Patent GB-190916841-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Tobacco Stemming Machines.
Inventor: STRICKLAND CHARLES VENSON
IPC: A24B5/06
Filed: 1909-07-19
Granted: 1910-07-14
Abstract: 16,841. Strickland, C. V. July 19. Tobacco.-In a machine for stemming tobacco leaves, the leaves, while being fed, are separated by means acting on the butt ends of the stems; the leaves are supported individually in succession while being stripped, and are stripped separately by means of a series of rotating blades provided with stem pockets, the blades acting in rapid succession to remove small portions of the webs and retiring from action after performing such function. The feed mechanism A, Fig. 1, consists of an endless belt 1 and a leaf-holder 6 designed to hold the leaves while the butt ends are being combed and stripped by means of flails 14, Fig. 8, pivoted to a rotary shaft 15, the fibre falling into a shoot 16, Fig. 1, and thence into a hopper compartment 79. The butt ends are grasped by a series of rolls 17 which may be faced with rubber and driven by means of a system of continued trains from a master gear so that they rotate at progressively increasing speeds from the entrance to the discharge end, whereby the stems are separated and presented to the transferring-mechanism one at a time. The operation of the separator mechanism is intermittent and ceases when a stem arrives at the discharge end of the rolls 17, and remains at rest until the stem is removed by transferring-mechanism, which consists of a rotary head 30, Figs. 1 and 10, having a series of grippers 31 comprising jaws which are arranged to open and close at the proper times by means of levers and cams. The leaf is gripped in an horizontal position, turned into a pendent position by means of a cam 42, Fig. 10, and carried by means of a carrier between the stripper blades. The carrier consists of a series of pairs of jaws 53 arranged on endless chains, which are disposed at an angle so that the leaf is stripped gradually and progressively. The jaws 53 are normally kept closed by means of a spring 57, Fig. 10, and are opened to receive the stem by means of plungers 60 acting on the tail ends of the jaws and operated by a fixed cam 59. A second carrier is arranged below the jaws to assist in holding the leaves when the strippers act on the broadest part of the leaves. This latter carrier consists of an endless chain 55, Fig. 1, having stem clasps 62, Fig. 22, which grip the stem as shown. At the discharge end of the first carrier, the jaws 53 are opened by means of a duplex cam arranged on the chainwheel shaft at the upper end of the carrier chain. The blades 45, Fig. 25, of the stripping- mechanism are journaled in heads 49 and have stem pockets 48 arranged spirally as shown; the size of the pockets gradually decrease to conform to the gradually diminishing diameter of the stem. The blades after each acting on a small portion of the leaf are caused to recede therefrom by means of the crank-arms 66, the ends of which engage in cam races 67. A leaftip cutter 47 provided with notches lies against one of the blades 45 and is reciprocated by a bell-crank lever 72 and cam-race 74 to sever the stem when the latter is thin enough to enter the notches. Brushes 78, Fig. 1, are provided to disentangle the webs of the leaves. The stripped webs fall into a trough 79, while the stems are discharged into a shoot 76 by means of a brush 77 and are conveyed into the trough 79. This consists of a belt 84 with side walls and a middle division 82, Fig. 4, arranged so that the stems together with the imperfectly stemmed leaves and the webs do not mix but are conveyed separately. In a modification of the machine, the butt ends are gripped by the carrier jaws, the leaves being gripped in an horizontal position and assuming a pendent position as the chains of the carrier travel onwards. Additional flails are provided in the stem comber and stripper to maintain the leaves in an even manner. The stem-butt separator consists of a wheel provided on its periphery with stem pockets, each designed to receive a single stem and having a spring-pressed shoe co-operating therewith and is intermittently driven by means of a ratchet and pawl. The transferrer consists of a reciprocating arm, while the carrier is similar to the carrier shown in Fig. 1, the second carrier being dispensed with. The web-stripper blades are provided with two series of spiral notches.