EP2305067B1 - Procédé et machine pour produire des brosses - Google Patents

Procédé et machine pour produire des brosses Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2305067B1
EP2305067B1 EP09012578.2A EP09012578A EP2305067B1 EP 2305067 B1 EP2305067 B1 EP 2305067B1 EP 09012578 A EP09012578 A EP 09012578A EP 2305067 B1 EP2305067 B1 EP 2305067B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
tufting
tuft
carriers
filament
tufts
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Not-in-force
Application number
EP09012578.2A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP2305067A1 (fr
Inventor
Bart Gérard Boucherie
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
GB Boucherie NV
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GB Boucherie NV
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by GB Boucherie NV filed Critical GB Boucherie NV
Priority to EP09012578.2A priority Critical patent/EP2305067B1/fr
Publication of EP2305067A1 publication Critical patent/EP2305067A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2305067B1 publication Critical patent/EP2305067B1/fr
Not-in-force legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
    • A46D3/00—Preparing, i.e. Manufacturing brush bodies
    • A46D3/08—Parts of brush-making machines
    • A46D3/082—Magazines for bristles; Feeding bristles to magazines; Knot picking
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
    • A46D3/00—Preparing, i.e. Manufacturing brush bodies
    • A46D3/04—Machines for inserting or fixing bristles in bodies
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
    • A46D3/00—Preparing, i.e. Manufacturing brush bodies
    • A46D3/04—Machines for inserting or fixing bristles in bodies
    • A46D3/045—Machines for inserting or fixing bristles in bodies for fixing bristles by fusing or gluing to a body
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B2200/00—Brushes characterized by their functions, uses or applications
    • A46B2200/10—For human or animal care
    • A46B2200/1066—Toothbrush for cleaning the teeth or dentures

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method of producing brushes comprising tuft patterns composed of tufts that may differ in at least one of shape, color, filament type, filament thickness, filament length and filament finishing, wherein a set of tufts is composed for each brush to be produced by inserting tufts into holes of a carrier arranged in a pattern corresponding to the desired tuft pattern, and wherein the set of tufts is ultimately joined with a brush body; the method comprising the steps of providing a number of tufting stations; moving the carriers successively through the tufting stations; and filling a single tuft into a particular one of the carrier holes in the tufting stations.
  • the invention further relates to a machine for producing brushes comprising tuft patterns composed of tufts that may differ in at least one of shape, color, filament type, filament thickness, filament length and filament finishing, comprising a plurality of carriers each with a pattern of holes corresponding to at least one desired tuft pattern, a number of tufting stations arranged in a succession, means for moving the carriers successively through the tufting stations, and a filament magazine in each tufting station.
  • a complete set of tufts is then either directly transferred to a molding machine where brush bodies or parts of brush bodies are molded and one end of the tufts is embedded in the molding material, or the tufts are attached to a member such as a platelet for later incorporation in a brush body either by molding the brush body around the member or by attaching the member to a preformed brush body.
  • the present invention provides a method and machine for producing brushes with an unlimited variability regarding the composition and configuration of the tuft patterns at high productivity and relaxed requirements to the carrier positioning mechanism.
  • the invention provides a method as defined above, which is characterized by successively composing the tuft patterns in the carriers by exposing each carrier hole to an associated one of the tufting stations, with each tufting station having a filling tool associated with exactly one hole of the carrier.
  • the invention provides a machine as defined above, which is characterized by a tuft filling tool in each tufting station for filling a single tuft into a particular one of the carrier holes from the filament magazine of the tufting station, with each tufting station having a filling tool associated with exactly one hole of the carrier.
  • each tufting station has a filling tool associated with exactly one hole of the carrier, and only the carriers are to be moved from one tufting station to the next. Rapid and precise positioning of the carriers is easily achieved in comparison to the conventional positioning mechanism that needs to rapidly and very precisely move the carrier by small amounts under a filling tool to successively expose each hole to the filling tool.
  • Each tufting station needs to be adjusted only once in an initial set-up for a tuft pattern to be produced so that the filling tool in the station is aligned with just one of the holes of the carrier.
  • the station's tuft picker also needs to be adjusted only in an initial set-up for the intended size of tuft, which can be different between the stations.
  • the transport system for the carriers can be implemented in two ways.
  • a linear drive system which allows each carrier to move independently of all others in a programmed manner.
  • a drive system can be seen in http://www.iacobsautomation.com/video.html .
  • the filling tools are closely and preferably equally spaced along the common transport path.
  • the longitudinal target positions for the carriers relative to the filling tools are programmed into the system, and the transverse positions of the filling tools are adjusted to the needs of the tuft pattern. This way, the carriers are always moved precisely to the target positions where one tuft hole is aligned with the axis of an associated filling tool.
  • a common transport system such as a chain in a continuous loop is used and the carriers attached to the chain are moved by equal increments.
  • the longitudinal positions of the filling tools along the chain are adjusted to align the axis of each filling tool with one of the tuft holes in a carrier that has been moved to that filling tool.
  • the transverse positions of the filling tools are adjusted to the needs of the tuft pattern.
  • the machine of this invention is modular in nature in that the tufting stations may be identical and variable in number according to the needs. It is even possible to perform an automated or electronically assisted machine-setup for a particular tuft pattern to be produced by providing the filling tools with controllable positioning and aligning mechanisms (mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, electronic or electromagnetic).
  • the toothbrush head in Fig. 1 is for the purpose of demonstrating the large variety of tuft patterns, tuft configurations and material compositions achieved with the inventive method.
  • a limited number of nine tufts is shown which differ from each other in shape, composition and color.
  • many more tufts would form a tuft pattern, and many would be similar in shape, color and material.
  • the inventive method allows combining any kind of tuft shape, color, material etc. with more conventional configurations, and even configurations with mostly or entirely similar tufts, as will become apparent from the following description.
  • Fig. 2 shows an essential part of a toothbrush making machine, which is the tufting chain, a section of which is shown which comprises three tufting stations.
  • the tufting stations are designated A, B and C.
  • Each tufting station has a filament magazine A1, B1, C1 and a tuft filling tool A2, B2, and C2.
  • Each filament magazine A1, B1, C1 has a tuft picker, A11, B11 and C11, respectively.
  • Each filling tool A2, B2 and C2 has a tuft pusher A12, B12 and C12, respectively.
  • Carrier blocks 10, 12 and 14 are shown which each have a pattern of tuft receiving holes that corresponds to the tuft pattern of the toothbrush of Fig. 1 .
  • Carrier blocks 10,12 and 14 are precisely positioned in the tufting stations A1, B1 and C1, respectively. Between carrier blocks 12, 14 and 14, optional intermediate carrier blocks of identical configuration may be present, as shown in Fig. 2 , and in fact, there could be any number of such intermediate carrier blocks or no such intermediate carrier block, as long as each carrier block, when positioned in one of the tufting stations A1, B1, C1, or any other tufting station of the entire tufting chain, is precisely positioned to align just one of its tuft holes with the axis of an associated filling tool.
  • the tufting stations with their filament magazines, tuft pickers and tuft filling tools are basically conventional, a description of these elements is found in the initially mentioned prior art documents. It is clear, however, that they should be of a rather compact design to fit into a tufting chain that has a large number of tufting stations as may be required by a particular desired tuft pattern.
  • Fig. 3 The operation of the tufting stations is illustrated more in detail in Fig. 3 .
  • the upper row shows the carrier blocks of Fig. 2 in plan view
  • the intermediate row shows the corresponding tuft filling tools in cross-section
  • the bottom row shows the carrier blocks in cross-section.
  • tufting station A a tuft 20 separated from the filaments in filament magazine A1 is pushed by tuft pusher A12 through a channel in a guiding block A14 into a corresponding tuft receiving hole 30 of carrier block 10, the result is seen in intermediate carrier block 10a where tuft 20 sits in the corresponding hole.
  • tufting station B a tuft 22 separated from the filaments in filament magazine B1 is pushed by tuft pusher B12 through a channel in a guiding block B14 into a corresponding tuft receiving hole 32 of carrier block 12, which has already hole 30 filled with tuft 20, and the result is seen in intermediate carrier block 12a where tufts 20 and 22 sit in the corresponding holes.
  • a tuft 24 separated from the filaments in filament magazine C1 is pushed by tuft pusher C12 through a channel in a guiding block C14 into a corresponding tuft receiving hole 34 of carrier block 14, which has already hole 30 filled with tuft 20 and hole 32 filled with tuft 22, and the result is seen in intermediate carrier block 14a where tufts 20, 22 and 24 sit in the corresponding holes.
  • the upper row in Fig. 3 shows the tuft filling holes in solid black which have a tuft filled in.
  • filament magazine of a type that can provide different types of fibre to its associated filling tool, so that the machine can produce a mix of brushes with e.g. differently coloured filaments.
  • the filament magazine can also be equipped with a filament finishing unit that will treat the filaments that will be presented to the associated filling tool ; such treatments could be end-rounding of the fibre tips, or splitting the fibre tips. Equipping the filament magazine with such a filament treatment device will make sure that the brushes do not need any further treatment once they leave the machine.
  • the carriers move in equal steps from one tufting station to the next. This is easily achieved with a common drive chain that moves the carrier blocks successively through the row of tufting stations in equal incremental steps so that each carrier block is positioned in each of the tufting stations.
  • Each tuft filling tool is precisely positioned and aligned with respect to a single one of the tuft receiving holes in each carrier block that has been moved to a corresponding tufting station, and each tuft filling tool is aligned with a different one of the tuft receiving holes with respect to all other tuft filling tools.
  • the tuft filling tools are equally spaced a distance "d" and the carriers are driven by a linear transport system that allows the carriers to move precisely to predetermined target positions where the carrier has one of its holes aligned with the axis of a filling tool in one of the tufting stations.
  • target positions are programmed into the linear transport system as part of an initial setup of the machine where also the transverse positions of the filling tools are adjusted in relation to the particular tuft pattern to be produced.
  • the operation of the tufting stations is similar to that described with respect to Fig. 3 .
  • a processing machine is schematically shown in a plan view.
  • the processing machine has a transport system with a closed-loop transport chain 40.
  • the transport chain 40 is elongate and has a large number of tufting stations T1 to T40 on one side and four processing stations P1 to P4 on the other side.
  • These processing stations P1 to P4 may be similar and can perform various subsequent steps in the production of toothbrushes. In particular, pushing the filaments into the topography of the eventual brush, cutting the filaments to the appropriate length, transferring the filaments into part of the brush body, and fusing or gluing the filaments together.
  • Such processes can happen with the filaments still in the carrier plate, or once the filaments are already transferred to a next station, without falling outside the scope of this patent application.
  • the carrier plates Once the carrier plates are emptied of their filaments, they may have to be cleaned and/or inspected before they are brought to the filling tools again.
  • the carrier plates already contain a part of the brush head during the tufting cycle, such parts of the brush will have to be placed into the carrier plates again.
  • Such processes will take longer than just adding another tuft to one of the carrier plates, so these processes will happen with several carrier plates simultaneously. After this longer process, the carrier plates will have to be transported further in a bigger step. For this movement, the chain is driven by a second drive system which operates independently of the first one.
  • the common transport chain 40 in Fig. 4 moves the carriers by equal increments between the tufting stations T1 to T40, it permits different cycle times in the processing stations P1 to P4 by virtue of moveable sprocket wheels of the chain drive.
  • the carriers are indexed through the tufting stations T1 to T40 by equal increments corresponding to a short cycle time, a number of such carriers with completed tuft patterns need a substantially longer cycle time in each of the processing stations P1 to P4, and the corresponding chain links will be kept stationary during that longer cycle time.
  • Each of the processing stations P1 to P4 in Fig. 4 includes a carousel with a first sub-station S1 which disconnects carriers filled with tufts from the common chain 40, a second sub-station S2 which transfers the tufts from a carrier to a platelet supplied from an automatic platelet feeder F1, a third sub-station S3 where the platelet is joined with a brush head or brush body supplied from an automatic body feeder F2, and a fourth sub-station S4 where the emptied carriers are inspected, cleaned and prepared for further use in the machine.
  • sub-stations in Fig. 4 are examples of sub-processing stations that ultimately produce finished toothbrushes.
  • a common linear transport system 60 wherein the carriers are each connected to a transport member capable of moving each carrier individually to predetermined target positions that are programmed into the transport system as explained in relation to Fig. 3a .
  • the transport system is also elongate and has a number of tufting stations T1 to T6 on one side and processing stations A, B and C on the opposed side. It is seen that the carriers are positioned in different relative positions in each of the tufting stations T1 to T6. On the side of the processing stations A, B and C, which can be similar with those in Fig. 4 , the timing of processing can be even more flexible since the carriers can all move independently of all others.
  • the number of tufting stations in the machine is quite high, as many as forty stations T1 to T40 being shown. It is in fact preferred that the number of tufting stations in the machine is at least the number of tufts in a tuft pattern to be produced. Using such a high number of tufting stations results in a high productivity of the machine which is an advantage even if the tuft pattern to be produced on the machine consists of only a few different kinds of tufts or even a single kind of tufts.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Brushes (AREA)

Claims (19)

  1. Procédé pour fabriquer des brosses comprenant des motifs de touffes composés de touffes qui peuvent différer par l'un au moins des facteurs comprenant la forme, la couleur, le type de filament, l'épaisseur de filament, la longueur de filament ou la finition de filament, dans lequel un ensemble de touffes est composé pour chaque brosse à fabriquer par enfoncement des touffes dans des ouvertures d'un support disposées en un motif correspondant au motif de touffes désiré, et dans lequel l'ensemble de touffes est solidarisé avec un corps de brosse ;
    le procédé comprenant les étapes consistant à :
    prévoir un certain nombre de postes de touffetage ;
    déplacer les supports successivement à travers les postes de touffetage ;
    remplir une touffe individuelle dans une ouverture particulière parmi les ouvertures de support dans les postes de touffetage ;
    caractérisé par la composition successive des motifs de touffes dans les supports en exposant chaque ouverture de support à un poste associé parmi les postes de touffetage, chaque poste de touffetage comprenant un outil de remplissage associé à précisément une ouverture du support.
  2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel chaque poste de touffetage sépare une touffe individuelle à partir d'un magasin de filament associé, afin de l'introduire dans une ouverture particulière parmi les ouvertures de support.
  3. Procédé selon la revendication 1 ou la revendication 2, dans lequel une pluralité de supports sont déplacés en une rangée à travers ledit nombre de postes de touffetage.
  4. Procédé selon la revendication 3, dans lequel les supports sont déplacés par un système de transport commun à des intervalles égaux entre les postes de touffetage.
  5. Procédé selon la revendication 4, dans lequel les supports sont connectés de façon amovible au système de transport commun.
  6. Procédé selon l'une des revendications 2 à 5, dans lequel les supports sont déplacés par un système de transport linéaire qui permet à chaque support de se déplacer indépendamment de tous les autres jusque dans des positions longitudinales déterminées précisément.
  7. Procédé selon la revendication 6, dans lequel les positions longitudinales prédéterminées sont programmées dans le système de transport.
  8. Procédé selon l'une des revendications précédentes, dans lequel la liaison des motifs de touffes au corps de brosse se fait soit par
    - le transfert des touffes depuis les supports vers un organe qui sera ultérieurement incorporé dans un corps de brosse, et par l'attachement des touffes audit organe,
    - le transfert des touffes depuis les supports vers un moule dans lequel les touffes sont incorporées par moulage avec le corps de brosse,
    - l'utilisation d'une partie au moins d'un corps de brosse à titre de support ou d'une partie de celui-ci et par l'attachement des touffes à ladite partie.
  9. Machine pour fabriquer des brosses comprenant des motifs de touffes composés de touffes qui peuvent différer par l'un au moins des facteurs comprenant la forme, la couleur, le type de filament, l'épaisseur de filament, la longueur de filament ou la finition de filament, comprenant
    une pluralité de supports comprenant chacun un motif d'ouvertures qui correspond à au moins un motif de touffes désiré,
    un certain nombre de postes de touffetage agencés en succession ;
    des moyens pour déplacer les supports successivement à travers les postes de touffetage ;
    un magasin de filament dans chaque poste de touffetage ;
    caractérisée par un outil de remplissage de touffes dans chaque poste de touffetage pour introduire une touffe individuelle dans une ouverture particulière parmi les ouvertures de support à partir du magasin de filament du poste de touffetage, chaque poste de touffetage comprenant un outil de remplissage associé à précisément une ouverture du support.
  10. Machine selon la revendication 9, comprenant en outre un système de transport commun pour déplacer les supports en synchronisme et à des intervalles égaux.
  11. Machine selon la revendication 9, comprenant en outre un système de transport linéaire qui permet à chaque support de se déplacer indépendamment de tous les autres jusque dans des positions longitudinales déterminées précisément.
  12. Machine selon la revendication 10, dans laquelle les positions longitudinales prédéterminées sont programmées dans le système de transport.
  13. Machine selon l'une des revendications 9 à 12, dans laquelle le système de transport forme une boucle fermée.
  14. Machine selon l'une des revendications 9 à 13, dans laquelle les supports sont couplés de façon amovible au système de transport.
  15. Machine selon l'une des revendications 9 à 14, dans laquelle chaque poste de touffetage comprend des moyens de positionnement et d'alignement pour positionner et aligner l'outil de touffetage par rapport à une ouverture particulière des ouvertures dans chaque support.
  16. Machine selon la revendication 15, dans laquelle les moyens de positionnement et d'alignement peuvent être commandés de manière à ajuster les outils de touffetage en accord avec différents motifs de touffes désirés.
  17. Machine selon l'une des revendications 9 à 16, dans laquelle les supports sont déplacés vers différents types d'unités de traitement agencées conjointement avec les postes de touffetage le long d'un chemin de transport commun.
  18. Machine selon l'une des revendications 9 à 17, dans laquelle au moins un magasin de filament est apte à fournir des filaments de différents types jusqu'à son outil de remplissage associé.
  19. Machine selon l'une des revendications 9 à 18, dans laquelle au moins un magasin de filament comprend une unité de traitement de filament intégrée telle qu'un dispositif d'arrondissage d'extrémités pour polir les pointes des filaments.
EP09012578.2A 2009-10-05 2009-10-05 Procédé et machine pour produire des brosses Not-in-force EP2305067B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP09012578.2A EP2305067B1 (fr) 2009-10-05 2009-10-05 Procédé et machine pour produire des brosses

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP09012578.2A EP2305067B1 (fr) 2009-10-05 2009-10-05 Procédé et machine pour produire des brosses

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2305067A1 EP2305067A1 (fr) 2011-04-06
EP2305067B1 true EP2305067B1 (fr) 2013-12-11

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EP09012578.2A Not-in-force EP2305067B1 (fr) 2009-10-05 2009-10-05 Procédé et machine pour produire des brosses

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Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE1021817B9 (nl) * 2013-03-29 2019-07-11 Gb Boucherie Nv Machine voor de vervaardiging van borstels
BE1021677B1 (de) * 2013-04-26 2016-01-06 Gb Boucherie Nv Bürstenherstellungsmachine

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2731762C2 (de) * 1977-07-14 1985-08-29 Fa. Anton Zahoransky, 7868 Todtnau Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Herstellen von Bürsten
BE1008379A3 (nl) * 1994-05-09 1996-04-02 Boucherie Nv G B Werkwijze voor het vervaardigen van borstels.
ES2217733T3 (es) 1998-07-14 2004-11-01 Firma G.B. Boucherie, Naamloze Vennootschap Metodo para fabricar cepillos y maquina para fabricar cepillos que aplica este metodo.
DE10335996A1 (de) * 2003-08-01 2005-02-24 Anton Zahoransky Gmbh & Co. Bürstenherstellungsmaschine

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