Improvements in Machines for Rolling or Wrapping Cigars.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Aug., 1888
Specification Accepted. 12th Oct., 1888
COMPLETE SI DUIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Rolling or Wrapping Cigars.
I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention which has been com-
municated to me from Abroad by Claes William Boman of the City, County and
State of New York, U.S.A. and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention of improvements in machines for rolling or wrapping cigars has
reference principally to the construction and arrangement of the devices which roceive
and hold the bunch or filler of tobacco during the operation of applying the wrapper
thereto. It refers also to means for guiding the wrapper at the point where it is first
applied to the filler; and to the means by which the wrapping of the point of the
cigar is effected.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several
figures on the annexed sheets of drawings the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a plan of the machine.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is an elevation of that end of the machine in which the rolls are
supported.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical central section of the machine.
Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5, Figure 1 showing the guide plate in two
positions.
Figures 6 and 7 are face views drawn to a larger scale of the two standards through
which the shafts of the rolls pass.
Figure 8 is a similar view of the spreader by the action of which the rolls are spread
apart or separated.
Figure 9 is a detached view of the rolls and their appurtenances in the position
which they occupy when spread apart or separated.

page_text: A is the driving shaft, journalled in standards B, C. This shaft can be driven
from any suitable prime mover. in the present instance it is supposed to be rotated
by hand, for which purpose it is provided with a crank handle A'. The shaft has
upon it the main driving pinion a figure 4. D are the rolls. They consist preferably
of metallic rods surrounded by rubber composition or other suitable slightly yielding
material. Their peripheries are so shaped that when placed together as shown in the
drawings they will enclose a "mould" space which in shape and dimensions approximates
the shape and dimensions of the cigar to be wrapped. The shanks D of these rolls
pass through slots
formed respectively in the standards B, C; and they carry
pinions d, of equal diameter which mesh or gear with the central pinion a in such a
manner that when the driving shaft A is rotated the rolls D revolve in unison and all
in the same direction. The pinion a is in effect a fulcrum upon which the lever
formed by each roll proper D and its stom D¹ can vibrate this vibration being
rendered possible owing to the radial arrangement and formation of the slots >> and c
from a centre common to all the rolls. Consequently the rolls when spread apart,
will diverge or separate from one another a greater distance as they recede from this
centre; and consequently the free ends of the rolls when opened will be spread wide
apart so as to permit of the ready insertion or withdrawal of the cigar. The rolls
thus spread apart are shown in Figure 9. They are normally held together in the
closed position by spring power, so that they may bear upon the cigar with yielding
pressure, each roller being capable of individually adapting itself within small limits
(which is all that is needed) to the particular part of the cigar on which it may from
time to time bear. One convenient spring arrangement for this purpose is shown in
the drawing, consisting of the closely wound spiral spring E encircling the hubs or
ends of the rolls. In order to open the mould space, a device hereinafter termed a
spreader is employed consisting of a plate F centred on the shaft A as an axis and
provided with inclined or cam slots f (see enlarged detail Figure 8) through which
the shanks D' pass. These slots have a width equal to the diameter of shanks D',
and have a length sufficient to impart the necessary spread to the rolls. Normally
the spreader is retained by a spring e (Figure 1) in a position in which the rolls are
closed. By rotating the spreader (by means of its handle F1) against the stress of
the spring the rolls are spread apart by the action of the inclined slots f. As soon
however as the spreader is released the rolls will spring together again as far as
permitted by the filler or bunch of tobacco upon which, they close. Manifestly when
the bunch or filler of tobacco is thus enclosed by the rolls when the latter are put
in motion, the filler by its frictional contact with them will be caused to revolve so
long as. the rolls are in revolution.
A mould space enclosed on all sides by self adjusting rolls which bear with yielding
pressure upon the cigar contained in said space thus obtained the arrangement
being such that the rolls can when desired be spread apart so as to permit of the
end wise insertion or withdrawal of the cigar.
To facilitate the withdrawal of the cigar, a rod or ejector G may be employed. For
this purpose the ejector passes axially through the shaft A which is made hollow:
and normally it is retracted by a spring so that its end does not project into the
mould space.
Wrappers are classed usually as right hand or left hand wrappers, according as they
are taken from the right or left side of the central stem of the tobacco leaf. A right
hand wrapper in order to be properly applied must as it enters pass up above the
filler; and on the other hand a left hand wrapper must pass beneath the filler. To
provide for properly guiding the wrapper under these varying conditions a guide
plate I is placed between the two rolls which adjoin a feed table H on which the
workman spreads the wrapper. This plate is placed at the butt end of the mould
space where the wrapper first enters; and it is mounted on an axis or pivot hon
which it can tilt or rock.
When tilted in one direction so as to occupy the position
indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 5 its inner end is depressed and moved toward
the lower roll and its outer end is lifted so that the point of the wrapper will pass
from the plate H under the plate, thence between it and the lower roll and then as

page_text: the wrapper is carried in, it is caught between that roll and the filler and carried along
under the filler, after which the wrapper proceeds as usual; when on the other hand
the guide plate is tilted as indicated by full lines in Figure 5 so that its inner
end is raised into contact with the upper one of the two rolls D its outer end will be
depressed so as to rest upon the plate H, and the point of the wrapper passes into the
machine up over the plate I between it and the upper roll and thence up over the
filler. Of course it will be understood that for a right hand wrapper the rolls are to
be revolved in one direction and for a left hand wrapper they are to be revolved in the
opposite direction.
In
In the arrangement just described the table is arranged so that the wrapper enters
between the side rolls. The table however may be so arranged that its inner end
will overhang the rolls so that the wrapper will enter between the top rolls.
this event, the tilting guide plate I may be dispensed with and in lieu thereof
a tucking blade can be employed to tuck the point of the wrapper down into the
mould space.
The axis or pivot of the plate I works in a bearing in the inner standard B and is
held in one of the two positions above indicated by any suitable catch, consisting in
the arrangement illustrated of a pin 2 on an arm on the axis of the plate which
takes into one or the other of two notches formed in a spring catch plate i attached to
the outer standard C.
The point of the cigar (which is the part most difficult to wrap) projects from the
mould space and beyond the free ends of the rolls D, and is supported in what is
termed a thimble, consisting of a plate J, having an approximately conical cavity in
its upper face, the base of the cavity being at the end of the plate next to the rolls.
It is essential that the thimble should be capable of movement to and from the
mould space, not only in order to allow it to adapt itself to varying lengths of cigars,
but also to permit of its being moved far enough away from the end of the rolls to
enable the cigar to he readily inserted into and withdrawn from the mould space. To
this end the thimble is carried by a head stock K, which slides in the direction of the
length of the machine in guides k, and can be fixed in position after adjustment by
a set screw k. It is also sometimes desirable that the thimble should be capable of
vertical adjustment and to this end it is secured to a standard adapted to slide
vertically in guides in the head stock K, being fixed by a set screw in the position
to which it is adjusted. It is further desirable to have interchangeable thimbles of
varying patterns as required for different shapes of cigars, and for this purpose the
thimble itself is made removable from and adjustable upon its standard 2, being
attached thereto by a set screw k⭑.
The sliding thimble stock K can if desired be combined with a spring which draws
it towards the rolls and retains it in that position until it is moved back by hand or by
a treadle a stop (preferably adjustable) being provided against which the thimble
stock strikes so as to limit its inward movement. In this case the thimble stock K
and the spreader F may be connected, so that when the stock moves outward it will,
near the conclusion of this movement, operate a cam mechanism by which the spreader
is actuated in such a manner as to open the rolls D.
Over the cavity in the thimble extends the finger formed and arranged as shown
in the drawing, the function of this being to smooth and hold down and direct the
wrapper at the point and thus to aid in finishing the wrapper at this end of the
cigar.
It is desirable to cut off the surplus part of the wrapper at the point of the cigar
and to so shape this end of the wrapper that it shall make a complete and finished
point.
To this end the plate J is recessed beyond the thimble cavity and the edge of this
recess presents the outline required for the end of the wrapper as soon at m. This
edge forms one member of a cutter or shears, the other member of which is formed
by a cutterplate L, hinged to the thimble plate J at l¹ and having a cutting edge
which has the shape of, and co-operates with, the stationary edge m. The cutter L
normally stands up so that the end of the wrapper as it reaches the point will pass

page_text: under it and over the thimble plate. The cutter is then depressed by hand cutting off
the surplus portion of the wrapper and leaving its end so shaped that it will when
wrapped in place form a finished point for the cigar. The cutter when lowered has in
it a sinall cavity which forms the continuation and apex of the thimble cavity j in
the plate J. This however is not essential; the cavity may be formed wholly in the
thimible.
The operation of the machine having been sufficiently indicated in the course of the
preceding description will be readily understood without further explanation.
The thimble stock K may be connected to the ejector rod G so that when the
cjector is moved the thimble stock will move with it. This can readily be effected by
securing to the thimble stock an actuating rod N adapted to slide in guides in the
standards BC, and connected to the ejector by an arm O attached at one end to the
ejector G and at the other end secured adjustably to the rod N by means of a set
screw passing through a socket in the arm into or against the rod Ñ as indicated in
Figure 2.
The cutter L can be turned up by means of a handle L¹ or by any other suitable
means.
In lieu of the form of thimble already described any other suitable form may
be employed. In the drawing the ejector rod G is represented as being retracted by
its spring. In lieu of this arrangement a spring (in this event a light spring) can be
used to impel or press the ejector forward, so that during the operation of wrapping,
it will exert a light but constant pressure upon the cigar in a direction to force the
cigar tip or point up into the thimble-the effect being to impart a better polish and
finish to the tip.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In cigar rolling machines a cigar receiving mould composed of a set of spring
closed individually yielding power driven rolls with an opening at one end for the
endwise insertion and withdrawal of the cigar in combination with a spreader
connected to each roll individually whereby all of the said rolls are simultaneously
spread apart at that end of the mould through which the cigar is inserted and with-
drawn, substantially as and for the purposes herein before set forth.
2. The combination with spring closed yielding power driven rolls enclosing a cigar
neuld-space access to which is obtained from one end of the rolls, and mechanism
for spreading the said rolls apart so as to open the mould at that ond, of a support
movable to and from the said end to permit the cigar to be inserted in and withdrawn
from the mould, and a tip forming thimble carried by the said support substantially as
hereinbefore set forth.
3. The spring closed power driven cigar mould rolls, supported at one end only,
and enclosing at their other end an opening through which the cigar is inserted and
withdrawn from between them, and mechanism for spreading the rolls apart, in
combination with a support movable to and from the said entrance end of the rolls
and a tip forming thimble carried by said support, substantially as and for the purposes
herein before set forth.
4. The combination of the rolls D, the slotted standards B, C in which the said rolls
are supported at one end only, the spreader F, and driving shaft, and the gearing for
communicating motion from said shaft to said rolls, substantially as and for the
purposes herein before set forth.
5. The combination with the spring closed power driven rolls enclosing a cigar
mould space access to which is had from one end of the rolls, and mechanism for
spreading the said rolls apart, of a support movable to and from this end of the rolls,
and a tip forming thimble and cutter for shaping the point end of the wrapper, both
of which are carried by said support, substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before set forth.
6. The combination of the rolls A enclosing a mould space into which the cigar is

page_text: inserted end wise from one end of the rolls, the support and tip forming thimble
carried thereby situated at and movable from this end of the rolls so as to uncover
the entrance end of the mould and the spring controlled rod G adapted to operate
upon the cigar from the opposite end of said mould, substantially as and for the
purposes herein before set forth.
7. The combination of the rolls, the feed table and the guide plate, pivotted or
binged above the plane of the table and constructed to tilt or rock relatively to the
table, substantially as and for the purposes bereinbefore set forth.
8. The arrangements and combinations of parts constituting the improvements in
machines for rolling or wrapping cigars substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
Dated this 20th day of August 1888.
JAMES Y. JOHNSON.