The brush-back A automatically centres itself as regards bringing its holes a successively under the bunch-inserting devices, a conical centre D', worked by the machine, bringing the hole in tho back in precise position to receive the bunch of bristles. The centre D' is crs,nked or crooked in its attachment to a vertical spindle (32 (Fig. 402), which is made capable of a slight up and down motion at intervals, also of a vibratory motion around its axis. The action of the centerer D' is as follows : Being swung to one side out of the way, it first slightly rises, and is then sprung forwards over or in line with the plungers P Q, then descends into the hole in the brush-back and centres the latter relatively to the plungers, after which it rises out of the hole, and is swung back out of the way to make room for the plungers to descend over the centered hole. The swinging motions of the centerer on its vertical spindle o2 sre effected a,t proper intervals by a cam p', working against a lever q2 in oombination with a spring arranged round the spindle o2, the lever q2 (which works on a centre 82) being coupled by a connection P with a crank u2 loose on the spindle a', but in gear with the latter by a pin v' fast to the spindle and slot in the crank. This slot is made at its bottom or on its edge as at x2, whereby, in the swinging of the crank u2, and by the action of the spring, the centerer D' is raised and lowered as required. A stop lever y2, acting against a fixed guide za, and fast on the spindle oa, limits and directs the movements of the centerer.
The apparatus for feeding and passing the wire to and through the perforations 7ri' in the nut s and inner plunger Q are as follows :—E' (Fig. 398) is a reel having the wire b wound upon it, and hung to revolve freely under the draft of the wire from it. F' is the frame of the wiring apparatus (Fig. 403) hung to rock on trunnions a3, projecting from a ring arranged to loosely surround the shaft. The front portion of the frame is forked at c3, and rests on shoulders formed in the outer plunger P, being retained there by the action of a spring, except towards the completion of the down-stroke of the plungers P Q, or after they have moved a certain distance in common, and during a portion of their ascent, when the frame meta upon a fixed stop, e8 (Fig. 396). The object of causing the wiring apparatus to rest by its frame on the plunger P, during the early portion of the descent of the latter in common with the inner plunger Q (which support also occurs during the completion of the up stroke of the outer plunger), is to ensure the entry of the wire b through the perforations m' in the nut s and inner plunger Q, and to avoid stoppage of the plungers when threading or passing the wires through the perforations. The wire b is taken from the reel E' and passed through an oiler 11 on the frame F' (Fig. 403), and thence through straightening eyes or cups g", and through a feeding clamp h3, and eyes or guides i3, on a slide G', which has a reciprocating motion along the frame F', and is guided by slots r3. From this elide G', the wire b
is passed through a clamp 18 on the frame F', through an anvil or cutting block ms, and through a front eye or guide n3, which is in line with the perforations m' in the nut s, where the fork e3 of the frame Ft rests on the shoulders of the outer plunger P. The feed of the wire is established by the forward movement of the slide G' by the clamp 143 till the slide is arrested by a stop ci3, which determines the length of the wire to be cut off after ite projection by the feed through the per forations in' in the nut sand inner plunger Q. A spring p' (Fig. 397) effects the forward or feeding stroke of the slide G', and a cam q' on the shaft, its back movement ; H' is a cutting lever for severing the wire into successive pieces of the requisite length from the forward portion as it is projected through the nut s and outer plunger P; it is worked respectively by a cam r on the shaft C, and by a spring s. The clamp /8 serves to hold on to the Wile b after each cut, and during the back movement of the feeding clamp ha, to keep up the supply. The clamps h3 and P alternately grip the wire, the' former gripping when feeding, but relexing when retiring, and the latter vice versci.
More recently, an additional improvement bas been made io the apparatus for feeding bristles to the machine. To provide for filling the comb with bristles, it is taken out of the machine, and there being duplioate combs, empty ones can be filled while the machine is at work, so that it can ruu without intermission. The novel filling arrangement shown in the accompanying fig-ures enables one workman to serve several machines. Fig. 406 shows a side view of the comb-filler ; and Fig. 407 is a plan of the same. The comb A to be filled is entered vertically from above, within grooved guides bb of a main frame B, secured to the side of a bench. The bristles C are entered transversely within the spaces c c, between the teeth d of the comb, and so as to overhang both sides of the latter in regular order, commencing with the space between the lower teeth, and repeating the filling operation, each tooth space, one above the other in succession, as the comb, controlled by pawls, drops down the grooved guides bb till it is wholly filled, when it is taken out from below for use in the machine, and an empty comb is inserted in the filler. Pivoted at e to the main frame in front, is a narrow lower jaw D, on and along which the bristles C are laid, so that they overhang both sides, being held in position by a fixed upper jaw E, which, with the lower jaw, grips them at about the middle. The introduction of the bristles between the jaws is effected by temporarily depressing the lower one, which is afterwards closed by a spring f.