IMPROVEMENTS IN ENVELOPE MACHINES to be as follows:
Year: 1884

page_text: I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ENVELOPE MACHINES to be as follows:-
"
The object of the invention is to produce an envelope-machine which will gum'
fold, and finish the greatest possible number of envelopes with the least possible
jar on the machine; and it consists essentially in arranging the gumming and
picking-up mechanism in the manner hereinafter explained.
This improved machine is constructed as follows.
It is provided with a main frame and a main driving-shaft suitably journalled in
the frame, and provided with a balance-wheel. This shaft is propelled by any
suitable motor, and has attached to it all the cams necessary to produce the different
motions in the machine, but as this invention relates only to that portion of the
machine which gums and places the blanks on the carriers it will not be necessary
to explain the various motions produced by the revolving of the driving-shaft. It
will be sufficient to indicate the connection between this shaft and the parts involved
in my invention.
There is a rock-shaft one arm of which is connected to a spindle of a vertically-
operating picker, The outer end of this rock-shaft, is connected by a pitman, to an
arm, pivotted on the frame, and its other end is provided with a friction roller,
situated immediately below the end of the pitman, and arranged to rest upon a
cam, keyed or otherwise fastened to the main shaft, thus when the main shaft
revolves, the cam, acts against the friction-roller which in following the form of the
cam, imparts a rocking movement to the rock-shaft, and through it, causes the
picker to rise and fall. The other end of the main driving-shaft, has attached to it
a second cam, arranged to act against another friction-roller attached to a pitman
leading to an arm of a second rock-shaft.. The other arm of this second rock-shaft
has hinged to it a horizontal bar, the other end of which is connected to and is
designed to support an auxiliary gummer. The gummers are shaped so as to
correspond to the edges of the envelope; they may be brushes pads, or similar
devices..
The cams are so set on the main shaft that when the first cam has thrown the
picker the full length of its downward stroke the second cam has caused through
its connection the auxiliary gummer to reach and act upon the top blank.
A spring attached to the second pitman holds its friction roller against the
second cam.
The dish in lanted immediately above the pile of blanks.

page_text: A gumming-roller is suitably journalled within the gumming-dish and caused to
revolve so that its upper surface shall travel away from the edge of the gum-dish
next to the picker.
A scraper is fixed within the gum-dish, and provided with adjusting screws,
arranged for the purpose of moving the scraper nearer to or farther from the surface
of the gumming-roller in order that any surplus gum over that required to supply
the distributing-roller shall be scraped off.
Owing to the direction in which the gumming-roller revolves the scaper removes
from the said roller any fibre which may have adhered to the gumming-roller when
the distributing roller last touched it. A clean surface on the gumming-roller is
thereby ensured.
The distributing-roller is carried in suitable guide-blocks supported by horizontal
rods which extend from the gum-dish, to a point beyond the back of the picker,
and are at such a distance apart that the said picker works freely between them.
A rock-shaft suitably journalled in brackets is attached to the main frame and
located immediately above the gum-dish. This rock-shaft is provided with arms
attached to guide-blocks, and an arm having a pitman is attached to it. The lower
end of this pitman is bifurcated to fit over the main shaft, and is provided with a
friction-roller, arranged to come in contact with an eccentric keyed or otherwise
fastened to the main-shaft.
A spring, the lower end of which is attached to the main-frame, keeps a friction-
roller against a cam so set on the main-shaft, that when the first cam herein above
mentioned and attached to the same shaft has thrown the picker to the full extent
of its upward stroke the cam against which the spring borne roller bears has
through its connection with the distributing-roller, as already described thrown the
said distributing-roller, across the plane of the picker, which at this period is in such
a position that the distributing-roller comes in contact with its bottom surface. The
said cam is shaped so that this motion is very rapid, causing the distributing-roller,
to pass over the bottom surface of the picker, and return instantaneously; the
stroke being thus very short and quick, gum is applied to the bottom surface of the
picker during the short period that it takes to change its upward into a downward
miovement.
A second gum-dish serving as a gum-reservoir is located in front of the pile of
blanks, below the auxiliary gummer, and contains a gumming-roller which is caused
to revolve in the same direction as the gumming-roller in the first dish and is
provided with a scraper. The gumming rollers carry the gum to the gummers by
which the same is applied to the envelope. The scrapers prevent an excess in the
gum-supply.
こ
The pile of blanks is carried on an elevator operated and constructed in the usual
manner except that the front guide-posts, are provided with spring-wires; designed
to hold the top blank tightly against the back guide-posts in order to ensure that
the top blank shall always be in a position to receive the gum from the picker.
The other parts are substantially the same as those of an ordinary machine of the
same kind but in order to ensure the easy delivery of the top blank onto the carriers,
there are on the bottom surface of the gum-dish, spring-fingers, which come in
contact with the top blank as it is raised by the picker and impart a gentle yet
positive elastic force against the blank, causing it to descend onto the carriers as
desired.
f

page_text: I
I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ENVELOPE MACHINES and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
"
This invention consists essentially in arranging the gumming and picking-up
mechanism for an envelope machine in the manner hereinafter explained.
Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing the gum dishes, gumming rollers, and
other mechanism for gumming or picking up the blank.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same.
Figure 3 is a detail of part of the mechanism for operating the auxiliary
gummer.
Like letters represent like parts in the different figures.
A, is the main frame of the machine.
The main driving' shaft of the machine is propelled by any suitable means and
has attached to it all the cams etc necessary to produce the different motions in the
machine, but as this invention relates only to that portion of the machine which
gums and places the blanks on the carriers it will not be necessary in this
specification to explain the various motions produced by the revolving of the
driving-shaft.
D is a rocking shaft (driven by suitable cam mechanism off the main driving
shaft), the arm D¹ of which is connected as shown to the spindle, E of the vertically
reciprocating picker F.
L is another rocking shaft which carries the arm L' jointed to the horizontal
bar M, the other end of which is connected to and is designed to support the
auxiliary gummer N.
The cam mechanisms are so set on the main shaft that when the picker F has
reached the full length of its downward stroke the auxiliary guminer N has been
caused to reach and act upon the top blank, as hereinafter explained.
P, represents the pile of blanks, and Q, the gum-dish located immediately above
the pile of blanks.
R, is a gumming roller suitably journalled within the gum dish Q, and caused to
revolve so that its upper surface shall travel away from the edge of the gum-dish
next to the picker F.
C is a scraper fixed within the gum dish Q, and provided-in the usual way--
with adjusting screws arranged for the purpose of moving the scraper nearer to or
farther from the surface of the gumming-roller, R, in order that any surplus gum
over that required to supply the distributing-roller shall be scraped off..
Owing to the direction in which the roller R, revolves the scraper C removes
from the said roller any fibre which may have adhered to the gumming-roller when
the distributing-roller last touched it. A clean surface on the gumining roller is
thereby ensured.
The distributing-roller S, is carried in suitable guide-blocks e supported by the
horizontal rods T. These rods T extend from the gum dish Q, to a point beyond
the back of the picker F and are at such a distance apart that the said picker works
freely between them.
U, is a rocking shaft suitably journalled in brackets attached to the main
frame A and located immediately above the gum dish Q. This rocking-shaft is
provided with arms ƒ connected by links f¹ with the guide-blocks e and is operated
by the arm g.

page_text: спать
The cam which operates this rocking shaft U 18 so set on the mam
when the picker F has been thrown to the full extent of its upward stroke the
distributing roller has been thrown across the plane of motion of the picker F, the
said picker being at this period in such a position that the. distributing. roller, S
comes in contact with, its bottom surface.
The cam which operates the rocking shaft U is so shaped that this motion is
very rapid, causing the distributing-roller S to pass over the bottom surface of the
picker and return instantaneously the stroke being thus very short and quick,
gum is applied to the bottom surface of the picker during the short period that it
takes to change its upward into a downward movement.
V, is a second gum dish located in front of the pile of blanks and containing the
gumming roller W, which is caused to revolve in the same direction as the gumming
roller R, and is also provided with a scraper c which scrapes the roller W in the
same manner as the other scraper acts on the roller, R.
.
Having now described the general construction of the parts of the machine
involved in this invention, I shall proceed to describe briefly the operation of that
portion of the machine to which the invention relates.
The pile of blanks, P is carried in an elevator constructed and operated in any
convenient manuer which shall ensure the blanks being kept well up to the picker.
When the picker F, has received gum from the distributing roller S it immediately.
descends upon the pile of blanks P gumming the back flap of the top blank, and
at this period it rests upon the pile of blanks upon which it is pressed by the
downward action of the mechanism which operates the rocking shaft D.
Pressure is thus exerted upon the pile of blanks by the picker F sufficiently
strong to hold the blanks during the period that the auxiliary gummer N, performs
its function, but without arresting the motion of the driving shaft.
After applying gum to the seal flap of the blank the auxiliary gummer N. is
thrown back into contact with the gumming roller W.
When the auxiliary gummer N. is caused to travel towards the pile of blanks the
pin o mounts the curved end of the bridge p as will be easily understood, thereby
carrying with it the auxiliary gummer N keeping it clear of the gumming-
roller W, and raising it to a point above the top of the pile of blanks.
After passing over the top surface of this gumining roller W the pin o which is
attached to the bar M is carried past the back end p¹ of the curved bridge p and is
approximately in the position shown in figures 1 and 3.-The back end pl of the
bridge p is at such a point that when the pin o reaches it the auxiliary gummer N.
is located immediately over the seal Hap of the top blank, and as the pin o falls
over the back end p¹ of the bridge p the auxiliary gummer N comes in contact
with the pile of blanks and the pin o at the same time is carried below the under
side of the bridge p so that on its return stroke the gummer N, is brought into
contact with the gumming roller W, and receives a fresh supply of gum.
The pin o returns underneath the bridge p. the end of which it raises in passing
as shown in Figure 3. in dotted lines (p being jointed at p²) and is supported by the
plate p which prevents gummer N from falling too low as it returns.
When the picker F has rested sufficiently. long on the pile of blanks to allow of
the auxiliary gummer N applying gum to the seal-flap of the top blank, it is caused
to ascend, the gum on the bottom surface of the picker causing the top blank to
adhere to the picker which thereby carries the top blank sufficiently high to permit
the carrier B to pass below it (See Figure 2).
As I claim nothing in the operation of these carriers, and as their operation will
be well understood by those skilled in Envelope-machines it is not necessary to show
or describe the mechanism for operating them. But in order to ensure the easy
delivery of the top blank on to the carriers I place on the bottom surface of the
gum-dish Q, spring fingers q which come in contact with the top blank as it is
raised by the picker and imparts a gentle yet positive elastic force against the
blank, causing it to descend on to the carriers as desired.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. In an envelope machine the method substantially as herein described, of
applying gum to the seal flap of each envelope, by the descent and withdrawal of
an auxiliary gummer while the blank is held by the downward pressure of the
main gummer.
2. In combination with the main gummer or picker F the auxiliary gummer N
and the mechanism whereby it is caused to descend on the blank and to retreat
with a brushing movement substantially as herein described.