Improvements in Machines for Cutting Tobacco Leaves and other Matters.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 14th July, 1887
Complete Left, 11th Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 13th Dec., 1887
Improvements in Machines for Cutting Tobacco Leaves and
other Matters.
I, PHILIPP ELKAN of Kleine Hamburger Strasse No. 19, Berlin, in the Empire of
Germany, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to bo as
follows:-
This invention relates to machines for cutting or slicing materials, in which a knife
is caused to cut the material fed forward by suitable means. The improved machine
is suitable for a variety of purposes in which slicing of materials is required and may
be used with advantage for cutting up tobacco leaves.
The improved machine consists essentially in a knife adapted to be moved up and
down, with a feed device for the material operated by such reciprocating motion of
the knife.
The improved machine is adapted to be driven by hand; the tobacco or other
material is advanced or fed to the knife by transmitting the up and down motion of
the knife by means of a suitable gear to feed rollers. Before the end of the feed
channel the cutter is arranged so as to be movable up and down, it is adjustably
fastened to a revolvably pivoted lever provided with a handle. Said lever carries
near its fulcrum a pawl gearing into a ratchet wheel on the shaft. The teeth of the
ratchet are so shaped with regard to the pawl, that the latter, on the downward
movement of the cutter during the cutting of the material, slides on the teeth of the
ratchet wheel, but on the upward movement of the cutter, abuts against one tooth
of the ratchet wheel and thereby revolves the same for an amount that depends on
the stroke of the cutter. The revolution of the ratchet wheel is transmitted by a
worm on the same shaft, to a worm wheel the axle of which carries firstly the lower
feed roller extending with part of its circumference upward through the bottom of
the feed channel and secondly between this roller and the worm wheel a spur wheel,
which actuates through three other spur wheels the middle of the three upper
milled feed rollers. This feed roller actuates the two other feed rollers by means of
straps or the like.

page_text: The lower feed roller revolves in the direction opposite to that of the upper rollers
so as to advance the tobacco or other material to the knife. The feed can be easily
adjusted by replacing the ratchet wheel by another ratchet wheel of a larger or smaller
diameter.
To facilitate the introduction of the material between the rollers those parts of the
side walls of the guide- or feed-channel, in which are journalled the upper feed rollers,
are arranged in the contiguous parts so as to be movable up and down by means of
a groove and spring. The movable side walls are raised with the upper feed rollers
by a two-armed lever lodged revolvably below the feed channel. The one (left)
extremity of this lever is bifurcated and presses with its two fork ends onto the lower
rim of each of the two movable side walls, while the other (right) extremity of said
lever extends into a guiding in which it can be set fast.
By pressing on the free end of the lever, the movable sides with the upper feed
rollers are raised. After the tobacco has been introduced between the feed rollers,
the lever is released, whereby the sides with their rollers and the wheels, by their
own weight and under the action of the spring, descend into their working
position.
The rear ends of the side walls of the feed trough, which ends form the support for
the knife, are stiffened by a transverse provided with a revolvable tube. This trans-
verse is situated slightly below the last upper feed roller and serves to press the
tobacco thoroughly when it is being advanced to the knife, to prevent the latter from
taking along with it single leaves or stalks.
Dated this 14th day of July 1887.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Cutting Tobacco Leaves and
other Matters.
I, PHILIPP ELKAN of Kleine Hamburger Strasse No. 19, Berlin N. in the Empire
of Germany Manufacturer 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 cutting tobacco leaves and other matters
in which a knife or knives operated by hand is caused to cut or slice the material fed
forward by suitable means and the improvements hereinafter described constitute a
machine in which a knife is adapted to be moved up and down by hand or otherwise,
in combination with a feed mechanism consisting of rollers or suitable devices whereby
the matters to be cut or sliced are fed automatically under said knife during the
upward movement of the latter for the cutting or slicing of said matters during or by
the downward movement of said knife.
.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the improved machine.
Fig. 1 being a side view thereof.
Fig. 2 a plan Fig. 3 an end elevation.
Figs. 4 and 5 detail views of the feed mechanism.
a is the feed channel or trough in which the matters to be cut or sliced are placed ;
this trough is preferably slightly narrowed towards one end, and in front of this end
is arranged the knife so as to be movable up and down transversely of the open end
of the trough a-The knife b is removably connected to and operated by the lever 6¹
pivoted at 6º and provided with the handle 62-The lever is revolvable in a vertical
plane about its pivot 6° but is also capable of a certain amount of horizontal movement
so that the knife can be lifted away from the material previous to the upward
movement of the knife in order that the feed of the material may not meet with
impediment during said upward movement of the knife The lever 61 carries pivoted
to it, near its pivot 6º, the pawl 63 gearing into the teeth of a ratchet wheel c¹
feathered on the shaft c-The teeth of the ratchet wheel c¹ are so shaped that the
pawl 6 slides over them during the downward movement of the lever 6₁ and engages
with them during the upward movement of said lever, propelling the wheel c¹ a small
portion of a revolution. This movement is transferred through worm con shaft c to
worm wheel d' on shaft d-carrying the lower feed roller d², the circumference of
which projects slightly through an opening in the floor of the trough a near to the
end of the trough where the knife is situated-The shaft d aforesaid also carries fixed
to it the bevel wheel d³ gearing with the bevel wheel e fixed on shaft -The latter
may be of prismatic or other form so that the bevel wheel e² which is capable of
sliding thereon, shall be caused to revolve therewith. The said bevel wheel e is
carried in a bearing e fixed to the side wall a¹ of the trough a, and it gears with the
bevel wheel fixed upon the shaft f of the upper feed roller which revolves
parallel to the lower roller d' but in an opposite direction as indicated by arrows in

page_text: Fig. 4, the tobacco or matter to be cut being fed thereby to the knife b during the
upward movement thereof.
To enable the feed of the material to be regulated according to the breadth of cut
required, the pawl 63 is displaceably secured in the slot 6*, said slot being so contrived
that the pawl 63 may be fixed so as to move during a longer or shorter space for each
movement of the lever b¹ thus causing the ratchet wheel c¹ to rotate more or less upon
its axis The slot b× is preferably for tobacco cutting such that the feed may be varied
between half a millimeter and two millimeters.
To enable the distance between the feed rollers to be varied, or to vary automatically
according the amount of material passing between them, and to enable the material
to be commodiously introduced between the rollers in first instance, the bearings of
the upper roller are made displaceable with regard to the lower, and this is preferably
performed by arranging parts a' a¹ of the side walls of the trough so that they are
capable of vertical movement being connected by tongue groove and feather or like
means to the stationary parts of said side walls-The upper feed roller being journalled
in these movable side walls is therefore capable of movement to and from the lower
feed roller-This construction is preferable to mounting the feed roller shaft in slots.
in the side walls since when the lower surface of the upper roller is lifted above the
lower ends of said slots, the latter form openings to the trough apt to disturb the
material at the sides-The movable parts a¹ a¹ are rigidly connected above by
the plate a (Fig. 4); and below by links o² o² to the arms o¹ o pivoted at 0° 0° and
connected together to form the lever o extending rearward and carrying a weight o³
by which means the walls a¹ a¹ are drawn downward by an adjustable pressure, thus
forcing the rollers towards each other and compressing more or less the tobacco or
material passing between them.
In front of the roller 2 that is to say between the said roller and the knife, is
arranged
a transverse rod a³ connected to the walls a' a¹ or to the plate a² so as
partake in the movement of these, its purpose being to retain the material fed to the
knife in a compressed state and thus prevent single stalks and the like from being
carried down or drawn out by the knife without cutting.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is ;-
In machines for cutting tobacco and other materials.
1) The combination with a lever carrying a knife edge, of a roller mechanism
adapted to feed material to said knife edge, a ratchet wheel adapted to operate said
roller feed, and a pawl adjustably attached to said lever for revolving said ratchet
wheel during the upward movement of said lever substantially as set forth.
2) The combination with a trough a having movable wall parts a¹ a', of feed
roller journalled in said parts, links o² o and weighted lever system o¹ o¹ o o³,
together with feed roller d' substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 10th
November 1997.
PHILIPP ELKAN.
By Herbert & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C., London,
Agents to Applicant.