FILLING TOOL FOR THE INSERTION AND FASTENING OF BRISTLE BUNDLES

Abstract: Filling tool for the insertion and fastening of brush bristles by means of anchor plates, of the type by which the front end (20) consists of two guide elements (16, 17) for guiding anchor plates (4), characterized by the fact that these guide elements (16, 18) are movable with regard to one another according to the filling direction of the filling tool (16).

Description: This invention is related to a filling tool for the insertion and fastening of brush bristles by means of anchor plates, which filling tool comprises a front end comprising two guide elements for guiding between them an anchor plate in the filling direction for inserting it in a hole of a brush body. It is well-known that when manufacturing brushes, the fibres can be secured in the brush body by means of clamps as well as of anchor plates. The installation of clamps or anchor plates upon the adjunction of fibers in the holes of the brush body occurs by means of filling tools, which, like everybody knows, differ widely from one another depending on if they are intended either for the installation of clamps or for the installation of anchor plates. For what regards the insertion of brush fibers by means of clamps, filling tools dealt with by the US patents no 1.467.365 and 2.187.791 of which the guide elements for the clamps can perform a limited movement with regard to one another, may be used. In the case of the filling tools such as described in US patent No 1.467.365, the guide elements are connected to each other by means of a lever mechanism, so that when one guide element moves downwards, the other moves equally upwards. Because of its specific construction, this filling tool is not suitable for the insertion of bristles in brush bodies with a strongly curved surface. Because the two guide elements are connected together with a lever mechanism, they can only perform a limited movement. In the case of a brush body with a strongly curved surface, it is so not possible to have both guide elements coming down simultaneously on the brush body, consequently no continuous transition between both guide elements and the walls of the hole in the brush body can be realized. A continuous transition is, on the other hand, a strict requisite if anchor plates are used. According to US patent No 2.187.791, mutually movable guide elements are used, by which the movement thereof is indispensable for the formation of a clamp. Both aforementioned well-known filling tools, respectively such as described in US patents No 1.467.365 and 2.187.791, are specifically meant and exclusively suitable for the fastening of bundles of fibres by means of clamps formed of round wire. For the manufacturing of toothbrushes, nail brushes, hair brushes and other fine brushes, the conventional clamps in round wire are not widely used. Now it is obvious that for the installation of the clamps in the holes of a brush body, the latter should have a sufficient thickness, which is not the case for the aforementioned brushes. The solution for the securing of bundles of fibres in thin-walled brush bodies lies in the use of the aforementioned anchor plates, which are mainly composed of small flat wire pieces, which are cut in the form of plates of the suitable length. Such anchor plates are introduced in the hole in the brush body when inserting the fibres, by which they are clamped in the walls of these holes. Because the anchoring of such anchor plates occurs in the side walls of the holes in the brush body, so unlike the fastening by means of clamps which are inserted in the bottom of the aforementioned holes, it is obvious that this gives rise to the advantage that brush bodies may be very thin. The installation of anchor plates occurs with a filling tool such as for example described in the German patent application No 2.911.668. Such a filling tool is provided at its front end with two guide elements, along which anchor plates, as well as a small bundle of fibres, can be pushed in the holes in the brush body. Both guide elements are at every turn pressed against the brush body wall during the installation of a small bundle of fibres, so that each anchor plate is continuously driven during the transition from the filling tools to the hole in the brush body. Recent developments in the die-casting technique and the general trend towards material savings in the brush industry, have contributed to the fact that one aims at thin-walled brush bodies, also for types of brushes other than those already mentioned. This implies that the use of anchor plates also finds its application for instance for washing-up brushes and the like. With those types of brushes, the problem is that in most cases, the bundles of fibres are to be installed obliquely with regard to the brush body surface or in a brush body with a curved surface, by which the proper guidance of the anchor plates upon their transition from the filling tool to the hole in the brush body comes off badly. It is, indeed, so that the continuous transition between the guide elements of the filling tool and the hole in the brush body remains guaranteed as long as the line of intersection of the plane in which the anchor plate is moving with the brush body wall is parallel to the front edge of the relevant anchor plate at the hole to be filled. If this is however no longer the case, which happens frequently in the manufacturing of brushes with strongly curved bodies, both guide elements can not be placed with their front ends at the same distance of the brush body, in other words when the filling tool is placed with its front end against a brush body, only one guide element shall be in contact with it, while a clearance shall appear between the second guide element and the brush body wall. In the case where such a clearance is relatively important, problems appear during the filling of the brush body, because the anchor plates are no longer effectively guided at one side at the level of the aforementioned clearance. This problem occurs definitely when manufacturing washing-up brushes with a spherical body. The invention has thus as an object a filling tool for the insertion and fastening of brush bristles by means of anchor plates by which the aforementioned drawbacks are systematically excluded, in other words by which regardless of the direction of the filling tool with regard to the brush body, on the one hand, there is always a proper guidance of the anchor plates, and on the other hand, no damage is caused to the brush body. To this end at least one of the guide elements is mounted slidably on the tool movement in the filling direction under the action of pressure exerted through flexible means. In a particular embodiment of the invention, only one of the two guide elements is slidable with regard to the filling tool. With a view to show better the characteristics of the invention, the problem occuring with the existing executions and, as an example without any limitative character, a preferred execution of the current invention are described, with reference to the appended drawings, in which : Figure 1 represents the type of fastening of brush bristles, for which the filling tool according to the invention is meant; Figure 2 represents a sectional view according to line II-II in Figure 1; Figures 3 up to and including 5 represent various possibilities according to which an anchor plate can be installed with regard to the brush body wall; Figure 6 represents the aformentioned problem occuring when using the existing filling tools; Figure 7 represents a well-known, but disadvantageous solution to the problem occuring in Figure 6; Figure 8 represents the front part of a filling tool according to this invention; Figure 9 clarifies the working of the filling tool according to the new invention. The filling tool according to this invention is, like represented in Figures 1 and 2, meant for the insertion and fastening of bristles 1 in holes 2 of brush body 3 by means of anchor plates 4, which are made of flat pieces of wire or the like. Like represented in Figures 3 up to and including 5, for the existing filling tools the anchor plates 4 is fed between two fixed guide elements 5 and 6, of which only the front ends are represented for clarity purposes. Also the bundle of fibres to be installed which is meant to shape the bristles 1 is not represented in these figures. It is obvious that depending on the shape given to a brush, a filling tool can be oriented differently with regard to wall 7 of the brush body. Like discussed in the introduction, in some cases, the anchor plate 4 will then be insufficiently guided. If, like represented in Figures 3 and 4, the aforementioned wall 7 forms a line of intersection with the plane in which the anchor plate 4 is placed, which is parallel to front edge 9 of the anchor plate, no problem raises during the filling process. If however, like represented in Figure 5, the aforementioned line of intersection stands at an angle with the front edge 9 of anchor plate 4, when the said angle is of a certain magnitude, difficulties might appear with respect to the proper guidance of anchor plate 4. In the last case, the filling tool will indeed, like it is clearly represented in Figure 6, no longer be placed with both points 10 and 11 of the guide elements 5 and 6 against wall 7 of the brush body 3. Between point 11 and the brush body 3, there is thus a clearance 12, along which the bundle of fibres 13 to be inserted and/or the anchor plate 4 can fall off the guide elements 5 and 6, which leads to a fault. Like already discussed in the introduction, it is well-known that a solution to this is given by, like represented in Figure 7, pushing one of the guide elements, in this case guide element 5, into the brush body 3, so that no undesired clearance 12 appears. Of course this brings about a damage 14 to the brush body 3, which is a drawback that can be excluded by the use of the filling tool described below. Figure 8 represents thus schematically a filling tool 15 according to the invention, with a particular characteristic that the two guide elements 16 and 17 for guidance of the anchor plates 4 are movable with regard to one another. In the represented execution, to this effect both guide elements 16 and 17 are slidable on the filling tool 15, by which they are pushed like schematically represented by means of arrows 18 and 19, to the front end 20 of the filling tool. To this effect for instance a pressure force can be exerted by means of flexible means, like springs. The guide elements 16 and 17 are slidable because they are provided with long slots 21 and 22, which can work in concert with the guides 23 and 24 solidly connected to the filling tool 15. It is obvious that if the filling tool as represented in Figure 9 is brought in the vicinity of a brush body 3, one of the guide elements, in this case 16, is slided with respect, to the other, especially because it is pushed. As can be seen in Figure 9, a continuous guiding is then guaranteed for the bundle of fibres 13 and the anchor plate 4, so that a faultless insertion is guaranteed at anytime. According to a variant of the invention, only one of the guide elements 16 and 17 will be mounted to the movable with regard to the filling tool 15.

Claims: A filling tool (15) for insertion and fastening brush bristles (13) by means of anchor plates (4) and comprising two guide elements (16, 17) for guiding between them brush bristles (13) and an anchor plate (4) in a filling direction (18, 19) for insertion thereof in a hole (2) of a brush body (3), characterized in that at least one of the guide elements (16, 17) is mounted slidably on the tool (15) for movement in the filling direction under the action of pressure exerted through flexible means (18, 19).

Inventors: BOUCHERIE, LEONEL
Applicants: G.B. BOUCHERIE, N.V.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A46D3
IPC codes: A46D3