the details herein described, so long as the peculiar character of my invention be retained, whereby a socket is made on a partially formed tube or pipe by the application of a socket-mould, as herein explained.-In witness, &c. CHARLES JACOB. Enrolled August 28, 1849. Specification of the Patent granted to AMEDEE FRANCOIS REMOND, of Birmingham, for Improvements in Machinery for Folding Envelops and in the Manufacture of Envelops.-Sealed February 28, 1849. WITH AN ENGRAVING. To all to whom these presents shall come, &c., &c.My invention consists, First, of so arranging machinery that paper suitably cut may be fed by atmospheric pressure into a machine capable of folding the same into envelops; and, Secondly, my invention consists of causing paper fed into an envelop folding machine to be held or pressed into a desired position by means of atmospheric pressure, so as to facilitate the folding of the flaps. And in order that my invention may be most fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me. Description of the Drawings. Fig. 1, shows a side elevation, partly in section, of a machine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2, is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3, shows a transverse section taken at the dotted line, 1, 2, in fig. 1. Fig. 4, shows a horizontal view or plan of the parts for receiving the pieces of properly cut paper preparatory to folding the same. Fig. 5, shows a vertical section of part of the machinery taken at the dotted lines, 3, 4, in fig. 1. Fig. 6, shows diagrams of the cams on the main axis. is caused to act by means of atmospheric pressure which presses the pieces of paper to the under surface of the feeder, in consequence of a partial vacuum being obtained within the sliding apparatus, shown in this figure. The nature of the other detailed views of parts of the machinery shown by the drawings being written thereon and marked by the same letters of reference as are used in the other figures, they will readily be understood without particular reference thereto. In order that a workman may the more readily understand the nature of my invention, and the working of the various parts, I will shortly state, without at present referring to the drawings, that the machinery is so arranged that a quantity of properly cut paper for forming envelops, being placed in the machine, each of the pieces will in succession be taken and fed into the folding part of the machinery by means of an instrument, within which at proper intervals a partial vacuum is obtained, whereby a piece of paper will by atmospheric pressure be caused to press against, and so as to be taken and conveyed by the instrument to the folding part of the machine, where such piece of paper will be deposited correctly, the feeding instrument being then allowed to go away. The first part of the process of folding will be formed in a similar manner to that in which that process has been before done; that is, the piece of paper will be placed over a rectangular recess or box, and then by a rectangular plunger will be caused to enter and be carried down with the plunger. The under surface or bottom of the box being perforated, the passing back of the plunger will leave the piece of paper within the box or recess, the flaps standing upright as heretofore. And in this state the second part of my invention comes into action, for which purpose the sides of the folding-box are perforated, so as to allow streams of atmospheric air to be forced against the flaps, and thus to hold them in inclined positions and inwards, so that in the second motion of the plunger it shall cause all the flaps to be folded at once, the interior and under surface of the plunger being suitably formed to cause the flaps to succeed each other in the proper order; and the machinery is so arranged as to cause the outer flap to be stamped with an embossed or a perforated device. And parts are also added for applying gum or cement to the undermost flap, so that the two end flaps may be cemented thereto and the envelopes completed in the machine. I will now proceed to explain the various parts of the mechanism and the means of working, so as to carry out the two parts of my invention, as above stated. A, is the main or driving-shaft which receives motion from a steamengine or other power by a strap acting on the fixed pulley. On the main shaft or axis are a series of cams which communicate motion to the various working parts. B, is the folding-box or recess in which the folding process is performed; it consists of four sides, as shown, there being four projections, B', at the four angles, between which the pieces of paper are to be successively fed, the projections correctly holding the paper. c, is the door or moveable bottom of the box, which is hinged at one end, so that when an envelop has been folded in the box it may be discharged by the bottom, c, being caused to assume an inclined position, when the folded envelop will descend through the shoot below. The bottom, c, of the box is perforated with holes, so that the air may get away as the plunger causes the paper to descend into the box. The bottom of the box is caused to be closed and kept closed by means of the lever, D, which is actuated in the following manner:—D', is a cam on the shaft or axis, A, which gives motion to a slide, D, and as there are several similar slides I will explain the details of this one, which will in fact explain the others, as they are similar thereto. The slide works between two fixed guiding surfaces, D3, D3, as shown in fig. 8, and has at its upper end a truck or roller, which is kept pressed against the cam, D', by means of a spring, D', which I prefer to make of vulcanized india-rubber, so that the slide, D2, will in every revolution of the main shaft, A, be caused to keep the box-door or bottom closed for a portion of the revolution, and will then allow it to be open, and be kept open during the other part of the revolution of the main shaft, in consequence of the end of the slide, D2, pressing on the tail of the cranked lever, D, the other end of which rests under the under surface of the door or moveable bottom, c. The feeding of the pieces of paper to the upper surface of the box or recess, B, is performed in the following manner: E, is a cam on the main shaft or axis, A, which gives motion to the slide, E', which has attached to it the arm, E3, which is affixed to the axis, E3, to which are also affixed the arms, E1, which give motion to the feeding instrument, F, the lever arms, E', being connected to the feeding instrument by means of the connecting rods, E3, as shown. The feeding instrument is carried by a slide with dove-tail edges, which move between dove-tail fixed guiding surfaces, F'. The feeding instrument consists of two hollow fingers, F2, each having an opening on the under side, the interior of the fingers opening into the hollow portion of the slide shown. by dotted lines in fig. 7, and thus will allow of a partial vacuum being obtained within the fingers, F1, and the air is exhausted in the following manner: F3, is a flexible tube which I prefer to be of vulcanized india-rubber, which is attached to the under side of the slide, the other end of the tube being attached to the bellows, F, which at the proper moment are put in motion by the cam, G, affixed on the main or driving shaft, a, which acts on the slide, G', to which is attached the lever, G, the other end of which gives motion to the bellows by means of the connecting rod, 63, the end of the bellows being guided in its motion by suitable guides, G. By this arrangement, when the paper is brought in contact with the under surfaces of the fingers, as hereafter explained, an exhaustion will be obtained in the fingers, and the atmospheric air will cause one of the pieces of paper to be pressed against the fingers, and allow of the fingers being moved over the box, B, and there to deposit the piece of paper between the four projections at the angles of the box, as before explained; by which, when the plunger descends, the paper will be carried down into the box, the piece of paper having been allowed to separate from the fingers immediately the bellows have arrived at the end of their outward motion and commence to return, there being a valve in the bellows which opens outward immediately the bellows commence to return. The pieces of paper cut in the proper form for envelops are placed in a pile on the platform, H, which is made to rise and fall in the following manner: H', is a cam fixed on the main or driving shaft, A, which gives motion to the slide H, from which descends the arm, 3, which is attached to the lever, H', the other end of this lever being affixed to the descending projection, H, which passes through the fixed bearing, н, by which it is guided up and down. 3 And in order to accommodate for the decrease of paper on the platform, H, and so that the upper piece of paper may at all times come in contact with the fingers when the platform rises, I employ a spring, H', which I make of vulcanized india-rubber, and which has at all times a tendency to raise the platform when permitted to do so by the cam, so that the spring will at all times raise the platform so as to bring the paper in contact with the fingers. On the upper surface of the platform, H, there are four projections, which correspond with the notches cut out of the paper, so that the paper will be correctly held. The paper having been fed into position, the plunger now comes into action in the following manner : 1, is the plunger, which is a rectangular frame, carried by a slide, J, which receives motion by a cam, J', fixed on the axis or shaft, a, there being in the interior of the plunger projections, which act on the separate flaps and cause them to be folded down, when the flaps are held in position by atmospheric pressure, as has before been mentioned, and as is hereafter explained; but in the first action of the plunger it simply forces the piece of paper into the box or recess, B, and so as to raise the four flaps to a vertical position; the plunger then moves away, leaving the paper in the box, the pressure of atmospheric air is now to be caused to press on and hold the several flaps into inclined positions inward towards each other, when the plunger is again caused to descend by its cam; when the inner projections come into action on the several flaps, the under edges of the plunger pressing on the edges of the envelop complete the folding. The inclined projection, J', pressing on the one flap, causes it to precede the other two, the inclined projections, J', pressing on the end flaps, cause them to be pressed down; thus are the flaps bent down in succession, the final folding being completed by the under edges of the plunger. But if the two end flaps are desired to overlap, then the two projections, J', will be arranged so as to bend the flaps down one before the other. Air is caused to press on the flaps when in the box or recess, B, in the following manner: 0, is a pump, which receives motion from a crank pin in the fly-wheel, as shown; P, is a tube leading to the folding box, which has a hollow channel all round, with orifices, through which streams of air come after the paper has been pressed into the box, and when the plunger is No. 4.-VOL. XIV. |