IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING OR TWISTING TOBACCO AND OTHERWISE PREPARING IT FOR SALE
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Ward at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th
April 1868.
I, ROBERT WARD, of the North of England Advertizer Office,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SPINNING OR TWISTING TOBACCO AND
OTHERWISE PREPARING IT FOR SALE," to be as follows:-
In place of the present methods of running the tobacco on to the reel,
to be afterwards taken off and formed into rolls, I run the tobacco on
to the reel in the roll form as required for sale. For this purpose I
employ such an arrangement of the ends and spindle of the reel and
of other parts of the machine as will permit of the roll being taken
from the machine without its being necessary to resort to the second
process of rolling as now required. For tobacco intended to be put into
the press for conversion into black roll I use two round metallic or
wooden plates for the ends of the reel, with holes in the centres to
admit the spindle of the machine. For the spindle of the reel I use
two tubes made to work one within the other so as to lengthen or
shorten the reel as required. The reel is placed on the spindle of the
machine with the ends drawn at least as far apart as will admit of the

page_text: pressure of the roll press, the reel being put into the press with the roll.
The ends of the reel thus form the top and bottom of the roll which
they preserve from dirt whilst in the press, and they may also be
employed to print or impress upon the roll any inscription desirable to
the maker. When the tobacco has been pressed the reel is drawn from
the roll in two pieces. Instead of placing ropes round the circumference
of the roll before placing it in the press two bands, tubes, or cylinders
of suitable length or size may be used to work one within the other
in the same way as. the centre tubes above described, or one tube may
be employed with one or two boards or plates of suitable thickness placed
inside of the tube to permit of the requisite pressure. The former plan
may be conveniently carried out by adding tops or bottoms to the
bands, tubes, or cylinders, the effect of which is to form a sort of box
into which the reel is put. For brown twist I make the ends of the
reel loose and of a wheel fashion so as to afford greater facility for the
insertion (if so desired) of pegs or ties to hold the tobacco more securely
together. The spindle may be dispensed with it I prefer a loose
spindle of suitable length or a spindle made as before described of tubes
(without the ends) so as to shorten or lengthen as required. Tobacco
rolled on a reel constructed with a spindle of a fixed length may when
required be pressed between two boards with holes in the centre of one
or both into which the end or ends of the spindle will be pressed when
the pressure is applied, but this will not be necessary when no spindle
is employed or when tubes are used, and the roll may also be placed
in the reel previously described, and so pressed. If for any reason the
tobacco is not required in the solid roll form, as when it is to be cut up
into lengths for conversion into cavendish, it may be run on to a reel
constructed like that described for black roll. When the reel is full
it may be drawn off the spindle of the machine and another substituted,
and when required it may be placed on a spindle apart from the
machine, and so constructed as to allow the reel to revolve as the
tobacco is drawn off.
The use of ties fixed in the ordinary way may be altogether dispensed
with by the following process:-A suitable number of ties, tapes, or
cords are placed at intervals round the spindle of the reel in a longi-
tudinal direction when commencing to run the tobacco on to the reel,
the ends of the cords being stretched up the sides of the reel ends.
When the required quantity of tobacco has been run on to the reel
the ends of each cord are tied together, and the tobacco is readily drawn

page_text: off the machine. To facilitate this object the spindle may be made in
two halves either divided transversely or longitudinally. If the former,
each half may be made, though not necessarily, of a conical form ; if
the latter, the circle of the spindle must be diminished to the extent of
about one quarter of an inch, thus,―
When placed upon the spindle of the machine the two halves of the
spindle of the reel may be held in their places by means of an india-
rubber band or a string. Rolls or balls of brown twist thus formed
may as required be placed in a box thus constructed. In the centre
of the box is a shaft or spindle in an upright position to receive the
ball of twist by means of the hole in its centre made by the spindle of
the reel; this shaft may be longer than the thickness of the ball, so
that it may receive a lid with a hole in its centre of suitable diameter.
The height of the box and the diameter of the lid are so regulated as
to allow the tobacco to be easily withdrawn as wanted. A simpler
plan is to put the tobacco into a box similar to those used for holding
cord or twine, with or without a lid, in which case the tobacco may be
drawn from the centre of the ball. In each case the tobacco is to be
put into the box before the cords are removed. When the tobacco is
drawn from the centre of the roll I prefer a lid with a hole at the
top of sufficient size to permit of the hand being inserted for the purpose
of more conveniently obtaining a hold of the end of the tobacco when
a supply is required, and the edge of this opening should be rounded
so that the tobacco will not be injured in the process of withdrawing.
The reel described for black twist may also be used for brown twist.
A roll of any construction may be pressed without cords by means of
bands, tubes, or cylinders made to work one within the other with or
without tops or bottoms; or by means of one band, tube, or cylinder,
with suitable boards or plates to allow of the required pressure, a
number of rolls may also be pressed in one tube or cylinder by a like
arrangement. And other modifications in the arrangements of the ends

page_text: and spindle of the reel for permitting the tobacco to be taken off the
reel in the roll form for the press or for immediate sale, and other-
wise preparing it for sale may be used.
In place of the present mode of oiling the tobacco I propose to use a
contrivance similar in principle to that by which water is supplied to
bird cages, a bottle so reversed in a shallow vessel as only to allow
a small quantity of oil to escape as used, or a bottle with one or more
apertures at the side or bottom to allow a limited supply of oil to
escape into a vessel or cup formed for the purpose, the oil to be applied
by a brush or other suitable means to the tobacco as run on to the 1
reel. To one qud of the reel I apply a brake for overcoming the impetus
which would otherwise cause the reel to revolve after the motive power
was withdrawn.
The object of my Patent dated November 25th last (No. 3332) was
by placing the machine under the immediate control of the spinner
to turn a number of spinning reels or wheels by one power, whether
hand or steam.
In order to accomplish that object more satisfactorily I now propose
in place of the usual mode of shafting to arrange the tables singly in
parallel lines, with the reels or machines in the usual position at the
end of each. The machines are thus all brought together in a row.
With each set of machines I provide one with a driving wheel placed
by preference under the upper cone or fast and loose sheaves.
Instead of the ordinary pulley driven from the shafting, as con-
templated in the before-mentioned Patent, I attach two pulleys to the s
spindle of the lower conc of each machine or one pulley of extra width
and by preference with a division or rim round the centre of the
periphery. I link all the machines together by belts, so that the
driving wheel acting upon one puts in motion the whole set.
The arrangement of the two pulleys and belts or bands for connecting
and working the set of machines may be varied as circumstances
require.