AN IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING PAPER BAGS AND ENVELOPES."
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Russell, of 2, Lamb's Passage, Chiswell
Street, E.C., for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR
MAKING PAPER BAGS AND ENVELOPES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Russell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th July 1868.
I, WILLIAM RUSSELL, of 2, Lamb's Passage, Chiswell Street, E.C., do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING PAPER BAGS AND ENVELOPES," to be as follows:-
To the end of the bag or envelope machine is attached a frame which
carries upon it a shaft with two knives, cutters, or stamps. Two plates are
fixed to the frame suited to the cutters, knives, or stamps on the shaft.
The shaft is driven by a cam or other motion from the main shaft of the
machine, and is so arranged that at the half revolution when the paper
is not in motion the cutters, knives, or stamps are brought down and

page_text: remove or cut off the required length of the edge or seam of the paper
so as to produce a perfect bag or envelope with a single seam.
remove or cut off the required length of the edge or seam of the paper
so as to produce a perfect bag or envelope with a single seam.
Explanation of Drawing attached :-A, the frame; B, shaft; C, C,
*cutters, knives, or stamps; D, D, plates; E, cam; F, rigger or gear wheel.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said William
Russell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
RUSSELL, of 2, Lamb's Passage, Chiswell Street, E.C., send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Russell, Her special licence that I,
the said William Russell, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Russell, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR
MAKING PAPER BAGS AND ENVELOPES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Russell, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 William Russell, 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, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings

page_text: hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):-
My Invention relates to an improvement in paper bag and envelope
machines by means of which what are known as "single seam" bags
and envelopes may be produced. To the end of the bag or envelope
machine I attach a frame, over which the continuous sheet of paper
passes in its passage to the machine to form the bags. This frame carries
a transverse shaft working in bearings at either side of said frame, to
which shaft are keyed two cutters, knives, or stamps, one at either side
of the strip of paper, at such a distance apart as to cut off a narrow strip
from both edges of the paper each time the cutters are brought down
thereon.
The action of the cutters is as follows:-A lever keyed to one end of
the transverse knife shaft is provided at its extremity with a friction
roller working in a cam groove formed in a disc working at one side of
the frame. This cam is driven by the main shaft of the bag machine,
and is so arranged that at every half revolution of the bag machine when
the motion of the paper is arrested the cutters, knives, or stamps will be
brought down upon the paper and remove or cut off the required length
from the edge of the same, which edge subsequently forms the seam of
My Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 a plan of my improvement in
paper bag and envelope machines.
A is a frame attached to the end B of a bag machine, over which
frame passes the continuous sheet of paper (seen in red lines) in its
passage to the machine to be made into bags. This frame A carries a
transverse shaft C working in bearings A¹ at either side of frame A, to
which shaft C are keyed two knives, cutters, or stamps D at either side
of the strip of paper, as seen in Figure 2. The bearings A' are adjustable
in order that the distance between the knives or cutters and the folders
of the bag or envelope machine may be regulated as desired. D are
plates or tables fixed to frame A on which the knives D cut; E is a
lever keyed to one end of shaft C, and provided at its extremity with a
friction roller F working in a cam groove G formed in a disc H. This

page_text: cam disc is driven by the main shaft of the bag machine by band or
other suitable gearing, and is so arranged that at every half revolution of
the bag machine when the motion of the paper is arrested the shaft C
will be oscillated by the action of the cam groove G, and so bring down
the knives D on the cutting plates D₁ for removing a portion of each
edge of the paper, as seen in Figure 2, the paper passing over said
cutting plates D'. The strip of paper, the edges of which have been
cut, as above described, then passes on to the bag machine, which
forms it into bags or envelopes made with single seams instead of double
seams as usual.
Having described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
improvement in bag and envelope machines by means of which single
seam bags and envelopes may be produced in such machines, sub-
stantially in the manner shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Russell, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.