Improvements in the Method of and Machinery for Attaching the Sides of Cardboard Boxes and the like together.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Aug., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 14th May, 1890-Accepted, 19th July, 1890
.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Machinery for Attaching the
Sides of Cardboard Boxes and the like together.
I, JOSEF WEIL, of 2, Johannesgasse, Weinhaus, near Vienna, Austria, Pasteboard-
boxes Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
follows:-
as
This invention relates to the manufacture of boxes, trunks and similar articles
made of cardboard, leather, stiffened cloth or the like, and more especially to the
method of and machinery for attaching the sides together.
The invention has for its object to render this operation purely mechanical so as
to admit of its being carried out by unskilled persons thus rendering it possible for
the said articles to be forwarded in the state of flat blanks, requiring but little
space.
According to the invention, the sides to be attached together are suitably clamped
to the even surfaces on either side of a straight edge of a heated anvil and after-
wards a stamp is lowered, exactly fitting the said edge of the anvil and containing
in its longitudinal groove, which is of triangular section, a strip of leather, cardboard
cloth or the like, previously coated on its lower surface with a cement capable of being
softened by heat. In this way, a sort of corner piece of suitable length is formed of
this strip.
In machines constructed according to this invention, the said stamp is by preference
secured to a carriage movable on a slide and connected to an actuating lever by
means of a link. The strip of cement-coated cardboard, leather, or the like is held
within the groove of the stamp by two clacks hinged at either side of the groove
and formed or provided with counter-weights which keep them raised so as to project
beyond the lateral borders of the groove. When the stamp is lowered, the said
counter-weights strike against tappets whereby the clacks are removed from the
groove at the moment the stamp is about to come in contact with the cardboard
sheets resting on the heated anvil. In order to enable the latter to be heated, it is
made hollow and is open at one end, while the other end is provided with perforations
in its under side, and the inner hollow space contains a gas burner or a spirit or
hydrocarbon lamp. The actuating lever, which, obviously, may be replaced by any
other suitable mechanisın for raising and lowering the said carriage, is by preference,
a two-armed one, one arm being geared to the carriage, while the other actuates a
feeding device, by which the cement-coated strip is fed, in sections, into the groove
of the stamp.
This feeding device consists of a carriage, which is reciprocated on a slide in line
with the groove of the raised stamp, and carries along, every time it advances
toward the stamp, the strip which is unrolled from a bobbin. For the purpose of
carrying along the strip, the carriage is provided with a jamming pawl, and more-
over the carriage has a knife hinged to it, which is kept raised by a spring and is
pressed down by a tappet for cutting off the front portion of the strip, as soon as
the carriage reaches the end of its front stroke. During the back stroke of the
carriage the said pawl releases the strip, and the carriage slides along the strip; the
cut section is pushed into the groove of the stamp, at the following front stroke of
the carriage, by a forward extending arm of this latter.
The movements of the actuating lever of the machine are so transmitted to the
feeding device and stamp, that this latter is stationary in its uppermost position while
the feeding device operates. For effecting this operation, the link connecting the
actuating lever to the stamp carriage has slots in its upper end, and the swinging
lever, which reciprocates the feeding-carriage by means of a link, has formed in it a

page_text: cam slot of such a form, that an anti-friction roller secured to the shorter arm of the
actuating lever and moving within the said cam slot, first displaces the feeding lever
at a given angle, and afterwards moves in a portion of the cam slot concentric to the
pivot of the actuating lever.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Machinery for Attaching the
Sides of Cardboard Boxes and the like together.
I, JOSEF WEIL, of 2 Johannegasse, Weinhaus, near Vienna, Austria, Paste-
board-boxes Manufacturer, 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 :-
This invention relates to the manufacture of boxes, trunks and similar articles
made of cardboard, leather, stiffened cloth or the like, and more especially to the
method of and machinery for attaching the sides together.
The invention has for its object to render this operation purely mechanical so as
to admit of its being carried out by unskilled persons thus rendering it possible for
the said articles to be forwarded in the state of flat blanks, requiring but little
space.
According to the invention, the sides to be attached together are suitably clamped
to the even surfaces on either side of a straight edge of a heated anvil, and afterwards
a stamp is lowered, exactly fitting the said edge and containing in a longitudinal
groove a strip of leather, cardboard, cloth or the like, previously coated on its lower
surface with a cement capable of being softened by heat.
The said strip is held within the groove of the stamp by clacks or plates hinged at
either side of the groove and provided with counter-weights so as to project inwardly
beyond the lateral borders of the groove. When the stamp is lowered, the said
counter-weights strike against stops, whereby the clacks are removed from the groove
at the moment the stamp is about to come in contact with the cardboard sheets resting
on the heated anvil.
The actuating lever of the machine is adapted to operate, by the first portion of its
active stroke, a feeding device, by which the cement-coated strip is fed, in pieces or
sections of suitable lengths into the groove of the stamp, while the latter part
of the said stroke effects the lowering of the carriage to which the stamp is
secured.
The feeding device may consist of a carriage reciprocated on a slide or bed in line
with the groove of the raised stamp; every time it advances toward the stamp it
carries the strip, which is jammed to the carriage by a pawl. In this arrangement a
knife is hinged to the said carriage and is kept raised by a spring, and a tappet is
provided for pressing the said knife down and thereby cutting off the front portion of
the strip, each time the carriage reaches the end of its forward stroke. According to
a modification the feeding device is formed by two pressing-lever, actuated by a
ratchet and in this arrangement the knife for cutting off the front portion of the strip
is carried by a special lever.
A simple link or a toggle connects the actuating lever with the stamp carriage,
while a swinging lever is provided for suitably transmitting to the feeding device the
movements of the actuating lever. This swinging lever has formed in it a cam slot
of such a form, that an anti-friction roller secured to an arm of the actuating lever
and moving within the said cam slot, first moves the feeding lever to a given position,
and afterwards moves in a portion of the cam slot concentric to the pivot of the
actuating lever.
In order to enable the invention to be clearly understood, apparatus according

page_text: thereto is hereinafter fully described with reference to the annexed drawings, in
which
Figs. 1 and 2 are a side and a front elevation respectively of a machine embodying
the invention and comprising a link for connecting the operating lever with the stamp
carriage and a reciprocating carriage for feeding the strip into the stamp.
Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of a machine, in which a toggle is interposed between
the operating lever and the stamp carriage and the strip is fed into the stamp by
pressing-rollers driven by ratchet mechanism.
In using the machine the box a whose sides are to be connected together at their
edges is placed on a hollow anvil B, which has a horizontal, right-angled upper edge
as shewn. To this anvil, the sides of the box, turned upward for the time being, are
clamped by means of flat springs b, b, carrying rollers at their free ends. The anvil B
itself is movable in a guide passage formed in a block C, and is locked in position by
means of the binding-screw c. Moreover the said anvil is hollow and is heated by
means of a gas burner or a spirit or hydrocarbon lamp; the air supporting com-
bustion enters the hollow space of the anvil through the holes 61 formed in its
under sides and the gaseous products of combustion escape through the open rear
end of the anvil.
The stamp D, within the bearing surface of which is formed a groove d' of triangular
cross-section, is secured to a carriage & movable in a vertical guide-way E E. The
said guide-way is formed on the front ends of standards e e cast in one piece with the
block C, and the carriage d is connected to the press-lever F, either by a link d², as
shown in Fig. 1, or by a toggle 0, 0, 0', as shown in Fig. 3, the journals of the said
press-lever resting in bearings el formed on the frames e. For the purpose of retaining
the piece of cement-coated strip g in the groove d' of the stamp D, clacks d", are
hinged to the lateral edges of the said stamp, these clacks having cast thereon pro-
jections d, by whose weight the clacks are held against the underside of the stamp D
and project beyond the lateral borders of the groove d'. When the stamp D is lowered,
the projections d' strike-at the moment the cement-coated strip touches the edges
of the box sides a on the anvil B-against top screws d³ screwed into the block C,
whereby the clacks ³, are caused to swing outwardly. Thus the stamp :D is enabled
to closely apply itself to the upper edge of the anvil, whereby the connecting strip g is
rectangularly folded in its whole length and is pressed against the sides of the box a, to
which it is cemented in consequence of the glue or other cement being softened by
heat. Instead of retaining the connecting strip g in the groove or recess d' by means
of the clacks d³ as described, the lateral sides of the said groove may be provided with
longitudinal grooves, into which the strip g is slid.
The link 2, Fig. 1, by which the sliding carriage d is connected with the press-
lever F, has slots de formed in its forked upper end, in consequence of which arrange-
ment the downward stroke of the stamp D commences a certain time after the
commencement of the downward stroke of the press-lever. This arrangement has for
its purpose to admit of the first portion of the stroke of the press-lever being utilized
for operating the device for feeding the cement-coated connecting strip g into the
stamp D, which latter should not be lowered before a section of strip is fully
introduced.
The said feeding mechanism has the necessary movements imparted to it by a
swinging lever H, which is actuated by the press-lever F at the beginning of its down-
ward stroke and at the end of its upward stroke. The said lever H is movable on a
pivot h which is screwed into a luge of either side frame e and it is provided with a
cam slot, composed of a rectilinear or nearly rectilinear portion h' and a curved
portion h². Within this cam slot hworks an antifriction roller f arranged on
the end of an arm of the lever F; this roller f¹ by its movement along the portion /¹
of the cam slot, so displaces the lever H, that the curved portion h² is brought
into a position concentric to the journals f of the lever F, in consequence whereof
the further movement of the lever F does not affect the lever H.
To the lever H is pivotted an arm i, the other end of which is, in the arrangement
shown in Fig. 1, connected with a link i, to which a sliding carriage I for advancing

page_text: the cement-coated strip g is coupled. The said carriage I has its path on a bar K,
the upper surface of which is flush with the lower portion of the groove d' in the
raised stamp D, and to the rear end of which is secured a guide k for the connecting
strip g which unrolls from a reel G. The said guide k consists of a small block,
pierced by a flat horizontal passage, through which the cement-coated strip passes and
into which depends a pawl k', pivotted over the front end of the said passage and
preventing the strip from receding. In a similar manner as through the guide k, the
strip g passes through the sliding carriage I, which has likewise a pawl pivotted at
its front end; when the carriage is advancing, the said pawl 2 jambs the strip 9,
which is, consequently, then carried along, whilst, when the carriage I moves back, the
pawl releases the strip, upon which the carriage is slid. The amount of motion
given to the carriage I by the arm i and link can be determined by means of the
two stops h³, h, adjustable in a slot of the lever H; the further the said stops or
tappets h³, hs, are set apart, the smaller will be the throw of the carriage I.
Every time the carriage I arrives at the end of its forward travel the cement-
coated connecting strip is cut off by a knife 3, that is pivotted to the front end
of the carriage and is normally kept raised by a spring. The lowering of the
knife is effected by an adjustable stop N, acting upon the knife with its inclined
edge n, and during the cutting operation the strip g held in place by a pawl m
arranged over the front end of the bar K. The nose p of a bar P screwed to the
underside of the carriage I projects upward through a slot of the bar K and
pushes the cut off section or piece of the strip ginto the groove ď of the
stamp D.
When beginning to work the machine, the cement-coated connecting strip 9 is
passed through the guide and the carriage I to the inclined surface n of the
suitably adjusted stop N, and afterwards the press-lever F is lowered to cause the
strip g to be advanced the desired amount and cut off. The stamp D is then allowed
to rest during a certain time upon the heated anvil B, in order that the stamp may
also be heated, whereby the softening of the cement is effectually promoted. After
the stamp D is again raised, the cardboard sides a to be connected together are pushed
below the rollers of the springs b, and afterwards the press-lever F is lowered, the
effect of which is that, first, the section of connecting strip previously cut off is pushed
into the groove of the stamp D, and then the said stamp D is pressed upon the
anvil.
It is obvious that the feeding mechanism for the cement-coated strip may be
dispensed with, in which case the machine would be composed only of an anvil, a
stamp and suitable material for operating the stamp. It will be readily understood
that in using such a mechanism, the connecting strips must be previously cut into
sections of the required length, which will be introduced by hand into the groove of
the stamp.
When it is desired to press the stamp D down with increased force, a toggle may be
interposed between the press-lever F and the carriage d, as shown in Fig. 3, which
view also shews feeding mechanism consisting of pressing-rollers and a ratchet
intermittently operating such rollers. Of the two toggle bars (0) 0, one is connected
to the carriage d and the other bears against extensions of the sides ee of the
machine frame, while a link O¹ transmits to the toggle the movements of the press-
lever F. To the end that in this case also the toggle OO may be operated only
after the introduction of the connecting strip g into the groove d¹ of the stamp D,
the link O is coupled with an arm F of the operating lever having a slot of suitable
length formed in its end.
The ratchet mechanism for operating the pressing rollers by which the
connecting strip is intermittently advanced, has its movements imparted to it by
the rocking lever H, already described, in the cam slot h' h² of which works an
anti-friction roller f¹, secured to a third arm F2 of the press lever F. The arm i
pivotted to the lever H is carried along by the adjustable tappets h³, as hereinbefore
described, and a link , transmits the movements of the said arm i to an arm is
loosely mounted upon the shafts of the ratchet wheel is and carrying a pawl c' for

page_text: operating the said wheel, which, in turn, drives toothed wheels mounted on the shafts
of the pressing-rollers it i.
As soon as the strip g is introduced to the required extent into the stamp D,
shears 8 s cut it off a short distance behind the stamp, and afterwards the cut length
of strip is fully introduced into the groove of the stamp. In order to admit of this
operation the upper blades of the shears is secured to a two-armed lever S, and the
lower blade 81 to an endwise movable bar S¹. At the moment the anti-friction
roller, after having displaced the lever H for advancing the connecting strip g to
the desired amount, enters the portion h² of the cam slot, then concentric to the lever
fulcrum f, the said roller strikes against the pivotted top end of the lever S, whereby
the blade s is lowered and cutting off of the strip g is effected. Immediately after-
wards, the arm L pivotted to the lever arm F2, strikes against the two-armed lever M,
which is pivotted to the lever H, and which, on being thus displaced, strikes with its
lower end against the rear heol 3, of the bar S1, thereby pushing the said bar forward
to the stamp D and fully introducing the cut off length of the strip g into the groove of
the stamp. In order that the amount of motion given to the bar S₁ may be adjusted, the
lower arm of the lever M is pivotted to the upper arm, upon which acts the arm L,
and can be fixed thereon in different positions.
After having been pushed forward, the bar S' is brought back into its former
position by a spring st.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The herein described method of connecting together the adjacent edges of two
sides of a box by a strip of material previously coated on its lower surface with an
adhesive substance capable of being softened by heat, and consisting in placing the
sides of the box upon a heated anvil with the edges to be connected adjacent to each
other, inserting the flat connecting strip into or below a stamp, and pressing the strip
upon the adjacent portions of the box sides by means of the stamp so that the said
strip is folded lengthwise over and secured to these sides substantially as herein
described.
2. In a machine for carrying out the method referred to in the preceding claim, a
stamp formed in its lower or bearing surface with a groove of triangular cross-section,
and provided on both lateral sides with a hinged clack or plate, and stops, these clacks
or plates being so weighted as to fold against the underside of the stamp and project
beyond the borders of the groove therein when the stamp is raised above the anvil,
and, on the stamp being lowered, to come in contact with the stops, which cause the
clacks or plates to swing outward substantially as herein described for the purpose
specified.
3. In a machine for carrying out the method referred to in the 1st claim, an
actuating lever, one arm of which is connected by a slotted link to a sliding carriage
to which the stamp is secured; while another arm of the said lever has a lateral
projection extending through a cam slot of another lever adapted to intermittently
operate a feeding device for the connecting strip, the said cam slot being so formed
that by passing the lateral projection of the operating lever through the one portion
of the slot, the slotted lever is so displaced that the other circularly curved portion of
the cam slot assumes a position concentric to the fulcrum of the operating lever, so
that this lever first operates the feeding mechanism and afterwards the stamp su
stantially as described.
4. In a machine, provided with an operating lever and a slotted lever as referred
to in preceding claim, feeding mechanism consisting of a carriage reciprocated by
the intermittently rocked slotted lever, the said carriage being provided with a flat
longitudinal passage through which the connecting strip passes, à pawl for jamming
or holding the connecting strip, a knife hinged to the front end of the carriage and a
spring and a stop for operating the knife in opposite directions substantially as
herein described for the purpose specified.

page_text: 5. In a machine of the kind herein referred to constructed with an operating lever,
a slotted lever and a stamp for the purposes set forth, a toggle interposed between the
operating lever and the stamp carriage as herein described for the purpose mentioned.
6. In a machine of the kind referred to claim 3, two feed rollers operated by a
ratchet wheel, to which motion is imparted by the intermittently rocking slotted lever,
and shears one blade of which is secured to a lever acted upon by the operating lever,
while the other blade is fixed to a slide, kept in position by a spring and pushed
forward by a lever, which is pivotted to the said slotted lever and is actuated by the
operating lever, for the purpose of introducing the cut off section of the connecting
strip into the groove of the stamp substantially as herein described.
7. My improved machines for attaching the sides of cardboard boxes and the like
together, constructed arranged and operating substantially as herein before described
with reference respectively to and shewn in Figs. 1 and 2; and in Figs. 3 and 4 of the
drawings annexed.