Machine for fabricating a continuous loop of twine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12371823-B1
Application number	US-202418645637-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Apr 25, 2024
Priority date	Apr 25, 2024
Publication date	Jul 29, 2025
Grant date	Jul 29, 2025

Abstract

A threading machine performs a method for creating a continuous loop of twine. A plate has a first face, a second face opposite the first face, and a hole therethrough. A ring gear is disposed on the first face and rotates about a central axis aligned with the hole. A drive pulley unwinds the thread from a spool on the ring gear and through the central axis of the ring gear in a threading direction. The drive pulley directs the thread through the ring gear a plurality of times. The ring gear is held stationary as the drive pulley unwinds the thread during a first manufacturing step to form a core of the continuous loop and rotates as the drive pulley unwinds the thread during a second manufacturing step to wrap the thread around the core to form an outer wrap around the core.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a continuous loop of twine, comprising:
unwinding a thread from a spool disposed on a ring gear to pass through a central axis of the ring gear in a threading direction;
threading the thread around the ring gear to pass through the central axis a plurality of times in the threading direction during a first manufacturing step via a drive pulley, wherein the ring gear is held stationary during the first manufacturing step to form a core of the loop; and
rotating the ring gear while the thread is unwinding from the spool during a second manufacturing step to wrap the thread around the core as the core passes through the central axis in the threading direction, thereby forming an outer wrap around the core.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising rotating the ring gear via a ring drive motor and rotating the drive pulley via a thread circulation motor, further comprising selecting a first velocity of the ring drive motor and a second velocity of the thread circulation motor to obtain a selected wrap angle of the outer wrap around the core.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting a location of a tension pulley to adjust a tension of the thread.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ring gear is disposed on a first face of a plate with the central axis of the ring gear that is concentric with a hole in the plate.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising removing the continuous loop from the ring gear through a gap in a base circle of the ring gear and a slit in the plate.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising closing the gap with a hinged door to manufacture the continuous loop and opening the gap to remove the continuous loop.

7. A system for manufacturing a continuous loop of twine, comprising:
a ring gear rotatable about a central axis;
a spool disposed on the ring gear, the spool including a thread; and
a drive pulley for unwinding the thread from the spool and through the ring gear through the central axis of the ring gear in a threading direction, where the drive pulley directs the thread through the ring gear a plurality of times;
wherein the ring gear is held stationary as the drive pulley unwinds the thread during a first manufacturing step to form a core of the continuous loop and rotates as the drive pulley unwinds the thread during a second manufacturing step to wrap the thread around the core to form an outer wrap around the core.

8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising a ring drive motor for rotating the ring gear and a thread circulation motor for rotating the drive pulley, wherein a first velocity of the ring drive motor and a second velocity of the thread circulation motor are selected to obtain a selected wrap angle of the outer wrap around the core.

9. The system of claim 7 , further comprising a tension pulley for adjusting a tension of the thread.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the ring gear is disposed on a first face of a plate with the central axis of the ring gear that is concentric with a hole in the plate.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the ring gear includes a base circle and a gap in the base circle and the plate includes a slit extended from an edge of the plate to the hole.

12. The system of claim 11 , further comprising a hinged door that can be set in a first position to close the gap for manufacturing the continuous loop and a second position to open the gap to remove the continuous loop.

13. A threading machine for creating a continuous loop of twine, comprising:
a plate having a first face and a second face opposite the first face, the plate having a hole therethrough;
a ring gear disposed on the first face and rotatable about a central axis aligned with the hole;
a spool disposed on the ring gear, the spool including a thread; and
a drive pulley for unwinding the thread from the spool and through the ring gear through the central axis of the ring gear in a threading direction, where the drive pulley directs the thread through the ring gear a plurality of times;
wherein the ring gear is held stationary as the drive pulley unwinds the thread during a first manufacturing step to form a core of the continuous loop and rotates as the drive pulley unwinds the thread during a second manufacturing step to wrap the thread around the core to form an outer wrap around the core.

14. The threading machine of claim 13 , further comprising a ring drive motor for rotating the ring gear and a thread circulation motor for rotating the drive pulley, wherein a first velocity of the ring drive motor and a second velocity of the thread circulation motor are selected to obtain a selected wrap angle of the outer wrap around the core.

15. The threading machine of claim 13 , further comprising a tension pulley for adjusting a tension of the thread.

16. The threading machine of claim 13 , wherein the ring gear includes a base circle and a gap in the base circle and the plate includes a slit extended from an edge of the plate to the hole.

17. The threading machine of claim 16 , further comprising a hinged door that can be set in a first position to close the gap for manufacturing the continuous loop and a second position to open the gap to remove the continuous loop.

Assignees

• Siemens Medical Solutions Usa Inc

Inventors

• Grace Kenneth
• Yarrington Jeremy

Classifications

• B65H57/14

  Pulleys, rollers, or rotary bars · CPC title

• B65H49/20 Primary

  Package-supporting devices · CPC title

• D02G3/38 Primary

  Threads in which fibres, filaments, or yarns are wound with other yarns or filaments, {e.g. wrap yarns, i.e. strands of filaments or staple fibres are wrapped by a helically wound binder yarn; (D02G3/32 takes precedence)}; (covering endless core threads with fibres by using open-end spinning techniques D01H4/00) · CPC title

• D02G3/44

  Yarns or threads characterised by the purpose for which they are designed {(protective gloves A41D19/00; protective clothing A62B17/00; ropes D07B1/02)} · CPC title

• D10B2505/00

  Industrial · CPC title