ORIENTATOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ORIENTING A STACK OF COILS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an orientator device adapted to rotate under gravity, and a method for orienting a stack of coils, particularly for use in the field of strapping machines.

Background to the Invention

Strapping machines are in widespread use for securing straps around loads. A typical strapping machine includes a strapping head to which strap material is fed from a supply of strapping material. The strapping head typically cuts the strap, once tensioned, from the supply and then forms a seal in the strap, sealing the strapping material to itself around the load.

The supply of strapping material is typically a coil of strapping material mounted upon a spool either supported within the strapping machine, in the case of a stationary strapper, or mounted upon a moveable stand, in the case of a manually operated hand-tool type strapper. The strapping material is typically of metal or plastics material and each coil of strapping material can weigh up to many hundreds of kilograms.

Coils of strapping material are generally supplied to a strapping site stacked upon a pallet. The palletized stack of coils may be easily moved using a fork lift or pallet truck. This allows for easy transport of the coils from a manufacturer to the strapping site and also for movement of the coils around the strapping site. The coils of strapping material are typically stacked upon the pallet with their longitudinal axes lying substantially vertically.

Whilst the palletized stack of coils may be easily transported to and around the strapping site their size, typically 0.3 metres in length measured in the longitudinal coil direction, means that the uppermost coil of a stack piled half a dozen or more high can often be in excess of 2 metres above ground when

the pallet is resting on the floor. In order for the uppermost coil of the stack to be used in a strapping operation it must be removed from the stack and positioned such that the strapping material may be fed into the strapping machine.

Due to the mass of these coils and the height of the stack, the operation of removing the coils for use from the stack is often difficult. Even light coils that are just 1 metre or so above the ground are difficult to be manhandled from the stack by a single person. For heavier coils, the manhandling operation is virtually impossible and so a crane must be employed. However, even with the benefit of a crane the operation of passing a sling through the eye of and around the coil such that the coil can be lifted by the crane is a difficult operation as the coil still needs to be in some way separated from the coil beneath it. This task is typically a two man operation to set up and lift a coil with a crane and those persons employed need to be certified to perform this task.

There is therefore a need in the art for an improved method for unloading coils from a palletized stack of coils for use in a strapping operation, and a new device therefor.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided an orientator device comprising a cradle rotatably mounted in a frame about a horizontal axis, and a locking mechanism for locking the cradle with respect to the frame in a first orientation, the cradle being adapted to receive and support a load, the cradle being balanced such that release of the locking mechanism causes the cradle, when loaded, to rotate under gravity from the first orientation to a second orientation.

According to the present invention there is also provided a method for orienting a stack of coils, comprising the steps of supporting a stack of coils

with their longitudinal axes lying substantially vertically, and rotating the stack of coils under gravity to be supported with their longitudinal axes lying substantially horizontally.

The device of the present invention is advantageous in that the load can be easily rotated to orient the load more conveniently for a particular task. Whilst the device has broad application to a variety of loads, it is particularly suitable for rotating a stack of palletized coils from a substantially vertical to a substantially horizontal orientation. Once in the horizontal orientation, each coil can be manhandled from the device, if light enough, or else a sling may be easily passed though and around the coil for lifting by a crane in a single handed operation. By balancing device appropriately, no external power source may be required and so the device can rotate solely under gravity upon release of the locking mechanism. The method of the present invention is advantageous in that the entire palletized stack of coils can be re-orientated from the substantially vertical orientation, in which the palletized stack may be easily moved by a pallet truck or the like, to the substantially horizontal orientation, in which each coil can be more easily manhandled.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view of an orientator device; Figure 2 shows a side view of the orientator device of Figure 1 loaded with a stack of coils in a substantially vertical orientation;

Figure 3 shows a side view of the orientator device loaded in a substantially horizontal orientation; Figure 4 shows an end view of the loaded orientator device of Figure 2; and Figure 5 shows and enlarged detail of a locking mechanism of the orientator device.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 shows an orientator device 1 comprising a cradle 2 rotatably mounted in a frame 3 about a horizontal axis 4. The frame 3 includes two rectangular cross-section, hollow, tubular members 5,6 spaced apart by bracing members 7,8. The bracing members 7,8 are formed as angle bars. The bracing members 7,8 separate the tubular members 5, 6 by a distance such that forks of a fork lift truck may be inserted into the hollow tubular members 5,6 for lifting and movement of the orientator device 1.

Upstanding from the tubular members 5,6 are support members 9,10 also of rectangular cross-section, hollow, tubular construction. Cross bracing members 11 ,12 provide additional rigidity for the support members 9,10. The tubular members 5,6, the bracing members 7,8, the support members 9, 10 and the cross-bracing members 11 ,12 are made of steel, welded to form the frame 3.

The cradle 2 comprises an end plate 13 of sheet steel construction having edges folded over to increase the structural rigidity of the end plate. Extending from the end plate 13 is a generally U-shaped member 14, which may be a unitary member or a plurality of members joined together. In the orientator device shown in Figure 1 , the U-shaped member 14 comprises three members of hollow, tubular steel construction welded together to form the U shape. The U-shaped member 14 is joined to the end plate 13 by welding. The cradle 2 further comprises a barrel member 15 of sheet steel to form a concave surface. The barrel member 15 is welded to arcuate supports 16,17 which are welded to the U-shaped member 14.

The cradle 2 is rotatably mounted in the frame 3 about the horizontal axis 4 upon axles 18,19 are substantially freely rotatably supported in bearing members 20,21 bolted to flanges of the upper end of respective upstanding support members 9,10. The axles 18,19 are received perpendicularly in

respective discs 22,23 affixed to respective spacing members 24,25 which are in turn affixed to respective sides of the U-shaped member 14.

On one side of the orientator device 1 , best shown in Figures 4 and 5, the disc 22 is provided with a locking mechanism, indicated generally by reference numeral 26. The locking mechanism 26 comprises a sleeve 27 affixed to the upstanding support member 9, through which a bolt 28 passes. Connected perpendicularly to the bolt 28 is a handle 29. Manual actuation of the handle 29 causes the bolt member 28 to move within the sleeve 27. The distal end of the bolt 28 is engagable in holes 30a, 30b formed in the disc 22. When the distal end of the bolt 28 is engaged with hole 30a the cradle 2 is locked by the locking mechanism 26 in a substantially vertical orientation. When the bolt 28 is engaged in hole 30b the cradle 2 locked by the locking mechanism 26 in a substantially horizontal orientation. As best shown in Figure 3, the cradle 2 is actually disposed at 2° from the horizontal when the bolt 28 is engaged with hole 30b. The bolt 28 is sprung loaded so as to automatically engage with the holes 30a, 30b.

When the cradle 2 is locked in the substantially vertical orientation, as shown in Figure 2, one edge of the end plate 13 of the cradle 2 bears against a stop

31 affixed to bracing member 8 of frame 3. The stop 31 is formed as a plate having a rubberised portion for engagement with the edge of the end plate 13.

When the cradle 2 is in the substantially horizontal orientation, as shown in

Figure 3, a stop 32 formed on the disc 22 abuts an exterior surface of the sleeve 27 of the locking mechanism to prevent over-rotation of the cradle 2 with respect to the frame 3. The cradle 2 is therefore restricted in rotation relative to the frame 3 by the stop 31 and the stop 32 between a substantially vertical orientation and a substantially horizontal orientation, actually around

88° from the vertical.

The cradle 2 of the orientator device 1 is adapted to receive a palletized stack of coils in the substantially vertical orientation, as shown in Figure 2. Release

of the locking mechanism 26 causes the cradle 2 to freely rotate under gravity to the substantially horizontal orientation, shown in Figure 3, where the locking mechanism 26 re-engages to lock the cradle 2 with respect to the frame 3. The orientator device 1 is therefore particularly adapted to rotate a palletized stack of coils from the vertical to the substantially horizontal orientation.

As shown in Figure 2, the palletized stack of coils includes a pallet 33 and coils 34a,34b,34c,34d. The palletized stack of coils may be loaded onto the cradle 2 of the orientator device 1 using a fork lift, or pallet, truck. The cradle 2 includes a gap 35 between the arcuate support 17 and the end plate 13. This gap 35 ensures that the lifting forks of the fork lift truck or pallet truck used to load the palletized stack of coils upon the cradle 2 does not damage the cradle 2 even in the event that the forks extend beyond the edge of the pallet 33. Also, the pallet 33 is typically square and so would not fit within the concave surface of the barrel member 15. The gap 35 is positioned such that at least a proportion of the lowermost coil 34a of the palletized stack of coils may be positioned against the concave surface of the barrel member 15. The remaining coils 34b,34c,34d of the palletized stack of coils are positioned against the concave surface of the barrel member 15. The radius of curvature of the concave surface of the barrel member 15 is selected to substantially match the radius of curvature of the coils 34a,34b,34c,34d.

The orientator device 1 does not include any electrical, pneumatic or other drive means for rotation of the cradle 2 relative to the frame 3. Instead, such that the orientator device 1 is not constraint by any electrical or pneumatic supply, the cradle 2 is balanced such that release of the locking mechanism

26 causes the cradle 2, when loaded, to rotate under gravity from the substantially vertical to the substantially horizontal orientation. In this preferred embodiment of the orientator device 1 rotation of the cradle 2 relative to the frame 3 requires no manual or mechanical effort such that the

cradle 2 rotates solely under gravity upon release of the locking mechanism 26.

Once the coils 34a,34b,34c,34d are in the substantially horizontal orientation, but tilted around 2° from the horizontal to prevent the coils 34a,34b,34c,34d from toppling forwards, the coils 34a,34b,34c,34d may be relatively easily removed by hand, or by use of a suitable lifting crane in the case of larger coils, such that strapping material of the coils may be fed into a strapping machine. Once all of the coils have been removed from the cradle 2 in the substantially horizontal orientation the empty cradle may be easily returned to the substantially vertical orientation by release of the locking mechanism 26 and manual rotation of the cradle 2 relative to the frame 3.

The coils may have a diameter of between approximately 0.5m and 1.0m, and/or a length of approximately 0.3m, and/or a mass of between approximately 15kg and 330kg.

The orientator device 1 is preferably of a welded steel construction but those skilled in the art will appreciate that other metals and indeed other materials may be employed and that other suitable means of fixing the components of the orientator device, other than welding may be used.