US2825081A

US2825081A - Cylindrical brush

Info

Publication number: US2825081A
Application number: US446789A
Authority: US
Inventors: John E Grogan
Original assignee: Fuller Brush Co Inc
Current assignee: Fuller Brush Co Inc
Priority date: 1954-07-30
Filing date: 1954-07-30
Publication date: 1958-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 1975-03-04

Description

March 4, 1958 J. E. GROGAN 2,825,081

CYLINDRICAL BRUSH Filed July 50. 1954 /NVENTOR JOHN E. GROGAN f' ATTOR/VE V United States Paten,.-.

CYLINDRICAL BRUSH John E. Grogan, West Hartford, Conn., assignor to The Fuller Brush Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 30, 1954, Serial No. 446,789

8 Claims. (Cl. 15-182) y This invention relates to brushes and, more specifically, to an improved brush elementor strip and to brushes formed therewith.

A brushl strip ordinarily includes an elongated metal channel member of generally U-shaped cross section wherein the side walls of the channel member converge to engage and press against and thereby retain the central portions of brush fibers which are also included in the strip. The said central portions of the fibers are usually folded within the channel member around a core wire so that the end portions of the fbers'project through the open face or longitudinally extending neck defined between the converging side walls. The core wire is generally located at least partly withink the channel and extends longitudinally thereof to cooperate with the side walls of the channel member to retain the fibers.

lx1-accordance with the conventional practice of brush manufacture utilizing brush strips, the said strips are mounted and secured to brush support structure. In a cylindrical or rotary brush, the support structure is generally cylindrical and ordinarily referred to as the core and mayor may not be provided with a longitudinally extending opening. It is an ordinary practice to f orm a cylindrical brush by spirally winding or coiling a Vbrush strip around the core.

Various means have been employedA to mount and secure the'metal channel member on the core. ln some instances, the core has been provided with yundercut clamping devices and in'still other instances, the side walls ofthe channel membersv have been provided with lateral extensions engageable by or within clamping der vices or fastening members. `vvThegeneral object of the invention s to provide a channel type brush element or strip which requires no fastening devices to hold the strip in a desired position inacylindrical brush structure and which, in fact, requires no support structure or core in forming a cylindrical brush. As will be shown in detail hereinafter, this objectis attained by providing flanges on the side walls of the metal channel members which are adapted to engage and berigidly secured to similar flanges on the side walls of'the channel member of an adjacent brush strip orf-the adjacent section or coil of the same brush strip. vAnother object of the invention is to provide a brush strip which 4canbe used in a variety of ways in brush manufacture and in the fabrication of cylindrical brushes at reduced cost without sacrificing strength in the brushes formed.` v

--Ot-her .objects of the .invention will be apparent from ilse, but it will-be Aunderstood that-various-changes may 2,825,081 Patented Mar. 4, 1.9552` be made from the construction shown and that the drawing is not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

Of the drawing, n

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective view of my improved strip;

Fig. 2 is a side view of a cylindrical brush constructed in accordance with the present invention and showing a portion of the brush in longitudinal section to illustrate details; and

Fig. 3 is a view of the left-hand end of the brush shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 1, my novel brush strip 10 includes an elongated metal channel member indicated generally by the reference numeral 12. l' he said channel member is transversely shaped throughout its length to define a generally U-shaped channel within a rear wall 14 and two integrally formed forwardly converging

side walls

16 and 18. The channel member 12 is further transversely shaped throughout its length to provide a laterally extending flange 20 along the forward edge of the side wall 16 and a substantially coplanar laterally extending flange 22 along the forward edge of the side wall 18. One of the flanges, for example the flange 20, is provided with a rearwardly offset marginal portion 24 which extends throughout the length of the channel member 12 and which terminates in one longitudinal edge 26. The other` laterally extending flange, for example the flange-22, is providedwith a forwardly offset marginal portion 28 which extends for the length of the channel member 12 and defines a longitudinal edge 30 thereon.

It is important to observe that the marginal portion or wing 24 is rearwardly offset from the flange 20 sub? stantially the same distance that the marginal portion 'of the wing 28 is forwardly offset from the flange 22 ano that the amount of offset in each case is no greater than the thickness of the metal stock used in forming the channel member 12. lt will be quite apparent, the

lateral flanges

20 and 22 being substantially co-planar, that when two channel members are joined in side-by-side relationship with the forwardly offset wing 28 of one channel member overlapping the rearwardly offset wing 24 of the adjacent channel member, the rear walls 14 of the channel members will reside in the same 'plane'.

Alayer of brush fibers 32 is also included in the struc# ture of the brush strip and the fibers 32 may comprise any of the suitable metal, vegetable, animal or synthetic brush fibers commonly used.l The said layer of fibers 32 is arranged so that the end portions of the fibers project generally forwardly through the channel neck defined between the converging

side walls

16 and 18. Ordinarily, there is included a longitudinally extending wire core 34 which is at least partlywithin the channel member 12. A round wire is shown which is entirely within the channel. the fibers are folded around the said wire within the channel member so that the forwardly projecting end portions of the fibers project either in two rows or in one row to provide the brushing surface. During manufacture, the layer of fibers 32, while straight, is deposited with the core wire 34 on the channel strip 12 before the sidewalls 16 and 13 are closed to their final positions. The core wire 34 is guided into the channel member, thus folding the central portions of the fibers in the layer 32 aroundit. The

side walls

16 and 18 are then rolled or pressed against the central portions of the fibers to bind the-several parts together by` pressure. j i j 5 It is'a feature of the present invention that a cylindrical brush can be formed with the aforedescribed brush strip lit. Such a cylindrical brush will comprisea plurality of similar brush strip convolutions having a common center When the core wire is provided,.

. prises a channel member having an inner wall and two side walls defining a generally U-shaped channel and also having :.twov.opp'ositely` and:rgenerallyolateralltcfproilecting angessandgwherein.- theibrush'rstrip ofneachi; convolution) alsofcomprises ta .-layer of ,brns'lribers :securedfwithinethe channel and projectingioutwardi'y therefnomnthe diange at one side of each brush strip convolutionitengaging (and being secured toethefange ati the oppositefside of the `next adjacent brush strip convolution. Such a` cylindrical brush ristshovtn in Figs, .Itand .andnindca'ted' bin-the ref erencelcharacter C.,;,The;brush Cistforfned ofiatplurahty ofnsi'milar. brush stripfconvolutionsiwherein :the-:strip of each convolution comprises the channel member. 12 havingthe'reartwail-ltetheaside walls 16.a n`d 18,:the Hinges 20 and 22 and the rearwardly and forwardly;offset wings 24 and-123.`. The forwardly.r offset wing 28 oftthe. strip in one l convolution overlaps on t embraces` ;the. yrearwardly offset .wingt 24 of :the strip inqthe; nextadjaaent convolution. :

Theoverlapped wings

28 and 24 aresecured to eachl other` by welding in circumaxially spaced locations or by seam welding., along `the said wings-- Thus, .with the convolutions ofthe channel-.memberrjrigidly connected together,y the inner.4 Wallin onefconvol-ution is spacedfrom the center .line4 the'sameldistance as .the-rear wall in every other convolution.

It will be quiteapparentthat in-forming a :cylindrical brush C by engaging: and welding together thefchannel members of `adjacent convolutionsof a :brush strip,.the said brushxstrip becomes self-supporting in the cylindrical brush. kThat is, arigid connectionfis'effected .between the convolutions of the strip so thatthechannel member need not be mounted upon aJseparate 4core `structureforsupport purposes.

Thebrush C is preferablyformed byhelically winding a single brush strip 10 so thatV its'adjacent convolutions may be connected together inthe manner previously described. In forming .acylindrical brush by interconnecting adjacent helical` convolutions of afsingle .brush strip, the said cylindrical ,brush is provided with a longitudinally extending offset 36 at one endthereof and a longitudinally extendingolisetS at theothen endthereof.Y The offset 36 is defined, by oneend of thexbrush` strip 10V and the offset 38 is defined bythe other end ofthe brush strip 10, the said ends or offsets facing in opposite circumferential directions.

' The cylindrical brush C may find a widevariety of independentapplications,A but it is particularly adapted to be used informing acomposite cylindrical brush strip structure whenconnected with one or more similarly formed independent cylindrical brushes. -More specifically, the brush C may be connected in endto.end.relation ship with a similarly .formed cylindrical gbrush-l with :theend. of the brush having an offset engagedwiththe opposite end of the said similarlyuformed brush. When so engaged, the oppositely facing offsets-36` and.` 38 .on theisimilar brushes will abut .each other in Idrivingengagement so that one cylindrical brush can drivethe other' cylindrical brush of the composite brush structure. It` will` be `seen that the engaged ends of the similar brushes, can be secured together similarly to adjacent convolutions in a single cylindrical brush. That. is,. the'- forwardly offset wing. 28 in the end convolution of'E the one `brush will overlap or embrace the rearwardly offset wing in the end convolution of .the other brushand the said wings can be welded together if desired, However, it.may; be more desirable to have the cylindrical brushes detachablyeonnected in the composite brush structure so as to'pres'erve their separate utility. When the brushes are farrangecl for detachable 4connection. andindependentutility, it is. desirable that the ends, of. theY strip. makjnglup a cylindrical brush,- such as .the .brush` C,.be closed: so thatfthefibers from the layerf 32 ,cannot escapethroughwthe openends of the channel member 12. This canbeaccomplished, as indicated by the 'referencenumeraLftO in. l.-`vi 'g.m?1 ,hy1 bendu,ingthe.endedges ofthesidewalls 16 and 18 towards .each

'. sitely and generallyilaterallytprojectingflanges integral with the side walls and wherein the said brush strip also.

has a layer bf brushfibersisecured withinth'echannel-and-V projecting forwardly therefrom; and the' further'stepA of winding the brush strip to provide successive similar helical\.convolutions swhereinithezrearivall ofrthe `channel member faces inwardly.. andthe fibers project outwardly and wherein theffiange" at one `sidel of each brush strip convolution engages and is secured to the iiange at the opposite side of the next adjacent convolution. In practisingetheioregoingf.method.the brushstripr 10 .may be helicall; wound upon afcyli-ndrical rotatingfarbor or shaft and the overlapped

wings

24 and 28 welded together while the said` strip is .wounduponfthesaid arbor. o1-.shaft. Then,.the-forming.anbor may be removed from thetcoilcd4 strlp.

. .While the.novelnbrushstriphas .been described in1connectionawith a'tr'nethod. ofl forming r11-cylindrical- `brush whereinfthe. interengagednchannel convolutions Yprovide theentire brush supportL structure in the form of azcore, it should be-nnderstoodthat cylindrical brushes formed in accordance .with `this-invention may also be used in brush structures wherein .additional -supportstructure is. provided. ...That is, `the Acylindrical brush C can. be mounted on` an additionalcore structure .if .desired.1 However, .it is an..impor.tant .aspect of. the present .invention that. the

interconnected `convolutions of-the strip provide all of the support.structureanecessary ifonmost brush. uses. and installations.

The-invention. claimed is:

1`. A brush stripcomprising an elongated channel member4 having az reamwall` and `two :side walls `definingan open front. longitudinally extending channel and .which also `has two'oppositely projecting substantiallyco-planar lateral flanges formed integrally with the sidewalls and terminating inlongitudinal edges,.one ofthesaid flanges being offset .forwardly adjacent` its. longitudinal edge. and the..`said.flanges being constructed and .arranged sothat the forwardly offsetportion of..the.said one fiange .will engage. andy overlap. `the. other. flange: of a. similar. channel Ymember .when .arranged insideby.side..relationship therewith I.and .with the 4 rear ...wall of.. the said channel memben in...substantially..the1same plane as the rearwwall of:the..similar 1cha-nnelf.member.,.and a layer. of brush fiberssecured within the channeland projecting generally forwardly through the open front` thereof.

2.- Abrush strip comprising an. elongated'channel member having airear` wall.. and twosidewwalls definingan open front.` longitudinally.. extending channel and .xwhich also has two oppositely-projccting substantiallyico-planar lateral .fiangesformed.integrally with the side walls and plane` as..the,:rear.wall ofnthesimilar channel member,

and a layer of brush fibers secured within the channel and projectinggenerally.forwardly throught-the open front thereof` v 3. A cylindrical brush comprising a plurality of similar brush. strip `convolutions. having a common .center .line

andtwhereinv the; brushz'strip of` each .convolution com prises a. `n :hannel-member having .an :inner .walli and two side walls defining a generally U-shaped channel and also having two oppositely and generally laterally projecting substantially co-planar flanges integral with the said side walls and wherein the brush strip of each convolution also comprises a layer of brush fibers secured within the channel thereof and projecting generally outwardly therefrom, the flange at one side of each brush strip convolution having an offset portion adjacent its longitudinal edge which overlies and is rigidly secured to the flange at the opposite side of the next adjacent v brush strip convolution with the inner wall of the channel member in each convolution being spaced from the center line a distance substantially equal to the spacing of the inner wall of the channel member from the center line in the next adjacent convolution.

4. A cylindrical brush comprising a plurality of brush strip convolutions having a common center line and wherein the brush strip of each convolution comprises a channel member having an inner wall and two side walls defining a generally U-shaped channel and also having two oppositely and generally laterally projecting substantially co-planar flanges integral with the said side walls and wherein the brush strip of each convolution also comprises a layer of brush fibers secured within the channel thereof and projecting generally outwardly therefrom, the ange at one side of each brush strip convolution having an outwardly projecting offset adjacent and along its longitudinal edge and the flange at the other side of each brush strip convolution having an inwardly projecting offset adjacent and along its longitudinal edge, the outwardly projecting offset of each brush strip convolution overlying and being rigidly secured to the inwardly projecting offset of the next adjacent brush strip convolution with the inner wall of the channel member in each convolution being spaced from the center line a distance substantially equal to the spacing of the inner wall of the channel member from the center line in the next adjacent convolution.

5. A cylindrical brush comprising a helically coiled brush strip having a channel member which includes an inner wall and two side walls defining a generally U-shaped channel and which also includes two oppositely and generally laterally projecting substantially co-planar flanges integral with the said side walls, one of the said flanges having an outwardly projecting offset which is constructed and arranged so that the said offset in one convolution of the strip embraces and is rigidly connected with the other flange in the next adjacent convolution of the strip, and a layer of brush fibers secured within the channel and projecting generally outwardly therefrom.

6. A cylindrical brush comprising a helically coiled brush strip having a channel member which includes an inner wall and two side walls defining a generally U-shaped channel and which also includes two oppositely and generally laterally projecting substantially co-planar flanges integral with the said side walls, one of the said flanges having van outwardly projecting offset and the other of the said flanges having an inwardly projecting offset which outwardly and inwardly projecting offsets are constructed and arranged so that the outwardly projecting offset in one convolution of the strip embraces and is rigidly connected with the inwardly projecting offset in the next adjacent convolution of the strip, and a layer of brush fibers secured within the channel and projecting generally outwardly therefrom.

7. A cylindrical brush comprising a helically coiled brush strip having a channel member which includes an inner wall and two forwardly converging side walls delining a channel having a narrow neck and which also includes two substantially co-planar flanges projecting in opposite generally lateral directions from the outer edges of the said side walls and which are formed integrally with the said side walls, one of the said anges having an offset which projects outwardly and the other of said flanges having a substantially equal offset which projects inwardly, the said offsets being constructed and arranged so that the outwardly projecting offset in one convolution of the strip embraces and is rigidly connected with the inwardly projecting offset in the next adjacent convolution of the strip, a core wire located at least partly within the channel and extending therealong, and a layer of brush fibers folded around the core wire within the channel and engaged by the said side walls and having end portions projecting outwardly through the neck of the channel.

8. A cylindrical brush comprising a helically coiled brush strip with the first convolution of the strip providing one end of the cylindrical brush which one end has a longitudinally extending offset defined by one end of the strip which faces in one circumferential direction and with the last convolution of the strip providing the other end of the cylindrical brush which other end has a longitudinally extending offset defined by the other end of the brush strip which faces in the opposite circumferential direction, the said strip including a channel member having an inner wall and two side walls defining a generally U-shaped channel, the said channel member also having oppositely and generally laterally projecting substantially co-planar flanges integral with the said side walls which flanges are constructed and arranged so that the flange at one side of the channel member in one convolution of the Istrip embraces and is rigidly connected with the liange at the other side of the channel member in the next adjacent convolution, and a layer of brush fibers secured within the channel and projecting generally outwardly therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,313,329 Evert Mar. 9, 1943 2,553,748 Carlson May 22, 1951 2,636,541 Rutherford Apr. 28, 1953 2,653,340 Cave Sept. 29, 1953