IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOT CARTRIDGES
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Lewis Budd Bruen at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th April
1867.
I, LEWIS BUDD BRUEN, of the City, County, and State of New York, United
States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOT CARTRIDGES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the construction of cartridges wherein a number of
shot is closely packed inside a case or envelope of some combustible material
which is caused by the application of collodion or other like substance to
contract and become extremely hard; the said case may be combined with
compressed powder or may be employed with a charge of ordinary gunpowder
or other explosive substance.
The said Invention consists, first, in the combination of the compressed
powder with the shot cases; second, in the arrangement in the ends of the
said shot cases of stiff wads to assist in compressing the shot in the cases;
third, the use of collodion or other similar substance for covering and con-

page_text: tracting the said shot cases; fourth, in placing a fulminate or detonating
compound in a recess formed in the said compressed powder and covering the
said fulminate with a coat of collodion or other similar substance to protect
the same.
In constructing the said cartridges the case or envelope is first formed by
rolling a strip of paper, muslin, or other material upon a suitably shaped
mandril or forming tool, the overlapping edges being united by glue or other
adhesive substance. The case or envelope is then removed from the mandril,
a wad or disc of felt, pasteboard, leather, or other similarly inflexible material
being first inserted in one end of the said case; the desired number of shot
is then poured in at the other end of the case, and another wad of like
material is placed over the shot. The compressed powder, which is previously
moulded into a cylindrical or conical shape, is placed over this wad. The case
or envelope may be made of such a length as to extend beyond the said wad
and cover the compressed powder or a portion of the same, or the compressed
powder may be cemented upon the end of the wad. The ends of the case or
cylinder are trimmed or dressed, and the cartridge is immersed in or otherwise
covered with the collodion and then allowed to dry. The collodion in drying
will cause the case or envelope to contract forcibly upon the shot, the wads
being at the same time drawn closer together. The shots in the said case
being thus pressed equally on all sides will be forced to occupy the smallest
possible space, and will form a hard and compact mass with the case. The
said case may be strengthened by an additional envelope or cover of thin paper
or other material which is rolled or lapped over the said case after the wads
are inserted and before the application of the collodion, the ends of the said
cover being lapped over the outside of the wads. If the wads within the case
or envelope should be too much reduced by contraction to fit the bore of the
piece other wads of the proper size may be placed outside the case or envelope
after the collodion has been applied to the cartridge. These additional wads
may also be formed of some material that will not contract, or may be made
of a size to allow for the contraction and attached to the shot case before the
application of the collodion. Cases or envelopes constructed in the manner
above described may be filled with the shot only, the compressed powder
being kept separate till the cartridges are to be used, and then united to the
same by a second immersion in the collodion or by other means; or the said
cases filled with shot may be used with a charge of ordinary gunpowder or
other explosive material.
In adapting these cartridges to breech-loading fire-arins I form a recess or

page_text: cavity in the compressed powder into which a sufficient quantity of fulminate
or detonating compound is introduced. The collodion is then applied to the
cartridge and forms a coat or covering over the fulminate and prevents its
ignition except by the striking pin or other suitable exploding device of a
fire-arm.