Improvements in Receiving Partly Folded Sheets from Rotary Web Printing Machines and Transmitting them to Cross Folding Appliances.
Year: 1884

page_text: Improvements in Receiving Partly Folded Sheets from Rotary
Web Printing Machines and Transmitting them to Cross
Folding Appliances.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I GEORGE ASHLEY WILSON of Broad Green near Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN RECEIVING PARTLY FOLDED SHEETS FROM ROTARY WEB PRINTING
MACHINES AND TRANSMITTING THEM TO CROSS FOLDING APPLIANCES to be as
follows:-
In rotary web printing and folding machines the operations of printing cutting
into sheets and folding transversely which are all perfor ned by rollers or cylinders
rotating in the direction of the forward travel of the papers inay be effected with
great rapidity when it is not.required to crossfold the papers. When the papers
are to be crossfolded in addition to receiving a transverso fold or folds, either the
speed of the machine must be greatly reduced to allow the crossfolding apparatus
time to act; numerous cross folding appliances with switches separators or like
complicated and costly means for leading the transverse folded papers to the cross
folding appliances must be used; or the system of collecting the papers into several
batches described and claimed in my specification to British Letters Patent
No 3503 of the year 1883 must be employed.
The object of the present invention is to provide simplified and improved
apparatus for performing the functions of receiving the papers from the transverse
folding cylinders, holding them the required time and delivering them in serial
batches intermittently to crossfolding appliances or to tapes or their equivalents.
leading to the cross folding appliances.
As the folded sheets leave the transverse folding rollers they travel forward
with spaces between them equal to about one half or three quarters of their
original length according as they have been folded once or twice.
Now my invention consists essentially in providing a drum eo proportioned and
driven that the stream of papers from the transverse folders shall be interspaced
or received on its surface in such manner that the space between one paper and the
next following shall be occupied by one or more subsequently received papers..
The papers are caused to leave the said drum in batches by switch appliances and
are carried to the crossfolding appliances by tapes or equivalent devices.
In practice the circumference of the drum is such that it will receive equally
distributed on its surface an odd number of folded papers say, three, five, or seven,

page_text: and the said drum is driven so as to have a circumferential speed about equal to
that of the folding rollers. A switch is provided actuated by suitable mechanism
to cause the papers to leave the drum in batches of 2. 4.-6 or other even number
one less than the number of sheets disposed on the said drum.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When the drum is five times the 5
circumferential measureinent of the folded paper or say divided into five spaces
each to receive a paper and the distance between the papers is equal to thoir
reduced length the first three papers are received on spaces 1. 3 and 5 whilst the
following two papers are received on the spaces 2 and 4 or are interspaced
between 1. 3 and 5 the switch at about this time comes into action and removes 1
the papers on the spaces 5. 1: 2 and 3 in a serice to be carried by tapes to the cross
folder and folded. The papers next following are received on the spaces 1. 3. 5
and 2 and the papers 4. 5. 1. 2 removed and so on.
Dated the nineteenth day of March 1884.
I GEORGE ASHLEY WILSON of Broad Green near Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN RECEIVING PARTLY FOLDED SHEETS FROM ROTARY WEB PRINTING
MACHINES AND TRANSMITTING THEM TO CROSS FOLDING APPLIANCES, and in what
manner the same is to be perforined, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:―
In rotary web printing and folding machines the operations of printing cutting
into sheets and folding transversely which are all performed by rollers or cylinders
rotating in the direction of the forward travel of the paper may be effected with
great rapidity when it is not required to crossfold the papers. When the papers
are to be crossfolded in addition to receiving a transverse fold or folds, either the
speed of the machine must be greatly reduced to allow the crossfolding apparatus
time to act, numerous crossfolding appliances with switches, separaters or like
complicated and costly means for leading the transverse folded papers to the cross-
folding appliances must be used, or the system of collecting the papers into serial
batches described and claimed in my specification to British Letters Patent
No 3503 of the year 1883 must be employed.
The object of the present invention is to provide simplified and improved
apparatus for performing the functions of receiving papers from the transverse
folding cylinders, holding them the required time and delivering them in batches
following each other intermittently to cross t
s folding appliances or to tapes or their
equivalents leading to cross folding appliances.
As the folded sheets leave the transverse folding rollers they travel forward with
spaces between them equal to about one half or three quarters of their original
length according as they have been folded once or twice.
Now my invention consists essentially in providing a drum so proportioned and
driven that the stream of papers from the transverse folders shall be interspaced or

page_text: received on its surface in such manner that the space between one paper and the
next following shall be occupied by one or more subsequently received papers.
The papers are caused to leave the said drum in batches by switch appliances and
are carried to the crossfolding appliances by tapes or equivalent devices.
The circumference of the drum is such that it will receive equally distributed on
its surface an odd number of folded papers say three five or seven, and the said
drum is driven so as to have a circumferential speed about equal to that of the
transverse folding rollers or cylinders. A switch is provided actuated by suitable
mechanism to cause the papers to leave the drum in batches of 2. 4. G or other
even number one less than the number of sheets disposed on the said drum.
Although it is desirable that the sheets should be taken from the drum in batches
of even number one less than the number of the divisions on the drum, the
circumference of the drum may be completely filled and the sheets removed in
batches of odd number. This however would necessitate an uneven number of
cross folders and would spoil the symmetry of the machine besides making it more
complicated.
In order that the nature of my invention may be clearly understood. I have
appended hereto a side elevation of appliances in which the papers receive one
transverse fold before they are delivered to the receiving and spacing drum from
which they pass to the crossfolding appliances in batches of four.
a frame of the printing and folding machine. b cylinder provided with creasing
blades c, d cylinder provided with grippers e. The construction and operation of
folding cylinders provided' with blades and grippers is well known and further
description is here unnecessary. f rollers carrying tapes g for holding the papers
on the top of the receiving and spacing drum h, i rollers carrying tapes for
holding the papers on the sides and bottom, of the said drum hk rocking lever
provided with a switch, actuated through the connecting rod receiving motion
from the double acting cam m. n. A spring is used to maintain the switch against
the surface of the can. The said spring may press directly on the switch, be
attached to the rocking shaft or act on the connecting rod; or instead of a spring
being used a positive to and fro motion may be given to the switch. o rollers on
the connecting rod against which the cain m n operates. p toothed wheel on
cain axis. toothed wheel on receiving and spacing drum axis. The teeth on the
wheel 2 are in the proportion of sixteen teeth to five teeth on the wheel q; in
practice 96 teeth are used on the former, and 30 on the latter. The cylinders b d
and drum hare geared together so as to have equal surface speeds, rollers
carrying tapes s leading to crossfolding appliances of usual construction, four of
such appliances placed side by side being used in this instance.
The action of the apparatus is as follows; papers from the printing cylinders
following each other in close order enter between the rollers b d and receive onc
transverse fold by one of the sets of blades and grippers c c. During each
revolution of the said cylinders two papers are folded--The circumference of
the drum measures a little more than five times the distance from gripper to
gripper in the cylinder d. The once folded papers are received on the drum in
following order considering the circumference of the drum to be divided into five
spaces. The first paper in the first space, the second paper in the third space, the
third paper in the fifth space and the fourth paper in the second space, the fourth
space being unoccupied and the four papers lio contiguous in the order 3. 1. 4. 2.
The switch & which has been held out of contact with the drum by one of the
raised portions m of the cam is now brought into contact therewith by means of
the spring one of the depressed portions n of the cam allowing of the downward
motion of the connecting rod 2. The papers in the order 3. 1. 4. 2 pass over the
switch are carried by the tapes s to the crossfolding appliances and are all folded
at one operation. Whilst the four papers are passing over the switch a paper is
deposited in the hitherto unoccupied fourth space of the drum and forms the
commencement of a fresh batch.

page_text: The apparatus above described, is that which would be generally used in
practice.
It will be evident that the proportions of the drums to the folding cylinders and
the notions of tho switch will vary according as the papers are folded once or
oftener before being delivered to the drum and the number of papers collected on
the surface of the drum.
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. The combination with the transverse and cross folding appliances of a
rotary web printing machine of a drum rotated at the same surface speed ¸n the
transverse folding cylinders and of such size as to receive an odd number of folded
papers on its circumference and a switch actuated intermittently by gearing to
remove a batch of papers one less in number that the number of papers the surface
of the drum is capable of receiving.
Second. The combination of the drum h switch k connecting rod l, cam m n and
gearing 9, rollers f. i. and tapes g. j substantially as described.
Third. The combination of the cylinders b. d, drum h, switch k connecting rod
cam m n genring 1. q, rollers f. i. r and tapes gj 8 substantially as set forth.