Improvements in Folding Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 31st Oct., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Folding Machines.
I, JOSEPH AGNATIUS MEDAWAR, of Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Hill,
Cannon Street, London, E.C., Insurance and Advertising Contractor, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to machines for folding paper coupons to be used inside a
railway ticket known as the Medawar ticket and the like and will be best under-
stood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Figs. 1 and 2 are elevations of respectively the front and back of a machine
constructed according to my invention and of which
Fig. 3 is a side elevation.
Fig. 4 is a plan of the feeding tray.
Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are views illustrating the operations of the folding blades,
Fig. 5 being part of a section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3, Fig. 6 is a section on
line 6-6 of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 a section on line 7-7 of Fig. 5.
*
Figs. 8 to 13 show a sheet of paper or equivalent, hereinafter referred to as a
sheet," in the various stages of folding through which it passes in the machine.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The machine stand as a whole is hereinafter referred to by the letter A when it
is not required to draw attention to any particular part and said stand consists of
two frames A¹ A properly braced together, a plate or table A³ and two frames
or standards A' A' mounted on the table and braced together near their upper ends
by a bar A.
The frame A is provided with a bearing A' which supports the end of the
driving shaft B on which is secured a crank arm B' and on which shaft is also
secured a bevil wheel B which gears with a similar wheel B³ secured on a shaft C.
To the crank arm B' is pivotted the lower end of a bifurcated link D the upper
ends of the forked members of which are jointed to the short projection or arm E¹
of a preferably bent lever E which is pivotted at E' to a standard E³ secured to
the table or plate A³ and which lever at the part on the opposite side of standard E
preferably terminates in a handle E*.
As shown in Fig. 2 the lever E passes through the blade F which is preferably
provided with a sleeve F1 at the part where said lever passes through it, and it is
at this part, where the lever is adapted to act on the blade F, that said lever
preferably dips down.
As shown in Fig. 3 the vertical edges of the blade F fit into guides A³ formed
on the standards A* A' and at its upper part it is secured to the lower end of a
rod F which passes through and is guided in the bar A. As shown in Figs. 5, 6
and 7 the lower part of the blade is adapted to pass through a slit AⓇ in the
table or plate A and into the slot or sleeve G¹ of what is hereinafter referred to as
the "box "
G. This box consists of the slots or sleeves G¹ G' G* G* and G*
corresponding in number to that of the folding blades employed in the machine,
each blade working into one of the sleeves.
E' is an arm formed in one with the lever E these two members constituting
practically a bell-crank lever. The arm E' extends down through an opening in
the table A³ and passes through a horizontal blade H which it is adapted to
reciprocate horizontally in the sleeve G which traverses the sleeve G¹ in which the
blade F is reciprocated. To the outer end of the blade H, which is of the same
width as the blade F, is secured a rod H' which passes through and is guided in a
bar H' secured to the stand A. At the part at which the lever arm E' traverses the

page_text: blade H said blade is preferably provided with projections H³ or a sleeve for
extending the bearing surface operated on by said arm.
J is a bent link pivotted to the free end of lever arm E and preferably
terminating at its lower end in a handle J' and coupled by a pair of links J' to the
outer end of a lever J. This lever is supported in a bracket J secured to the
stand A and in this bracket; which constitutes its fulcrum, said lever is free to
move in the direction of its length. The inner end of the lever Jis pivotted at .J³
to a rol K¹ to the upper end of which is secured the blade K which is of less width
than the blades F and H. The lower end of rod K¹ passes through the guide K'
and bar A below which it is provided with a spring K' and head or nut K* the
tendency of the former of which is always to move the rod K¹ and blade K
downwards. The upper part of the blade K works in the sleeve G³ which as
shown in Figs. 5 and 6 traverses the sleeve G³ at one side of the sleeve G¹.
L is a link pivotted at its upper end to the lever arm Ę and at its lower end to a
lever L' pivotted at L2 Fig. 2 to the stand A it being slotted so as to be free to
slide on said pivot. L' is a frame or guide and La partly spherical roller which
is capable of moving in a longitudinal direction in, but is prevented from moving
laterally out of the frame L³ the operative faces of which are for this latter purpose
formed concave; this arrangement while allowing the roller L' to rotate freely
while it is moving along the guide also allows it to rock laterally in said guide.
Mis a lever pivotted at M to the stand A and one end of which is free to slide in
the roller L and is guided in a vertical direction in a slotted bar M² secured to the
stand A. To the opposite end of the lever M is pivotted one end of a link M³
whose other end is pivotted to the lower end of a vertical bar N and outer end of a
horizontal bar N¹ which is integral with the bar N so that when the operating end
of M is depressed the bars N Ñ¹ are moved inwards and when it is raised the said
bars are moved outwards. The bar N¹ is capable of sliding in the direction of its
length through the guide K' which besides guiding the lower end of the before-
mentioned rod K' also prevents this bar N from working in any but a horizontal
direction.
At its upper end the bar N is rigidly connected to a rod 0¹ to which is secured
the folding blade O and which is guided in a bearing or bracket O* extending
downwards from the underside of the table A'. The blade O works in the sleeve G¹
which as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 traverses the sleeve G³ and extends beyond the
outer face of frame A.
N' is a rigid pin which projects out laterally from the side of vertical bar N and
is adapted to bear against a spring P in the manner shown in Fig. 3. This spring
is secured to an arm P' of bracket P².
Q is the feeding tray which as shown most clearly in plan as detached from the
machine in Fig. 4 consists of two parts Q'Q' the former of which receives a pile
of the sheets to be folded and the latter receives each individual sheet as it is-
removed from the pile and conveys it beneath the first folding blade F. The floor
of the part of this tray is formed with a slit Q³ which allows the blade F to
pass through it and when the tray is in the position necessary for this operation the
slit Q corresponds with the before-mentioned slit A' in the table A' as shown most
clearly in Figs. 5 and 7. The tray Q is capable of moving backward and forward
in suitable guides such as a wide dovetail groove Q as shown in Fig. 1 and is
operated by means of the spring P whose free end for this purpose is always
attached to the tray by means of a collar or slotted bracket Q which projects from
..the underside of the tray and through which the spring is free to move in the
direction of its length and which is itself free to travel in a slot or recess in the
table A³. At the side of the bracket Q or at any other convenient part of
the tray is provided a catch Q which engages with a spring catch or detent Q' on
which is mounted a cam plate Q8 with which is adapted to engage an arm or
projection secured on the rod O' preferably by means of a screw O* or
equivalent means admitting of adjustment.
*R is a link or rod whose lower end is pivotted to the lever L' and which is

page_text: capable of sliding vertically in guides R' on frame A and the upper end of which
is connected to an arm R³. This arm R' is rigidly attached to a rod S₁ to the
lower end of which is secured a folding blade S which is reciprocated in the
sleeve G at the outside of the frame A¹. The arm R2 has also attached to it two
downwardly-depending racks S2 which gear with wheels or pinions S³ mounted on
a shaft S supported in bearings S projecting from the outer face of the frame A'.
At their outer sides the wheels S gear with two racks S which are secured by
arms S to a plate S which by this gearing is moved to and from the outlet end
of the sleeve (+ to assist in carrying the completely folded sheet to the pressing
roller T. S is a spring encircling the upper part of rod S₁ and exerting pressure
between the fixed bearing or guide S1 and collar S" secured on S¹ so as to assist in
raising said rod and blade S. The shaft of roller T is supported in bearings T¹ and
has secured on one end a bevil wheel T' which gears with the wheel T secured on
the before-mentioned shaft C which is supported in suitable bearings C¹ secured to
or formed in part with the frame A¹. T is an inclined plate or shoot for conducting
the completely folded and pressed sheets leaving the machine into a suitable
receptacle.
U is a lever pivotted to a standard or bracket U₁ and connected at one end by
means of a spring U and preferably a sleeve and screw U³ to the rod F' upon
which said sleeve is secured. At its operating end the lever U is pivotted to the
upper end of a plunger U which works up and down in a sleeve U³ supported by
arms U secured to the hollow truncated cone or cup U7 which is supported by a
bracket U secured to the standard A. U is an indiarubber or other suitable
collapsible bulb which is connected by a flexible tube U with a branch V¹ of
metal tube V Figs. 1 and 3 and which bulb at its upper part is pressed upon by a
convex disc or button U secured to the lower end of the plunger U. U¹² is a
spiral spring which tends always to raise the plunger U*.
The tube V is free to move vertically in bracket bearings V and at its upper
end it is closed and has secured upon it a disc or plate V between which and
the upper of the bearings V2 a spring V encircles the tube V and by hearing
against the disc V³ tends always to raise the tube V to its highest position. At
its lower end the tube V is fitted with branches V³ extending to the right and
left and each terminating in a downwardly projecting nozzle V. V Fig. 3 is a
rod secured to the disc V³ and which projects down parallel with the tube V and
passes through the bearings V and prevents the tube V from turning on its axis.
W W is a frame or lever pivotted on an arm W supported by the bar A. or by
any other suitable adjacent part of the stand A, and W'is a pawl or catch pivotted
to the lever W W. W is a hook secured to the lever E and adapted to engage
with the catch W' in the following manner. When the lever E is being raised the
hook W strikes against the under side of the catch W³ and causes it to turn on its
pivot and thereby allows the lever W W to remain at rest; when however the
lever E is being lowered the hook W' engages with the upper surface of the
catch W³ and drags it down with it and thus turns the lever W W on its pivot W².
The arm W¹ of the last mentioned lever passes through a slot in one end of a
lever W which is pivotted to a fixed bracket arm W and which by a pin working
in a slot in its opposite end is connected to the lower end of a rod W' which is
capable of moving up and down in a fixed bracket bearing W. At its upper ed
the rod W' is provided with an enlarged portion or head W to which is secured
the spring hook W and between which head and the bearing Ws a spring W"
encircling the rod W' tends always to raise said rod.
In the following description of the operation of the apparatus, for simplicity, the
course of only one sheet of paper is described but it will be understood that all the
sheets are operated on in the same manner and that a number of sheets may be in
the machine at the same time passing through different stages of the folding
operations.
A pile of the sheets Y to be folded is placed in division Q¹ of the tray Q which
at the initial starting of the machine is held in its position farthest from the blade

page_text: by the detent Q'engaging with catch Q the spring P at this time being held back
by the pin N2 on bar N and the blade F and crank arm B' being then in or about
their lowest positions.
Assuming that there are no sheets in the machine except those in the division Q'
of tray Q each of the sheets will be treated in the following manner.
When the shaft B is rotated and the crank arm B¹ is ascending the lever E also
ascends by reason of the link D connecting them together and this also raises the
blade F and through the link L lever L' guide L³ roller L also ascending
depresses the operating end of lever M which through the link M³ moves the
bar N N¹ and rod O' inwards. The pin N' on bar N is thus released from the
spring P and as soon as the arm 0 through the cam plate Q depresses
the detent Q7, the said spring P drives the tray along so that the pile of sheets Y
is brought below the nozzles V. The crank arm B' now commences to descend
and through the link D draws down the lever E and at the same time through the
before mentioned connections causes the rod O¹ to move in the direction indicated
by the arrow Z in Fig. but at this part of the stroke the pin N' is not yet in
contact with the spring P and the tray Q therefore remains for the moment
undisturbed. The hook W has by this time reached the catch W³ and in its
further descent pulls upon the lever W W' and through the lever W* rod W
spring hook W10 and disc V depresses the nozzies V on to the uppermost of the
sheets contained in tray Q. The bulb U having through the plunger U* lever U
spring U2 and rod F been previously compressed during the last down stroke of
the blade and being now free to expand by the raising of the plunger U
exhausts the air from the tubes V and Vs and causes the uppermost of the
sheets Y to be attached by suction to the nozzles V. The hook W having now
moved past and become disengaged from the catch Ws the spring W" raises the
spring book w out of contact with the disc V' and the spring V' raises the
tube VV and in so doing lifts the topmost sheet off the pile in the tray Q and
holds it suspended as shown in Fig. 3. The pin N2 has now reached the spring P
and in pressing it back also moves the tray Q along with it in the direction
indicated by the arrow Z until its catch Q is engaged by the detent Q7 at which
time the part Q³ of the tray is beneath the sheet Y suspended from the nozzles V.
The crank arın B' now again begins to ascend and the blade F and rod F² also,
so that through the spring U2 and lever U the plunger U is depressed and the
bulb U thereby compressed and the sheet Y is blown off from the nozzles V® and
falls into the division Q of the tray.
When the crank arın B' next descends and moves the rod O' in the direction
opposite to that indicated by the letter Z as before described the pin N² is moved
away from the spring P and the arm (3 by coming into contact with the cam
plate Qpresses down the detent Q' out of contact with the catch Q and allows
the spring P to shoot the tray Q forward so that the sheet deposited in Q will be
moved below the then descending blade F. This blade bears upon the sheet below
it on the line Y¹ Fig. 8 (which figure represents said sheet in its unfolded
condition and presses it through the slits Q and A in the tray and table and in a
doubled-up condition forces it into the sleeve G'. On the next ascent of the
lever E the blade is raised and leaves the sheet doubled up in the sleeve G' and
extending half above and half below the sleeve G which traverses it, and through
the lever arm E the blade H is moved up to this once-folded sheet which it bears
upon at the line Y' Fig. 9 and pushes said sheet to the right as in Figs. 2 and 5
until it has completely left the sleeve G¹ and lies across the sleeve G³ it being now
four-fold thick. Upon the descent of the lever E the blade H is moved to the
left of Figs. 2 and 5 and leaves the sheet so that the now-ascending blade K meets
it on the line Y³ of Fig. 10, the motion necessary for this being transmitted from
the crank B¹ to this blade K through the link D lever E links J J² lever Ja and
rod K. The blade K removes the sheet from the sleeve G, further doubles it up
into the form shown in Fig. 11 and moves it along the sleeve G³ until opposite the
sleeve G¹.

page_text: When next the crank arm B' and lever E ascend, the blade K moves down from
the now thrice-doubled sheet Y and at the same time the blade O by means of the
bars ON link M' levers M L' and E links L and D and crank B₁ presses upon
the sheet Y at the line Y* Fig. 11 and by forcing it along the sleeve G* doubles
it up on said line and causes it to take the four-times folded form shown in Fig. 12
in which condition it will be pushed along the sleeve G* until it is half on one side
and half on the other side of the sleeve G' and so that when the blade S in said
sleeve is moved it will meet the four-times folded sheet Fig. 12 on the line Y'.
When the crank arm B' and lever E next descend and the blade O is consequently
retracted from the sheet Y through the same mechanism that moves it up to its
work the blade S through the links R and L and lever L' is moved down and
meeting the sheet Y Fig. 12 on line Y' doubles it up on that line by forcing it into
and right through the sleeve G³.
When the blade S is next raised the plate S8 through the racks S'S' and
pinions St is caused to descend so that the now-completely folded sheet discharged
from the lower end of sleeve G' is caught between the plate SB and roller T and
between them is compressed and delivered on to the shoot T which conducts it to
the receptacle placed below the shoot for receiving it.
At each down stroke of the lever E a fresh sheet Y becomes attached to the
nozzles V', the blades F K and S simultaneously form respectively the first, third
and fifth folds in three different sheets Y and the blade S discharges a completely
folded sheet on to the roller T and the second and fourth folding blades H and Ó
are moved back from the sheets Y. At each up stroke of the lever E a sheet Y
is detached from nozzles V* and deposited in division Q₁ of tray Q, the blades F K
and S ascend, the tray Q brings the newly received sheet below the blade F and
the blades Hand O simultaneously form respectively the second and fourth folds
in two different sheets and a fully folded one is pressed between the roller T and
plate S and finally discharged from the machine.
The flexibility of the hook W" allows for the gradual decrease in the thickness
of the pile of sheets Y in the tray Q due to the feeding of the sheets into the.
machine.
It will be obvious that instead of the machine being formed with five folding
blades F, H, K, O and S to make five distinct folds in each sheet as before
described a machine embodying the same principle may be constructed with fewer
or more than this number of blades, and it will also be obvious that the respective
positions of these blades may
be varied and that various other modifications may
be made without departing from the essential spirit of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is ;-
1. In a folding machine the combination with a crank-arm B' and link D of a
lever such as E blade such as F working through the said blade and sleeve such
as G¹ in which the blade is reciprocated substantially as and for the purpose
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a folding machine the combination with a crank arm B' link D and lever E
of a lever arm such as E blade such as H through which it works and a sleeve
such as G all operating substantially as and for the purpose described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a folding machine the combination with a crank arm B' link D and lever E
of link such as J J' lever J' rod K¹ spring and nut or head such as K* K* blade
such as K and sleeve such as G³ all operating substantially as and for the purpose
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
4. In a folding machine the combination with a crank arm B' link D and lever Ę
of a link L lever such as L' having a guide and roller such as L' L' a lever such
as M link M' bar or rod such as N°N₁ O' blade such as O and sleeve such as Gʻ

page_text: all operating substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
5. In a folding machine the combination with a crank arm B links D and L and
levers E and Lof a link R arm R2 blade such as S and sleeve such as G'all
operating substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
6. The combination in the same folding machine of the various elements
mentioned in the five preceding claiming clauses substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
7. In a folding machine the combination with a crank arm B levers E L' and M
and links D L and M³ of a bar or rod such as N N' O¹ carrying a pin or
projection N' a spring such as P bracket such as Q' feeding tray such as Q detent
mechanism such as QQ and a cam plate and reciprocating arm such as Q³ ³ for
releasing said detent all operating substantially as and for the purpose described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
8. In a folding machine the combination with a reciprocating feeding tray such
as Q of a compressible bulb such as US plunger such as U U lever U spring U¹³
reciprocating branched tube such as VV VV and flexible tube U10 connecting
said branched tube with the compressible bulb substantially as and for the purpose
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
9. In a folding machine the combination with a reciprocating tray such as Q and
pneumatic apparatus such as U U U U V V₁ V² V° of a reciprocating hook
such as W' lever W W₁ trip catch W' lever W' rod W'W' spring Wspring
hook such as W10 disc V* and spring V' all operating substantially as and for the
purpose described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
10. In a folding machine the combination with a reciprocating blade such as S
of racks such as S2 S pinions S³ shaft S plate such as SB roller T all operating
substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
11. In a folding machine a box such as G consisting of a number of sleeves such
as G¹ G G G and G each for receiving one of the folding blades substantially
as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
12. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete folding
machine substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th day of September 1891.
JOSEPH A. MEDAWAR.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.