US2673547A - Moistening device for gummed tape and the like - Google Patents

Description

March 30, 1954 A, c HUMMEL 2,673,547

MOISTENING DEVICE FOR GUMMED TAPE AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 29, 1951 1 N V EN TOR bmz/ar U fi/r/MMEA AWOENEYS' Patented Mar. 30, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOISTENING DEVICE FOR GUMMED TAPE AND THE LIKE August 0. Hummel, CincinnatL Ohio ApplicationAugust-Zi), 1951, Serial No. 244,144

4 Claims.

My invention relates toa moistener or-moistening brush for use in moisteners of the type wherein a brush isimmersed ina fluid with the bristle ends projecting above the surface of the fluid so, that by capillary action, the fluid will flow to. the bristle ends and maintain them in a moistened condition. Brushes ofthis type are used in many devices where it is desired to entirely moisten a surfaceand in devices for moistening gummed tape, envelope flaps and fingers. Such a device is shown in my copending application Serial'No. 148,535; filed March 9, 1951, now Patent No. 2,575,495 and entitled Brush Moistener and in my issued Patent No. 2,000,287, May 7, 1935.

In a moistening brush of the type to which this invention relates, it is necessary that the bristle ends at all times be sufficiently damp or moist to liquefy the gum on the tape or surface to be moistened. While the moistening brush as shown in my copending application and patent set forth above is perfectly satisfactory under ordinary conditions where it is necessary to moisten gummed tape or the like very rapidly and in rather long lengths the action of the tape passing over the brush is apt to remove the moisture from the end of the brush more rapidly than the capillary action of the brush refills these bristle ends. This is particularly true when the liquid in the container in which the brush is positioned becomes relatively low so that the liquid has to travel a relatively great distance up the bristles to reach the brush end. If insuflicient liquid is maintained in the tip of the. brush to keep any gum deposit on the brush in a diluted state, the gum will set and harden the entire end of the brush which will, of. course,

retard the natural capillary action of the liquid to, the tape and result in poor moistening and also require numerous cleanings or washings of the brush to remove this hardened gum.

It is an object of my invention to provide a moistening brush wherein the capillary action of the bristles is enhanced so that the end of the brush is fed liquid very rapidly and in a sufficient quantity to maintain itin av moist condition at all times. and no matter how fast or how long thesurface to be moistened is fed over the brush end or how low the liquid level in the container becomes.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a moistening brush which is adaptable foruse in practically any moistenerormoistenlng device wherein liquid is brought from a well bycapillaryaction to thesuriaceoii the material to be moistened.

A further object of my invention is. to, provide a. moistening brush wherein liquid is brought by capillary attraction up theside or face. of; the brush to a point slightly below the bristle ends so that it may be in. its turn picked up by, the capillary action of the bristles at a relatively short distance from the brush end.

Another object of my invention is toprovide a moistening brush with. all of the above features which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which to some extent is interchange,- able with moistening brushes ormoistening devices heretofore upon themarket. These andother objects of my invention which will be set forth hereinafter orwill be. apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that certain con;- struction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is now made to the drawings which form a part thereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a cross section of a typical moistener including my novel brush.

Figure 2 is a perspective view'of the moistening pad whichsupplementsthe brush.

Figure 3 is an exploded side elevation of the complete brush assembly.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the brush portion ofthe assembly.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the stiffening sheet used in conjunction with my novel brush assembly.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, I provide a brush formed of a flat assembly of bristles backed up by a stiffening sheet which is usually fastened to the base in which the bristles are embedded. A brush of this type is adapted to be inserted within a container holding liquid. The base of the brush and a portion of the bristles are immersed in the. fluid with the bristle ends projecting out of the fluid. By capillary action the fluid flows upwardly through the bristles of the brush to the end, thus moistening the brush end while the stiffening sheet maintains thebrush in a stiffened condition, although it m e a urate h luid: While the capillary action, of the bristles insures the fluid arriving at the brush tip. this capillary action is relatively slow, particularly when the level of the fluid is low and merely covers a portion of the brush adjacent its base. In order to assure the rapidity of the fiowl of fluid to the brush end, I- provide a substantially flat sheet of spongy material of. relatively coarse con:

struction between the. stiffening Sheet and the bristles of the brush. The lower portion of the spongy sheet projects into the fluid and by capillary action the pores of the sponge are filled with fluid, thus providing a source of fluid along the side of the bristled brush above the fluid level and nearly to the tip of the brush. Thus, the fluid enters the brush from the spongy material by capillary action and since the source is near the tip of the brush, the fluid does not have as far to flow as would be the case where it must flow from the base of the brush along its full length to the end. Another advantage of the sheet of spongy material between the stiffening sheet and the bristles insures a direct flow of fluid into the tip of the brush when the tip is pressed or squeezed during its operation.

Referring to the drawings, the bristle brush is shown at l and the stiffening sheet at 2. Preferably, the base of the bristles l are embedded in a base 3.

The stiffening sheet 2 is clamped to the base 3 in the exemplary embodiment by means of a short piece of angle material 4 which is held in place by the blades 5.

A sheet of spongy material 6 is as wide as the bristle assembly I and is of sufficient length to run from the base 3 of the brush to near the bristle ends I. The sheet of spongy material 6 may be formed of sponge rubber, natural sponge or relatively coarse, porous cellulose acetate. The sheet 6 may be a flat piece, i, e. the same thickness throughout, or it may be slightly tailored as shown in Figure 2. The base portion may be sandwiched between the base of the stiffening sheet 2 and the base 3 and held in place by the same bracket 4 and blades which hold the stiffening sheet against the brush.

In operation, the base 3 and its assembly is placed in the container below the liquid line 1 as shown in Figure 1. The stiffening sheet 2 rests against the lip 8 of the container 9. In this way, the free end of the brush l projects above the container 9 and any surface to be moistened is passed over the bristle end I.

My novel brush can be used in any type of moistener where liquid from a container or well is fed to a surface to be moistened.

Of course, it is understood that in the embodiment described and illustrated, the container 9 is shown more or less conventionally, since fingers or other mechanism may be positioned on top of the container 9 to guide gummed tape, envelope flaps and the like across the free moist end I of the brush I.

As is apparent, a downward pressure on the brush end I will squeeze the spongy sheet 5 and force moisture directly into the bristles l. However, under normal conditions, the fluid is fed into the bristle ends I from the spongy sheet 6 by capillary action and hence the spongy sheet 6, in effect, acts as a liquid reservoir extending substantially the full length of the brush 2.

From the above, it is apparent that I have provided a moistening brush which remains moist at all times and which fills rapidly, thus permitting the moistening of long strips of gummed tape and the like rapidly without tending to dry out the tip of the brush or resorting to the use of two or more brushes in place of one as is done in the case of some devices wherein long strips are moistened.

It is to be understood that modification may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and I do not intend to limit scribed comprising a myself otherwise than as pointed out in the claims which follow.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A brush mcistener for use wherein a gummed surface to be moistened is activated by being contacted with the projecting upper end of the moistener, said moistener consisting of a brush formed from a flat assembly of bristles projecting from a base adapted to be immersed in a moistening liquid, a stiffening sheet formed of thin resiliently flexible material projecting from said base and extending substantially parallel to one face side of said assembly of bristles, and a layer of pliable and elastic spongy material sandwiched between said stiffening sheet and said bristle assembly, said layer of spongy material being substantially greater in thickness than said flexible stiffening sheet but of less thickness than said bristle assembly, said stiffening sheet and said layer of spongy material terminating near but short of the upper edge of said bristle assembly with said flexible sheet extending beyond the end of said layer of spongy material, whereby to provide a moistener in which the gummed surface being moistened may contact the bristles of the brush without contacting the said stiffening sheet and spongy layer, and wherein the said stiffening sheet is adapted to be contacted intermediate its upper and lower ends by a support so that pressure applied to the assembly of bristles will cause flexing of said stiffening sheet acting to squeeze the said layer of spongy materialbetween said bristle assembly and the said flexed stiffening sheet, thereby causing the s lid spongy-material to give up moistening liquid to the bristles of said brush.

2. A moistening device for the purposes decontainer for holding moistening liquid, a brush formed of a flat assembly of bristles projecting from a base positioned within the container below the liquid level thereof with the free ends of the bristle assembly projecting above the top of the container, a stiffening sheet formed of thin resiliently flexible material projecting from said base and extending substantially parallel to one face side of said bristle assembly, and a layer of elastic and pliable spongy material sandwiched between said stiffening sheet and said bristle assembly, said layer of spongy material being substantially greater in thickness than said flexible stiffening sheet but of less thickness than said bristle assembly, said stiffening sheet and said layer of spongy material terminating near but short of the upper edge of said bristle assembly, whereby a gummed surface brought into contact with said bristles will be free from contact with said stiffening sheet and said layer of spongy material, and a supporting member contacting said stiffening sheet intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof, whereby pressure applied to the said bristle assembly by the contact of a gummed surface therewith will result in the flexing of said stiffening sheet in the direction of said bristle assembly so as to squeeze the said layer of spongy material between the stiffening sheet and the bristle assembly, thereby causing the said layer of spongy material to give up moistening liquid to the bristle assembly.

3. The moistening device claimed in claim 2 wherein said supporting member makes horizontally disposed line contact with said stiffening s e t. a

5 4. The moistening device claimed in claim 2 wherein said supporting member makes horizontally disposed line contact with said stififening sheet and wherein said supporting member comprises a Wall of said container.

AUGUST C. HUMMEL.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Uttz, Sr. Aug. 27, 1929 I Number Number Name Date Hummel May 7, 1935 Hoitt May 2, 1944 Hummel Apr. 18, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Australia Dec. 23, 1942

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