Band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6564701
  • Patent Number
    6,564,701
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, January 30, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 20, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine includes an adjusting shaft and an activating rod combined eccentrically with the adjusting shaft, and a press rod pressed axially by eccentric movement of the adjusting shaft to press down a friction head of a fusing device. Then the gap between the friction head and a stationary friction head of the fusing device can be changed to suit to different thickness of packing bands so that pressure against the packing band may be adjusted for the thickness of a packing band, with the gap between the two friction heads freely adjustable.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to a band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine, particularly to one easy to handle and quick to adjust.




An adjusting device for a conventional portable packing machine shown in

FIGS. 1

,


2


and


3


includes a crutch rod


11


, a handling rod


12


, and a stop member


13


. The crutch rod and the handling rod have respectively female teeth


111


and male teeth


121


formed in a front center to engage with each other. The crutch rod


11


has a stop plate


112


formed in a front end, and the handling rod


12


has a blocking member


131


to correspond to the stop plate


112


, and an eccentric round post


122


formed in a proper portion and pivotally fitted with a press rod


14


. When a grip


123


provided at a side of the handling rod


12


is pressed down, the eccentric post


122


rotates for an eccentric distance to press a press rod


14


down for a certain distance so that a friction head


15


located under the bottom end of the press rod


14


is pressed down onto a stationary friction head


16


, performing fusing function by friction to a packing band


17


sandwiched between the two friction heads


15


and


16


.




When the two friction heads


15


and


16


sandwich the packing band


17


, a proper force has to be used so as to avoid too large pressure, or otherwise load on a motor of the adjusting device may be too large to cause irregular operation. In order to apply to packing bands of different thickness, the adjusting device


10


should have the crutch rod


11


provided with the stop plate


112


, which has to move in a limited distance to contact a blocking plate


131


of the s top member


13


. If the adjusting device


10


is to be adjusted to the thickness of a packing band


17


, referring to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, at first manually hold and pull out a ball-shaped end


113


of the crutch rod


11


, disengaging the female teeth


111


from the male teeth


121


. Then rotate the crutch rod


11


to a preset angle, and then release it. Then the female teeth


111


automatically move to engage the male teeth


121


by elasticity of a spring


18


. Thus alteration of the relative positions of the female and the male teeth


15


and


16


may cause alteration of the moving distance between the stop plate


112


and the blocking plate


131


. So when the grip


123


is pressed down, the press rod


14


is pressed down, with the crutch rod


11


also rotated. So when the stop plate


112


contacts the blocking plate


131


, the handling rod


12


is also stopped, impossible to move any more, with the friction head


15


pressing on the packing band


17


. Thus the adjusting device


10


can change the moving distance of the stop plate


112


to the blocking plate


131


by adjusting the relative positions of the crutch rod


11


and the handling rod


12


, controlling the moving-down distance of the pressing rod


14


to suit to different thickness of the packing bands


17


.




Although the conventional adjusting device


10


can perform adjusting function to suit to a variety of packing bands having different thickness, its structure is too complicated to result in a high cost. Moreover, the adjusting device


10


is hidden in a machine body


19


as shown in

FIG. 3

, hardly possible to control an adjusting distance in handling with accuracy and quickness, not ideal in handling. Besides, the smallest distance to be adjusted is limited by every two teeth of the female teeth


111


and the male teeth


121


, with the distance impossible to be adjusted freely.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The purpose of the invention is to offer a band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine, which has an adjusting shaft and an activating shaft pivotally and eccentrically fitted with the adjusting shaft. An eccentric moving distance of the activating rod presses a press rod to move down to change the gap between two friction heads of a fusing device so as to adjust a pressure suitable to different thickness of packing bands. The band-thickness adjusting device has a special simple structure to facilitate handling with quickness.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS




This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:





FIG. 1

is an exploded perspective view of an adjusting device for a conventional portable packing machine;





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the adjusting device for the conventional portable packing machine;





FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional view of the adjusting device for the conventional portable packing machine;





FIG. 4

is a front view of a portable packing machine with a band-thickness adjusting device in the present invention;





FIG. 5

is a rear view of the portable packing machine with the band-thickness adjusting device in the present invention;





FIG. 6

is an exploded perspective view of the band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine in the present invention;





FIG. 7

is a cross-sectional view of the band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine in the present invention;





FIG. 8

is a side view of the band-thickness adjusting device under adjusting operation in the present invention;





FIG. 9

is a side view of the bank-thickness adjusting device under pressing operation in the present invention; and,





FIG. 10

is a side view of the band-thickness adjusting device with a grip pressing down a press rod and then a friction head pressing a packing band in the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




A preferred embodiment of a band-thickness adjusting device


30


for a portable packing machine in the present invention, as shown in

FIGS. 4

,


5


and


6


, is arranged on a machine body


20


, including an adjusting shaft


31


, an activating shaft


32


, a grip


33


, a press device


40


and a fusing device


50


as main components combined together.




The machine body


20


has a shaft hole


21


laterally provided in an upper portion, and a threaded hole


22


provided vertically to communicating with the shaft hole


21


for a screw


23


engage therein.




The adjusting shaft


31


has a pivot shaft


311


formed in an intermediate portion to extend in the shaft hole


21


, an annular groove


3111


formed in the pivot shaft


311


to correspond to the threaded hole


22


for a screw


23


to engage therein to secure the adjusting shaft


31


with the machine body


20


. The adjusting shaft


31


further has a fan-shaped flange


312


formed at an inner side, a rotating member


313


of a semi annular shape fixed on the flange


312


and having a plurality of teeth


314


formed on an outer surface and protruding above the machine body


20


for easy handling. The adjusting shaft


31


further has an annular extension


315


formed to extend from a front end, and an eccentric pivot hole


316


having an axis parallel to those of the pivot shaft


311


and the shaft hole


21


, and pivotally positioned in the shaft hole


21


by means of a C-shaped lock ring


34


engaging around an annular groove


317


located between the pivot shaft


311


and the annular extension


315


.




The activating shaft


32


extends in the eccentric pivot hole


316


, having an activating plate


321


of a large circumference and of a cam shape at a front end and always resting on a press rod


41


of the pressing device


40


. The activating shaft


32


further has an inner end protruding out of the flange


312


, secured in place by a C-shaped lock ring


35


engaging an annular groove


322


. Then the activating shaft


32


is pivotally connected to the adjusting shaft


31


. The activating plate


321


has a stud


323


and a threaded hole


324


provided in an outer surface, as shown in

FIG. 7

, the activating shaft


32


has a fit rod


325


provided to extend from an inner end, and the fit rod


325


has a threaded hole


326


in an end surface and a key


327


on an annular surface to fit with a stop plate


36


and secured with a screw


316


screwing in the threaded hole


326


. The stop plate


36


is fan-shaped, having two vertical sides


362


to contact a stop rod


24


set on the machine body


20


to restrict a rotating angle of the activating shaft


32


.




The grip


33


has a recess


331


and a through hole


332


on an end, the recess


331


faces the stud


323


, and the through hole


332


faces the threaded hole


324


for a screw


333


to engage with to secure stably the grip


33


with activating plate


321


.




The press device


40


consists of a press rod


41


, a shaft base


42


, an insert rod


43


and a spring


44


. The press rod


41


inserts pivotally in a lengthwise hole


421


of the shaft base


42


, and the shaft base


42


is fixed firmly on the machine body


20


under the activating plate


321


. A roller


411


is pivotally connected with an upper end of the press rod


41


and contacts the activating plate


321


. The insert rod


43


passes laterally through two slide slots


422


provided at two sides of the shaft base


42


and the press rod


41


. The spring


44


has one end hooking the insert rod


43


and the other end hooking a bolt


45


fixed on the machine body


20


to elastically push the insert rod


43


to accordingly urge the press rod


41


upward. Further, the bottom of the press rod


41


is connected to the connect rod


511


provided to pass through two connectors


46


at two opposite sides of the insert rod


43


and a friction head


51


of the fusing device


50


. Then the friction head


51


is combined with the bottom of the press rod


41


and at the same time, referring to

FIG. 7

, a buffer spring


47


is positioned in a hole


41


bored in the bottom portion of the press rod


41


and on the top surface of the friction head


51


. A stationary friction head


52


of the fusing device is fixed on a bottom plate


25


of the machine body


20


, aligned to the friction head


51


.




In handling the band-thickness adjusting device


20


, referring to

FIGS. 7 and 8

, firstly, release the bolt


23


of the machine body


20


, freeing the adjusting shaft


31


. Then as shown in

FIG. 9

, a user manually rotates the rotating member


313


to move the flange


312


and the adjusting shaft


31


. Then the adjusting shaft


31


rotates in the shaft hole


21


, as the axis C


1


of the adjusting shaft


31


is the same as that of the shaft hole


21


. Then the eccentric pivot hole


316


rotates with an eccentric angle in case of the adjusting shaft


31


rotating, forcing the activating shaft


32


rotate in the same angle so that the activating plate


321


may press down the roller


411


and then the press rod


41


. Subsequently, the gap between the friction head


51


and the stationary friction head


52


is changed, obtaining the purpose of adjusting the gap for a packing band


60


to be sandwiched therein. After finishing adjustment, the bolt


23


is screwed tightly against the adjusting shaft


31


.




Next, referring to

FIG. 10

, when the gap between the two friction heads


51


and


52


has been adjusted, the grip


33


may be pressed down for packing to force the activating plate


321


rotate the activating shaft


32


so that the press rod


41


and the friction head


51


may be pressed down, pressing a packing band


60


between the two friction heads


51


, and


52


. Then, referring to

FIG. 5

, as the stop plate


36


fitted with the activating shaft


32


rotates at the same time, the stop members


362


of the stop plate


36


are stopped by the stop rod


24


, limiting the activating plate


321


in rotation, and touches a switch


26


to start the friction head


51


of the fusing device


50


and fuses the packing band


60


.




As described above, the band-thickness adjusting device


30


in the invention can adjust the gap between the two friction heads


51


and


52


to suit to thickness of a packing band


60


, mainly utilizing eccentric movement of the adjusting device


30


to change the gap between the two friction heads


51


and


52


, and changing a pressing-down distance of the press rod


41


. But the distance of pressing-down of the press rod


41


is constant, invariable. Therefore, when the gap between the two friction heads


51


and


52


is adjusted to a small one, pressure of the two heads


51


and


52


sandwiching the packing band


60


is comparatively large. On the contrary, when the gap between the two heads


51


and


52


is adjusted to a large one, pressure against the packing band


60


becomes comparatively small. In other words, when the packing band


60


is thin, the gap between the two heads


51


and


52


is adjusted to a small one, and when the packing band


60


is thick, the gap between the two heads


51


and


52


is to be adjusted to a large one. Thus, the band-thickness adjusting device


30


can be adjusted to use the most proper pressure for various thickness of a packing band


60


sandwiched by the two friction heads


51


and


52


, maintaining normal operation of the packing machine.




Lastly, it is worth to mention that rotating action of the adjusting device produces an eccentric moving distance, simple and convenient to handle, but no problem of the distance of every two teeth of the conventional packing machine may arise.




While the preferred embodiment has been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications that may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.



Claims
  • 1. A band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine positioned on a machine body, said band-thickness adjusting device comprising a press rod, and a fusing device having a friction head, said press rod having a bottom connected to said friction head; and,characterized by said band-thickness adjusting device consisting of a adjusting shaft, and an activating shaft, said adjusting shaft having a pivot shaft member formed in an intermediate portion and extending in a shaft hole laterally provided in said machine body, said pivot shaft member having two opposite ends protruding out of two opposite ends of said shaft hole of said machine body, said adjusting shaft having a flange formed at an inner end and an extension formed at an outer end, said extension having a preset length and located at the same side with a pressing device, said adjusting shaft further having a lengthwise eccentric pivot hole, said lengthwise eccentric pivot hole having an axis parallel and eccentric to that of said adjusting shaft, said activating shaft extending in said eccentric pivot hole and having an eccentric activating plate formed at an outer end, said activating shaft always resting on said press rod, and a grip fixed on a proper location of said activating plate.
  • 2. The band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein a vertical threaded hole is provided in an upper portion of said machine body and communicates with said lateral shaft hole, and a bolt screws in said threaded hole and fixes firmly said adjusting shaft extending in said lateral shaft hole.
  • 3. The band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flange of said adjusting shaft is shaped as a fan, and a semi annular rotating member is fixed on said flange, said semi annular rotating member has a plurality of teeth regularly arranged on an upper surface, and said teeth protruding above said machine body so as to be easily handled.
  • 4. The band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said activating plate is shaped as a cam, resting on a top of said press rod, having a stud and a threaded hole in an outer surface, said grip has a recess and a through hole in a side facing said activating plate, said recess and said through hole corresponding to said stud and said threaded hole of said activating plate, a screw engaging said through hole and then said threaded hole to secure said grip with said activating plate.
  • 5. The band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said activating shaft has a fitting rod provided to extend from an inner side, said fitting rod having a threaded hole in an end surface and a key on an annular surface, a stop plate provided to fit with said fitting rod, a screw screwing through said stop plate and engaging said threaded hole of said fitting rod to secure said stop plate with said activating rod, said stop plate shaped as a fan and having two vertical stop sides to face a stop rod provided on said machine body for limiting a rotating angle of said activating shaft.
  • 6. The band-thickness adjusting device for portable packing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said press device consists of said press rod, a shaft base, a fitting rod and a spring, said press rod pivotally fitting in a lengthwise hole of said shaft base, said shaft base fixed firmly on said machine body under said activating plate, a roller pivotally connected to an upper end of said press rod, said roller contacting an upper end of said activating plate, said fitting rod laterally extending through two slots provided in two sides of said shaft base and said press rod, said spring having one end hooking said fitting rod and the other end hooking a bolt fixed on said machine body, said spring elastically pushing upward said fitting rod and then said press rod, said press rod having its bottom connected to a connect rod passing through two connectors located at two sides of said fitting rod and a friction head of said fusing device so as to combine said friction head with said bottom of said press rod, a buffer member provided at connecting point of said bottom of said press rod and an upper surface of said friction head, a stationary friction head fixed on a bottom plate of said machine and aligned to said friction head.
  • 7. The band-thickness adjusting device for a portable packing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said press rod has two holes formed in its bottom portion for said two buffer members to fit therein, said buffer members being compress springs.
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Number Name Date Kind
4155799 Matsushita et al. May 1979 A
4289174 Massion Sep 1981 A
4305774 Wedeking et al. Dec 1981 A
4569186 Mori et al. Feb 1986 A
5181546 Synek Jan 1993 A
6047742 Barlasov Apr 2000 A
6463847 Rauch Oct 2002 B1