AN IM- PROVEMENT IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING ENVELOPES AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Thompson Heppel at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st April 1876.
ROBERT THOMPSON HEPPEL, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey. "AN IM-
PROVEMENT IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING ENVELOPES AND OTHER
SIMILAR ARTICLES."
My Invention relates especially to machinery for folding envelopes, but is also
applicable to inachinery for folding bags and other such like articles.
Heretofore in machines of this class wherein the shaped sheet of paper or blank
intended to form the envelope is fed into the machine over the open box into which
it is to be pressed in order to be folded, it has been found that unless the said
blank is creased, curved, or otherwise stiffened its front end which is intended to
form one of the flaps of the finished envelope is liable to be bent down when
passing over the open folding box so as to catch against its end, and a large
per centage of waste is thereby produced.
"
The object my Invention is to obviate this inconvenience and waste; and in
order to effect this object I employ in connexion with the false bottom of the
"folding box" a moveable guide bar or plate so arranged that when the said
false bottom is in its place in the "folding box the said guide bar or plate
shall stand above the said false bottom and reach to the level of the top of the
"folding box" so as to form a support for the blank whilst it is being fed
forward into its place over the "folding box" and to prevent it from bending
down into or becoming entangled therein.. The said guide bar or plate may be
so adapted to the false bottom that when the plunger forces the blank into
the "folding box" it also forces down the guide bar or plate so that its upper
surface shall be level with the upper surface of the false bottom. By this means
the latter presents a level and even surface to receive the face of the envelope.
After the retirement of the false bottom from the "folding box" in order to deliver
the folded envelope therefrom, the guide bar or plate is again elevated to the
required extent above the surface of the false bottom by means of any suitable
arrangement of mechanism, such as cams, eccentrics or cranks, levers and rods
operated by preference from the main cam shaft of the machine.
I have found it convenient to arrange the guide bar or plate with a guide stem
or rod passing with some friction through a stuffing box in the false bottom, the
lower end of such guide stem being acted upon by a lever operated at the proper
time by a cam, in order to raise the said guide bar or plate above the false bottom,
[Price 2d1

page_text: and to effect the depression of the said guide bar or plate to the level of the false
Bottom by the action of the plunger as before explained, but if preferred both
movements of the guide bar or plate may be effected by means of cams and other
suitable instruments, and instead of the guide bar or plate being retained in its
elevated position by friction only, it may be held up by a cam and lever or by a
latch or other means that may be found suitable or convenient.