EP2540631A1

EP2540631A1 - Device for cutting a binding strip

Info

Publication number: EP2540631A1
Application number: EP12174342A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Johan Spaans; Johannes Gerardus Liefting
Original assignee: Tebulo Industrial Automation BV; Tebulo Ind Automation BV
Current assignee: Tebulo Industrial Automation BV; Tebulo Ind Automation BV
Priority date: 2011-06-29
Filing date: 2012-06-29
Publication date: 2013-01-02
Also published as: NL2007023C2

Abstract

A device for severing a binding material strip (16) which is arranged around an object (5), such as a roll of sheet material or a bundle of profiles and the like, comprises a housing (1) provided with a support (12) for supporting the device with respect to the object (5), two blades (7,8) which are connected to the housing and of which at least one blade (8) is displaceable with respect to the housing, drive means for displacing the blades with respect to each other between an open position and a closed position for cutting the strip while the housing is supported on the object, and a clamp (16) for holding the severed strip. The clamp and one of the blades can be made to cooperate in order to clamp the strip. The housing has at least one handle (27,28) and at least one operating element (29,30) which is provided close to the handle and is coupled to the drive means (10) for activating the drive means (10).

Description

The invention relates to a device for severing a binding material strip which is arranged around an object, such as a roll of sheet material or a bundle of profiles and the like, comprising a housing provided with a support for supporting the device with respect to the object, two blades which are connected to the housing and of which at least one blade is displaceable with respect to the housing, drive means for displacing the blades with respect to each other between an open position and a closed position for cutting the strip while the housing is supported on the object, and a clamp for holding the severed strip, wherein the clamp and one of the blades can be made to cooperate in order to clamp the strip.
Such a device is known from EP-A-945351 . With this known device, a clamping plate is fitted next to a movable blade, which clamping plate serves to ensure, together with a counterplate which is fixedly attached to the housing that the cut strip does not spring away on account of the prestress to which it is subject. However, if the prestress in the strip is relatively high, the strip may already suddenly tear completely at the start of the cutting operation. This may result in the strip which has torn in this manner still springing away because the clamp has not been able to grip the strip properly.
The known device is fitted to an installation in which a roll of sheet material can be accommodated in order to unroll the latter. This means that the known device is not very flexible to use, as the respective roll of sheet material has to be placed in the installation first, before the device can be activated in order to cut the strips of binding material. The known device is thus not suitable for cutting strips of binding material from rolls which have been placed in an arbitrary location in a factory building or the like. However, it is often desirable to be able to remove the binding material therefrom, without having to place the complete roll in a special installation.
It is an object of the invention to provide a device of the abovementioned type which, on the one hand, prevents springing out of the strip more effectively and which, on the other hand, is more flexible to use. This object is achieved by the fact that the housing is provided with at least one handle and at least one operating member which is provided close to the handle and is coupled to the drive means for activating the drive means. By means of the handle or handles, the device according to the invention can be placed on any roll by the operator, following which the strips of binding material can be removed by activating the device. In this case, the roll can remain stationary at the location where it has been deposited. Due to the safeguard in the form of a clamp, the cut binding material cannot spring away, so that the safety of the operator is ensured.
In order to facilitate the correct positioning of the device, the housing may be provided with a positioning means which is aligned with respect to the blades for centring the blades with respect to a binding material strip. However, it has to be considered that positioning the blades with respect to the binding material strip can also be carried out entirely visually.
The handle or handles may be configured in many different ways. According to a first possibility, a handle may be configured as a bracket, both ends of which are attached to the housing. In this case, an optional positioning means may be provided on the bracket. Instead of or in combination with such a bracket-shaped handle, at least one handle may be configured as a stump which projects freely with respect to the housing. This stump-shaped bracket may furthermore be used to accommodate a drive means in the form of a hydraulic piston/cylinder device.
For the purpose of safely operating the device, a respective operating means, such as a pair of push-buttons, may be provided both near or on the bracket and near or on the stump. These push-buttons are connected in such a manner that they only result in activation of the drive means if they are operated simultaneously.
With the device according to the invention, it is possible to ensure that the strip is reliably clamped between the clamp and the movable blade. Only then is the final cutting operation carried out.
It is known to make one blade displaceable with respect to the housing and the other one fixed. According to the invention, the clamp is in this case accommodated in the housing, in such a manner that the displaceable blade cooperates with the latter during its displacement, but before the actual cutting operation between said displaceable blade and the fixed blade takes place.
It is furthermore known to provide retaining means on the housing for retaining the strip while the displaceable blade moves against it. The function of said retaining means is to prevent the displaceable blade from shifting the strip without a cutting operation being performed. This is important if the fixed blade has a cutting edge which runs in the direction of movement of the displaceable blade and can thus not provide any retaining action. According to the invention, the retaining means comprise two retainers which are situated transverse to the direction of movement of the blade and spaced apart in such a manner that the movable blade can pass in between. One of the retainers may be movable with respect to the housing, transverse to the support, in such a manner that a more or less strongly curved path of the strip around the object can be accommodated.
The clamp can be held in the housing under spring prestress in such a manner that, when the strip is being clamped, the clamp can be displaced counter to the spring prestress. Preferably, the clamp and the blade have surfaces which are directed and/or shaped correspondingly for clamping the strip in between. The cutting edge of the movable blade is determined by a cutting face which is displaceable along a corresponding cutting face of the other blade, and a stop face which is transverse thereto and can be moved along and against a corresponding stop face of the clamp. The strip can be clamped reliably in between these stop faces, in particular if the displaceable blade has a support surface on the side which faces the support, and the stop face runs at an acute angle to the support surface.
In order to further increase the reliable retaining action on the cut strip, a stamp may additionally be provided which is situated next to the clamp, which stamp is designed to exert a pressing action on the strip against the object. It may also be possible to push the stamp against the strip under spring prestress. The stamp is preferably situated on the same side of the blades as the clamp. This ensures that at least one end of the strip can be retained securely, even if the clamp were to fail for some reason.
The invention will now be explained in more detail by means of an exemplary embodiment of the device according to the invention illustrated in the figures, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the top side of the device according to the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the bottom side of the device;
Figs. 3-5 show details of the device which relate to the cutting system.

The device according to the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a housing which is denoted overall by reference numeral 1, to which a bracket-shaped handle 27 is attached. When the device is being handled by the operator, said bracket 27 extends from the left-hand side of the housing to the right-hand side thereof, in such a manner that the bracket 27 is situated on the side of the housing 1 facing away from the operator. A positioning foot 31 is also situated on this side.
A second, stump-shaped handle 28 is situated on the right-hand side of the housing, viewed from the operator who is situated in the position described above. The operator can grip this stump-shaped handle 28 with his right hand, while his left hand grips the bracket-shaped handle 27, in particular the portion of said bracket-shaped handle which is situated furthest to the left.
With both hands positioned on the handles 27, 28 in this way, the operator can operate the buttons 29, 30 with both thumbs. Only if these are pressed simultaneously can the device be activated, thus providing some sort of safety mechanism, since the two hands can then not be near the blades, as will be explained in more detail below. Further connections 32 for hydraulic lines (not shown) by means of which the piston/cylinder device 10 can be supplied with pressurized hydraulic medium are situated on the extreme end of the stump-shaped handle 28. In addition, an electrical cable is present in connection with the power supply for controlling the piston/cylinder device 10 by means of buttons 29, 30.
As is illustrated in Figs. 3-5, the housing 1 may have a cover 3. As has been described above, the device can manually be placed on an object 5, such as a roll of sheet material which is kept in the rolled-up position by a binding material strip 6.
The housing 1 comprises a fixed blade 7 and a movable blade 8 which is suspended from the guide 9. By means of the drive mechanism 10, the movable blade 8 can be moved to and fro between the retracted position illustrated by full lines in Figs. 2 and 5 and the forward position illustrated by broken lines. In the forward position, the cutting edge 10 of the fixed blade 7 and the cutting edge 11 of the movable blade 8 have moved alongside each other, thereby cutting the strip 6. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the cutting edge 10 of the fixed blade 7 runs substantially horizontal, that is to say parallel to the support surface 12, while the cutting edge 11 of the movable blade 8 runs obliquely and makes an acute angle with the support surface 12.
In the top view from Fig. 4, which shows the movable blade in the retracted position with broken lines, it can be seen that the blade 8 has a top surface 13. This top surface 13 also runs obliquely, analogously to the cutting edge 11. The cutting edge 11 is thus defined by the surface 13 which runs obliquely upwards and the cutting face 14. This cutting face 14 of the movable blade can be moved along the cutting face 15 of the fixed blade 7.
When cutting the strip 6 by means of the blades 7, 8, it is important to securely hold the ends of the strip 6 so they do not spring away. To this end, the housing contains the clamp 16 which, under prestress of the spring 17, is pushed in the direction of the strip 6. The clamp 16 has a bottom surface 18 which is shaped correspondingly and runs parallel to the top surface 13 of the movable blade 8. As soon as this blade 8 is moved forward, towards the strip 6, the latter is clamped in between the correspondingly shaped surfaces 13, 8 of the blade 8 and the clamp 16, in such a manner that the strip is secured against springing away. Subsequently, as the movement of the blade 8 progresses, the strip is cut.
Finally, the housing comprises two retainers 23, 24. The purpose of these is to retain the strip 6 in case it should be shifted when the displaceable blade 8 moves. The strip 6 then comes to lie against the oblique run-up surfaces of the retainers 23, 24.
The one retainer 23 is securely fixed with respect to the housing 1, in such a manner that it can always be held pressed onto the object 5. The other retainer 24 can be moved transversely with respect to the support 12. The displaceable retainer 24 is under spring prestress in such a manner that it is ensured that both retainers 23, 24 are held pressed onto the object 5, irrespective of the curvature thereof.

List of reference numerals

1.: Housing
2.: -
3.: Cover
4.: -
5.: Roll of material
6.: Binding material strip
7.: Fixed blade
8.: Displaceable blade
9.: Guide for displaceable blade
10.: Drive means
11.: Cutting edge of movable blade
12.: Support surface of movable blade
13.: Top surface of movable blade
14.: Cutting face of movable blade
15.: Cutting face of fixed blade
16.: Clamp
17.: Spring of clamp
18.: Bottom surface of clamp
19.: -
20.: -
21.: -
22.: -
23.: Retaining means
24.: Retaining means
25.: -
26.: -
27.: Bracket-shaped handle
28.: Stump-shaped handle
29.: Operating button
30.: Operating button
31.: Positioning foot
32.: Connection for hydraulic pressure lines

Claims

Device for severing a binding material strip (6) which is arranged around an object (5), such as a roll of sheet material or a bundle of profiles and the like, comprising a housing (1) provided with a support (12) for supporting the device with respect to the object (5), two blades (7, 8) which are connected to the housing (1) and of which at least one blade (8) is displaceable with respect to the housing (1), drive means for displacing the blades with respect to each other between an open position and a closed position for cutting the strip (6) while the housing (1) is supported on the object, and a clamp (16) for holding the severed strip, wherein the clamp (16) and one of the blades can be made to cooperate in order to clamp the strip (6), characterized in that the housing (1) is provided with at least one handle (27, 28) and at least one operating member (29, 30) which is provided close to the handle and is coupled to the drive means (10) for activating the drive means (10).
Device according to Claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with a positioning means (31) which is aligned with respect to the blades (7, 8) for centring the blades (7, 8) with respect to a binding material strip (6).
Device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one handle (27) is configured as a bracket, both ends of which are attached to the housing (1).
Device according to Claims 2 and 3, wherein the positioning means (31) is provided on the bracket (27).
Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one handle (28) is configured as a stump which projects freely with respect to the housing (1).
Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the drive means (10) comprise a hydraulic piston/cylinder device.
Device according to Claim 6, wherein the cylinder of the hydraulic piston/cylinder device forms part of or is accommodated in the stump-shaped handle (28).
Device according to Claims 3 and 5, wherein a respective operating means (29, 30) is provided both near or on the bracket (27) and near or on the stump (28) which only result in activation of the drive means if they are operated simultaneously.
Device according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a blade (8) which is displaceable with respect to the housing (1), wherein the clamp (16) is accommodated in the housing.
Device according to Claim 2, wherein the other blade (8) is fixed with respect to the housing (1) and the cutting edges (10, 11) of both blades (7, 8) make an acute angle with respect to each other.
Device according to Claim 10, comprising retaining means (23, 24) for retaining the strip (6) while the displaceable blade (8) moves against it, which retaining means are spaced apart in such a manner that the movable blade (8) can pass in between.
Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the clamp (16) is held in the housing (1) under spring prestress in such a manner that, when the strip (6) is being clamped, the clamp (16) can be displaced counter to the spring prestress (17).
Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the clamp (16) and the displaceable blade (8) have surfaces (13, 18) which are directed and/or shaped correspondingly for clamping the strip (6) in between.
Device according to Claim 13, wherein the cutting edge (11) of the movable blade (8) is determined by a cutting face (15) which is displaceable along a corresponding cutting face (14) of the other blade (7), and a stop face (13) which is transverse thereto and can be moved along and against a corresponding stop face (18) of the clamp (16).
Device according to Claim 14, wherein the displaceable blade (8) has a support surface (12), and the stop face (13) thereof runs at an acute angle to the support surface (12).
Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing (1) is connected to a cover (3) of the housing (1) by means of a spring suspension (2).
Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the clamp (16) is held in the housing (1) under prestress and the movable blade (8) cooperates with the clamp (10) while the blade moves to the closed position in such a manner that, when the strip (6) is being clamped, the clamp (16) can be moved counter to the prestress (17), wherein the strip (6) is clamped before the actual cutting operation between the displaceable blade (8) and the fixed blade (7) takes place.