Automatic bundling tool device with guiding unit for deformed and/or loose one-piece ties
AssigneeHellermannTyton Corporation
InventorsAndreas Schwinn, Taro David Fukuda
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic bundling tool device (ABT) for bundling a bundling good via a one-piece-tie (OPT). In aspects, an ABT includes a holding unit configured to receive, hold, and release a respective OPT; a motion guiding unit configured to guide a motion of the holding unit between a receiving position and a releasing position; a claw unit configured to guide a strap of the respective OPT around the bundling good; and a tip guiding unit with at least one guiding flap element configured to guide a tip of the respective OPT towards an entrance of the claw unit.
Claims14
An automatic bundling tool device (ABT) configured for bundling a bundling good through use of a one-piece-tie (OPT), the device comprising:
- a holding unit configured to receive, hold, and release a respective OPT provided to the ABT from an external reservoir of OPTs;
- a motion guiding unit configured to guide a motion of the holding unit between a receiving position of the holding unit where the holding unit receives the respective OPT and a releasing position of the holding unit where the holding unit releases the respective OPT;
- a claw unit configured to guide a strap of the respective OPT around the bundling good;
- and
- a tip guiding unit with at least one guiding flap element configured to guide a tip of the respective OPT towards an entrance of the claw unit when the respective OPT is moved towards the releasing position by the holding unit moving from the receiving position to the releasing position,
- wherein:
- at least one distance between an inner surface of the at least one guiding flap element and an OPT track along which the respective OPT is moved from the receiving position to the releasing position decreases in a direction towards the claw unit,
- the at least one distance is measured perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the OPT track as a y-distance in a direction of thickness of the respective OPT and as a z-distance in a direction of width of the respective OPT, and
- the holding unit is configured to move the at least one guiding flap element.
A method for bundling a bundling good through use of a one-piece-tie (OPT) with an automatic bundling tool device (ABT), the method comprising:
- providing a respective OPT to the ABT from an external reservoir;
- moving the respective OPT towards the bundling good by a holding unit with a tip of the respective OPT ahead;
- if the respective OPT has a bent strap, guiding the tip of the respective OPT towards an entrance of a claw unit perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of an OPT track in a direction of a width of the respective OPT, by at least one guiding flap element positioned in a guiding position;
- after the tip has entered the claw unit, moving the at least one guiding flap element in a clearing position further away from an OPT track than in the guiding position with a movement of the holding unit;
- and
- guiding a strap of the respective OPT around the bundling good and through a head of the respective OPT, by the claw unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.