IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY POR FOLDING ENVELOPES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ENVELOPES
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AMÉDEÉ
FRANCOIS REMOND, of Birmingham, 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 Twenty-eighth day
of February, One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the twelfth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Amédeé Francois Remond, my exors, aduiors, and assigns,
Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Amédeé Francois Remond, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Amédeé Francois Remond, my exors, admors, or 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY POR
FOLDING ENVELOPES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ENVELOPES;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Amédeé Francois

page_text: without at present referring to the Drawings, that the machinery is so
arranged that a quantity of properly cut paper for forming envelopes being
placed in the machine, each of the pieces will in succession be taken and fed
into the folding part of the machinery by means of an instrument, within
which, at proper intervals, a partial vacuum is obtained, whereby a piece of
paper will, by atmospheric pressure, be caused to press against, and so as to be
taken and conveyed by the instrument to the folding part of the machine,
where such piece of paper will be deposited correctly, the feeding instrument
being then allowed to go away.
The first part of the process of folding will be performed in a similar
manner to that in which that process has been before done, that is, the
piece of paper will be placed over a rectangular recess or box, and then
by a rectangular plunger will be caused to enter and be carried down with
the plunger. The under surface or bottom of the box being perforated,
the passing back of the plunger will leave the piece of paper within the box
or recess, the flaps standing upright as heretofore, and in this state the second
part of my Invention comes into action, for which purpose the sides of
the folding box are perforated so as to allow streams of atmospheric air
to be forced against the flaps, and thus to hold them in inclined positions and
inwards, so that in the second motion of the plunger it shall cause all the
flaps to be folded at once, the interior and under surface of the plunger being
suitably formed to cause the flaps to succeed each other in the proper order,
and the machinery is so arranged as to cause the outer flap to be stamped
with an embossed or perforated device; and parts are also added for applying
gum or cement to the undermost flap, so that the two end flaps may be
cemented thereto, and the envelope completed in the machine.
I will now proceed to explain the various parts of the mechanism, and the
means of working, so as to carry out the two parts of my Invention as above
stated. A is the main or driving shaft which receives motion from a steam
engine or other power by a strap acting on the fixed pulley. On the main
shaft or axis are a series of cams which communicate motion to the various
working parts. B is the folding box or recess in which the folding process is
performed. It consists of four sides as shown, there being four projections B¹
at the four angles, between which the pieces of paper are to be successively
fed, the projections correctly holding the paper. C is the door or moveable
bottom of the box, which is hinged at one end, so that when an envelope bas
been folded in the box, it may be discharged by the bottom C being caused to
assume an inclined position, when the folded envelope will descend through
the shoot below. The bottom C of the box is perforated with holes, so that

page_text: the air may get away as the plunger causes the paper to descend into the box.
The bottom of the box is caused to be closed and kept closed by means of the
lever D, which is actuated in the following manner :-D¹ is a cam on the shaft
or axis A, which gives motion to a slide D²; and as there are several similar
slides I will explain the details of this one, which will, in fact, explain the
others, as they are similar thereto. The slide works between two fixed guiding
surfaces D³, D³, as shown in Figure 8, and has at its upper end a truck or
roller, which is kept pressed against the cam D¹ by means of a spring D',
which I prefer to make of vulcanized india rubber, so that the slide D³ will,
in every revolution of the main shaft A, be caused to keep the box door or
bottom closed for a portion of the revolution, and will then allow it to be open
and be kept open during the other part of the revolution of the main shaft, in
consequence of the end of the slide D³ pressing on the tail of the cranked
lever D, the other end of which rests under the under surface of the door or
moveable bottom C. The feeding of the pieces of paper to the upper surface
of the box or recess B is performed in the following manner:-E is a cam on the
main shaft or axis A which gives motion to the slide E', which has attached to it
the arm E³, which is affixed to the axis E³, to which are also affixed the arms E*,
which give motion to the feeding instrument F, the lever arms E* being con-
nected to the feeding instrument by means of the connecting rods E³, as shown.
The feeding instrument is carried by a slide with dovetail edges, which move
between dovetail fixed guiding surfaces F'. The feeding instrument consists of
two hollow fingers F, each having an opening on the under side, the interior of
the fingers opening into the hollow portion of the slide, shown by dotted lines
in Figure 7, and thus will allow of a partial vacuum being obtained within the
fingers F; and the air is exhausted in the following manner :-F³ is a flexible
tube, which I prefer to be of vulcanized india rubber, which is attached to
the under side of the slide, the other end of the tube being attached to the
bellows F, which at the proper moment are put in motion by the cam G,
affixed on the main or driving shaft A, which acts on the slide G³, to which
is attached the lever G³, the other end of which gives motion to the bellows
by means of the connecting rod G³, the end of the bellows being guided in
its motion by suitable guides G. By this arrangement, when the paper is
brought in contact with the under surfaces of the fingers, as hereafter explained,
an exhaustion will be obtained in the fingers, and the atmospheric air will
cause one of the pieces of paper to be pressed against the fingers, and allow
of the fingers to be moved over the box B, and there to deposit the piece of
paper between the four projections at the angles of the box, as before explained,
by which, when the plungor descends, the paper will be carried down into the

page_text: box, the piece of paper having been allowed to separate from the fingers
immediately the bellows have arrived to the end of their outward motion and
commence to return, there being a valve in the bellows which opens outward
immediately the bellows commence to return. The pieces of paper, cut in the
proper form for envelopes, are placed in a pile on the platform H, which is
made to rise and fall in the following manner:-H' is a cam fixed on the
main or driving shaft A, which gives motion to the slide H, from which
descends the arm H³, which is attached to the lever H, the other end of this
lever being affixed to the descending projection Hs, which passes through the
fixed bearing H, by which it is guided up and down. And in order to
accomodate for the decrease of paper on the platform H, and so that the
upper piece of paper may at all times come in contact with the fingers when
the platform rises, I employ a spring H', which I make of vulcanized india
rubber, and which has at all times a tendency to raise the platform when
permitted to do so by the cam, so that the spring will at all times raise the
platform so as to bring the paper in contact with the fingers. On the upper
surface of the platform H there are four projections, which correspond with
the notches cut out of the paper, so that the paper will be correctly held.
The paper having been fed into position, the plunger now comes into action
in the following manner :-I is the plunger, which is a rectangular frame,
carried by a slide J, which receives motion by a cam J', fixed on the axis or
shaft A, there being on the interior of the plunger projections which act on
the separate flaps, and cause them to be folded down, when the flaps are held
in position by atmospheric pressure, as has before been mentioned, and as is
hereafter explained; but in the first action of the plunger it simply forces
the piece of paper into the box or recess B, and so as to raise the four flaps
to a vertical position; the plunger then moves away, leaving the paper in the
box. The pressure of atmospheric air is now to be caused to press on
and hold the several flaps into inclined positions inward towards each other,
when the plunger is again caused to descend by its cam, when the inner
projections come into action on the several flaps; the under edges of the
plunger pressing on the edges of the envelope complete the folding. The
inclined projection J' pressing on the one flap causes it to precede the other
two; the inclined projections J³ pressing on the end flaps cause them to be
pressed down. Thus are the flaps bent down in succession, the final folding
being completed by the under cages of the plunger; but if the two end flaps
are desired to overlap, then the two projections J2 will be arranged so as to
bend their flaps down one before the other. Air is caused to press on the
flaps when in the box or recess B in the following manner:-0 is a pump

page_text: which receives motion from a crank pin on the fly wheel, as shewn. P is a
tube leading to the folding box, which has a hollow channel all round, with
orifices through which streams of air come after the paper has been pressed
into the box, and when the plunger is moving away. In order to apply gum
or cementing fluid to the undermost flap I employ a fountain K, which con-
sists of two flat tubes K³, which are supplied from the vessel K, the supply
being regulated by a cock K³, and in the open parts of the tubes K² I apply
sponge, which coming slightly above the upper edges of the flat tubes K³, as
is shewn by the cross section, Figure 9, will apply gum to the undermost flap
by the presser L being caused to descend previously to the plunger, the presser
L being caused to descend by a cam L' on the main shaft or axis A, such
cam acting on a slide L³, on to the lower end of which is fixed the presser L,
as shown. And in order to stamp the outermost flap with an embossed or
perforated device, I apply the dies M, N, the die M being fixed to a slide M',
which receives motion from its cam M³, fixed on the main or driving shaft;
such stamping taking place just before the descent of the plumger. The dies
are of the ordinary kind, whether for making an embossed or a perforated
device. For embossing and stamping in color, I employ the following arrange-
ment, shewn by red lines. Q is a roller supported at the end of the lever Qs,
which turns upon the axis A, and is actuated by a roller Q affixed to the
slide R, which is moved by the cam R'. The roller Q receives colour from
the table Q, and then communicates its color to the die N.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood, that I do not
claim any of the mechanical parts separately, nor do I confine myself to the
details as herein shown and described, so long as the peculiar character of
cither part of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is,―
First, the so arranging machinery that paper suitably cut may be fed by
atmospheric pressure into a machine capable of folding the same into
cnvelopes; and,
Secondly, I claim the causing of paper fed into an envelope folding machine
to be held or pressed into a desired position, by means of atmospheric pressure,
so as to facilitate the folding of the flaps.
In witness whereof, I, the said Amédeé Francois Remond, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
AMÉDEÉ FRANCOIS (L.s.) REMOND.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of August,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Amédeé Francois Remond 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.
Enrolled the Twenty-eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.