IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO ROTARY WEB PRINTING AND FOLDING MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
We JOHN HENRY BUXTON, Newspaper Manager, DAVIES BRAITHWAITE and
MARK SMITH, Printers Engineers, all of the City of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN OR APPLICABLE TO ROTARY WEB PRINTING AND FOLDING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
"
"
Our improvements are intended to be applied and combined with rotary web
letter press printing machines more especially of that class known as the "Victory"
and relates to mechanism to be substituted for that used in the said "Victory'
machine for effecting what is known as the cross folding and the delivery of the
printed sheets in which mechanism a great number of carrying tapes are used
which are liable to wear out rapidly and break when in use causing stoppage and
delay in the working of the machine.
'
By our improvements we dispense with the greater part of the tapes hitherto
used and arrange the folding mechanism so as to occupy less space.
Our invention relates to a combination or to combinations of mechanism, with
the rotary Web printing and part of its folding mechanism the principal feature of
which consists in combining with the three existing folding cylinders three other
folding cylinders placed at a right angle to the former for effecting what is termed
cross folding."
the
The added cross folding cylinders are or may be arranged in bearings in suitable
framing with their axes in a horizontal position and vertically one over the other.
There is a space left. between the delivery cylinder of the three ordinary first
folding cylinders and the nearest ends of the cross folding cylinders, and the two
sets of folding cylinders are geared and timed to rotate together by a suitable shaft
and bevel gearing.
The lower of two sets of guiding and carrying tapes pass round the ordinary
delivery first folding cylinder and pass under and over suitable guide and driving
rollers the upper set of tapes also pass over suitable guiding rollers and the papers
are guided from the delivery folding cylinder between those sides of the upper aud
lower set of tapes which come in contact and move together.
These two sets of guiding and carrying tapes are, and nove parallel, to the axes
of the cross folding rollers, and there is a space without tapes in the upper set
-

page_text: where the middle cross folding cylinder would be in the way and about one tape is
absent from the lower set of tapes where it would also be in the way under the
centre of the middle cross folding cylinder.
The cross folding cylinders are of such length as to be able to fold one two or
more sheets in the length and thus each cross folding cylinder, when arranged for 5
folding two papers at the same time (as hereinafter supposed) has two separate sets
of knives and grippers, all arranged in the same line on the cylinders, and actuated
at the same time, and by the same mechanisın. Instead of saying that there aro
two sets of knives and grippers, they may be treated and considered as one set with
a space between them. The two sets of tapes convey the sheets of paper which 1
have been folded from the ordinary folding cylinders to the cross folding cylinders,
but movable stops are arranged to arrest the movement of each partly folded sheet
for a time, to reduce the space between it and the following sheet, thus every other
sheet is stopped by the first movable stop just before it arrives at the ends of the
cross folding cylinders, and every other alternate sheet is arrested by a second
movable stop when just under the first half of the cross folding cylinders, but two
succeeding sheets move under the cylinders at the same time (that is, the one
against the first stop and the one immediately following it) the first of which sheets
comes against a fixed stop when under the second half of the cylinders, and the
second sheet is arrested by the second movable stop when under the first half of
the cylinders.
At this moment the lower cross folding cylinder (which though hereinbefore
described as a cylinder need only be a shaft with a disc at each end) brings its
knives to act upon both sheets simultaneously and double them in the middle and
force the double part into the grippers of the middle folding cylinder above it
which has also a knife to force the sheet doubled in the middle into the grippers of
the upper folding cylinder.
The knife of the middle and grippers of the upper folding cylinders have their
ends carried in discs or wheels at each end of and concentric with the cylinders
these wheels gearing into each other, so that when the knife in one cylinder is
adjusted the grippers in the other will be simultaneously and correspondingly
adjusted one to the other, and then both are secured, such adjustment being
required to suit the various sizes of sheets to be folded.
These arrangement of grippers and knives and mode of simultaneous adjustment
one to the other to suit different sizes of sheets is also applicable where required to
the ordinary first folding cylinders.
The grippers and knives in the cross folding cylinders are arranged and actuated
for operation same as those in the ordinary first folding cylinders. The sheets aro
carried by and delivered from the upper cross folding cylinders, by two sets of tapes
one short set passes in grooves round the upper cross folding cylinder and round or
against two guide rollers, the other set of tapes passes round one of the guide rollers
for the upper set of tapes and in contact with the other roller and then over two
other guide rollers, the delivery part of the latter tapes being in an oblique position.
The folded sheets delivered by the tapes are passed alternately to two "flys
which pile them on two separate receiving boards or tables. Each "fly" is made
to oscillate by toothed wheels and a crank and connecting rod, the crank pin being
in a wheel in gear with one on one of the cross folding cylinders which causes the
crank to make one revolution for two of the cylinders.
"
When the upper piling 'fly' is ready to receive a folded paper the points of its
arms are below and between the delivery tapes, so that the paper passes from the
tapes on to the arms of the fly, and while the upper piling fly is laying its sheet, the
next sheet carried by the delivery tapes is taken past the upper fly (which has then
moved away) and is delivered to the lower piling fly. The sheets when being delivered
to the flys are carried upon the surfaces of one set of tapes in an oblique position,
and to guide them properly to the lower piling fly, a double fly is used, that is, a
Hy having arms on opposito sides of an oscillatory axis-This guiding fly is actuated
from the gearing giving motion to the upper piling fly, and is brought alternately

page_text: by the oscillating movement into the position to guide the folding sheets to the
lower piling "y" and then into a position clear of both the upper and lower
piling flys.
A "fly" is or may also be used to guide the folding sheets from the tapes to the
upper piling fly actuated to oscillate so as to move out of the way of the upper
piling fly when it begins to move the sheet.
The oscillatory axis of this guiding fly is above the tips of the arms of the piling
fly and the tips of the arins of the former are directed towards the axis of the latter
when guiding the folded sheet to it.
In some cases we arrange the delivery tapes to pass from the delivery cross
folding cylinder over rollers in an oscillatory frame, in a well known manner, the
oscillation of the frame causing the folding papers to be delivered in alternate sheets
on to two separate receiving boards or other receiving surfaces, a fly being used for
each of the latter, to press the sheets down on the pile, and when the required
number has been delivered each receiving surface is moved, or the pile is released,
so as to be carried by gravity or otherwise into a position where it can bo
conveniently taken away.
Each movable stop for arresting the sheets carried by the tapes from the first to
the cross folding cylinders hereinbefore referred to, are or may be made by
preference with short arms secured at right angles to and on opposite sides of a
horizontal shaft in suitable bearings extending at right angles to and under the
tapes, the arms coming between the tapes.
These stop shafts are timed and geared up to make ono continuous half or
intermittent rotation for each sheet delivered-The arms may only be on one side
of the shaft in which case the shaft rotates once for each shoet--These movable
stops are also applicable for the ordinary tape roller and knife folding machines.
Dated this twants Ad of amb 1001

page_text: We JOHN HENRY BUXTON, Newspaper Manager, DAVIES BRAITHWAITE and
MARK SMITH, Printers Engineers all of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster do hereby declare the nature of said invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN OR
APPLICABLE TO ROTARY, WEB PRINTING AND FOLDING MACHINES, and in what
manner the sanie is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
Our improvements are intended to be applied and combined with rotary web
letter press printing machines more especially of that class known as the " Victory
and relates to mechanismi to be substituted for that used in the said "Victory'
machine for effecting what is known as the cross folding and the delivery of the
printed sheets in which mechanism a great number of carrying tapes are used
which are liable to wear out rapidly and break when in use causing stoppage and
delay in the working of the machine.
By our improvements we dispense with the greater part of the tapes hitherto
used and arrange the folding mechanism so as to occupy less space.
Our invention relates to a combination or to combinations of mechanism with
the rotary Web printing and part of its folding mechanism the principle feature of
which consists in combining with the three existing folding cylinders three other
folding cylinders placed at a right angle to the former for effecting what is tormed
the "cross folding."
The added cross folding cylinders are or may be arranged in bearings in suitable
framing with their axes in a horizontal position and vertically one over the other.
There is a space left between the delivery cylinder of the three ordinary first
folding cylinders and the nearest ends of the cross folding cylinders and the two
sets of folding cylinders are geared and timed to rotate together by a suitable
shaft and bevel gearing.
The lower of two sets of guiding and carrying tapes pass round the ordinary
delivery first folding cylinder and pass under and over suitable guide and driving
rollers, the upper set of tapes also pass over suitable guiding rollers and the papers
aro guided from the delivery folding cylinder between those sides of the upper and
lower set of tapes, which come in contact and move together.
These two sets of guiding and carrying tapes are, and move parallel to the axes
of the cross folding rollers or cylinders and there is a space without tapes in the
upper set where the iniddle cross folding cylinder would be in the way and about
one tape is absent from the lower set of tapes where it would also be in the way
under the centre of the middle cross folding cylinder.
The cross folding cylinders are of such length as to be able to fold one two or
more sheets in the length and thus each cross folding cylinder when arranged for
folding two papers at the same time (as hereinafter supposed) has two separate sets
of knives and grippers, all arranged in the same line on the cylinders and actuated
at the same time and by the same mechanism.
Instead of saying that there are two sets of knives and grippers, they may be
treated and considered one set with a space between them. The two sets of tapes
convey the sheets of paper which have been folded from the ordinary folding
cylinders to the cross folding cylinders but movable stops are arranged to arrest
the movement of each partly folded sheet for a time to reduce the space between
it and the following sheet thus every other sheet is stopped by the first movable
stop just before it arrives at the ends of the cross folding cylinders and every other

page_text: alternate sheet is arrested by a second movable stop when just under the first half
of the cross folding cylinder, but two succeeding sheets move under the cylinders
at the same time (that is the one against the first stop and the one immediately
following it) the first of which sheets comes against a fixed stop when under the
second half of the cylinders, and the second sheet is arrested by the second movable
stop when under the first half of the cylinders.
At this moment the lower cross folding cylinder (which though herein before
described as a cylinder need only be a shaft with a disc at each end) brings its
knives to act upon both sheets simultaneously and double them in the middle and
force the doubled part into the grippers of the middle folding cylinder above it
which has also a knife to force the sheet doubled in the middle into the grippers
of the upper folding cylinder.
The knife of the middle and grippers of the upper folding cylinders have their
ends carried in discs or wheels at each end of and concentric with the cylinders
these wheels gearing into each other so that when the knife in one cylinder is
adjusted the grippers in the other will be simultaneously and correspondingly
adjusted one to the other, and then both are secured, such adjustment being
required to suit the various sizes of sheets to be folded.
These arrangements of grippers and knives and mode of simultaneous adjustment
one to the other to suit different sizes of sheets is also applicable where required to
the ordinary first folding cylinders.
The grippers and knives in the cross folding cylinders are arranged and actuated
for operation samo as those in the ordinary first folding cylinders.
The sheets are carried by and delivered from the upper cross folding cylinders,
by two sets of tapes one short set passes in grooves round the upper cross folding
cylinder and round or against two guide rollers, the other set of tapes passes round
one of the guide rollers for the upper set of tapes and in contact with the other
roller and then over two other guide rollers, the delivery part of the latter tapes
being in an oblique position.
The folded sheets delivered by the tapes are passed alternately to two "flys"
which pile them on two separato receiving boards or tables. Each "ily" is mado
to oscillate by toothed wheels and a crank and connecting rod, the crank pin being
in a wheel in gear with one on one of the cross folding cylinders which causes the
crank to make one revolution for two of the cylinders.
When the upper piling fly is ready to receive a folded paper the points of its
arms are below and between the delivery tapes, so that the paper passes from the
tapes on to the arms of the fly, and while the upper piling fly is laying its sheet,
the next sheet carried by the delivery tapes is taken past the upper fly (which has
then moved away) and is delivered to the lower piling fly.
In some cases we arrange the delivery tapes to pass from the delivery cross
folding cylinder over rollers in an oscillatory frame in a well known manner, the
oscillation of the frame causing the folded paper to be delivered in alternate sheets.
on to two separate receiving boards or other receiving surfaces, a fly being used for
each of the latter to press the sheets down on the pile, and when the required
number has been delivered each receiving surface is moved, or the pile is released,
so as to be carried by gravity or otherwise into a position where it can be
conveniently taken away.
Each movable stop for arresting the sheets carried by the tapes from the first to
the cross folding cylinders herein before referred to, are or may be made by
preference with short arms secured at right angles to and on opposite sides of a
horizontal shaft in suitable bearings extending at right angles to and under the
tapes, the arms coming between the tapes.
These stop shafts are timed and geared up to make one continuous half or
intermittent rotation for each sheet delivered-The arms may only be on one side
of the shaft in which case tho shaft rotates once for each sheet These movablo
stops are also applicable for the ordinary tape roller and knife folding machines.

page_text: Fig 1 is a side elevation at the delivery end of parts of a rotary web letter press
printing machine and fig 2 is an end elevation of the same illustrating our
improvements.
.
Fig 3 is a detached end elevation illustrating the mode of applying adjustable
knives and grippers to the first folding cylinders and fig 4 a detached end elevation
illustrating the mode of adjusting the knives and grippers of the cross folding
cylinders.
A is the framinga is the cylinder being one of the cutting cylinders having
the knife or blade for giving the first fold by forcing the middle of the sheet into
grippers on the cylinder 6 which has also a knife or blade that gives the second
fold in the same direction by forcing the middle of the double sheet into the
grippers of the cylinder c.
Theso cylinders a, b and c are or may be the ordinary cylinders hitherto used
and acting in like manner, or the knifes are or may be adjustable according to our
invention by arrangements illustrated by fig 3.
The knife or blade is carried on a rod or shaft a² each end of which is in bearings
in an arm a³ that can move round the axis of the cylinder-Each arm a³ has a
bolt a in it which passes through a concentric slot as in the end of the cylinder a
Bo that when the arm a³ is adjusted it is secured by the bolt a to the cylinder end.
There are marks or an index formed on the end of the cylinder a to show the
correct position of the arm a³ and thus the knife or blade for any particular size of
sheet to be folded.
The grippers aⓇ on the cylinders b and c and the knife a¹ on b are arranged in
arms a which can be adjusted in slots a³ and secured by bolts (a*) as described in
reference to the knife (a¹) on the cylinder a.
Instead of the above described mode of adjusting the knives and grippers that
mode of accomplishing the object by wheels may be used which is described in the
specification filed in accordance with an application for a Patent by ourselves
Numbered 840 and dated the 7th day of January 1884.
Or the knife on the cylinder a and the grippers on the cylinder c and the
cylinder a are adjusted by disconnecting the latter from its driving wheel and
turning it to or fro and then securing it to the cylinder a when adjusted.
Then the knife on the cylinder 6 will only require to be adjustable as described
in reference to fig 3 and the grippers on the cylinder c will be adjusted to the
knife on the cylinder 6 by disconnecting it from its driving wheel and turning
it backwards or forwards as required and then securing it to its driving wheel
again.
The grippers and there arrangement and the mode of actuating them is well known
and is described in the specification of our said application No 840 AD. 1884.
In some cases the web is cut into two sheets on the cylinder a which aro
separately folded in which case there are two knives (a') on the cylinder a corre-
sponding with two grippers (a) on the cylinder b and two knives (a¹) on the
latter corresponding with grippers (a) on cylinder_c. The knives (a¹) and
grippers are carried in this case on arms (a³) and adjusted as described in
reference to fig 3.
Instead of the arms a³ centred on the shafts as shown, brackets are or may be
used to fit and slide upon a concentric rib or ribs or a slot or slots in the ends of
the cylinder and then secured by bolts to the cylinder end when adjusted.
The cylinder c is grooved and a series of endless tapes & pass round under a
guide roller d¹ free to rotate in suitable bearings, and round a roller d' also in
suitable bearings near the end of the machine-The tapes & above referred to form
the lower set of tapes.
There is also over the lower set of tapes d an upper set which pass round or
against the rollers d', d', do and do all of which are free in suitable bearings. The
rollers d³ and d³ are geared together. Sheets twice folded in the same direction
are brought by the grippers on the cylinder c between the tapes d and d³ and are

page_text: thus carried forward horizontally to come between the lowest and next cylinder
above it of the cross folding cylinders.
There are two shafts e and e' in suitable bearings passing across the framing at
right angles to the tapes d and d³ and theso shafts have arms e² and e³ secured to
them which come into the spaces between the tapes and act to partly arrest the
twice folded sheets from the cylinders a, b and c.
There is a shaft in bearings across the framing geared up at one end by the
wheels c' and fl with the cylinder c and there is a spur pinion ƒ on the other end
of this shaft in gear with a wheel f³ twice its size on a shaft or stud above it-
This shaft or the wheel on the stud has a bevel wheel secured to it which gears
with one et on a shaft in the lengthway of the framing in suitable bearings
which shaft has bevel wheels in gear with wheels on the ends of the shafts e and e¹
which rotate the stops e and e³ and bring them into a position to partly arrest a
twice folded sheet and then release it.
The twice folded sheets are stopped by the first rotary stops e¹ and the second
rotary stop and by the fixed stop or stops e in the order and at the timo
herein before described. A shaft with stops to rotate may be used in place of fixed
stops 66 the rotary stop allowing the sheet to pass from the tapes d and d³ to the
floor in case of any mishap or accidental obstruction.
There are stands A¹ bolted on the longitudinal frames to carry part of the cross
folding mechanism.
The lower cross folding cylinder is a shaft g having two end discs or arms g
which shaft is on bearings on the lower framing and it is drivon by bevel wheels f
and g from the shaft fat the same speed as the cylinder c. A spur wheel gx on
the end of the shaft g gears with a wheel h' on the end of the shaft of the cross
folding cylinder above it in suitable bearings on the frame A¹.
Thore are spur whicels h³ at each end of the cylinder h which gear with corre-
sponding wheels on the upper cylinder k.
This cross folding mechanism as illustrated is made long enough and arranged to
fold two separate sheets at the same time (two sheets being sometimes delivered
for each revolution of the cylinders a, b, and c) which are both brought by the
tapes d and d³ under the second cylinder h with the proper space between them
when the blade or blades carried on the discs g' on the shaft g force the middle of
the twice folded sheet, and thus give the first cross fold; into the grippers of the
cylinder above it.
The shaft g³ (see fig 4) carrying the knife or knives is arranged near enough
to the axis of the shaft g to work clear of the stop shaft e' or the knife shaft is
cranked where it comes opposite the stop shaft e¹ to be clear of it and there is a
or space between the knives opposite the stop shaft e to give it clearance.
The stop shafts e and e¹ are geared and arranged to hold the sheets until the
monent the knife g carried on the shaft g begins to press them into the grippers h³
of the cylinder h.
gap
These rotary or moving stops e³ and e³ do not altogether stop the forward motion
of the twice folded sheets but act to retard and regulate them so that the sheets
will always be in a given position at a corresponding part of the revolution of the
mechanism especially when the knife g carried on the shaft g is about to press the,
sheet into the grippers h³ above it but the fixed stop or stops eª at the end when
used arrests the motion of the sheet.
There is an adjustable knife g' on the cylinder h which forces the once cross
folded sheets into the grippers h³ on the upper cylinder k
'
The grippers on the cylinder h are on a shaft having bearings in the cylinder
ends the knife shaft has its bearings in the wheels h' at each end of the cylinder,
which are loose and can rotate on the shaft of the cylinder h to adjust the knife g
and these wheels, are then secured to the cylinder ends by a screw bolt h*..
'
The wheels hs have concentric slots for the ends of the gripper, shaft to, pass:
through and the cylinder ends have concentric slots h for the ends of the knife,
shaft to pass through to admit of adjustment.
•

page_text: The gripper h³ on the cylinder k is adjusted to the knife h on the cylinder h by
being geared with the wheels h² and k¹ this arrangement causing both wheels h³ on
the cylinder h to move together and also keeps the knife parallel to the axis of the
cylinder.
"
This last described mode of adjusting a knife on one cylinder to grippers on 5
another cylinder is described in the specification of our said application N° 840
AD 1884 the arrrangement and construction of the knives and grippers is also
described therein.
The folded papers are delivered from the cylinder k by ondless tapes, three sets
of which work round two rollers and the ends of which rotate in suitable 1
bearings The under side of these tapes 12× como at the upper end against
corresponding sets of tapes which work in grooves in the cylinder k which tapes
in coming from the cylinder pass over the upper roller and against the tape 12×
thereon then pass along in contact with the upper sides of the tapes 12x then round
a roller k³ at the bottom then round one at the top of the incline back to the
cylinder k again.
This cylinder k rotates in the direction shown by the arrow upon it in fig 2 and
its grippers release the folded sheet when between the tapes coming from the
cylinder and the underside of the tapes 12× on the rollers and land between
which tapes 2x and k³ the sheet passes round the roller l and then is carried in an 2
inclined direction down between the tapes 1x and k³.
The middle tape k³ from the cylinder k of each two sets of three, does not pass
round the lower roller ³ but round an upper roller in suitable bearings-The
rollers and are geared together to rotate at the same surface speed.
There are two delivery flys of ordinary construction and arrangement.
The shafts for the flys are each in suitable bearings and are actuated by a
pinion * at one end in gear with a wheel 3 on a stud in the fraining which latter
wheel is oscillated by a connecting rod one end of which is jointed to a pin in
the wheel, the other end to a crank pin in a wheel on a stud in the framing
which wheel is geared to make one revolution for two of the cylinder k.
The lower fly is actuated by the same means from a wheel in gear with the
wheel Zº.
3
It will thus be understood that each fly lacts alternately, the upper fly comes
into position with the [tips of its arms below the upper side of the carrying
tapes which thus brings the folded sheets on to the arms which then oscillate 3
and pile the sheet on the table -The next sheets delivered pass the upper fly and
are carried to the lower fly which acts in like manner and thus each fly acts
alternately.
The sheets after passing the roller are not propelled by the middle tape k³ but
by the two side tapes k³ of each set and the flys act to draw the ends of the folded
sheets from between the two side tapes k* and ** when they move forward to pile
the folded sheets-It will be understood that in the machine as illustrated each fly
is a double fly that is it has arms to deliver and pile two folded sheets simul-
taneously the sheets being simultaneously delivered two at a time one at one half
the other at the other half of the length of the cylinder k.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, We declare that what
we claim is
"
1. The combination with web printing machines having cylinders making one or
two folds in the widthway of the web or sheet of cylinders for making folds in the 5
cross or lengthway of the web or sheet when the partly folded sheets from one set
of cylinders are carried to the other set by tapes, substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by the drawings.
2. The combination and arrangement of cross or lengthway folding cylinders, so
as to simultaneously fold two or more sheets substantially as hereinbefore described 5
and illustrated hes the di

page_text: 3. The use of moving stops for retarding and regulating the position of the sheets
while allowing them to move more or less with the tapes substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated by the drawings.
4. The combination- and arrangement of mechanism with rotary web printing
machines for folding the printed sheets in both directions by two sets of cylinders
and piling the same substantially as herein before described and illustrated by the
drawings.
5. The piling of folded sheets delivered by the same tapes by alternately acting
Ays which pile separately substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
tbe drawings.
6. The arranging of the knives and grippers on arms or brackets so as to be
adjustable substantially as hereinbefore described in referenco to fig 3 of the
drawings.