IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE HAIR- BRUSHES.
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
" IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WIRE HAIR-
BRUSHES. A communication from abroad by James Alexander Horton, of
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th August 1881.
THE
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London.
" IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR USE IN
MANUFACTURE OF WIRE HAIR-BRUSHES." [A communication from abroad by
James Alexander Horton, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.]
:
This Invention relates to mechanism for holding a strip of sheet india rubber or
other material while a row or series of metallic pins is being simultaneously
inserted into it to form the brush material of wire or metallic hair brushes,
and for feeding said strip after each row is inserted to place it in position to
receive the next row.
The said Invention has for one of its objects to enable the strip of india rubber
or other material employed to be automatically grasped at its opposite edges and
stretched at the point where the pins are inserted, so that it will be held in a
sufficiently firm condition to enable the series of pins to perforate it when forced
against it without displacing the said strip to any material extent.
The said Invention also has for its object to enable the strip to be automatically
fed so that the pins will be inserted in groups, each group having the desired
number of pins to form a single brush, and separated from the adjacent groups, so
that the strip can be readily cut to detach the sections of material containing the
groups of pins. To these ends the said Invention consists in the improvements
which I will now proceed to describe.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide two chains, and support
the same on two pairs of drums or pulleys, said pulleys being supported respectively

page_text: The said shafts
are adjustable so that they may be separated or drawn closer together as may be
desired for the purpose of regulating the tension of the chains. Each of the chains
is composed of a series of links. Each link is composed of a rectangular frame
having projecting ears which are pivotted to similar ears on the adjacent link.
A lever is pivotted to lugs on the outer side of the link and provided with a jaw;
there is also a jaw formed on one of the side bars of the link. The lever is adapted
to swing inwardly through the openings of the link to separate one jaw from the
other jaw, the drums being provided with peripheral grooves to permit such
movement of the levers. The said jaws are arranged on the inner edge of each
chain, and are adapted to grasp the opposite edges of a strip of sheet rubber or
other suitable material interposed between the chains, the object of the chains
being to present in succession all parts of a strip of suitable material of indefinito
length to suitable devices for inserting a transverse row of pins simultaneously
into said strip. I provide means whereby the strip is guided between the chains,
means whereby the jaws are opened to permit the edges of the strip to be inserted
between them, and means for closing the jaws along short portions of the chains
upon the edges of the strip and for slightly increasing the space between the
portions of the chains along which the strip is grasped, and thereby laterally
stretching the grasped portion of the strip.
on parallel shafts journalled in bearings in a supporting frame.
I also provide means for moving the chains intermittently, giving the same
several steps or movements of equal length in succession to enable a series or group
of rows of pins to be inserted at uniforın distances apart, and then a longer step
or movement to separate such group from the succeeding group.
All of the aforesaid means I will now describe in the order above given, first
stating that the pin inserting mechanisin is located over a horizontal shelf or table
placed opposite the portions of the chains which extend between the drums, and
may be of any suitable kind adapted to insert a transverse row of pins at a single
operation into the strip of material employed between said portions of the chain;
the means for closing the jaws upon the strip and for stretching the latter being
located behind said portions of the chains, so that the strip is held and stretched
at the point where the pins are inserted.
The means for guiding the strip between the chains consists of a pair of curved
sheet metal plates mainly located under and concentric with the lower supporting
drums, one end of each plate diverging from said drums, and being provided with
ears which serve as lateral stops for the edges of the strip. The guides are
The means
supported by standards or strips affixed to a cross-bar on the frame.
for opening the jaws consist of two wheels having teeth or sprockets adapted to
bear against the levers of each chain and force said levers into the grooves of the
drums, thereby opening the jaws, said wheels being arranged to open the jaws when
they coincide with notches formed in the outer edges of the guides, so that after
the jaws pass said notches the edges of the guides are interposed between the jaws,
and are caused to prevent the movable jaws from closing upon the rubber until
they pass beyond the guides, the guides being of the same width as the strip, and
interposed between the strip and the jaws. The guides terminate at or near the
horizontal plane of the axis of the drums, and above the guides the levers are free
to move outwardly to close their jaws upon the strip; this outward motion of the
levers is effected by means of two vertical grooved guides, which extend from
points immediately above the guide to about the horizontal plane of the axis of
the drums, the said drums and guides being adjustable on the shaft to adapt the
machine to receive strips of material of any width. The lower ends of the guides
are curved or inclined outwardly in opposite directions, and grooves extend from
these curved portions to the upper ends of the guides, and their inner edges diverge
slightly from their lower ends. The levers are provided on their rear sides with
backwardly projecting studs or pins, which come in contact with the curved lower
ends of the guides as the chains are moved. The levers are moved outwardly by
the contact of the pins with the curved ends of the guides, and their jaws are thus

page_text: pressed against the edges of the strip, which are now interposed between and
grasped by the jaws; at the same time the pins enter the grooves, and bear against
the diverging inner sides of said grooves. The distance between the chains is
gradually increased by the said diverging sides as the chains move upwardly, so
that the grasped india rubber is stretched laterally and held in a stretched condition
so long as the pins are in the grooves. As before stated, the pins are inserted in
transverse rows into the stretched and grasped portion of the strip. Each row is
inserted simultaneously by pressing the points of the pins against the strip, the
stretched condition of which enables it to stand firmly while the pins are per-
forating it. The strip has a support behind it as well as being held at its edges.
When the levers pass above the guides they pass into the grooves in the drums,
and are released during their downward movement, when they leave the back sides
of the drums, thereby releasing the edges of the strip from the jaws, the strip with
its pins being suitably conducted away from the machine.
The means for feeding the strip intermittently, as above described, are as
follows: On the end of a shaft and rigidly attached thereto is a wheel or collar
having a series of inclined faces resembling ratchet-teeth. A disc is journalled
loosely on the shaft, and having a flange projecting over the inclined faces of the
collar, wedge-shaped spaces being formed between the faces and the inner surface
of the flange. In these wedge shaped spaces are placed loose balls or rolls,
which when the disc is rotated in one direction are crowded into the narrow
ends of said spaces, and cause the collar to rotate with the disc; but when the disc
is rotated in the opposite direction said balls fall back into the wide ends of the
spaces, and do not cause the collar to rotate. It will be seen therefore that by
giving the disc a series of short rotations in one direction the shaft and drums will
be correspondingly rotated, said drums being provided with teeth or sprockets
which enter the openings in the links and cause the chains to move with the drums.
The series of rotations are imparted to the disc by means of a vertically recipro-
cating rod, which is raised intermittently by the action of a cam rotated by any
suitable power, preferably by a treadle controlled by the operator, the cam
alternately raising the rod and allowing it to descend. The rod is provided at its
upper end with an offset or lug, which projects under a lug on the periphery of the
disc, so that when said rod is raised it partially rotates said disc. The downward
motion of the rod is arrested by a disc which is journalled to the frame, and is
located under an adjustable screw in an arm on the rod. The disc is provided with
a ratchet which is engaged by a pawl pivotedt to the arm, said pawl partially
rotating the ratchet and disc at every upward movement of the rod. The disc has
an opening adapted to receive the screw when the disc is rotated, so that said
opening coincides with the end of said screw, the screw entering the opening when
such coincidence takes place, and being arrested by the periphery of a cam within
the disc, so that the screw and rod have a longer descent than when the screw is
arrested by the periphery of the disc, and consequently have a longer upward
movement when next raised, thereby giving the disc and drums a longer rotation
than at other times. The chains are therefore given a succession of movements of
uniform length, and then a single longer movement. A row of pins is inserted in
the strip after each movement thereof, so that a series or group of rows will be
inserted at uniform distances apart, and then a wider space will occur, separating
the group from the succeeding group.
Each group of pins with the portion of the strip in which they are inserted
constitutes the material for a single brush, and can be easily severed from the strip.
The cam is adjustable by means of curved slots and screws passing through the
same, so that the descent of the screw through the opening can be varied to regulate
the space between the groups of pins.
It will be observed that a strip of material of any desired length can be passed
through the machine; that a portion of the material is grasped, stretched, and
moved intermittently at a given point in the machine, and released after passing

page_text: such point; and that all portions of the strip are successively grasped and stretched
until the end is reached.
The pins may be arranged in a row by hand or otherwise on a block on the table
with their points toward the strip, and forced forward simultaneously into the
strip by a bar bearing upon the heads of all the pins, the bar being held and
pressed forward by the operator to cause the pins to perforate the stretched strip.
The stretched condition of the material when the pins are inserted enables the pins
to perforate without displacing it, so that when the material is released it will not
be left in a wavy or uneven condition, as it would if it were simply held at its
edges and not stretched when the pins are inserted.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th February 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF WIRE HAIR BRUSHES." A communication from abroad by
James Alexander Horton, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
This Invention relates to apparatus or mechanism for holding a strip of sheet
india rubber or other material whilst a row or series of metallic pins is being
simultaneously inserted into it to form the brush material of wire or metallic hair-
brushes, and for feeding the said strip after each row is inserted to place it in
position to receive the next row.
The said Invention has for one of its objects to enable the strip of india rubber
or other material employed to be automatically grasped at its opposite edges and
stretched at the point when the pins are inserted, so that it will be held in a
sufficiently firm condition to enable the series of pins to perforate it when forced
against it without displacing the said strip to any material extent.
The said Invention also has for its object to enable the strip to be automatically
fed so that the pins will be inserted in groups, each group having the desired
number of pins to form a single brush, and separated from the adjacent groups so
that the strip can be readily cut to detach the sections of material containing the
groups of pins. To these ends the said Invention consists in the improvements
which I will now proceed to describe and which are illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, in which
Figure 1 represents an elevation of one end of the mechanism or apparatus
embodying my Invention, and
Figure 2 represents a front elevation of the same.
Figure 3 represents an elevation of the opposite end of the said mechanism.
Figure 4 represents a section on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 5 represents a section on the line y, y, Figure 1.
Figure 5 represents a section on the line y', y', Figure 4.
Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 represent views of detached details of
the grasping mechanism.
Figures 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 represent views of detached details of the feeding
mechanism.
Figure 20 represents a view of a portion of the strip of material showing the
grouping of the pins therein.
Like letters refer to the same parts in all of the Figures.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide two chains a, a, and
support the same upon two pairs of drums or pulleys b, b, and c, c, which are
supported upon parallel shafts d, e, journalled in bearings in a supporting frame f.
These shafts d, e, are adjustable so that they may be separated or drawn closer
together, as may be desired, for the purpose of regulating the tension of the
chains a, a. Each of the said chains a, a, is composed of a series of links g, shewn
in detail in Figures 13 and 14. Each link is composed of a rectangular frame
having projecting ears g¹, g¹, which are pivotted to similar ears on the adjacent link.
A lever his pivotted to lugs i, i, on the outer side of the link and provided with a
jaw j; there is also a jaw j formed on one of the side bars of the link. The lever h
is adapted to swing inwardly through the openings of the link to separate the jaw j
from the jaw j, as shewn in Figures 5 and 7, the drums b, b, and c, c, being
provided with peripheral grooves to permit such movement of the levers. The
jaws j, j', are arranged on the inner edge. of each chain and are adapted to grasp
the opposite edges of a strip of sheet india rubber or other suitable material

page_text: interposed between the chains, the object of the chains a, a, being to present in
succession all parts of a strip s of suitable material of indefinite length to suitable
devices for inserting a transverse row of pins simultaneously into the said strip.
I provide means whereby the strip is guided between the chains a, a; means
whereby the jaws are opened to permit the edges of the said strip to be inserted
between them; and means for closing the jaws along short portions of the chains
upon the edges of the strip, and for slightly increasing the space between the
portions of the chains along which the strip is grasped, and thereby laterally
stretching the grasped portion of the strip.
I also provide means for moving the chains intermittently, giving the same
several steps or movements of equal length in succession to enable a series or group
of rows of pins to be inserted at uniform distances apart, and then a longer step or
movement to separate such group from the succeeding group.
All of the aforesaid means I will now proceed to describe in the order above
given, first stating that the pin-inserting mechanism, not shown in the Drawing, is
located over a horizontal shelf or table 7 placed opposite the portions of the chains
which extend between the drums b, b, and c, c, and may be of any suitable kind
adapted to insert a transverse row of pins at a single operation into the strip of
material employed between the said portions of the chains, the means for closing
the jaws upon the strip and for stretching the latter being located behind the said
portions of the chain, so that the strip is held and stretched at the point when the
pins are inserted.
The means for guiding the strips between the chains consists of a pair of curved
sheet metal plates m, m, mainly located under and concentric with the lower
supporting drums b, b, one end of each plate diverging from the said drums, and
being provided with ears n, n, which serve as lateral stops for the edges of the
strip 8. The guides m are supported by standards or strips m², m³, affixed to a
cross bar on the frame f. The means for opening the jaws consist of two
wheels o, o, having teeth or sprockets adapted to bear against the levers of each
chain, and force the said levers into the grooves k of the drums b, b, thereby opening
the jaws, as shown in Figure 5, the said wheels o, o', being arranged to open the
jaws, when they coincide with notches arranged to open the jaws m, m³, formed
in the outer edges of the guides m, so that after the jaws pass said notches the
edges of the guides are interposed between the jaws and prevent the movable
jaws from closing upon the india rubber until they pass beyond the guides, the
latter being of the same width as the strip s, and interposed between the said
strip and the jaws j. The guides terminate at or near the horizontal plane of the
axis of the drums b, b, as shown in Figure 11, and above the said guides the
levers are free to move outwardly to close their jaws upon the strip. This out-
ward motion of the levers is effected by means of two vertical grooved guides p, p,
shewn in Figures 9, 10, and 12, which extend from points immediately above the
guide m to about the horizontal plane of the axis of the drums c, c, the said drums
and guides being adjustable on the shaft to adapt the machine to receive strips of
material of any width. The lower ends of the guides p, p, are curved or inclined
outwardly in opposite directions, as shown at p¹, p', and grooves p², 22, extend
from these curved portions to the upper ends of the guides, and their inner edges
diverge slightly from their lower ends to the points marked 23, 2³, in Figure 12.
The levers are provided on their rear sides with backwardly projecting studs or
pins q which come in contact with the curved lower ends of the guides p as the
chains are moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1. The levers h
are moved outwardly by the contact of the said pins q with the curved ends of
the guides p, and their jaws j are thus pressed against the edges of the strip 8,
which are now interposed between and grasped by the jaws j, j¹, at the same time
the pins q enter the grooves p², and bear against the diverging inner sides of the
said grooves.
The distance between the chains is gradually increased by the said
diverging sides as the chains move upwardly, so that the grasped india-rubber is
stretched laterally and held in a stretched condition so long as the pins q are in

page_text: the grooves p². As before stated the pins are inserted in transvere rows into the
stretched and grasped portion of the strip 8. Each row is inserted simultaneously
by pressing the points of the pins against the strip, the stretched condition of
which enables it to stand firmly while the pins are perforating it. The strip has
a support behind it as well as being held at its edges.
When the levers h pass above the guides p they pass into the grooves & in the
drums c, c, (said grooves acting as continuations of the grooves p² in holding the
levers ), and are released during their downward movement when they leave the
rear sides of the said drums c, c, thereby releasing the edges of the strip s from
the jaws jj, the strip with its pins being suitably conducted away from the
machine.
The means for feeding the strip & intermittently, as above described, are as
follows, that is to say :-On the end of the shaft e and rigidly attached thereto is
a wheel or collar (see Figures 18 and 19), having a series of inclined faces
resembling ratchet-teeth. t represents a disc journalled loosely on the said shaft,
and having a flange t¹ projecting over the inclined faces of the collar, wedge
shaped spaces being thus formed between the faces r¹ and the inner surface
of the flange t¹, as shown in Figure 18. In these wedge shaped spaces are placed
loose balls or rolls u, which when the disc t is rotated in the direction indicated by
the arrow in Figure 18 are crowded into the narrow ends of the said spaces, and
cause the collar to rotate with the disc. But when the disc t is rotated in the
opposite direction the said balls fall back into the wide ends of the spaces, and do
not cause the collar to rotate. It will be seen therefore that by giving the disc t
a series of short rotations in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 18, the
shaft and drums c, c, will be correspondingly rotated, the said drums being
provided with teeth or sprockets v (shown most clearly in Figure 5a), which enter
the openings in the links g, as shown in Figures 4 and 6, and cause the chains a, a,
to move with the drums c, c. The series of rotations are imparted to the disc t by
means of a vertically reciprocating rod w, which is raised intermittently by the
action of a cam w¹ rotated by any suitable power, preferably by a treadle controlled
by the operator, the said cam alternately raising the rod and allowing it to
descend. This rod w is provided at its upper end with an offset or lug A, which
projects under a lug B on the periphery of the disc t, so that when the said rod is
raised it partially rotates the said disc.. The downward motion of the rod is
arrested by a disc C, which is journalled to the frame f, and is located under an
adjustable screw D in an arm E on the rod w. This disc C is provided with a
ratchet wheel F, which is engaged by a pawl G pivotted to the arm E, the said
pawl partially rotating the said ratchet wheel F and disc C at every upward
movement of the rod w. The disc C has an opening H adapted to receive the
screw D when the said disc is rotated, so that the said opening coincides with
the end of the said screw, the latter entering the said opening H when such
coincidence takes place, and being arrested by the periphery of a cam I within
the disc, as shown in Figure 16, so that the screw D and rod w have a longer
descent than when the screw is arrested by the periphery of the disc, and
consequently have a longer upward movement when next raised, thereby giving
the disc t and drums c, c, a longer rotation than at other times. The chains a, a,
are therefore given a succession of movements of uniform length, and then a single
longer movement. A row of pins is inserted in the strip after each movement
thereof, so that a series or group of rows will be inserted at uniform distances apart,
and then a wider space will occur, separating the group from the succeeding group,
as shown in Figure 20. Each group of pins, with the portion of the strip in which
they are inserted, constitutes the material for a single brush, and can be easily
severed from the strip. The cam I is adjustable by means of curved slots and
screws passing through the same, as shown in Figure 15, so that the descent of the
screw D through the opening H can be varied to regulate the space between the
groups of pins.
It will be observed that a strip of material of any desired length can be passed

page_text: through the machine, that a portion of the material is grasped, stretched, and
moved intermittently at a given point in the machine, and released after passing
such point, and that all portions of the strip are successively grasped and stretched
until the end is reached. As previously mentioned, I have shown no mechanism
for inserting the pins into the stretched portion of the india rubber. The pins may
be arranged in a row by. hand or otherwise on a block l, on the table 1, with their
points toward the strip and forced forward simultaneously into the said strip by a
bar bearing upon the heads of all the pins, the said bar being held and pressed
forward by the operator to cause the pins to perforate the stretched strip. The
stretched condition of the material when the pins are inserted enables the pins to
perforate without displacing it, so that when the material is released it will not
be left in a wavy or uneven condition, as it would if it were simply held at its
edges and not stretched when the pins are inserted. I do not limit myself to the
precise mechanical construction of the elements herein shown and described. It is
obvious that each chain embodies a pair of elongated flexible grasping surfaces
composed respectively of the outer faces of the jaws j and the inner faces of the
jaws ¹, the said surfaces being equivalent to two continuous belts pressed together
to clamp the edge of a strip interposed between them. Hence I regard any
mechanism embodying grasping surfaces having these characteristics, and adapted
to grasp and stretch the edges of the strip at a given point in the machine and
release the strip after said point is passed, as included within the scope of my
Invention.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. In a machine for grasping, stretching, and intermittently moving successive
parts of a strip of flexible material, the combination of two pairs of flexible
grasping surfaces mounted as belts upon supporting drums, and adapted to move
intermittently in unison, means for causing the said surfaces at a given point
in the machine to grasp the opposite edges of the strip, and means for stretching
the grasped portion of the fabric, the grasping surfaces being adapted to release
the edges of the strip after passing the said given point, substantially as above
described.
Second. In a machine for grasping, stretching, and intermittently moving
successive parts of a strip of material, the combination of the following elements,
namely, first, two chains composed of pivotted links, each having a movable and a
fixed jaw; secondly, drums supporting the said chains, and adapted to be
intermittently rotated, and to permit the movable jaws to be opened and closed;
thirdly, a guide to introduce the strip of material between the chain; fourthly,
means for opening the movable jaws of the chains before the insertion of the strip;
and fifthly, means for closing the said jaws upon the edges of the strip at a given
point in the machine, and for stretching the strip along the grasped portion, the
said jaws being adapted to release the strip after passing the said given point,
substantially as above set forth.
Third. In combination with the strip holding and stretching mechanism the
automatic feed mechanism, adapted to give the strip a succession of movements
of equal length, and then a single movement of greater length, as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.