IMPROVE- MENTS IN MANUFACTURING CIGARS AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JUAN
NEPOMUCENO ADORNO, of Mexico, in the Republic of Mexico, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the tenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Juan Nepomuceno Adorno, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Juan Nepomuceno Adorno, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Juan
Nepomuceno Adorno, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, and in all Her Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands
of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MANUFACTURING CIGARS AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Juan Nepomuceno
Adorno, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Juan Nepomuceno Adorno, do hereby declare that the nature of my said

page_text: Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particu-
larly described and ascertained in and the following description thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The object of my Invention of improvements in manufacturing cigars and
other similar articles is to manufacture cigars and cigarettes by machinery
whereby these articles are made at a less cost than by the ordinary process of
manual labor, and the articles so produced are more neat in appearance.
My improved machines for making cigarettes and cigars being different
in construction, I have considered it advisable to describe them separately,
commencing first with the machinery for making cigarettes. Twenty-one
operations of the human hand are necessary for making cigarettes with
the requisite perfection, and in order to perform these operations properly I
employ three machines; the first for the purpose of cutting the endless
paper in bands of the requisite width, also in engraving on or embossing
those bands in relief for the cigarettes, and also the packages; but the bands
for the packages can also be printed with ink, colours, or gold, according to
the desired wish of ornamenting them. The object of the second machine
is to cut, sift, and clean the tobacco free from impurities; and the third
machine moulds the paper, fills it with tobacco, presses it, separates and folds
each cigarette, performs the operation of closing the ends, and also marks
or engraves the outside if desired; it also counts and indicates the number of
cigarettes required for each package, and forms and counts the number of

page_text: apart according to the width and number of bands required. These bands
or rolls of paper are afterwards rolled on wheels so that they may be applied
to the third machine when required. Various other means for ornamenting
the paper may be employed, such as any of the processes at present in use,
but my Invention relates only to the employment of such bands in the manu-
facture of cigarettes.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SECOND MACHINE, which is employed for the purpose of
cutting and sifting the tobacco, and does not require to be shewn by a
Drawing, as, from its simplicity, it will be readily understood by the
following description.
For the purpose of cutting the tobacco the ordinary machine now used for
the manufacture of snuff may be conveniently employed, also a cylinder
provided with circular blades, or a cylinder armed with blades which pass
between other knives secured to the frame somewhat upon the principle of the
machine commonly known by the name of devil (and used for carding cotton),
a model of which I have constructed, and answers well when applied for
cutting tobacco.
The machine employed for sifting the tobacco consists of cylindrical sieves
supported by a close frame with doors or openings. The sieves are con-
structed of woven wire with meshes made according to the size of the tobacco
required. In the centre of the sieve is placed a round iron weight which
causes the cut tobacco to pass through the sieve, and the extraneous matters
to pass out at the end. A similar sieve, but constructed with finer meshes
than the one before described, is used for the purpose of separating the dust
from the tobacco.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MACHINE FOR MAKING CIGARETTES.
The arrangement and construction of this machine is shewn by the
accompanying Drawings.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section of the machine; Fig. 2 is an end
elevation; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine complete; and Fig. 4 is a plan
view of a detached portion, which is intended to fold, close, and finish the
ends of the cigarettes. In order to put this machine in operation it is
necessary to place the tobacco in the hopper A, and the paper on the wheels
B, B. The machine upon being put in motion will then manufacture the
cigarettes being put in motion will then manufacture the cigarettes from
beginning to the end, and will also form them into packages containing
the required number. The hopper A is connected to and is suspended

page_text: from the upper floor of the building, on which are also placed the sieves
and machines for cutting up and sifting the tobacco, and which are worked
by manual labor, and from which floor the cigarette machine is supplied
with tobacco through the hopper above mentioned. The wheel C in the
hopper is actuated by suitable gearing shewn in the Drawing, and is in-
tended to agitate the tobacco, and cause it to fall down through an opening
on to the travelling chain D, D, below, A bell E is mounted in the hopper A
above the wheel C in such a manner that when all the tobacco in the hopper
has passed into the machine, the bell E may fall on to the wheel C, and as this
latter rotates it may cause the bell to sound and give notice to the attendant
that a fresh supply of tobacco is required. At the lower part of the hopper A
is placed an opening which may be regulated in size by means of the sliding
door a, moved by means of a rack and pinion, as shewn. The inclined plane
in the channel down which the tobacco descends to the travelling chain D is
agitated by the motion of cams 6 for the purpose of assisting the delivery
of the tobacco. The endless travelling chain D is composed of a series of
links, in each of which a groove c is made, the width of the intended cigarette,
the depth being two and a half times its width. The grooves c, c, are fur-
nished with a square bar of steel which projects a quarter of an inch on each
side beyond the link, and has and upward and downward motion communi-
cated to it for the purpose of forcing lifting the cigarette out of the groove,
as will be hereafter more fully explained. This steel bar is secured in the
centre by a screw which allows it to rise and fall, but prevents it from being
moved laterally out of its place in the groove. The chain in advancing rests
upon two railways or supports F, F, which are furnished with inclined planes
d, d, near their outer ends (as shewn by dots in Fig. 1) for the purpose of
lifting the steel bars in the groove c, c, before mentioned.
or
The operation of the machine is commenced by the paper passing from the
roller B on to the travelling chain D, where it is moulded or corrugated by
means of the small press G; it afterwards receives the tobacco from the
hopper A down the inclined channel, and it afterwards passes under the
horizontal plate e, which regulates the quantity of tobacco, which is then
slightly pressed and levelled by the roller, after which it is pressed into the
moulded forms of the paper in the grooves c, c, of the chain by means of the
press H, which is furnished on its under side with pistons g, g, which fit and
are made to enter the grooves c, c, of the chain whenever the press H is
brought down. The series of graduated bars h, h, push the tobacco from
the top of the chain, or rather the paper, into the grooves for the purpose
of being properly pressed therein by the pistons 9, 9, of the press H; and it

page_text: will be seen that these bars are so arranged that although the first is some
distance from the paper, the last of the series is as close as possible to the
chain or paper; and after the grooves are thus supplied with the requisite
quantity of tobacco a brush i, connected with the frame of the knife or
cutting instrument j, removes the superfluous tobacco, and cleans the paper
for the passage of the knife which separates or cuts off from the length of
paper the quantity required for each cigarette. After the action of the knife
the small press or plunger k forces the tobacco further into the grooves for
the purpose of turning up the edges of the paper preparatory to folding. The
folder / bends one side of the paper over the tobacco, the other side is bent
by passing under the plate m; it then passes forward, and is transferred from
the lower to the upper travelling chain I by means of the inclined planes d,
before mentioned, which act on the ends of the steel bars under the cigarette
in the groove, and lift them out. The upper chain I is similar in construc-
tion to the lower one D, and in its motion presents the grooves immediately
opposite to those of the lower chain for the reception of the cigarette, which,
in the action of transfer, becomes perfectly enveloped by the paper. A small
apparatus J is placed on each side of the chain I for the purpose forming and
closing the ends of the cargarettes, and is composed of three horizontal wheels
which receive motion from the chain wheel, and moves the arms of the
wheels n, n¹, n, which are shewn in detail, and will be best understood by
reference to the detached view Fig. 4. The first wheel n bends the end of the
paper inside, and gives to the cigarettes the form of a pen, as seen best in
Fig. 4. The second or cam wheel n¹ produces the form of a mitre, the third
one n² flattens the end, which is finished by pressing against the plate of
steel n³, which completes the end of the cigarette. By means of the inclined
planes o, o, o, in Fig. 1, the cigarettes are forced out of the grooves of the
upper chain (each groove being provided with a slide, as above described with
reference to the chain D), and transferred to the bridge or platform K, which
conducts it to the packing chain L. The small vibrating slide or lever p is
moved by means of two excentrics 9 worked from the axie press or plunger k,
and by its motion moves the cigarettes along the bridge towards the packing
chain L. This chain is composed of long liuks with grooves 7, the capacity
of which must be as large as necessary for the number of cigarettes required
for each package. The packages can be completed by mechanical means
without the assistance of manual labor, but the Drawing shews a con-
trivance by which the attendants or workmen may be assisted in their
completion by two mechanical operations, one of which conducts the cigarettes
from the bridge K into the grooves r of the chain, where they are then

page_text: pressed by means of the press M worked by the foot of the workman. The
other operation cuts the packing paper with a knife, and thereby separates
one package from the other, after which the paper is folded over the cigarettes,
and secured at each end by means of glue, gum, or any other convenient
means. When the package has arrived at the end of the chain it falls out
of the groove, and is deposited in the box below.
Having described the construction of the various parts, I will now proceed
to explain the operation of the machine. The motions of this machine, when
in operation, are periodical and alternate, as each part only works periodically
at the proper moment; that is to say, the chains D move first, then, when they
stop, the presses or plungers G, H, and k, and also the knife; and folder
1&m, come into operation. These latter parts work when the chains stop.
and the chains advance when the presses, knife, and other parts above men-
tioned are at rest. These motions are produced by means of the axles and
wheels or gearing seen in the Drawing, Figs. 2 and 3. The wheel or pulley
N receives motion from any motive power, as will be well understood, and
communicates its motion to the several parts in the manner shewn in the
Figures. On the axle of the wheel N are two wheels s and t, at opposite
sides of the frame of the machine. The wheel t is divided into eight segments,
four with teeth and four without, corresponding to the alternate motion of the
chains and presses, and the wheel s has also four teeth, and the remaining
portion of its periphery quite plain. The wheel t gives motion to the pinion u
on the long shaft, which, by means of the mitre wheels v, v, v, v, on the same
axis, gives motion to the various presses, knife, and other parts, as will be
clearly understood by inspecting the Drawings. The knife, receives motion
by means of the bevil wheel w, which moves the crank and connecting rod,
by which the sliding or reciprocating motion from one side to the other is
obtained. The main travelling chain D, which moves periodically, advances
only one link at a time, and is actuated by means of one tooth in the wheels,
driven by the large wheel immediately below it. This chain D communicates
motion to the upper chain I by means of the wheels O, O, and this chain I
communicates motion to the packing chain L by means of the train of wheels
P, P, P, the teeth of which are in proportion to the number of cigarettes
required for each package. At the end of the axle of the first chain wheel
an indicator Q is secured to the frame, and shews the number of packages
made in each day, and is made to indicate any desired number from one to teu
thousand.
I would here remark, that the above-described machine may be much sim-
plified by dispensing with some of the parts, and various modifications may

page_text: be made in the arrangement and construction. For instance, the machine may
be constructed without the upper chain I, and all the operations of completing
the manufacture of the cigarette may be performed on the lower or main
chain D, and the cigarettes thus produced may be made to pass in a direct
line, by means of a bridge, at once to the packing chain or to a suitable
receptacle. The heads or ends of the cigarettes can, if required, be made, as
in Mexico, in all existing forms known in the market by the names of pen,
mitre, Havannah, and common. The Drawing shews the Havannah, but all
the others may be produced by means of trifling alterations in the machinery,
and also more ornamented heads, unknown in any market, may be produced,
if desired. In the Drawing this machine is represented as making square
cigarettes, but by making the grooves of the chain of a concave form it will
produce cylindrical cigarettes.
I have also invented and constructed another cigarette machine for pro-.
ducing cylindrical cigarettes (somewhat similar in construction to the cigar
machine) which will be described hereafter, and in which the cigarettes are
produced by passing the materials of which they are composed between cylin-
ders or rollers and a curved surface, which imparts a rolling or rotary motion
to the cigarettes, and transfers them to the grooves of a small travelling
chain in which the heads are made, and from thence are conveyed to the
packing chain or a suitable receptacle. This machine is for the purpose, if
requisite, of producing a more complete cylindrical form of cigarettes; but
the moulding, filling, &c. is done by similar means to those which have been
already described and shewn in the Drawing. The different density of the
cigarettes, their bulk, &c., and every variety required in the market, must be
arranged by proportioning the various parts of the machine to each apparatus
that may be constructed
The difficulty of working the tobacco leaf by leaf, and also the selection of
leaves for the outside and inside parts of the cigar, and sometimes the different
colors of the tobacco, prevent more than part of the operation being performed
by mechanism, leaving the remainder to the intelligence and discretion of the
operative; the d fference in form of the various kinds of cigars in the market
consisting (besi les the various sizes of them) chiefly in cylindrical, Havannah,
and Manilla cigars, als requires different mechanism for each kind of cigar.
I have separated the mechanical part of the operation of manufacturing
cigars into two principal divisions, the first consisting of a punch or cutter,

page_text: for the purpose of cutting the inside and outside leaves; the second for rolling
and completing the cigars.
Fig. 5, in the Drawing Sheet II., is an elevation of the punching or cutting
apparatus, the frame of which consists of standards of iron. The punch or
cutting instrument R is worked by the treadle S, connected by means of an
upright rod to an arm, to which is attached the punch or cutter R. The
block of the punch will cut one or more leaves at each stroke, according
to the form of leaf which may be required. Fig. 6 represents the form of
leaf used for the inside of the cigar, and Fig. 7 for the outside leaf. The
projecting angle of Fig. 7 is for the purpose of receiving gum or paste for
uniting the edges of the outside leaf, and preserving the proper cylindrical
form of the cigar. Fig. 8 in the Drawing represents a sectional plan view,
Fig. 9 a longitudinal vertical section, and Fig. 10 an end elevation of the
machine.
The apparatus that makes the inside of the cigar consists of two toothed
wheels x, x, fixed to the sides of the frame, and the two wheels y, y, secured
to their axle and revolving therewith; to the latter wheels y, y, are fixed
narrow cylinders or rollers z, z, with the pinions for actuating them in gear
with the wheels x, x, which are fixed to the sides of the framing. These
small cylinders or rollers have two motions, one around the axle of the wheels
y, y, in which they are fixed, and the second rotating upon their own axles by
means of the fixed wheels, a, in which the pinions work. The cylinders or
rollers z, z, are seen in the section, Fig. 9, in such a position as to allow of the
operative placing between them a sufficient quantity of leaves of tobacco to
form the inside of the cigar. The tobacco thus placed between the rollers z, z,
is carried around the inside of the curved surface S, and by the rotary motion
of the rollers therein, rolls up the tobacco, and produces the cylindrical form
of the cigar. When the roll of tobacco thus formed arrives at the outlet of
the curved surface S it is conveyed by the straps T, T, to the other extremity
of the machine, where another operative or attendant covers it on the outside
with a leaf, and places it in a similar apparatus at the other end, where it is
again rolled round in contact with the curved surface S, which tightens the
covering, and completes the form of the cylindrical cigar, after which it passes
between the straps T & T', for the purpose of being smoothed and perfected;
and after this operation the cigar only requires to be cut at the ends by means
of a suitable cutting apparatus, and adjusted to the length and weight
required in the market. This machine is actuated by means of a band which
but it
passes round the wheel U,and comes from any prime mover;
also
be worked by hand labor or by the foot.
may

page_text: The apparatus above described can be employed also for the purpose of
manufacturing Manilla cigars by substituting conical rollers for the cylindrical
ones, the rollers on which the straps work being also made conical, for the
purpose of giving the conical form to the cigars. The same apparatus may
also be used for the manufacture of Havannah cigars, by giving to the straps
and rollers the required form; but the principal manner of making the latter
kind of cigars, and also the former, is by employing an apparatus somewhat
similar to a lathe, with suitable chucks. Figs. 11 and 12 represent an end
view and section of an apparatus of this description. Although the Drawings
represent a kind of lathe with chucks attached, these latter differ in form
and construction from the ordinary turning lathe, and have suitableapparatus
added thereto for the purpose of facilitating the manufacture of cigars.
Figs. 11 and 12 represent a machine of this description worked by the foot,
whereby a rotary motion is communicated to the chucks. The workman fills
the space in the chuck shewn in the sectional view with leaves of tobacco
sufficient to form the inside part of the cigar, after which, by means of the
handle and lever 1, 1, which works the slide inside the chuck, the roll or
tobacco is forced out of the chuck; the workman then covers it with the
outside leaf, after which it is presented to the chuck again, and by its rotary
motion completely envelopes the cigar in the leaf. The end of the cigar is
then formed by the application of the fingers, and it is afterwards rounded
and polished by means of the concave die 2.
The machine represented in Fig. 13 is worked by hand. The extremity of
the axle 3 is separated in the centre, and connected by a joint which opens by
means of a spring on the inside, and is closed by the sliding ring 4. When
the axle is open the workman places inside of it the extremities of the requi-
site number of leaves for each cigar, which, after being secured by the sliding
ring 4, he gives by the left hand the rotary motion to the axle, and by the
right hand places the leaves of the tobacco in the chuck 5, which gives to the
cigar the required form; he then applies the outside leaf, and by the same
motion completes the form of the cigar, after which, by the application of the
upper chuck 6, he polishes and finishes it.
Another very useful and simple chuck consists of a single wire moved by
the axle of the machine, and another wire held by the right hand of the opera-
tive. Between these two wires the leaf of the tobacco is inserted, and by
communicating rotary motion to the lathe, the form of the cigar is completed,
the outside leaf being secured by means of gum or paste, after which it is
withdrawn from the wires. This method is chiefly applied to very small and

page_text: thin ones, but which are capable of being smoked with the greatest ease. By
dividing the work into the above-named departments, and applying all kinds
of chucks to the required forms and sizes, my Invention affords to the manu-
facturer of cigars great facilities both in speed and perfection of manufacture,
leaving to the intelligence and discretion of the operative the selection of
proper leaves without retarding the speed of the manufacture. The very great
variety of cigars now existing in different markets, both in sizes and forms,
would render a detailed description of every variety of chucks for the various
cigars a very extensive and tedious affair; but they may all be constructed on
the principle of the above-named machines.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that although I have described the
best means with which I am acquainted for carrying my improvements into
effect, I do not by any means intend to confine myself rigidly to the precise
arrangement or construction of parts herein shewn and described, as they may
doubtless be considerably varied in detail without departing from the nature
and object of my Invention; but that which I consider to be:
new, and there-
fore desire to claim as the Invention secured to me under the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, manufacturing cigarettes by machinery wherein a series ofrectangular,
cylindrical, or other conveniently-shaped grooves, made in or connected to one,
two, or more endless travelling chains, are provided for the purpose above
described, together with suitable apparatus for pressing the tobacco into the
said grooves, removing it therefrom, and enclosing it in paper or other suitable
covering.
Second, I claim manufacturing cigars by means of the machinery shewn in
Sheet II. of the Drawings, or any modification thereof, whereby the tobacco
is rolled up into shape and covered with an outside leat, by causing it to
revolve in contact with curved surfaces; and I also claim the perfecting of the
cylindrical form of cigarettes by passing them between friction surfaces, as
above explained with reference to Fig. 9.
Third, I claim manufacturing cigars by means of the lathe apparatus shewu
in Figures 11, 12, and 13, or any modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Juan Nepomuceno Adorno, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-seven.
JUAN N. ADORNO. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-fourth day of
August, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Juan Nepomuceno Adorno
came before our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year above written.