US2087605A - Envelope machine - Google Patents

Description

July 20, 1937.

A. NOVlCK 2,087,605

ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed April 28, 1932 7 Shee'ts-Shet 1- INVENTOR #m/zam A W/ck.

- ATTORNEYS July 20, 1937'. 'A Nov,K 2,087,605

ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed April 28,, 1952 7 Sheets- Sheet 2 July 20, 1937.

A. NOVICKI ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed April 28, 193'- 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q Q Q IN VENTOR Aha/2am Nov/ck.

. ."AITORNEYS- 9 ATTORNEYS July 20, 1937. A. NOVIC K ENVELOPE MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 28, 1932 July 20, 1937. A. NOVICK ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed April 28, 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEYS July 20, 1937.

A. NOVICK ENVELOPE MACHINE 1 Filed April 28, 1932 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 3 m t l A July 20, 1937. A, VI K 2,087,605

V ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed April 28, 1932 7 Shets-Sheet 7 IN VENT OR A ITORNEYS Patented July 20, 1937 ENVELOPE Abraham Novick, Flushing, N. Y., assignor to F. L. Smithe MachineCo. Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 28, 1932, Serial No. 607,918

20 Claims.

This invention relates to envelope making and more particularly to the making of window en-' velopes or other envelopes having lining patches incorporated in them.

It is an object of the invention to provide, in combination, novel and efficient means for advancing a patch web, for gumming end portions thereof, for severing the individual patches, and for applying the patches accurately to the envelope blanks.

It is a' feature of the invention that the successive patches are applied to the successive envelope blanks of a stack, ,the patch in each instance being applied to an end blank of the stack. before the position of the blank has been in any way disturbed by the separating and feeding mechanism. This assures that the gummed patch will be deposited on a blank, and

it also assures the accurate application of the patch.

It is a further object of the invention to contrive novel and effective means for withdrawin the envelope blanks-individually from the stack.

It is a further object of the invention to provide in combination with means for advancing the blanks singly in spaced out relation after they have had the patches applied to them, a'

mechanism for rearranging the blanks in fannedout' or shingled relation preliminary to the gumming of the sealing flaps, without the necessity for first restacking the blanks.

In accordance with a broad aspect of certain features, the invention comprehends the heating of the border portions of patches which are adapted to be rendered tacky by such heating. Other features relate to the practicing of the invention in the manner just specifically referred to.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic side elevation of an envelope machine of the wide range open side type, having features of the present invention embodied therein;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of gum to the sealing flaps of the envelope blanks;

- Figure 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view .taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, looking in. the direction of the arrows;

I the line 'i-i of Figure 5, looking in the direc- Figure 5 is a. fragmentary, vertical, sectional -view taken through the patch applying drum and mechanism associated therewith, the section being taken on the line 55 of Figure 7, looking in the direction of the arrows; 5

Figure 6 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view of a pneumatic blank feeder and associated D Figure 7 is a detail, sectional view taken on tion of the arrows; i

Figure 8 is a detail, sectional view taken on the line 88 of Figure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 9 is a detail, sectional view, partly broken away, the section being taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 10 is a detail, sectional view, the section being taken on the line I 0-40 of Figure 6, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 11 is a detail view in side elevation of a portion of the mechanism for driving the patch applying drum, the mechanism being illustrated as viewed from the right in Figure '4; 2E Figure 12 is a fragmentary, detail view in side elevation of ,the intermittent driving mechanism for the patch drum, the mechanism being also v illustrated as viewed from the right in Figure 4;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary, sectional view gen- 3( erally similar to Figure 5 but illustrating a modified form of mechanism;

Figure 14 is a view in side elevation taken at the line M-M of Figure 13, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 15 is a sectional view taken on the line l5l5 of Figure 13, looldng in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 16 is a. sectional view on a larger scale than Figure 15, illustrating a detail of the structure-of Figure 15;

Figure 17 is a fragmentary, detail, sectional view taken on the line lI-l'l of Figure 15, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 18 is a fragmentary, sectional view, taken on the line |8-|8 of Figure 15, looking in .the direction of'the arrows;

' Figure 19 is a fragmentary, detail view in perspective, illustrative of a feature of the patch drum; and

Figure 20 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the way in which the heating means is arranged in the patch drum.

In order that a comprehensive idea of the mechanism illustratively embodied in the drawings may be had, the principal parts will first be briefly described in a general way without attention to detail.

The envelope blanks B are provided in a stack I held by a magazine which includes upstanding bars la and stack supporting means like that disclosed in my Patent No. 1,807,864, dated June 2, 1931, for maintaining the top of the stack at a substantially uniform level. The envelope blanks are of the window type, each blank having a window opening cut in it. A patch web 2 is fed from a reel 3 around suitable guide and take-up devices to a polygonal drum 4. The drum is illustrated as hexagonal and is rotated intermittently or step by step, each step being 60 in extent. The patch web is fed to the upper side of the drum and is held to the drum by suction. While the drum is stationary a gum applying device comes down upon the Web on the upper side of the drum to gum a portion of the web which by severance will subsequently become the marginal portion of a window patch. After the gum has been applied to a patch portion of the web, that portion is advanced through two feeding steps and then severed from the web end. Still held to the drum by suction, the severed patch is advanced with the drum through another feeding step to the lower side of the drum.

Between successive rotary feeding steps of the drum, thedrum is bodily reciprocated. The downward bodily movement of the drum carries the gummed patch at the lower side of the drum down against the upper face of the uppermost envelope blank of the stack. While the drum bears againstthe stack the suction is cut off from the stack engaging face of the drum so that the blank is not drawn upward by the drum and there is no tendency to detach the patch which has just been applied.

While the drum bears against the stack and clamps the blanks against movement, an intermittently operated blower or fiutterer 5 blows air against the upper leading corner of the stack to raise the uppermost blank into contact with a pneumatic feeding device 6. The feeding device 6 projects through a guide plate 'I and has numerous openings in its periphery. Only those openings which are exposed below the guide plate I are in communication with the source of suction, however. The feeding device 6 cannot advance the top blank until the drum has moved upward sufiiciently to release it, but it does hold the leading margin of the top blank up against itself after the blower has been cut off to permit the underlying blanks to drop back to their original positions within the confines of the magazine guides. As soon as the drum 4 moves upward far enough to unclamp the top blank the device 6 advances the top blank only to a feeding couple comprising co-acting rolls 8 and 9. Thus the timing of the blanks is controlled by the drum.

The rolls 8 and 9 deliver the blanks in spaced out relation to a conveyor l8 comprising opposed belts II and I2. The conveyor III is arranged to conduct the blanks through a wide Sweeping are so as to avoid,posslble loosening of the patches from the blanks B. The conveyor l0 inverts the blanks and delivers them onto a relatively slow moving conveyor l3, the blanks being re-arranged in fanned-out relation for delivery to a fan-out gumming device 14 and thence to a fan-out drier l5 like the one shown in my Patent No. 1,807,862, of June 2, 1931. The drier l5 delivers the blanks to other instrumentalities, not illustrated, which complete the manufacture of the blanks into envelopes in the usual manner.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 3, the patch web 2 is drawn from the reel 3 around a guide roller I6 by feed rolls I1 and I8. The patch web passes thence around a fixed, idler guide roll l9 and a movable roll 20. The latter roll is carried by arms 2| secured to a shaft 22 and is urged against an abutment screw 23 by a spring 24, the spring being connected at one end to the tail portion of one of the arms, and at the other end to a fixed part of the machine frame. The abutment screw 23 is threaded in a fixed part 25 of the machine frame. The roller 20 is obviously adapted to take up slack in the web between the feeding couple l1, l8, and the drum 4. The spring 24 is light enough, however, to permit the roller 20 to be readily drawn forward by the drum when necessary so that liability of dislodging the web relative to the drum is avoided. From the roller 20 the patch web passes onto the uppermost face of the drum 4. The drum 4 is fixed upon a shaft 26, which shaft is journalled in a pair of arms 21. The arms 21 are fast upon a rock shaft 28. One of the arms 21 includes .an upstanding ear or finger 29 which is connected through a link 30 with one arm of a rocking lever 3| which is journaled on a fixed shaft 32. The opposite end of the lever 3| includes an ear 33 which is impaled upon a rod 34. The ear is held against the lower face of a nut 35, threaded on the rod 34, by means of a spring 36 which surrounds the lower end of the rod and abuts against a nut 31 threaded onto the rod. The upper end of the rod 34 is pivotally connected to one end of a lever 38 journaled on a shaft 39. The opposite end of the lever 38 carries a cam follower 40 which runs in a groove 4| of a track cam 42. The track cam is mounted upon a shaft 43 and is driven by such shaft. The cam 42 is efiective through the train of mechanism described to reciprocate the drum 4 about the axis of shaft 28, there being one reciprocation between successive rotational steps of the drum.

Provision is made of a gummer 44 and of means for reciprocating the gummer to carry it back and forth between a gum receiving position and a gum applying position. The gummer comprises a gum applying foot or pad 45 and arms 45 carrying such foot. In the gum applying position the foot bears against the upper face of the drum 4 with the drum in its elevated position, as illustrated in Figure 3. The cam shaft 43 carries a cam having a cam track for cooperating with a cam follower 41 carried by a rocking lever 48 to move about the axis of a shaft 49. The rocking lever is connected through a link 58 with a crank 5| fast on a shaft 52. The arms 46 of the gummer are also fast upon shaft 52 and are oscillated by the motion imparted to the cam follower 41, in timed relation to the movement of the drum.

Gum is applied to the gummer foot 45 in its uppermost position, illustrated in dot and dash lines in Figure 3, the gummer foot being caused to remain stationary in this position to receive gum from a transfer roll 53 and to correlate its movements with the movements of the roll 53 and the operating mechanism for such roll. The

roll 53 is rotatably mounted upon slides 54 which are reciprocably mounted upon parallel guide rods 55. The guide rods 55 are carried, at their lower ends, upon supporting rods 56 which in turn are held to ears 5'! of a bracket 58 which ,is fixed by means of a set screw 59 upon a cross bar 60 that forms a fixed part of the machine one of the ears 5'! and nuts BI and 92 threaded upon the rod 56 engage opposite sides of the ear to hold the rod in fixed position The'upper ends of the rods 55 may be similarly supported.

A cam, fast upon cam shaft 43, co-acts with a. cam follower 63 which is carriedby a crank 64 fast on a shaft 65. Arms 66, also fast on the shaft 65, are connected at their lower ends through links 61 with the slides 54. The cam is effective through the train of mechanism described to carry the cam transfer roll 53 back and forth between the lower position, illustrated in full lines in Figure 3, and an upper .gum receiving position, illustrated in dot and dash lines in Figure 3. In, the latter position the transfer roll 53 lies in contact with a driven roller "88 that runs in a gum pct 59. When the gummer foot 49 first reaches its uppermost position as illustrated in dot and dash lines in Figure 3, the transfer roll 53 is in its lowermost-position. The transfer roll 53 is then moved upward against the roller 68 and is returned to its lowermost posit-ion. In the course of the latter movement the transfer roll runs across the face of the gummer foot 45 and applies gum thereto. After this the gummer foot is lowered to the full'line position of Figure 3 and is again retracted.

The gummer section of the patch web is not immediately severed from the end of the patch web but remains attached to the web and held to the drum for two feeding steps of the drum after the gum has been applied. When it reaches the rotative position marked (Figure 3), however, a severing mechanism is operated to cut the end section off of the web. The severing mechanism comprises a knife 10 carried by a bracket II upon the outer end of arms I2. The arms 12a. are roclnngly mounted by [shaft I3 to which is secured an upwardly-extending arm 13a having a follower I4 which cooperates with a cam onthe cam shaft 43 for moving the knife I0 to sever the web at a time when the drum 4 stands stationary in the position illustrated in fulllines in Figure 3. The knife, in cutting the web, 'moves into a groove 15, there being one such groove along each edge of the drum, and co-acts with an edge of one of the six perforated plates 16 which cover the respective faces of the drum.

As has been indicated, the patch web and the severed patches are held to the drum by suction. It has also been stated that the drum is not only reciprocated in the manner already described, but that it is intermittently rotated through steps of 60. The mechanism for controlling communication of the several drum sections with a source of suction and for imparting intermittent rotation to the drum is more particularly illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 'I, 8, 9, 11 and 12. The mechanism for imparting intermittent rotation to the drum will first be described, reference being particularly had to Figures 4, 5, ll and l2'. As has been stated, the drum is fast upon a shaft 28, which shaft is reciprocated bodily by the oscillation of the arms 21 in which it is carried. The shaft 29 is connected through a universal joint 11 with a shaft I8 by which it is driven. Mechanism is provided for imparting the desired step by step rotation to the shaft I8 while permitting the shaft .18 to be tilted and to shift longitudinally to accomniodate itself to the bodily movements of the shaft 26. g p

A shaft 19 may be regarded as the prime mover with reference to the mechanism for driving shaft 26, involved in the present description. The

shaft 19 has fast upon it a worm 80 provided I with parallel ribs 8| which define between them locked against rotation. The disc 83 is fixed upon a shaft 85 which is journaled in a bearing 95 provided in a fixed frame member 81. The disc 83 has riveted to it a pinion 88 which meshes with a pinion 89 and drives the latter. The pinion 89 is secured by rivets 89a upon a ring member 90 which is fast upon a hollow shaft 9i. The shaft 9I is journaled in a bearing 92 provided in the fixed frame member 81. Theshaft I8 extends through the hollow shaft 9| and the bore of the hollow shaft is desirably made conical to accommodate tilting of the shaft I8. The shaft I8 is universally connected to the ring member 90, as best illustrated in Figures 9 and 11. The ring member 90 is provided with diametrically opposed, radially extending pivot bolts 93 which pivotally support the inner ring member 94. The innerring member 94 is in turn provided with diametrically opposed, radially extending pivot bolts 95 which extend at right angles to pivot bolts 93 and which pivotally support a hub or sleeve member 95. The hub member 96, as best seen in Figure 4, carries keys 9'! which interfit with grooves 98 in the end of the shaft I8. The shaft 18 is adapted to be driven from the hub member 98 through the keys 91 but is longitudinally slidable relative to the hub member 96. It is during the period when the disc 83 and hence the drum 4 is locked against rotation that the drum is moved from its uppermost position down against the stack and returned to its position.

The mechanism for effecting connection and disconnection of the drum sections with a source of suction at appropriate times is best illustrated uppermost in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9. A conduit or bore 99 extending through a fixed frame member I00 communicates with a suitable source of suction fast thereon a pinion I05 which is driven continuously by a pinion I06. The shaft I04 is constantly rotating and makes one revolution for each revolution of v the shaft 26 by which the drum is carried, but since the shaft 28 is intermittently operated there is at times a gain and at other times a corresponding loss of rotary movement as between the shafts -.I04' and 26. It will be remembered also that the shaft 26 moves bodily with relation to the shaft I04. The distributor I03 is left free to move longitudinally upon the shaft. I04 so that it may maintain a snug engagement at all times with the face of the frame member I00 andthus automatically avoid leakage due to wear. To this end, provision is made at .the opposite side of the distributor from the frame I00 of a. collar I0'l fast on the shaft I04. The collar is provided with driving pins I08 which extend into openings I09 in the distributor for rotating the distributor in unison with the shaft I04. The collar II also has springs IIO set into recesses thereof for thrusting the distributor into firm engagement with the face of the frame member I00. The distributor, as shown in Figures and 7, includes six passages III disposed at equal intervals and equidistantly from the center of the distributor. Each of these passages extends at one end through a face of the distributor in a position adapting it for communication with the groove I 02. Each passage at its opposite end lets out through the periphery of the distributor and communicates with a flexible hose II 2. The hoses I I2 are connected at their opposite ends with passages II3 formed through a collar II4 fast on shaft 26. The hoses are long and flexible enough to accommodate the relative rotary and bodily movements of the distributor and the shaft 26. Each of the passages 3 through the collar I I4 communicates respectively with one of six passages II5, which passages extend longitudinally through the shaft 26. (See particularly Figures 5, 8 and 9.) Each of the passages I I5 communicates at its opposite end with passage I I6 which extends radially outward through the body portion III of the drum 4 into a suction chamber II8. There is one of these suction chambers beneath each face of the drum, each suction chamber being formed by providing a recess in a face of the drum and covering the same with the perforated plate I6 which is secured to the drum by means of screws I20 threaded into bosses I2I. It will be seen that each suction chamber of the drum is always in communication with a particular one of the passages III of the distributor. so long as the associated distributor passage is in communication with the passage 99 of the frame member I00 suction will be applied to the suction chamber. The groove I02 is so designed that suction is first applied to a suction chamber II8 when it is in its uppermost position, that is, in the position marked a. in Figure 3.

The chamber remains in communication with the source of suction through positions b and c and until after it has arrived at position d. The drum, held against rotation, is then depressed into engagement with the top envelope blank of the stack whereupon the chamber II8, whose cover wall I6 bears against the stack, is cut oil from communication with the source of suction and placed in communication with the atmosphere by the continued rotation of the distributor. This result is secured by the rotation of the passage III under consideration beyond the end of the groove I02 and into communication with a short groove I22 (Figures 5 and 7) which is formed in the frame member I00 and which communicates through a passage I 23 with the atmosphere. During rotation of the chamber through positions e and j the suction is not re-admitted to the chamber 8.

As soon as the drum 4 has applied a patch and has moved upward, the blower 5 is effective to raise the uppermost blank into engagement with the pneumatic feeder 6. The pneumatic feeder comprises a shaft I24 having fast on one end a pinion I 25 which is constantly driven by a meshing pinion I26. The shaft is journaled in bearings I21 and I28 which are supported in a sleeve I29 carried by a hub'I30 on the fixed frame member 81. Two feeding discs I 3| and I32 are fixed on the shaft I24 at the opposite end of the shaft from the gear I25. These feeding discs are spaced from one another and a chamber element I33, which may be a casing, is mounted on the shaft between them. The casing I33 is fixed against rotation, being held fast to a tube I34 by a set screw I35. The tube I34 is clamped in a bracket I36 which is non-rotatably mounted upon the sleeve I29. A hose I31 which communicates with a source of suction is connected to one end of the tube- I34 and communicates through the tube with a chamber or passage I38 in the casing I33. The chamber I38 is provided witha lateral passage I39 which extends in opposite directions to the faces of the feeding discs I3I and I32. Each of the discs is provided with a multiplicity of concentrically arranged lateral passages I4I adapted to be brought successively into register with the lateral pass-age I39 of the casing I38. Each of the lateral passages I4I communicates with a radial passage I42 which extends outward through the periphery of the disc.

It will be evident upon comparison of Figures 6 and that each passage MI is placed in communication with the passage I39 at about the time when the associated radial passage I42 has its open end fully exposed through the guide plate I, and that the passage I4I moves out of register with the passage I39 at about the time when the open end of the associated radial passage I42 begins to recede behind the guide plate 1. Thus each radial passage I42 is made effective to hold an envelope blank to itself by suction when it is exposed below the "uide plate, but suction is not applied to it at other times. It will be understood that the next succeeding passage I42 becomes effective before the preceding one is ineffective.

The pneumatic feeder advances the uppermost blank to the feed rolls 8 and 9. (Figures 1, 3 and 4.) The rolls 3 are fixed upon a driven shaft I 43 and the rolls 8 are fixed upon a shaft I44 carried by arms I46 which are secured upon the cross bar 60. The rolls 8 and 9 are disposed outside the lateral bounds of the zone in which the window patches travel so that there is no tendency to squeeze out the freshly applied adhesive. The movement of the drum 4 controls the timing of the delivery of the blanks to the rolls 8 and 9 so that the blanks are delivered in evenly spaced relation to the drier I0.

As has been previously mentioned, the blanks travel through thedrier I0 in spaced out relation, but they are re-arranged in fanned-out shingled relation as they leave the drier. In order to avoid the liability of catching the patch of one blank against the trailing edge of a preceding blank when effecting this rearrangement of the blanks, the conveyors II and I2 of the drier I0 are disposed to deliver the blanks in a plane somewhat above the plane of the receiving end of conveyor I3. The conveyor I3 travels slowly as compared with conveyors II and I2. An idler roll I46 bears against the upper stretch of conveyor I3 and is carried at the end of an arm M! which is pivotally mounted on a crank I48. A spring I49 draws the arm I41 downward and causes the roll I46 to bear against the envelope blanks on the conveyor with yielding pressure The crank I48 is fast on a rock shaft I50 which is oscillated in timed relation to the arrival of the blanks. The roll I46 is free to be driven by the conveyor I3 or to roll upon it when moved relatively to it. The roll I46 is effective to preserve the timed relation of the blanks and prevent accidental disarrangement of them. This device is the same as that disclosed and claimed in my United States Patent No. 1,808,706, granted June 2, 1931, for Feeding mechanism for envelopes and the like. The remainder of the mechanism is of well known construction and requires no detailed description.

It will be observed, however, that the arrangement of the mechanism which has been described, including particularly the stack, the drier l0, and the conveyor I3, is so .arranged and organized that the blanks are continuously advanced and are presented to the gummer I4 with their inner surfaces turned outwardly, with the sealing flaps at the trailing ends and with a trailing margin exposed for gumming. Thus the blanks are arranged on the stack, inner face up for reception of the patches, and with their bottom edges turned in the direction to become the leading edges as the blanks are fed off the stack. They are inverted by the .drier and, since each blank falls 9. little behind its predecessor on the conveyor I3 when the blanks are arranged in fanned out relation, the lower trailing margins of the blanks are exposed, that is tosay, the trailing margins of the inner faces of the blanks are exposed. The blanks in passing around the conveyor I3 are again inverted to turn these trailing exposed margins outward for contact with the brush member of gummer I4.

In Figures 13 to 20, disclosure is made of a modified form of mechanism in which the use of adhesive may be dispensed with, the drum being adapted to heat the marginal portions of the window patches to render them tacky so that they may be united with the window envelope blanks without the application of adhesive. The window patches may for this purpose be made of any suitable material adapted to be rendered tacky by heat, such as the material sold on the market as cellophane.

In this embodiment a drum 4a is mounted upon a. shaft 26a, which shaft is carried in arms 21a. The drum 4a is operated in the same manner as the drum 4 of the embodiment already described and its construction is generally similar. Communication of the several compartments I I8a of the drum with the source of suction iscontrolled through a frame member Illlla and a distributor The distributor passages are connected to passages which extend longitudinally of the shaft 26a through tubes I5I, hoses I52 and tubes I53. The hoses I52 in this instance do not curve outward, the distributor being separated from the shaft 26a a sufficient distance to enable the hoses I52 to be disposed substantially in the direction of the length of the shaft 26a. The distributor is mounted upon and is driven by a shaft Ill4a, which shaft is rotated by a driven gear I05a. The shaft I64a has fast upon it an insulated plate I54 which carries metallic sockets I55 and I56. The sockets I 55 and I56 contain respectively compression springs I51 and I58 which press outwardly conductive plungers I59 and I60. The plunger I59 runs in engagement with a continuous inner metallic ring I6I while the plunger runs in engagement with a continuous outer ductors to the opposite ends of a heating element I68b disposed in the drum. It will be observed that in spite of the rotation of theconductor I68 relative to the conductors I66 and I61, the circuit is maintained continuously through the coaction of the rings I6I and I62 with the plunger pins I59 and I66. The conductors I66and I66a extend axially'through the shaft I04a, thence connected to the endsof the terminals of the heater element I681) near the periphery of the drum. The drum has recesses provided along its longitudinal edges-and rabbets provided along its end edges. Channel members I1I, of copper or of other suitable material of high heat conductivity, are set in the longitudinal recesses while channel members I12, also of copper'or other suitable material of high heat conductivity, are set in the rabbets; The channel members I" are cut away at their ends to afford communication with the channel members I12. The mouths of the channel members I12 are covered. by dovetail bars I13 which are also of copper or like material, while channel members I14 of steel are secured in the mouths of the channel members I1I. Passages are thus provided for reception of the heater element in the lower parts of the channel members "I and I12, and-the heat is conducted to the patch engaging faces of the drum through the highlyconductive members. The perforated plates 16a are formed of any suitable material having a very low heat conductivity so that only the margins of the patches are heated. The disposition of the heater element in the drum is diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 20. In this figure it will be observed that the heater element passes first longitudinally across the drum through one of the channel members I", then circumferentially through one of the channel members I12, then back across the drum through a second channel member "I, again circumferentially, and so on, until it has made the complete circuit of the drum. At this point, however, only half of the circumferentially extending channel members have received a length of the heater element and the heater element is led back in the same manner to make a complete circuit of the drum in the opposite direction. Thus arranged, two lengths of the heater element lie in each channel member "I and one length of the heater element hes in each channel member I12. This arrangement is desirable, however, for the reason that members I14 are of channel form and of a metal such as steel to adapt them to coact withthe patch cutter, so

that the heat is less efllciently conducted to the longitudinal margins of the patches than to the end margins thereof where solid copper members are employed. 7

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiment of my invention. I do not wish,

however, to be confined to the embodiment shown,

but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 1 r

1. An.envelope machine comprising the elements combined and co-operating substantially as set forth in claim 4, and in which are provided a rotary suction feeder adjacent the top of the stack and a blower for lifting the top blank of the stack into engagement with the suction feeder.

2. In an'envelope machine, in combination,

' means for supporting a stack of envelope blanks,

a presser member, means periodically reciprocating the presser'member into and out of engagement with the stack, a blank feeder comprising a guide limiting upward movement of a blank and a suction roll projecting downward below the guide for a short distance to support the blank against the guide and advance it along the guide.

3. An envelope machine comprising the elements combined and co-operating as set forth in claim 2, in which said suction roll is rotatable and has a multiplicity of peripherally open passages therein, and means for applying suction to said passages successively as they come below the guide and for cutting off the suction from the passages successively as they recede behind the guide.

4. In an envelope machine, in combination, means for supporting a stack of blanks, a presser member, means periodically reciprocating the presser member into and out of engagement with the stack, and a slip drive blank feeder for withdrawing the top blank as soon as the presser releases it from the stack.

5. In an envelope machine, in combination, a magazine for supporting a stack of blanks, means periodically movable into and out of clamping relation to the stack, a suction feed roll, means operable while the stack is clamped to raise a margin of the top blank into engagement with the suction feed roll but rendered ineffective before the stack is unclamped to permit such underlying blanks as may have been raised with the top blank to settle back to their original positions before the stack is unclamped.

6. In an envelope machine, in. combination, a magazine for supporting a stack of blanks, a patch drum above the stack, means for rotating the drum step by step and for reciprocating it bodily into and out of engagement with the stack, means for supplying a patch web to the drum and means cooperative with the drum to sever patches from the web.

7. In an envelope machine, in combination, a magazine for supporting a stack of blanks, a patch drum above the stack, means for rotating the drum step by step and for reciprocating it bodily into and out of engagement with the stack, means for supplying a patch web to the drum and means cooperative with the drum to sever patches from the web, said drum being divided into segments, and means for applying suction to each segment when it is in web receiving position and for cutting of! the suction from the segment when it is in patch delivering position.

8. In an envelope machine, in combination, a magazine for supporting a stack of blanks, a patch drum above the stack, means for rotatin the drum step by step and for reciprocating it bodily into and out of engagement with the stack, means for supplying a patch web to the drum and means cooperative with the drum to sever patches from the web, and means movable against the drum to apply adhesive to the web.

9. In an envelope machine, a polygonal drum, means for advancing the drum step by step, means for supplying a web to the drum, and means cooperative with the drum to gum the web and thereafter to sever blanks from the web.

10. In an envelope machine, a polygonal suction drum, means for supplying a web to the drum,

means to advance the drum step by step to bring the faces thereof to a series of stations, means to gum. the web at a gumming station, means to sever the web at a severing station, and means to cut off the suction from each face of the drum at a delivering station.

11. In an envelope machine, a polygonal suction drum, means for supplying a web to the drum, means to advance the drum step by step to bring the faces thereof successively to stations of a series, means to sever the web at a blank severing station, and means to cut off suction from each face of the drum at a blank delivering station.

12. In an envelope machine, means for supporting a stack of window envelope blanks, a polygonal suction drum, means for supplying a web to the drum, means to advance the drum step by step to bring the faces thereof to stations of a series, means to sever the web at a patch severing station, means to cut off suction from each face of the drum at a patch delivering station, means to depress the drum to apply the patch at the delivering station to the top blank of the stack, and means to remove the top blank from the stack after a patch has been applied to it.

13. In an envelope machine, means for supporting a stack of window envelope blanks, a polygonal suction drum, means for supplying a web to the drum, means to advance the drum step by step to bring the faces thereof to stations of a series, means to sever the web at a patch severing station, means to cut off suction fromeach face of the drum at a patch delivering station, means to depress the drum to apply the patch at the delivering station to the top blank of the stack and means acting in timed relation to the drum for removing the blanks singly from the top of the stack.

14. In an envelope machine, in combination, means for supporting a stack of envelope blanks, a patch support, means for supplying patch material to the top of the patch support, means for gumming the patch material on the patch support, means for severing the'gummed patch material to form a patch, means for inverting the patch support, and means for moving the inverted patch support vertically downward to apply the gummed patch at the bottom thereof to the top blank of the stack.

15. In an envelope machine, in combination, means for applying a patch to the topblank of a blank stack, means for removing each blank separately after a patch has been applied to it, means for rearranging the blanks in fanned-out relation and means for gumming the fanned-out blanks.

16. In an envelope machine, a patch carrier having a patch supporting face, heating means within the carrier, and highly conductive means for transmitting heat from the heating means to the marginal portions of the patch supporting face to concentrate the heat in such marginal portions.

1'7. The method of making window envelopes which comprises disposing envelope blanks in stack form, lining face up, appling patches to the lining faces of the blanks, each when it is at the top of the stack, removing the blanks individually, bottom edge first, as the patches are applied to them, inverting the blanks, rearranging the blanks in fanned-out relation and gumming the fanned-out blanks.

18. The method of making window envelopes which comprises applying window patches to successive envelope blanks at a patch applying station, conducting the blanks from the station in spaced-out relation, rearranging the blanks directly from spaced-out relation to fanned-out relation, and gumming the sealing flaps of the fanned-out blanks.

19. In an envelope making machine, in combination, means for applying patches to succes- 5 sive envelope blanks at a patch applying station,

a high speed feeding means for conducting the blanks from said station in spaced-out relation,

a relatively low speed feeding means for receiving the blanks from the high speed feeding means 10 and cooperating therewith to rearrange the blanks in fanned-out relation, and a fan-out gummer for gumming the sealing margins of the fanned-out blanks.

20. In a window envelope machine, in com- 15 bination, a delivering conveyor, a receiving coning relatively moved while in overlapping relation during the transfer of the blanks from the delivering conveyor to the receiving conveyor, the

delivering conveyor being disposed and arranged to. deliver the blanks over the feeding plane of the receiving conveyor at the receiving end thereof, and spaced somewhat therefrom, whereby the overlapped areas of the blanks are held out of contact during relative movement thereof.

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