller unit comprises a lever with the two tightening rollers being arranged on the lever in a first end section of the lever, a turning point of the lever being arranged in a middle section of the lever, and an adjustment element of the tightening roller unit, which is configured for adjusting a width of the gap, being in mechanical contact to a second end section of the lever, which is arranged oppositely to the first end section along a main extension direction of the lever.

2. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the turning point is essentially aligned with rotation axes of the two tightening rollers.

3. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein a rotation axis of the tightening gear and a middle point of a straight line connecting the rotation axes of the two tightening rollers have essentially the same distance from the turning point.

4. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein a first distance between the two tightening rollers and the turning point is smaller than a second distance between the turning point and a point of mechanical contact of the adjustment element and the second end section.

5. The bundling tool device of claim 4, wherein the second distance is at least twice the first distance.

6. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the tightening mechanism comprises a spring element which is in mechanical contact with the second end section of the lever, the spring element configured to exert a spring force on the second end section for holding the tightening rollers close to the tightening gear.

7. The bundling tool device of claim 6, wherein the spring element is an adjustable spring element, with a position of the adjustable spring element relative to the second end section of the lever being adjustable for adjusting a position of the tightening rollers relative to the tightening gear.

8. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the adjustment element comprises an excentric shaft, the excentric shaft in mechanical contact with the second end section of the lever, where the adjustment element is configured to adjust a minimal distance of the tightening rollers to the tightening gear by a rotation of the excentric shaft.

9. The bundling tool device of claim 8, wherein the tightening mechanism comprises a motor for automatically adjusting at least one of: a position of the tightening rollers relative to the tightening gear in response to a control signal of a control unit; or a minimal distance of the tightening rollers to the tightening gear in response to a corresponding control signal.

10. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the tightening mechanism includes at least one of: a first stopper that predetermines a fixed first limit and a lower limit for the width of the gap; or a second stopper that predetermines a fixed second limit and an upper limit for the width of the gap.

11. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the turning point is essentially aligned with rotation axes of the two tightening rollers, and wherein a rotation axis of the tightening gear and a middle point of a straight line connecting the rotation axes of the two tightening rollers have essentially the same distance from the turning point.

12. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the turning point is essentially aligned with rotation axes of the two tightening rollers, and wherein a first distance between the two tightening rollers and the turning point is smaller than a second distance between the turning point and a point of mechanical contact of the adjustment element and the second end section.

13. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the turning point is essentially aligned with rotation axes of the two tightening rollers, and wherein the tightening mechanism comprises a spring element which is in mechanical contact with the second end section of the lever, the spring element configured to exert a spring force on the second end section for holding the tightening rollers close to the tightening gear.

14. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the turning point is essentially aligned with rotation axes of the two tightening rollers, and wherein the adjustment element comprises an excentric shaft, the excentric shaft in mechanical contact with the second end section of the lever, where the adjustment element is configured to adjust a minimal distance of the tightening rollers to the tightening gear by a rotation of the excentric shaft.

15. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein the turning point is essentially aligned with rotation axes of the two tightening rollers, and wherein the tightening mechanism includes at least one of: a first stopper that predetermines a fixed first limit and a lower limit for the width of the gap; or a second stopper that predetermines a fixed second limit and an upper limit for the width of the gap.

16. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein a rotation axis of the tightening gear and a middle point of a straight line connecting the rotation axes of the two tightening rollers have essentially the same distance from the turning point, and wherein a first distance between the two tightening rollers and the turning point is smaller than a second distance between the turning point and a point of mechanical contact of the adjustment element and the second end section.

17. The bundling tool device of claim 1, wherein a first distance between the two tightening rollers and the turning point is smaller than a second distance between the turning point and a point of mechanical contact of the adjustment element and the second end section, and wherein the tightening mechanism comprises a spring element which is in mechanical contact with the second end section of the lever, the spring element configured to exert a spring force on the second end section for holding the tightening rollers close to the tightening gear.

18. A bundling tool device configured for bundling a bundling good with a one-piece-tie (OPT) and configured for automatically tightening the OPT, the bundling tool device comprising: a tightening mechanism with a tightening gear unit with a tightening gear, and with a tightening roller unit with two tightening rollers, forming a gap in between tightening gear and tightening rollers, where the gap is configured to hold a strap of a respective OPT processed by the bundling tool device, and the tightening gear of the tightening gear unit comprises teeth which are configured to fit into a serration of the strap, wherein the tightening roller unit comprises the two tightening rollers with respective individual adjustment elements configured to adjust their respective distance to the tightening gear, and thus a width of the gap.

19. The bundling tool device of claim 18, wherein the tightening mechanism comprises a motor for automatically adjusting at least one of: a position of the tightening rollers relative to the tightening gear in response to a control signal of a control unit; or a minimal distance of the tightening rollers to the tightening gear in response to a corresponding control signal.

20. The bundling tool device of claim 18, wherein the tightening mechanism includes at least one of: a first stopper that predetermines a fixed first limit and a lower limit for the width of the gap; or a second stopper that predetermines a fixed second limit and an upper limit for the width of the gap.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Example embodiments are further described in the following by means of schematic drawings. Therein:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows an example embodiment of an automatic bundling tool device, ATD;

[0024] FIG. 2 shows details of an example tightening mechanism of an ATD; and

[0025] FIG. 3 shows the example tightening mechanism of FIG. 2 in a second configuration.

[0026] In the different Figures, identical or functionally identical features have the same reference signs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The disclosure relates to an automatic bundling tool device (ATD) for bundling a bundling good by means of a one-piece-tie (OPT), with automatically tightening the OPT by the ATD. In particular, the automatic bundling tool device is configured for bundling a bundling good by means of a cable tie, as a special case of OPT, with automatically tightening the cable tie by the ATD. The ATD includes a tightening mechanism with a tightening gear unit with a tightening gear, and a tightening roller unit with two tightening rollers, which forms a gap in between tightening gear and tightening rollers. The gap is configured to hold a strap of a respective OPT processed by the ATD. The tightening gear of the tightening gear unit includes teeth which are configured to fit into a serration of the OPT's strap.

[0028] FIG. 1 shows an example embodiment of an automatic bundling tool device 1 (ATD 1), for bundling a bundling good 2 by means of a one-piece-tie 14 (OPT 14) (FIG. 2). Therein, two claws 3a, 3b are configured to grab around the bundling good 2 and guide said one-piece-tie around the bundling good 2 before it is pulled back into a housing 4 of the ATD 1 by a tightening mechanism 10 (FIG. 2). The claws may also be referred to as jaws. In the present example, the ATD 1 is also connected with a control unit 5 that provides control signals to the ATD and the tightening mechanism 10.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows an example embodiment of a tightening mechanism 10 with a tightening gear unit 11 that comprises a tightening gear 11a, and with a tightening roller unit 12 with two tightening rollers 12a, 12b, forming a gap 13 between tightening gear 11a and tightening rollers 12a, 12b. The gap 13 is configured to hold a strap 14a of the OPT 14 that is to be processed by the ATD 1. The tightening gear 11a comprises teeth 11b which are configured to fit in a serration 14b of the OPT strap 14a.

[0030] The tightening roller unit 12 comprises a lever 12c with the two tightening rollers 12a, 12b being arranged on the lever 12c in a first end section 12′ of the lever 12c, a turning point 12d in a middle section 12″ of the lever 12c, and an adjustment element 12e being in mechanical contact to a second end section 12′″ of the lever 12c. The second end section 12′″ is arranged oppositely to the first end section 12′ along a main extension direction of the lever 12c. The adjustment element 12e is configured to adjust a width w of the gap 13.

[0031] In the present example, this adjustment of the width w of the gap 13 is achieved by an excentric shaft 12e* as part of the adjustment element 12e which is in mechanical contact with the second end section 12′″ of the lever 12c, where, in the present example, a minimal distance of the tightening rollers 12a, 12b to the tightening gear 11a can be adjusted by a rotation of the excentric shaft 12e* around a rotation axis E of the excentric shaft 12e*.

[0032] Furthermore, in the present example, the turning point 12d is aligned with the rotation axes R1, R2 of the two tightening rollers 12a, 12b. Therein, a first distance d1 between the two tightening rollers 12a, 12b and the turning point 12d is smaller than a second distance d2 between the turning point 12d and a point of mechanical contact C of the adjustment element 12e and the second end section 12′″.

[0033] In the shown example, the tightening mechanism also comprises a first stopper 15a and a second stopper 15b that respectively predetermine a fixed lower and fixed upper limit, respectively, for the width w of the gap 13. In addition, in the present example, the tightening mechanism 10 comprises a spring element 16 which is in mechanical contact with the second end section 12′″ of the lever 12c and is configured to exert a spring force on the second end section 12′″ for holding the tightening rollers 12a, 12b close to the tightening gear 11a, in the present example as close to the tightening gear 11a as the adjusting element 12e allows.

[0034] FIG. 3 shows the tightening mechanism 10 of FIG. 2 with the gap 13 adjusted for a different, smaller width w than in FIG. 2. Note that, as compared to FIG. 2, the excentric shaft 12e* of the adjustment element 12e is rotated in order to turn the lever 12c around the turning point 12d and thus move the tightening rollers 12a, 12b closer to the tightening gear 11a than shown in FIG. 2, in particular, allow the spring element 16 to push the tightening rollers 12a, 12b further towards the tightening gear 11a. Note that, in the present example, the turning point 12d is aligned with the rotation axes R1, R2 of the two tightening rollers 12a, 12b, as they are all on the same line 1 (line l). Furthermore, in an orthogonal projection of the rotation axis T of the tightening gear 11a on said line 1, the rotation axis T is projected onto a middle point M on the line 1 in the middle between the rotation axes R1, R2 on the line l. Thus, said middle point M and the rotation axis T approximately lie on a circle with a given radius and centre as turning point 12d.

[0035] Unless context dictates otherwise, use herein of the word “or” may be considered use of an “inclusive or,” or a term that permits inclusion or application of one or more items that are linked by the word “or” (e.g., a phrase “A or B” may be interpreted as permitting just “A,” as permitting just “B,” or as permitting both “A” and “B”). Also, as used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. For instance, “at least one of a, b, or c” can cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, c-c-c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c). Further, items represented in the accompanying figures and terms discussed herein may be indicative of one or more items or terms, and thus reference may be made interchangeably to single or plural forms of the items and terms in this written description.

[0036] Although implementations of automatic bundling tool devices have been described in language specific to certain features and/or methods, the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of automatic bundling tool devices.