IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWIST TOBACCO, AND THE MAKING OF THE SAME INTO ROLLS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Milsom Birchall, of Preston, in the
County of Lancaster, Tobacco Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWIST TOBACCO, AND THE
MAKING OF THE SAME INTO ROLLS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 14th August 1868, and dated the 25th February 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Milsom Birchall
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 25th February 1868.
I, ARTHUR MILSOM BIRCHALL, of Preston, in the County of Lancaster,
Tobacco Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TWIST TOBACCO, AND THE
MAKING OF THE SAME INTO ROLLS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to the rolling of tobacco leaves so as
to form what is known as twist tobacco, and to the spinning and coiling
of twist tobacco.
And, secondly, to the making of the twist into rolls.

page_text: . According to the first part of my Invention I propose to roll tobacco
leaves into the form of twist by the combined action of two continuous
mechanical travelling surfaces, between which the leaves are fed in as fast
as they are rolled into twist. These surfaces may consist either of
revolving tables or discs of wood, or other suitable material, or, which I
prefer, of two endless travelling bands or aprons, one of which is made to
work at an angle to the other so as to roll the leaf by frictional contact
therewith upon itself and so form a continuous twist. The twist as fast
as it is produced proceeds to the spinning apparatus, which tends to
consolidate it by tightening the convolutions of the tobacco forming the
same. This apparatus consists of a flyer carrying near its axis of
rotation a grooved pulley round which the twist is coiled one or more
times as required. Fast to this pulley there is a worm wheel, the teeth
of which engage into a stationary spiral or volute fixed to one of the
bearings of the tubular spindle of the spinning apparatus. As the worm
wheel revolves with the flyer (the latter being driven by fast and loose
driving pullies or otherwise) it follows that for cach revolution of the
flyer the grooved pulley will take up or draw forward a given length
of twist. The arm of the flyer is provided with guide pullies to guide
the twist on to the wheel round which the flyer revolves, and a balance
weight is fitted to the opposite side of the flyer to equalize the motion.
The wheel is carried on a central spindle, along which it is caused to
travel to and fro in order to allow the twist to be evenly laid or coiled
thereon, such longitudinal motion being obtained either by the aid of
a double-threaded screw on the spindle, or by any other suitable
mechanical contrivance. A detent and ratchet wheel are provided in
order to prevent the wheel from revolving on the spindle after the
machine has stopped.
According to the second part of my Invention, which may or may
not be used in combination with the twist, I propose to make up the
twist into rolls ready for the operation of pressing, if required, by the aid
of a machine consisting of two revolving spindles situate in the same
axial line and each carrying a disc plate on their contiguous ends,
between which plates the roll is formed by coiling or lapping the twist
upon itself. The roll is supported during this operation by two or more
pins fitted into one or both of the disc plates, and these plates are
slotted in order to afford facility for the introduction of the "bass" o
other means for uniting or binding together the several laps or coils of

page_text: the roll. The twist is guided to and fro so as to ensure its regular coiling
on to the roll by passing through a guide eye in the end of an arm, which
receives a lateral motion by means of a double-threaded screw or
otherwise worked from the main shaft or spindle of the machine. The
roll is compressed or solidified longitudinally as occasion may require
during its formation by the aid of a screw spindle worked by a hand
wheel or otherwise, and acting upon the end of one of the two first
mentioned spindles through a suitable coupling box. When the roll is
completed it is removed by displacing one of the disc plates from its
spindle and withdrawing the supporting pins.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Arthur Milsom Birchall in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th August 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, ARTHUR
MILSOM BIRCHALL, of Preston, in the County of Lancaster, Tobacco
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Arthur Milson Birchall, Her special
license that I, the said Arthur Milsom Birchall, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Arthur Milson Birchall,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 MANUFACTURE OF TWIST TOBACCO, AND THE MAKING
OF THE SAME INTO ROLLS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Arthur
Milsom Birchall, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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

page_text: Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Arthur Milsom Birchall, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
'say :-
My said Invention relates, firstly, to the rolling of tobacco leaves so
as to form what is known as twist tobacco, and to the spinning and
coiling of twist tobacco.
And, secondly, to the making of twist into rolls.
According to the first part of my Invention I propose to roll tobacco
leaves into the form of twist by the combined action of a spindle
and two continuous mechanical travelling surfaces, between which the
leaves are fed in as fast as they are rolled into twist. These surfaces
consist by preference of two endless travelling bands or aprons, one of
which is capable of being raised or elevated, and is made to work at
an angle to the other, so as to roll the leaf by frictional contact there-
with upon itself and to form a continuous twist. The twist as fast
as it is produced proceeds to the spinning apparatus, which tends to
consolidate it by tightening the convolutions of the tobacco forming the
same. This apparatus consists of a flyer carrying near its axis of
rotation a grooved pulley round which the twist is passed. Fast to
this pulley there is a worm wheel, the teeth of which engage into a
stationary spiral or volute fixed to one of the bearings of the tubular
'spindle of the spinning apparatus. As the worm wheel revolves with
the flyer (the latter being driven by fast and loose driving pullies or
otherwise), it follows that for each revolution of the flyer the grooved
pulley will take up or draw forward a given length of twist. The
arm of the flyer is provided with guide pullies to guide the twist into
the reel round which the flyer revolves, and a balance weight is fitted
to the opposite side of the flyer to equalise the motion. The reel is
carried on a central spindle, along which it is caused to travel to and
fro in order to allow the twist to be evenly laid or coiled thereon, such
longitudinal motion being obtained either by the aid of a double-
threaded screw on the spindle, or by any other suitable mechanical
contrivance. A detent and, ratchet wheel are provided in order to

page_text: prevent the reel from revolving on the spindle after the machine has
stopped.
According to the second part of my Invention, which may or may
not be used in combination with the first, I propose to make up the
twist into rolls ready for the operation of pressing, if required, by the
aid of a machine consisting of two revolving spindles situate in the
same axial line and each carrying a disc plate on their contiguous ends;
between which plates the roll is formed by coiling or lapping the twist
upon itself. The roll is supported during this operation by two or more
pins fitted into one or both of the disc plates, and these plates are
slotted in order to afford facility for the introduction of the "bass" or
other means for uniting or binding together the several laps or coils
of the roll. The twist is guided to and fro so as to ensure its regular
coiling on to the roll either by hand or by passing through a guide
eye in the end of an arm which receives a lateral motion by means of
a double-threaded screw or otherwise rotated from the main shaft or
spindle of the machine. The roll is compressed or solidified longitudinally
as occasion may require during its formation by the aid of a screw
spindle worked by a hand wheel or otherwise, and acting upon the end
of one of the two first-mentioned spindles through a suitable coupling
box. When the roll is completed it is removed by withdrawing one
of the disc plates with its supporting pins from the end of the roll by
the aid of the screw spindle above referred to.
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 corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 (Sheet 1) represents a side elevation of my improved machino
for rolling tobacco leaves into twist tobacco, and for spinning the
twist so formed; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the same.
Figure 3 (Sheet 2) is an elevation of the feeding end of the machine,
and Figure 4 on the same Sheet represents a transverse vertical section
of the same taken along the line 1-2, in Figure 2.
A is the table or main framing of the machine, near one end of
which is situate the endless feeding band B, carried by the rollers C, C.
Across the surface of the endless band B travels the second endless

page_text: band D, carried on the rollers E, E. These bands are kept in a state
of tension by fitting one of each pair of the carrying rollers into sliding
bearings which are adjusted by the aid of adjusting screws, as shewn
in the Drawing. Motion is communicated to these bands by the bevel
wheels F, F, mounted on the vertical spindle G, and gearing into bevel
pinions H, H³, fast on one end of each of the pair of rollers C
and E. The spindle G works in a footstep and has a worm wheel I
keyed thereon which is in gear with a worm K on the second motion
shaft L, deriving its motion by the spur gearing M from the tubular
spindle N of the flyer O herein-after more fully referred to, such tubular
spindle being provided with fast and loose driving pullies P, P¹, for the
purpose of being driven by a band or belt from any convenient driving
shaft. The frame Q which carries the endless band D and its
rollers E, E, carries also a pressing roller R acted upon by the blade
spring R', the object of which is to press down the tobacco leaves a, a,
on to the surface of the band below as they pass under it, and at the
same time to stretch them slightly. This frame is hinged at Q' so that
it may be easily lifted from off the lower band when required. q', q',
are springs for taking off a portion of the dead weight of the said frame
and band from the under band. The leaves to form the twist are laid
on to the band B with their ends overlapping, as shewn in Figure 2,
and filling material is then laid on them in such places as may be
required to make the twist of even thickness when spun. The leaf
eventually arrives at the spindle S which is made tapering and may
be either round or flat sided, which latter shape I prefer when such
spindle is made to revolve, as by that means the leaves are more
effectually lapped or carried round. This spindle S is fitted into the
hoss of a small spur wheel T which is driven by a second spur wheel U
from a countershaft V, such shaft deriving its rotatory motion from the
tubular spindle N already referred to by the spur wheels W and X.
The wrapping of the leaf round the spindle S is effected by the band D
moving across it at an angle corresponding to the lower band B, and
exerting a certain amount of pressure thereon, so that when the leaves
come under they are rolled in a hellicoidal manner, the spindle being
in the centre of the tobacco so rolled. The twist 6 thus partly formed
passes along to two compressing surfaces Y, Y', between which it is
pressed by an intermittent motion imparted to the said surfaces by the
eccentrics Z, Z', thereby consolidating the twist and imparting a better
and more even surface thereto. These compressing surfaces Y, Y', consist

page_text: of flat faced jaws hinged at c, and having each an eccentric working
in the free end. These eccentrics are mounted on a short shaft d,
which derives its motion from the tubular spindle N by the spur wheel e
gearing into the corresponding spur wheel f fast on the said tubular
spindle. From the compresser the twist passes through the tubular
spindle N to a grooved pulley g carried by the flyer O, which is fast
on the outer end of the tubular spindle. The pulley g has a toothed
wheel fast thereon which engages with a spiral or volute projection
made in the face of the stationary disc i, such disc being concentric
with the axis of rotation of the flyer and secured in any convenient
manner to the end of the table of the machine. By this arrangement
for every revolution of the flyer O the toothed wheel h and grooved
pulley are rotated on their own axis the space of one tooth of the
said wheel h, such amount of motion being equal to the length of twist
spun and requiring winding at cach revolution of the flyer. The twist
is then guided by the guide pulleys k, k, along the arm of the flyer to
the bobbin or reel 7, and is protected during the revolution of the flyer
by the screen m. The reel is made to traverse to and fro longitudinally
along the spindle n by having reverse spiral grooves formed in such
spindle, a moveable pin o carried by the reel working in the said grooves.
p is a friction break attached to the reel with band and weight, the
weight being just sufficient to overcome the friction of the reel upon
its spindle when the flyer is revolving, so that the reel would remain
stationary during the working of the machine if there were no twist
attached. In order to prevent the reel from revolving when the flyer
is suddenly stopped there is a ratchet wheel 9 on the spindle, such
wheel being capable of moving to and fro along the spindle in company
with the reel, but prevented from revolving with the reel by a fixed key
working in a longitudinal groove or keyway in the spindle. The
detent for the said ratchet wheel is carried by the reel itself. The
upper band D is capable of being raised from the lower band B for the
introduction of the end of the twist or for other purposes, and the end
of the frame rests upon springs which may be regulated so as to allow
the weight of the frame to impart the required pressure to the twist.
Figure 1 on Sheet 3 of my Drawings represents a side elevation of
my improved machine for making up twist tobacco into rolls, and
Figure 2 is a corresponding transverse vertical section of the same.
is the bobbin or reel upon which the twist has been wound and spun

page_text: in the machine licrcin first described, such reel when full being removed
from its spindle n in that machine and placed upon the spindle or
axis A (Sheet 3) supported in the standards B, B. From this reel the
twist is guided so as to form the roll either by the hand of the
attendant or by the guide lever C, which vibrates slowly to and fro
upon one or other of the centres at a, a, according to the length of
the roll and amount of lateral traverse required to be made by the
lever. This lever is made elastic at its upper extremity and is
provided with a grooved guide c for the passage of the twist. The
object of making the end of the guide lever elastic is to enable it
to accommodate itself to the gradually increasing diameter of the roll
during the process of cooling, as will be understood on referring to
the blue lines shewn in Figure 2 (Sheet 3). The to-and-fro traverse
motion is imparted to the guide lever by the reverse, spiral grooves d
made in the shaft D, a pin e in the lever working in such grooves.
The shaft D is supported in the bearings E, E, and has keyed thereon
a spur wheel F in gear with a carrier wheel G which gears with the
small spur wheel H on the driving shaft I. By changing the wheel F
for one of larger or smaller diameter the speed of the traverse of
the guide lever may be varied. The driving shaft I works in bearings
K, K, and carries a pair of ordinary fast and loose driving pulleys L, L',
as well as the two small spur wheels H, H', containing each the same
number of teeth. These two spur wheels gear respectively with the
larger spur wheels M, M', both of equal size and mounted on separate
and independent shafts N, N¹. These shafts which are carried in the
bearings O, O', are situated in the same axial centre line and to their
contiguous extremities are fitted the discs P, P¹. From near the centre
of one or both these discs project long skewers f upon which the
twist is first coiled or wound, and slots g are made in the said discs to
facilitate the insertion of the "bass" or other binding material intended
to consolidate and bind the several convolutions together. The shaft N¹
has a long straight slot formed in it and a corresponding key is fitted
inside the boss of the spur wheel M', so that the shaft may be moved
longitudinally through its bearing and through the boss of the wheel
M' without interfering with its rotatory motion. The outer extremity
of the shaft N¹ is coupled to the end of a screw spindle Q in such a
way as to allow the shaft to revolve freely without transmitting such
rotatory motion to the screw. This screw spindle works in a nut in
the bearing O' and carries a hand wheel R on its outer extremity. The

page_text: distance between the plates or discs P, P', depends on the length of
roll to be made, and the traverse of the guiding lever when employed
is as before stated regulated accordingly. The end of the twist having
been engaged with or between the skewers the machine is started, and
the coiling of the twist proceeds until the roll is complete. The roll may
be compressed longitudinally at suitable intervals in order to consolidate
the whole by simply turning the screw spindle Q. When the roll is
finished the shaft N₁ is drawn back by reversing the screw spindle Q
until there is sufficient space between the discs to enable the roll to be
withdrawn from the pins or skewers.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be
used or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The combination in one machine of apparatus for rolling
tobacco leaves into the form of a twist, compressing or consolidating
such twist, and spinning and winding the same on to a reel or bobbin,
substantially as herein-before described.
Second. The application and use to and in the rolling of tobacco
leaves into twist tobacco of two endless bands when the upper one of
such bands with its carrying frame is made capable of being readily
raised from the lower one as herein-before described.
Third. The combination of the spindle S with the two endless bands B
and D substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described and
illustrated by my Drawings.
Fourth. The application and use of the grooved pulley g and mode
of actuating the same for the purpose of feeding the twist tobacco to
the flyer of the spinning apparatus as herein-before described.
Fifth. The application and use of a flyer for spinning twist tobacco
as hercin-before described.
Sixth. The peculiar arrangement and mode of operating the reel
upon which the spuu tobacco is coiled as herein-before described.
Seventh. The peculiar combination of flyer and reel for spinning
twist tobacco as herein-before described and illustrated by my
Drawings.

page_text: Eighth. The forming of rolls of twist tobacco between two plates
or discs each driven independently as herein-before described, also
the manner of moving one of such plates or discs to and fro as
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Milsom Birchall, have to a
this my Specification set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day
of August One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.¸
ARTHUR MILSOM BIRCHALL. (L.S.)
ARTHUR MILSOM BIRCHALL. (L.S.)