Patent GB-190721032-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Machines for Smoothing, Stripping and Booking Tobacco Leaves.
Inventor: DAVIS MAURICE EDWARD
IPC: A24B5/14
Filed: 1907-09-21
Granted: 1908-05-21
Abstract: 21,032. Davis, M. E., and Davis, M. H. Sept. 21. Tobacco.-Relates to the type of machine for smoothing, stripping, and booking tobacco leaves described in Specifications Nos. 1697 and 14,557, A.D. 1903, and No. 28,746, A.D. 1904, and consists of means for smoothing the leaf after it is fed to the machine and before it is cut, of the construction of the stemming-knives, in arranging the booking-apparatus to be adjusted to the middle of the leaf irrespectively of its length, in providing two alternately-acting leaf folding and dragging pins, of the means for operating the pins, of the means for intermittently driving the pin chains, of means for disconnecting the leaf-counting device at will, of the means for reciprocating the plates for supporting the folded leaves, of the means for operating the pressing-plates and providing friction devices for the platforms of the packing-boxes, and of the means for withdrawing and stripping the pins from the booked leaves. When the leaf L, Fig. 5, is inserted into the machine, it is supported upon a pivoted bar with a double concave point which is situated close to the lower feed-rollers 260. The leaf passes between the flanged roller 164 and the horizontal rollers 260, which are supported on flexible spindles 268 pressed together by springs and adapted to be depressed by means of a treadle to facilitate the introduction of the leaf stem. At the front of the machine is a curved guard-plate 290. The chains 160, 161 carry the leaf forwards until it is in position over the knife blades c, Fig. 37, when it is smoothed by the leafsmoothing means. These consist of two pairs of boxes, one pair on each side of the machine and each comprising a lower and an upper box communicating with suction apparatus and having endless perforated aprons k, n, Fig. 26, operated intermittently. The stem is out out by means of knife blades over which a roller mounted on a head 65, Fig. 1, is caused to travel by means of a screwshaft 250. The halves of the cut leaf are carried over to the booking-apparatus by means of the upper suction boxes which retain their parallelism during the transferring operation by means of parallel levers, Fig. 26. When the requisite number of leaves are piled on the booking table 327, Figs. 14 and 26, they are folded and carried between rollers 318. 322 by spring-controlled pins 405 which are adapted to be shot over the pile when the retaining-latch is released by a catch 470, Fig. 1. The pins 405, of which there are two on each chain, are carried by endless chains 406, Fig. 1, one on each side of the machine, and drag the leaves on a reciprocating plate 476 to the packing-box 510, Fig. 36, which has a platform 511 yieldingly supported by a pair of pinions 512 gearing with a rack and having a friction block. The table sections 325, 327, Fig. 1, upon which the leaves are deposited by the leafcarrying box, are adjustable by means of a rack and pinion along the length of the machine in order to enable the booking-apparatus to be adjusted to the centre of the leaves. As the leaves are brought to the box, the pressing-plates 490 are raised and, after the pin 405 is withdrawn, press the booked leaves into the box. The pins 405 are withdrawn by means of a head 500, Figs. 14 and 33, reciprocated by a screw 501, Fig. 33, stripping-means preventing the booked leaves from following the pins. The screw shaft 250, by means of which the head 65, Fig. 14, is reciprocated, is operated by bevel-gears 29, 30 driven alternately through a clutch from the main shaft 25, and the perforated aprons of the smoothing-means are operated at the proper times by a clutch 35, 36, Fig. 14, through a lever 70, 71, Figs. 1 and 14, which is operated by the head 65, the shaft 42 of the lower box being operated by bevel-gears 37, 38, 40, and the upper and lower boxes being interconnected by gearing. The suction means for the boxes is operated by a worm 28 on the shaft 25 and a worm-wheel 105, Fig. 14. The valve 128, Fig. 1, in the branch pipe r is carried by a spring-controlled shaft 126 having stops 130, 131, which are alternately engaged and disengaged by spring-controlled levers 134, 135; these levers are actuated by the reciprocating head 124 carried on a screw shaft 123 operated from the worm-wheel 105 by spur-wheels 91, 121, &c., Figs. 1 and 14. The suction of the upper boxes is controlled by a valve operated by a cam mounted on a shaft of the wormwheel 105. The upper or leaf-supporting boxes, which transfer the half-leaves to the booking-device, are carried by cranked pipes 10 which are given a partial rotation by means of a roll engaging in a cam-slot 81 which is reciprocated at the proper times by means of a roll 83 engaging in a cam-groove 84, Fig. 14, in a bevel-gear mounted on and operated from a shaft 86, Fig. 1, by a ratchet-and-pawl arrangement. The boxes are adjusted by means of a sleeve 955 which may be clamped in any desired position within limits by a nut 951. The lower feed-chain 161, Fig. 1, is driven from the main shaft 25, through shaft 86, Fig. 1, shaft 182, a clutch mechanism which operates in one direction only, spur-wheel 179, idler 178, and a clutch mechanism 200, 201, Fig. 14, which is operated by a lever 80, Fig. 1, from the lever 70, 71, Figs. 1 and 14, the upper chain being driven from the lower one by means of spur gearing. The booking-apparatus is operated from shaft 86, Fig. 20, by bevel-wheels 350, 373, clutch 371, and gear 368. A disk 351, mounted on the shaft 86 and operated therefrom by a clutch, which may be disengaged by a treadle when the operator has omitted to feed a leaf to the machine, has a single tooth which engages with a segmental gear 353 operating, by means of a pawl 1356, a ratchet - wheel 1355 having a number of teeth corresponding to the number of leaves to be piled. A stud 357 on this wheel knocks up a saddle which releases an index stop 365 engaged in a slot in one half of the clutch and causes the clutch to close and drive the gear 368 which drives a gear 385, Figs. 1 and 33. This gear and a similar one 390, Fig. 33, drive pinions 391, 392 which in turn drive the sprockets for the pin-carrying chains in one direction only by means of clutches 398. The gears 385, 390 also operate the pressing-plates 490 by means of cam-grooves 498, 499. The knives c are supported by a pair of rigid straps 150, Fig. 37, resting on a base 153, while a pair of short chainguide supporting straps 154 are screwed to the front end and a single pair of shorter ones 155 are secured to the rear ends. Projecting chain and stem guides 157, 158 are secured to the knives. The chains 160, 161, Fig. 5, are pressed by bowls 196 and spring-pressed plates 195.