Wire Removing Apparatus and Method

Abstract

An apparatus and method for insuring total removal of wire from a bale including a conveyor system for moving one or more bales, an automatic dewiring station, and a manual dewiring station. A bale is transported through an automatic dewiring station, and through a metal detector to ensure wire removal before the dewired bale is transported downstream.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for removing wire from a bale comprising at least one dewiring station, a metal detector, and a conveyor system for moving the bale through the apparatus. 
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the at least one dewiring station is an automatic dewiring station. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus according to  claim 2  wherein the automatic dewiring station contains at least one automated robot with at least one wire clipping device. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the at least one dewiring station is a manual dewiring station. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 4  further including an automatic dewiring station. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 5  wherein the automatic dewiring station contains at least one automated robot with at least one wire clipping device. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the dewiring station further includes a means for removing the wire from the bale. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the dewiring station receives bales with metal remaining from the metal detector. 
     
     
         9 . A method for removal of a wire from a bale comprising:
 transporting a bale along a conveyor system to a dewiring station;   locating the wire on the bale;   removing the clipped wire; and,   transporting the bale to a metal detector.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9  further including the step of scanning the bale to determine if any metal remains. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10  further including the step of transporting a bale found not to be free of metal to a manual dewiring station. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11  further including the step of inspecting the bale and removing any remaining metal. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12  further including the step of transporting the bale from the manual dewiring station back through the metal detector. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  further including the step of transporting a bale free of metal to a processing station for further processing.