Apparatus and method for bending brush fibers to provide an angled brush

Abstract

An apparatus for bending brush fibers has a rotating shaft with an outer surface along which a flexible backing strip of a brush partially wraps around to dispose fibers extending from the backing strip outwards as such brush travels along the outer surface of the shaft, and an energy delivery head, positioned along the backing strip when curving around the shaft, bends the fibers as the backing strip travels along the outer surface of the shaft. Energy delivered by the head deforms the fibers, when being bent by the head, to retain at least a portion of the fibers bent at an angle to provide an angled brush. The angled brush has fibers each deformed along a region, at a location between the backing strip and the end or tip of the fiber, to bend at the angle from the region to the end or tip of the fiber.

1 . An apparatus for bending brush fibers extending from a backing strip comprising:
 a rotating shaft having a curved circumferential outer surface along which the backing strip of a brush travels to dispose the fibers extending from said backing strip outwards; and   an energy delivery head, positioned along said backing strip when traveling along said shaft, bends said fibers in which energy delivered by said head deforms said fibers, when being bent by said head, to retain at least a portion of said fibers bent at an angle with respect to a longitudinal dimension of the backing strip, wherein said portion for each of said fibers starts at a location between the backing strip and an end or tip of the fiber, and extends to the end or tip of the fiber.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said head has a portion configured to bend and delivery energy to heat each of said fibers as the fiber contacts at least said portion of said head when traveling by said head, responsive to rotation of said shaft, to retain the fiber deformed bent at said angle. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said backing strip wraps at least partially along said curved circumferential outer surface of said shaft while travelling along said shaft. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said energy delivered by said head is ultrasonic energy. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said energy delivered by said head is heat energy. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said shaft has an axis of rotation, said head has a surface with a front edge parallel to said axis of rotation, and at least said front edge of said head bends and heats each of said fibers as the fiber passes by said head to retain the fiber deformed bent at said angle. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 6  wherein said front edge of said head is spaced by a gap from said outer surface of said shaft along which said brush travels, and said angle is at least in accordance with a size of said gap. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said fibers of said brush extend at least substantially upright from said backing strip prior to be bent at said angle to form said brush into an angled brush. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said brush is delivered to said shaft in a first direction and after traveling along said shaft exits said shaft in a second direction. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said head is movable between a down position adjacent said shaft to enable bending of fibers and an up position away from said shaft. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said angle is at or between 10 and 80 degrees, with respect to a longitudinal dimension along which the backing strip extends when horizontally disposed, in accordance with one or more of a size of a gap between the outer surface of the rotating shaft and said head, and a radial position of said head about an axis of rotation of said shaft. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein said backing strip is flexible along at least said longitudinal dimension to enable said backing strip to travel along said outer surface of said shaft. 
     
     
         13 . A method for bending brush fibers extending from a backing strip comprising steps of:
 rotating a shaft having a curved circumferential outer surface along which the backing strip of a brush travels to dispose the fibers extending from said backing strip outwards;   bending said fibers as said backing strip travels along said outer surface of said shaft; and   delivering energy to said fibers when said bending step is being carried out to retain at least a portion of said fibers bent at an angle with respect to a longitudinal dimension of said backing strip.   
     
     
         14 . A brush comprising:
 a plurality of synthetic fibers;   a backing strip having a surface from which each of said plurality of fibers extends a length to an end or tip of the fiber; and   each of said fibers being deformed along a region, at a location between said backing strip and the end or tip of the fiber, to bend at an angle from said region to the end or tip of the fiber, in which said angle is with respect to a longitudinal dimension of said backing strip.   
     
     
         15 . The brush according to  claim 14  wherein said region along each of said fibers is deformed by ultrasonic or heat energy to retain the fiber bent when disposed bent at said angle. 
     
     
         16 . The brush according to  claim 14  wherein said angle is at or between 10 and 80 degrees with respect to said longitudinal dimension of the backing strip. 
     
     
         17 . The brush according to  claim 14  wherein said angle is 20 degrees with respect to said longitudinal dimension of the backing strip. 
     
     
         18 . The brush according to  claim 14  wherein said backing strip is flexible along at least said longitudinal dimension. 
     
     
         19 . The brush according to  claim 14  wherein a same one of said angle is provided along each of said fibers. 
     
     
         20 . The brush according to  claim 14  wherein said backing strip has a width, and said plurality of fibers extend from said surface grouped in rows of different ones of said fibers that at least substantially extend along said width of said backing strip, and every two different ones of said rows are spaced from each other along said longitudinal dimension of said backing strip.