In of CARTRIDGES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO EXPLOSIVE A communication from abroad PROJECTILES AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
CARTRIDGES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO EXPLOSIVE
A communication from abroad
PROJECTILES AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES."
hv Ernest Cosson, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
Sealed the 21st December 1876, and dated the 11th July 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th July 1870.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
A
APPLICABLE TO EXPLOSIVE PROJECTILES AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES."
communication from abroad by Ernest Cosson, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
This Invention consists of a novel arrangement of apparatus to be designated
the central ignition obturator," and which is intended to be applied to cartridges
for sporting or military guns, cartridges for ordnance, explosive projectiles, and
other similar purposes for conducting the flash of the cap to the charge.
"
The apparatus is composed of a cup and a collar separate or united, and employed
The cup which forms a cylindrical
in conjunction or not with washers or wads.
chamber and is inserted in the base of the cartridge (for example) is perforated at
its upper part with a narrow orifice, which is provided for the purpose of conducting
the fire from the cap below or at the rear to the powder contained in the cartridge,
whereby increased penetrating power is obtained.
The cup is fixed or maintained in position by a collar or star of iron, sheet metal,
copper, tin, zinc, or any other suitable material. The orifice formed at its apex or
extremity may be of a round, square, triangular, or other suitable shape, or it may
consist of a horizontal slit or two slits forming a cross, or of any other suitable
description of opening or series of openings at the extremity or sides.
If desired there may be substituted for the collar or star wads of metal, felt,
leather, cardboard, paper, or other suitable material, or metallic wads employed in
combination with ordinary wads. The cup and the washer may be applied sepa-
rately if found practicable.

page_text: The collar and the cup may be provided either above or below or upon both the
upper and lower sides with wads of either metal, wood, cardboard, india-rubber, or
any other suitable material, and the cup and the collar either separately or together
may be inserted in one or more sockets or bases, the whole being then introduced
into the socket of the cartridge either with or without a wad.
In like manner either the central ignition obturator composed of the cup and the
collar together, or the cup or the collar used separately, may be inserted or let down
into the socket of the cartridge.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
January 1877.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
APPLICABLE TO EXPLOSIVE PROJECTILES AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES." A
communication from abroad by Ernest Cosson, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
The said Invention consists of a novel arrangement of apparatus to be designated
"the central ignition obturator," and which is intended to be applied to cartridges
for sporting or military guns, cartridges for ordnance, to explosive projectiles, and
other similar purposes. It is applicable to guns of every description and of any
calibre, such, for example, as muskets, carbines, cannon, and pistols, either single
action or revolving, and whether adapted for piu-fire, central-fire, or otherwise, and
also to explosive projectiles.
The apparatus is composed of a cup and a collar separate or united, and employed
in conjunction or not with washers or wads. The cup which forins a conical or
cylindrical fair chamber is perforated at its upper part with a narrow orifice, which
is provided for the purpose of conducting the fire from the cap to the power con-
tained in the cartridge, say, for example, of a small arm or cannon, or in a hollow
explosive projectile.
The result obtained by the application of this central ignition obturator is great
power of penetration, which is at least equal to that of central-fire cartridges, and
when the Invention is applied to this description of cartridge it has the effect of
greatly increasing the range.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now pro-
ceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to the
several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
The arrangements represented in Figures 1 to 9 of the accompanying Drawings
show the application of the system to cartridges used for sporting purposes, whilst
the arrangements represented in Figures 10 to 21 are more especially intended for
cartridges for military guns.
Referring to Figures 1 to 9, which illustrate the arrangement which it is preferred
to employ for cartridges to be used for sporting purposes, a is the cup which is fixed
or maintained in position by a collar or star 6, (sec details, Figures 1, 2, and 3, of
iron, sheet metal, copper, tin, zinc, or any other suitable material. The cup may be
constructed of the same materials as the collar, or of different materials, and it is
provided at its apex or extremity with an orifice a', which may be of a round form,
as shewn in Figures 1, 4, and 7, or of a square, triangular, or other suitable shape,
or may consist of a horizontal slit, as shewn in Figures 2, 5, and S, or of two slits
forming a cross, as shewn in Figures 3, 6, and 9, or of any other suitable description
of opening or series of openings, either vertical, oblique, or otherwise at the extremity
or sides.
The cup a may vary in form, in diameter, and in length, according to the calibre
and the charge of the cartridge or explosive projectile to which it may be applied.

page_text: The collar or star b may be made of varying thickness, diameter, or shape, or
if desired there may be substituted for the collar or star wads of metal, felt, leather,
cardboard, paper, or other suitable material, or metallic wads employed in combina-
tion with ordinary wads.
Although the complete apparatus is composed of the cup a and the collar b the
cup may be employed without the addition of the collar if found practicable.
The collar and the cup may be provided either above or below or upon both the
upper and lower sides with wads c (see Figures 4, 5, and 6), of either metal,
wood, cardboard, india-rubber, or any other suitable material. The parts a and b,
either separately or in combination, may be inserted in one or more sockets or
bases, such, for example, as shewn at d, Figures 3 and 6, and be introduced into
the socket e of the cartridge cither with or without a wad.
In like manner the central ignition obturator composed of the cup and the collar
in combination, or the cup and the collar separately, may be inserted or let down
into the socket of the cartridge.
The socket d, as well as the cup a and the collar b, may be constructed of any
suitable material; it may be provided with edges more or less projecting, and wider
or narrower, according to the gun and the charge with which it is to be used. It
may be placed at varying heights with relation to the cup and to the collar, and vary
in diameter according to the requirements of the gun, calibre, and charge.
The central ignition obturator may be applied to cartridges used for military
purposes with metallic sockets and upon the central-fire system by means of the
arrangement illustrated in Figures 10 to 21 and next herein-after described. In
this case the cup may be of various dimensions, as when employed for sporting
purposes, according to circumstances, and the shape and arrangement of the orifice
or orifices provided for the purpose of forming a passage for the flame of the cap
may also be varied in the manner herein-before described.
In the case of metallic sockets, however, the conical or cylindrical cup a forming
an air chamber, as herein-before described, may be made of one piece. forming part
of the metal socket of the cartridge, but it is preferred to make it a separate piece
fitted internally or externally to the metal socket either by means of screws or by
a blow applied on suitable inoulds or dies.
Various modes of applying the cup are shown on the Drawings and herein-after
described.
In the arrangement shown in Figures 10, 11, and 12, the cup a provided with
the collar b may be introduced from above, that is to say, into the interior of the
metallic socket e in the same manner as in the socket of the cartridge adapted for
sporting purposes provided with the central ignition obturator. In this case the
collar b, which is slightly turned up at its circumference in order to admit of its
introduction into the contracted upper portion of the socket, is forcibly fixed in
position by stamping in a groove or recess formed at c¹ in the bottom of the socket e.
Referring to Figures 13, 14, and 15, it will be observed that the cup a may be
introduced from below, that is to say, from the outer end of the socket e through a
circular orifice formed in the centre of the base of this socket, at which part the
latter is provided with a flange, as shewn at e³. This cup may consist of a separate
piece serving to secure the cap or priming, or it may form one and the same piece
with the latter, a blow of a ram sufficing moreover in this as in the preceding
arrangement to fix and secure the cup in position.
In the arrangeinents illustrated in Figures 16, 17, and 18, and 19, 20, and 21,
the securing of the cup a is effected by means of a screw thread formed at its base,
and which is screwed into an aperture formed in the base of the metal socket e, and
provided with a corresponding internal screw thread for the reception of the cup.
This screwing may be effected from the interior of the socket, as shown in Figures
16, 17, and 18, the flange or projection formed on the circumference of the cup
serving to prevent leakage at the joint. The projection f may, however, be formed
on the lower part of the cup itself, which is then screwed from without, as shown
in Figures 19, 20, and 21 of the Drawing.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect,
1 would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original, and
therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is, the system of central ignition obturator, consisting essentially in
the adaptation above the cap or priming of a cup more or less elongated and per-
forated or provided with an opening or openings at its extremity for the purpose of
conducting the fire from the cap or priming to the powder of a cartridge used in
small arms or ordnance, or of a shell or hollow projectile, such cup being employed
either alone or in combination with a collar for securing or maintaining it in
position, and with or without the addition of wads or washers for preventing
leakage or escape of gas, all substantially as herein-before described and illustrated
by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John
cation set my hand and seal, the
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Henry Johnson, have to this my Specifi-
Eleventh day of January, One thousand
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)