IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING CIGARS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark Wilson and James Brown Candlish,
both of Sheffield, in the County of York, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING CIGARS." -A communication
from abroad by. Theodor Munk, of Berlin, in the Empire of
Germany.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark Wilson
.. and James Brown Candlish at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 7th July 1874.
We, WILLIAM CLARK WILSON and JAMES BROWN CANDLISH, both of
Sheffield, in the County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING CIGARS," a
communication to us from abroad by Theodor Munk, of Berlin, in the
Empire of Germany, to be as follows :—

page_text: The object to be accomplished in forming the "bunch" of a cigar is
to roll or wrap up a given quantity of short tobacco leaf, called "fillers,"
in prepared tobacco leaves, called the "wrappers," it being essential that
each "bunch" shall contain an exact amount (by weight) of "fillers"
carefully rolled up in the desired shape in the before-mentioned
"wrappers."
According to this Invention the actual processes of cutting off the
amount of "fillers" and rolling the leaves are carried out in the
following manner:-Sliding trays constructed to hold a given amount
of fillers are by a mechanical intermittent feed motion passed forward
to a knife having a vertical motion, after each movement of the feed
carrying forward the "fillers" the knife descends and cuts off the
"fillers" so forced or fed forwards, and still descending pushes the
"fillers" down on to the wrapper placed to receive same, and is then
raised to its first position for the next cut. Under the knife is fixed a
flat slide working horizontally, the movements corresponding with those
of the feed 'motion and knife. At a distance of, say, about one-third of
its length from the end furthest from the operator is a deep groove
running across the width of the slide, and a piece of canvas or other
suitable material not so wide as the slide is fastened permanently at one
end, and held by an adjustment at the other, lyeing very loosely on the
top of the slide from one end to the other. Between the canvas and the
top side of the slide is a rod or rolling bar having a smooth surface for
the canvas to work against. This rod or bar is moved to a certain extent
backwards and forwards during the process.
When it is required to start the machine, a slide or tray with "fillers"
is placed in position, and the operator then places a wrapper on the
slide in front of him, the slack of the canvas lying in the hollow or
groove which is directly under the knife, and the roller bar being on the
far side of the groove. The amount of feed motion having been effected
the knife descends, cuts off the "fillers," and forces the same down on
to the edge of the wrapper and into the groove, when the knife rises to
its first position, and the roller bar moves forward, covering over the
"filling" with the canvas, and only leaving a narrow opening or slit in
front. The slide now moves backwards and draws the canvas over the
roller bar, and as the "fillers" are unable to get between the bar and
the slide the canvas imparts a rolling motion to such "fillers," drawing
in the wrapper at the same time. When the roll of wrapped "fillers"

page_text: reaches the front of the slide it is released by a movement of the roller,
bar, and is removed by the fingers of the operator. The slide now moves,
forward, and the movement of the roller bar back to its original position
tightens the canvas ready for another wrapper.
The different movements are obtained by the use of cams and levers,
or other suitable mechanical means¨·
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Clark Wilson and James Brown Cavendish
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th January 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
CLARK WILSON and JAMES BROWN CANDLISH, both of Sheffield, in the
County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said William Clark Wilson and James
Brown Candlish, Her special license that we, the said William Clark
Wilson and James Brown Candlish, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Clark Wilson and James
Brown Candlish, our 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 MACHINERY FOR MAKING CIGARS," a com-
munication to us from abroad by Theodor Munk, of Berlin, in the
Empire of Germany, upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said William Clark Wilson and James Brown Candlish, our executors.or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals

page_text: or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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...
B.
f......
11
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Clark Wilson and James
Brown, Candlish, do hereby declare, the nature of the 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:
I
The said Invention relates to the construction of that portion of cigars
known as the "bunch," and consists in the employment of an improved
arrangement and combination of machinery or apparatus whereby much
greater rapidity of manufacture is attained;
. . :
14. a
The object to be accomplished in forming the "bunch" of a cigar is
to roll or wrap up a given quantity of short tobacco leaf, called "fillers,"
in prepared tobacco leaves, called the "wrappers," it being essential that
cach "bunch" should contain an exact amount (by weight) of "fillers
carefully rolled up in the desired shape in the before-mentioned
"wrappers." 1
.
:
11.
"
According to the said Invention the existing processes of cutting off
the amount of "fillers" and rolling the leaves are carried out in the
following manner-Sliding trays constructed to hold a given amount of
fillers" are by a mechanical intermittent feed motion passed forward
to a knife having a vertical motion, after each movement of the feed
'carrying forward the "fillers" the knife descends and cuts off the
"fillers" so forced or fed forwards, and still descending pushes the
"fillers" down on to the "wrapper" placed to receive same, and is then
raised to its first position for the next cut. Under the knife is fixed a
slide working horizontally, the movements corresponding with those of
the feed motion and knife. At a distance of, say, about one-third of its
length from the end farthest from the operator is a groove or recess
running across the width of the slide, and a piece of canvas or other
suitable material is fastened permanently at one end, and held by an
adjustment at the other lying very loosely on the top of the slide from
one end to the other. Between the canvas and the top side of the slide

page_text: is a rod or rolling bar having a smooth surface for the canvas to work.
against. This rod or bar is moved to a certain extent backwards and
forwards during the operation.
I
:
"
When it is required to start the machine a tray with "fillers" is
placed in position, and the operator then lays a "wrapper" on the slido>
in front of him, the slack of the canvas lying in the hollow or groove:
which is directly under the knife, and the roller bar being on the far:
side of the groove. The amount of feed motion having been effected the
knife descends, cuts off the "fillers," and forces the same down on to
the edge of the "wrapper" and into the groove or recess, when the knife
rises to its first position, and the roller bar moves forward, covering over
the "fillers" with the canvas, and only leaving a narrow opening or slit
in. front. The slide now moves backwards and draws the canvas over,
the roller bar, and as the "fillers" are unable to get between the bar.
and the slide the canvas imparts a rolling motion to such "fillers,".
drawing in the "wrapper" at the same time. When the roll of wrapped.
fillers" reaches the front of the slide it is released by a movement of
the roller bar, and is removed by the fingers of the operator. The slide
now moves forward, and the movement of the roller bar back to its
original position tightens the canvas ready for another wrapper.
66
:
The different movements are obtained by the use of cams and levers,
or other suitable mechanical means.
For a small machine to work by a hand lever a continuous or endless
belt may be used as a feed instead of trays, but in all cases the principle
of the rolling motion is the same.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood we
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters. of reference indicating corresponding parts
in all the Figures.
..
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a front clevation of our improved machine
for making cigar bunches; " Figure 2, a side elevation of the same;
Figure. 3, a corresponding plan of the upper part of the machine'; and
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are detail views to be herein-after referred to.
A is the first motion-shaft, carrying at one end thereof a fly wheel B
and fast and loose, driving pulleys C, C, its opposite end having fitted
J

page_text: loosely theron a pinion D. which gears into two spur wheels E, F, keyed
respectively on the shafts G and H, upon which are also keyed the cams
for imparting the necessary motions to the various parts of the machine.
I is a sliding clutch, the teeth of which are held: in gear with
corresponding teeth formed on the side of the pinion D by a helical
spring K, but which clutch may be thrown out of gear, when desired; by
means of the lever handle L, or by depressing by means of the foot of
the attendant the treadle M, and the machine be thereby stopped. .
"
( The "fillers" are placed in tin or other metal trays O constructed to
contain a definite quantity, to which trays an intermittent feed motion
is imparted in the manner herein after described. P is a flap of wood,
hinged at Q to the bed plate or table R, which flap bears upon the.
"fillers" contained in the tray O, and serves to hold them securely in
position, a weight S being placed upon the flap for the purpose. of
increasing the pressure, as desired. By turning the flap P upon its
hinge the tray, when empty, may be readily removed, and a full one)
placed in position. T. is a metal presser plate which bears upon the
"fillers as they are being fed to the cutter. This plate is carried upon
two rods or bars U, U; free to slide in a longitudinal direction in guides
formed in cross leads U¹, U¹, carried on the upper ends of four vertical
rods V, V. The rods V, V, are connected together by bars W, and
receive an up-and-down motion by means of the cam X keyed upon the
shaft G. The longitudinal to-and-fro motion of the rods or bars U, U,
and the plate T is obtained from the shaft H by means of cams Y which
act upon the lower forked ends a of two levers Z, and impart a vibratory
motion thereto. The upper ends 6 of these levers are connected together
by a rod c which bears against two projections or stops d, d¹, fitted
on to the upper face of the plate T, the stop d' being capable of
adjustment for the purpose of regulating the traverse of the plate T, and
consequently the amount of "fillers." to be fed at one operation to the
cutter.
The intermittent feed motion of the "fillers" before referred to is
obtained in the following manner :-To the rear end of the tray O
containing the "fillers "there is hinged a short lever or detent 16 (see
Figures 2 and 3) which engages with the teeth of a rack 17 formed on
or fitted to the feed bar working through a slot in the bed plate or table
of the machine. The feed bar is connected to the presser plate T by the
rods 18, and receives a corresponding longitudinal to-and-fro motion

page_text: therewith by means of the cams Y and levers Z, as herein-before
described. As the feed bar is making its forward motion it carries with
it the tray O containing the "fillers," but the tray is prevented from
moving with the feed bar in the backward motion of the latter by the
pressure of the hinged flap P, the detent 16 sliding over the teeth on
the feed bar to the extent of the amount of feed required.
e is the cutter, which works vertically in slots or guides f in the
brackets g, and receives its motion from the shaft H by means of the
double grooved cam h; i. is a lever which is centred at k to the framing
of the machine, and which is forked at one end thereof, each limb of the
fork carrying a friction bowl which works in the grooves of the cam h.
The opposite end of the lever i is hinged to a cross head 7 having
connected thereto vertical rods me to the upper end of which the cutter e
is attached. The fillers having been fed forward the cutter e descends
and cuts off sufficient to form a "bunch." The bars 11, 11, (shewn
enlarged in detail at Figure 4), which are situate beneath the cutter, are
then caused to make a partial rotation, as shewn by dotted lines, in order
to allow the several "fillers" to fall on to the "wrapper" in which they are
to be enveloped. This partial rotation is effected by means of springs 12
and pins or projections 13 fitted or formed on the rods m in the following
manner: On the axles of the bars 11 there are fitted cams 14, to the
tails or projections 15 of which one end of the helical springs 12 are
attached, the opposite ends of such springs being connected to the main
frame. As the cutter descends the springs 12 cause the cams to make a
partial rotatory motion, bringing the bars 11 into the position shewn by
the dotted lines in Figure 4, as herein-before described. So soon however
as the cutter commences to rise, the pins or projections 13 acting upon
the cams 14 cause the bars to resume their horizontal position, as shewn
by the full lines in Figure 4..
"
is a slide provided with a groove or recess 22 (shewn clearly in the
diagrams, Figures 5, 6, and 7), and covered loosely with a strip or sheet
of canvass or other suitable material o, upon which is laid or prepared
leaf of tobacco in which the severed "fillers" delivered from the cutter
are to be wrapped..
In order to effect the operation of wrapping the "fillers" the canvass
carrying the wrapper is caused to partly surround the "fillers" in the
following manner:-p is a lever, hinged at 2 to the lower part of the

page_text: main frame, which lever carries at its upper end a roller disposed
between the face of the slide n and the canvass o; s is a rod, which
connects the lever p to a frame t, capable of sliding to and fro upon.
rods u, such sliding motion being imparted from the shaft G by means.
of the cams v and w. These cams are so timed as to cause the cam v so
soon as the severed fillers fall upon the canvas o to come in contact
with the bracket 201, and force the frame along the rods u, and con-
sequently move the lever 2 forward, thereby folding the loose canvas
over and around the severed fillers placed on the wrapper, as shewn in.
the diagram, Figure 6. The slide n is then moved backward by means
of tlic cam y keyed on the shaft H, and which acts upon the bracket z
on the frame 1, causing such frame to slide upon the rods 2. This frame
is connected by means of the rod 3 to a lever 4 hinged at 5 to the main
franic, the upper end of which lever is attached to a rod or bar 6 hinged:
to the rear end of the slide n. By this means the slide is caused to
recede and impart a rotatory motion to the "fillers" on the "wrapper,"
whereby the said "fillers "become completely enveloped therein, and the;
"bunch so formed is conducted to the end of the slide. So soon as
the backward motion of the slide is completed, the cam w commences to
áct upon the bracket 8 on the frame t, so as to cause such frame to
slide in the opposite direction. At the commencement of this motion
the lever p with its roller rises sufficiently to free the "bunch" from
the canvas (as shewn in the diagram, Figure 7), when such "bunch
may be removed by the hand of the attendant. The continued motion:
of the cam w will bring the lever p and the roller into their original
position, ready to act upon the next supply of severed." fillers," whilst
at the same time the cam 9 by acting upon the bracket 10 on the
frame 2 will cause the slide n to complete its forward motion in readiness
for the next operation.
1*
2"
"
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, we would observe in conclusion that what we consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to us by the hercin-before in part recited Letters Patent is,
14!2i
First. The combination of a sliding tray or its equivalent having an a
intermittent feed motion and containing a quantity of "fillers," with a
knife for cutting off the required length of "fillers," and delivering the
same on to a "wrapper" for the purpose of forming the "bunch of a
!!

page_text: cigar, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the
accompanying Drawings.
-
Second. The application and use to and in the manufacture of the
"bunch" of cigars of a slide having a groove or recess, and fitted with a
band of flexible material for carrying the "wrapper" of a "bunch," and
operating in connection with a rolling bar for the purpose of covering
with the "wrapper" the "fillers" which are placed or passed on to the
same, and rolling and delivering the "bunch" or roll of wrapped
"fillers," substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the
accompanying Drawings.
-
Third. The combination of the apparatus for feeding, cutting off, and
delivering a definite quantity of "fillers," with the apparatus for wrapping
and rolling the "fillers" and delivering the roll or "bunch" from the
machine, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark Wilson, on behalf of
James Brown Candlish and myself, have to this our Specification
set
my hand and scal, this Fifth day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five.
WILLIAM CLARK WILSON. (L.S.)