Improvements in the Manufacture of Cartridges, and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Mar.. 1894
Complete Specification Left, 21st Sept., 1894-Accepted, 17th Nov., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cartridges, and in Apparatus
therefor.
I, JAMES PINFOLD, of 233 Park Road, Aston, near Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of cartridges and in
apparatus therefor, and, more particularly, to such cartridges as are provided with
a base or head which is formed separately from the tubular body of the cartridge,
and afterwards secured thereto, the said base or head having a circular groove
formed therein to facilitate attachment.
In some instances I provide rings of various forms for securing the body of the
cartridge to the base or head.
In a modification of my invention I form an internally projecting annulus upon
the base or head. This annulus is afterwards expanded so as to forced the ring
hereinbefore mentioned, or in some cases the end of the tubular body, into a groove
in the base.
I sometimes construct the base or head with a tapered interior the groove being
formed in the thickened portion thereof.
My invention also relates to an improved tool or punch for use in securing the
tubular body to the base or head.
In carrying my invention into practice the rings I employ may be of various
shapes in cross section. Among other very suitable forms I make use of rings of
a trough-like or channelled section, also rings of rectangular cross-section but
whose outward shape is that of a frustum of a cone. The maximum diameter of
these rings before being flattened is sufficiently small to permit of their being
readily inserted into the base or head, but when the said rings are flattened the
outer circumference becomes larger and so forces the end of the tubular body of
the cartridge into the groove formed in the head to receive it. These rings may
be divided or partially divided before being flattened, if desired, so that the
expansion thereof is rendered more easy and certain.
I sometimes provide an internal circular projecting part on the base or head the
diameter of which is approximately equal to the internal diameter of the ring.
When such a projection is furnished I sometimes form an external rim or bead or
thickened portion on the end of the tubular body of the cartridge, of a shape to
fit the groove in the head. The end of said body is furthermore somewhat coned
so that the rim or bead may be introduced easily into the base or bead. A plane
circular ring of suitable size is now forced in, which expands the end of the body
and causes the rim, bead, or thickened portion, to enter the groove provided for it.
The said circular ring may be provided with an upstanding peripheral flange,
preferably coued internally and capable of being expanded outwards against the
interior of the tubular body to serve as a gas check.
The internal diameter of the tightening ring is as aforesaid, preferably equal to
the diameter of the internal circular projection on the base or to the external
diameter of the cap chamber, while the external diameter of the ring is such
that the bead, rim, or thickened portion of the body is held firmly and snugly in its
groove.
In a modification of my invention I provide as aforesaid an internally-projecting

page_text: annulus on the base or head, which annulus is expanded and turned over the
tightening ring. This annulus may very conveniently be employed with the
description of ring indicated above but I preferably use a plain wire ring of circular
cross-section. Said ring is of such a size as to practically fit the undercut groove
in the head of the cartridge. The ring is divided and its ends turned up so that
the ring is reduced in diameter. Said ring is then inserted inside the tubular body
which is placed in the head of the cartridge. When the ends of the ring are
flattened down, the ring returns to its original shape forcing the end of the body
into the undercut groove. The internal projecting annulus on the base is now.
expanded outwards over the ring, to retain the same in position. Such a divided
ring may of course be used in place of and in the same manner as those hereinbefore
described without the projecting annulus on the head if desired.
In any of the cartridges constructed as above described I may place an interior
gas check, over the tightening ring when such is used, and covering the joint
between the tubular body and the head.
Said cartridges may be further provided with any suitable lining, if desired. I
sometimes provide a thick inner lining of paper or other suitable material; the
object of its employment is to reduce the capacity of the powder chamber to a
considerable extent without making the cartridge too heavy. This is an important
advantage, inasmuch as it enables a charge of smokeless powder, for instance,
which is of very small bulk in proportion to an equivalent charge of ordinary
powder, to be employed in a cartridge of the same dimensions as one intended for
use with a charge of ordinary powder. Moreover the wad which fits the interior
of the cartridge body is prevented by the thick wall of the lining from being
forced too far down so as to compress the powder charge. This, also, is of
importance, for if a charge of smokeless powder be subjected to compression the
pressure of the gases in the chamber will be increased to such a extent that the
gun will be liable to be injured.
The punch which I preferably use for flattening or expanding the tightening
ring has a somewhat coned or chamfered end of a shape to fit the interior of the
hase or head of the cartridge; a circular chamber or recess is provided in the end
of the punch the internal diameter of which is equal or approximately equal to the
internal diameter of the tightening ring, or of the circular projecting part of the
base when that is present. The chamber or recess in the end of the punch is
furnished with a loose plug adapted to slide in and out of the same and preferably
controlled by a spring. As the punch is forced down to flatten the tightening
ring the loose plug comes against the projecting portion of the head or against the
inside of the base or head at the bottom and fills up the interior of the tightening
ring. Said plug is pressed back compressing the spring, while the ring is being
flattened, and prevents the tightening ring becoming smaller in diameter or from
riding over the top of the internally-projecting part of the head.
Dated this 13th day of March 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Cartridges, and in Apparatus
therefor.
I, JAMES PINFOLD, of 233 Park Road, Aston near Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this 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 the manufacture of cartridges and in

page_text: apparatus therefor. The said invention relates more particularly to such cartridges
as are provided with a base or head which is formed separately from the tubular
body of the cartridge, and afterwards secured thereto in some instances by an
annular expansion piece or ring, and in others by a non-expansible ring, which
operates to force the end of the cartridge body into a circular groove formed in
the base or head.
The said ring may take various forms as hereinafter described.
I sometimes form an internally projecting annulus upon the base or head, and
expand said annulus over the ring before mentioned to securely retain the same in
the groove in the base.
I preferably construct the base or head with a tapered interior and form the
groove in the thickened portion thereof.
My present invention also comprises improvements in cartridges intended to
receive smokeless powder or a high explosive and relates also to an improved tool
or punch for use in securing the tubular body aforesaid to the base or head.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown how my said invention may be
conveniently carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section through a cartridge body and base in
which a ring, of trough section, inverted, is in place in readiness to be flattened to
secure the body to the base.
Figure 2 is a plan of the ring.
Figure 3 is a transverse section of the ring on the line X X of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a section through the cartridge showing the ring flattened.
Figure 5 is a longitudinal central section through a cartridge body and base
showing a coned ring in readiness to be flattened, and showing also in section the
punch by which the flattening of the ring is to be effected.
Figure 6 is a plan of the coned ring as it appears before being flattened.
Figure 7 is a section on the line Y Y of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a longitudinal central section of the cartridge shown in Figure 5, with
the coned ring flattened.
Figure 9 is a plan, and
Figure 10 is a transverse section of the coned ring alone after it has been
flattened.
Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 8, but showing a slightly modified
construction of the internally-grooved base or head of the cartridge.
Figure 12 is a longitudinal central section of a cartridge body and base similar
to that shown by Figure 11 with the addition of an interior reinforcing cup, which
serves as a gas-check.
Figure 13 is a longitudinal central section of a cartridge wherein two annular
pieces or rings, one fixed to the base or head, and the other separate, are shown in
readiness to be acted upon to secure the body and the base together.
Figure 14 shows in section the base or head of such cartridge separate from the
body.
Figure 15 shows in perspective, the separate annulus prior to its introduction into
the cartridge and its deformation therein.
Figure 16 is a central section showing the body and base in firm engagement, and
a gas-check reinforcing cup in place.
Figures 17 to 21 are longitudinal central sections of the rear ends of the
cartridges in which a rigid ring is employed to cause the body and base of each
cartridge to engage each other firmly in a manner hereinafter explained, and
Figure 22 is a longitudinal section through a cartridge having a very thick filling
in the powder-chamber, for a purpose hereinafter specified.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
I will first describe the cartridges and appurtenances thereof illustrated in
Figures 1 to 4.
A is the tube forming the body of the cartridge; B is the metal head or base

page_text: having an annular groove b formed therein in any suitable manner. F is a metal
ring which is trough-shaped in cross-section, as shown in Figure 3. The inner
circumference of the ring F rests against a circular projection & formed within the
base as shown. The said ring is flattened by a punch or otherwise to force
the lower part of the body A into the groove b substantially as set forth in
the Specification of prior Letters Patent No. 7341 of A.D. 1892.
The base B preferably has a tapered interior and the body A is tapered and is
received in the tapered interior of the base B, as shown, for instance, in Figure 1.
When the ring F is flattened, the projection b¹ prevents any diminution of its
internal diameter and it therefore expands radially outward, forcing the end of the
tapered portion of the body into the groove b, as shown in Figure 4, so that the
base and body are held in very secure connection with each other.
In the modification illustrated by Figures 5 to 10 a coned ring F, see Figures 6
and 7, is employed as the expansion-piece. This ring is divided at one side; and
its ends butt squarely against each other in order that it
forced inward when pressure is put upon it.
may not collapse or be
When the ring is flattened and
expanded, as in Figures 8, 9 and 10 it will practically bear against the whole of the
interior circumference of the cartridge body. The ring need not be completely
divided; it may be merely notched at one side. The punch H employed to flatten
'and expand the ring F, is shown in Figure 5 and forms part of my invention; it is
provided with a central loose piece H' movable in the line of the axis of the punch,
and having an external diameter equal to that of the projection b¹. The said
piece H' moves upon the shank of the screw I, the head 11 of which limits its
outward travel. It is made to protrude from the bottom of the punch by a spring H❜
placed behind it. In the descent of the punch the piece H' takes a bearing upon
the projection b¹ as in Figure 5, before the flattening of the ring F is effected by the
main body of the punch, so that in the subsequent flattening of the ring, during
which the piece H' remains stationary, the spring H' being compressed, the inner
circumference of the ring is prevented, by the periphery of the piece H' from
lodging upon the face of the projection 6, and is also prevented from closing
inward. The final position of the ring F is clearly shown in Figure 8. In some
instances the spring H* may be omitted from the punch.
:
In Figure 11 is shown a cartridge in which the expanded ring F does not bear
against the central projection of the base in this instance the punch is similar
to that shown in Figure 5, the central portion H' having a recess large enough
to receive the whole of the projection and being arranged to bear against
the bottom of the cavity of the base B in order that the ring, while being
flattened, shall not be able to close radially inward.
preferably notched only, that is to say it is not cut completely through.
In this case the ring is
Figure 12 illustrates a cartridge similar to that in Figure 11 with the addition of
a reinforcing cup J placed above the ring F and forced into place by a punch which
causes it to bear against the inner circumference of the bottom of the body A and
also against the projection 61, and the portion of the base adjacent thereto. This
cup forms an interior gas-check.
In the cartridge illustrated by Figures 13 to 16, the expansion-piece is a ring F
which is shown by way of example as having a circular cross-section and is
employed in conjunction with an auxiliary expansion-piece or annulus F³ formed
on the base B. The ring F is first forced downward and outward to turn the
bottom edge of the body into the groove of the base, and then the annulus F' is
turned over the ring F to assist in retaining the latter in position; the parts on the
completion of this operation occupy the position in which they are illustrated in
Figure 16. The ring F is shown separately in Figure 15 in its original form; the
ends are turned up, in order to enable it when expanded radially outward into
place in the bottom of the groove to bear all round, against the interior of the
base. J is a reinforcing cup and interior gas-check similar to that shown in
Figure 12.

page_text: In the modification illustrated by Figure 17, the tapered end of the tube A is
made with a thickened rim A'. F is a rigid ring which is placed within the
tapered part of the tube A as shown and is then forced downward by a punch so as
to cause the rim A¹ to expand into the groove b as indicated in Figure 18, from
which it may be seen that the ring is made to fill the space between the projection b¹
and the expanded rim for the purpose of preventing the disengagement of the latter
from the base or head B.
Figure 19 is similar to Figure 18 except that it shows a rim A' and groove b
of a form different from that of the corresponding parts in Figure 18 aforesaid.
In the modification illustrated in Figure 20, the rim A' is of tapered form and
adapted to fit into a tapered groove 6 in the base or head B. Moreover the ring F
is provided with an expansible flange F' which, when the ring F is driven down as
and for the purpose above specified is expanded outward against the interior of the
tube A to serve as a gas check, as shewn in Figure 21.
In Figure 22 a cartridge with a very thick inner filling or lining D' is shown.
The said lining is made of paper or other suitable material; the object of its
employment is to reduce the capacity of the powder chamber to a considerable
extent without making the cartridge too heavy. By this construction a charge of
smokeless powder or high explosive for instance, which is of very small bulk in
proportion to an equivalent charge of ordinary powder, may be employed in a
cartridge of the same dimensions as one intended for use with a charge of ordinary
powder. Moreover the wad E¹ which fits the interior of the cartridge body is
prevented by the thick wall of the lining from being forced too far down so as to
compress the powder charge. This also, is of importance, for if a charge of
smokeless powder be subjected to compression the pressure of the gases in the
chamber will be increased to such an extent that the guu will be liable to injury.
The use of this extra thick lining is not confined to the particular cartridge
illustrated by Figure 22, it may be applied with equal advantage to other
cartridges, for the purposes specified.
By the various means herein before described, the base and the body of the
cartridge are securely attached to each other at a very slight cost, and by a method
of operation which is extremely simple and effective.
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 :-
1. A cartridge having its tubular body secured to an internally-grooved head or
base by means of an expansion-ring such as either or any one of those shewn in the
drawings, for the purpose specified.
2. A cartridge having its tubular body secured to an internally-grooved head or
base by means of a thickened rim upon the body and a rigid ring or disc employed
to expand the said rim, substantially as set forth.
3. A cartridge wherein the internally-grooved metal base or head is secured to
the tubular body by means of an annular expansion-piece integral with the base or
head, in combination with a separate expansion-piece or ring, substantially as
herein before described, for the purpose specified.
4. In the manufacture of a cartridge the employment of an annular expansiou-
piece, which is first made as shewn in Figures 2 and 3 or in Figures 6 and 7 and
then forced into its place and flattened in the cartridge, substantially as hereinbefore
described, for the purpose specified.
5. The modification of my invention wherein the ring or disc F' is provided with
an expansible flange F for the purpose specified.
6. An improved tool having at one end a piece which is movable through a
limited distance in the tool in the direction of the length of the same, with or
without a spring, substantially as herein before described, for the purposes
specified.
ว

page_text: 7. A cartridge constructed substantially as described with reference to Figure 4,
or to Figure 11 or to Figure 12 or to Figure 16, or to Figure 18, or to Figure 21
or to Figure 22, of the accompanying drawings, for the purposes specified.
Dated this 21st day of September 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.