IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Inglis, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid
Lothian, North Britain, Bookbinder, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND OTHER FABRICS
Sealed the 12th May 1863, and dated the 25th February-1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Inglis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
February 1868.
I, JAMES INGLIS, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, North
Britain, Bookbinder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND OTHER
FABRICS OR MATERIALS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to a system or arrangement of machinery or apparatus
to be used for folding sheets of paper and other fabrics or materials, such as
newspapers, sheets of paper for bookbinding and for other uses, and it is
partially based upon an Invention of "A Machine for Folding" for which
James Black, of Edinburgh, obtained a grant of English Letters Patent on or
about the 7th day of November, in the year 1850, No. 13,315. The present
improved machine is contained upon and within an open rectangular frame-
work, adjoining which, and attached thereto or forming part thereof, is a
feeding table or platform, opposite to which the attendant stands. As each
sheet is placed upon this table or platform from the "bank" or source of

page_text: supply a pair of grippers or traversing holders, actuated by the gearing of the
machine, come forward and seize the sheet by its two opposite edges. The
grippers then return to convey the sheet down from the table to an inclined
folding platform attached to or forming part of the main framing. This
inclined platform is set at a considerable angle with the horizontal line, and it
has along its centre a longitudinal slot for the passage through of the paper
during the primary fold. Directly over this slot is a serrated or roughened
folding knife or thin lever arm, caused to vibrate back and forward by the
main gearing. As the sheet of paper comes over the slot and beneath the
folding knife the grippers relax their hold, and the folder comes down upon the
released sheet forcing it through the slot, and thus producing the primary
fold. The folded sheet is thus passed beneath the platform, and is then in
readiness for being refolded by knives or folding arms arranged at right angles
to each other in the framing beneath. Suitable guides or register marks are
provided for the due set of the sheet for the gripper action. The essential
object of the inclined folding platform is the increased convenience thereby
secured as regards the action of the folding arm, as the latter is worked
efficiently with a much shorter traverse than can be properly used when the
folding platform is horizontal as is usually the case in machines of this
class.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Inglis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
INGLIS, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, Bookbinder, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Inglis, Her special license, that I, the said James
Inglis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Inglis, my executors, administrators, or 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,

page_text: the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND OTHER FABRICS OR MATERIALS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Inglis, my
executors or administrators, by an instrament in writing under my hand and
seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 James Inglis, do hereby declaro
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to a system or arrangement of machinery or
apparatus to be used for folding sheets of paper and other fabrics or materials,
such as newspapers, sheets of paper for bookbinding and for other uses, and
it is partially based upon an Invention of "A Machine for Folding" for which
James Black, of Edinburgh, obtained a grant of English Letters Patent on or
about the Seventh day of November, in the year 1850. The present improved
machine is contained upon and within an open rectangular framework,
adjoining which, and at ached thereto or forming part thereof, is a feeding
table or platform, opposite to which the attendant stands. As each sheet
is placed upon this table or platform from the "bank" or source of supply a pair
of grippers or traversing holders, actuated by the gearing of the machine, come
forward and seize the sheet by its two opposite edges. The grippers then
return to convey the sheet down from the table to an inclined folding platform
attached to or forming part of the main framing. This inclined platform is
set at a considerable angle with the horizontal line, and it has along its centre
a longitudinal slot for the passage through of the paper during the primary
fold. Directly on this slot is a serrated or roughened folding knife or thin
lever arm, caused to vibrate back and forward by the main gearing. As the
sheet of paper comes over the slot and beneath the folding knife the grippers
relax their hold, and the folder comes down upon the released sheet forcing it
through the slot, and thus producing the primary fold. The folded sheet is
then passed beneath the platform, and is then in readiness for being refolded
by knives or folding arms arranged at right angles to each other in the framing
beneath. Suitable guides or register marks are provided for the due set of the
sheet for the gripper action. The essential object of the inclined folding

page_text: platform is the increased convenience thereby secured as regards the action
of the folding arm, as the latter is worked efficiently with a much shorter
traverse than can be properly used when the folding platform is horizontal, as
is usually the case in machines of this class.
And in order that my said Invention of improvements in machinery or
apparatus for folding may be properly understood, I shall now proceed to
describe the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings which I have
hereunto appended for the purpose of showing certain modifications under which
my improvements may be judiciously carried out in practice, that is to say :-
Figure 1 is an end elevation of a folding machine arranged according to my
improvements; Figure 2' is a front view of the same; Figure 3 is an end
view of the machine with the side plate removed to show the internal arrange-
ment; Figure 4 is an elevation with the folding doors at the back opened
to show the interior; and Figure 5 is a plan with the upper part removed.
To the base of the machine is fixed the supporting columns A, which carry an
open frame B, on which the upper part of the machine is arranged. The
principal parts of the machine are enclosed by the front plate C, which is
of iron, as well as the open work end plates C¹. The back is enclosed by the
folding doors D, and on the upper part of this enclosed space are arranged the
slightly sloping feed board or "bank" E and the inclined platform F. In
this platform is formed two parallel longitudinal slots G, which serve for the
traverse of the grippers that lay hold of the sheet, and place it in the proper
position for the first fold. Between the two slots G, is the slot H, through
which the sheet is passed in making the primary fold. To the front plate C
are bolted the three brackets I, which support the bearings of the main shaft J,
from which the motion of the moving parts of the machine is derived. The
shaft J is actuated from a contiguous prime mover, an endless belt from which
is carried round the fast-and-loose pulley K. On this shaft are fitted the two
eccentrics L, the straps of which are connected to the rods M. The backward
ends of these rods are made to fit the sockets formed on the ends of the
rods M', and the two parts are connected by the helical spring N, and
practically they form one rod, but capable of extension and contraction by
means of this arrangement. Each of the rods M is jointed to the bent
lever O, which is centred on a stud carried on a rail extending across the back
of the machine. The levers O are arranged in the same planes as the slots G,
and to admit of the connection thereto one of the rods M is bent in two
directions, as shown in Figure 5. The levers O are connected at their upper
ends by the links O¹ to studs P' on the under sides of the slides P of the
grippers, by means of which the sheets are carried in succession down the

page_text: inclined platform F. These grippers consist of the slide P, which supports
the spring catch or gripper Q, as well as traversing up and down the slots G;
the slide is connected to the contiguous link O' by the stud P¹ on its under
side. The spring catch or gripper Q is kept closed or pressed down on the
face of the slide P by means of a small blade spring Q' arranged behind the
joint of the gripper. At the upper part of its traverse the gripper Q is opened
by means of the stud R, which passes up through the slide P; the head of this
stud comes in contact with the inclined piece of metal R', which is fastened
up to the under side of the "bank " E. In its upward traverse the head of
the slot R traverses over a slot made in the plate R'; this slot is enlarged at
the backward end to permit of the head of the stud passing through it and
allow the gripper to close at the proper moment. As the stud R moves up
the inclined plane R' it raises the gripper Q so as to be ready to clip or grasp
the edge of the sheet of paper, which has been previously placed in readiness
by the attendant; the head of the stud R then immediately falls through the
plate R', and the sheet is held securely. At the downward traverse of the
grippers the stems of the studs pass uninterruptedly through the slots in the
plates R. At the bottom of each of the slots G is fitted an adjustable
slide S, which may be fixed to any part of the slot G by means of a screw and
nut. These slides form stops to regulate the traverse of the grippers Q, and
open them at the proper moment to liberate the sheet; cach slide has a
projecting nib S', which comes in contact with the tail of the gripper Q, and
opens it at the proper instant. While the machine is in motion the attendant
keeps moving forward the sheets on the "bank" in succession, so as to present
their lower edges in readiness for the grippers when they ascend and open;
these close directly, and the sheet is carried down the inclined platform by the
rotatory motion of the eccentrics L acting on the levers O, and causing the
grippers to descend the slots G. The stops S now liberate the sheet, and
the grippers return to their normal position. The stops S are adjusted and
fixed in the slots G to suit the particular size of the sheet that is being
folded; and in those cases where the sheet is of smaller size, so that the
stops have to be moved up the slots G, the traverse of the grippers is shortened
in proportion, and a self-adjusting connecting rod to each eccentric L is
required. This contingency is met by making the rods M, M', in two
parts, capable of extension and of contraction by means of the springs N; the
socketed portions of the rods slide out to suit the alteration of the traverse,
whilst the springs restore them to their normal length. The instant the shoet
is liberated from the grippers it receives the primary fold, and this is effected
in the following manner :-On the shaft J is keyed the grooved cam T, and to

page_text: a stud on a bracket fixed to the front plate C is centred the knife or folding
blade U, which extends upwards the full length of the slot H. The edge of
this knife is, by preference, serrated, and its lower end is prolonged outwards
in front and terminates in a slotted end, in which is carried the pin U, fitted
with an antifriction pulley that traverses in the groove of the cam T in the
direction of the arrow. As the cam moves round, the knife U is caused to
descend through the slot H into the narrow chamber or recess formed by
the two sides or guides H¹ to the horizontal position, as indicated by the dotted
lines showing its path in Figure 3. The sheet is now folded a second time
in a direction at right angles to the first. A lever V, which is centred on a
stud carried in a small bracket pendent from a cross rail V₁ of the framing,
has in its outer slotted end a pin V2, fitted with an antifriction pulley, which
also travels in the groove of the cam T. The lever V extends in a curved
direction towards the back of the machine, where it is connected to a duplex
link W by a universal or ball-and-socket joint, by which it is connected to
the shorter or bent end of the second folder X. This folder is made similar
to the folder U, and it is centred on a stud carried in a bracket that is bolted
down to the cross rail V' of the framing. The reciprocatory movement of
the lever V alternately raises the folder X to the vertical position, and then
depresses it to the horizontal, as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 4, which
indicate the path of the folder. The moment the sheet has passed down
through the slot G, and the folder U is uplifted, the second folder X is brought
into operation, and carries it through tho vertical slot Y in the guide H,
completing the second fold, and placing it in readiness to receive the third
fold. A small shaft or spindle Z, the bearings of which are carried in brackets
cast for the purpose on a moveable frame, which will be presently referred to,
has fast to it the folder a, and on the end of the spindle is a lever arm b, which
is connected by a link c to the lever d. This lever is connected by a link e,
to the prolongation at the lower end of the folder U, so that the folders U
and a act in unison. The downward movement of the folder a carries the
sheet between the vertical guides f ready to be caught by the pressing rollers;
the path through which the folder a moves is indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 3. On the shaft J is a wheel g, which gives motion to the wheel h,
which is keyed on a short shaft or spindle i, carried in brackets projecting out
from the front plate C. On the shaft i is also carried the small bevel wheel j
which is in gear with the corresponding wheel k on the end of the horizontal
shaft, on which is the first pressing roller m. On the backward end of the
shaft is a wheel n, which gives motion to the wheel n' on the shaft of the
pressing roller m'. The wheel n also drives the intermediate wheel o, carried

page_text: on a stud in the moveable frame, which gives motion to the wheels p and pl
on the shafts of the second and lower pair of pressing rollers q and q'. With
this arrangement each pair of rollers m and m', and q and q', rotate in the
same direction, so as to press and carry the folded sheet down between them.
On passing from the lower pair of pressing rollers q and q¹ the folded sheet
falls on to the inclined plane r, down which it slides into the receiver s. This
receiver is made in the form of a drawer divided in the centre by a vertical
partition, and having one of its sides open, so that when pushed in, as shown
in Figures 1 and 2, the sheets pass down into the front compartment, and
when this part is full the attendant draws out the receiver, and the folded
sheets are easily removed on account of the open side. Meanwhile, by the
provision of a second compartment s', the feeding of the sheets into the receiver
goes on without interruption, and when the compartment s' is full the receiver s
is pushed into its original position, and the sheets are removed from the full
compartment. As the sheets are fed into the receiver s, they are compressed
by the intermittent action of the presser.
On the end of the shaft J is keyed
a cam t, the periphery of which is in contact with an antifriction roller carried
on a stud in the end of the lever u. This lever is centred on a laterally
projecting stud in a bracket bolted to the end of the machine, and the pulley
at its front end is kept in close contact with the periphery of the cam t by
the helical spring v, which is fastened at one end to the hook v¹ on the plate C
of the machine. The upper end of the spring v is fastened to a stud fixed
in a laterally projecting part of the lever u. The backward end of the lever u
is connected by a link u' to the cross head w¹ of the presser w; this part
consists of the presser w, which is attached to the central rod w², the whole
being guided in its traverse by the guides . As the camt rotates in the
direction of the arrow the lever u is upheld until the cam comes round to the
recess or inwardly extending part t', when the presser suddenly descends by
the contraction of the spring v, and so compresses the folded sheets in the
receptacle 8. The cam then immediately begins to raise the pressure w, so
that the sheets are not intercepted in their descent into the receiver s.
Figure 6 represents an elevation, and Figure 7 a plan, drawn to a larger
scale, of the gauge by means of which the attendant is enabled to place the
sheets to be folded accurately in position ready for being seized by the grippers.
The printed sheet of paper y has its two longitudinal edges guided by the
L-shaped guides, which are adjustable as regards position, and are fixed down
to the "bank "E by a pinching screw 2¹. This screw passes through a trans-
verse slot in the lug or backwardly projecting part of the guide 2, and then
through a longitudinal slot in the table or bank E. To the front ends of the

page_text: guides is bolted a slip of brass 1, which extends across the bank E, and serves
as a guide for the lower transverse edge of the sheet. By means of the adjust-
áble arrangement the guides may be readily altered to suit the size of the sheet
to be folded, and adjusted as regards the square, so that the first folder U falls
accurately on the centre line of the sheet, and midway between the printed
pages, as indicated by the line 1, 1. Thus, as the attendant moves forward the
sheets to be folded with the sliding movement, as used in feeding the sheets
into a steam printing press, the margins of the printed pages are brought into
a line with the lateral and transverse guidesz and 1, so that the sheet is exactly
square to enter the grippers, and, if not, it is adjusted accordingly; and when
the guides are properly adjusted at the outset, the sheets will be folded with
much greater accuracy and uniformity than is accomplished by hand-folding.
When a smaller sized sheet of paper has to be folded, the position of the
stops S is adjusted so as to regulate the traverse of the grippers, and the traverse
of the first folder U is also adjusted so that the centre of the sheet is brought
accurately in a line for the second fold: The parts connected with the third
folder a are fitted on a moveable frame 2, which slides to and fro in dovetail
grooves, as shown in Figure 3; this frame is fast to the screw shaft 3, which
works through the nut 4, and has on its outer end the hand wheel 5, by means
of which the frame and its connected parts are traversed to and fro. The
frame 2 is set in position so that the folder a falls exactly in the centre of the
sheet at the third fold, and the proper position may be readily indicated by a
gauge or lines made on the screw shaft 3, or by other equivalent means.
Instead of arranging the grippers as shown in the Drawings, they may, if pre-
ferred, be operated by means of endless chains or bands carried round suitable
eccentrics or other equivalent mechanical details.
The machine as shown and described is adapted to fold a sheet three times,
or into the octavo form, as shown by the lines 1 to 3, in Figure 7, and by the
addition of a fourth folder the sheet will be folded into a sheet of "sixteens,"
the number of folders being, of course, varied to suit the particular class of
work for which the machine is intended. In this way the machine may be
readily adapted to suit either book or newspaper work, and to fold the same
with great rapidity, accuracy, and economy.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement, construction, and combination of parts

page_text: forming the machinery or apparatus for folding paper and other fabrics or
materials as herein-before described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the system or mode of folding paper or other fabrics or materials by
automatic or self-acting mechanical means, in which the sheet of paper or
other material is carried by a pair of grippers or other equivalent mechanical
details down an inclined platform or receiving surface, when it receives the
first fold by the action of a knife or folder, which carries it through a slot in
the platform; the paper or other material is then subjected to the action of
other knives or folders and of pressing rollers, so as to complete the folding
operation wholly by mechanical means, as herein-before described and shown
in the accompanying Drawings, or any mere modification of the said arrange-
ment.
Third, the application and use in folding machines of an inclined platform
or table for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Inglis, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-second day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-three.
JAMES INGLIS. (L.B.)