OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR PAINTING THE LATHS OF VENETIAN BLINDS AND OTHER LATHS AND STRIPS
Year: 1884

page_text: I ALFRED SHEPHERD of Birmingham in the County of Warwick Venetian
Blind Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "NEW
OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR PAINTING THE LATHS OF VENETIAN BLINDS AND
OTHER LATHS AND STRIPS" to be as follows:-
==
My Invention consists of machinery the parts of which are constructed and
arranged in the manner hereinafter described the said machinery being especially
fitted to paint the laths of venetian blinds whether metallic or non metallic and
also applicable to the painting of other laths and strips such for example as the
laths used in the manufacture of sacking for beds and other articles of furniture.
I will describe my Invention in connection with the painting of a venetian
blind lath.
The new or improved machinery constituting my Invention is constructed
essentially as follows. The paint with which the lath is to be painted is contained
in a trough or receptacle capable of being fixed in a higher or lower position by
means of a rack and staple so as to maintain the surface of the paint at or about
the same height. In the body of the machine are two circular brushes having
rotary motion on horizontal spindles. These brushes are geared together by
toothed gearing their spindles cross the machine and take their bearings in the
vertical sides of the machine. One of these rotating brushes is situated at a
higher level than the other the top of the higher one which I will call the
feeding brush being higher than the plane along which the lath to be painted
passes the top of the other which I will call the lower brush being at such a
height that its top presses against the underside of the lath. Besides these two
rotating brushes there is a fixed brush situated over the lower brush and pressing
on the upper face of the lath. Both the rotating brushes dip into the paint. The
feeding brush which does not touch the lath but is on one side of it raises a
portion of the paint to a level higher than that of the lath operated upon and
delivers it into a funnel against which the brush works and the paint passes from
the said funnel onto the upper face of the lath.
The lower brush raises paint and spreads it on the underface of the lath. In
advance of the brushes described are two fixed horizontal brushes between which
the lath passes and which I will call finishing brushes.

page_text: The action of the machinery is as follows:-The lath to be painted is passed by
hand into the machine at the front end the faces of the lath being horizontal and a
rotary motion is given by a winch or otherwise to the rotating brushes.
By the
feeding brush and funnel described paint is raised and delivered onto the upper
face of the lath the said paint being spread on the said face by the fixed brush.
The lower brush raises and spreads paint on the under face of the lath. The lath
now covered with an excess of paint passes between the finishing brushes by the
action of which its edges are painted and the superfluous paint brushed off falling
into the trough or receptacle from which it has been raised. The lath is delivered
from the machine at the end opposite to that at which it entered and is dried in
the ordinary way.
D

page_text: I ALFRED SHEPHERD of Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Venetian
Blind Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR PAINTING THE LATHS OF VENETIAN BLINDS AND
OTHER LATHS AND STRIPS" and in what manner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My Invention consists of machinery the parts of which are constructed and
arranged in the manner hereinafter described, the said machinery being especially
fitted to paint the laths of venetian blinds whether metallic or non metallic and
also applicable to the painting of other laths and strips, such for example as the
laths used in the manufacture of sacking for beds and other articles of furniture.
I will describe my Invention in connection with the painting of a venetian
blind lath.
The new or improved machinery constituting my Invention is constructed
essentially as follows. The paint with which the lath is to be painted is contained
in a trough or receptacle capable of being fixed in a bigher or lower position by
means of screw pins so as to maintain the surface of the paint at or about the same
height. In the body of the machine are two circular brushes having rotary motion
on horizontal spindles. These brushes are geared together by toothed gearing;
their spindles cross the machine and take their bearings in the vertical sides of the
machine. One of these rotating brushes is situated at a higher level than the
other the top of the higher one which I will call the feeding brush being higher
than the plane along which the lath to be painted passes; the top of the other
which I will call the lower brush being at such a height that its top presses against
the underside of the lath. Besides these two rotating brushes, there is a fixed
brush situated over the lower brush and pressing on the upper face of the lath.
Both the rotating brushes dip into the paint. The feeding brush which does not
touch the lath but is on one side of it, raises a portion of the paint to a level higher
than that of the lath operated upon and delivers it into a funnel against which the
brush works and the paint passes from the said funnel onto the upper face of
the lath.
The lower brush raises paint and spreads it on the under face of the lath. In
advance of the brushes described are two fixed horizontal brushes between which
the lath passes and which I will call finishing brushes. A scraper may be used to
assist in removing the superfluous paint before the lath passes between the finishing
brushes.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents in side elevation; Figure 2
in side elevation with one of the side plates removed, partly in longitudinal
section, and Figure 3 in plan with the paint trough omitted, my new or improved
machinery for painting the laths of venetian blinds and other laths and strips;
Figure 4 represents an elevation of the exit end of the machine without the paint
trough and Figure 5 a transverse vertical section of the machine taken through the
paint receiving funnel or channel. The other Figures represent separate parts and
details of the machine as herein after explained.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of
the Drawings.
a is the trough or receptacle containing the paint. This trough is supported at
its ends by screw pins b, b, b working in screw boxes in the cross bars c, o of the
machine. By means of the said screw pins b, b, 6 the said trough a can be fixed

page_text: in a higher or lower position so as to maintain the surface of the paint at or about
the same level; d is the lath to be painted which is passed by hand into the
machine at the feeding end A and removed from the machine at the exit end B;
e, fare two rotating brushes both dipping into the paint in the trough a.
These
brushes are respectively fixed on the cross axes e, f, turning in bearings in the
side plates g, g of the machine. The said brushes e, f rotate in the same direction
and are geared together by the toothed gearing h, i, k. The large gearing wheel h
is driven by a winch or handle h fixed upon it. The large or paint feeding
brush e is situated on one side of the lath d as represented in Figure 3 and raises
paint from the trough a into the delivery funnel or channel situated at a higher
level than the lath. The feeding brush e works against the edge 12 of the funnel
or channel and the paint is scraped from the brush by the said edge 12 and is
delivered into the funnel or channel 7 down which it passes onto the upper face of
the lath d as best seen in Figure 5. The funnel or channel is made capable of
adjustment nearer to or further from the axis of the brush e for regulating the
quantity of paint delivered by the said brush to the channel . The small or lower
brush fin its rotation bears against the underside of the lath d and delivers paint
to and spreads it upon the said underside. Over the lower brush f and pressing
on the upper face of the lath d is a fixed brush f³ for distributing or spreading the
- paint delivered onto the upper face of the lath by the funnel . The block or head
of the brush f³ is fixed in openings in the side plates g, g by the set screws f*.
The surplus paint delivered on the upper and lower faces of the lath d is scraped
therefrom by the scraper m through which the lath passes on its way to the
finishing brushes.
The scraper m is represented drawn to a larger scale in front elevation and side
elevation in Figure 6 and cross sections taken through the end and middle of the
scraper in Figures 7 and 8. This scraper consists of two strips of hard wood
pressed together by coiled springs m³, m² situated in cross holes at the ends of the
scraper. One of these coiled springs is best seen in Figure 7 and its ends are
secured to the two parts of the scraper so as to press their inner faces together.
A funnel shaped opening m³ is made at the front of the scraper and the paint on
the upper and lower faces of the lath is scraped from the lath by the meeting edges
of the two parts of the scraper (see Figures 2 and 8). The opposite edges of the
lath as it passes through the scraper m are scraped of superfluous paint by the
metallic strips m', m' at the back of the scraper. The surplus paint as it is scraped
from the lath by the scraper m is returned to the trough a in the manner
represented in Figure 2. The scraper m is made of hard wood; or its acting or
scraping edges may be coated with steel.
In advance of the feeding brushes ef and the scraper m, are two fixed horizontal
finishing brushes p, q between which the lath passes. By means of the said
brushes pq the paint is smoothed upon the faces and edges of the lath and the
painting of the lath completed before it passes from the machine. The paint
trough a is omitted in Figure 4 for the purpose of more clearly exhibiting the
finishing brushes p, q.
The upper brush p of the two finishing brushes is supported and fixed on the
top plate p adjusted on the screw pins n, n carried by the side plates g of the
machine (see Figure 4); and the lower finishing brush q is supported and fixed on
the plate or tray q' (shown separately in Figure 9). The plate q* carries the
clamping screws r, r which pass through the upper plate p' and by means of fly
nuts screwed on the clamping screws r, r the two brushes p, q are clamped and
pressed together. Studs on the two plates p and q engaging in holes in the heads
of the brushes p, q determine the positions of the brushes on the said plates. The
base or head of the lower brush q is perforated and the tray or plate q² on which
it is fixed has an opening q³ in it as seen in Figure 9. By this arrangement the
surplus paint from the finishing brushes p, q is returned to the paint trough a
In order to exclude air from the paint in the trough a when the machine is not in
use-the whole of the machine is covered-by-a sheet metal cover the bottom edge

page_text: of which is received in a water channel 8 (see Figure 1) made all round the
supporting plate t of the machine. The said water channel & forms a water joint
to the bottom edge of the cover and prevents the entrance of air between the
Baid bottom edge of the cover and the plate t and preserves the paint in a fit state
for use.
.
The action of the machinery is as follows:-The lath d to be painted is passed
by hand into the machine at the front end A the faces of the lath being horizontal
and a rotary motion is given by the winch and the gearing represented to the
rotating brushes e, f. By the action of the feeding brush e and delivery funnel or
channel paint is raised and delivered onto the upper face of the lath d the said
paint being spread on the said upper face by the fixed brush f³. The lower brush f
at the same time raises and spreads paint on the under face of the lath. The lath
now covered with an excess of paint passes first between the scraper m and
afterwards between the finishing brushes p, q by the action of which scraper and
brushes the superfluous paint is scraped and brushed off, falling into the trough or
receptacle a from which it had been raised. The lath is delivered from the
machine at the end B opposite to that at which it entered and is dried in the
ordinary way.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim of "New or Improved Machinery for Painting the Laths of Venetian Blinds
and other Laths and Strips," is :—
First-The combination of the rotary feeding brush e with the delivery funnel
or channel for raising paint from the trough or receptacle to a higher level than
that of the lath or strip to be painted and delivering the paint onto the upper face
of the lath or strip substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
Secondly-The combination of the lower rotating brush ƒ for raising and
spreading paint on the underface of the lath or strip with the fixed upper brush f³
for spreading the paint delivered by the funnel or channel on the upper face of
the lath or strip substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly The combination of the said feeding brush e, paint delivering funnel or
channel and the rotating and fixed brushes f, f³, with the finishing brushes p, q
or with the scraper m and finishing brushes p, q substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Lastly The general arrangement or combination of the several parts of the
machinery hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Dated this Eighteenth day of September 1884.