IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING BRUSHES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Sheldon, of Newhaven, Connecticut,
United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
MANUFACTURING BRUSHES."-A communication from abroad by Bernard
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Joseph Sheldon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 26th October 1869, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I. JOSEPH
SHELDON, of Newhaven, Connecticut, United States of America, now of
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING BRUSHES," and have petitioned Her
Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn Decla-
[Price 8d.1

page_text: ration that that the same has been communicated to me from abroad by
Bernard Lavary, of New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Sheldon, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing forming
part of this Specification
The said Invention relates to further improvements in the machinery
described in the Specification of an Invention communicated by me to
Willian Robert Lake, and for which Letters Patent were granted to
him, bearing date the Twelfth day of September, A.D. 1868, No. 2815.
The machinery therein described is designed for the manufacture of
brushes in which each tuft or bunch of fibre is secured by a separate
wire staple in a perforation formed partly through the brush stock, the
tufts of fibre being bent or doubled, and (together with the wire staples
which clasp them) forced into the perforations, wherein they are secured
and held by the said staples. The main features of the said machinery
are the combination with a belt or carrying apron for feeding in the
bristles or other fibres of a divider operating to separate the bristles for
forming them into bunches or tufts; the peculiar construction and
operation of fingers which are made to spread out laterally to effect or
complete the separation of the fibres into tufts, and afterwards to carry
or push forward the same for insertion in the brush back or stock the
combination of the said divider and fingers in such manner that the
fingers are made to lift and release the divider to secure the proper
spacing of the bristles; the combination with the said fingers of a slide
operating conjointly with and independently of the fingers to effect a
timely hold, feed, and release of the tufts; a peculiar combination of
devices for operating the fingers; the peculiar combination with the said
fingers and slide of a punch, jaws, wire cutter, and staple former; and
combinations of mechanism for effecting in an automatic manner the
varied adjustments of the brush back or stock to insure a regular
insertion of the bristles therein.
My present improvements are chiefly designed to render the said
machinery applicable to the manufacture of brushes of various shapes, so
that I can produce brushes of a circular, oval, curved, or other regular or
irregular shape.

page_text: First. In constructing the staple former described in the Specification
herein-before referred to separate from the lever which supports and
operates it, so that in case of the breaking of the said former it can be
readily replaced.
Secondly. In constructing and arranging the divider to be operated by
a cam independently of the fingers.
Thirdly. In the combination with the table of an arm and curved
plate, whereby the said table may be adjusted to any desired angle to
adapt it to brushes of an oval or other section, the said plate being so
formed or adjusted that if desired both the angle and the height of the
table may be varied by the same movement of the arm. The said
table is also arranged in combination with vertical slides for varying its
height.
Fourthly. In so arranging the parts of the machine that the bristle
feed mechanism is on the same end of the machine as the wire feeding
mechanism, or so that the latter shall be but slightly beyond the centre
of the table instead of arranging them on opposite sides of the said table
as heretofore.
Fifth. In the combination of inclined slots and a pin and slide with
the fingers for the purpose of keeping the said fingers apart during a
certain portion of their backward movement.
Sixth. In the employment upon the slide upon which the bristles or
fibres are held by the fingers of a small excentric or cam, which is
adjusted to project more or less from the face of the slide to allow for
the varying thickness of the two ends of the fibres, and to ensure their
being properly held at both ends between the end of the fingers and the
said slide.
Seventhly. In the combination with the said slide of an under slide,
which as each tuft of fibres is inserted in the stock draws the said tuft
clear of the hole in the upper slide, so as to leave the same clear for the
insertion of the next tuft.
Eighthly. My Invention consists in various details of construction and
arrangement of the parts of the said brush-making machinery as herein-
after described.

page_text: Figure 1 is a side elevation of parts of my said machinery; Figure 2
illustrates the construction of the staple former and the means for
operating the same; Figures 3, 4, 5, illustrates the means for raising and
adjusting the table; Figure 6 is a plan showing the fingers and devices
for locking the same apart, and the means for adjusting the slide and
fingers to fibres which vary in thickness at their two ends; Figure 7 is a
side elevation of parts shewn in Figure 6; Figure 8 is an under side
view of the two slides. Like letters indicate the same parts throughout
the Drawing, and the same refer to the same parts as in the aforesaid
Specification.
The staple former X as heretofore constructed was made in one piece
with the lever or arms e¹, f', by which it was supported and operated,
and therefore if the foot was broken or injured the lever had to be
removed from its pivot or fulcrum and replaced by a new lever, and
this lever had to be formed and adjusted with great care to bring the
staple former X into its correct position, and to bring the end of the
lever arm finto the proper relation with the operating cam or disc. I
therefore according to my present Invention construct the staple former
or foot X, as shewn in Figure 2, separately from the lever, and attach it
thereto by screws, pins, or otherwise, so that when broken or injured it
can readily be removed and a new foot inserted in its place without
disturbing the lever, thus saving the cost of an expensive piece of work,
and the difficulty and loss of time incurred in the removal and re-
adjustment of the lever. Furthermore instead of operating the former
lever e, f, by means of a disc with a cavity in its periphery and a spring
to force the lever arm into the said cavity, as heretofore, I now employ
a grooved cam P, the lever arm f' having a piu or stud, or having its end
fitted to work in the groove P* which is of the proper configuration to
give the required to-and-fro motion to the said lever arm, such motion
being thus positive in both directions.
The object and use of the divider E as clearly stated in the Specification
here.n-before referred to is to separate the bristles lying on the feed bed
into bunches of tufts, the divider resting on the bed till the bristles
begin to move forward, and then being raised and allowed to fall again
to separate another tuft or bunch. The lifting of the divider in the

page_text: machine as heretofore constructed has been performed by the fingers F.
This method of operating the divider however though found satisfactory
in the machine when the parts of the same are arranged as described
in the said former Specification, would be attended with difficulty in a
machine where the bristle feeding and wire feeding mechanisms arranged
both at one end of the machine, because of the greater length of the
fingers and for other reasons; I therefore relieve the fingers F of the
work of raising the divider, and accomplish this operation by means of a
cam Ewhich is placed on a vertical shaft E2, and rotated by means of
suitable gearing from the main shaft O. The said cam has a spiral
incline 1 around its periphery, upon which a stud or pin Es attached
to the divider rod E lies, and which is so formed and timed with relation
to the other parts of the machine as to raise the divider E and allow it
to fall at the proper times to effect the desired separation of the fibres
into the tufts or bunches.
In manufacturing brushes of a rectangular form the holes are made in
straight rows at regular distances apart across the stock, and the latter is
secured to a carriage, which is caused by a certain device described in
the aforesaid former Specification, to move intermittently both in line
with and transversely to the direction of the belts, the brush stocks
requiring no angular adjustment on the table; but in manufacturing
brushes of irregular forms, such as are commonly used for various
purposes, the stock must be free to move in any direction and to any
required distance; moreover such brushes frequently have the tufts
inserted at various angles, so as to diverge or spread outward, and
as the drill and punch are not made capable of angular adjustment
it is necessary that the brush stock should be capable of adjustment to
the various angles required. For these purposes instead of securing the
stock upon a carriage operating automatically I employ gauges or
templates perforated with holes to correspond with the desired per-
forations of the brush stock. The gauge or template is placed on the
bottom of a box or holder in which the stock is secured by a spring or
otherwise. In the centre of the table immediately under the drill is a
pin or stud which fits the perforations in the gauge, and one hole after
another in the said gauge being aljusted upon the said pin, so that the
holes formed in the stock will exactly correspond with those in the
gauge. A similar centre stud or pin is placed below the tuft inserting
and securing mechanism, so that the punch B₁ will descend with
certainty into each of the holes.

page_text: Brushes for many purposes have the stocks curved or inclined on the
face, the divergence of the tufts being produced by drilling the transverse
rows of holes in the stock with an increasing inclination from the centre
to the outside. I therefore fit the table A¹ upon a pivot or joint A2,
upon which it can be adjusted to any desired angle; I also provide the
table with an arm A³ which extends downward to a curved plate A4
attached by screws or otherwise to a bracket on the frame, the end of the
arm A3 being made wedge-shaped and arranged to enter a series of
notches 2 made in the inner or concave edge of the plate, which forms
part of a circle concentric with the pivot A2 of the table. These notches
correspond with the desired angular positions of the holes in the stock,
and the plates A4 are made removeable and interchangeable, so that
series of notches corresponding with any desired form of brush may be
readily applied to the table. The notches may also be cut deeper or
shallower from one extremity to the other of the plate for the purpose of
raising the stock slightly, and thus compensate for variations in its
thickness. The latter is provided with a handle whereby it is readily
adjusted. The table has a back A, which is dovetailed upon a vertical
slide A', and the table is raised or lowered upon the slide by screws or
other suitable devices.
The bristle feed mechanism is nearly the same as that described in the
aforesaid Specification, except that I use flat chains B instead of belts,
the said chains being provided provided with small pins projecting
upward to keep the fibres parallel and steady as they move forward. By
arranging the said mechanism on the same end of the machine as the
wire-feeding mechanism, as shewn in Figure 1, the machine is rendered
more compact and more convenient access is obtained to the table on
which the work is performed. In this arrangement of parts the wire feed
mechanism consisting of two discs C¹ mounted on the vertical shaft C2
is placed above the bristle feed mechanism behind the tuft inserting
devices. The same advantages may also be obtained to some extent by
placing the wire feed slightly in front of the said devices. As heretofore
arranged in the said machine the fingers F which carry the tufts of fibre
forward under the devices for inserting and securing them in the stock
are opened and spread out as they move forward, and are closed or con-
tracted when they begin to retire; but according to my present Invention
I employ devices for operating these fingers so that they remain open
during a portion of the backward or retiring movement. By referring to
the aforesaid Specification it will be seen that these fingers are provided

page_text: with pins n, which work in inclined slots O formed in a plate H near the
pivot m of the said fingers, the slots being so arranged an inclined as
to commence to close the fingers as they begin to retire. I now however
lock the said plate to the slide C, so independent of the one upon the
other does not take place until the fingers have been drawn back to the
position where I desire them to begin to close. This peculiar action of
the fingers F is effected by means of a bolt F', whose head F2 works in
an inclined slot F3 at the side of the plate H. This inclined slot is so
arranged as not to act on the bolt F till the fingers F have retired to the
proper position, and it then draws the bolt back and releases the plate H;
the same then move independently of the slide C, and the inclined
slots O therein close the fingers as before. The bolt F is returned into
its place to lock the slide and plate together again as the fingers F
move forward. The tufts or bunches of fibres when separated by the
fingers F are held and carried forward between the ends of the same.
and the studs on the independent slide G. There has heretofore been
no provision made to adjust this slide and the fingers to fibres whose
thickness varies at their two ends, I now however provide one end of
the slide with a small excentric or cam G₁ so arranged that it can be
turned by a key or lever, or otherwise, to project more or less from the
face of the stud on the slide G, and thus compensate for the varying
thickness of the fibres. The said excentric is locked in any desired
position by means of a pinching screw G². Below the said slide is placed
the auxilliary or under slide G³ herein-before mentioned, whose purpose
is to draw away from the opening in the upper slide each tuft as it is
inserted, in order that the way may be left clear for the insertion of the
succeeding tuft. This part of my Invention is more especially designed
to be applied to machines wherein the brush carriage moves auto-
matically with a regular .intermittent action, as heretofore described.
The two slides G and G3 are connected to opposite ends of a lever G
whose fulcrum G5 is fixed to the bed A or other convenient part of the
machine, and these slides are arranged to operate in such a manner
in relation to the other parts of the machine that the upper slide G
retires after each tuft is inserted, while the under slide G³ at the same
time moves forward and pushes the end of the tuft away from the
opening in the upper slide.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to

page_text: First. Constructing the former separate from the driving lever e¹, f',
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Second. The arrangement and construction of the divider slide and
cam to operate independently of the fingers, substantially as described.
Third. The construction and arrangement of the slide in combination
with the table for elevating and depressing the same, substantially as set
forth.
Fourth. The combination of the arm A3 and notched plate A with the
table A to effect the adjustment of the said table to any required angle,
substantially as set forth.
Fifth. The arrangement of the bristle feed table in connection with
the other parts of the machine in order that the bristles may be fed from
the end of the machine at which the wire is fed, substantially as and
for the purposes set forth.
Sixth. Locking the fingers F apart for the first portion of their
backward movement by the inclined slot F3 through the medium of the
bolt or pin F1 arranged in combination with the said fingers and the
slide G, substantially as set forth.
Seventh. The cam G¹ in combination with the projection or stud
upon the slide G to allow for the varying thickness between the two ends
of the bristles, substantially as set forth.
Eighth. The slide G in combination with the slide Gs and fingers F,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Sheldon, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
JOSEPH SHELDON. (L.S.)