US263838A - Envelope-machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. BALL.

I ENVELOPE MACHINE.

No. 263,838. Patented Sept 5, 1882.

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3 Sheets--Sheet 2.

(N0.Model.)

J. BALL.

4 ENVELOPE MAGHINE.

Patented Sept. 5, 1882.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

J., BALL.

ENVELOPE .MAGHINB.

Patentd Sept. 5. 1882.

N. PETERS. Photo-Lilllogmphcr. Wauhinglun. D, C.

a UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

JAMES BALL, or HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS.

ENVELOPE-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 263,838, dated September 5, 1882.

I Applicalion filed May 2, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES BALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Holyoke, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Envelope-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of envelope-machines in which the blankspreviously out and placed in position upon one end of the machine aregummed upon one flap and moved to the other end of the machineto beconsecutively gummed upon another flap,folded,and'delivered completedenvelopes; and the first part of my improvements relates to mechanism having for its object the guiding of the moving blank to the exact position to be acted on by both the gummer and plunger and die for bending the. flaps. The second part relates to theconstructiou of the gummer bed-plate, and to automatic mechanism connected with the gummer and track over which the blanks pass to the glimmer, whereby a level seat, always free from gum, is provided for the under side of the flap of the blank in process of being gummed; and the third part relates to pneumatic mechanism for automati' cally retaining and actively delivering the envelope from its bed beneath the folding-win gs.

In the drawings, Figure I is a side elevation, in partial section, of so much of an envelopemachine as is necessary to assist in illustrating my invention. Fig. 11 is an end elevation of part of amachine containing myim provenients. Fig. III is a partial plan View of a machine having my improvements; and Figs. IV, V. and VI are enlarged detail views of parts of the same.

As the application of my improvements to an envelope-machine involves no change in the well-known mechanism operating upon the blank until on its way to the second gummer, nor to the operating cam-shaft with its cams, these parts are omitted in the drawings, and it will he understood that ,the connections shown to themovable parts convey the motion from the shaft -and cams in ordinary use.

D is a guide secured to the hinged foldingwing cl, and formed into an upper curved surface, as seen in profile, Fig. I. The guide is formed of a thin plate, to swing through a vertical opening, d, in the gnmmer bed-plate F and wall of die E. The curved edge of guide D is formed to .be always above the plane of the edges of the die E as it swings with the wing 01 upon its hinge. the guide 1) is about to'commence its upward swing at the time when the blank a, fed by the slide I, has one flap over the hollow die E, and in position to beliable to catch againstthe edge As shown in Fig. I,

of the die on its way to the gumme-r G were it not'lifted; but the curved surface of the guide, moving at no less speed than the blank a, comes beneath the flap, and, extendingab'ove the edge of the die, bears all portions of the flap clear of the edge of the die, and, in swingranged to connect stem to and part c,as seen in Fig. I. The finger u swings with rock-shaft J. The rock-shaft J, having hearings in the frame or beam A, is rocked by the arm J, which, having a yoke upon one end to rest upon a cam on the cam-shaft ot the machine, is lifted by said cam and allowed to follow vupon the cam in falling by gravity or by its weight, assisted by the spring-actuated gummer G. A gummer so constructed and operated is old, and heretofore theregular rise and fall of the gum mer has had no reference to the presence or absence of the blank beneath it, so that to prevent the gummer from depositing gum upon its bed-plate in the absence of the blank it was necessary to cut a recess in the bed-plate, into which the gummer passed when no blank interposed, and said recess left practically no bearing beneath the gummer; but by mechanism as follows, for arresting the gum- 'mer before coming in contact with its bare bed,

I am, able to construct a bed to present a plane surface conforming to the envelope-flap and bottom of. the glimmer, by means of which a perfect distribution of gum may be effected.

Resting upon ways above the bed, on which the blank moves, is the slide it, affording hinges for lever j and connection 0. The lever j consists of two arms, one on each side of slide it,

and turns freely in its hinge upon the slide.

One arm-is heavier, to cause its end to fall below the surface of the feed-bed through slot 14. therein. The connection 0 unites the slide k, through arm p,'with shaft K, hung in bearings to the frame A. The shaft Kis provided with an arm, q, having thereon the block 8, and with an arm, m, connected by a spring, Z, to the bed of the machine or suitable point of attachment therefrom, as shown in Figs. I and II.

Cam-rod J is provided with a pin, t, in position to rest upon block 8 when they are in the same vertical line.

Upon the feed-slide I is secured an arm, t, of configuration substantially as shown, to come in contact with the near end of leverj when said end shall lie in the plane of its movement. The ends of arm 11 and leverj are so relatively arranged that the depression of one end of lever j in slot at of the bed raises its other, to be caught by moving arm 2'. The leverj is made light enough to be swung up by the edge of themoving blank (1.

In operation, the blank, as it moves to the die, passes under the end of lever j, to, by raising it at this end, depress the other below the arm 2', and thus leave the position ofslide 7c unaffected by the arm 15, and to leave the gummer free to descend upon the blank beneath it. When, however, no blank fills the space helonging to it in the moving series, the longer arm of lever j is permitted to fall into slot n to raise the other, to be caught by the arm 2', moving with the feed-slide I, as shown-in Fig. V. The arm 2' carries the slidek with it, and through rod 0 and arm 19 rocks the shaft K to swing arm 9 thereon, to bring the block 8 beneath projection t on cam-lifting rod J. The rod J is thus held from falling and the finger u from releasing the gummer, which is thus prevented from descending upon an empty bed-plate.

With the reverse reciprocation of arm 6 the spring I rocks the shaft K to restore the slide is to its first position.

In Fig. II the dotted line a indicates the blank lifting one end of leverj to depress the other free of arm t.

It has heretofore been common to use a single-acting air-pump to deliver blanks, one at a time, from a pile at one end of the machine to be fed to the other. From a pump, L, operated for such purpose by a crank arm on shaft M is brought a tube, h, to connect with a hollow folding-bed, B, to communicate with its interior.

The face of the bed B fulfills the purpose, common to folding-beds of envelope-machines, of seating the blank under the folding-wings and of swinging down to let the envelope slide into the fingers of the drier or other mechanism for delivering it; but by forming a hollow bed, as shown in section, Fig. I, and perforating its face, as at b, Fig. IV, and connecting its interior with the double-acting pump L, as shown, pneumaticaction is utilizedto, by an exhaust when the bed is closed, firmly hold the blank in position on the bed under the operation of the folding-wings, and still further hold it as the bed swings down, until the reverse stroke of the pump, by a current of air behind the envelope, positively conveys it to suitable delivery mechanism.

' Figs. I and II show endless moving cords c 0, arranged as a carrier to catch the envelope blown from the bed B. The air-passages b are arranged at the proper angle to the face of the bed to cause the outward current of air to have the proper direction relative to the carrier-cord c, and for that purpose I prefer to I make the face wall of the folder thick enough to give direction to said passages.

The tube It is provided with a flexible joint to permit the bed B to swing.

P P are connections for giving motion to the bed.

The plunger 0 is shown operated by arms 9 g through cross-head f, and, as is also common, the'feed-slide I is reciprocated by the crank-arms H.

X is the bed-plate of the machine.

, Now, having described my invention, what I claim is-- 1. In an envelope-machine, the combination, with die E, of the hinged guide D, having a curved edge arranged to move toward and extend above one edge of the die as the guide swings, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an envelope-machine, the automatic mechanism, substantially as described, and brought into operation by the absence of the blank a, for arrest-ing the descent of the gummer G, consisting of a lever, j, suspended above the bed of the machine in the track of the blank, and movable by gravity, to have one end intersect the surface, to thereby be brought into operative connection with the feed-slide I and be moved by it to, through intermediate mechanism, hold the gummer from its bed.

3. The combination of slide k, lever j, arm "6, rod 0, rook-shaft K, with arms 19, q, and m, blocks, and spring I. rock-shaft J, with finger u and stop ton rod J, and gummer Gr, having stop 0 upon its stem, all arranged substantial1y,as shown, and to operate for the purpose as set forth.

4. In an envelope-machine, the combination, with the gummer G and with mechanism, substantially as shown, for arresting its descent upon its bed, of the bed-plate F, formed to present a solid plane surface beneath the gummer, for the purpose as setforth.

5. In an envelope-machine,thecombination constructed and operating as set forth, of the 10 ot' double-acting air-pump L, flexible connecendless moving cords 0 0, arranged to catch tion h, and swinging hollow bed-plate B, proand deliver the envelope blown from the fold-- vided with perforations b, all arranged subing-bed,substantiallyas shown and described. 5 stantially as shown and described, and operating to alternately positively hold the envelope 1 JAMES BALL to the face of the bed and actively deliverit Witnesses: therefrom. R. FLHYDE,

6. The combination, ith folding-bed B, M. O. BUCK.

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