US3322467A

US3322467A - Brush making apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3322467A
Application number: US439824A
Authority: US
Inventors: Marks Theodore; Joseph T Gelardi
Original assignee: American Technical Machinery Corp
Current assignee: American Technical Machinery Corp
Priority date: 1965-03-15
Filing date: 1965-03-15
Publication date: 1967-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 1984-05-30

Description

May 30, 1967 MARKS ET Al.

BRUSH MAKING APPARATUS Filed March l5, 1965 HUM n i 2M. ,5

mmf ma n ,mm la! .A rf n United States Patent O 3,322,467 BRUSH MAKING APPARATUS Theod'ore Marks, Hartsdale, and Joseph T. Gelard,

Yonkers, N.Y., assignors to American Technical Machinery Corp., Mount Vernon, NX., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 15, 1965. Ser. No. 439,824 5 Claims. (Cl. 300-2) This invention relates to an apparatus for making twisted wire products and, in particular, to a brush making apparatus for producing a twisted wire brush by the application of a twisting force to adjacently arranged strands of wire with bristles held therebetween.

It is known to produce twisted wire brush products by depositing bristles between adjacent strands of wire and then twisting the strands about each other to lock the bristles in place. In order to effect twisting, the strands with the bristles therebetween are supported via means to provide a reacting force to oppose the applied twisting force. One such type of means comprises a pair of stationary opposed feed jaws which are adapted via opposed grooves or wire guide channels in the jaws to receive and pass t-he wires therethrough. As 4a pair of adjacently arranged wires approach the feed jaws, bristles are deposited between them, and as the wires with the bristles pass through the spaced jaws with each wire riding a groove or channel, a twisting force is applied to the emerging wires to lock the bristles therebetween, the twist-reacting force being set up at the jaws. The twisting of the wires is generally accomplished by a rotating chuck in which the ends of the wires are gripped. The chuck is mounted on a reciprocating carriage and, during the operating stroke, the chuck pulls the wires with the brush bristles held therebetween, while either during or at the end of the stroke the chuck is rotated to impart a twist to the wires. Upon completion of the operating stroke, knives `are operated to cut the twisted brush element. The chuck is then returned to home position and the operation repeated. As will be apparent, this process of making brushes is intermittent and not continuous.

In U.S. Ser. No. 92,657, led Mar. 1 1961, now Patent No. 3,160,440 in the name of Joseph T. Gelardi and assigned to the same assignee as this application, an apparatus is disclosed for continuously producing twisted wire brushes comprising a hollow member adapted to receive a brush body and topermit passage of a brush bod-y therethrough, and means associated with the hollow member for applying a force to the bristles held between the wires for imparting a twist to the wires. In one embodiment, the means for imparting the twist to the wires comprises a helical screw rigidly attached to the interior of the hollow means, such that as the hollow member rotates, the bristles are `acted upon by the helix of the screw thereby imparting a twist to the `wire while causing the wire and associated bristles to feed linearly through the hollow member.

In the present invention we provide a new and improved apparatus for continuously producing twisted wire brushes.

It is thus an object of our invention to provide a brush making apparatus for simultaneously twisting and feeding a twisted wire product in a linear direction.

Another object is to provide a combined feeding and brush twisting device of simple construction.

These and other objects will more clearly appear when taken in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is one embodiment of the invention comprising a rotatably mounted hollow shaft partially broken away having means therein for continuously gripping and draw- 3,322,467 Patented May 30, 1967 ing therethrough a pair of adjacently arranged wires having bristles supported therebetween;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2 2 of FIG. 1 showing in more detail the means employed for .actuating the gripping and drawing means within the rotatable shaft.`

FIG. 3 shows in longitudinal cross section another embodiment of the invention utilizing another form of a gripping and drawing means for passing wire through the hollow shaft.

FIG. 4 is illustrative of la still further embodiment of the invention showing fragmentarily a hollow shaft having mounted therein another form of a gripping and drawing means; and

FIG. 5 is a fragment of a hollow shaft showing a pair of toothed wheels rotatably mounted therein adapted to grip and pass wire through and along the axis of the shaft.

In carrying our invention into practice, we provide a brush twisting device comprising a rotatably mounted hollow shaft, means within the hollow shaft for continuously gripping and drawing therethrough a pair of adjacently arranged wires with bristles therebetween, transmission means associated with the hollow shaft in driving association with the means for gripping and drawing the wires, and means for rotating the hollow shaft such that the wires leaving the hollow shaft are twisted about each other with the bristles locked therebetween.

In a preferred embodiment, the brush twisting device provided by the invention may comprise a hollow shaft having an inlet end and an outlet end, means lassociated with the inlet end and with the outlet end for rotatably supporting the ends of the shaft and gripping and drawing means within the hollow shaft for continuously gripping and drawing therethrough a pair of adjacently arranged wires with bristles supported therebetween, the gripping and drawing means comprising a set of opposed rotatable members with their respective surfaces ,adjacent each other, said surfaces being endlessly movable as to grip and move the wire linearly along substantially the longitudinal axis of the hollow shaft. The preferred device has la driven member coaxially integral with the outside surface of the hollow shaft, transmission means associated with the hollow shaft in driving association with the gripping and drawing means, means cooperably associated with said rotatable hollow shaft for driving the transmission means by means of the rotation of the shaft, and means cooperably associated with the coaxially mounted driven member of the shaft for effecting rotation thereof such that the wires leaving the outlet end are twisted about each other with the bristles locked therebetween.

Referring to FIGS. l and 2, a hollow shaft 10, partially broken away, is shown rotatably mounted at its ends to stationary supports 11 and 12 via antifriction bearings 13 and 14 held by said supports, each of the supports 11 and 12 having an opening 11a and 12a therein communicating with the hollow o'f t-he shaft, such that support 11 is lassociated with the inlet of said shaft, while support 12 is associated with the outlet thereof.

Mounted coaxially to the outer circumference of the shaft and keyed to it is a driven gear 15 in meshing engagement with a driving gear 16 supported by shaft 17 associated with conventional driving means (not shown), suc-h as a motor Ior the like. Mounted within the shaft is a set of opposed rotatable members comprising peripherally grooved

wheels

17, 18, 19 and 20 supported by shafts, for example shafts 21 land 22 (F-IG. t2), running transversely to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and supported by the wall o'f the hollow shaft. As 4shown in FIG. 2, the shafts are rotatably supported by end mounts, c g.

ICC

23, 24 fixed to the wall of the shaft. Wheels 17 and 18 are rotatably coupled via a continuous bead chain 25, as are wheels 19 and 20 which `are coupled via continuous bead chain A26. The grooved wheels preferably have substantially hemispherical notches distributed peripherally at the bottom of each groove for receiving the beaded chain to insure non-slippage of the chain during operation.

In the embodiment of FIG. l, wheels 17 to 20 are rotated via transmission means located, in this case, near the inlet side of the hollow shaft. In this instance, two transmission means `are provided, one coupled to wheel 17 and the other to wheel 19. With respect to wheel 17, the transmission means therefor comprises a rotatable shaft 27 suitably supported as shown having bevel gear 28 (also note FIG. 2) in meshing engagement with bevel gear 29 (FIG. 2) mounted coaxially yand in fixed relationship with grooved wheel 17. At the opposite end of shaft 27, a gear 30 is `mounted which extends into the opening of stationary support 11 and is in meshing engagement with an internal annular gear 31 fixed in the opening of stationary support 11. Similarly, the transmission means for wheel 19 comprises shaft 32 having `a bevel gear 33 in meshing engagement with bevel gear 34 (FIG. 2) mounted coaxially and in fixed relationship with grooved wheel 19. The opposite end of shaft 32 has a gear 35 which extends into the opening of stationary support 11 and is likewise in meshing engagement with the teeth of internal gear 31.

With the elements coupled as stated above, the beaded chains are caused to move lfrom the inlet end to the outlet end of the shaft as `the shaft rotates. For example, as the shaft rotates on the bearings,

gears

30 and 35 ride the teeth of internal gear 31 causing shafts 27 and 32 of the transmission means to rotate. This in turn causes rotation of

bevel 4gears

28 and 33 which are oppositely disposed and in meshing engagement with

bevel gears

29 and 34, respectively, of wheels 17 and 19 so that wheels 17 and 19 are caused to move towards eachother to give linear motion to both beaded chains in unison towards the outlet end of the shaft. The two chains being closely adjacent each other provide the gripping and drawing means for continuously gripping and drawing therethrough a pair of adjacently arranged wires having bristles supported ltherebetween.

In utilizing the device described above, the strands of wire with the bristles therebetween are fed to the inlet side of the device by means of a bristle and wire feeding mechanism t0 be described. Referring to FIG. l, `a hopper 40 is shown in which is stored bristles 41 which are carried by picker slot 42, in the periphery of picker wheel 43 to a position between adjacent pins of pin wheel 44. The picker slot may have `an adjustable bottom which can be raised or lowered to change the bristle capacity o'f picker slot 42. With each revolution of the picker wheel, picker slot 42 moves across the open end of hopper 40 and receives a charge of bristles which it then transfers to the pin wheel near the inclined portion of bristle guide surface 45. The bristles are then carried by a dual pin wheel 44 whose symmetrical wheel members are arranged to overlap a portion of picker wheel 43, and whose pins 46 sweep past the bottom of the inclined portion of bristle guide surface 45. Only one-half of the pin wheel Structure is shown in the drawing, but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the assembly contains another wheel, not shown, which is identical to wheel 44 and which is mounted on the same shaft with its pins in alignment with pins 46.

The pins of wheel 44 carry the bristles along curved extension 47 of incline 45 and deposit them between wires 48 and 49 as shown in FIG. .1. Continuous wire 48 is drawn from a storage reel (not shown) and between idler rollers 50 and 51. The wire then passes between the two halves of the picker wheel through wire guide 48a as shown towards a pair of jaws 52 which may be of `the type disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 92,657, filed Mar. l, 1961. Simultaneously as wire `48 is being drawn towards the jaws, wire 49 is being drawn between idler wheels 53 and 53a bei ow the bristle charging station, the wire being drawn just `beneath extension 47 so that bristles are deposited upon wire 49. The bristles are held fast by wire 48 bearing on wire 4-9 as the bristle-laden wires move linearly towards jaws 52 comprising two die halves with a wire groove in the upper half and a wire groove in the lower half for receiving and guiding the wires to the inlet end of shaft 10.

As the bristle-laden wires enter the hollow shaft, they are grasped by the ball `chain and held substantially securely as the shaft rotates and while the -bristle-laden wires are being transported to the outlet end of the shaft by the chain. A brush product 55 emerges fully twisted `and may be cut in the desired size or wound up on a large drum.

While FIGS. 1 and 2 show one embodiment for linearly moving the bristle-laden wires through the hollow shaft, it will be appreciated that other equivalent techniques may be employed. For example, .in FIG. 3, a crosssection of a similar device is shown comprising hollow shaft 60 similarly supported by bearings 61 and 62 between stationary ends 63 and 64. The means for rotating the shaft are not shown since they are adequately illustrated in FIG. 1, the main function of FIG. 3 being to show another embodiment for moving the wires linearly through the shaft. The additional embodiment comprises a pair of worms 65 and 66 arranged adjacent each other with their axes parallel with that of the hollow shaft, the worms being rotatably mounted via their

respective shafts

67 and 68 mounted in the annular end walls of shaft 60 as shown. The worms are rotated via gear transmission means shown near the inlet side 69 of the device cornprising gears 70 and 71 rotatably mounted in the annular end wall of hollow shaft 60, each of said gears being in meshing engagement with annular internal gear 72 of stationary support 63. Mounted on

worm shaft

67 and 68 are gears 73 `and 74 which mesh with gears 70 and 71, respectively. Thus, as hollow shaft 60 is caused to rotate in the manner described for FIG. 1, gears 70 and 71 ride the teeth of internal gear 72 causing worms 65 and 66 to rotate towards each other. By having the threads of the two worms lead towards the outlet end of the shaft, wires passing therethrough are caused to move linearly in that direction.

A still further embodiment is shown in FIG. 4 which is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1 except that in place of the bead chain a V-belt is employed with the outer surface of the belt having a saw tooth configuration as shown. WhileFIG. 4 is shown fragmentarily, the numerals designated for the parts are the same `as for FIG. 1 except for the V-belt. As in FIG. 1, wheels 75, 76, 77 and 78 are supported by shafts running transversely of the longitudinal axis of the hollow shaft. V-belts 79 and 80 are saw toothed at the outer surface as show-n at 81. The belt, being somewhat resilient, will grip the bristle-laden wires and draw them through the shaft to the outlet end as described for FIG. 1.

The same effect may be achieved with a pair of toothed wheels 8S and 86 shown in FIG. 5. These wheels would be similarly drive-n by gear transmission means (not shown) as described for FIGS. 1 and 4. The bristle-laden wires would be grasped between the wheels and moved in a linear direction towards the outlet side of rotating shaft 10, said lshaft being rotated simil-ary as in FIG. 1.

While several means have been shown for gripping and drawing the wires through the hollow shaft, these means in the broad aspect comprise a set of rotatable members with their respective movable surfaces adjacent each other, the surfaces being endless during their movement so that the wire product is continuously moved in a linear path through the hollow shaft. The endless movement of the surfaces in contact with the bristle-laden wire may be the moving periphery of a circular element or the moving surface generated by a chain or belt drive and any variation thereof.

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modiiications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as those skilled in the art will readily understand. 'Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the invention and the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A brush twisting device comprising a rotatably mounted hollow shaft, rotatably mounted means within said rotatable shaft for continuously gripping and drawin-g therethrough a pair of adjacently arranged wires with bristles therebetween, transmission means associated with said hollow shaft for rotating said rotatably mounted means for gripping and drawing said wires, said transmission means being actuated as the shaft rotates, and means for rotating said hollow shaft such that the Wires are drawn through said hollow shaft and leave said shaft twisted about each other with the bristles locked therebetween.

2. A brush twisting device comprising .a rotatably mounted hollow shaft, means within said rotatable hollow shaft for continuously `gripping and drawing therethrough a pair of -adjacently arranged wires with bristles therebetween, said means comprising a set of opposed rotatable members with their respective surfaces adjacent each other, said surfaces being endlessly Imovable so as to move the wires line-arly along substantially the longitudinal axis of the hollow shaft, transmission means associated with said hollow shaft in driving association with the means for gripping and drawing said wires, said transmission means being actuated as the shaft rotates, and means for rotating said hollow shaft such that the wires are drawn through said hollow shaft and leave said shaft twisted about each other with the bristles locked therebetween.

3. A brush twisting device comprising a rotatably mounted hollow shaft, mea-ns wtihin said rotatable hollow shaft for continuously gripping and drawing therethrough a pair of adjacently arranged wires with bristles therebetween, said means comprising a set of lopposed rotatable members with their respective surfaces adjacent each other, said surfaces being endlessly movable so as to move the wires linearly along substantially the longitudinal axis of the hollow shaft, transmission means associated wit-h said hollow shaft in driving association via -a train of gears with the means for gripping and drawing said wires, a stationary annular gear associated with one end of said hollow shaft and operatively coupled to said transmission means, said transmission means being actuated as the shaft rotates, and means for rotating said hollow shaft such that the wires are drawn through said hollow shaft and leave said shaft twisted about each other with the bristles locked therebetween.

4. A brush twisting device comprising a hollow shaft having an inlet and an outlet end, means associated with the inlet end and with the outlet end for rotatably supporting said ends, gripping and drawing means within said hollow shaft for continuously gripping and drawing therethrough a pair of adjacently arranged wires with bristles supported therebetween, said means comprising a set of opposed rotatable members with their respective surfaces adjacent each other, said surfaces being endlessly movable so as to move the wires linearly along substantially the longitudinal axis of the hollow shaft, a driven member coaxially xed to the outside surface of said hollow shaft, transmission means associated with said hollow shaft in driving association with said gripping and drawing means, means cooperably associated with said rotatable hollow shaft for driving said transmission means by virtue of the rotation of said shaft, and means cooperably associated with the coaxially mounted driven member of the shaft for effecting rotation thereof, such that the wires are drawn through said hollow shaft and leave the outlet end twisted about each other with the bristles locked therebetween.

5. A brush twisting device comprising a hollow shaft having an inlet and an outlet end, stationary means associated with the inlet end and with the outlet end for rotatably supporting said ends, one of said stationary means having an annular gear associated therewith, gripping and drawing means within said hollow shaft for continuously gripping and drawing therethrough a pair of adjacently arranged wires with bristles ,supported therebetween, said means comprising a set of opposed rotatable members with their resepective surfaces adjacent each other, said surfaces being endlessly movable so as t-o move the wires linearly along substantially the longitudinal axis of the hollow shaft, a driven member coaxially xed to the outside surface of said hollow shaft, transmission means associated with said hollow shaft in driving association via a train of gears with said gripping and drawing means, said transmission means being coupled via a gear to said annular gearfmeans for feeding a pair of .adjacently arranged wires with bristles supported therebetween into the inlet end of said hollow shaft, and means cooperably ass-ociated with the coaxially mounted driven member of the shaft for effecting rotation thereof, such that the wires are drawn through said hollow shaft and leave the outlet end twisted about each other with the bristles locked therebetween.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,160,440 8/ 1964 Gelardi 300-2 `3,231,311 1/1966 Marks et al 30G-2 WILLIAM I. STEPHENSON, Primary Exlminer.

Claims

1. A BRUSH TWISTING DEVICE COMPRISING A ROTATABLY MOUNTED HOLLOW SHAFT, ROTATABLY MOUNTED MEANS WITHIN SAID ROTATABLE SHAFT FOR CONTINUOUSLY GRIPPING AND DRAWING THERETHROUGH A PAIR OF ADJACENTLY ARRANGED WIRES WITH BRISTLES THEREBETWEEN, TRANSMISSION MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID HOLLOW SHAFT FOR ROTATING SAID ROTATABLY MOUNTED MEANS FOR GRIPPING AND DRAWING SAID WIRES, AND TRANSMIS-