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
  • B65B27/00—Bundling particular articles presenting special problems using string, wire, or narrow tape or band; Baling fibrous material, e.g. peat, not otherwise provided for
  • B65B27/06—Bundling coils of wire or like annular objects
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H19/00—Changing the web roll
  • B65H19/10—Changing the web roll in unwinding mechanisms or in connection with unwinding operations
  • B65H19/18—Attaching, e.g. pasting, the replacement web to the expiring web
  • B65H19/1842—Attaching, e.g. pasting, the replacement web to the expiring web standing splicing, i.e. the expiring web being stationary during splicing contact
  • B65H19/1852—Attaching, e.g. pasting, the replacement web to the expiring web standing splicing, i.e. the expiring web being stationary during splicing contact taking place at a distance from the replacement roll
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H21/00—Apparatus for splicing webs
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H54/00—Winding, coiling, or depositing filamentary material
  • B65H54/56—Winding of hanks or skeins
  • B65H54/62—Binding of skeins
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H69/00—Methods of, or devices for, interconnecting successive lengths of material; Knot-tying devices ;Control of the correct working of the interconnecting device
  • B65H69/08—Methods of, or devices for, interconnecting successive lengths of material; Knot-tying devices ;Control of the correct working of the interconnecting device by welding
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
  • B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
  • B65H2301/46—Splicing
  • B65H2301/462—Form of splice
  • B65H2301/4621—Overlapping article or web portions
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
  • B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
  • B65H2301/46—Splicing
  • B65H2301/463—Splicing splicing means, i.e. means by which a web end is bound to another web end
  • B65H2301/4634—Heat seal splice
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
  • B65H2701/10—Handled articles or webs
  • B65H2701/11—Dimensional aspect of article or web
  • B65H2701/113—Size
  • B65H2701/1133—Size of webs
  • B65H2701/11332—Size of webs strip, tape, narrow web
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
  • B65H2701/30—Handled filamentary material
  • B65H2701/37—Tapes
  • B65H2701/375—Strapping tapes

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a welding apparatus and a method for joining together two ends of a strap, a strap dispensing station and a process for supplying the strap to a binding system, and a coiling machine provided with a binding system and a strap dispensing station.
• the packaging operation is performed by means of an operation of strapping the wound coil, during which the wound coil is bound using a strap in such a way that the pipe wound up in the form of a coil does not come apart, remaining stably assembled in a compact form suitable for being handled during subsequent packaging and/or unloading and/or storage and/or transportation.
• trap is understood as meaning a substantially flat strip of plastic material, usually polypropylene (PP strap) or polyester (PET strap) which is unwound from a store and fed to a binding system of a coiling machine in order to tie coils of wound pipe.
• PP strap polypropylene
• PET strap polyester
• the strapping operation (binding with a strap) is generally performed by means of strapping apparatus comprising channels for receiving and guiding the strap, inside which the said strap is fed, made to pass around the formed coil and guided back into a strapping head which forms a loop and then pulls and cuts the strap.
• These receiving and guide channels must generally be designed with dimensions having a width corresponding to the thickness of the strap, in order to prevent the strap from bunching up, being deviated or getting jammed.
• the strapping operation is repeated by rotating the coil into different angular positions in order to obtain a plurality of strapped zones of the coiled pipe.
• the strapping machine retrieves as required the strap needed for binding from a dispenser which is situated inside the coiling machine.
• the dispenser has, mounted inside it, a store, for example a reel, for the strap which is gradually fed to the strapping device.
• the strap store (reel) is therefore a consumable source which must be replaced when used up, during the pipe coiling procedures.
• strapping machine and dispenser with the strap store are situated inside a safety perimeter of the coiling machine, defined by protective guards of the coiling machine, forming part of a safety system generally configured to stop operation of the machine if the guards are opened or crossed; the strapping machine and dispenser therefore cannot be accessed when the plant is in operation.
• the procedure for replacing the strap store is therefore an operation which must be performed with the coiling machine stopped, which operation may take a minimum time of about 3 minutes when carried out by an expert user.
• the technical problem which is posed therefore is that of providing apparatus, machines and processes which are able to eliminate or at least limit the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art associated with feeding of the strap for binding pipes wound in the form of a coil.
• One particular aim of the present invention is to reduce or eliminate the downtime and/or wasted material due to the need to replace a strap store required for the binding of coiled pipe.
• a further aim of the present invention is to make the strap feeding operations and/or replacement of the strap store safer.
• a further aim of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a process for joining together several strap sections.
• this apparatus and machine should have small dimensions and be able to be easily installed and used.
• a further preferred aspect is that such an apparatus should be compatible with the pre-existing strapping systems, in particular with regard to the dimensions of the strap receiving and guiding channels and/or should not result in jamming of the said strap.
• Figure 1 shows a schematic top plan view of a coiling machine according to the present invention
• Figure 2 shows a simplified side view of the machine according to Figure 1, from a side on which a strap dispensing station is arranged;
• Figure 3 shows a simplified perspective front view of the machine according to Figure 1 on the side provided with strap dispensing station;
• Figure 4 shows a more detailed view of a strap dispensing station according to the present invention
• Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a strap welding apparatus according to the present invention
• Figure 6 shows a top plan view of the strap welding apparatus according to Fig. 5;
• Figure 7 shows a partial section view, along a vertical plane passing along the line VIII shown in Figure 6, of the welding apparatus according to Figure 5;
• Figure 8 shows a schematic perspective view of a front block with strap positioning slider of the apparatus according to Fig. 5, on a side, directed during use, towards the presser unit;
• Figures 9-14 show schematic detailed views of a sequence of operations for welding strap ends by means of a welding apparatus of the present invention according to Fig. 5.
• an example of embodiment of a machine for coiling pipes 100 according to the present invention comprises:
• a unit (110) for winding pipes in coil form comprising at least one rotating reel (111 ;112) for winding a pipe in coil form;
• the safety system forms a safety perimeter P which delimits a limited-access safety zone Z.
• the safety system may for example comprise a plurality of structures 141 (barriers, doors, etc.) and devices (sensors, alarms, etc.) which overall form and monitor the safety perimeter P, preferably coordinated by a processing unit of the machine in a manner conventional per se.
• the limited-access safety zone Z is a zone inside the safety perimeter and such that access by a foreign body, such as an operator O, inside the safety zone is permitted only in the presence of a predefined safety condition and/or produces a safety reaction by the safety system.
• the safety condition may for example be the fact that one or more units of the machine are not operative and preferably that the machine is completely stopped without winding operations in progress.
• a safety reaction may for example comprise the activation of one or more alarms and/or safety countermeasures, such as in particular that the movement of one or more parts of the machine should not be allowed until the said coiling machine is in a safe completely stopped condition, which is the safety condition generally preferred and stipulated by the relevant standards.
• the winding unit 110 and the unit 120 for performing binding of the coils of wound pipe by means of a strap 1 are arranged in the safety zone, whereby said units may be per se conventional.
• the binding unit 120 is arranged and configured to retrieve the binding strap 1 from a strap dispensing station 130.
• the strap dispensing station 130 is arranged outside of the safety perimeter P and therefore of the limited-access safety zone Z. As will become clearer below, this allows the replacement of the strap store without the need for access by the operator inside the safety zone Z, with a consequent reduction in the downtime and the waste pipe which affected the machines of the prior art.
• the strap dispensing station 130 is arranged in a lateral position on a longitudinal side of the coiling machine 100 and a point P1 for entry of the strap 1 into the safety zone is arranged on a rear lateral side of the safety perimeter P, it is understood that this arrangement constitutes only a preferred example and other arrangements are within the competence of the person skilled in the art.
• the preferred embodiment of the strap dispensing station 130 comprises:
• At least two strap dispenser units 131, 132 each designed to supply a strap from a respective store 131a; 132a, in particular in the form of a reel of wound strap which is unwound by means of rotation;
• the first dispensing unit 131 is connected to the coiling machine so that the strap of the store 131a is supplied to the binding unit via the point P1 for entry into the safety perimeter P.
• a second strap dispensing unit 132 is ready to be connected to the binding system 120, in order to replace the first dispensing unit with its strap store 132a, when the strap store of the first unit is nearly depleted.
• the dispensing station with joining apparatus 150 therefore allows the joining together, in particular hot-welding, of a rear end of the strap supplied from the store (reel) 131a of the first dispensing unit 131 to a front end of the strap supplied from the store (reel) 132a of the second dispensing unit 132, allowing in this way the strap 1 to be supplied in a substantially continuous manner to the coiling machine 100 without the need for access inside the limited-access safety zone Z and therefore without interrupting the pipe coiling and wound coil binding operations.
• the two dispensing units 131, 132 are preferably arranged alongside each other in a direction parallel to the axis of the coils 131 a, 132a of strap.
• the apparatus 150 for joining together the strap ends may be arranged between the two dispensing units, for example arranged in a position situated at the top thereof in the vertical direction, as shown in Fig. 5.
• Each strap dispensing unit 131 , 132 is able to allow the continuous unwinding of a strap 1 from the respective reel 131 a; 132a which for this purpose is mounted so as to be able to rotate about a respective axis relative to a fixed frame of the respective dispensing unit.
• Each strap dispensing unit 131,132 may preferably comprise a plurality of jockey rollers 133 or alternative transmission means which act as a flywheel for more efficient continuous feeding of the strap to the access point P1 and to the unit 120 for binding the wound coil.
• the apparatus for joining together the strap ends is a welding apparatus 150 according to the present invention which will be described in greater detail below.
• the winding unit 110 may be of any known type designed to wind up pipes in coil form and cooperate with a binding unit for performing binding of the wound coil by means of a strap.
• the winding unit 110 may for example comprise two winding reels 111 ;112 arranged alongside each other along a same transverse winding axis Y-Y and each designed to wind up in a coil a respective section of pipe (not shown) input by a pipe-guiding device.
• the two reels 111,112 are only schematically shown in Fig. 1 and not shown in Figs. 2-3.
• the preferred machine according to the invention has a binding system 120 for binding by means of a strap (or “strapping") the wound coil, associated with one or more winding reels 111;112 and coordinated with the movements thereof.
• the binding system which is only schematically shown in Figs. 1-4, may comprise in particular a binding unit (not shown in full detail) which is activated, once winding has ended, in order to perform a plurality of operations for binding the coil in its heightwise direction (axis Y-Y); each binding operation is performed using a continuous strap which is unwound from the strap store 131a of the dispenser unit 131 connected to the binding system 120, made to pass across the jockey rollers 133 which act as a flywheel, fed inside the safety zone X via the entry point P1 and conveyed through a set of guide channels inside which it slides, for example being driven by motor-driven external rollers.
• the strap rotates around the coil, forming a loop, which at this point is still loose and the free end of which returns to the starting point, entering into a clamping, welding and cutting device; at the same time, the binding unit advances, causing pulling of the strap and then closing of the loop around the coil; during the advancing movement, the excess strap of the free end of the loop is again taken up by the jockey rollers which assume again the initial position, thereby resetting everything for a new binding operation in a different position, defined by a suitable rotation of the reel.
• the channel assembly known per se, which comprises (Fig. 1) a plurality of internal half-channels distributed in various angular positions of each rotating reel 11, so that they remain always effectively inside the reel which, rotating, brings in succession each internal channel opposite external half-channels 120b which are instead arranged in a fixed angular position with respect to the two reels, so as to form the closed ring for guiding the strap during each binding operation.
• Figs. 5-8 a preferred example of embodiment of an apparatus 150 for joining together, by means of welding, strap ends 1a, 1b according to the present invention will now be described.
• a longitudinal direction of the apparatus parallel to the direction of extension of the strap ends 1a, 1b to be welded, inserted inside the welding apparatus 150, a transverse direction Y-Y parallel to the thickness of the said strap ends 1a, 1b, and a vertical heightwise direction, parallel to the width of the strap; for the sake of easier illustration, these directions are assumed as corresponding to the directions X-X, Y-Y, Z-Z of the coiling machine shown in Figures 1-3, although, as already mentioned, the relative orientation of the dispensing station 130 and the welding apparatus 150 relative to the winding and binding units may be different.
• a front side provided with strap positioning means, and a rear side situated opposite each other in the transverse direction Y-Y, are defined.
• This apparatus allows the welding together of the rear tail end 1a of the strap 1 of the reel 131a mounted in the first dispenser 131 and connected to the binding system, and the front end 1b of the strap 132a of the storage reel mounted in the second dispenser 132.
• the welding apparatus 150 comprises:
• - positioning means 151, 152, 153 configured for positioning of the strap ends parallel to each other, aligned in the vertical direction and superimposed in the transverse thickness direction Y-Y over a predefined length.
• the positioning means are also configured to allow insertion of the heating means between the superimposed strap ends;
• strap-retaining means arranged to retain the strap ends 1a, 1b in position for joining by means of welding;
• a heating unit 160 provided with heating means for heating the strap ends 1a, 1b designed to heat said ends, in particular to a temperature close to the strap melting temperature;
• the positioning means comprise in particular a positioning slider 153 and strap-guiding channels 151 , 152, extending parallel to the longitudinal direction X-X on opposite sides of the positioning slider 153 and each configured to receive a respective one of the strap ends 1a, 1b to be joined together.
• the welding apparatus 150 may for example comprise a fixed base 154 designed to be fixed to a strap dispensing station and preferably comprising two longitudinal/transverse planes 154a, 154b superimposed in the transverse direction with an interspace 154c between them.
• the strap-guiding channels 151 ,152 are fixed to a front longitudinal side of the base 154, in particular to the top surface of the base 154.
• the strapguiding channels 151 ,152 are arranged on opposite sides of a central transverse axis VIII of the apparatus, so as to leave a space between them in the longitudinal direction.
• a front block 157 (Fig. 10) which carries the positioning slider 153 and optionally an associated actuating unit (not shown) is fixed to the front longitudinal side of the base 154.
• the positioning slider 153 may be arranged in the space situated in the longitudinal direction X-X between the two strap-guiding channels 151,152.
• a vertical surface 157a of the front block 157 directed towards the presser 173 forms a fixed bearing surface for the movement of the said presser in the transverse direction Y-Y and is preferably arranged flush with an inner vertical surface on the front side of the strap-guiding channels 151,152.
• the positioning slider 153 is movable in both senses of the vertical direction between a (raised) position for engagement with the strap ends 1a, 1b, where it keeps the strap ends in an aligned and superimposed position, and a (lowered) position for disengagement from the strap ends.
• the slider 153 may comprise (Fig. 8) a plate extending in the vertical/longitudinal direction.
• each longitudinal face of the plate 153 may have a respective tooth 153a, 153b arranged at the longitudinal end of the slider opposite the respective strap-guiding channel 151 ; 152 and projecting outwards (namely towards the presser 173 or the surface 157a, respectively) in the transverse direction Y-Y so as to act as a bearing surface for the respective strap end 1a, 1b, forming in this way the respective inset seat 153c for positioning the strap end.
• each seat 153c situated opposite to the end provided with a tooth 153a, may preferably be formed as an inclined surface for assisting positioning, inside the respective seat 153c, of the strap end 1a, 1b which is guided by the respective strap-guiding channel 151 ; 152.
• the slider 153 may be actuated for the movement in the vertical direction by a respective actuating unit, for example comprising a cylinder with piston movable in the vertical direction Z-Z and firmly fixed to a bottom end of the slider.
• the strap-retaining means comprise a respective strap-retaining gripper (not shown), preferably situated inside a respective strap-guiding channel 151,152, actuated so as to open and close in the transverse direction Y-Y by suitable actuating means 155, for example of the pneumatic or hydraulic type.
• a pair of blocking springs 156 arranged above the strap-guiding channels on opposite sides in the longitudinal direction of the positioning slider 153, are movable (for example by means of rotation) between: a position for closing at the top a respective strap-guiding channel 151,152, where the associated strap end 1a, 1b is prevented from coming out in the vertical direction; and a position for disengagement from the respective channel, which allows the vertical insertion/extraction of a strap end inside the said channel.
• the heating unit 160 comprises preferably a nose 161 with heating blade 161a, designed to be inserted between the aligned and superimposed strap ends.
• the nose 161 is movable between: a raised position in the vertical direction for disengagement from the strap ends, and a lowered position in which the heating blade 161a is arranged between the two superimposed strap portions.
• the heating blade is in particular provided with heating means, in particular an internal resistance, designed to heat the blade and the therefore the strap to a predefined temperature; for example the temperature may be generally higher than 300°C, in particular about 450°C, and/or very close to the strap softening or melting temperature.
• heating means in particular an internal resistance, designed to heat the blade and the therefore the strap to a predefined temperature; for example the temperature may be generally higher than 300°C, in particular about 450°C, and/or very close to the strap softening or melting temperature.
• the operation for the raising/lowering movement of the nose 161 may be realized for example by means of actuating means, for example comprising a cylinder and piston unit which by means of an arm rotate the nose 161 about a longitudinal pin 164 inserted in supports 164a fixed to the base 154.
• actuating means for example comprising a cylinder and piston unit which by means of an arm rotate the nose 161 about a longitudinal pin 164 inserted in supports 164a fixed to the base 154.
• the movement of the nose is coordinated with the movement of the positioning slider 153 so that, when the heating blade comes into contact with the positioning slider 153, the latter moves towards the position for disengagement from the aligned and superimposed strap ends, allowing insertion of the heating blade between them.
• the (bottom) surface of the blade and (top) surface of the slider 153 which come in contact are configured with a complementary form so as to allow engagement in the vertical direction Z-Z.
• the heating means are preferably activated once the blade and positioning slider are in contact with each other.
• the pressing unit it comprises a presser 173 movable in both senses of the transverse direction Y-Y between a position for disengagement from the strap ends and a position for pressing against the strap ends, wherein the presser bears against the bearing surface 157a of the front block 157 and imparts to the heated strap ends, arranged between presser and bearing surface, a force designed to join them together stably.
• the presser is displaced by actuating means, which may be conventional and are not shown in detail, for example comprising an actuating unit which operates a lever arm which, by means of the movement transmission means connected to the presser, moves the presser 173 in the transverse direction Y-Y.
• actuating means which may be conventional and are not shown in detail, for example comprising an actuating unit which operates a lever arm which, by means of the movement transmission means connected to the presser, moves the presser 173 in the transverse direction Y-Y.
• the two hot strap ends are compressed against the bearing surface 157a with a force suitable for joining them together stably, preferably such as to define a thickness of the welded strap section substantially corresponding to the thickness of the single strap ends 1a, 1b.
• a force applied by the presser may be for example greater or equal to 9900 N.
• a protective housing 180 may be mounted on the base 154 and designed to rotate with respect thereto between an open position and a closed position in which it covers the zone of action of the presser and the heating means, preventing the access of foreign bodies during welding.
• a method according to the present invention for joining together strap ends may generally comprise the following steps:
• a preferred example of embodiment of the method for joining together by means of welding a rear end 1a and a front end 1b of straps 1, performed with a welding apparatus 150 according to the present invention comprises the following steps:
• a rear strap end 1a and a front strap end 1b are inserted inside a respective channel of the strap-guiding channels 151 ,152, bringing them in particular into abutment against the respective transverse tooth 153a of the positioning slider 153 (Fig. 9) so as to arrange the strap ends 1a1b with the respective end parts parallel, aligned and superimposed in the transverse direction over a suitable length, for example greater than or equal to 20 mm;
• the retaining means (grippers inside the strap-guiding channels and retaining springs (156) are brought into the position for retaining the strap ends (Fig.10);
• the protective housing 180 is lowered.
• the heating blade 161 is operated, moving it towards the lowered position (Fig. 10) until the heating blade 161 is brought into contact with the recessed slider 153 (Fig.11);
• the positioning slider 153 moves completely downwards into the disengaging position, where it releases the strap ends and allows the welding blade 161a to continue its lowering movement and be inserted between the said strap ends (Fig. 12);
• the blade 161a inserted between the aligned and superimposed strap ends is heated by means of an internal resistance and heats the strap ends 1a, 1 b (Fig.13) to a suitable predefined temperature, in particular greater than or equal to about 300°C, preferably >450°C, close to the strap softening temperature;
• the presser 173 is displaced (Fig. 14) in the transverse direction Y-Y by means of the actuating means and advances until it bears against the opposite bearing surface 157a, imparting a force designed to stably join together the two hot strap portions, welding them together and flattening them; in particular, the presser 173 presses the strap ends together with a force which may be for example equal to about 9900 N;
• the welded strap 1 is now free and may be extracted from the welding apparatus 150, for example vertically.
• the slider 153 returns into the raised position for positioning new strap ends to be welded.
• the sequence of operations of the method for performing joining by means of welding according to the invention may take place while the winding unit is functioning normally.
• the method allows the rear end 1a of the old reel 131 to be welded together with the front end 1 b of the new reel 131 b; there is therefore no need to stop the winding unit in order to access the safety zone and insert the strap in the binding system 120. Stoppage of the machine is therefore eliminated.
• a particularly preferred embodiment of the apparatus or the method according to the invention allows the strap ends to be joined together by means of welding without increasing substantially the thickness of the strap in the region of the weld.
• a significant increase in thickness of the strap in the region of the welding point would make the apparatus difficult to use in many known strap-binding systems, which have strap-receiving channels with a width the same as the normal thickness of the strap itself, in order to prevent, during normal operation, the strap from bunching up, being deviated or jamming owing to the excessive width of the strap-guiding channels.
• the two strap ends should be heated to nearly the melting temperature and that, by means of the action of the mechanical presser and the force applied, the two ends should be pressed against each other so as to obtain a thickness of the weld corresponding to the normal thickness of the strap.
• a strap supplying process according to the invention allows strap to be continuously fed to the binding system 120, without having to stop the machine 100 or access the safety zone Z, for example in accordance with the following operating steps:
• the first strap store 131a once depleted, may be replaced by a new strap store, the front end of which will be joined to a rear end of the second strap store 132a currently performing supplying, before the said second store becomes depleted.
• the operation may be repeated as many times as needed in order to ensure the continuous supplying of strap to the coiling machine during the cycle for winding pipe into coils.
• the joining together of the strap ends is preferably performed by a welding apparatus according to the invention described above.
• a free rear end 1a of the strap 1 being supplied to the binding system may be advantageously obtained by cutting the strap 1 itself downstream of the associated dispenser 131 and upstream of entry point P1 into the safety zone Z. This operation may for example be performed when the store 131a for the strap 1 being supplied to the binding system is nearly depleted.
• a signalling system of the dispenser 131 may signal the imminent depleted condition of the store 131a suitably in advance, so as to allow cutting of the strap 1, resulting in a free rear end 1a, and welding thereof to the front end 1b of the strap provided in the second dispenser 132, during a subsequent step for winding the pipe in coil form, during which the binding system does not require, nor removes, the strap supplied by the strap dispensing unit 130.
• all the movements and synchronisms of the coiling machine and the strap-welding apparatus may be programmed and controlled by means of a processing unit, which controls the servomechanisms and the various units, including the safety system, and sends commands upon receiving corresponding signals from various position sensors and timers, with which the machine is equipped in a conventional manner.
• the solutions according to the present invention are adaptable also to existing binding systems where the strap guiding channels have dimensions substantially corresponding to the thickness of the strap itself, thereby avoiding jamming of the strap and the need to modify the existing systems with complicated modifications in order to allow the passage of a strap section with a larger thickness.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Basic Packing Technique (AREA)

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• 2021
  • 2021-10-21 EP EP21810101.2A patent/EP4232388A2/de active Pending
  • 2021-10-21 WO PCT/IB2021/059703 patent/WO2022084901A2/en not_active Ceased

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