Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B69/00—Unpacking of articles or materials, not otherwise provided for
  • B65B69/0025—Removing or cutting binding material, e.g. straps or bands

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device for removing packing wires from a bale as described in the preamble to the following claim 1.
• the present invention also relates to a method for removing wires from a bale as described in the preamble to the following claim 9.
• Patent document US 5,680,691 A1 shows a machine in which the wires are caught up by claw-like devices that pass outside the surface of the bale and are inserted between the bale and the wires. As a result, such wires that have penetrated into the bale are missed.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a device and a method that works effectively, irrespective of whether the wires have penetrated into the bale and irrespective of whether the bale is held together throughout the whole operation or separates unintentionally.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device according to the invention in an initial position
• Figures 2 and 3 are a side view and an end view respectively of the device in the initial position
• Figure 4 is a perspective view of the device in a first stage of the method according to the invention for removing wires from a bale
• Figures 5 and 6 are a side view and an end view respectively of the device in the first stage
• Figure 7 is a perspective view of the device in a second stage of the method
• Figures 8 and 9 are a side view and an end view respectively of the device in the second stage
• Figure 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the device according to the invention, with a clamping device in the clamping position,
• Figure 11 is a corresponding view with the clamping device in a releasing position.
• the machine is constructed with a framework 1 that supports the various parts, and a base 2 at the bottom that supports the bales 4 of waste material, for example waste cardboard, that are bound by a number of wire loops 3, for example five wire loops.
• the wires consist of metal wire, suitably steel/iron wire, that is tightly strained to hold the material together and therefore penetrates in practice a little way into the material, so that it is slightly inside the four side surfaces of the bale, namely the front 5, the top 6, the back 7 and the underside 8, that are in addition to the two ends 9, 10 of the bale that are not bound with wire, as the wire loops 3 run in essentially parallel planes that extend vertically when the bale is in position.
• the main shape of the bale is, in the example, a right-angled parallelepiped, that is essentially box-shaped, but other shapes are also possible, for example cylindrical or a shape between the two.
• bales of waste material are deformed, among other things by the tightly-strained wires, which makes special demands of the wire-removing machine.
• the base 2 consists of a conveyor 11 for transporting the bales to the machine and supporting these in position one at a time in the machine for the removal of the wires.
• the conveyor has an inlet end 12, where the bales
• the base can, alternatively, be a sliding plate that is inclined to enable the bales to be slid along.
• the machine comprises a cutting device 15 or wire cutting device that is located at the outlet side 14 of the machine at the bottom, at the outlet end 13 of the conveyor 11 , and is arranged to cut each wire 3 in a cutting stage at a cutting location 16 along a line that extends across the bale on its underside 8, that is at the front and at the bottom.
• the cutting device 15 consists of a circular saw 16 with a motor, that is mounted in a transverse guide 17 in front of the outlet end 13 of the conveyor and on a motor-driven carrier 18 that enables the carrier and thereby the circular saw to move in a linear direction with the saw blade projecting a short distance above the supporting surface 19 of the base 2, that is a short way into the bale, so that cutting of the wires is ensured.
• the cutting device can alternatively be provided with a saw blade that carries out the cutting with a sawing movement.
• a central part of the machine is a device that takes up and removes the wires, which device, according to the invention, has freeing devices or lifting devices 20, 21 for the wires and a driving mechanism 22 for the lifting devices that, in the example shown, consist of two movable spikes. These extend with their longitudinal axes 23 essentially horizontal, in a transverse direction to the plane of the wire loops.
• the driving mechanism 22 is arranged to bring about an essentially linear forward and backward movement of the spikes 20, 21 along their longitudinal axes in order to insert them into the material of the bale and to withdraw them from the material, and also a lateral movement in a transverse direction to the inserting movement.
• the spikes have a lateral movement mechanism, in the example a swing-arm mechanism 24, that is mounted in such a way that it can rotate in a part of the framework 1 that can be raised and lowered (see below) around an essentially horizontal geometrical axis 25, that is essentially parallel to the longitudinal axes 23 of the spikes.
• a lateral movement mechanism in the example a swing-arm mechanism 24, that is mounted in such a way that it can rotate in a part of the framework 1 that can be raised and lowered (see below) around an essentially horizontal geometrical axis 25, that is essentially parallel to the longitudinal axes 23 of the spikes.
• the wire-removing machine has a construction that is of the portal type, in that the framework 1 has two side parts 26, 27 and a bridging part 28, whereby a short tunnel 29 is created, dimensioned to let through bales of varying sizes, with the side parts consisting of two fixed vertical columns 30, 31 , one on each side of the tunnel, and the bridging part consisting of a unit that can be raised and lowered, that is adjusted to suit the height of the bales in question.
• the vertical columns 30, 31 form guides for the bridging part, on which a raising and lowering device 32 is arranged in the form of a linear motor, for example of the hydraulically-operated piston type, on each side.
• the raising and lowering movement of the bridging part 28 is linear and vertical.
• the mounting of the swing-arm mechanism 24 described above is arranged in the bridging part 28 that can be raised and lowered, in the form of two opposing pivot points or mounting positions 33, 34 for two swing arms 35, 36 that are linked together by means of a transverse beam 37.
• the spikes 20, 21 are attached to the swing arms via their driving mechanisms, that consist of a linear motor in the form, for example, of a hydraulically-operated piston 38, 39, where the cylinder part 40 forms the fixed part and the piston part forms the spike.
• the fixed parts are advantageously slightly offset, so that the spikes do not run coaxially and the stroke length of the pistons is selected to be such that, in their fully extended position, the spikes can slightly overlap each other at their front ends 41 , 42.
• the driving of the swinging movement of the swing arm mechanism 24 is achieved by, for example, a hydraulically-operated piston 43, 44 attached on each side of the bridging part, that acts against each swing arm 35, 36 between the pivot point 33, 34 and the fixed cylinder for the spikes, in order to create a turning moment in the swing arms in one or the other direction by means of the forward or backward movement of the piston in the cylinder, the swing arms being arranged to swing between two end positions, these end positions being with the spikes 20, 21 in a withdrawn position and in a penetrating position.
• the machine comprises a pick-up device 45 for gathering together the cut wires 3 and transferring them to a rolling-up device 46, in the following called a winding mechanism.
• a pick-up device 45 for gathering together the cut wires 3 and transferring them to a rolling-up device 46, in the following called a winding mechanism.
• the pick-up device 45 and the winding mechanism 46 are supported by the bridging part and are thereby arranged to move with it when it is raised and lowered, in order to adjust the positions and the movements to the size of the bales 4 in question, more specifically the height of the top 6 of the bale 4.
• the pick-up device is provided with a pick-up tool 47 that is supported by a swing arm 48 that is mounted in such a way that it can swing around a pivot point 49 on the bridging part and can be adjusted between a pick-up position down at the wires 3 and a delivery position up at the winding mechanism.
• the pick-up tool 47 is constructed as a linearly- movable fork with two jaws 50, 51 that can be moved towards each other, which pick-up tool is driven by its own pneumatically-operated piston 52, 53 and is attached to the respective piston rod 54, 55 in order to move in a transverse direction to the longitudinal direction of the wires to a clamping position with the wires gathered together in one place and clamped together ready to be carried to the winding mechanism by the swinging movement.
• the driving of the swinging movement of the pick-up device forwards and backwards between the pick-up position and the delivery position is achieved by means of a driving motor, which, in the example shown, consists of a pneumatically-operated piston 56 that is attached between the bridging part 28 and the swing arm 48 at a distance from the pivot point 49, in order to create a turning moment on the arm by the linear action of the piston.
• the winding mechanism is a reel driven by an electrical motor with a take-up mechanism arranged to take up the gathered-together bundle of wires, when the pick-up device 45 has delivered the bundle to the rolling-up device.
• the winding mechanism has an ejection mechanism that is driven by a small hydraulically-operated piston 57, for ejecting the rolled-up wire that is then caught up by a chute 58 (see Figure 10), that leads to a collection location for rolled-up wire waste, for example a container, that is not shown.
• the machine is provided with a clamping rod 61 , see Figures 2 and 5, that extends backwards on fixed arms 62 from the transverse beam 60. The function of the rod 61 is described below.
• FIGS 10 and 11 show an alternative embodiment of the wire-removing machine, that is here supplemented by a clamping device 59 for the bales in the position for removing the wire.
• a mechanical stop mechanism is not needed, as the bales are stopped on the conveyor 19 by the control system of the machine comprising a control unit (control computer) (not shown) and position sensors, whereby one bale at a time is stopped in the wire-removal position, see for example Figures 1, 2 and 10, with the bale 4 protruding slightly beyond the outlet end 13 of the conveyor 19.
• the clamping device 59 can, to a certain extent, serve as an auxiliary stop, but its primary function is to ensure that the bale stays together, even while the wire is being removed, so that sections of waste material do not end up in the machine and its base.
• the clamping device 59 consists of a clamping gate arranged to pivot on the bridging part 28, for example on a lateral beam 60, which clamping gate is adjustable by rotating it around a horizontal axis between a locked clamping position according to Figure 10 and a withdrawn released position according to Figure 11.
• the method for removing wire by means of the wire-removing machine will now be described briefly.
• the bales 4 bound by wire are loaded one at a time onto the conveyor 19 at the inlet end 12 and are fed forward in stages to the wire-removing position, that is the conveyor is driven by means of the control system for intermittent feeding determined by the cycle time of a wire-removing operation, during which the bales are stationary.
• the device for taking up and removing the wire that can be raised and lowered, called the wire-removing unit in the following, is in a withdrawn initial position, see Figures 1-3, supported by the bridging part 28 that can be raised and lowered.
• the lifting devices 20, 21, that is the spikes are in their retracted position with a space between the ends 41 , 42 exceeding the width of the largest bale, and the pick-up device 45 is pivoted up into an initial position behind the winding mechanism 46.
• the cutting device 15 is also in a withdrawn initial position.
• the spikes are shown protruding in Figures 1 and 3, which is possible provided that the bridging part 28 is in its upper position.
• the driving mechanism for the lowering movement of the bridging unit is activated until a selected relative position is reached, for example by the bridging part resting on the top of the bale, for example with the transverse beam 37, that thereby also holds and stabilizes the bale and advantageously creates a small space between the beam 60 and the top 6 of the bale 4 and thereby does not clamp the wires 3.
• the relative position is precisely adjusted for the different functions, such as the height of the spikes relative to the top of the bale, so that when the spikes are ready to penetrate the material, they are well below the wires that are on the top of the bale, advantageously above the center of the bale, but, however, at a distinct perpendicular distance from the surface of the bale, in the example, the abovementioned side surfaces 5-8, with, however, a certain orientation towards the top.
• the driving mechanism is then activated, that is the pistons, for the linear penetrating movement of the spikes into the material of the bale along the longitudinal axes 23 of the spikes in a direction towards each other, until they are slightly overlapping, see Figure 6, below the parts of the wire that are to be supported and raised.
• the next stage is cutting of the wires 3, for which the circular saw is caused to rotate and is driven on the carrier 18 with a linear movement and with the saw blade penetrating slightly into the bale in a direction transverse to this, whereby it is ensured that the wires are cut.
• the driving mechanism of the lifting movement of the lifting devices that is the spikes 20, 21
• the pistons for rotating the swinging mechanism 35 upwards are activated, so that the spikes are caused to carry out their lateral movement, in the example an arc-shaped parallel movement upwards and forwards through the material of the bale that has been separated by the spikes at least in their path of movement, so that the lifting devices make contact with the wires 3 from inside the bale and lift the wires and hold these up on the top of the spikes.
• the movement component forwards is as large or larger than the upward movement component, which provides a very favorable releasing movement for the wires, which could stick if there was relatively high friction and could be liable to break if the pulling force was too large.
• the wires are released most easily from in front and are thus caused to first leave the front and top of the bale.
• the rod 61 forms a clamp for the wires so that these do not burst open in an uncontrolled way.
• the rod being positioned within the sector of movement of the spikes, that is the angular area and radius, so that the wires are forced to be bent over the spikes and extend relatively uniformly.
• the pick-up device 45 is activated and swings down with the pick-up tool 47 open towards the wires, with a jaw width that is approximately the width of a bale.
• the tool is activated, that is the jaws are closed into the clamping position with the wires clamped together in one place.
• the swinging movement of the pick-up device 45 is activated and the pick-up tool moves upwards carrying the wires to the winding mechanism, and goes past this so that the wires are laid over the reel of the winding mechanism, whereupon this is activated to roll up the wires. If these have not already been pulled up from the underside of the bale, this takes place during the rolling up.
• the rolled-up wires can be ejected and fall down into a chute 58.
• the wire-removing unit with its parts is reset to the initial position, that is the spikes are withdrawn and swung down to the initial position and the bridging part 28 or the ramp is raised to be able to receive the next bale.
• a separate lifting mechanism with its own driving mechanism that has its own movement and is based on the lifting devices penetrating deep into the material of the bale, making contact with the wires and raising these in order for them to be picked up and gathered together.
• the spikes can be raised with a linear movement, suitably diagonally forwards and upwards. Instead of being offset laterally, it is possible for the spikes to move in a coaxial direction and, instead of overlapping, they can meet in the inserted position.
• the spikes can be replaced by flat elements, for example a sword-shaped element, that can penetrate into the bale.
• the pick-up device and the winding mechanism can be implemented in a different way, as can the cutting device for the wires. These can, for example, be cut or sawn through with a forward and backward sawing movement.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Control And Other Processes For Unpacking Of Materials (AREA)

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• 2004
  • 2004-12-16 SE SE0403071A patent/SE528039C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2005
  • 2005-12-15 EP EP05819078A patent/EP1824742A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-12-15 WO PCT/SE2005/001940 patent/WO2006065222A1/en not_active Ceased

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