IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ENVELOPES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Pollard, of 64, Watling Street, in the
City of London, Envelope Manufacturer, and George Mumby, of
Hunter Street, Brunswick Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Mechanical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Pollard
and George Mumby at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 24th August 1858.
We, GEORGE POLLARD, of 64, Watling Street, in the City of
London, Envelope Manufacturer, and GEORGE MUMBY, of Hunter
Street, Brunswick Square, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
ENVELOPES" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus or machinery
for the manufacture of envelopes, whereby the several processes of
feeding the blanks, gumming, stamping, folding, and delivering are
performed by the manual labour of one person, thereby simplifying the
construction of such apparatus or machinery.
The blank is fed by hand upon the folding box, and when secured in
§
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page_text: its proper position it is gummed on the lower flap by pressing the
latter with the fingers upon the reservoir of gum, which is so arranged
that it only gums the edges of the flap where required.
Simultaneously with this operation the blank is embossed or stamped
on the opposite or seal flap by means of a common lever or embossing
press. This being accomplished, the left hand, being now at liberty,
holds down firmly the lever which works the moveable bottom of the
folding box; whilst the right hand, by means of a lever, presses down
the plunger into the folding box, when the blank undergoes the first
operation of folding.
This consists in causing each flap to stand up at right angles to the
plane of the moveable bottom. When the plunger is raised the
incliners (which consist of springs, one being placed on each side of the
box) coming into operation give the necessary incline to the flaps, and
also their respective order previous to the final descent of the plunger,
when, by means of the internal pressers contained in the plunger, the
side flaps are pressed down upon the gummed surface, thereby securing
them in a proper manner, and the same process also completes the
folding and finishing of the envelope. After this operation tlie*folded
or completed envelope is allowed to fall through the folding box by
lowering the moveable bottom at one end so as to give it an inclined
position.
The envelope falling through is guided into a proper reservoir by
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Pollard and George Mumby in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 24th February 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
GEORGE POLLARD, of 64, Watling Street, in the City of London, En-
velope Manufacturer, and GEORGE MUMBY, of Hunter Street, Brunswick
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of Augnsf, in the

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said George Pollard and George Mumby,
Her special licence that we, the said George Pollard and George
Mumby, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said George Pollard and George Mumby, our executors, admi-
nistrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter luring 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 MA-
CHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ENVELOPES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said George Pollard and
George Mumby, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the sanie was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said George Pollard and George
Mumby, do hereby declare the nature of our 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 accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say:
Our said Invention relates to improvements in apparatus or ma
chinery for the manufacture of envelopes, whereby the several processes
of feeding the blanks, gumming, stamping, folding, and delivering may
be performed by the manual labour of one person, thereby simplifying
the construction of such apparatus or machinery. The blank is fed
upon the folding box, and when secured in its proper position is gummed
on the lower flap; and simultaneously with this operation it is cm-
bossed or stamped on the opposite or seal flap, and also on an under
Hap, with the maker's name, hy means of a suitable embossing press.
This being accomplished, the lever which works the moveable bottom
of the folding box is held firmly whilst the folding plunger is forced

page_text: into the folding box, when the blank undergoes the first operation of
folding. When the plunger is raised the incliners (which consist of
springs placed on each side of the box) coming into operation give the
necessary inclination to the flaps, and also their respective order
previous to the final descent of the plunger, when, by means of the
internal pressers contained in the plunger, the side flaps are pressed
down upon the gummed surface, thereby securing them in a proper
manner; and the same process also completes the folding and finishing
of the envelope. After this operation the folded or completed envelope
is allowed to fall through the folding box by lowering the moveable
bottom at one end so as to give it an inclined position.
The envelope falling through may he guided into a proper reservoir
by means of a trough or spout.
Fig. 1, on our Sheet of Drawings represents a complete side eleva-
tion of our improved envelope machine. Fig. 2, is a corresponding end
view of the same, with a portion of the bed plate and frame ent away
to shew certain portions of the mechanism more clearly. Fig. 3, is a
transverse section of the folding box in detail, drawn full size. Fig. 4.
is a longitudinal section of the same; and Fig. 5, is a corresponding
plan of the box. Fig. 6, is a transverse section of the gum reservoir,
showing one of the gummers in elevation inside the reservoir; and
Fig. 7 represents a corresponding plan of the same, with a portion of
the cover broken away to shew one of the gummers. Fig. 8, repre-
sents a longitudinal vertical section of the creasing and folding plunger,
shewing the pressers inside. Fig. 9, is a corresponding plan of the
same; and Fig. 10, is a transverse vertical section taken through the
centre thereof.
A, A, is a rectangular bed plate bolted to the cast iron supporting
standards B, B, fitted with lugs C, C, for the facility of securing
the machine to a table or work bench. D, is a cast iron standard
or bracket support bolted to the bed plate A, and fitted with rectan-
gular guide plates E, E, which are bolted together, and form a guide
for the rectangular sliding rod F. To the lower end of this rod is
keyed the folding plunger G, composed of gun metal, and shewn in
Figs. 8, 9, and 10; and to the interior of this plunger are fitted the
"pressers H, H, which are screwed at 1, to the under side of the trans-

page_text: verse plate J, which is cast in one piece with the boss K. This plate s
slides vertically up the two fixed guides I, L, and the four screws M, M,
and is kept clevated to the screw heads by the helical springs N, N.
The plunger is kept elevated by a pair of blade springs N', N', and its
descent is effected by the lever handle O, which works on a fixed centre
at P, screwed into the top of the column or support D, which is cast
hollow to form a receptacle for gum; a small pipe Q, fitted with a stop
cock, serves to conduct the gum from the lower portion of the receptacle
to the reservoir R, shewn full size at Figures and 7. The gum is
supplied to the receptacle D, through the aperture shewn in dotted lines
at S. The gum reservoir R, is situated at one side of the folding
box T, and is fitted with two vertical projections U, over which is placed
a picce of lint V, or any other suitable absorbent material, which is kept
constantly moist or saturated with gum. W, is a lid or cover which is
placed over the reservoir, having two slots formed therein to allow of
the lint or other absorbent material to project through it. A dabber X,
is fitted immediately over the gummers; it consists merely of an an-
gular piece of metal to correspond with the position of the gunmers
in the reservoir, and its under side is faced with a layer of vulcanized
india-rubber to form an elastic pressing surface. The dabber is
attached to the lower end of the vertical spindle Y, which slides freely
through the bracket of the support D, and is kept clevated by the helical
spring Z.
The folding box T, shewn in detail, full size, at Figures 3, 4, and 5,
is composed of gun metal like the plunger, and is bolted to the bed
plate A. Four blade springs a, a', a", which we term "incliners," are
screwed on to the upper edge of each side of the box, the sides being
recessed internally to receive the springs when pushed back. The
action of these springs is to incline each flap of the envelope inwards
after the first descent of the plunger in readiness for the second
descent, which completes the fold. In order to give such an inclination
to the several flaps as will cause them to be folded in their proper order
on the second descent of the plunger the inward projection of the
springs is varied, as will be seen on reference to the Drawing; thus the
bottom flap of the envelope, or that which has to be folded first, has a
greater inclination given to it, which is effected by causing its incliner

page_text: at, to project further inwards than the other three, and the plunger is
fitted with a projecting tongue piece A², in order that this flap may be
folded first. The two end incliners a', a', have the next greatest inward
projection, and consequently the end flaps are the. next ones folded,
whilst the seal flap incliner a", has the least inward projection, and
therefore the seal flap will be the last one folded. The embossing of
one of the under flaps with the maker's name is effected simultaneously
with the stamping of the seal flap by means of the fly press b. In
order to effect this double stamping simultaneously, the lower portion of
the vertical slide is forked, and is fitted with suitable dies c, and d.
The vertical spindlo of the fly press is guided by the bracket support e,
which is bolted to the bed plate. The envelope when folded is allowed
to fall from the folding box into the inclined shoot f; whence it falls into
a box or other suitable receptacle. To effect this the bottom g, of the
folding box turns on a hinge at h; and it is opened, when required, by
elevating the lever handle i, which is connected to the under side of the
moveable-bottom g, and works on the fixed centre j. In operating by
this machine a blank is fed on to the folding box T, by the attendant,
and is accurately adjusted by being dropped between the four guides k, k,
one of which is situated at each corner or angle of the folding box.
The attendant then gums and stamps the blank simultaneously by
bringing down the dabber with one hand, whilst a partial revolution of
the fly press is effected with the other; he then effects the folding.
action by pressing on the lever handle i, with one hand, which holds the
bottom of the box firm in its place, and with the other bringing down
the lever o, which causes the plunger to press the gumined and stamped
blank into the folding box. By the descent of the plunger in the
folding box the incliners" are pushed out of the way into the recesses
formed to receive them. In this state of the apparatus the four flaps
are raised to a vertical position, and the plunger is withdrawn from the
box, whereupon the flaps are inclined inwards by the "incliners" in
the manner herein-before described, and the plunger again brought
down, which completes the fold, and firmly unites the gummed sur-
faces by pressing them together through the agency of the spring
'pressers" H, H, contained therein. The handle i, is then raised,
and the bottom of the folding box opened, whereupon the finished
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page_text: envelope is allowed to fall into the shoot, whence it drops into a suitable
receptacle, the movements of the machine being completed. The shape
and strength of the incliners may be varied, of course, according to
circumstances.
By a slight modification of the above arrangements the working parts
may all be actuated by cams, eccentrics, or cranks on a main actuating
shaft, which would be fitted with a fly wheel and winch handle or crank
to be driven either by hand or foot.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of
our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be
used or carried into effect, we would observe, in conclusion, that we do
not confine or restrict ourselves to the precise details or arrangements
which we have had occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations
may be made therefrom without deviating from the principles or main
features of our Invention; but what we consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is-
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or ap-
paratus for effecting the gumming, folding, & stamping of envelopes,
as hiercin-before described.
Second, the application and use of spring "pressers" placed inside
the plunger for the purpose of effectually uniting the gummed surfaces
of the envelope.
Third, the systm or mode of inclining the flaps of partially formed
envelopes by means of springs acting inside the folding box.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Pollard and George
Mumby, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Twenty-
fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
GEORGE POLLARD. (L.S.)
GEORGE MUMBY.
(L.S.)