IMPROVE- MENTS IN FOLDING NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER PAPERS
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BIRCHALL, of Ribbleton Hall, in, the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifth day of August,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Birchall, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Birchall, my
exors, adñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Thomas Birchall,
my exors, adññors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FOLDING NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER PAPERS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Thomas Birchall, should cause
a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had; will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Birchall, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention has for its object the so arranging mechanical parts into a
machine, that newspapers and other papers may be folded and refolded by the
machine so as to produce folds to newspapers and other papers, similar to
what is now done by hand.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed,
in the various Figures of which the same letters indicate similar parts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shews a front view, Figure 2 a back view, Figure 3 a plan, with
the top plate removed in order to the parts being more clearly seen; and
Figure 4 is a left-hand end view of a machine constructed according to my
Invention. a, a, is the main framing; b is an axis, to which motion is given
in any suitable manner. On this axis b is affixed the pinion c, which takes
into and gives motion to the toothed wheel d, which turns upon a stud
projecting from the main framing, and which gives motion to the other parts,
as will be hereafter described. e, e, is the top or bed plate, on which is placed
the newspaper or other papers to be folded, as is shewn by the yellow line.
fis a bar, to which is affixed the blade f¹, by which the first creasing for
folding is effected. The barf and blade f¹ have an up and down motion
given to them, as will presently be more clearly seen. In descending, the
blade presses the paper placed on the table e down between the pair of
rollers g, g, thereby giving a preparatory fold to the paper. One of such
rollers 9 having on its front end a pinion g' which receives motion
through the intermediate wheels, as shewn, from the wheel d, and by
means of these rollers 9 the paper is conducted down to between the
rollers h, h. The bar and blade f¹ have motion given to them in the
following manner:-On the wheel d are affixed the trucks or rollers f,
which in the revolution of the wheel d come under the lever f³, raising and
lowering it by passing between the course formed on that lever. This lever ƒ³
turns at one end on the pin f, and at the other end it is connected by means of
the link fo to the arm fo affixed to the bevilled pinion f, whereby the bevilled
pinion will have an alternating partial rotation given to it. The wheel f

page_text: gears into the bevilled pinion f on the axis f, to which is affixed an arm f10,
which by means of a link f" is connected to one end of the lever f¹, the
other end of which is connected by means of the link f" to the lever f",
which turns upon a centre pin f1, carried by the main framing, and by means
of the link f¹ it is connected to the sliding plate f, to which the bar f is affixed,
whereby the barf will receive an up and down motion at each half revolution
of the wheel d. The paper having passed down between the rollers g, g, and
being between the rollers h, h, it is in a position to be acted upon by the
second folding instruments i, which project upwards from the slide ¹, and this
slide is caused to move to and fro between suitable guides carried by the
main framing in the following manner :-The trucks or rollers f*, on the wheel
d, in the revolution of the wheel d act also upon the lever, so as to give
motion thereto, first towards the right-hand side of the machine and then,
as the wheel revolves in the direction of the arrow, the trucks f will come
against the projection from the lever and will then pass down the groove
formed therein and shewn by dotted lines, by which the lever will be brought
back again to its original position. The upper end of the lever turns upon
the pin projecting from the main framing, the other end is connected by
means of the link to the lever, which turns upon the axis to, and by means
of the link is connected to the slide ¹, in order to give the to and fro motion.
thereto. The movement of the slide to the left causes the blade i to come
against the folded paper resting between the rollers h, h, and its continued
progress in that direction will cause the paper to be again folded at right
angles to the former fold by causing it to pass between the centre pair of
rollers h, h. The instrument i forces the fresh fold between the springs j,j.
The instrument i then recedes, leaving the paper between the springs j, j, and
the upright rollers 7,7. The springs ; are provided with felt or vulcanized
india rubber on their insides, in order to their better holding the paper whilst
the instrument i recedes therefrom. The paper is then in a position to be
operated upon by the third folding instrument k, which is capable of sliding
to and fro on V guides carried by the framing, there being a link k¹, by which
the instrument k is connected to the arm 2 affixed to the axis k, on which is
affixed the pinion, which is geared into by the pinion on the shaft f, so
that as the shaft fo receives partial rotation it will communicate the required
to and fro motion to the instrument k. In the movement of the instrument k
towards the back of the machine it will press against the paper, which will
readily release itself from its holding between the springs j, j, and the paper
will be again folded in half, as shewn, by being forced between the two centre
pair of rollers, j', when the instrument k will again recede towards the front,

page_text: leaving the paper in a position to be acted upon by the fourth folding instru
ment l. This instrument is supported by its arms ¹ in bearings from the
main framing, and has motion given to it, as I will now describe.
1 is a
projection from the slide it, this projection, as the slide 2 moves towards the left-
hand end of the machine, comes in contact with the lever 13, which turns loosely
on the shaft, and by means of a link is connected to an arm 76 from the
shaft l',. to which is affixed the arms, which have slotted openings in their
upper ends to receive studs or projections from the arms l', so that as the lever l³
is moved towards the left hand (looking from the front towards the back of the
machine) the fourth folding instrument will cause the paper to be folded:a
fourth time by its being pressed between the rollers m, m. In this movement the
stud /² will escape the end of the lever ³, and in its further movement it will come
against the arm 1º, affixed to the shaft l, on which is affixed the arm /*, which
is connected, by means of the link 70, to another arm ", affixed to the upper
side of the shaft F, by which the instrument 1, and parts connected therewith,
will be brought back into their original position, and they will have a tendency
to remain in that position by reason of the springs . The lower end of the
lever is formed with a rule joint to enable the stud. to pass back again.
The paper, thus having been several times folded, each time at right angles to
the former fold, is now conducted, by means of the tapes n, n (which are
shewn by green lines), partly round the drum o, and thence out between the
rollers P. P, from the machine to any suitable receiver. The drum o is driven,
by means of a pinion g, on the end of one of the rollers g, taking into a
toothed wheel o' on the axis of the drum o.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is carried into effect, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the various details herein shewn and described, so long as
the peculiar character of my Invention be retained; and although I have
described the paper to be fed into the machine by hand, I do not confine
myself to that arrangement, as in some cases the same may be conducted by
means of tapes direct from the printing machine to the folding machine. But
what I claim is, the combining mechanical parts into a machine, as herein
described, whereby newspapers and other papers may be folded and refolded,
as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Birchall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of February, in the year of our Lord.One
thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
.
THOMAS (L.S.) BIRCHALL.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the First day of February, in the
year of our Lord 1848, the aforesaid Thomas Birchall came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.