IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING BRUSHES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International
Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING BRUSHES."A
communication from abroad by Joseph Sheldon, of New Haven,'
Connecticut, United States of America.
Sealed the 9th February 1869, and dated the 12th September 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition;-on
the 12th September 1868.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the International Patent Office,"
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex; Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said.
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING BRUSHES," &
communication, to be as follows:-
These improvements relate more especially to mechanism for the
manufacture of brushes in which each tuft or bunch of fibre is secured.

page_text: by a separate wire staple in a perforation formed partly through the
brush stock or block, the tufts of fibre being bent or doubled and
inserted into the perforations with the wire staples which clasp them
and secure them in the stock.
The object of the said improvements is to secure a more perfect
application of means than has heretofore been devised for automatically
feeding, separating, and spreading the bristles to form them into bunches
or tufts and to provide a more perfect and complete method or com-
bination of means for adjusting the brush back or stock to insure
regularity in the insertion of the fibres, such means acting in concert
with suitable devices for inserting and securing the tufts.
The said improvements consist, firstly, in combining with a belt or
carrying apron for feeding in the bristles or other fibres a divider
operating to separate the bristles for forming them into bunches or tufts.
Secondly, in 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. Thirdly, in such a combination
of the said divider and fingers that the fingers are made to lift and
release the divider to secure the proper spacing of the bristles.
Fourthly, in 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. Fifthly, in a peculiar combination of
devices for operating the fingers. Sixthly, in a certain combination
with the said fingers and slide of a punch, jaws, wire cutter, and staple
former. Lastly, in certain 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.
The main bed of the frame is suitably constructed to carry the
working parts of the machinery. Serrated or other belts are arranged
parallel to each other at the requisito distance apart to support the fibres
at their ends. These belts pass around or over rollers, one pair of which
gives to the upper part of the belts an intermittent motion towards tho
main body of the machine, the said belts carrying the fibres along with
them. The rollers are preferably operated by a ratchet wheel on one
end of the roller shaft worked by a pawl. The said pawl is pivotted to
a vibrating arm which is operated by a rod attached to a lever which
is rocked by a wrist pin or rod secured to a slide, the latter having an

page_text: intermittently reciprocating travel in the dircction of the belts. The
carriage on which the brush back or block wherein the bristles or other
fibres are to be inserted is laid travels intermittently on or in ways
arranged transversely to the belts, and also has at intervals a motion in
line with the belts. Prior to fixing the said brush back or block within
the carriage it is properly perforated for reception of the several tufts
or bunches of fibre in succession.
A vertically operating divider is
arranged to slide or play in a fixed bracket intermediately of the belts
at their inner ends, the said divider being preferably pointed at its lower
extremity and when down resting on the bed which lies immediately
beneath the upper travelling part of the belts. This divider opens or
spaces the bristles or other fibres lying on the belts, for the purpose of
forming them into bunches or tufts immediately before the delivery
of the fibres from the belts, the serrated construction of the latter
serving to hold the fibres at their ends during their division or separation
and their arrangement into bunches or tufts. These operations are
only partially effected by the divider, which remains down on the bed
till the belts commence to give the fibres a forward feed, when it is
temporarily lifted by the fingers which are formed with suitable
downward projections for entering the opening or space made by the
divider in the fibres. These fingers then spread out laterally to
complete the opening of the fibres into bunches or tufts. The fingers,
after having lifted the divider and allowed it to fall again to accomplish
a fresh spacing in the next feed of the bristles, drop with their pointers
into the space formed by the said divider before they expand to
complete the formation of the tuft. The said fingers subsequently
move forward in their expanded condition conjointly with an indepen-
dent slide provided with stops to hold and carry the tufts .beneath
the devices for inserting and securing the knots or tufts in the
brush back. The fingers then contract and retire together with the
slide, their operation in connection with the divider being repeated
as the bristles are fed forward by the belts.
The means by which these several operations are effected may be
as follows:-Thc. fingers act like pincers or tongs, being pivoted to
the reciprocating slide and their back legs or arms being provided
with projecting pins or studs which work in oblique slots in a plate
connected with the interior or unden side of the coid Hid
ML

page_text: plate being attached to a knob or protruberance which has limited
play through a longitudinal slot in the slide. This protruberance receives
intermittent reciprocating motion in the direction of the belts from a
grooved cam lever and rod, the plate in the back movement of the
protuberance being first moved back to close the front legs of the
fingers and to retire with the slide. As the latter approaches the end
of its back stroke, the said fingers rise in front, carrying their points
over the fibres, for the purpose of temporarily raising the divider,
which they catch under ears or pins. The lifting of the fingers is
effected by an inclined plane attached to one of the back legs of the
fingers coming in contact with and passing under an arm which may
be rigid or arranged to swing only in a forward direction to permit
the free return of the said inclined plane to the front. After the
inclined plane has passed in a backward direction under the said arm
the front legs of the fingers drop again and when motion is com-
municated to the protruberance it first pulls the slide and thereby
expands the fingers to complete the opening of the fibres, and then
moving with the slide causes the tuft or bunch of bristles to be carried
forward between the projections on the fingers, and stops on the indepen-
dent slide. The latter receives its intermittent reciprocating action
from a grooved cam, a lever, and a rod which move it backward and
forward with the fingers at such times in relation to the latter that the
fingers first move forward to carry the bunch or tuft up against the
stops, then the slide and fingers move conjointly in the same direction
to carry the tuft thus held to or over its place of insertion, a pause then
takes place in the movement of both fingers and slide, after which the
fingers commence to retire leaving the tuft loose to facilitate its insertion
Immediately after the insertion of the tuft has been effected the slide
works backward conjointly with the fingers, to repeat in due time the
forward operation in connection with the fingers for the conveyance
of a succeeding knot or tuft. Instead of the fingers retiring to effect
the release of the bristles the slide may have an additional forward
motion. The bunch or tuft of fibres is bent or doubled in the middle
into the form of a loop, a wire staple being first placed across it. For
this purpose the slide is recessed or cut away between the stops on the
slide and for a short distance behind them so that by pressing down on
the tuft between such cut away portions the tuft, resting only at its
ends on the slide, may be bent or doubled as required in the middle
and carried along with its staple to the hole or perforation in the stock.

page_text: In commencing, to insert and secure the tufts in the brush back or block
the latter or its carriage is first adjusted to bring the one outside end
or corner perforation in the back underneath the devices employed to
insert and secure the tufts, each hole in the brush back or block being
brought successively, as herein-after described, under the said tuft
inserting and securing devices, and under the middle of the bunch or
tuft at the extremity of its .advance stroke or feed by the fingers and.
tuft at the extremity of its .advance stroke or feed by the fingers and
slide.
.
The means for forming the staple for locating it on or across the tuft
and inserting and securing the tuft and staple are as follows:-The main
shaft has secured on it a disc which revolves with the said shaft within
a fixed head having double front or cap plates. Projecting from the
front of this revolving disc is an excentric pin whereon is a loosely
fitted block. This block gives an up and down motion through a yoke
which works in a recess in the fixed head to a slide. The said pin also
serves by its connection with a second disc to rotate two cams at the
end of the shaft. The wire to form the staples is fed by any suitable
means from the back of the machine through a hole in a lower
extension of the fixed head till it enters to a proper length within a
recess formed in the said extension. This hole has at right angles to
it on one side a cross aperture, in which works a cutter operated
through a lever by a pin on the rear side of the first disc, so as to give
the said cutter a short quick stroke once in the revolution of the said
disc for the purpose of cutting off the wire in the recess to form a staple,
a spring afterwards throwing back the cutter. Prior however to the
wire being thus cut a staple former is forced laterally into the recess
immediately below the wire, the said former working into a suitable
side recess in the lower extension of the head. The staple former has
legs or arms working on a pivot, a spring serving to force the said
former into the recess whenever a reduction made in the periphery of
the first disc comes round to admit the free end of the arm, the said
spring causing such end of the arm to bear against the periphery of the
disc. The staple is formed by the bending of the cut wire in the recess
over the staple former through the action of jaws pivotted to a sliding
bar arranged within the vertical slide, the said jaws bearing down in
an open condition on the wire to bend it over the staple former. When
the said former moves out of the way the jaws carry within them the.
staple down to and over the bunch or tuft of bristles lying on the recessed,

page_text: effected by an intermittently revolving pinion working into a rack secured.
to the said frame. On the back end of the main driving shaft is a disc
carrying a wrist or excentric pin which is adjustable thereon to vary
its throw to suit different distances between the perforations in the brush.
back. This excentric pin serves to give an up and down motion. to a
sliding block working in suitable ways. This sliding block carries two.
pawls which in the down stroke of the block gear into opposite sides
of a notched wheel, cach pawl gearing with the notched wheel according
to the direction in which it is required to move the carriage. The
notched wheel is fast to the shaft which carrics. the sliding pinion. The
pawls are reversed at the termination of the intermittent.travel of the
carriage in either direction to give the said carriage intermittent travel
in the opposite direction for the purpose of filling the successive rows
of perforations with the bristles or other fibres. This adjustment
of the pawls is effected by a swinging shifter hung by a sleeve loosely
on the sliding pinion shaft. The said shifter is so operated that it
trips and for a short interval of time keeps both pawls out of gear
with the notched wheel. This pause is necessary to give time for the
adjustment of the frame to bring the next row of the perforations in
tho brush back in line with the devices for inserting and securing the
tuft after the carriage has completed its stroke along the ways in
either direction. To throw the-pawls out of gear at the proper time-
the shifter is struck by one of two adjustable roller stops. by which
the feed of the carriage is adapted to different lengths of brush backs,
the said stops being secured to opposite ends of a sliding rack which. is
moved across the machine by a pinion fast to the shaft which carries
the sliding pinion.
The rack is geared with a pinion and operated in the following
manner: On the main shaft is arranged a cam and beneath the latter
a vertical sliding rod working within a box or guiding frame and locked.
when down by a spring catch upon a tooth projecting from one side of
the lower part of the slide. The slide remains down and is not acted
upon by the cam during the entire travel of the carriage in its ways,

page_text: in motion a pinion hung loosely on the shaft of the pinion which drives
the rack, and by a pawl pivotted to the said loose pinion operates a
ratchet wheel on the rack pinion shaft, thereby turning the pinion to
give the requisite feed to the sliding frame to bring the successive rows
of holes in the brush back in line with the devices for inserting and
securing the fibres. As the vertical slide reaches the end of its down-
ward stroke the spring catch again locks the slide till the carriage has
reached the end of its travel in the opposite direction. Attached to the
short vertical rack is a fixed cam or projection which in the upward
movement of the rack presses into a spring bolt attached to the arm of
the shifter. In the down stroke of the said rack this projection acts
laterally on the side of the spring bolt and thereby moves the shifter.
This further movement of the shifter throws into gear with the notched
wheel the opposito one of the two pawls to that previously operating it.
In this way at the termination of each opposite travel of the carriage
the motion of the latter is reversed after the sliding frame has been
adjusted to bring the next succeeding row of perforations in the brush
back in line with the tuft inserting and securing devices.
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 11th March 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the International Patent Office, No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lanc, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of September, in the year
of our Lord Ono thousand eight hundred and sixty-cight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence.
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,

page_text: and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING BRUSHES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, tho said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification :-
These improvements relate more especially to mechanism for the
manufacture of brushes in which each tuft or bundle of fibre is secured'
by a separate wire staple in a perforation formed partly through the
brush stock or block, the said tufts of fibre being bent or doubled
and inserted into the perforations with the wire staples which clasp
them and secure them in the stock.
The object of the said improvements is to secure a more perfect
application of means than has heretofore been devised for automatically
feeding, separating and spreading the bristles, to form them into bunches
or tufts, and to provide a more perfect and complete method or com-
bination of means for adjusting the brush back or stock to insure.
regularity in the insertion of the fibres, such means acting in concert
with suitable devices for inserting and securing the tufts.
The said improvements consist, firstly, in combining with a belt or
carrying apron for feeding in the bristles or other fibres a divider which
operates to separate the bristles for forming them into bunches or tufts.'
Secondly, in the peculiar construction and operation of fingers, which
are made to spread out laterally to effect or complete the separation
of the bristles into tufts, and afterwards to carry or push forward the
same for insertion in the brush back or stock. Thirdly, in such a
combination of the said divider and fingers that the fingers are mado
to lift and release the divider to secure the proper spacing of the -bristles..

page_text: Fourthly, in 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. Fifthly, in a peculiar combination of
devices for operating the fingers. Sixthly, in a certain combination
with the said fingers and slide of a punch, jaws, a wire cutter and
staple former. And, lastly, in certain 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.
Having thus specified the object and nature of my said Invention
I will now proceed more fully to describe the manner in which I carry
the same into practice in connection with the accompanying Drawings.
Figure 1 is a vertical central longitudinal section of a brush making
machine constructed in accordance with the said Invention; Figure 2
is a view of one end, and Figure 3 is a view of the opposite end of
the same; Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line y, y, Figure 1;
Figures 5 and 6 are a front view and transverse section on an enlarged
scale of certain devices for inserting the loops or tufts of bristles into
the brush, stock, or back, and for forming the staples and securing.
the tufts of bristles; Figure 7 is a detached elevation of certain gear
for operating in connection with the slide which controls the motions
of the brush, back, or block; Figure 8 represents an elevation and
lower end view drawn to an enlarged scale of the punch used for forcing
home the staple and tuft into the brush back.
A is the main bed of the frame which is suitably constructed to
carry the several working parts of the machinery, the construction and
operation of which is as follows:-The bristles or other fibres designed to
be inserted by knots or tufts in the brush back or block are placed cross-
wise upon endless serrated or other belts B, B, arranged parallel to each
other at the requisite distance apart to support the fibres at their ends.
These belts pass around or over rollers a, a, and b, b, one pair (a, a,) of
which are drivers and give to the belts an intermittent motion in such a
direction that its upper part travels towards the main body or portion
of the machine, said belts carrying the bristles or fibres along with them.
The means for thus operating the rollers a, a, may consist of a ratchet
wheel c on the one end of the roller shaft worked by a pawl d pivotted
to a vibrating or rocking arm e, which is operated by a rod f attached
to a lever g, which is rocked by or through a wrist pin or rod h secured
to a slide C having an intermittently reciprocating travel in. the direction

page_text: of the belts; D is the carriage on which the brush back or block
wherein the bristles are to be inserted is laid or secured, the said carriage
travelling intermittently on or in ways i, i, arranged transversely to
the belts, and also having at intervals a motion in line with the belts
as herein-after more fully described. Prior to fixing the said brush
back or block within the carriage D it is suitably perforated for the
reception of the several tufts or bunches of fibres in succession, and on
commencing to operate the said back or its carriage is adjusted to bring
one of the holes at the outside end or corner in the proper position
to receive a tuft or bunch intermediately of the belts B, B, but beyond
them; E is a vertically loosely dropping divider arranged to slide or play
in a fixed bracket and lying between the belts at their inner ends,
the said divider being preferably pointed at its lower extremity, and
when down resting on the bed which lics immediately beneath the
upper part of the belts. This divider opens or spaces the bristles or
other fibres lying on the belts for the purpose of forming them into
bunches or tufts immediately before the delivery of the bristles from
the belts, the serrated construction of the latter serving to hold the
bristles or other fibres at their onds during their division or scparation
and their arrangement into bunches or tufts. These operations are
ouly in part effected by the divider E, the fingers F, F, performing an
important function in this connection; thus the divider E remains down
on the bed k till the belts commence to give the bristles a forward feed,
when it is momentarily or temporarily lifted by the fingers F, F, which
are formed with suitable pointers or downward projections for entering
the opening or space made by the divider in the fibres. These fingers
afterwards spread or work out laterally to complete the opening of
the fibres into bunches, knots, or tufts. The fingers after having lifted
the divider and allowed it to fall again to accomplish a fresh spacing
in the next feed of the bristles drop with their pointers into the space
formed by the divider before they expand to complete the formation
of the. tuft. The said fingers subsequently move forward in their
expanded condition conjointly with an independent slide G, provided
with stops,, to hold and carry the tuft beneath the devices for
inserting and securing the .bunches, knots, or tufts in the brush back.
The fingers F, F, then contract and retire together with the slido G;
these operations in connection with the divider being repeated as tho
bristles are again fed forward by the belts.

page_text: be as
The means by which these several operations are effected may
follows:-The fingers F, F, act like pincers or tongs, being pivoted
as at m with freedom for vertical and lateral play to the reciprocating
slido C, and their back legs or arms being provided with projecting pins
or studs n, n, which work in oblique slots o, o, in a plate H connected
with the interior or under side of the slide C. This plate moves with
the latter, but also independently of it, the said plate II being attached
to a knob or protuberance p which has limited play through a longi-
tudinal slot in the slide C. The protuberance p receives an intermittent
reciprocating motion in the direction of the belts from a grooved cam I,
lever J, and rod K, the plate H in the back movement of the pro-
tuberance p being first moved back to close by its slots o, o, the front
legs of the fingers F, F, and afterwards caused to retire with the slide C.
As the latter approaches the end of its back stroke the said fingers
riso in front, carrying their points over the bristles for the purpose of
temporarily raising the divider, which they catch under ears or pins q, q.
The lifting of the fingers is effected by an inclined plane r attached to
one of the back legs of the fingers coming in contact with and passing
under a fixed arm s, or an arm hung to swing only in a forward direction
to permit the free return of the said inclined plane to the front. After
the inclined plane has passed in a backward direction under the
arm 8, the front legs of the fingers drop again, and when a forward
motion is communicated to the protuberance p it first pulls the slide H
and thereby expands the fingers F to complete the opening of the
bristics, and then moving with the slide C causes the tuft or bunch to be
carried forward between the projections on the fingers, and the stops 1, 1,
on the independent slide G. The latter receives its intermittent reciprc-
cating action from a grooved cam L, lever M, and a rod which move it
backwards and forwards with the fingers at such times in relation to
the latter that the fingers first move forward to carry the bunch or
tuft up against the stops 1, l, then the slide G and fingers move
conjointly in the same direction to carry the tuft thus held to or over
its place of insertion; a pause then takes place in the movement of
both fingers and slide, after which the fingers commence to retire,
leaving the tuft loose to facilitate its insertion. Immediately afterwards,
that is after the insertion of the tuft has been effected, the slide & works
backward with the fingers to repeat in due time their forward operation
in connection with the fingers for the conveyance of a succeeding knot

page_text: or tuft. Instead of the fingers retiring to effect the release of the
bristles the slide G may have an additional forward motion.
It will now be necessary to describe the means by which the bunches,
knots, or tufts thus fed forward in succession are inserted one by one
in the brush back or stock. In or prior to effecting the insertion the
bunch or tuft is bent or doubled in the middle into the form of a loop,
a wire staple being first placed across it. For this purpose the slide G
is recessed or cut away between the stops 1, 2, and for a short distanco
in the rear of them, so that by pressing down on the tuft between such
cut away portions, the tuft resting only at its ends on the slide may be
bent or doubled as required in the middle, and carried along with its
staple to the hole or perforation in the stock.
In commencing the operations of inserting and securing the tufts in
the brush back or block, the latter or its carriage D, as hercin-before
observed, is first adjusted to bring the one outside end or corner per-
foration in the back underneath the devices employed to insert and
secure the tufts, all the holes in the brush back or block being brought
successively, as herein-after described, under the said tuft, inserting
and securing devices, and under the middle of the bunch or tuft
at the extremity of its advance stroke or feed by the fingers F, F, and
slide G. The means for forming the staple, locating it on or across the
tuft, and inserting and securing the tuft and staple are as follows:-
O is the main or driving shaft made to rotate in the direction indicated
by the arrow x. Secured on this shaft so as to rotate with it is a
disc P which revolves within a fixed head Q, having double front or
cap plates R and S. Projecting from the front of this revolving disc is
an eccentric pin &³, on which is a loosely fitted block that in the
rotation of the disc serves to give an up-and-down motion (through a
yoke u which works in a recesso made in the fixed head) to a slide T.
The pin & also serves by its connection with or excentric projection into
a disc U to rotate the cams I and L. The wire to form the staples is
fed by any suitable means from the back end of the machine through
a hole w in a lower extension of the fixed head Q till it enters to
a proper length or distance within a recess a¹, which is virtually a
downward extension of the recess v. Branching from this hole at right
angles to it on one side is a cross aperture 6', in which works a
cutter V operated through a lever W by .a pin c¹ on the rear side of
the disc P so as to give the cutter V a short quick stroke once in the

page_text: revolution of the said disk for the purpose of cutting off the wire fed
into the recess a³, as described, to form a staple; the spring d' after-
wards throwing back the cutter. Prior, however, to the wire being
thus cut a staple former X is forced laterally into the recess a¹ imme-
diately below the wire, the said former working, when it is required, to
shift it out of the recess a¹ into a suitable side recess in the lower
extension of the head Q. The staple former has legs or arms c', f',
serving to shoot the "former" into
made in the periphery of the disc P
end of the arm; the said spring
"
working on a pivot at g', a spring
the recess a¹ whenever a cavity
comes round to admit the free
causing such end of the arm f¹ to bear against the periphery of the
disc. By these means the staple former X is kept out of the recess a¹
during the greater portion of the revolution of the disc P, so as not to
be in the way of certain devices connected with the slide T and inner
slide, as herein-after described, when the said devices are required to
cross the path of the "former," but the said "former" by means of
the cavity remains the requisite length of time within the recess a¹ to
perform its function. The staple is formed by the bending of the cut
wire in the recess a¹ over the staple former X through the action of
jaws j', j, pivoted at k¹, k¹, to a slide A¹ arranged to have vertical play
within the slide T, and at intervals conjointly with the latter, the said
jaws bearing down in an open condition on the wire to bend it over the
staple former. When the said "former moves out of the way the
jaws carry within them in a loose but secure manner the staple down
to and over the bunch or tuft of bristles lying on the recessed portion
of the slide G. The jaws, j', then close, compressing or partly crossing
the legs of the staple over the tuft, and in the further descent of the
jaws doubling or bending the tuft, and carrying it together with the
staple down to the perforation in the brush back. After this the
jaws j,j, open, and a punch B' attached to the slide T, and of concave
form at its lower end descends within and through the jaws to force
home to their place in the perforation the doubled tuft and staple, the
latter in the pressure thus brought to bear on it and the resistance it
encounters at the bottom of the perforation having its legs fully crossed
and made to enter or bite laterally or obliquely into the wood or other
material and so fastens the looped or doubled tuft in an upright and secure
manner within the perforation. The jaws 1, J, are opened by the
action of springs applied to them in any proper manner, and are closed
when required by a projection on the top of the punch B', as the said

page_text: punch which has considerably greater vertical play than the jaws, in its
vertical motion passes in and between pins m', m³. These pins project
from the upper ends of the legs n¹ of the jaws and work within slots
and recesses made in the sides of the slide A'; the punch B' with its
projection travelling in a vertical groove formed within the slide A'.
After the tuft of fibres has been inserted and secured as described, the
jaws j,, rise out of the way to their original position above the staple
former X, and the punch B' following them also rises up beyond the
jaws to enable both the jaws and punch in due course of time to repeat
their operations in their succeeding descent on the next tuft. The
means for thus operating in timely relationship to cach other and the
jaws the punch B', staple former X, and wire cutter V have already.
been described. To effect the timely and necessary action of the
jaws, as specified, the slide A¹ carrying the said jaws has its
requisite up-and-down motion given to it by a pin or roller o' arranged
to project from the said slide and made to fit or enter a suitably shaped
cam-like groove c¹ made in the face of the revolving disc P.
The following devices are employed to give to the brush back car-
riage D its requisite movements for the insertion and fastening of the
tufts within the perforations, as herein-before described, namely, first,
in an intermittent manner along the ways i, i, to bring the holes in one
row successively beneath the tuft inserting and securing devices, and
then a crosswise movement to adjust. the next row in line with the
said devices, and afterwards a reverse intermittent travel along the
Thus the
ways i, i, and so on till all the perforations are filled.
ways i, i, along which the carriage D moves in reverse directions are
arranged on a frame or bed D' that is made capable of motion along
the main or stationary bed A. transversely to the ways i, i, to secure the
several adjustments of the brush back or block, as herein-before referred.
to. The one movement or set of movements of the carriage D along
the ways i, i, is effected by a pinion a³ secured by a groove and feather
on a shaft E¹, and arranged to gear into a rack on the under side
of the carriage. The said shaft rotates first in one direction in an
intermittent manner, and afterwards intermittently in a reverse direction,
the pinion a sliding on the shaft E', which drives it to permit the
travel of the frame D' along the bed A. This frame D' has its move-
ment or movements effected by an intermittently rovolving pinion c
working in a rack d secured to the said frame. These several move-

page_text: ments, as hercin-before described, of the carriage D and bed or frame D'
are automatically accomplished as follows:-On the back end of the
main driving shaft O is a disc F¹ carrying a wrist or excentric pin e²,
which is adjustable thereon to vary its throw to suit different distances
between the perforations in the brush back in the direction of the length
of the carriage D. This excentric pin e as it rotates serves by a
rod f to give an up-and-down motion to a sliding block working in
suitable ways g². This sliding block G, carries two reversely arranged
pendant pawls ², h³, which in the down stroke of the block gear with
a notched wheel H¹ on opposite sides of the axis of the latter, only
one of these pendant pawls gearing with the notched wheel H' at one time
according to the direction wherein it is required to move the carriage.
The notched wheel H' is fast to the shaft E', so that either one of
the pawls h, h³, according to which in its down stroke is made to
gear with the notched wheel, serves as it is reciprocated repeatedly
up and down to act as a driver to the carriage D to give to it its
requisite intermittent motions in the one direction. Thus supposing
the pawl h² to be set so that in its down strokes it operates the notched
wheel H', and supposing the other pawl h³ to be switched out of gear
with the said wheel, then the carriage Dwill be caused to move inter-
mittently towards one side of the machine, but on reversing the gearing
of the pawls, that is, allowing the pawl h³ to gear with the wheel H³,
and the other pawl ³ to be set so that it fails to gear therewith, then
the intermittent travel of the carriage D is reversed. This reversal in
the action of the pawls takes place (after a suitable pause, as herein-
after described) at the termination of the intermittent travel of the
carriage D in either direction to give the said carriage intermittent travel
in the opposite direction for the purpose of filling the successive rows.
of perforations with the tufts of bristles or other fibres. This timely
adjustment of the pawls h³, h³, so as to restrict either one to gear with
the notched wheel H' is effected by a swinging shifter K' hung by a
sleeve L' loosely on the shaft E¹. The said shifter is tripped or thrown
to either side to reverse the travel of the carriage D, and is so operated
that in the first instance or for a short interval of time in shifting it
simply trips and keeps both pawls (during one of their up-and-down
strokes) out of gear with the notched wheel. This pause in the reversal
of the pawls is necessary to give time for the adjustment of the frame D'
to bring the next row of the perforations in the brush back in line
with the tuft inserting and securing devices after the carriage D has

page_text: completed its stroke along the ways i, i, in either direction. To establish
this pause or move the shifter K so as to throw both pawls out of gear at
the end of the stroke of the carriage the said shifter is struck or operated
by one or other of the two roller stops M; M², secured (in an adjustable
manner to adapt the feed of the carriage D to different lengths of brush
backs) to opposite ends of a sliding rack N', which is set in motion
across the machine by a pinion O¹ fast to the shaft E¹. Thus after the
carriage D has travelled its requisite distance along the ways i, i, in
the one direction, one stop M³ or M' strikes the shifter K' to throw
both pawls out of gear and to keep them out of gear till, by means
herein-after described, and after the frame D' has been moved to
bring the next row of holes in line to receive the bristles; the said
shifter K is further shifted in the same direction to reverse the gear
or action of the pawls. An opposite intermittent travel is thus given
to the carriage D, which moves in its ways i, i, till arrested by the
opposito roller stop striking the swinging shifter. This automatic
movement of the shifter alternately in reverse directions is kept up
until the whole brush back has its tufts inserted and secured in it.
The pinion c, which through the rack d' gives the requisite inter-.
mittent motion to the frame D' to bring the brush stock forward for a
distance equal to the space between the rows of perforations at the
termination of the travel in either direction of the carriage D, is operated
as follows: On the shaft O is arranged a cam P', and beneath the
latter a vertical slide Q' working within a box or guiding frame R³, and
which is locked when down by a spring catch 8' biting on or over a
tooth projecting from one sido of the said slide near its bottom.. The
slide Q' is not acted upon by the cam P¹ when thus down and locked,
nor during the entire travel of the carriage D in its ways i, i, in either
direction, but when the shifter K' is moved to adjust and keep both
pawls h³, h³, out of gear with the notched wheel H' at the termination
of travel in one direction of the carriage D the spring catch S¹ is tripped
out of lock with the slide Q' by the action of an inclined projection k³.
The latter is formed on an arm R* attached to the shaft or sleeve
of the shifter K', and when thus released the slide Q' is thrown upward
by a spring m³, so that when the cam P¹ again comes round it depresses
the slide Q', and with it a rack n' attached thereto, which sets in motion
a pinion S hung loosely on the shaft o' of the pinion c, and by a
pawl p pivotted to the loose pinion 8' operates a ratchet wheel T fast
B

page_text: on the shaft o³. The pinion
is thus turned to give the requisite feed
to the sliding frame D₁ to bring the next row of holes in the brush back
in line with the devices for inserting and securing the tufts. As the
slide Q' reaches the end of its downward stroke the spring catch S¹ is
again locked to hold down the slide and prevent its operation by the
cam till the carriage D has reached the end of its travel in the opposite
direction, when the operation of the said slide is repeated to give a
further feed of the frame D', and so on in succession till the several
rows of perforations are filled. It will be readily seen that by the
ratchet connection of the loose pinion S* with the shaft of the slide or
rack n thereof fails in its upward stroke to give any action to the said
shaft and to prevent any back stroke of the sliding frame D' till the
brush is completed, when by lifting the pawl p' the said frame may be
moved back by hand or otherwise to repeat the operation as regards the
intermittent movement of it by the slide Q' in connection with a new
brush back or block. Attached to the rack n' is a fixed cam or cam-
shaped projection that in the upward movement of the rack and its
slide Q' simply presses in a spring-borne bolt & carried by a socket t
attached to the arm of the shifter K', but that in its down stroke acts'
laterally on the side of the bolt s³, being shot outward towards the
completion of the up stroke to move the shifter K' further in the
direction in which it had previously been swung by the roller stop M' or
M. This further movement of the shifter establishes the reversed
action of the pawls h³, h³, by destroying the relationship of the pawls to
the notched wheel H, and throwing into gear with the said wheel the
pawl opposite to that previously operating it. In this way at the ter-
mination of each opposite travel of the carriage D the motion of the
latter is reversed after the sliding frame D' has been adjusted to bring
the next succeeding row of perforations in the brush back in line with
the tuft inserting and securing devices.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated.
me by my foreign correspondent, and shewn how the same
may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice,
I claim,―
First. In combination with the feeding belts or carrying apron the
divider E operating to space the bristles into bunches, knots, or tufts,

page_text: Second. The fingers F, F, constructed and operating to spread out
laterally to effect or complete the separation of the bristles and their
collection into bunches or tufts, and afterwards to carry or push
forward the same for insertion in the brush back or stock, substantially
as specified.
Third. The combination of the divider E and fingers F, F, for operation
together essentially as herein set forth, and whereby the fingers are
made to lift and release the divider to secure the spacing of the bristles,.
substantially as specified.
:
Fourth. The fingers F, F, constructed as described and combined and
operating with the slide G, essentially as and for the purposes heroin set.
forth.
Fifth. The combination with the fingers F, F, of the slides C and H,
slots o; o, pins n, n, inclined planer, and arm 8, or the equivalents of
these devices in such manner that the fingers are first expanded,
afterwards moved forward, and subsequently in their back stroke made
to rise for the purpose of lifting the divider which spaces the bristles
into bunches, knots, or tufts.
Sixth. The combination with the fingers F, F, and slide G, of the
jaws jj, punch B', wire cutter V, and staple former X for action
together or relatively to cach other, essentially as and for the purposes
specified.
Seventh. The combination (for automatically adjusting the brush
back or block) of the slide G¹ with its pawls h³, h³, notched wheel H³,
pinion o¹, rack N¹, stops M', M³, and shifter K', substantially as
specified.
Eighth. The combination with the cam P', slide Q', spring m³, spring
catch 8¹, and arm R* of the shifter K' constructed to release the catch,
substantially as herein set forth.
Ninth. The combination with the pawl shifter K¹ of mechanism
whereby the carriage operating pawls are made first to be thrown out of
gear with the notched wheel, which they drive afterwards, to be recipro-
cated independently of the same, and subsequently either one of the
said pawls made to gear with such wheel for the purpose of establishing
the adjustment of the carriage in a transverse direction, and afterwards

page_text: reversing its action at right angles thereto, substantially as hercin
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
;
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.8.)