Improved Fountain Brush.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1898-Accepted, 16th Apr., 1898
Improved Fountain Brush.
I, CHARLES FRANCIS EDWARD SWINDEN, of 22, Queen Victoria Street, in the
City of London, 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 :-
My invention relates to an improved fountain brush and particularly to a brush
of the kind used for wetting a leaf of copying paper preparatory to press copying.
writing or printed matter. Fountain brushes having a reservoir for water or other
liquid in the handle have been constructed before but have not been successful,
owing to the fact that the liquid contained in the reservoir is liable to ooze out and
leak away when the brush is not in use, which is very objectionable and defeats the
object in view because the brush is generally found to be dry at the time when it is
required for use.
.
Furthermore in the hitherto constructed fountain brushes the liquid either does not
come to the surface of the brush pad as freely as desirable, or else it oozes out too
quickly and damps the paper too much.
In my improved brush I.overcome these objections by interposing between the
brush pad and the reservoir an absorbent packing through which the liquid must
pass before it reaches the surface of the pad, and I also provide a perforated plate
between the pad and the packing, through which plate the liquid percolates. The
reservoir for liquid is entirely closed but air can be admitted when required through
a simple valve.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a front elevation and,
Figure 2 a side elevation of my improved fountain brush.
Figure 3 is a section on the line III-III Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a section on the line IV-IV Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a portion of a section shewing a modified form of air valve.
10 is the handle which is hollow forming the reservoir, and which merges into a
flattened and wide base 11, closed by the plate 12 provided with perforations 13. The
base part. 11 is filled with an absorbent packing 14 which may consist of cotton, wool,
burnt clay, or any other suitable absorbent material. I have found by experiment
that this packing in order to ensure the right flow of water should be packed in at a
pressure of about four and one half pounds to the square inch, but this may of course
be considerably varied. To the base 11 is secured the pad holder 15 containing the
shank of the brush pad 17, which abuts against the plate 12. The lower portion of
the holder 15 is crimped, by which means the brush pad is prevented from being
accidentally removed and the bore is also restricted so as to retard the flow of liquid
through the same. To provide for the entrance of air into the reservoir in order to
permit the liquid therein to flow out when required the handle bas at the top a
removable plug or stopper 18, carrying a valve 19 between the head 20 of which and
Priced 1

page_text: the bottom of the socket 22 in the stopper is a spiral spring 21. This spring
normally maintains the valve closed, thereby preventing leakage.
In order to fill the reservoir with water the stopper 18 is removed and when it has
been replaced the liquid will flow out so as to damp the brush pad only when the
valve is pressed permitting air to enter the reservoir. Other forms of valves than that
illustrated in Figure 3 may be employed, for example in Figure 5 the valve 24 is
mounted on the free end of a flat spring 23, the stem of said valve projecting through
the side of the handle and carrying a head 25. In practice the valve is operated so
as to permit air to enter the reservoir and then the brush should be moved up and
down gently so as to force the water down through the packing 14 and the brush 17.
After the pad has once become saturated it can be used continuously sufficient liquid
being retained so as to be always ready for use, at the same time the resistance in
the several parts of the brush is such that no surplus water oozes or drops from the
brush pad.
My improved brush although specially adapted for use in applying water for press
copying purposes may of course be used for other liquids or purposes, and I do not
limit my invention in this respect.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by:
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :—
1. A fountain brush having a reservoir in the handle, and an absorbent packing
interposed between said reservoir and the brush pad, with a perforated plate separat-
ing said packing and brush pad, substantially as described.
2. A fountain brush constructed and operating substantially as described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 4th day of February 1898.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
322, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicant..
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
322, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicant.