US2124503A - Bale tie package - Google Patents

Description

July 19, 1938. A. F. BRADLEY 2,124,503

BALE TIE PACKAGE Filed Sept. 6, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l llllll Q'Zen! flradley.

July 19, 1938. D EY 2,124,503

(7/4; z adley. I

Patented July 19, 1938 a PATENT OFFICE BALE TIE PACKAGE Albert F. Bradley, Sterling, Ill., assignor to Northwestern Barb- Wire Company, Sterling, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application September 6, 1935, Serial No. 39,390

. 6 Claims.

This invention has to do with the packaging of elongated bundles of lengths of material such as wire, bale ties and the like. It has been the practice in the past to wrap bundles of this character by means of a number of individual wire rings placed about the assembled ties or the like at intervals which may vary with the size of the bundles and have been usually six to eight inches, more or less. This means of wrapping the bundles has been found unsatisfactory, among other reasons because of the accidental mingling of at least some of the rings with the material to be baled, when the rings are severed as the bundle is being unwrapped. Another reason for the dissatisfaction is that these springs would slip along the bundle, due among other things to engagement with other bundles, both before and during shipment, thus requiring redressing.

To remedy this situation at least in part, there has been a recent tendency to replace a majority of such rings by a single strand wrapped spirally lengthwise of the bundle. However, reliance in such improved constructions has been placed upon wire rings employed to secure burlap cover ings at the ends of the bundle in place.

It is one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide an improved package of this character but in which the burlap anchoring rings are eliminated.

Also in the past the spiral wrapping strand has been fastened in place with one or both ends secured under the burlap cover or covers. This has slowed up the removal of the wrapping means since .it has been necessary to remove one or more rings outside of the covers, then to remove the covers and thereafter to cut away or otherwise unfasten the end or ends of the spiral strand.

It is accordingly another object of the invention to provide a package of the character referred to wherein the. spiral strand is disposed substantially in its entirety exteriorlyof the covers.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a package of the class referred to wherein a single wrapping element is employed for holding the bundle in shape and securing the end covers alone or with an identification tag in place.

It is a further object of the invention. to-provide a package of ,the character referred to wherein the ties or the like are held inassembly by wrapping means including .a spiral wrapping strand having an end wrapped about an: end covering of the bundle and anchored to a pro- 5 truding end of a tie outside of the cover.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method of making a spiral wrapped package of the class referred to.

' In accordance with the general features of the invention, applied to bale ties by way of example, 5 only, a sufficient number of ties are placed together to form an elongated body of generally cy lindrical shape, the ends of the body being secured together by wire or other suitable rings to hold the ties in assembly. A burlap or other suitable covering is placed over and about the end portions of the assembly and folded neatly in place. These covers are ultimately to be secured in place by the same spiral wrapped strand. Accordingly, the covers should be held in place until they are wrapped by the strand.

One end of the strand to be spiral wrapped about the assembly is passed through a hole near the periphery of an identification tag and is looped about one or more of the assembled ties in a manner to tightly anchor the end of the strand. A portion of the strand at the extremity of the end is left free, and while the covering is held temporarily, the'strand is looped longitudinally about the cover in a manner toposition the major part of the tag between the strand and the outer end of the cover. The strand is then returned and fastened to said extremity of the strand, and then is coiled about the cover, after which it is spiraled along and about the assembly 30 toward the other end of the bundle and coiled securely about the cover at said other end. In the placing of the cover at said other end, at least one adjacent end of a tie is permitted to project through the end of the cover. When the spiraling of the strand is "completed, the strand is fastened at its second end to the protruding end of the tie, and then severed. The two fastened ends are then bent fiat against the end 40 of the second cover. 'Ihereupon, in the event the covers have been temporarily held in place by means other than by hand, said means is readily removed, and then the package is complete; a

In accordance with another form of the invention, the means for fastening the covers in place may be retained even after the spiral wrapping strand is secured.

In accordance with another form of the invention, one end of the spiral strand may stop short of the second cover and be secured to one or more ties adjacent the second cover. 7

Further objects and advantages of the inven-' tion will appear as the description proceeds.

This invention (in preferred forms) is illus- Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing how a cover may be temporarily held in place-pending the application of the wrapping strand shown in Figures 1- and 4.

Figures 6 and 7 are views similar :to the left of I Figure l but of modified forms of the invention. Figure 8 and 9 arerviewssimilarto the right end of-Figure 1 but ofmodified constructions.

' Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the assembly of: elongated elements chosen for illustrative purposes is-made up of a. plu

v rality of' elongated elements-,such as. wirebale ties whose looped. or otherwise formed head ends are arranged atone end to-constitutethe 1 The ties- I) head or large end of the bundle. are initially arrangedin small bundles of about twenty-five eachandzareboundzliy rings 2, after,

whichtheyare placed together to forrn-bundle assemblies to be wrapped in accordance with .the-

' present'invention. When-thetiesare-thus as sembled, a larger ring 3.'iszwrapped-about-the assembly at each end; thereby holding 'the tiesr together preparatory to j the wrapping of--thebundle in accordance with the inventiona A preferably fiexible'cover such as one made of:

burlapas shownat 4 for thehead-end oi the bundle and 5 .for the small end of-thesbundle is" placed over-.the respective end of ,thelbundle and,

if'necessary, folded in such amannerastoadequately cover. the endportions as shown-in Fig-, ure. land other figures, The coverszmay betel-n1 porarily held. in foldedjarrangementby hand, one or. more'wires;v stringQ/orthe-like. form of I theinvention appearing in Figure 1,

string is; employed. This string,.-mayllcomprise apiece as. shownat fi for. the head ,endan'd]. for, the tail end;,each..of,.which maybe .tiedby aslip knot ,for readyrelease ,orby anyother.

. short portion ofthe strand adjacent the end 9 type of knot, as shown at 8, in Fi'gureI5; j In the event wire rings are employed'foniemporarily holdingthe covers inplace; such rings,

as in' the caseof the rings 3;;are formed by:

placinggthem in encircling relation-to the covers. and twisting the ends of each Wire together, 7

One end 9of'a wrapping strand IO-jis passed through an opening ll in an identification tag l'laof-pastebOzird} sheetmetal or the like,- bear ingany desired identification suchas the name of the manufacturer-and description of the ma terial wrapped. Said. end 9 E: the" wrapping strandis preferably passed'fromathe front toxthey backzof thetag and .is slipped. under andvlooped' about one' or more ties I adjacent thewfree :edge

l2- or the head cover- 4, as shown at The loop l3 may be closed. inrany; suitable manner as by avhalf 'hitch as shown-atJM,leaving-a free. 'From the loop; 13,5andjjwhilegthercover of the head 'end of thefbundlei is iheld iniproper arrangement. temporarily as explained;- hereto fore, the strand I0 is .passedllongitudinally out= ward','.that is, toward. the frontend '15. of the cover: 4' and then 'is passed substantially diametrically across saidfront end so as tolposition In the:

the major part of the tag. la betweentne strand and said front end as shown in Figure 2.

The'strand It! is then returned in a half spiral 'turn soas to be brought to a point l5 adjacent the loop I3, atwhich point the free end 9 is 5- coiled one or more times about the strand as shown at I1. In this manner the strand at the point l6 is firmly anchored. The strand from 'the coils H= is then returned mthe direction of the front end l5 of the cover, as shown at 10 i8 and is coiled preferably a plurality of times transversely about the cover as shown at 13,

Withusuffic-ient tightness to firmlysecure the cover V 4 in positionso that the temporary holding means such as'the string- 6; wire or the like may be discarded. Such tempor ary holding means need not be discarded as soon 'as the coiling of the strand :about the cover 4 is completed, but may" if desired be removed at any time thereafter, as

'whenthe wrapping of'the bundle by the strand I 0 is 7 completed throughout. From the portion coiled'at: I9 to holdthe cover dfiniplace, the.

strand I0 is spiraledtoward the-small end of:

the.:bundle,- passingabout, the uncovered. part of 'the' assembly? and. preferably a plurality of times about'the tail or-smallendl cover- -5 as. shown at- 20, the cover 5' beingheld temporarily 'in-place prior towformation of the coils 2Il -therer about byhand, stringer/wire as explained hereinabove. w 1

i In assembling the ties; I; no effortis made to: have their freeends; 21 terminate-' flush, mas-- much as slightirregularity at ,such ends nWlHQ be'concealed by the face-22 of the. tail end cover.- 5. For the'purposesy-of the'present invention, itis desirable that at .leastoneIsuch tieend "pro ject, through. suchface: 22-- as shown: at 2la. In the processor spiraling the,-strand 'lfl abouti the-bundle, relative rotaryrnovement'is effected between the spoolor; otherrsource 'of strand-:ahdi 4 the-bundlaxso: that the strand, at the tEtiIlgHd 23 after such coil :or'coils have been formed;andg

thereuponthe end portionzla and the coils 273w thereabout arebent-as a unitsubstantiallyflat against the face 22 ofthetail cover 5", as shown; in full lines in'Figures 1 and 3, terminating substantially'within the peripheral' envelope -ofethe package.

The temporary holding? string 1 or, other temporary holdingmeans may be severedior otherwise-openedzand:pulled off Tree ofathew cover- 5, and the--temporary holding meansata the, head endrofthe bundle similarly-wtreateif V leaving the assembled tiesv l1 packaged solely'by,

the coversa l and;5, the. strand III-sand 'the'identia fication tag Ha By severing the protruding ttiew end-- 2111 just, outside of the. face fl as; at 24,

before commencement of the coiling thereabout; 1 and by also severing theloopzlsgthe entire wrap; ping, material comprising the covers I t and: .5, the strand I0 and the tag ll-mayrbe removed1 substantially as -a;unit,' much more expeditiously thanhas'heretoforebeen the case.

7 Insuch re-" moval, the'headcover 4 and/associated portions' of the strandand' the tag II may be first released and then slipped along the assembled ties toward the'tail'end; slippingtthe tail end cover 5 th'erewith ofi-the assembly. Thus-upon the two: severing operations abovereferr'ed to, the V entire wra'pping struc'ture'may be'rem'oved by substantiallyasingle short operation.

Y With this structure, there are no parts such; as wire burlap securing rings or the like tO'b'e' -JIE covers 4 and 5 and the tag I la is preferably tightly held so as to be pressed into interlocking relation with the cover 4 as shown at 25 and with the tag I la as shown at 25a and similarly with the cover 5 as shown at 5a. Thus the strand will not become accidentally displaced from its illustrated relation to the covers 4 and 5 and tag lld;

"In addition to affording means for identification of the character of material wrapped as well as the identity-of the manufacturer, or any other insignia, the tag Ila serves as a reinforcing or protective means for the front end I5 of the cover 4 and the adjacent ends of the ties l. The bent over portions 21a and 23a at the face 22 of the tail cover 5, in addition to serving as a means for anchoring the tail end of the strand, serves as a protective means for the adjacent ends of the ties l and the'face 22 of the cover 5.

With this construction no parts protrude to any appreciable extent beyond the outer lateral confines or envelope of the package, so that there is no likelihood of interlocking of adjacent bundles wrapped as explained.

In the form illustrated in Figure 6, wire or like rings 26 may form permanent parts ofthe package, serving to hold the cover 4 properly wrapped. The wrapping strand 21 in such event need not be coiled about the body of the cover 4, but may be coiled merely at the inner end of the cover preparatory to its being spiraled longitudinally along the assembly of ties l.

In Figure 7 is shown a somewhat modified wrapping for the head end of the bundle. This arrangement is substantially identical with that described in connection with Figure 1, with the addition of a cover holding ring 26 which may be made of wire or other suitable material. If desired in such construction, the number of coils of the strand l about the cover 4 may be reduced in view of the presence of the ring 26.

In the modified tail end construction shown in Figure 8, rings 28 may be employed as a permanent part of the package ,to firmly hold the tail end cover in place. In such event, the wrapping strand may be spiraled about the cover 5 substantially only to the extent necessary to complete the wrapping and then coiled at 29 about the tie end 2la and bent down against the face 22 of the cover 5 as shown in Figure 3. With this construction used in conjunction with the head end packaging of any of Figures 1 6 and '7, for example, no part of the Wrapping strand is interiorly disposed relative to the covers 4 and 5. Upon severing the ring or rings 26, if present, the loop l3 or 30, as the case may be, and the tie 2 la just before commencement of the coils 23a or 29,

removal of the entire wrapping material as a unit substantially in the manner previously described may be effected.

The tail end of the wrapping strand may terminate short of the cover 5 as shown in Figure 8. In this form, the tail end of the strand 21a may be cut short and the end 3| passed under and looped about one or more ties I and bent against the ties as shown at 32. The loop is preferably drawn tight so as to be frictionally bound to the looped ties and thereby resists slipping relative thereto. The cover 5 in this form of the invention is held by metallic or other suitable rings 23 which, with the tie assembling ring 3 inside of the cover. 5, frictionally hold the-cover Wrapped about the tailend of the tie assembly.

' It will be seen from. the foregoing that the present invention provides a method of packaging an elongated bundle expeditiously so as to provide a neat structure having no protuberances likely to entangle with adjacent packages and which is capable of ready dis-assembly from the assembled ties or other elongated packaged material.

Bale tie bundlesand other Wire or like elon' gated bundles may be of different sizes and weights. In a bundle of approximately eight feet ,in length and weighing approximately .forty pounds, .a pitch of approximately three inches has been found satisfactory, although it is' to be understood that. other suitable pitches for the Wrapping strand1helix or spiral, for bundles of the same and different sizes may be readilyfare rived at.

The wrapping of the strand may be accom plished in any desiredway. One manner ofso doing involves the rotation of the bundle after the extremity of the stran'djadjacent the head cover has been coiled about the body of the cover as explained above. This rotation may be effected preferably by mechanical means such'as a retary chuck holding the front part of the head cover and associated end of the bundle, while a source of strand material such as a spool is moved longitudinally of the bundle. Under such circumstances, the remainder of the bundle is preferably supported in such a manner as not to interfere with the spiraling of the strand thereabout. Or, if desired, the bundle may be moved longitudinally while the spool or other source of strand is rotated about the bundle. Instead of employing strand material on a spool, such material may be prevously cut to the desired length.

The package embodying the present invention will retain its form so as not to require redressing or adjustment at any time, and is also compact so as to require a minimum of shipping space.

For the purpose of enhancing the appearance the strand being preferably made of steel wire for g the purpose of strength.

The term bundle herein is to be understood as including in its scope any assembly of elongated pieces and also a length of elongated material.

.As heretofore pointed out, any suitable temporary tieing means may be employed for tem porarily holding the covers in place. For example, one or more rubber bands may be employed for this purpose in connection with each cover, such band or bands being allowed to remain on or being removed from the completed package, as desired.

The rings 2 are revealed in the form shown in Figure 6 but are preferably concealed as in Figures 1 and 9. The cover 4 is-cut out in Figure 1 to show one of the rings 2.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range Withoutdeparting from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore, do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

a cover about one end of the bundle, apart of a the bundle protruding through said cover, and

V gatedT'eIements; a cover over'oneyend or the a wrapping strand for holding the-cover in place, said strand being secured::about;: the. bundle and passing about the cover and having" an end' fastened:to said' protruding part; l:

2. A package compr sing an assembly ofielongated elements, a cover over one end of;the;as

sembly, at least one'of the-elements protruding 7 through and beyond the cover, and'a wrapping strand'secured about the assembly and passing alongsaid cover and fas'tenedtmthe protruding 13'. A"pack'age comprising anass'embly of elonassembly; at least one of the elements IpIOtIllding through and'being' bent beyond the cover, and a wrapping strand'secured about the assembly and"passing 'alongsaidcover and fastened to thebent part; said partterminating substan-z' tially within'the'peripheral envelope vof the package.-

4. A' packagecomprising an assembly of elon- 'gated' elements, a1 cover upontone end=v ofsaid assembly, one:ofsaid elements projectingilongitudinally beyond one end ofsaidias'sembly; a

.' wrapping strand having'one. end anchored-to said elements and vWound around said? cover and saidassembly with "the free end 'anchored t'o said projecting element.

'5.. A package comprising abundle of elongated elements, a cover over each end of said bundle, a single strand of wire anchored totsaid elements adjacent-the inner end of one cover, saidlstrand then extending across the adjacent end of said bundle and returning upon-the opposite side of the same and being secured-to the anchored end of said strand said strand thenbeing spiralled l around the adjacent cover; theeintermediate'por tion of the bundle and the cover at the opposite end, such opposite end having one of said, elongated elements projecting longitudinally beyond the bundle, and'said strand'beinganchored'to said projecting element 7 1 V 6. A zpackage comprising a-bundle :of elongated elements, a cover uponeach endof-the bundle;- sa-id bundle, V and covers being held in assembled,

relation by, a; single strand of: wire wrapped around the-movers and spiralled around the i intermediate portion of said-bundle, one end of

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