Tabletop automatic cigarette-making machine

Abstract

A cigarette-making machine of the tobacco-injecting type including a housing with an aperture and a compacting chamber in communication with the aperture for receiving loose tobacco, a compacting member mounted for reciprocal up and down motion from an initial position adjacent the top of the compacting chamber toward the bottom of the compacting chamber, an injection spoon mounted for reciprocal lateral movement from a rest position within the compacting chamber across the compacting chamber to transport rod-like compacted tobacco shapes past the ejection side of the compacting chamber, through the nipple and into a hollow cigarette tube, an electrically powered motor, and a dual purpose control disk adapted to be rotated about its axis by the motor to initially move the compacting member up and down in the compacting chamber and then to move the injection spoon across the compacting chamber as the control disk is rotated by the motor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cigarette-making machine comprising:
 a housing including a surface having an aperture;   a compacting chamber in communication with the aperture for receiving loose tobacco;   a compacting member mounted for reciprocal up and down motion from an initial position adjacent the top of the compacting chamber toward the bottom of the compacting chamber to compact loose tobacco in the compacting chamber into a rod-like shape and away from the rod-like compacted tobacco shape;   a nipple for receiving a hollow cigarette tube disposed outside and adjacent an ejection side of the compacting chamber;   an injection spoon mounted for reciprocal lateral movement from a rest position within the compacting chamber across the compacting chamber to transport the rod-like compacted tobacco shape past the delivery side of the compacting chamber, through the nipple and into a hollow cigarette tube;   an electrically powered motor;   a dual purpose control disk having an axle positioned along its central axis adapted to be rotated about its axis by the motor, the disk having opposed outer first and second faces;   the compacting member being coupled to a first member associated with the first face of the control disk that moves the compacting member up and down in the compacting chamber as the control disk is rotated by the motor; and   the injection spoon being coupled to a second member associated with the control disk axle that moves the injection spoon across the compacting chamber as the control disk is rotated by the motor.   
     
     
         2 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 1  in which the first and second members are positioned respectively on the front face of the control disk and on the control disk axle to first move the compacting member toward the bottom of the compacting chamber to compact loose tobacco in the compacting chamber into a rod-like shape and then to move the injection spoon across the compacting chamber to transport the rod-like compacted tobacco shape past the ejection side of the compacting chamber, through the nipple and into a hollow cigarette tubes. 
     
     
         3 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 1  in which the first and second members are further positioned respectively on the front face of the control disk and on the control disk axle to move the compacting member away from the rod-like compacted tobacco shape before the injection spoon moves across the compacting chamber to transport the rod-like compacted tobacco shape past the ejection side of the compacting chamber, through the nipple and into a hollow cigarette tube. 
     
     
         4 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 3  in which the first and second members are further positioned respectively on the front face of the control disk and on the control disk axle to return the compacting member to its initial position and the injection spoon to its rest position after the rod-like compacted tobacco shape is positioned in the hollow cigarette tube. 
     
     
         5 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 2  in which the first member on the first face of the control disk comprises a drive slot and a pin that moves within the drive slot as the control disk is rotated. 
     
     
         6 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 5  in which the drive slot is heart-shaped. 
     
     
         7 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 6  in which the heart-shaped slot includes a rest point where the slot dips to a location closest to the center of rotation of the disk, a first portion of the slot lying between the rest portion and a first transition point comprising an arc curling up and away from the center of rotation, a maintenance segment of the slot running between the first transition point and a second transition point maintaining the pin at a generally uniform distance from the center of rotation of the disk and a reopening portion of the slot where the slot curves inwardly toward the center of rotation of the disk to cause the reciprocating connecting member to move upwardly in the tobacco compacting chamber, away from the compacted tobacco shape. 
     
     
         8 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 5  in which the slot is “D” shaped and offset from the center of rotation of the disk. 
     
     
         9 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 8  in which the “D” shaped slot has a rest point that is the closest location along the slot to the center of rotation of the disk to position the reciprocating compacting member adjacent to the top of the compacting chamber, a first straight leg causing the pin to move away from the center of rotation of the disk thereby causing the reciprocating compacting member to move toward the bottom of the compacting chamber, a transition point leading into a curved section where the reciprocating compacting member is returned from its fully engaged compacting position to its rest position. 
     
     
         10 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 2  including an injection spoon drive arm coupled to the axle of the control disk and to the injection spoon for moving the injection spoon in a reciprocating lateral motion. 
     
     
         11 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 1  in which the control disk is a gear having gear teeth along its circumference and the motor has a drive gear for engaging the control gear teeth. 
     
     
         12 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 1  including a funnel portion with an inclined surface adjacent the aperture for directing loose tobacco into the compacting chamber. 
     
     
         13 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 12  in which the funnel portion includes at least one side wall angled toward the aperture. 
     
     
         14 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 1  in which the compacting member includes a leading concave compacting edge to help form the top of the compacted tobacco a rod-like shape. 
     
     
         15 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 1  in which:
 the axle includes a downwardly directed keyed shaft having a flat to provide a keying function and a link arm keyed to the shaft having a drive pin; 
 the injection spoon drive arm has a longitudinal slot for receiving the link arm pin so that the pin moves back and forth along the slot as the drive arm rotates causing the injection spoon drive arm to swing about a pivot point adjacent to the distal end of the arm at which it is rotatedly fixed; and 
 the cigarette-making machine of  claim 10  including a switch for turning the machine on and a sensor for the determining when the injection spoon drive arm reaches a position with the injection spoon in its rest position in the compacting chamber to stop the flow of current to the motor. 
 
     
     
         16 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 15  in which the drive pin is a bearing-mounted rotatable pin for minimizing friction as the pin moves in the slot. 
     
     
         17 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 1  including an injection spoon assembly having a carriage portion to which a tubular spoon base is attached and the injection spoon comprises an approximately half round open tube portion projecting from the spoon base, the spoon base being plugged adjacent the half round open tubular portion. 
     
     
         18 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 17  in which the carriage portion of the assembly includes a lateral tracking means for engaging a tracking support to maintain the movement of the injection spoon of the assembly to reciprocal lateral movement. 
     
     
         19 . The cigarette-making machine of  claim 1  including a tube holding mechanism having a pressure-applying member with a elastomeric tip for engaging a portion of a hollow cigarette tube applied to the nipple to hold the tube in place on the nipple. 
     
     
         20 . A method of making a cigarette with a cigarette-making machine including a housing having an aperture, a compacting chamber in communication with the aperture for receiving loose tobacco, a compacting member mounted for reciprocal up and down motion to compact loose tobacco in the compacting chamber into a rod-like shape, a nipple for receiving a hollow cigarette tube disposed outside the compacting chamber, an injection spoon mounted for reciprocal lateral movement across the compacting chamber to transport the rod-like compacted tobacco shape into a hollow cigarette tube, an electrically powered motor, a dual purpose control disk having an axle positioned along its central axis adapted to be rotated about its axis by the motor, the disk being adapted to move the compacting member up and down in the compacting chamber as the control disk is rotated by the motor, and the injection spoon being coupled to the control disk axle which moves the injection spoon across the compacting chamber as the control disk is rotated by the motor, the method comprising:
 placing the portion of loose tobacco in the compacting chamber;   placing a hollow paper cigarette tube on the hollow nipple;   actuating the electric motor to compact the tobacco into a rod-like compacted tobacco shape, and to transport the rod-like compacted tobacco shape into the hollow paper cigarette tube; and   removing the finished filled cigarette tube.