IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING CIGARETTES
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Manuel José Lopez y Munoz at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd August 1865.
I, MANUEL JOSÉ LOPEZ Y MUNOZ, of Havana, Island of Cuba, Merchant,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR MAKING CIGARETTES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for making
cigarettes. The tobacco for making the cigarettes is placed in a hopper, in
which is an agitator consisting of arms mounted on an axis, to which a
rocking motion is given by a connecting rod and a crank-on the main axis of
the machine; the bottom of the hopper is closed by a roller, in which is a
cavity of a size to hold the quantity of tobacco required to make a cigarette;
this roller is turned round at suitable intervals by means of a star wheel on its
axis resting in contact with a wheel on the main axis; this wheel for the
greater part of its circumference is plain, and the remaining parts are furnished
with teeth; the plain part of the wheel holds the roller stationary, the teeth
when they come up cause it to revolve, and at each revolution it drops the
quantity of tobacco required to make a cigarette. The tobacco so dropped
falls on the end of a continuous strip of paper, which passes between feed
rollers to move it forwards from time to time as required; these feed rollers
are actuated by a train of wheels connecting them with a star wheel, which
in turn is moved at intervals by a wheel on the nain axis, in the same way
as the star wheel of the dropping roller already described. The end of the

page_text: strip of paper immediately after it has been fed forwards is pressed down
between four small rollers, so that the end of the paper assumes a U form,
and the rollers are so placed as to retain it in this form. This pressing down
of the paper between the rollers is effected by a plunger or former, which is
moved up and down by a crank, on the axis of which is another star wheel
working in the manner already described. The paper being thus prepared,
the tobacco is dropped into it by the dropping roller; the end of the plunger
or former is then moved over the tobacco in the paper, and is afterwards
caused to descend a short distance to press it down. The first of these
motions is given by a bent lever rocking on a centre intermediate of its
length; against one end of this lever a cam on the main axis acts at intervals,
and its other end then comes against the end of the plunger or former, and
pushes it towards the front. The second or downward motion of the plunger
or former is given by the star wheel and crank, as already explained. When
the plunger or former is in this position it holds firmly the end of the paper
from which the cigarette is to be made by pressing it against one of the
rollers between which the end of the paper lays, and shears then cut off the
length of paper to be used in making the cigarette. One of the shear blades
is stationary, and the paper is in contact with it, or nearly so, the other blade
is connected by a rod or link with a crank, on the axis of which is a pinion,
and a toothed segment fixed to a wheel on the main axis rotates this pinion,
and gives a forward and backward motion to the shear blade at the time
required. When the paper is thus cut off the plunger or former rises, and
the cam releasing the rocking lever which before threw it forward, it also falls
back, then immediately it again moves forward and re-descends, and in so
doing it falls over one edge of the U trough of paper. The four small rollers
between which the paper lays are now all caused to rotate in the same
direction, and this causes them to roll up the paper and the tobacco within it.
These rollers are all geared by pinions with a star wheel revolving in contact with
a wheel on the main axis, and teeth on this wheel rotate the star wheel, and
consequently the rollers geared with it from time to time, as described in
reference to other parts. Whilst the rolling up of the cigarette is in progress
the plunger or former descends several times and compresses it, thereby
assisting in the operation; these motions of the plunger or former are not
produced by the star wheel, which at this time is left free; they are produced
by pins on the wheel on the main axis coming against an arm on the axis of
the crank, by which the plunger or former is worked; each pin produces in
passing the descent of this instrument, and a spring afterwards causes it to
rise. As the cigarette is being rolled up the ends of the paper are turned up

page_text: by instruments, one at each end; these are mounted on axes, to which a
semi-rotation is given at the time required; for this purpose there is on each
axis a pinion gearing with a rack, and the racks are moved by a lever, which
in turn is actuated by a pin on one of the wheels on the main axis, which in
coming round strikes the said lever. Other instruments are also employed in
folding over of the paper; they are mounted on centres beyond the ends of the
cigarette, and by turning on these centres their ends descend on to the paper
and crease it down. The downward motion is given to them by an axis,
which is partly rotated at the proper time by a pin on one of the wheels on
the main axis coming against an arm fixed on the first-mentioned axis, and
then other arms on the same axis press down levers with which these folding
instruments are linked. When the cigarette is rolled up, the two forming
rollers on one side of it recede from the other two forming rollers, being
mounted on a swing frame to enable them to do so. The two frames holding
the forming rollers are locked together during the making of the cigarette by.
a lever catching on to the swinging frame, but when the cigarette is finished.
this lever is caused by a cam on the main axis to free the frame, and a pin on
one of the wheels on the main axis then strikes a projection on the swinging
frame, and gives the movement required. When the forming rollers are thus
separated, a downward movement of the plunger or former produced by its
star wheel pushes out the finished cigarette.