Device and method for manufacturing round brushes

Abstract

Device for manufacturing round brushes having bristles (58) clamped between two wire sections of a folded wire (30), comprising a feeding station and a subsequent post-processing station (72), wherein • the feeding station is designed such that in the feeding station a fed wire (30) is bent transversely to its longitudinal direction between two opposing, spaced-apart counter-holders (44), and the feeding station has a bristle feeding device (56) for feeding bristles (58) to the bent wire (30) as well as a rotating gripper (60) which can grasp the bent wire (30) and twist it during the feeding of bristles (58) in order to anchor the bristles (58) in the wire (30), and • the post-processing station (72) is designed such that the twisted wire (30) can be inserted into it, it further twists the wire (30) and cuts the bristles (58) on the outside, and the post-processing station (72) has a stationary gripper (80) that can grasp the free ends of the twisted wire halves, wherein the device (10) has a rotatable base (76) to which several rotatable grippers (60) are attached, and by rotating the base (76) a rotatable gripper (60) together with the freshly twisted wire (30) can be transferred from the feed station to the post-processing station (72), where the freshly twisted wire (30) can be grasped by the stationary gripper (80) provided in the post-processing station (72), wherein the rotatable gripper (60) can be set in rotation for further twisting, and wherein a milling cutter or a knife (70) is provided for cutting the bristles (58) on the outside.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device and a method for manufacturing round brushes.

[0002] Round brushes are manufactured by first folding a wire and then clamping bristles between the twisting wire halves during a twisting process.

[0003] Such devices operate at extremely high speeds, and the wire, which is in a linear form, must first be bent slightly in the middle so that a rotating gripper can grasp it. The linear sections of the wire that are not yet bent are drawn into the twisting area via deflection devices, because the rotating gripper is usually also moved linearly, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bent wire, thus requiring a wire feed.

[0004] From the publication DE 10 2011 015 060 B4, a device for manufacturing round brushes is known, the brushes having bristles clamped between two halves of a folded wire, the device comprising a feeding station and a subsequent finishing station, the feeding station being designed such that in the feeding station a fed wire is bent transversely to its longitudinal direction between two opposing, spaced-apart counter-holders, the feeding station comprising a bristle feeding device for feeding bristles to the bent wire and a rotating gripper that can grasp the bent wire and twist it during the feeding of bristles in order to anchor the bristles in the wire, and the finishing station being designed such that the twisted wire can be inserted into it.

[0005] From US patent 2,483,627 A, a device for manufacturing round brushes, which have bristles clamped between two halves of a folded wire, is known, wherein the device has a feeding station and a subsequent finishing station, wherein the feeding station is designed such that in the feeding station a fed wire is bent transversely to its longitudinal direction between two opposing, spaced-apart counter-holders, wherein the feeding station has a bristle feeding device for feeding bristles to the bent wire as well as a rotating gripper that can grasp the bent wire and twist it during the feeding of bristles in order to anchor the bristles in the wire, and wherein the finishing station is designed such that the twisted wire can be inserted into it, this cuts the bristles on the outside and the finishing station has a stationary gripper.

[0006] From the publication DE 199 63 600 B4, a device for manufacturing round brushes, which have bristles clamped between two wire halves of a folded wire, is known, wherein the device has a post-processing station, and wherein the post-processing station is designed in such a way that a twisted wire can be inserted into it, this further twists the wire, this cuts the bristles on the outside and the post-processing station has a stationary gripper.

[0007] The object of the invention is to provide a device and a method for manufacturing round brushes that enable a high cycle rate.

[0008] This problem is solved by the independent claims.

[0009] A post-processing station is provided into which the twisted wire can be inserted and which further twists the wire and / or cuts the bristles on the outside.

[0010] A particularly effective device is achieved because the finishing station has a stationary gripper that can grasp the free ends of the wire halves. The device is rotatable or swiveling; for example, it has a rotating base to which several rotating grippers are attached. By rotating the device, a rotating gripper that has just been used, along with the wire it is still gripping, is transferred from a feed station (the station with the counter-holder and drive rollers) to the finishing station. There, the wire is gripped by the stationary gripper, and the rotating gripper can be set in motion for further twisting. Alternatively, the stationary gripper can, of course, be released, i.e., set in motion along the wire by the rotating gripper, so that a knife can be moved along the outside of the wire to cut off the bristles.

[0011] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and from the following drawings, to which reference is made.

[0012] The drawings show: - Fig. 1 a schematic view of a device according to the invention for producing round busts, - Fig. 2 the counterholder including the bending part used in the device according to the invention, - Fig. 3 the rotating gripper when first grasping the bent wire, - Fig. 4 a subsequent step in which the gripper has already twisted part of the wire, - Fig. 5 a subsequent step in the device according to the invention, in which the round brush is almost completely rotated, - Fig. 6 the device according to the invention, which in this embodiment is equipped with a post-processing station, and - Fig. 7 another variant of the device according to the invention, in which the post-processing station is equipped with a milling cutter or counter-knife for processing the bristles.

[0013] In Fig. Figure 1 shows a device 10 for manufacturing round brushes. For this purpose, a stylized wire reservoir 12 is provided, from which wire is drawn and fed into the device. In the wire feed direction, a motor-driven auxiliary drive roller 14 and a counter roller 16, forming an auxiliary drive roller pair, are provided. One or both rollers can be driven. The wire is fed between rollers 14 and 16. After the auxiliary drive roller pair, an adjustable blade 18 is provided, which cuts off a sufficiently long piece of wire, as will be explained later.

[0014] A guide 20 serves as a counter-blade and simultaneously guides the wire. Following the guide 20, a first pair of drive rollers is arranged, comprising a first motor-driven drive roller 22 and a counter roller 24, which hold the wire between them. A second pair of drive rollers, spaced significantly apart, comprises a second motor-driven drive roller 26 and a counter roller 28, which hold the free end of the wire 30 and move it, for example, to a stop 32. As indicated by arrows 34, the stop 32 is adjustable to allow for variable adjustment of the wire length between the blade 18 and the stop 32.

[0015] The wire 30 runs linearly between the first and second drive roller pairs and also to the auxiliary drive roller pair, as shown in Fig. 1 is clearly visible.

[0016] The following devices are provided to bend the wire 30. A device transverse to the wire's longitudinal direction or wire longitudinal extension (linear extension in the unstuck state according to Fig. 1) The reciprocating bending part 38 has a pin 40.

[0017] This pin 40 faces the wire 30. On the side of the wire opposite the pin 40, i.e., opposite the pin, a one-piece bending jaw 42 is provided, comprising two spaced-apart counter-holders 44, which are integrally connected to each other by a web 46 and form a gap 48 between them. The free ends of the counter-holders each extend over an arc 50, which spans substantially 90°, from the longitudinal direction of the wire 30 to the gap 48, where the arc then transitions substantially into a section that runs at 90° to the longitudinal direction of the wire 30.

[0018] Furthermore, two deflection devices 52, 54 are provided, which are adjustable in one or more directions and are also located between the drive roller pairs. These deflection devices 52, 54 are used, as will be explained later, for twisting the wire.

[0019] A bristle feed device 56 is symbolically represented, which carries bristles 58 that are successively picked up and clamped between the wire halves that are formed.

[0020] Both the counterholders 44, i.e. the entire bending jaw 56, and the deflection devices 52, 54 are movable, so that they come into action one after the other and are acted upon one after the other by the wire 30 to control its bending.

[0021] In Fig. 1. The motor-driven deflection devices 52, 54 are disengaged from the wire and not in operation. However, the counter-holders 44 are in operation, as shown in Fig. 2 will be explained.

[0022] From the in Fig. In the position shown in Figure 1, the bending part 38 is moved towards the bending jaw 46 in the direction of the arrow, so that the pin 40 grips the wire in the area of ​​its center, i.e., with respect to its longitudinal extent, and presses it between the counter supports 44, as shown in Figure 1. Fig. 2, shown above. Since the pin 40 is designed to be complementary to the recess or gap 48, the shape of the bent or folded section of the wire 30 is produced very precisely (see Fig. 2) Subsequently, both the bending part 38 and the bending jaw 42 with the counter supports 44 are moved outwards, as shown in Fig. 2, below, shown with the arrows. The wire 30 then has a bend or kink in its middle.

[0023] After the lateral movement of the bending jaw 42, it is preferably also moved into or out of the plane of the drawing to clear the way for a laterally positioned gripper 60, which can be rotated by a motor and is also motor-driven along a guide 62. The guide 62 extends essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the wire 30, always with respect to the state of the wire in Fig. 1.

[0024] The gripper grasps the so-called eye 64, i.e. the bend or flex point at its tip, and clamps it.

[0025] Before or after the gripper 60 grasps the eye 64, the deflection devices 52, 54 are moved into their operating position according to Fig. 3 procedure. This working position corresponds to the working position of the counterholder 44 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 above.

[0026] The deflection devices 52, 54 can also be moved from the side, i.e. in the drawing plane or out of the drawing plane.

[0027] The deflection devices 52, 54 are designed with an arc-shaped bending surface 66, which acts as a sliding surface and along which the wire is drawn when the gripper 60 sets the eye 64 in rotation and simultaneously pulls it to the right in the direction of the arrow (see Fig. 3) Then the linear wire sections of the two wire halves move along their arc-shaped bending surfaces 66 and are drawn into the space between the deflection devices 52, 54 and are also bent in the process.

[0028] The arc-shaped bending surface thus extends over essentially 90°.

[0029] Additionally, lateral limiters, represented by rollers, may be present here to prevent the wire from slipping off the respective bending surface 66.

[0030] Then, according to Fig. 4. The wire is pulled further, at the same time it is twisted, and at the same time the bristles are inserted between the wire halves and clamped there during twisting.

[0031] During the twisting process, the drive rollers 22, 26 are set in motion, pushing wire material from the two unbent ends of the wire halves towards each other in the direction of the deflection devices 52, 54 and thus towards the gripper 60 that pulls the wire. This is necessary because the feed force of the gripper for wire extraction is too low to overcome the friction of the wire on the bending surfaces 66 itself.

[0032] The drive for rotating the gripper 60 is, in particular, torque-controlled and can be achieved by a servo motor. Furthermore, preferably all driven drive rollers also utilize servo motors whose speed can be very precisely adjusted.

[0033] When inserting the wire into Fig. 1 Furthermore, care is taken to ensure that the circumferential speed of the drive rollers 22, 26 is the same as the circumferential speed of the auxiliary drive roller 40, in order to avoid any compression or pulling of the wire 30.

[0034] The deflection devices 52, 56 are very simple in design, they contain hardened surfaces, are therefore very easy to manufacture from steel and above all very robust.

[0035] This also applies to the bending part and the bending jaws. These parts are also very easy to manufacture, and above all, they are very easy to adapt to the desired optimal shape. Not every wire needs to have an identically shaped eye; rather, it makes sense to design this eye optimally, depending on the wire thickness, etc. This adaptation is achieved by optimally designed pins 40 and counter supports 44 with gap 48.

[0036] In Fig. Figure 5 shows the end of the twisting process. Up to this point, the drive rollers 22 and 26 have pushed the wire towards the gripper 60 until the wire comes out of engagement with it.

[0037] What is special about the device is that the twisting with gripper 40 does not extend to the final twisted state of the round brush. Instead, a very loosely twisted spiral is created, which is then further twisted to achieve the necessary and desired twist of the wire halves and to create the correct tension. It is just sufficient that the bristles do not fall out of the twisted wire before the round brush is finished.

[0038] The device can optionally be equipped with a post-processing station where, for example, the bristles are cut (see Fig. 7), where a milling cutter or a knife 70 is moved along the almost finished brush while it is rotated. In addition, further twisting can also take place in the finishing station, which bears the reference numeral 72, as already indicated.

[0039] To avoid having to re-twist the wire, the device has a rotatable guide, for example a drum, on which the gripper 60 is movable. A base 76 is shown here, which moves along the guide 74. The gripper 60 is then moved longitudinally along the base 76. Several rotatable grippers 60 are mounted on the guide 74 and can be indexed into and out of different stations. Fig. Station 6, the upper station, is the feed station, which is specifically designed with regard to Fig. As explained in section 1, an intermediate holder 78 holds the free end of the twisted wire when it has been pulled out of the deflection devices 52, 54. The device is then rotated, i.e., the guide 74 or the base 76 itself is rotated, so that the rotatable gripper 60, along with the intermediate holder 78 and the wire 30, enters a post-processing station 72. A stationary gripper 80 is located here, which grasps the free ends of the wire 30. The gripper 80 can be moved in the linear direction, as shown in the Fig. 6 and Fig. Figure 7 shows that once gripper 80 has grasped the free ends, gripper 60 can rotate again, allowing twisting to occur. Of course, gripper 80 could also rotate; this is even advantageous for subsequent processing by cutting.

[0040] While the brush is being completed in post-processing station 72, the next brush is already being manufactured in the feeding station.

Claims

[1] Device for manufacturing round brushes having bristles (58) clamped between two wire sections of a folded wire (30), comprising a feed station and a subsequent finishing station (72), wherein • the feeding station is designed such that in the feeding station a fed wire (30) is bent transversely to its longitudinal direction between two opposing, spaced-apart counter-holders (44), and the feeding station has a bristle feeding device (56) for feeding bristles (58) to the bent wire (30) as well as a rotating gripper (60) which can grasp the bent wire (30) and twist it during the feeding of bristles (58) in order to anchor the bristles (58) in the wire (30), and • the post-processing station (72) is designed such that the twisted wire (30) can be inserted into it, it further twists the wire (30) and cuts the bristles (58) on the outside, and the post-processing station (72) has a stationary gripper (80) that can grasp the free ends of the twisted wire halves, wherein the device (10) has a rotatable base (76) to which several rotatable grippers (60) are attached, and by rotating the base (76) a rotatable gripper (60) together with the freshly twisted wire (30) can be transferred from the feed station to the post-processing station (72), where the freshly twisted wire (30) can be grasped by the stationary gripper (80) provided in the post-processing station (72), wherein the rotatable gripper (60) can be set in rotation for further twisting, and wherein a milling cutter or a knife (70) is provided for cutting the bristles (58) on the outside. [2] Device according to claim 1,characterized by , that a guide (74) is provided at the base (76) on which the rotatable gripper (60) can be moved longitudinally by motor. [3] Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the stationary gripper (80) is designed in such a way that it rotates during post-processing by cutting. [4] Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that an intermediate holder (78) for the free end of the twisted wire (30) is provided in the feed station, which is rotated into the post-processing station (72) together with the wire (30) and the rotatable gripper (60). [5] Device according to claim 4, characterized by , that the intermediate support (78) holds the wire (30) when it is pulled out between deflecting devices (52, 54) between which it is bent by pulling. [6] Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the cutter or knife (70) is moved along the almost finished brush while it is twisted. [7] Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the stationary gripper (80) in the post-processing station (72) can be moved in the linear direction. [8] Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the rotatable gripper (60) is arranged so that it grips the bent wire (30) at its kink or bend point. [9] Method for producing round brushes having bristles (58) clamped between two wire sections of a folded wire (30), characterized by the following steps: • In a feeding station, a fed wire (30) is bent transversely to its longitudinal direction between two opposing, spaced-apart counterholders (44) and twisted by means of a rotating gripper (60), whereby bristles (58) are fed to the bent wire (30) during the twisting process to anchor them in the wire (30), and • The twisted wire (30) provided with bristles (58) is transferred to a post-processing station (72) by rotating the gripper (60) which is mounted on a rotatable base (76), where a stationary gripper (80) grasps the free ends of the twisted wire halves, • The rotatable gripper (60) is set in motion in the post-processing station (72) to further twist the wire (30), and • the bristles (58) are then cut on the outside in the post-processing station (72). [10] Method according to claim 9, characterized by, that the rotatable gripper (60) is moved longitudinally along a guide (74) provided at the base. [11] Method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized by , that the stationary gripper (80) rotates during post-processing by cutting. [12] Method according to any one of claims 9-11, characterized by , that the free end of the twisted wire (30) is rotated by an intermediate holder (78) from the feed station to the post-processing station (72). [13] Method according to claim 12, characterized by , that the intermediate support (78) holds the wire (30) when it is pulled out between deflecting devices (52, 54) between which it is bent by pulling. [14] Method according to any one of claims 9-13, characterized by , that the cutter or knife (70) is moved along the almost finished brush while it is twisted. [15] Method according to any one of claims 9-14, characterized by, that the stationary gripper (80) is moved in the linear direction in the post-processing station (72). [16] Method according to any one of claims 9-15, characterized by , that the rotatable gripper (60) grips the bent wire (30) at its kink or bend point.

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