US2825376A - Apparatus for cutting a continuous length of material at intervals - Google Patents

Description

March 4, 1958 Niw. JACKSON 2,325,376

APPARATUS FOR CUTTING A CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF MATERIAL AT INTERVALS Filed Nov. 23, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN l/EN TOR A TTOR NE rs APPARATUS FOR CUTTING A CONTINUOUS LENGTH Mifclf'dTTQSSf N w. JACKSON 2,825,376

0F MATERIAL AT INTERVALS Filed Nov. 23, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INI/EN TO Q yaw 44, w

BY ram 4% M &

A TTORNEYS "Mifb'H4, T958 N. w. JACKSON APPARATUS FOR CUTTING A CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF MATERIAL AT INTERVALS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 23, 1954 /N VENTOR Cal BY WaZ-Lvv ATTOENE YS United States aten't APPARATUS FOR CUTTENG A CGNTINUQUS LENGTH OF MATERIAl AT INTERVAILS Norman Walter Jackson, Deptford, London, England, as-

signor to Molins Machine Company Limited, London,

England; a British company Application November 23, 1954, Serial No. 473,733

Claims priority, application Great Britain NovemberZfi, 1953 3 Glaims. (Cl. 146-95) Thist invention concerns improvements in or relating to apparatus in which a continuous length (e; g. stream) ofirnaterialis cut into separate lengths while being fed lengthwise. One example of such apparatus is a continuous rod cigarette-making machine for. making mouthpiece cigarettes, in which a continuous stream of un- "wrapped tobacco is fed lengthwise and is cut at intervals to producewseparate lengths of tobacco which can'b'e spaced apart-endwise to enable mouthpiece portions to be insertedbet-Ween them, and a continuous tobacco filler, consisting of tobacco lengths and mouthpiece portions in alternation, canthus beformed.

in those constructions a stream of unwrapped tobacco is severed at intervals by a narrow knife blade which cuts across the tobacco stream. The knife blade'is'mounted ona rotating knife holderand cuts the stream once during each revolution of the knife-holder; Thus, if the knife is-arranged with its cuttingpart at a conveniently short distance from its axis of rotation, its speed in passing throughthe. stream may be less rapid than is desirable in order to makea clean, square cut and'to avoid holding up the movingstream, or of the-length cut from it, by .theblade passing through the tobacco According; to. the present invention there is provided apparatus. in which a continuous length of. material is cut into separate lengths. while being fed lengthwise (e. g. apparatusformaking mouthpiece cigarettes, in which a stream of: unwrapped tobacco is cut into lengths) comprising cutting means to cut the continuous length of materiaL at desired intervals, the said means comprising a. rotatable'cutter, arranged to be moved (e. g. swung) bodilyto and from a-cutting-position at which it can cut thc said' continuous length, and arranged to rotate through more than one complete revolution duringeach bodily movement to and from said cutting position. a

The expression continuous length of material as used herein is to be understood as inciuding any continuous length ofmaterial adapted to be cut into separate lengths while moving lengthwise. Oneexample of such a continuous length is a continuous stream or unwrapped tobaccoasrefe'rredlto above. A further example is acon- 'tiiiudus cigaretterod formed one cigarette-making maicliin'e, while a stilliurther example is a composite rod consisting of lengths of tobacco and mouthpiece material in alternation. I V 'Rrefer'ablythesaid rotatablecutter comprises a narrow knife blade mounted on a rotating knife h'older. V The apparatus may comprise a rotatable driving memberand'a' drivingconnection between said driving memher and said cutter whereby the latter is rotated at a greaterangular speed than that of the driving member, the saidcutter being arranged for bodily swinging movefirearm andfrom said cutting position, and connected t'o said driving'member so as who swung in timed relation 'siiip'with the rotation of said driving member.

The said driving connection for the cutting means may comprisea drivedm'ember rotatable with said cutter and a"furtherrotatablemember" arranged to drive said driven member and. about whose axisthe said cutter and driven member are arranged to swing, the said further rotatable 'member being arranged to be rotated by said rotatable driving member- The cutter may be connected to said rotatable driving member by linkage connecting the latter to a swingable part in which the cutter is mounted for rotation. The said linkage may comprise a crank on said driving memher and a link connecting said crank tosaid swingable part whereby the latter is caused to swing through a complete cycle during. each revolution of said driving member.

Further according to the invention there is provided cutting mechanism comprising a rotatable cutter, a rotatable drivingmember, gearing connecting said driving member to said cutter to cause the latter to rotate at a greater angular speed than that of the said driving memher, said gearing including a. driven gear rotatable with said cutter and a further gear in driving engagement with said driven gear and about whose axis. ofrotation the said driven gear and said cutter are arranged for bodily swinging movement so as to cause the cutter to swing toand away fromza cutting position, and linkage connecting said driving: member to said cutter and driven gear so as'to cause the cutter and driven gear to be swung about said axis in timed relationship withthe rotation of said driving member. a

The said linkage may comprise a crank on said driving member and a link connecting said driving member to a swinging part in which said cutter and driven gear are rotatably mounted. 7

As the cutter and the-driven gear which rotates therewith are bodily .swingabl e about the axis oiv rotation of. a further gear which drives the driven gear, the speed of rotation of the cutter will vary since the driven gear will roll on the said further gear first in one direction and then in theother as itswingsto and: fro. For thisreason the angular speedof the cutter. is not: in a fixed ratio to that of the rotatable driving member, but is nevertheless at all times determinedby the angular speed of the driving member. Asit is desired to cause the cutterto rotate at a relatively highspeed, the mechanism is preferably arrangedso that the cutting occurs at a:tirnewhen the driven gear is being swung in opposition to the direction of rotation of the said further gear which drivesit, so that the cutter is at-the momentof cutting ro-tating at its maximum speed.

Apparatus according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 7

Figure 1 is aside elevation of apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes in. which a continuous stream of tobaccois cutatintervals and stubs are'inserted between cutlengt-hsof tobacco;-

Figure 2. is a'sectionalside view of cutting apparatus;

Figure '3 is aiviewtakenonthe line III-411 in Figure 2; and.

Figure? 4- is aside elevation of some of the apparatus shown in Figure 2.

Referring first'to Figure 'l, the apparatus illustrated comprisesatobacco tape 1 arranged to bemoved' beneath a hopper (not shown) through a trough laat varying speeds. A guidetube 2 and afurther guide tube3 are provided to receive a tobacco stream from the taped and guide it. on to a paper web 4 carried by a tape 5. Cutting -mechanism,. which Will'shortly be described, ,is provided in order to cut the stream at intervals between the tubes) 2 and 3.

each cutting operatibn so as to allow a space to" develop between the cutlen'gth; is fed forwardly by the paper web,'and' the leading end of the uncut stream. Thereafter the speed of the tape Isis increasedto atspeed such as to enable it to deliver the uncut filler on to the paper webatsubstantiallyrthe speed of the web 4, and

speed until:the next cuttingoperation; j s i s r The cutting mechanism; illustrated in'outline i11 dotted i the uncut fillers isathus fed on" to the paper vviebf at; that anamake e i linesin Figure 1,.is best shown in Figures '2, B and 4; .j

a it comprises a rotatable knife carrier 6 in which isfclamped a thin, narrow knife blade 7 adapted to pass'through the space between the tubes 2 and 3 on each revolution 7 of the knife 'carrier 6 The carrier 6 isfiked at o 'n'eiendi -of a shaft 8 which is rotatable '-in ,bearings Q mounted in'a swingable bracket 10. At the other end of the sha ftt '8 is fixed .a gear 11 having 22 teeth; which geanmeshes with, and is arranged to be driven by,ra further gear 12' which has 60iteeth I i The gear 12 is formed, on a sleeve on which is also i formed'asgear 14 which has '30 teeth. Thegear 14 meshes with, and is driven by, a main driving gear :15

fixed on the end of a driving shaft 16.. The gear 15' has S Steeth. j i t it 7 7 Thus the angular speed of th e gear 15'relatively to the gear 11, and to the knife carrier 6,tis 1 to 5. g I Theswingable bracket which carries the shafts is arranged to swing about a fixed shaft 17. The sleeve13 with gears 12' and 14 is also freely rotatable in bearings 18 about thetshaft 17. tThus the knife carrier 6'is a -bo'dily swingable, with the bracket 10, about the of rotation of the ;gear' 12 which drives the gear 11 to ro ta'tethe knife'carrier. t a

r The main driving 'gear15has haedto it a cra nk idisc "19 which has formed'on it an eccentric boss :Ztlon which is pivoted a link 21; a The bracket 10 has an extension :2 2,'

whose shape can'best'be seen from Figures} andffl 'and the link 211is pivoted to this extension so as to provide a QIinkageconnecting the driving gear to'the' knife car-- frier 6 and driven gearfll In Figure 3 is shown in the dotand dashlline marked P, the circular path of theec- V centric'boss 20. on rotation of the gear 15. As will'be seen, this arrangement causes the ,bracke tslfl-to swing of the gear 15. during which period of coursethe driven geardll and knife carrier 6' turn throughgfive revolutions.

' The throw of the crank and the linkage between it and thebracket 10 is such that the knife 7 is caused to' 'For convenience of illustration the angular position' of the knife 7 as shown in Figure 3 is 90 different from thatin which the knife is shownin Figure 2, while in as such f orm no part of the 'present inventionrt "formed as a disc having a concave rim as; itidicated'fat: '25, and'provided with three projecting pusherfpins 2 6.

i 'Above the wheel 23 is a stub-feeding device (not s hown) tance from its axis of rotation.

11 over the gear 12 is opposed to; the iiirctiii' of' rota-j tion of the gear 12, and thus the gear 11 is rotated ata' faster speed'than would be the case if the bracket 10 were :1

stationary. Thus in the arrangement described and" 'shown, at. the moment when -the knife "cuts the stream;

the gear 11 and knife'carriei 6 are rotating at a speed in the'regionfbf six times thesp'eed pr rqga iqnjor the gear 15 and main driving shaft 16; a r p 7 It will be appreciated-that inacaisewhere-aknife is arranged to cut the tobacco stream once diiring eachrevo t lution of itscarrier, in: order to 'enable the knife to" betnecess ary to mount it at an'inconveriiently great dis- As both the rotation and the 'sw' carrier 6 are controlled by the 'driv'ing'shaft 16; the tim- "ing of the cutter for different lengths which it may be desired to cut from the stream is easily adju'stedbylvarying the speed of rotation of the shaft 16. i

i The remaining parts of the apparatus shown inFig u'reJ 1 will be briefly described, since they concern the; insertion V of stubs into spaces between 'cut lengths of tobacco and This mechanism comprises a stubwheel'23: mo for rotation, in the direction shown by the arrow; on] a shaft 24 (see also Figure 2); f The stub-whel 23-is comprising a fluted drum'by which double-length stubs" are intermittently feddowniirisuccessionitot a position to be engaged-by each of the pins 26 in turn An arc'uate 7 a i -t'guidei27 is provided to {guide stubs and prevent them i i to and fro about the shaft 17 once during each revolution 7 Figure 1 in' order to show the knife in lines it has been illustrated in a'still different position.

7 The purpose of the arrangement just described is'to 7 cause the knife 7 to rotate at a high speed so as to pass rapidlvthrough the stream of tobacco moving through cutting position only once during each revolution of the 7 cause theschainstowbe kepttight. the guide tubes;2-and3. As the knife is brought into a i The swinging of the bracket 1 0 about th e' shaft causescgear ll to roll on gear 12. Accor'dingly the speed of rhtation of the gear ll' a ndlthe knifeciarrier V 6 varies according to ;the' direction 'in 'which'ith'ey are;

swingingtwith thebracket'lO. 7 As the purppse ofithis ap 'jparatus' is to increase- .the cuttingt speed of the; knijejthe 'mechanismisaccordingly so arrangedgand timed thatthe knife 7 passes between'the tubes 2j'and13, tosjcut 'the i move at the faster speed as a pin '26 is app foachirig the i paper web 4 and pushing a stub 'into a spacelbetween i a cut tobacco length and the uncutttobaccolstreanit 7O mediately thereafter thetreturn swing 'offthe 'bracke'ti34 tobacco stream at an instant just after the'brackt 10has i swin in; he sr r f fl Q ,I i thislreverse dr am .completeditsiswing in a direction towardsthe guideltubes .(i. e.ttgwards the right inFigure 3) and has stai'fd to iteail he r n r ue-3') me ronome crime e '75 @paperweb. 4 The driven gear 31 rotates at I two-thirds; the angular sp'eed'qfsthe driving gear 3 2, an d atj'twice theangular from falling' away fro theTrirnfof the vvhe'el' isjuinir they reach a; position at on the papersfwebfi.

The Wheel 23 is driven by a chain 2 8s passing 'overi a sprocket 29 fixed tothe wheel.'- 'The chain 28 is driven t by a sprocket 30, which has'fixedtto it agearzwheel 31 a bracket 34 which is freely pivoted.about the shaftf33. Also mounted on'the bracket 34is a cam following rollet' 35, which is capable'of engaginga cam'consistirig iof'a rotatable eccentric discj36, A spring 37;:fixed lori the" V V ,bracket34 urges the bracket about itspivot so as toipres s thelcam-follower 35 jagainst the rim of the eccentric disc 36. -;:It should be noted here that the eccentricityfof the disc 36 i'ssvery sm all and cannot easilyjbefperceivegl in'the drawing." 7

The chain 28 also rpasses overja guide sprocket mounted on a pivoted arm'39 which'is Urg d about its 5 pivot in a'clockwiseldirection'by a spring 40,'so as to t The cam disc 36 is arranged to cause swing slightly to and ,froaboutthe shaft 33 three times j during' eachs revolution-r of the. wheel 23, When the bracket 34 swings" clockwise, as .viewed iri' Figure11}.the

sprocket 30, being'carried towards the 'left in thevfigiire, imparts a small increment toethe speed'of the chain. 2 8 in excess of that givensto the-chain by rotatioiiiofrthe sprocket 30. c 'On the return swing the speed of tthe fchain' is correspondingly slightly redficed. These 'swin'gin'g movements are so timed as to cause the wheel'f 23t to causes the wheed' 23: toijslow down so th'afthe pin-26; tliemoves with a forward speed i approximately 7 that ing'injg of the knife which theyfaretohbe deposited s speed of the sprocket 29 and wheel 23. Thus the wheel 23 makes one revolution during every three revolutions of the driving shaft 33.

A tobacco-engaging element 140 with a serrated end 1 is pivoted at 42 on an arm 43 and is also pivoted at 44 on a crank disc 45, by which its serrated end is caused to move into and out of the path of tobacco lengths and stubs on the paper web, following the path indicated in dot-and-dash lines, and traveling towards the left, in Figure 1, when moving in its lower path. The element 146 performs this movement three times during each revolution of the stub-wheel 23, and is timed and arranged to engage tobacco immediately behind each stub inserted by the stub-wheel, and to move at approximately the speed of the paper web 4 while so engaging tobacco. To engage the tobacco it passes through a slot 46 in a tongue 47.

The apparatus as a whole operates as follows. The tape 1 carries a continuous stream of tobacco and delivers it through the guide tubes 2 and 3 on to the paper web 4. Periodically the speed of the tape 1 is temporarily greatly reduced and just before each such speed reduction the knife 7 is caused to pass between the two guide tubes so as to cut the stream. The cut length continues to move with the paper web, while the uncut stream lags behind until the speed of the tape 1 is again increased. By that time a space has been developed between the cut length and the leading end of the uncut stream. A double-length stub is inserted into this space by a pusher pin 26 on the stub-wheel 23, which moves at varying speeds so that the stub is pushed into the space with a faster forward speed than that of the paper web and the tobacco carried thereby, and immediately thereafter the wheel slows down slightly so that the pusher pin moves with a forward speed approximately the same as the paper speed. As the tobacco and stubs pass beneath the tongue 47 the element 14!) engages the tobacco immediately behind the stub and moves forwardly with it at approximately the speed of the paper web, thus controlling the tobacco speed and preventing it from lagging behind the stub.

Subsequently the paper web 4 is wrapped and secured about the tobacco and stubs to form a continuous composite rod, which is cut at appropriate intervals to produce mouthpiece cigarettes.

The lengths of tobacco cut from the tobacco stream are each double the length required in the tobacco portion of a mouthpiece cigarette, and thus the composite rod is cut midway through each tobacco portion and through each double-length stub.

The timing of the cutting mechanism and the timing of the means to vary the speed of the tape 1 are of course correlated according to the intervals at which it is desired to cut the stream, which depends upon the size of cigarette to be made. It will be seen, also, that the speed of rotation of the stub-wheel 23, and the timing of the element 140, must also be correlated with the operation of the cutting mechanism. Accordingly the cutting mechanism, the stub wheel, and the element 140, as well as the means for varying the speed of the tape 1, can all be driven from a common source through suitable gearing.

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

l. in apparatus for cutting a continuous length of material at intervals, cutting means comprising a swingable knife support member, a rotatable fly knife carried by said support member, a driven gear carried by said support member and rotatable with said knife to rotate the latter, a driving gear in driving engagement with said driven gear, said knife support member being mounted for oscillatory swinging movement about the am's of said drivin gear, means to rotate said driving gear, and means to oscillate said knife support member in timed relationship with the rotation of said driving gear so as to move the rotating knife bodily back and forth toward and away from a position at which it can cut the said continuous length of material.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means to rotate said driving gear comprises a further gear wheel, and the means to oscillate the knife support member comprises a crank on said further gear wheel, and a link connecting said crank to said knife support member whereby the latter is oscillated through a complete cycle during each revolution of said further gear.

3. A cutting device for cutting a continuous length of material at intervals, comprising a driving shaft, a first driving gear mounted on said shaft, a further shaft parallel with said driving shaft, a first driven gear rotatable on said further shaft and meshing with said first driving gear, a second driving gear rotatable with said first driven gear on said further shaft, a knife support member swingably mounted on said further shaft for oscillation about the axis of the latter, a second driven gear rotatably mounted on said knife support member and meshing with said second driving gear, a fly knife carried by said knife support member and rotatable by said second driven gear, a crank on said first driving gear, and linkage connecting said crank to said knife support member so as to oscillate the latter through a complete cycle during each revolution of said first driving gear, whereby the said knife is moved bodily by said knife support member toward and away from a cutting position, the ratios of said driving and driven gears being such that the knife rotates through a plurality of revolutions for each revolution of said first driving gear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 827,227 Freeman July 31, 1906 1,226,066 Du Brul May 15, 1917 1,286,968 Ewers Dec. 10, 1918 1,851,334 Stein et a1 Mar. 29, 1932

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