US1483558A

US1483558A - Machine for stringing tobacco leaves

Info

Publication number: US1483558A
Application number: US504855A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles W Sponsel
Original assignee: SPONSEL Co
Current assignee: SPONSEL Co
Priority date: 1921-10-03
Filing date: 1921-10-03
Publication date: 1924-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 1941-02-12

Description

Feb. 12 1,924.

1,483,558 c. w. sPoNsEL MACHINE FOR STRING-ING TOBACCO LEAVES Filed OGC. 5, 1921 .',WM/A/WJ l;

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J Il T Feb. m 1924. 1,483,558

C.WLSFONSEL MACHINE FOR STRINGIG TOBACCO LEAVES Filed Oct. 5, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 @ya 2G figg.;

ATTORNEY Feb. 12 ,.1924. A y 1,483,558

C. SPONSEL MACHINE FOR STRINGING TOBACCO. LEAVES Filed oct. s. 1921 :s sheets-sheet Afro/@wer Patented Feb. l2, i924.

CHARLES W. SPONSEL, F WETHERSFIELD,

COMPANY, OF

F T tf CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE SPONSEL 221' RTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION 0F CONNECTICUT.

MACHINE FOR STRINGING TOBACCO LEAVES.

Application led October 3, 1.921..l Serial No. 504,855.

To all 'whom it may concer/n.:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. SPoNsEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wethersfield, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Stringing Tobacco Leaves, of which the following is a specification.

lt is customary to hang picked leaves of tobacco on laths and place the laths on racks in sheds for curing. This invention relates to a machine for threading the stems of picked leaves of tobacco upon strings which are designed to be fastened to the laths.

The object of the invention is to provide a very simple economically operated machine which will rapidly, accurately and securely thread the leaf stems on the strings which are used to fasten the leaves to the lath. The stems of two leaves are usually fed to the machine by an attendant at one time. The two stems presented to the machine are gripped and while held are pierced by a hooked spear whose point passes through the eye of a needle around which the loop of a doubled string is bent, the ends of the string being fastened to a support so that the string will be taut. rlhe needle then lowers and carries the looped end of the string into the path of the hook which withdraws slightly and pulls the str-ing from the needle. The needle and one of the gripping jaws is thenl lifted out of the way and the other gripping jaw is advanced so as to push the pairs of stems from the spear over the hook onto the doubled string. yThe pushing jaw is then withdrawn and when out of the way the needle and other jaw are lowered, the needle passing through the loop of the string held by the hook. The hook is then slightly advanced through the needle so as to leave the loop of the string on the needle after which the needle with the string is slightly raised. When the string is free from` the hook, the hook is drawn way back leaving the parts yin position to receive the next set of stems and repeat the cycle. of movements .which threads the stems onto the string. After the string has received a full complement'of pairs of leaves its ends are attached to the lath by another attendant, the lath having been placed on the table in Aposition to lfacilitate this. These movements are, in the machine illustrated, accomplished by three cams arranged to oscillate three levers connected to, at the proper times.

determined by the formation of the cams, reciprocate horizontally the hooked spear and the pusher with one gripping jaw, and reciprocate vertically the needle with the other gripping jaw.

Figure 1 in the accompanying drawings shows a plan View of the machine with a string 'threaded with leaves fastened to the ends of a lath arranged on the top of the table. Fig. 2 shows a front elevation of the machinewith a, few leaves threaded on the doubledstring. Fig. 3 shows a vertical section on larger scale of the operating mechanism. Fig. 4 shows an end elevation of the operating mechanism. Fig. 5 shows a plan of the operating mechanism. Fig. 6 shows a larger plan of the gripping jaws. Fig. 7 shows a face view of the gripping jaw attached to the vertically movable needle slide. Fig. 8 shows a face view of the gripping jaw that is attached to the horizontally movable pusher slide. F'ig. 9 shows an edge view of the needle. Fig. 10 shows a side view of the needle and hook. Fig. 11 shows a ction of the needle on the plane indicated by the dotted line 11-11 on Fig. 10. Fig. 12 shows the parts in the position in which they receive the stems. Fig. 13 shows' the stems gripped. Fig. 14 shows the stems pierced by the hook. Fig. 15 shows the needle lowered. Fig. 16 shows the hook taking the string from the needle. Fig. 17 shows the needle and one gripper jaw lifted. Fig. 18 shows the stems pushed from the spear onto the string. Fig. 19 shows the pusher partly withdrawn. Fig. 20 shows the pusher completely withdrawn and the .needle coming down. Fig. 21 shows the needle way down in position to receive the string from .the hook. Fig. 22 shows the hook advanced and the needle receiving-"the string. Fig. 23

shows the'fneedle lifted to free the string from the hook after which the hook returns to the original position illustrated in Fig. .12.

The active members of they machine are mounted in a frame 1 which may be cast in one or more parts. This frame is fastened to any suitable support, being shown as attached to the side near one end of a table 2 that has legs 3 of convenient length. Pivotally mounted on` a stud 4 screwed into the frame is a vertical lever 5 the upper endl of which engages with the slide 6 that moves horizontally in a way 7 in the topv of the frame. The front end of this silde carlries a Spear 8 which has a pointed hook 9 this slide is the shank 15 of the pusher block 16 which has a V-groove in its front face. Thel pusher shank is loosely held in the pusher slide and is thrust forward by a spring 17. lThe lower part of the pusher block has an opening 18 through which the hook of the spear may pass. A plate 19 is inserted in the top of the frame under the cap to separate the pusher slide from the spear slide. Pivotally mounted on astud 20 screwed into the frame is a horizontal lever 21 the front end of which is connected to a slide 22 that is movable vertically in a way 23 in the frame and is held in position by a cap 24. The upper end of this slide carries a needle 25 that has a long eye 26 and a notch 27 in its rear edge. The needle slide also carries a block 28 which has a V- groove in its back face opposite the V-grove in the face of the pusher block, and a slot 47 in its lower edge for the .passage of the hook. When the horizontally movable pusher block is drawn away from the vertically movable gri ping block there lis a space between the locks into which the stems to be threaded are placed. When the vertically movable block is down and the horizontally movable block is forward thel leaf-stems are gripped between the blocks .Owing to the V-shape of the grooves in the blocks' and the yielding of the shank of the pusher block, it makes no difference whether the stems are both large or both small or one is large and the other is small, the stems will be centered and tightly gripped in the path of the spear. Attached to the needle slide over the top of the spare between the blocks is a plate 29 that is held down by a flat spring 30. This plate forms a stop or gage for the 'ends of the Istems when they are placed between the blocks.

The lever which reciprocates the spear slide has a roll 31`that travels in a cam groove 32 in a cam disk 33 fastened .on the shaft 34 which is supported by the frame, and in the form of machine illustrated is provided with. a crank handle 35. The lever which reciprocates the pushe block has a roll 36 -which engages a cam groove 37 in av disk 38 that is keyed to the crank shaft. rihe lever that reciprocates the needle slide has a roll 39 which travels in a cam groove 40 in a disk 41 that is keyed to the crank shaft. These three cams mounted on the same crank shaft are all shown as box cams suitably timed to cause the levers to oscillate for the purpose of reciprocating the spear slide, the pusher. slide and the needle slide at the proper moments to cause them to perform their functions of gripping the stems, piercing the stems, pushing the stems off from the spear onto the doubled string and then returning into position for receiving other stems and repeating the cycle of operation.

Attached to the front of the machine toward the left hand side is an arm 42. The string 43 upon which the leaves are to be threaded is doubled around the hook and the ends temporarily fastened to this arm with the string under tension. This arm may be the lath to which the leaves are to be fastened if desired.. The leaves are customarily picked up one with each hand from piles on opposite sides of the operative and face to face. the stems are thrust between the gripping and pushing blocks. In the machine illustrated vone turn of the crank by hand or any other suitable power causes the mechanisms to coact and thread the stems on the string. After the desired number of stems are threaded on the string the looped end is disengaged from the needle and its ends unfastened from the arm. Should the arm be the lath to which the strings are to be fastened, but one end of the string is released. One length of the doubled string is then withdrawn from the stems and the ends of the string are ready to be fastened to the lath which is to be placed on the rack in the curing shed. When the string is released the threaded leaves may be laid flat upon the top of the table and after being spaced the ends of the string are fastened to the ends of the lath 48 which is laid in a receiving groove 44 in the top of the table ready for the purpose if the lath itself is not used in place of the arm. The wall of the lath groove or the top of the table may if desired be graduated so as to facilitate spacing the leaves. Should the leaves be heavy the threaded string may be fastened at the middle by short pieces of twine 45 laid ready for the purpose in a notch 46 in the wall ofthe lath groove. After-the string has been suitably connected'at each end to the lath, the lath with the leaves is removed to the racks in the shed. With this machine one operative rapidly feeds the leaves in pairs and causes the machine to operate for stringing the stems while another attendant spaces the leaves, fastens the ends of the strings 28 attached to the needle slide andthe pusher block 16 on the slide 12, Fig. 12. The. first movement advances the pusher block and clamps the stems between that block and the gripper block, Fig. 13. The spear then advances piercing the stems thus gripped until its hooked end passes through the eyeof the needle, Fig. 14. The needle is then lowered until the loop of the string is back of the hook of the spear, Fig. 15. With the parts in vthis relation the spear is drawn back drawing the loop of the string back with it olf from the needle, Fig. 16.

The needle then rises leaving the stringlooped about the hook of the spear, Fig. 17. After this the pusher is advanced Still further so that the block 16 pushes the leaf stems o from the spear 8 onto the string- 43, Fig. 18. The pusher is then withdrawn back of the hooked end of the spear, Fig. 19. The next movement causes the pusher to withdraw to its original position and the needle to startv downward, Fig. 20. The needle continues downward passing through the loop of string held by the hook of the spear, Fig. 21. The spear is then slightly advanced so as to leave the looped string on the needle, Fig. 22, after which the needle is raised to lift the string above the hookedend of the spear, Fig. 23. Finally the spear is withdrawn and the parts assume the relations shown in Fig. 12, ready to repeat this cycle of operations.

The invention claimed is:

1. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising means for the attachment of a string, longitudinally movable means for piercing leaf stems, and means for pushing stems from the piercing means on to the string.

2. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising means for the attachment of a string, means for gripping leaf stems, means for piercing leaf stems held by the gripping means, and means for pushing stems from the piercing means on to the string.

3. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising means for the attachment of a string, means for centering and gripping leaf stems, means for piercing leaf stems held by the gripping means, and means for pushing stems from the piercing means on to the string. l

4. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising means for the attachment of a string. yielding means for centering and gripping leaf stems, means for piercing leaf stems held by the gripping means and means for pushing stems from the piercing means on to the string.

5. A machine for'stringing tobacco leaves comprising means for the attachment of .an end of a string, means for piercing leaf stems. said piercing means adapted to engage the other end of the string, means for pushing stems from the piercing means on to the string, and means for disengaging the string from the piercing means.

6. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising means for the attachment of the end of a string, means for centering and gripping leaf stems, means for piercing stems held by the gripper, said piercing means adapted to engage the other end of the string, means for pushing stems from the piercing means on to the string and means for disengaging the string from the piercing means.

'7. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising a reciprocatory spear for piercing leaf stems, said spear having a hook adapted to engage the loop of a string, reciprocatory blocks for gripping leaf steams While they are being ierced, one of said blocks adapted to pusli the pierced stems from the spear on to a string engaged by the hook, and a reciprocatory needle adapted to disengage the string from the hook of the spear.

8. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising a' horizontally movable slide carrying a hooked piercing spear, means for reciprocating the spear sllde, a horizontally movable slide carrying a gripper and pusher block, means for reciprocating the pusher slide, a vertically movable slide carrying a needle and a gripper block, and means for reciprocating the needle slide.

y9. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising a horizontally movable slide carrying a hooked piercing spear, means for reciprocating the spear slide, a horizontally movable slide carrying a gripper and pusher block, means for reciprocating the pusher slide, a vertically movable slide carrying a needle, a gripper block and a gage plate, and means for reciprocating the needle slide.

' 10. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising a horizontally movable block' and a vertically movable block having V-grooves in their adjacent faces for ,centering and gripping leaf stems, means for reciprocating said blocks into and out of the paths of each other, a spear with a hooked end movable horizontally through said blocks for piercing stems gripped thereby, and means for reciprocating said spear.

11. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising a vertically movable needle with an eye, means for reciprocating the needle, a horizontally movable spear with a hooked end, and means for reciprocating the hooked end of the spear through the eye of the needle.

12. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising a vertically movable needle with an eye, a vertically movable gripper block, a horizontally movable spear with a hooked end, a horizontally movable gripper and pusher block, and levers and cams for reciprocating the hooked end of the spear through the eye of the needle and reciprocating the blocks into and out of the paths of each other.

13. f A machine for stringing tobacco leaves comprising a vertically movable needle with an eye, a' vertically movable gripper block, a lever and cam for reciprocating the needle and gripper block, a horizontally movable spear with a hooked end, a lever and cam for reciprocating the spear, a horizontally movable gripper and pusher block, and a lever and cam for reciprocating the pusher block.

14.. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves comprising a reciprocatory piercing hook,

a reciprocatory pusher movable lengthwise of the hook, a reciprocatory needle movable transversely of the hook and pusher, and means for reciprocating the hook across the path of the needle and reciprocating the needle across the path of the hook, whereby a looped string will be transferred back and forth from needle to hook.

l5. In a machine for Stringing tobacco leaves the combination with a hooked spear for piercing leaf stems, of means for centering and gripping stems of varying size while they are being pierced by the spear, said means comprising al pair of blocks having V-shaped opposing faces, one of said blocks being yieldingly supported.

CHARLES W. SPONSEL.