Patent ID: 8069562

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a brush seal comprising the steps of: (a) maintaining a pair of first elongated frames spaced from one another on a fixture; (b) wrapping wire strands about and longitudinally along the pair of frames in multiple longitudinal wire passes forming wire runs; (c) disposing two pairs of first elongated plates between the wire runs at respective locations spaced from one another along the wire runs and at an angle to the wrapped strands with the plates of each of the two pairs lying parallel to and in registration with one another; (d) clamping two pairs of second elongated plates at second respective locations along an outside of the wire runs with each pair of the second elongated plates registering with each pair of the first elongated plates, the two pairs of second elongated plates extending generally parallel to the pairs of the first elongated plates; (e) cutting the wrapped strands outside of and beyond the first and second pairs of elongated plates forming two wire strand runs with both ends of each of the runs disposed between and straddled by said first and second pairs of elongated plates; (f) welding the cut strand runs and the pair of plates straddling the both ends of the runs; and (g) cutting the wire strand runs intermediate the welded ends of the strand runs to form two bristle packs from each of the runs and from which the bristle packs form the brush seals.