Machine for folding flexible sheets

A buckle-folding machine for folding sheets of material, comprising a plurality of fold stations each including a pair of pinch rolls and a fold plate defining a sheet-receiving space, infeed means to feed a sheet of material to the fold stations, deflector means at the fold stations operable to one position to cause the sheet to be fed between the pinch rolls and folded and operable to another position to deflect the sheet past the pinch rolls unfolded, dependent upon the dimensions of the sheet, and deflector operating means connected with the deflector means to operate the deflector means to their two positions, said operating means including a plurality of spaced apart first sensing means at the infeed means operatively connected to initiate operation of the deflector means at the first of said plurality of fold stations to effect folding of the sheet at said first fold station when said sheet exceeds a predetermined size as sensed by said first sensing means, and fold station sensing means at each of said fold stations, control means connecting said fold station sensing means together so that one fold station sensing means is operatively connected to a succeeding fold station sensing means at a next succeeding fold station to initiate operation of the deflector means at the next succeeding fold station into said one position to cause the sheet to be fed between the pinch rolls at said next succeeding fold station to further fold the sheet when the presence of the sheet is simultaneously sensed by the first sensing means at the infeed means and by said one fold station sensing means.