Improvements relating to Envelope Folding Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 18th Feb., 1893-Accepted. 8th Apr.. 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Envelope Folding Machines.
I, WILLIAM Cowper Pellatt, of 268 Brockley Road, Kent, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to detail constructive features, and combination arrange-
ments of the creasing and flap folding appliances of envelope folding machines, the
object being to make those parts more compact, more reliable in their action, with
less weight and bulk, and consequent less cost.
To carry my invention into practice, I employ four cams only on the under shaft
for effecting all the motions by levers therefrom.
I give the folding box which has the folding flaps attached, a straight up and
down movement, and I operate the flaps by tappets on or from the fixed table, said
flaps being returnable by springs.
The folding box has a movable bottom, and at the completion of each folding,
the envelope slides away. This folding box and the plunger are worked from one
cam, the gatherer and feed carriage or slide from another cam, the pickers from
the third cam and the "gummer" with a side swing motion from the fourth, these
being arranged to act upon their levers in sequence for the several duties for which
they are fitted.
The folding flan tannets are adiustable.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Envelope Folding Machines.
I, WILLIAM COWPER PELLATT, of 268 Brockley Road, Kent, Engineer, 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 detail constructive features, and combination arrange™
ments of the creasing and flap folding appliances of envelope folding machines, the
object being to make those parts more compact, more reliable in their action, with
less weight and bulk, and consequent less cost.
To carry my invention into practice, I employ four cams only on the under shaft
for effecting all the motions by levers therefrom. I give the folding box which has
the folding flaps attached, a straight up and down movement, and I operate the
flaps by tappets on or from the fixed table, said flaps being returnable by springs.
The folding box has a movable bottom, and at the completion of each folding,
the envelope slides away. This folding box and the plunger are worked from one
cam, the gatherer and pickers from another cam, the slide from the third cam, and
the gummer with a side swing motion from the fourth, these being arranged to act
upon their levers in sequence for the several duties for which they are fitted.
My invention will be clearly understood on referring to the accompanying
6 sheets of drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine with one side frame removed, and
Figure 2 a rear elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is an elevation partly in section to more clearly show the several parts.

page_text: and
we are top plan and sectional pian on line 2 Figure 1 respectively,
Figures 6, 7, and 8 are enlarged perspective views of the folding mechanism.
To carry my invention into practice, I employ four cams A, B, C, D, fixed upon
the under or main shaft E to move the levers F, G, H, I respectively in their
sequential order for operating the slide J, plunger K, folding box L, picker M,
packer N, and swing gummer P in the manner hereinafter fully described, the
levers being loosely mounted on the back shaft E'.
About midway between the table Q, and stretcher bars R, is arranged a cross
piece S fixed to the side frames T in any suitable manner, and through which the
guide rod L' of the box L works. Uprising from the cross piece S are two parallel
guide rods U upon which the lugs V of the folding box L slide when it is moved
up and down by the connecting rod W jointed at one end thereto, the other end of
the rod W being jointed to the lever G for operation by the cam B which also
causes the up and down movement of the plunger K by the crank Y engaging in a
race Y¹ fixed on the plunger rod, and a similar crank Z fixed at the opposite end
of a rocking spindle a, and jointed to the connecting rod 6 for movement by. the
lever G, to which the lower end of said connecting rod b is attached.
The cam A is formed with a slight flat on its edge, causing a certain amount of
dwell in the movement of the slide J to allow the levers F and F that operate the
plunger K to push the blank of paper through the aperture d of the slide table e
(see Figure 7) into the folding box L, the hinged flaps ƒ ƒfƒ, which are opened
and held in the vertical position, shown in Figures 3 and 8, by the small rollers 9, 9,
acting upon the arms ffff, during the upward travel of the box Li and
through an aperture formed in the table Q.
•
The picker M is attached to a beam h, and is raised and lowered by the two
rods i, i, under the action of the lever H, and heart shaped cam C and transverse
rodj fixed in the boss of said lever H. The rod j also operates the packer N by
means of the depending lever & striking the part of the packer N, which is pivoted
at m, and causes it to gather the envelopes into the trough as they fall from the
folding box L, the shoot p guiding them into the required position for such
gathering.
The gumming roller P is suitably mounted upon a swing arm g fixed at one end
to the top of a spindler and operated by the cam D, and lever I to swing the roller
outwards to the position indicated by the dotted central line in Figure 4 for the
purpose of gumming the under side of the picker, previous to its descent upon the
paper blanks t, and is returned to its original position by the spiral tension spring t
Figure 2. The duct roller u is carried in suitable bearings formed upon the
reservoir v, and is revolved by the belt w from the under shaft E.
Upon referring more particularly to Figure 2, it will be seen that the folding
box L has a drop down door w' hinged upon a rod za spring y tending to keep the
door w¹ always upon the roller z, which when the box L is lowered, assumes a
vertical position, the lever a' being lifted by the cam b¹ upon the downward
movement of the folding box, so that when the flaps f,f,f,, are pressed down
upon said door w¹ under the action of the springs e it will not yield.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
A number of blanks t cut to the required shape with the sealing flap already
gummed and dried are piled upon each other, and placed in the position shown in
the top plan Figure 3, that is to say, with one of the folding flaps immediately
under the picker M, which upon the shaft E being set in motion by a belt upon the
pulley A will be lifted above the table e by means of the heart shaped cam C,
lever H resting thereon, and rods i, i. Said picker M is lifted sufficiently high
above the table c¹ to allow the gumming roller to swing to the position indicated
by the dotted central line in Figure 4, and gum the underside of said picker M;
which then descends upon the topmost blank t and lifts it into contact with the
wire d¹.
·
The slide J, under the action of the spring J', (the cam A being at this time

page_text: receding) moves under the blank t, and draws it along by the hooks e' until it is
immediately under the plunger K and above the orifice d of the slide table e.
The plunger K descends and pushes the blank down into the folding box L,
which has simultaneously risen to its position with its flaps f,f,f,f, open ready to
receive same, it being guided into the box L by the corner pieces 9 depending from
the orifice d of the table e. This process turns up the four flaps of the blank, and
it only remains to close them down in their proper order to complete the envelope
which is accomplished by lowering the box L, and causing the hinged flaps ƒ to
close tightly down upon the trap or door w¹ under the action of the springs c, an
extra stiff spring ell, Figure 1, being provided to exert more pressure upon the flap
gummed by the picker, and thus ensure its sticking tightly to the two end flaps
folded beneath it.
The arms f,f", are arranged in such a position that they leave the rollers g¹ sooner
than the others, and consequently fold the end flaps first, the flap ƒ³ being next,
and flast.
The box L upon its uprising operates the lever a¹ to move the roller z from its
vertical position to that shown in Figure 3, the door or trap w', assuming an inclined
position, discharges the envelope into the trough n to be gathered by the packer N,
as before described.
The flaps fcan be adjusted upon the box L by shifting the bearings to which they
are hinged.
One of the advantages by the use of the swing gum roller is, in machines in
which pocket, or bag shaped envelopes are folded, the swing gummer would
cover the side and the end pickers which are essential for such bag, or pocket
envelopes.
Pocket or bag shaped envelopes can be folded in the foregoing machine by simply
substituting the proper shape of box and plunger for the ordinary form of envelope
shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In an envelope folding machine, the arrangement of the working parts, and
their method of operation from, or by four cams on a main shaft through the
intermediation of levers, and a back shaft, as described and shown.
2. In an envelope folding machine, arranging the movable or folding flaps and
the movable bottom to a vertically movable box, in such manner that from the
motion of the box, the flaps can, by springs, be operated for folding purposes,
and returned to an open condition by tail pieces riding against rollers, or pro-
jections during the uprising action of the box, as set forth, and substantially as
shown.
3. In an envelope folding machine, the means by which the plunger and the box
move towards and recede from each other under the control of compound levers
working from a single cam on the main shaft for the purpose, or purposes described,
and substantially as shown in the annexed drawings.
4. In or to an envelope folding machine, the employment of a swing armed
gummer roller actuated from a motioned part of the machine for taking gum from
a ductor, or its equivalent, and conveying it to the pickers by a swinging or slewing
action, as set forth, and substantially as shown.