High speed quarter-folder

A quarter-folder operates at high speed by reducing the leading edge to leading edge distance between successive papers, and continuing to move the papers forward while urging the papers down between folding rolls. The folding rolls are obliquely disposed so that a tucking blade urges a portion of the paper between the rolls, and the angular disposition causes the paper to continue. A plurality of pairs of folding rolls receives a paper for complete folding. Retarding brush rollers will slow the folded paper to be received by a conventional creel.

INFORMATION DISCLOSURE STATEMENT 
With the present day high speed printing presses, it is common to print 
newspaper-sized materials, whether newspapers or advertisements or the 
like, and to fold the sheets in half for delivery, this folding being 
known as a half-fold. For many items, especially the thinner items such as 
advertisements, small daily papers and the like, it is common to fold the 
half-folded paper again so that the paper is quarter-folded. Though many 
pieces are quarter-folded each day, there has never been a quarter-folder 
that operated at a sufficiently high speed to receive the materials 
directly from the press, and to maintain production in series with the 
press. This necessitates the gathering of half-folded papers, transporting 
the half-folded papers to a separate apparatus, and subsequently 
quarter-folding the collected papers. Such a procedure is inefficient in 
use of both men and machines, and a quarter-folder that will operate in 
line with a press is badly needed. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to quarter-folders for newspapers and the 
like, and is more particularly concerned with a high speed quarter-folder 
for receiving papers directly from a high speed press. 
The present invention provides a plurality of pairs of rolls, the axes of 
rotation of all of the pairs of rolls being oblique with respect to the 
path of the incoming paper so that the angle between the paper and the 
axes of the rolls will form an acute angle. Means is provided for tucking 
the center of the incoming paper into the nip between the rolls; and, 
rotation of the rolls will cause continuous forward and downward movement 
of the paper to complete a fold in the paper. 
Depending on the speed of the printing press, it may be necessary to slow 
the paper before the paper enters the folding rolls. For this purpose, the 
paper is received from the printing press on a first vacuum belt, the 
first vacuum belt being operated by speed change means so timed that, when 
a paper is received on the first vacuum belt, the first vacuum belt and 
the newspaper are travelling at the same speed. At the end of travel on 
the first vacuum belt, the newspaper will be travelling at the same speed 
as a second vacuum belt that feeds the papers to the folding rolls. 
Since the quarter-folded papers will be travelling at high speed as they 
emerge from the folding rolls, means may be provided for slowing the speed 
of the newspapers before the papers are received by a creel for ultimate 
delivery to a conveyor belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and to that embodiment of 
the invention here presented by way of illustration, it will be seen in 
FIG. 1 of the drawings that there is a conveyor, or vacuum belt, 10 and a 
plurality of pairs of rolls designated at 11, 12 and 14. Each of the rolls 
11, 12 and 14 has a centerline, and it will be seen that the centerlines 
are equiangular with respect to the belt 10, and all form an acute angle 
with an incoming paper, the paper moving in the direction of the arrow 15. 
Generally above the folding rolls 11, 12 and 14, there is a tucking means 
indicated at 16. The tucking means 16 is here shown generally as an 
elongate blade or the like, the blade being vertically reciprocable as 
indicated by the arrow 18. Thus, when a paper is on the belt 10, the 
tucking means 16 can be lowered to cause the center of the incoming paper 
to be tucked into the nip between the pairs of rolls 11, 12 and 14. With 
the pairs of rolls rotating, it will be understood that, once the paper is 
in the nip of the rolls, the paper will be pulled further into the rolls. 
This will be discussed in more detail hereinafter. 
As a paper emerges from the folding rolls 11, 12 and 14, it will be 
understood that the paper will move forwardly and downwardly from the 
folding rolls. Thus, the paper will be discharged in the vicinity of the 
pairs of rollers 19. The rollers 19 are here indicated as brush rollers, 
and it is contemplated that the brush rollers 19 will be rotating to urge 
the paper downwardly; however, the brush rollers 19 may be operating at a 
surface speed lower than the rate of travel of the paper from the folding 
rolls. The result will of course be that the paper is fed to the creel 20, 
but the travel of the paper will be slowed by the brush rollers 19. Thus, 
the brush rollers 19 constitute a retarding means for the quarter-folded 
paper. 
As the paper emerges from the retarding means 19, it will be received by a 
generally conventional creel 20. The creel 20 will deposit the paper on 
the delivery conveyor 21 as is well known in the art. 
With the foregoing general description of the apparatus in mind, attention 
is directed to FIG. 2 of the drawings. In FIG. 2 it will be seen that 
there is a half-folded paper indicated at 22A, the paper 22A moving in the 
direction of the arrow on the paper. It will therefore be understood that 
the paper 22A is shown as it would be entering the conveyor 10, before the 
folding rolls 11, 12 and 14. The next paper in FIG. 2 is indicated at 22B, 
and the center of the paper 22B has V-fold 24. This V-fold 24 indicates 
the condition wherein the tucking means 16 has tucked the central portion 
of the paper into the nip of the folding rolls. The paper 22B therefore 
moves in the direction of the arrow, the motion being generally 
perpendicular to the axes of the folding rolls. 
The next paper in FIG. 2 is designated at 22C, and it will be seen that the 
V-fold 24 of paper 22B has become elongated, and is now indicated at 25. 
As the central portion of the paper 22 moves downwardly between the 
folding rolls, the outer ends of the paper 22 are at first held by the 
vacuum belts 10, but the paper simply slides off the vacuum belts 10 as 
the central portion of the paper is pulled downwardly between the folding 
rolls 11, 12 and 14. 
The next paper in FIG. 2 is designated at 22D, and this paper is completely 
folded. The paper 22D is still moving in the same direction since it has 
not yet emerged from the last pair of folding rolls, such as the rolls 11. 
Finally, the last paper in FIG. 2 is designated at 22E, and this paper is 
completely quarter-folded, and is indicated as moving vertically. The 
paper 22E represents the paper after it has emerged from the last of the 
folding rolls, and is engaged by the retarding means 19. Thus, the paper 
22E will be slowed somewhat in its travel, and will be deposited in a 
creel such as the creel 20, or other collection means. 
From the foregoing description it will be understood by those skilled in 
the art that the method and apparatus of the present invention provide 
generally conventional vacuum belts for holding a paper to be 
quarter-folded, and for feeding the paper uniformly towards the 
quarter-folder. The center of the half-folded paper is tucked downwardly 
into the nip of opposed, angularly disposed folding rolls, and the folding 
rolls move the paper both forwardly and downwardly to accomplish the 
quarter-folding without stopping the forward motion of the paper. This 
fact increases the efficiency of the folding operation and lowers the 
probability of damaged papers due to a rapid stop. After the paper has 
been quarter-folded, the paper can be slowed somewhat in speed and 
deposited into a creel or other collection means. 
With the above in mind, attention is directed to FIG. 3 of the drawings 
which shows a first vacuum belt, or in-feed belt, 30 and a second vacuum 
belt 31, the vacuum belt 31 being the belt that carries a half-folded 
paper into the quarter-folder. The roller 32 of the in-feed conveyor 30 
will receive half-folded papers directly from the printing press, so the 
papers at this point will be moving at a very high speed. In the distance 
from the roller 32 of the in-feed conveyor 30 to the roller 34 of the 
conveyor 31, the speed of the paper will be slowed considerably until the 
paper is travelling at the same speed as the second conveyor 31. The means 
for changing the speed of the conveyor 31 is indicated at 35, and the 
speed changing transmission 35 will be described in more detail 
hereinafter. 
At this point it should be understood that the speed of the in-feed 
conveyor is constantly changed, the conveyor having a high speed as a 
paper is received from the printing press. While the in-feed conveyor 30 
is carrying the paper, the speed of the conveyor 30 is reduced until the 
speed of the conveyor 30 is equal to the speed of the conveyor 31 for the 
paper to be transfered from the conveyor 30 to the conveyor 31. 
Above the conveyor 31 is the tucking means, again generally indicated at 
16. The tucking means 16 is here shown as including a pair of guides 36 
slidably receiving a blade 38. The blade 38 is provided with an eccentric 
drive 39 having a drive shaft 40. Thus, as the drive shaft 40 is rotated, 
the eccentric drive 39 will cause vertical reciprocation of the tucking 
blade 38, the blade 38 riding in the guides 36. 
Below the tucking means 16, there are three folding roll assemblies 
designated generally at 11', 12' and 14'. While the folding roll 
assemblies 11', 12' and 14' perform the same function as the rolls 11, 12 
and 14 in FIG. 1, the arrangement shown in FIG. 3 is in more detail, and 
includes angle changing means generally indicated at 41. This will be 
described further hereinafter. 
Below the folding roll assemblies 11', 12' and 14' is the retarding means 
generally designated at 19, the retarding means being here shown as 
including two pairs of brush rollers, the upper pair being designated at 
42 and the lower pair at 44. The two brush rollers 42 and 44 are drivingly 
connected by means of a belt 45 so that the two rollers will rotate in the 
same direction. While it is contemplated that the two rollers will be 
driven at substantially the same speed, it will be readily understood that 
the lower roller 44 can be driven at a slower speed than the upper roller 
42 so that the paper can be received at the higher speed of the roller 42 
and subsequently slowed by the roller 44. Many variations in operation 
will occur to those skilled in the art. 
The folding roll assemblies 11', 12' and 14' are all alike, and one of 
these is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 4 of the drawings. For 
purposes of illustration, the folding roll assembly in FIG. 4 is 
designated at 11'. 
The folding roll assembly 11' includes the folding roll 48 mounted on a 
clevis 49. The clevis 49 is pivotally fixed to a mounting board 50 by a 
stud 51. The opposite side of the clevis 49 is adjustably held to the 
mounting board 50 by a stud or the like passing through an arcuate slot 
52; and, the stud is fixed to an internally threaded block 54. The result 
is that, as the block 54 moves up and down, the end of the clevis 49 will 
be moved up and down, so the stud will move through the arcuate slot 52. 
This will cause rotation of the roll 48 about the stud 51 to change the 
angle of the centerline of the roll 48. 
To cause the appropriate motion of the block 54, there is a threaded shaft 
55 having a gear 56 for rotating the shaft 55. A flange 58 is fixed to the 
mounting board 50, and collars 59 fixed on each side of the flange 58 
prevent axial motion of the shaft 55. As a result, when the shaft 55 is 
rotated, the block 54 will move up or down the shaft, depending on the 
direction of rotation of the shaft 55. Thus, by rotation of the gear 56, 
the angle of the folding roll 48 can be varied. 
It is also desirable to have some means for varying the space between 
opposed rolls in each pair of folding rolls, or to vary the tension place 
on a paper passing through the rolls. For this purpose, the mounting plate 
50 is provided with a mounting axle 60 so the roll 48 can pivot about the 
axle 60. To allow the pivotal motion about the axle 60, while retaining 
control, there is a shaft 61 operated by a motor 62. The shaft 61 is 
threaded, and receives a threaded pressure plate 64 thereon. A spring 65 
between the pressure plate 64 and the mounting plate 50 will be compressed 
more or less, depending on the location of the pressure plate 64. A 
stablizing shaft 66 is fixed to the motor 62, and slidably passes through 
the pressure plate 64 to prevent rotation of the pressure plate 64. It 
will therefore be understood that, as the motor 62 causes rotation of the 
shaft 61, the pressure plate 64 will move towards or away from the 
mounting plate 50, causing more or less tension on the spring 65. 
Looking briefly at FIG. 5 of the drawings, it will be seen that the various 
pieces of apparatus have already been discussed, and their relationship to 
one another has been reasonably well described. In FIG. 5, it is shown 
that there is a pair of each of the items, including the vacuum belts 31, 
and the folding roll assemblies 11', as well as the retarding means 
including the brush rollers 42 and 44. In FIG. 5, it is indicated that 
there is a vacuum chamber 70 below each of the belts 31. The use of the 
vacuum belts is extremely well known in the industry, and it will be well 
understood by those skilled in the art that, typically, a vacuum chamber 
such as the chamber 70 is provided, and a belt 31 having a plurality of 
holes therein closes the top of the vacuum chamber 70. As a result, the 
paper or the like placed over the holes in the belt 31 will be adhered to 
the belt because of the pressure differential. 
One of the steps to be considered in operation of the present invention is 
the shortening of the space between successive papers. The papers 
typically exit from the printing press with a relatively large spacing 
from leading edge to leading edge. Obviously, any equipment must consider 
this distance in terms of time in a subsequent operation on the papers. In 
view of this large spacing, the present invention includes the in-feed 
conveyor 30 to slow the incoming papers, thereby to lessen the distance 
from leading edge to leading edge. Nevertheless, the distance between the 
papers is maintained as sufficient for individual quarter folding and 
ultimate placement into the creel 20. 
While many forms of drive mechanisms may be utilized to achieve the speed 
changes in the in-feed conveyor 30, one mechanism is illustrated in FIG. 6 
of the drawings. 
Looking at FIG. 6, the input drive means is indicated as a gear 71, the 
gear 71 also being indicated in FIG. 3 for proper orientation. Gear 71 
drives a large gear 72, the gear 72 having mounted thereon two planetary 
gears 74 and 75. Since the shafts of the gears 74 and 75 are carried by 
the gear 72, when the gear 72 is rotated, the shafts of the gears 74 and 
75 will be moved about in a circular path. 
Each of the planetary gears 74 and 75 is meshed with a sun gear 76, the sun 
gear 76 being held stationary. As a result, as the planetary gears 74 and 
75 are caused to rotate about the sun gear 76, the planetary gears 74 and 
75 will rotate due to their meshing with the sun gear 76. 
Each of the planetary gears 74 and 75 carries an eccentricly mounted, 
forwardly extending drive roller 78 and 79. The drive rollers 78 and 79 
are received within a diametrical slot 80 in the plate 81. Since the 
rollers 78 and 79 are within the slot 80, as the planetary gears 74 and 75 
are carried around in a circle, the plate 81 will also be rotated in 
accordance therewith. 
Looking further at the particular motions involved, it will be seen that, 
when the gear 72 is rotating clockwise as indicated by the arrow 82, the 
planetary gears 74 and 75 will have a gross motion in a clockwise 
direction also. Since the sun gear 76 is stationary, and is meshed with 
the gears 74 and 75, the gears 74 and 75 will each have a separate 
clockwise rotation about their axes, in addition to their gross clockwise 
motion about the sun gear 76. 
Looking, then, at the combination of motions, it will be seen that the gear 
74 will be moving in a clockwise direction to carry the plate 81 in a 
clockwise direction. While the roller 78 is located in the outer half of 
the gear 74, it will be seen that the rotation of the gear 74 about its 
axis will causes a motion added to the rotation of the gear 82. The result 
will be that the plate 81 will be rotated at a higher speed than the 
rotation of the gear 72. Contrarily, when the roller 78 is on the inside 
of the gear 74, towards the sun gear 76, the rotation of the gear 74 will 
cause a subtraction from the rotation of the gear 72, so the plate 81 will 
rotate at a slower speed than the gear 72. 
While the gear 74 has been discussed, it will be understood that the gear 
75 will act in precisely the same manner, and in fact only one of the 
gears 74 and 75 might be used and the operation would be the same. The use 
of the two planetary gears 74 and 75 will produce a better balance in 
forces, and is more desirable mechanically. 
Remembering the changing speed of the in-feed conveyor 30, it will be 
recognized that the drive means provides a relatively simple arrangement 
to allow the high speed of the conveyor 30, followed by the rapid slowing 
of the conveyor 30 until the speed of the conveyor 30 is equal to the 
speed of the conveyor 31. The speed of the conveyor 30 is then increased 
so the next paper can be received with the conveyor 30 operating at the 
speed of the printing press, and the cycle is repeated. 
It will therefore be seen that the present invention provides a method and 
apparatus for receiving half folded papers or the like, and quarter 
folding those papers at a sufficiently high speed to meet the output of 
conventional high speed printing presses. The method includes the steps of 
tucking the half folded paper into nips of inclined rollers, and allowing 
the inclined rolls to fold the half folded paper while moving the paper 
downwardly and forwardly. The quarter folded paper is then slowed in its 
motion, and placed into a collection means. 
It will of course be understood by those skilled in the art that the 
particular embodiment of the invention here presented is by way of 
illustration only, and is meant to be in no way restrictive; therefore, 
numerous changes and modifications may be made, and the full use of 
equivalents resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the 
invention as outlined in the appended claims.