Claims:1. A bundling system for bundling articles, the bundling system comprising,
• a conveying mechanism for conveying articles to a bundling station;
• a bundling platform that is configured to receive the articles from the bundling station;
• a load cell that cooperates with the bundling platform and is configured to measure the weight of the articles that are received on the bundling platform;
• a first actuator actuating at least one grabber that is configured to bundle the weighed articles together;
• a second actuator actuating at least one buffer stopper provided between the bundling station and the bundling platform, configured to restrict the reception of articles on the bundling platform;
• a tying mechanism to tie the bundled articles held together by the grabber(s); and
• an unloading mechanism configured to unload the tied articles from the bundling platform.

2. The bundling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said conveying mechanism includes at least one conveyor for conveying articles to said bundling station.

3. The bundling system as claimed in claim 1, which includes an inclined slide fitted between said bundling platform and said bundling station to facilitate reception of said articles on said bundling platform by gravity.

4. The bundling system as claimed in claim 1, which includes a controller, configured to receive signals from said load cell and further configured to transmit a first signal to the first actuator to actuate the grabber and a second signal to the second actuator to actuate the buffer stopper.

5. The bundling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tying mechanism includes a third actuator and a tying device to tie said articles held together by said grabber.

6. The bundling system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said controller, is configured to receive signals from said grabber and said tying device and further configured to transmit a third signal from said grabber to actuate said tying mechanism and a fourth signal from said tying device to actuate said unloading mechanism.

7. The bundling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said unloading mechanism includes a fourth actuator configured to tilt said bundling platform to unload said bundled and tied articles.

8. The bundling system as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein at least one of said first actuator, said second actuator, said third actuator, and said fourth actuator is selected from the group consisting of electric motors, wind-up motors, rotary actuators, spur gears, hydraulic system and pneumatic system.

9. A method of bundling articles, comprising the following steps:

• conveying articles to a bundling station;
• transferring conveyed articles from said bundled station to a bundling platform;
• weighing the transferred articles that are received on said bundling platform;
• bundling of weighed articles by at least one grabber;
• tying of bundled articles by a tying device; and
• unloading of bundled and tied articles from said bundling platform.

10. The method of claim 9 which includes the step of intermittently restricting
the transfer of articles from said bundling station to said bundling platform depending upon the mass of the bundle as measured by the load cell and the actuation and de-actuation of a buffer stopper provided between the bundling station and the bundling platform for restricting and de-restricting the movement of articles respectively. , Description:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to bundling system(s) and method(s) for bundling articles.
BACKGROUND
Bundling of articles is a process which comprises conveying of articles to a bundling location, forming a bundle of the conveyed articles and tying the bundled articles together to form a bundle. Bundling system is a system that follows the above mentioned process systematically. In conventional bundling system(s) and method(s), the bundling of articles, holding the bundled articles together and tying the articles together are done manually; therefore, the bundling of articles takes a long time. The conventional bundling operations are not cost effective as a large number of workers are required to perform the operations, and even then the final output of bundled articles is low.
Thus, there is a need for developing an automatic bundling system that is inexpensive and reduces the extent of manual work required in the activity of conveying, bundling, tying and unloading of tied bundled articles.

OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a bundling system that reduces human effort.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a bundling system that performs in an optimal manner from time perspective.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a bundling system that is inexpensive.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a bundling system that has a simple structure and is easy to operate.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a bundling system that is automated.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY
A bundling system and method for bundling articles, wherein the bundling system and method comprises a conveying mechanism for conveying articles to a bundling station, a bundling platform that is configured to receive the articles from the bundling station, a load cell configured to measure the weight of the articles that are received on the bundling platform, a first actuator actuating at least one grabber that is configured to bundle the weighed articles together and a second actuator actuating at least one buffer stopper provided between the bundling station and the bundling platform, configured to restrict the reception of articles on the bundling platform. The bundling system and method further comprises a tying mechanism to tie the bundled articles held together by the grabber(s), and an unloading mechanism configured to unload the tied articles from the bundling platform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION
A bundling system and method of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of an accompanying drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates an isometric view of the bundling system for bundling articles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Fig. 2 illustrates another isometric view of the bundling system of Fig. 1A; and
Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram representing the method of bundling articles.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A bundling system and method in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the embodiments, which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration. The embodiment herein, the various features, and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced, and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
Fig. 1 & Fig. 2 illustrate the isometric view of a bundling system for bundling articles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The bundling system 100 of Fig.1 and Fig.2 comprises a base support structure 105, a conveying mechanism that has at least one conveyor 110, an article 112 being conveyed by the conveyor 110, a stopper 115, a bundling station 120, a bundling platform 125, a load cell, at least one actuator, at least one grabber 130, and at least one buffer stopper 135. In the present disclosure, the bundling system 100 has four actuators which are individually referred as a first actuator 140 , a second actuator (not shown in the figures), a third actuator (not shown in the figure) and a fourth actuator 145.
The conveyor 110 is fitted at one end of the base support structure 105 and the other end of the base support structure 105 has the bundling station 120 and the bundling platform 125 disposed on it. The at least one conveyor 110 is configured to convey articles to the bundling station 120 and further configured to cooperate with the stopper 115. In one embodiment, the conveyor may be a belt or a conveyor system comprising a plurality of belts. The stopper 115 is provided at the operative end of the conveyor 110 and is situated in the proximity of the bundling station 120, wherein the stopper 115 is configured to enable the dropping of articles on the bundling station 120.
The bundling platform 125 is placed operatively below the bundling station 120 and is configured to receive the dropped articles from the bundling station 120. The bundling station 120 includes an inclined slide 122 fitted between the bundling platform 125 and the bundling station 120 to facilitate reception of the articles on the bundling platform 125 by gravity. In one embodiment, the bundling station 120 may have a conveyor system configured to facilitate the movement of articles to the bundling platform 125.
The bundling platform 125 is connected to the load cell (not shown in the figures), wherein the load cell is configured to measure the weight of the articles that are received on the bundling platform 125. The load cell sends a signal to a controller (not shown in the figures), which is configured to transmit a first signal to the first actuator 140 to actuate the grabber 130 and a second signal to the second actuator to actuate the buffer stopper 135 simultaneously when the weight measured by the load cell matches or exceeds a pre-determined weight that was set to start bundling the articles and to restrict further reception of articles on the bundling platform 125. The first actuator 140, under the instructions of the controller, actuates at least one grabber 130 which is configured to bundle the articles together. The second actuator, under the instructions of the controller, actuates at least one buffer stopper 135 that is placed between the bundling station 120 and the bundling platform 125 to restrict further reception of the articles on the bundling platform 125.
The tying mechanism of the bundling system 100 includes a tying device and the third actuator (not shown in the figure). After the bundling of the articles by the grabber 130 is over, the grabber 130 sends a signal to the controller, which is configured to transmit a third signal to the third actuator. The third actuator actuates the tying device, which is configured to tie the bundled articles that are held together by the grabber 130. In one embodiment, the tying device may be a rope, a wire, a cord, a cable or a thread.
The unloading mechanism of the bundling system 100 includes the fourth actuator 145. After the tying of the bundled articles by the tying device is over, the tying device sends a signal to the controller, which is configured to transmit a fourth signal to the fourth actuator 145, thereby activating the fourth actuator 145. The fourth actuator 145 is configured to tilt the bundling platform 125 to unload the bundled and tied articles. In one embodiment, at least one of the first actuator, the second actuator, the third actuator, and the fourth actuator can be an electric motor, a wind-up motor, a rotary actuator, a spur gear, a hydraulic system or a pneumatic system.
The bundling system 100 is a fully automated system that reduces the extent of manual work required in the activity of conveying, bundling, tying and unloading of tied bundled articles. The automated bundling system 100 also has a simple structure and reduces the need of workers, which makes the bundling system 100 cost-effective.
Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram representing a method 200 of bundling articles by the bundling system 100. Block 202 represents conveying of articles to a bundling station by a conveyor. Block 204 represents transferring of conveyed articles from said bundled station to a bundling platform via an inclined slide. Block 206 represents weighing of the transferred articles by a load cell that are received on the bundling platform. Block 208 represents bundling of weighed articles by the means of at least one grabber. Block 210 represents tying of bundled articles by a tying device. Block 212 represents unloading of bundled and tied articles from the bundling platform by tilting the bundling platform. The method 200 also includes a step of intermittently restricting the transfer of articles from the bundling station to the bundling platform depending upon the mass of the bundle as measured by the load cell and the actuation and de-actuation of a buffer stopper provided between the bundling station and the bundling platform for restricting and de-restricting the movement of articles.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

TECHNICAL ADVANCES AND ECONOMICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The bundling system and method, in accordance with the present disclosure described herein above has several technical and/or economic advantages including but not limited to the realization of a bundling system and method that:
? reduces human effort;
? performs in an optimal manner from time prospective;
? is inexpensive;
? has a simple structure and is easy to operate; and
? is automated.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or mixtures or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure, as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application. The numerical value mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the invention, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the specific features of the preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that many additional features can be added and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiment without departing from the principles of the invention. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.