The present invention relates generally to manually operated tools and a method of using the same, and more particularly to a new and improved manually operated wire twisting and tying tool which is especially useful in connection with the twisting and tying together of the free end portions of baling wire used in connection with the binding of baled products so as to secure the same in a compacted or compressed state or condition.
Various types of loose material or packaging components are often processed and distributed in the form of compressed or compacted bales so that a greater amount or number of such loose material or packaging components may be stored or shipped within a smaller space. In addition, it is easier and more efficient to handle bales of material or packaging components than to handle the loose material or individual packaging components. When the loose material or packaging components are compressed or compacted into bales, it is generally known to wrap and tie such bales with wire or other similar binding devices or members so as to secure and maintain the bales in their compressed or compacted form while being stored or shipped. Wire is the most preferable binding device due to its low cost and ease of handling and manipulation. One method of conventionally forming a compressed or compacted bale of material or components, and of subsequently securing and maintaining the same in its compressed or compacted state, comprises the steps of depositing the compressible material or components into an automatic baler wherein the material or components are compacted or compressed into a bale by means of a suitable ram mechanism, and subsequently, the bale is conducted through a plurality of spaced wire wrapping stations such that a plurality of wire strands are wrapped around the bale at different locations thereof.
In order to secure together the free end portions of the wire strands wrapped around the bale of material or components, automatic wire twisting and tying apparatus have been used in conjunction with, or as integral parts of, the automatic baler apparatus, however, such automatic apparatus have proven relatively complex in structure, large and bulky in size, and expensive to manufacture. In addition, it is known that, due to the stresses impressed upon and inherent within the baling wires as a result of the wrapping of the same around the compressed or compacted bale of material or components, one of the major difficulties, which is uniquely problematic in connection with the tying together of the free end portions of the baling wire wrapped around the bale of material or components, comprises the fact that the free end portions of the baling wire normally tend to separate from each other. It is imperative, however, that the free end portions of the baling wire are maintained together in an overlapped state both before and during the twisting together of the free end portions of the baling wire in order to define or achieve the ultimately desired knotted structure which terminates the wrapped baling wire and maintains the wrapped baling wire in its secured state or condition upon the bale of material or components. Unfortunately, such automatic machines or mechanisms have not always been able to adequately address this problem or difficulty which has therefore rendered such automatic machines or mechanisms difficult and tedious to use.
In order to reduce the complexities and costs involved in connection with the use of automatic wire twisting and tying apparatus, hand tying techniques have also been employed within the industry. One known hand tying technique comprises the formation of a pre-wound loop upon a first end portion of the baling wire, the insertion of the second end portion of the baling wire through such pre-wound loop, and the twisting of the non-looped end portion of the baling wire around itself. This technique, however, has exhibited several operational problems which have rendered the same undesirable. For example, the termination tie is often inconsistent, leading to an imbalance in the stress levels accommodated by each end portion of the baling wire. In addition, such termination tie has often proven to be insufficiently strong due to poor quality levels characteristic of the twists formed within the termination tie. Accordingly, once the bale is removed from the baler apparatus, the failure of the tie leads to a failure of the bale and the need to reprocess the same. As a result, the industry has not enthusiastically embraced the use of such hand tying techniques and has subsequently adopted the use of manually operated tying devices or mechanisms.
One example of such manually operated tying devices or mechanisms is disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,289 which issued to Johnson on Jul. 13, 1999. In accordance with the teachings and description of such patent, and as disclosed within FIG. 1, which substantially corresponds to FIG. 1 of the noted patent, it is briefly noted that the manually operated baling wire tying device or mechanism of Johnson is generally indicated by the reference character 10 and is seen to comprise upper and lower housing sections 12a,12b. Each one of the upper and lower housing sections 12a,12b comprises a cross-bar section 17, and a pair of legs 16a,16b project forwardly from each one of the cross-bar sections 17. The legs 16a,16b are respectively provided with semi-cylindrical openings 21 for respectively housing bearing members 28 which in turn have hub portions 22 of twister gears 18a,18b rotatably disposed therein. Twister pinions 20a,20b are respectively fixedly mounted within the twister gears 18a,18b so as to be rotatable therewith, and a cover 34 and a locking structure 36 are operatively associated with each one of the twister gear and pinion assemblies 18a,20a and 18b,20b. The outer covers 34, locking structures 36, bearing members 28, twister gears 18a,18b, and twister pinions 20a,20b are all individually provided with a radial slot so as to form together a collective slot 55 into which a pair of wires, to be twisted together, can be inserted.
The twister gears 18a,18b comprise bevel gears, with the teeth thereof being illustrated at 25, and a beveled drive gear 40, having teeth 42 integrally formed thereon, is effectively interposed between the twister gears 18a,18b such that the twister gears 18a and 18b are engaged with diametrically opposed regions of the drive gear 40. The beveled drive gear 40 is operatively connected to a drive shaft 50, and drive shaft 50 is fixedly connected to a crank handle 52. Accordingly, when the crank handle 52 is rotated in a predetermined direction, such as, for example, in the clockwise direction as viewed from the front of the device or mechanism 10 and oriented along the axis of the beveled drive gear 40, the latter is likewise rotated in the clockwise direction. Therefore, twister gear 18a, and its twister pinion 20a, will be rotated in the counterclockwise direction, as viewed along their respective axes and in the direction extending from the axially inner end of twister pinion 20a to the axially outer end of the hub portion 22 of twister gear 18a, while twister gear 18b and its twister pinion 20b will be rotated in the clockwise direction, as viewed along their respective axes and in the same direction as was used in connection with twister gear and pinion gear 18a,20a. Accordingly, since the twister gears 18a,18b and twister pinions 20a,20b are rotated in opposite directions, the wire end portions of the baling wire, which are disposed within the twister pinions 20a,20b, are effectively twisted with respect to each other around an axis which is common to such wire end portions and which extends along the common slot 55 so as to form a twisted termination knot.
While the aforenoted baling wire twisting and tying apparatus operates satisfactorily, it is noted that the apparatus is nevertheless relatively complex and bulky in structure. In addition, while the same is manually operable, the apparatus does not comprise relatively simple structure comprising a relatively small size which would in fact enable an operator to readily hold or grasp the same in his or her hands while subsequently manipulating the apparatus in a relatively simple manner. Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a new and improved manually operated baling wire twisting and tying tool which is relatively simple in structure, and which is of such relatively small size as to readily enable the same to be held by an operator and easily manipulated for the performance of a baling wire twisting and tying operation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved manually-operated baling wire twisting and tying tool or apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved manually-operated baling wire twisting and tying tool or apparatus which effectively overcomes the various operational drawbacks and disadvantages characteristic of PRIOR ART baling wire twisting and tying tools or apparatus.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved manually-operated baling wire twisting and tying tool or apparatus which is relatively simple in structure and which is also relatively small in size.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved manually-operated baling wire twisting and tying tool or apparatus which is relatively simple in structure and which is relatively small in size so as to permit an operator to readily grasp and hold the same and thereby in turn readily permit the operator to simply perform a baling wire twisting and tying operation.
A last object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved manually-operated baling wire twisting and tying tool or apparatus which is relatively simple in structure and which is relatively small in size so as to permit an operator to readily grasp and hold the same and thereby in turn readily permit the operator to simply perform a baling wire twisting and tying operation whereby the resulting twisted and tied or knotted end portions of the baling wire will exhibit uniform consistency, will exhibit sufficient strength in order to withstand the various stresses inherently impressed thereon by means of the compressed or compacted bale of material or components, and will not tend to unravel as is often characteristic of hand-twisted and tied or knotted end portions of baling wire wrapped around the bale of material or components.
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved manually-operated baling wire twisting and tying tool or apparatus which comprises an axially elongated hand-held device comprising an axially central main housing section, a first wire-twisting housing section or handle having a first wire-gripping mechanism fixedly mounted therein, and a second wire-twisting housing section or handle having a second wire-gripping mechanism fixedly mounted therein. The first wire-twisting housing section or handle is fixedly mounted upon a first end of the axially central main housing section such that the first wire-gripping mechanism extends into the first end of the axially central main housing section, and the second wire-twisting housing section or handle is rotatably mounted upon a second opposite end of the axially central main housing section such that the second wire-gripping mechanism extends into the second end of the axially central main housing section. The first wire-twisting housing section or handle is provided with a radially inwardly extending slot oriented in a radial plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the hand-held device so as to permit the pair of wires, which are to be twisted together, to be inserted into the device, and an axially oriented slot extending substantially the entire axial extent or longitudinal length of the device for accommodating the wires in preparation for the performance of the wire twisting and tying operation. An end cap is rotatably mounted upon the second wire-twisting housing section or handle so as to effectively close the second axial end of the device and thereby prevent the wires from being inadvertently disengaged from the axially oriented slot once the wires are disposed within the axially oriented slot, whereupon rotational movement of the second wire-twisting housing section or handle, having the second wire-gripping mechanism fixedly mounted therein, relative or with respect to the first wire-twisting housing section or handle, having the first wire-gripping mechanism fixedly mounted therein, the wires are twisted and tied together. Upon completion of the wire twisting and tying operation, the end cap is rotated in the reverse direction so as to effectively open the second axial end of the device, and the twisted and tied-together wires can then be removed from the axially oriented radially inwardly extending slots. The device is then ready for use in connection with a subsequent pair of wires to be twisted and tied together.