IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TWISTING, COMPRESSING, AND ROLLING TOBACCO, APPLICABLE ALSO TO ROLLING, COMPRESSING, AND DRAWING METALS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Elijah Robinson and Charles Frederick Robin-
son, Tobacco Manufacturers, and James Edward Hyde Andrew,
Machinist, all of Stockport, in the County of Chester, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TWISTING, COMPRESSING,
AND ROLLING TOBACCO, APPLICABLE ALSO TO ROLLING, COMPRESSING, AND
DRAWING METALS."
Scaled the 26th August 1870, and dated the 5th March 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Elijah Robinson,
Charles Frederick Robinson, and James Edward Hyde Andrew at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on
the 5th March 1870.
We, ELIJAH ROBINSON and CHARLES FREDERICK ROBINSON, Tobacco
Manufacturers, and James EDWARD HYDE ANDREW, Machinist, all of
Stockport, in the County of Chester, do hereby declare the nature of
Сом-
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TWISTING,
PRESSING, AND ROLLING TOBACCO, APPLICABLE ALSO TO ROLLING, COMPRESSING, AND
DRAWING METALS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in the combination of three rollers, the
surfaces of which are made of segments, to which lateral to-and-fro

page_text: motions are given by antifriction bowls or other equivalents connected
to the stands in which the axles of the rollers rotate. The tobacco
or other substance to be operated upon occupies the central space
between the three rollers, and it is carried through the machine by
the lateral to-and-fro motions given to the segments.
When this improved machinery is used in the manufacture of roll
or twist tobacco the filler and the covering leaves are laid on a table
connected to the machine. The filler is placed in the cover and they
pass together between the rollers, the action of which twists and
compresses the tobacco i̇nto a roll or twist, which is carried from the
machine and wound on a bobbin by a revolving flyer or other equivalent.
The machine may be used to make the core of filler, and the cover
may be laid on by a second apparatus. The bobbin revolves in stationary
bearings, and the guide is traversed to and fro to distribute the twist
of tobacco on the surface of the bobbin, or the bobbin is supported
in a forked frame which may form the flyer on a spindle which is driven
by a strap or otherwise, the forked end of the frame being supported
by antifriction rollers. The bobbin on which the twist or roll of tobacco
is wound is driven by a friction roller in contact with the surface of
the tobacco, which recedes from the centre of the bobbin as the tobacco
increases in diameter. In order to press the tobacco when being wound
into balls or rolls we apply a grooved pulley sliding in a groove or
supported in a weighted lever or fork; this grooved pulley is moved
to-and-fro over the bobbin by the roll of tobacco, or a flat weight is
brought to bear on the tobacco to consolidate the roll.
Our Invention may be modified by using endless chains of lags or
plates or a series of lags or plates instead of the rollers with segments
above described, or the tobacco may be twisted, compressed, and rolled
by passing between two series of plates passing around polygonal drums,
and over tappets, or one serics of plates in combination with a pressing
roller, or a plate to which oscillating motion is given, may be used,
and levers or other equivalents may be applied for giving the to-and-fro
motions to the segments, or lags, or plates. Instead of three segmental
rollers we can produce the same result with one, two, or more rollers,
and we sometimes use one, two, or more external rollers, and another
with the segments placed internally. The segmental rollers can be
made with diagonal grooves and rings either external or internal.

page_text: When our improvements are applied to rolling, compressing, and
drawing metals the rollers are made taper, and the bar of metal fed
in at the smaller end of the rollers is gradually reduced in diameter
while being carried through the machine. Parallel rollers may also be
5 used for compressing bars of metal, and with the addition of a central
mandril for making tubes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Elijah Robinson, Charles Frederick Robinson, and
James Edward Hyde Andrew in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ELIJAH
ROBINSON and CHARLES FREDERICK ROBINSON, Tobacco Manufacturers,
and JAMES EDWARD HYDE ANDREW, Machinist, all of Stockport, in the
County of Chester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Elijah Robinson, Charles Frederick
Robinson, and James Edward Hyde Andrew, Her special licence that
we, the said Elijah Robinson, Charles Frederick Robinson, and James
Edward Hyde Andrew, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Elijah Robinson, Charles Frederick Robinson,
and James Edward Hyde Andrew, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, excrcise, 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
TWISTING, COMPRESSING, AND ROLLING TOBACCO, APPLICABLE ALSO TO ROLLING,
COMPRESSING, AND DRAWING METALS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said Elijah Robinson, Charles Frederick Robinson, and
James Edward Hyde Andrew, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of our or their hands.

page_text: and seals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Elijah Robinson, Charles Frederick
Robinson, and James Edward Hyde Andrew, do hereby declare the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say) :-
Our Invention consists in the combination of three rollers, the surfaces
of which are made of segments, to which lateral to-and-fro motions are
given by cams or other equivalents connected to the stands on which
the axles of the rollers rotate. The tobacco or other substance to be
operated upon occupies the central space between the three rollers, and
it is carried through the machine by the lateral to-and-fro motions given
to the segments.
When this improved machinery is used in the manufacture of roll or
twist tobacco the filler and the covering leaves are laid on a table con-
nected to the machine. The filler is placed in the cover and they pass
together between the rollers, the action of which twists and compresses
the tobacco into a roll or twist, which is carried forward and wound on a
bobbin. The bobbin revolves in an open frame, and the guide is
traversed to and fro to distribute the twist of tobacco on the surface of
the bobbin.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the accompanying
three Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters
marked thereon.
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is an elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 an end
view of our improved machinery for twisting, compressing, and rolling
tobacco; and on Sheet 2, Figs. 4 and 5 are detached views of part of
the same.
In Sheet 1, a is the table on which the tobacco to be operated upon is
laid; on this table is the rib a¹ on which the sliding rest 6 is free to move
to and fro, in some cases this rib may be dispensed with; c and d are
the two lower segmental rollers, the axles of which revolve in stationary

page_text: bearings; and e is the top roller, the axle of which revolves in sliding
bearings fitting in the swing frame f. Each of these sliding bearings is
acted upon by a spring f¹ pressing on a pin communicating with the
bearing these springs put an elastic pressure on the tobacco. Each of
the segment rollers consists of an axle with four segments, as shewn best
in Figs. 4 and 5, but the number of the segments can be varied. The
outer shell of the segments is made by preference of hard wood fitting
in an inner shell of malleable cast iron, the projections on which fit in
grooves on the cast-iron axle. The segments of the rollers c and d are
moved laterally to and fro by the wedge-shaped cams c², c³, and d³, d³,
cast or fixed to the bearings in which the axles of the rollers revolve,
and the segments of the roller e are moved in the same manner by
cams e¹ and e³ fixed to the swing frame f. The tobacco occupies the
central space between the rollers c, d, and e, and the cams c¹, d', and e¹
are all so placed that they move the segments in the direction of the
arrow in Fig. 2 at the parts where they touch the tobacco, while the
cams c³, ², and e³ move them back or in the contrary direction.
After the tobacco has passed beyond the segment rollers it passes
through the hollow trunnion of the open frame g, in which the bobbin /
revolves; the other trunnion of the frame g is provided with fast and
loose pulleys g¹ and g³, by which the whole machine is driven. To this
trunnion are also fixed the ordinary friction break pulley g³ and the grooved
pulley g*, around which passes a band for driving the pulley h¹ on the
axle of the bobbin h. To the other end of the axle of the bobbin is
fixed the pinion ³, which by means of the toothed chain i gives motion
to the pinion fixed to the double screw ; this double screw gives a
traversing to-and-fro motion to the guide j for distributing the tobacco
evenly on the bobbin by means of a swivel T-headed stud connected to
the guide and taking into the thread of the double screw.
The guide
is provided with two horizontal grooved rollers j, between which the
tobacco passes, and with two other rollers j³ and to guide the tobacco on
to the bobbin, the latter roller being mounted on an axle supported
in the open frame g. The diameters of the pinions ³ and 2 may be
varied according to the thickness of the tobacco, so as to distribute it
evenly over the surface of the bobbin h; or the double screw i³ may be
driven by bevel pinions or other suitable gearing. In some cases the
rollers j³, j³, and ³ may be dispensed with, and the tobacco would then be
guided by a grooved surface. The double screw may be used to give
a to-and-fro motion to the block sliding upon the flyer leg when a flyer is

page_text: used to wind the roll of tobacco on a bobbin revolving in fixed
bearings.
The mode of communicating the requisite rotary motion to the segment
rollers c, d, and e is as follows:-To the hollow trunnion of the open
frame is fixed a pinion g³; this pinion drives the wheel k, see Fig. 3, 1
fixed on the same shaft as the change pinion ¹ which drives the wheel
³, gearing into the pinions c³ and on the axles of the rollers c and d,
and the pinion c³ gears into the intermediate pinion 7 which drives the
pinions on the axle of the roller e. The driving strap is held upon
the fast pulley g¹ by the drop catch in acting on the weighted lever m²,
one arm of which is connected by the link m² to the lower end of the
strap fork lever m³. When it is requisite to stop the machine the
attendant moves the point of the catch m off the end of the lever m²,
which is then raised by the weight m', and so moves the driving strap
from the fast to the loose pulley.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The spinner stands at A, in
Fig. 2, and the assistants at B, C, and other points round the table,
the filler and the covering leaves being placed on the table the
assistant at B spreads out the covering leaves or wrapper and pushes
the end towards the filler, which the spinner supplies and holds against
the sliding rest b; the rotary motion of the segment rollers c, d, and e
twists the tobacco and causes the wrapper to be wound over the filler,
and the rest 6 being movable enables the spinner to regulate its position
according to the quantity and quality of the filler and wrapper. By
this means the roll of tobacco can be kept of a more uniform thickness
than was heretofore practicable with a stationary rest. The lateral
motion of the segments of the rollers c, d, and e traverses the roll of
tobacco towards the bobbin, on which it is wound as before described.
The combined rotary and traversing motions of the rollers c, d, and e
consolidate and roll the tobacco and put the desired face to the twist.
The roller e is supported in a swing frame which is lifted off the tobacco
when starting the machine or for other purposes. When the machine is
at work the swing frame is held down by the stud ƒ³, see Fig. 1.
The Drawing represents a machine suitable for manufacturing the
tobacco known in the trade as Limerick roll, but for pigtail and other a
small descriptions it is necessary to reduce the diameter of one or more
of the segment rollers. We wish to remark here that the machine
above described may be used to make the core of filler without the cover

page_text: or wrapper, in which case the cover or wrapper would have to be laid
on by a second apparatus on the same table; or the core may be formed
in the hand and the wrapper laid on either before passing through the
machine or during its passage between the rollers c, d, and e.
Fig. 6 is an elevation, and Fig. 7 a plan of a modification of our
Invention. In this case we apply an endless chain of lags or one or more
series of plates in lieu of the rollers with segments to operate upon the
tobacco. m is the chain of lags or plates which passes around the square
drums n, n, one of which is driven by the pinions n' and o' the latter being
fixed to the driving shaft o. The tobacco passes between the upper and
under portion of the chain, the space between which is regulated
according to the thickness of the roll of tobacco by the rollers p, p,
which are mounted in adjustable bearings. The lags are moved to and
fro endwise by the cam plates m² and m³, which are fixed to the
framing r. The roll of tobacco is guided sideways by the rollers q, q,
which are also mounted in adjustable bearings; these side rollers are
made in the manner shewn in Figs. 8 and 9, and they consist of a fixed
centre q¹ passing through the diagonal discs q³, one of which is shewn
in section in Fig. 8, and of the end pieces q³. Each disc has a boss on
which is mounted loosely a washer 9. As the tobacco passes through
this apparatus it is compressed and twisted by the motion of the chain m
around the drums n, and it is pushed forward by the lateral motion of
the lags, being assisted by the rotation of the diagonal washers which
are carried round by the friction of the tobacco. The angle of the
washers should correspond to the angle at the ends of the lags or plates.
The roller shewn in Fig. 8 may be used instead of one of the rollers c, d,
or e. Two of the rollers similar to that shewn in Fig. 8, one placed
above the other and provided with bands passing around the washers q‘,
may be used instead of the segment roller e in Fig. 4, the bands acting
diagonally on the tobacco in passing under the washers of the lower
roller. The segment rollers or the rollers with diagonal washers above
described may be used as guides or rests in lieu of the movable
rest b.
On Sheet 3, Fig. 10 is a section, and Fig. 11 a side view of another
modification of our Invention. In this arrangement c and d are two
segment rollers similar to those shewn in Figs. 4 and 5, and r is a large
roller with internal segments within which the rollers c, d, revolve; the
tobacco occupies the space between the three rollers as before described.

page_text: The segments of the rollers c, d, and r are moved to and fro by cams as
before described, and they are turned round in the following manner :-
o is the driving shaft, on which is the wheel o' gearing into the inter-
mediate wheel which drives the pinions c and d on the axles of the
segment rollers c and d, and on the shaft o is also fixed the pinion o³ 5
gearing into the wheel 7 which is fixed or cast on the barrel ¹ of the
internal segment roller r. The ends of the barrel r¹ revolve in bearings
fixed to the framing of the machine. The position of the rollers c and d
can be varied so as to increase or reduce the space between them and the
internal segments according to the size of the roll of tobacco.
]
Fig. 12 is an elevation, and Fig. 13 a plan of our improved machinery
for rolling and compressing short lengths of tobacco. In these views s
is a plate to which an oscillating motion is given by the lever s¹ or other
equivalent; the edges of the plate & pass between the diagonal guides t,
consequently as it is moved to and fro lengthwise by the lever it is also 1
moved laterally to and fro by the diagonal guides. The tobacco to be
operated upon is laid on the plate 8, and the plate
stationary or movable is pressed upon the tobacco.
which is either
Fig. 14 is a modification of this part of our Invention suitable for
making segars or cheroots. The plates is curved at one end and 2
parallel at the other, and it moves between two antifriction rollers t¹.
Part of the traverse of the plate s is plain to and fro, and the other part
is in the arc of a circle, one edge of the plate being held by one of the
antifriction rollers and the other edge swivelling round it as a centre;
the surfaces of the plates s and u must in this case be recessed to suit the 2
shape of the segar or cheroot. It is evident that by varying the shape
of the edges of the plates a corresponding lateral to-and-fro motion will
be given to the plate, or the antifriction rollers can be connected to the
plates and the guides made of the requisite shape.
Fig. 15 represents an elevation of part of a machine for coiling 3
tobacco into rolls shewing our improvements in applying pressure and
giving motion to the small bobbin on which the roll of tobacco is wound.
h is a bobbin made on the machine shewn in Sheet 1 or on any other
machine, and vis the small bobbin on which the roll of tobacco is to be
wound; w is a pulley bearing on the surface of the tobacco, and g
revolving on a stud in the radial arm 10¹; this arm vibrates on a fulcrum
stud won which is the pulley 103 for driving the pulley w by a belt.
The pulley wo may be driven by hand or power, and the friction of the

page_text: belt on the tobacco turns the bobbin v. As the bobbin increases in
diameter the pulley w recedes from its centre; or we employ for the
same purpose a grooved pulley sliding on a shaft or supported in a
weighted lever or fork; this grooved pulley is moved to and fro over the
bobbin by the roll of tobacco; or a flat weight is brought to bear on
the tobacco to consolidate the roll, as shewn by the dotted lines in
Fig. 15.
When our improvements are applied to rolling, compressing, and
drawing metals the segment rollers or other equivalents are made taper,
and the bar of metal fed in at the smaller end of the rollers is gradually
reduced in diameter while being carried through the machine. Parallel
rollers may also be used for compressing bars of metal and with the
addition of a central mandril for making tubes. When used for these
purposes the three segment rollers may be made to revolve round the bar
of metal under operation.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described several
modes of performing the same, we wish to remark that we do not intend
to limit ourselves to the details given, as they must be varied and
modified according to the nature of the material to be operated upon and
the object to be accomplished.
We claim as our Invention,-
First. The general combination and arrangement of the machine for
twisting, rolling, and compressing tobacco as shewn and described in
reference to Sheet 1.
Secondly. The movable rest marked 6 for guiding the tobacco to
the apparatus by which it is compressed or twisted as shewn and
described.
Thirdly. The improved combination of machinery for distributing
the twist of tobacco evenly on the surface of the bobbin as shewn and
described.
Fourthly. The application of rollers with segments moving to and fro
as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, and 11
for twisting, compressing, and rolling tobacco, and for rolling, com-
pressing, and drawing metals.
Fifthly. The endless chain of lags shewn and described in reference to
Figures 6 and 7, or one or more series of plates for twisting, compressing,
and rolling tobacco.

page_text: Sixthly. The rollers with diagonal discs and washers shewn in Figs. 8
and 9 for twisting, compressing, and rolling tobacco.
Seventhly. The application of the rollers shewn in Figs. 8 and 9 when
combined by straps or bands as described.
Eighthly. The oscillating plates shewn and described in reference 5
to Figs. 12, 13, and 14 for rolling and compressing tobacco and
metals.
And, ninthly. The improved machinery described and shewn in Fig. 15
for coiling tobacco into rolls.
In witness whereof, we, the said Elijah Robinson, Charles Frederick I
Robinson, and James Edward Hyde Andrew, have hereto set our
hands and seals, this Thirtieth day of August One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.