IMPROVEMENTS IN ENVELOPE FOLDING MACHINES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Josiah Montague Goodall, of Camden Works,
Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex, Manufacturer, for the
Invention of." IMPROVEMENTS IN ENVELOPE FOLDING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Josiah Montague
Goodall at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 19th August 1878.
I, JOSIAH MONTAGUE GOODALL, of Camden Works, Camden Town,
5 in the County of Middlesex, Manufacturer,.do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENVELOPE FOLDING MACHINES,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has reference more particularly to those envelope
folding machines in which a revolving disc or table having recesses is
0 employed, each recess being of the size of an envelope, the said disc or
table being caused to make a portion of a revolution at each action of
the machine, and the envelope blanks being fed singly and discharged

page_text: singly in a finished state after having made a complete revolution with
the disc or table.
The improvements consist in an automatic arrangement for feeding
the envelope blanks to the revolving disc, in a mode or means of
preventing the end flap of the blanks being bent outwards by the current 5
produced by the revolution of the disc, and thereby escaping the folding
finger, and in an automatic arrangement for gathering and piling the
finished envelopes.
For feeding the envelope blanks to the revolving disc I employ a
sucker, which first comes down upon the pile of envelope blanks, then 1
lifts the uppermost blank and carries it, describing the arc of a circle, to
the revolving disc, to which it delivers it, the sucker then returns
through the same arc to the pile of blanks, lifts another blank, and so
on. The sucker is in connection with a pump, which alternately exhausts
the air therefrom to allow of the lifting of the successive blanks, and 1
admits air to allow of their being delivered to the revolving disc.
The to-and-fro motion is imparted to the sucker by means of a
bent or cranked arm, which is connected thereto, and has a reciprocating
rotary motion on a horizontal axis.
In order to prevent the end flap being bent outwards by the current 2
produced by the revolution of the disc I carry a small pipe from the
pump, which works the sucker to such a position as to blow against
the end flap of the envelope and give it an inward inclination, so that
the folding finger is sure to come on the outside of it and fold it
properly.
For gathering and piling the finished envelopes I employ a gathering
table, which is mounted on a revolving shaft. This table is formed of a
number of blades or vanes (by preference three) after the fashion of a
short multi-threaded screw. It is made of a disc of metal or other
suitable material, of say half an inch in thickness, and a number of narrow
concentric annular grooves are formed on both sides of the disc, the
grooves on the one side being of different diameters to the grooves on
the other side so as to admit of each groove being of a depth of more
than one-half the thickness of the disc.
Immediately beneath the gathering table is a box or trough, into
which the envelopes are to be delivered, their descent through the
2

page_text: gathering table being caused in the following manner :-As each finished
envelope is delivered from the revolving disc of the folding portion of
the machine it is received on to one of the vanes of the gathering table,
which revolves in the contrary direction to the revolution of the said
disc, and is so timed as to correctly receive it, and the thickness of the
vane is so cut away on the leading edge of its upper side as to present
an inclined plane, on which the envelope lies with its lowest end
somewhat below the leading edge of the next vane, which is rounded
off or inclined from below to facilitate its passage smoothly over the
envelope.
To prevent the envelope being thrown too far on to the gathering
table, as also to prevent its being carried forward by the motion of the
vanes, fixed pieces or stops project from above and below into the
narrow concentric grooves formed in the vanes, and being thus pre-
vented overrunning or receding the envelope is carried directly down
by the under surface of the advancing vane of the gathering table into
the receiving box or trough below. The bottom of this box on which
the pile of envelopes rests is balanced by a weight carried by a line
over a pulley, and yields to allow of the accumulation of envelopes
gathered thereon until their removal at intervals by an attendant.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Josiah Montague Goodall in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th February 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSIAH
MONTAGUE GOODALL, of Camden Works, Camden Town, in the County
of Middlesex, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Josiah Montague Goodall, Her special
licence that I, the said Josiah Montague Goodall, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Josiah
Montague Goodall, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
any
time
agree

page_text: 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 ENVELOPE FOLDING MACHINES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Josiah Montague Goodall, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, 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 Josiah Montague Goodall, do hereby.
declare the nature of my 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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention has reference more particularly to those envelope
folding machines in which a revolving disc or table having recesses is
employed, each recess being of the size of an envelope, the said disc or
table being caused to make a portion of a revolution at each action of
the machine, and the envelope blanks being fed singly and discharged
singly in a finished state after having made a complete revolution with
the disc or table.
The improvements consist in an automatic arrangement for feeding the
envelope blanks to the revolving disc, in a mode or means of preventing
the end flaps of the blanks being bent outwards by the current produced
by the revolution of the disc, and thereby escaping the folding finger,
and in an automatic arrangement for gathering and piling the finished
envelopes.
For feeding the envelope blanks to the revolving disc I employ a
sucker, which comes upon the pile of envelope blanks, then lifts the
uppermost blank and carries it to the revolving disc to which it delivers
it, the sucker then returns to the pile of blanks, lifts another blank and
so on. The sucker is in connection with a pump, which alternately
exhausts the air therefrom to allow of the lifting of the successive
blanks, and admits air to allow of their being delivered to the revolving
disc.

page_text: The to-and-fro movement may be imparted to the sucker by means of
a bent or cranked arm which is connected thereto, and has a reciprocating
rotary motion on a horizontal axis, or the reciprocating movement may
be given in any other convenient manner.
In order to prevent the end flaps being bent outwards by the current
produced by the revolution of the disc I carry a small pipe from the
pump which works the sucker, to such a position as to blow against
the end flap of the envelope, and give it an inward inclination, so that
the folding finger is sure to come on the outside of it and fold it
properly.
For gathering and piling the finished envelopes I employ a gathering
table which is mounted on a revolving shaft; this table is formed of a
number of blades or vanes (by preference three) after the fashion of a.
short multi-threaded screw. It is made of a disc of metal or other
suitable material of, say half an inch in 'thickness, and a number of
narrow concentric annular grooves are formed on both sides of the disc,
the grooves on the one side being of different diameters to the grooves
on the other side, so as to admit of the depth of the grooves being more
than one half the thickness of the disc.
Immediately beneath the gathering table is a box or trough, into
which the envelopes are to be delivered, their descent through the
gathering table being caused in the following manner :-As each finished
envelope is delivered from the revolving disc of the folding portion of
the machine it is received on to one of the vanes of the gathering table,
which moves in the contrary direction, and is so timed as to correctly
receive it, and the thickness of the vane is so cut away on the leading
edge of its upper side as to present an inclined plane, on which the
envelope lies with its lowest end somewhat below the leading edge of the
next vane, which is rounded off or inclined from below to facilitate its
passage smoothly over the envelope.
To prevent the envelope being thrown too far on to the gathering
table, as also to prevent its being carried forward by the motion of the
vanes, fixed, pieces or stops project from above and below into the narrow'
concentric grooves formed in the vanes, and being thus prevented over-
running or receding the envelope is carried directly down by the under
surface of the advancing vane of the gathering table into the receiving
box or trough below. The bottom of this box on which the pile. of
envelopes rests is balanced by a weight carried by a line over a pulley,

page_text: and yields to allow of the accumulation of envelopes gathered thereon
until their removal at intervals by an attendant.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood,
and readily carried into effect, I proceed to describe the accompanying
Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2, an end elevation; and Figure
3, a plan of an envelope folding machine constructed according to my
Invention.
A, A, are the driving pulleys on a horizontal shaft B. This shaft B
carries a cog wheel C, into which gears another cog wheel D on a second
horizontal shaft E. The end of this shaft has a crank pin carrying a
block F, which is free to move longitudinally on a lever G, to which it
imparts a rising and falling motion. The lever G works at one end on
an axis in the framework at H. The shaft B also carries a bevel pinion I,
which gears with a bevel wheel K on a vertical shaft L. This shaft
carries a pin which as the said shaft rotates takes successively into each
of four radial slots M in a piece N. This piece N is fixed to a vertical
shaft O, on which the rotating table P is carried; thus each time the pin
on the shaft L takes into one of the slots M the table P is caused to
make a quarter revolution. This table rests upon a stationary bed or
table Q, and has four rectangular openings R.
The bevel pinion I before mentioned also gears into a second bevel
wheel S, the shaft of which carries a cam T. This cam works in and
imparts a to-and-fro motion to a box U on one end of a rod V, the
opposite end of which is connected to a crank or arm W on the lower
end of a vertical shaft X. The to-and-fro motion of the box U and rod V
thus gives a reciprocating rotary motion to the shaft X.
The upper
end of this shaft carries a bevel pinion Y in gear with another bevel
pinion Z, which is mounted on a rod a supported in brackets b, b. The
rod a is connected by a link c to another rod d, and these two rods
have at their opposite ends cranked arms e, e, which are jointed to a
metal tube f, the lower end of this tube. ƒ carries a sucker fl
herein-after more fully described, while to the upper end is connected
an elastic tube 9, leading from an air pump h. This pump is worked
from a cam i on the shaft E by means of a roller k, which works in the
said cam, and is carried by a beam 7, one end of which is centred at m,
while the other end is attached to the pump rod n. A pipe o leads from

page_text: the
pump, and terminates at a point just above the rotating table, as
seen in Figure 1. p is a bracket fixed to the frame of the machine, and
carrying four uprights q, q, which form guides for the table r, r, and for
the envelope blanks which are piled thereon. The table r has attached
to it cords 8; 8, which pass over pulleys t, t, the shaft of which has a
counterweight u.
The cog wheel C, in addition to gearing with the wheel D, gears with
a pinion on one end of a shaft, the opposite end of which carries a
worm w. This worm gears with a worm wheel x, which in turn gears
with another wheel y on the shaft of a gathering table 2, which thus
receives rotary motion. a¹ is a box or trough below the table z. The
bottom of this box has a cord attached thereto, which passes over a
pulley 6', and carries a counterweight c¹.
Such being the construction and-arrangement of the principal parts of
the machine I proceed to describe the action.
A pile of envelope blanks having been placed upon the table r and
motion having been imparted to the machine the sucker f¹ comes upon
the uppermost blank and the air in the tube g being at this moment
exhausted by the pump ŉ the blank adheres to the sucker. The
reciprocating rotary motion of the cranked arms e, e, imparted as
herein-before explained now lifts the sucker with the blank and carries
them to the position seen in the Figures, where (the air being again
admitted into the sucker) the blank is deposited over one of the
openings R in the revolving table P the sucker returning for another
blank.
The first quarter revolution of the table P carries the blank under the
lever G which bears the device to be embossed on the seal flap of the
envelope and also carries the gum vessel d³, the lever G descends and
embosses the seal flap while the gum vessel applies the requisite gum to
the other flaps.
The second quarter revolution carries the blank to the creasing box
and under the block g', which being fixed to and moving up and down
with the lever G descends and forces the envelope through the opening
in the table P and a slight distance into a box in the stationary
table Q and between which and the block g¹ the blank is creased.
When the block g¹ rises the bottom of the box is forced up by
springs sufficiently to bring the creased blank up to the level of the
table P.

page_text: As
The third quarter revolution brings the blank under the folding
block ¹, and it is in this movement that the pipe o comes into use.
the creased blank is being moved quickly round with the flaps standing
upright, or nearly so, the resistance of the air has a tendency to bend
the end blank outwards, so that it is not sure of being caught by the
folding fingers, but the puff or blast of air forced by the pump h and
issuing from the end of the pipe o gives the end flap an inward
inclination, so that the folding finger is sure to come on the outside of
it and fold it properly. I have not thought it necessary to describe in
detail the mechanism for embossing, gumming, creasing, and folding
the blank as it is moved round from point to point of the revolving
table, this mechanism being well understood.
In the fourth quarter of the revolution of the table the finished
envelope falls through an opening in the stationary table Q upon one of
the vanes of the gathering table which moves in a contrary direction
to the overlapping part of the table P. One of the vanes of the
gathering table is shewn detached on a larger scale in a Figures 4, 5,
and 6; Figure 4 being a plan, Figure 5 a view of the under side, and
Figure 6 a section through the line 1 1 of Figure 4. It is made of a
disc of about half an inch in thickness having three (or more) vanes
or blades; there are formed in it a number of concentric annular
grooves q¹ of a depth greater than half the thickness of the disc on both
sides, those on one side being of different diameters to those on the other
for the purpose herein-before explained. Upper and lower stops take
into these grooves as herein-before explained. Each vane is so cut away
on the leading edge of its upper side as to present an inclined plane on
which the envelope which falls upon it lies with its lower end below the
leading edge of the next vane. As the stops above named prevent the
envelope overrunning or receding it is carried directly down by the
under surface of the advancing vane and falls into the box a¹. As
the pile and consequently the weight of envelopes in this box increases,
the counterweight c is gradually overcome, and the bottom of the box
therefore yields gradually to allow the envelopes to accumulate until
they can be removed.
I have herein-before described the movements and treatment of a
single envelope blank, but it will of course be understood that the sucker
supplies a fresh blank to the revolving table at every quarter revolution,
and that when the machine is at work there are always four blanks at

page_text: different parts of the table at the same time. As the pile of blanks on
the table diminishes the table is raised by the counterweight u. The
table is composed of an upper and a lower piece, the upper piece being
slightly inclined as shewn so as to allow the blanks to be a little
inclined towards the sucker. But as the scal flaps of the blanks
have been previously gummed and are consequently thicker than
their other portions, the inclination of the uppermost blank will
naturally be greater or less according as there is a greater or fewer
number of blanks on the table, it is therefore desirable to have some
means of compensating for the decrease of inclination as the pile
diminishes, and I effect this by means of a rod h¹ working in a guide ¿¹
adjustable by means of a screw k¹.
The sucker f¹ is shewn detached on a larger scale in Figures 7, 8,
and 9, Figure 7 being a side elevation, Figure 8 a vertical section, and
Figure 9 a view of the under side. It is composed of upper and lower
rigid pieces 1, m³, to the upper of which the tube fis connected while
the lower is formed with several apertures; these two pieces are hinged
together at p¹, and are connected together at the sides and front by
leather or other like suitable material n¹, and at the back there is a
spring flap or valve o'. When the air in f, g, is exhausted the flap o¹
closes, but when the pump ceases to draw the flap o' springs open so
that air at once enters the sucker, and allows the envelope blank to be
deposited on the table P.
.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,
constructing envelope folding machines, substantially as herein-before
described and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Josiah Montague Goodall, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of
February, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.