Wire tying tool with drive mechanism

Apparatus for tying a wire knot around at least one object, comprising:

• closing means for closing at least one talon around the at least one object, said talon having a wire passageway therethrough that loops around the at least one object when the talon is closed;
• driving means for driving a length wire from a source of wire through a spinner/cutter, then through the wire passageway of the closed talon to form a loop of wire around the at least one object, and then back through the spinner/cutter;
• opening means for opening the talon to release said length of wire in a loop around the at least one object, said length of wire still being held by the spinner/cutter;
• pulling means for pulling the length of wire to tighten the wire loop around the at least one object;
• control means for controlling the spinner/cutter, including:
• means for holding both ends of the wire loop within the spinner/cutter while twisting the spinner/cutter to thereby twist the wire loop around the at least one object, thereby forming a wire knot around the at least one object,
• means for creating relative motion between the cutter/spinner and the at least one object as the twisting occurs, thereby preventing the wire knot from being too tight and breaking as the wire loop is twisted by the holding and twisting means, and
• means for cutting the wire to release it from the source of wire while holding it under tension as the wire knot is being formed.

A method of tying a wire knot around at least one object, comprising the steps of:

• (a) powering a talon drive in a first direction to close a talon assembly around said at least one object, said talon assembly including a wire passageway therethrough;
• (b) powering a wire drive in a first direction to drive a length of wire first through a spinner/cutter, then through said wire passageway to form a loop, and then back through the spinner/cutter;
• (c) powering the talon drive in a second direction to at least partially open the talon assembly and release said length of wire from said wire passageway, thereby leaving a loop of wire around said at least one object;
• (d) powering the wire drive in a second direction to pull back on the wire loop in order to tighten the wire loop around the at least one object;
• and
• (e) powering a spinner/cutter drive to rotate the spinner/cutter, thereby twisting the wire loop around the at least one object to form a wire knot, and cutting the wire while holding the wire loop under tension as the wire knot is being formed.

A wire tying device, comprising:

• a housing;
• a wire drive having an infeed opening and an outfeed opening;
• a passageway for accepting wire into the infeed opening of the wire drive from a source of wire;
• a spinner/cutter drive operatively coupled to a spinner/cutter, said spinner cutter having a wire entrance and a wire exit, the spinner/cutter drive including means for selectively rotating the spinner/cutter;
• a talon drive operatively coupled to at least one talon, said talon having a wire passageway therethrough, the talon drive including means for selectively enclosing the wire passageway around an object;
• means for transmitting power to the wire drive, the spinner drive and the talon drive, and wherein, responsive to the transmission of power, a length of wire is passed from the source of wire to the infeed opening of the wire drive, through the wire drive, into the spinner/cutter, through the passageway of the talon, and back through the spinner/cutter, and further wherein, once the length of wire has been passed back through the spinner/cutter, a wire knot is formed around the object by transmitting power first to the talon drive to open the wire passageway so as to leave a loop of wire around the object, then to the wire drive to tighten the loop of wire around the object, then to the spinner/cutter drive to rotate the spinner/cutter and form a wire knot by twisting the wire loop and to cut the wire.

A wire tying device, comprising:

• (a) a housing,
• (b) a wire holder in wire feeding communication with the housing,
• (c) a wire drive operatively connected to the housing, the wire drive having an infeed opening and an outfeed opening, the wire drive including a capstan having a capstan drum for transporting a length of wire as the wire wraps around the drum,
• (d) a spinner drive operatively connected to the housing, the spinner drive having a spinner head opening,
• (d) a talon drive including a talon having a channel, and
• (e) a motor transmitting power to the wire drive, the spinner drive, and the talon drive,
• wherein, and responsive to the motor transmitting power, the length of wire is passed from the wire holder to the infeed opening, the outfeed opening, the spinner head opening, and the channel.

A method of tying a wire knot around an object, comprising the steps of:

• (a) closing a pair of talons around an object to be tied and enclosing a channel within said talons;
• (b) driving a length of wire through a spinner/cutter assembly, then through said enclosed channel within the talons, and then back through the spinner/cutter assembly;
• (c) opening the talons, thereby opening the enclosed channel within the talons, to release the object to be tied and the wire enclosed within the channel;
• (d) pulling back on the loop to tighten it around the object;
• and
• (e) turning the spinner/cutter assembly, thereby kinking, cutting and twisting the wire so as to extrude a knot away from the joint while holding the loop under tension as the knot is being formed.

A spinner/cutter assembly for use in a device for tying a wire knot around an object, said spinner/cutter assembly comprising:

• (a) a cylindrical spinner barrel for twisting a wire knot about an object to be tied;
• (b) means for rotating the spinner barrel;
• (c) wherein a rotation of the spinner barrel moves the spinner barrel away from the object to be tied;
• and
• (d) means for cutting a wire from which the wire knot is formed as the spinner barrel rotates.