Improvements in Brushes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Sept., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 12th June, 1894-Accepted, 21st July, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brushes.
I, JOHN JAMESON, of Akenside Hill Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In place of such natural hair, bristles, or fibres as are commonly used in the
manufacture of brushes, I employ filaments of cellulose celluloid, or other soluble
compound of cellulose; and which I form solid or tubular, of any section, by pressing
it through dies, while in a plastic state. I assemble these artificial filaments and
attach them to supports by any of the methods in common use by brushmakers.
But special facility is attained by my invention in consolidating bundles of filaments
into tufts by compression at one end.
Doted this Elavonth day of Santambor 1893
JOHN JAMESON, of Akenside Hill Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Patent Agent, 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:-
In place of such natural hair, bristles, or fibres as are commonly used in the
manufacture of brushes I employ filaments of cellulose, celluloid, or other soluble
compound of cellulose; and which I form solid or tubular, of any section, by
pressing it through dies, while in a plastic state. I assemble these artificial
filaments and attach them to supports by any of the methods in common use by
brushmakers. But special facility is attained by my invention in consolidating
bundles of filaments into tufts by compression at one end.
In carrying out my invention I may employ almost any compound of cellulose
possessing the requisite elasticity when dry, and I may employ it in a condition of
consistency, semi solution gelatinization or doughiness ranging through wide limits.
In the manufacture of the filaments I do not confine myself to any particular form of
machinery, but I prefer to employ a strong cylinder perforated at one end with one
or more small holes of the size and section desired and fitted with bridge dies (such
as are used in the manufacture of lead pipes) if the filaments are required to be
hollow or not so fitted if they be required to be solid. The cylinder is fitted with
an accurately fitting piston or plunger and the material is placed within the
cylinder. When the piston or plunger is pressed in, the filament or filaments are
forced out of the small orifice provided. I may then according to circumstances
either cut off the filaments by any appropriate machinery into the desired lengths
or wind them as continuous threads on drums to be cut afterwards.
If the material be used in a very plastic state it may be desirable in order to
prevent the filaments from adhering one to another to dust them with starch for
nstance or any other convenient material, to prevent absolute contact, this material
to be washed off when the filaments are dry.
When the filaments are dry and ready to be made into brushes I assemble each
bundle or tuft of the desired size and dip one end into a solvent of the material
itself (such solvent containing preferably a certain quantity of the same material

page_text: held in solution in it) and by this means, or partly by this means and partly by
pressure, or by pressure alone if not too dry I consolidate one end of the tuft
of filaments into a mass and produce but in a more perfect way the effect produced
by the use of glue or pitch in certain kinds of brushes commonly made.
There is an incidental advantage arising from my invention inasmuch as being
enabled to produce a filament of any desired shape that is to say for instance
shaped like a tape or shaped like a thread I can produce brushes adapted to
special purposes more effectually than if I could only use round filaments. As an
illustration of this I may mention that if I employ tape shaped filaments so
arranged as that the broad surface of each filament is parallel to the broad surface
of every other filament I obtain a brush which may be extremely soft in one
direction and hard in the direction at right angles to the other; and passing from
soft to hard in degree as the brush is moved round. I may also construct
filaments in the form of for instance a Maltese cross, so as to give stiffness to an
otherwise small or light brush.
In the drawing hereto attached A. Fig. 1. represents a section of a cylinder
and B. section of a plunger fitting accurately to it. C. is a bridge die shewn in
section, the plan of which is shewn in Fig. 2. At the end of the cylinder is an
orifice O. into which the point of the bridge die passes. D. represents the mass of
celluloid to be acted upon and E. represents a part of this celluloid which has been
operated upon. For the sake of clearness I have much exaggerated the size of this
portion E. The dotted lines in E. represent the tubular effect produced by the
bridge die. In actual size it would be ordinarily impossible to shew the structure
of what I propose usually to produce. F. is a drum actuated by a weigh or spring
or other suitable appliance so as to take up the filament of celluloid as produced,
without any undue pull upon it. The operation of the mechanism I have described
is as follows. When the plunger is forced inwards a corresponding quantity of the
celluloid is pressed through the end orifice and as so produced is wound on the
drum.
Fig. 3. represents a similar apparatus for producing solid filaments and Figs. 4
and 5 represent forms of orifices in the ends of the cylinders for special shaped
filaments.
I have described a simple form of mechanism by which my invention may be
operated, but I do not confine myself to this nor any other special form of apparatus
as the mere mechanism is capable of great variation.
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 :-
1st. The manufacture of filaments of cellulose, celluloid, or other soluble
compounds of cellulose to be used in the manufacture of brushes, substantially as
described.
2nd. The consolidation of tufts of small filaments at one end substantially as
described.
3rd. The construction of specially shaped filaments as and for the purpose
described.
Dated this Eleventh day of June 1894.
5. JAMESON.