IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING TOBACCO
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Reid, of Arbroath, in the County of
Forfar, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING TOBACCO."
Sealed the 30th April 1869, and dated the 5th November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Reid at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th November 1868...
I, ALEXANDER REID, of Arbroath, in the County of Forfar, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING TOBACCO," to be as follows;
that is to say:-
This Invention, which relates to improvements in machinery or
apparatus for forming tobacco into rolls or coils consists of two face
plates opposite to each other, and between which the roll is formed.
Below or at one side of the face plates a guide for laying on the twist
travels backwards and forwards, this being actuated by a lever or rod
connecting it to the reciprocating slide below, the motion of which is
produced by any of the means in use for producing such movements.

page_text: Above the face plate a retarder is placed for regulating the required drag
upon the twist as it is rolled up between the face plates. The machine
may be actuated by a crank handle or by other means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Reid in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th May 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
REID, of Arbroath, in the County of Forfar, North Britain, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Reid, Her special
licence that I, the said Alexander Reid, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Reid, my executors,
administrators, and 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
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR ROLLING TOBACCO," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Reid, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or onc
of their hands and seals, 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 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 Alexander Reid, 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 :-
This Invention, which relates to improvements in machinery or
apparatus for forming tobacco into rolls or coils, consists of two face

page_text: plates opposite to each other, and between which the roll is formed.
Below or at one side of the face plates a guide for laying on the twist
travels backwards and forwards, this being actuated by a lever or. rod
connecting it to the reciprocating slide below, motion being duly com-
municated thereto. Above the face plates a retarder is placed for
regulating the required drag upon the twist as it is rolled up between
the face plates. The machine may be actuated by a crank handle, or by
other means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, I will now proceed to particularly describe and
ascertain in what manner the same is to be performed or put in practice,
by reference to the accompanying Drawings, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1, clevational view of machine constructed in accordance with
my Invention; Fig. 1*, view of "retarder;" Fig. 2, view of face plate
and laying guides showing how they are acted on by weights; Fig. 3,
front view of mangle wheel. The same letters of reference are used
throughout all the Figures to denote the various parts.
A, the framing; B, bed-supporting sliding heads; C, sliding head
worked by rack and pinion; D, sliding head fixed similarly to an
ordinary lathe head; E, spindles in heads; F, face plates; G, slits in
face plates for allowing bass or tying to be passed through; H, needles.
fixed in face plate; I, mechanism for drawing back the needles;
J, pinions for communicating motion; K, shaft running along back of
machine; L, pinion shaft and bevil gearing communicating motion to
mangle wheel; M, slide worked from mangle wheel by rack and pinion ;.
N, handle for stopping motion; O, lever for communicating recipro-
cating motion to the laying apparatus; P, slide worked. by lever (O)
carrying laying apparatus; Q, pin and holes in upright lever (O) for
regulating the amount of reciprocating motion;, R,. laying, guides.
attached to sliding bar (P); S, weights acting on laying guides (R);
T, apparatus for putting on drag; V, frame for supporting, retarder (T);
U, mangle wheel; W, sheaves for putting drag on twist; X, crank.
handle for driving; Y, rack and pinion for shifting head (C); Z, frame
actuated by crank handle for adjusting shaft K to suit various sizes. of
pinions; a, standard and pulley for guiding twist after it. has, passed
through sheaves; b, b, twist tobacco..

page_text: To the bed B formed by two rails across the top of the framing A are
provided two shifting or moveable heads C and D, one of these C is
moved backwards and forwards by means of a rack and pinion for
allowing the roll to be removed after it is completed. Each head has
a spindle E running through bushes after the fashion of a turning lathe;
on the ends of these are face plates F, in which slits G are formed for
allowing bass or ties to be inserted into the roll. To the centre of one of
these face plates needles H are attached, between these a plait of
tobacco is placed to form a centre or bottom for the roll. These
needles H have an apparatus I attached for drawing them back after the
roll is finished. On cach spindle E is placed a cog wheel between the
bushes, with a similar wheel placed on a shaft K running along the
back, so that the one drives the other. In connection with the last of
these wheels is a pinion on a second shaft connecting the motion to a
mangle wheel U by means of an upright shaft and bevil gearing. A
number of these pinions are required for shifting to answer the different
sizes of twist and length of roll. This motion can be stopped at pleasure
by means of a shifting handle N. In connection with the above-
incntioned mangle wheel U is a reversing apparatus P for guiding the
twist in regular order on the roll. The length of travel of this
apparatus P is regulated by means of shifting a pin Q in upright
lever O. To this two guides R are connected which travel along the
roll, one at the front and the other at the back; these by means of small
weights S press the twist tight and close together, as is done by the
thumb in handwork. Above the top of the roll is a frame V with
four sheaves for putting on drag on the twist, which can be regulated
by the shifting of a small thumb screw to give less or more drag as
required. The whole machine is wrought by a crank handle on the end
of the spindle in the right-hand head. The reversing motion can be
wrought either by means of a mangle wheel, or a heart motion, or a
reversing screw, but I generally prefer to adopt the mangle wheel as
least likely to get out of good working order..
60
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I
hereby declare that I claim, the Invention of Improvements in
Machinery or Apparatus for Rolling Tobacco," herein described;
important points in such machinery or apparatus being the adoption
of two face plates opposite each other, between which tobacco rolls are

page_text: formed with a guide for laying on the twist travelling backwards and
forwards, and actuated as above described; also the use of a retarder
for regulating the required drag upon the twist as it is rolled up,
it being understood that I do not claim the mere details of construction
per se and apart from the purposes of my said Invention, nor do I limit
myself to the precise details shewn by the Drawings, and described by
veference thonoto
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Reid, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this First day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
ALEX. REID. (L.S.)
JAMES REID, Witness.