GB2089879A

GB2089879A - Twist tie ribbons

Info

Publication number: GB2089879A
Application number: GB8125982A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Ben Clements and Sons Inc
Current assignee: Ben Clements and Sons Inc
Priority date: 1980-12-24
Filing date: 1981-08-26
Publication date: 1982-06-30
Also published as: DE3135580A1; IT8149202A0; CA1177457A; JPS5936704B2; JPS57112443A; IT1142722B

Abstract

An improved twist tie ribbon 11 is intended for use with a mechanical twister which may be powered manually or by electricity or air. The twist tie ribbon is indented 14 for cooperating with a correspondingly shaped feed wheel 12, 17 on the twister. The construction eliminates the problem of slippage in the feed of the ribbon to the twister. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Twist tie ribbons This invention relates to twist tie ribbons.

The use of twist tie ribbon for securing the neck of a plastics bag or other item is expanding very greatly. So many ties are used that it has become economical to carry out the closing operation with a powered twister, the twister being powered either by electricity or air. Where the ribbon is applied by hand it has been traditional to sell the ribbon in uniform cut lengths. Where the ribbon is tied with an automatic device, the device itself cuts, feeds and twists the ribbon. The twister can exert enough pressure on gripper feed wheels to pull and unwind the ribbon from its large wound spool.

Recently, two mechanical twisters have been introduced in the market, the twisters being manually operated and powered. A new problem has arisen due to the difficulty of applying sufficient gripping power to pull and feed the ribbon without slippage from the spool upon which it is wound. It is anticipated that this problem will become even more severe as attempts are made to develop manually-powered equipment to operate at higher speeds and with stiffer ribbon. The present invention is intended to overcome this difficulty without increasing the effort required of the operator thereof.

Embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a twist tie ribbon which can be used in combination with a manually operated mechanical twist tie twister and in which slippage between the ribbon and gripper feed wheels is minimized.

Embodiments of the present invention also seek to provide a twist tie ribbon in which the ribbon is knurled or corrugated.

Embodiments of the present invention further seek to provide a twist tie ribbon having indentations thereon for preventing slippage between the ribbon and gripper feed wheels of a mechanical twister wherein the ribbon is either of standard extruded construction or laminated construction.

According to the invention there is provided a twist tie ribbon for use in combination with a mechanical twister having a feed wheel for the feed of such ribbon therethrough, said ribbon comprising predetermined surface indentations defining a gripping pattern for the feed of said ribbon by the twister, the latter having a feed wheel with a shaped surface pattern cooperating with the ribbon to provide requisite gripping power to pull and feed the ribbon from its supply spool without slippage.

A twist tie ribbon embodying the present invention has indentations thereon designed for reducing or eliminating the slippage between the ribbon and gripper feed wheel in a mechanical twist tie twister. To accomplish this purpose the twist tie ribbon whether of standard extruded construction or of laminated construction has indentations thereon which mate with a correspondingly shaped feed wheel or wheels.

Preferred indentations are in the shape of corrugations or knurling. The metal wire running along the center of the strip may be either straight or corrugated.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of an indented twist tie ribbon passing over a gripper feed wheel, the ribbon in this case being corrugated; Fig. 2 is a view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showing a length of twist tie ribbon passing between a pair of gripper feed wheels; Fig. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of a knurled ribbon passing over a gripper feed wheel.

As shown in Fig. 1, a length of twist tie ribbon 11 passes over a gripper feed wheel 12 in the direction shown by the arrow. The ribbon has embedded along the middle thereof a metal wire 13 to provide strength to the ribbon and to hold the ribbon in place after twisting. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 the indentations are in the form of corrugations 14, the corrugations being spaced and sized so that the ribbon mates with corresponding corrugations 1 6 on feed wheel 12. It is to be assumed that Fig. 1 represents metal wire 1 3 in either straight or corrugated form and ribbon of standard extruded or laminated construction.

In Fig. 2, gripper feed wheels 12 and 1 7 are shown as having channels 19 and 21 along the peripheries thereof for receiving feed wire 13 and encasement 1 8 thereof. Teeth 1 6 and 1 8 of gripper feed wheels 14 and 1 7 respectively mate with corrugations 14 of the tie ribbon so as to provide a strong pull without slippage.

The way in which the corrugations of twist tie ribbon 11 mate with teeth 16 and 18 is more clearly shown in the view of Fig. 3.

As aforenoted, the tie ribbon may also be knurled, and such a construction is shown in Fig. 4. Lines 21 represent knurling, and gripper feed wheel 22 is correspondingly knurled to mate therewith. As is evident, other patterns may also be used such as V-shaped indentations or curved notches. It should be noted, however, that it is not deemed essential that the pattern of the tie ribbon correspond to or mate with the pattern of the gripper feed wheel teeth since the knurled or abrasive texture of the tie ribbon will in some applications provide sufficient gripping power.

As will be evident, the construction shown herein may be realized in paper, suitable plastics such as polyvinyl chloride of appropriate flexibility and other materials.

1. A twist tie ribbon for use in combination with a mechanical twister having a feed wheel for the feed of such ribbon therethrough, said ribbon comprising predetermined surface indentations defining a gripping pattern for the feed of said ribbon by the twister, the latter having a feed

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Twist tie ribbons This invention relates to twist tie ribbons. The use of twist tie ribbon for securing the neck of a plastics bag or other item is expanding very greatly. So many ties are used that it has become economical to carry out the closing operation with a powered twister, the twister being powered either by electricity or air. Where the ribbon is applied by hand it has been traditional to sell the ribbon in uniform cut lengths. Where the ribbon is tied with an automatic device, the device itself cuts, feeds and twists the ribbon. The twister can exert enough pressure on gripper feed wheels to pull and unwind the ribbon from its large wound spool. Recently, two mechanical twisters have been introduced in the market, the twisters being manually operated and powered. A new problem has arisen due to the difficulty of applying sufficient gripping power to pull and feed the ribbon without slippage from the spool upon which it is wound. It is anticipated that this problem will become even more severe as attempts are made to develop manually-powered equipment to operate at higher speeds and with stiffer ribbon. The present invention is intended to overcome this difficulty without increasing the effort required of the operator thereof. Embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a twist tie ribbon which can be used in combination with a manually operated mechanical twist tie twister and in which slippage between the ribbon and gripper feed wheels is minimized. Embodiments of the present invention also seek to provide a twist tie ribbon in which the ribbon is knurled or corrugated. Embodiments of the present invention further seek to provide a twist tie ribbon having indentations thereon for preventing slippage between the ribbon and gripper feed wheels of a mechanical twister wherein the ribbon is either of standard extruded construction or laminated construction. According to the invention there is provided a twist tie ribbon for use in combination with a mechanical twister having a feed wheel for the feed of such ribbon therethrough, said ribbon comprising predetermined surface indentations defining a gripping pattern for the feed of said ribbon by the twister, the latter having a feed wheel with a shaped surface pattern cooperating with the ribbon to provide requisite gripping power to pull and feed the ribbon from its supply spool without slippage. A twist tie ribbon embodying the present invention has indentations thereon designed for reducing or eliminating the slippage between the ribbon and gripper feed wheel in a mechanical twist tie twister. To accomplish this purpose the twist tie ribbon whether of standard extruded construction or of laminated construction has indentations thereon which mate with a correspondingly shaped feed wheel or wheels. Preferred indentations are in the shape of corrugations or knurling. The metal wire running along the center of the strip may be either straight or corrugated. Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of an indented twist tie ribbon passing over a gripper feed wheel, the ribbon in this case being corrugated; Fig. 2 is a view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showing a length of twist tie ribbon passing between a pair of gripper feed wheels; Fig. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of a knurled ribbon passing over a gripper feed wheel. As shown in Fig. 1, a length of twist tie ribbon 11 passes over a gripper feed wheel 12 in the direction shown by the arrow. The ribbon has embedded along the middle thereof a metal wire 13 to provide strength to the ribbon and to hold the ribbon in place after twisting. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 the indentations are in the form of corrugations 14, the corrugations being spaced and sized so that the ribbon mates with corresponding corrugations 1 6 on feed wheel 12. It is to be assumed that Fig. 1 represents metal wire 1 3 in either straight or corrugated form and ribbon of standard extruded or laminated construction. In Fig. 2, gripper feed wheels 12 and 1 7 are shown as having channels 19 and 21 along the peripheries thereof for receiving feed wire 13 and encasement 1 8 thereof. Teeth 1 6 and 1 8 of gripper feed wheels 14 and 1 7 respectively mate with corrugations 14 of the tie ribbon so as to provide a strong pull without slippage. The way in which the corrugations of twist tie ribbon 11 mate with teeth 16 and 18 is more clearly shown in the view of Fig. 3. As aforenoted, the tie ribbon may also be knurled, and such a construction is shown in Fig. 4. Lines 21 represent knurling, and gripper feed wheel 22 is correspondingly knurled to mate therewith. As is evident, other patterns may also be used such as V-shaped indentations or curved notches. It should be noted, however, that it is not deemed essential that the pattern of the tie ribbon correspond to or mate with the pattern of the gripper feed wheel teeth since the knurled or abrasive texture of the tie ribbon will in some applications provide sufficient gripping power. As will be evident, the construction shown herein may be realized in paper, suitable plastics such as polyvinyl chloride of appropriate flexibility and other materials. CLAIMS

1. A twist tie ribbon for use in combination with a mechanical twister having a feed wheel for the feed of such ribbon therethrough, said ribbon comprising predetermined surface indentations defining a gripping pattern for the feed of said ribbon by the twister, the latter having a feed wheel with a shaped surface pattern cooperating with the ribbon to provide requisite gripping power to pull and feed the ribbon from its supply spool without slippage.

2. A ribbon as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said indentations are in the form of corrugations.

3. A ribbon as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said indentations are in the form of knurling.

4. A ribbon as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said ribbon includes a metal wire and said metal wire is corrugated.

5. A ribbon as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said twist tie ribbon is an extruded twist tie ribbon.

6. A ribbon as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein said twist tie ribbon is a laminated twist tie ribbon.

7. A twist tie ribbon for use in combination with a mechanical twister having a feed wheel with a shaped surface pattern for the feed of such ribbon therethrough without slippage, said ribbon including a metal wire extending the length thereof, said ribbon comprising predetermined surface indentations on the opposing faces extending the length of the ribbon and defining a gripping pattern for the feed of said ribbon by the feed wheel of the twister.

8. A mechanical twister having a feed wheel for the feed of twist tie ribbon therethrough, said ribbon comprising predetermined surface indentations defining a gripping pattern for the feed of said ribbon by the twister, the latter having a feed wheel with a shaped surface pattern corresponding with or mating with the ribbon to provide requisite gripping power to pull and feed the ribbon from its supply spool without slippage.

9. A mechanical twister as claimed in Claim 8, in combination with a twist tie ribbon according to any one of Claims 1 to 7.

10. A mechanical twister substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 1. A twist tie ribbon substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.