Improvements in Brush-making Machinery.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Sept., 1887
Specification Accepted, 25th Nov., 1887
Improvements in Brush-making Machinery.
I, CARL GUTSMUTHS, of Eutritzsch near Leipzig, Saxony, in the Empire of Germany,
Engineer, 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
following statement:-
This invention relates to a machine by means of which the tufts or bunches of
bristles or hairs used in the manufacture of a brush may be drawn by means of binding
wire into the holes or perforations provided in the stock of the brush and adequately
secured in place.
And in order that this invention may be readily understood, I will proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, whereof Figure 1 is
a front elevation of a machine embodying my present improvements, Figure 2 being a
side view of the same, and Figure 3 a plan, the table-top or plate having been
removed. Figure 4 is a cross section on the line I-I, Figure 1, and Figures 5
to 16 are detail views of the principal parts of the machine to an enlarged
scale.
'
The needle employed in this machine is of peculiar construction, and is shewn in
side elevation, sectional elevation and horizontal section in Figures 14, 15 and 16
respectively. An open slit u is substituted for the usual eye,' and a groove u is
preferably provided for the passage of the binding wire; though, as hereinafter
explained with reference to Figure 9, the groove u may be dispensed with in favour of
another groove provided in close proximity to the needle. The binding wire D is
coiled on a drum D¹ (Figure 2), whence it is led over the roller L, through the
clip (Figures 3 and 4) and around the brake-disc B', over the roller Land
around the roller A¹, mounted in the arm W2 of a cranked lever W, Figures 1 and 3.
The wire then passes along the needle, through the slit u', and is secured to the stock
of the brush.
The main or driving shaft 3, Figure 1, is rotated by means of a crank 3ª, connecting
rod 4 and treadle 5, the latter being pivoted on the bar 1; other means for actuating
the said shaft may, however, be employed. The driving pulley 2 operates the shaft a
through the pulley band clutch 6 c. The clutch bc (Figures 1, 3, 12 and 13),

page_text: consists of a sleeve b, loosely mounted on the shaft a, but rigidly connected with the
pulley, and another sleeve c, capable of sliding on a feather or key c¹ in the shaft a,
The two parts b and c are kept in contact by means of a spiral spring on the shaft a.
The clutch be is thrown into and out of action, and the rotation of the shaft a arrested,
by means of a projection on the lever ; the latter being caused to oscillate on the
shaft 11 (Figures 11, 12 and 13) by means of a connecting rod V. cranked lever 12
and rod $. This rod is suspended by means of the helical spring, which indirectly
causes the projection p to bear against the sleeve c. The rod S is operated by means
of two levers R and H (Figure 2). By depressing the arm of the lever H, the
arm raises the arm of the lever R and depresses the arm *, to which the rod S is
jointed, thus withdrawing the projection p from contact with the sleeve c, and out of
the path of the projection n. Under these circumstances, the shaft a is rotated by the
shaft 3. The arm 1, when liberated, is raised into its normal position by means of the
spring 2. The arm is provided with a pivoted point s and is thus enabled to pass
the arm ”.
The ends is rigid from a certain point in one direction, but movable in
the other, and is provided with a suitable spring, by the action of which it is caused
to resume its normal position after passing the arm . The projection n on the
sleeve is provided with a wedge-shaped extension k adapted to engage with the
stop p; the requisite longitudinal movement being by these means communicated to
the sleeve c, against the resistance of the spring f2, when the clutch b c is to be thrown
out of gear and the motion of the shaft a arrested by the stop p arriving in contact
with the projection n. A third shaft d, preferably in the same horizontal plane as the
shaft a and parallel thereto, is, by means of a spur-wheel or pinion A keyed on the
shaft a and a spur-wheel B keyed on the shaft d driven at half the speed of
the shaft a. The shaft d carries a cylindrical sleeve C (Figures 1 and 3) the periphery
whereof is formed with a cam-groove for the reception of a pin W³ fixed in the
arm W of the cranked lever W. The requisite reciprocating motion is communicated
to the cranked lever W by the pin W³ working in the groove c² as the shaft d is
rotated. The cylindrical sleeve C carries a pressure-disc K³, whereby the tension on
the spring is varied as the shaft & rotates, and the clip is rendered operative or
inoperative as required. The clipz merely consists of two hinged plates, each provided
with a groove, the wire D slipping between and being intermittently gripped within
the said grooves. The shaft d also carries a crank-disc K for the purpose of communi-
cating a reciprocating movement to the slide S¹ by means of a pin k¹ working in a
horizontal groove in the said slide. The slide S₁ is provided with an arm S² containing
a socket for the reception of the needle and through which the binding wire is passed.
In the detail views, Figures 8 and 9, no groove is provided in the needle N for the
reception of the binding wire D; the latter passes through a groove N2 cut in the
needle-tube N¹. The binding wire is controlled by means of a bearing-spring X,
which tends to prevent the return of the wire as it is gradually drawn from the
drum D.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The brush-stock having been placed in
position on the saddle, the lever his depressed, the shaft a is rotated, and the needle
is driven upwards through the particular perforation it is desired to fill with bristles;
the requisite length of binding wire being carried with the needle. The latter is then
withdrawn, leaving behind it the binding wire, which, through the downward move-
ment of the cranked lever, subsequently takes the shape of a loop wide enough for
the reception of the tuft or bunch of bristles, which by ineans of a shuttle is inserted
in the said loop in the usual way. The lever h is then again depressed, the shaft a
rotated and the binding wire tightened by means of the cranked lever W; the tuft of
bristles being pulled at the same time into position. The operations above described
are repeated until the brush-stock is filled with bristles, the binding wire being then
severed and properly secured.
Each time the lever is depressed, half a revolution only is communicated to the
shaft ; the loop being formed during one half revolution and the bristles drawn into
the brush-stock during the other half revolution. During the greater part of the
second half revolution, the binding wire D is held by the clip =.
Towards the end of

page_text: the stroke the spring appertaining to the latter is, however, liberated by the pressure-
dise K. The wire is then free to slip through the clip and over the brake-disc B',
the risk of the binding wire being fractured being by these means considerably
diminished. The clip is also inoperative whilst the wire is being drawn through the
brush-stock to form the loop.
In the improved machine above described, the binding wire travels at different
speeds, according to whether the loop is being formed or the bristles drawn into the
brush-stock. It is moreover for a time securely held in a clip to enable the latter
operation to be properly accomplished; the pressure exerted by the clip being suitably
regulated to prevent damage to the binding wire. The formation of the needle with a
slit instead of an eye greatly facilitates the operation of the machine and simplifies its
construction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. The improved machine for drawing the tufts into the stock of a brush,
constructed or operating substantially as herein set forth, and wherein the wire loop
intended to take up the bristles is produced by the intermittent motion of the
needle.
2. In a machine of the kind referred to in the preceding claiming clause, the use of
a needle provided with a slit at the point instead of an eye, the wire passing along a
groove either in the needle or in the needle-chase.
3. In a brush-tufting machine, the combination of the slide S¹ holding the needle
with the cranked lever W operating the wire, substantially as and for the purposes
herein set forth.
4. In a brush-tufting machine, the combination with the brake-disc B', of the slide S¹,
cranked lever W, pressure-disc K¹, clip z and clip-spring ', the whole operating
substantially as herein set forth.
5. In a brush-tufting machine, the improved means for throwing the shaft a in and
out of gear, substantially as described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 11, 12 and 13;
the same consisting essentially of a clutch bc, operated by means of a projection k n
and stop p actuated from a foot-lever H.
Dated this 26th day of September 1887.
G. G. M. HARDINGHAM,
191, Fleet Street, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.