Patent GB-501272-A (GB)
Title: Automatic brush-making machine
IPC: A46D3/06
Filed: 1937-07-19
Abstract: 501,272. Brush - making machines; drilling and stapling; brakes ; gearing. FAIRBROTHER, H. (Soc. La Brosse & J. Dupont Reunis) July 19, 1937, No. 19916. [Class 19] [Also in Groups VII, XXII, XXIV, and XXXIV] An automatic machine for drilling and tufting brush stocks comprises a carrier fitted with a number of stock holders and adapted to present each stock in turn to a number of spaced drilling stations and finally to a filling station where bristles are fixed in holes simultaneously with the drilling of similar holes in stocks at one or other of the drilling stations, all the stocks being moved simultaneously in directions at right-angles, while remaining parallel to their original position, to present the holes to be filled, and the corresponding points at which holes are to be drilled to the respective toots; at the end of a complete filling operation the carrier is rotated one step. The bristles are separated from a mass into tufts which are secured by staples made in the machine, the stapling &c. device being reciprocated through epicyclic gearing designed to afford dwell periods at the ends of the stroke. The machine shown, which is electrically driven and controlled, shows a carrier fitted with six stock holders, there being four drills for drilling holes of different inclination or size. The stock holders are carried on cranks 62, Fig. 12, connected to a plate 70 of the same radius as the radial distance of the crank-pins from the centre of the carrier 68, the plate 70 being rotated through bevel gearing 76, Fig. 12<1> including a friction drive, and the carrier being stopped at the various stations by the engagement of a catch 29 with notches 65 ; the catch is retracted by a solenoid energized at the end of a tufting operation, and the plate then rotated, by electric motor O, to the next station. The carrier is movable bodily to present the drilled holes to the tufter and the stocks to the drills and for this purpose is mounted to slide, by bearings 104, Fig. 13, on a collar 100 carried in turn by bearings at right-angles on a frame 85. The movements are effeted by cams 95, 96 rotated by a gear 90 which is interchangeable and has as many teeth as there are holes to be drilled. The drills, which are driven by separate motors, are carried by arms 149, Fig. 19 adjustably clamped on arms 147 which can turn axially on frame members so as to vary the inclination of the drills. They are traversed by the engagement of a roller 131, Fig. 18 with a cam 136 driven by a universally jointed shaft 36. The roller, shown in its inoperative position, is carried by a spring influenced shaft 128 operated by a lever 135 controlled by a cam. The spindle head is vertically adjustable to vary the depth of hole. The bristles are fed from an arc-shaped holder 177, Figs. 5, 5<1> over the mouth of which reciprocates a notched picker 178, Figs. 26, 26<1>. The bristles are removed from the notch by a forked member 196 and placed in a recess 197 in the tufter. The size of the tuft is varied by a member that straddles the picker. The separated tuft is fixed by a wire staple made in the machine. The wire 139 is fed by a pair of nipping devices one of which is fixed while the other is given an adjustable reciprocation. Figs. 30 and 31 show the apparatus for forming the staple, the wire being fed to lie over an anvil 236 and its ends bent by rocking the members 228, 230 in opposite directions; the ends of the wire are engaged by projections 241, 250, the projection 241 severing the wire. The members 228, 230 are operated by racks 232, Fig. 20, which are engaged by adjustable stops 234 as the tufter reciprocates. The anvil is withdrawn and the staple driven home by a driver 218. The driving-mechanism for the tufter &c. includes epicyclic gearing consisting of a planet carrier 208, Fig. 5<1> engaging a sun wheel 34 and driven by the main crank-shaft. An eccentric 207 is provided on the planet carrier shaft 57 and drives the tufter through a rod 210. The main shaft E, Fig. 5, driven by a pulley 39, is fitted with a magnetic brake comprising a plate 46 carried by a clutch plate 47 and engaging a friction surface 48 when moved by solenoids Q. The solenoids are embraced by a bronze sleeve 49. The main shaft carries a commutator plate 51 co-operating with brushes M, N, P, and the machine is arranged to work continuously, or to stop after each brush has be n tufted.