Year: 1886

page_text: I FREDERIC CLIFFORD BELCHER of Canton Norfolk County State of Massa-
chusetts in the United States of America 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 has for its object to improve and simplify the construction of that
class of machines wherein the bag to be made is to have a square bottom, but it
will be obvious that some of my improvements are applicable to other machines as
for instance those making bags having satchel bottoms.
One essential feature of my invention is a peculiar oscillating finger to enter the
bottom forming opening of the tube and lay the upper ply of the tube back upon'
the top of the tube to form a sort of diamond fold the finger having cooperating
with it a folding-bar which bears upon the tube at the rear of the mouth forming
opening.
w
The finger has a rocking movement as the tube is fed continuously forward in
the production of the diamond fold for the bag bottom, and cooperating with the
said finger and folding bar are a side closing finger and a presser bar which operate
ahead of the other as will be hereinafter described, one side flap preferably over-
lapping the other.
The folding-bar is carried by an endless chain, and herein the said chain is shown
as provided with three folding-bars, the said bars being located at the proper,
distance apart, the distance depending upon the length of the bag to be made.
The paper tube to be made into bags is produced upon a former in usual
manner and before its arrival at the finger referred to, the upper ply is cut through
transversely to form a lip and thereafter both plies of the tube are provided with
longitudinal slots and then by a third pair of rolls, both plies are cut transversely
from the longitudinal slots referred to, to the edges of the tube, leaving a small-
central portion of the under ply of the tube connected with a part of the tube
held by feed rolls at a point beyond the fingers and devices which cooperate to fold
back the upper ply to produce the bottom of the bag.
After the parts of the tube have been folded to form the bottom for a bag, the
bottom is pressed between rolls and is then pasted by a set of pasting rolls and
then the partially completed bottom is cross-folded and as the first cross-fold is
made the connecting portion of the lower ply of the tube is cut off all in usual
monom

page_text: My Invention consists essentially of a former over which to form a paper tube,
a roll provided with a cutter to cut the upper ply of the tube, a pair of rolls to slit
the tube longitudinally, a pair of rolls to slit the tube transversely for a part of its
width and one or more folding bars combined with a finger and a rock shaft to
which it is attached the said rock shaft being mounted in vertically movable
bearings, the finger and folding bars cooperating with the upper ply of the slitted
tube to lay back a portion of the tube as will be hereinafter set forth.
Also in an endless chain having one or more folding-bars and a spring tongue
located within the slitted bag, and a finger carried by a rock shaft having a rising
and falling movement, combined with a supporting plate on which the tube rests
and with a pressing finger to descend upon and fold down one fold composing the
bottom of the bag in advance of the other fold as hereinafter described.
Also in connection with the foregoing, the combination of the pressing-bar to
descend upon and press down both flaps forming a part of the bottom of the bag
as will be described.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section (taken on the line x-x Figure 2) and Figure 2
is a plan of a sufficient part of a paper bag making machine of well known con-
and 4 taken together
struction to show my improvements added thereto-Figures
show a paper bag cut and folded as it will be in the production of a bag on my
improved machine, the said Figures showing the different steps in section as the
tube is fed forward up to the point where the completed bag is severed-Figures 5
and 6 are diagrams showing different positions of one of the folding bars the
bottom opening finger and the upturned spring within the tube.
The framework A of the machine of suitable shape to contain the working parts
has bearings for the main shaft A' this shaft A¹ has at one end a pinion that serves,
by suitable gearing which may be outside the framework, to rotate the cam shaft C,
the latter having fast upon it, at near each side frame of the machine cams C¹
and C³.
The cams C¹ act upon the short ends of the levers cone at each side of the
machine which in turn act upon pins or projections c¹ of guide-rods c³ held in
bearings attached to the frame work the said guide rods being kept normally
down by suitable springs c
The guide rods above the plate a³ (on which rests the paper tube being made
into a bag) have adjustable arms with bearings d which receive a rock shaft ď¹
having attached to it the bottom opening or forming finger d³ the finger being
attached thereto by a pin d³.
The rock-shaft d' has fast to it a collar d' with which is connected one end of
the spring d the other end of the said spring being attached in suitable manner to
the bearing & so that the spring normally acts to throw the finger in the direction
of the arrow near its lower end in figure 1 the extent of movement of the finger
in that direction being however determined by any suitable stop which for example
may be a pin on the rock shaft which strikes against a fixed portion of the frame.
The finger d' will thus have a rising and falling movement and also a swinging
movement about the centre of the rock shaft d¹.
The small cam C' operates the lever e and the latter lifts the rod e¹ against the
stress of the spring e³ the said rod sliding in suitable guides 50 and having attached
to it the flap depressing finger e³ the said finger being extended over the said rod
nearly half way across the machine and above the paper tube t and at the rear of
the finger d'.
At each side of the machine in guides fare guide rods f¹ which have attached to
them above the plate a the presser bar fs having a rearwardly extended foot 22.
The rods f and the attached presser bar and foot are raised by suitable springs h
and lowered to cause the presser bar to bear upon the diamond folded part of the
bag bottom by levers f³ pivoted at f' and moved by cams f near, the ends of the
presser roller H which has cooperating with it a presser-roller H³.
The bags to be made are produced from a tubet (Figure 3) made by folding a
web of paper about a tube-former D of usual construction, it having at one end
1.

page_text: a spring tongue D¹ the forward end of which is turned upward to leave a part of
the upper ply of paper comprising the tube at a point where it is first cut through,
in the formation of an opening for the entrance of the finger d².
The tube former D near its end is provided with a recess 55 (see Figure 1) in
which enters the cutter 56 arranged to slide diametrically through the roll G₁ the
"said roll having pivoted upon it at 57, a lever 58 provided with a small roll 59
which as the roll GI is rotated strikes a cam 60 which causes the lever 58 to be
moved in a direction to cause the cutter 56 to cut through the upper ply of the
tube above the tube-former-The cutter 56 cuts into the tube and leaves a slit
shaped as shown at g¹ in Figure 3.
In front of the rolls G, GI is located a pair of cutting and feeding rolls E E¹ the
roll E having a cutter provided with two cutting edges g which as they meet
the upper ply of the paper tube supported by the roll E cut through the said tube
forming the slits g* (see Figure 3).
In front of the rolls E E¹ is a pair of rolls F F¹ the latter of which has a block
(see Figure 1) provided with a slit x into which enter the two short blades h
carried by the roll F, the said short blades being so positioned that they cut through
both plies of the tube, forming the slits g³ from the junction of the slits g' with the
slits g¹ to the sides of the tube (see Figure 3).
Near the ends of the presser rolls and mounted upon studs secured to the side
frames of the machine are wheels 62 over which, and over chain wheels 63 secured
to the journal of the roll F¹ two endless chains 64 are passed the said chains
serving to rock the folding-bars 65 herein shown as three in number, the said
folding bars cooperating with the finger d³ to open or expand the tube at the point
where it is cut as described in order to lay back a portion of the upper ply of the
tube to form a diamond fold as shown in Figure 3.
The spring D¹ is extended forward between the rolls F, F an annular groove
being made in the lower roll for such purpose and the upturned end of said spring
stands immediately in front of said rolls a little behind the lower end of the
finger d' as shewn in Figure 1 and in Figure 5.
It being supposed that the paper tube is being moved continuously forward
through the machine by the feed rolls, the upturned end of the spring D¹ on the
arrival of the part of the tube (slitted as described) at the end of the said spring
is lifted thereby as in Figure 5 so that the lower end of the finger d³ catches under
the lip and immediately thereafter the folding bar 65 in its movement with the
chain comes down close to the upper ply of the tube and travels at the same surface
speed while the finger d' acting upon the lip 2 turns the said lip back over the
bar 65 as shewn in Figure 6 the lower end of the finger at the same time being
carried forward the tube and the rock shaft being lowered until the said finger and
rock shaft arrive in substantially the position shown in dotted line Figure 1 and in
Figure 6 when the folding bar 65 and tube pass away from and leave the finger d²,
and the guide rods c² being elevated somewhat the spring d acts to throw the
finger d back into its normal position as shewn in full lines.
The parts of the bag bottom connected with the lip are to be folded in separately
as one is to overlap the other consequently I have provided the presser finger e³
which when the lip is laid back sufficiently is caused to descend upon the part g
of the tube, turn that part of the bottom upon the lower part forming the flap g7x
and immediately thereafter the tube yet moving forward the presser bar f' is turned
down to act upon the opposite flap g³ and press it down upon and overlap the
flap g7x.
This done the bag in the condition shown at the left of Figure 4 is pasted by
any suitable devices and is cross folded first in the line g* and then in the line gio
the connecting portion of the under ply being however severed by a blade on a
suitable roll just before the first cross fold g³ is made.
Both cross folds having been made, result in the formation of a bag with the
bottom as shown at the right of Figure 4.

page_text: The rolls G, G¹, E, E¹ F, F¹ and H H are all driven at the same surface speed
and in the same direction by suitable gear wheels pinions and intermediate wheels
all deriving their movement of rotation preferably through an intermediate wheel 4
driven by a pinion fast on the main shaft A¹ the said pinion engaging preferably
the pinions fast upon the journals of the rolls E, F the said pinions engaging
pinions 7, 8, on the shafts respectively of the rolls E¹, G¹ but any suitable arrange-
ment of gearing may be used.
I do not claim the wheels or rolls G, G, E, E¹, F F¹, H, H¹ nor do I broadly
claim a chain to carry the folding-bars, but I am not aware, prior to this Invention
that a chain having folding bars has ever been employed with a finger d³ and with
a pressing finger and a pressing bar as herein described.
The rolls F and F may be provided with suitable projections and grooves to aid
in creasing the paper in case very heavy paper is used so that it will fold more
readily when being shaped to form the bottom flap in the bag but I lay no claim
to such appliance.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim is
First. In a paper bag making machine the former D, the roll G₁ provided with
the cutter, the rolls E E¹ to slit the tube longitudinally the rolls F F¹ having
transverse cutters, and the spring tongue attached to the former D and a chain
provided with a folding-bar or with folding bars combined with the finger d² the
rock shaft to which it is attached, the finger and folding bars cooperating with
the upper ply of the tube slitted, as described to lay back a portion of the tube
substantially as herein before setforth.
Second. In a paper bag making machine the endless chain having a folding-
bar or folding-bars the spring-tongue D¹ and finger d' carried by the rock shaft and
having a rising and falling movement combined with the supporting-plate a³ and
with a pressing finger es to descend upon and fold down one flap comprising the
bottom of the bag in advance of the other substantially as herein before described.
Third. In a paper bag making machine the chain having a folding-bar or
folding-bars the spring-tongue D¹ and the finger d' carried by the rock shaft and
having a rising and falling movement combined with the supporting-plate a³ and
with a pressing finger es to descend upon and fold down one flap comprising the
bottom of the bag in advance of the other, and with the pressing bar f' to press
both flaps down substantially as hereinbefore described.
T: 10th day of Tonuary 1886