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US 3,940,169 AGranted
Loop knot tying method and apparatus
AssigneeThe Procter & Gamble Company
InventorRonald W. Kock
Life of this patent
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AssigneeThe Procter & Gamble Company
InventorRonald W. Kock
Estimating the term…
A process and apparatus for forming from string a simple loop knot either through or about a product. While individual products may be hand-fed to the apparatus, the apparatus is adapted to perform the process continuously, rapidly and automatically upon a product in the form of a continuous flexible web utilizing a single, continuous, external string source. In an exemplary embodiment the apparatus comprises a rotating drum carrying a plurality of identical heads, each head operating upon a segment of the product web to form individual loop knotted products therefrom. Although the number of operations performed by each head upon the product web may be varied, in the exemplary embodiment to be described each head is provided with operating instrumentalities to pleat the web, clamp the pleated web, seal the web at a glue stripe printed thereon, meter the correct length of string, cut the metered string, pierce the pleated web, form a simple loop knot through the pierced hole and about the side of the web, cut the web and display a finished individual product by its string for pick-up by a discharge transfer means.
Apparatus for forming a simple loop knot of segment of flexible strand-like material about a portion at least of a product, said apparatus comprising a head, means on said head for clamping and holding said product in a position to receive said loop knot, means on said head for forming said strand segment into a U-shaped loop behind said product, said U-shaped loop having a pair of legs joined by a base portion, means on said head for frictionally engaging the free ends of said loop legs, means on said head for engaging the base portion of said strand loop and carrying said base portion of said loop forwardly of said product and about said portion at least thereof and means on said head for removing said free ends of said loop legs from said frictional engagement means and drawing said free ends through said base portion of said strand loop to form said simple loop knot.
Apparatus for continuously forming a simple loop knot of a segment of flexible strand-like material about a portion at least of each product in a continuous web of product material, said apparatus comprising in combination a single continuous source of said web of product material, a single continuous source of said flexible strand-like material and a cylindrical drum rotatable about a vertical axis, a plurality of identical heads mounted on said drum at the periphery thereof and evenly spaced thereabout, means to rotate said drum so that each of said heads continuously follows a circular path of travel through pick up points for said strand and said web of product material, through an active portion of the drum cycle wherein each head operates upon a segment of said product web to form said loop knot about a portion at least of a product thereof and through a product discharge point, each of said heads having a plurality of operating instrumentalities comprising means for clamping and holding said product web segment in a position to receive said loop knot, means for metering said strand segment from said continuous strand and forming said strand segment into a U-shaped loop behind said web segment, said U-shaped loop having a pair of legs joined by a base portion, means to shear said metered strand segment from said strand and to clamp the free end of said strand to advance said strand about said drum until the metered strand segment of the next adjacent upstream head is sheared, tensioner means for frictionally engaging the free ends of said strand loop legs, means for engaging the base portion of said strand segment loop and carrying said base portion of said loop forwardly of said web segment and about said portion at least thereof, pliers means for removing said free ends of said strand loop legs from said tensioner means and drawing said free ends through said base portion of said strand loop to form said simple loop knot, and means to actuate said operator instrumentalities in the proper sequence.
A method of forming a simple loop knot of a segment of flexible strand-like material about a portion at least of a product comprising the steps of clamping and holding said product in a position to receive said loop knot, forming said strand segment into a U-shaped loop behind said product, said U-shaped loop having a pair of legs joined by a base portion, frictionally engaging and holding the free ends of said strand loop legs, engaging the base portion of said strand loop and carrying said base portion forwardly of said product and about said portion at least thereof, releasing said free ends of said strand loop legs and drawing said free ends through said base portion of said strand loop to form said loop knot.
A method of continuously forming a simple loop knot of a segment of flexible strand-like material about a portion at least of each product in a continuous web of product material comprising the steps of providing a single continuous source of said web of product material, providing a single continuous source of said flexible strand-like material, providing a cylindrical drum rotatable about a vertical axis and having a plurality of identical heads mounted on said drum at the periphery thereof and evenly spaced thereabout, rotating said drum so that each of said heads continuously follows a circular path of travel through pick up points for said strand and said web of product material, through an active portion of the drum cycle wherein each head operates upon a segment of said product web to form said loop knot about a portion at least of a product thereof and through a product discharge point, at each of said heads clamping and holding a segment of said product web in a position to receive said loop knot, metering said strand segment from said continuous strand and forming said strand segment into a U-shaped loop behind said product, said U-shaped loop having a pair of legs joined by a base portion, shearing said metered strand segment from said strand and clamping the free end of said strand to advance said strand about said drum until the metered strand segment of the next adjacent upstream head is sheared, frictionally engaging the free ends of said strand loop legs, engaging the base portion of said strand segment loop and carrying said base portion of said loop forwardly of said product web segment and about said portion at least thereof, releasing said free ends of said strand loop legs and drawing them through said base portion of said strand loop to form said simple loop knot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.