US1219077A - Feeding device for tobacco-leaves. - Google Patents

Description

J. C. BUCHANAN.

FEEDING DEVICE FOR TOBACCO LEAVES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 9} 1914.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- J. C. BUCHANAN.

FEEDING DEVICE FOR TOBACCO LEAVES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-9.1914.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

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fllllllllllllllllll LEI-IE 3 "iilllllllll Inventor J. C. BUCHANAN.

FEEDING DEVICE FOR TOBACCO LEAVES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-$1914.

1 ,21 9,077. Patented Mar. 13, 1917.-

s SHEETS-SHEET 3.

M 5 My UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. BUCHANAN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO RAPID TOBACCO STEMMER 00., OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE.

FEEDING DEVICE FOR TOBACCO-LEAVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, James C. BUCHANAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Devices for Tobacco- Leaves; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated one form -in which my invention may be embodied, and said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

Referring to the said drawings,

Figure l is a perspective view of a feeding apparatus embodying my invention and showing the different stages in the turning of a tobacco leaf from a horizontal to a vertical position.

Fig, 2 is a top plan view of the same, a

portion of one of the feed belts being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional View taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View taken on line 1-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective showing a portion of the delivery chain andlateral guide which cooperates therewith'for feed ing the leaves from the leaf turning mechanism to the stemming mechanism.

The object of my invention is to provide a device for feeding tobacco leaves to a stemming machine, or for other purposes, in which the leaves may be arranged upon a horizontal table from which they are carried a certain distance apart and turned into a vertical plane and held at a desired angle to a vertical plane extending transversely of their line of travel, or otherwise delivered from the feeding mechanism.

Further objects of my invention are to provide means which will operate on said leaves to insure the accurate feeding and turning of the same, and which will prevent the leaves from slipping while being turned and delivered to the stemmer.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, 1 represents a horizontal feed table, supported in any desired manner and provided with a longitudinally extending conveyer 2, which may be formed of a belt passing around rollers 3, 4:, the former being the'driving roller and the latter being an idler. Adjacent to the inner edge of'the conveyer 2 and parallel thereto I arrange an auxiliary carrier, consisting of a card clothing belt 5, or other carrying device, which is mounted upon the pulleys 6, 7, carried by the shafts 8 and 9, upon which the rollers 3 is of greater length than the belt 16, which permits theoperator to place the butts of the leaves upon the belt 5, by which they are conveyed to the belt 16, A card clothing surface 17 is provided upon the inner end of the roller 3 to engage a portion of the tobacco leaf and prevent the same from slipping during the turning of thesame, thus facilitating the accurate feeding of the leaves.

The upper lap of the belt 5 rests preferably ina longitudinal slot or recess 5 in the feed table 1, so that the teeth of the card clothing belt 5 project a short distance above the top of the table. The belts 5 and 16 are driven at substantially the same speed as the conveyer 2, and in feeding tobacco leaves, the belts 5 and 16 engage the butt or stem portions of the leaves a short distance from.

their ends, the leafy portions or tails lying upon the conveyer 2, and in the case of very long leaves extending beyond the same on the side toward the operator.

18 represents a head guide which is provided upon. said table and is arranged at such a distance from the auxiliary carrier as"- to insure that the leaves are unlformly engaged by the belts 5 and 16 at the proper oint. In feeding the operator is assisted y this guide in getting the leaves in such position that the butt ends will be practically even.

Between the belts 5' and 16 of the auxiliary carrier and the card clothing surface 17 of the pulley 3, I arrange a yielding guide 19 which preferably consists of a fiat strip of sheet metal having a smooth bottom edge. This guide 19 is supported by a bracket 20 so as to be capable of vertical movement against the tension of springs 21 carried by said brackets and is adapted to engage that portion of the leaf adjacent the butt end, whereby said butt end will be held while the operation of turning is taking place.

The belts 5 and 16 are driven as hereinafter described, at a comparatively slow rate ofspeed, so that the operator can take a number of leaves at a time, aline the butts with the head guide 18, flatten them upon the table and slide them forward over the teeth of the belt 5, at a much greater speed than the belt 5 travels. As soon as the operator releases the leaves their stems are gripped by the teeth of the belt 5 and they are carried along by the auxiliary conveyer, the tails being carried by the conveyer 2, leaving the operators hands free to grasp another quantity of leaves and slide them along over the belt 5, up to the last one of the previous lot, and so on keeping a' continuous. row of leaves between the belts5 and 16, which form a magazine, as it were, and enable the operator by intermittently placing a number of leaves in the feed, to effect a practically continuous feed of the leaves therefrom.

As the tail portions of the leaves leave the forward end of the conveyer 2, they are turned downwardly by means of a conical roller 22, which is mounted upon the inner end of the shaft 11 and is moved with said shaft. This conical roller 22 insures the quick turning of the leaf from the horizontal to verticalposition so that it can be grasped by the delivery mechanism, hereinafter described, in a vertical position, and during turning, the roughened surface 17 of the roller 3 positively grips the leafy portion of the leaf and thereby prevents the leaf from slipping downwardly and also insures the proper length of the leaf butt projecting abovethe chain 23.

The delivery mechanism comprises a chain 23 which is mounted upon a sprocket 24 carried by the shaft 8, and upon another sprocket (not shown) at the delivery end of said delivery mechanism. 'T he links of the chain 23 are provided with teeth 25 on their upper faces, and the teeth 25 on one side of the chain form continuations of lateral teeth 26 arranged on that side of the chain, and preferably extend downwardly and rearwardly, the angle of the teeth 26 corresponding to the angle at which the tobacco leaves are to be delivered, after they are turned from a horizontal 'into a substantially vertical position.

At a certain point above the chain 23 the guide 19 ends, and at substantially the same point a lateral guide 27 is arranged adjacent to the lateral teeth 26, and supported yield ingly as by spring pressed rods 28, 28 and brackets 29, 29. The end of guide 27, adjacent the guide 19 is bent upwardly so as to engage the leaves on the upper side and at one side of the chain 23, thus bending the butts down at the point of contact, simultaneously with the downward bending of the tails by the conical roller 22' and throwing said leaves quickly into a substantially ver tical position, in front of the lateral teeth 26. The forward movement of the chain 23 and the friction of the lateral guide 27 causes each leaf to aline itself with the forward inclined face of the tooth 26 with which it is in contact, thus presenting each leaf to. the stemming machine at the desired angle, determined by the angle of the tooth 26. To facilitate a firm gripping of the butts of the leaves between the chain 23 and the guide 27 and to insure the gripping of leaf butts'of all thicknesses, the lateral teeth are provided with grooves 30 in which the inner edge of the guide 27 rests. The leaves will also extend above the chain 23 a uniform distance, determined by the head guide 18, as will be clearly understood, so that the butt ends of the leaves may be properly gripped by the feeding mechanism of the tobacco stemming machine.

It will be understood from the foregoing, that at the time the leaves are transferred from the receiving carriers 5 and 16, to the delivery carrier 23 they will be pressed downwardly by the roller 22 and hang downward, thereby facilitating the turning that the turning mechanism is arranged 1n close pro'X1m1ty to the auxiliary carrier and conveyer so that the stems are positively held by the auxiliary carrier until the turning action commences. This arrangement prevents any slipping of the leaves during the turning action and thereby insures the leaves being fed to the stemming machine in the proper position, as determined by said headguide.

The various parts of the apparatus may be driven in any desired way, and in the present drawings I have shown the driving shaft 8, which may be driven from the stemming machine through the medium of the sprocket chain 31, which is merely a preferred construction. The shaft 8 has a gear 32 which meshes with a gear 33 upon 1-5 the major portions of the leaves horizontally; an auxiliary carrying mechanism for engaging the leaves near their butt ends, means for turning the leaves from horlzontal to vertical positlon, one of said rollers be 2 ing provided with a roughened surface for positively engaging the leaves near their butt portions to prevent any slipping of the same during such turning movement, anda delivery mechanism for conveying said leaves after the) have been turned.

2. A feeding device for leaves comprising a feed table, a plurality of rollers provided on said table, an endless conveyer provided upon said rollers for supporting and moving the major portions of the leaves horizontally, an auxiliary carrying mechanism for engaging the leaves at their-butts, means for turning the leaves from a horizontal to a vertical position, a card clothing surface 4 provided upon the inner end 'of one of said rollers for positively engaging the leaves near their butt portions to prevent any slipping of the same during such turning movement, and a delivery mechanism for con- 40 .veying said leaves after they have been turned. a

3. A feeding device for leaves, comprising a feed table, a conveyer for supporting and moving the major portions of-the leaves horizontally, an auxiliary carrying mecha nism consisting of a plurality of card clothing belts for engaging the butts of the leaves, the supporting surface of one belt being extended beyond the other for receivingthe leaves, a plurality of rollers upon which said conveyer is mounted, means for turning said leaves from horizontal to vertical position, one of the rollers being provided with a roughened surface for positively engaging the leaves near their butt portions to prevent any slipping of the same during such turning movement, and a delivery mechanism for conveying said leaves after they have been turned.

4. A feeding device for leaves comprising a feed table, a conveyer for supporting and 7 moving the major portions of the leaves, an

auxiliary carrying mechanism arranged adjacent to one edge of said conveyer and consisting of a plurality of card clothing leaves simultaneously with said butt turnbelts for engaging and conveying the butt ends of the leaves, the supporting surface of one belt being extended beyond the other for receiving the leaves, a delivery mechanism for conveying said leaves after they leave the conveyer and carrier, means for turning the butt ends of the leaves as they are delivered to said delivery mechanism, and means for positively engaging and 'turning the major portions of the leaves simultaneously with the turning of'the butts by the butt turning means.

5. A feeding device for leaves comprising means for conveying the leaves horizontally, means for engaging and turning the butts of the leaves from horizontal to vertical position, means comprising a conical roller for positively engaging and turning the major portions of the leaves simultaneously with the turning of the buttsbythe butt turn- 5 ing mechanism, and a delivery device for conveying said leaves after they have been turned. i

6. A feed device for leaves, comprising a feed table, a plurality of rollers provided on said table, an endless conveyer provided upon said rollers for supporting and moving the major portions of said leaves horizontally, an auxlllary carrylng mechanism for engaging and conveying the butts of the leaves, I

one of said rollers being provided with a roughened surface for positively engaging the leaves near their butt portions to prevent any slipping of the same, a delivery device for conveying said leaves after they leave said conveyer and carrier, a turning mechanism for turning the butts of the leaves, and means for positively engaging and turning the major portions of the leaves simultaneously with the turning of the butts by the butt turning mechanism.

7. A feeding device for leaves, comprising a feed table, a plurality of rollers provided on said table, an endless conveyer provided upon said rollers for supporting and moving the major portions of said leaves, an auxiliary carrying device arranged adjacent to one edge of said conveyer for engaging the leaves near their butt ends, one of said rollers being provided with a roughened surface for positively engaging the portions of the tails of said leaves near their butt ends, a delivery device for conveying said leaves after they leave said conveyer and carrier, a turning device for turning the butt ends 120 of the leaves arranged in close proximity to said carrier, and means for positively engaging and turning the tail portions of said ing device, said tail turning means consist- 1-25 ing of a conical roller arranged adjacent to? the feeding end of said conveyer.. 8. In a feeding device for leaves, a delivery device comprising a chain provided with vertical teeth, the vertical teeth on one side of said chain being continuations of lateral teeth, grooves provided in said lateral teeth, and a lateral guide, the inner edge of which rests in said grooves for positively gripping the leaf butts between the lateral teeth and guide.

9. A feeding device for leaves comprising means for feeding the leaves in a horizontal position, means for engaging the butts of the leaves and turning the same from horizontal to vertical position, means for positively engaging and turning the major portions of the leaves simultaneously with the operation of the butt engaging device, and a delivery device for conveying said leaves in a verticalposition after they have been turned.

10. The combination with a leaf feeding device having a. horizontal conveyer, a delivery mechanism and a turning device for turning the leaves from horizontal to vertical position, of means adapted to engagethe major portions of the leavesfor preventing the leaves from slipping during the turning of the same. 11A. In a leaf feeding mechanism, the combination with means for feeding the leaves in horizontal position, of means for turning the leaves from horizontal to vertical position, means adapted to positively engage the bodies of the leaves for preventing the same from slipping during the turning of the same, and a delivery device for conveying the leaves after they have been turned, said delivery device consisting of an endless chain and a lateral guide, the teeth of said chain having grooves with which said guide cooperates.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES o. BUCHANAN.

Witnesses:

J. K. MOORE, R. E. BARRY.

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