Patent GB-191124998-A (GB)
Title: A Machine for Loading Cartridge Belts Employed for Machine Guns.
IPC: F42B39/10
Filed: 1911-11-09
Granted: 1912-05-30
Abstract: 24,998. Weiss Manfred Els÷ magyar Conservgyßra Ús Erczßragyßra. Nov. 10, 1910, [Convention date]. Cartridge belts. -Relates to machines for loading cartridge-belts for machine guns, in which the cartridges are forced by a reciprocating rod into clips on the belt which are first opened by a rotating mandrel, and consists in the special construction and arrangement of parts described. The machine is operated by a hand-lever 15, Fig. 1, pivoted to a connecting- rod 22 turning on a pivot in the base-plate 1. This lever is pivoted to an arm 7, carrying the cartridge pusher rod 31, and also a rod 6 sliding in a fixed sleeve 5. A drum 48, Figs. 1 and 7, carrying the cartridge belt is mounted on the rod 6, which also carries on its forward end a projection 36, Fig. 1, working in a slot 38 in the lug 37 of the sleeve 39, in which is mounted the reduced end of a mandrel 40, in a fixed sleeve 44. A pin 47 on the sleeve 44, engaging a helical groove 46 on the mandrel 40, rotates the latter through 90 degrees as the mandrel reciprocates. On moving the lever 15 rearwards, the rod 31 is retracted to permit a cartridge 90 to be fed up from the clip 91 in the channel 92 by springs 93, 94 and levers 95, 96, and at the same time the rotating mandrel 40, actuated by the rod 6, enters a clip 118 in the cartridge belt on the drum 48, and opens it. On the forward stroke, the rod 31 forces the cartridge through the guide jaws 97, 98 into the clip 118, and, as the cartridge enters, the projection 36 on the rod 6 strikes the forward end of the lug 37 and withdraws the mandrel from the clip. The drum 48 is rotated, so as to bring a fresh clip of the belt into the loading position, by a device comprising a ratchet-wheel 49, Fig. 7, fixed to the drum, engaged by a pawl 51 turning on an arm 54 of a sleeve 53 on the rod 6. Pins 55, 56 on this sleeve engage helical grooves on the rod 6, and cause the arm 54 to oscillate as the rod 6 reciprocates, and rotate the drum by the requisite amount on the return stroke only. The drum is held in position during the forward stroke by a spring catch. The belt is pressed on the drum by a leaf spring 81, and is held taut in a guide at the side of the drum by the downward pressure of spring-actuated blocks, shaped to correspond to the upper surface of the belt, which are contained in a frame 66. When the cartridge clip 91 is empty, it is ejected through the channel 92 by the spring-actuated lever 107, and at the same time an abutment stop 113, Fig. 1, is caused by a spring 112 to obstruct the path of the rod 31 until a fresh clip is inserted. A latch 117, in a slot 116 in the sleeve 5, when turned down engages a notch in the rod 6 and locks the machine in the closed position. In a modification, the rod 31 carries two pins one of which is adapted at the end of the forward stroke to force a pawl, pivoted to the fixed sleeve 30, into engagement with ratchet teeth on the rod 31, and the other to release the pawl at the end of the return stroke. By this arrangement the machine can only be operated when the lever 15 performs complete strokes. The machine may be mounted on the inside of the lid of a box, the lid being provided with folding feet to form a rigid baseplate when open. A folding seat may be provided in the box for the operator. For compactness, the handle 15 is adapted to be detached from the arm 7 and folded down on the base-plate.