IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO FOLDING MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCTURING, INDENTING, SEPARATING, OR DIVIDING NEWSPAPers AND OTHED LIKE SHEETS DURING THE PROCESS OR BEING FOLDED "
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Bean, of "The Albion" Newspaper.
Office, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, for the
Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO FOLDING MACHINES FOR
PERFORATING, PUNCTURING, INDENTING, SEPARATING, OR DIVIDING NEWSPAPers
AND OTHED LIKE SHEETS DURING THE PROCESS OR BEING FOLDED "
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Bean at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th July 1872.
I, THOMAS BEAN, of "The Albion" Newspaper Office, Liverpool,
in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO FOLDING MACHINES
FOR PERFORATING, PUNCTURING, INDENTING, SEPARATING, OR DIVIDING NEWSPAPERS
AND OTHER LIKE SHEETS DURING THE PROCESS OF BEING FOLDED," to be as follows
(that is to say) :—

page_text: so as to divide or fecilitate the division of several folds of the sheets, so
as to form leaves, thus enabling sheets to be immediately and correctly
divided by hand without the aid of a knife or other ordinary paper
cutter.
To apply this Invention to say a four-leafed, i.c., eight paged news-
paper or other like sheet, is mounted on a suitable adjustable bracket
bolted to the frame of the folding machine a disc which is free to revolve
on its axis.
When it is desired to positively divide the sheet into two parts, the
periphery of the disc is formed with a continuous knife edge, but when
it is desired only to perforate the sheets, then the edge of the disc is
formed with a suitable projection to give the required perforations or
punctures, which may be round, oval, diamond shaped, or other polygonal
figure, or may consist of a series of straight punctures or indentations or
a combination of the several arrangements of figure may be used as will
be readily understood.
The revolving cutting, puncturing, or indenting disc is mounted on
bearings, so that the same may be adjusted by set screws, or springs, or
their mechanical equivalents, for enabling the same to be brought up to
the face of the lower of the pair of rollers, round which said lower roller
the sheet first turns. The lower roller, against which the disc impinges,
is formed with a collar of soft metal seated in a groove cut round the
centre of the roller immediately in line with the folding knife or blade
at a right angle to said rollers, so that the knife or blade will strike the
line of the sheet where it is marked, punctured, or divided, or in lieu of
the soft metal garter a hard metal one may be used, having indentations
formed in the surface thereof, coinciding with the projections on the
edge of the disc, and into which the latter takes, or the whole of the
roller may be formed of metal in one piece and hollow, in which case
the fragments punched out on the sheet may fall into the centre cavity,
from whence they may be drawn or expelled by air or other draught, or
the interior of the roller may be formed with an archimedian screw or
oblique propellors, which will carry out the punchings to the end of the
roller, where they can be received into a small box or close chamber to
prevent the same being scattered about the press room.
The sheets to be folded and perforated, punctured, or otherwise treated,
are fed in the ordinary way, except fixed guides should be used to insure

page_text: uniformity of the puncture or perforation being in the centre of the
sheet, and that it may be accurately folded throughout.
The action of the spring or set screws acting on the cutting or
puncturing disc keeps the same up against the garter on the roller
described, causing the same to rotate in an opposite direction, thus
puncturing or dividing the sheet as it passes between the puncturing
disc and roller.
In place of the bracket secured to the machine the dividing or pune-
turing disc may be mounted on an independant fixed stand, but it is
preferred to mount the same on a bracket secured to the frame, as
herein before set forth, which, with the use of the soft metal garter,
have from actual experiment been found to accomplish the desired
end satisfactorily.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Thomas Bean in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th January 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BEAN, of "The Albion" Newspaper Office, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Bean, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Bean, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Bean, my executors,
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
" IMPROVEMENTS
APPLICABLE TO FOLDING MACHINES, FOR PERFORATING, PUNCTURING, INDENTING,
SEPARATING, OR DIVIDING NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER LIKE SHEETS DURING THE PROCESS
OF BEING FOLDED," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said

page_text: Thomas Bean, my executors 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 Thomas Bean, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon:-
The object of this my said Invention is the perforating, puncturing,
indenting, separating, or dividing newspapers or other printed sheets
through the double margin, so as to divide or fecilitate the division of
several folds of the sheets, so as to form leaves, thus enabling sheets to
be immediately and correctly divided by hand without the aid of a knife
or other ordinary paper cutter.
To apply this Invention to say a four-leafed, i.e., eight paged news-
paper or other like sheet, I mount on a suitable adjustable bracket
bolted to the frame of the folding machine a disc which is free to
revolve on its axis.
When it is desired to positively divide the sheet into two parts, the
periphery of the disc is formed with a continuous knife edge, but when
it is desired only to perforate the sheet then the edge of the disc is
formed with suitable projections to give the required perforations or
punctures, which may be round, oval, diamond shaped, or other polygonal
figure, or may consist of a series of straight punctures or indentations, or
a combination of the several arrangements of figure may be used as will
be readily understood.
The revolving, cutting, puncturing, or indenting disc is mounted on
bearings, so that the same may be adjusted by set screws or springs, or
their mechanical equivalents, for enabling the same to be brought up to
the face of one of the pair of rollers, round which said roller the sheet
first turns. The roller, against which the disc impinges, is formed with
a collar of soft metal seated in a groove cut round the centre of the
roller immediately in line with the folding knife or blade, at a right

page_text: angle to said rollers, so that the knife or blade will strike the line of the
sheet where it is marked, punctured, or divided, or in lieu of the soft
metal garter a hard metal one may be used, having indentations formed
in the surface thereof coinciding with the projections on the edge of the
disc, and into which the latter takes; or the whole of the roller may be
formed of metal in one piece, and hollow, in which case the fragments
punched out of the sheet may fall into the centre cavity, from whence
they may be drawn or expelled by air or other draught, or the interior
of the roller may be formed with an archimedian screw or oblique pro-
pellors, which will carry out the punchings to the end of the roller,
wheret hey can be received into a small box or close chambers, to prevent
the same being scattered about the press room.
The sheets to be folded and perforated, punctured, or otherwise
treated are fed in the ordinary way, except fixed guides should be used
to insure uniformity of the puncture or perforation being in the centre
of the sheet, and that it may be accurately folded thorethrough.
The action of the spring or set screws, acting on the cutting or
puncturing disc, keep the same up against the garter on the roller
described, causing the same to rotate in an opposite direction, thus
puncturing or dividing the sheet as it passes between the puncturing
disc and roller..
In place of the bracket secured to the folding machine the dividing
or puncturing disc may be mounted on an independant fixed stand, but
it is preferred to mount the same on a bracket secured to the frame, as
herein-before set forth, which, with the use of the soft metal garter,
have from actual experiment been proved to accomplish the desired end
satisfactorily.
It will be readily understood that sixteen page pamphlets, or other
greater number of paged pamphlets or book, work, may be divided or
punctured through the centre of their double margin, by simply placing
another puncturing or perforating disc on the second or other pair of
rollers of the folding machine, to act in conjunction with one of the
second or other number of rollers, which turn the direction of the
sheet.
The same arrangement may be used for the separation of bills or
labels printed on one sheet, in which case it will be readily seen they
can be delivered into a receiver laid one on the other.

page_text: '
Figure 1, in the annexed Drawing, is a side elevation of the punc-
turing or perforating disc with brackets, shown partially broken off,
which carries the adjustable standard; Figure 2 is a front elevation
of the same.
A, stationary bracket secured to the frame of the folding machine;
B, adjustable standard, which carries between its jaws C, adjustable
bearings, which carry D the cutting or perforating disc, which is held
between E and E¹ a pair of cheek plates, mounted on F a transverse
spindle which revolves loosely in the bearings C, so that when the
cutting or perforating disc is brought up to G, the first roller of the
folding machine (which roller is only partially shown in the Drawing),
round which the sheet turns, the cutting or perforating disc revolves by
impact with the sheet in contact with the roller; H soft metal garter,
or perforated hard metal garter, when hard metal rollers are used in the
folding machine, and which will be necessary when a perfect perforation
is required; J, a set screw for adjusting the sliding bearings, on which
the cutting disc is mounted; K, a lower roller of the folding machine
carrying the tapes or bands, on which the sheet is conveyed below the
folding knife.
Figure 3 is a side elevation, and Figure 4 is a frout clevation of the
same, shown partially in section, of another modification of my improve-
ments, which is arranged so as to enable the cutting or perforating disc
to be more conveniently removed than that described in the previous
arrangement.
a is a stationary bracket, which is secured to the frame of the machine,
which is fitted with c, an adjustable sliding block, in which are formed
the bearings of f, the disc spindle; d, the cutting or perforating disc,
secured between e and e¹, cheek plates; j, set screw for advancing or
drawing back the sliding block, which I prefer to surround by m, a
helical spring, to allow the sliding block to yield a short distance to
compensate for any inequality in the paper passing through the folding
machine; n, set screw to hold the sliding block in position when
required; g, roller, round which the printed sheet passes, seen with h,
soft metal garter; k, tape roller of folding machine.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of this my
said Invention, and the best means I am acquainted with for carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not

page_text: confine myself to the relative dimensions or proportions of the several
parts of the apparatus, as herein-before described, as it will be readily
scen the same may be considerably varied without departing from the
Invention; and lastly, I would further remark, I do not claim the per-
forating or puncturing of sheets mechanically by an independant
machine, or by a printing press, as I am well aware this has been
commonly done heretofore; but what I claim is,-
First. The puncturing, perforating, or indenting newspapers and
other printed sheets in their passage through the folding machine, sub-
stantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before set forth
and described.
And secondly. The general arrangement and combination of the
several parts described, set forth, and illustrated by Figures 1 and 2,
substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.
And lastly. The general arrangement and combination of the several
parts of the modification of the apparatus herein-before described, set
forth, and illustrated by Figures 3 and 4 in the annexed Drawings; the
whole being operated substantially in the manner and for the purposes
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Bean, have hereunto set
my hand and affixed my seal, this Twenty-ninth day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-three.
25 Witness,
WILLIAM WALKER,
of 41, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
THOMAS (L.S.) BEAN.