EP0193074A2 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing brushware - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for the manufacture of bristle products, such as paintbrushes, brushes, brooms and the like, which comprise a bristle carrier and bristle bundles fixed thereto. The bristles are drawn from a continuous strand on a storage reel and pass through a mould, so that the strand is given a random cross-sectional shape. Downstream of the mould, the reshaped continuous strands are fixed to a bristle carrier and then bristles are cut to the desired length, so that the bristle bundles can be given different shapes and the bristle material can be continuously processed from the reel. The cross-sectional shape of the individual bristle bundles can be adapted to the particular intended use.

Description

The invention relates to a process for the production of bristle goods, such as brushes, brushes, brooms or the like, consisting of a bristle carrier and bundles of bristles attached thereto, by pulling plastic bristles combined into an endless strand from a supply spool, bringing them up to the bristle carrier, securing them to length and length get cut. The invention further relates to an apparatus for performing the method.

With the predominant use of plastic bristles today, processing of the endless strand is also becoming increasingly important, since the starting material is extruded and is thus produced continuously. After stretching, it is wound up on spools or in flat coils.

In conventional processing, the continuous material is combined from a large number of monofilaments and packed into large bundles or bristle packs. The bristle packs are delivered to the bristle goods manufacturer in this form. For processing, the The packaging is removed, the bristle pack is placed in the machine magazine and then broken down again into smaller bundles corresponding to the desired bundle thickness. Since these operations are cost-intensive for the bristle manufacturer, as well as for the processor, it would be obvious to carry out the processing from the continuous strand by winding up the material at the bristle manufacturer and delivering complete bobbins to the processor. Recognizing the advantages of this method of working, there has been no shortage of proposals (DE-OS 28 47 781, 28 49 510) to set up the machines for producing the bristle goods in such a way that the bristles can be processed as continuous material by the spool, in that the continuous strand of the supply spool is pulled off, brought up to the bristle holder and the free end of the endless strand is attached to the bristle holder. Since the endless strand has an approximately round to flat-oval cross-section due to production, only those bristle articles can be produced in which bristle bundles with a corresponding cross-section are desired or can be accepted, which is the case with the majority of bristle articles. In certain cases, however, bristle bundles with others, e.g. B. prismatic cross-section, required or at least desirable, which applies for example to brushes. In addition, there are bristle products in which bristle bundles of different cross-sectional shape and different cross-sectional area would also be advantageous, but so far such bristle bundles have not been used due to the lack of rational production methods. Although it has also been proposed to provide bristle holes of polygonal cross-section in bristle carriers and to mechanically fasten the bundles therein, the holes are only insufficiently filled, so that dirt collects in the holes (DE-GM 80 04 640, 84 03 491).

The invention has for its object to propose a method and an apparatus for the production of bristle goods, with the help of any bristle bundle Cross-section generated and these can be processed into bristle goods with any bristle field.

Starting from the method mentioned at the outset with processing from the endless strand, this object is achieved in that, when it is brought up to the bristle carrier, the endless strand is reshaped to a cross-section deviating from the original shape by pressure acting laterally on its entire circumference, and after reaching the desired cross-sectional shape on the Bristle holder is attached.

The invention first makes use of the advantages of processing the endless strand, which have been recognized but have not yet been implemented in practice and opens up the possibility of converting the endless strand into any cross-sectional shape by reshaping the endless strand by means of lateral pressure, and of this endless strand while maintaining the to give him the cross-sectional shape to attach the bristles to the bristle carrier. It is therefore no longer necessary to first produce the cut material when processing the bristle material and then to cut the cut bristles from one from this cut material by means of suitable receiving devices (e.g. DE-PS 23 35 468, DE-AS 26 46 048) cut out the larger magazine and bring it to the bristle holder. Instead, the invention works from the endless strand via a forming process, as is used similarly when profiling other endless material. The pressure acting laterally on the entire circumference of the endless strand must be such that the individual monofilaments within the strand are displaced and rearranged so that the desired cross section is finally established and this is maintained up to the fastening point.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention According to the method, the pressure acting laterally on the endless strand is lower in the area in front of the fastening point than in the area in front. The strand is therefore initially subjected to a pressure necessary for its forming and this is then reduced after the desired cross section has been reached, so that the individual bristles within the strand again have a certain freedom of movement. This ensures that the bristles spread slightly at the leading end of the strand, which, after the bristles have been fastened to the bristle carrier, means that there are small gaps between the individual bristles in the region of the bristle carrier. This is in individual cases, e.g. B. in application devices, such as brushes, painter's brushes, etc. desired in order to store the application medium within the device between the bristles and to be able to deliver them successively.

In the prior art described at the outset, it is known to bring a plurality of endios strands, each accommodated on spools, to the bristle carrier in accordance with the number of bristle bundles to be fastened to the bristle carrier, in order, for example, to be able to carry out the entire assembly of a bristle carrier in one go. Even with such a multiple feeding of endless strands, they can each be brought to a desired cross-sectional shape. It is in particular possible to reshape the endless strands to different cross-sections, for example in order to cover a bristle carrier of a predetermined outline with bristles over the entire surface. There is also the possibility of simultaneously processing endless strands of different cross-sections.

In order to be able to produce bundles of bristles with a larger number of bristles from individual endless strands, each with a predetermined number of monofilaments, it is provided according to a further embodiment that several endless strands are brought together and together by lateral ones Pressure can be formed to any cross-section.

The invention provides in particular the possibility of reshaping the endless strands into prismatic cross sections, which are particularly favorable, even a requirement, especially when the bristle carrier is covered over the entire surface.

• Bei einer Umformung zu prismatischen, z. B. rechteckigen und gegebenenfalls dreieckigen Querschnitten lassen sich beliebig große Flächen vollflächig mit Borsten besetzen, wobei zwischen den einzelnen Borstenbündeln nur schmale Kanäle vorhanden sind. Diese wiederum können bei Auftragsgeräten zur Haltung des Auftragsmediums im Gerät dienen.

According to a further variant of the invention, the number of endless strands and their cross-sectional shape can be selected such that the bristle carrier is completely covered with the distance between the mutually facing sides of the bristle bundles that is largely constant on the fastening surface. In other words:

• When forming prismatic, e.g. B. rectangular and possibly triangular cross-sections can be filled with bristles of any size, with only narrow channels between the individual bristle bundles. In the case of application devices, these in turn can be used to hold the application medium in the device.

The method according to the invention with the features described above has the advantage that the packing density of the bristles can be varied by the lateral pressure during the shaping or afterwards, which in the known cutting out of bristle bundles or packages of any cross section from magazines with cut material (DE -PS 23 35 468, DE-AS 26 46 048) is not possible. There, in order to be able to carry out the cutting-out process, a lateral pressure of the cut-out mold, achieved primarily by wedging, must be exerted on the bristles, which then remains in the cut-out mold until the bristles are attached to the bristle holder. Furthermore, the method according to the invention has the great advantage that even very thin bristles could be processed properly, which is not possible when cutting out magazines with cut material, since such bristles dodge slightly, bend and finally deform permanently. This applies especially to the production of brushes, toothbrushes, etc.

To carry out the aforementioned method, the invention proceeds from a known device (DE-OS 28 47 781, 28 49 510) with at least one supply spool which receives at least one bristle endless strand, a take-off device for the endless strand, a cutting device, a holding device for the bristle holder, a device for fastening the bristles to the bristle holder and a cutting device. Such a device is characterized according to the invention in that a mold with at least one channel guiding the endless strand, the cross section of which corresponds to the desired cross section of the bristle bundle and the cross sectional area of which corresponds approximately to that of the endless strand, is arranged in front of the device for fastening the bristles.

In the device according to the invention, the endless strand is withdrawn from the spool and passed through the molding tool, in which the endless strand is brought from its original round cross-section into the desired cross-sectional shape. The cross-sectional area remains approximately the same, so that the bristles in the molding tool are only displaced and displaced relative to one another, but an excessive tensile stress is not built up due to excessive lateral pressure. After the molding tool, the endless strand is then brought up to the device for fastening the bristles to the bristle carrier and, after fastening, cut to length by welding, gluing, and injection by means of the cutting device.

In a preferred embodiment, the molding tool has a plurality of guide channels arranged next to one another at a small distance, each for one of a plurality of endless strands. In this way, all or large parts Occupy a cutlery area on the bristle holder simultaneously with bundles of bristles of any cross-section. The distance between the individual guide channels is selected in accordance with the requirements for the property of the bristle product to be produced. If all bristles are to sit as tightly as possible, the distance will be minimized accordingly. If, on the other hand, gaps between the individual bristle bundles are desired, the distance will be increased accordingly. Any bundle configurations and bristle areas of any geometry can be created.

It is expedient if each guide channel on the entry side of the endless strand has a round cross section, the cross-sectional area of which is at least as large as that of the unshaped endless strand, and if the round cross section gradually changes into the final cross section. In this way, the introduction of the leading end of the endless strand is facilitated during commissioning and, at the same time, the greatest possible force-free shaping is achieved from the original to the desired cross section.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the cross section of the guide channels on the exit side of the endless strands is somewhat enlarged. With this design, as already described in connection with the method, the possibility is created that the bundle can expand and the bristles can expand, whereby practical tests have shown that the distance between the individual bristles is approximately the same while maintaining the shaped cross section . This is particularly desirable for brushes and brushes that are used to apply liquid or pasty media and are intended to store the medium.

If the molding tool has several guide channels, so According to a preferred embodiment, it is provided that the partition walls arranged between the guide channels on the exit side of the endless strands taper to pointed edges. This ensures that the bristles on the. spread the end of the endless strands and the bristles of neighboring strands are brought together. This effect can also be favorably influenced by the fact that the partition walls arranged between the guide channels end at a distance from the end face of the molding tool on the outlet side.

Finally, according to a further embodiment it is provided that adjacent guide channels or adjacent rows of guide channels diverge at a small angle towards the exit side. With this embodiment, the endless strands are directed towards the rear. Bristle carrier arranged slightly apart from the molding tool, this being possible for each individual bristle bundle or for entire rows of bristle bundles or bristle fields at the same or different angles. After the bristles have been attached to the bristle carrier, the bristles are inclined toward one another towards the free end, which in turn is particularly desirable in application devices. As a result, a bristle closure is obtained at the free ends, which prevents the application medium from escaping freely, so that it only emerges under the application pressure and the application movement.

• Fig. 1 eine schematische Ansicht einer Vorrichtung;
• Fig. 2 einen Schnitt durch ein einzelnes Formwerkzeug mit einem Endlosstrang aus Kunststoffborstenmaterial;
• Fig. 3 mehrere Querschnitte (teilweise hälftig) gemäß der Darstellung in Fig. 2;
• Fig. 4 ein Mehrfach-Formwerkzeug im Längsschnitt;
• Fig. 5 einen Querschnitt zu der Darstellung gem. Fig. 4;
• Fig. 6 ein Mehrfachwerkzeug ähnlich der Fig. 4 im Längsschnitt;
• Fig. 7 einen Querschnitt zu der Darstellung gemäß Fig. 6;
• Fig. 8 einen schematischen Schnitt der Borstenbesteckung für einen Flachpinsel;
• Fig. 9 ein Schema für den Borstenbesatz einer Bürste oder dergleichen;
• Fig. 10 eine der Fig. 9 ähnliche Ansicht einer abgewandelten Ausführungsform und
• Fig. 11 ein Besteckungsschema für ein Gerät mit Borstenbündeln unterschiedlichen Querschnitts und unterschiedlicher Querschnittsfläche.

The invention is described below with reference to some embodiments of the device shown in the drawing. The drawing shows:

• 1 shows a schematic view of a device;
• 2 shows a section through a single molding tool with an endless strand made of plastic bristle material;
• 3 shows several cross sections (partly in half) as shown in FIG. 2;
• 4 shows a multiple molding tool in longitudinal section;
• Fig. 5 shows a cross section to the representation acc. Fig. 4;
• 6 shows a multiple tool similar to FIG. 4 in longitudinal section;
• FIG. 7 shows a cross section to the representation according to FIG. 6;
• 8 shows a schematic section of the bristle equipment for a flat brush;
• Fig. 9 is a diagram for the bristle trim of a brush or the like;
• Fig. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 of a modified embodiment and
• Fig. 11 is a placement scheme for a device with bristle bundles of different cross-section and different cross-sectional area.

The device shown schematically in Fig. 1 has a plurality of coils 1, which are mounted in a frame, not shown. Each coil receives at least one endless strand 2 made of bristle material. In this case, an unwinding device, not shown, is provided, by means of which the endless strands 2 are fed to a mold, which is denoted overall by 3. Furthermore, the device has a device 4 for holding a bristle carrier and a cutting device 6, by means of which the endless strands 2 passed through the molding tool 3 after the fastening of their leading ends to the bristles carrier 5 can be cut to size. In FIG. 1, a device 7 for fastening the bristle bundles or the leading ends of the endless strands 2 to the bristle carrier 5 is also indicated schematically. This fastening device can, for example, be a welding device by means of which both the leading ends of the endless strands 2 and the bristle carrier 5 made of plastic are melted and after their removal the bristle carrier 5 is brought to the melted bristle ends by means of the holding device 4. After the melt has cooled sufficiently, the holder 4 with the bristle carrier 5 and the welded-on endless strands can be pulled further by a bristle length, then the cutting device 6 can be activated and a bristle carrier can be fed again.

In the molding tool 3, the originally round or flat-oval endless strands 2 are shaped by pressure acting laterally over the entire circumference. For this purpose, reference is first made to FIG. 2. The molding tool 3 has a preferably conical, circular inlet section 8 which tapers downwards and whose cross-sectional shape changes at the same time in the transition region 9 and finally merges into a guide channel 10 which is rectangular in the cross-sectional plane 11, e.g. B. is square. Correspondingly, the endless strand 2 is formed into a rectangular, in particular square, cross section 12 as it passes through the molding tool 3, so that square bristle bundles are obtained with this molding tool. Instead of the square cross-section 11, any other prismatic cross-sectional shape can of course be produced.

4 shows a molding tool 3 with a multiplicity of guide channels 10, the conical inlet area not being shown for the sake of simplicity. Between the individual guide channels there are only thin-walled partitions 13, so that the individual bristles emerge through each guide channel 10 continuous strands on the outlet end 14 immediately next to each other. As can also be seen from the drawing, the partition walls 13 taper to a point in the region 15 on the outlet-side end face 14. As a result, the leading ends of the bristles of the individual endless strands can spread out on the outlet side and emerge in a dense and regular position. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the guide channels 10, as shown in FIG. 5, are arranged side by side in two rows. The ends of the endless strands emerging from the molding tool 3 can, as has already been described with reference to FIG. 1, be connected to one another and to the bristle carrier by melting out.

The embodiment according to FIGS. 6 and 7 differs from that according to FIGS. 4 and 5 in that the partitions 13 end at a distance in front of the outlet-side end face 14 of the molding tool 3; this further supports the fanning out of the leading ends of the bristles within the endless strands. As can also be seen from FIG. 7, the partition walls 13 between adjacent rows of guide channels 10 have a wall thickness that increases towards the outlet-side end face 14. As a result, the guide channels 10 diverge in the direction of the end face 14, so that the endless strands formed in the two rows of the guide channels 10 emerge at an angle to one another. Characterized bristle bundles 15, 16 are obtained, which are inclined at an angle to one another and spaced from one another in the area of the bristle carrier, so that chambers are formed between them which serve for example for storing and retaining a Appli ^g smediums. This embodiment is particularly advantageous in the production of brushes, painter's brushes, etc.

Fig. 8 shows schematically the cutlery area of a brush 17. It consists of two at a distance from each other arranged rows of rectangular bundles 18, the bundles also being at a short distance from one another. In this way, a central chamber 19 and a plurality of narrow chambers 20 are formed, which in turn the application medium, for. B. the color, hold back. If necessary, the bristle bundles 18 can deviate slightly from the rectangular shape, so that the chambers 20 formed between them have an increasing cross-section from the outside inwards. In addition, the trim can be designed so that the chambers are closed on the outer outline. In the area of the narrow sides of the brush 17, either a larger rectangular bundle or, as shown in the drawing, several bundles 21 of triangular cross section can be provided.

Fig. 9 shows the cutlery area of a brush or a brush for applying media, which are housed in a container. For this purpose, the bristle carrier 23 has, for example, a hole or channel 24. It can be placed with its side facing away from the bristle field on the opening of a container which contains the medium to be applied, which can penetrate into the bristle stock through the hole or the channel 24. Here again largely rectangular bristle bundles 25 are provided, the bristle bundles 26 arranged in the corners having a somewhat modified cross section in that the corners are rounded.

10 shows a modified cutlery field for a brush, in which the round endless strands have been formed into bristle bundles 27, 28 and 29 which form a largely closed outside of the bristle field. The bristle field is fully occupied. The special peculiarity is that the bristle bundles 27, 28, 29 have the same cross-sectional area despite the different cross-sectional shape.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 11, which is provided, for example, for brooms, a series of bristle bundles 31 with a square cross section and a row with bristle bundles 32 with a round cross section are arranged on the bristle carrier 30 in the central region, each with an endless strand round cross section have been obtained. In this case, continuous strands that have not been formed can be used for the bristle bundles 32. The three rows of bristle bundles 31 and 32 are surrounded on the outside by bristle bundles 33 with an elongated rounded cross section, which have been produced, for example, from three endless strands by merging and correspondingly reshaping them. From this representation, the various possible variations that are possible by reshaping the endless strands into other cross-sectional shapes can be seen. The various cross-sectional shapes can be selected as they are particularly desirable for the use of the respective device, for example a relatively rigid design of the bristle bundles in the middle and a soft design in the outer area or vice versa.

Claims (14)

1. A process for the production of bristle goods, such as brushes, brushes, brooms or the like, consisting of a bristle carrier and bundles of bristles attached thereto, by pulling plastic bristles combined into an endless strand from a supply spool, bringing them up to the bristle carrier, securing them to length and length get cut,
characterized ,
that the endless strand is deformed to a cross-section deviating from the original cross-sectional shape when attached to the bristle carrier by pressure acting laterally on sei.ne.n the entire circumference and is fastened to or in the bristle carrier after the desired cross-sectional shape has been reached. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressure acting laterally on the endless strand is lower in the area in front of the fastening point than in the area in front. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality, each on coils housed endless strands according to the number of bristle bundles to be attached to the bristle carrier are brought up to the bristle carrier, characterized in that the endless strands are formed into different cross sections. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the endless strands are formed to different cross-sections with the same cross-sectional area. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a plurality of continuous strands are brought together and formed together by lateral pressure to form a single strand of any cross-section. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the endless strands are formed into prismatic cross sections. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the number of endless strands and their cross-sectional shape are selected so that the bristle carrier on the fastening surface is covered with bristles over the entire surface. 8. Device for performing the method according to one of claims 1 to 7, with at least one supply spool, which receives at least one bristle endless strand, a take-off device for the endless strand, a cutting device, a holding device for the bristle carrier and a device for fastening the bristles the bristle carrier, characterized in that in front of the device (7) for fastening the bristles a molding tool (3) with at least one channel (10) guiding the endless strand (2), the cross-section of which corresponds to the desired cross-section of the bristle bundle (I2) and the cross-sectional area approximately corresponds to that of the endless strand. 9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that the molding tool (3) has a plurality of guide channels (10) arranged next to one another at a small distance, each for one of a plurality of endless strands (2). 10. The device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that each guide channel (10) on the entry side of the endless strand (2) has a round cross-section (8), the cross-sectional area is at least as large as that of the unshaped endless strand (2) and that the round cross section gradually merges into the final cross section (22). 11. Device according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the cross section (11) of the guide channels (10) on the outlet side (14) of the endless strands (2) is somewhat enlarged. 12. Device according to one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the partition walls (13) arranged between a plurality of guide channels (10) on the outlet side (14) of the endless strands (2) taper to pointed edges (15). 13. Device according to one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that the partition walls (13) arranged between the guide channels (10) end at a distance from the exit-side end face (14) of the molding tool (3). 14. Device according to one of claims 8 to 13, there characterized in that adjacent guide channels (10) or adjacent rows of guide channels (10) diverge at a small angle towards the outlet side (14).

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