IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING PAPER BAGS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING
PAPER BAGS." A communication from abroad by Margaret E.
Knight, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Sealed the 7th February 1871, and dated the 29th August 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 29th August 1870.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
MANUFACTURING PAPER BAGS," a communication, to be as follows:-
The nature of this Invention consists in the peculiar construction and
arrangement of mechanism in one machine for the manufacture of flat
bottomed bags from a tube of paper which is fed over a former from a

page_text: roll, and cut, folded, pasted, and delivered, substantially in the manner
herein-after described.
The machine has a suitable frame which supports the operative parts..
On a feed shaft there is a roller for operating in conjunction with a
smaller roller in a former to feed the paper. The paper is fed from a
continuous roll, and is bent around the former with the lap on the upper
side of the former; the said former is an oblong piece of wood attached
Grooves or slits
by a depending bracket to a gallows on the frame.
in the upper edge of the former receive the side bars of the follower
which is an oblong mettallic frame. A cam on the feed shaft operates a
lever which is pivotted to the frame; this lever is connected by a rod
and bent lever to an arm attached to the follower. A spiral spring is
attached by its free end to the said lever, and by its fixed end to a cross
bar of the frame and reacts to draw the_said-lever downward and
throw-the-follower forward. On the aforesaid feed shaft are cams for
operating a blade which I call the "
plate knife folder;" this blade is
pivotted to arms united by a cross brace and hinged or pivotted to the
frame. Pins projecting inwardly from lugs attached to the arms are
received in grooves on the faces of the said cams, and they transmit
motion from the cams to the knife. The ends of the blade work in curved
guide ways which give direction to the movement of the knife carrying
the blade downward and forward during half its stroke, and backward
and upward during the other half. The driving power is applied at
the end of a shaft to a cogged wheel connected with a train of gearing
by which the operation of the machine is effected. On the said shaft
is a cam which operates to depress the frame of a knife, the upward
movement of the said frame being given by springs which react in
opposition to the downward motion of a cam.
On another shaft are fixed two bevel wheels engaging respectively
with other bevel wheels hung on brackets inside the framing; these
last-mentioned wheels operate the side folders by means of eccentric pins
working in angular slots in downwardly projecting shafts or stocks of
these side folders. Spiral springs reacting downward give motion in
that direction to the folder stocks when released from the upward action
of the pins on the said wheels. A reversing gear wheel is driven by a
wheel on the last-mentioned shaft. On the same shaft is a larger cogged
wheel which drives a cogged pinion on the end of the folding roller;
this roller is one of a series of rollers at the delivery end of the machine;

page_text: they are held in their places by spring guards. In front of these rollers
plays a vertical knife attached to a rod working through a sleeve attached
to the gallows; it is operated by a lever having its fulcrum on the end
of a stud and pivotted to a rod whose lower end is bent around and
operated downward by a cam; this gear wheel, which operates the knife
by the mechanism just described, is itself driven by a reversing gear
wheel receiving motion from a gear wheel on the end of the last-
mentioned shaft. On the side of this gear wheel is a pin eccentrically
placed which operates the bent arm to which is attached the pasting
knife. A spring tends to keep the said arm up; this paster works
over a guide which is aided by a spring. A paste roller supported upon
arms projecting up from the frame is supplied with paste from a suitable
reservoir and supplies paste to the blade. From the gallows projects
downward a standard, to the lower end of which is pivotted a guide
finger having a roller on its free end. A flat spring tends to throw the
finger downward; this spring is counteracted by the bent arm to which
the finger is attached and which is operated by a cam on the inside of
a gear wheel on the end of the shaft of the reversing wheel. There is a
straightedge against which the severing knife plays and a metallic plate
or table on which the folders operate.
The paper from which the bags are to be made is drawn from a roll of
indefinite length, it is folded around the former so that the lap shall be
on the upper side, and the pasting which makes it a continuous tube
is effected by any suitable device. The feed shaft receives intermittent
motion. The gearing is adjusted to arrest the motion of the paper tube
at the instant when the folders are holding down the forward end of
the paper tube and the bag is being cut from it by the severing knife
operated by a cam on the driving shaft. The motion is resumed when
the folders are drawn back and the paper tube is released from their
grasp. The feed of the tube is produced by the action of the aforesaid
two rollers, one turning in contact with the bottom of the paper tube and
the latter inside the said tube. The follower starts with the paper and
moves with it until it reaches the guide finger when it is drawn back
by the spring. The "plate knife folder" takes the paper and carries it
forward, and the various folds of the bag are formed, the paste applied,
and the bag cut from the tube.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake,_my_executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
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 “Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING PAPER BAGS," a commu-
nication to me from abroad by Margaret E. Knight, of Boston,
Massachusetts, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 per-
formed, 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 Patcut.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby.
declare the nature of the 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 accom-
panying Drawings forming a part of this Specification
:-
The nature of this Invention consists in the peculiar construction
and arrangement of mechanism in a machine for the manufacture of
flat bottomed bags from a tube of paper fed over a former from a roll

page_text: Figure 1 is an elevation of the front side of the said machine; Figure 2
is an elevation of the delivery end of the same; Figure 3 is a plan or
top view of the machine; Figure 4 is an elevation of the rear side of the
said machine; Figure 5 is an elevation of the feed end of the same;
Figure 6 is a side view of a guide finger; Figure 7 is a top view of a
follower; Figure 8 is a side view of the same; Figure 9 is a view of
mechanism for operating side folders; Figures 10, 11, 12, and 13
represent different stages of the bag in course of manufacture; Figure 14
is a perspective view of the plate knife folder and its connections.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
A is the frame of the machine which supports the operative parts;
B is the feed shaft on which is a roller C for operating in conjunction
with a smaller roller J' in the former H' to feed the paper. The paper
is fed from a continuous roll and is bent around the former H' with the
lap on the upper side of the former. The former H' is an oblong piece
of wood attached by a depending bracket G¹ to the gallows F" on the
rear end of the frame; near its forward end the roller J¹ is inserted
in an opening formed to receive it, and co-operates with the larger
roller C on the shaft B in feeding the paper. Grooves or slits in the
upper edge of the former H' receive the side bars of the follower I'
which is an oblong metallic frame, the form and position of which are
clearly shown in Figures 3, 7, and S. A cam D on the shaft B next to
the side framing operates a lever K' which is pivotted to the frame
at P'; this lever (Figure 1) is connected by a rod L' and bent lever M'
to an arm Yattached to the follower. A spiral spring Z✶ is attached by
its free end to the lever K' and by its fixed end to a cross bar of the
frame A and reacts to draw. the lever K' downward and throw the
follower I forward. On the shaft B are the cams E, E, which operate
the plate knife folder. The terın "plate knife folder" I apply to the
blade e pivotted to arms a, b, united by the cross brace d and hinged or
pivotted to the frame. Pins e, e, projecting inwardly from lugs attached
to the arms a, a, are received in grooves on the faces of the cams E, E,
The ends c¹ of
and they transmit motion from the cams to the knife c.
the blade c work in curved guide ways e¹ which give direction to the

page_text: The
movement of the knife carrying the blade downward and forward
during half its stroke and backward and upward during the other
half. The driving power is applied at the end of the shaft P to
the cogged wheel H; this wheel is connected with a train of gearing
by which the operation of the machine is effected. By means of a suitable
reversing gear it imparts a proper motion to a cogged wheel on the
shaft B carrying the cams E which operate the plate knife folder c as
before stated. By means of the reversing gear K I give the appropriate
motion to the toothed wheel L, on the end of the principal shaft Q.
On shaft P is a cam which operates to depress the frame of a knife Z,
the upward movement of the said frame being given by the springs X
which react in opposition to the downward motion of the cam.
springs X are shown in Figures 1, 4, and 5. On the shaft Q are fixed
the two bevel wheels R and T engaging respectively_with_the-bevel-
wheels S and U_hung-to-brackets on the inside of the side framing of
the machine (sce Figures 2 and 9). These wheels S and U operate
the side folders Q¹ and R' by means of eccentric pins working in the
angular slots u¹, v¹, in downwardly projecting shafts or stocks V, V', of
the side folders. Spiral springs W, W¹, reacting downward give motion
in that direction to the folder stocks V, V', when released from the
upward action of the pins on the wheels S, U. This arrangement is
clearly shown in Figure 9. M is a reversing gear driven by the wheel L
on the end of the shaft Q. On the same shaft as M, attached to it is a
larger cogged wheel N which drives the cogged pinion O on the end of
the folding rollers; this roller is one of a series of rollers r, s, t, at the
delivery end of the machine, and r, t, receive motion from s; they are
held in their places by spring guards which give them the necessary
amount of yielding play. In front of the rollers », s, and between the
rollers & and plays the vertical knife D¹ (see Figure 2) attached to the
rod working through the sleeve i on the gallows E in which the rod h
has a vertical reciprocating motion. It is operated by a lever g having
its fulcrum on the end of stud and pivotted to the rod f, the lower
end of which rod is bent around and operated downward by a cam on
the inner side of the gear wheel C₁. This gear wheel C¹ which operates
the knife D¹ by the mechanism just described is itself driven by a
reversing gear wheel B¹ receiving motion from a gear wheel A¹ on the
end of the shaft Q, as seen in Figure 4. On the side of the gear
wheel C¹ is a pin eccentrically placed which operates the bent arm or
lever n, to which is attached the pasting knife p, Figure 4. The

page_text: spring tends to keep the arm n up; this paster works over a guide o
which directs its movement aided by a spring. A paste roller b' is
supported upon arms a¹ projecting up from the frame; it is supplied
with paste from a suitable reservoir and supplies paste to the blade p.
From the gallows E' projects downward a standard E², to the lower end
of which is pivotted a guide finger N¹ having a roller on its free end.
A flat spring attached to the standard E² and acting against a notch in
the upper edge of the guide finger N¹ tends to throw the finger downward;
this spring is counteracted by the bent arm ¹ to which the finger is
attached and the outer end of which is operated by a cam on the inside
of the gear wheel A' on the end of the shaft Q. O¹, Figure 3, marks
the straightedge against which the severing knife Z plays, and P¹ the
metallic plate or table on which the folders operate. The paper from
which the bags are to be made is drawn from a roll of indefinite length
suspended so as to be unwound and supplied to the machine as fast
as required. It is folded around the former H³ so that the lap shall
be on the upper side and the pasting which makes it a continuous tube
is effected by a suitable device for that purpose. These devices being
well known need not be further described. The feed shaft B receives
intermittent motion by means of intermediate gear wheels from an
eccentric wheel on the opposite end of the shaft P to that to which
the power is applied. This mode of producing a "stop motion " being
a familiar one need not be further described. The arrangement of the
gear wheels is shown in Figure 4. The gearing is so adjusted as to
arrest the motion of the shaft B and consequently that of the paper
tube at the instant when as herein-after described the folders Q', R', are
holding down the forward end of the paper tube and the bag is being
cut off from it by the severing knife Z. The motion is resumed when
the folders Q', R', are drawn back and the paper tube is released from
their grasp. The feed of the tube is produced by the action of the two
rollers C and J¹, the former turning in contact with the bottom of the
paper tube and the latter on the inside of the said tube, the two nipping
the paper between them and impelling it forward. The follower I' starts
with the paper and moves with it until it reaches the guide finger N¹,
5 when it is drawn back by the operation of the spring Z*. The plate
knife folder c operated by cams E, E, takes the paper, which is still
held open by the guide finger N³, and carries it under that finger which
as the paper passes under, pushes back the middle of the upper side
of the tube so as to give the peculiar form represented in Figure 10 to

page_text: the first fold. The blade c still going with the paper as it feeds passes
under the side of the folders Q', R', until the point of the paper is
taken by the rolls r, s. The plate knife folder c now draws back, the
folders Q, R', close down upon the tube, and the feed of the paper tube
stops. The blade c now passes over the side folders Q¹, R', again
making the second fold, as represented in Figure 11, the guide finger
N¹ rising to let the fold of paper pass under it and dropping again to
hold it in its place. The blade c going back the side folders draw apart
and the first half of the bottom of the bag is completed. The paper
now passes between the rollers 1, 8. The vertical knife D' descends
and passes with the paper between the rolls s and t, making the third
fold represented in Figure 12 and completing the other half of the bag
bottom. At this point and just before the fold is made, paste is applied
to the bottom of the bag by the paster p, which receives paste from the
small paste roller band is operated by_its_connection with the gear
wheel-C-as-herein-before described. The severing of the bag from the
paper tube is effected during the arrest of the feed motion as herein-
before mentioned by a vertical knife Z operated by a cam on shaft P;
it plays against the steel straightedge O' parallel to the edge of the
table P (see Figure 3) the two forming a species of shears capable of
cutting paper cloth or any other material applicable to the manufacture
of bags.
I wish it understood that I do not confine myself to any particular
form, position, or mode of attaching the device which I have designated
a "guide finger" nor to making it fixed or moveable so long as it performs
the function for which it has been devised. It may be made in various
forms, fixed as well as moveable, and may have a rearward projection like
a heel.
The guide finger as herein described and shown I believe to be
of the best form, but other forms will answer with the necessary modifi-
cations of the accompanying mechanism without altering the principle
of operation by which the fold represented in Figure 10 is made.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I wish it understood that I claim,—
First. The follower I constructed and operating substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
Second. The plate knife folder constructed, arranged, and operating
substantially as set forth.
Third. The guide finger N', or equivalent device, whether fixed or

page_text: moveable, the function of which is to hold or push back a portion of
the edge of the paper tube while the fold represented in Figure 10 is
being formed.
Fourth. The combination of a guide finger with mechanism, or a
device for pushing the paper tube under the said guide finger for the
purpose of forming the fold represented in Figure 10.
Fifth. The side folders Q', R', constructed, arranged, and operating
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Sixth. The guide finger N' constructed, arranged, and operating
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-eighth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Witness,
E. C. JACKSON.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)