Improved Apparatus or Machinery for Making Crimped, Pleated, or Corrugated Articles of Paper, Metal, or other Material.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 27th July, 1895-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus or Machinery for Making Crimped, Pleated, or
Corrugated Articles of Paper, Metal, or other Material.
We, HENRY JOSEPH DRANE, of Salisbury House, Salisbury Square, Fleet
Street, Publisher, CHARLES MORITZ, of 1 Vineyard Walk, Clerkenwell, Engineer,
and PERCY CHANT, of Salisbury House aforesaid, Publisher, all in the County of
..fiddlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to apparatus or machinery for making soufflé cases, bottle
capsules and other crimped pleated or corrugated articles of paper, metal, or other
pliable or ductile material.
Heretofore such machine made articles have been of a circular form only and
have been made by the aid of a pleating knife or blade which is actuated once for
each pleat or corrugation to be formed." Cases or capsules other than round ones
have heretofore been made by hand. By our invention we produce machine made
cases, capsules or the like of round, oval, elliptic, or polygonal or even irregular
shape, and we produce each article in one operation of the apparatus instead of by
many operations.
Our improved apparatus comprises a series of pleating bars hinged or pivoted
around the periphery of a central block and pivotally connected at their outer ends
to a series of links which are coupled to a sleeve that is capable of sliding on a
central stationary spindle. By raising and lowering the sliding block, the pleating
bars can be caused to open and close in the same manner as do the ribs of an
umbrella when actuated by sliding the sleeve along the stick. The sliding sleeve
is supported by a balance weight or spring to keep the bars open.
Mounted loosely on the aforesaid spindle is a block having a general contour
which is similar to that desired to be given to the cases or capsules to be made.
This block is furnished with a series of narrow longitudinal slits equal in number
to the number of pleating bars. Below the said block we piace a stop which
limits the inward movement of the pleating bars when the latter are closing. This
stop is furnished with slits in its periphery to receive the blades when closed.
The pleating bars are when closed opposite the metal between the slits of the
central block.
Above the aforesaid pleating bars is arranged a series of pleating blades equal
in number to the bars aforesaid and hinged or pivoted to a central block attached
to a spindle which is in line with the lower stationary spindle and which can be
raised and lowered in guides by a treadle or by a power driven cam or the like.
On the said spindle is placed a sleeve which can slide thereon, and to which the
outer ends of the pleating blades are connected by a series of hinged or pivoted
links. By sliding the sleeve on the spindle the pleating blades can be caused to
open and close after the manner of the action of the pleating bars. The sleeve
is depressed when required by means of a treadle or the like operating through a
link and lever, and is raised by a spring when the treadle is released. The blades
are opposite the spaces between the pleating bars.
The action of this apparatus is as follows:--that is to say, the paper or other
pliable and ductile material to be formed into a case or capsule or the like is
placed upon the pleating bars while the same are extended in a horizontal position;
the upper sliding spindle is then lowered until it presses upon the central block

page_text: of the stationary spindle and grips the paper or other material thereon. The
sliding sleeve on the upper spindle is then lowered to fold inward the pleating
blades which press upon the material to be pleated and operate to close the pleating
bars until the latter encounter the stop.
During this closing movement of the blades the paper or other material on the
pleating bars becomes pleated or corrugated and is finally forced into the spaces
or slits of the central block. A stop is provided to limit the closing movement of
the pleating blades to prevent damage to the case or capsule.
The pleats or corrugations can be flattened down while the blades are closed
by turning the inner slit-block slightly by means provided for this purpose.
When the upper spindle is raised the blades and the pleating bars open out
again and release the case or capsule or the like. The blades are then ready for
forming another case.
When making cases, that are not circular we sometimes dispense with the
central slit block and we provide a rotary spring-controlled finger for pressing
upon the pleats and flattening the same.
The pleating bars and blades with their attachments are made removable so
as to permit of being replaced by other bars and blades to form articles of different
shapes and sizes and with a different number of pleats or corrugations.
Dated this 27th day of October 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
Improved Apparatus or Machinery for Making Crimped, Pleated, or
Corrugated Articles of Paper, Metal, or other Material.
We, HENRY JOSEPH DRANE, of Salisbury House, Salisbury Square, Fleet
Street, Publisher, CHARLES MORITZ, of 1 Vineyard Walk, Clerkenwell, Engineer,
and PERCY CHANT, of Salisbury House aforesaid, Publisher, 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 :-
Our invention relates to apparatus or machinery for making scufflé cases, bottle-
capsules and other crimped, pleated or corrugated articles of paper, sheet metal or
other similar material.
Heretofore machine-made articles of this description have been of a circular
form and have been made by the aid of a vibratory pleating knife or blade that
has produced only one pleat or corrugation at a time, and if pleated or corrugated
cases or capsules other than circular ones were required, they have been made by
hand. By our invention we can produce machine-made pleated or corrugated cases
or capsules of round, oval, elliptical, polygonal or irregular shape by one operation
of the apparatus or machine, the said pleatings or corrugations being all produced
at one time and simultaneously with the formation of the cases or capsules to the
desired shape.
The apparatus we have devised for the purpose of our invention comprises
essentially two series of pivoted radial blades or bars between which series the
paper or other material to be pleated or corrugated is placed. By means of suitable
mechanism, one series of blades is caused to approach the other, and when they
arrive at the proper position relatively to each other the said blades are all
simultaneously caused to turn inwardly about their pivots and by acting upon the sheet
or blank of paper or other material placed between them impress thereon the
pleatings or corrugations and at the same time impart thereto the desired shape.
In order that our said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried

page_text: into effect we will describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus or machine constructed according to
our invention and specially contrived to produce pleated or corrugated articles of
circular shape.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same with some of the blades or bars in the
upper and lower series removed in order that the parts which they surround may
be more clearly seen.
Figure 3 is a plan of the lower series of blades or bars.
Figures 4 and 5 are vertical central sections of the two series of blades or bars;
Figure 4 representing them in the position they occupy when separated from each
other ready to receive a blank and Figure 5 the position they occupy when the
pleating or corrugating of the blank has been effected..
Figure 6 represents one of the pleated or corrugated articles produced by this
machine.
A is the lower series of radial bars which we term the pleating-bars, B the upper
series which we term the pleating-knives or blades, and C a sheet or blank of
material upon which the pleating bars and pleating-blades operate.
The pleating-bars A are all hinged at their inner ends a¹ to a central fixed block
or head a, and are pivotally connected at their outer ends a² to a series of links a³
which are hinged at their lower ends a to a sleeve a³. The aforesaid block or
head a forms part of a central stationary hollow spindle a which projects from the
base of the machine, and the sleeve a is capable of sliding on this hollow spindle.
A pivoted weighted lever D, which is connected by links d d to the sliding sleeve,
normally keeps the said sleeve raised and the pleating-bars A in their horizontal
position. A stop depending from the base E of the machine lies in the path of
the lever D and limits the extent to which it, and consequently the sleeve, can rise.
Extending through the said base E and passing into the hollow spindle a® is a rotary
spindle F which carries near its upper end a pin f. This pin passes through a
horizontal slot a' in the hollow spindle a and enters a hole f¹ formed for its
reception in a rotary fluted conical block f. This conical block is supported in
position upon the hollow spindle a by a fixed collar f³. Situated immediately
below the conical block is a stationary cylindrical piece f which has its upper
edge formed with a series of slots f' into which the pleating-bars enter when they
assume their closed position and are thus prevented from moving laterally when
the conical block is turned as hereinafter explained.
The pleating-blades B are all hinged at 6 to a central inverted cup or block b
which is mounted on a sliding rod G. The lower portion of this rod is reduced in
diameter so that a shoulder is formed at g, and at the lower extremity of the said
rod is a disc g¹ having a shoulder y³ provided with a rubber washer g³. This rod is
is also furnished with a fixed collar having rubber faces go. The pleating-blades
are pivotally connected at to the lower ends of links 3 whose upper ends are
hinged at to a sleeve which is connected to and moves with a crosshead H
capable of sliding on guide rods or uprights H2 projecting from the base E. This
cross-head is connected to a forked bar H' which is pivoted at H' to a lug H
projecting from a vertical upright H' carried by the base of the machine. The
forked bar H' is kept in its raised position (Figure 1) by means of a weighted
lever H which is connected to the said forked bar by links H. Suspended from
the forked bar H' is a rod H' which is connected by suitable means to a treadle or
other device for depressing the said forked bar H' and cross-head H.
I is a segmental guide which is carried by brackets 1 secured to the rods or
uprights H2 H. The inner circumference of this guide is concentric with the
head a and enables the blank of paper or other material to be always placed
centrally within the machine. Radial slots i are formed in this guide to permit
of the free movement of the upper ends of the links which are furnished with
spring fingers a* at their upper ends. At the completion of the pleating or
corrugating operation these spring fingers press upon the pleated article and

page_text: prevent its expanding when the upper or pleating-blades are raised as hereinafter
explained. Other slots are also formed in the segmental guide: I to permit of
the free movement of the pleating-blades B during the pleating operation:
Carried by the lower end of the rotary spindle F is a spring-controlled hand
lever F having a bent portion F which is capable of coming against the
member F of a weighted crank arm F4 pivoted at F to the underside of the
base E. By moving the hand lever F¹ the spindle F and the conical block f² can
be partially rotated or oscillated. The said hand-lever is also provided with a
vertical pin F which projects through a curved slot in the base of the machine
and carries a finger F. When the hand-lever is shifted to the right the finger F
strikes against a tappet 1 carried by a horizontal axle J that turns in bearings J'
mounted on the base E. The axle J also carries a pair of dogs J³ whose purpose
will be hereinafter explained.
The working of the machine is as follows:-A circular sheet of paper or other
suitable material having been placed upon the horizontal pleating-bars A, the
upper series of blades and the sliding spindle G are caused to descend by the
operation of the before mentioned treadle acting upon the cross-head H through
the intervention of the rod H7 and pivoted lever H. So soon as the disc at the
end of the said sliding rod G comes against the head a (which as before stated is
fixed) any further descent of the rod G is prevented, with the result that this
rod remains stationary whilst the sleeve and the cup or block. still continue
to. advance. The tail-pieces 68 of the pleating blades B then come against the
disc g and are thereby caused to turn inwardly about their pivots ', being assisted
in this movement by the moving sleeve and links . As the pleating-blades
turn inwardly they tend to press the surface of the paper blank between the
series of pleating-bars A and the pressure thus exerted causes the paper blank to
press with sufficient force upon the pleating-bars to turn them inwardly and
downwardly about their pivots a¹ until they lie approximately parallel with the
fluted conical block as seen at Figure 5. The rim of the before mentioned
disc g prevents the under edges of the pleating-blades coming too forcibly into
contact with the portion of the paper that is bent down over the edge of the head a
during the corrugating operation. When the parts have assumed this position the
pleating or corrugating of the blank has been performed by the pleating-blades
forcing the paper between the pleating-bars.
During this movement the rubber face of the shoulder g' has come against the
upper interior surface of the cup or block and the sleeve a has desceuded to its
lowermost position under the action of the links a³. By so doing the said sleeve a
has elevated the weighted end of the lever D and depressed its opposite end to
such an extent as to allow the member F3 of the weighted crank-arm F to bring
its notch Fabove the said lever D. While the said notch Fx is in this position
the weighted end of the lever D cannot again descend.
g..
The operator next releases the before mentioned treadle and thereby allows the
weighted lever H' to raise the upper series of blades through the levers Hand H¹.
The rod G meanwhile remains practically in the same position it assumed when its
disc g' impinged upon the head a, until the top face of its collar g' strikes against
the cross-bar H. The rod G is then prevented from rising further and the
sleeve, continuing to ascend, the cup or block is brought against the shoulder
The further upward movement of this cup or block is therefore also stopped. The
sleeve still continuing to ascend then exerts a pull upon all the links b³, which
latter consequently turn the pleating blades B about their pivots b' and thereby
bring them into their horizontal position (Figure 4). Further upward movement
of the sleeve 65 is then prevented by the cross-head H, which carries the sleeve b³,
coming against the lower face of the collar gt.
It will be remembered that during the ascent of the upper series or pleating-
blades, the lower series or pleating-bars are kept in their closed position by the
notch Fx of the crank-arm F engaging with the weighted lever D. In order to
avoid any chance of the corrugated article expanding and thus coming out of

page_text: engagement with the pleating-bars when the upper series of blades is elevated, the
foresaid spring fingers a* on the links a are so disposed that they bear upon
the lower portions of the exterior pleats or corrugations of the article and thus.
hold said article in position upon the lower series of blades or pleating-bars.
While these spring fingers a* are holding the corrugated article, the conical
block is turned by means of the lever-handle F, and in this way the inner
corrugations are pressed slightly sidewise and an inclination given to them, which
has the effect of causing the pleats or corrugations to be more permanently
formed, so that when the article is removed from the machine it will more
effectually retain its shape. When dealing with material of such a nature that the
article tends to alter its shape after removal from the machine, we may if found
necessary subject. the article to a pressing operation on a conical or other suitably
shaped block to ensure that it shall retain its form. When the said lever handle Fi
has been shifted to the end of its stroke, the aforesaid bent portion F thereon
strikes against the member F' of the crank-arm F which is thus displaced from
the path of the weighted lever D, and simultaneously with this displacement the
finger F carried by the pin F' comes against the tappet J1 and thus turns the
axle J which thereby gives a slight upward movement to the sleeve a by means
of the dogs J. The sleeve a' then becomes immediately elevated by the action of
the weighted lever D and the pleating-bars A at the same time assume their
horizontal position under the influence of the links a³. The pleated article is then
free to be removed from the machine.
g
It is to be understood that the contour of the parts marked a, a, b, b,
and f
conform to the shape of the corrugated article to be produced, that is to say if for
example it be desired to produce an article of elliptical shape the parts a, a, b, b,
y and will all be elliptical. But instead of the conical block f being capable of
rotary movement, we in this case make it stationary and arrange the pleating-
blades and bars to work in such a manner that the corrugations or pleats are
produced obliquely. These parts and the bars or blades they carry may be made
detachable so as to permit of their being readily removed and replaced by others of
the required shape.
Instead of arranging the machine to be operated by means of a treadle as above
specified we may equally well arrange it to be operated by power.
When operating upon blanks of such material as paper we may slightly damp
said blanks prior to their insertion into the machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. An apparatus or machine in which a blank of paper or other suitable material
is crimped, pleated or corrugated and at the same time formed to the desired shape
at one operation substantially as described.
2. An apparatus or machine of the kind above claimed comprising two series of
pivoted radial blades or bars between which the blank of paper or other suitable
material is placed, means for causing one of said series to approach the other, and
means whereby the blades or bars of one series are caused to simultaneously turn
inwardly and likewise operate the blades or bars of the other series by acting upon
the blank substantially as described.
3. The means or mechanism for causing the series of pleating blades to turn
inwardly as they approach the series of pleating bars and to return to their normal
position as they retire substantially as described.
4. The means or mechanism for enabling the series of pleating bars to be turned
inwardly by the action of the pleating blades upon the blank of paper or other
material interposed between the two series of blades or bars substantially as
described.
5. The rotary fluted block situated centrally with relation to the series of

page_text: pleating bars in combination with means for operating it by a lever-handle
substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
6. The combination with the series of pleating bars of spring-fingers such as a*
adapted to bear upon and retain the pleated or corrugated article in position on
the series of pleating bars during the operation of the rotary fluted block
substantially as described.
7. The apparatus or machine having its parts constructed arranged and combined
to operate substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings
and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 96th do of Iul 2005
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.