US1401438A - Tobacco-leaf crusher - Google Patents

Description

S. PELLS.

TOBACCQ LEAF CRUSHE R. APPLICATION FILED AUG..2. 1920.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

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S. PELLS.

TOBACCO LEAF CRUSHER.

APPLICATION FILED Aus.2. 1920.

1,401,438, Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

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Q SAMUEL PELLS. WM/woo UNITED STATES llAIENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL PELLS, F OMAHA, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 J. L. GALBRETH, OF SUPERIOR, NEBRASKA.

TOBACCO-LEAF CRUSHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2'7, 1921.

Application filed August 2, 1920. Serial No. 400,658.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL PnLLs a c1t1- zen of the United States, residing at bmaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nobraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Leaf Crushers of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements. in tobacco leaf crushers, and has for an object to provide an apparatus which is adapted to crush the stems in combination with the leaves in such a way as to produce a uniform thickness of the leaf and stem whereby the former may be utilized and the additional operations of stripping and stemming may be dispensed with.

Another object of the invention hes in providing an apparatus in which, in addition to t 1e crushing of the leaf so as to reduce it to a uniform thickness throughout, the leaf may be also dried and put in con dition for immediate baling.

A further object of the inventlon resides in providing an apparatus which will crush and dry the tobacco leaf in such a way that the whole may be utilized for the manufacturing of cigars and tobacco in other forms without having to destroy the natural leaf or alter it in any form.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols re- Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially centrally therethrough.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in horizontal. section of one of the slidable bearing blocks and its supporting standard.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the apparatus embodies a base which is placed upon a sultable support, and has erected at its sides spaced-apart standards 1.1

and 12 which are provided with vertically extending slots 13 and 1 1 at the upper portions thereof. In the slot 13 are mounted a pair of vertically sliding bearing blocks 15 and 16, while similar bearing blocks 17 and 18 are carried in the slot 14 and have a vertically sliding movement therein.

Coil springs 19 and 20 are placed between the bearing blocks and tend to maintain the same apart. The lower bearings 15 and 17 are maintained by the coil springs at the bottom of the slots 18 and 14, while said upper bearing blocks 16 and 18 are held by the same screws yieldingly against the lower ends of set screws 21 and 22 adjustably threaded through cross pieces 23 and 24 carried by the upper end of the standards 11 and 12. The bearing blocks nave suitable openings to receive the trunnions of a pair of rollers 25 and 26, the edges of which are corrugated, as indicated in Fig. 1.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 4, the truunions 27 and 28 of the rollers are made solid and receive inter-meshing gear Wheels 29 and 30 by which they are caused to move in unison though in op Josite directions. A reduced extension 31 o" the upper trunnion 27" provides for receiving a pulley wheel 32 and also, if desirable, a manual crank 33. A belt (not shown) may be engaged with the wheel 32 for driving the apparatus from a suitable source of power. It is to be understood that either hand or machine power may be employed at pleasure.

The opposite trunnious $34; of each of the rolls or drums are made hollow in order to receive the two electrical leads 35 and 36 by which current is circulated through a resistance coil 37 wound upon a suitable core 38 within the hollow drums. The leads 35 and 36 respectively connect with rings 39 and 40 moimted between flanged insulating collars 4:1 and 4-2 carried upon the hollow trun nions beyond the bearing blocks.

Brushes a3 and 44 held by suitable brackets 15 on he standards engage the rings 39 and 40. As shown in Fig. 1, a battery or other source of current 46 is connected in circuit with the brushes so as to supply the necessary energy to the resistance coils. A drying chamber providcd'in a housing 47 adjacent the standards, and this housing is closed save for the provision of small. slots 48 and 19 made in opposite ends thereof for the introduction and ejection of the tobacco leaves. The leaves are received on an apron 50 having its free receiving end disposed between the rollers 25 and 26, this apron being supported by a brace 51. The leaves are guided by a lip 52 above the opening 48 held by a racket 53.

A somewhat similar apron 5-1- is arranged at the other slot Q9 and a guiding lip 55 is provided above the slot to direct the leaves onto the apron so that they may with facility find their way out of the drying chamber.

Within such chamber is a belt conveyer 56 moving over rollers 57 and 58 journaled upon standards 59 and 60. The belt conveyer 56 is driven by suitable apparatus, but inasmuch as it forms no part of the invention, it is omitted from the illustration. A tension roller 61 carried by a frame 62 adapted to oscillate about a center 63 is provided in conjunction with the belt and is held against the lower run thereof in a yielding manner by the action of a coil spring 64 connected at its upper end to a tail piece 65 of the frame 62 and having its lower end engaged in an eye 66 at the base of the drying chamber. 7

A. heating coil 67 is also mounted in the chamber in combination with a suitable source of energy 68. Of course, it will be understood that appropriate switches and other controlling apparatus may be used in connection with both of the battery circuits.

The various bearing blocks, as shown in Fig. 5, are provided with flanges 69 forming channels to receive the standards at the side of the slots whereby they may be guided in their vertical reciprocating movement.

In use, tobacco leaves in their whole and natural form without being stemmed or stripped are fed between the corrugated rollers 25 and 26 which are rotated either by means of the hand crank 33 or a pulley wheel The set screws 21 and 22 are so adjusted as to provide for the proper spacing of the rollers where they come together upon the tobacco leaves, and in this way the amount of the crushing action may be accurately governed.

The corrugations of the one roller will fit between those of the other and will exert a heavy crushing action on the stems of the leaves, the regulation being such that the stems will be flattened out in such manner that the entire leaf including the stems will be reduced to a uniform thickness suitable for wrapping into cigars or for the manufacture of other tobacco articles.

The leaves are automatically passed out from the opposite sides of the rollers onto the apron 50 and are guided by the lip 52 in combination with the apron through the slot 48 and onto the conveyer 56 within the drying chamber 417- The rollers 25 and 26 are, of course, heated by the resistance coils contained therein, and, as previously mentioned, the degree of this heat may be regulated by the use of switches, resistance, or other well-known means. The rollers will therefore, in addition to crushing the stems, also act to initially dry the leaves, out it will probably be necessary to further dry the same in order to put them promptly in condition for baling. This latter drying is accomplished in the chamber f? as the leaves are moved slowlv across the same on the conveyor belt 56. p

This chamber is closed from the atmosphere except at the points of ent 'ance and exit of the tobacco leaves, and, as previously mentioned, is heated by the action of the electric coil 67. It will therefore be appreciated that a suitable dryness will pervade the whole chamber such as will entirely dry out the leaves, and, of course, the conveyor 56 will be regulated in its movement in conformity with the degree of the dryness in the chamber 17.

The leaves suitably crushed and dried pass out through the opening l9 and are thereafter packaged or baled.

I do not wish to be restricted to the size, form, and proportions of the various parts, and obviously changes could be made in the construction herein described without departing from the spirit of the invention, it being only necessary that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a housing having openings in its front and rear portions, a conveyor in the housing, means to heat the housing, an apron extending through one opening in the housing at the lower part of such opening and having its inner end disposed close to the receiving end of said conveyor, said apron extending at an inclination downwardly into the housing, leaf crushing means disposed outwardly of the housing and adjacent the higher end of said apron, a lip above the apron also extending at an inclination downwardly and inwardly through the opening into the housin the upper outer end of said lip being curved, a second apron extending at the rear of the housing and passing through the opening therein, said apron being disposed on an inclination downwardly and outwardly and having its higher inner end arranged close to the discharge end of the conveyor, and a lip inwardly of the housing at the rear opening arranged on an inclination and having its higher end disposed above the inner end of said second mentioned apron.

2. A device of the character ocsciibed comprising leaf crushing means, a housing mounted adjacent said leaf crushing means, heating means in the housing, a conveyor also entirely within the housing, said housing having openings in its front and rear walls, the opening in the front wall being at a higher elevation and being disposed above the receiving end of the conveyer, the other opening being disposed below the delivery end of said conveyer, an inclined apron ex tending through the front opening in the housing having its higher end disposed to receive leaves from said crushing means and with its lower inner end arranged near the receiving end of the conveyer, an inclined lip above said a ron having a greater inclination than t e apron and extending through the front opening in the housing,

a rear apron extending on an inclination through the lower portion of the rear opening in the housing and having its higher inner end disposed close to the delivery end of the conveyer, and a second lip supported 20 within the housing and at a greater inclination than said last mentioned apron and having its higher inner end disposed above the inner end of said apron.

In testimony whereof, I have afiixed my 25

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