Improvements in Apparatus for Forming and Preparing Blanks for Making Tubes or Wrappers and Mouth-pieces for Cigarettes or for other purposes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1897
Complete Consification Inft 20th Fah 1908 cented 14th May 1808
Complete Specification Loft, 29th Fah 900
Date of Application, 31st May, 1897
1000
Accepted 14th May 1808
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Forming and Preparing Blanks for
Making Tubes or Wrappers and Mouth-pieces for Cigarettes or
for other purposes.
We, W. D. and H. O. WILLS LIMITED, of Bedminster, in the City and County of
Bristol, and of 53, 54 & 55, Holborn Viaduct, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (which has been communicated to us from
abroad by the Bonsack Machine Company, of Salem, Virginia, in the United
States of America) to be as follows
This invention relates to machines for forming and preparing blanks for making
tubular wrappers and mouth-pieces for cigarettes which are preferably of conical,
or tapered, shape.
The object of this invention is to provide improved means for outting the blanks
from rolls, or sheets, of paper, and for applying paste to them preparatory to their
further treatment.
A table supports the paper before it reaches the feed-rolls. The driving shaft
of the machine has secured to it a toothed wheel with which engages a toothed
wheel secured on a countershaft. A cam is secured on and turns with the counter-
shaft. A rod rests at one end on the countershaft by means of a yoke while at
its other end it is attached to a rock-lever journalled on a third shaft. A can
roller secured on this rod rests on a cam which gives to it and to the rod a reciprocat-
ing motion which is imparted of course to rock-lever. A pawl by a weighted end is
kept in contact with a ratchet-wheel secured to the said third shaft. A star-cam
having a series of points, and preferably one point, of greater length than the
others is secured to the said third shaft and receives an intermittent movement
of rotation through the action of the pawl on a ratchet wheel-the movement of
rotation being equal in each case to the distance between the cam-stars. The
cum-wheel remains stationary while the pawl is moved back to take a fresh hold
on the ratchet wheel. A rod or slide supported on the said third shaft at one
end has its other end attached to the arm of a bell-crank lever which is journalled
on a fourth shaft, a cam-roller is secured to the said rod or slide and rests in
contact with the star cam-wheel the action of which is to give the rod an inter-
mittent reciprocating motion and through it to communicate an intermittent
oscillating or rocking motion to the bell-crank lever which carries on one arm
& pawl resting on and actuating ratchet wheel secured to tho
fourth shaft which is thus given an intermittent rotary movement.
T'o this fourth shaft is also secured a gear-wheel which is in gear
with a wheel secured to a shaft upon which is also secured the upper feed-
roll. This wheel is in engagement with a similar wheel on a shaft upon which
is secured the lower feed-roll. The latter shaft may be supported and its roller
held against the upper feed-roll by a lever pivoted and attached to a spring. By
the mechanism described the feed-rolls aro given an intermittent rotative movement
and by the action of the longer cam of the star cam-wheel a movement of greater
length is given to them at regular intervals. The purpose of this is that when the
.

page_text: machine is fed with strips of paper instead of by a continuous roll the action of the
said longer cam, which should be first to come into operation, will carry
the paper through a greater distance than the action of the other cams
of the star wheel which come into operation afterwards. In this way tho
front edge of the strip is fed to the required distance over the rear edge of
the female die and the subsequent shorter movements of the strip are just
sufficient to feed an uncut portion of the sheet over the die, and the blanks are
thus cut with the greatest possible economy. The number of the cam-fingers and
the arrangement of the parts actuated by them is such that a single rotation of the
oam-wheel will correspond with the passage of a single sheet of paper through
the machine.
A female dio is formed in, or secured to, one part of the supporting table; the
form of the die is that desired for the blank and it is preferred that the corners
should be rounded, and above the table is secured a plate between which and the
die the paper is fed from the rolls. The said plate is cut away above the opening
in the female die in corresponding shape so as to give passage to the male die
which is secured to a slide attached at its upper end to a lever secured on shaft to
the other end of which is attached the connecting-rod which is held in position at
its lower end by a yoke passing over the countershaft and has attached to it a
cam-roller which rests upon a cam surface attached to and moving with the
countershaft; the formation of the cam being such as to lift the rod and force
the male die down during the period when the feed-rolls are out of operation,
raising it again above the plate, or the lower surface thereof, before the notion of
the feed-rolls is resumed. The downward motion of the male die causes it to pass
into the female die severing the blank from the sheet or roll of paper and forcing
it down into or through the female die and on to a receiver or carrier situated
below the female dio. It is preferred to limit the downward motion of the male
die so that its lower edge will pass but a short distance below the upper edge of
the female die; and to carry the blank through the female die and on to the
receiver a stripper is employed which fits into a cavity of the male die and is
attached to a slide connected at its upper end with a lever pivoted on a shaft the
other end of the lever being connected with a rod which is steadied by means of a
yoke at its lower end passing around the countershaft and is provided with a cam-
roller which rests on a cam surface attached to the countershaft and rotating with
it. The shape of this cam is such as to give a motion to the stripper arm corre-
sponding to the motion of the male die but prolonging its downward motion so
that after the malo die has operated the stripper will continuo to move down
pushing the blank through the female die and on to the receiver.
The blank having been carried through and freed from the female die is
transported to the pasting devices which apply paste to one of its edges. The
receiver therefore should be a movable one having a cavity corresponding to the
outline of the blank. For use with the nippers hereafter described, the receiver
or carrier has a slot formed through its bottom along the side on which the edge
to be pasted rests. It is attached to a slide supported in bearings on the frame of
the machine and having a cam-roller which fits into a cam groove in a cam-roll 4
the cam groove having two straight sections at its two extremo positions so that the
carrier will remain stationary for a time beneath the female die and for
another time at the extreme point to which it is moved by the action of the cam.
This cam is secured to the main shaft and is constantly rotating with it. By
the action of the cam the carrier is moved from beneath the female die to the
position in which a presser-foot or nipper extends above it with its odge over the
slot (this nipper is attached to a slide and is free to move up to a position that
shoulders come in contact with the lower edge of the slide guide arresting further
upward motion). This position of the carrier also brings it above another nipper
which registers with the slot and is supported upon a shoulder of a slide through 6
the medium of a spring which intervenes between the lower end of nipper and the
shoulder. The slide has attached to it a plate or finger alongside the nipper. To

page_text: the slide is attached a cam roller which rests against a cam-the roller being held
in contact with the cam surface by the action of a spring and the cam having a
depression which permits the spring to draw the slide up when it comes into
operation on the cam-roller. This cam is secured to, and rotates with the main
shaft. When the slide moves up it carries with it the one nipper which moving
through the slot presses the blank against the other nipper and continuing to
move upward carries the blank and the last named nipper upward and further
upward motion of the nippers is arrested by the aforesaid shoulders:
the slide continues to move upward the spring yielding and the
plate moves past the edge of first named nipper pushing the extreme edge
of the blank against the paste-roller and thus preparing it for the further operation
of making it into a tube. The action of the nippers is timed to take place during
the rest of the carrier before it moves back to its position beneath the female die,
and this backward motion may begin at any time after the nippers have seized the
blank the nippers returning to their original position before the carrier returns
with a new blank.
The paste-box has in it paste-rolls one roll having a part of its surface exposed
and lying immediately above the edge of one of the nippers. The paste-rolls
are geared together and given an intermittent motion of rotation by means of
a pawl acting on a ratchet secured to the shaft of one of the paste-rolls the said
pawl being secured on the end of a rock-lever actuated through a connecting-rod
by a lever-arm secured to a rock-shaft receiving its motion from the lever which
operates the male die, so that the motion of the feed-rolls corresponds with the
notion of the male die and so that the paste-rolls are stationary during the time
when the carrier lies beneath them and while the nippers are lifting the blank to
its surface.
The arrangement of cams, connecting-rods, and like mechanism, can be varied
without departure from this invention.
The machine herein described can be used for forming and preparing blanks of
paper or similar material and adapting them for tubes which may be used for
other purposes than cigarette wrappers or mouth-pieces, and we do not wish to
limit this invention to tubes of any special shape or for any special use.
Datad thin 911
e
1008
Improvements in Apparatus for Forming and Preparing Blanks for
Making Tubes or Wrappers and Mouth-pieces for Oigarettes or
for other purposes.
We, W. D. and H. O. WILLS LIMITED, of Bedminster, in the City and County of
Bristol, and of 53, 54 & 55, Holborn Viaduct, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (which has been communicated to us from
abroad by the Bonsack Machine Company, of Salem, Virginia, in the United
States of America) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to machines for forming and preparing blanks for making
tubular wrappers, and mouth-pieces, for cigarettes which are preferably of conical,
or tapered, shape.
The object of this invention is to provide improved means for cutting the blanks
from rolls, or sheets, of paper, and for applying paste to them preparatory to their

page_text: further treatment. The invention will be understood from the following descrip-
tion with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 is a plan of a machine embodying this
invention.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the parts of the mechanism shewn in Figure 4. 5
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the machine shewing parts which are cut away
in Figure 1.
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views of the feed-rolls and cutting dies illustrating the
operation of the dies in severing the blank.
Figure 8 is a plan of the female die, and the guard plate immediately above it. 1
Figure 9 is an edge view of the same devices.
Figure 10 is a plan view of the carrier.
Figures 11 and 12 are views illustrating the action of the nippers used for
carrying the blanks into contact with the paste roll.
Figure 13 is a plan of a piece of paper from which the blanks have been out. 1
Figure 14 shews one of the blanks; and
Figure 15 shews the cigarette tube rolled from the blank.
A is the framing of the machine by which the moveable parts hereinafter
described are supported; 13, is the table which supports the paper before it reaches
the feed-rolls indicating that part of the table which extends to the delivery 2
side of the feed-rolls and in which the female die hereafter described is formed
or attached; C is the driving shaft of the machine-D and D¹ being fast and
loose pulleys; E is a toothed wheel secured to the shaft C, and E is a toothed
wheel engaging with the wheel E and secured on the countershaft F. G is a cam
secured on, and turning with, the shaft F; H is a rod which rests, at one end, 2
on the shaft F, by means of yoke H', while at its other end it is attached, at I¹ to
a rock-lever journalled on shaft J; He is a cam roller secured on the rod H
and resting on the cam which gives to it, and to the rod H, a reciprocating
motion which is imparted of course to the rock-lever I. Is is a pawl having a
weighted end which keeps its end, i in contact with a ratchet-wheel K secured
to the shaft J; L is a star-cam having a series of points one point being
preferably of greater length than the others. The said cam is secured to the
shaft J, and receives an intermittent movement of rotation through the action of
the pawl I, on the ratchet wheel K-the movement of rotation being equal, in
cach case, to the distance between the cam stars. The cam-wheel L remains 3
stationary while the pawl I is moved back to take a fresh hold on the ratchet
wheel K. M is a rod supported at one end, as shewn at M, on the shaft J, its other
end being attached to the arm of a bell-crank lever N which is journalled on a
shaft N. A cam-roller M is secured to the rod or slide, M, and rests in contact
with the star-cam wheel L the action of which is to give the rod M, an intermittent
reciprocating motion and, through it, to communicate an intermittent oscillating,
or rocking, motion to the bell-crank lever N which carries on one arm a pawl N,
resting on, and actuating, a ratchet wheel N³, secured to the shaft N which is
thus given an intermittent rotary movement. To the said shaft N is also
secured a gear-wheel N' which, is in gear with the wheel O secured to the shaft O³,
upon which is also secured the upper feed-roll 0'; this wheel O is in engagement
with a similar wheel O on the shaft 03 upon which is secured the lower feed-
roll 05. The shaft 03 is shewn as being supported, and its roller (³ held against
the roll O, by a lever 06, pivoted at 7 and, attached to a spring 08. By the
mechanism described the feed-rolls 0 and 0 are given an intermittent movement
of rotation and by the action of the longer cam finger of the star cam wheel
a movement of greater length is given to them at regular intervals.
The purpose
of this is that when the machine is fed with strips of paper, instead of by a con-
tinuous roll, the action of the said longer cam-finger which should be first to come
into operation, will carry the paper through a greater distance than the action
of the fingers which come into operation afterwards. In this way the front
edge of the strip is fed to the required distance over the rear edge of the femalo

page_text: die, and the subsequent shorter movements of the strip are just sufficient to feed
an uncut portion of the sheet over the dic, and the blunks are thus cut with the
greatest possible economy. The number of the cam-fingers, and the arrangement
of the parts actuated by them are such that a single rotation of the cam-wheel L
will correspond with the passage of a single sheet of paper through the machine.
P is a female dic formed in, or secured to, the part B' of the supporting table.
The form of the said die is that desired for the blank and it is preferred that the
corners should be rounded and above the table B' is secured a plate P between
which and the die P the paper is fed from the rolls 0 0³. The said plate Pl
is cut away, above the opening in the female die, in corresponding shape so as to
give passage to the male die P, which is secured to a slide 1' attached at its
upper end to a lever 1 secured on the shaft P5, to the other end of which lever is
attached the connecting rod P which is held in position at its lower end by a
yoke 19 passing over the shaft F and has attached to it a cam-roller 1" which rests
upon a cam Q, attached to, and moving with, the shaft I; the formation of the cam
being such as to lift the rod P8, and force the male die down during the period
when the feed-rolls 0 0 are out of operation, raising it again above the plate P¹,
or the lower surface thereof, before the motion of the feed-rolls is resumed. The
downward motion of the malo die causes it to pass into the female die severing
the blank from the sheet, or roll, of paper, and forcing it down into, or through, the
female die, and on to a receiver, or carrier, situated below the female die. It is
preferred to limit the downward motion of the male die, so that its lower edge will
pass but a short distance below the upper edge of the female die, and, to carry
the blank through the female die and on to the receiver a stripper R is employed
which fits into a cavity of the male die, and is attached to a slide R connected
at its upper end with a lever R², pivoted on a shaft R³, the other end of the
lever Rs being connected with a rod R which (like the rod P) is steadied by means
of a yoke at its lower end passing around the shaft F, and is provided with a cam-
roller Rs, which rests on a cam Qattached to shaft F and rotating with it. Tho
shape of the cam Q' is such as to give a motion to the stripper arm corresponding
to the motion of the male die, but prolonging its downward motion, so that, after
the male die has operated, the stripper will continue to move down, pushing the
blank through the female die, and on to the receiver. This action of the dies
and strippers is clearly illustrated by Figures 5, 6 and 7.
The blank having been carried through and freed from the female die is trans-
ported to the pasting devices, which apply paste to one of its edges. The receiver
therefore should be a moveable one (I have indicated such a receiver at S) having
a cavity (us shewn in Figure 10) corresponding to the outline of the blank. For
use with the nippers hereafter described, the receiver, or carrier, has a slot s
formed through its bottom along the side on which the edge to be pasted rests.
It is attached to a slide S', supported in bearings on the frame of the machine, and
having a cam-roller S, which fits into a cam groove in a cam-roll S³; the cam
groove being of the general outline shewn in Figure 2, and having two straight
sections S and S, at its two extreme positions so that the carrier S will remain
stationary for a time beneath the female die and for another time at the extreme
point to which it is moved by the action of the cam S³. This cam is secured to
the shaft and is constantly rotating with it. By the action of the cam, the
carrier S is moved from beneath the female die to the position shown in Figures 11
and 12, in which position a presser foot or nipper, U, extends above it with its
edge, over the slot this nipper U is attached to a slide U', and is free to move
up from the position shewn in Figure 11 to the position shewn in Fig. 12, when
shoulders U2, come in contact with the lower edge U³, of the slide guide, arresting
further upward motion. This position of the carrier S also brings it abovo a
nipper V, which registers with the slots, and is supported upon a shoulder W³,
of a slide W, through the medium of a spring V, which intervenes between the
lower and V, of the nipper V and the shoulder W, the slide W has attached to
it a plate, or finger, W which lays alongside of the nipper V as shewn in Figure 11.

page_text: To the slide W is attached a cam roller W which rests against a cam Y-the roller
being held in contact with the cam surface by the action of a spring W³, and the
cam having a depression y, which permits the spring to draw the slide W, up
when the said depression is presented to the cam-roller. The said cam is secured
to, and rotates with, the shaft C. When the slide W moves up it carries with it the
nipper which, moving through the slots, presses the blank against the nipper U,
and continuing to move upward, carries the blank and the nipper U, upward to
the position shewn in Figure 12, where further upward motion of the nippers
is arrested by the shoulders U. The slide W continues to move upward, the
spring V yielding and the plate W moves past the edge of nipper V, pushing
the extreme edge of the blank against the paste-roller T4, and thus preparing it
for the further operation of making it into a tube as indicated in Figure 15. The
action of the nippers V U, is timed to take place during the rest of the carrier,
before it moves back to its position beneath the female die, and this backward
motion may begin at any time after the nippers have seized the blank-the nippers
returning to their original position before the carrier returns with a new blank.
The mechanism by which the paste roll is operated is as follows:-T is a paste-
box, having in it two paste-rolls of which that marked T in Figs. 11 and 12
has a part of its surface exposed and lying immediately above the edge of the
nipper U. The paste-rolls are geared together by wheels T" T, and given an
intermittent motion of rotation by means of a pawl 2, acting on a ratchet ",
secured to the shaft of one of the rollers, the said pawl being accured on the
end of a rock-lever 6 actuated through a connecting rod, by a lever arm &³,
secured to the shaft P, which is a rock-shaft receiving motion from the lever P
which is attached to it, and which is actuated as before described by the cam Q
and operates in turn the male die, so that the motion of the feed-rolls corresponds
with the motion of the male die and the paste-rolls are stationary during the time
the carrier lies beneath them, and while the nippers are lifting the blank to its
surface.
The arrangement of cams, connecting-rods, and like mechanism, illustrated in
the drawings can be varied without departure from the nature of this invention.
The machine herein described and shewn in the drawings can be used for
forming, and preparing blanks of paper, or similar material, and adapting them
for tubes, which may be used for other purposes than cigarette wrappers, or mouth
pieces, and therefore this invention is not limited to tubes of any special shape,
or for any special use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In a machine for the aforesaid purposes, the combination with a pair of
rotating feed rolls, of die cutters situated on the delivery side of said rolls, and
arranged to operate, while the rolls are stationary, to cut blanks from the paper,
and mechanism for imparting series of intermittent feeds to the rolls, the initial
feed of each series being greater than the others.
2. In a machine for the aforesaid purposes, the combination with a pair of
intermittently-rotating feed-rolls, of a receiving platform, situated on the delivery
side of the rolls, and having formed in, or secured to, it a female die; a male die
which is above the female die while the paper is being fed over it, and descends
into it, to cut the blank, when the feed rolls are stationary; and an intermittently-
moving carrier having an opening extending through its bottom, and along one
of its sides, and arranged to lie beneath the female die, to receive the blank, and
having received it to move, carrying the blank to the pasting mechanism.
3. In a machine for the purposes mentioned, a blank-cutter consisting of a female
die P, in combination with a malo die P and a stripper R, the said stripper being
arranged, as described, to carry the blank through the female die after it has
been severed by the male die, a reciprocating carrier beneath the stripper, a paste

page_text: roll, nippers for clamping the blank, and a presser for forcing the edge of the
blank against the paste roll.
4. In a machine for the purposes mentioned the combination of cutting dies,
a reciprocating carrier S, arranged to receive and remove the blanks from the dies;
nippers arranged in the path of the carrier to seize the blank, and a paster (such
as the roll T, arranged in the path of the nippers, to apply paste to one edge of
the blank.
5. In a machine for the purposes mentioned, the combination of a pair of
feed rolls, mechanism such as is hereinbefore described, for imparting series of
intermittent rotations of equal length, and intermittently a rotation of greater
length, to the said rolls, and blank cutting dies, situated on the delivery side
of the rolls, and arranged to operate between the movement of the feed rolls.
6. In a machine for the purposes mentioned, the combination of the blank-
culting dies, the intermittently-moving carrier S, the intermittently-moving paste
roll, between which, and the point below the dies, the carrier moves; the
moveable nipper U, arranged with its edge beneath the roll 1, the nipper V,
arranged to grip the blank against the nipper U, and lift it toward the paste roll T,
and the plate W, arranged to move past the edge of the nipper U, and press the
edge of the
paper against the roll T.
7. In a machine for the purposes mentioned, the combination of the blank-
cutting dies, an intermittently-moving carrier, the paste box T, the intermittently-
moving paste rolls, one (T4) having an exposed section, and the carrier moving
from the dies to the said partially-exposed paste roll, and nippers arranged as
hereinbefore described to seize the blank from the carrior and carry one edge
against the paste roll T4.
8. In a machine for the purposes mentioned, the combination with dies, arranged
to cut blanks from a strip, or roll, of paper; a paster (such as the roll T), carriers
arranged to take each blank from the dies, after it is severed from the strip, and
nippers arranged to carry it to, and against, the paster.
9. In a machine for the purposes mentioned, the combination, with the feed
rolls, of mechanism for imparting a series of intermittent feed thereto, the said
mechanism comprising a rotatable shaft, an arm and intermediate pawl and
ratchet mechanism for actuating the shaft, and a cam wheel for actuating the
arm, the said wheel having a series of cam projections co-operating with the arm,
one of the projections being longer than the others.
T
J .. 001 1
1000
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.