Improvements in Tobacco Cutting Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Feb., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Nov., 1892-Accepted, 17th Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Tobacco Cutting Machines.
We, THOMAS BLEARS, of 56 Freme Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Engineer, and
SAMUEL BOSWELL, of 38 Vere Street, Salford, Member of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, both in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in tobacco cutting machines and our
principal object is to produce a machine capable of cutting accurately any class of
tobacco and alike useful for small machines which may be used by retailers, and
large machines to be used by manufacturers.
In a machine constructed to carry our invention into effect we arrange a box
frame and by means of a horizontal shaft or spindle having a flywheel at the outer
end, and a suitable driving handle, we actuate a bevil wheel at the inner end of the
shaft.
The said bevil wheel gears into another bevil wheel attached to a rotating
vertical shaft or spindle having a horizontal flywheel at its outer end.
The second or driven bevil wheel rotates under a sliding plate moving in suitable
guides and the sliding plate is caused to reciprocate by a crank pin carried in the
face of the bevil wheel.
The plate may be driven from the crank pin by link or other device but we
prefer to connect by a sliding block working in a slot.
To the upper part of one end of the plate we attach a cutting knife of construction
to be hereinafter described and we mount above the cutting knife a funnel or hopper
tube of rectangular section, and of such dimensions as to readily pass a cake of
tobacco.
On one side of the said funnel or tube we place an adjusting plate capable of
adjustment by screws.
This plate serves to adjust the hopper to the varying thickness of different cakes
of tobacco. Opposite this plate we arrange a nicely fitted sliding door which
serves for the ready withdrawal of the portion of the tobacco cake which is not
immediately required to be cut.
The cutting knife is formed with its advance edge inclined so as to produce a
shearing action, and in front of this cutting edge there slides a plate arranged in
such manner that it may be readily raised or lowered so that the plane of this
advance plate may be adjusted slightly below the plane of the cutting knife.
The lower surface of the rectangular hopper tube or funnel is accurately planed
so that the knife works to and fro close against it.
The adjustable advance plate determines the thickness of the cut.
The action is as follows:-When the knife moves back the end surface of the
cake falls till it comes in contact with the front or advance plate and so the cake
rests a little below the edge of the knife; on the forward stroke the knife strikes
the cake and shears off a layer the thickness of the projecting part. That is the
knife shears off the end of the plug or cake flush with the under surface below the
feed hopper.
When the knife moves back again clear of the cake, it again falls by its own
weight till it comes into contact with the advance plate which stops it and keeps it
in position for the next cut.
In this manner the cake is accurately fed down and slices taken off its lower end
till the cake is entirely cut up.
A shoot is arranged below the machine to receive the cut tobacco and discharge
it into a suitable receptacle. The thickness of the cut is regulated as hereinbefore

page_text: described by the adjustment of the plate and suitable screws are provided to enable
this adjustment to be accurately made.
The machine may be modified in its parts to some extent without departing from
our invention but an essential feature of the invention is in the falling tobacco cake
fed by its weight or an added weight or spring pressing downwards and in the
adjustable advance plate to determine the thickness of the cut.
Dated this 1st day of February 1892,
CLERK & MARKS,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Tobacco Cutting Machines.
We, THOMAS BLEARS, of 56 Freme Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Engineer,
and SAMUEL BOSWELL, of 38 Vere Street, Salford, Member of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, both in the County of Lancaster, 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:-
Our invention relates to improvements in tobacco cutting machines, and our
principal object is to produce a machine capable of cutting accurately any class of
tobacco, and alike useful for small machines which may be used by retailers and
large machines to be used by manufacturers.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings-
Figures 1, 2 and 3 are front, transverse and longitudinal elevations respectively,
of a machine constructed to carry our invention into effect, in which we arrange a
box frame A and by means of a horizontal shaft or spindle B having a flywheel B¹
at the outer end and a suitable driving handle, we actuate a bevil wheel C at the
inner end of the shaft. The said bevil wheel C gears into another bevil wheel D
attached to a rotating vertical shaft or spindle E having a horizontal flywheel E¹
at its lower end.
The second or driven bevil wheel D rotates under a sliding plate F moving in
suitable guides F1, FI and the sliding plate F is caused to reciprocate by a crank
pin D carried in the face of the bevil wheel D.
The plate F may be driven from the crank pin D¹ by link or other device but we
prefer to connect by a sliding block D2 working in a slot F³.
To the upper part of one end of the plate we attach a cutting knife G of
construction to be hereinafter described; and we mount above the cutting knife a
funnel or hopper tube H of rectangular section, and of such dimensions as to readily
pass a cake K of tobacco.
On one side of the said funnel or tube H, we place an adjusting plate H¹ capable
of adjustment by screws. This plate H' serves to adjust the hopper to the varying
thicknesses of different cakes of tobacco. Opposite this plate we arrange a nicely
fitted sliding door H2 which serves for the ready withdrawal of the portion of the
tobacco cake which is not immediately required to be cut.
The cutting knife G is formed with its advance edge inclined so as to produce a
shearing action, and in front of this cutting edge there slides a plate I arranged in
such manner that it may be readily raised or lowered, so that the plane of this
advance plate may be adjusted slightly below the plane of the cutting knife.
The lower surface of the rectangular hopper tube or funnel H is accurately
planed so that the knife G works to and fro close against it.
The adjustable advance plate I determines the thickness of the cut.
The action is as follows:-When the knife G moves back, the end surface of the
cake K falls till it comes in contact with the front or advance plate 1, and so the
cake rests a little below the edge of the knife; on the forward stroke the knife
strikes the cake and shears off a layer the thickness of the projecting part, That

page_text: is, the knife shears off the end of the plug or cake flush with the under surface
below the feed hopper.
When the knife moves back again clear of the cake, it again falls by its own
weight, till it comes into contact with the advance plate which stops it and keeps
it in position for the next cut.
In this manner the cake is accurately fed down and slices taken off its lower end
till the cake is entirely cut up.
A shoot J is arranged below the machine to receive the cut tobacco, and
discharge it into a suitable receptacle.
The thickness of the cut is regulated as herein before described by the adjustment
of the plate I and suitable screws I' are provided to enable this to be accurately
made.
.
"The machine may be modified in its parts to some extent without departing from
our invention, but an essential feature of the invention is in the falling tobacco
cake fed by its weight or an added weight or spring passing downwards and in the
adjustable advance plate I to determine the thickness of the cut.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is-
1. In a tobacco cutting machine an adjustable plate as I in combination with a
hopper and cutting knife substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore
described.
2. The tobacco cutting machine as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the
drawings.
1st day of November 1992.
CLERK & MARKS,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.
CLERK & MARKS,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.