US4119449A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Strapping joint and method and apparatus for forming same
Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc
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Filing: 1976-06-23
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Granted: 1978-10-10
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Expires: 1996-06-23
Abstract
Abstract A joint having improved snag resistance and peel strength is formed between overlapping end portions of a thermoplastic strap by the method and apparatus of the present invention. The thermoplastic strap is formed into a loop having overlapping inner and outer end portions which are joined to one another by a resolidified thin layer of formerly melted material from each of the overlapping strap end portions. Resolidified material extends completely to an inwardly tapered end of the outer strap end portion to provide the improved joint. A resolidified mass of formerly molten material also is present in front of the tapered end to further protect it against snagging.
Inventors
- 👤 Russell J. Gould
- 👤 Karl G. Adams
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 02:02
CPC Classifications
B; B29; B29C; B29C65/00; B29C65/02; B29C65/06; B29C65/0609; B29C65/0627; B29C66/00; B29C66/01; B29C66/05; B29C66/10; B29C66/11; B29C66/112; B29C66/1122; B29C66/40; B29C66/41; B29C66/43; B29C66/432; B29C66/4322; B29C66/4324; B29C66/49; B29C66/70; B29C66/72; B29C66/723; B29C66/73; B29C66/737; B29C66/7371; B29C66/73711; B29C66/80; B29C66/81; B29C66/814; B29C66/8141; B29C66/81411; B29C66/81415; B29C66/81419; B29C66/81421; B29C66/81422; B29C66/81423; B29C66/81433; B29C66/82; B29C66/822; B29C66/8221; B29C66/8226; B29C66/82263; B29C66/83; B29C66/832; B29C66/8322; B65; B65B; B65B13/00; B65B13/18; B65B13/24; B65B13/32; B65B13/322; B65B51/00; B65B51/10; B65B51/22; B65B51/222; B29C66/71; B29C66/81427; B29C66/81429; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S428/00; Y10S428/91; Y10T; Y10T156/00; Y10T156/10; Y10T156/1002; Y10T156/1036; Y10T156/1038; Y10T156/1052; Y10T156/1054; Y10T156/12; Y10T156/1313; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/19; Y10T428/192; Y10T428/195; Y10T428/24; Y10T428/24802; Y10T428/2481; Y10T428/24818; Y10T428/24826; Y10T442/00; Y10T442/60; Y10T442/69
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
244 words
Apparatus for forming a friction-fused joint in overlapping portions of a thermoplastic strap, comprising: a pair of jaws having confronting strap gripping surfaces positioned to engage the overlapping strap portions therebetween, strap gripping means on each of said surfaces, the strap gripping surface of one of said jaws having a protrusion thereon which extends beyond the strap gripping means on said latter surface; means for effecting relative movement between said jaws generally perpendicular with respect to the overlapping strap portions so that the protrusion of said one jaw initially moves into engagement with the adjacent overlapping strap portion prior to engagement by the strap gripping means on said one jaw surface, whereby the facing surfaces of the overlapping strap portions in alignment with said protrusion are initially compressed into heat generating frictional engagement with one another before the remainder of the overlapping strap portions between said jaws are gripped by the strap gripping means on the remainder of said gripping surfaces, and means for effecting relative movement between said jaws in a direction generally parallel with said strap gripping surfaces both (a) while the overlapping strap portions in alignment with said protrusion are compressed to initiate interface melting between said compressed surfaces and (b) while the remainder of the overlapping strap portions between said jaws are compressed into heat generating frictional engagement with one another to expand interface melting to the facing surfaces of the remainder of the overlapping strap portions between said jaws.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
244 words
Apparatus for forming a friction-fused joint in overlapping portions of a thermoplastic strap, comprising: a pair of jaws having confronting strap gripping surfaces positioned to engage the overlapping strap portions therebetween, strap gripping means on each of said surfaces, the strap gripping surface of one of said jaws having a protrusion thereon which extends beyond the strap gripping means on said latter surface; means for effecting relative movement between said jaws generally perpendicular with respect to the overlapping strap portions so that the protrusion of said one jaw initially moves into engagement with the adjacent overlapping strap portion prior to engagement by the strap gripping means on said one jaw surface, whereby the facing surfaces of the overlapping strap portions in alignment with said protrusion are initially compressed into heat generating frictional engagement with one another before the remainder of the overlapping strap portions between said jaws are gripped by the strap gripping means on the remainder of said gripping surfaces, and means for effecting relative movement between said jaws in a direction generally parallel with said strap gripping surfaces both (a) while the overlapping strap portions in alignment with said protrusion are compressed to initiate interface melting between said compressed surfaces and (b) while the remainder of the overlapping strap portions between said jaws are compressed into heat generating frictional engagement with one another to expand interface melting to the facing surfaces of the remainder of the overlapping strap portions between said jaws.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
53 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said strap gripping means are provided by a plurality of teeth extending from each strap gripping surface to enable the jaws to establish a stable grip on the adjacent overlapping strap portions during relative movement of the jaws in a direction generally parallel to the gripping surfaces.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the portion of the gripping surface of the jaw opposite the protrusion is smooth.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said protrusion defines a raised surface that extends generally perpendicualr to the length of the thermoplastic strap.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said protrusion comprises a curved surface that extends outwardly from the gripping surface and tapers to an edge located perpendicularly above an edge of the jaw.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the edge of the protrusion located perpendicularly above an edge of the jaw comprises one of a pair of complementary opposing cutting edges of a strap cutter mechanism.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
14 words
Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said gripping surfaces comprise complementary opposed planar surfaces.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
14 words
Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said gripping surfaces comprise complementary opposing arcuate surfaces.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
93 words
One of a pair of jaws for use in making a friction-fused joint in overlapping portions of a thermoplastic strap, comprising: a strap gripping member defining a strap gripping surface adapted to engage a length of thermoplastic strap, a plurality of teeth extending from said surface to enable the jaw to establish a stable grip on an adjacent strap portion, and means on said gripping surface projecting outwardly from said gripping surface and beyond the teeth thereon to define a protrusion for engaging an adjacent strap portion prior to engagement by the teeth.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
93 words
One of a pair of jaws for use in making a friction-fused joint in overlapping portions of a thermoplastic strap, comprising: a strap gripping member defining a strap gripping surface adapted to engage a length of thermoplastic strap, a plurality of teeth extending from said surface to enable the jaw to establish a stable grip on an adjacent strap portion, and means on said gripping surface projecting outwardly from said gripping surface and beyond the teeth thereon to define a protrusion for engaging an adjacent strap portion prior to engagement by the teeth.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
A jaw according to claim 9, wherein said gripping surface defines a substantially elongated surface and said protrusion extends generally perpendicularly across the longitudinal length of the gripping surface.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
33 words
A jaw according to claim 10, wherein said protrusion defines a curved surface that extends upwardly from the gripping surface and tapers to an edge located perpendicularly above an edge of the jaw.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
267 words
The method of forming a friction-fused joint in overlapping portions of a thermoplastic strap surrounding an article, comprising the steps of: positioning said overlapping strap portions between a pair of opposed jaws, said jaws having complementary shaped strap gripping surfaces facing one another, each of said strap gripping surfaces having strap gripping means thereon and one of said strap gripping surfaces having a protrusion thereon which extends beyond the the strap gripping means on said latter surface; effecting relative movement between said jaws generally perpendicularly with respect to one another so that the protrusion of the one jaw initially engages the adjacent overlapping strap portion prior to engagement by the strap gripping means on the remainder of the strap gripping surfaces to compress the facing surfaces of the overlapping strap portions in alignment with the protrusion into heat generating frictional engagement with one another; continuing the generally perpendicular movement of the jaws to bring the strap gripping means on the remainder of the strap gripping surfaces into engagement with the overlapping strap portions; effecting relative movement between said jaws in a direction generally parallel with said strap gripping surfaces while the overlapping strap portions in alignment with the protrusion are compressed to initiate interface melting between the compressed surfaces; and continuing the generally perpendicular relative movement to compress the remainder of the overlapping strap portions between said jaws into heat generating frictional engagement with one another while continuing the relative movement in the direction generally parallel to the strap gripping surfaces to expand interface melting to the facing surfaces of the overlapping strap portions between sid jaws.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
267 words
The method of forming a friction-fused joint in overlapping portions of a thermoplastic strap surrounding an article, comprising the steps of: positioning said overlapping strap portions between a pair of opposed jaws, said jaws having complementary shaped strap gripping surfaces facing one another, each of said strap gripping surfaces having strap gripping means thereon and one of said strap gripping surfaces having a protrusion thereon which extends beyond the the strap gripping means on said latter surface; effecting relative movement between said jaws generally perpendicularly with respect to one another so that the protrusion of the one jaw initially engages the adjacent overlapping strap portion prior to engagement by the strap gripping means on the remainder of the strap gripping surfaces to compress the facing surfaces of the overlapping strap portions in alignment with the protrusion into heat generating frictional engagement with one another; continuing the generally perpendicular movement of the jaws to bring the strap gripping means on the remainder of the strap gripping surfaces into engagement with the overlapping strap portions; effecting relative movement between said jaws in a direction generally parallel with said strap gripping surfaces while the overlapping strap portions in alignment with the protrusion are compressed to initiate interface melting between the compressed surfaces; and continuing the generally perpendicular relative movement to compress the remainder of the overlapping strap portions between said jaws into heat generating frictional engagement with one another while continuing the relative movement in the direction generally parallel to the strap gripping surfaces to expand interface melting to the facing surfaces of the overlapping strap portions between sid jaws.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method according to claim 12, wherein the protrusion forces a mass of molten material outwardly of the overlapping strap portions.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method according to claim 13, wherein the protrusion forces the overlapping strap portion adjacent the protrusion to taper towards the region of interface melting.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1981-10-09 | 1982-04-10 | 1982-10-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1985-10-09 | 1986-04-10 | 1986-10-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1989-10-09 | 1990-04-10 | 1990-10-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |