Improvements in Machinery for Folding Printed Matter.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Aug., 1892-Accepted. 17th Sept., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[[Communicated from abroad by Messrs. R. HOE AND COMPANY, of 504, Grand
Street, in the City of New York, United States of America, Printing
Machine Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Machinery for Folding Printed Matter.
I HENRY EDWARD NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of London, Patent Agent do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to that class of folding mechanisms which operate to
impart a longitudinal fold to material passing over or through them on the run,
and more particularly, to such as consist of an internal guide or former having
angular guiding surfaces, in passing over which, the material has its sides
gradually carried toward each other, and finally lapped together, so as to be
doubled or folded longitudinally.
The objects of the present invention are to provide an improved folder of this
class, whereby three longitudinal folds may be imparted to the material, and
further, to provide a construction by which either one or three folds may be
imparted, the different products being obtained by a slight and convenient change
of parts.
With these objects in view, the invention consists in the improved folder herein-
after described and claimed, and in various constructions and combinations of
parts, all of which will be more particularly described in the Specification, and
pointed out in the claims. The improvements embraced in the present invention
are especially designed to be used in combination with web-perfecting printing
machines, in which the printed web is carried to the delivery mechanism over a
longitudinal folder, from which it receives its first longitudinal fold, but it is to
be understood that the improvements are equally applicable to all classes of
machines in which longitudinal folders of the class referred to are employed.
For a full understanding of the invention, a detailed description of a folder
embodying the same will now be given, reference being had to the accompanying
drawings, forming a part of this Specification, in which :-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved folder, as arranged for imparting
a single fold to the material.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the folder, arranged for imparting three folds to
the material.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line 5-5 of Figs. 3 and 4.
Figs. 6 & 7 show products.
Referring to said drawings, it will be understood that the frame 1 is of a con-
struction common in web printing machines employing longitudinal folders of this
class, the web being led to the longitudinal folder over a conducting roll 2,
mounted in the top of the frame, and that the longitudinal folder is carried by
arms 3 mounted on the frame, or on the shaft of roll 2, as shown, and adjustable
thereon by means of set screws 4, so that the folder may be raised or lowered,
and adjusted accurately to position. In the frame below the longitudinal folder,
are the rolls 5, forming the usual fold-laying device, and feeding rolls 6, to which
the folded web is led, and which form- the feeding mechanism by which the web
is advanced over the folder.
The folder proper consists of a body 7, carrying the converging internal
guides 8, 9, the body being formed preferably of a sheet metal plate having

page_text: angular guiding edges or surfaces, forming the internal guides, this plate aiding
in supporting the web in the centre. This body 7 of the folder, and the guides 8, 9,
do not, however, as usual in this class of construction, extend to the fold-laying
device at which the converging guides 8, 9 would meet, but the guides are cut
transversely at a suitable distance from the point toward which they converge
and a transverse guide 10 preferably extends between their ends, this transverse
guide being formed, in the folder shown, by the rounded cut edge of the plate
forming the body. Side guides 13, 14, extend downward at an angle to the
guides 8, 9, to the rolls 5, on each side of the body, these side guides con-
verging toward rolls 5 on the same angle as the guides 8, 9, and forming
internal guides for the material, when the folder is arranged for three folds.
These guides 13, 14, may be constructed and supported in any suitable manner, but
will preferably, as shown, be formed by the edges of side plates 11, 12, which
are carried by the body, and when the body and side plates are made of a sheet
metal plate, as shown, they may be constructed in one piece, the edges of the body
being bent to form side plates.
The body 7 is supported above by its arms 3, as previously described, and at its
lower end by the adjustable rod or support 15, which is pivotally connected to the
block 16, to which the body is secured by rivets, as shown, or in any other
suitable manner, the pivotal connection between the rod 15 and block 16 per-
mitting the adjustment of the arms 3 and the body 7, as previously described.
The parts thus far described form the permanent fixed parts of the folder.
To complete the folder, so as to impart a single fold to the sheet, as in the
ordinary folder of this class, a nose piece 17, carrying guides 20, 21, is used, this
nose piece 17 preferably consisting of a plate, the edges of which form the
guides, and is secured to a block 18, which may be attached to block 16 by
bolt 19, thus securing the two parts together, so that the guides 20, 21, form a
continuation of the internal guides 8, 9, on opposite sides of the folder, by which
the material is folded during its passage over the same to the rolls 5, this con-
struction being exactly similar to that of the common type of folder, as will be
seen from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 2.
To complete the folder from the body 7 and side guides 13, 14, so as to
impart three longitudinal folds to the material, the following construction is
used-A nose piece 22, carrying angular converging guides 23, 24, the angle
of divergence of which is the same as that of guides 8 and 9, and which
form external guides for the material, is employed. This nose piece 22, as shown
in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, is preferably formed from a sheet metal plate, the edges of
which form the guides, and the nose piece is so mounted that the guides 23, 24 are
not in the same plane as guides 8, 9, but are inclined rearward from the end of
the body, between the side guides 13, 14, and converge to the fold-laying device at
a point on the rear edge of the folded web, the side guides converging to a point
on the front edge of the same, the web being viewed from a position on the side
opposite the folder, or looking to the left of Fig. 4. The nose piece is supported
upon a bracket 25, at the front of the frame, by an adjustable rod or support 26,
to which the nose piece is adjustably connected by means of the block 27 and a
bolt 28, the distance of the nose piece from the body to permit the freer passage
of the material between them, being adjusted by means of the movement of the
support 26 in bracket 25, and the angle of the nose piece, by its swinging con-
nection with the support, nuts 29 and bolt 28 locking the nose piece firmly in its
adjusted position. The nose piece, when formed of a plate, will preferably be cut
away next the body 7, as shown at 30 in Fig. 3, to permit the freer passage of the
material between the transverse guide 10 and the nose piece, and its edges at the
sides will preferably be rounded, as shown in Fig. 4, for the same purpose.
The operation of the folder will now be described.
For convenience of description, the material or web may be assumed to be
divided, as shown, into four parts or sections A, B, C, D, by imaginary

page_text: For imparting a single fold to the sheet, a folder of the ordinary form will be
constructed by securing the nose piece 17 in place by means of bolt 19, the web
then passing over the folder to the fold-laying device and feeding mechanism, and
folded once upon the central line b, the resulting product being shown in Fig. 6.
For changing the folder so as to impart three folds to the material and produce
a four-ply sheet, the nose piece 17 will be removed, and the nose piece 22 secured
in position upon the bracket 25, and adjusted, as shewn in Figs. 3 and 4, by means
of the bolt 28 and nuts 29, the guides 23, 24 being placed close to the body 7, but
so as to allow the free passage of the material between them and the internal and
side guides and the transverse guide 10. The material, as it is fed over the
body 7 by the feeding mechanism, will have its outer sections AD, turned
inward by means of the internal guides 8, 9, and as any portion passes the
transverse guide 10, it will be carried downward between it and the nose piece 22,
inside the guides 23, 24, and outside the side guides 13, 14. The meeting points of
the transverse guide 10, the converging internal guides 8, 9, the internal
guides 13, 14, and the external guides 23, 24, are on the lines a, c, and, as the
material passes downward outside the guides 13, 14, and inside the guides 23, 24,
the central fold will be formed by the latter, and folds will be formed on the
lines a, c, by the internal guides 13, 14, the sections A, D, lying upon the outside
of the side plates, and the sections B, C, on the inside of the same, on opposite
sides of the folder, as shown clearly in Fig. 5. As the web reaches the rolls 5,
the central fold line b will be brought in line with the edges of the sections A, D,
by the meeting of the guides 23, 24, and the fold will be completed by the
rolls 5, the result being the product shown in Fig. 7, consisting of a web
having three folds, a central fold, and two side folds midway between the central
fold and the edge of the web.
From this description it is clear that there are three pairs of guides in the
three-fold folder, the two pairs of internal guides 8, 9, and 13, 14, and one pair of
external guides 23, 24. These guides, as shown, consist of the edges of plates
upon which they are respectively formed, but it is evident that the central part of
each plate might be omitted, and all the guides consist simply of bars, this
construction being well known in the art as an equivalent of that shown. The
terms internal and external guides, therefore, cover simply those portions of the
plates which serve as guides to the material.
If it be desired to slit the sheet on the line b during the production of either a
two-ply or four-ply sheet, a slitter 31 will be provided, as shown in dotted lines in
A two-ply
the drawings, mounted as usual, above the conducting roll and folder.
sheet, consisting of two separate plies, or a four ply sheet, consisting of two
separate sheets, each having one longitudinal fold, may thus be produced. It will
be understood also that a pasting mechanism of any suitable construction may be
provided for the purpose of laying a line of paste on any desired line of the sheet,
either longitudinally or transversely, and that other features of construction used
with longitudinal folders are equally applicable to the folder constituting the
present invention.
It will be seen that, by this construction, there is provided a simple and efficient.
folder for producing a four-ply product, and that the change of a single part is
all that is necessary to transform this folder to the ordinary form, in which a
single fold is imparted, or vice versa.
While the web is shewn as led to the side and external guides over converging
internal guides 8, 9, and this is preferable, especially with the paper usually
employed in web printing, in order to support the web and partially form the side
folds, these converging guides are not absolutely necessary for the three-fold
folder, but the web, especially if of considerable strength, may be led directly
from the feeding rolls or other feeding-mechanism to the side and external guides,
or may be supported only centrally, leaving the edges to be turned inward by the
action of those guides.
If it be desired to form the side folds on other lines, so that the plies are not of

page_text: equal width, the position of these folds may readily be changed by varying the
construction of the folder, so that the points from which the guides converge are
on other lines than midway between the central and side lines of the web.
It will be understood that while the fold-laying device is shewn herein as
consisting of the rolls 5, any other form of fold-laying device may be employed,
and likewise the feeding mechanism may be varied, and other suitable means for
advancing the material over and beyond the folder employed.
While it is preferable that the transverse guide 10 be used to support the web
while it is being led inside the nose piece 27, it will be understood that this is not
necessary, but that the web may be unsupported, except by the guides 8, 9. It
will be understood also, that, while the guides 8, 9, are shown herein as formed
upon a sheet metal body, this is not necessary, but, as is common in this class of
construction, the body 7 may consist only of bars forming the guides 8, 9, and
similarly, the only absolutely essential parts of the nose pieces 17, 22, are
evidently the guides and means for securing them to their supports, and the
construction of these parts may be varied as desired, while the features essential
for producing the different folds are retained.
1
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me,
I declare that what I claim :—
1. A three-fold longitudinal folder. consisting of a pair of internal side guides
converging from points on each side of the central fold line of the unfolded web
to the front edge of the folded web, and a pair of external guides converging from
the same points to the rear edges of the folded web, substantially as described.
2. A three-fold longitudinal folder, consisting of a pair of internal guides
converging toward the central fold line of the web, but terminating at points
on each side of the central fold line, a pair of internal side guides placed at an
angle to the first pair, and converging from said points to the front edge of the
folded web, and a pair of external guides converging from the same points to the
rear edges of the folded web, substantially as described.
3. The combination with a fold-laying device, of a three-fold longitudinal folder,
consisting of a pair of internal side guides converging from points on each side of
the central fold line of the unfolded web, to the fold-laying device at the front
edge of the folded web, and a pair of external guides converging from the same
points to the fold-laying device at the rear edge of the folded web, substantially as
described.
4. The combination with a fold-laying device and feeding mechanism, of a three-
fold longitudinal folder, consisting of a pair of internal side guides converging
from points on each side of the central fold line of the unfolded web, to the fold-
laying device at the front edge of the folded web, and a pair of external guides
converging from the same points to the fold-laying device at the rear edge of the
folded web, substantially as described.
5. In a longitudinal folder, the combination with internal side guides 13,, 14, of
external guides 23, 24, extending rearward between said guides, said internal and
external guides converging from a point on each side between the central fold
line and side lines of the unfolded web, the internal guides converging to the
front edge, and the external guides to the rear edge of the folded web, substan-
tially as described.
6. In a longitudinal folder, the combination with internal side guides 13, 14, of
external guides 23, 24 between said guides, said internal and external guides
converging from a point on each side between the central fold line and side lines of
the unfolded web, the internal guides converging to the front edge, and the external
guides to the rear edge of the folded web, and internal converging guides 8, 9,
over which the web is led to the side and external guides, substantially as
described.
7. In a longitudinal folder, the combination of the internal converging

page_text: guides 8, 9, transverse guide 10, the internal converging side guides 13, 14, and the
external converging guides 23, 24, inclined rearward between the side guides,
substantially as described.
8. In a longitudinal folder, the combination of internal converging side
guides 13, 14, and the external converging guides 23, 24, inclined rearward
between the said guides, and means for adjustably supporting said external guides,
substantially as described.
9. In a longitudinal folder, the combination with the fixed body 7 and fixed side
guides 13, 14, of interchangeable nose pieces 17, 22, whereby the folder may be
capacitated to impart either one or a plurality of folds to the material, substan-
tially as described.
10. The combination with the fixed body 7 and side guides 13, 14. of the
removable nose piece 22, carrying external guides 23, 24, substantially as
described.
11. The combination with longitudinally adjustable supporting rod 26, of the
nose piece 22, having an adjustable swinging connection with rod 26, and the side
guides 13, 14, substantially as described.
Dated this 9th day of August 1892.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.