IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FOLDING ENVELOPES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Davidson Nichol, of Edinburgh, Scotland,
Envelope Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR FOLDING ENVELOPES."
Sealed the 15th August 1865, and dated the 20th February 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Davidson Nichol
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, ou the
20th February 1865.
I, JOHN DAVIDSON NICHOL, of Edinburgh, Scotland, Envelope Manufac-
turer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR FOLDING ENVELOPES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the folding process in the manufacture of envelopes,
and consists in the adaptation and application to the apparatus for this purpose
of moveable bars or fingers in order to hold the flat envelope securely in its
required position during the operation of folding, combined with wings of the
kind hereinafter described for pressing the said envelope into the box and
folding the flaps.

page_text: The flat envelope is placed as usual on the folding box between the ordinary
guide pins, the four flaps of paper extending over and resting on four metal
wings mounted on pivots at the four sides of the box; three moveable bars or
fingers are then caused to descend upon the junctions of the two end flaps
and the top flap with the body of the envelope, and thereby hold the latter
in its position ready for folding. The next movement of the apparatus causes
one of the four wings to be turned on its pivot, and thereby to carry the
bottom flap down to the bottom of the box, the wing, when turned over,
being of sufficient depth to produce this effect, and the holding bars or
fingers allowing the envelope to slide under them for the purpose. The two
moveable bars or fingers for the two end flaps are now caused to spring up,
when the two end wings are turned over so as to press the two end flaps in
like manner to the bottom of the box. The third moveable bar or finger is
then caused to spring up, and the top flap is pressed down into the bottom of
the box by the action of the fourth wing, when the folding of the envelope
is completed. A plunger for forcing the flat envelope into the box may be
used if preferred without requiring any alteration in the above-described
folding apparatus.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Davidson Nichol in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DAVIDSON NICHOL, of Edinburgh, Scotland, Envelope Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Davidson Nichol, Her special licence that I, the said John
Davidson Nichol, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Davidson Nichol, 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

page_text: Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS POR FOLDING ENVELOPES," upon
the condition, (am ngst others) that I, the said John Davidson Nichol, 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 Seat Patent Offico
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said.
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Davidson Nichol, do hereby
declare 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 Drawing hereunto annexed and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention of "Improvements in Apparatus for Folding Envelopes" relates
to the folding process in the manufacture of envelopes, and consists in the
adaptation and application to the apparatus for this purpose of moveable-bars
or fingers in order to hold the flat envelope securely in its required position
during the operation of folding, combined with wings of the kind. herein-
after described for pressing the said envelope into the box and folding the
flaps.
The flat envelope is placed between ordinary guide pins over a shallow box
into which it is afterwards folded, the four flaps of paper extending over the
box and resting on four metal wings mounted on pivots; at the four sides of
the box three moveable bars or fingers are then caused to descend upon the
junctions of the two end flaps, and the top flap with the body of the envelope,
and thereby hold the latter in its position ready for folding; the next move-
ment of the apparatus causes one of the four wings to be turned on its pivot
and thereby to fold over the bottom flap which rests upon it down to the
bottom of the box, the said wing when turned over being of sufficient depth.
to produce this effect, and the holding bars or fingers allowing the envelope to
slide under them for the purpose. The two moveable bars or fingers for the
two end flaps are now caused to spring up, when the two end wings are turned
over so as to press the two end flaps in like manner to the bottom of the
box. The third moveable bar or finger is then caused to spring up, and the
top flap is pressed down into the bottom of the box by the action of the fourth.
wing, when the folding of the envelope is completed. A plunger for forcing
the flat envelope into the box may be used, if preferred, without requiring
any alteration in the above-described folding apparatus.

page_text: Fig. 1 is a plan or horizontal view of the folding apparatus, full size; and
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same, the box being in section; Fig. 3 is a section
of one of the wings detached; A is a cast-iron plate corresponding in extent of
surface with the size of the square of the envelope; B is a metal frame fixed
round the plate in such a manner as to form a projecting ledge all round of
about one-eighth of an inch in depth, this plate and frame together forming a
shallow box into which the envelopes may be forced, in order to fold them as
required. This box is furnished with a hinge or pivot C (Fig. 2), on which
it is capable of turning, so as to admit of its being either held up or allowed
to fall as required, such hinge or pivot being fixed in the machine. The
mechanism for raising and supporting the box may be varied, but I employ
for the purpose a lever, one end of which is acted upon by a tappet, in order
to remove it from under the box, when the end of the box falls by its own
gravity, and the lever is restored to its original position by means of a spring,
so as to raise and support the box. D1, D2, D³, D', are four metal wings for
folding the flaps of the envelope, fitted so as to be capable of turning on their
own journals, fixed in suitable bearings in the machine; these wings are thick-
ened on their outer surfaces, as shewn in Fig. 3, so that when turned on their
journals their under surfaces may reach to the plate A, which forms the
bottom of the box. It is essential that the line a, b, in Fig. 3 should be in a
line with the centre of the journal c, in order that when the wing is turned
over into the position shewn in the Figure the thickened part d of the wing
may be caused to press the envelope down to the bottom of the box as
required. E', E, E³, are three moveable bars or fingers for holding the
envelope as required, but allowing it to slip under them when the envelope is
pressed into the box. The moveable bars or fingers E¹ and E' are intended
to hold down the ends of the envelope, and are fixed to the shaft or pivot F,
which turns in suitable bearings in the machine, and they are united by means
of two rods G, G, thereby forming a frame moving on the shaft F as a pivot.
The moveable bar or finger E³ is intended to hold down the envelope at the
junction of the body with the top flap thereof, and is fitted so as to work
loosely on the shaft F; this bar or finger is worked independently of such

page_text: shaft by the means herein-after described. These moveable bars or fingers are
intended to hold down the envelope before the flaps are folded down by the
wings, and to be raised in order to adunit of the folding action of the wings;
they are also intended to remain in a raised position after the folding until the
envelope is thrown out of the box and a fresh one introduced. For these.
purposes H is an arc with arms fixed on the shaft F with holes in it for holding
one end of a spring I, the other end of which is fixed to a pillar J, or other
convenient part of the machine; one end of this arc H is acted upon by the.
top of a rack K, which is worked by a cam from the main shaft of the
machine, the effect of which is to turn the shaft F and raise the moveable
bars or fingers E' and E, thereby compressing the spring I. A projecting
piece L, cast or fixed on the bar or finger E³, has one end of a spring M
inserted in a hole therein, the other end of which spring is fixed to the pillar
J or other convenient part of the machine. The bar or finger E³ is raised by
means of a rod X worked by a cam, which drives the rack connected with
wing D; the reverse end of the arc H to that before referred to is acted
upon by a lever N, having its fulcrum at O, which lever, when pressed down
wards by the rod P, carries the end of the arc II upwards, and the bars or
fingers E', E, downwards, carrying with them the bar or finger E³, so that in
this manner the three moveable bars or fingers are pressed down at the same
time on the edges of the box, and held in such position by means of the springs
I and M. The four wings are turned on their respective journals or pivots
as required by means of four moveable racks K, which are caused to act on
toothed segments fixed on the said journals; but they may if preferred be
turned thereon by different means, care being taken that the movements of
the wings for folding the two end flaps and the top flap be timed so as to
allow of the previous raising of the moveable bars or fingers. The working of
the apparatus in the process of folding is as follows:-After the piece of paper
of the requisite shape to form the envelope has been laid between the ordinary
guides at the four corners of the box, either by hand or by any feeding appa-
ratus in common use, the bracket or carrier Q (Fig. 2) is caused to descend
and depress the end of the lever N by means of the rod P, which is kept
thereon by the spring R until the consequent rising of the opposite end of the
lever N has raised the end of the are H to a sufficient height to turn the shaft
F, and thereby carry down the moveable bars or fingers E¹, E² (carrying also
with them the bar or finger E³), on to the envelope, when the rod P is thrown
off the end of the lever N by coming in contact with the fixed stop S; the.
envelope thus held down is then stamped and the gum put on the wings by

page_text: any convenient means; the wing D¹ is then turned as required on its journal
by means of its rack and toothed sector, or. by other means, thereby folding
over the bottom flap to the bottom of the box. The wing D is then turned.
on its journal by its rack and toothed sector, the upper end of which rack
raises the end of the arc H, and with it the moveable bars or fingers E' and E2
(which are held in this position by the spring I) in time to clear the wings D²
and D³, which are now simultaneously turned over by means of their racks,
thereby folding the two end flaps down to the bottom of the box. The
wing D' is then turned so as to fold over the top flap of the envelope to the
bottom of the box, the moveable bar or finger E³ being raised by the rod X
coming in contact with a projection Y on such bar or finger in time to clear
the edge of the wing, this bar or finger being held in such position by the
spring M.
All the racks for the several wings may be moved as required by means of
rods worked by cams or by other convenient means. The operation of folding
being now completed, the lever or other support is withdrawn from the bottom
of the box, which is thus allowed to turn on its hinge or pivot C in the
direction shewn by the dotted line in Fig. 2 to the point T. This movement
of the box causes the fixed strikers U, U, to protrude through the holes V, V,
in the bottom of the box, and force the finished envelope out of the box, whence
it falls on to an inclined shelf shewn by the dotted line W, or other receptacle
as required. In some cases it may be found desirable to use a plunger for
creasing the envelope in the box.
I would remark that as the above described folding apparatus may be
applied to various machines for manufacturing envelopes, I do not consider it
necessary for me to describe it as applied to any particular machine.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that what I claim as of my
Invention is,
First, the combination of parts consisting of a box of the kind described
capable of turning on a hinge or pivot and wings adapted for folding over the
flaps of the envelope down to the bottom of the box as described, whereby the
use of a plunger is dispensed with.
Secondly, the mode described of holding down the envelope by means of
moveable bars or fingers which admit of the envelope being pressed to the
bottom of the box by the pressure of a wing on the bottom flap, and are raised
in time to allow of the pressing of the remaining wings on the remaining flaps,
as herein-before described.

page_text: And, lastly, the use for the purpose described of wings formed so as to be
capable when turned over of folding over the flaps down to the bottom of the
box, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof I, the said John Davidson Nichol, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
WILLIAM SPENCE,
8, Quality Court,
Chancery Lane.
J. D. NICHOL. (L.S.)