Patent GB-638062-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to brush making machines
IPC: A46D3/06
Filed: 1945-03-17
Abstract: 638,062. Brush-making machines. CARLSON, J. I., and CARLSON, C. D. March 27, 1945, No. 7740. Convention date, Nov. 16, 1942. [Class 19] [Also in Group XXII] A continuously-operating machine for drilling and tufting brush stocks comprises a pair of stock holders arranged beneath each drilling and tufting mechanism, and means for moving each pair step-by-step so that a stock in one holder of each pair is completely drilled or tufted by the associated mechanism, and the stock in the other holder of the pair is then presented to the mechanism while the drilled or tufted stock in the first holder is being removed and replaced by a fresh stock. Means are provided for stopping automatically the operation of the mechanisms while one holder of the pair is being moved out of and the other into, operative position. The movement of the holders is such that the rows of tufts are inserted in opposite directions, transversely of the stocks, in the two stocks held in the pair of holders ; accordingly, the direction of reciprocation of the tuft guard to and from its tuftinserting position is reversed automatically as the tuft-inserting operation shifts from one stock to the other. The machine shown comprises two drilling mechanisms 20 and two tufting mechanisms 21 supported from a crosshead 13. With each mechanism is associated a pair of stock holders 100, 100<SP>1</SP>, all the pairs being mounted on a table 15 which is movable longitudinally of the machine, i.e. from left to right in Fig. 1, on ways 16. The latter are formed in slides 17 movable transversely of the machine on a bridge-piece 14 which is movable vertically. The drills of the drilling mechanisms are reciprocated by a shaft 28 from a motor 50 through belts 54, 58 and rotated by a separate motor, not shown, the shaft 28 being geared to a shaft 40 which operates certain parts of the tufting mechanism, other parts being operated by an eccentric 34 on the shaft 28. The shaft 28 is adapted to be clutched to the shaft of the pulley 56 by means of a clutch 60 normally closed by a spring. The clutch has a single driving tooth 63 only, so that it will always re-engage with the shaft 28 in the same relative angular position. The movable clutch member has a groove 70 with two inclined faces 73, Fig. 2, which permit entry into the groove of a clutch-disengaging rod 75. The latter is urged to enter the groove by a spring 85 and can be withdrawn to allow the clutch to engage, by a hand lever 84, and be locked in withdrawn position by a bolt 87 biassed by a spring to enter a groove 86 in the rod 75. The lever 84 and the bolt are connected respectively to trip levers 94, 92. The table 15 carrying the pairs of stock holders 100, 100<SP>1</SP> is moved in steps both longitudinally and transversely of the machine by means of a camshaft 101 which is rotated step-by-step by a crank 115 on the pulley 56, Fig. 1, acting through a rod 114 and a pawl and ratchet 113, 110. The shaft 101 carries four segmental cam discs 116<SP>1</SP>, 130<SP>1</SP>, 138 and 200. The disc 116<SP>1</SP> effects longitudinal movement of the table 15 and comprises a series of humps 221 co-operating with a cam follower 123, Fig. 4, connected by a link 121 and bell-crank lever 120 with a pin 126 which engages a bar 127 secured to the lefthand end of the table 15. As the shaft 101 is rotated step-by-step, the rise of each hump 221 is effective to move the holder 100 to the right in successive steps, a hole being drilled in the stock or a tuft inserted at each step, as shown by the holes A-C, Fig. 7. At the end of the row, the holder is moved transversely, and is then moved in steps to the left by the fall of the hump 221. This continues for successive humps 221 until the whole of the stock in the first holder 100, up to hole D, has been dealt with. The transverse movements of the table are effected by the cam disc 130<SP>1</SP>, which comprises a series of steps of increasing radius co-operating with a cam follower linked to the table. When the last hole D in the first stock has been dealt with, the table is moved in steps further to the left by a suitable cam configuration of the disc 116<SP>1</SP>, so as to move the holders 100 clear of the mechanisms and the holders 100<SP>1</SP> into operative position. The second stock is then operated from position E to position F, after which a second cam configuration shifts the table again to the right to return the holder 100 to operative position. While the stock in holder 100<SP>1</SP> is being operated on, the step-by-step longitudinal movements of the table are effected by cam humps on the disc 116<SP>1</SP> which are similar to the humps 221 but of smaller mean radius. Means for declutching the shaft 28 while the. cam configurations are moving the holders 100 and 100<SP>1</SP> from and to their operative positions comprise two pairs of fingers 143, 145 and 144, 146 fixed on the shaft 101. The pairs of fingers are respectively effective, at the appropriate times, to trip the lever 92 so as to withdraw the bolt 87 and cause the clutch 60 to be disengaged, and to trip the lever 94 so as to withdraw the rod 75 and allow the clutch to re-engage. The cam disc 138 on the shaft 101 is similar in its form and connections to the disc 130<SP>1</SP>, and operates to move the table vertically. The cam disc 200 operates to control the direction of reciprocation of the tuft guards 155. The latter are reciprocable transversely of the machine, between each successive tuft insertion, by a crank disc 47  on the shaft 40 acting resiliently through a rod 176. A collar on the latter engages and tilts a cross-head 165 each time the disc 47 rotates, the cross-head being connected by a link 171 to the carriage of the tuft guards so as to reciprocate the latter after each tuft insertion. After each tilting movement, the crosshead is returned automatically to a central position, in which the guards are aligned with the tufting mechanisms. The rod 176 is mounted on a slide movable from one end of the cross-head to the other, the arrangement being such that when the slide is at one end the cross-head is tilted, as the disc 47 rotates, in one direction, and in the opposite direction when it is at the other end. Consequently, the tuft guards are reciprocated in opposite directions transversely of the machine according as the rod 176 is at one end or the other of the cross-head. The cam disc 200 acts through a cam follower 210, a lever 206, and a resilient linkage 202, to reverse the position of the rod 176 in the cross-head each time the holder 100 or 100<SP>1</SP> is moved into or out of operative position relative to the tufting mechanism. If the machine should be so arranged that the brush stock is tufted longitudinally of the stock, instead of transversely, as shown in Fig. 7, the cam 200 would be so formed that the direction of reciprocation of the tuft guards is reversed on the completion of each longitudinal row of tufts. Each tuft guard consists of a pair of plates 156, Fig. 9, connected only at the upper end of one edge by a U-shaped strap 157. The segments of the various cam discs 116<SP>1</SP>, 130', 138 and 200 are selected with a configuration to suit the arrangement of tuft holes for different types of brushes, and the holders and their driving means may be arranged for transverse, longitudinal or diagonal drilling and tufting.