IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CIGARS AND CIGARETTES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Jobin, of No. 2, South Island Place, Clapham
Road, Surrey, and James Weber, of St. Martin's-le-Grand, in the City
of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF CIGARS AND CIGARETTES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN SUCH
MANUFACTURE."
Sealed the 19th November 1861, and dated the 20th May 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Jobin and James
Weber at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 20th May 1861.
We, JOSEPH JOBIN, of No. 2, South Island Place, Clapham Road, Surrey,
and JAMES WEBER, of St. Martin's-le-Grand, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF CIGARS AND CIGARETTES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANU-
FACTURE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes by
mechanical means. We take the leaves of tobacco as delivered from the
Custom House without submitting them to any preparation. The leaves being
taken from the basket or box are sorted so as to select the finest for the
outside cover which are cut by means of a knife into the requisite form.

page_text: The other leaves are then placed in a box, the size of which depends on the
size of the cigars or cigarettes to be made. For cigars the top and bottom
of this box are concave in their transverse section, so that the box being
filled and strong pressure applied a cake of tobacco leaves is produced, the
transverse section of which is somewhat similar in form to that of the cigar
to be produced. This cake of leaves is then placed in a trough or box in
the cutting machine. The machine is provided at one end with a rack or
screw which advances the tobacco at intervals so as to present a sufficient
quantity for one cigar to the action of a reciprocating knife which cuts off
the same as soon as the knife ascends another quantity of tobacco is advanced,
and so on alternately. As each quantity is cut off it is pressed or rolled by
the machine into the form of a cigar and delivered by the machine to the
girl or other attendant, who rolls them in the first leaf by means of an appa-
ratus furnished with two moveable pivots. They are then taken to the stove
and dried and finished and rolled in the outer leaf in the ordinary manner.
For cigarettes the process and apparatus are the same, excepting that the
top and bottom of the pressing box are flat instead of being concave, and
that paper may be substituted for the outer leaf, if preferred.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Jobin and James Weber in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th November 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
JOBIN, of No. 2, South Island Place, Clapham Road, Surrey, and JAMES
WEBER, of St: Martin's-le-Grand, in the City of London, send greeting: "
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one,, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Joseph Jobin and James Weber, Her special licence that we, the
said Joseph Jobin and James Weber, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such other as we, the said Joseph. Jobin and James Weber;
our executors, administrators, and assign, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereaften during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,. the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE

page_text: MANUFACTURE OF CIGARS AND CIGARETTES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN
SUCH MANUFACTURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Joseph Jobin and James Weber, our executors or administrators, by an in-
strument in writing under our, or one of our, or their, or one of their bands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Joseph Jobin and James Weber,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner tho
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement in writing, and on reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes by
mechanical means. We take the leaves of tobacco as delivered from the
Custom House without submitting them to any preparation. The leaves being
taken from the basket or box are sorted so as to select the finest for the
outside cover which are cut by means of a knife into the requisite form.
The other leaves are then placed in a box, the size of which depends on the
size of the cigars or cigarettes to be made. For cigars the top and bottom-
of this box are concave in their transverse section, so that the box being:
filled and strong pressure applied a cake of tobacco leaves is produced, the
transverse section of which is somewhat similar in form to that of the cigar
to be produced. This cake of leaves is then placed in a trough or box in.
the cutting machine. The machine is provided at one end with a rack or
screw which advances the tobacco at intervals so as to present a sufficient.
quantity for one cigar to the action of a reciprocating knife which cuts off
the same. As soon as the knife ascends another quantity of tobacco is
advanced, and so on alternately. As each quantity is cut off it is rolled by the
machine and delivered by means of an endless chain to the girl or other
attendant who rolls them in the first leaf by hand in the ordinary way and
places a ring around each to prevent its unrolling. They are then taken to
the stove and dried, and finished and rolled in the outer leaf in the ordinary.
manner. For cheroots or cigarettes the process and apparatus are the same,,
excepting that the top and bottom of the pressing box are flat instead of being.
concave, and that for the latter paper may be substituted for the outer leaf,, if
preferred.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention for "Improvements
in the Manufacture of Cigars and Cigarettes, and in the Apparatus employed

page_text: in such Manufacture," I will now proceed to describe the manner in which
the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect. And
in order that the same may be distinctly understood, I have annexed hereunto
a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with
figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following.
explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In the annexed Drawing Figure 1 represents a plan and end view of the
box in which the leaves are compressed previously to being placed in the
cutting machine.
a, a, is a cast-iron box furnished with four screws b, b, and two cross
bars c, c; d, d', are two pressing pieces, the former being thicker at one
side than at the other in order to form a cake of tobacco suitable for making
cigarettes or cheeroots, and the latter being concave so as to form a cake.
suitable for making cigars. The tobacco leaves being laid in the box a, a,
and one or both of the pressing pieces d, d', being laid over them, strong
pressure is applied by screwing down the nuts e, e, and thus the tobacco is
pressed into a solid cake suitable for placing in the cutting machine.
Figure 2 in the annexed Drawing represents a side view, and Figure 3
a front elevation of our improved cutting machine. The framing f, f, of the
machine supports the trough or box g, g, in which is laid the cake of tobacco
formed by the above described apparatus. The framing also supports in suitable
bearings the main driving shaft h, h, and the upper shaft i, i. The driving
shaft h, h, may be put in motion by manual labor by means of the handle k, k,
attached to the fly wheel 1, 1, or by steam or other power by means of a strap
passing round the driving pulley m, m. Upon the driving shaft h, h, is keyed
a spur pinion n, n, communicating motion to the upper shaft i, i, by means
-of-a-spur-wheel-o, .o. Upon one end_of_the_shaft i, i, is an excentric p, which
by means of an arm q, q, and ratchet or catch r, causes the ratchet wheel s
to turn a portion of a revolution at each half revolution of the excentric,
the wheel resting during the other half revolution by reason of the ratchet
overrunning the teeth. Through the screwed boss of the wheels a screw t
passes, and to the end of this screw a piston is attached which presses
against the end of the cake of tobacco in the trough or box g, g, which
is thus advanced at intervals a sufficient distance beyond the mouth of the
box to be cut off by the action of the cutting apparatus. Any ordinary
dividing apparatus may be applied to the above-described motion so as to
cause the screw to advance the exact distance each time to furnish the par-
ticular amount of tobacco required to form cigars or cigarettes of the size or
weight desired; u, u, is a carriage capable of vertical motion in the slides u, v,

page_text: and provided with a transverse slide u*, u*, capable of horizontal motion
therein, to which slide the knife or cutter w, w, is.attached. Vertical motion
is given to the carriage u, u; from the shaft i, i, by means of the crank and
arm x, x, and horizontal motion to and fro is imparted to the slide u*, u*, (to
which the knife is fixed) from the shaft h, h, by means of the crank and
atm y, y. By this combined movement as the knife w, w, descends it cuts
off so much of the cake of tobacco as protrudes from the end of the box 9, 9, (see
detached sectional view Figure which as it is cut off falls into a small
trough,, which swings by two links 1, 1, and is held in its place by a
spring 2, 2; 3, 3, is a catch which, as the carriage descends, comes under
a weighted lever 4, 4, which as the carriage ascends brings down the piece 5, 5,
which rolls the cut tobacco, and pushes it out of the small trough z, z, causing
it to fall on to a concave tray 6, 6, below, upon which is previously laid
a piece of paper or waxed cloth containing the leaf for the first covering.
The movement of the trough 5, z, is shown in Figure 4 by dotted lines. As
soon as the trough z, z, is emptied of its contents the upper part of the
catch 3, 3, comes against the pin which releases the weighted lever 4, 4,
and allows it to bring the piece 5, 5, and trough z, z, into their original
position. A series of shallow trays 6, 6, are mounted upon an endless chain,
which is moved the length of one tray each descent of the carriage by means
of the rods and levers 7, 7, so that as soon as one tray receives its portion
of tobacco it is advanced and another tray takes its place below the trough z, z.
The attendant takes each of these portions of tobacco and rolls them up
by hand in its respective leaf together with the paper or waxed cloth, and
passes the rough cigar or "bunch" thus formed through a ring shown at
Figure 5, in order to prevent unrolling. These "bunches" (as they are
called) with the rings round them are allowed to remain for some hours,
when the paper or waxed cloth is removed; the outer covering or envelope
is then applied and the cigar finished in the ordinary way. We prepare the
leaves for the first covering of cigars and for the outer covering of cheroots,
manillas, and cigarettes by passing them through a rolling press, in order
to flatten the web or ribs of the leaf.
"
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention for
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cigars and Cigarettes, and in the Appa-
ratus Employed in such Manufacture," together with the manner in which
the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, we
would remark, in conclusion, that we claim as our Invention the improved
process of manufacturing cigars and cigarettes, by mechanical means, as
above described, and also the particular arrangements of apparatus or mechan-

page_text: ism used in such process, as shown in the annexed Drawings, and above
more particularly described.
:
.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Jobin, (on behalf of myself
and on behalf of the said James Weber,) have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
GEORGE DAVIES;
Civil Engineer & Patent Agent,
1, Serle Street,
Lincoln's Inn.
J. JOBIN. (L.S.)