GB2034582A - Device for shifting the brush bodies in brush making machines. - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for shifting the brush bodies in brush making machines, e.g. between boring and/or filling stations, characterized in that it comprises driving and locating means (7) and locking means (6) which cooperate with the drum (3) in which are secured the brush bodies so that the said locking means (6) is withdrawn from the drum (3) during the rotation and the localization thereof by the driving and locating means (7), the latter being withdrawn from the drum (3) only when the locking means (6) has acted thereon, thereby allowing the driving and locating means (7) to be brought back into its initial position (as shown) while the boring and/or filling operations are going on. The mechanism may be toothed. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for shifting the brush bodies in the brush making machines This invention relates to a device for suitably shifting the brush bodies in a brush making machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for shifting a drum on the periphery of which are regularly distributed holders for the brush bodies, still more particularly, but without any limitation, this invention relates to the brush bodies for making small brushes such as, e.g. tooth-brushes, nail brushes and the like.

Such devices are already known wherein the above drum or similar is forwarded by using a so-cailed "insertion mechanism", in other words, a device using, e.g. a pawl and a ratchet wheel in which a suitable movement is imparted to the pawl, e.g. in order to bring a brush holder in another position, i.e. from a position situated under the boring means to a position situated under the filling means, etc. Of course, such a device must be coupled with another device through which the above drum or similar is secured or locked in the previously determined position during the boring or filling operation of a brush body.

Such known devices are operating rather slowly since, in order to carry out the boring or filling operation, one has always to wait until the above drum or a similar means is rotated and until the locking means (generally a stud or a pin penetrating in a suitable hole provided in the above drum or a similar means) is brought into position, on the one hand, whereas one has also to wait until the above drum is allowed to rotate at the end of the boring and/or filling step owing to the fact that the above stud or a similar means must be firstly withdrawn before the drum or the similar means may rotate on the other hand.

In fact, it may be said that, in such known devices, a shifting or a rotation must be imparted to the drum provided with brush holders during a determined time tl whereafter, at the end of said rotation, the drum must be locked, which requires a time t2.

In such known device, the non-productivetime between two boring and/or filling cycles, in other words, the time elapsed from the end of the last operation on the brush body up to the first operation on a following brush body may be also expressed by the formula: T1 = tl + t2, wherein tl and t2 are each other than zero.

The present invention relates to a device totally excluding the above drawbacks and through which, at the end of a boring and/or filling operation, the above drum or the similar means may be rotated and momentarily located without any waiting time to bring a following brush body into the suitable position.

In fact, the present invention relates to a device providing a driving, a localization and a locking so that the above locating or locking time t2 = 0 with the result that T2 = tl and, consequently: T2 < T1.

Thus, the non-productive time between two successive working cycles is accordingly shortened, thereby providing a higher productivity.

For this purpose, the device having the above and other advantages comprises substantially, on the one hand, driving and locating means and, on the other hand, locking means alternatively cooperating with the drum in which are secured the brush bodies so that the above locking means are withdrawn from the drum only after the locking means have acted thereon, thereby bringing back the driving and locating means into the initial position, whereas the boring and/or filling operation are going on without any interruption.

The characteristics of this invention will be more apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment given only by way of example and without any limitation, reference being made to the enclosed drawings in which Figure 1 is a front view with a partial section of a device according to the invention; Figures 2 to 6 show diagrammatically a plurality of other operating conditions of the device shown in Figure 1.

According to the present invention the above device comprises substantially a support 1 suitably connected (not shown) with the proper machine and in which is also mounted (not shown) e.g. a freely rotating axis 2 on which is secured the above drum or the similar means 3 shown diagrammatically and comprising, in that case, four holders 4 for the brush bodies. On said axis 2, is secured a toothed wheel 5 with which a locking means 6, on the one hand, and a driving and locating means 7 shifting and locating the drum 3, on the other hand, may cooperate.

The above locking means 6 comprises a lever 8 which is freely rotating on the bove support 1 through a pivot pin 9 and which is provided with a toothed portion 10 at the location of the toothed wheel 5. Said lever 8 is connected with the end of a spring which, in that case, is a pulling spring 11 the second end of which is connected with a lever 12 freely pivoting on the above support 1 through a pivot pin 13. Said lever 12 forms a guide forthe proper driving and locating means 7 consisting substantially of a toothed bar 14 connected with a rod 15 of a piston 16 of a pressure cylinder 17 making part of the above lever 12.

Finally, a pressure cylinder 19 is freely rotating on the above support 1 through a pivot pin 18, the rod 20 of the piston 21 of said cylinder 19 passing through a hole 22 provided in said lever 8, the free end of said rod 20 comprising a thickened portion or head 23.

The device according to this invention operates very simply as described hereafter.

In the position shown in Figure 1, as well the teeth 10 as the teeth 14 are meshing with the toothed wheel 5, thereby subjecting, at that time, one of the brush bodies secured on the drum or the similar means 3 to an operation, e.g. a boring operation, whereas another brush body is subjected simultaneously, e.g. to a filling operation.

While the said boring and/or filling operations are going on, the piston 21 of the cylinder 19 is moved on an upwards stroke so that the head 23 of the rod 20 pivots the lever 6 on its rotating point 9, the teeth 10 being thereby withdrawn from the toothed wheel 5 in its position. The boring and filling ooperations are going on until, at a determined point, all the holes are bored in the brush body and/or until all the fibers are introduced therein.

Immediately at the end of these operations the boring tool and/or the filling tool are withdrawn away from the brush body and then, at this point, the piston 16 of the cylinder 17 is actuated so that, owing to the shifting of the toothed bar 14, the toothed wheel 5 and accordingly the drum or the similar means 3 are driven, thereby bringing following brush body under a boring tool and/or under the following filling tool, while also locating the drum in said position (as shown Figure 3).

Immediately after this rotation of the drum 3, the boring tool and/or the filling tool are again shifted toward the concerned brush body for working the same. This is possible owing to the fact that the drum or the similar means 3 is located through the driving device 7, in other words, owing to the fact that the toothed bar 14 is meshing with the toothed wheel 5. While these boring and/or filling operations are going on, the head 23 comes down again whereby, under the action of the spring 11, the lever 6 pivots on the pivot pin 9 until the teeth 10 are meshing with the toothed wheel 5 and until the toothed bar 14 locates the drum 3, thereby locking the latter. At a well determined time, the drum 3 is thereby simultaneously located through the teeth 10 and 14. This time is shown in Figure 4.

At this time too, the head 23 is always pushed and it finally contacts the levers 12 so that the teeth 14 are withdrawn from the toothed wheel 5, thereby allowing the said teeth 14 to come back into their retracted position (see Figures 5 and 6) while the boring and/orfilling operations are going on, whereupon the cylinder 19 and, accordingly, the head 23 are again withdrawn so that, under the action of the spring 11, the teeth 14 are again meshing with the toothed wheel 5, thereby coming back into the position shown in Figure 1, while allowing to repeat the cycle.

By this way, no waiting time is necessary to allow the rotation and the localization of the drum 3 since all the shifting of the means 6 and 7 are carried out during the boring operation and possibly during the filling operation.

Thus, it is apparent that there is thereby obtined a very simple device through which the brush making machine and more particularly the supporting means, the drum or a similar means 3 may be, without any waiting time, rotated very rapidly from a position into another, thereby substantially increasing the efficiency of such machine.

In fact, the time T2 required for rotating and locating the drum 3 may be thereby shorter that the time required for a single reciprocating movement of the boring and/or filling tool, no time being thereby lost for the rotation and localization of the drum 3.

The present invention is not at all limited to the embodiments described in the foregoing by way of example and shown in the enclosed drawings, it being however possible to provide the device according to the invention under any shape and size without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (13)

1. Device for shifting the brush bodies in the brush making machines, characterized in that it comprises substantially, on the one hand, driving and locating means and, on the other hand, locking means alternatively cooperating with the drum in which are secured the brush bodies so that the said locking means are withdrawn from the drum during the rotation and the localization thereof through the driving and locating means, the latter being withdrawn from the drum only when the locking means have acted thereon, thereby allowing to bring back the driving and locating means into their initial position while the boring and/or filling operations are going on without any interruption.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises substantially a driving wheel secured on the axis of the drum or the similar means supporting the brush bodies and, in cooperation with said driving wheel, on the one hand, the said driving and locating means which, in their intial and terminal positions, are operating as locating means and, on the other hand, the said locking means, means tending to continuously shift the said driving and locating means as well as the locking means towards the said driving wheel, means controlling the said driving and locating means for shifting and locating the said drum or a similar means, and means which may alternatively act upon the said driving and locating means as well as upon the said locking means, so that the driving and locating means or the locking means are withdrawn from the said driving wheel only when the locking means or the driving and locating means are cooperating with the driving wheel.

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the said driving wheel comprises a toothed wheel, whereas the said driving and locating means, on the one hand, and the said locking means, on the other hand, comprise a toothed bar.

4. Device according to any of claims 2 and 3, charcterized in that the said driving and locating means comprise a toothed bar secured at the end of a piston-rod of a pressure cylinder the body of which forms, together with the guide of the said toothed bar, a lever one end of which is freely rotating on a pivot pin.

5. Device according to any of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the said locking means comprise a toothed bar making part of a lever one end of which is freely rotating on a pivot pin.

6. Device according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the said driving and locating means as well as the locking means are diametraily opposite to each other with respect to the said toothed wheel.

7. Device according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the free ends of said levers are connected with each other through a pulling means.

8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the said pulling means comprises a spring.

9. Device according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the said means which may alternatively act upon the said driving and locating means as well as upon the said locking means comprise a pressure cylinder the piston-rod of which has a free end provided to act, in one movement direction, upon the driving and locating means and, in the other movement direction, upon the locking means, thereby withdrawing the latter from the said driving wheel.

10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the said piston-rod has a projection, an extrathickness, a head or a similar means.

11. Device according to any of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that the piston-rod passes through a hole provided in one of the said levers between which it has the said extrathickness or head.

12. Device according to any of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the said pressure cylinder is pivoting on the concerned support.

13. Device for shifting the brush bodies in the brush making machines, substantially as described in the foregoing and illustrated in the enclosed drawings.