AN IMPROVED METALLIC CARTRIDGE CASE
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Jones, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Machinist, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METALLIC
CARTRIDGE CASE."
Sealed the 23rd January 1872, and dated the 9th August 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Jones at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th August 1871.
I, EDWARD JONES, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED METALLIC CARTRIDGE CASE," to be as follows:-
"
The chief object of this Invention is to prevent the corrosion of the
metal cases of cartridges. To this end instead of applying (as has been
suggested) a coating of varnish to the "solid cases (or cases formed
out of one piece of metal) which are made generally of drawn copper
or brass, I now propose to carry the drawing of the cases up to a certain
point, and just before the finishing of this process I submit the cases
(while still hard from the drawings) to a bath of tin or a mixture of

page_text: anti-corrosive metals that will melt at a low temperature. The cases
in the act of being so coated become annealed, and are thus ready for
the final drawing or drawings. When the cases are taken out of the
bath the coating presents a lumpy and uneven appearance, but by
passing them through the final drawing I not only bring the cases to
their required form and size, but also reduce the coating to a smooth
and even surface (thereby equalizing the coating over the metal forming
the case) and give the required hardness to the cases. The drawing is
effected by the series of tools ordinarily used for making solid cases.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 7th February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
JONES, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Edward Jones, Her special licence that
I, the said Edward Jones, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Edward Jones, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 "AN IMPROVED METALLIC CART-
RIDGE CASE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward
Jones, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Jones, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement (that is to say).
"
The chief object of this Invention is to preserve the cases of metallic
cartridges from corrosion, to which they are very liable from exposure
to damp, and also from contact with the powder with which they are
charged. To this end instead of applying as has been suggested a
coating of varnish to the "solid cases or cases formed out of one piece
of metal usually of drawn copper or brass, I now propose to carry the
drawing of the cases up to a certain point and then to coat them with tin
or a mixture of anti-corrosive metals that will melt at a low temperature
by submitting the cases to a bath of such metal or mixed metals
relying upon the after drawing to equalize the surface of the coating
and ensure a good finish.
The solid cases to which my Invention applies are formed out of
discs of metal which are first converted into cups by means of dies and
punches, and afterwards elongated to form tubes with a closed end,
which end may for convenience be indented to prepare it for being
shaped to receive the percussion cap.
When the tubes have been drawn to about the length and diameter
required for a cartridge case I place them in a barrel containing molten
tin or a suitable alloy of anti-corrosive metals in a molten state, and
by giving rotary motion thereto I ensure a thorough coating of the
tubes with the tin or alloy. After this I remove the tubes from the
bath, when they will be found to have received a coating that presents
a lumpy and uneven appearance. In the drawing of the tubes pre-
paratory to the coating process the metal will have become hard, but
the action of the molten metal upon the tubes will be to anneal them
and prepare them for the further drawing operation. By passing the
coated tubes through a further drawing the lumpy and uneven state of
the anti-corrosive coating will disappear, and a smooth and even surface
will be obtained.
The tubes when brought to this state are ready for finishing in the
ordinary manner to fit them to receive a charge and a percussion cap.
The drawing of the tubes I propose to effect by the series of tools
ordinarily used for making solid cases.

page_text: Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved
Metallic Cartridge Case," and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim, the manufacture of metallic cartridge
cases from tubes coated with tin or other anti-corrosive metal in the
manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Jones, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the First day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
EDWARD JONES. (L.S.)