IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MARKING AND FOLDING STOCKINGS AND OTHER ARTICLES, AND. DEPOSITING THEM IN BOXES
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Lloyd Wise at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th February 1878. (A communication
from abroad by Oscar Webendoerfer, of Kappel, near Chemnitz, in the Kingdom
of Saxony.)
WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of Chandos Chambers, Adelphi, in the County of Mid-
dlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MARKING AND
FOLDING STOCKINGS AND OTHER ARTICLES, AND. DEPOSITING THEM IN BOXES." (A
communication from abroad by Oscar Webendoerfer, of Kappel, near Chemnitz, in
the Kingdom of Saxony.)
This Invention relates to a machine whereby stockings and other similar articles
may be printed with numbers, trade or other marks, folded as required, and
deposited in suitable boxes.
The complete machine comprises a receiving cylinder, printing apparatus, laying
and folding mechanism, transferring apparatus, and a box table.
The receiving cylinder is provided at (three) equidistant points of its periphery
with grippers. When the cylinder has arrived in a suitable position the article
(which I will herein-after suppose to be a stocking) to be printed, folded, and depo-
sited in a box, having been placed in position, will be seized by a gripper and be
carried through two-thirds of a revolution of the cylinder. During this part of
the revolution of the receiving cylinder the stocking will be printed.
The printing apparatus is mounted in a suitable position to the receiving
cylinder, and consists of the necessary details for printing. It is so arranged that
the type, numbers, ornaments, or trade marks to be printed on the stocking may be
easily fixed on the peripheries of disks or rings; it further comprises a color reser-
voir and rollers which deliver the color to the type or printing surfaces. The
receiving cylinder having three sets of grippers as above mentioned, that is to say,
three on each side of the centre of the cylinder, so that three stockings will be
taken by the cylinder on each side at each revolution of the same, it follows that
the diameter of the printing disks or rings is equal to one-third of the diameter of
the cylinder, so that the printing disks or rings will make three revolutions during
one revolution of the receiving cylinder. The stocking having passed the printing

page_text: apparatus, and been thereby printed, passes under an endless apron which revolves
with the receiving cylinder, whereby it is driven by friction, and the stocking is
carried forward till the receiving cylinder has accomplished two-thirds of a
revolution.
To
The receiving cylinder and printing apparatus are connected by gearing, so that
the printing apparatus will only be rotated when the receiving cylinder rotates.
The rotation of the receiving cylinder is intermittent, so that it will rotate a certain
period, and will rest a certain period, and this rotating and resting of the cylinder
will be repeated three times during each complete revolution of the same.
accomplish this intermittent rotation teeth are at proper intervals and positions
omitted in the gear wheel fixed on the shaft of the receiving cylinder, so that
the driving gear wheel may continue to rotate while the cylinder temporarily
stops.
To again start the rotation of the receiving cylinder to-and-fro motion is given to
a lever by means of a cam on a suitable shaft of the machine, and by means of bell-
crank levers at proper intervals, so that a forked end of the above lever will in due
time catch a projecting stud on the side of the gear wheel fixed on the cylinder
shaft; this will move the cylinder gear wheel into gear with the driving gear.
The laying and folding apparatus consists mainly as follows:-On and over
suitable stationary semi-cylinders a number of mechanical devices operate in such
wise as to seize the stocking delivered by the receiving cylinder, and to place that
stocking in such a position over the semicircular part of the semi-cylinder that it
(the stocking) may be folded into proper shape by mechanical arms while it is
held by suitable blades or rulers. Aftor the folding the stocking is delivered to a
transferring device which will hereafter be described.
As already mentioned the receiving cylinder will receive stockings at each side
therefore the devices for placing, holding, and folding the stockings must be repeated
at each side of the centre of the semi-cylinder above mentioned.
;
The operations of the laying apparatus are as follow:--Pincers catch the stocking
when leaving the grippers of the receiving cylinder and draw the stocking over
the semicircular part of the semi-cylinder; thus one part of its leg and one part of
its foot are laid over two laying arms, while two blades or rulers, which at the
proper moment advance from the middle of the machine, are placed over the
stocking to keep it in place; a motion is then imparted to the laying arms in such
a manner that first the foot end of the stocking is folded over that part which is
kept in place by the blades or rulers, then the opposite part (the leg) is folded over
the two parts by the second laying arm. Then the blades or rulers which up to
this moment have remained between the folded stocking retire towards the middle
of the machine, while the laying arm last mentioned makes a sudden motion
towards the centre of the semi-cylinder in order to fall heavily upon the folding
line of the stocking so that the latter remains folded. A trap door in the periphery
of the semi-cylinder afterwards opens to let the stocking drop to the transferring
apparatus, which is so arranged that the stockings printed and folded at both sides
of the machine are deposited and packed in one and the same box in front of the
machine. This is effected by means of a number of flies or vibrating frames with
fingers similar to those which deliver the printed sheets from a printing machine to
the table or heap.
One fly is mounted in such a situation that it will deliver all folded stockings
placed upon it into a box, the situation of this fly being such, that from one side of
the machine the folded stocking will be delivered to it by a second fly, while, in order
to deliver to the first-mentioned fly the folded stocking of the other side of the
machine, two other flies are provided, which carry the folded stocking of this latter
side of the machine to the first-mentioned fly, which delivers the folded stockings
into the box.
The box table has a self-acting movement, and is able to carry a number of boxes
to be filled with printed and folded stockings. It is provided with apparatus
whereby when the required number of folded stockings has been deposited in a box

page_text: the table is caused to move in order to bring an empty box under the action of the
fly while the filled box is removed by the advance of the table.
The details of construction may be varied without departing from the distinctive
characteristics of the Invention, and the number of blades or rulers employed for
keeping the stockings in position whilst being folded, as also the position of such
blades or rulers, may be varied, according to the form of the hosiery goods to be
folded.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned operations of folding, transferring, and packing
stockings and other hosiery may be combined in one machine operated by treadle.
For this purpose the machine may be arranged to have only one article under
operation at a time.