IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BAGS OR ENVELOPES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lewis' Henry Spence, of Hatton Garden, in the
County of Middlesex, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BAGS OR ENVELOPES."
_ A communication from abroad by Augustus Wolle, of Bethlehem, in
the State of Pennsylvania, in the United States of America. .
Sealed the 26th December 1861, and dated the 1st July 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lewis Henry Spence
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st July 1861.
I, LEWIS HENRY SPENCE, of Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BAGS OR
ENVELOPES," communicated to me from abroad by Augustus Wolle, of
Bethlehem, in the State of Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, to
be as follows:
The improvements relate to adaptations or combinations of means for the
manufacture of paper bags or envelopes.
The Drawings illustrate means or apparatus according to the Invention.
Figure 1 is a side view of the machine for making paper bags or envelopes;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same; Figure 3 is a ground plan of
the machine; Figure 4 is a detached sectional view, exhibiting the serrated

page_text: plates and breaker on an enlarged scale; Figure 5 is a view, full size, of the
serrated plates for severing the folded paper; Figure 6 is a view of one of the
pieces of the tubular paper before having the bottom lapped; Figure 7 is a
sectional view on an enlarged scale of the combined creaser and paster, showing
the manner in which the paste is supplied.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
The frame consists of two longitudinal trams A, A; connected together at
suitable points by transverse bars, and supported by legs B, B; to this frame
the platform or table C, C, is secured, and two other parts D and E are
adjustable; the one E bas two standards F, F, with recesses G for receiving
the journals of the shaft H, upon which the roll of paper I is secured by means
of two conical sliding collars J, J. The other part of the table D has also two
standards K, K, with recesses for receiving the journals of the roller L. One
of the journals extends over and beyond the standard, and has secured to it a
notched or grooved wheel M, corresponding in diameter with the roller L.
This wheel M turns in a trough N containing the paste for cementing the
edges of the paper together. O, O, are two adjustable pulleys, fastened by
means of set screws to a shaft P, running in bearings Q, Q, fastened to the
frame A; R is a serrated edged plate, attached to an elongated arm S, S,
supported by means of a yoke T at one end, and resting upon the roller U
near the centre, and upon the lower drawing roller V at the other end. To
the arm S are attached adjustable circular plates or discs W, W, the outer
edges of which correspond in width to the adjustable pulleys O, O. X,X, are
two adjustable supports for the horizontal discs Y, Y, for the purpose of over-
lapping or folding the paper. These discs Y, Y, have shoulders on the lower
surface, which operating with the other discs W, W, serve as guides to keep
the paper of uniform and desired width, and overcome the friction necessarily
connected with the use of stationary arms or guides; U is a roller, turning in
suitable bearings in the frame of the machine, and serving to support the
arm 'S, S, of the blade R. The outer end of the blade R is serrated so as to
form the edge of the under knife, as shown in full size, Figure 5. The upper
knife a is secured to the frame of the machine immediately above the lower
knife; it has also a serrated end, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 4 and
Figure 5 represent the form and proper position of the knives with respect to
each other. The blade R passes between the two rollers V, V, which are
geared together so as to revolve simultaneously in boxes b, b, secured to the
frame of the machine, said boxes being furnished with set screws 62 by means
of which the surface of the upper roller may be pressed against the lower
roller with more or less force. It will be obvious on reference to Figure 3

page_text: that the upper roller V has two collars c, c, and that the blade has an oblong
slot d at a point immediately beneath and for the admission of these collars, so
that the action of the rollers cannot disturb the blade; e is the driving shaft,
turning in bearings in opposite sides of the frame; it is furnished at one end
with a handle fly wheel for other suitable driving apparatus, and at the
opposite end with a cog wheel g, which gears into an intermediate wheel h,
supported on a pin in the side of the frame. This wheel h gears into a pinion i
on the drawing roller V, and also into a pinion j on the lower roller k, and
again by another intermediate wheel into a pinion m on the lower roller n.
The breaker consists of two bars p and q attached to each other at right
angles. The one bar p is fastened upon one end of a shaft revolving in the
bearing upon the frame. At the other end of the shaft is a pinion s',
connected with another pinion t on the shaft of the lower drawing roller v by
means of an intermediate cog wheel u. The arm 7 of the breaker is adjustable
to different lengths, and revolves immediately in front of the serrated plates or
knives a, R, and striking the paper from below, severs it. The rollers k, k,
are supported from the opposite side of the machine, and extend sufficiently
far to receive the paper, leaving room for the breaker to pass by and around
the same. The rollers n, n, serve to carry the bags forward to the bottom
pasting and lapping apparatus; v³, v³, are two lapping rollers, geared together
and connected by means of a band running over a pulley w¹ on the end of the
shaft of one of the rollers v³, v³, and another x on the end of the shaft of the
drawing roller V; y, y, are two arms, attached to a rock shaft z, supported
in suitable bearings a¹, secured to the frame of the machine; c¹ is a creaser
blade, being attached to a shaft b', supported in bearings in the end of the
arms y, y.
At one end of the shaft ban arm d' is secured, with a pin
working in a slot e¹ to deflect the creaser blade in its upward motion against
the paste feeding roller g¹, from which it receives its quota of paste. The
creaser blade c' has at the lower edge on the side next the paste feeding
roller g' a triangular piece attached c², whereon it receives the paste, and from
which it again deposits it on the edge of the bag. The creaser frame receives
its motion through an arm h¹ on the end of the rock shaft z, and by another
rod i¹ with an adjustable crank pinj¹ located on the end of the breaker shaft k¹;
is a box or trough for paste; g¹ is a roller, supported upon bearings in the
side of the said box; is a ratchet wheel on the end of the shaft of the said
roller g, operated by a pawl, attached to an arm m³ on the rock shaft z.
In operating by such machinery a roll of paper of the desired width is secured
in a proper position on the shaft H. The end of the paper is passed over the
roller L, and the adjacent notched or grooved wheel M, thence under the

page_text: adjustable pulleys O, O, and under the discs W, W, of the arm S, S, of the
cutter blade R, around the outer edges of which the opposite sides of the strip
of paper are turned upward and bent down to and passed beneath the
horizontal overlapping discs Y, Y, care being taken that the edges overlap each
other sufficiently to admit of their being united. The paper passing from
these discs is carried forward and around the lower cutting blade R, R, and
between the drawing rollers V, V, and under the upper cutting blade a.
The machine is now ready to be put into operation by turning the driving
shaft e in the direction of the arrow. This causes the breaker and the several
rollers to revolve. By the action of the drawing rollers V, V, the paper is
drawn continuously from the roll on the shaft H, and over the roller L, one
edge, passing in contact with the periphery of the notched or grooved wheel M,
receives from it the paste it has withdrawn from the trough N. The
pulleys O, O, being adjusted to the width of the bag to be made, causes the
opposite edges of the paper to be partially creased and bent upward in a line
corresponding with the outer edges of the pulley. The edges of the paper by
passing under the horizontal dises Y, Y, and by their action the paper continues
to be folded as it passes forward through the machine. One edge having
received the paste, as above described, and being overlapped by the other edge,
the two become united. The paper thus pasted is drawn forward by the action
of the rollers V, V, and around one of the cutting blades, and under the other
as already explained, the end of the paper passing between the next pair of
rollers k, k, which hold it as the revolving breaker ascends upon the paper
with a rapid stroke, causing the serrated edges of the blades to sever it in the
desired form. The severed pieces passing forward between the carrying
rollers n, n, are delivered by the same to the lapping rollers v¹, v². It will be
obvious on examination of the relative position of the two edges of serrated
cutting blades, Figure 5, that the pieces of the folded paper will have one side
projecting beyond the other, as represented in Figure 8, sufficiently for lapping.
The projecting side being brought forward sufficiently far over the lapping
rollers v', v, the creaser blade c¹ descends and striking the paper in a proper
line, creases it, and forces it between the converging surfaces of the lapping
rollers v¹, v; these being set close finish the fold and discharge the bag into a
suitable receptacle. The creaser blade c', by its peculiar construction and
operation, receives on the side next to the paste feeding roller g¹ a desired
quantity of paste, and deposits it upon the lap of the bag in the operation of
forcing the paper between the converging surfaces of the said rollers v¹, v².
The bag is thus finished. The same operation is continued as the machine
revolves. One piece of folded paper being severed with every revolution of the

page_text: breaker, and the creaser c¹ of the bottom pasting apparatus being connected
with and operated by the breaker, a bag is completed in the same time.
The machine is susceptible of various changes in the arrangement of the
parts for the manufacture of bags of various sizes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Lewis Henry Spence in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st January 1862.
,
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LEWIS
HENRY SPENCE, of Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex, Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Lewis Henry Spence, Her special licence that I, the said Lewis
Henry Spence, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Lewis Henry Spence, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BAGS
OR ENVELOPES," communicated to me from abroad by Augustus Wolle, of
Bethlehem, in the State of Pennsylvania, in the United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Lewis Henry Spence, my
exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their bands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Lewis Henry Spence, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The improvements relate to adaptations or combinations of means for the

page_text: Figure 1 is a side view of the machine for making paper bags or envelopes;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same; Figure 3 is a ground plan of
the machine; Figure 4 is a detached sectional view exhibiting the serrated
plates and breaker on an enlarged scale; Figure 5 is a view full size of the
serrated plates for severing the folded paper; Figure 6 is a view of one of
the pieces of the tubular paper before having the bottom lapped; Figure 7 is
a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the combined creaser and paster,
shewing the manner in which the paste is supplied. Similar letters refer to
similar parts throughout the several views.
The frame consists of two longitudinal trams A, A, connected together at
suitable points by transverse bars, and supported by legs B, B; to this frame
the platform or table C, C, is secured, and two other parts, D and E, are
adjustable; the one E has two standards F, F, with recesses G for receiving
the journals of the shaft H, upon which the roll of paper I is secured by
means of two conical sliding collars J, J. The other part of the table D has
also two standards K, K, with recesses for receiving the journals of the roller L.
One of the journals extends over and beyond the standard, and has secured to
it a notched or grooved wheel M, corresponding in diameter with the roller L;
this wheel M turns in a trough N, containing the paste for cementing the
edges of the paper together. O, O, are two adjustable pulleys fastened by
means of set screws to a shaft P, running in bearings Q, Q, fastened to the
frame A. R is a serrated-edged plate attached to an elongated arm S, S,
supported by means of a yoke T at one end, and resting upon the roller U
near the centre, and upon the lower drawing roller V at the other end. To
the arm S are attached adjustable circular plates or discs W, W, the outer
edges of which correspond in width to the adjustable pullies 0, 0. X, X,
are two adjustable supports for the horizontal discs Y, Y. for the purpose of
overlapping or folding the paper; these discs Y, Y, have shoulders on the
lower surface, which, operating with the other discs W, W, serve as guides
to keep the paper of uniform and desired width, and overcome the friction
necessarily connected with the use of stationary arms or guides. U is a roller
turning in suitable bearings in the frame of the machine, and serving to
support the arm S, S, of the blade R. The outer end of the blade R is

page_text: serrated so as to form the edge of the under knife, as shewn in full size,
Figure 5. The upper knife a is secured to the frame of the machine imme-
diately above the lower knife; it has also a serrated end, as shewn in
Figure 5.
Figure 4 and Figure 5 represent the form and proper position of the knives
with respect to each other. The blade R passes between the two rollers V, V,
which are geared together so as to revolve simultaneously in boxes b, b,
secured to the frame of the machine, said boxes being furnished with set
screws 6, by means of which the surface of the upper roller may be pressed
against the lower roller with more or less force. It will be obvious, on refer-
ence to Figure 3, that the upper roller V has two collars c, c, and that the
blade has an oblong slot d at a point immediately beneath, and for the
admission of these collars, so that the action of the rollers cannot disturb
the blade. e is the driving shaft turning in bearings in opposite sides of the
frame; it is furnished at one end with a handle fly wheel f, or other suitable
driving apparatus, and at the opposite end with a cog wheel g, which gears
into an intermediate wheel h, supported on a pin in the side of the frame.
This wheel h gears into a pinion i on the drawing roller V, and also into a
pinion j on the lower roller k, and again by another intermediate wheel into
a pinion m on the lower roller n. The breaker consists of two bars p and q,
attached to each other at right angles; the one bar p is fastened upon one end
of a shaft k, revolving in the bearing r upon the frame. At the other end of the
shaft is a pinion s¹, connected with another pinion t on the shaft of the lower
drawing roller V, by means of an intermediate cog wheel u. The arm 9 of the
breaker is adjustable to different lengths, and revolves immediately in front of
the serrated plates or knives a, R, and striking the paper from below, severs it.
The rollers k, k, are supported from the opposite side of the machine, and extend
sufficiently far to receive the paper, leaving room for the breaker to pass by
and around the same. The rollers n, n, serve to carry the bags forward to
the bottom pasting and lapping apparatus; v³, v³, are two lapping rollers
geared together, and connected by means of a band running over a pulley w¹
on the end of the shaft of one of the rollers v, vl, and another x on the end of
the shaft of the drawing roller V; y, y, are two arms attached to a rock
shaft, supported in suitable bearings a¹ secured to the frame of the machine;
c¹ is a creaser blade, being attached to a shaft b', supported in bearings in the
end of the arms y, y; at one end of the shaft an arm d' is secured with a
pin working in a slot e¹, to deflect the creaser blade in its upward motion
against the paste feeding roller g', 'from which it receives its quota of paste.
The creaser blade c¹ has at the lower edge, on the side next the paste feeding

page_text: roller g', a triangular piece attached c³, whereon it receives the paste, and from
which it again deposits it on the edge of the bag. The creaser frame receives
its motion through an arm h¹ on the end of the rock shaft z, and by another
rod with an adjustable crank pin located on the end of the breaker
shaft k'; is a box or trough for paste; g¹ is a roller supported upon bearings
in the side of the said box; f¹ is a ratchet wheel on the end of the shaft of
the said roller 'g, operated by a pawl ² attached to an arm m³ on the rock
shaft z.
In operating by such machinery, a roll of paper of the desired width
is secured in a proper position on the shaft H, the end of the paper is passed
over the roller L and the adjacent notched or grooved wheel M, thence under
the adjustable pullies O, O, and under the discs W, W, of the arm S, S, of
the cutter blade R, around the outer edges of which the opposite sides of
the strip of paper are turned upward, and bent down to and passed beneath
the horizontal overlapping discs Y, Y, care being taken that the edges overlap
each other sufficiently to admit of their being united. The paper passing
from these discs is carried forward and around the lower cutting blade R, R,
and between the drawing rollers V, V, and under the upper cutting blade a.
The machine is now ready to be put into operation by turning the driving
shaft e in the direction of the arrow. This causes the breaker and the several
rollers to revolve. By the action of the drawing rollers V, V, the paper is
drawn continuously from the roll on the shaft H, and over the roller L; one
edge passing in contact with the periphery of the notched or grooved wheel M,
receives from it the paste it has withdrawn from the trough N. The pullies
O, O, being adjusted to the width of the bag to be made, causes the opposite
edges of the paper to be partially creased and bent upward in a line corre-
sponding with the outer edges of the pulley. The edges of the paper by
passing under the horizontal dises Y, Y, and by their action the paper con-
tinues to be folded as it passes forward through the machine. One edge
having received the paste, as above described, and being overlapped by the
other edge, the two become united. The paper thus pasted is drawn forward
by the action of the rollers V, V, and around one of the cutting blades, and
under the other, as already explained, the end of the paper passing between
the next pair of rollers k, k, which bold it as the revolving breaker ascends
upon the paper with a rapid stroke, causing the serrated edges of the blades
to sever it in the desired form. The severed pieces passing forward between
the carrying rollers n, n, are delivered by the same to the lapping rollers v³, v¹.
It will be obvious on examination of the relative position of the two edges of
serrated cutting blades, Figure 5, that the pieces of the folded paper will have
one side projecting beyond the other, as represented in Figure 8, sufficiently

page_text: for lapping. The projecting side being brought forward sufficiently far over
the lapping rollers v³, v', the creaser blade c¹ descends, and striking the paper
in a proper line creases it, and forces it between the converging surfaces of
the lapping rollers v¹, v¹; these being set close, finish the fold, and discharge
the bag into a suitable receptacle. The creaser blade c¹ by its peculiar con-
struction and operation receives on the side next to the paste feeding roller g¹
a desired quantity of paste, and deposits it upon the lap of the bag in the
operation of forcing the paper between the converging surfaces of the said
rollers v, . The bag is thus finished, the same operation is continued as the
machine revolves. One piece of folded paper being severed with every
revolution of the breaker, and the creaser c¹ of the bottom pasting apparatus
being connected with and operated by the breaker, a bag is completed in the
same time. The machine is susceptible of various changes in the arrange-
ment of the parts for the manufacture of bags of various sizes. By these
means the processes are free of intermittent motion, and require no stoppage
of the paper for folding, cutting, lapping, or pasting, hence a very high speed
may be obtained.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, as communicated
to me, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the adaptation or
combination of means for the manufacture of paper bags or envelopes,
substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Lewis Henry Spence, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
L. H. SPENCE. (V.D.)