IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR PACKING INTO PARCELS TOBACCO OR SIMILAR AND LIKE SUB- STANCES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Prince, of the Office for Patents,
4, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APPARATUS TO BE
EMPLOYED FOR PACKING INTO PARCELS TOBACCO OR SIMILAR AND LIKE SUB-
STANCES."-A communication from abroad by Ferdinand Flinsch, of
Offenbach-on-Maine, in the Empire of Germany.
Scaled the 5th August 1873, and dated the 7th February 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Prince at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th February 1873.
I, ALEXANDER PRINCE, of the Office for Patents, 4, Trafalgar Square,
Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM OR APparatus
TO BE EMPLOYED FOR PACKING INTO PARCELS TOBACCO OR SIMILAR AND LIKE SUB-
STANCES," (a communication to me from abroad by Ferdinand Flinsch, of
Offenbach-on-Maine, in the Empire of Germany,) to be as follows:-
The Invention is designed for the purpose of packing through the aid
of mechanism tobacco or other similar and like substances into packets

page_text: or parcels of any given or required size or weight. The novel arrange-
ment of mechanism to be employed for this purpose, and which forms
the subject of the present Invention, may be thus described.
A revolving circular disc or table supported on suitable bearings is
provided with four sockets or moulds, in which sheet-iron tubes are
placed with a hopper abovo by which the tobacco is fed into the tubes.
Above each of these sockets or moulds rammers or pistons are suspended
from a cross head, supported or attached to a vertically sliding shaft or
pillar actuated so as to rise and fall by means of a crank or other
equivalent receiving motion from the driving shaft. A counter shaft
below this in the same framing, and driven through the medium of spur
wheels, is provided with a cam that when in action is employed through
the medium of suitable mechanism, first, for raising the filling tube
containing the tobacco out of the mould; and, secondly, for actuating
an intermittant gearing motion that puts the several parts of the machine
in action.
The first of these motions, viz., operating the lifting of the filling tube
is effected by a portion of the said cam in its revolution raising a beam
or lever in connection with a sliding vertical rod provided with a clip or
other equivalent, that when raised from its lowest position lifts the
filling tube containing the package to a point where such tube is caught
by counterbalance catch levers, so arranged that they will, so soon as the
filling tube bears well upon them, swivel into a position clear of the
descending rammer.
The second or gearing movement is brought intermittantly into action
through the medium of a bell-crank lever provided with a counter-
balance weight and roller, which when acted upon by the said cam
forces the gearing bar and strap fork so as to move the strap on to the
loose pulley. A locking motion, consisting of a tumbler lever and bolt is
provided for preventing the movement of the circular table containing
the moulds, and also tho gearing bar during the time the tubes aro
being filled and discharged from the machine.
The machine when in action requires two attendants, viz., one for
filling the tubes, and the other for folding them.
The operation of the various parts are as follows:-The filler places;
the empty bag in one of the moulds under the catch or withdrawing
levers and supplies the tobacco or other material to the same through

page_text: the hopper provided for this purpose; so soon as the packet has received
the quantity and weight required of material, the hopper is removed
and the table turned by the attendant in a direction 90° from laſt to
right, where it becomes locked in position immediately under one of the
rammers suspended from the cross head before named. The motion
given to the table when turning from one mould to the other brings
into action the several self-acting parts of the machine, the first of
which is the descent of the rammer, which compresses the material in
the packet more or less according to the previous adjustment of the
same. With the return or ascent of the rammers the tube containing
the compressed material is withdrawn from the mould, as before
described, and the further action of the machine by the revolution of tho
cam on the countershaft, and its action upon the tumbler lever is thrown
out of gear. During the intermittant stopage of the machino the
"filler" has again placed in and filled a second tube, after which lic
again gives the table a second turn of 90°, which brings the first filled
and previously pressed packet to the opposite side of the table, at which
point the second attendant or "folder," who after turning in the paper
ends places it in the mould. The "filler" having again charged his packet
gives the table a third quarter turn which brings the folded packet under
the action of the second rammer, which working simultaneously with
the first compresses and finishes the packet ready for being discharged
from the machine, which is now effected by means of a pusher placed
underneath the mould, which is in connection by means of a vertical
rod with the cross head of the rammers, the rise of which forces the
finished packet from the mould. The "filler" now gives the table its
fourth turn, which completes one revolution of the same, and by which
also the empty mould from which the packet has been discharged is
placed before him, and the operation begins again, and is continued
ad libitum as desired..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Prince in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 7th August 1878.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
PRINCE, of the Office for Patents, 4, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, in
5 the County of Middlesex, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alexander Prince, Her special license that t
I, tho said Alexander Prince, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Alexander Prince, my executors, admini-
strators, 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 MECHANISM OR
APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR PACKING INTO PARCELS TOBACCO OR SIMILAR AND
LIKE SUBSTANCES," a communication to me from abroad by Ferdinand
Flinsch, of Offenbach-on-Maine, in the Empiro of Germany, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Prince,
my executors or adıministrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to bo performed, and cause the same to be filed!
in the Great Scal 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 Prince, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
he performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by !
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The Invention is designed for the purpose of packing through the aid
of mechanism tobacco or other similar and like substances into packets
or parcels of any given or required size or weight. The novel arrange-
ment of mechanism to be employed for this purpose, and which forms
the subject of the present Invention, may be thus described.
A revolving circular disc or table supported on suitable bearings is
provided with four sockets or moulds in which sheet iron tubes are
placed, with a hopper above, by which the tobacco is fed into the tubes.
Above each of these sockets or moulds rammers or pistons are suspended
from a cross head supported or attached to a vertically sliding shaft or
pillar actuated so as to rise and fall by means of a crank or other

page_text: equivalent receiving motion from the driving shaft. A counter shaft
below this in the same framing, and driven through the medium of spur
wheels is provided with a cam, that when in action is employed through
the medium of suitable mechanism, first, for raising the filling tubo
containing the tobacco out of the mould, and secondly, for actuating an
intermittant gearing motion that puts the several parts of the machine
in action.
The first of theso motions, viz., operating the lifting of the filling tube,
is effected by a portion of the said cam in its revolution, raising a beam
or lever in connection with a sliding vertical rod provided with a clip
or other equivalent, that when raised from its lowest position lifts the
filling tube containing the package to a point where such tube is caught
by counterbalance catch levers, so arranged that they will, so soon as
the filling tube bears well upon them, swivel into a position clear of the
descending rammer.
The second or gearing movement is brought intermittently into action
through the medium of a bell crank lever, provided with a counter-
ballance weight and roller, which when acted upon by the said cam
forces the gearing bar and strap fork so as to move the strap on to the
loose pulley. A locking motion consisting of a tumbler lever and bolt
is provided for proventing the movement of the circular table containing
the moulds, and also the gearing bar during the time the tubes aro
being filled and discharged from the machine.
The machine when in action requires two attendants, viz., one for
filling the tubes, and the other for folding them.
"
The operation of the various parts aro as follows:-The "filler
places the empty bag in one of the moulds under the catch or withdraw-
ing levers, and supplies the tobacco or other material to the same
through the hopper provided for this purpose; so soon as the packet has
received the quantity and weight required of material, the hopper is
removed and the table turned by the attendant in a direction 90° from
left to right, where it becomes locked in position immediately under onc
of the rammers suspended from the cross head before named. The
motion given to the table when turning from one mould to the other
brings into action the several self-acting parts of the machine, the first
of which is the descent of the rammer which compresses the material
in the packet more or less according to the previous adjustment of the

page_text: same. With the return or ascent of the rammers the tube containing
the compressed material is withdrawn from the mould as before
described, and the further action of the machine by the revolution of
the cam on the counter shaft and its action upon the tumbler lever is
thrown out of genr. During the intermittent stoppage of the machine
the "filler" has again placed in and filled a second tube, after which ho
again gives the table a second turn of 90° which brings the first filled
and previously pressed packet to the opposite side of the table, at which
point the second attendant or "folder" who after turning in the paper
ends places it in the mould. The "filler" having again charged his
packet gives the table a third quarter turn which brings the folded
packet under the action of the second rammer, which working
simultaneously with the first compresses and finishes the packet ready
for being discharged from the machine, which is now effected by means
of a pusher placed underneath the mould, which is in connection by :
means of a vertical rod with the cross head of the rammers, the rise of
" now
which forces the finished packet from the mould. The "filler
gives the table its fourth turn which completes one revolution of the
same, and by which also the empty mould from which the packet has
been discharged is placed before him and the operation begins again and
is continued ad libitum as desired.
In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained
in detail, I have hereunto annexed a Sheet of Drawings made upon a
scale of about two inclics to the foot, similar letters of reference being
marked upon corresponding parts on all the Figures alike.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the machine, having the lower
enclosure removed in order to shew the mechanism actuating the various
parts; Fig. 2 represents an end section of the same; and Fig. 3 repro-
sents a plan view of the machine.
In these Figs. A, A, is the framing of the machine, the lower portion
of which is enclosed so as to protect the working parts; B is a revolving
table provided with four sockets h, h, ",", in which the wooden
moulds for filling in the tobacco or other material is placed; O is a
hollow sliding tube, to the top of which is fixed the cross hoad q. This
cross head supports and gives motion through the medium of the driving
mechanism to the depending plungers or ramming pistons d, d'; D is
the main driving shaft provided with the ordinary fast and loose pullics

page_text: a, a', and also with the pinion and wheel, which, gearing with the
wheelsand, give motion to the working parts of the machine.
The wheels and 7111 on the counter shaft E are provided for the pur-
pose of increasing the power and speed of the working parts transmitted
from the driving pulley a. The end of the shaft D is provided with a
crank F, which, through the medium of the pin and rod G, com-
municates an up-and-down motion to the hollow sliding shaft C and
cross head q. His a tube of sheet iron or other suitable material
which fits the recess or boro of the moulds ff. The top of this tube is
provided with a hopper O which can be turned back upon the hinge g.
J is a bevelled disc secured on the shaft D; this disc is provided with a
cam projection n, which, when revolving gives an intermittent risc and
fall to the lever or beam i which is communicated to the rod s. This
rods is connected to the filling tube H, and is so actuated through the
medium of the lever i and cam n to raise such tube out of the moulds f
after the same have been filled with tobacco or other material. The
disc J is also provided with a projecting face cam n' which intermittently
actuates the strap fork lever N in a manner so as to throw the machino
into and out of gear at regular and required times, the machine being
thrown into gear so as to give motion to the various parts by the action
of the cam n' acting on the bowl of the lever K, and out of gear so as
to stop the machine by means of the weight k. The to-and-fro motion
thus given to the strap fork lever N alternately passes the driving strap
from the fast to the loose pulley and back again, for thic purpose licrcin-
after described. The cross head q has also depending from it a rod L,
the lower end of which is provided with a hook m, and its intermediato
distance with a bowl p. With the ascent of the cross head the hook m
forces through the medium of the sliding rod the finished packet of
tobacco or other material from the mould f, and the bowl p raises the
finger to which throws off the finished packet when raised from tho
mould into a receiving receptacle. The locking of the revolving table B
and strap fork bar N in their positions when the machine is in motion or
stopped is effected by means of the tumbler lover M and bowls g and o
on the swivel lever k¹. The bowl on the lever M comes into contact
with tho stop t on the strap fork rod N and so fixes it, and the swivel
bowls o and g alternately take into the recesses & of the table B and so
prevent its further movement during the time either of the bowls dwell
in any one of such recesses. The mechanism near the cross head
marked is an arrangement of levers and projecting fingers that are

page_text: employed for lifting the tube I containing the tobacco out of the
mould and swinging it out of the range of the ramming piston d.
This mechanism comprises the pillar O, hooked levers v, inclined pivot v',
and counterbalance ". The pivot v is inclined forward from the per-
pendicular line of the ramming piston d, in consequence of which the
counterbalance" has a tendency to descend and turn the lighter hooked
ond of the lever in a direction towards the ramming piston, whero it
comes in position to catch under the collar x of the filling tube, where
it remains until the piston d has been drawn out of the tube.
The following description of the working of the mechanism on
reference to the foregoing letters and Drawings will be readily under-
stood. The machino when in work requires the attention of two men,
one of which is the "filler in," and the other the "folder." The "filler"
places the filling tube II containing the empty paper tube in the mould
of the socket h, and then brings the hopper o into position, so that tho
tube may be filled with the required weight or quantity of tobacco, after
which the hopper o is removed or thrown back on its hinge g, and the
table given one quarter of a turn, the action of which places the packet
just filled in position under the ramming piston d. This first quarter
turn given to the table 13 brings the parts into gear for giving motion to
the ramming pistons d, d', causing them to descend, the first to act
being the piston d, which presses down the tobacco into the paper tube.
This pressure is capable of being regulated by lengthening or shortening
the piston rods by means of the screws c', c'. The upward stroke of the
crank now brings the ramming pistons into their former position.
The cam n at this time prosses back the lever K, and so throws tho
machine out of gear. The filling tube I containing the paper packet of
tobacco las during the foregoing operation been drawn out of the mould
with the descent of the piston d by means of the suspended hooked
lever, the weight of the suspended tube being greater than that of the
counterbalance v causes the lever v to turn on its inclined pivot pin v',
and place the filled tubo on one side out of the line of throw of the
ramming piston d. The "filler" has prepared in the meantime a second
paper bag as before, and again gives the table B a second quarter turn,
which brings the first filled suspended packet opposite the second man
or "folder," which turns in the ends of the packet, and places it in tho
mould f. The "filler" who has now placed in the third packet gives
the table a third quarter turn which brings the first filled packet with

page_text: its ends turned in by the "folder" under the action of the ramming
piston a, the downward pressure of which gives the required shape to
the finished packet. At this time the ascent of the plunger brings into
action the hook m and finger w, the first of which expels or forces the
finished packet from the mould, and the second throws the packet when
clear of the mould off the machine. The table is now turned another
opposite the "filler," ready to be
quarter, which brings the first tube
again replenished with tobacco.
The manner of putting the various parts of the machine in motion is
effected by the turning of the table B in the following manner :-The
table is provided with four recesses 8, 8, 8, 8, in its periphery, so shaped
that they will admit with cach quarter turn of the table the barrelled
rollers e of the tumbler M to enter them, the action of which allows the
roller of the tumbler M to pass over the inclined surface of the
projecting piece of the lever or rod N, and so allows the counterbalanco
lever K to pass the strap through the medium of the fork u, u, from the
loose to the fast pulley a. The machine is thrown out of gear by the
cam n¹ of the disc F coming into contact with the friction roller 7, the
action of which presses back the gearing lever K, and with it the gearing
bar N, so as to move the belt on to the loose pulley, at which time the
barrel roller of the tumbler M enters one of the recesses simultaneously
with the passing of the cam n', which stops the machine until the tablo
B is again turned by hand. Each intermittent turn given to the tablo
raises the barrell roller o out of one of the recesses in the periphery of
the table, bringing it immediately into contact with one of four pro-
jections placed equidistantly on the table, corresponding with tho
recesses before-mentioned. As these projections come successively in
contact with the roller of the tumbler M inmediately before the
entrance of the roller e into one of the recesses 8, they intermittently force
the roller and tumbler M into contact with the inclined piece t, the
action of which releases the gearing bar N. The entrance of the roller e
into one of the recesses & raises the roller
allowing the counterbalance lever K by the release of the strap fork bar
to come into action and pass the strap on to the fast pulley, and so throw
the machine into gear. The roller when raised passes on to the
horizontal plane of the piece t, which presses the roller e into one of the
recesses 8, and so locks the table in position during the action of the
rammers until again thrown into gear, as above described.
and tumbler M, thereby

page_text: Having now described the nature of the said Invention together with
the method of carrying the same into practical effect, I would wish it to
be distinctly understood in conclusion that I claim the novel combination
and use of the various parts composing the improved construction of
machine employed for making and moulding packets of tobacco or other
material, in the manner as herein-before substantially described, set
forth, and fully illustrated in the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Prince, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.