in Cartridge Feeders for Machine Guns
Year: 1886

page_text: I, LUCIEN FREDERICK BRUCE of Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of
America, Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in Cartridge Feeders for Machine Guns,
and is in the nature of an improvement on the feeder for which a patent was granted
to me September 19, 1881, No. 4211, to which reference may be had, the object being
to provide, by said improvement, means whereby cartridges may be put into said
patented feeder, or into others having like grooves for receiving cartridges, with the
required rapidity, while the gun to which the feeder is attached is being fired at an
excessive elevation.
In the drawing forming part of this specification, figure 1, is a side elevation of the
breech-portion of a Gatling Gun in which the barrels are secured, having applied
thereto, cartridge feeding devices embodying my improvements, this figure showing
parts of several barrels in connection with said breech portion and the latter, as
represented by the dotted diagram drawn thereon, being shown as it stands at an
elevation of 80°, the line zz being the horizontal line thereby illustrating the position
of the cartridge-feeder at said elevation, the latter being shown with its upper end
broken off and with cartridges thereon and a box of the latter with the outlined form
of the hand of the operator, illustrating the manner of manipulating said box to place
the cartridges on the feeder. Figure 2, is a perspective view of the part of the feeder
embodying my improvements, and the upper end of said patented feeder, portions of
two cartridges being shown in dotted lines thereon. Figure 3, is a side elevation of
the feeder, together with a portion of the breech-part of the gun. Figure 4, is a
vertical section on a line to the left of the partition between the two cartridges grooves,
Figure 2, showing in side elevation a box of cartridges (with the bottom broken off),
in the position in which it is placed on the feeder by the operator.
It is well known that the cartridges which are ordinarily used in machine guns are
packed for transportation and service use, in paper boxes of about 20 each (10 in a
row) bullet ends down, and separated from each other by suitable partitions. To
place said cartridges in the feeder, the operator removes the cover of the box and,

page_text: holding the latter above the end of the feeder, turns the box so that the plane of the
base of the grooves in the feeder, and the plane of the primed ends of the cartridges
coincide, and then the box is moved towards the gun carrying the heads of the two
rows of cartridges into the grooves of the feeder, and then drawing the box off from
the cartridges.
The above-described manipulation of cartridges in connection with said patented
feeder when the latter stands nearly perpendicular on a gun but slightly elevated, is
easily performed, but when the gun is being fired (as is now frequently the practice)
at a great elevation, say at 80° more or less, for the purpose of dropping projectiles
behind fortifications, the said patented feeder cannot be used with any efficiency for
the reason that under such conditions, the cartridge-box must be turned so nearly
bottom side up to engage the cartridges in the grooves of the feeder, that they fall
out of the box before they reach the latter, and the main purpose of this invention is,
to provide, in conjunction with a groove feeder of the class herein referred to, an
extension or cartridge table projecting beyond the end of the grooved portion of said
feeder, having no cartridge grooves thereon on which the cartridges are placed heads
down, as shown in figure 1, regardless of the inclined position, more or less, of the
feeder, and from thence are carried into the grooves of the latter.
In the drawing, A, indicates a portion of the breech of a machine gun and B,
portions of the barrels thereof.
D, is the feeder, secured by its foot E, to said breech, the short single groove, "b,"
of said patent, below the "vibrating double-grooved conductor, a" thereof, (herein
indicated by F) which receives the cartridges from the conductor extending from
under the lower end of the latter through the feeder-foot E, to guide the cartridges
into the gun, as described in said patent. Said short single groove is not shown in
the drawings of this application.
H, is the support, or back which extends upward from said single grooved lower
part of the feeder, on which is pivoted the vibrating double-grooved cartridge-
conductor F, the latter being constructed substantially as described and shown in said
patent, whereby by its swinging movement on said back, first the lower end of one
and then the other of its grooves is brought over the upper end of said single groove
and thereby cartridges are received from the conductor, F, into the latter, and by it
directed to the firing devices of the gun.
The aforesaid extension to the feeder, D, or cartridge-table consists of a metallic
frame, a, having a rectangular opening in it, and at the upper end of said opening to
the cross-portion, b, of the frame a, is attached one end of a tongue, c, the latter being
of metal and flexible for a certain distance below its attached end, and from its lower
end upward it is made thicker as at, d, and has the lip, e, thereon and the groove, cat
its lower end. The lower cross-portion of the frame a, below the free end of the
tongue c is indicated by the letter g. On one side of frame, a, is the rib or border h
standing at right angles to the flat side of the tongue c a narrow rib being provided
on the opposite side of said frame. At the lower end of frame a on each side thereof
is formed a lip i which extends over the side of the back, H, forming grooves in the
frame which the edges of the latter enter and thereby provision is made for sliding
frame a up and down on said back the position of said frame when slid up, or
extended being shown in Figure 1, 2 and 4 and when drawn down, in Figure 3.
A thin projection o is made on the upper end of the back H which enters the
groove in the lower end of the tongue c.
The operation of my improvements is as follows:
The feeder when not in use is carried with its parts in the position shown in
Figure 3 that is to say with said cartridge table drawn downwards behind the back H
and to so place said extension the latter is moved upward slightly from the position
shown in figure 2, sufficiently to disengage the lower end of tongue c from the
projection o on back H when the said end of the tongue is pushed backward to carry
it clear of the upper end of the back and then the entire cartridge-table frame a and
tongue, c, is pushed downward to the position shown in figure 3 and when the feeder
is to be used said extension is drawn upward far enough to bring the end of the

page_text: tongue c above said projection o when the tongue is sprung over the end of the back H
to bring the groove over said projection o when said table is moved downward to
engage the tongue with the said projection as shown in Figures 2 and 4 thereby
securing the lower end of said tongue in such a position that its said end is brought
into substantially the same plane as the base n of the two grooves in the conductor F.
The operator then takes the box J of cartridges (first removing the cover thereof)
and turning it on to the table a in the position shown in figures 1 and 4 moves the
cartridges towards the end of the conductor F carrying their heads into the grooves
thereof and forcing them to pass through and out of said conductor into the gun, the
cartridges in this case, when the feeder is but little inclined as in figure 1 acting
under the force imparted by the hand of the operator much as they do when the
feeder is so much elevated that they move down the conductor by gravitation. The
border h on the extension a is located on the edge of the latter opposite to that near
which the operator stands and serves as an abutment or guard to prevent the cartridges
from being pushed off laterally when they are being rapidly placed on the extension
or cartridge table and moved on to the conductor F.
If desired the table a may be secured in its extended position giving the feeder
permanently the form shown in figure 1 but it is much more conveniently packed for
transportation when the table can slide down behind the back H.
It is obvious that the feeder, for all uses in a perpendicular position or nearly so
may be as conveniently employed with the table a extended or not. Said cartridge-
table may be used with equal advantage in connection with a fixed double grooved
conductor or with one which has a vibratory motion, as above described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is:
First. The within described improvement in feeders for machine guns consisting of
the combination with the double grooved cartridge conductor of said feeders of a
cartridge table substantially as described extending beyond the end of said conductor
upon which cartridges are placed standing on their heads and are moved thereon and
therefrom into the grooves of said conductor substantially as set forth.
Second. A cartridge-table for cartridge feeders for machine guns consisting of a
rectangular frame provided with a sliding connection substantially as described
whereby said frame engages with the back H of the feeder a flexible tongue having a
groove in its lower end secured by one end thereof to one end of the opening in said
frame and capable of a vibratory movement in the latter combined with the double-
grooved conductor of said feeder and the back thereof having a projection on its end
to enter said groove in the tongue substantially as set forth.
Third. An extension cartridge-table for machine gun feeders, consisting of a
rectangular frame substantially as described, having a lip i on each edge thereof for
engagement with the back of the feeder and the rib h hereon combined with the
tongue c secured by one end to said frame and having the opposite end engaging with
said back substantially as set forth.
For L. F. BRUCE,
Brandon & Sons,
A conts