Improvements in the Manufacture of Fine Tooth Combs and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Fine Tooth Combs and the like.
I, LOUIS BOLLE, of Oyonnax (Aisne), in the Republic of France, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Fine tooth and scurf combs of celluloid vulcanite, horn and the like have
hitherto usually been made by cutting out the teeth, by means of rasps or circular
saws, in the blank or piece of material cut to the desired dimensions.
The so-called intercutting process employed for making many kinds of combs,
such as back hair combs, side combs, fringe combs, hair combs and the like, has not
hitherto been able to be used for making fine tooth combs. The arrangement of the
machines and the mode of working for intercutting would cause too great waste
of material and give rise to difficulties by reason of the heating of the material.
My invention has for its object a means of employing intercutting in a peculiar
manner for making fine tooth combs and by this means I obtain a saving of about
30% in material and 20% in labour over the processes at present in use.
I make the fine tooth combs of a strip of material of a width equal to the length
of the pattern of comb it is desired to make, or double this length if it be desired
to make two rows of combs simultaneously by means of two pairs of intercutting
knives. The length of the strip of material is only limited by that of the sheets
usually made industrially.
It is only by making the length of the fine tooth combs across the width of
the strip of material and not along its length that I succeed in utilising com-
pletely the strip of material dealt with, and this is a characteristic point of
my invention. An uninterrupted series of small tooth combs may thus be cut
out, in which the end tooth of each comb commences the teeth of the next.
The frame of the intercutting machine is cut out behind the blades of the
cutters so as to allow of the strip which is to be cut out passing under the blades,
said strip advancing in a longitudinal direction between two arms which carry
a pulley driving suitable eccentrics. The blades usually two in number are keyed
on these eccentrics. A greater number of blades may be arranged between the
arms when the width of the strip of material admits of a larger number of fine
tooth combs being formed from it. As the ordinary arrangement for drawing
the strip of material transversely by a pawl and rack mechanism is not suitable
in view of the fineness of the teeth of the combs requiring greater precision I
replace this method of moving the strip forward by a screw arrangement, the
carriage forming a nut on a screw thread.
A suitable reheater serving for progressively heating the material before it
passes under the knives is arranged under the strip. The finished combs are
allowed to cool and it is preferable to wait until they are completely cooled for

page_text: disjoining and separating them from each other thus avoiding the malformations
to which combs made by the ordinary process of intercutting are necessarily
exposed.
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WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Fine Tooth Combs and the like.
I, LOUIS BOLLE, of Oyonnax (Aisne), in the Republic of France, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement:
Fine tooth and scurf combs of celluloid, vulcanite, horn and the like have
hitherto usually been made by cutting out the teeth, by means of rasps or circular
saws, in the blank or piece of material cut to the desired dimensions.
The so-called intercutting process employed for making many kinds of combs,
such as back hair combs, side combs, fringe combs, hair combs and the like, has not
hitherto been able to be used for making fine tooth combs. The arrangement of the
machines and the mode of working for intercutting would cause too great waste
of material and give rise to difficulties by reason of the heating of the material.
My invention has for its object a means of employing intercutting in a peculiar
manner for making fine tooth combs, and by this means I obtain a saving of about
30% in material and 20% in labour over the processes at present in use.
I make the fine tooth combs of a strip of material of a width equal to the length
of the pattern of comb it is desired to make, or double this length if it be desired
to make two rows of combs simultaneously by means of two pairs of intercutting
knives. The length of the strip of material is only limited by that of the sheets
usually made industrially.
It is only by making the length of the fine tooth combs across the width of
the strip of material and not along its length that I succeed in utilising com-
pletely the strip of material dealt with, and this is a characteristic point of
my invention.
An uninterrupted series of small tooth combs may thus be cut
out, in which the end tooth of each comb commences the teeth of the next.
The sheet of material may for instance be of sufficient width to form say eight
combs of seven centimetres length where say two sets of cutting blades are
employed, or sixteen combs where say four sets of blades are employed, said six-
teen combs being cut simultaneously and continuously as many times as the
length of the strip of material allows and with a loss of material amounting to
only the first and last or inter-tooth.
The machine I employ preferably for intercutting the combs is shown in the
accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a front view;
Figure 2, a vertical section on the line 1-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3, a vertical section on the line 3-4 of Figure 1;
Figure 4, a horizontal section on the line 5-6 of Figure 1.
The frame A of the intercutting machine is cut out at Z behind the blades D D¹
D2 D3 of the cutters so as to allow of the strip E E¹ which is to be cut out
passing under the blades, said strip or strips advancing in a longitudinal direction,

page_text: as shown by the arrow, Figure 2, between two arms B B which carry a pulley C
driving a shaft a on which suitable cams dddd³ are keyed. The cams impart
to the rods F F1 F2 F3 respectively a punching motion, the course of which is
adjustable according to the width of the strip of material under treatment and
which motion is then imparted to the blade carrying slides T T T T³ returned
by springs H H H H³. *The strips of material to be cut are fixed under a grip
device I, Figure 4, attached to a carriage J which is moved forward by a screw
arrangement L forming a nut on a screw thread K. The screw K receives its
movement by means of a ratchet wheel c operated by a cam P and pawl link O,
the latter being pulled to the ratchet by a spring s¹.
A stop Q (Figures 1 and 2) is mounted on the carriage J by screws or the like
so as to be adjustable according to the width of the strip of material employed
or the length of combs which it is desired to obtain and it has for its object to
stop the cutting of the teeth before the end of the comb or edge of the strip is
quite reached in order to leave the last tooth of a sufficient width. For this pur-
pose said stop encounters at the end of its course a finger V pivoted at V, which
finger has a notched heel piece engaging under spring pressure over a projection p
fixed on the lower end of a clutch lever M pivoted at A, the effect of which is to
cause the finger to lift its notched heel clear of the projection p and thus allow said
lever M to turn on its pivot under the pull of a spring y, whereby the forked upper
end of the lever M actuates a suitable clutch on the shaft a and disengages the
latter from the pulley C which then runs loosely on the shaft. The movement
of the shaft a and eccentrics dd dd, and consequently the punching action
and the travel of the carriage are thus stopped. When the first row of teeth are
cut, the pawl O is thrown out of gear with the ratchet e by means of a hand lever R
pivoted on a bracket, the strips are then advanced by hand to a suitable extent,
equal to the space desired between each row and then the carriage is returned to
its starting point by simply turning the crank handle S which is mounted on
the screwed spindle K. The link O is then again allowed to spring into gear with
the ratchet c by releasing the handle R which is then pulled back by a spring s
and the shaft a is again clutched to the pulley C by moving the clutch lever M by
a handle N on its lower end until it is again caught by the notched heel of the
finger V and the movement of the parts recommences.
The rods F F F F are guided in slides e e¹, and the blade carrying slides TT
T T3 by rings or bearings f f f f³. The distance between the rods and the
slides may be modified at will, so as to allow combs of all the ordinary lengths
to be made. For this purpose they are mounted on a dove tail slide on the frame
and the movement apart is effected by means of screws, 1, 2, 3, 4 on which the
slides 11 21 31 4' form nuts. The eccentrics d dd2 d³ of course follow the separa-
tion desired, and for this are movable on the shaft and held in place whilst work-
ing by screws and rings m m¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The manufacture of fine tooth and scurf combs by making the combs with
their lengths across the width of the strips of material, which width may be that
of a whole sheet to form say eight combs of seven centimetres length where say
two sets of cutting blades are employed, or sixteen combs where say four sets of
blades are employed, said sixteen combs being cut simultaneously and continuously
as many times as the length of the strip allows and with a loss of material only
amounting to the first and last or inter-tooth, substantially as herein before set forth.
2. A machine for cutting fine tooth combs and the like, comprising the follow-
ing essential parts, namely, a frame cut out behind the blades so as to allow the
inter cut bands to pass; a number of adjustable cutting blades; means for separat-
ing and adjusting the slides; rods connected with cams; means for effecting an
easy return of the carriage; an automatic throwing out of gear device and a

page_text: screw device enabling any fineness of teeth to be cut; whereby fine cut and regular
combs may be produced with a maximum of economy, substantially as herein-
before described.
Dated this 17th day of Fahmi 1900
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.