Year: 1897

page_text: Machines.
We, W. D. and H. O. WILLS LIMITED, of Bedminster, in the City and County
of Bristol, and of 53, 54 & 55, Holborn Vinduet, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (which has been communicated to us from
abroad by the Bousack Machine Company, of Salem, Virginia, in the United
States of America) to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the filler-forming mechanism of cigarette machines
and to the special class of such mechanism in which three endless belts arranged
to form an open-top trough are employed.
This trough is composed of a bottom belt and two side belts, the bottom belt
running in a horizontal plane around pulleys while the two side belts run in vertical
planes, their lower edges being in contact with the upper surface of the bottom
belt. These side belts are arranged to converge towards each other as they pass
from their rear towards their forward pulleys, and at their point of greatest cou-
vergence a pressure device, or grooved wheel, is situated to act to press down the
tobacco in the trough. The tobacco being properly prepared is fed into the rear
end of the trough and is carried onward by the movement of the three belts and
is gradually compressed by the convergence of the side bolts and the pressure
device and brought into the form of the filler to receive the wrapper.
In practice this is defective because the vertical side belts as they co-operate
with the horizontal bel, form three sides of a rectangular channel or trough having
square corners, which yes to the tobacco as it is compressed into the filler, a
corresponding shape, it is, the filler as it emerges from this trough is nearly
square upon its lower alf, while its upper half is rounded by the operation of
the grooved pressure wheel. The square or semi-square shape thus given to the
filler is far less desirable than the round or cylindrical shape, inasmuch as it is
far more difficult to properly apply the wrapper thereto and the finished cigarette
by reason of its irregular shape is lacking in proper proportion and symmetry.
It is the object of the present invention to remedy this defect, and to effect this
the lower edges of the side belts are bent or curved away from the face of their
pulleys so that, as these belts pass between their rear and forward pulleys, their
lower edges project toward each other and form with the bottom belt, a rounded
space or channel depending upon the shape of the bend of the edges. It is pre-
ferred that the edges be curved, but they may be beut to form an angle with the
plane of a belt, in which case the lower part of the filler instead of being round
would be sexagonal or octagonal, or other angular shape.
The belts are preferably made of thin, spring metal, such as steel or brass, and
the lower curved or offset edges of the side belts are preferably thinned or bevelled

page_text: off upon their under side to form a flat, smooth surface or shoe to ride over and in
close contact with the upper surface of the bottom belt and prevent any fibres of
tobacco from passing under the edges, as well as to form a thin edge which will
leave little or no impression upon the tobacco filler as would be the case were
the original thickness of the metal retained.
The pulleys are provided with flanges upon their upper edges to keep the lower
edges of the belts down in contact with the lower belt. Abutments or backing
pieces are arranged beneath the bottom belt and outside of the inner line of the
aide belts to keep these belts in the proper relation to each other, that is, to give
the side belts the direction to cause them to converge towards each other and to
prevent them from yielding under the outward and downward pressure of the
tobacco.
A pressure wheel is situated at, or near, the point of greatest convergence of
the side belts. This wheel is preferably grooved to give a rounded or cylindrical
shape to the upper part of the filler as the tobacco is fed past this point. The
periphery of this wheel rovolves within the trough and near enough to the bottom
thereof to form a filler of the desired diameter, and it is mounted in any desired
manner to the frame of the machine and is preferably frictionally driven by the
feed of the tobacco. Instead of the wheel, other pressure devices may
employed, for instance a short supplemental belt, arranged to run over properly
situated pulleys or a spring finger to press and hold the tobacco down between the
belta.
be
The pulleys over which the side belts and the bottoin belt pass may be supported
upon the frame of the machine and may be driven by any suitable connections
with the main driving shaft of the machine or otherwise, it being desirable, how-
ever, that the speed of the top and side belts should be substantially the same.
The diameters of the pulleys should be sufficiently great to permit the side belts
to pass around them without producing too great strain upon their flanges or
curved lower edges. A diameter of about twenty inches is sufficient for this
purpose provided the projection of the edges is not more than from 1 to 16 of
an inch.
By forming a series of vertical slits or notches, at intervals of one or two inches
apart, along the curved lower edges it is practicable to use pulleys of much less
diameter, but it is preferred to keep the lower edges of these belts solid or undivided
so that there will be no chance of the fibres of tobacco being caught in the slits
or notches.
The tobacco used for forming a filler, by the mechanism herein described may
be prepared in any desired manner and by any suitable mechanism, and fed or
dropped into the rear of the trough formed by the three belts, and the completed
filler as it emerges from the delivery end of the trough may be wrapped with a
suitable wrapper by any mechanism or devices adapted for this purpose.
Dated this 31st day of May 1897. ·

page_text: 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 mauner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to the filler-forming mechanism of cigarette machines
and to the special class of such mechanism in which three endless belts arranged
to form an open-top trough are employed. This trough is composed of a bottom
belt and two side belts, the bottom belt running in a horizontal plane around
pulleys while the two side belts run in vertical planes, their lower edges being in
contact with the upper surface of the bottom belt. These side belts are arranged
to converge towards each other as they pass from their rear towards their forward
pulleys, and, at their point of greatest convergence, a pressure device, or grooved
wheel, is situated to press down the tobacco in the trough. The tobacco, after
being properly prepared, is fed into the rear end of the trough, and is carried
onward by the movement of the three belts and is gradually compressed, by the
convergence of the side belts, and the pressure device, and brought into the form
of the filler to receive the wrapper.
In practice the aforesaid arrangement is defective because the vertical side belts,
as they co-operate with the horizontal belt, form three sides of a rectangular
channel, or trough, having square corners. This gives to the tobacco, as it is
compressed into the filler, a corresponding shape, that is, the filler, as it emerges
from the said trough, is nearly square upon its lower half, while its upper half is
rounded by the operation of the grooved pressure wheel. The square, or semi-
square, shape thus given to the Aller is far less desirable than the round, or
cylindrical shape, inasmuch as it is far more difficult to properly apply the wrapper
thereto and the finished cigarette, by reason of its irregular shape, is lacking in
proper proportion and symmetry.
It is the object of the present invention to remedy this defect, and to effect this
the lower edges of the side belts are bent, or curved, away from the face of their
pulleys so that, as these belts pass between their rear and forward pulleys, their
lower edges project toward each other and form, with the bottom belt, a rounded
space, or channel, depending upon the shape of the bend of the edges. It is pre-
ferred that the edges be curved, but they may form an angle with the plane of
a belt, in which case the lower part of the filler instead of being round would be
hexagonal, or octagonal, or other angular shape.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1
is a plan of the filler-forming mechanism of a cigarette machine; Figure 2 is a
vertical cross-section taken on the liner of Figure 1 drawn to a larger scale;
and Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-section of one of the side belts.
A represents the bottom belt passing around the rear and forward pulleys;
BB are the side belts having their lower edges C bent, curved or offset away from
the face of their pulleys D, and consequently projecting towards each other when
thoy pass from their rear towards their forward pulleys and they co-act with the
bottom belt to form a channel, or trough, to receive, carry forward, and com-
press, the tobacco into a filler, as shewn in Figuro 2. The belte A and B are
preferably made of thin, spring metal, such as steel or brass, and the lower curved,
or offset, edges of the side belts B, are preferably thinned, or bevelled, off upon
their under side to form a flat, smooth surface, or shoe, to ride over, and in close
contact with, the upper surface of the bottom belt, and prevent any fibres of
tobacco from passing under the edges, as well as to form a thin edge which will
leave little, or no, impression upon the tobacco filler, such as would be the case
were the original thickness of the metal retained.
The pulleys D, are provided with flanges E, upon their upper edges, to keep
the lower edges of the belts B down in contact with the lower belt. Abutments,
or backing pieces, F and G, are arranged beneath the bottom belt A, and out-
side of the inner line of the side belts B, to keep these belts in 'the proper relation

page_text: to each other, that is, to give the side belts the direction to cause them to con-
verge towards each other, and to prevent them from yielding under the outward
and downward pressure of the tobacco.
His a pressure wheel situated at, or near, the point of greatest convergence of
the side belts B. This wheel H is preferably grooved to give a rounded, or
cylindrical, shape to the upper part of the filler as the tobacco is fed past this
point. The periphery of this wheel rotates within the trough, and near enough
to the bottom thereof to form a filler of the desired diameter, and it is mounted in
any desired manner to the frame of the machine, and is preferably frictionally
driven by the feed of the tobacco. Instead of the wheel H, other pressure devices.
may be employed, for instance, a short supplemental belt, arranged to run over
properly situated pulleys, or a spring finger to press and hold the tobacco down
between the belts B may be employed.
The pulleys over which the side belts B, and the bottom belt A, pass may be
supported upon the frame of the machine as shewn in Figure 2 of the drawings,
and may be driven by any suitable connections with the main driving shaft of the
machine, or otherwise, it being desirable, however, that the speed of the top and
side belts should be practically the same.
The diameters of the pulleys D, should be sufficiently great to permit the side
belts to pass around them without producing too great a strain upon their flanges,
or curved lower edges, C. A diameter of about twenty inches is sufficient for this
purpose provided the projection of the edges is not more than from 1/8th to 16ths
of an inch.
By forming a series of vertical slits, or notches, at intervals of say one, or two,
inches apart, along the curved lower edges it is practicable to use pulleys of much
less diameter, but it is preferable to keep the lower edges of these belts solid, or
undivided, so that there will be no chance of the fibres of tobacco being caught in
the slits, or notches.
The tobacco, used for forming a filler, by the mechanism herein described, may
be prepared in any desired manner, and by any suitable mechanism, and be fed,
or dropped, into the rear of the trough formed by the three belts, and the completed
filler, as it emerges from the delivery end of the trough, may be wrapped with
a suitable wrapper by any mechanism, or devices, adapted for this purpose. The
main feature of this invention is the curving, or bending, of the lower edges of
the side belts in order to give a rounded or equivalent shape to the lower part of
the filler and in order that the side belts may be more efficient to act with the
bottom belt to feed the tobacco forward.
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 filler-forming mechanism for cigarette machines, the combination of two
endless converging side belts having their lower edges curved, or offset, and an
endless bottom helt, whereby there is formed a tobacco feeding and compressing
channel, or trough, with a rounded, or equivalently formed, bottom, substantially
as herein before described.
2. In filler-forming mechanism for cigarette machines, the combination of two
endless converging side belts having their lower edges curved, or offset, and
bevelled off to a thin edge to conform to the upper surface of the bottom belt, and
an endless bottom belt, whereby there is formed a tobacco feeding and compress-
ing channel, or trough, with a rounded, or equivalently formed, bottom and the
lower edges of the side belts have a flat smooth contact with the upper surface of
the bottom belt, substantially as hereinbefore explained.
3. In filler-formning mechanism for cigarette machines, the combination of two end-
less converging side belts having their lower edges curved, or offset, and without slits
, or notches, and pulleys of sufficient diameter to permit such belts to pass around

page_text: them without causing their flanged, or curved, edges to break, and an endless
bottom belt, for the purpose described, and substantially as hereinbefore explained.
Dated this 22nd day of February 1898.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.O., Agents.