Improvements in or relating to Cigarette Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 12th July, 1890-Accepted, 4th Oct., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Cigarette Machines.
A communication from abroad by JENETTA V. BOHANNAN, of Washington, in the
District of Columbia, Inventor, and JOSEPH H. RANKIN, of Stewart's Draft, in
the County of Augusta and State of Virginia, Manufacturer, both in the United
States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to machines for making cigarettes and its object is to provide
mechanical means for intermittently drawing into use a continuous paper wrapper
from a reel in lengths each suitable for a cigarette, cutting the tobacco, crushing and
depositing this filling material the
upon paper wrapper and compacting and smoothing
it evenly, holding the edges of the paper wrapper apart and pasting it along one edge,
then closing and firmly uniting the edges of the wrapper, and compressing the filler
in the wrapper and shaping and cutting off each cigarette, effecting these several steps
in the progressive order stated so that a completed cigarette will be produced at each
revolution of the driving shaft of the machine.
To this end, the invention consists in the construction and combination of parts
forming a cigarette machine hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to
the accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 represents a top view of the preferred form of this machine, which is in
some respects double, operating upon two separate rolls of paper and filling to
correspond, whereby two complete cigarettes are made at each revolution of the
shaft.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same taken on line x-x of
Figure 1.
Figure 3 is. a transverse vertical section through one of the tobacco containing
boxes of the double machine.
Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section through the tobacco containing box and
tobacco therein.
Figure 5 shows the front end of the machine from which the cigarettes are
delivered.
Figure 6 is a transverse vertical section through the paper wrapping jaws in
their open position.
Figure 7 is a transverse vertical section through the trough slide showing the
oscillating presser.
Figure 8 represents a partial top view of the machine with the jaws open.
Figure 9 is a perspective view of the trough slide which contains the paper wrapper
guiding trough and the oscillating presser..
Figure 10 is a perspective view of a portion of the slide which contains the paper
wrapping, showing the paste delivering nozzle and adjacent parts.
Figure 11 is a detail view of the paste delivering nolzze.
Figure 12 shows in cross section the paper wrapping jaws open.
Figure 18 shows the same parts with the said jaws closed.
Figure 14 represents a horizontal section showing the drive shaft and connections.
Figure 15 is a top view of the jaws for feeding and compressing the partially
vrannel.cionrotte

page_text: Figure 16 is a transverse section of the same on the line y-y of Figure 15.
Figure 17 shows the same parts as Figure 15, but in different relative positions.
Figure 18 is a transverse section at the line y-y of Figure 17.
Figure 19 shows, in perspective, the recessed head of the slide and the jaws
separated.
A, represents the feed box into which the tobacco is to be placed, preferably
in the form of thin plugs piled up so high that one thin shaving from the front
end of the pile is sufficient to fill one cigarette, the plugs being of a width corre
sponding to the length of a cigarette. B is the blade secured to a vertically
reciprocating frame F to shear off the tobacco.
zo
This blade is
99 represent two rollers for feeding the tobacco to the blade B. These rollers,
one journalled above and the other below the tobacco, are connected by gear
wheels
8, and the lower roller is provided with a ratchet wheel t which is operated
by the end of an arm u that is rigidly fixed to the said blade or cutter frame F,
so that every rise of the cutter frame turns the feed rollers, and the arm u may be
set to the height required upon the frame F to feed forward the desired amount
of tobacco to be cut for one cigarette. w is a gate pivoted in fixed brackets x in
front of the box A and provided with a curved lip y to register with a lip z which
projects from the bottom of the said box, the two lips yz, when closed, forming a
gutter to receive the filler material as it drops from the blade B.
provided with a crusher 2, curved in its under side to co-act with the gutter formed
by lips yz to crush the separate shavings and separate the leaves in each shaving
3 is a latch upon the blade B adapted to pass down behind the arm 4 on the
gate y, Figure 4, to hold the gate closed at the instant of extreme pressure of the
blade. 5 5 are operating levers pivoted upon standards 7 and connected with
the frame F by a cross bar 12. The upper arm 6 of the gate w serves as a weight
to hold the said gutter normally closed, but this arm 6 slants into the path of one
of the levers 5, whereby the gate will be tripped open to drop the cut and pressed
tobacco when the frame F and the levers 5 reach their upward limit of motion.
G, Figure 2, is the main drive shaft having a crank G¹ connected by a pitman 10
with a slide 8, which pitman transmits motion through another pitman H to the
cutter frame F which is fitted to slide vertically in the body frame of the machine.
C represents the paper for the cigarette covers, provided in a continuous roll v,
Figure 2, of the proper width to wrap around the filler of a cigarette and overlap
at its edges to be pasted. E, Figure 19, is a slide preferably formed with a head-
block E which is fitted to reciprocate between guides I which are fixed upon the
table of the frame. In the slide E is formed a trough D which is shallow at its
outer end and of a width to receive the wrapping paper nearly flat under its side
guides a, but the trough gradually tapers until it passes beneath the gutter y z,
from which region it continues with parallel sides to the end of the head-block E¹.
The guide flanges a, Figure 9, are secured to the top edges of the trough D
throughout its length, and the edges of the paper are kept in place by these
flunges, so that the paper is an open trough when it passes beneath the gutter yz
to receive the cut and compacted tobacco and also when it arrives at the presser J,
which is an arm made concave in its under side parallel with the line of the trough
and secured to a lever K pivoted to a standard L³ which is fixed to the head-block E¹.
L L' represent two jaws fitted to slide transversely in the head-block E¹ and kept
normally separated or open, as shown in Figure 16 by springs f. Beneath the
jaws L L the sides of the trough D are reduced in height leaving the trough or
groove e semi-cylindrical. One of the said jaws has a shelf or ledge c with a recess d
underneath it, and the other jaw has a recess b into which the ledge centers, carrying
one edge of the wrapper beneath the other, thus closing it around the filler.
8 represents the under slide fitted in ways 9 in the main frame, and connected with
the crank G¹ of the drive shaft by a pitman 10, whereby the slide 8 is horizontally
reciprocated. 13 is a post or stud fixed upon the frame 8 and engages the slide E E¹
in a slot 14, Figure 2, whereby the slide E E¹ is reciprocated a shorter distance than
the slide 8 and is permitted to stand still a short interval of time at each end of the

page_text: stroke. PP are arms projecting from the rear sides of the jaws L L', Figure 16, to
be engaged by the inclined ends 11 of the levers 5 whose descent wedges the jaws
together, see Figure 18. Q represents parallel side guides between which the L-shaped
ends of the arms P travel to hold the jaws closed during their advance. When the
guides are passed, the jaws are thrown open by their springs ff. The lever K is
located between the rear ends of the jaws, and its rear end is slanted to be engaged by
a slanting face h of one jaw (Figure 7) so that the closing of the jaws L L' also operates
to close the presser J, and a spring g acts to raise the presser when the jaws open.
When the jaws and presser are closed upon the paper and filler, they are advanced
the length of a cigarette and at the next advance the filled paper is pushed into the
rounding ring n which is fixed to the head E' in line of the trough D, e.
i represents the paste-delivering nozzle which is preferably thin and broad and in a
position to enter between the lapped edges of the paper covering of the partly formed
cigarette. The nozzle is provided with a small delivery hole j in its under side
(Figure 2) and with a paste spreader k which is preferably made of felt or some
similarly soft material. R is a pipe of which is the nozzle, secured to the head E'
and provided with a poppet valve i having a spring m which tends to close the valve
and to hold it closed. s is a flexible pipe connecting the pipe R with a reservoir T
adapted to contain paste. 22 is the valve-opener secured at one end to the lower
slide 8 and located at the other end in line of the valve and at sufficient distance
therefrom to strike and push open the valve at the instant the head E¹ begins to
recede so that it will spread paste between the lapped edges of paper while receding,
the cigarette rod being held from receding by means of a clamping jaw V which is
pressed down upon a stationary jaw U having a trough p by springs 19, upon bolts 15,
which connect the jaw V with a lift plate 16 having an incline 17 at its forward
edge and an opposite incline 18 at its rear edge.
21 is a tripping wedge pivotally connected to a post of the slide 8 by means of a
rod 20. When the heads 8 and E¹ and jaws L L advance the filler and cover for
another cigarette, the wedge 21 is pushed under the incline 18, and the plate 16,
rods 15 and jaw V are thereby raised to permit the completely formed cigarette rod
to be pushed between the jaws V U. When the advancing parts reach their forward
limit, the wedge 21 passes out beyond the plate 16 and leaves the jaw V free to be
suddenly thrust down by the springs 19 to hold the cigarette rod, and in the same
act to cut off enough of the said rod to form a completed cigarette by means of a
blade W fixed to the outer end of the jaw V and co-acting with the outer end of the
jaw U like shears. When the slides again recede, the wedge 21 will rise over the
incline 17 and drop behind the plate 16. X is a rest fitted to slide into the head-
block E¹ and provided with a spring Y, Figure 8, which keeps it projecting between
the head-block and the clamp V to support the cigarette rod while it is damp with
paste and where it is weakened at the juncture of two cuts of the filler. When the
rest X in advancing meets the clamp V, it is stopped and pressed back against the
spring Y until the forming ring n reaches it. Thus the cigarette rod is carried over
the space to the trough p. The reservoir T is preferably made with a flexible
bellows-like body supported upon the table by means of a ring and post 23. 24 is a
vertical rack bar bearing against the lower head of the reservoir. 25 is a pinion
geared into the said rack, and 26 is a worm gear wheel fixed upon the shaft of the
pinion and engaged by a worm 27.
28 is another worm gear wheel fixed to the worm 27 and engaged by another
worm 29 that is provided with a ratchet wheel 30. 31 is an arm secured to the
slide 8 and carrying a pawl 32 to engage the ratchet 30. When the slide 8 starts
to recede, the pawl operates the ratchet and then passes over it during the rest of the
return movement. Thus a sudden impulse is given to compress the reservoir a little
at the instant when the valve i is opened to deliver the paste as the nozzle recedes
along the cigarette wrapper. The continuous operation is as follows:-
On first starting the machine, it is necessary to pull along the wrapping paper by
hand corresponding with the motions of the slide E until the cigarette rod enters the

page_text: jaws V, U, after which the machine will feed itself and, in adding a new roll of
paper, its free end should be neatly pasted onto the rear end of the previous paper
then all will advance together. The tobacco placed in the box A is fed by the
rollers g beneath the blade B which shears off enough for a cigarette into the
gutter where it is reduced by the crusher 2 on the blade B and then dropped by
the opening of the gate w into the paper wrapper which is shaped like a trough in
the trough D, then it is carried forward by the advancing slide E E¹, to the arm J
which presses the filler into form in the wrapper, now the jaws L L' close the
wrapper around the filler, then the filled wrapper is held by the jaw V as the slide
recedes, and the pasting nozzle i is drawn between the overlapped edges of the
wrapper, and the ring n is drawn after, to close and round it. Now as the slides
come forward to bring more filled wrapper, the jaws push the pasted cigarette rod
forward and the support X carries it over the space to the clamp V. Now at each
revolution of the shaft G, all the foregoing movements are performed and the blade W
cuts off a finished cigarette.
As shown in the drawings, this machine may be made double, many of the principal
parts required for one machine also serving to operate the two, thus producing
twice the number of cigarettes with the same cost of operating. This invention is
not confined to making cigarettes of any particular length, and the various parts
may be so proportioned that the tobacco may be cut to overlap the ends of the
cigarettes.
The various separate and distinct devices shown in this general combination, if
separately applied to other combinations, would not avoid this invention, as it is not
limited to the exact combination shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. In a cigarette machine employing a continuous wrapper, the combination of a
longitudinally reciprocating slide having a trough and a head-block, the latter being
provided with a groove registering with the said trough, intermitting laterally
sliding jaws arranged upon said head-block and having co-acting wrapping and
forming means in their meeting faces, and suitable means for alternately grasping
and releasing the continuous cigarette, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination of a slide provided with a trough and having a head-block
provided with a groove, jaws fitted to reciprocate transversely on the said head-block
and having in their meeting faces the recesses b and d one of which has a ledge or
shelf c to enter the recess of the other and a clamp arranged in front of said head-
block, substantially as described.
3. The combination of the slide E having the trough D and the head-block E¹
having the groove e, the jaws L L¹ upon the head-block, one of which has the
recess b and the other the shelf or ledge c adapted to enter it, the nozzle i and
ring n attached to the head-block and a grasping and releasing device, whereby the
paper is wrapped and pressed around the filler, the paste is applied and the wrapper
closed.
4. The combination of a slide provided with a trough and having a head-block
provided with a groove, jaws having co-acting wrapping devices in their meeting
faces and one jaw being wedge-shaped at the inner side of its rear end and the
presser J having the lever K pivoted to a fixture of the head-block and adapted to be
engaged by the said wedge, substantially as described.
5. The combination of a tobacco containing box having the concave lip at its
delivery end, a cutter fitted to reciprocate across the said end and having the concave
crusher 2, a gate w having the concave lip y and pivoted to swing to and from the
lip z, substantially as described.
6. The combination of a slide provided with a trough and a head-block having a
groove registering therewith, jaws upon the said head-block having co-acting

page_text: wrapping devices in their meeting faces, a tobacco containing box above said slide
and having the lip, a cutter B having the concave crusher 2, a pivoted gate w having
the concave lip y and means for alternately grasping and releasing the continuous
cigarette, substantially as described.
7. The combination of a tobacco containing box having the lip z at its delivery
end, the reciprocating cutter B, the gate w having the lip y and pivoted to swing
to and from the lip the concave crusher 2 and latch 3 upon the said cutter and
means for positively opening said gate whereby the same is first locked and then
opened, substantially as described.
8. The combination of a tobacco containing box having the lip z, a gate w having
a lip y and the arm 4, and pivoted to swing by gravity against the lip z, the cutter B
having a concave crusher 2, and the latch 3 adapted to engage the arm 4, substantially
as described.
9. The combination of a tobacco containing box having the lip z, a gate w having
a lipy and pivoted to swing automatically against the lip, said gate having the
armis 4 and 6, the cutter B having the latch 3 to lock the arm 4, and having the
crusher 2, and a lever 5 pivotally connected with the frame carrying the outter B
and adapted to engage the said arm 6 of the gate substantially as described.
10. The combination of a slide having a trough and head-block having a grooved
continuation thereof, jaws upon the head-block provided in their meeting faces with
cigarette wrapping devices, a paste containing reservoir mounted on the table, a
paste-delivering nozzle i upon said head-block forward of the jaws, a flexible tube s
connecting the said reservoir and nozzle, the ring n attached to said head-block
and means for grasping and releasing the continuous cigarette, substantially as
described.
11. The combination of a slide having cigarette forming attachments thereon, a
paste conveying nozzle attached to the said slide and connected with a paste
containing reservoir, a valve provided with a closing spring m for the said nozzle,
and a valve closing aru 22 attached' to the slide propelling mechanism substantially
as described.
12. The combination of a slide having cigarette forming attachments thereon, a
paste delivery forward of said slide, a closing ring n attached to the latter, and clamp
consisting of the fixed part U and the reciprocating jaw V at the delivery of the
machine, substantially as described.
13. The combination of a slide having cigarette forming attachments thereon, a
paste delivery forward of said slide, a closing ring n fixed to the latter, a suitable
clamp for alternately holding and releasing a continuous cigarette and a supporting
device X carried by the slide between it and the said clamp, substantially as
described.
V
14. The combination of a slide having cigarette forming attachments thereon,
pasting, closing and rounding devices in line thereof, a fixed jaw U, a jaw ▼ provided
with a closing spring and a cutting blade fixed to the outer end of one of the two
jaws and adapted to act with the other jaw as a shear substantially as described.
15. The combination of a slide having cigarette forming jaws thereon, pasting,
closing and intermittently clamping devices in line thereof, arms P P extending
from the outer edges of the said jaws, the fixed guides QQ, the springs ƒƒ, acting
to force the said jaws apart and the levers 5 5, with wedging ends 11 to engage the
arms P P, substantially as described.
16. The combination of a slide having cigarette forming jaws thereon, pasting,
closing and intermittently clamping and releasing devices in line thereof, a slot 14,
in the under side of the said slide, another slide 8, connected with the driving
mechanism and a post or stud 13 fixed upon the slide 8 to engage the slot 14,
substantially as described.
17. The combination of a slide having cigarette forming devices thereon, pasting
and closing devices in line thereof, the fixed jaw U, the movable jaw V, the lift

page_text: plate 16 having oppositely inclined ends, the rods 15 connecting the said plate and
the jaw V, the springs 19, the tripping wedge 21 and the rod 20 connecting it with
reciprocating mechanism, substantially as described.
Dated this 11th day of July 1890
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.