IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE MORE PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO MACHINERY FOR PRINTING ON A CONTINUOUS WEB
Year: 1875

page_text: TTERS PATENT to William Conquest, of Tudor Street, in the City
of London, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER,
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE MORE PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO MACHINERY
FOR PRINTING ON A CONTINUOUS WEB."-A communication from abroad
by Stephen Davis Tucker, of New York City, in the United States
of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Conquest at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th September 1875.
I, WILLIAM CONQUEST, of Tudor Street, in the City of London,
5 Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
⚫tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING
PAPER, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE MORE PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO MACHINERY
FOR PRINTING ON A CONTINUOUS WEB," to be as follows:-

page_text: The arrangement in which the folding blades have a double motion
may be adapted to an arrangement of folding rollers which do not travel,
but simply rotate on their own axes and actuate carrying tapes.
Precisely the same arrangement of mechanism may be employed for
actuating cutting blades instead of the mechanism heretofore employed
for that purpose.
When combining a cutting with the folding operation it is preferable for
the cutting blade to be attached to a separate wheel or cylinder, and in
the periphery of the cylinder which carries the rotary folding blade is
made the notch or recess to receive the edge of the cutting blade. By
this arrangement the edge of the folding blade will act against the sheet
and will thrust it into the bite or nip of the folding rollers just. the
fraction of a second in advance of the cutting blade coming into
operation, so that immediately the severance is completed the sheet will
be carried in between the folding rollers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Conquest in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th March 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CONQUEST, of Tudor Street, in the City of London, Mechanical
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred, and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Conquest, Her special
licence, that I, the said William Conquest, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Conquest, my exe-
cutors, 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 " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER, WHICH
2.
•

page_text: IMPROVEMENTS ARE MORE PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO MACHINERY FOR PRINTING
ON A CONTINUOUS WEB," a communication to him from abroad by Stephen
Davis Tucker, of New York City, in the United States of América, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Conquest, my
éxecutors or administrators, 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 Conquest, 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 Drawing
hereunto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say)
In the improved machinery which forms the subject of the present
Invention the cutting and folding blades have a peculiar motion
imparted to them, so that at the proper moment they may give a
forward thrust, which will carry forward the sheet of paper into the nip
of a pair of folding rollers, or into a notch or recess made in a roller or
cylinder to receive the shearing edge of the cutting blade.
The cutting and folding apparatus may be used either separately or in
combination, but the working blades in both cases are actuated in much
the same manner.
.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings is shewn a series of
diagrams illustrating several arrangements of cutting and folding appa-
ratus and various modifications thereof. I will however in the first
instance describe a very simple arrangement for folding sheets that have
been previously cut or severed-from-the-continuous web by any known
or other suitable cutting mechanism. An arrangement of this kind is
shewn in diagram at Figure 1; Sheet I.
The single sheets when severed from the continuous web are carried
forward by the cylinder or drum A on which they are held by ordinary
gripper mechanism, and are brought in succession to a rotating cylinder
or wheel B in which is mounted the axle or shaft b to which the folding
blade b¹ is adapted. The folding blade 6¹ projects beyond the periphery

page_text: of the wheel or cylinder B with which it is connected, and consequently
when it is brought round opposite the carrying cylinder A, it enters an
opening a made therein for the purpose. In this opening are mounted
sets of rollers a¹, a¹, together with carrying tapes, and the motions of the
carrying cylinder A and folding cylinder B are so timed (by means of:
suitable toothed gearing), that the folding blade b¹ is thrust in between
the nip of the folding rollers a¹, a', so that the sheet of paper is doubled
and carried into the interior of the carrying cylinder A, and is ultimately:
delivered therefrom in a folded state on to a table provided for the
purpose.
In another arrangement shewn at Figure 2, the folding blade 6' is
fixed on a rotating axle 6* which is mounted on the revolving wheel or
roller B, so that the blade will have a double motion imparted to it, and
its edge will travel in a cycloidal curve as indicated by the dotted lines
in the Figure, that is to say, the folding blade will have a motion round
its own axis * and an orbicular motion round the axis of the wheel B
which carries it. This motion is caused by the rolling of the toothed
pinion N¹ around the internal toothed wheel N³. If desired two of these
rotating blades b' may be attached to the same carrying wheel but on
opposite sides, as herein-after shewn and described, so that they may
either act alternately against the same sheet carrying cylinder, or against
the two cylinders one on each side.
In Figure 3, a single folding cylinder B carrying a rotating folding
blade b' is shewn as acting alternately with one or other of two carrying
cylinders A, A, arranged one on each side of it. In both these cases the
wheel or cylinder B which carries the folding blades b' is outside the
sheet carrying cylinder A and is driven by gearing mounted on the axlé
of the latter..
This arrangement of folding mechanism in which the folding blades ¹
have a double motion may be adapted to an arrangement of folding
rollers a', a', which do not travel, that is, are not carried round by the
cylinder A, Figure 3, but simply rotate on their own axes, as shewn at

page_text: shaft d, which is rocked by the reciprocations imparted by the cam I³
to a friction roller a scated on a stud or pin extending from the rod b;
the said friction roller a being held in working contact with the
cam I by a spring 9' below bearing against the lower end of the
rod b.
1
The shaft d. vibrates a switch C, Figures 7 and 9, which consists of a
number of arms i, i, fast upon it, and which carry at their upper ends
shoes or plates. 7. curved to approximately coincide with the contour of
the folding rollers-e-and-el-One such curved plate or shoe may be
made to extend to a length equal to that of the drum B, or of the
width of the sheet to be folded, in which case two or more arms i may
support it. The folding rollers e and e¹ are provided with pinions j, k,
Figure 6, at this end of the machine, which being jointly geared impart
uniform motion to each other, and being severally geared to the pinions m
and m on the tape pulley shafts ƒ and g actuate the lower guiding
tapes o̟ and p. These tapes are carried upon suitable pulleys 2, 2,
Figure 7, upon the said shafts fand g, and extend to similar pulleys 2³, z¹,
upon the shafts. and s situated respectively at opposite ends of the
machine, as shewn at Figure 9. The upper or main guiding tapes q
extend around the folding roller e, thence over guiding pulleys 2ª, 2³, 2ª,
and 2, Figure 10, the two former stretching them in contact with the
face of the drum B. An auxiliary set of tapes are stretched from the
folding roller e¹ over pulleys 2º. The function of these tapes is to direct
the sheets to the folding devices, and when folded to deliver them from
the machine, or to auxiliary folders, as will be herein-after explained.
•
The large toothed wheel E (to the shaft of which the driving power
may be applied) has fixed upon one side of its rim a cam plate w, upon
which bears a lever D provided with a friction roller a' at its free end.
The lever D is fast upon a shaft a³, from which extend suitable arms
(fast upon it), in the outer ends of which a roller I is mounted. This
roller is thus vibrated or raised-at-suitablo intervals of time into contact
with the carrying tapes running over the pullies for a purpose to be
presently explained. In its lowest position-the-roller-I-rests-upon-the
seat 8 (seen best at Figure 10), which is a suitable plate or plates bolted
or otherwise secured upon the main frame.
The drum B is provided at one point of its periphery with grippers K,
A

page_text: longitudinal recess in the drum, and mounted in brackets L, which are
secured to the ends of the drum. This shaft O carries fast upon one of
its ends a lever T having arms M and N, Figure 6, extending in opposite
directions. One of the arms M is pivotted to a rod P, whose lower end
slides freely in an eye R secured to one end of the drum B. This rod
is surrounded by a spring Q, which seated upon the eye R and bearing
against a shoulder n' upon the rod P forces the same outwards, so as to
rock the shaft O and close the grippers K. down upon the edge of the
recess in the periphery of the drum B. The other arm N carries a
friction roller, which bears upon a cam S which is fixed upon the main
frame. While this arm is passing over the cam S (it being understood
that the drum revolves in the direction indicated by the arrows) it is
forced outward thereby, thus counteracting the spring rod P. The
grippers are gradually opened or extended from the periphery of the
drum during the time occupied by their arm N in passing over the
cam S from the point &' to the point s*, Figure 6. While the arm N is
passing from the points to the grippers K are held open to their
fullest extent, during which time the sheet is fed under them, and is
moved in concert with their circular travel; and while the arm N passes
from the point s³ to 8 the grippers K are gradually closed down upon
the sheet, so as to clamp it upon the drum. As the arm N passes off
from the cam S until it again engages with it, that is, from the point s'
to s', the grippers will remain closed, and hold the sheet clamped upon
the drum as before explained. The grippers K are thus closed upon the
sheet while it is held by the tapes q, to which the roller I has delivered
it, thereby clamping or gripping it upon the drum B just before the
tapes leave it, and thus carry it around with the drum until the folding
rollers e and e¹ are passed. When in such revolution of the drum the
roller N reaches and rides upon the cam S from the point s¹ to ¸³ it will
be gradually forced outwards to open the grippers and release the sheet,
thus permitting its leading end to be drawn backwards by the folding
blade, which will at this time have come into action upon it in a manner
herein-after more fully explained.
The main office of the grippers K is to carry the front end of the
sheet past the folding rollers, and keep it distended until it is ready to
be drawn backward and folded into the bite of these rollers by the
action of the folding blade. But they may be omitted; and the tapes q
may be brought around the folding roller e, when this result will be as

page_text: well accomplished by means of an air pipe P situated at a proper point
on one side of the folding roller e (see Figure 15, Sheet III.), from
which a light blast of air either intermittent or constant is driven
against the sheet of paper in a proper direction or angle determined. by
the inclination of the eduction orifices in the air pipe. This blast of air
will carry the end of the sheet upwards and onwards away from the
folding rollers. The forward end may in such case be directed on to a
set of tapes, Figure 15, Sheet III., mounted on small pullies above
the tapes r, and running in a direction contrary to that of the tapes r.
Short curved bars u may extend between the pullies and folding
rollers e², and bridge the space between them to assist in guiding the
end of the sheet.
At a point opposite to that occupied by the grippers K, Figure 9, and
in a suitable recess in the drum B, or supported in a rotating frame or
carrier, an intermittingly revolving double edged folding blade U is
mounted, its supporting brackets V and V2 being fastened to the ends of
the drum, and made to bridge the recess at these points. Onc end of
the shaft X of the folding blade is extended, and carries a double lever
which is secured fast upon it, whose arms Z and Z, Figure 8, extend in
opposite directions, and carry friction rollers upon their ends. These.
friction rollers alternately bear upon a triangular cam W, Figures 7
and 8, at suitable intervals during the rotation of the drum B for a
purpose which will be presently explained. This folding blade U is
made up of radial arms 1, 2, to the ends of which are fixed plates or
blades,, see Figure 9, Sheet II. This construction may however be
varied, and any other substituted without departing from the spirit of
this part of the Invention. Fixed upon the shaft of the drum B, and
'inside of the supporting frame A is a toothed wheel I', Figures 7 and 8,
which gears into a similar toothed wheel I³, upon the inner face of
which is fixed the triangular cam W, which revolves with the toothed a
wheel I², and is thereby (once during each revolution of the drum B).
brought into a position-to-meet-the-forward arm Z or Z' of the folding
blade U, which is travelling round (being carried by the drum) in a
=direction-contrary-to-that-in-which-the-cam-W moves. The arm Z
or Z is forced to follow the curved face or leading side of the triangular
cam W thus opposed to it, and is thereby deflected and thrown outwards
and carries with it the folding blade, which is thus rotated, and one of
'its blades is 'projected beyond the periphery of the drum B, as shewn in

page_text: Figure 11. Acting in conjunction with this moving cam W is a
stationary female cam V¹, which is fixed upon the inside of the main
frame (see Figures 8, 11, and 12), and has a curved upper face upon
which the friction roller on the end of the arm Z or Z¹ of the folding
blade rides, the peculiar shape of the moving cam W forcing it to follow
or bear on this curve. The cam W is so shaped; and its motion so
timed that it provides a channel or way between it and the stationary
cam V', in which the friction roller of the folding blade is guided. This
channel or way is of a width just equal to the diameter of the friction
rollers, which in consequence will move smoothly through it without
play. The upper side or face of this cam is divided longitudinally
(as shewn in Figure 13) so as to provide two ways having differing
curves (dotted lines, Figure 11), one forming the cam proper upon
which travels the friction roller in the folding blade arm, the other
being cut away so as to coincide with the sweep of and provide for the
passage of the extreme point of the moving cam W. The cam W is cut
away a distance from its point to clear the swell or cam proper just
alluded to. This construction which is clearly shewn in Figures 11, 12,
and 13, is required in order that the extreme point of the cam W may
bear upon the friction rollers of the folding blade arm, and carry it
down into the circular recess or seat provided in the centre of the
stationary cam V³, and thus ensure such a corresponding outward
movement of the folding blade (which is at this moment poised in a
vertical position) as shall cause it to force the sheet it has doubled into
the bite of the folding rollers in the manner hereafter explained.
By making the friction rollers on the ends of the arms Z, Z',.of
sufficient length the point of the cam W may pass by the side of the
cam V¹ without either being cut away, but the cutting away of the parts
as described is preferred, since a friction roller on a long stud pin will
soon twist, and its perfect operation will be thus destroyed. The further
movements of these devices will be set forth in the operation of the
machine, which is as follows:-The sheet is laid upon the feed board Y
with its ends adjusted against the gauges J, so that its front edge or
leading end overlies the roller I; this feeding may be by hand or by
means of any automatic device. A continuous web from a perfecting
printing press may be cut into sheets, and these sheets may be automa-
'tically fed to the folder by direct tapes, as will be hereafter explained.
For hand feeding the sheets will be presented to the action of the feeding

page_text: roller I, which at a suitable time during the revolution of the drum B
will be raised by the cam plate u upon the toothed wheel E, and will lift
the forward end of the sheet clear of the gauges J, and up against the
pullies on the shaft u³, and by the frictional contact of the two will
propel the sheet forward in the direction of the arrow, and ultimately
between the guiding tapes q, which run over the pullies &³, and against
the surface of the drum B. As the drum revolves, and the grippers K.
thereon have reached a point where the arm T of their actuating shaft
has cleared the swell of the cam S, viz., at s³, the grippers will begin
their movement of closing down so as to seize the sheet between them
and the drum B, which closing movement is gradually accomplished
while the gripper actuating arm is passing from the point 8 to that
8' on the cam S in the manner heretofore explained. The raising of the
roller I is so governed and timed by the relative position of the cam w
to that of the cam S (which operates the grippers) as to feed the sheet 1
with its forward edge within the range of motion of the grippers K, so
that it will (when the grippers are forced down upon the drum by the
spring rod P) be seized and held between them and the face of the
drum B, as shewn in Figure 10; thus. held the sheet is carried around
with the drum B and past the folding rollers e and e¹ until its leading í
end has nearly arrived at a point opposite to så of the cam S, as seen in
Figure 11. At this time the rear end of the sheet will be sustained
upon the drum B by the tapes q, and the leading end, which has been
gradually released while the gripper actuating arm was passing from the
points to s² of the cam S, will now be entirely freed from the
grippers K, and the folding blade will begin its outward movement to
fold the sheet. During the time occupied by the grippers in passing
from the point where they seize the sheet to the point where they release
it.the-folding-blade.U will have travelled an equal distance in its circular
path while in a position with its folding blades approximately forming a
chord to an arc of the drum B, as shewn in Figure 10, the sheet which
is being carried-around-the-drum-overlying the folder and its blades, as
therein.shewn by dotted lines. As the sheet travels on drawn or held
-by-the-grippers and tapes the same relative positions of the sleet, the
folding blade, and the grippers are maintained until the grippers are
released, when the forward arm Z or Z of the folding blade will impinge
against one face of the moving cam W, as in Figure 11, which cam by
its rotation (caused by the toothed wheels I' and I) will be travelling
in a contrary.direction to meet the arm of the folding blade. The arm Z

page_text: or Z' is deflected or pressed outward from the drum B by reason of its
friction roller being forced to follow or travel in the channel or way
formed between the curved leading face of the cam W and the face of
the stationary cam V₁, the effect of which is to rotate the folding blade
upon its axis, and project it outward so as to impinge upon the sheet.
The sheet is thus caught and held by the folding blade from the moment
its leading end is fully released from the grippers, and as the rear end of
the sheet travels forward (propelled by the conjoint action of the folding
blade, tapes q, and folding rollers e and e¹) the free leading end will
reverse its line of travel and will move rearward, being propelled in like
manner by the folding blade and folding rollers.
As the drum continues to revolve in one direction (carrying with it
the axis of the folding blade and the flying cam to move in a contrary
direction) the joint effect is to force the folding blade outwardly in an
epicycloidal curve until it reaches the vertical position shewn in
Figure 9, at which time the folding blade will have reached its greatest
movement of projection from the periphery of the drum B, when the
friction roller in the end of its arm will have been carried by the point
of the cam W into and made to rest momentarily within the circular
recess in the stationary cam V¹, as in Figure 7, while the friction roller
in the end of its other arm now uppermost will be passing over the
upper side of the moving cam W, which at this time is in a horizontal
plane. The sheet will thus be pressed downward or doubled at its centre.
over the edge of the folding blade, thus following the movements of the
latter in all degrees of its projection outward beyond the periphery of
the drum until it is forced into the bite of the folding rollers e and e¹,
which by seizing it will propel it between them, and will press, fold, and
lay its free ends together, thus folding the sheet once.
It should be understood that the travel of the sheet is so rapid that as
its ends are released by the grippers K and from the tapes 9 (where they
press it upon the drum B) they move towards the folding rollers e and e¹
with such speed as to prevent them from dropping from the drum,
although the leading end of the sheet should partially fall away from
the drum, which it will do so as to be more easily drawn backward into
the folding rollers without tearing. While the folded sheet is passing
between the folding rollers the cam W and folding blade will have
ceased to have any effect upon its movements, and will pass onward in
their circular paths.

page_text: When the cam W has passed its centre or greatest range of sweep
beyond the line of the periphery of the drum it will present its other
side in such a position as to guide the friction roller in the forward arm
of the folding blade over the swell of the cam V' on the side opposite to
that which impelled it outwards, and will cause the blade to be thrown
inwards toward the periphery of the drum (as seen in Figure 12, which
illustrates its position at the moment of its operation). Continuing to
follow the face of the stationary cam V' the folding blade arm will thus
-carry the folding blade into its normal position or state of rest, as in.
Figure 10, Sheet H., by movements-the-reverse-of-those-which-impelled-
it outwards. The folding blade shaft will thus have made a semi-
revolution, and the folding blade which it has brought into action will
now be closed into a position the reverse of that it occupied before it
was thus rotated, which will bring the companion folding blade into a
forward position ready to be projected outward when the folding
operation is repeated and its arm engages its actuating mechanism.
Tlic folding blades are held in this closed position by a spring s³,
Figure 6, which carries a toe on its end which enters suitable recesses in
the hub on the end of the shaft of the folding blades. This toe on the
spring and the recesses in the hub are rounded or otherwise so shaped
that the spring is easily forced out of the recesses so as to unlock the
folding blade. A swinging arm carrying a friction roller in its end
(which is held in place by a spring, as in Figure 14), may perform this
office.
When the drum is making a revolution (carrying with it the folding
blade and grippers, as seen in Figure 10), the cam W will make a
corresponding revolution in an opposite direction, and by coming into
operative contact with the arm of the folding blade (as before described)
at the proper time will cause the folding blade to be projected to fold
the sheet (presented to its action) into the bite of folding rollers
e and e. The folded edge of the sheet in passing between the folding
rollers e and e' meets the upper edge of the switch C, which at this
time-has-been-shunted_into_a_position_close_to_or_nearly_against_the_
periphery of one of the folding rollers, say e, see Figure 9, by means of
the rocking shaft-d (operated as herein-before described). The sheet is
thus caused to follow the curved face of the switch head or plate 7,
which thus directs the sheets between the tapes r on the folding roller e¹.
and those on the pullies of the shaft 9, which tapes and p deliver

page_text: the sheet on a horizontal plane at one side of the machine. During the
time occupied by the folding blade in folding the sheet and consequently
in opening out and closing into the drum, and hence in passing the
cams W and V₁ (which time is also occupied by the grippers K in
passing over the swell of the cam S from the point S² to S³) a second
sheet will have been fed into the machine between the tapes q and the
drum B, as seen in Figure 12, which sheet at the proper time will be
scized by the tapes q and the grippers K, and the operation of folding
herein-before described will be effected with reference to the second
sheet. This second sheet having been folded and delivered to the bite of.
the folding rollers e and e¹ in the manner explained will be directed out
of the machine between the tapes O and 9 by reason of the switch C
having been meanwhile (and during the interval between two folded
sheets that now occupy only one half of their former space) shunted´
against the roller c¹.
When the switch is composed of a number of curved heads or shoes
they may run in slight grooves made in the folding rollers when they
are single or continuous rollers, or they may enter between their
separated rollers when they are thus constructed, as shewn in Figure 8.
.
By this machine sheets of paper are fed in close proximity to each
other, and seized by the grippers and folded, and delivered with great
rapidity, which folding is equal to the speed with which a web is
printed upon both of its sides, and severed into sheets by a web perfecting
printing press, in connection with which this folding apparatus is more
particularly designed to be used. But it is obvious that the vibrating
sheet flier of an ordinary printing press may deliver the sheets upon the
table Y, from whence they will be fed into the machine and folded, but
as the speed of this folding mechanism is so greatly in excess of that of
a vibrating sheet flier two presses may be arranged with their sheet
fliers alternately vibrating to deliver sheets in succession upon the
table Y, and thus with one folding mechanism the sheets perfected by
two printing mechanisms may be folded.
With reference to the feeding in of the sheets it may be observed
that the tapes q which run over the pullies may be dispensed with,
when tapes will be arranged over the feed roller e and pullies 2 in like
manner to the tapes 7. In this case in place of the tape pullies 2³ a
plain roller (or one having a roughened face) may be substituted, which.
•

page_text: will be driven by motion taken from any of the moving shafts, and the'
sheet may be impelled towards the drum B by being held in frictional
contact with such roller by the upward pressure of the roller I thereon,
the sheet will then be deflected towards and directed to its proper position
over the drum B by means of curved rods or a plate or plates extending
from the under side of the roller to the required position over the
surface of the drum B at the top of the machine. When curved rods are
_used they may project into-grooves in the periphery of the roller &³, and
where a plate or plates are used-fingers projecting from them may enter
such grooves in the roller. It may be desirable to apply positive rotary-
motion to the roller I, in which case the roller may be one idler, or
both the rollers I and 2³ may have independent and positive rotary
motion. The cam plate u may be made adjustable upon the toothed
wheel E in any well known manner to properly time its contact with
the lever D and thus cause the movements of the feeding roller I to
perfectly accord with the operation of the grippers K. If desirable the
tapes o and p may be omitted and a second set to run around the folding
roller e, and a pulley (as shewn in Figure 11), may be arranged to run
parallel to the tapes r; the switch may be omitted, and then all of the
slieets may be delivered by such arrangement at one side of the machine
once folded and they may there be a second time folded. It may be
expedient to lead each alternate sheet in a contrary direction, as
explained, and auxiliary folding devices may be provided to impart one
or more additional folds to the once folded sheet. These folders may be
the ordinary vibrating blades working into the bite of a pair of rollers
duplications of the rotating folder herein described. The drum B in
many cases need not be a cylinder but simply a revolving frame,
carrying one or more rotating folding blades suitably supported in it.
of
The folding blade may be arranged to fold sheets at both the top and
bottom of the-cylinder or drum B, as illustrated by Figure 16, Sheet III.
In this arrangement the feeding of the sheets may be accomplished
wholly by tapes as therein-shewn._ A set of tapes are stretched from
pullies m over the drum-B,-whose periphery they reach just underneath-
the upper folding rollers e, e, and e¹, e¹, thence outward and around
pullies mo, and are returned under the drum B, coming again into
contact with it just over the lower folding rollers e and e², and thence to
the pullies m². The folding blades will of course in this arrangement be
divided into sections so as to pass outwards. by the tapes 111. A second.

page_text: set of tapes 2 are stretched from pullies m³ under the folding roller c¹, e¹,
over the folding roller e, e, around the pullies m³ back to the pullies m².
This set of tapes run parallel and in working contact with the tapes 1
to the point where they pass over the folding roller e¹, e¹, and from
where they run over the folding roller e, e, to the pullies m³ they run
parallel and in working contact with another set of tapes 5, which are
stretched from folding roller e, e, over pullies m*. These tapes 1 and 2
where they run in contact act as feeding tapes, carrying the sheet over
the drum. The tapes 2 in conjunction with the tapes 5 where they
run in contact act as delivery tapes for carrying out the once folded
sheet, as will be fully herein-after set forth. The tapes 1, 3, and 4 at
the bottom of the machine arc similarly arranged and have the same
mode of operation, as will be readily understood, from an inspection of
the Drawing.
The folding blade U is hung and actuated in like manner, as hereto-
fore explained, but has a double action, that is to say, it is partially
rotated upon its axis at both the top and the bottom of the drum so as
to enter between both sets of folding rollers e and e¹, and e, e, and e¹, e¹
These semi-rotations may be accomplished by means of duplicate cams W
and stationary cams V₁ operating alternately upon arms z, z¹, of the
folder blade shaft, and driven as before explained. Or the mechanical
devices illustrated in Figures 17 and 18, Sheet IV., to be herein-after
explained may be used. The sheets will be introduced between the
tapes m¹ and m² at the top of the machine, and between the tapes m³
and me at the bottom thereof, singly by hand or automatically, as has
been heretofore explained. Those fed to the tapes m¹ and m² will be
carried into the drum B and past the upper folding rollers by the tapes
1 and 2, and their leading ends will by their gravity follow the periphery
of the drum B, and will momentarily rest upon the tapes 1 until the
folding blade doubles them upward into the bite of the upper folding
rollers, where they will be folded in the same manner as that formerly
described; thus folded they will be delivered by the tapes m³, m*,
and may then be again folded. The feeding and delivery of the sheets
fed into the machine between the tapes 1 and 3 at the bottom of the
machine is precisely similar to those operations upon the sheets fed at
the top of the machine, as will be readily understood, but the sheets
operated upon at the bottom of the machine will be more surely manipu-
lated by the use of the air blast pipe and the other sheet directing devices
B

page_text: described and illustrated in Figure 15, Sheet III., and when required
these sheet directing devices may also be employed at the top of the
machine.
Folding blades constructed and worked, as shewn in the diagram
Figure 2, Sheet I., will now be described more particularly with
reference to Figures 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23. These folding
blades, either single or double, may be mounted to rotate upon a shaft,
which carries at one-end-a-pinion-N-,-Figures 17 and 18, whose teeth
gear into a ring N having internal teeth, and which is fixed upon the
framework A in such a position as to be coincident with the periphery of
the drum B; the folding blade in such case will continuously rotate
upon its own axis while the drum B is making its revolution. These
rotations will cause the folding blade to describe inverted quadrantal
arcs, as shewn in dotted lines, Figure 17, Sheet V. The points of these
arcs will project between the folding rollers at both the top and bottom
of the machine, as indicated in Figures 17 and 18, Sheet IV., the
number of teeth of the pinion N¹ will in this case be one to every four
of the internally toothed ring N³, as is well understood, and the cam W
and stationary cam V₁ together with the folding blade operating arms
2, 2¹, will be omitted, as is equally obvious. This mode of actuating the
folding blades may be applied to a rotary folder having either one or
two folding blades operating in conjunction with folding rollers, which
may be situated either at the top or bottom of the machine, when the
pinion N¹ will (as it arrives at the folding rollers) be projected between
them in the manner explained.
If more than two sheets are required to be operated upon at the same
time a single folding blade will by the mechanism shewn in Figures 17
and 18, Sheet V., be successively projected at each revolution of the
pinion N¹ at points-equal-to-quarter-divisions of the drum into folding
rollers, which will have suitable-feeding and delivery tapes arranged to
introduce and convey away the folded sheets.
From the foregoing description it will be apparent that one, two, or
From the foregoing description it will be apparent that one,-two, or
any number of sheets may be folded by a single rotating folding blade
(which will be carried in a revolving carriage or drum) during each
separate revolution of the drum or carriage. The same sheet may be
once folded and returned a second time to the action of the folding blade
so as to receive a second fold parallel with the first. A proper arrange-
.

page_text: ment of devices to accomplish this is shewn in Figure 19, Sheet III.
Here four sets of tapes are used to carry the sheet.
One set 10 runs horizontally from pulleys n² over the top of the
drum B and downward over pullies n, thence backward in a horizontal
plane to the bottom of the drum B, thence upward to the pullies n³,
which tapes the folding blades will be enabled to pass by the con-
struction described with reference to the similar arrangement shewn at
Figure 11. A second set 7 runs over the folding roller e, e, outwards
over pullies 7º, descends and passes around pullies n³, and returns
vertically over pullies n¹º, thence to the folding roller e, e. A third
set 6 runs in contact with the tapes 10 from the pullies n³ to the folding
roller e¹, e¹, thence over the folding roller e, e, from which they run in
contact with tapes 7 until the pullies nº are reached, from thence they
continue downwards still in contact with tapes 7 until the pullies n³ are
reached, from thence they extend around the folding roller e and run in
contact with the tapes 10 from the pullies n' to the folding rollers e.
A fourth set 11 runs over the folding roller e¹ and in contact with the
tapes 6, and is returned over the pullies n. A sheet fed as before
between the tapes 6 and 10 is carried past the upper folding rollers e, e;
and e', e', and while its leading end is drooping beyond the periphery of
the drum B where it temporarily rests on the tapes 10, and its centre
has reached a point under the folding rollers, the folding blade will be
projected as before explained and doubles it into the bite of the said
folding rollers. Thus doubled or folded the sheet will be carried
between the tapes 6 and 7 around the pullies n³, thence down around
the pullies n³, and returned to the periphery of the drum by the tapes 6
and 10, but at a point over the lower folding rollers e and e³, its passage
between the pullies n' and n³ where the tapes 7 leave it being insured
by guide plates or bars 12, which are hung on a rod or shaft 13 fixed to
the main frame. These plates or bars have curved ends extending
within the lines of the peripheries of the pullies n³ and n³.
The leading end of the sheet, now a doubled edge, will be carried past
the folding rollers e and e¹ until the centre of the doubled sheet has
arrived over the folding rollers, when the folding blade will be again‍
projected to double it between them so as to fold it a second time, in
which condition it will be delivered out of the machine by being con-
ducted between the tapes 6 and 11. Thus folded and delivered [it may
again be folded as many times and with such folds as may be desired by.

page_text: means of vibrating or other folders as has been herein-before explained.
Thus the same sheet is once folded, carried off, and returned to the drum,
and a second time folded, the drum and folding blade meanwhile having
made complete revolutions. But during the time occupied by the sheet
passing away and returning to the drum, a second sheet will have been
fed to the drum, the result being that as the second sheet is folded at the
upper folding rollers, the first, now a once folded sheet, will be passing
onward toward the lower folding rollers which it will pass, and on
reaching its proper position over them at the same time as the folding
blade has also reached its proper position over them, the blade will be
projected so as to fold the first and folded sheet a second time. Thus
sheets are twice folded while passing once through the machine. While
one sheet will be entering to the top folding rollers e, e, and e¹, e¹,
another once folded will be passing. on towards the lower folding rollers,
and a third will be receiving its second fold at the lower folding
rollers e and e³ simultaneously, and a fourth may be at the same time
receiving its third fold at the point where it leaves the tapes 6 and 11.
Two single folding blades (as shewn in Figure 20) may be hung at
opposite points in the same drum or carrier B, and their pinions N'
and N³ will be of any proportion equal to odd divisions of the internally
toothed ring N³, as one-third, one-fifth, et cetra, which pinions in their
rotation will cause each of the folding blades to be projected beyond
the periphery of the drum or carrier at three, five, or any other number
of equally distant points of the drum. One of the single folding blades,
say N¹, will thus be made to describe the path indicated by the dotted
lines 14, and hence will only be projected at one pair of the folding
rollers, viz., the lower ones, and the other single folding blade N³ by
describing the path indicated by the dotted lines 15 will be projected
only at the other folding rollers, viz., the upper ones, in all of which
cases the folding blades will be simultaneously projected at the upper
and lower folding rollers, but the folding blade projected at one set of
folding rollers will be extended inwardly toward the centre of the drum
where the annesite folding rollang ana
05
nassing the noint
it is

page_text: one of its blades at the lower folding rollers e and e¹, and its opposite
blade at the upper folding rollers e, e, and e¹, e', its operation being the
same as those described with reference to the single folding blades,
except that its opposite blades are alternately projected beyond the
periphery of the drum. Thus one blade of the folder N¹ having been
presented to the lower folding rollers travels onward with the carrier,
and is so rotated on its own axis that it describes the path of travel
shewn in the dotted lines, Figure 21, thus being pointed toward the
centre of the drum while underneath the upper folding rollers, while the
opposite edge of the double folding blade is at the same time projected
between the upper folding rollers. In this manner the opposite blades
of the double folder are alternately projected at the points of the
periphery marked 17 to 22 inclusive. The blade projected between the
lower folding rollers at 22 will again be projected at the point 18 of
the periphery, and again at 20, returning in this manner to the lower
folding rollers at 22. In the meantime the opposite blade of the folder
will be projected at the points 17, and at 16 between the upper folding
rollers, again at 21, and will then be returned to 17, the point of
starting.
It is to be observed and understood that any or all of these systems of
folding paper may be operated by cams,, as described and shewn in
Figures 6 to 13 inclusive, or by pinions and internally toothed rings
properly proportioned to each other, as described and shewn in Figures 17
to 21 inclusive.
In the arrangements which combine the use of the internally toothed
ring N2 as one element it is to be observed that the toothed ring
necessarily occupies such a position as to surround the shafts of all of
the folding rollers, which latter in consequence have to be hung in
brackets 23, 24, fastened to the main frame A outside of the ring, and
curved inward to the proper point of allignment with the shafts, as
shown at Figure 18, Sheet V.
In order to afford firmer and more secure bearings for these shafts in
the main frame the construction shewn at Figures 22 and 23, Sheet IV.,
is preferred. In this case the operation of the folder and folding rollers
is the same as those formerly described in Figures 19, 20, and 21, but
the mechanism for imparting a continuous rotary motion to the folding
blade is as follows:-The pinion N¹ of the folding blade is connected

page_text: through an idler wheel N, Figure 22, mounted upon the main framing,
whose toothed periphery is concentric with the folder carrier or drum B.
In this manner the wheel is rotated in the direction indicated by an
arrow in the Drawing. This arrangement of devices permits the folding
roller shafts to have direct bearings in the main frame, as shewn at
Figure 23.
The large toothed wheel N and pinions N¹ and N' may be
so relatively proportioned as to project the folding blade at different
points an equal distance apart in like manner, as has been set forth with.
reference to the toothed ring N2 and the pinion N³, as will be readily
perceived. Two or more pinions N¹ may in like manner actuate_two_
folding blades.
Having now described the nature of this Invention of "Improvements
in Machinery or Apparatus for Cutting and Folding Paper, which
Improvements are more particularly Applicable to Machinery for
Printing on a Continuous Web," and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, I claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent,―
First. Folding paper by means of a revolving drum upon which the
sheet to be folded is supported, a folding blade projecting from another 2
drum and rotating therewith being made to act on and crease the said
sheet, as shewn and described in reference to Figure 1.
Second. The combination of a revolving cylinder carrying a rotating
folding blade with one or more sheet carrying drums or cylinders
provided internally with folding and delivering rollers, as and for the a
purpose shewn and described in reference to Figure 3 of the Drawings.
Third. Imparting an intermittent partial rotation to the folding blade
by means of the combined action of moveable and fixed cams, as shewn
and described with reference to Figures 5, 6, 7; 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
and 14, Sheets I., II., and IV., the folding blade being rotated within a
and projected from the carrying drum at proper intervals, so as to crease
and push the printed sheet or sheets into the bite of a pair or pairs of
_rollers, which receive and carry forward the sheet or sheets.
Fourth. The combination of a rotating folding blade (mounted in a
carrying drum which supports the paper) with a rotary cutting knife å
mounted in and rotating with a separate cylinder or drum, as and for
the purpose herein set forth in reference to Figure 4.

page_text: Fifth. Folding paper by means of a revolving carrier drum supporting
a folding blade (rotated with and projected from it), in combination with
conducting devices which carry the sheet within the range of action of
the folding blade and one set of folding rollers, and when the sheet
has been once folded convey it away to a second set of folding rollers,
within the range of action of the folding blade, when it will be again
folded, substantially as shewn and described in Figure 19, Sheet III.
Sixth. The combination with a system of endless travelling carrying
tapes of stationary gauges J, the vibrating sheet controlling roller I, and
feed table Y, as and for the purpose shewn and described.
Seventh. The combination of a fixed gear wheel N with a revolving
carrier and rotating folding blade and actuating pinions N₁ and N', sub-
stantially as described and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Conquest, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.