Wire bend machine

Apparatus for securing girth binding wires to the sides of a container wherein wire manipulations are performed on a wire section secured to a first side of a series of container blanks, said wire manipulations being performed at gaps between successive blanks to bend the binding wire ends first through 90.degree. over the edge of the first sides of adjacent blanks at the gap then through an additional 90.degree. under said edges of the first sides of the adjacent blanks to be generally parallel to a second side of the blanks below said first sides and then to clinch them into the container second sides of the blanks, said apparatus comprising a frame defining a path of travel therethrough for the container blanks, means for driving the container blanks along the path of travel to a wire manipulating position, first and second crossbars vertically reciprocally mounted in said frame transversely positioned respectively above and below the path of travel of said container of blanks for movement between upper and lower positions, means for vertically reciprocating said crossbars in accordance with a predetermined sequence, a first wire manipulating means mounted on said first crossbar above the path of travel of said container blanks including means for cutting said wire section and bending it downward over the edges of the first side of a container blank as said first crossbar is driven to its lower position and a second wire manipulating means mounted on said second crossbar below the path of travel of said container blanks including means for wiping the thus cut and bent wire section through another 90.degree. beneath the container blank and against the second side of the container blank and clinching it to said second side as side second crossbar is driven to its upper position.

Apparatus for securing girth binding wires to the sides of a container wherein wire manipulations are performed on a wire section secured to container blanks to bend the binding wire ends over the top edge of the sides and clinch them into the container blank, said apparatus comprising a frame defining a path of travel therethrough for the container blank, means for driving the container blank along the path of travel to a wire manipulating position, first and second crossbars vertically reciprocally mounted in said frame transversely positioned respectively above and below the path of travel of said container blank for movement between upper and lower positions, means for vertically reciprocating said crossbars in accordance with a predetermined sequence, a first wire manipulating means mounted on said first crossbar above the path of travel of said container blank including means for cutting said wire section and bending it downward as said first crossbar is driven to its lower position and a second wire manipulating means mounted on said second crossbar below the path of travel of said container blank including means for wiping said cut and bent wire section against the container blank and clinching it thereto as said second crossbar is driven to its upper position;

• wherein said means for driving the container blank along the path of travel is a shuttle system comprising a horizontal track running below and substantially parallel to the path of travel of the container blank, a shuttle carriage horizontally movable along said track between a first and second position, a shuttle dog pivotally mounted on said shuttle carriage for engaging a container blank in said first position and driving it to said second position, a biasing spring positioned between said shuttle dog and said shuttle carriage for maintaining the shuttle dog in its upward position, a shuttle bar mounted to said shuttle carriage, and a means for driving said shuttle bar and said shuttle carriage reciprocally and horizontally along the track in a timed sequence between said first and second position;
• and wherein said first wire manipulating means is a cutter-bender assembly for cutting a girth binding wire and bending it downward as the first crossbar is driven downward, said assembly comprising a set of parallel cutter blades, a cutter body, a set of wedge-shaped cutter guide plates each having a vertical slot therein mounted on said cutter body and defining a chamber for said cutter blades parallel to said vertical slot, a cutter pivot pin connecting the cutter blades and extending through the vertical slots in the cutter guide plates such that the vertical movement of the cutter blades within the chamber is determined by the vertical movement of the cutter pivot pin in the slots in the cutter guide plate, a set of cam rollers rotatably fixed at the mouth of the chamber such that as the cutter blades retract into the chamber the cam rollers force the cutter blades to close and cut the binding wire, a set of cutter stop blocks attached to the ends of the cutter pivot pin, a set of cutter guide rods attached to the top of the cutter stop blocks and extending vertically perpendicular to said cutter pivot pin, a cutter assembly mounting plate adapted to secure the cutter assembly to the upper vertical crossbar and having two guide holes through which the cutter guide rods extend, a set of cutter biasing springs through which the cutter guide rods pass, said springs being compressed between the cutter assembly mounting plate and the cutter stop blocks to maintain the cutter blades extended and apart, and a set of cutter stop bolts mounted to the frame in alignment with the cutter stop blocks such that, as the first crossbar is lowered, said cutter stop blocks contact the cutter stop bolts at a predetermined position causing the cutter blades, attached to the cutter stop blocks through the cutter pivot pin, to straddle the binding wire and as the first crossbar continues the downward cycle the cam rollers at the mouth of the chamber force the cutter blades to close cutting the binding wire and allowing the cutter guide plates to continue down to bend the cut wire downward before the first crossbar returns upward to its original position.