US3376073A - Bristle feeding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

l 1968 T. MARKS ETAL 3,376,073

BRISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 28, 1965 I5 Sheets-Sheet l 70 CLUTCH-BRAKE fACfl/AI/NG C/fiC'U/T FIG. 3

' JNVENTORa THEODORE MARKS Y JOSEPH 7- 661490! B (E Z ATTORNEYS.

April 1968 T. MARKS ETAL 3,376,073

BRISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 28, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 7:

COUNTER CIRCUIT 39 CLUTCH-BRAKE Ac TUA TING CIRCUIT INVEN'TOR S.

77/600025 MARKS JOSEPH 7.' 651.420! Y ATTORNEYS.

A ril 2, 1968 T. MARKS ETAL 3,

BRISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 28, 1965 s Sheets-Sheet s I ll INVENTORS. I'HE'ODORE ,wwxs

JOSEP/l I GEIJRD/ 3,376,073 BRISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM Theodore Marks, Hartsdale, and Joseph T. Gelardi, Yonkers, N.Y., assignors to American Technical Machinery Corporation, Mount Vernon, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 28, 1965, Ser. No. 505,506 7 Claims. (Cl. 300-2) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLQSURE In a brush-making machine wherein bristle-feeding means is employed to feed bristles between a pair of adjacent wires, which wires are thereafter twisted, control means are provided for determining the spacing between groups of brush elements. The control means cornprises means for sensing increments of linear travel of the wires, means coupled to the sensing means for counting said sensed increments, and actuating means responsive to the counting means and coupled to the bristle-feeding means whereby to prevent the bristle-feeding means from feeding bristles between the wires for a predetermined time while the wires are fed to and past the bristle feeding station.

This invention relates to automatic brush-making machines for making cylindrical brushes and, in particular, to an intermittently operable bristle-feeding mechanism.

In producing cylindrical brushes, a pair of wires are fed to a bristle-feeding station where bristles are deposited between the wires and the bristles thereafter locked in place by imparting a twist to the wires. In US. Patent No. 3,160,440, granted Dec. 8, 1964, we disclose a continuous brush-making machine in which adjacent wires with brush bristles therebetween are fed through a twisting station while simultaneously applying a force to the brush bristles in a direction to impart a twist to the wires, thereby locking the bristles between the wires. By utilizing the foregoing technique, we find that we can produce cylindrical brushes continuously while cutting them to any desired length without necessitating the stopping of the machine during the cutting cycle.

In producing cylindrical brush segments, it is generally desirable to have bristle-free wire extending from the brush segment for mounting the brush to a handle.

It is thus the object of this invention to provide in combination with a brush-making machine an intermittently operable bristle-feeding mechanism adapted to deposit spaced groups of bristles between a pair of moving wires.

Another object is to provide a bristle-feeding mechanism which may be operated independently of the wire-feeding mechanism and which may be controlled independently of the wire feeding mechanism.

A still further object is to provide, in combination with a brush-making machine, means for producing a twisted brush wire product having spaced groups of bristles with bare wire therebetween.

A further object is to provide, in combination with a brush-making machine, means for sensing increments of linear travel of wire, means coupled to the sensing means for counting the sensed increments and an actuating circuit coupled to the counting means and responsive thereto for controlling the amount of bristles deposited between a pair of moving wires.

These and other objects will more clearly appear from the following disclosure and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows somewhat schematically one emboditates Patent ice ment of a continuous brush-making machine to which our invention may be applied;

FIG. 2 is illustrative of a cylindrical product showing bare wire spaced between groups of bristles produced continuously in accordance with our invention;

FIG. 3 is one embodiment of a clutch-brake mechanism which may be employed in controlling the feeding cycle of the bristle-feeding mechanism;

FIG. 4 shows schematically one means for carrying out the invention;

FIG. 5 shows in exploded perspective the basic elements of one type of a continuous brush-making machine utilizing one embodiment of our invention; and

FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of a twisting and feeding mechanism employed in the continuous brush-making machine of the type shown in FIG. 5.

In carrying out the invention, we provide an intermittently operable bristle-feeding mechanism which may or may not be operated independently of the wire-feeding mechanism but which is controlled in timed sequence with the wires being fed through the bristle-feeding station. Broadly speaking, the invention may be employed in combination with a brush-making machine of either the continuous or intermittent wire-feeding types comprising a bristle-feeding station and means for feeding a pair of wires to the bristle-feeding station, the bristle-feeding station being comprised of bristle-storage means and a bristle-feeding mechanism for feeding bristles from the storage means to between the wires prior to twisting the wires together. We find that with our invention, we can produce a brush wire product having spaced groups of bristles with bare wire therebetween. Thus, in combination with the brush-making machine, we may employ means for sensing increments of linear travel of the wires during a brush-making operation, means coupled to the sensing means for counting the sensed increments and an actuating circuit coupled to the bristle-feeding mechanism responsive to a signal from the counting means in accordance with a predetermined count corresponding to a given linear travel of the wires, whereby bristles are prevented from being fed to between the wires at spaced periods of time.

Where the bristle feeding mechanism is a rotating wheel having peripheral slots carrying bristles therein, the wheel may be stopped for a given period of time and then allowed to rotate for another time period depending on the type of brush product being produced. Or the wheel may continue to rotate and a mechanism employed to stop the feeding of bristles into the slots of the bristlefeeding wheel. Whatever the method of feeding of the bristles, we find that the invention is applicable in providing a means of intermittently feeding bristles to the wires, even in instances where the brush-making machine is operated continuously as disclosed in US. Patent No. 3,160,440.

In one embodiment of our invention, we provide an intermittently operable bristle-feeding mechanism at a bristle-feeding station which operates independently of the wire feeding mechanism but which is controlled to operate in timed sequence with the wires being fed through the bristle-feeding station. An electrically controlled power transmission means may be employed having input means coupled to a source of power and output means releasably coupled to the input means, the output means being coupled to the bristle-feeding mechanism. Means for sensing increments of linear travel of the wires is provided, which sensing means is coupled to a counting means preset to a predetermined number of counts corresponding to a given length of the moving wires, the counting means being also coupled to the electrically operable transmission means via an actuating circuit to control the starting and stopping of said releasably coupled output shaft.

In the preferred embodiment provision is made for a bristle-feeding station and means for feeding a pair of wires to the bristle-feeding station comprising means for storing bristles and a bristle-feeding wheel mounted on a rotatable shaft for feeding bristles from the storage means and depositing them between the pair of wires passing through the station. Means for driving the wires is also provided independent of the bristle-feeding wheel. The bristle-feeding wheel is coupled to the output shaft of an electrically controlled clutch-brake power transmission means having a rotatable input shaft coupled to a source of power the output shaft being releasably coupled to the input shaft. A sensing means is provided, for example, a photoelectric circuit, for sensing increments of linear travel of the wires during a brush-making operation, the sensing means being coupled to counting means which is preset to record a predetermined number of counts corresponding to a given length of moving wire. The counting means is coupled to a clutch-brake actuating circuit which in turn is coupled to the clutch-brake mechanism, which actuating circuit upon receiving a signal from the counting means is adapted to disconnect the output shaft from the input shaft and to brake the output shaft and thereby intermittently stop the bristle-feeding wheel. The counter automatically resets itself at the end of each counting cycle while at the same time actuates the clutchbrake actuating circuit to cause the output shaft of the clutch-brake mechanism to be re-coupled to the input shaft thereof.

In FIG. 1, we show schematically one embodiment of a continuous brush-making machine utilizing our invention. Wires and 11 are preferably, although not necessarily, driven from storage reels (not shown) to bristlefeeding station designated generally by the numeral 12 by means of friction drive rollers 13 and 14 which are rotated by means not shown in synchronism with each other to produce a desired wire feed rate. Friction drive rollers 13 and 14 are pressed against their respective wires, the wires being supported by idler rollers 15 and 16. The wires are delivered to groovedfeeder wheels at the bristlefeeding station. Thus, wire 10 is guided by an additional idler roller 17 to a wire-feeding drum 18, the wire passing around a peripheral portion of the wheel and emerges from the bristle-feeding station as shown. Similarly, wire 11 is guided by idler roller 19 about a wire feeding drum hidden from view by bristle-feeding wheel 20 which has bristle-carrying slots 21 located along its periphery. Wire 11 leaves its corresponding drum and emerges from the bristle-feeding station in adjacent relationship to wire 10. A hopper 22 is provided containing bristles which are removed by the slots of bristle-feeding wheel 20 and deposited between wires 10 and 11.

Bristle-feeding wheel 20 is independently actuated via a rotatable shaft 121 which passes through a hollow shaft 104 (note FIG. 5) upon which the wire drum hidden from view is mounted. Wheel 20 is driven at a predetermined speed to lay bristles between wires 10 and 11 at a desired rate, which is dependent on the wire feed rate and the bristle density desired in the finished product. Since the object is to produce continuously a brush in which the bristles are laid down in spaced groups as shown in FIG. 2, which shows brush elements 25 separated by bare wires 26, the bristle-feeding wheel is controlled to deliver bristles at a series of spaced charges or groups. The wires with the bristles held and supported therebetween pass through a pre-twist station 27 comprising a hollow cylindrical body 28 driven by a V belt 29 or other suitable transmission means, e.g., gears, via driving means 30. Within the hollow body is provided twisting means (to be described later) for applying a partial twist to the wires.

The wires laden with bristles then pass through a finish twisting station 31 comprising a hollow body 31a also driven by a V belt 32 or other suitable means via driving means 33. The brush body with spaced bristles 25 moves to a cutting station 34 Where the brush elements are separated by severing the brush body at a predetermined point on bare wires 26.

As stated hereinabove, while the bristle-feeding wheel is driven at a predetermined speed dependent on the wire feed rate and the bristle density desired in the final product, it is preferably powered independently of the wire feed means. In order to obtain the desired spacing of bristle groups between the wires, the stopping of the bristlefeeding Wheel is determined by a counter which is coupled to a sensing mechanism, e.g., a photoelectric circuit, which measures the amount of linear travel of the wire corresponding to predetermined length. A system which may be employed is that depicted schematically in FIG. 4. There a counter Wheel 35 is shown having evenly spaced radial elements 36 projecting outwardly from the periphery of the wheel. The wheel is mounted on a shaft 37 which may be the shaft common to one of the wire feeding means, or the shaft may be driven via transmission means coupled to the wire feeding shaft so that the rotary movement of counter wheel 35 is related to the linear movement of the wire. Photoelectric means 38 is arranged to form a line of sight transverse of moving elements 36 of the counter wheel, the speed of the Wheel being such that each time an element 36 interrupts the line of sight of the photoelectric means, a count is recorded on counter 39 corresponding to a unit length of brush moving past the bristle-feeding station. As will be appreciated the counter may be any conventional type counter well known in the art.

Assuming that each interrupting element 36 is moving at a speed past the photoelectric cell corresponding to onesixteenth of an inch of moving wire and the overall length L (FIG. 2) of the brush including the bare wire is 12 inches long of which 5 inches is the bare wire and 7 inches the brush element, the total count for a brush would be 16x12 or 192 counts of which 112 counts is for the brush element and counts for the bare wire. The counter 39 is accordingly set to register a total count of 192. During the first 112 counts corresponding to the brush element, the bristle-feeding Wheel 40 shown in FIG. 4 is turning,

wheel 40 being coupled via a V belt 41 to output shaft 42 1 of clutch-brake mechanism 45 via pulleys 43 and 44. The clutch-brake has an input shaft 46 and pulley 47 coupled to a source of power not shown. When the 113th count is recorded the counter sends a signal to the clutch-brake actuating circuit 48 which causes output shaft 42 to be decoupled from input shaft 46 and braked whereby bristlefeeding wheel 40 is caused to stop. When the total count reaches 192, clutch-brake actuating circuit 48 is again activated via a signal from the counter circuit to cause output shaft 42 to be coupled to input shaft 46 and cause bristlefeeding wheel 40 to rotate. Simultaneously, the counter circuit automatically resets itself for another 192 count cycle. The foregoing cycle is repeated until a brush-making run is completed.

A clutch-brake mechanism which we have found advantageous for our purpose is that shown in FIG. 3. There the figure shows releasable output shaft 49 supported on bearings (not shown) coaxially mounted relative to input shaft 50also supported on bearings (not shown). Surrounding the shafts are a pair of armatures 51 and 52 supported on legs 51a, 52a, respectively. Armature 51 which surrounds input shaft 50 has an annular shoulder 53 extending at substantially right angles therefrom to provide a space within the armature to receive a metal disc 54 of magnetic material which is keyed to the input shaft as shown.

Armature 52 similarly has an annular shoulder 55 which defines a space within the armature which has fixed in it a braking disc 56 of magnetic material. Output shaft 49 is splined at 57 and has slidingly mounted on the splines a magnetic rotor disc 58 which is keyed to enable it to rotate when the shaft rotates. Shaft 49 is additionally splined at its free end 59 and has slidingly mounted on the splines a rotor disc 60 which is also keyed to enable it to rotate with the shaft. Lead wires 61 and 62 are provided for coupling the armatures to the clutch-brake actuating circuit.

In order to couple input shaft 50 to output shaft 49, armature 51 is activated whereby lines of force are set up as showing and magnetic disc 60 on splines 59 is attracted to magnetic plate or friction disc 54 and held magnetically to it until the armature is deactivated. To stop the output shaft from rotating, armature 51 is deactivated to decouple input shaft 50 from output shaft 49. Simultaneously with this operation, armature 52 is activated to draw magnetic disc 58 to braking disc 56 so that the rotation of the output shaft is stopped.

Referring to FIG. 5, an exploded perspective is shown of one form of continuous brush-making machine similar to the type shown in the US. Patent No. 3,160,440. FIG. 5 shows a heavy duty motor 65 coupled via a V-belt drive or other suitable drive means to pulley 67 on shaft 66 having transmission pulleys 68, 69 and 70 mounted thereon. Pulley 70 is in turn coupled to pulley 71 via V-belt 72, pulley 71 being mounted on shaft 73 which in turn has pulley 74 which is coupled to pulley 75 mounted on hollow cylinder 76 through which a twisted wire brush product is adapted to travel as will be described later.

Pulleys 68 and 69 are likewise coupled to several other shafts, pulley 69 being coupled to shaft 77 via pulley 78 and pulley 68 being coupled to shaft 79 via pulley 80. Shaft 79 is coupled via pulley 81 to the rotatable hollow cylinder 31 by means of pulley 83 mounted on the cylinder. Cylinder 31 together with cylinder 76 is part of the twisting station.

Shaft 77 is coupled via pulley 84 to pre-twist cylinder 27 by means of pulley 86, said pre-twist cylinder being also part of the twisting station. Thus, summarizing the foregoing, driving means are provided for the twisting station which includes a pre-twist section 27 Where the wires are partially twisted to lock the bristles in place, a finish twist section where the wires are given a final twist and a feeding section 76 containing within it a helical element 76a which provides a pulling force on the wires by coaction with the bristles as the brush product travels therethrough to supplement the feeding of the wires at the bristle-feeding station to be described later.

In addition to supplying power to the wire twisting station, the motor also supplies power to the wire feeding means and to the bristle-feeding mechanism. Thus, pulley 87 is provided on shaft 77 which is coupled to a pulley 88 connected to the input side of a variable speed device 89 having a pulley 90 or equivalent transmission means on the output side of the device coupled to input pulley 91 of transmission unit 92. The purpose of the variable speed device is to enable varying the wire speed to suit a particular set of circumstances.

Output pulley 93 of transmission unit 92 is coupled to shaft 94 via pulley 95. This shaft and its mounted pulleys is used to drive the wire feed rollers and the bristlefeeding wheel as will be apparent from FIG. 5. Pulley 96 of shaft 94 is coupled to pulley 97 .on shaft 98 which in turn has mounted on it friction wire drive roller 99 which is in peripheral contact with wire idler roller 100 mounted on idler shaft 101.

Shaft 94 also has pulley 102 mounted thereon which is in turn coupled to pulley 103 mounted on hollow shaft 104, which shaft is in turn coupled via pulley -5 to pulley 106 mounted on drive shaft 107 of friction wire.

drive roller 108. Drive roller 108 is in peripheral contact with wire idler roller 169 mounted on idler shaft 110.

Mounted on hollow shaft 104 is drive gear 111 which meshes with gear 112 mounted on shaft 113 having wire feeding drum 114 coaxially mounted thereon. Hollow shaft 104 has corresponding wire feeding drum 115, said drums 114 and 115 being closely and peripherally adjacent each other. Thus, wire fed between wire rollers 108 and 109 is brought around a circular portion of drum 115 and out towards pre-twist station 85. Similarly wire fed between wire rollers 99 and 100 is brought up and around a circular portion of wire drum 18 and out towards said twisting station.

In addition to supplying power to the Wire feeding mechanism, shaft 94 also supplies power to the clutchbrake device coupled to the shaft of the bristle feeding wheels. Thus, pulley 116 is provided on shaft 94 which is coupled to the input side of clutch-brake device 117 via pulley 118. The clutch-brake device may be of the type shown in FIG. 3. A pulley 119 is provided on the output side of the clutch-brake device which is coupled to pulley 120 mounted on shaft 121 which passes through hollow shaft 104 and to which bristle-feeding wheel 20 containing bristle-feeding slots 21 is mounted. For purposes of clarity, bristle-feeding wheel 20 is shown displaced from wire drum 115. Actually, the wheel in operation is positioned adjacent the face of the drum. The position of the wheel relative to both drums 114 and 115 is such that the bristles received in the slots extend sufiiciently transversely thereof so as to extend between the two wire drums and be deposited between the wire being drawn 0d the drums.

The sensing means for detecting increments of linear travel of the Wires maybe associated with one of the wire feeding means since the wire feeding means of both wires are in synchrony with each other. Referring to FIG. 5, the sensing means is shown associated with shaft 107 of wire drive roller 108. Mounted on shaft 107 is a drive pulley 124 which is coupled to driven pulley 127 mounted on shaft 126. Also mounted on shaft 126 is a counter wheel 128 having evenly spaced radial elements or interrupters 129 projecting outwardly from the periphery of the wheel. Located transversely of the periphery of the wheel is a photoelectric sensor 130a, 13012 which is coupled to a counter 13-1, which counter is coupled to clutchbrake actuating circuit 132, said circuit being in turn coupled to clutch-brake mechanism 117 as indicated by the arrowed lines.

Depending on the speed ratio between wire drive shaft 107 and counter wheel shaft 126, each of the radial elements or interrupters 129 on counter wheel 128 will rep resent an increment of linear travel of the wire as each counter wheel element interrupts the line of sight of photo electric sensing means 130a, 13%. As has been stated earlier with regard to FIG. 4, assuming each moving counter element represents one-sixteenth of an inch of travel of each of the wires, the rotary movement of the counter wheel may be related to a given length of wire. For a length say of 12 inches, the total number of counts, would be 192. Assuming 5 inches of the wire will contain no bristles, then (the count for bare wire would be 80 and for the brush portion 112. The counter 131, which may be any conventional counter well known in the art, will record the total number of counts and at the 192ml count reset itself to zero and start counting anew. During the first 112 counts corresponding -to the brush portions of the product, the output side of the clutch-brake mechanism is operating to actuate bristle-feeding wheel 20. At the 113th count, the counter sends a signal to the clutch-brake actuating circuit 132 which causes the output side of the clutch-brake mechanism to stop and prevent bristles from being deposited between the wires until the 192nd count is reached, at which time another signal is sent to the clutch-brake actuating circuit to repeat the cycle.

Wire drums 18 and 115- shown in FIG. 5 correspond generally to wire drum 18 and the drum hidden from view by bristle-feeding wheel 20 in FIG. 1. The bristle-laden Wire's issuing from drums 18, 115 of FIG. 5 pass through pre-twist section or hollow cylinder 27 where a partial twist is applied to the wires. The hollow cylinder 27 may be of the type shown in FIG. 6 designated by the numeral 135 which contains a pair of rods 1'36, 137 rigidly mounted via bent legs to the internal wall of the cylinder. The cylinder may be rotated via a V-belt drive 138 or other means coupled to a source of power not shown. As the bristleladen wires pass through the rotating cylinder, the rods contact the bristles and apply a force couple which results in a first increment of twist of one wire about the other with the bristles locked therebetween. A finish twist is then applied by passing the partially twisted wire product through cylinder 139 (or cylinder 31 of FIG. 5) having a screw or helical structure 140 rigidly mounted coaxially within it via radially extending anchoring means 141, the cylinder similarly being rotated by means of a V-belt drive or other equivalent means.

The rotating screw assembly shown in FIG. 6 rotates independent of and faster than the rotating rod assembly and applies a desired final twist to the pair of wires by applying a force to the bristles held between the wires. A similar helical screw may be employed in cylinder 76 of FIG. 5 to act as a linear feeder to supplement the wire feed to drums 18 and 115. Thus, as the finally twisted product passes through the screw assembly of cylinder 76, a linear pulling force is applied on the product to keep it in slight tension.

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications 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. In a brush making machine, an intermittently operable bristle-feeding means comprising, a bristle-feeding station, means for feeding a pair of wires to said bristlefeeding station, said bristle-feeding station comprising bristle storage means and a bristle-feeding means for feeding bristles from said storage means to between the wires, means for sensing increments of linear travel of said wires during a brush-making operation, means coupled to said sensing means for counting said sensed increments, and an actuating circuit coupled to said counting means and to said bristle-feeding means and producing an electrical signal in accordance with a predetermined count corresponding to the linear travel of said wires, said bristle feeding means being responsive to said signal to prevent the feeding of bristles between said wires according to said predetermined count while the wires are being fed to and past said bristle feeding station.

2. In a continuous brush making machine, an intermittently operable bristle-feeding means comprising, a bristle feeding station, means for feeding a pair of wires to said bristle-feeding station, said bristle feeding station comprising bristle storage means and a bristle feeding means for feeding bristles from said storage means to between said wires, means for sensing increments of linear travel of said wires during a brush-making operation, means coupled to said sensing means for counting said sensed increments, and an actuating means coupled and responsive to said counting means and coupled to said bristle feeding means for starting and stopping said bristle feeding mechanism in accordance with a predetermined count While said wires are continuously fed to and past said bristle feeding station.

3. In a brush-making machine, an intermittently operable bristle-feeding means which comprises, a bristlefeeding station, means for feeding a pair of wires to said bristle-feeding station said bristle-feeding station comprising means for storing bristles and a bristle-feeding means for discharging bristles from said bristle-storing means to between said pair of wires passing therethrough, power transmission means releasably coupled to said bristle-feeding means, means for sensing increments of linear travel of said wires during a brush-making operation, means coupled to said sensing means for counting said sensed increments, and an actuating circuit coupled to said counting means and to said power transmission means and producing an electrical signal in accordance with a predetermined count corresponding to the linear travel of said wires, said power transmission means being responsive to said signal in starting and stopping said bristlefeeding means, while the wires are being fed to and past said bristle-feeding station.

4. In a brush-making machine, an intermittently operable bristle-feeding means which comprises, a bristlefeeding station, means for feeding a pair of wires to said bristle-feeding station, said bristle-feeding station comprising means for storing bristles and a bristle-feeding wheel mounted on a rotatable shaft for discharging bristles from said bristle-storing means to between said pair of wires passing therethrough, transmission means releasably coupled to the shaft of said bristle-feeding wheel, means for sensing increments of linear travel of said wires during a brush-making operation, means coupled to said sensing means for counting said sensed increments, and an actuating circuit coupled to said counting means and to said power transmission means and producing an electrical signal in accordance with a predetermined count corresponding to the linear travel of said wires, said power transmission means being responsive to said signal in starting and stopping the rotation of said bristle feeding wheel while the wires are being fed to and past said bristle feeding station.

5. In a brush-making machine, an intermittently operable bristle-feeding mechanism which comprises, a bristlefeeding station, means for feeding a pair of wires to said bristle-feeding station, said bristle-feeding station comprising means for storing bristles and a bristle-feeding wheel mounted on a rotatable shaft for discharging bristles from said bristle-storing means to between said pair of wires passing therethrough, means for driving said wirefeeding means independent of said bristle-feeding wheel, power transmission means releasably coupled to the shaft of said bristle-feeding wheel, means for sensing increments of linear travel of said wires during a brush-making operation, and means coupled to said sensing means for counting said sensed increments, and an actuating circuit coupled to said counting means and to said power transmission means and producing an electrical signal in accordance with a predetermined count corresponding to the linear travel of said wires, said power transmission means being responsive to said signal in starting and stopping the rotation of said bristle-feeding wheel while the wires are being fed to and past said bristle-feeding station.

6. In a continuous brush-making machine, an intermittently operable bristle-feeding mechanism which comprises, a bristle-feeding station, means for feeding a pair of wires to said bristle-feeding station, said bristle-feeding station comprising means for storing bristles and a bristlefeeding wheel mounted on a rotatable shaft for discharging bristles from said bristle-storing means to between said pair of wires passing therethrough, an electrically operable clutch-brake power transmission means having a rotatable input shaft coupled to a source of power and a rotatable output shaft releasably coupled to said input shaft, said output shaft being coupled to the shaft of said bristle-feeding wheel, photoelectric means for sensing increments of linear travel of said wires during a brush-making operation, means coupled to said sensing means for counting said sensed increments, and an actuating circuit coupled to said counting means and to said power transmission means and producing an electrical signal in accordance with a predetermined count corresponding to the linear travel of the wire, said actuating circuit being adapted to stop the rotation of the output shaft of the clutch-brake means and hence the rotation of the bristle-feeding wheel for a predetermined time until a given length of the wires has passed the bristle-feeding station without bristles therebetween.

7. In a continuous brush-making machine, an intermittently operable bristle-feeding mechanism which comprises, a bristle-feeding station, means for feeding a pair of wires to said bristle-feeding station, said bristle-feeding station comprising means for storing bristles and a bristlefeeding wheel mounted on a rotatable shaft for discharging bristles from said bristle-storing means to between said pair of wires passing therethrough, means for driving said wire-feeding means independent of said bristle-feeding wheel, an electrically operable clutch-brake power transmission means having a rotatable input shaft coupled to a source of power and a rotatable output shaft releasably coupled to said input shaft, said output shaft being coupled to the shaft of said bristle-feeding wheel, photoelectric means for sensing increments of linear travel of said wires during a brush-making operation, means coupled to said sensing means for counting said sensed increments, and an actuating circuit coupled to said counting means and to said power transmission means and producing an electrical signal in accordance with a predetermined count corresponding to the linear travel of the wire, said actuating circuit being adapted to stop the rotation of the output shaft of the clutch-brake means and hence the rotation of the bristle-feeding wheel for a predetermined time until a given length of the wires has passed the bristle-feeding station without bristles therebetween.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,712,473 7/1955 Hertzberg 300-2 2,742,327 4/1956 Marks 300--2 3,140,122 7/1964 Spiegel 3002 WILLIAM W. DYER, Jr., Primary Examiner. G. Y. OUSTER, Jr., Examiner.

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