Abstract:
A semi-automatic cigarette-making machine of the tobacco-injecting type including a housing with an aperture and a compacting chamber in communication with the aperture for receiving loose tobacco, a compacting member mounted for manual reciprocal up and down motion from an initial position adjacent the top of the compacting chamber toward the bottom of the compacting chamber in response to the rotation of a pair of opposed gears, and an injection spoon mounted for automatic powered reciprocal lateral movement from a rest position within the compacting chamber across the compacting chamber to transport rod-like compacted tobacco shapes past the ejection side of the compacting chamber and into a hollow cigarette tube.

Description:
FIELD 
     This invention pertains generally to injector-type cigarette-making machines, and, more particularly, to compact tabletop semi-automatic injector-type cigarette-making machines and methods of using such cigarette-making machines. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Manual injector-type cigarette-making machines are well known. Such cigarette-making machines are typically operated by rotating a crank to first compress a selected portion of loose tobacco equivalent to one cigarette within a compaction chamber and then to inject the compressed tobacco into a pre-formed cigarette tube by means of a device that carries the tobacco into the tube. The pre-formed empty cigarette tube is held at one end of a hollow nipple of the cigarette-making machine during the injection of the compressed tobacco. Once the compressed tobacco is in place in the pre-formed cigarette tube, the tube is released from the cigarette-making machine to be smoked or stored for later use. 
     Many of the prior manual injector-type cigarette-making machines are considered slow and cumbersome to use, particularly when it is desired to make a substantial number of cigarettes. Many current automatic machines, on the other hand, are typically large, complex, expensive and difficult to use, making them impractical for individuals making cigarettes for their own use. Also, many of these complex and expensive automatic cigarette-making machines require careful calibration and produce many less than optimal cigarettes in terms of tube fill and tobacco uniformity. Furthermore, complex prior art automatic cigarette-making machines are vulnerable to breakdown and expensive repairs. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a compact, economical, semi-automatic cigarette-making machine that consistently and efficiently produces cigarettes using a mechanism that is neither complex nor requires adjustment or expensive repairs. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the invention relate to a semi-automatic cigarette-making machine having a housing with an aperture in its surface for receiving loose tobacco, a delivery side with exit port and a rotary handle for operating the cigarette-making machine. Preferably the handle is mounted for reciprocal motion in a vertical plane. The machine includes a compacting chamber in communication with the aperture for receiving loose tobacco. The machine may have a funnel with curved inclined sides for directing loose tobacco into the aperture and the compacting chamber. 
     A compacting member is mounted for manually operated reciprocal up and down motion from an initial position adjacent the top of the compacting chamber toward the bottom of the compacting chamber. The compacting member thus compacts loose tobacco in the compacting chamber into a rod-like shape at the bottom of the chamber. 
     The handle is affixed to a laterally disposed rotatably mounted shaft which has a spur gear perpendicularly disposed on the shaft with circumferential gear teeth for engaging a slidably mounted rack gear mounted and for reciprocal movement coincident with the direction of movement of the reciprocating compacting member. The rack gear has a series of gear teeth running along it&#39;s bottom surface that are shaped, dimensioned and positioned to engage the gear teeth of the spur gear. 
     The rack gear includes lateral teeth that extend from at least one edge of the rack gear and are structured, dimensioned and disposed to engage gear teeth of at least one spur gear that is linked to the reciprocating compacting member to move the compacting member as the rack gear is moved by operation of the spur gear. Preferably the rack gear will have lateral gear teeth extending from both opposite edges of the rack gear and a pair of opposed spur gears structured, dimensioned and disposed to engage these lateral gear teeth. 
     An injection spoon is positioned adjacent to the bottom of the compacting chamber. Preferably both the injection spoon and the compacting member will have concave surfaces to help form the top of the compacted tobacco rod-like shape. The injection spoon is mounted for reciprocal movement across the compacting chamber to transport the rod-like shape through the exit port in the delivery side of the compacting chamber. An electrically powered motor coupled to the injection spoon moves the spoon across the chamber. 
     The automatic phase of the machine is achieved by initiating the operation of the electric motor when the handle and shaft reach a pre-set rotation at the end of the manual operation phase. Thus, an injection spoon drive arm is attached to the injection spoon adjacent to the distal end of the arm and mounted for a reciprocal motion about the proximal end of the arm as the motor is operated. The motor includes a drive link with an upwardly directed drive pin and the injection spoon arm includes a longitudinal slot. The pin is located in the slot so that the rotation of the motor drives the reciprocal motion of the injection spoon and the reciprocal lateral movement of the injection spoon across the compacting chamber. Preferably the pin will be a bearing-mounting rotatable pin. 
     A switch member is affixed to the injection spoon drive arm for triggering a switch to operate an electronic control reversing the operation of the motor and returning the injection spoon drive arm and the injection spoon to their rest position after the injection spoon moves across the compacting chamber. 
     Embodiments of the invention also include methods of operating the cigarette-making machine described above. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a tabletop semi-automatic cigarette-making machine embodiment with the mechanism of the device covered by a cover; 
         FIG. 1A  is a side elevation view of the cigarette-making machine embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2  is an perspective view of the cigarette-making machine embodiment of  FIG. 1  which the top surface of the cover has been removed to expose a top support plate and some of the internal workings of the device; 
         FIG. 3  is a further perspective view of the cigarette-making machine embodiment of  FIG. 2  in which the top support plate has been removed in order to better examine the compacting drive mechanism of the machine; 
         FIG. 3A  is an enlarged perspective view of a rack gear employed in the cigarette-making machine embodiment of  FIG. 1  meshing along its edge with gear teeth disposed about the circumference of a spur gear; 
         FIG. 3B  is a bottom perspective view of the rack gear of  FIG. 3A  showing additional gear teeth running along the bottom center portion of the rack gear; 
         FIG. 4  is a back perspective cutaway view of the semi-automatic cigarette-making machine embodiment of  FIG. 1  showing an electric motor which partially powers the machine and an associated linkage; and 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the semi-automatic cigarette-making machine embodiment of  FIG. 1  in which the top surface of the cover as well as the top support plate and the compacting drive mechanism have been removed to enable closer inspection of the componentry that is activated during the automatic phase of operation. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     The embodiments described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the structure and operation disclosed. Rather, the described embodiments have been chosen to help explain embodiments of the invention and its application, operation and use in order to best enable others skilled in the art to follow its teachings. 
     Referring now to the Figures, tabletop semi-automatic cigarette-making machine embodiments are provided. In  FIG. 1 , the exterior of a tabletop semi-automatic cigarette-making machine embodiment  10  is shown, with the mechanism of the device covered by a cover  12 . This cover may, of course, be made of any suitable material, such as plastic, metal, etc. Cover  12  includes a top surface  14 , four vertical sides, including a delivery side  16  and a bottom  18 . Delivery side  16  may also include a slot for a retractable tray  20  ( FIG. 1A ) to receive finished cigarettes. 
     Top surface  14  has a funnel portion  22  for receiving loose tobacco with curved inclined sides  24  for directing the loose tobacco toward a compacting chamber access opening  26 . The cigarette-making machine also includes a handle  28  which operates in a vertical plane and is used in manually initiating the first (manual) step in the cigarette making process followed by the second (automatic) step, as will be explained below. 
     A tobacco compacting chamber  50  lies beneath opening  26  as shown in  FIG. 1 . Thus, before the cigarette-making machine is put into operation to form a cigarette, loose tobacco intended for the cigarette is placed in funnel portion  22  to be directed through compacting chamber access opening  26  into the compacting chamber. 
     In  FIG. 2  the top surface of the plastic cover has been removed to expose some of the internal workings of the device. A top support plate  32  which is held in place by appropriate brackets, including brackets  34 A and  34 B, can be seen in this view. Selected operating components of the machine are mounted to the support plate. Top support plate  32  has a cut-out  36  through which a reciprocating compacting member  40  can be seen in this view. The compacting member includes two bores  42 A and  44 B at which drive arms  44  and  46  (which are discussed below) are rotatably attached. The reciprocating compacting member is arranged to move or reciprocate in direction “A” so that its leading edge  48  moves between the top edge  52  of compacting chamber  50  and its bottom edge  54 . Leading edge  48 B of the reciprocating compacting member has a concave compacting surface. 
     In  FIG. 3  support plate  32  has been removed in order to better examine the compacting drive mechanism  60  of the cigarette-making machine. As can be seen in this figure, this mechanism includes handle  28  which is perpendicularly affixed to a laterally disposed rotatably mounted shaft  62 . Shaft  62  includes, fixed to the shaft, a vertically disposed spur gear  64  with circumferential gear teeth  66  that are disposed opposite a rack gear plate  68  which can also be seen in  FIG. 3A . The rack gear is slidably mounted in top support plate  32  so that it moves reciprocally in direction “A” coincident with the direction of movement of the reciprocating compacting member. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 3B , rack gear  68  includes a generally flat bottom surface  70  with a series of gear teeth  72  running along its longitudinal center. These gear teeth are shaped, dimensioned and positioned to engage gear teeth  66  of vertically disposed spur gear  64  ( FIG. 3 ). Additionally, lateral gear teeth  68 A and  68 B extend from the edges of the rack gear. Gear teeth  68 A and  68 B are structured, dimensioned and disposed to engage gear teeth  74  and  76  of a pair of opposed spur gears  75 A and  76 B which are rotatably mounted to the support plate. 
     Additionally, a pair of links  80 A and  80 B are rotatably mounted at their proximal ends respectively to the top surfaces of opposed gear wheels  78 A and  78 B at attachment points  74 A and  74 B. The opposite distal ends of each of the links is in turn rotatably attached at bores  42 A and  42 B ( FIG. 3 ) of reciprocating compacting member  40  adjacent its proximal top edge  41 . 
     Thus, as handle  28  is rotated downwardly, gear spur  64  rotates in direction “B.” Since gear teeth  66  of the gear engage gear teeth  72  of rack gear  68 , this motion produced under the manual operation (downward movement) of the handle causes the rack gear to move forward toward the compacting chamber. The forward movement of the rack gear in turn causes opposed spur gears  78 A and  78 B to rotate in opposing directions C and D. This opposing rotation of the opposed spur gears rotates connection points  74 A and  74 B of links  80 A and  80 B forward (or toward the reciprocating compacting member) causing the links in turn to move forward driving the reciprocating compacting member down against the tobacco in compacting chamber  50 . As a result, the tobacco in the chamber then is formed into a rod-like shape between the concave compacting surface of the reciprocating member and the half-round surface of injection spoon  96 . And, under this direct geared action an unusually smooth and evenly disposed compacting force is applied across leading edge  48  of the compacting member to insure reliable movement perpendicular to direction “A”, proper uniform tobacco compaction, and the production of a rod-like shape with uniform burning characteristics. 
     After handle  28  and shaft  62  are rotated to achieve the desired compacting of the tobacco in the compacting chamber, trigger member  81  on shaft  62  enters a sensing cavity  82  in switch  84  triggers a switch which supplies electrical energy to electrical motor  84  shown in this  FIG. 4  causing the motor shaft  85  to rotate. This initiates the “automatic” phase of the operation of the cigarette-making machine by way of the motor driven rotation of a drive link  86  is affixed to the motor shaft  85 . As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the drive link includes an upwardly directed drive pin  88  at the distal end of the link. Pin  88  preferably is a bearing-mounted rotatable pin to minimize friction as the pin moves in slot  104  as discussed below. 
     During this automatic phase of the operation of the cigarette-making machine, an injection spoon drive arm  90  is reciprocated to operate an injection spoon  96 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the injection spoon drive arm is connected to an injection spoon assembly affixed to injection spoon link  116  through a pivoting link  112  rotatably attached at bore  108  to the injection spoon drive arm and at bore  118  to the injection spoon link. Tracking means (not shown) are provided to confine the movement of the injection spoon assembly to reciprocal lateral movement from a rest position within the compacting chamber across compacting chamber  50  and back. The approximately half round open tubular injection spoon  96  projects from the injection spoon assembly. The radius of curvature of this open tubular spoon is approximately the same as that of the front compacting edge of the reciprocating compacting member. 
     The injection spoon drive arm has a proximal end section  98 , a mid-section  100  and a distal section  102 . Mid-section  100  includes a longitudinal slot  104  and the proximal and distal end sections include respective bores  106  and  108 . The injection spoon drive arm is rotatably fixed to a pin  110  so that the injection spoon drive arm can reciprocate back and forth about the pin. 
     This reciprocal motion is achieved by way of drive pin  88  which is positioned and dimensioned for sliding movement in slot  104 . Thus, as drive link  86  affixed to motor shaft  84  rotates in a clockwise direction in the illustrated embodiment, pin  88  moves along the slot causing the distal end of the injection spoon drive arm and hence the injection spoon assembly including injection spoon  96  to move toward delivery side  16  of cigarette-making machine to deliver a rod-like tobacco shape carried by the injection spoon into a hollow cigarette tube (not shown) positioned opposite delivery port  29 . When the injection spoon drive arm reaches the end of its motion a switch member  120  affixed to the injection spoon drive arm enters into a sensing cavity of a switch  122  by which appropriate electronic circuitry is triggered to cause the motor to reverse direction, withdrawing the injection spoon from the cigarette tube and returning it to the rest position illustrated, for example, in FIG.  3 . A cigarette tube holding mechanism  31  may be provided as can be seen in  FIGS. 1A and 4 , including a pressure applying member  33  which engages and retains cigarette tubes on nipple  33  while the compaction and injection process proceeds. 
     In another aspect, a method of using the improved injector-type cigarette-making machine is provided. First, a paper cigarette tube is disposed on the nipple of the tube holding mechanism. Then, an appropriate quantity of loose tobacco is placed in funnel portion  22  and pressed into tobacco compacting chamber  26 . Once the tube and tobacco are properly in place, the user moves handle  28  which causes gear  64  to rotate forward driving rack gear  68  forward. Rack gear  68  in turn engages opposed gears  75 A and  75 B which rotate in opposite directions to move links  80 A and  80 B forward. Since these links are rotatably attached to reciprocating compacting member  50 , the compacting member is driven forward under a smooth and evenly disposed compacting force that is applied across the leading edge of the compacting member to complete the manual phase of the operation of the device. This ensures reliable perpendicular movement of the compacting member as well as the production of proper uniform tobacco compaction and a rod-like shape which, once disposed within a hollow cigarette tube, will have uniform burning characteristics. 
     At a preset rotation of the handle, electrical power is supplied to a motor to initiate the automatic phase of the operation of the device. The motor shaft rotates a drive link having a drive pin at its distal end. The drive link is positioned in a longitudinal slot of the injection spoon drive arm. The arm itself is rotatably affixed at its distal end and linked to an injection spoon assembly mounted for lateral movement across the compacting chamber of the device. As the drive link rotates clockwise its pin moves along slot in the injection spoon drive arm causing the distal end of the injection spoon drive arm and hence the injection spoon assembly to move toward delivery side  16  of the cigarette-making machine to deliver the rod-like tobacco carried by the injection spoon into the hollow cigarette tube positioned opposite the delivery port of the device. 
     When the injection spoon drive arm reaches the end of its motion appropriate electronic circuitry is triggered to cause the motor to reverse direction and withdraw the injection spoon from the cigarette to its rest position. Handle  28  may then be returned to its rest position, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . This completes a single cycle of the operation of the device to complete the formation of a tobacco filled cigarette tube. 
     The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing embodiments of the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of embodiments the invention. 
     Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention.