IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BAGS AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davidson, of Mugie Moss, in the County of
Aberdeen, Paper Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BAGS AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED
THEREIN."
Sealed the 24th November 1863, and dated the 12th June 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George. Davidson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
June 1863.
I, GEORGE DAVIDSON, of Mugie Moss, in the County of Aberdeen, Paper
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BAGS AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED
THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention is applicable to the manufacture of that description of paper
bags which, when expanded, is rectangular in transverse section, and also at the
bottom or end; a perspective view of such a bag is shewn at Figure 1 of the
annexed Drawings. For this purpose I take a strip of paper of a width equal
to the two adjacent sides of the bag, together with laps sufficient to make
the seams or joints, and from this single strip of paper, such as is shewn at.
Figure 2, I produce a complete bag.
Having first cut two small slits in the paper at the points a, a, I fold over

page_text: the two sides of the strip along the lines b, b, so as to reduce its width to that
of one side of the bag, and I turn back again the laps for making the seams or
joints, creasing the paper along the line c, c; an end view of the slip of paper.
as it will now appear is shewn at Figure 3. I usually in the first place turn
back the lapping pieces, for convenience of manufacture, from end to end of
the slip, but it is only the portions of the lapping pieces above the slits a, in
Figure 2, which require to be so turned, and the portions below the slits I
return to their original positions. The slip as it will now appear is shewn at
Figure 4; it is then marked or creased in the centre as is shewn in the Figure,
so as to enable it to fold freely along these lines, and two lines of paste d, d,
(indicated in red,) are put on from end to end of the slip, which is then
doubled, as is shewn at Figure 5. The bag is now complete and folded ready for
packing; the top of the bag will then appear as it is shewn in Figure 6, two
sides of the bag being, as will be seen, folded in with bellows folds, and when
the bag is extended it takes the form shewn at Figure 1.
In conducting the manufacture the following is the manner in which I pro-
ceed:-The paper is taken in a continuous length of the proper width, and is
passed between a pair of rollers with cutters upon them, which cut the slits
a, a, at intervals along the slip, the distances varying according to the size of
the bags which are to be made. By folders similar to those now employed in
making other paper bags by machinery, the folds are made along the lines
b, b, c, c, and these are pressed down flat by other rollers; one of these rollers
also has upon it ribs or ridges which indent or crease the paper where it will
be required to, fold in forming the bottom. When the slip of paper passes
away from these rollers mechanical fingers replace the parts of the lapping
pieces which do not require to be turned, and circular brushes or other similar
instruments put on the lines of paste d, d. A plunger with a blunted
edge of the width of the space between the two V-folds of the bottom,
then descends on to the centre of the slip, and forces it down between other
rollers, and so the bag is folded, the bottom folds being at the same time
turned in by instruments on each side of the plunger. These instruments for
a time retain the two sides of the strip where the folds come, whilst the
plunger takes down the centre of the strip, a length of paper sufficient to form
the bag being cut off from the continuous strip by a knife which descends on
to the paper immediately before the plunger.
I would remark that it is not essential that the bottom fold should be turned
in in the machine; this may, if preferred, be afterwards done by hand. In
this case the plunger may be made of the full width of the bag; in this case
also the notches a, a, Figure 2, are more conveniently made in the centre of

page_text: the strip of which a bag is formed, and paste may advantageously be printed on
to the paper under the first folds, where the bottom creases come to prevent
the bottom of the bag pulling out or bulging when the bag is filled, as might
otherwise happen.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Davidson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th December 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
DAVIDSON, of Mugie Moss, in the County of Aberdeen, Paper Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Davidson, Her special licence that I, the said George
Davidson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Davidson, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BAGS AND IN THE MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Davidson,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 George Davidson, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention is applicable to the manufacture of that description of paper
bags which, when expanded, is rectangular in transverse section, and also at
the bottom or end. A perspective view of such a bag is shewn at Figure 1 of
the annexed Drawings. For this purpose I take a strip of paper of a width

page_text: equal to the two adjacent sides of the bag together with laps sufficient to
make the seams or joints, and from this single strip of paper, such as is shown
at Figure 2, I produce a complete bag.
I fold over the two sides of the strip along the lines b, b, so as to reduce its
width to that of one side of the bag, and I turn back again the laps for making
the seams or joints, creasing the paper along the lines c, c; an end view of the
slip of paper as it will now appear is shewn at Figure 3. I usually in the
first place turn back the lapping pieces for convenience of manufacture from
end to end of the slip, but it is only the portions of the lapping pieces above
the points marked a in Figure 2 which require to be so turned, so I slit the
lapping pieces at these points as is shewn, and the portions below the slits I
return to their original positions. The slits at a, a, may be made before
commencing the folding operation, but I find it preferable to fold the paper
first and make the slits afterwards, otherwise there is some difficulty in folding
regularly by machinery. The slip as it will now appear is shown at Figure 4,
and two lines of paste d, d, (indicated in red) are now put on from end to end
of it. The slip is then doubled as is shown at Figure 5, and the bag is now
complete and folded ready for packing. The top of the bag will then appear
as it is shewn in Figure 6, two sides of the bag being, as will be seen, folded
in with bellows folds, and when the bag is extended it takes the form shown
at Figure 1. Bags thus constructed pack much more neatly than rectangular
bags heretofore made by hand, the method of folding with bellows folds in the
sides being very superior to that adopted in hand made bags. In conducting
the manufacture the following is the manner in which I proceed:-The paper
is taken in a continuous length of the proper width, and by suitable folders
the folds are made along the lines b, b, c, c, and these are pressed down flat by
rollers, then the paper is passed between another pair of rollers with cutters
upon them which cut the slits a, a, at intervals along the slip, the distances
varying according to the size of the bags which are to be made. When the
slip of paper passes away from these rollers mechanical fingers or instruments
replace the parts of the lapping pieces which do not require to be turned, and
circular brushes or other similar. instruments put on the lines of paste d, d; a
plunger then descends on to the centre of the slip. This plunger creases the
paper with V folds, as is shown at Figure 4, and a blade with a blunted
edge of the width of the space between the two V folds of the bottom then comes
down at the centre of the slip and forces it down between other rollers and so
the bag is folded, the bottom folds being at the same time turned in by instru-
ments on each side of the plunger. These instruments for a time retain the
two sides of the strip where the folds come, whilst the plunger takes down the

page_text: centre of the strip, a length of paper sufficient to form the bag being cut off
from the continuous strip by a knife which descends on to the paper imme-
diately before the plunger.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the machinery I
make use of in conducting the manufacture.
Figure 7 is a side view, and Figure 8 is a plan of the machinery I
employ.
a, a, is the frame of the machine; b, is a roll on which the continuous strip
of paper is brought to the machine. Its axis is carried by suitable brackets
on the frame. The paper passes from the roll over a roller c. The bearings
of this roller are capable of adjustment by means of screws so that the
workman may be able to keep the strip truly in position. If it tends to pass
too much to either side of the machine the bearing of the roller c on this
side is raised or its other bearing is lowered, and so the tendency of the strip to
get out of place is checked. As the paper passes onward it goes under the
small roller d, the width of which exactly corresponds with that of one side of
the bag to be made, it causes the strip of paper to sag down in the centre
and the edges of the roller crease or mark the paper. These operations both
assist the action of the folders e, to which the paper next passes.
The folders (which are shewn separately at Figures 9) consist of a flat
metal table marked A in these Figures, with four pegs A¹ fixed in it, two on
each side. Each pair of pegs receives a creasing plate B. These plates rest
on the table, and are grooved on their under side as is shewn at B¹. Their
ends are rounded off at B2 where the paper enters, so that the paper which is
already marked is turned over by them. B³, B³, are pins fixed in the creasing
plates, and C is a top piece which drops on over the pins B³. Its use is to turn
back the lapping pieces. The way in which it does this is clearly indicated in
the two end views of the folders, the red lines in these Figures indicating the
paper. f, in Figures 7 and 8, is a roller over which the folded strip now
passes in its passage to the pair of rollers g, g, but immediately before it enters
between these it passes under a bar (shown separately at Figure 10). There
is a notch at the centre of the bar equal in width to the distance between the
creases of the two lapping pieces, and in passing this notched bar the lapping
pieces enter the notch, and they are thus caused to stand up so that they may
enter the grooves in the upper roller g; this roller is shown separately at
Figures 11. The lower roller g is plain or without grooves.
The upper
roller g carries on each side of it two tubes D, D, which serve as guides for the
stems E; these at their inner ends carry knives F. The stems E are capable

page_text: of sliding longitudinally in their guide tubes, and the knives can thus be caused
to move from one side to the other of one of the grooves in the roller, the
knife working in a narrow slit cut in the roller at right angles with the groove.
On the stem of each knife is a spiral spring, which tends to keep the knife on
the outer side of the groove in the roller, and the outer end of the stem rests
on a fixed cam surface h, shewn separately at Figures 11*, of which there are
two, one on each side of the roller. This cam surface, acting on the end of
the stem and overpowering the spring, causes the knife to move to the inner
side of the groove, and then, when the knife gets to the bottom of the roller,
the cam allows it to escape, and its spring throws it across its groove in the
roller, so as to divide the lapping piece which is then in the groove; the moving
knife acts with a stationary knife G, and the two together cut as a pair of
shears. The circumference of the upper roller g is equal to the length of
paper required to make one bag, and when the paper is cut off from the strip
at the further end of the machine, as herein-after described, the cut coincides
with the notches made by one of the two pairs of knives. From the rollers
9, 9, the paper supported on a table h¹ passes to the roller i, which is shewn
separately at Figures 12; this roller is recessed at its circumference, so that
it acts as mechanical fingers correctly to place the lapping pieces. As the strip
passes to this roller the lapping pieces stand up vertically, and the roller
alternately folds and unfolds them; the first of these operations is performed
by the recess H of the roller, and the latter by the recess I. The strip of
paper still passing on along the table receives two lines of paste from the
revolving brushes k, and then it is carried on by the rollers under the
plunger m, the upper roller is grooved so that it may not touch the pasted
parts of the paper. The plunger m, with parts connected with it, is shewn
separately at Figures 13; n is a standard on the frame which carries the
plunger and in which it is capable of sliding up and down freely. A recipro-
cating motion is given to it by a crank on the axis o, the pin of which enters a
slot m¹ in the plunger. The lower end of the plunger at K is so formed that
by pressing the paper down into a corresponding box in the table beneath it
gives to it the V creases required for the folds of the bottom of the bag. The
box in the table, with some of the parts in connection with it, is shewn
separately at Figures 14. Within the plunger is a stem L with the blade L'
at its lower end lodged in a narrow slit along the bottom edge of the plunger,
and M is a spiral spring on the stem L, which presses it upwards and so holds
up the blade within the plunger, except when the wiper N on the axis o
comes in contact with the top of the stem L, which it does when the plunger
is in its lowest position, and then the blade is protruded, forcing down the

page_text: piece of paper (which, by this time, has been divided from the continuous strip)
through a groove in the bottom of the box in the table, it is then caught by
the two small rollers O, O, drawn through, and discharged a finished bag. As
the strip descends the angles P, P, fixed in the box (and which assisted in the
creasing of the bottom of the bag) ensure the folds being properly turned in.
The creasing of the paper to make the bottom folds is very conveniently
effected by the plunger as above described, it may, however, be done by a
roller with suitable pressing surfaces but much less conveniently. The cutting
off of a length to make a bag from the continuous strip of paper is effected by
the knife p, carried by arms on the axis q, and the stationary knife r on the
edge of the table; these blades come together and divide the paper the instant
before the descent of the plunger.
The machine is actuated in the following manner :-s is a driving pulley on
the axis of the lower roller g. On the same axis are two spur wheels, one of
them gears with another wheel on the axis of the upper roller g, which is
thus driven at the same speed as the lower. The other spur wheel on the
axis of the lower roller g drives a wheel on the axis of the roller i, and thence
through two intermediate wheels motion is given to the axis of the small
roller which supports the paper whilst it is being pasted by the paste
brushes . These brushes are driven by a pinion on their axis gearing with
a pinion on the axis of the roller below, and they receive the paste from
travelling strings which descend into the paste box t. From this box each
string passes up over one of the upper guide pulleys t¹ and then descends and
passes around the lower guide pulley t, it then ascends and passes over the
upper guide pulley t' and back into the box t. To keep the paste string in
motion the lower guide pulleys are driven by a spur wheel on their axis
gearing with a pinion on the axis of the brushes k, these brushes revolving
in contact with the strings take from them their supply of paste. The second
of the two intermediate wheels also drives a pinion on the axis of the lower
roller and a spur wheel on the axis u; on this axis is an elliptical wheel v
gearing with another similar wheel on the axis q of the knife, so that this
axis is driven at a variable speed, travelling rapidly when below the table and
slowly when above. A spur wheel on the axis q drives another similar wheel
on the crank axis o, which thus also receives a motion of variable speeds,
causing the plunger m to move more rapidly when in contact with the paper
than it would were the speed of the crank shaft uniform. The axis o has at
its other end another spur wheel to drive a pinion on the axis of one of the
rollers O (Figure 14).
The rollers O, O, are geared together by pinions of
equal size. The speed of the travelling knife and of the plunger is made

page_text: variable, so that these parts and also the length of paper severed from the
strip by the knife may rapidly move out of the way so as not to interfere with
the regular forward motion of the continuous strip.
I would remark that it is not essential in making bags that the bottom
folds should be turned in in the machine; this may, if preferred, be afterwards
done by hand, the plunger may then be made simply as a blunted blade of the
full width of the bag; it is, however, more convenient to employ a compound
plunger similar to that shewn in the Drawings, but of a uniform bevel or V
form from end to end; in this case also the notches a, a, Figure 2, are more
conveniently made in the centre of the strip of which the bag is formed, and
paste may advantageously be printed on to the paper under the first folds where
the bottom creases come, to prevent the bottom of the bag pulling out or
bulging when the bag is filled, as might otherwise happen.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davidson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
GEORGE,DAVIDSON. (L.S.)