US2685477A

US2685477A - Brushmaking machine and method

Info

Publication number: US2685477A
Application number: US74106A
Authority: US
Inventors: John G Baumgartner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-02-02
Filing date: 1949-02-02
Publication date: 1954-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 1971-08-03

Description

Aug. 3, 1954 J. G. BAUMGARTNER BRUSHMAKING MACHINE AND METHOD '7 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 2. 1949 glglglgllgl MVL' Aug 3 1954 J. G. BAUMGARTNER 2,685,477

BRUSHMAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Feb. 2 1949 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR.

\ Aug. 3, 1954 Filed Feb. 2. 194e J. G. BAUMGARTNER A 2,685,477

BRUSHMAKING MACHINE AND METHOD 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug. 3, 1954 J. G. BAUMGARTNER 2,685,477

BRUSHMAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Feb.'2. 1949 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

im Eazzzgarzer BY fm m Aug. 3, 1954 J. G. BAUMGARTNER 2,685,477

BRUSHMAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Feb. 2. 1949 i 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 v @l 5036)( @il IN V EN TOR.

QHWMM Aug- 3, 1954 J. G. BAUMGARTNER BRUSHMAKING MACHINE AND METHOD 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 2. 1949 IN V EN TOR. Lf@ hyczwzgrzer Aug. 3, 1954 J. G. BAUMGARTN'ER 2,685,477

BRUSHMAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Feb. 2, 1949 7 SheebS-Sheet '7 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 22 claims. l

This invention relates to the manufacture of brushes, and particularly tothe manufacture of small brushes adapted for use in applying lacquer and the like.

The present application is a continuation-inpart of my pending application, Serial No. 742,530, for Brush, led on April 1Q, 194'?, now Patent No. 2,558,334 issued June 26, 1951.

Brushes now commonly used in applying lacquer, such as for applying fingernail polish and for use in art Work, include a small cylindrical handle into which are secured bristles normally made of pony or camel hair or other natural ber. Such natural hairs' and fibers, in their native condition, are not uniform in size and shape, and to provide a brush of high quality careful selection of the bers is necessary. This requires a large amount of labor, making the brush relatively expensive. Failure to properly select the bristles results in a brush in which the bristles become tangled and matted, and the lacquer or other material being applied is unevenly spread, leaving ridges and lines.

Bristles made of synthetic fibers such as nylon have a high degree of uniformity and can be produced very inexpensively. Prior attempts to use synthetic bristles in brushes have been un-v satisfactory, however, due largely to the fact that when the bristles are cut off to uniform lengths, the ends thereof tend to enlarge or become mushroomed. The enlarged ends of the bristles prevent the lacquer or other coating material from being applied smoothly, so that the result is substantially no better than that obtained when poorly selected or unselected natural fibers are used.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine for the production of small inexpensive brushes having synthetic bristles. whereby the quality of these brushes compares favorably with that of brushes using the best grade of natural bristles.

Another object is to provide an improved method of making a small brush with synthetic bristles having the characteristics required for smoothly spreading lacquer or similar coating material.

A further object is to provide novel means adapted to form pointed or tapered ends on the bristles after they are trimmed, so that the lacquer hows smoothly from the bristles without clogging or matting them, and a still further object is to insure that all of the bristles in the tuft are thoroughly finished.

As a feature of the invention I have made provisions for tapering the ends of the bristles to conical points by passing the bristles of an assembled brush in a particular manner across the face of a rotating grinding wheel.

Another feature is the use of oscillatory means for intermittently rotating the brushes in the course of their passage across the grinding wheel, so that all sides of the tuft are brought into contact with the wheel.

Still another feature is a unique arrangement whereby the ends of the individual bristles in each tuft are spread out on the face of the grinding wheel to insure their intimate contact therewith, such arrangement including means to flatten each bristle tuft momentarily While it is engaged with the grinding wheel.

rihe foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be better understood from a study of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a machine for grinding the bristles of a brush, such machine embodying the principles of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the machine of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3 3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3a is a fragmentary elevational view along the line 3ft-3a of Fig. 3.

Fig. l is an enlarged longitudinal sectional View of a rcomplete brush assembly in which there is included a brush made in accordance with the principles of the invention;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged View showing the natural configuration of the ends of the bristles when cut;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view showing the conguration of the bristles after being ground;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the complete machine in which the second embodiment is ineluded;

Fig. 9 is a partial front elevation showing the conveyor means of the second embodiment;

Fig. l0 is an enlarged view of a portion of the -conveyor and parts associated therewith;

Fig. l1 is a plan View of they bristle finishing apparatus;

Fig. l2 is a vertical section on the line i2-l2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a vertical section on the line Ill-i3 of Fig. 11; and

Fig. 14 is a partial perspective view of the brush finishing apparatus.

In practicing the invention, the brushes are placed on a conveyor chain which moves stepby-step past a cylindrical grinding wheel in a direction parallel to the axis thereof. The brushes are disposed with their `handles extending transversely of the chain and with the ends of their bristles contacting the grinding wheel. As the brushes are moved in step-by-step fashion across the face or" the grinding wheel, they come to rest a number of times while' they engage the rotating wheel. Oscillatory means are provided to produce rotation of the brushes as they progress across the grinding wheel. In one ernbodiment of the invention, the brushes are rotated between steps, and in another embodiment the brushes are rotated while they are at rest. The brush rotating mechanism includes a pair of gripping members that extend along the path of movement of the brushes. Cyclic motion is imparted to one or both of these members for are clamped in such a way that the ends of the bristles are spread out fiat against the grinding wheel.

Referring briefly to the form of brush assembly illustrated in Fig. e, which is typical of those produced, by the use of my invention, the brush proper includes a handle ill which may be made of any suitable plastic material with a tuit of bristles il secured in one end thereof. A finger gripping portion i2 is secured to the other end of the handle lil, and customarily this nger gripping portion i2 serves as a cap for a small container of the type in which nail lacquer or other liquid to be applied by the brush is kept. The handle ill has an enlarged head portionA in?. adapted to be tightly secured in a tubular projection i on the finger gripping portion i2. The finger gripping portion may include threads l for engaging similar threads on the container, and a sealing washer il so that a tight seal can be made thereby. The bottom end oi' the handle l@ has a cavity i8 which extends axially within the handle to a depth at least equal to the diameter of the handle. The bristle tuit l l is received within the cavity i3 and is secured directly to the handle Ill by a staple i9 straddling the bristles in the tuit for anchoring the tuit at the bottom of the cavity. lThis manner of securing the bristles in the brush is covered in my prior Patent No. 2,438,515. The illustrated brush as* sembly is drawn on a large scale in Fig. 4. Actually, the handle lo is about 1/8 or" an inch in diameter, and the tuit of bristles il is of the order of g3g inch in diameter. The overall length of the handle lil and tuft El is about two inches.

The bristle tuft Ii is composed of a plurality of bristles 2| which are doubled back about the loop formed by the staple le, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The bristles are made of a synthetic liber, such as nylon, and are o a uniform diameter, about .O04 of an inch. The tutt nts tightly within the cavity i3 and is positioned in the cavity to such a depth that a relatively tight tuft of bristles is formed. While nylon bers have been found to be satisfactory for a nail thereof.

4 polish brush, rayon or other synthetic bers may be more suitable in other applications.

After the bers are formed into a tuft and secured in the handle as illustrated in Fig. 4, the tuft must be finished in order to provide a brush which is suitable for applying lacquer or the like. The ends of the bers are cut oli squarely to form an even end of the tut. It has been found that when the nylon fibers are cut off the ends thereof are enlarged or become mushroomed as is illustrated in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 was made from a microscopic photograph of fibers approximately four-thousandths of an inch in diameter, the enlarger ends'being illustrated at 22.

Although the tuft of bristles after having the ends thereof trimmed forms a brush having an even edge, it is apparent that the enlarged ends of the bristles will not permit lacquer or similar material to be spread smoothly as is required in the application of iingernail polish or as is required in artwork or other application. It has been found, however, that ii the nylon bristles are ground to provide ends which are of generally pointed configuration with a long taper, a brush having such bristles Works very satisfactorily,

being generally superior to high class pony or camel hair brushes. Fig. 6 is a greatly enlarged representation of the bristles, being taken from an actual microscopic photograph of bristles as shown in Fig. 5 after having the ends thereof ground. The grinding operation may be performed by moving the end of the tuft of an assembled brush over the face of a rotary grinding wheel. Fig. 6 illustrates bristles which have been ground to provide a taper of approximately 15 to l on the ends thereof. That is, the length of the taper is approximately 15 times as great as the diameter of the bristles since the bristles taper to a point. Bristles having a taper ofk 8 to 1 have been found to be satisfactory for a lacquer brush, but a longer taper is preferable. In addition to providing generally pointed ends on the bers to provide a brush which will spread lacquer evenly, the grinding of the ends tends to roughen the surface of the fibers providing recesses which help to hold the lacquer on the bristles.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 there is illustrated one embodiment of the invention which is suitable for grinding the bristles of a brush to provide a taper thereon as previously described. In Fig. 1 there is illustrated a continuous chain 25 sup ported by four sprocket wheels 26 so that the chain can move in the manner of a conveyor. The chain includes a plurality of pivotally connected links 21 each of which has a groove 28 therein adapted to receive the handle l0 of a brush. After the bristle tuft H is stapled to the handle I of the brush and the ends of the bristles are cut straight across the tuft to make the bristles uniform in length, the assembled brushes are placed in the grooves 28 in the chain 25. In the apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the chain is adapted to move in a counterclockwise direction so that the brushes will be inserted in the grooves 28 at the left-hand side of the top portion thereoi as shown in Fig. l. A stationary guard 2S is provided around the sides and bottom of the moving chain to hold the brushes in position in the grooves 28 in the chain. As illustrated in Fig. 2, as the brushes are moved along the bottom side of the guard by the chain 25, the bristle tufts are passed along the surface of a grinding wheel 3B and in a direction axially The grinding wheel is mounted on a shaft 3l which is supported for rotation by

frame members

32 and 33. The shaft 3| is driven at constant speed by any suitable means, pulleys 34 driven by V-belts 35 being illustrated by way of example.

For the purpose of turning the brushes as the bristle tufts pass along the grinding wheel, so as to taper the ends of the bristles, a mechanism for rotating the handles of the brushes is provided. rThis mechanism is supported by a frame plate 4B which includes bearings for four shafts 4l 42, 43 and 44. As is apparent from Fig. 1 the shaft 42 includes a sprocket wheel 45 thereon which is driven by a chain 4B. Each of the shafts includes toothed gears 41 thereon which mesh with a large gear 48 also supported for rotation by frame plate 45. 'Through the medium of the large gear 48 and the gears 41 the movement of shaft 42 is transmitted to the shafts 4i, 43 and 44, and as indicated by arrows in Figs. 1 and 3a, each of these shafts are adapted to rotate in a clockwise direction. The

shafts

4I, 42, 43 and 44 have pins 5l, 52, 53 and 54, respectively, at the ends thereof, the pins being of smaller diameter than the shafts themselves and being positioned eccentrically with respect to the shafts. A pair of gripping members 55 and 56 are supported by the pins 5l to 54, inclusive, the gripping members including vertically extending slots 51 in which the pins are received. Washers 62 are secured to the ends of the pins 5| to 54, inclusive, to hold the

gripping members

55 and 55 thereon.

rThe gripping members

55 and 55 are further supported by springs 58 and 59 which are supported by portions 60 and 5| secured to the frame plate 40. The lower gripping member 56 has a serrated top edge 63 as is indicated in Fig. 1. The top gripping member 55 has a resilient insert 64 in the bottom edge thereof as is clearly shown in Fig. 3. The

members

55 and 55 are adapted to grip the enlarged portions i4 of the brush handles I5 as illustrated in Fig. 3 and as will be more fully described.

The chain 4 5 for driving the turning mechanism is driven by a sprocket wheel 55 secured to shaft 65 which may be driven at a constant speed by any suitable means. For driving the conveyor chain from the shaft 66, crank 51 is secured to the end of the shaft. Movement of the crank is transmitted to the conveyor chain by the use of a toothed driving wheel 6B which is connected to one of the sprocket wheels 26 and a ratchet mechanism for driving the wheel 68 in accordance with movement of crank 61. This ratchet mechanism includes arm (i9l (Figs. l and 3) pivotally connected to the crank 61, arm l@ which is pivotally connected to arm 55 and which supports finger 1|, and spring 12 which holds finger 1I against the teeth of the wheel 68.

Considering now the operation of the mechanism for turning the brushes, it is apparent that as the shafts 4i to 44 are simultaneously rotated the pins 5l to 54 eccentrically positioned thereon will describe a circle. The top gripping member 55 positioned on the pins 5l and 53 will vbe oscillatled to the right and left. The springs 58 together with the weight of the gripping member 55 will cause the member to be normally held in a downward position. Similarly the gripping member 55 will be made to oscillate to the right and left due to the rotary movement of the pins 5i and 54, the springs 59 tending to hold the member 56 in its up-most position. However, the slots 51 in the gripping member 55 are not sufficiently long to absorb all of the vertical movement of the eccentrically positioned pins so that when the pins 5I and 53 are in their highest position they will engage the top of the slots 51 in the member 55 to cause the gripping member 55 to be raised slightly so that the resilient insert 54 thereof will be lifted off of the brush handles. At the same instant the pins 52 and 54 will engage the bottoms of the slots 51 in the gripping member 55 to cause the member 56 to be withdrawn from the underside of the brush handles. in Fig. 1 the pins 5I to 54 are shown in the position in which the gripping

members

55 and 55 are held away from the brush handles. Figs. 3 and 3a show the gripping members engaging the portions i4 of the brush handles.

The common driving mechanism for the turning mechanism and for the conveyor chain 25 comprising the sprocket wheel 55 and the crank 51 which are driven by the same shaft (65) permits the movement of the conveyor chain 25 to be timed so that each brush is moved from one position to the next position while the gripping

members

55 and 55 are released therefrom. The action of the ratchet mechanism is such that the movement of the chain 25, will be a step-by-step process and each movement will be accomplished in a very short time so that the chain will be stationary a large portion of the time. This, therefore, permits the gripping members to be released from the brush handle for only a very short period of time so that during substantially the entire time that the brushes are passed over the grinding wheel 55 the handles are being turned.

The turning of the handles of the brushes, with the resulting change of position of the bristle tufts on the grinding wheel, will cause all sides of the tuft to be acted upon by the grinding wheel. rThe tuft, while being ground, contacts the grinding wheel 55 at an angle, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

A projecting ridge 13 is provided on the plate 4i) against which the ends of the handles Ill rest so that the bristle tufts will be properly positioned with respect to the Wheel. The bristles are slightly spread as shown in Fig. 2, when they contact the grinding wheel. It is obvious that the character of the grinding wheel used, the speed of operation of the grinding wheel, and the position and movement of the bristle tuft with respeet to the grinding wheel will all affect the taper obtained on the bristles.

The apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 produces conical tapers on the bristles which contact the grinding wheel. To insure that all of the bristles in each tuft are brought into contact with the grinding wheel, resort may be had to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. '7 to 14. In this embodiment, as in the rst embodiment, the brushes are moved step-by-step axially across the face of a grinding Wheel Bil, but in the present instance they are rotated only while they are moving laterally. Each time the brushes come to rest while they are in grinding position, a spreader element 82 clamps down upon the tufts of the brushes and causes the tufts to be momentarily flattened horizontally so that the bristles are spread out sideways. The effect of this is illustrated in Fig. 7, where the bristles 2l of a tuft Il are shown fanned out on the face of the grinding wheel 35, with each individual bristle being brought into contact with the wheel. The above-described steps of rotating the brushes and spreading the bristles are repeated alternately several times as each brush progresses across the wheel. This insures that each bristle in the tuft is thoroughly ground to a conical point as shown in Fig. 6, and this is accomplished without any permanent deformation of the tufts.

Referring now to Fig. 8, which is a general View of the modied machine, a supply of brush handles i is kept in a handle magazine 84. The handles are placed by hand into a guideway 5S from which they are fed in succession to a conveyor chain 88 that carries the brushes in a horizontal path from one side of the machine to the other. Bristles are kept in a bristle magazine 98 from which they are fed downwardly by gravity. A tuft forming and stapling mechanism generally designated 92 intermittently withdraws tufts of bristles from the magazine Si) and staples these tufts into the handles of the brushes which have been carried by the chain 88 into the stapling position. A suitable tuft forming and stapling mechanism which may be used in the present machine is disclosed in detail in my pending application, Serial No. 480,354, led on March 24, i943. After being stapled into a brush handle, the ends of each tuft are trimmed automatically before the brush advances to the grinding wheel 85. The brushes are carried by the chain 88 across the face of the grinding wheel 88, and the finished brushes (that is, the handle and tuftl combinations as iG-H illustrated in Fig. 4) are fed to a brush magazine 9d from which they are removed by hand and packed into boxes.

Referring now to Figs. S and 9, brush handles lil are taken from the handle magazine 8!! by hand and are placed in the guideway 85 in side by side relation. A spring-urged, pivoted presser arm 85, Fig. 8, works in a curved portion of the guideway 85 for urging the handles |5 toward a delivery point at the end of the guideway 86 directly above the left end of the chain 88, Fig. 9. There the foremost handle 18 comes to rest on a yieldable support 58 which normally is urged by a spring 58 into a horizontal position. A stationary structure lill aiords a vertical guideway S52 extending from beneath the support 33 to the chain 8S. A slide |54 is mounted for vertical reciprocatory movement in the structure A rocker |56 operated by a cam |88, Fig. 9, periodically lowers and raises the slide |54. Each 'ime the slide |84 descends, it pushes the foremost brush handle it from the guideway 85 down onto the chain 83. The support 98 yields to permit passage 0f the handle i8 through the guideway |92. As shown best in Fig. l0, each link of the chain is recessed, as indicated at H5, to receive and support a brush handle I5. The operation o the slide |55 is timed so that a handle I8 is deposited on each pair of links in the chain 88.

The chain 88 passes around sprocket wheels as H2, Fig. 9, and the horizontal upper pass of the chain 88 slides along a chain guideway provided on the upper edge portion of a block or frame H4 that extends from one side of the machine to the other. A series of three pusher pawls IIS, Figs. 9 and l2, mounted on the upper ends of rocker arms ||8 cooperates with the underside of the chain 88. A stationary, horizontally extending bar |20 disposed above the chain 88 serves to maintain the brush handles i5 seated in the recesses H8 in the chain links and prevents upward displacement of the chain 83. The rockers H8 are actuated in unison by a cam |22, being oscillated back and forth to impart intermittent step-by-st-ep movement to the chain 88. Thus, the brush handles it! are carried by the chain 88 to the stapling position where the bristle tufts are secured thereto, thence to the grinding position where the bristles are 8 iinished, and nally the finished brushes are stripped from the chain 88 and are deposited in the brush magazine 85, Fig. 8. A weighted lever |24 prevents the brushes from spilling back out oi the magazine Sli onto the chain 88.

The brush handles i0 project a substantial distance beyond the front edges of the chain 88 and guide block H4. Alpivoted sensing finger |28, Fig. 9, rests at its lower end upon these projecting portions of the handles I8 that are being carried by the chain 88. The lower end of the iinger |28 is of sufiicient length horizontally so that the finger |25 is maintained in an elevated position so long as there are brush handles E8 on the chain 88. if the supply of brush handles in the guideway should become exhausted, so that no more brush handles I8 are carried by the chain 88, the finger |26 drops by gravity and causes a switch E28 controlled thereby to close. rihis completes a circuit to a suitable Warning device such as a lamp or buzzer, advising the operator that the guideway 36 is empty.

A supply of synthetic bristles may be placed on the tray |38, Fig. 8, at the front of the machine. The operator passes the bristles through a stationary comb |32 and then places them in the bristle magazine 85. From the magazine 89 the bristles are fed by gravity to the tuft-forming and stapling mechanism 82, which secures the bristles to the brush handles i8 carried by the chain 88. Then the brushes are carried by the chain 88 in step-by-step fashion across the face of a cylindrical grinding wheel 8!) as indicated in Fig. ll. A guide strip i3d, Figs. ll, 12, 13 and i4, cooperates with the head portions il! of the brush handles l5 to hold the brushes with their bristle tufts engaging the face of the grinding wheel 88. The axial length of the grinding wheel 38 is suflicient to accommodate a large number of brushes. The brushes are carried step-by-step axially across the grinding wheel 85 by the chain F38, and each brush comes to rest a number of times while cooperating with the wheel 85.

The gripping member |52 is supported by the crank pins |48. A weight |58 on the bar |54 tends to urge the upper gripping member 52 into engagement with the brush handles I9, rI'he slots |55 in the bar |54 are of such character that when the crank pins |48 are in their upper positions, the gripping member |52 is lifted clear of the brush handles i8. As the crank pins |48 descend, the gripping member |52 is shifted to one side and the crank pins |133 enter the lower portions of the slots |58 where there is a certain .tangential-ly across the brush handles.

amount of vertical lost motion. The gripping member |52, after being brought to bear up on the heads I4 of the brush handles I0, is moved This causes the brush handles to be rotated on the chain 83 for turning the bristle tufts I of the brushes which are engaged with the grinding wheel 80.

Normally the oscillatory mechanism for rotating the brush handles is covered by a guard |62, Fig. 8, which is shown swung open in this view. The timing of the parts is such that the brush handles are rotated only While the chain 88 is in motion, the purpose of this arrangement being explained presently. Notches |64 in the upper edge of the stationary hold-down bar |20, Figs. l1, 13, and 14, aiord clearance for the crank pins |48. A guard |66, Fig. S, encloses the gear mechanism for operating the rotative parts.

When the brushes come to rest intermediate their successive steps of movement, the bristle spreading means becomes effective. As shown in Figs. 11, 13 and 14, the bristle tufts project over a ledge |68 formed on an extension of the block or frame H4. This ledge |63 is located close to the face of the grinding wheel 80 approximately 2/3 of the distance back from the ends of the bristle tufts Directly above the ledge |68 is located the spreader element 82, which comprises a ila-t bar positioned vertically and extending parallel to the axis of the grinding wheel 8|). The spreader bar 82 is carried by rocker arms |10 that are mounted on a small shaft |12 journaled in bearings on the upper end of the bracket |35. A rocker |14, Fig. 11, extending from the shaft |12 is actuated by suitable linkage means- |15 (Fig. 8) for intermittently rocking the shaft |12. This causes the arms |10 carrying the spreader bar 82 to be rocked up and down.

While the brushes are at rest, the spreader bar 82 moves down to clamp and flatten the portions of the bristle tufts disposed on the ledge |68. This causes the bristles 2| in each tuft Il to be spread out laterally so that the individual bristles lie flat against the face of the grinding wheel Bil. In other words, the bristles 2| are caused to fan out as shown in Fig. '7.

As the brushes pass across the face of the grinding wheel 80, being alternately subjected to rotating and bristle-spreading operations, the ends of the bristles are ground to uniform conical points. Uniform tapering of the bristles is assured by these spreading and rotating operations, whereby the individual bristles are made to engage the grinding wheel for equal periods of time. Thus, it will be seen that the machine produces a brush having synthetic bristles which is far superior to brushes of this type produced by prior machines and methods. The brushes are much cheaper in price and are equal in quality to brushes made with the best selection of natural bers.

The illustrated embodiments of the invention exemplify the manner in which the principles of the invention may be applied. Other embodiments coming within the scope of the present teachings are possible, and it is intended that such modications shall be included within the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In the manufacture of a brush having a tuft of synthetic bristles extending from a handle, the method of tapering the ends of the bristles which comprises the steps of holding the brush l0 by its handle with the end portions of the bristles engaging a rotating grinding wheel, and momentarily iiattening the portion of the tuft intermediate the handle and the ends of the bristles for spreading the bristle ends flat against the face of the grinding wheel.

2. In a machine for producing brushes each having a tuft of bristles extending from a handle, apparatus for finishing the ends of the bristles comprising in combination a grinding wheel, a conveyor spaced from said grinding wheel adapted for carrying brushes into cooperation with said wheel, said conveyor having provisions for supporting each brush with the bristle tuft extending into Contact with the face of said wheel and the brush handle extending away from said wheel, means supporting and driving said conveyor in said apparatus, a pair of relatively movable brush handle gripping members mounted adjacent said conveyor, cyclicaily operable actuating means operatively connected with one of said gripping members for producing relative oscillatory movement of said gripping member toward and away from the other and angularly with respect to the conveyor which would be tangentially relative to any brush handles on the conveyor thereby to rotate each brush handle intermittently while the bristles are being ground, relatively movable spreader members and means for supporting the same for a relative movement of one member with respect to the other in a space between said grinding wheel and said conveyor and adapted for engagement with opposite sides of the bristle tuft of a brush, and reciprocatory actuating means operatively connected with said one spreader member for producing relative movement of said spreader member toward and from the other.

3. In a machine for securing bristle tufts to brush handles, the combination of a handle delivery guideway, a horizontally extending conveyor chain having longitudinally spaced recesses therein for individually receiving brush hande intermittently operable actuating means operatively connected to said conveyor chain for imparting step-by-step movement thereby, means adapted to bear on brush handles in said guideway for feeding brush handles in succession to a predetermined delivery position above said chain, a yieldable support means for holding each brush disposed in such delivery position, and a vertically reciprocable slide operable in timed relation with the movement of said chain for moving the brush handles successively from said yieldable support through said guideway to be deposited on said chain.

4. The method of tapering the end portion of synthetic bristles for a brush to provide a pointed tapered configuration on each bristle, such method comprising the steps of holding the bristles adjacent the end portions thereof to maintain such end portions spread on the rotating surface of a grinding wheel, grinding the bristle end portions to grind one side of each end portion, releasing the bristles, rotating the bristles to present another side of the end portion of each bristle to the rotating surface of the grinding wheel, and alternatively repeating the steps of holding, grinding, releasing, and rotating the bristles while intermittently moving the same in a line of travel relative to the grinding wheel.

5. The method of tapering the end portions of bristles for a brush to provide a pointed tapered configuration on each bristle, such method comprising the steps of clamping the tuft of bristles adjacent the end portions of the bristles in the tuft to spread out the bristles fanwise and to maintain such end portions spread on the rotating surface of a grinding wheel, grinding the bristle end portions thereby, releasing the bristles from the clamping, rotating the tuft of bristles to present another side of the end portion of each bristle to the rotating surface of the grinding wheel, and simultaneously moving the bristles along a path of tra-vel relative to the grinding wheel, and alternatively repeating the steps of holding, grinding, releasing, and rotating the bristles while intermittently moving the same.

6. In the manufacture of a brush having a tuft of bristles and a handle with the bristles extending longitudinally from the end of the handle, the method of grinding the outer end portions of the bristles into conical tapers which comprises conveying a plurality of such brushes relative to a. moving abrasive surfacey applying the end portions of the bristles thereof in a fanwise pattern to grind such end portions on the moving abrasive surface, rotating each conveyed brush at the handle to rotate it completely around during an entire grinding operation and simultaneously rotating the bristle tuft therewith to present the end portions of the bristles to the abrasive surface in different circumferential positions so that during the complete grinding operation each bristle tuft is turned completely and the bristles ground in a conical taper at the end portions on the moving abrasive surface.

7. The method of tapering by grinding the end portions of the bristles in the handle of a brush, which comprises supporting a plurality of brushes at the handles on a moving conveyor, applying the end portions of the bristles to a moving abrasive surface while conveying the brushes relative to the moving abrasive surface, spreading the end portions of the bristles fanwise on the moving abrasive surface and grinding such end portions while so spread fanwise, and rotating the brushes during a grinding operation so as to bring all sides of the end portions of the bristles into engagement with the abrasive surface and thereby grind. a conical taper on such end portions.

8. rr the manufacture of a brush with a handle having a tuft of bristles extending longitudinally from the end of the handle, the method of grinding the outer end portions of the bristles into conical tapers which comprises conveying a plurality of such brushes relative to a moving abrasive surface with the end portions of the bristles thereof in engagement with the moving abrasive surface, clamping the bristles of each conveyedbrush between the ends thereof, spreading the end portions of the bristles fanwise against the moving abrasive surface, rotating each brush being conveyed, and continuing to intermittently clamp the bristles and continuing to rotate the brushes so that during the complete grinding operation the bristles are engaged on all sides at the end portions by the moving abrasive surface.

9. A machine for producing a brush having a handle with a tuft of conically pointed bristles extending therefrom, said machine including in combination :abrasive-surfaced means movably supported in the machine, driven conveyor means for supporting brushes thereon mounted to move adjacent said abrasive-surfaced means and relative thereto, brush handle engaging-means including a oar mounted adjacent the path of movement of said conveyor means, means operating lll said engaging means and said conveyor means in timed relation and means mounting said bar and moving said bar in an oscillatory path and intermittently into and out of engagement with tbe conveyed brush handles to rotate the same, a bristle tuft spreader member in the machine spa-ced laterally from the conveyor in the direction of the abrasive surfaced means, and means connected to said member to raise and lower the same in timed relation to the engaging means.

10. A machine for continuously grinding the bristle ends of the bristle tufts of a plurality of unitary brush handle and bristle tuft workpieces a-nd comprising a movable abrasive surface adapted to simultaneously receive in grinding engagement the bristle ends of a plurality of said workpieces, means to move said abrasive surface, conveyor means movable relative to said abrasive surface and adapted to simultaneously convey a plurality of said worlrpieces parallel thereto, means to intermittently move said conveyor means, guide means positioned parallel to said conveyor means and adapted to continuously constrain said worlrpieces towards said surface in a manner to flex the bristle ends of said workpieces into grinding engagement with said abrasive surface during the passage of said workpieces parallel to said abrasive surface, gripping means operative to intermittently grip and rotate said workpiece-S to rotate the bristle ends during their engagement with said abrasive surface and timed to be operated when said conveyor means is moving, and means operative to engage and spread said bristle ends into fanwise engagement with said surface and timed to be operated when said conveyor means is not moving, said gripping means including a pair of gripping bars having a length sufficient to simultaneously grip a plurality of said workpieces and positioned substantially parallel to said conveyor means and abrasive surface, a first one of said bars being fixed below the plane of said conveyor, the second one of said bars being movably positioned above the plane of said conveyor and movable towards the rst bar to thereby grip the plurality of workpieces between the opposing surfaces of said bars, and means to osciliate said second bar to and from said first bar with a component motion parallel to said fixed bar during the interval when said workpieces are gripped between said bars to thereby rotate said workpieces.

ll. The invention of claim l0 in which said first gripping bar includes a serrated gripping surface and said second gripping bar includes a resilient gripping surface.

l2. A machine for continuously grinding the bristle ends of the bristle tufts of a pliu'ality of unitary brush handle and bristle tuft workpieces and comprising a movable abrasive surface having a Width transverse to its direction of movement sufficient to simultaneously receive in grinding engagement the bristle ends of a plurality of said workpieces, means to move said abrasive surface, conveyor means movable in one direction parallel to the width of said abrasive surface and adapted to simultaneously convey a plurality of said workpieces parallel to the width thereof, means to intermittently move said conveyor, guide means positioned parallel to said conveyor means and. adapted to continuously constrain said workpieces towards said surface in a manner to flex the bristle ends of said workpieces into grinding engagement with said abrasive surface during the passage of said workpieces parallel to the width of said abrasive surface, gripping means operative to interymittently grip and rotate said Workpieces to rotate the bristle ends during their engagement with said abrasive surface, said gripping means including a pair of relatively movable gripping bars having a length substantially equal to the Width of said abrasive surface and positioned substantially parallel to said conveyor means and abrasive surface, one of said bars being positioned below the plane of said conveyor, the other of said bars being positioned above the plane of said conveyor, and means to intermittently oscillate each of said bars to and from each other with component motions parallel to said conveyor and in opposite directions during the interval when a plurality of said Workpieces are gripped between said bars to thereby rotate said workpieces.

13. A machine with a movable abrasive surface and mechanism for handling a plurality of workpieces each of which comprises a handle with a bristle tuft thereon adapted to be ground at its outer end portion by the movable abrassive surface so as to provide a conical taper on the outer end portions of bristles in the tuft, said machine mechanism including in combination workpiece conveying means moving adjacent the movable abrasive surface and adapted to carry a plurality of worlzpieces thereon with the bristle tufts thereof extended toward the movable abrasive surface, bristle tuft spreader means including a pair of members, means causing relative movement in said members to clamp therebetween a bristle tuft intermediate the ends of the tuft to spread out the same in a fan shape and maintain the outer end portions of bristles in the tuft against the movable abrasive surface and alternately to release the bristle tuft from said clamping, means adapted to act on the handles of the conveyed workpieces to rotate the workpieces relative to the conveyor means and the movable abrasive surface, and means for timing the movement of the conveyor means and said bristle tuft spreader means so that the conveyor means is stopped While the spreader members maintain the outer end portions of bristles in the tuft against the movable abrasive surface.

14. A machine with a movable abrasive surface and mechanism for handling a plurality of workpieces each of which comprises a handle with a bristle tuft thereon adapted to be ground at its outer end portion by the movable abrasive surface so as to provide a conical taper on the outer end portions of bristles in the tuft, said machine mechanism including in combination a workpiece conveyor adjacent the movable abrasive surface to carry a plurality of Workpieces thereon with the bristle tufts extending toward the movable abrasive surface, means supporting and driving said workpiece conveyor in said machine, tuft spreader means including relatively movable spreader members and means for moving at least one of said members relative to the other to clamp therebetween a bristle tuft of a workpiece and spread out the same in a fanvvise configuration with end portions of bristles in the tuft on the movable abrasive surface to be ground thereby, means adapted to act on the handles of the Workpieces on the conveyor to rotate said handles and thereby rotate the workpieces relative to the conveyor and movable abrasive surface, and cyclical timing means in the machine acting relative to the conveyor driving means and to the tuft spreader means to stop the conveyor means while the spreader members of said spreader means clamp between the same and maintain a bristle tuft spread fanwise for grinding the end portions of bristles therein on the movable abrasive surface.

l5. In the manufacture of a small brush of the order of 2 inches in overall length having a tuft of synthetic bristles each of which bristles is no more than ,004 inch in diameter extending from a handle of the order of 1/8 inch in diameter, the method of tapering the outer ends of synthetic bristles in the tuft which includes the steps 'of supporting the small brush at the handle,

clamping and flattening a portion intermediate the ends of the bristle tuft from opposite sides to spread the tuft into a fanwise shape at its end portion, grinding bristles in the tuft at the outer ends thereof While spread out fanvvise, releasing the tuft from the clamping, rotating the small brush to a position at which to compress, spread, and grind another side of the bristle tuft at the end portion thereof and hence the outer ends of bristles therein, and repeating said steps for taper grinding the outer ends of synthetic bristles in the tuft.

16. In the manufacture of a small brush having very thin and flexible synthetic bristles eX- tending in a tuft from a handle, the method of tapering the outer ends of synthetic bristles in the tuft which includes the repetitive operation of performing the steps of moving the small brush along a path, clamping and momentarily attening the bristle tuft to spread it at its end portion into a fan, grinding the end portion of synthetic bristles in such tuft, releasing the bristle tuft from the clamping, and rotating the small brush sufficiently to malte another side of the bristle tuft available for the grinding of end portions of synthetic bristles therein.

17. In a machine for producing brushes which have a single compact tuft of bristles extending from a handle with the bristles being thin and individually yieldable over the length thereof, apparatus for finishing the outer end portions of the bristles by grinding the same, said apparatus including in combination, moving grinding means, brush handling means for retaining a brush in a predetermined position with the bristles thereof extending toward the grinding means, a bristle rest so constructed and so positioned relative to said brush handling means that a bristle tuft of a retained brush will engage said bristle rest on one side of said tuft intermediate the brush handle and the outer ends of the bristles, fanning means for acting on the other side of the bristle tuft on said bristle rest and cooperating with said bristle rest to spread out the outer end portions of bristles and momentarily apply outer bristle-end-portions to the moving grind'- ing means in a fanwise pattern so that a substantial number of the bristle-end-portions in the tuft are presented to thegrinding means for grinding, said brush handling means operating to turn a brush retained thereby to present othei bristles to the grinding means, and means in the apparatus cooperating with said brush handling means and said tanning means for interruptedly and repeatedly operating said two latter means to momentarily present in the fanwise pattern different parts of the bristle tuft to said moving grinding means for grinding outer bristle-endportions into a tapered configuration.

18. In a machine for producing brushes which have a single compact tuft of bristles extending from a handle with the bristles being thin and individually yieldable over the length thereof, and

the machine having grinding means for finishing the outer end portions of the bristles by grinding the same, the combination including supporting means for retaining a brush in a predetermined position with the bristles thereof extending toward the grinding means, a bristle rest so constructed and so positioned relative to said supporting means that the single bristle tuft of a brush on said supporting means will engage said rest on one side of said tuft at a position between the brush handle and the outer ends of the bristles, fanning means acting on the other side of the bristle tuft and cooperating with said bristle rest to spread out the outer end portions of bristles and apply outer bristle-end-portions to the moving grinding means in a fanwise pattern, means for rotating the brush at its handle where it is retained on the supporting means, and the combination also including means cooperating with said rotating means and ianning means to operate said two means alternately and interruptedly and repeatedly to correspondingly present in such a fanwise pattern different parts of the single bristle tuft to said, moving grinding means to grind outer bristle-end-portions into a tapered configuration by a plurality of grinding operations on the brush tuft.

19. In a machine for producing brushes which have a bristle tuft wherein the bristles extend from a handle and are each yieldable over its length and the machine having apparatus for finishing outer end portions of the bristles by grinding the same, said apparatus including in combination, movable grinding means, means for supporting a brush with the bristles extending toward the grinding means, and controllable means adapted to repeatedly and interruptedly spread out and apply the outer end portions of the bristles of a brush against the movable grinding means in a fanwise pattern, with said movable grinding means adapted to grind outer bristle-end-portions So spread thereon into tapered configurations, said controllable means including means acting on opposite sides of a bristle tuft at a position between the brush handle and the outer bristle ends to compress the bristle tuft at such position in a manner to spread the same in the fanwise pattern at the outer end portions of the bristles against the grinding means so that end portions of more bristles can be ground on the movable grinding means than would be ground without so spreading the bristle tuft.

In a machine for producing a plurality of brushes each having a tuft of bristles yieldable over their length and extending from a handle, and the machine having movable grinding means for finishing the outer end portions of the bristles, the combination including means for supporting a plurality of brushes simultaneously with the bristles of each extending toward the grinding means, and controllable means adapted to repeatedly and interruptedly spread out and apply the outer end portions of the bristles against the movable grinding means in a fanwise pattern for only a brief interval at each time of applying with the movable grinding means adapted to grind outer bristle-end-portions into tapered configurations, said controllable means including a machine portion against which tufts of the plurality of brushes engage and with such machine portion positioned relative to the movable grinding means such that the engagement will occur at a point between the brush handles and the outer bristle ends thereof, and means for simultaneously acting on the sides of all of the plurality of bristle tufts opposite to the sides at the machine portion to simultaneously compress and spread in the fanwise pattern the outer ends of the bristle tufts so that outer end portions of more bristles can be ground on the movable grinding means than would be ground without so spreading the bristle tufts.

21. In the manufacture of a brush having a tuft of bristles extending from a handle therefor which bristles are each readily yieldable over the length thereof, the method or" tapering outer end portions of bristles in the tuft which comprises the steps of presenting a brush to moving grinding means with the bristles in the tuft extending toward the grinding means, momentarily acting on the bristle tuft so that it is attened out from pressure applied on at least one side thereof at a position between the handle and the outer ends of the bristles to cause the bristle-end-portions to spread fanwise, grinding outer bristle-end-portions spread fanwise on the grinding means, turning the brush handle to present other outer bristle-end-portions in the tutt to the grinding means, again momentarily so acting on the bristle tuft for again spreading the outer bristle-end-portions fanwise, grinding other outer bristle-end-portions, and repeating the steps of flattening, of grinding, and of turning, for the purpose of grinding to a tapered coniiguration outer end portions of bristles in the tuft.

22. n the manufacture of a brush, the method of tapering the outer end portions of yieldable synthetic bristles for a brush including the steps of presenting a tuft of bristles toward a moving grinding means, clamping the tuft momentarily at a point between the opposite ends of the bristles in the tuft to compress the tuft and spread out the end portions of the bristles at the outer end of the tuft and applying the spread bristle-end-portions fanwise on the grinding means, grinding outer bristle-end-portions spread ianwise on the grinding means, turning the tuft to present other bristle-end-portions at such outer end of the tuft to the moving grinding means, repeatedly so clamping the tuft, so grinding bristle-end-portions, and so turning the tuft for the purpose of grinding to a tapered configuration end portions of bristles in the outer end of the tuft.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 184,348 Dayton Nov. 14, 1876 339,361 Beers Apr. 6, 1386 575,870 Beers Jan. 26, 1897 647,485 Eberling Apr. 17, 1900 845,096 Malpass Feb. 19, 1907 1,365,596 King Jan. 18, 1921 1,388,403 Casella Aug, 23, 1921 1,495,747 Izawa May 27, 1924 1,684,872 Logue Sept. 18, 1928 1,794,975 Mershon Mar. 3, 1931 1,888,675 Izawa Nov. 22, 1932 2,053,435 Kimball Sept. 8, 1936 2,229,312 Silven Jan. 21, 1941 2,365,396 `Cunningham Dec. 19, 1944 2,425,438 ONeal Aug. 12, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 287,359 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1928 503,557 Germany July 25, 1930