Improvements in Machines for the Manufacture of Cigars.
Year: 1899

page_text: Communicated from abroad by THOMAS EDWARDS CARPENTER, of the City and
County of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, United States of
America, Jeweller.
Improvements in Machines for the Manufacture of Cigars.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:--
In order that my invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
effect I will describe the same fully with reference to the accompanying draw-
ings, in which like numerals indicate like parts.
Figure 1 is a top plan of my improved cigar machine.
Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof.
Figure shows in side elevation a cigar, which is the product of said
my
machine.
Figure 4 is a view of sail machine, as seen on line A A of Figure 1, and is
partly in elevation and partly in section on said line. In this figure the clutch-
ing mechanism is disengaged.
Figure is the same as the right hand end of Figure 4, except that the
clutching mechanism is here seen in engagement.
Figure 6 is an end elevation of said machine, as seen on line BB of Figure 4.
Figure is an end elevation of mechanism for laterally moving the upper roll
of said machine, and is drawn as seen on line CC of Figure 4.
Figure 8 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section, as seen on line D D
of Figure 4 in the direction of the arrows.
Figure 9 is a view partly in top plan and partly in horizontal section, as seen
on line EE of Figure 6.
Figure 10 is an enlarged longitudinal view of the two portions of the upper
roller, the same being in central longitudinal section, and illustrates the ball-
and-socket connection between said parts, together with the means for support-
ing the outer end of said roller.
Figure 11 is a view of said portions of the roller, partially in elevation and
partly in section on line FF of Figure 10, together with the ball portion of the
connecting piece
Figure 1 shows the two parts of said roller and their ball-and-socket con-
nection, as seen in central longitudinal section, when said parts of the roller
have rotated 180° from the position shown in Figure 10.
Figure 13 is a view of said portions of the roller, partially in elevation and
partly in section on line GG of Figure 12, together with the ball portion of
the connecting piece.
Figure 14 is a top plan of said ball portion and the screw-threaded stem
thereof.
My invention is a machine designed for the manufacture of cigars, and con-

page_text: sists of the novel construction and combination of the several elements herein-
after particularly described and specially set out in the claims.
The moving parts are supported by two standards 1 and 2, whose lower por-
tions spread apart angularly to form legs 3, 4, 5 and 6. Two cross rods 7 and 8
extend between said legs from side to side. These cross rods, at one end thereof,
respectively, are reduced in diameter and made with a shoulder, and thus are
engaged into corresponding holes or openings in the legs 5 and 6 of the
standard 2. Said cross rods 7 and 8 pass loosely through holes or openings made
for their reception in the legs 3 and 4 of the standard 1, and extend beyond
said standards to and through the cross piece 9, and are secured in position by
the nuts 10, 11, fitting upon the screw-threaded ends of said rods, respectively.
The machine is secured upon a bench 12 by screws 13, passing through the feet
of the legs of said standards.
Integral with the cross piece 9 and extending up centrally therefrom, is the
upright bearing or support 14. A spindle 15 extends through the support 14,
and by means of a screw thread on its inner end engages with the standard 1
in a screw-threaded hole thereof, as shown in Figure 4.
A sleeve or tube 16 surrounds the spindle 15 (Figures 4 and 5) and is rotatable
thereon. On said sleeve or tube is the spiral spring 17. A pulley 18 is rotatably
mounted on the sleeve 16 and has a peripheral groove, in which the driving
belt 19 is received to communicate motion thereto from a source of power. The
hub 20 of the pulley 18 has two diametrically-arranged slots 21 (Figures 1
and 2), on its inner face, and one end of the spiral spring 17 bears against said
face of the hub.
A lever 22 is pivotally and quite loosely mounted on a stud or pin 23, which
has a slotted head 24 and is partially screw-threaded to engage said cross piece 9
and a check nut 25 (Figure 5) on the rear of the cross piece 9 (Figures 4, 5
and 6). Said lever 22 extends down below the table or bench 12, so that it can
be operated by the knee of the attendant in the direction indicated by the
arrow 26 in Figure 4. The upper end of the lever 22 is bifurcated and encloses
the sleeve 16 of the spindle 15.
The sleeve or tube 16 has, integral therewith, a clutch 27 and a gear 28, all
revolving on the spindle 15. The gear 28 engages with the three gears 29, 30
and 31, so that said three gears revolve in the same direction, as indicated by
the arrows in Figure 8. The gears 29, 30 and 31 are fastened on and revolve
the rollers 32, 33 and 34, respectively. Each of these rollers is shouldered, and
has an arbor, by means of which the roller is supported in a bearing in the
standard 1. Each arbor is at its end reduced in diameter and centrally and
longitudinally tapped, as seen in Figures 4 and 9. Each of the gears 29, 30
and 31 is secured in place upon the end of its proper roller, by means of a screw,
which screw has either a washer between its head and the end of the arbor, or,
if preferred, may have its head provided with an integral flange to bear against
the face of the gear and the end of the arbor.
The roller 34 has a circumferential groove 35 and the arbor of said roller
passes through a curved and elongated slot 36 in the standard 1, the lower end
of which slot furnishes a bearing for said arbor, when the roller 34 is in the
position shown in Figures 6, 8, 1, 2, and 4. The rollers 32 and 33 have their
respective arbors supported in holes or bearings in the standard 1, of a diameter
corresponding to said arbors so as to allow revolution, but to maintain said
rollers, respectively, in the same axial line of rotation. As these three rollers
have their bearings only at one end thereof, the standard 1 is made of consider-
able thickness to provide a sufficiently strong and rigid support.
A handle or lever 36 has its lower end enlarged and bifurcated, as seen in
Figure 7, to embrace the roller 34 in the circumferential groove 35 thereof.
Said handle or lever is fulcrumed on the screw 37, which enters the standard 1.
as shown. The screw 37 should be placed at a point in a line somewhat forward
of the plane of the axial line of said roller 34, and by the eccentric position

page_text: of said fulcrum with respect to the centre of curvature of the slot 36 of the
handle, said handle serves as a locking device to confine said roller 34 to the
forward (lower) end of the elongated slot 36 in the standard 1, in a fixed, longi-
tudinal or axial line of rotation, thus bringing the teeth of the gears 38 and 21
into engagement, crowding and seating the roller 34 into the lowest portion of
the slot 36 and moving the centre of the bifurcation or yoke into exact vertical
line with the centre of the gear 28.
The rollers 32, 33 and 34 all rotate in the same direction as indicated by the
arrows in Figure 8. The direction of the travel of the belt 19 is indicated in
Figure 6 by the arrow, and it will be seen that the gear 28, when in clutch with
the pulley 18, rotates in the same direction therewith and as said gear 28 drives
all the gears 29, 30 and 31, and said three lastmentioned gears as seen from
the end of the machine shown in Figure 6, all move in a direction similar to
that of the forward movement of the hands of a clock (see Figure 8) and said
gears 29, 30 and 31 rotate, respectively, the rollers 32, 33 and 34 in the same
direction therewith, it is apparent that the lower teeth of the rotating gear 31
of the roller 34, and also the the upper teeth of the rotating gear 28 tend
to force the axis or spindle of the roller 34 forward into snug contact with
the inner end of the slot 36; and this, with the eccentric position of the fulcrum
or pivot 37 of the handle 36", as already specified, and the bifurcation of the
lower end of said handle, gives the roller 34 a sufficient support in the slot 36.
As shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8, the rollers 32 and 33 are mounted in the
same horizontal plane, which plane is parallel with that of the table 52. The
roller 34, when in operative position, as in Figures 6 and 8, is in a horizontal
plane above and parallel to the plane of the rollers 32 and 33, and also in a
vertical plane midway between the vertical planes of the rollers 32 and 34, and
the position of the fulcrum or pivot 37 of the handle 36" is forward of the
vertical plane of said roller 34. The result is that the handle 36", when in the
position shown in Figure 6, constitutes a locking means (when the roller 34 is
rotating in the direction indicated in Figure 8), and in combination with the
inner edge of the yoke, or bifurcation of the lower end of the handle 36"
(Figures 6 and 7), prevents any rearward movement of the roller 34, while in
operation.
A steel rod 38 extends from the handle 36", and at the outer end it has the
rigid bent finger 39, fastened in position by nuts.
Each roller 32, 33 and 34 is longitudinally curved and fluted, as illustrated
in the several figures and each has connected with it, at its outer end, a conical
roller, as indicated at 40, 41 and 42, respectively, extending in an angular
direction.
Each of these conical rollers is concaved on its peripheral surface and longi-
tudinally fluted. It also has a central longitudinal bore 43, which at and near
the larger end of the cone is screw-threaded, and at and near the smaller end of
the cone is enlarged or cupped, as seen at 44. Each of the conical rollers is
provided with a connecting piece, shown separately in Figures 14, where it is
seen to have a spherical head 45, with a screw-threaded stem 46, extending
therefrom on one side. An elongated channel or groove. 47, semicircular in
cross-section, extends along a portion of the surface of the sphere or ball in
the plane of the stem 46, and the bottom of said channel or groove has its
central, longitudinal line parallel throughout its extent with the edges of said
channel or groove.
Each of the rollers 52, 33 and 31 is shouldered near its outer end and reduced
in diameter and is there screw-threaded. This reduced portion of the roller
constitutes an arbor or bearing, whose end is hollowed out semi-spherically to
form a socket to receive the spherical head 45 of the connection piece
(Figure 14). Said socket is grooved or channelled, as shown in Figures 10
and 12, in a direction longitudinal of the roller. A cap 48, with an interior

page_text: screwthread, fits upon the arbor or bearing of the roller, as shown most plainly
in Figures 10 and 12, the flange of said cap being centrally perforated by a
circular aperture of less diameter than the diameter of the ball 45. The edge
of said aperture of the cap, as shown in Figures 10 and 12, serves as a lip to
close the outer end of the groove or channel of the socket and to prevent the
ball spline from rolling out.
The rollers are connected as follows. The cap 48, being removed, the ball
portion 45 of the connecting piece (Figure 14) is inserted in the socket of the
larger roller.
A ball 49, serving as a movable spline, is inserted in the channel
or groove 47 of the ball 45 and into the corresponding channel or groove of the
said socket. The cap 48 is then screwed upon the arbor of the roller, as shown.
The conical or smaller roller is then screwed upon the stem 46 of said connec-
tion-piece, the parts then having been assembled, as fully illustrated in
Figure 12.
-
The roller 42 is then engaged by its bore with the bent up finger 39, which
has a rounded end to enter the cupped portion of said bore. The rollers 40
and 41 are mounted at their outer or smaller ends in the cupped portion of the
bores thereof, upon the rounded projections 49", respectively of the bracket 50,
which by its bearing passes through the standard 2 and is held in position by
the nut 51.
The caps 48 are fluted continuously with the flutings of the rollers, on which
they are fastened. A table 52 is screwed at 53 to the standards 1 and 2, in a
plane substantially coincident with that of the projections 49" of the bracket 50,
thus leaving a space above the table for the insertion of the cigar leaf-wrapper
beneath the smaller end of the conical roller 42.
Having thus explained the parts of my said improved cigar machine, I will
now explain its operation.
The filling of tobacco, which constitutes the body of the cigar, is placed by
the operator in his hands in parallel strips lengthwise and slightly rolled or
pinched together to give it sufficient coherence. The handle or lever 36" is
moved from the position shown in Figure 6 (which position is also shown in
dotted lines in Figure 7) in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 6.
At the conclusion of this movement, the lever or handle 36" is in the position
shown in solid lines in Figure 7. As a result the roller 34 is moved from the
position, indicated in Figure 7, by the two concentric circles in dotted lines, to
the position shown in said figure in solid lines. This movement is possible
because the arbor of the roller 34 is carried by the lever or handle from the
lower end of the slot 36 in the standard 1. The upper roller 34 is thus lifted
or swung away from its former contiguity to the rollers 32 and 33, and a clear
space or opening is so provided, into which the bunch of filling tobacco, pre-
pared as aforesaid, is laid and pushed by hand along the table 52, longitudinally
between and upon the rollers 32, 33 (Figure 9). The handle or lever 36" is
then moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 7, back to the
position shown in Figure 6, and the cigar is then in place to be operated upon,
as indicated in Figure 8 at 54.
The lever 22 is then moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 26 in
Figure 4, thereby bringing the clutch 21 of the hub 20 of the pulley 18 into
engagement with the clutch 27, and compressing the spiral spring 17. The
pulley 18 is rotated by the driving belt 19, and when the clutch members 21 27
are engaged, as just stated, said pulley revolves the gear 28, which revolves the
three gears 29, 30 and 31. Said three gears revolve in the same direction and
turn the rollers to which they are respectively fastened. The direction of the
rotation of said three rollers is indicated by the arrows in Figure 8. The
rollers, being longitudinally corrugated or fluted, impart by their rotation the
proper curve and shape to the tobacco filler 54 between them.
Each roller (32, 33 or 34) in turning imparts its roiary motion to its con-

page_text: gurs.
to each other is shown at the upper and lower extremes of the
ment of the ball-and-socket connection. The ball 49, inserted in the groo
res 10 and 12, the position of these rollers
channel 47 of the spherical head 45, extends also into the corresponding gi
5 or channel of the socket in the end of the arbor of the longer roller, and
acts as a spline, whereby the rotary movement of the longer roller, whic
turned by its gear at one end, is communicated to the conical roller at the o
site end, the ball 49 moving from end to end of said grooves, as illustrated
Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13. The outer ends of the conical rollers are suppo
10 upon the bent-up end of the finger 39, or on the projection 49" of the bracket
(as the case may be), but the same curvature of the two connected rollers
their operative sides is maintained, as seen in Figures 10, 12, 1, 2, and 4.
When the tobacco filler has been properly shaped by the conjoint operation
the rollers 32, 33 and 34 and the conical rollers 40, 41 and 42, the leaf-wrapp
15 cut in the required form and moistened as usual is pushed along the table 5
by hand, in a diagonal direction, and is drawn by the roilers and wrapped ov
the filler from end end to end, thus completing the cigar. The shape of th
finished cigar is seen in Figure 3, the form there shown being that known a
the "perfecto," but it is obvious that any other preferred form can be given t
20 the cigar by modifying the curvature of the rollers. When the wrapper ha
been properly put in position, the cigar is removed from the machine by moving
the handle or lever 36 from the position shown in Figure 6 to that shown in
Figure 7, and the completed cigar is taken from the rollers by hand.
While the machine is not in operation, the normal section of the spiral
spring 17 forces the pulley 18 from the position shown in Figure 5 to the posi-
tion shown in Figure 4 thus stopping the rotation of the gears and rollers.
Instead of making the tube 16 integral with the gear 28 and clutch 27, as
above described, I may make the gear separate and mount it on the tube 16 by
a spline.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what claim is:-
1. In a cigar machine, the combination of main rollers rotatably mounted at
one end thereof, respectively, in a proper support, and cach having a hemi-
spherical socket in its opposite end, which is grooved on one side on the plane
of the axis of said main roller, means to rotate said roller, a companion' conical
oller for each of the main rollers, a ball extending from the larger end of each
onical roller and adapted to enter said socket of the adjacent main roller and
rooved in the plane of the axis of said conical roller, a ball spline extending
nto and confined to one line of travel in said grooves of the balls and sockets,
espectively, and a support for the outer smaller end of each of said conical
llers, arranged to maintain said conical roller in an angular direction relatively
its main roller, substantially as described.
2. In a cigar machine, the combination of main rollers rotatably mounted at
e end thereof, respectively, in a proper support, and each having a hemi-
erical socket in its opposite end, which is grooved on one side in the plane
the axis of said main roller, means to rotate said roller, a companion conical
er for each of the main rollers, a ball extending from the larger end of each
ical roller and adapted to enter said socket of the adjacent main roller and
ved in the plane of the axis of said conical roller, an arbor projecting
lly from each of the main rollers at the socketed end thereof, a detachable
lar cap, mounted and fitting on each of said arbors and having a central
lar aperture on the outer end thereof, of a diameter less than the diameter
id balls, respectively, means to secure said cap in position upon said main
rs, a ball spline extending into and confined to one line of travel in said

page_text: grooves of the balls and sockets, respectively, and a support for the outer smaller
end of each of said conical roller, arranged to maintain said conical roller in an
angular direction relatively to its main roller, substantially as described.
3. In a cigar machine having a proper support, the combination of a roller
mounted at one end on said support and rotatable in a fixed, longitudinal or
axial line, a rotatable roller mounted at one end in an elongated aperture of said
support and capable of an oscillating movement to and from the first named
roller, a companion conical roller for each of the rollers aforesaid and extending
at an angle therefrom, a ball-and-socket connection between each of the two
rollers first aforesaid and its companion conical roller, a spline between the ball
and socket of each of said connections, a support for the outer smaller end of
each conical roller, and locking means adapted to confine the second named
roller in said aperture to a fixed, longitudinal or axial line of rotation, when
said roller has been oscillated to the first named roller, substantially as set forth.
4. In a cigar machine, the combination of main rollers rotatably mounted at
one end thereof, respectively, in a proper support, means to rotate said rollers,
a companion conical roller for each of the main rollers, a ball extending from
the larger end of each conical roller and grooved in the plane of its axis, a
socket in the end of each main roller adapted to receive the ball of the com-
panion conical roller and grooved on one side in the plane of the axis of said
main roller, a ball spline extending into and movable in said groove of the balls
and sockets, respectively, an external lip on the edge of each socket adapted to
keep the ball spline in the groove of said socket and a support for the outer
smaller end of each of said conical rollers, arranged to maintain said conical
roller in an angular direction relatively to its main roller, substantially as
specified.
5. In a cigar machine, having a proper support, the combination of a pair of
rollers mounted each at one end thereof in the same plane and rotatable each
in the fixed longitudinal line of its own axis, an oscillating rotatable roller,
mounted at one end in an elongated aperture of said support in a plane parallel
to the plane of the two rollers first aforesaid and movable to a plane which is
at right angles with the first named plane and midway between the axes of said
pair of rollers, a companion conical roller for each of said three rollers and
extending at an angle therefrom respectively, a ball-and-socket connection
between each of the three rollers first aforesaid and its respective companion
conical roller, a spline between the ball and socket of each of said connections,
a support for the outer smaller end of each conical roller, and locking means
adapted to confine the oscillating roller in operative position relatively to the
pair of rollers first named, substantially as shown.
6. In a cigar machine, the combination of a rotatable longitudinally fluted
roller mounted at one end in a proper support, a screw-threaded arbor extending
from the opposite end of said roller and having in its end a socket, which is
made with an elongated slot,, a conical roller having its outer end concave and
its peripheral surface longitudinally fluted, a ball extending from said end of
the conical roller and fitting movably in the socket of the first named roller,
and slotted as shown, a movable spline between said ball and socket adapted to
communicate rotary motion from the first named roller to the second, a support
for the outer smaller end of the conical roller loosely engaging the same in a
line angularly disposed to the axial line of the first named roller, and a cap
having its end centrally provided with a circular opening of less diameter than
the said ball and made with an interiorly-threaded tubular portion engageable
with said screw-threaded arbor and also having on its edge longitudinal grooves
continuous in direction and location with the flutings of said first named roller,
said cap and roller and companion conical roller being so adjusted that their
grooves or flutings are continuous with each other upon those sides thereof
which are in operative contact with the cigar, substantially as specified,

page_text: 7. In a cigar machine having a proper support, a pair of rotatable rollers
mounted each at one end thereof in said support in the same plane and rotatable
cach in the fixed longitudinal line of its own axis and provided each with a
socket at its end, an oscillating rotatable roller having a circumferential groove
near one end and mounted at said end in an elongated aperture of said support
in a plane parallel to the plane of the two rollers first aforesaid and movable to
a plane which is at right angles with the first named plane and midway between
the axes of said pair of rollers, a companion conical roller for each of said three
rollers aforesaid, each having a ball extending from its end which is adapted to
enter the socket of its adjacent roller, a spline between said balls and sockets,
respectively, arranged to communicate rotary motion from each main roller,
respectively, to its companion conical roller, supports for the smaller outer ends
of said conical rollers, respectively, adapted to maintain the conical rollers angu-
larly with respect to said main rollers, respectively, a handle bifurcated at its
lower end, adapted to enter the circumferential groove and engage therein said
oscillating roller, a pivot passing through said handle into said support at a
point in a line forward of the axial line of said oscillating roller, thereby
constituting said handle an eccentric locking means to confine said oscillating
roller to a fixed longitudinal or axial line of rotation when in operative position
with respect to the other main rollers. and a rod extending from said handle
and having fastened to its opposite end a hanger or support for the companion
conical roller of said oscillating roller, substantially as described.
8. In a cigar machine having two main rollers, each mounted rotatably at
one end thereof in the standard of the machine, and having the opposite end
connected by a ball-and-socket joint with a companion conical roller rotatable
therewith by said hall-and-socket connection and also having a support for the
outer end of each of said conical rollers, the combination of a rotatable main
roller mounted at one end in an elongated slot in said standard, a handle adapted
to move said main roller in said slot to and from the two main rollers first
aforesaid, a companion conical roller for said movable main roller and connected
therewith by a ball-and-socket joint, a rod extending from said handle and
having a finger or hanger at its end arranged to support and guide the outer
end of the last named conical roller. substantially as specified.
9. The improved cigar machine herein described, consisting of the stand-
ards 1. 2 having spread legs at the bottom thereof and the cross rods or
stays 7, 8, a cross piece 9 upon the ends of said rods and having the upright
support 14, the spindle 15 from the support 14 to the standard 1, the gear 28
and clutch 27 having a sleeve or tube 16 upon the spindle 15, the spiral spring 17
on said spindle, the pulley 18 loose upon said spindle and having a hub 20 with
clutch slots 21, the lever 22 pivotally mounted upon the cross piece 9 and having a
bifurcated end to embrace the tube 16 and to lie against the hub 20 of said
pulley, the elongated slot bearing 36 in the standard 1, the rollers 32, 33 and 34
cach having a channelled socket in its outer end, said rollers 32 and 33 being
mounted by arbors in holes or bearings of corresponding size in the standard 1
and said roller 34 being mounted in said slot 36 and grooved circumferentially
as at 35. the gears 29. 30 and 31 upon the rollers 32, 33 and 34, respectively.
the handle 30 pivotally mounted on the standard 1 and having a bifurcated
end which engages the roller 34 in the groove 35 thereof, the rod 38 from said
handle, the bent finger 39 at the end of the rod 38, the conical rollers 40, 41
and 42 extending at an angle from the rollers 32, 33 and 34. respectively, and
each having a bore 43 therein and an enlargement 44 of said bore, a connection
for each conical roller and its companion roller, consisting of a spherical grooved
head 45, a threaded stem 46 engageable with said bore 43, a cap 48 fitting upon
the end of each roller 32, 33 and 34 and provided with a central round aper-
fure, a ball spline 49 in the channels of the sockets and of the spherical heads.45.
respectively, the bracket 50 from the standard 2 and having the projections 49

page_text: and the table 52 extending from the standards 1, 2, all arranged and operating
as shown and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 5th day of December 1899.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co..
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.