US1920708A - Method of manufacturing cigarettes - Google Patents

Description

D. W. MOLINS Aug. 1, 1933.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING CIGARETTES 2 Sheets-Shem;

Filed July 13, 1931 //Y VIII?! Aug. 1, 1933. 0. w. MOLINS METHOD OF MANUFACTURING CIGARETTES 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 13 Patented Aug. 1, 1933 UNITED STATES METHOD OF MANUFACTURING CIGARETTES Desmond Walter Molins, Bexley, England Application July 13, 1931, Serial No. 550,521, and in Great Britain April 28, 1931 14 Claims. (Cl. 13143) This invention relates to an improved method of manufacturing cigarettes on cigarette making machines of the continuous rod type, and has.

for its object to provide means whereby the density of tobacco in the continuous rod produced by the machines may be varied from point to point in the length of the rod for the purpose hereinafter described.

As is well known, such machines manufacture a continuous rod of tobacco surrounded by paper which is subsequently cut into individual cigarettes, and in order to obtain a smooth and well finished end to the cigarette it is essential that the density of tobacco in the portion of the rod which is to be out should be sufflcient to enable the knife to cut cleanly.

By this method a lightly filled and inexpensive cigarette may be given a superior appearance by the clean-cut well-filled ends and good quality cigarettes are correspondingly improved. Atthe same time the cigarette still draws freely, whereas, a cigarette which is dense throughout is diflicult to smoke, in addition to which it is expensive to make.

The invention comprises a method of manufacturing cigarettes on continuous rod cigarette machines consisting in varying the density of the tobacco in the continuous rod produced by the machine from point to point, and subsequently cutting the rod at the points of maximum density to produce cigarettes having relatively dense ends.

The invention will be more particularly de- Referring to Fig. 1, the cigarette rod 1 is filled with tobacco in such a manner that in the neighbourhood of thepoints 2-2 at which the rod is cut to produce cigarettes, the density of tobacco is higher than at the point 3 at the middle of the cigarette.

This variation in density may be effected in various ways. For instance, the density may slowly increase from the middle to the ends, or the cigarette may be practically uniform scribed with reference to the accompanying,

throughout the major portion of its length with the density increasing comparatively suddenly at the ends. I

The cigarettes may be manufactured by a machine constructed as shown in Figs. 2-5 which represents an efficient apparatus for carrying out the idea, but it will be appreciated that many mechanisms may be devised for carrying the invention into effect.

Referring to Figs. 2-5, a tobacco feeding ap- 5 paratus 4 continuously delivers a shower of tobacco to a trough 5 located beneath the delivery opening of the tobacco feed.

' The bed 6 of the cigarette machine'carries a paper reel '7 from which a continuous web 8 of cigarette paper is led through a printer 9. The paper then passes through the trough 5 in which it assumes a U form and is' uniformly filled with tobacco by the shower from the tobacco feed. I

As the loaded web passes from the trough 5 it engages with a continuously moving tape 10 and is carried by the same through folding mechanism 11 and gumming mechanism 12 and the formed and gummed rod is then dried by a heater l3.

The finished rod then passes to a cutting mechanism 1 4 which severs it into cigarettes which are delivered by tape 15 to a delivery belt (not shown) from which they are removed by the 35 attendant.

Before the loaded web passes into the folding mechanism 11, the tobacco is compressed by a rotating compression wheel 16. This operation is effected whilst the loaded web is passing through a U shaped channel 25, Fig. 5, which forms a continuation of the trough 5, and during the operation the web is controlled by guides 26 which keep the edges of the web level.

As previously mentioned, the web is uniformly loaded by the tobacco feeding mechanism and the variation in density is effected by driving the compression wheel by'avariable gear so that the velocity of the rim of the wheel changes from'a high value to a low value-and so on. The effect of these changes in the velocity is to cause the compression of the tobacco to vary from point to point and by mechanically coupling the compression wheel to the cutting apparatus, it is possible to ensure that the points of maximum density in the rod will be those points at whichethe rod is subsequently cut.

The compression wheel is driven through a train of -gears 17 by a variable speed device consistingof a slotted disc 18 driven by a pin 19,

fixed to a uniformly rotating disc 20. The centres of the two discs are out of line and the velocity of the rim of the compression wheel thus varies with the change in radius of the pin 19 in the slot of the disc 18.

In order that the points of maximum density in the rod shall coincide with the points at which the rod is cut into cigarettes, the compression wheel drive is coupled as shown in Fig. 1 by gears 21 and 22 to gears 23 and 24 which drive the cutting apparatus 14 so that the parts cannot get out of time.

The variation in density in the rod may of course be produced by other means than that described, for example, mechanical raking devices may be employed to vary the distribution of the filler or shrouding devices may be employed in the filling trough to change the distribution of the tobacco shower itself.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A method of manufacturing cigarettes on continuous rod cigarette machines consisting in varying the density of the tobacco in the continuous rod produced by the machine, from point to point, and subsequently cutting the rod at the points of maximum density to produce cigarettes having relatively dense ends.

2. In a cigarette machine, the combination with means for loading a paper web with tobacco filler, of means for varying the density of the tobacco filler from point to point, rod forming mechanism and cutting mechanism arranged to sever the rod at the points of maximum density to produce cigarettes having relatively dense ends.

3. A method of manufacturing cigarettes which consists in feeding a web of cigarette paper, delivering tobacco substantially uniformly to the web thus fed, redistributing the tobacco on the web to provide alternate portions of greater and less quantity, forming the web and tobacco into a rod, and severing the rod adjacent the portions of greater quantity to produce cigarettes having relatively dense ends.

7 relatively dense ends.

5. A method of manufacturing cigarettes which consists in feeding a web of cigarette paper, delivering tobacco substantially uniformly to the web thus fed, and thereafter displacing portions of the tobacco at intervals along the web to provide a varying density. I

6. In the art of manufacturing cigarettes, the method of distributing tobacco on a moving web comprising feeding tobacco in substantially uniform quantity to the web, and thereafter displacing portions' of the tobacco on the web to provide non-uniform distribution thereof.

7. In a cigarette making machine, the combination with means for delivering tobacco to a moving web, of means for thereafter displacing portions of the tobacco to vary the quantity present at different points along the web.

8. In a cigarette making machine, the combination with means for feeding a web of cigarette paper, means for delivering tobacco in substantial uniformity to the web thus fed, and means for thereafter effecting redistribution of the tobacco on the web to provide varying quantities of tobacco at spaced points along the web.

9. In a cigarette making machine, the combination with means for feeding a web of cigarette paper, means for delivering tobacco in substantial uniformity to the web thus fed, means for thereafter effecting redistribution of the tobacco on the web to provide varying quantities of tobacco at spaced points along the web, means for forming a rod from the tobacco filled paper, and means for severing the rod into lengths at points at which greater quantities of tobacco are located:

10. In a cigarette making machine, the combination with means for feeding a web of cigarette paper, means for delivering tobacco in substantial uniformity to the web, thus fed, mechanism for varying the density of the tobacco at spaced points along the web, means for forming the web and tobacco into a rod, and means for severing the rod at points' of greater density to form cigarettes having relatively densely packed ends.

11. In a cigarette making machine, the combinationwith means for feeding a web of cigarette paper, means for delivering tobacco in substantial uniformity to the web thus fed, mechanism for varying the density of the tobacco at spaced points along the web, means for forming the web and tobacco into a rod, means for severing the rod at points of greater density to form cigarettes having relatively densely packed ends, and a driving connection between said last named means and said mechanism for effecting synmeans for forming the web and tobacco into a rod, and cutting mechanism driven in timed relation with said compression wheel for severing said rod at the portions of greater density;

13. In a cigarette making machine, the com-Y bination with means for feeding a web .of cigarette paper, means for delivering tobacco in substantial uniformity to the web thus fed, and means for thereafter effecting redistribution of the tobacco on the web to provide varying 'quantities of tobacco at spaced points along the web, I

said last named means comprising arotatable means for thereafter effecting redistribution of v the tobacco on the web to provide varying'quantities of tobacco at spaced points along'the web,--

said last named means comprising arotatable compression wheel positioned forengagement with the tobacco, and means for rotating' said wheel at a varying speed.

DESMOND WALTER MOLINS.

compression wheel positioned for engagement r

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