IMPROVED PLACHINERY FOR FILLING, CLOSING, AND FINISHING CARTRIDGES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Youngs Parfrey, of Upper Belgrave Place, Pimlico,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
PLACHINERY FOR FILLING, CLOSING, AND FINISHING CARTRIDGES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Youngs Parfrey at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th
May 1864.
I, YOUNGS PARFREY, of Upper Belgrave Place, Pimlico, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR FILLING, CLOSING, AND FINISHING CARTRIDGES," to be
as follows:
This Invention relates to an arrangement of machinery by which the
various operations for reducing cartridge cases to an uniform size, filling them
with powder, shot or ball, and wads, and closing over the ends of the cases,
can be effected with rapidity and accuracy in one machine. I take a plate
or table and secure it horizontally upon a frame at a convenient height for
the operator to work at, through the centre of this I fit a vertical sliding bar,
which is drawn up by a spring or balance weight, and can be drawn down by
applying the foot to a treadle; connected with it on the top of the sliding bar
a cross head is fitted with eight arms, each arm carrying an implement suit-
able for the particular function which it has to perform. Concentric with the.
sliding bar I place a ring holding together eight hardened dies corresponding

page_text: to the implements on the eight arms, this ring is fitted with handles for moving
it round under these arms. On the top of this ring lies another ring, which
has eight holes in it to correspond to the dies; this upper ring has a handle
and stops to allow of its reciprocating through about one-sixteenth of a circle.
At the one limit of its motion it receives into four of its holes from four
vertical equidistant reservoirs placed over it respectively a charge of powder,
a powder wad, a charge of shot or ball, and a shot wad, and it delivers them
simultaneously when at the other limit of its motion into four cartridges. In
front of the machine, corresponding to one of the dies, there is a hole through
its table, and underneath this a sliding bolt somewhat less than the bore of the
die, to this a treadle is connected for giving it an upward motion.
In proceeding to use the machine, there are eight operations in order to
perfect a cartridge; first, the operator passes a cartridge through the hole in
the table into a die, and then depressing the treadle he drives it up by means
of the sliding bolt into the die, thereby reducing it to its proper size; secondly,
by moving round the ring of dies one-eight of a turn and pressing down the
treadle connected with the central sliding bar, an implement is brought down
that presses the head of the cartridge on to the table; thirdly, the die is again
moved on one-eighth of a circle, and the ring lying upon it is moved round so
as to bring the hole or chamber in it charged with the requisite quantity of
powder over the cartridge, and discharge into it, and now an implement for
levelling the powder is brought down; fourthly, the die is moved on another
one-eighth of a circle, and the ring above moved so as to allow a powder wad to
drop into it, now the implement to adjust this wad is brought down; fifthly, the
die is moved on another one-eighth of a circle, and the hole in the ring above,
which has cut off a charge of shot from the reservoir above, is brought over it
and discharged into the cartridge, now the implement to level the shot is
brought down; sixthly, the die is moved on another one-eighth of a circle
and the ring above brought over so as to supply a shot wad into it, and then
the implement to adjust the wad is brought down with sufficient. pressure to
render the charge compact; seventhly, the die is moved on another one-eighth
of a circle, and then an implement having an annular hollow to correspond to
the finished shape of the cartridge is brought. down and turns over the end of
the cartridge case until it. secures the wad; eighthly, the die is moved the
last one-eighth of a circle opposite to a second hole in the table, through this
the cartridge now finished is expelled from the die by bringing down the
expelling instrument. At every progression of the ring of dies through one-
eighth of a circle a new cartridge case is inserted in a die and a finished
cartridge leaves the machine, eight cartridges being operated upon at once in

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Youngs Parfrey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st November 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, YOUNGS
PARFREY, of Upper Belgrave Place, Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Youngs Parfrey, Her special licence that I, the said Youngs
Parfrey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as T, the.
said Youngs Parfrey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR FILLING, CLOSING, AND FINISHING CARTRIDGES," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Youngs Parfrey, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
:
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Youngs Parfrey, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to an arrangement of machinery by which the
various operations for reducing cartridge cases to an uniform size, for filling
them with powder, shot or ball, and wads, and for closing over the ends of

page_text: the cases, can be effected with rapidity and accuracy in one machine. In
.the accompanying Drawing I have shewn eight views of such a machine
suitable for ordinary breech-loading cartridges, Fig. 1 being a front elevation;
Fig. 2 a side elevation; Fig. 3 a side elevation in vertical section; Fig. 4 a
front elevation in vertical section; Fig. 5 a plan at section line A, B; Fig. 6
'a plan at section line C, D; Fig. 7a plan at section line E, F; Fig. 8 a
plan at section line G, H. a is a plate, or table secured horizontally upon a
column b and base plate c; d is a sliding bar fitted with an eight-armed
cross, head e at its upper end, and at its lower end having a pin to connect it
with the guiding slide and connecting rod g; this connecting rod or link is
jointed to the foot lever and treadle h; i is a spiral spring of sufficient power
to lift the sliding bar and treadle lever with which it is connected by a sling;
is a sliding bolt working in two guides, and connected to the treadle
and lever by the jointed rod m; n are the dies, of which there are eight at
equal distances asunder, fitted into the ring o; these are of hardened steel,
and bored to the exact size and shape of the cartridges intended to be filled;
the under edges of these dies rest upon the face of the table; the ring o is
centred by a circular projection on the table a, and is provided with handles
for moying it round; it has also eight division pins p, which are suc-
cessively caught by the pall q; concentric with this ring and upon it lies the
upper ring r, having eight holes to correspond to the eight dies, two of these
holes are fitted with sliding bottoms closed by springs, 1 is of requisite
capacity to hold a charge of powder, 2 to hold a charge of shot; this ring
.is fitted with a handle s resting upon the plate 1, with stops limiting its motion
to about one-sixteenth of a circle; both rings are kept from rising by the
plate is a plate supported on three studs, which carries the four
reservoirs, wc for powder, a for powder wads, y for shot, z for shot wads;
the lower parts of these reservoirs are of glass, so that their approaching
exhaustion may be readily observed. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, are implements
adjusted by nuts and screws to the eight-armed cross head, which simul-
taneously act upon seven cartridges, and 10 and 11 are inclines for opening
the powder and shot slides. In employing the machine upon the ordinary
cartridges with metal capsules and projecting detonating pins, having filled
the reservoirs with powder, shot, and wads, the operator places an empty
cartridge case with the open end upwards on the top of the sliding bolt k,
bringing the detonating pin to the front, so as to coincide with a pin on the 1
bolt, then by pressing down the treadle the cartridge is carried through a
hole in the table above it and forced into one of the dies, thereby ensuring
its reduction to the proper size. The die serves also to prevent its distortion

page_text: during the subsequent processes."
The ring o must-now-be moved forwards
by one of its handles, so that the pall q takes on to the next division-pin or one-
eighth of a circle. By pressing the foot upon the treadle implement. 3 is
brought down so as to relieve the cartridge from the die and ensure its
definite bearing upon the face of the table; the end of this implement is
forked so as to clear the detonating cap in the cartridge. Ring o must now
be advanced a second eighth of a circle, and the upper ring r, by grasping the
handle $, which relieves its catch, moved forwards, so that the powder chamber
in it is brought under the powder reservoir and filled; a facing piece on
the top of the ring fits closely under the reservoir and prevents any escape "of
powder; the handle s is then pushed back, the spring catch-locks it; the "
powder chamber: now lies over the cartridge... full, by pressing the foot
upon treadle, incline 10. and implement. 4. are. brought down, the
former draws out the sliding bottom .of. the. powder chamber or meter by
driving into a mortice
in it
the latter wipes out the and allows the powder to fall into the cartridge,
chamber and levels the powder. Ring o must now
be advanced a third eighth. of a circle and the upper ring again moved forwards
so as to bring the wad hole under the powder wad reservoir a, the wad as it
falls is retained in its horizontal position by a light spring; ring is brought
back, and treadle h now descends and brings implement 5 down to press the
wad fairly on to the powder. Ring o must now be advanced a fourth eighth of
a circle, and ring r moved as before, so that the shot chamber or meter is
brought under the shot reservoir y and filled, it is then brought back and the
foot pressed on treadle so as to bring down incline 11, which draws out the
sliding bottom and lets a charge of shot fall into the cartridge, and at the
same time implement 6 descends and levels the shot. Ring o must now be
advanced a fifth eighth of a circle and ring r moved as before so as to bring
the wad hole therein under the wad réservoir z, when it has taken a wad it
is brought back and the treadle h brings down implement 7, to press the wad
fairly into its place in the cartridge. Ring o must now be advanced a sixth
eighth of a circle and by the depression of the treadle implement 8, which is
formed on the under side with an annular hollow to correspond to the finished
shape of the end of the closed cartridge, is brought down and closes over the
end of the cartridge case. Ring o must now be advanced a seventh eighth of
a circle, and by depression of the treadle h implement. 9 comes down and expels
the finished cartridge from the die through a hole in the table into a spout
below. Ring o is now advanced the last eighth of a circle so that the vacant
die is presented over the sliding bolt ready to receive another cartridge.
In the foregoing description I have for simplicity followed the operations

page_text: connected with a single cartridge in a single die, but by continually introducing
at every eighth of a turn of the ring o a cartridge case into the just vacated
die eight cartridges would be in different stages of progress at once, and be all
completed during one rotation of the ring o.
Having now described my Invention of improved machinery for filling,
closing, and finishing cartridges, and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I would further observe that I do not confine myself to the
exact details, which I have described and shown, or to the number of dies
which may be arranged in one or more concentric circles, but I claim the
general combination of such machinery for the preparation of cartridges of
whatever dimensions.
In witness whereof, I, the said Youngs Parfrey, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four..
YOUNGS PARFREY. (L.S.)