Strapping device configured to carry out a strap-attachment check cycle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11021282-B2
Application number	US-201816011839-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 19, 2018
Priority date	Jul 19, 2017
Publication date	Jun 1, 2021
Grant date	Jun 1, 2021

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a strapping device configured to carry out a strap-attachment check cycle. After attaching leading and trailing strap ends of a strap to one another to form a tensioned loop of strap around a load, the strapping device is configured to carry out the strap-attachment cycle to test the strength of the attachment between the leading and trailing strap ends and to provide feedback as to whether the strap attachment is satisfactory.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A strapping device comprising:
a sealing assembly comprising a first gripper and an actuator; and
a controller configured to:
cause the sealing assembly to attach a leading strap end of a strap and a trailing strap end of the strap to one another at an attachment area to form a tensioned strap loop around a load; and
after the leading and trailing strap ends are attached to one another and after the first gripper grips a first portion of the strap that forms the tensioned strap loop, control the actuator to cause the first gripper to impose a force on the first portion of the strap in a direction away from a second portion of the strap that forms the tensioned strap loop, wherein at least one component of the direction is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the strap,
wherein the first and second portions of the strap are on opposite sides of the attachment area.

2. The strapping device of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is configured to send feedback associated with a characteristic of the actuator to the controller.

3. The strapping device of claim 2 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine, based on the feedback, whether a strap-attachment condition is satisfied.

4. The strapping device of claim 3 , further comprising an output device, wherein the controller is further configured to control the output device to output an indication responsive to determining that the strap-attachment condition is not satisfied.

5. The strapping device of claim 3 , wherein the actuator comprises a motor, the characteristic is a stall characteristic, the strap-attachment condition is satisfied if the motor stalled within a designated time period, and the strap-attachment condition is not satisfied if the motor did not stall within the designated time period.

6. The strapping device of claim 1 , wherein the sealing assembly comprises a second gripper, wherein the controller is further configured to control the actuator to cause the first gripper to grip the first portion of the strap before causing the sealing assembly to attach the leading and trailing strap ends to one another, to cause the second gripper to grip the second portion of the strap, and then to cause the first gripper to impose the force on the first portion of the strap.

7. The strapping device of claim 6 , wherein the controller is further configured to control the actuator to cause the first gripper to impose the force on the first portion of the strap by controlling the actuator to attempt to move the first gripper away from the second gripper.

8. A method of operating a strapping device, the method comprising:
controlling, by a controller, a sealing assembly to attach a leading strap end of a strap and a trailing strap end of the strap to one another at an attachment area to form a tensioned strap loop around a load;
after the leading and trailing strap ends are attached toone another; and
after a first gripper of the sealing assembly grips a first portion of the strap that forms the tensioned strap loop, controlling, by the controller, the actuator of the sealing assembly to cause the first gripper to impose a force on the first portion of the strap in a direction away from a second portion of the strap that forms the tensioned strap loop, wherein at least one component of the direction is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the strap,
wherein the first andsecond portions of the strap are on opposite sides of the attachment area.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising sending, by the actuator, feedback associated with a characteristic of the actuator to the controller.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising determining, by the controller and based on the feedback, whether a strap-attachment condition is satisfied.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising controlling, by the controller and responsive to determining that the strap-attachment condition is not satisfied, an output device to output an indication.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the actuator comprises a motor, wherein the characteristic is a stall characteristic, wherein the strap-attachment condition is satisfied if the motor stalled within a designated time period, and wherein the strap-attachment condition is not satisfied if that the motor did not stall within the designated time period.

13. The method of claim 8 , further controlling, by the controller, the actuator to cause the first gripper to grip the first portion of the strap before controlling the sealing assembly to attach the leading and trailing strap ends to one another, to cause a second gripper to grip the second portion of the strap, and then to cause the first gripper to impose the force on the second portion of the strap.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising controlling, by the controller, the actuator to cause the first gripper to impose the force on the second portion of the strap by controlling the actuator to attempt to move the first gripper away from the second gripper.

Assignees

• Signode Ind Group Llc

Inventors

• Elliott Dustin D

Classifications

• B65B13/32 Primary

  by welding, soldering, or heat-sealing; by applying adhesive · CPC title

• B65B13/06

  Stationary ducts or channels · CPC title

• B65B57/18

  causing operation of audible or visible alarm signals · CPC title

• B65B57/02

  responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of binding or wrapping material, containers, or packages · CPC title

• B65B13/18

  Details of, or auxiliary devices used in, bundling machines {or bundling tools} · CPC title