Apparatus for continuous manufacture of cylindrical brushes

Claim 1

In apparatus for manufacture of cylindrical brushes comprising: a. a bristle hopper for holding and supplying bristles, b. a pair of wire guide jaws for guiding two wires to parallel, proximate positions, for travel of the wires away from the guide jaws in said positions, c. feeder means-receiving bristles from the hopper and depositing them between said wires so that bristles are carried by the wires during said travel of the wires away from the guide jaws, d. a rotatably mounted hollow cylinder coaxial with the path of said travel of the wires, for receiving the wires carrying the bristles away from said guide jaws, and outfitted with brushforming means for drawing the wires away from the guide jaws and effecting twisting of the wires upon rotation of the cylinder to secure the bristles between the wires, e. means for rotating said cylinder, the improvement in said brush forming means which comprises: f. opposed cooperating endless conveyor belts mounted in the cylinder for rotation therewith, means for driving the conveyor belts for said cooperation thereof, said conveyor belts carrying gripper blades at spaced intervals positioned for cooperation of the gripper blades of the two belts to engage the wires at spaced intervals for the twisting thereof in response to rotation of the cylinder, and drawing the wires away from the guide jaws.