Improvements in and relating to Tobacco Cutting Machinery and the like."
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Mar., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 17th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 24th Dec., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
66 Improvements in and relating to Tobacco Cutting Machinery
and the like."
I WILLIAM DAVIES Hubits, St. Martins, Guernsey, Channel Islands, Tobacco
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to appliances for simultaneously pressing and cutting
tobacco and the like, and automatically sharpening the cutting blades, and con-
sists essentially of certain improvements in Machinery for. that purpose, com-
prising one or more rollers, cylinders or drums, mounted parallel to each other
when more than one is used and revolving in suitable bearings in a stationary
frame.
Immediately above each of these rollers another roller is mounted, working in
vertical sliding bearings within the stationary frame, and each such upper roller
is weighted down, independently of any other roller, in the direction of contact
with the roller below it, by link-rods and suspended weights, and both upper
and lower rollers are rotated by suitable gearing, with a regular or with an
intermittent motion, causing the feed of tobacco to travel between them in the
direction of and through, an orifice or mouthpiece, having a rising and falling
lip, rising and falling by connections with and in accord with, the ascent, and
descent of the link-rods and weights, and where, the protruding tobacco is sliced
off by adjustable knives fitted in or to a revolving disk or wheel, through aper-
tures in which, the slices or shreds of tobacco are delivered to suitable receivers.
When more than one set of an upper and a lower roller are used, all the upper
rollers are embraced by a endless band, serrated on the surface for the purpose
of gripping the feed of tobacco, and all the lower rollers are also embraced by a
similar endless band for the same purpose. The inner surfaces of these bands
are also serrated to correspond and engage with similar serrations in the surface
of the rollers, to prevent slip. Intermittent motion of the feed of tobacco is
derived from a ratchet wheel rotated by one or more pawls attached to one end of
an oscillating lever, the other end of which, is connected with an eccentric rod
worked by an eccentric fitted on the shaft which carries the aforesaid Disk or
wheel. When the end of the said oscillating lever carrying the pawl or pawls
ascends, one of them engages with the ratchet wheel and pushes it partly round,
and when it descends, the other (when two pawls are used) engages with & pulls
the ratchet wheel partly round, with the result that the ratchet wheel and con-
sequently the feed of tobacco also, receives two impulsions during each revolution
of the Disk or wheel.
Immediately behind said wheel and between it and the body or framework of
the Machine, a Metal plate is fixed, and against the surface of this plate the .
knives glide, both to ensure that they pass accurately across the mouthpiece, and
that by the friction, the cutting edges may be maintained sharp.
Let into this plate are recesses containing rods or tongues of hard material,

page_text: and so fixed with suitable springs as to yield to the pressure of the cutting blades
as they pass over and receive from said yielding rods additional sharpening.
Dated this Twenty sixth day of March 1897.
WILLIAM DAVIES.
Applicant.
"Improvements in and relating to Tobacco Cutting Machinery
and the like."
I WILLIAM DAVIES of The Hubits, St. Martins, Guernsey, Channel Islands,
Tobacco Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:―
The accompanying drawings represent views of my improved apparatus for
pressing and cutting Tobacco and sharpening the cutting blades simultaneously.
The invention relates to appliances for the more expeditious and perfect manu-
facture of Cut Tobacco and consists essentially of one or two or more horizontal
rollers, cylinders or drums mounted parallel to each other (when more than one
is used, and revolving in suitable bearings in a stationary frame and immediately
above each of which rollers another roller is mounted working in vertical sliding
bearings within the stationary frame each of which bearings having connected
therewith a vertical link rod the lower ends of each pair of which are connected
with a crossbar extending from side to side through the standards of the Machine
and from each of these crossbars adjustable weights are suspended for the pur-
pose of pressure. The lower rollers are driven by worm, tooth, friction or other
suitable gearing and the upper rollers are driven by the same means but in the
opposite direction to the lower rollers and each of the upper rollers ascends and
descends according to the thickness of feed under it independently of any other
roller. The tobacco is placed in a trough and advanced with or without the
assistance of a travelling band to the feed way between the revolving rollers which
cause the feed to pass between in the direction of and through an orifice or mouth-
piece having a rising and falling upper lip rising and falling by connection with
and in accord with the ascent and descent of the vertical linkrods and upper
roller nearest to said lip and where at said mouthpiece the protruding tobacco is
sliced off by cutting blades fixed to a revolving disk or wheel rotated by any
suitable power and through apertures in which disk or wheel the slices of tobacco
are delivered. The upper series of rollers is embraced by an endless flexible band
and the lower series of rollers is also embraced by an endless flexible band. These
bands are on their outer and on their inner surfaces indented or corrugated,
notched, barbed, roughened or shaped in any suitable manner so as to grip the
rollers and grip and draw the feed of tobacco along. The aforesaid disk or wheel
which is also the flywheel, is metal and is keyed on the end of a driving shaft
having fast and loose pullies on it and is secured to the proper position on the
shaft by a screw nut working on a lefthand thread on the shaft, the disk or wheel
rotating in the righthand or reverse direction when cutting. Between the disk
or wheel and the body of the Machine, a faceplate having in it an aperture corre-
sponding with the mouthpiece is fixed, extending in direction on all sides from
the centre of said disk or wheel. Against this faceplate which is planed dead true
the. cutting edges of the blades are set and are thereby caused to pass accurately
across the face of the mouthpiece and ensures evenness of cut. The lower edge
or lip of the mouthpiece is made removable by sliding in grooved or dovetailed

page_text: ways when required for renewal or repairs.
Intermittent motion is imparted
to the feed of tobacco by an eccentric disk fixed on the main driving shaft of
Machine, the lower end of the rod of said eccentric disk being connected with an
oscillating slotted yoke, at or near one end of it and which at or near the other
end of it is connected with an elbowed pivoted lever. Within the said slotted
yoke a sliding bearing is placed connected with the end of a pivoted oscillating
lever the other end of which carries one or more pawls to work in a ratchet wheel
fixed on a worm shafting which gives motion to the aforesaid feeding rollers. By
raising or lowering the handle of the aforesaid elbowed lever the lower end of the
eccentric rod attached to the slotted yoke is caused to approach or to retire from
said sliding bearing with the result that the pawls engage fewer or more teeth
of the ratchet wheel as desired and so impels the feed through the feeding rollers
with greater or lesser speed towards the cutting blades and produce a coarser
or a finer shred of tobacco as desired.
Automatic cleaning and sharpening of the blades is effected by placing in a
recess in the aforesaid faceplate a rod or tongue of hard material, so fixed in with
any suitable spring as to yield to the pressure of the cutting blades as they pass
over it and are thereby scraped or cleaned from accumulating gum and the like
and partly sharpened, after which, to complete the sharpening, the blades are
placed in or on a sliding frame or holder within or without the framework of the
machine and having reciprocating rectilinear motion. The chamfer or bevel of
the blades is presented to contact with any suitable grinding material in motion
either in a circular, curved rectilinear or any other direction. Both the grinding
material and the sliding blade-frame are actuated by any suitable gearing attached
to, or connected with the main driving shaft of the machine.
Fig 1, in the annexed drawings represents an external side elevation of my
machine.
Fig 2. is a vertical longitudinal section shewing the endless flexible bands,
embracing the feeding rollers, and the method of lifting the pressure weights and
upper rollers to introduce the feed.
Fig 3, is a rear elevation shewing the intermittent and changeable feed
motion.
Fig 4, is a front elevation shewing the blades in the disk or wheel and the
removable lower edge or lip of the mouthpiece.
Fig 5, gives a rear end view of the machine with portion of the framework
removed to shew the sharpening arrangement.
Fig 6, gives a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the machine shewing the
arrangement for the rectilinear motion of the frame for carrying the blades for
sharpening.
Fig 7, gives a 'sectional view of a blade and method of securing it in or to the
cutting wheel.
A, in Fig 1, is the main driving shaft. B is the worm shaft rotated by the
ratchet wheel C. D is the disk or wheel which is also the flywheel, keyed on
the main shaft.
E, is a screwnut working on a lefthand thread on shaft to secure the disk or
wheel which rotates in a righthand or reverse direction when cutting. F is the
faceplate. G is one of the blades set in the disk or wheel obliquely towards
contact with the faceplate F. H, H fast and loose pulleys. I, is a hand wheel
for lifting the upper rollers and the weights by a pinion J and wheel K and a
cam L within the framework. M is the feeding trough. 0, 0, are the suspended
weights. P and Q are worm wheels keyed on to the shafts of the lower rollers
and inside of P keyed on the same shaft is R a cogwheel gearing with an inter-
mediate wheel S which latter gears with a second intermediate wheel T having
its axle working in U linkbearings the upper ends of which have their axis on
the axle of upper roller V on which is keyed W the driving wheel of said upper
roller and which gears with T, and the lower ends have their axis on the
axle of the first intermediate wheel S and by this wheel arrangement the upper

page_text: 5
roller is caused to revolve in unison with, but in a contrary direction to the roller
below it, notwithstanding the varying distances between them caused by the
varying thickness of the feed of material passing between. A precisely similar
train of wheels as R, S, T and W and similar linkbearings U are used on the
opposite side of the machine to rotate the rear upper roller X, (Fig 2) Y, Y, are
linkrods attached at their upper ends to both shaft ends of each upper roller and
at their lower ends are attached to crossbars extending through from side to side
of the machine and to these crossbars the pressure weights 0, 0, are suspended.
The said crossbars are connected by a plate Z under which and in contact there-
with a cam L (Fig 2) is caused to work by wheel K keyed on the same shaft,
and gearing with pinion J turned by the hand wheel I, by turning which in one
direction the weights and the upper or pressure rollers are lifted so as to open up
the feedway for the introduction of feed and when turned in the reverse direction
the said pressure rollers are free to descend upon the material to be pressed and
cut, and having separate pressure weights each upper roller acts upon what is
under it independently of what is under any other roller and in this way the
pressure accommodates itself to any unevenness in the feed and ensures a full
compact feed in the mouthpiece for the blades to act upon. a in Fig. 2, is an
endless flexible band embracing the upper series of rollers and b is a similar
flexible band embracing the lower series of rollers. These bands on their outer
surfaces and on their inner surfaces are corragated, indented, notched, barbed or
roughened or shaped in any suitable manner for the purpose of gripping the feed
and gripping the rollers which also have similar uneven surfaces to correspond
with the bands. These bands also prevent the feed from passing up or down into
the spaces between the rollers. and thereby choking them and impeding the
progress of the feed. To prevent the feed from working into the vertical spaces
in the standards of the machine which would be left open by the ascent of the
upper rollers I provide vertical slotted shutters e, e (Fig 6) sliding in grooves
or dovetailed ways in the standards. The upper ends of these slotted shutters
encircle the shaft ends of the upper rollers so that as they ascend or descend the
said shutters are drawn up or down with them and in this way the vertical
openings in the standards in which the vertical slide-bearings work are always
kept closed as the feed of tobacco is passing between the rollers. d in Fig 4 is the
removable lower lip of mouthpiece and which slides in or out of grooved or dove-
tailed ways when it is necessary or desirable for renewal or repairs. G, G, are the
blades, which are slung over fixed threaded bolts f, f, having securing nuts, g is
a clamp screwed against the blades so as to keep the cutting edges firmly against
the faceplate F (Fig 1).
h, h, in Fig 2 is a hinged delivery shute and shield closed and opened (dott d
lines) and which closes over or against the cutting wheel for protection of the
workman and to prevent scattering of particles of the cut material.
C in Fig. 3 is the ratchet wheel rotated by the two pawls i, i, one of which
engaging said ratchet wheel pulls it partly round and afterwards the other engaging
it pushes it partly round imparting in this way intermittent propulsion or the
feed twice during each revolution of the cutting wheel. j is the oscillating
lever connected at one end with the aforesaid pawls and at the other end with
the slide bearing k in the slotted yoke which at or near one end is attached to
the lower end of rod of eccentric disk m and at or near the other end is attached
to an elbowed lever pivoted to the framework at o. p, is a curved bar or plate
attached at one end to lever n This curved plate p is pierced at gradaced dis
tances and glides through a slot in which is placed a set screw to secure the said
plate at any of the gradated distances desired. By lifting or lowering this curved
plate the lower end of rod of eccentric disk m is caused to advance towards, or
to retire from, the sliding bearing in the slotted yoke 1, thus causing the pawls
to engage more or fewer of the teeth of the ratchet wheel C and so produce a
finer or a coarser shred or cut of the Tobacco as may be desired.
rin Fig.1 and in Fig 3 is a T shaped swivelled vertical rod the arms of

page_text: which enter between the short lower arms of the pawls and by a part turn of the
said rod in one direction the long or upper arms are distended and disengages the
ratchet wheel, thereby instantly stopping the progress of the feed when necessary
or desirable.
A part turn of the said rod in the opposite direction releases the distention of
the pawls when any suitable spring brings them together again into engagement
with the ratchet wheel and the progress of the feed towards the cutting blades is
instantly resumed. s in Fig 5, and in Fig 6, is a mitre wheel fixed on main
driving shaft A and gearing with t another mitre wheel fixed on the end of a
vertical rod u on the lower end of which is placed a grinding cupwheel v of
Emery or other, suitable grinding material and so placed as to slide on a fixed key
or midrib or squared or other surface in order that said grindstone or wheel
may be lifted by a lever as at w or otherwise to admit beneath it a blade G for
sharpening on a sliding plate or frame y sliding in grooves or dovetailed ways
and with reciprocating rectilinear motion derived from a mutilated pinion z
gearing with a rack (Fig 6). On the same shaft as the mutilated pinion z a
wheel b for reduction of speed is keyed and is rotated by c a worm on a second
vertical shaft a¹ upon which is keyed another cogwheel e gearing with cog-
wheel f¹ on the vertical shaft u. When the rack a ceases to be engaged by the
mutilated wheel or pinion z it is instantly drawn back by any suitable spring or a
weighted cord or chain running over pullies as at d' attached to the framework
of the machine. The grinding wheel is to be weighted or to be held against
the blades with yielding pressure by any suitable spring in connection with the
vertical shaft if or when its own weight is insufficient.
D, in Fig 7 is a section of the cutting wheel. F is the faceplate. f is one
of the fixed threaded bolts with securing nut. G is a cutting blade. g is the
securing clamp, and A is the main driving shaft.
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
Combination of cutting wheel D. blades G. lefthand screwnut E. shield h.
faceplate F. removable lower lip d. endless bands a and b. linkrods Y. Y. slotted
shutters e, e. lingbearings U, U. cam L. pawls i, i. adjusting lever n. gradated
plate p. eccentric m. slotted yoke 1. oscillating lever j. the T shaped swivelled
rod r. ratchet wheel C. worm shaft B. worm wheels P and Q. gear wheels R, S, T
and W. mitre wheels s and t. grinding wheel v on vertical shaft u. lever w, rack c.
gear wheels z and b', gear wheels cand f on vertical shafts a¹ and and the
sliding blade-carrier y.
And the general construction and arrangement of the machinery in the manner
and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth and described.
1007
WILLIAM DAVIES.
Applicant.
WILLIAM DAVIES.
Applicant.
Declared at St. Peter Port in the Island of Guernsey.
This eighth day of November 1897, before me
John N. Le Mottée.
Notary Public Island of Guernsey.