US2381717A - Collapsible tube folding apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 7, 1945. M. H. CUBBERLEY I 2,331,717

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE FOLDING APPARATUS Filed July'7, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEIV TOR MITCHELL H CUBE! RLEY I om Nm rill/III!! A TTORN E Y.

Aug. 7, 1945. M. H. CUBBERLEY 2,381,717 7 COLLAPSIBLE TUBE FOLD ING APPARATUS Filed July 7, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN MITCHELL H. CUBBERLEYI M C. nM

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Aug. 7,1945. M. H. CUBBERLEY.

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE FOLDING APPARATUS Filed July 7, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. MITCHELL H CUBBE/FLEY W C. Wm

ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 7 1945 2,381,717 COLLAPSIBLE TUBE FOLDING APPARATUS Mitchell H. CubberlemvBelleville, N. J assignor to Wallace & Tiernan Products Inc., Belleville, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application July t, 1942, Serial No. 449,990

9Claims.. (01.113- -54) apparatus for closing collapsible tubes an advantageous type of'operation 'for producing a fold attheopen endof the tube has been found to involve mechanism for folding, an end portion of the tube over a creasing blade or member and into an acute angle with the remaining part of the tube, whereupon byasecon'd pressing operation of the jaws provided tohol'd the unfolded part "of the tube, the acute angle fold is flattened to complete the desired 180 fold. A particularly desirable form of apparatus for such purpose is. disclosed and claimed in the ctr-pending application of "George M. Booth. for Collapsible tube folding apparatus, Serial No. 443,771, filed May 20, 1942, and as therein explained, structure of the sort described is of particular advantage for certain types of tube material, for instance tubes made of lead, and having an internal lining of wax, for containing certain chemical pastes or the like. With relatively soft and yet somewhat heavy and cumbersome tube walls, folding operations are difficult to perform-without-full guide andsupport of the folded portions at all times. The'tendency of tubes of. such type, particularly where there is'a wax lining and it isuneven in thickness, is for the first made folds to be disto'rted or even opened or flattened back by sub-- sequent folding operations, unless special appa ratus is provided, as'of. the sort mentioned above.

In the. structure of the cited application, for example, a pair of pposed members first grip the tube, one of the members being blade-like in hav-' ing a sharp upper edge and a rearwardly and downwardly sloping surface-intersecting the edge. Thereupon a folding member is moved across the adjacent top surface of the other gripping member, so as to fold the exposed tube end over the blade-like element and into an acute angle fold against the sloping surface. 'I'herepon the blade-like element, which is movably mounted, is. withdrawn from beneath the fold, the folding member is retracted, and theblade-likemember isagain moved up so that its tube grippin surfaceaga'in opposes the other gripping member and the acute angle foldis flattened. down.

An important object of the present inventionis to provide improvement in apparatus of the character described,'particularly .for enhancing thejefiiciency and reliability of such apparatus; further objects being to provide a simplified. structure for accomplishing tube-folding opera.- tions of the characterstated, so as to permit increased speed of operation of. the folding. inachine as well as decrease inthenumber of im to provide-tube-folding apparatus, requiring fewer machine operations and thusreducing wear and tear on themach-ine as well as simplifying its structure and operation. Indeed specifically, an important object of the invention is to provide apparatus for accomplishing inone cycle of operati'on what has heretofore required two cycles, in effectas in the specific machine described herei'nabove.

To these and such further ends as are hereinafter stated or apparent or as may be incidental to the structure and use of the apparatus, the inventionmay be conveniently explained by reference to a presently preferred embodiment set forth byway ofexample and shown in the annexed drawings.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. I is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of the tube-folding structure, together with a diagrammatic view of the associated driving apparatus;

Fig.2- is anenlarged plan view of the tubefolding structure included in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3' is an enlarged end elevation of the left hand portion of the tube-folding. structure shown in Fig. l; and

Figs. 4, 5, 6, '7, 8 and 9 are el'evational views, on the same enlarged scale as Figs.2 and '3, of the tube-gripping and folding portions of the structureshown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, and representing. successive positions of the elements at successive stagesof the folding cycle.

Although it will be readily understood that the apparatus may be embodied in a wholly auto- 1 matic tube-handling machine, for instance of the turret type Where a horizontal turret intermittently advances a succession of tubes past filling and successive folding stations, the apparatus is conveniently illustrated without showing associated turret or other machine structure. In other words,..it will be understood that the mounting .and driving parts for the apparatus shown mayembody any of a variety of forms, and. that the drawings are restricted to an embodiment of the features of improvement to which the invention relates.

Referring. to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, it will be noted that the structure may be associated with meansasuch. as the collet 2.0, for holding a filled collapsible tube 2.! with. its unsealed, bottom end uppermost at .22. Suitably mounted to slide in a horizontal direction for reciprocation. toward and away from .each other andthe tube 2|. are a pair ,of members .24, .26. The member 24 has a flat,

perfectlyiolded tubes. Yet other objects are vertical surface 21 adapted to abut the side of the tube and the member 26 has pivoted thereto about a horizontal pivot 28, a gripping and creasing member 29 which is similarly provided with a tube flattening surface 30, parallel to the opposed surface 21. For clearance of the tube body, the lower parts of the members 24, 29 are suitably recessed or cut back as at 32, 33. The member 29 is supported between a pair of arms 34, 35 extending from the body of the member 26 and having journalled therein the pivot shaft 28. The arms 34, 35 also serve to mount a stop pin or rod 31 against which the recessed upper sur-' face 38 of the member 29 is normally biased by a spring 39 or other suitable means.

The face 30 of the member 29 terminates at the top in a horizontal creasing edge 40, from which a fold-supporting surface 4| slopes down wardly and rearwardly to the recessed portion 38. It may be explained that the structure of the members 26 and 29 may conveniently be identical with that of the like members illustrated in the aforesaid Booth application, and the relation of member 29 with the member 34, for flattening, the tube portion therebetween, is likewise the same as the relation of corresponding structure in the cited application. A folding element 45 of suitable shape, for example in the illustrated form of approximately a quarter section of a cylinder disposed with its axis in a horizontal direction, and parallel to the ultimately fiattened tube portion, is carried on'studs or shafts 46, 41 which are journalled in arms 48, 49 mounted at opposite sides of the member 24, so that the member 45 may be rocked or rotated about the axis of the cylinder of which it forms a part. For so rotating the folding element, the stud 41 carries a pinion 50, which is operated by a rack An important feature of the folding element 45 is its flat face 45a which is thus arranged to move about the axis (of shafts 46 4'!) adjacent one edge, 1. e. somewhat as if generating a cylinder about the axis; the element 45 being conveniently of some shape such as shown, with the face 45a preferably offset somewhat from a Plane through the axis of the shafts, so as to provide space for the tube material eventually folded between the faces 45a and 21.

The member 24 includes a housing 52 containing resilient means such as the coil spring 53, preferably under compression and adapted to be further compressed b a plunger 54 to which is connected a reciprocable rod 55, for displacing the member 24 in one direction through pressure on the spring, and in the other direction by engagement of the plunger with a shoulder 55a. A further plunger housing 56 is fixed to the rod 55 and contains resilient means such as the coil spring 51, likewise preferably under some compression and adapted to be further compressed against a plunger 58 which is connected to the rack 5|. For purposes presently to be described, the member 24 also carries, projecting from the rear thereof, a detent or stop pin 60 arranged to abut the rear surface 6| of an appropriate, stationary. structure 62 which supports and guides the member 24,

Although other driving and controlling structure may be employed, or other forms or arrangements of cams, (as will all be readily understood by those skilled in the art) Fig. 1 includes, by way of example and somewhat diagrammatically, a pair of box cams 64, 66, conveniently arranged for simultaneous rotation on a common shaft, as indicated by the shaft 61. By means of a follower 68, link 69 and rocker arm a pivoted to as seen in thedrawings.

the rod 55, rotation of the cam 64 provides the desired reciprocation of the rod 55, and likewise reciprocation of a rod 10 connected to drive the member 26, is achieved by the cam 66, through the instrumentality of a follower 1|, link 12 and rocker arm 13 pivoted to therod 10.

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 9 inclusive, the mode of operation of the described folding apparatus may be readily understood. In Fig. 4

the parts are shown in their preliminary. position,

as also in Fig". 1, with a collapsible tube 2| disposed between the jaw members 24 and 29. Although the apparatus may be readily utilized or adapted for producing second or third folds at the end of the tube (as where the complete closure operation comprises making a series of folds at the tube end), illustration is conveniently had with reference to a first folding operation, the originally cylindrical end of the tube having conveniently been given, if desired, a preliminary flattening operation by the usual means (not 11- lustrated) in machines of this type. tube thus in position, the rods 55 and 19, under the drive of cams 64 and 66, are displaced toward each other so that the opposed faces 21 and 30 grip the tube end and flatten it at a place remote from the actual extremity of the tube by a distance corresponding to the width of the desired fold. Of particular importance in this operation of the structure is the resulting disposition of the creasing edge 40 against the side of the flattened tube portion, and through the latter against the opposed face 21 of the member 24.

The parts are now in the position shown in Fig.

- 5. It will be understood that substantially throughout this first part of the cycle the spring 53 has opposed displacement of the plunger 54 with respect to the member 24, so that the principal movement has been that of the last mentioned member, in a direction toward the right The stop rod 60 is so positioned that'as the members 24 and 29 come fully together with the flattened tube therebetween (as shown in Fig. 5), the stop 60 strikes the surface 6| so as to prevent further displacement of the member 24 to the right. Preferably, the structure of the driving means for the operating rod 55 (e. g. the cam 64) is such as to provide a gradual slowing up of the drive as the stop rod 60 approaches the surface 6|, this or other suitable arrangement serving to avoid undue shock by the abutment of the parts last mentioned. On the other hand, in some cases the cams may be so designed or timed that a, very small gap (small, to prevent subsequent distor tion of the tube 2|) remains between stop 60 and face 6| when members 24 and 29 fully compress the tube (as in Fig. 5), and the gap is not closed until the assembly 26-29 moves to the right (after the operation completed in Fig. 6).

The member 24 now remains in its position, for example by the provision of an appropriate dwell in the cam 66, and the rod 55 is now driven further to the right. Inasmuch as the member 24 is prevented from the displacement by the stop rod 69, the plunger now moves, compressing the spring, and the associated frame or housing structure 56 drives the rack 5| to the right, with respect to the member 24, the spring 51 providing for avoidance of shocks or jamming in the operation of the structure actuated by the rack, yet having sufiicient stiffness to provide the desired displacement and folding operation. As the rack 5| is moved to the right, the folderelement 45 With the inally started in abutment with the outer extremity 80' of thetube, now folds the latter over the creasing edge 40 and conveniently into abutment with the fold-supporting surface M of the member 29. This part of the cycle. leaves the elements in the position shown in Fig. 6, the tube portion 80 now having been folded into an'acute angle by the rotary displacement and pressure of the foldingface 45a of the element 45.

Thereupon the rod is moved to the right, withdrawing the member 26 and likewise the member 2-9, so that the latter is cammed in a counterclockwisedirection about its pivot by the interaction of the face 4|= with the tube portion 80- and the folding surface 45a; In this way, by the simple horizontal" retraction of the member 26, the member 29'is ineffect snapped out from underthe acute-angle fold of the tubeas shown in Fig; 7--and iswithdrawnto the position it occupies in- Fig. 8. It will be noted that the member 29 is automatically restored to its original position by its spring 39, sothat it is ready for the next cycle of operation.

-In themeanwhile the rod 55 moves further to the right, and as in the last previous part of the cycle continues to move the rack 5| to the right so that the member 45 completes-the fold of the tube portion 80, through the entire 180", and squeezes it flat against the adjacent tube portion.

At this period of the cycle, the partsare in the position shown in Fig. 8. Although thetiming of the drive structure maybe such thatthe rod- 55 does not begin to advance the raok 5l from the position of Fig. luntil the member'29'is clear of the-folding element 45, it has been found that in manycases the relative timing ofthe opposite sides of the mechanism is not critical in this stageorflthe cycle For example, as in one form of apparatus which was built and which is represented in the drawings, the design was such that the rod 55 has moved slightly more to theright, when theparts are in the position of Fig. 7, than is necessary to advance the rack 5| to the position of. Fig, '7, so that immediately upon the withdrawal of the creasin edge 40 from the outer extremity of the face 32-,the elementis snappedsomewhat further around, by the energy stored in the spring 51'. Indeed, in somecases it would be. possible; to complete the travel of the rod 55 to the right beforethe member 28 15 withdrawn,-

so that I the spring 51- would be substantially bom-' pressed and upon withdrawal of the member 29 the resulting release of the folding member 45 would permit-the latter to be. snapped around and to complete the foldentirely by the stored energy of the spring 5'l.-

Foll-owingthe completion of the folding operation as shown in Fig. 8, the rod 55 is now withdrawn to the left, so that'all of the parts are restored to the original positions of Figs. 1- and 4, and the folded tubemay be removed or may be raised or turned about for a succeeding folding:

operation. Conveniently, the operational cycle may include abrief pause, as by virtue of appropriate dwells in the cams B4, 66, intermediate the attainment of the position shownin Fig. 9 and the outset ofa succeeding cycle of movement from the positionshown in-Fig. 4, to afford or of constructingother' apparatus for imparting the described characteristics of reciprocatorymotionbeing readily understood by those skilled in the "art and therefore requiring no detailed description? It -will now be seen that apparatus embodying. the features of the structure shown in the, drawings provides an effective way ofaccomplishing the desiredcomplete transverse foldat theend' of a collapsible tube,- while' atthe same time affording full supportfor the-portions of the tube'upon which the work is done, and'particularly afiording continuous inside support at the line of foldthroughout the major part of the, folding operation: Advantageously the aoute'angle fold provided by the structure as it operates to the position shown in Fig. 6' may be of the order-;of-45 or less, so that support is provided for the inner side ofthe crease throughout'as much as possible of the total folding operation;-

In some instances the supported fold may be made only to a-somewhat larger angle, say of the order of and in-some-cases; indeed'with certain advantages; the structure maybe so-proportionedthat'the supported acute angle is even -considerably smaller, i. e. sharper, than 45.

Although other structure may be providedfor the creasing blade element 29 (such as a simple-blade arranged to move in an oblique direction up to and down 'from' the position of Figs. 5 and 6), the-illustrated arrangement of member 29 with its biased, pivoted-mounting, cooperates withthe remaining structure in facilitating the design of the machine and especially in providing positive and reliably automatic operation for this tubecompressing and fold-supporting portion ofthe apparatus: Moreover, the illustrated arrangementpermits restriction of the actual mechani cal drive to simple reciprocatory motions in .a

commonplane andalong a common, linear path oftravel,thus'faoilitating adaptation of thefolding parts to existing machines designed to have such motion for folding-members, as well-as simplifying the designof complete tube folding and closing machines embodying the invention;

Of particular advantage is, the structure whereby the entire folding operation, to provide a completely flattened-fold, is accomplished with a single-reciprocation of each of the opposed folding orfold-supporting assemblies;

That is to say, the rod 55, in each completefolding=cycle,-makes only one reciprocation, and indeed, each-ofthe parts operated by the rod- -viz.

the member 24 and the folding element 45--- makes only a single reciprocation. At the same time the assembly 26-29 need make but one reciprocation; this in important contradistinction to prior structures, wherein uponthe making of an acute angle fold about a creasing blade or the like, the structure has beensuchthat the creasing blade; after withdrawal, is moved up to complete the folding operation. In the present apparatus, it should now be observed that the completion of the folding operation is accomplished by the same member, i. e. the element ber and creasing blade 29 must be brought up and retracted twice, a desirably rapid operation of the machine, as to fold a maximum number of tubes per hour, necessitates relatively rapid movements of the structure 29, 26. Bearing in mind that the factors tending to damage or derange mechanical parts of this type are proportional to the'energy accumulated by the moving structure 2629, which is in turn proportional to the square of its speed, it will be seen that thereduction in speed of travel obtainable with the present apparatus affords a relatively great decrease-in tendency toinjure or derange the moving parts. time may thus be operated at much higher rates of repetition of successive cycles than heretofore possible," without sacrifice of accuracyand without heavy wear or frequent breakage or derangement of theparts (including not only the assembly 2629 but also parts necessarily abutted or'engaged by it during the course of its operation). a

A further advantage of the illustrated structure is that it permits the folding force as on th'e'tube end'80, to be exerted at all times in a direction normal to the fold-thus providing a maximumof accuracy and reliability in the folding operation, with theuse of a minimum of energy; That is to say, as the tube portion 80 is folding about the creasing edge 40, the actual force'moving the portion 80 is exerted in a directionnormal'to the surface of the portion throughout its entire angulardisplacementthis by virtue of the structure of the element 45 and its face'45a as distinguished from folding members ofthe simple"pusher type operating in a purely longitudinal path with respect to the tube portion upon which the work is done. Finally, it will be appreciated that the entire structure'is characterized by desirable mechanical simplicity, not only in the tube abutting and folding elements, but in the drive-transmitting structure and in the general combination, whereby the desired results are obtained with an economy of moving parts and with the requirement of only the simplest sort of reciprocating drive. As previously explained, the apparatus may be adapted to perform further folds at the end of the tube, or a series of devices of the sort illustrated may be arranged to perform successive folding operations, and may be combined with apparatus for filling," and for finally crimping and ejecting the tube, all as will now be readily understood or as is more fully explained in the above-cited Booth application.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments herein shown and'described but may be carried out in other ways without' departure from its spirit, as defined bythe following claims.

I claim:

'1. In apparatus for closing a collapsible tube,

the combination, with 'a creasing blade adapted to receive an acute angle fold of ,a tube portion and support the line of crease thereof, said blade being selectively displaceable against the tube portion and away from beneath an acute angle fold thereover, of a member movable relative to the tube, and having a surface for fiatwise abutting the portion of the tube and cooperating with the creasing blade to engage said tube portion between said member and blade, a folding member having a flat tube-abutting surface and pivotally mounted on the first-mentioned member, to swing in a curved path extending from a position 'adjacentthe tube engaging surface of 'In other words, the strucsurface, and actuating means associated with said first-mentioned tube-abutting member and said folding member for displacing the tube-abutting member into abutment with the tube and for thereafter swingingthe folding member about its pivot into engagement with an adjacent tube portion to fold the same over the creasing blade and continuously into flattened position upon removal of said blade.

2. In apparatus for closing a collapsible tube, in combination, a movable tube-abutting mem ber having a flat surface engageable with a flattened portion of a tube, a folding device having a tube-abutting surface and rotatably mounted on said member to swing said tube-abutting surface against an adjacent tube portion, to bend the latter around and toward the opposite side of the first-mentioned flattened tube portion, a reciprocable member having connections for translating displacement thereof toward the tube, into rotary displacement of said folding device, and means resiliently connectingthe first mentioned member to said reciprocable member for displacement of the former by the latter, and means arresting displacement of said first-mentioned member upon arrival of same at a predetermined position of tube engagement, said resilient means being adapted to prevent displacement of the said folding device by the reciprocable member until movement of the first mentionedmember is interrupted.

3. In apparatus for closing a collapsible tube, comprising a removable creasing blade adapted to engage one side of a collapsible tube portion, a member having a tube-abutting surface'adapted to compress the tube portion against the blade, and a folding device having a tube-abutting surface and rotatably mounted relative to said member, for directly engaging an adjacent tube portion and continuously applying pressure in a direction normal to the surface thereof for folding said adjacent tube portion over the creasing blade, the combination therewith of reciprocable means for advancing the first mentioned member toward and away from the tube, associated means resiliently connecting said reciprocable means with the first mentioned member, means resiliently connecting said reciprocable means for rotating the folding device upon displacement of the reciprocable means in a direction to advance the first-mentioned member toward the tube, and means for arresting displacement of the firstmentioned member at a predetermined position, whereby furtherdisplacement of the reciprocable means is taken up by the resilient means and operates to effect the aforesaid rotation of the folding device.

4. In apparatus for closing a collapsible tube, the combination, with means for holding a tube, of opposed members for engaging a portion of the tube therebetween and holding the same in flattened condition, one of said members providing a creasing edge against the tube and being shaped to receive an acute angle fold of an adjacent tube portion thereover, and the second of said members being movable toward and away from the tube, folding means cooperating with said second member and adapted to engage and fold said adjacent tube portion through an angle substantially greater than over the creasing edge while in contact with said creasing edge, and

the tube, said driving member being'displaceable,

relative to said second member upon arrest of the latter and having cononecting means operated by said driving member in response to and in accordance with further displacement of said driving member in said direction, for moving the folding means against the said adjacent tube portion to fold the latter through an angle substantially greater than 90 over the aforesaid creasing edge into said acute angle fold while in contact with said creasing edge.

5. In apparatus for closing a collapsible tube, the combination, with means for holding a tube, of opposed members for engaging a portion of the tube therebetween and holding the same in flattened condition, each of said members being displaceable toward and away from the tube and one of said members providing a creasing edge against the tube and being shaped to receive an acute angle fold of an adjacent tube portion thereover, folding means cooperating with the second of said members for engaging said adjacent tube portion, and driving means for moving said opposed members into engagement with the tube, said driving means including structure displaceable in a predetermined direction to move the said second member against the tube and said structure including actuating connections with said folding means and responsive to arrival of said second member at a position of tube engagement, for translating further displacement of said structure in the same aforesaid direction, into operation of said folding means to fold the adjacent tube portion through an angle substantially greater than 90 over the creasing edge into said acute angle fold while in contact with said creasing edge.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the driving means includes means for removing the first mentioned member from the tube to withdraw its creasing edge from beneath said fold, and

in a first part of its said path for moving the second mentioned member into engagement with the tube and means operated by said operating member, upon yielding of said yieldable means when the second mentioned member is arrested at a position of tube engagement, and in response to displacement of said operating member along a further part of its said path in the same direction,

wherein the said connections intermediate the a said structure and the folding device are adapted to translate further displacement of the structure in the same aforesaid direction, into further operation of said folding device to complete the fold of the adjacent tube portion fiat-wise against the previously-gripped tube portion abutting the second member.

7. In apparatus for closing a collapsible tube, the combination, with means for holding the tube, of a creasing blade member adapted to receive an acute fold of a tube portion and support the line of crease thereof, a I cooperating member movable toward and away from the tube for gripping the same in flattened condition against said creasing blade member, means comprising a folding device carried with said second member and movable relative thereto for engaging a portion of the tube adjacent to that held by the aforesaidmembers and for holding said adjacent portion through an angle substantially greater than 90 over the creasing blade and into an acute angle while in contact with said creasing blade, and an operating member reciprocable through a predetermined path toward the tube and having operating connections with said second mentioned member and said folding device,

said connections including yieldable means operated by displacement of aid operating member for actuating said folding device to effect said acute angle fold.

8. In apparatus for closing a collapsible tube,

the combination, with means for holding a tube, of opposed members for engaging a portion of the tube therebetween in flattened condition, said members being both movable relative to the tube in a common rectilinear path transversely of the tube into and out of tube engagement, and one of said members comprising a creasing blade shaped to receive an acute angle fold of an adjacent tube portion thereover, means comprising a folding device adapted to cooperate with the second of said members for engaging said adjacent tube portion and folding the same through an angle substantially greater than 90: over the creasing blade while in contact with said creasing blade, and actuating means displaceable in said rectilinear path for moving the second member toward the tube, said actuating means including connections with said folding device and operated by the actuating means upon arrival of the second member at a position of tube engagement, for convertingfurther displacement of said actuating means in the same direction, into operation of said folding device, said actuating means being thereby adapted, during a single displacement thereof in said path, to move the second member into tube engagement and thereupon to operate the folding device to fold the said adjacent tube portion through an angle substantially greater than 90 over the creasing blade into an acute angle fold while in contact with said creasing blade.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 which includes an actuating member for the creasing blade member, reciprocable in said rectilinear path, said creasing blade member being yieldably mounted to swing from beneath the acute angle fold of the tube upon displacement of said actuating member away from the tube, means brought into play upon the aforesaid operation of the folding device by the actuating means, for displacing said actuating member to withdraw the creasing blade from the fold, said connections intermediate the actuating means and the folding device being resiliently yieldable upon completion of said acute angl fold but adapted to convert further displacement of said actuating means, in the same direction toward the tube, into further operation of the folding device to continue folding said adjacent tube portion against the previously gripped tube portion, whereby said actuating means, by a single continuousdisplacement thereof toward the tube, moves the second member into tube engagement, actuates the folding device to effect said acute angle fold and upon removal of the creasing blade, further effects actuation of said folding device to complete the fold against the tube.

MITCHELL I-I. CU'BBERLEY.

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