US240512A - Tobacco-cutter - Google Patents

Description

" (No Model.)

J. GOODALB. fTobaoo Cutter.

- Patented April 26,1881..

"-PERS. PNDTO-UTHOGRAPNE. WASHINGTON. D C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GOODALE, OF CAMBRIDGE, ASSIGNOR TO THE CUTTER TOWER COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TOBACCO-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,512, dated April 26, 1881.

Application filed September l5, ISSQ. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN GooDALE, of Cain bridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

My said invention will be first clearly de` scribed in the following specication, and th en more specifically pointed out and defined in the claims annexed thereto.

Referring to the drawings which form part of this application,Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section upon the line w, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section upon the line y y. Fig. 4 is a view of the knife detached.

A in the drawings indicates an outer tubular casing, made of any suitable metal, and burnished or plated with silver or nickel to give it an ornamental appearance. A female screw-thread is cut upon the interior surface of said case from its lower end, as seen in Fig. 1, to a point near its upper extremity.

B is a forcing-nut, having I a male screwthread cut upon its periphery, to engage with the female thread formed upon the interior face of the casing A. The forcing-nut B is cut away throughout its central portion to permit a rectangular inner case, C, to pass through it. The nut B closely` surrounds this inner case, C, as shown in section in Fig. 2. Wit-hin the rectangular casing C is fitted a plunger or follower, D, which is connected to t-he forcing- V nut B by means of screws a a, passing through slots b b,whicl1 are cut in the inner casing, C, and which extend from end to end thereof. The follower or plunger D is of rectangular form, and exactly fits the inner oase, C, in order that it may easily move therein and at the same time have bearing upon its inner face. The inner rectangular casing, C, is either cast solid with or otherwise attached to a casinghead, E, near the upper extremity of the outer casing, A, as shown in Fig. 1. This head E lies closely against the casing A, and is confined therein by means of screws o o, passing through the outer case and entering acircumferential channel or slot, d, cut in the head E, as shown in vertical section in Fig. l, and in transverse section in Fig. 3.

F is an open cap fitting over the upper extremity of the outer casing, A, and connected to it by means of a bayonet-joint, consisting of a right-angled slot cut into the edge of the casing A, as seen at e, Fig. 1, and a pin,f, projecting from the inner surface of the open cap F, said pin being adapted to enter the open end of the slot, and thence pass into the horizontal slot, which has a slight offset, g, adapted to retain the pin f in place. This part F, I call an open cap, for the reason that it does not inclose or cover t-he open end of the outer tubular casin g, A, but is cutaway throughout its central portion, leaving only a circular flange, G, project-ing inward from the upper edge of the outer casing.

H, Fig. 4, represents a cutting blade or knife of peculiar construction, its cutting-edges t' i being located upon the opposite sides of the blade, and extending from each end to the center thereof. These cutting -edges, moreover, are beveled off or inclined, as shown in said Fig. 4, so that they are at an acute angle with the horizontal axis of the knife. At each end of the blade H is drilled a perforation, a', whereby the knife may be fastened, by screws entering said perforations, to the flange Gr of the open cap F. i

A removable dome-shaped cap, I, incloses the upper extremity of the outer case, A, being screwed upon the outside of the open cap F. A similarly-shaped cap, l', closes the lower extremity of said casing, the cap last named being rigidly fastened to the rectangular inside case inthe manner illustrated in Fig. 1.- viz., by means of a narrow flange, i', turned under a shoulder formed on the cap I', or by soldering the inner casing to said cap, or in any other suitable manner.

At the central point of the blade H, an d projecting from the lower face thereof, is formed a nipple, a2, having a sharp point and daring toward its base, where it joins the knife H, for

' a purpose presently to be described.

The operation of my invention is as follows The tobacco, in the form of a hard plug, as it is sold by dealers, is introduced within the inner case, C, by simply removing the open cap F by means of the bayonet-joint e f, already described. This leaves the upper end of the inner casing, C, open, as the cap I comes off with the open cap F. By rotating the lower cap, I', and grasping the opposite end of the implement, the plunger or follower D may be drawn to the lower end of the inner casing, C, and the plug may then be inserted, its low-er end resting upon the top of the said plunger, and its upper end reachingto the top, or nearly to the top, of the casing-head E. If the plug is too large to come within these limits, it should be trimmed or cut into the proper proportions by the dealer at the time it is purchased. After inserting the plug in the manner described, the cap F, with the close cap I mounted thereon, should be replaced. This brings the knife H just above the end of the plug as it lies within the case C. Now, by holding thelower cap, I, in one hand, and with the other hand rotating the casing A or the cap I, a rotary motion will be imparted to the cutting-blade H, and at the same time the plunger or follower D will be gradually driven upward by means of the forcing-nut B, thereby feeding the plug to the knife as fast as it is cut by the blades or cutting-edges t' z', the cuttings or chippings of the tobacco being retained within the hollow dome-shaped cap I, from which they may easily be removed by unscrewing and removing said cap and emptying its contents. The point or nipple a2 upon the under face of the blade H, being located in the aXis of revolution of the plug, and being driven into the end thereof, spreads the leaves of the plug laterally outward and into a position to be operated upon by the cutting-edges z' z'. It will be readily seen that without such a device there would be a point about the center of motion in the plug upon which the knife would fail to act, and the result would be the formation of a core from the plug which would remain uncut and seriously interfere with the operation of the device.

Some obvious modifications of construction may be adopted in place of those shown. For example, instead of fastening the casing-head E within the outer casingin the manner shown, I may cause the screws c c to enter au annnlus which may lie in the slot'cut in the head E, or just beneath a narrow flange turned over from the inner casing, C, until it touches the inner face of the outer case, A. Moreover, the open cap F and the close cap I may both be made in one and fastened by t-he bayonet-joint e f alone.

The advantages of this invention will be obvious to every smoker. Of late years the use ofplug-tobacco in meerschaum and other pipes has rapidly increased, and those accustomed to its u se are well aware of the great difculty with which the plug is out up. Besides the disagreeable nature of the task from the sticky juices of the plug with which the fingers are stained, and the manner in which the tobacco fouls and dulls a pocket-knife, the work is peculiarly apt to produce cut fingers and blistered hands. As the plug dries it becomes harder and more difficult to cut, although it is in a better condition for smoking. .By my invention, however, l have produced an article which may be' carried in the pocket and serve as a case or box for the tobacco, while it will also cut the hardest plug with even less expenditure of force than is necessary in the tobaccocutters ordinarily used in the shops. The plunger D feeds the plug to the knife at such a speed that the latter will cut a thin shaving from the end of the plug, whereby the device is easily operated and the cut tobacco is in a better condition for smoking. The hollow cap I is intended to hold labout one large pipeful of tobacco. The cutting-blade H is so shaped that it may be used for a long period without fouling or needing to be sharpened.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In an implement for cutting plu g-tobacco, the combination of an outer casing, a follower moved from end to end thereof by a screw, a knife rotating against the end of the plug, and a hollow cap adapted to receive and retain the cuttings, said cap being detachable from the casing, as and for the purpose substantially set forth. l

2. The combination, with theinteriorly screwthreaded case A, of the rectangular inner casing, U, the forcing-nut B, the follower D, the

knife H, and detachable hollow cap I, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. As a new article of manufacture, an implement for cutting plug-tobacco for smoking, consisting of an outer case, A, an inner casing, (l, adapted to receive the plug, an automatically-operated follower, D, a rotating knife, H, having a central spur or nipple, a2, a forcingnut, B, and a hollow detachable cap, I, all as and for the purpose substantially set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN eooDALE.

Witnesses OHAs. B. TILDEN, ZENAs S. ARNOLD.

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