IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FOLDING SHEETS OF PAPER, AND FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE FOLDED (
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Davies, of Bermondsey, in the County of Surrey,
Mechanical Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR FOLDING SHEETS OF PAPER, AND FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE FOLDED
(Void by reason of the Patentee having neglected to file a Specification in
pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Davies at the.
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th November 1880.
JOSEPH DAVIES, of Bermondsey, in the County of Surrey, Mechanical Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FOLDING SHEETS OF PAPER, AND FOR
SECURING TOGETHER THE FOLDED PARTS OF SUCH SHEETS, AND TRIMMING THE
EDGES THEREOF.'
"
This Invention relates to improvements in folding machinery, the objects being
to facilitate the operation of folding, to secure the folded parts together when
required by metallic attachments, and to trim the edges of the folded sheets.
I use as heretofore a series of folding cylinders, one for each fold, and I fit
these cylinders with grippers which work in slots or recesses cut in the periphery
of the cylinders. Into these recesses the paper under treatment, is thrust at the
line where the fold is intended to be made, by means of a reciprocating blade as
usual. To this blade, however, I give a peculiar motion, so as to ensure a more
efficient action than heretofore, This folding blade is carried by a transverse rock
shaft mounted in a pair of bell crank levers, which are keyed to a transverse rock
shaft having its bearings in the main frame.
The pendent limb of one or both of these bell crank levers is fitted with a bowle
which bears against an internal cam of the folding cylinder, and by its means the
levers are rocked so as to advance the folding blade into the slot of the cylinder and
withdraw it therefrom.. Keyed to the rock-shaft which carries the blade is an arm,

page_text: which, as the cylinder rotates, is struck by a pin projecting therefrom, for the
purpose of bringing the blade, as it commences its folding action, into the proper
angle for entering the slot of the cylinder. The paper to be folded is fed to the
first cylinder as usual, and when about one half of its length has passed under the
suspended folding blade, that blade will strike down on to the paper, divide it into
two equal parts by a crease, and thrust the crease into the slot in the cylinder. The
grippers will then come into action, and gripping the paper in the slot will allow
the blade to retire. The retirement of the blade from the paper is effected, as before
mentioned, by the action of the internal cam on one of the bell crank levers,
but in rising from the slot it will be necessary to re-adjust the angle of position of
the blade, which has been forced to follow the travel of the cylinder while retaining
its hold on the paper. To restore the folding blade to its norinal angle with respect
to the levers which carry it, a spur is formed on the arm carried by the rock shaft,
and a fixed stop is provided for the spur to strike against as the blade rises from
the paper. In this way the rock shaft will be turned on the rising of the rock
levers sufficiently to bring the blade to its proper angle for repeating its action.
In order to afford a means for preventing any serious clogging of the folding
mechanism by reason of a sheet or sheets of paper buckling in the act of passing
beneath the folding blade, a lever handle is provided, by simply reversing which the
arm carrying the folding blade will be caused to lift the said blade clear of the
paper, and at the same time a pair of constantly rotating cylinders will be brought
into such proximity as to seize between them the forward edges of the sheets of
paper which threaten to clog or disarrange the folding mechanism, such sheets being
rapidly carried clear of the same. A guide piece or rest for the lever handle will
indicate the proper position into which it should be brought, so as to at once
release the mechanism at the slightest indication of clogging.
The grippers previously mentioned are brought into action by means of a fixed
cam acting upon a bowle carried by an arm projecting from a gripper shaft, which
shaft has its bearings in the ends of the cylinder, and they retain their grip upon
the paper while it is being carried past pressing rollers which lead it to a delivery
slide. The grip on the paper is now removed, and the slide conducts the paper to
a set of adjustable gripping rolls, which grip the margins of the folded paper, and
present it to a second folding cylinder set at right angles to the first cylinder.
Above this cylinder is mounted a folding blade similar in action to the first blade,
and by its means the paper is thrust out of the bite of the gripping rolls into the
slot of the folding cylinder. Thus a crease at right angles to the first is produced,
and the paper being gripped in the cylinder, the several actions above mentioned
will be repeated.
In like manner the folded paper may be submitted to a third and a fourth folding
cylinder fitted with a folding blade and grippers like the first cylinder, and thus
the paper will at every succeeding operation_ be creased and folded at right angles
to the fold last made, and that with great rapidity.and precision.
For the purpose of securing the folded paper so as to admit of its edges being
cut without disengagement of the parts I fit to the last of the folding cylinders a
contrivance for applying at the back of the last fold metallic clips. Thus I place
in the last folding cylinder one, two, or more reels of flat or ornamental metallic
wire, and mount them in suitable bearings in the inside of the folding cylinder.
The end of the wire is passed into pliers, which receive motion from the rotating
cylinder to and from the reels once for every rotation of the cylinder. In nearing
the reels the pliers open, and passing along the wire close upon the wire with
sufficient pinch that in their return movement towards the folding groove they take
a suitable length of wire, and place it at right angles to the folding blade over the
mouth of the slot. As the folding blade begins to enter the sheet into the groove
it commences to bind the wire, a length of which is then cut off by shears provided
for the purpose; the pliers then return for another length of wire; meanwhile as
the folding blade radially deepens into the groove it bends the wire into the form
of the letter U, and at the extreme depth the folding grippers coming into action

page_text: close upon the wire, and press it firmly onto the folded paper. The paper is then
delivered from the cylinder, preferably, into a receiving trough or packer, in which
a plunger or pressing board may be caused to reciprocate, thereby urging forward
and compressing in a small compass the several folded sheets. A hinged door placed
midway of the receiver may conveniently be provided for the purpose of enabling
batches of the folded sheets to be removed from one half of the receiver while the
packing or compressing still continues in the other half, and any suitable counting
mechanism may be connected with the receiving trough to facilitate the delivery
of the folded sheets in regular quantities to the trimming apparatus, in which the
edges of the folded sheets will be accurately cut.
.
The folded sheets on leaving the receiving or packing trough are delivered
between a vertical end plate and a vertical compressing plate, which is connected
by link arms to a weight of sufficient size to ensure the required degree of
compression.
The end plate is formed with a horizontal table at its lower part, on which table
the bound sides of the folded sheets will rest; and the two vertical plates and the
horizontal table are so arranged as to slide freely upon inclined supports placed at
an angle of about 45°. This sliding frame is connected by rods to levers operated
by a cam or cams on a cam shaft situate below the inclined supports above
mentioned, and it is caused to rise and fall on the inclined supports by the
intermittent action of the said cams. Two vertical knives are fixed to the
framework of the machine, one on either side of the line of traverse of the sliding
frame, and grooves fitted with lead or wood for the said knives to cut against are
formed in the vertical end plate of the sliding frame. The position of the folded
sheets in the sliding frame is determined by means of a gauge, and on the sliding
frame being drawn up the inclined supports a shearing cut will be given by the
fixed knives to the vertical edges of the folded sheets; at the same moment their
upper or horizontal edges will also be trimmed to the required degree by means of
the following arrangement of mechanism :-
When the vertical end plate of the sliding frame has reached its highest position
on the inclined supports it is temporarily locked in that position by a catch, while
a horizontal knife is caused to advance by means of a lever arın actuated by a cam.
on the cam shaft, and cut off the upper edges of the folded sheets. This horizontal
knife is free to slide in guide ways, and has a shearing cutting action imparted to
it by means of a pin or stud working in a diagonal horizontal slot. This knife also
cuts against a horizontal groove lined with lead or wood, and situate in the vertical
end plate of the sliding frame. The action of this trimming mechanism on the
folded sheets is first to gauge them, then to clamp them securely together, then to
draw them up the inclined supports, and bring them under the action of the fixed
knives, whereby their vertical edges are accurately cut, at the same time that their
horizontal edges are trimmed by an advancing horizontal knife. It is obvious that
the same results may be obtained by slightly modifying the arrangement of the
several parts above mentioned.