US914350A - Envelop-sealing and stamp-affixing machine. - Google Patents

Description

S. G. KINDIG & W. WITTLER. ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIQN FILED 313.17, 190a.

914,350, Patented Mar. 2, 1909.

5 sums-sum 1.

7m: mmms FETERS i0" \vAsnmaron, n. c.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S; G. KINDIG & W. WITTL'ER.

ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED I'EB.17, 1908. 914,350..

ms mamas PETERS 5a., WASHINGTON. n.

S. GQKINDIG & W. WITTLER. ENVBLOP SEALING AND STAMP AITIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 190B.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909. 5 B EEETSSHEET 3.

1m: NORRIS PETERS co., wnsmgc-rou, n. c.

S. G. KINDIG & W. WITI'LER. BNVELOP SEALING AND STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB/17, 1908.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

THE NORRIS PETERS cc, WASHINGTON, n. c.

S. G. KINDIG & W. WITTLER. ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMP AFFIXING MAGHINE. APPLIOATION IILHD FEB. 17, 1908.

914,35& Patented Mar. 2,1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5- -ll'NTTEll) STATE8 PATENT QFFTCEQ SAMUEL O. KINDLG AND WILLIAM WITTLER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND; SAID KINDIG ASSIGNOR TO SAID WITTLER.

ENVELOP-SEALING AND STAMP-AFFIXING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 2, 1909.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL C. KINDIG and ll ILLIAiWI VVrr'rLEn, citizens of the United States, residing at Baltimore city, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelop- Sealing and StampAlfiXing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in envelop sealing and stampaffixing machines.

Among the objects of the invention are: to provide a device in which a whole sheet of stamps, of any denomination, may be carried and automatically fed over the envelops in position to be secured thereto; to auto matically moisten the stamps, one at a time, just before passing over the envelop to which it is to be afliXed; to provide means to disconnect each stamp from the sheet as it is being placed on the envelop; to automatically seal each envelop at the time the stamp is being placed thereon; to provide means for moistening the gummed edge of the envelop before being sealed and stamped, and to automatically discharge the envelops after they have been sealed and stamped.

The invention consists of the novel parts and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully set forth in the following specification and pointed out in detail in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a top plan view of our invention with the carriage at the extreme end in position to advance with the sheet of stamps. Fig. 2 is a front elevation. Fig. 3 is an end elevation. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation, partly in section. Fig. 5 is a detailed perspective view of the plunger and the operating parts. Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view of the water cylinder. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the water receptacle.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, 1 designates the base, 2 the stamp carriage, and 3 the envelop rest.

The stamp carriage 2 is slidably mounted on the vertical inclined projection 4 of the base and is provided with ball bearings This carriage 2 is provided with a flat table 6 having a guide 7 projecting upwardly at one end to guide the sheet of stamps between the rollers 8 and 9. The carriage travels along the upper inclined surface of the projection 1 by gravitation. The rollers 8 and 9 are mounted in bearings 10 and 11, respectively, at each end. The upper bearings 11 are pivoted at 12 and are held to their normal positions, with the rollers together, by the springs 13 which latter exert their tension against the rear fiat ends of said bearings 11. The bearings 11 may be raised against the action of the springs 13 for the purpose of removing the rollers 8 and 9. The top roller 9 is provided with a small wheel 14 by means of which the said roller may be revolved to turn the stamps out to their proper position. The carriage 2 is also provided with a pointer 15 to indicate the distance the stamps project beyond the rollers 8 and 9, the sheet projecting out until the first row of perforations come on a line with the said pointer. The carriage 2 rests upon the top surface of the inclined projection 4: and has a grooved piece 16 secured to its lower edge which projects under the lower surface of said projection 4. Ball bearings 5 are between the top of the projection a and the carriage and also between the lower surface of said projection and the piece 16.

On one side, just above the projection 1, the carriage 2 is provided with notches, or teeth, 22 spaced to allow the carriage to move forward a predetermined distance and into which projects the escapement levers 17 and 18. The lever 17 is pivoted at 19 and the lever 18 is pivoted at 20, to the upper surface of the projection 4. The lever 18 is provided with an approximately V- shaped cut out 21 into which projects the pointed end of the lever 17, and is held normally in engagement with the teeth 22 by the tension of the spring 23. A lever 24 is pivoted at 25 in the bifurcated outer end of the arm 26 of the sleeve 27, and has its lower surface normally resting upon the upper inner end of the lever 17, and its lower end connected by a spring 28 to the sleeve 27. When the plunger 29 is forced down it carries with it the shaft 30 and arm 26, and consequently the lever 24:, the end of which latter is forced up against the action of the spring 28 until it passes below the lever 17 at which point the said spring 28 will cause the lever 24 to return to its normal position. When the plunger is released it will be raised by the spring 31 carrying with it the sleeve 27 and arm 26 and causing the inclined upper surface of the lever 24 to contact with the lower surface of the lever 17 and force the front end of the latter inwardly in line with the teeth 22. At the same time the rear end of the lever 17 will force the free end of the lever 18 out of engagement with the teeth 22 against the action of the spring 23 and allow the carriage to move forward slightly until one of the teeth strikes the end of the lever 17, but as soon as the lever 24 passes above the lever 17 the spring 23 will force the lever 18 into engagement and the lever 17 out of engagement with the teeth 22, thus allowing the carriage to move by gravitation down the inclined upper surface of the projection 4 to the next tooth 22. The lower end of the shaft projects into a block 32 on the base 1. The plunger 29 is provided with an arm 33 on one end of which is a square plate 34 which cooperates with the knives 35 and 36 on the end and side, respectively, of the envelop rest 3. The other end of the arm 33 is provided with a bearing 38 through which the stem 39 of the envelop sealer 40 projects, the said sealer 40 being held in the bearing 38 by a pin 41 passing through the stem 39 and resting in the slot 42. A coiled spring 43 surrounds the stem 39 between the sealer 40 and the pin 41. Just back of the plunger 29 and projecting from the envelop rest 3 is a small rest 44 over which the stamps pass before they go under the plunger. Pivoted to the rest 44 is a guide 45 under which the stamps pass and which serves to hold the said stamps down against the moistening apparatus. This moistening apparatus consists of a receptacle 46 made of suitable material to hold water, and has a rest 47 at its upper end upon which one end of a strip 48 of absorbent material rests, the other end of said strip projecting into the water. Above the said rest 47 and j ournaled in the sides of the receptacle 46 is a shaft 49 one end of which is bent down on the outside of said receptacle and forms a lever 50. Projecting from the shaft 49 down to near the upper surface of the rest 47 are two prongs which project into the strip 48 and which serve to raise and lower the latter by turning the lever 50. Two pins 51 and 52 project from the side of the receptacle far enough to limit the movement of the lever the rear pin 52, however, being adapted to be forced in far enough to allow the lever 50 to be turned back to disconnect the prongs from the strip 48. The upper end of the receptacle 46 fits back of the pin 53 on the under surface of the rest 44 and its lower end rests upon the spring catch 54. The upper end of the receptacle 46 is under the rest 44 with the absorbent strip 48 projecting up in position to moisten the gummed surfaces of the stamps as they pass one at a time to the plunger.

The mechanism for discharging the envelops consists of an arm 55 pivoted at its lower end to the projection 4 and having a cross-head 56 at its upper end which projects into a cut-out 57 at the back of the envelop rest 3, the said arm 55 being held to its normal position by a flat spring 58 which is pivoted at 59 and has its free end resting against the flat surface 60 at the lower end of the said arm 55. A lever 61 is pivoted in the slot 62 and is held to its normal position by the flat spring 64 pivoted to the back of the arm 55. Projecting over the top of said lever 61 is an arm 65 which is integral with the sleeve 27, and has an inclined upper surface 66. l/Vhen the plunger is forced down the arm 65 strikes the upper surface of the lever 61 and forces it back against the action of the spring 64 and allows the arm 65 to pass below said lever 61. i/Vhen the plunger is released and is moved upward by its spring, the inclined surface of the arm 65 will strike the lower inclined surface of the lever 61 and throw the arm 55, back on its pivot and when the lever 65 passes above the lever 61 and releases the latter the arm 55 will be thrown back to its normal position by the spring 58 causing the cross-head 56 to strike the envelop and throw it from the rest 3.

The envelop moistening device consists of a rest 67 secured at one end to the lower surface of the envelop rest and having a vertical. back 68 to which is slidably fixed a wire frame 69, the said frame being sliclable in the eyes 7 O on the side of the back 68 and is normally held down by the action of the.

coiled spring 71 which latter has one end secured to the said frame and the other end secured to the back 68. The lower ends of the frame are bent at right angles to form bearings for the cylinder 72. The frame is also bent near its ends to form the feet 73 which project slightly below the cylinder 72 to prevent wetting the contents of the envelops. The frame is also provided with loops 74 which serve as a means to raise the frame and also to force the lower end outwardly to insert the envelops in position. The cylinder 72 is hollow and is provided with removable caps 75 at each end which latter are provided with apertures 76 for the reception of the bent ends of the frame 69. The cylinder 72 is also provided with a number of apertures 77 through which water passes to the absorbent material 78 surrounding said cylinder.

The operation of the device is as follows: The roller 72 having been filled with water, the envelops are piled one upon the other on the rest 67 with their flaps projecting upwardly back of the cylinder 72. As each envelop is pulled from the pile the gummed surface drags along the absorbent material on the cylinder 72 revolving the latter and moistening the said gummed surface of the envelop. The envelop is then turned with the flap down and placed on the rest 3 and under the sealer in position to be sealed and stamped. The sheet of stamps having been placed in position and the first stamp moistened and passed under the plunger, the latter is forced down causing the square place on the end of the plunger to cooperate with the knives cutting off the stamp and forcing it down upon the envelop. At the same time the sealer is forced down with the plunger and seals the envelop, the flap of which has previously been moistened as described. When the plunger is released the envelop which has been stamped and sealed will be discharged and the carriage moved forward ready for the stamping and sealing of the next envelop, as heretofore described.

A wire basket 7 9, such as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, may be employed if desired to catch the envelops as they are discharged from the envelop rest 3.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a stamp-affixing machine, the combination of a base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said base, a plunger to force the stamps down upon the envelop, means operated by the said plunger to advance the carriage a predetermined distance, and means operated by the plunger to discharge the envelop after it is stamped.

2. In a stamp-a'liixing machine, the combination of a base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said base, a plunger to force the stamps down upon the envelops, means operated by the said plunger to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, and a sealer carried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop as the stamp is affixed.

3. In a stan'ip-attixing and envelop sealing machine, the combination of an inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base, a plunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, means operated by the plunger to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, and a sealer carried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop at the same time the stamp is affixed.

4. In a stamp-atlixing and envelop sealing machine, the combination of an inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base, a plunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, means operated by the plunger to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, a sealer carried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop at the same time the stamp is atlixed, and means to moisten the envelop flap before the envelop is sealed.

In a stamp-atfixing machine, the combination of an inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base and having teeth on one side thereof, a plunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, escapement levers pivoted to the base and adapted to engage the said teeth, means operated by the said plunger for operating the said escapement levers to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, and means operated by the plunger to discharge the envelop after it is sealed.

6. In a stamp-affixing and envelop sealing machine, the combination of a base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said base, a plunger to force the stamps down upon the envelops, means operated by the said plunger to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, a sealer carried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop as the stamp is affixed, and means operated by the plunger to discharge the envelop after it is sealed.

7. In a stamp-aflixing and envelop sealing ma chine, the combination of an inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base, a plunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, means operated by the plunger to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, a sealer carried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop at the same time the stamp is affiXed, means to moisten the envelop flap before it is sealed, and means operated by the plunger to dis charge the envelop after it is sealed.

8. In a stamp-affixing and envelop-sealing machine, the combination of an inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base, a plunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, an envelop sealer, means cooperating with the plunger to operate the sealer, and means cooperating with the plunger to permit the stamp carriage to operate.

9. In a stamp-affixing and envelop-sealing machine, the combination of a base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said base, an envelop sealer, a plunger, and means operated by said plunger which when the plunger is forced down will operate the envelop sealer and when the plunger is released will permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance.

10. In a stamp-affixing and envelop sealing machine, the combination of an inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base and operated by gravitation when released, a plunger, means to moisten the stamps before they pass under the plunger, an envelop sealer, an envelop discharger, and means operated by the plunger for operating the envelop sealer and envelop discharger.

11. In a stamp-afiixing and envelop-sealing machine, the combination of an inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said base, two rollers carried by the said carriage, an envelop rest, a plunger, an envelop sealer arranged above said envelop rest, an envelop discharger at the rear of said envelop rest, and means which when the plunger is forced ate the envelop sealer and when the plunger is released will allow the carriage to move by gravitation a predetermined distance on the said base.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

SAMUEL C. KINDIG. WILLIAM WITTLER. Witnesses CHAPIN A. FERGUSON, JEAN J AYES.

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