EP0023478A1

EP0023478A1 - A wire tying tool for preferably longitudinally extending members

Info

Publication number: EP0023478A1
Application number: EP80850114A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sixten Einar Sjögelid; Stig Urban Lindberg
Original assignee: GLIM AB
Current assignee: GLIM AB
Priority date: 1979-07-27
Filing date: 1980-07-22
Publication date: 1981-02-04
Also published as: SE7906438L; SE429534B

Abstract

A tool for binding and tying preferably longitudinally extending members (15. 15') by means of bare or covered metallic wire (10), said tool being driven by means of energy from an outer energy source, such as an electrical, pneumatical or other energy source, feeding a drive motor in the tool, said tool including a rotatably arranged wire guide (6) at an operational end portion of the tool, having a curved sector not exceeding 180° removed, and a through hole (8) extending between two side planes of the wire guide (6) in a mainly opposed position to the removed section, a trigger device (3), when manually operated, being arranged to actuate a feeding means (12, 12'), arranged to insert the free end portion of the wire (10) stored on a wire hopper (2) in the handle of the tool through the hole (8) located in the wire guide (6), whereafter the wire guide (6) is arranged to perform a rotary movement in the region of 360°, during the initial stage of said movement locking the free end portion of the wire (10) to the wire guide (6), said wire (6) during progress of said rotary movement being moved around the members (15, 15') to be bound and tied, a wire cutting member (16) and a wire twisting means (17) being arranged to be activated as a final step in each operational sequence, thus joining the free end portions of the wire (10) surrounding the members (15, 15') by means of a twisting operation.

Description

The invention relates to a wire tying tool for preferably longitudinally extending members, arranged to secure said members in an adjacent position to each other by means of a wire tie.
For various purposes, it is often desired to tie or bind individual members together, usually with soft metal wire being used as a binding means. As a first example can be mentioned binding of rods, pipes or similar objects, the wire being applied one or a number of turns around the objects, whereafter the free wire ends are twisted together a number of turns with a pair of pliers or similar type of tool. A second example is binding of electrical wires, which is carried out correspondingly, but with a plastic covered wire normally being used for the tie. A third example is tying together two, or a number of, steel reinforcement bars, extending in a parallel relationship or crosswisely to each other, and in the latter case the wire turn is applied diagonally at the point of intersection, whereafter the free wire ends are twisted together with a pair of pliers. A further example is attachment of plastic pipes in a building being erected, to be used for electrical wiring purposes. The pipes are now being attached by a wire joining the pipe to a suitable supporting member, the free ends of the wire thereafter being manually twisted together with the use of a pair of pliers.
The above described method for binding and tying is timeconsuming and causes fatigue, particularly with regard to the wrists and the muscles in the lower part of the arm. It has been proposed to use short wires having loops at the free end portions, said wires being formed to surround the objects to be bound, whereafter a hook is inserted into the loops and rotated, thereby twisting together the free end portions of the wire. However, this method is also timeconsuming and causes also fatigue with regard to hands and arms for the person performing the operation. More complicated devices, intended to bind or tie together longitudinally extending members, have also been proposed, e.g. as disclosed in Swedish Patents Nos. 172.283, 194.026, and U.S. Patents Nos. 3.368.590 and 3.570.563. However, all these previously known types of devices have disadvantages and weaknesses that restrict the field of use, reliability and ease of handling. As a result thereof, none of said devices is being used, i.e. the previously described manual method involving the use of wire and a pair of pliers is still the only method used to a large extent for binding or tying longitudinal extending members, e.g. steel fixing operations.
The invention as claimed relates to a tool, eliminating the disadvantages which prevented practical use of previously proposed types of tools. The tool claimed has small dimensions at the part where the tying operation is performed, whereby the tool can be used in areas with restricted space. A simple mechanical design makes the tool resistant against outside forces, dirt and grit, and makes it also extremely reliable. The tool can also be used in all known field of application, the only modification necessary being a change of the size for the active part of the tool, i.e. by reducing or enlarging said part. the tool is also arranged to faciliate binding and tying operations for both parallel and crosswisely extending members, and also members that intersect at any angle therebetween.
The tool as claimed has a number of further advantages, e.g. the wire length necessary for a binding and tying operation is automatically adjusted to the circumference of the objects to be joined. Hereby is a minimum of wire used, which causes maximum economy. Furthermore, a tool can be "loaded" with a large quantity of wire, whereby the number of interruptions for reloading is kept to a minimum for a given number of tying operations. An important advantage is that the tool can be used to accomplish diagonally extending ties crossing each other at the point of intersection for elements extending in any angular relationship to each other. The tool has also a uniquely designed ring-shaped handle and trigger device, arranged to faciliate correct operation from physiological and ergonomical point of view, and the ring-shaped handle is also arranged to serve as a hopper for the wire, which simplifies manufacture, and thus also reduces the manufacturing cost.
A basic embodiment of a tool according to the invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a tool in accordance with the invention,
Figure 2 is a schematical view of the tool shown in figure 1, viewed from below when the tool is arranged in contact with two crosswisely extending members, which are to be tyed together,
Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the active part of the tool during a first stage of a tying operation, and
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to figure 3, showing a final stage of a tying operation.

With reference to the embodiment of a tool according to the invention as shown in figure 1, it includes a housing 1, surrounding a not shown drive source, such as an electrical or pneumatical motor, or any other previously known type of drive source. The housing 1 includes a mainly circular handle member, a drum- or ring-shaped wire hopper 2 being rotatably and detachably attached to the handle member. Centrally located within the ring-shaped handle member is a manually operable trigger device 3 arranged. The lower part of the housing 1, which includes the active parts of the tool, is arranged with a preferably circular and plane contact surface 4, from which a mainly U-shaped guiding member 5 extends. Said guiding member 5, and the lower part of the housing 1, are arranged with a circular guiding groove in which a ring-shaped wire guide 6 is rotatably arranged. Said wire guide 6 is arranged with a surrounding gear rim, and a portion of the wire guide 6 has been removed, preferably corresponding to the distance between the legs of the U-shaped guiding member 5. When the wire guide is rotated in relation to the housing 1 and the guiding member 5, the internal peripheral surface of the wire guide 6 is preferably used as a gliding bearing surface, co-acting with the guiding groove taken up in the housing 1 and the guiding member 5. Two cog wheels 7, 7' are arranged in the housing 1, co-acting with the toothed gear rim on the wire guide, the angle between the centre of rotation for the wire guide 6 and the centres of rotation for the cog wheels 7, 7' being arranged to exceed the angle formed between the centre of rotation for the wire guide 6 and the opposed edge portions in the recess arranged in the wire guide 6. Furthermore, the ring-shaped wire guide 6 is also arranged with a through hole 8, extending between the side surfaces of the wire guide 6, said hole 8 being located angularly displaced in the direction of rotation for the wire guide 6 when located in an initial position as shown in figures 1 and 2. A recess 9 is arranged adjacent to one side plane of the wire guide 6, said recess extending from the hole 8 in an opposed direction to the direction of rotary movement for the wire guide 6.
With reference to the initial position as shown in figures 1 and 2, a wire 10 from the wire hopper 2 is arranged extending through a nozzle 11 to two feeding rollers 12, 12', in front of which a deflecting member 13 is arranged. The drive source, surrounded by the housing 1, is connected to an electrical, pneumatical or other suitable power source by means of a partly shown connecting device 14, and is brought into function when trigger device 3 is manually operated.
This causes the feeding rollers 12, 12' to feed the wire 10 via the deflecting member 13 in direction towards the hole 8 in the wire guide 6 to a position, in which the free end portion of the wire 10 extends through the wire guide 6 into the recess 9.
The feeding rollers 12, 12' are thereafter released from the wire 10, whereafter a rotary movement is initiated for the wire guide 6 relatively the housing 1 and the guiding member 5. The tool should obviously now be placed with the contact surface 4 arranged in contact with one of the members 15, 15' to be bound or tied, said members 15, 15' being located in a position embraced by the guiding member 5. When the rotary movement of the wire guide 6 is initiated, the free wire end takes up contact with a second recess in the housing 1, located adjacent to the recess 9 in the wire guide 6, and the free wire end is bent over. The free wire end is hereby locked to the wire guide 6, and when said wire guide 6 performs its rotary movement, the wire is moved around the members 15, 15' to be joined, as shown in figure 3.
When the wire guide 6 has completed a rotary movement of 360°, the wire guide 6 is released from the drive source in the housing 1, whereafter said drive source is connected to influnce a wire cutting member 16, and also connected to move forward a wire twisting means 17 in direction towards the members 15, 15' and the end portions of the wire 10 pulled around the members 15, 15'. Said wire twisting means 17 is thereafter brought to rotate by means of the drive source in the housing 1, whereby the end portion of the wire 10 inserted into the hole 8 in the wire guide 6 is pulled back and the free wire ends are thereafter twisted together, as shown in figure 4.
When the twisting operation has been completed, the wire twisting means 17 is moved back to the original position, whereafter a new binding and tying operation can be performed.
It should be noted, that the length axis for the wire twisting means 17, and thus also the axis of linear and rotary movement, is arranged inclined in relation to the vertical plane through the axis of rotary movement for the wire guide 6. As a result, and also due to the fact that the hole 8 in the wire guide 6 is arranged angular displaced in the same direction, the twisted part of the wire 10 will extend from the joined members 15, 15' at a point displaced in relation to the centre of the member 15 which is located adjacent to the twisted portion. This fact makes it possible to carry out further binding and tying operations for members arranged extending crosswisely in relation to each other, the portion twisted together first not preventing application of the tool in a second position of application, mainly perpendicular to the first position of application, since the first portion twisted together will not prevent formation of a second twisted portion, extending inclined from the members 15, 15' in a different angular direction in relation to the portion twisted together first.
The cog wheels 7, 7' in the housing 1, arranged to accomplish a rotary movement for the wire guide 6, are advantageously joined with for example chain wheels, arranged to be driven in a known way by a contnous chain by means of the drive source in the housing, e.g. an electrical motor arranged to drive the chain in a previously known way.
The functions disclosed above are preferably sequentially coupled, i.e. with the feeding rollers 12, 12', the wire guide 6, the wire cutting member 16, and the wire twisting means 17 arranged driven in sequential steps from the motor in the housing 1 by use of previously known transmission and coupling techniques.
The previously discussed trigger device 3, arranged to initiate a binding and tying operation, is preferably arranged to faciliate initiation from either side, e.g. by means of a trigger button operable from either side, which when depressed initiates a work cycle from the motor in the housing 1, which thereafter in sequential steps drives the members to accomplish intended functions.
The described and shown embodiment of a tool according to the invention is only intended to serve as a basic example of an emodiment within the scope of the inventive thought, in view of the fact that a large number of modifications can be made to accomplish the sequentially guided functions. As important and characteristic features can be stated, that the wire 10 is inserted into a through hole 8 extending between two side planes of the wire guide 6, that the wire 10 is secured to the wire guide 6 when the rotary movement of same is initiated, and that the wire 10, when moved around the members 15, 15' to be bound and tied, is cut off, whereafter the free wire ends are twisted together, during which latter operation the wire end secured the wire guide 6 also is released. An important feature is also the "overlapping" position for the free end portions of the wire 10 achieved due to the position of the hole 8 in the wire guide in relation to the point in the tool where the wire 10 leaves the guiding members for the wire 10, and also the way in which the free end portion of the wire 10 is secured to the wire guide 6, as soon as the rotary movement of the wire guide 6 is initiated.

Claims

1. Tool, arranged to bind and tie preferably longitudinally extending members (15, 15') such as rods, e.g. steel reinforcement,bars, pipes, cables, ribbs, wires, ropes or similar by means of bare or covered metallic wire (10), driven be means of energy from an outer energy source such as a mains electric circuit, mobile accumulator or compressor feeding a drive motor in the tool, characterised in
that a ring-shaped wire guide (6) is rotably arranged at an operative end portion of the tool, having an external curved section with an angle of less than 180⁰removed, said wire guide (6) being arranged to perform a 360° rotary movement by influence from the drive motor, the wire guide (6) including a through hole (8) located in a mainly opposed position to the removed curved section, the member in which the wire guide (6) is rotatably arranged having an opening with an angle mainly corresponding to the angle for the removed section at the wire guide (6), the free end portion of the wire (10) intended to surround the members (15, 15') being moved to the hole (8) substantially perpendicularly to the side plane of the wire guice (6).

2. A tool as claimed in claim 1, in which the insertion hole (8) of the wire guide (6) in a first position is located after the point, with regard to the direction of rotation for the wire guide (6), where the wire (10) intended to form a surrounding joint leaves the stationary part of the tool, thereby forming an overlapping intersection for the wire (10) when the wire guide (6) has rotated one revolution from the first position.

3. A tool as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which a wire twisting means (17), driven by the motor in the tool, is arranged with seizing members at the point of intersection formed when the wire guide (6) has rotated one. revolution as from the first position..

4. A tool as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, in which a ring-shaped wire hopper (2) is arranged to serve as a handle for the complete tool.

5. A tool as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, in'which a trigger device (3) for the work cycle of the tool, preferably being a from either side operable push button, is arranged located with its centre at the centre of the wire hopper (2).

6. A tool as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, in which a wire cutting member (16), driven by the motor of the tool, is arranged with the cutting means located immediately after the point in the tool where the wire (19) intended to form the joint leaves the stationary part of the tool, said location being related to the direction in which the wire guide (6) feeds the wire (10).

7. A tool as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, in which the tool includes a plane contact surface (4), preferably having a mainly circular configuration, a mainly U-shaped guiding member (5) for the wire guide (6) being arranged extending from said contact surface (4).

8. A tool as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, in which the tool includes a wire feeding means (12, 12'), arranged to perform as a first sequential step a feeding motion of the wire (10), when the triggering device (3) is activated, thereby feeding the wire to a position in which the free end portion of the wire estends out from the hole (8) in the wire guide (6) in a direction from the side plane which is opposed to the plane adjacent to the feeding means (12, 12'), said utwardly extending portion being faciliated by means of,a 'recess in the guiding member (1) for the wire guide (6) which is adjacent to the hole (8) in a first position, said wire guide (6) also being arranged with a recess in the side plane from which the free end portion of the wire (10) extends, the latter recess being arranged extending from the hole (8) in a direction opposed to the direction of rotary movement for the wire guide (6), an initiated rotary movement of the wire guide (6) being arranged to fold over the free end portion of the wire (10), thus fixing the end portion of the wire (10) to the wire guide (6).

9. A tool as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, in which the wire twisting means (17) is arranged with the axis of rotation inclined in relation to the plane of the contact surface (4).

10. A tool as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9, in which the wire guide (6) is arranged with a surrounding gear rim, said gear rim being arranged to co-act with at least one of two, or a number of, cog wheels (7, 7') located within the housing (1) of the tool, arranged driven by a motor in said housing (1), the outermost of said cog wheels (7, 7') being positioned in an internal angular relationship from the centre of rotation for the wire guide (6) which exceeds the angle between said centre of rotation and the facing surfaces of the opening in the wire guide (6).