Improvements in the Manufacture of Cigar Bunches.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th May, 1891-Accepted, 13th June, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cigar Bunches.
I, WALTER ASA PECK, of 113 Waterman Street, Providence, Rhode Island,
United States of America, Wool Dealer, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CIGAR BUNCHES,"
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Heretofore, it has been customary in the manufacture of cigar bunches, to take
a mass of loose fillers and without giving any definite form or shape thereto, roll
the binder cylindrically thereon. By this old method the fillers at the ends of
the bound bunch are necessarily loose and unconfined, and there is always more or
less surplus binder projecting at the ends of the bunch. To properly apply the
wrapper to a bunch of this description it has been necessary to first remove the
projecting surplus of binder, and then to either subject the bunch to the action of
a mold to give it the proper form and shape for the cigar to be made therefrom,
or else to bring the bunch to the proper form so far as possible during the operation
of putting on the wrapper. This latter is a difficult operation especially in the
case of cigars having a pronounced taper at one or both ends, and requires a high
degree of skill and careful manipulation on the part of the workman, and moreover,
by such operation, an undue strain is liable to be brought upon the wrapper both
during the process of applying it and afterwards, and to subject the bunches to the
action of molds involves time, labor and expense.
The object of my invention is to produce a bound cigar bunch, of substantially
the form and shape of the cigar to be made therefrom, which said bunch shall be
in condition to have the wrapper neatly and smoothly applied thereto, without the
necessity of subjecting the bunch to the action of a mold, and without involving
the necessity of the bunch being brought to shape during the process of putting on
the wrapper; and to that end the invention relates to a method of forming cigar
bunches, which consists in first shaping the mass of loose fillers into substantially
the form of the cigar to be produced, and holding said fillers in such form, and
then winding the binder spirally thereon in reverse directions, whereby a cigar
bunch will be produced of substantially the shape of the cigar to be made and in
which the fillers will be firmly held and bound with practically uniform tightness
throughout the length of the bunch, including the ends thereof.
In carrying my invention into practice, I prefer to make use of a suitable rolling
chamber of substantially the form of the cigar to be produced, as the most
convenient means for giving the desired form and shape to the mass of fillers from
which the bunch is to be made. Any other suitable means however may be
employed for the purpose.
When the rolling chamber is used, a proper quantity of loose fillers is placed in
said chamber, and thereby, by rolling or otherwise, brought into substantially the
shape of the cigar to be produced, and when the mass of fillers has been brought
into the desired shape, and while they are held in such shape in the rolling
chamber, the binder is to be wound spirally thereon as hereinafter described. 1
prefer to roll the mass of fillers in the rolling chamber before applying the binder
thereto, and thus more thoroughly ensure the proper shaping of the mass, but if
desired the binder may be applied at the commencement of the rolling operation, in
which case the shaping of the mass will be sufficiently effected by the shape or
form of the chamber itself, or by the preliminary turns which necessarily take place
in starting the binder thereon; and in putting on the binder which is preferably
of an elongated form, the end of the binder is to be applied to the mass of fillers

page_text: intermediate of the ends thereof, and the binder wound spirally thereon towards
that end of the mass which is to form the head or point of the cigar, and then
turned upon itself and wound back in a reverse spiral to or towards the opposite
end of the mass, that is, the end which is to form the tuck of the cigar, and
thereby snugly enclose and firmly bind and hold the fillers in the proper tapering
form for the reception of the wrapper.
In most cases it will be sufficient to run the binder back to or towards the tuck
end of the bunch, but in case cigars with tapering tucks are to be made, the
binder, may if desired, on reaching the tuck end, be again turned upon itself, and
wound back by a reverse spiral towards the place of beginning, and thus enclose
and bind the tuck end likewise in the proper form.
The end of the binder may be secured by paste or in any other suitable manner.
Fig. 1, represents a loose unshaped mass of fillers, from which the bunch is to be
formed for the manufacture of a tapering cigar.
Fig. 2, represents a longitudinal section of the cigar bunch when wound in
practically cylindrical forn, with a projecting surplus of binder, as heretofore in
the manufacture of cigars.
Fig. 3, represents the mass of fillers shown in Fig. 1, when compactly held in
tapering cigar form, to carry out my improved method of manufacture.
Fig. 4, represents the same when the binder is first started, to wind spirally from
the middle portion toward the head end, upon the compactly held fillers.
Fig. 5, represents the same when the binder has been wound spirally to the head
end, and started to return spirally along the body portion of the bunch.
Fig. 6, represents the same when the binder has been wound spirally from the
head to the tuck, and started to return from the tuck to the middle portion.
Fig. 7, represents the completely bound cigar bunch having the proper' tapering
cigar form, and without a projecting surplus of binder.
In the accompanying drawings, A, Fig. 1, represents a loose mass of cigar fillers,
made of unequal length, and so distributed in the mass, that upon the proper
compression of the fillers transversely, and the application of the binder and the
final wrapper thereto, a properly tapered cigar can be made, and in Fig. 2,
A represents the fillers shown in Fig. 1, enclosed in a practically cylindrical form,
by means of a binder B, as usual in the manufacture of cigars, and leaving in
most cases, a projecting surplus a, of binder, which surplus' must be carefully
removed, prior to the application of the final wrapper, the said bunch being tightly
bound, only, at its middle portion, leaving the filler ends b, b, loose and liable to
displacement. In carrying out my improved method of making bunches for the
manufacture of tapering cigars, I first hold the mass of fillers shown in Fig. 1, in
compact tapering cigar form as shown in Fig. 3, by any suitable means, as by
enclosing the same in the rolling chamber or pocket of a cigar binding or wrapping
machine of proper construction, and then wind the binder, which is made in
elongated form, spirally thereon, toward and from either of the ends of the
compactly held mass of cigar fillers. In Fig. 4, the elongated binder C is repre-
sented as being started to wind from the middle portion toward the head end of
the filler bunch, and upon the arrival of the edge d of the binder at the head end c
of the bunch, as shown in Fig. 5, the binder is to be inclined backward, to 'form a
reverse spiral from the head end, toward the middle portion, as shown in Figs. 5
and 6, and when the edge e of the binder has reached the tuck end of the bunch
as shown in Fig. 6, the winding may be either completed in the same direction or
the direction of the spiral may be reversed by a backward change in the inclination
of the binder, and wound to completion in the reverse direction from the 'tuck f, as
shown in Fig. 7, thus producing a completed bunch D, in which the fillers are
compactly held by the binder at all parts of the bunch, in tapered cigar 'form, and
adapted to receive the final wrapper, which on account of the reverse spiral lapping
of the binder, and the tightly held tapering ends of the bunch, will be relieved
from the strain due to the elasticity of the compressed fillers, and can be wound
smoothly upon the bunch to produce tlie very best grade of work.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The method of making cigar bunches, which consists in first holding the
fillers in tapering form at the head end of the bunch and then winding the binder
thereon spirally toward and from the head, whereby the fillers will be bound in
proper tapering form, as set forth.
2. A cigar bunch, having its mass of fillers tapering toward the head end of the
bunch, and having a binder wound spirally thereon, towards and from the head,
whereby the fillers are bound firmly in proper tapering form, substantially as
described.
11
1 1
C
*11001
WALTER ASA PECK.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.