Improvements in Metallic Cartridges.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 7th July, 1896
Complete Specification Left. 25th Mar.. 1897-Accented. 8th May 1897
Application, 7th July, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 25th Mar.. 1897-Accented. 8th May 1897
Improvements in Metallic Cartridges.
I, ASA NORMAN WHITNEY of The Melbourne Club, Collins Street, Melbourne,
in the Colony of Victoria, Master Mariner and Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in metallic cartridges for guns rifles and
firearms of all descriptions and has for its chief objects to reduce the cost of
manufacture, to dispense with the operation of heading, to ease the extraction
of the spent case from the weapon and to increase the resistance of the shell or
tube against bursting at the base.
The cartridges hitherto employed bave been defective inasmuch as on firing they
have frequently burst at the junction of the base and the shell and have then
become jammed in the barrel of the fire-arm. This has been largely due to the
strain to which the metal forming the shell has been subjected. The corner has
been the weakest portion of the base of the cartridge since the metal having been
slightly distressed thereat when being bent is naturally weaker than the metal
which has not been bent at all. It was at this weakest place therefore that
rupture sometimes occurred. But with my present invention there is but little
strain in this corner since I place a false bottom or cap chamber within the bottom
of the shell which not only covers the whole area at the end of the said shell but
also elevates the exploding charge. By this elevation of the charge the whole of
the latter is above the cavity cut in the weapon to receive the rim of the
cartridge.
My improved cartridge is so constructed that the charge does not directly
explode against the base of the shell but against a false bottom or cap chamber
placed therein. In making cartridges according to my invention I form the
metallic shell or tube of the cartridge by punching stamping and drawing it from
sheet metal. In the closed end or base of the shell thus formed I bore or punch
a hole (hereinafter called the cap chamber hole) for the reception of the shank of
the cap chamber. The blank forming this cap chamber is punched from suitable
metal and is then treated in one of three ways. In the first way it is so operated
upon by a machine or machines that there is raised in its centre a circular hollow
closed top pillar, which pillar, from the outside of the cartridge, is passed through
the cap chamber hole into the said shell. The height of this pillar is determined
by the inside diameter of the shell and the cap and may be of any size but it is of
such an elevation that when compressed from the inside of the cartridge it will
flatten out in the form of a false bottom and, by covering the whole base of the
shell or tube, bear closely against the inside circumference of the shell. The flash
hole is made in the cap chamber in any way as required and with one or more
openings. By this method of treating the cap chamber I dispense with the loose
base disc which I previously used in my earlier cartridges.
The second way in which I may treat the cap chamber consists in making from
a blank a piece of metal which in appearance somewhat resembles a railway
carriage buffer. The shank of this is hollow and when completed becomes the
receptacle for the cap and the said shank, from the inside of the cartridge, is passed
through the cap chamber hole and also through another hole in the centre of a
plain base disc laid against the outside bottom of the shell, such disc forming the
head or base of the cartridge. The end of the shank is then closed or rivetted

page_text: over the said base disc and locks it to the shell. In this case the cartridge case
consists of three parts namely the shell, the base disc and the false bottom or cap
chamber rivetted as aforesaid over the base disc, the flash hole being formed in the
ordinary way.
The third way in which I may form the false bottom or cap chamber consists in
placing from the outside of the cartridge through the cap chamber hole in the
same a ring of metal which is integral with the base disc. When this ring
protrudes through the inside of the shell I place over the top of it a metallic cap
which rests on the inside base of the shell and somewhat resembles an ordinary
cup. But it has its sides inclined inwardly and when machine pressure is applied
to it this metallic cap closes down and around the ring aforesaid and locking it
makes a false bottom on which the charge rests. The base of the cartridge
consists of three parts viz. the shell or tube, the base disc with the elevated ring
punched or formed upon it and the metallic cup in which the flash hole is formed.
The aforesaid ring may also be a separate piece of metal of the shape of an eyelet.
The base disc will then be flat and the eyelet being placed through the base disc, the
hole in tube and into the cup and pressed, becomes the cap chamber connecting
the three parts of the cartridge firmly together. When made of this pattern there
are four pieces, the shell or tube, the cup, the eyelet and the base disc.
Dated this 7th day of July 1806
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Metallic Cartridges.
I, ASA NORMAN WHITNEY, of The Melbourne Club, Collins Street, Melbourne,
in the Colony of Victoria, Master Mariner and Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in metallic cartridges for firearms and has
for its chief objects to reduce the cost of manufacture, to dispense with the
operation of heading, to facilitate the extraction of the spent cartridge from the
weapon and to increase the strength of the case so as to enable it to resist bursting
at the base.
The cartridges hitherto employed have been defective inasmuch as on firing they
have frequently burst at the junction of the base and the tube and have then
become jamined in the barrel of the fire-arm. The corner has been the weakest
portion of the base of the cartridge as at this point it is not supported by the gun
chamber and the metal having been slightly distressed by being bent is naturally
weaker than the metal which has not been bent. It is at this weakest place
therefore that rupture is liable to occur. But with my present invention there is
but little strain in this corner since I place a false bottom or cap chamber within
the bottom of the case so that when the cartridge is in the barrel the whole of the
charge shall be forward of the cavity formed at the end of the barrel to receive
the rim of the cartridge and so that the said charge shall not directly explode
against the base of the cartridge but against the false bottom or cap chamber placed
therein.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the construction of cartridges
provided with my improvements,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the rear part of a cartridge tube, having the
cap chamber hole formed therein.

page_text: Figure 2 is a similar section through a circular hollow pillar used with the tube
shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a section of the inside rivet (which forms the cap chamber) and
the base disc which are sometimes substituted for the hollow pillar shown in
Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a section through two other parts which may be substituted for the
hollow pillar shown in Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a section through three parts used in a fourth method of forming
the base of the cartridge.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through the lower part of a cartridge
case fitted with a false bottom and cap chamber formed from the hollow pillar
shown in Figure 2.
Figure 7 is a similar view showing the cartridge provided with a false bottom
and cap chamber formed from the parts shown in Figure 3.
Figure 8 is a similar view showing the false bottom and cap chamber formed
from the parts represented in Figure 4, and
Figure 9 is a similar sectional view of a cartridge base formed from the parts
represented in Figure 5.
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several figures.
In making cartridges according to my invention I form the metallic tube A of
the cartridge by punching stamping and drawing it from sheet metal. In the closed
end or base of the tube thus formed I bore or puuch a hole B for the reception of
the shank of the cap chamber. This cap chamber is punched from suitable metal.
and is formed in one of several ways. According to one way a flat blank is so
operated upon by suitable machinery that there is raised in its centre a cylindrical
hollow pillar C closed at the top, such as that shewn in Figure 2, which pillar is
passed through the cap chamber hole B into the case A. The height or length of
the said pillar is determined by the inside diameter of the tube and the outside
diameter of the cap and is such that when the pillar is compressed from the inside
of the cartridge it will flatten out in the form of a false bottom as shown in
Figure 6, and, by covering the whole base of the tube A, bear closely against the
inside circumference of the same. The flash hole H is made in the cap chamber in
any suitable manner. Two or more such holes may be employed. By the above
described method of treating the cap chamber I dispense with the loose base disc
used in cartridges heretofore constructed by me.
According to another way of constructing the cap chamber I make from a blank,
a piece of metal shaped as indicated by D, Figure 3. The shank of this piece is
hollow and when completed becomes the receptacle for the cap; the said shank
is passed through the cap chamber hole B from the inside outwardly and also
through another hole in the centre of a plain base disc G laid externally against
the bottom of the case, such disc forming the head or base of the cartridge. The
end of the shank is then closed or rivetted over the said base disc to lock it to the
tube. In this instance the cartridge case consists of three parts shown separately
in Figures 1 and 3, and united in Figure 7. These parts are the tube A, the base
disc G, and the false bottom or cap chamber D rivetted as aforesaid over the base
.disc, the flash hole H being formed in the ordinary way.
Still another way in which I form the false bottom and cap chamber consists in
placing from the outside of the cartridge through the cap chamber hole a ring of
metal which is integral with the base disc F. When this ring protrudes through
the inside of the case I place over it a metallic cap E such as that shewn in
Figure 4 which rests on the inside base of the tube and somewhat resembles an
ordinary cup. But it has its sides inclined inwardly and when pressure is applied
to it this metallic cap closes down and around the ring aforesaid and locking it,
makes a false bottom on which the charge rests. The base of the cartridge consists
of three parts shown separately in Figures 1 and 4 and together in the completed
shell in Figure 8. These parts are the tube A, the base disc F with the elevated
ring punched or formed upon it and the metallic cup E in which the flash hole H

page_text: is formed. The aforesaid ring is preferably bevelled at its end to fit better in the
corner of the cup E. In some instances the said ring is a separate metal piece J
Figure 5, of the shape of an eyelet preferably bevelled at both ends. The base
disc G will then be flat and the eyelet J being inserted through the base disc G
and through the hole B in the tube A, then into the cup E and pressed, becomes
the cap chamber connecting the three parts of the cartridge firmly together. When
made to this pattern there are four pieces, the tube A, the cup E, the eyelet J and
the base disc G, shown separately in Figures 1 and 5, and together as a completed
shell in Figure 9.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
A metallic cartridge, the base of which is constructed according to one or other
of the forms illustrated by the accompanying drawings for the purposes specified.
Dated this 27th day of February 1897
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.