US2262232A - Tying machine - Google Patents

Description

Nova H, 1941.

Filed Nov. 27, 193'? 6 Shets-Sheet l zz w Q 47 swam too fferberz [10! vey H. HARVEY TYING MACHINE Nova 11, 1941.

Filed Nov. 27, 1937 6 Shets-Sheet 2 Nov. 11, 1941'. H. HARVEY 2,262,232

' 'I'YING MACHINE Filed Nov. 27, 1937 v e Shets-Sheet 3 fferbert Harvey Nov. 11, 1941. H. HARVEY TYING MACHINE Filed Nov. 27, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 9812 J8 I kg 82 61 7 1 a (94 :1 80 13 31 32 41 10.9 1 L}- Swucmkvb 22 152mm ffar'vqy Nov. 11, 1941. H. HARVEY 2,262,232

TYING MACHINE Filed Nov. 27, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Nov. v11, 1941 TYING MACHINE Herbert Harvey, Los Angeles, mesne assignments, to The Calif assignor, by Gerrard Company,

Incorporated, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application November 27, 1937, Serial- No. 176,822

19 Claims.

This invention relates to a tying machine and particularly to the mechanism thereof for wrapping the binding wire around the article to be tied.

It is one of the principal objects of this invention to provide a novel means for wrapping tie wire around an article to be-tied and also in the provision of such means which may be attached to tying machines of the type shown in my copending application Serial Number 76,581 filed April 27, 1936, which application has since issued as Patent No. 2,134,186.

It is a further object to provide a wire wrapping mechanism with an annular frame, and a wire carrying shuttle arranged to travel around the frame, and to provide propelling means for the shuttle whereby the shuttle may operate to carry the binding wire around the object being tied.

A further object is to provide a wrapping mechanism including an annular frame of irregular outline whereby as the shuttle travels therearound, the binding wire will be laid closely upon the sides of the object and thereby leave a miniof slack to be taken up by the binding wire tensioning means.

A further object is to provide an annular frame having a driving chain track-way and a shuttle track-way, chain and shuttle means operating in said traclr ways'and means for continuously driving the chain in one direction, and means carried by the shuttle for engaging the chain which means is normally held retracted from the chain by a suitable control mechanism which mechanism when released will permit the shuttle to be connected with the chain and thereby driven around the annular frame and automatically disengaged from the driving chain upon the completion of its trip. v

A further object is to provide means actuated by the shuttle during its trip around the annu- 'iar frame for firstcausing the second gripper of the tensioning. mechanism to grip the tie wire placed therein and secondly to engage means for placing the tying machine in operation.

A further object is to provide an auxiliary table for supporting the overhanging end of the article, which auxiliary table intercepts the path of travel of the shuttle and is mounted and positioned to be engaged by the shuttle during its travel around the annular frame and swung thereby out of the way.

A further object is to provide means for guiding the first portion of the tie wire during the wraping machine.

ping operation past the second gripper of the tensioning mechanism and which guiding means is retracted to permit the second portion of the tie wire to be wrapped directly therein.

A further object is to cause the retraction of the second gripper guiding means by the action of the shuttle.

A further object is to provide wire wrapping attachments of diflerent sizes for application to a tying machine whereby when a series of relatively small articles are to be tied, an attachment having a relatively small annular frame may be mounted upon the machine and when a number of articles of relatively large size are to be tied, the attachment having the smaller annular frame may be removed from the machine and an attachment having a relatively large annular frame may be mounted thereon.

A further object of this invention is to produce an automatic wire tying machine which will be rapid in operation, rugged in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and adaptable to a wide range of uses.

It will be understood that the wire wrapping means herein disclosed illustrated as of a form which is to be attached to machines of the ty like my copending application or other suitah I types, and it is to be understood that the wrap ping mechanism herein disclosed may be just as readily, and in many cases preferably se, permanently built into any suitable type of ty- It is also to be understood that the irregular annular frame may be of other irregular shapes, or, may be circular in form.

Qther objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the nature of the same is more fully understood from the follow ing description and accompanying drawings wherein set forth what is now considered to be,

It should be undera preferred embodiment.

stood, however, that this particular embodim of the invention is chosen principally for 1 e purpose of exemplification and that variations therefrom in details of construction or arrangement of parts may accordingly be effected and yet remain within the spirit and scope of the invention as the same is set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates a front elevational view of the wire wrapping means of this invention applied as an attachment to the tying machine of the type and form illustrated and disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 153,118 filed July 12, 1937, which application has since issued as Patent No. 2,134,187.

Figure 2 illustrates a top plan view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates an enlarged sectional view taken substantially in theplane 'of line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 illustrates an enlarged fragmental sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 4--4 appearing in Fig. 1 and showing the auxiliary table about to be engaged by the shuttle.

Figure 5 is a front elevational view ofFig. 4 and shows the auxiliary table swung by the shuttle during the wire wrapping operation and shows the tie wire as it would appear during the last portion of the wrapping operation.

Figure 6 illustrates an enlarged fragmental sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 66 appearing in Fi 1.

Figure 7 is similar to Fig. 6 but showing the manner in which the shuttle actuates the trip mechanism which releases the guide means for the second gripper of the tensioning means.

Figure 8 is a fragmental elevational view to show the manner in which the shuttle places into operation the driving clutch for the tying machine and also shows the shuttle as it would appear near the completion of the wire wrapping operation.

Figure 9 illustrates a fragmental sectional view of a portion of the binding wire wrapping mechanism and shows the manner in which the shuttle pawl is released into engagement with the driving chain.

Figure 10 illustrates a fragmental sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line Ill-l0 appearing in Fig. 5, and Fig. 11 illustrates an enlarged sectional View taken substantially in the plane of line appearing in Fig. 10.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary plan view of the so-called second gripper; and;-

Figure 13 is a fragmentary elevation at the location of the latch which holds the wire deflecting guide in its operative position,

In the drawings I have illustrated my new wire wrapping mechanism 20 as. applied to a tying machine 2| of the type illustrated and described in my copending applications Serial No. 76,581 filed April 27, 1936, and Serial No. 153,118 filed July 12, 1937, which applications have since issued, respectively, as Patents Nos. 2,134,186 and 2,134,187, but it is to be understood that the wire wrapping mechanism of this invention may be built into or applied to other forms or types of tying machines, in fact, it is not important to this invention which type or form of tying machine to which this invention may be applied. It is not important to arrange the wrapping means so that it will automatically place the tying machine in operation upon the completion of the wrapping operation as shown herein, as in some instances it may be advisable to maintain the two mechanisms independently of each other, that is, the operation of the wrapping mechanism may be en tirely independent of the operation of the tying machine and upon completion of the wrapping operation the tying machine may be then manually brought into operation to complete the tie.

I have therefore shown only so much of the tying machine 2| as will be necessary to show the manner of operation and the cooperating features of the tying and wrapping mechanisms and will describe the tying machine only in general terms. For other details of the particular tying machine shown, reference is hereby made to the aforesaid applications and patents.

The tying machine includes a main frame 22 having a table surface 23 upon which the article 24 to be tied may be placed. In order to locate the article in correct tying position, an abutment or fence 25 is adjustably mounted upon the table surface 23 (Figs. 1 and 2). The article or bundle may be held in position by the clamping means indicated generally at 26; however, any other preferred form of clamping means may be substituted therefor.

The tie-wire wrapping means 20 is mounted upon the front face of the tying machine and is spaced forwardly a short distance from the wrapping plane of the tie wire. This relation may be observed in Fig. 2. The wrapping mechanism 20 includes an annular frame 21 preferably irregular in form as shown herein. The purpose for making the frame 21 of the wire wrapping mechanism irregular is to reduce to a minimum the amount of slack produced during the wrapping operation, and as a result thereof, the tensioning means does not have to travel as far to take up the same amount of slack as would be necessary if the annular frame were of circular outline. However, in some applications of the machine, it may be advantageous to use an annular frame which is truly, or for the greater part truly, circular in form- The annular frame may be mounted upon the front face of the tying machine by suitable brackets 28 and 29. The annular frame 21 is constructed to provide two independent trackways, the first of which is indicated at 30 (Figs. 6 and '7) upon which the shuttle 3| is operatively mounted by means of four rollers 32. Directly in back of the shuttle track 30 the frame is provided with an angle iron member 33 (Fig. 6) having securely fastened upon its inwardly extending arm a trackway 34 around which the driving chain 35 is arranged to travel. Along the lower straight run of the frame there is provided a guide rail 36 (Fig. 3) to prevent sagging of the driving chain. The driving chain receives its driving power from the sprocket wheel 31 (Fig. 3) fixedly mounted upon the forwardly extending shaft 38. The shaft 38 may be supported upon suitable bearings and driven from an electric motor 39 (Fig. 2).

By this arrangement the driving chain may be continuously driven independently of the operation of the tying machine. Alternate links of the driving chain. are provided with angular driving brackets 40 (Figs. 3, 4, 6, '7, 9 and 10) and the shuttle carriage 4| is provided with a pawl 42 (Fig. 9) normally urged by suitable spring means to engage one of the driving brackets 40 and to thereby connect the shuttle to the driving chain.

At one location, designated station A, the frame of the wrapping mechanism is provided with a control plate 43 (Fig. 9), which normally acts to retain the pawl 42 of the shuttle clear of the driving brackets 40. The control plate 43 is mounted upon a pair of links 44 and 45 (Figs. 3 and 9). The control plate 43 is yieldingly maintained by means of spring 46 in position to hold the pawl clear of the driving chain brackets as shown in Fig. 3, but may be swung by means of the foot pedal 41, and link 48, to release the pawl for engagement with one of the driving brackets of the chain as shown in Fig. 9.

' The control plate 43 is latched in its retracted position as shown in Fig. 9 by a pair of latch members 49 and 50 engaging a pair of latch lugs and 52, respectively. Note in this figure latch 50 is tightly latched to its related lug 52 while there is some clearance between the effective portion oi the latching member 49 and its lug 5|.

Upon the release of the shuttle pawl 42., the shuttle will be connected thereby to the chain and will be carried around the annular frame, and during the first portion of its travel the pawl will engage the forwardly extending end 01' the latch member 49 lilting it clear of its lug 5|, but this will not release the control plate because of the holding eiiect obtained by the latch member 50 with its lug 52. As soon as the shuttle passes by the latch member 49, it will swing under the influence of its spring 53 to again engage its lug 5|. As the shuttle completes its journey around the annular frame, it will engage the extending end of the latch member 50 lifting it clear of its lug 52, whereupon the control plate will move toward the shuttle until the lug 5| engages the latch member 59, but this slight movement will be insufficient to disengage the shuttle from. the driving chain.

The movement of the latching plate just described will prevent the latching member '50 from again swinging under the influence of its spring 54 into latching engagement with its lug 52.

However, when the shuttle engages and lifts the latch member 49 from its lug 5|, the control plate will be free to swing and return the shuttle pawl to its inoperative position, thus freeing the shuttle from its connection with the driving chain. By this mechanism, it will be appreciated that for each actuation of the control plate 43 by means of the foot pedal 41, the shuttle will make one journey around the annular frame and will not be released until it has engaged and released the latch member 49. In fact, the shuttle makes slightly more than one full trip around the annular frame for the purpose of drawing out suflicient tie wire to permit the threading mechanism of the tying machine to carry the cut end of the tie wire from the severing mechanism to the first gripper of the tensioning mechanism without having to pull additional wire through the shuttle.

In Fig. 3 the shuttle is shown just after it has completed slightly more than one full journey around the annular frame and has wrapped the binding wire completely around the article being tied. As may be observed in this figure, the initial portion 56 of the tie wire now extends from its cut end 55, securely held in the first gripper 51, through the twister pinion 58 around the article being tied, until it has reached the righthand corner 24a of the article from which the second portion 59 of the tie wire extends through the twister pinion 58 for the second time and through the severing means 60 to the second gripper 6| in which it is securely clamped and from there to the shuttle.

Attention is further directed to the slack provided in the tie wire in the portion 82 which extends from the second gripper 6| to the shuttle. This slack is provided by disconnecting the shuttle from the chain at the upper end of the control plate 43 and permitting the shuttle to roll backwardly under the influence of gravity to the position indicated in Fig. 3. This slack is provided to supply sufficient tie wire between the shuttle and the cut end of the wire at the completion of the tie so that the threading device in carrying the cut end of the wire to the firstgripper does not-have to pull an additional supply of tie wire through the shuttle.

In Fig. 3, the first and second grippers 51, 6!, respectively are shown as they would appear at the end of the tensioning operation, that is, the two grippers have been moved apart to tension the wire tightly around the article and upon completion of the tying operation, will be returned to their initial starting position as indicated in Fig. 1.

In the operation of the machine, the operator will first manually thread a tie wire 63 through the shuttle and clamp the end 55 thereof securely in the first gripper 51 providing the machine has not been previouslythreaded for operation. It will be understood that it is only necessary to manually thread the machine each time the supply of tie wire has been exhausted. The first portion 56 of the tie wire will then extend from the first gripper 51 through the twister pinion 58 to the shuttle. (Figs. 1 and 9.) This is the normal condition of the machine while at rest, and the attendant may now place an article, such as 24, upon the table surface 23 of the machine and against the fence 25 in position to receive the tie and then may securely hold the article in tying position by the clamping means 26. The machine is now ready to be placed into operation, which may be brought about by actuating the foot pedal 41, thereby swinging the control plate 43 in the manner previously described to connect the shuttle with the driving chain. It will be understood that the driving chain is being driven by its motor 39. The shuttle now will start upon its journey around the annular frame carrying the tie wire around the article. During the initial portion of the travel of the shuttle, the first portion 56 of the tie wire would be wrapped into the second gripper 6| it means were not provided to guide this portion of the tie wire past the gripper; this means will be later described. However, as the shuttle completes its journey and wraps the wire into the twister pinion for the second time the guide means which prevented the tie wire from wrapping into the second gripper will now be retracted, permitting the final por-' tion 59 to be wrapped into the second gripper in which it will be securely clamped. In the manner previously described, the shuttle will be automatically disengaged from the driving chain after completing slightly over one full journey and will thereupon return to its initial starting position as shown in Fig. 3.

The tying machine may be manually placed in operation after the binding wire has been completely wrapped around the article, or may be automatically brought into operation by the wrapping mechanism. I have shown a preferred form for automatically starting the tying machine in operation, and it will be appreciated that this may be accomplished-in a number of' different ways.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a standard form of one revolution clutch 64 commonly used in tying machines for driving the machine through one complete tying operation and then automatically releasing. In Fig. 6 the driving pawl 65 is maintained in a retracted position against the action of suitable spring means by a tripping plate 68; the tripping plate 66 is fastened to shaft 81 having a lever 68 (Figs. 6 and 8) mounted upon its forward end, the lever 68 being yieldingly urged by spring means 69 to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 8 to hold the tripping plate in position to render the clutch inactive. A link 18 extends upwardly from lever 68 and is connected to the front end of the second gripper tripping plate 'Il (Figs. 6 and 7). The rear end of the tripping plate H is pivotally carried by the upper free end of the gripper resetting lever 12. The tripping plate I! is provided with an extension (Fig. 8) arranged to 'be engaged by a spring weighted plunger 13 carried upon the arm 14 of a bell crank lever. The second arm 15 of the bell crank lever ispositioned to be engaged by the shuttle as it completes its wire tying journey around the annular frame. This condition is illustrated in Fig. 8 wherein it will be observed the cam surface I6 extending from the outer edge of the shuttle has engaged arm 15, causing the bell crank lever to rotate in a clock-wise direction, thereby lifting its arm 14 to swing upwardly until the plunger 13 engages and lifts the second gripper tripping plate II thereby performing two functions, first, to release the second gripper into gripping relation with the tie wire wrapped therein, and secondly, to raise the clutch link 18, thereby rotating the clutch shaft 61 through its connection with lever "to swing the clutch tripping plate 88 free from the clutch driving pawl 65, whereupon under the influence of its springs, the driving pawl will be projected downwardly (Fig. 6) until it engages one of the notches 11 formed in the driving member 18 of the clutch. The driving member 18 of the clutch 84 rotates continuously. The tying machine will now operate through one complete cycle of operation to tension tie and sever the tie wire, and just prior to the completion of its operating cycle, the threading mechanism as indicated at 19 (Figs. 1 and 5) will take hold of the supply end of the tie wire before it is cut from the tie, and after the completion of the cutting operation, will carry this cut end of the tie wire to the first gripper where it will be securely gripped by the first gripper of the tensioning means.

The threading device is a part of the tying machine and any form of such device which will place the cut end of the tie wire in the first gripper or which will securely hold the cut end of the tie wire during thewrapping, tensioning, and tying operation, can be employed.

Upon the completion of the threading operation, the clutch driving pawl 85 will engage the tripping plate 68 and thereby become disengaged from the clutch driving member 18. As far as this invention is concerned, any form of tying machine clutch tripping mechanism may be employed and it is only necessary to provide means for placing the clutch in operation when the shuttle has completed its wrapping operation.

In the description of the means for placing the tying machine clutch in operation, it was also pointed out that the second gripper tripping plate H was lifted to release the second gripper into gripping relation with the tie wire placed therein. This is accomplished by pivotally mounting the second gripper jaw 88 on a pivot 88a (see Fig. 12) and providing spring means 88b which normally urge the jaw into gripping relation and providing the jaw with an offset pin 8| which is engaged by the forward end of plate 1| to hold the jaw 80 in its open position (Fig. 6). When the tripping plate 'II is lifted during the placing of the tying machine clutch in operation, the forward end of the tripping plate will be lifted clear of the offset pin 8|, thus releasing the jaw 80 for movement into gripping relation with the tie wire placed therein.

After the second gripper has been released into gripping relation with the tie wire it will remain in such gripping relation until the tying operation has been completed, at which time it will be returned to its open position, under the control of the tripping plate I I, in readiness for the next wrapping operation. In Figs. 6, 'l and 12 the jaw 88 of the second gripper is shown in its open position, being held in that position by engagement of the tripping plate II with the pin 8|.

It will be understood that other means may be employed for releasing the gripper law 88 into gripping relation with the tie wire and suchv releasing means can be directly actuated by the travel of the shuttle. However, I prefer to utilize the actuation of-the clutch releasing mechanism for also releasing the gripper jaw 88.

The arm 15 of the bell crank lever serves a second purpose, mainly to act as a stop for locating the shuttle at station A when the shuttle returns after being released from the driving chain. In Fig. 1, the arms 15 of the bell crank lever are shown'acting in this capacity.

During the travel of the shuttle around the annular frame, the first portion 56 of the tie wire would be wrapped into the second gripper unless means were provided to either retract the second gripper clear of the path of travel of the wire or a guiding means provided to guide the tie wire past the second gripper. I have found it simpler to provide a guide means for this purpose and this guide means is clearly shown in Figs. 1, 6, 7, and 8, and includes a lever 82 having its front end beveled as at 83 and projecting just beyond the downwardly extending end 84 of ,the second gripper 6|, whereby during the wrapping of the, tie wire it will be guided clear of this portion 84. This arrangement of parts is clearly shown in Fig. 6.

The lever 82 is pivotally mounted upon a suitable pivot bearing 85 and is urged to rotate in a clockwise direction by a suitable spring means 86. To hold the lever 82 in position to guide the tie wire past the second gripper, I provide a bell crank lever-having an arm 81 arranged to latch over an outwardly extending member 88 (Figs. 6, 7 and 13) carried by the lever 82. The bell crank lever is yildingly urged to rotate in a clockwise direction by connecting the opposite end of the spring 88 to arm 81. In order to release the guiding lever 82 for movement about its pivot 85 to a retracted position as shown in Fig. 7, I extend the arm 89 of the bell crank lever to intercept the path of travel of the shuttle during its journey (Figs. 6 and '7).

In Fig. 6, the guiding lever and bell crank with its two arms 81 and 88 are shown in normal position, while in Fig. 7 the bell crank lever has been rotated in a counter-clockwise direction due to the engagement of the cam plate I6 with the outer end of arm 89 of the bell crank lever thereby swinging arm 81 of the bell crank lever to free the guiding lever 82 forrotation in a clockwise direction to its retracted position, thereby terial and for this purpose I have found it to be of great advantage to provide an auxiliary supporting table 90 (Figs. 1 and 4) for support- I ing the end of the bundle which will overhang the table portion 23 of the tying machine. This supporting means for the auxiliary table will of necessity have to intercept the path of travel of the shuttle and for that reason must be made to swing when engaged by the shuttle so as to permit the shuttle to pass thereby as shown in Fig. 5. 'I'heconstruction of the auxiliary table 90 is most clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, wherein it will be observed the auxiliary table includes a supporting surface 9I carriedupon the upper end of a supporting shaft 92 and braced thereto by a diagonal brace member 93. journaled upon a swing frame 94, which frame in turn is journaled upon a fixed shaft 95 carried by brackets 96 and 91 extending from the tying machine frame 22. Coiled around shaft 95 is a torsional spring 98 having one end 99 engaging the supporting bracket 9'! and its opposite end I engaging the swing frame 94 to yieldingly maintain the swing frame in a'vertical position and to return the swing frame and its auxiliary table to its upright position after it has been swung by theshuttle as shown in Fig. 5. It is also desirable to rotate the auxiliary table during the time it is swung by the shuttle in order for the supporting portion 9| thereof to clear the shuttle while the shuttle is passing thereby. In this connection note the position of the supporting surface 9I of the auxiliary table as it appears first in Fig. 4 and then in Fig. 5.

To bring about the rotation of the table, a bevel pinion IOI is fixed'to the lower end of the supporting shaft 92 and meshes with a bevel gear I02 fixed upon the outer end of shaft 95. It will be understood that the bevel gear I02 is maintained fixed against rotation whereby as the frame 94 swings the bevel pinion IOI will travel around the bevel gear I02 causing the shaft 92 and supporting surface 9| carried thereby to rotate from its normal position as shown in Fig. 4 to its displaced position as shown in Fig. 5. A shield I03 is provided to enclose the gears IM and I02.

Any suitable means may be provided for directing the tie wire 63 through the shuttle; however,'I prefer to provide a tubular member I04 having mounted on its outermost end a friction means I05 for applying a limited amount of friction to the free passage of the tie. wire therethrough. This friction means may be of any preferred form for accomplishing this purpose. In Figs. and 11 I have shown one form of such friction means which includes mounting between two annular members I06 and I0! three ballbearings I09. The opposed surfaces of the bearing members I06 and I0! are tapered to urge the balls into frictional engagement with the tie wire. This portion of the mechanism'is' mounted within the outer endof a sleeve I09 which is threadedly mounted upon the outer end of the tubular member I. interposed between the end of the tubular memb'er I04 and the annular member I06 is a compression spring IIO actuating to yieldingly m'ge the member I06'against the three ballbearings. 'When the sleeve member I 09 is adjusted to give the proper tension to the movement of the wire through the shuttle, it is locked in position by a lock nut I I I. It is desirable to so arrange the lock nut, sleeve and threaded end of the-tubular member I 04 so that the sleeve cannot The shaft 92 is be adjusted to a position which will completely collapse the spring H0 and thereby clamp the balls so tightly against the tie wire as to prevent the tie wire from being drawn through the shuttle. To reduce wear and to facilitate the feed of the tie wire through the tubular member I04, it is preferable to provide three rollers H2 and to generally direct the tubular member to feed out the tie wire more directly in the plane of travel of the shuttle.

Located upon the tubular member I04 between the lock nut III and the shuttle carriage H is a sleeve I I3 arranged to engage the swing frame 94 of the auxiliary table and to rotate upon the tubular member I04 during the travel of the shuttle past the auxiliary frame, thereby reducing to a minimum the wear between these respective parts.

The operation of the machine may be summed up briefly as follows: An article to be tied is placed in tying position held therein by the clamping means 26 and the wrapping means placed in operation by depressing the pedal 41 whereupon as described the shuttle will be connected to the driving chain and thereby carried around the annular frame. During the first portion of this journey of the shuttle, the guiding lever 82 will direct the initial portion 56 of the 'tie wire past the second gripper. The continued travel of the shuttle will tightly lay or wrap the tie wire around the three sides of the article and during the final travel of the shuttle the second portion 59 of the tie wire will be wrapped into the twister pinion and the severing means, the guiding lever 82 will be retracted in the manner previously described, permitting this portion of the tie wire to be wrapped into the second gripper and at about this same time the shuttle will engage the clutch control means for the tying machine, thereby releasing the second gripper jaw to take hold of the tie wire wrapped and also to place the tying machine in operation. The shuttle will continue until it has tripped the up per latch member 49, whereupon the control plate 43 will be released to bring about the disengagement of the shuttle from the driving chain and the shuttle will return to its initial starting position providing slack in the tie wire as indicated at 62. The tying machine will first in its normal course of operation tension the tie wire surrounding the article, form the tie and cut the binding wire from the tie, and will finally thread the cut end of the supply portion into the first gripper in the manner previously described. The slack provided by the over-travel of the shuttle and that provided during the tensioning operation will supply suilicient wire for the threading operation without requiring additional wire to be drawn through the shuttle and in this way making more positive the threading of the machine in readiness for the following operation.

During the travel of the shuttle around the annular frame, the auxiliary table will be swung clear of the shuttle in the manner described. The bundle having been tied may now be removed from the machine or moved to receive a second tie and the operation repeated.

In operation the machine has been found to be extremely fast and reliable and to tightly bind boxes, bundles of papers, of various sizes and shapes. It is extremely useful in binding loose bundles composed of flexible material such as newspapers and the like, and in this connection, the auxiliary table has been found to be of material assistance in properly supporting the bundle during the tying operation.

As previously stated, where a run of a quantity of small articles are to be tied, a wrapping mech anism having a relatively small annular frame may be mounted upon the machine, and where a quantity of large articles are to be tied, a wrapping mechanism having a relatively large annular frame may be mounted upon the machine, in this way rendering the machine flexible for a great variety of uses.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited to the details herein set forth, but the invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying machine including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, shuttle means mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, continuously operating means for propelling the shuttle around the frame, and control means normally retaining the shuttle propelling means ineffective and operable for rendering the propelling means active for driving the shuttle to wrap a binding wire around an article to be tied.

2. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying machine including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, a shuttle mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, continuously operating means for propelling the shuttle for wrapping a binding wire around an article to be tied, said shuttle'being releasably coupled with the propelling means, and means actuated by the attachment when the article has been wrapped for placing the tying machine in operation.

3. A wire wrapping attachment for a. tying machine including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, shuttle means mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, continuously operating means for propelling the shuttle around the frame, control means normally retaining the shuttle propelling means ineffective and operable for rendering the propelling means active for driving the shuttle to wrap a binding wire around an article to be tied, and means for placing the tying machine in operation when the article has been wrapped.

4. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying machine including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, a shuttle mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, a continuously movable endless band mounted on the frame for propelling the shuttle for wrapping a binding wire around an article to be tied, a releasable connection between the shuttle and the band, and means for releasing the shuttle from the band and placing the tying machine in operation when the article has been wrapped.

5. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying machine including a stationary annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, a shuttle mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, and flexible shuttle propelling means extending about the frame and arranged to drive the shuttle bodily around the frame one trip in but one direction each time said propelling means is rendered effective for wrapping a binding wire around an article to be tied.

6. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying machine including a stationary annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine,

a shuttle mounted upon the frame for travel therearound in a non-circular path, flexible shuttle propelling means extending about the frame and arranged to drive the shuttle around the frame one trip in but one direction each time said propelling means is rendered effective for wrapping a binding wire around an article to be tied, and means for placing the tying machine in operation when the article has been wrapped.

7. A wire wrapping attachment for a, tying machine including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, a shuttle mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, shuttle propelling means arranged to drive the shuttle around the frame one trip in but one direction each time said propelling means is rendered effective for wrapping a binding wire around an article to be tied, and means actuated by the shuttle when the article has been wrapped for placing the tying machine in operation.

8. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying machine including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, a shuttle mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, and a flexible shuttle propelling means extending about the frame and arranged to drive the shuttle around the frame one-and-a-portlon trips in but one direction each time the propelling means is vrendered effective for wrapping a binding wire around an article to be tied, said shuttle traveling in the same direction during each successive wrapping operation.

9. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying machine including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, a shuttle mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, and a shuttle propelling means including a flex ible portion movable in but one direction around the frame and arranged to drive the shuttle around the frame one-and-a-portion trips in the same direction from an initial starting position each time the propelling means is rendered effective for wrapping a binding wire around an article to be tied, said shuttle propelling means permitting the shuttle to returna portion of one trip to its initial starting position, said shuttle traveling in the same direction during each successive wrapping operation.

10. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying machine having tensioning, tying, severing and threading means including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, a shuttle mounted upon the frame for travel therearound, and a shuttle propelling means including a flexible portion movable in but one direction around the frame and arranged to' drive the shuttle around the frame one-and-aportion trips in the same direction from an initial starting location each time the propelling means is rendered effective for 'wrapping a binding wire around an article to be tied, said shuttle propelling means permitting the shuttle to return a portion of one trip to its initial starting position for providing slack in the tie wire to be taken up during the threading operation of the tying machine, said shuttle traveling in the same direction during each successive wrapping operation.

11. A wire wrapping attachment for a tyin machine having tensioning means of the two gripper type, tying and severing means and threading means for presenting the cut end of the tie wire after the formation of a tie to the first of the tensioning grippers; including an annular frame arranged for mounting upon the tying machine, a shuttle mounted upon the frame tending about the frame for driving the shuttle, for travel therearound and operable for wrapand means for disconnecting the shuttle from the arranged to drive the shuttle around the frame with one or more of the sides of the frame inone-and-a-portion trips in the same direction clined toward the sides of the article, a' shuttle from an initial starting location, said shuttle 10 mounted upon the frame for travel he e o n propelling means permitting the shuttle to reand means for propelling the shuttle for wrapturn a portion of one trip to its starting location ping a binding W r oundhe ticle. h Said to provide slack in the supply portion of the wire inclination toward the sides of the article being for use durin the threading operation, means in the direction of movement or the shuttle, for tripping the tensionlng means second gripper '15 whereby to enable the shuttle to wrap the wire when the tie wire is placed therein, and means about an article or rectangular shape with the for placing the tying machine in operation when least amount of slack. the article has been wr 16. In a wrapping and tying machine, an annu. 12. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying lar frame having a driving chain trac ay and a machine having'tensioning, tying, severing and shuttle trackway, an independently rotating threading means, including a stationary annular driving chain operatively mounted in the chain frame arranged for mounting'upon the tying trackway of said frame. a wire-placing Shuttle machine, a shuttle mountedupon the frame for opera ively mounted upon the shuttle travel therearound and operable for wrapping the or said frame, pawl m ns carried by the shuttle binding wire around an article to be tied and for normally active for connecting the shuttle to the moving the wire into the tensioning, tying and driving chain, and a control means for normally severing means, flexible shuttle p pelling means maintaining th pawl clear 01' the chain, nd P- arranged to drive the shuttle around the frame erative for releasing the pawl for engagement one trip in but one direction for each actuation with said driving chain. thereof, and means for placing the tying machine 17. In a wrapp nc and tying machine, a main in operation when the article has been wrapped. f ame having an article supporting suri'ace and 13. A wire wrapping attachment for a tying W s means mounted adj ent he f w rd g machine having tensioning means of the multithereof, m ans for wrapping a tie wire around wire into the tying means and second gripper of 40 m ns nd wung thereby clear thereof.

thereof, means for tripping the tensioning means while 80 Position d. l eond NIPPO 8 lllrfw of the second gripper when the tie wire is placed a d f m he fi sten io ed mrr oe or matherein,'and means for placing the tyingmachine P ng he over maing end portion 0! the arin operation when the article has been wrapped. ticle. a W nning acket la nt-D n! he Pi 14. A wire wrapping attachment for a tyin 1' vel of id a ing ns. a s fo machine having tensioning means of i the two l ly p ting the said second surface 19- gflpperWR-WingJWflinglndMinglheans on said bracket. and s r eans ar anged o article to be tied and for moving the wire into Mud!" arranged thetmmmmdmdmdmm i'ormountinguponthetyingmachineaahuttle sioning means, said shuttle traveling in the same m ggm mg gf gripper, means for tripping laid leeond lripper wrapping operation.

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