FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the fields of compacting and strapping of steel wire rod coil. The present invention specifically relates to a wire rod coil compactor with strap feeding path for compacting and strapping steel wire rod coil in off-line mode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, wire rod coils have been used for many industrial applications, where bundles of such wire rod coils are to be compacted and strapped to save storage space and facilitate easy transportation of these wire rod coils. Various coil compacting and strapping machines have been developed which are capable of compacting and strapping such wire rod coils by applying a strap on the wire rod coil after the wire rod coil is compressed to a specific compression pressure. The coil compacting and strapping machines are used either independently or as a necessary apparatus to a production line.

Many of the conventional coil compactors are arranged with main structure to load the wire rod coil. After loading the wire rod coil in the compactor, the press plates are moved simultaneously for compacting the wire rod coil. Then, the wire or strap is fed manually and stretched around the compacted coil, so that the wire rod coils can be strapped by means of strapping tool. The press plates are moved to their initial position, and the compacted and strapped wire rod coil is removed from the compactor for loading it to a storage space and for transportation.

With respect to the conventional offline wire rod coil compactors, there is no provision of strap feeding path for the operator to feed the strap around the compacted coil. Thus, it is very difficult to feed the wire rod manually, which leads to jamming of strap during strapping and also increases time and labor consumption for strapping the wire rod coil. The existing compactor also causes injury to the operator while feeding and strapping of the wire rod coil. Moreover, in the existing coil compactor, the wire rod coil is improperly compacted irrespective of diameter and resilient characteristics of the wire rod coil, which results in breakage of strap wound around the coil due to its resilient force. Such strap breakage especially occurs at the loading station due to improper compacting, which further increases the time and labor consumption.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved wire rod coil compactor with strap feeding path for compacting and strapping steel wire rod coil, which is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an assembly for compacting and strapping a wire rod coil in an off-line mode, which facilitates easy feeding and avoiding jamming of strap during strapping of the wire rod coil.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an assembly for compacting and strapping a wire rod coil in an off-line mode, which prevents strap breakage due to improper compacting of the coil irrespective of its characteristics.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an assembly for compacting and strapping a wire rod coil in an off-line mode, which minimizes time and labor consumption for strapping the wire rod coil.

According to one aspect, the present invention, which achieves the objectives, relates to an assembly for compacting and strapping wire rod coil in an off-line mode, comprising a main frame assembly arranged with a hollow space, a fixed platen at its one end and a guiding path on its upper surface. A cradle roller unit is positioned and placed inside of the hollow space of the main frame assembly for loading the wire rod coil. A movable platen is associated with the main frame assembly in such a way that the movable platen is actuated and guided on the guiding path of the main frame assembly towards the fixed platen for compacting the wire rod coil loaded in the cradle roller unit. A bayonet assembly is placed adjacent to the movable platen and assembled with a set of strap feeding units. After compacting the wire rod coil, the bayonet assembly is actuated and guided towards the fixed platen, so that the strap feeding units are guided inside the wire rod coil through the movable platen and mated with a set of strap receiving portions in the fixed platen for strapping the wire rod coil. Such assembly facilitates easy feeding and avoiding jamming of strap during strapping of the wire rod coil, and also prevents strap breakage due to improper compacting of the coil irrespective of its characteristics.

Furthermore, the assembly comprises a compacting module associated with the movable platen, so that the movable platen along with the bayonet assembly is actuated at a desired compacting force towards the fixed platen for compacting the loaded wire rod coil. The desired compacting force is determined based on a computation of stiffness and characteristic of the wire rod coil, where the characteristic of wire rod coil comprises diameter, spring action and elasticity. The assembly also comprises a control system attached to the main frame assembly and electrically connected to each component of the assembly for controlling each component of the assembly in accordance with the characteristic of wire rod coil to be strapped.

In addition, each strap feeding unit of the bayonet assembly is in contact with the movable platen, so that the bayonet assembly is moved along with the movable platen when the movable platen is displaced during compacting of the wire rod coil. Each strap feeding unit is arranged and assembled with a base member and one or more pairs of flap members. The pairs of flap members are flexibly connected to the base member to form an enclosed path for feeding a strap into the strap feeding units. Each pair of flap members is in movable contact with each other in such a way that the strap is disengaged from the flap members when the wire rod coil is strapped and sealed using the pneumatic tool. Moreover, the assembly further comprises a kicker mechanism and a ramp unit associated with the main frame assembly and positioned in relative to the cradle roller unit. After compacting and strapping the wire rod coil, the kicker mechanism is actuated to transfer the compacted and strapped wire rod coil to the ramp unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be discussed in greater detail with reference to the accompanying Figures.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an assembly for compacting and strapping a wire rod coil in an off-line mode, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an enlarged view of the assembly depicting insertion of strap feeding units into the wire rod coil, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A illustrates a detailed view of the assembly depicting complete insertion of the strap feeding units with the wire rod coil, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B illustrates a detailed view of the assembly depicting complete insertion of the strap feeding units without the wire rod coil, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of the assembly depicting strapping of the wire rod coil, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed view of a bayonet assembly arranged with the strap feeding units, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a detailed view of the strap feeding units, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of a control system of the coil compacting and strapping assembly, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 8A-8F respectively illustrate sequence of operation for compacting and strapping the wire rod coil in the off-line mode, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic view of an assembly for compacting and strapping a wire rod coil (100) in an off-line mode is illustrated, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The present assembly is specially designed for compacting and strapping the wire rod coil (100), especially in the off-line mode. The wire rod coil (100) includes, but is not limited to steel coil and aluminum coil. The compacting and strapping assembly can also be called as coil compactor. Hereafter, the assembly can be referred as coil compactor only for the purpose of explanation. The below table shows the specification of the present coil compactor.

The coil compactor of the present invention is capable to allow minimum wire diameter of about 0 6 mm, maximum wire diameter of about 0 22 mm, maximum mass of about 2000 kg and power consumption of about 45 KW. The above information may vary depending of application. The coil compactor of the present invention is assembled with a main frame assembly (10) with a fixed platen (12), a cradle roller unit (20), a movable platen (30), a bayonet assembly (40) with a set of strap feeding units (42) and a control system (700).

The main frame assembly (10) is fixed to the ground using fasteners for supporting the wire rod coil (100). The main frame assembly (10) acts as a mounting structure for the coil compactor to withstand the entire load of the coil compactor along with the wire rod coil (100). The main frame assembly (10) is arranged with the fixed platen (12) at its one end and a guiding path (14) on its top surface throughout its length. The main frame assembly (10) is configured as a rectangular box type body having a hollow space in its center, so that the cradle roller unit (20) can be positioned and placed inside of the hollow space in the main frame assembly (10). The wire rod coil (100) can be loaded on the cradle roller unit (20) using an Electrical Overhead Travelling (EOT) crane or fork lift.

The movable platen (30) is associated and placed on the main frame assembly (10) in such a way that the movable platen (30) is capable of being displaced and guided on the guiding path (14) of the main frame assembly (10). The movement of movable platen (30) is carried out with respect to the fixed platen (12) of the main frame assembly (10). The movable platen (30) is associated with the guiding path (14) of the main frame assembly (10) with the help of winkle bearings (32), which facilitates smooth movement of the movable platen (30). The movable platen (30) is connected to a hydraulic cylinder (70), which actuates the movable platen (30) towards the fixed platen (12) for compacting the wire rod coil (100) loaded on the cradle roller unit (20). The wire rod coil (100) can be compacted using the hydraulic cylinder (70) by applying a force of max 25 tonnes (variable) through the movable platen (30).

The bayonet assembly (40) is placed adjacent to the movable platen (30), in particular behind the movable platen (30). The bayonet assembly (40) is coupled to an actuating unit (80) in such a way that the bayonet assembly (40) can be moved and guided by the actuating unit (80). The actuating unit (80) includes, but is not limited to motor and hydraulic cylinder. The bayonet assembly (40) and the hydraulic cylinder (70) for the movable platen (30) are mounted on an auxiliary frame assembly (60), which acts as a mounting structure to withstand the entire load of the bayonet assembly (40) and the hydraulic cylinder (70) for the movable platen (30). The bayonet assembly (40) is formed and assembled with a plurality of strap feeding units (42), preferably four strap feeding units (42) that are organized in parallel and opposite to each other. The number of strap feeding units (42) can be varied depending upon the requirement of number of straps (101) to be applied on the wire rod coil.

Each strap feeding unit (42) is in contact with the movable platen (30), which helps proper guiding and directing of these strap feeding units (42) into the inner circumference of the wire rod coil (100) to be strapped. Since the strap feeding units (42) of the bayonet assembly (40) is in contact with the movable platen (30), the bayonet assembly (40) can be moved along with the movable platen (30) while displacing the movable platen (30) during compacting of the wire rod coil (100). In addition, the main frame assembly (10) is associated with a ramp unit (50) having a stopper (52) at its end, where the ramp unit (50) is configured to receive the strapped wire rod coil (100), where the stopper (52) of the ramp unit (50) holds the strapped wire rod coil (100). The compacted and strapped coil (100) can be unloaded from the ramp unit (50) by the EOT Crane or fork lift.

FIG. 2 illustrates an enlarged view of the assembly depicting insertion of strap feeding units (42) into the wire rod coil (100), in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. After loading the wire rod coil (100) on the cradle roller unit (20) of the compactor using the EOT crane or fork lift, the movable platen (30) is actuated to move towards the fixed platen (12), so that the coil (100) is compacted with the help of movable platen (30) by applying a force using the hydraulic cylinder (70). The movable platen (30) is actuated until it compacts the wire rod coil (100) at a required pressure determined by the control system (700). During the process of compacting, the bayonet assembly (40) of the compactor can also move forward towards the fixed platen (12), which makes partial entry of the strap feeding units (42) in the bayonet assembly (40) into the inner circumference of the wire rod coil (100), as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3A illustrates a detailed view of the assembly depicting complete insertion of the strap feeding units (42) with the wire rod coil (100), in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. After compacting the wire rod coil (100), the bayonet assembly (40) can be actuated towards the fixed platen (12) by the actuating unit (80), so that the strap feeding units (42) in the bayonet assembly (40) are guided inside of the wire rod coil (100) through the movable platen (30). The strap feeding units (42) are guided and moved inside the hollow region of the wire rod coil (100) until the strap feeding units (42) are mated or coupled with strap receiving portions (12a) in the fixed platen (12). The number of strap receiving portions (12a) in the fixed platen (12) can be defined based on the number of strap feeding units (42) used in the coil compactor. The complete coupling of strap feeding units (42) in the bayonet assembly (40) with the strap receiving portions (12a) in the fixed platen (12) is clearly depicted in FIG. 3B (where the wire rod coil (100) is hidden), which illustrates a detailed view of the assembly depicting complete insertion of the strap feeding units (42) without the wire rod coil (100), in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of the assembly depicting strapping of the wire rod coil (100), in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Once the strap feeding units (42) in the bayonet assembly (40) are completely coupled with the strap receiving portions (12a) in the fixed platen (12), the wire rod coil (100) is strapped by manually feeding straps (101) through the strap feeding units (42), where the straps (101) can be dispensed from a dispenser. In particular, once the coil (100) can be compacted up to the desired pressure, the strap (101) is fed manually from either side of the coil compactor through the strap feeding units (42). Then, the tensioning and sealing operation is carried out using a pneumatic tool to securely strap the wire rod coil (100), where the pneumatic tool is suspended from a JIB crane through a tool balancer.

FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed view of the bayonet assembly (40) arranged with the strap feeding units (42), in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Each strap feeding unit (42) is supported and mounted on a support member (44) of the bayonet assembly (40), where the support member (44) is configured in an I- shaped structure. Each strap feeding unit (42) is arranged and assembled with a base member (42a) and pairs of flap members (42b), where the base member (42a) is attached to the support member (44) of the bayonet assembly (40). Each pair of flap members (42b) of the strap feeding unit (42) is connected to the base member (42a) at its edges, which forms a flexible enclosed path for feeding the strap (101) into it. The strap feeding units (42) are composed of an optional extending member (42c) at its end which is closer to the moveable platen (30), where the extending member (42c) enables easy insertion and feeding of the strap (101) into the strap feeding units (42).

Referring to FIG. 6, a detailed view of the strap feeding units (42) is illustrated, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The pairs of flap members (42b) are in movable and flexible contact with each other at its one end, so that the strap (101) can be disengaged from the feeding units (42) while strapping the wire rod coil (100) using the pneumatic tool. In particular, these pairs of flap members (42b) are moving away from each other while pulling the strap (101) using the pneumatic tool, so that the strap (101) is disengaged from the flap members (42b) to get in contact with the inner circumference of the wire rod coil (100), as shown in FIG. 6. The coil compactor also comprises a kicker mechanism (600) assembled with a kicker (602) and a hydraulic cylinder (601). The kicker mechanism (600) is associated and accommodated in the main frame assembly (10) of the coil compactor. Once the wire rod coil (100) is compacted and strapped, the kicker (602) is activated by the hydraulic cylinder (601) to push and transfer the strapped wire rod coil (100) to the ramp unit (50). Then, the compacted and strapped coil (100) can be unloaded from the ramp unit (50) by the EOT Crane/fork lift. The motorized strap feeding units (42) of such compacting and strapping assembly facilitates easy feeding and avoiding jamming of strap (101) during strapping of the wire rod coil (100), and prevents injury to the operator while feeding and strapping of the wire rod coil (100). It also prevents strap breakage due to improper compacting of the coil (100) irrespective of its diameter and resilient characteristics. Further, it minimizes time and labor consumption for strapping the wire rod coil (100). FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of a control system (700) of the coil compacting and strapping assembly, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The coil compactor is also arranged with a control system (700) that is attached to the main frame assembly (10). The control system (700) is electrically connected to each component of the coil compactor. In particular, the control system (700) is associated with the hydraulic cylinders (70, 602) and the motors (80) used in the coil compactor for controlling operation of the movable platen (30), the bayonet assembly (40), the strap feeding units (42) and the kicker mechanism (600). The control system (700) is composed of a programmable logic controller (PLC) (710), a human machine interface (HMI) (720), a hydraulic power pack unit (730) and a set of variable- frequency drives (VFD) (740).

The HMI (720) allows the operator to feed control parameters such as wire rod diameter. The HMI (720) can be connected to the programmable logic controller (PLC) (710), which outputs an analog signal (voltage) based on the control parameters provided in the HMI (720). The analog signal can be varied from 0 to 10 VDC, where each analog signal corresponds to a preset coil characteristic such as wire rod coil diameter, spring action and elasticity of coil material. As an example, the below table shows different voltages generated by the PLC (710) based on different wire rod diameters.

The analog signal is fed to the amplifier card of the proportional valve of the hydraulic power pack unit (730). The proportional valve converts the electrical signal to proportional pressure output signal for the hydraulic power pack unit (730), which applies appropriate compacting force through the hydraulic cylinder (70) to the wire rod coil (100) based on the coil characteristics with the help of movable platen (30). The VFDs (740) are associated the motors (80) of the bayonet assembly (40) for controlling rotational speed of the motors (80) in order to control movement of the bayonet assembly (40) with the strap feeding units (42) to have smooth acceleration and deceleration, and also in case of jam in the internal path, the bayonet assembly (40) with the strap feeding units (42) can retract automatically.

Initially, the wire rod diameter can be entered in the HMI interface (720) of the control system (700). The PLC (710) calculates the required force to be applied on the given coil (100) based on stiffness and material properties of the coil (100) such as Young's modulus of elasticity, Modulus of rigidity, poisons ratio, etc. The PLC (710) calculates the required pressure based on a computation algorithm for calculating the force required to be applied on the coil (100) to be compacted and strapped. The PLC (710) generates the analog voltage signal, which is supplied to the amplifier card of the proportional valve to supply the given pressure equivalent to the applied force. The proportional valve converts the electrical signals to proportional pressure output signal to the wire rod coil (100) with the help of movable platen (30). Thus, such assembly ensures that the required force is applied on the wire rod coil (100), and thus it avoids exertion more pressure, which results in strap breakage due to spring action of the wire rod coil (100).

The compactor also includes an intelligent compacting module that is associated with the movable platen (30) and controlled by the control system (700), so that the movable platen (30) along with the bayonet assembly (40) is actuated towards the fixed platen (12) for compacting the wire rod coil (100) at the desired compacting pressure depending upon coil characteristic such as coil diameter, spring action and elasticity of coil material, once the wire rod coil (100) is loaded on the cradle roller unit (20). The desired compacting pressure is determined based on a computation algorithm carried out by the PLC (710). Such wire rod coil compactor facilitates entanglement free strap feeding and optimum compacting to avoid strap snapping, and also eliminates the need of operator to do trial and error to set the pressure. It is well-suited for small and medium scale steel mills. Such compactor is less expensive, and low operating and maintenance costs.

FIGS. 8A-8F respectively illustrate sequence of operation for compacting and strapping the wire rod coil (100) in the off-line mode, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Initially, as shown in 801, the coil compactor is arranged in such a way the movable platen (30) and the bayonet assembly (40) is placed and positioned with respect to the fixed platen (20), i.e. to its initial position, to make enough space to load the wire rod coil (100) on the coil compactor. As shown in 802, the wire rod coil (100) is loaded on the cradle roller unit (20) of the compactor using the EOT crane or fork lift. As shown in 803, the movable platen (30) is actuated and guided on the guiding path (14) of the main frame assembly (10), towards the fixed platen (12) for compacting the wire rod coil (100) in the cradle roller unit (20). During the process of compacting, the bayonet assembly (40) with the strap feeding units (42) can also move forward towards the fixed platen (12).

Then, as shown in 804, the wire rod coil (100) can be compacted using the moveable platen (30) by applying a force of max 25 tonnes (variable) with the help of hydraulic cylinder (70). Once the coil (100) can be compacted up to the desired pressure, the strap (101) is fed manually from either side of the coil compactor through the strap feeding units (42), and then the tensioning and sealing operation is carried out by the pneumatic tool, as shown in 805. Once the strapping of wire rod coil (100) is completed, the operator presses a strap over button provided in the HMI (720) in the control system (700) such that the movable platen (30) moves towards the initial position along with the bayonet assembly (40). After few seconds, the kicker (602) gets activated with the help of hydraulic cylinder (601) and pushes the coil (100) out of the cradle roller unit (20), which moves the compacted and strapped coil (100) to the ramp unit (50), as shown in 806. The compacted and strapped coil (100) held by the stopper (52) of the ramp unit (50) can be unloaded from the ramp unit (50) by the EOT crane or fork lift. The above sequence of operation and mechanism can be followed and repeated for each wire rod coil (100) to be compacted and strapped.

The foregoing description is a specific embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that this embodiment is described for purpose of illustration only. It is evident to those skilled in the art that although the invention herein is described in terms of specific embodiments thereof, there exist numerous alternatives, modifications and variations of the invention. It is intended that all such modifications and alterations be included insofar as they come within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed or the equivalents thereof. Hence all variations, modifications and alternatives that falls within the broad scope of the appended claims comes under the gamut of the invention.