IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING- MACHINES FOR THE CASES OF CARTRIDGES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Wilhelm Lorenz, of Carlsruhe, City in the Grand-Duchy
of Baden, German Empire, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING-
MACHINES FOR THE CASES OF CARTRIDGES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Wilhelm Lorenz at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th December 1881.
WILHELM LORENZ, of Carlsruhe City in the Grand-Duchy of Baden, German
Empire. IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING-MACHINES FOR THE CASES OF CARTRIDGES
AND SIMILAR ARTICLES."
This Invention relates to improved machinery for simultaneously broaching or
riining and cutting the ends of both ends of cylindrical metal cases, more
particularly cartridge cases, and also for expanding such ends at the same tine
where required, the case being automatically held perfectly firm and secure at its
middle during the operation. The machine also effects automatically the trimming
of the cartridge or other case to the exact length required, the advance and
withdrawal of the cutters, and the discharge from the machine of the finished
article. For these purposes the cartridge cases or similar articles are introduced
into an inclined and curved shoot in which they descend, arriving at bottom
between two slides having steel cheeks at their inner ends suitably formed for
seizing and holding the cases. The one slide is adjusted in position by a screw and
is then secured in position by other screws. The other slide is actuated by a cam
and levers in such manner that the cartridge case on passing between the checks is
pressed by the cheek of the last named slide against the other one so as to hold it
firmly during the broaching operation. For accurately adjusting the extent of
motion of the moveable slide the spindle through which motion is imparted to it
from the lever is provided with adjustable screw collars and spring washers.
Before the cartridge case is secured firmly for the broaching operation it is
temporarily held by the action of a spring through which the lever imparts its
motion to the slide during the first part of the stroke, while during the latter part
the lever bears directly on the slide through the before mentioned spindle and

page_text: collars. The said lever is always kept with its end bearing with an antifriction
roller against the driving cam by means of spiral springs.
For feeding the cartridgo cases between the cheeks of the slides the shoot is
mounted near its upper end on a pivot, and its lower end has a spring jaw by which
it temporarily holds the lowest cartridge case. The shoot being held in a raised
position is lowered by the action of a cain through a lever and connecting rod at
the same time that the before mentioned slide is made to advance so as to bring
the lowest cartridge case therein in position to be grasped by the cheeks as these
close upon it; as soon as this has been effected by the spring action of the slide
the shoot is raised by its cam, whereby its spring jaw is mado to open so as to
release the held cartridge case, at the same time two lateral gauge plates on the
shoot descending below the jaw accurately adjust the position of the cartridge case
between the cheeks of the slides before it has been firmly grasped by these, and as
the shoot rises the spring jaw closes upon the next following cartridge caso,
holding it ready for the next descent. The connecting rod that imparts motion
to the shoot is connected to its lever by a screw adjustinent so as to accurately
regulate the motion of the shoot. The shoot is guided so as to be perfectly steady
in its motion by means of a fixed guide within which a projection on the shoot
works up and down.
The broaching and expanding operations having been completed, the moveable
slide again recedes, allowing the cartridge case to fall into a second shoot which
delivers it into a receiving box. The shoot then again descends and the slide
advances for repeating the above described operation.
In the axial line of the cartridge case as this is held by the slides are two
These
spindles carrying the cutters and tools to operate on the ends of the case.
spindles are carried in bearings and are so arranged as to bo capable of advancing
for operating on the cartridge case when held by the slides and then receding to
allow it to drop. The cutters are held in chucks or heads on the spindle accurately
adjustable by setting screws. The one spindle carries a central sliding pin held by
a spring, so that as the spindle advances the pin butts against the end of the
cartridge case and pushes it so as to bear with its rim against a collar on the slide
so as to cause the cutter of the spindle to cut all the cases to a uniform length.
The forward motion of the cutter spindle for this purpose is effected just before
the final nip is put upon the cartridge case by the slides. It is preferred to
employ this adjustment in combination with that effected by the gauge plates on
the shoot, but the one or the other adjustment may also be employed alone.
The adjustinent and nipping of the cartridge case being effected the cutter
spindles advance so as to bring the cutters into action on each end of the case, and
rotary motion is imparted to them by pullies and straps.
The to and fro motion of the spindles is effected by means of cams acting
on levers on the lower ends of vertical shafts whose upper ends have forked
levers connected to pins on loose collars on the spindles that are held between
adjustable fixed collars thereon. The vertical shafts are acted upon by helical
springs tending to turn them, so as to withdraw the spindles when the cutting
operation is completed.
The shaft carrying the last named cams, as also that above mentioned for
actuating the slides, is geared by spur gearing to a driving shaft having fast and
loose pullies and driven from any convenient motor.
The above described mechanism is mounted on a pedestal stand permitting free
access to all sides of the machine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Wilhelm Lorenz in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th June
1882.
WILHELM LORENZ, of Carlsruhe, City in the Grand-Duchy of Baden, German
Empire. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING-MACHINES FOR THE CASES OF CARTRIDGES
AND SIMILAR ARTICLES."
This Invention relates to improved machinery for simultaneously broaching or
riming and cutting both ends of cylindrical metal cases, more particularly cartridge
cases, and also for expanding such ends at the same time where required, the case
being automatically held perfectly firm and secure at its middle during the
operation. The machine also effects automatically the adjustment and trimming of
the cartridge or other case to the exact length required, the advance and with-
drawal of the cutters, and the discharge from the machine of the finished article.
The construction of the said machine will be readily understood on reference to
the accompanying Drawing, on which Fig. 1 shows a side view of the machino;
Fig. 2, a sectional plan of the framing on line 2—2, Fig. 3; Fig. 3, a front view
partly in section; Fig. 4, a plan partly in section; Fig. 5, a cross section; Fig. 6.
sectional plan on line 6-6, Fig. 3; Fig. 7, an enlarged front view, partly in
section of the shoot and cutters; Fig. 8, a front view of the shoot and section of
slide B; Fig. 9, an enlarged part cross section, and Fig. 10, an enlarged part
sectional plan of the shoot and slides.
The cartridge cases or other articles d (Figs. 7, 9 and 10) to be operated upon
are introduced into the shoot A. from which they pass between the slides B and B',
which have at their inner ends suitably formed cheeks b, b', for seizing and holding
the cases d. The slide B is adjusted to the required position by the regulating
screw 8, and is there secured by the screws s², a². The slido B' is actuated by the
cam M and levers N, N', in such manner that the case d on passing between the
cheeks b, b', is pressed by the cheek b¹ firmly against b so as to hold it securely
while it is subjected to the cutting tools. For accurately adjusting and confining
the stroke of the slide B the spindle b₁ thereof carries adjusting screw nuts a³, 8ª,
and a³, 8ª, as also the collars b³, 68. Before the article d is firmly grasped by the
slider, it is held loosely by the action of the spring f on the advance of the slide.
The pin b* by which the lever N' is connected to the rod 6' has for this purposo a
certain amount of play for its projecting ends in slotted holes b³ of the slide B', as
at Fig. 9, so that the pressure of the advancing lever is first conveyed to the slide
through the medium of the spring only, causing the check b¹ to grasp the articlo
for a time with a yielding hold, during which time the article can be accurately
adjusted in position between the cheeks. On the further advanco of the lever, tho
spring is further compressed until the collar b³ butts against the end of the slide,
so that this is now acted upon directly by the lever so as to effect the forcible
holding of the article. At the same time the spring washers behind the collar
afford a sufficient yielding action to prevent undue pressure such as might damage
the article being exerted. The lever N, N', is kept with its roller r always pressed
against the cam M by means of spiral springs Z, Z1, Figs. 5 and 6. The two arms
N, N', are fixed on one and the same shaft T and form practically a single lever,
the upper arm N' being forked so as to allow of the dischargo shoot L passing
between it. The transference of the articles d from the shoot A to the cheeks b, b',
is effected simultaneously with the advance of the slide B¹. The shoot A is for
this purpose pivotted at h and is raised by means of the rod i at the moinent when
the article d is held loosely by the spring action of ƒ as before described. By this

page_text: movement the jaw a', Fig. 9 of the shoot A is caused too pen, turning on the pin a³
and sliding off the articlo d held by the cheeks, after which it immediately closes
again by the action of the springs, thereby grasping the next lowest article in
the shoot and preventing it from falling out. As the shoot A rises, a gauge plate
projecting down from its lower end passes against the end of the article d and
adjusts it longitudinally between the cheeks b, b', as indicated at Figs. 8, 9, and 10,
whereupon the cheeks b, b', close firmly upon the article, and the cutters are
brought into operation, during which time the shoot A remains raised. To allow
of the closing together of the cheeks b, b', while the shoot A is lowered so as to
seize the article beld by its jaw, the shoot is cut out as shewn at Figs. 9 and 10.
The rod by which the shoot is raised is actuated by the lever N' whose roller l
bears against the cam M. For the accurate adjustment of the shoot A the rod i
is adjusted relatively to the lever N2 by means of the screw nuts 87, 88. At the
back of the shoot is a projection or stud that slides within a fixed guide l' as the
shoot is moved up and down so as to prevent any lateral motion of the latter and
insure the accurate action of the gauge plate d. On the cutting of the article
being completed the slido B' recedes and allows the article to fall into the discharge
shoot L whence it passes into the box H; at the same time the shoot A descends
to its lowest position again so as to bring the axis of the next article d held
thereby in line with the axis of the cutter spindles, and with the cheeks b, b',
whereupon the latter seize the said article, and the above described operation is
repeated. The cutting operation takes place as follows:-Simultaneously with the
advance of the slide B the spindles C and D carrying the cutting tool also advance
towards the ends of the article d. The tools, marked m, n, and p, revolve with
their spindles, and are accurately adjusted in the heads or chucks on the latter by
means of the screws u, u'. The spindle C has a central pine pressed forward
against a collar by a spring f; on the advance of the spindle this pin butts against
the end of the article d and pushes it while still held loosely between the cheeks
b, b', so as to bring the rim on the articlo against the face of the cheek. By this
means the cutting of all the articles to one and the same uniform length is insured.
This adjustment may be employed in combination with the before described adjust-
ment by the gauge plate d or either of these may be used alone. This adjustment
having been completed, the cutter spindles further advance so as to bring the
cutters m, n, and p into action, the spring ƒ¹ of the pin c being compressed during
such motion. The spindles C, D, are rotated by straps on the pullies V, v, and
W, w, and are caused to advance by the action of the cams E and F upon
levers t, t', on vertical axes q, g', having other levers x, x¹, on their upper ends that
are geared with the spindles C and D. The backward motion of the latter is
effected by the helical springs y, y¹, on the axes q, q tending to turn these against
the action of the cains. The shaft T is driven from the mainshaft T through the
spur gearing R, R¹, the shaft T being provided with fast and loose pullies K, K',
driven by a strap from any convenient mill shaft or motor engine. The mechanism
is mounted upon a standard frame O formed into a table O' at top.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I claimı,—
First. The herein described construction of machinery for operating on cartridge
cases and other articles wherein such articles are held at their middle while
the two ends thereof are acted upon simultaneously by cutting, broaching, and
expanding tools.
Second. The feed mechanism for the cartridge cases, consisting of the pivotted
Shoot A, with spring jaw a and gauge plate d³, receiving an up and down
motion through the rod i lever N and cam M, substantially as herein described.
Third. The herein described arrangement whereby the article to be operated
upon is first held loosely by the cheeks b, b¹, of the slides B, B¹, and after adjust-
ment therein is firmly grasped by the cheeks during the cutting operations, on the
completion of which the article is liberated, the said several operations being
effected by means of the cam M acting on levers N, N¹.

page_text: Fourth. The described arrangement for adjusting the stroke of the slide B' in
combination with the spring washer to the collar b³ for preventing undue pressure,
and with the spiral springs Z, Z' acting on the lever N, N'.
Fifth. The arrangement of the cutter spindle C with spring pin c for adjustment
of article between the cheeks b, b¹.
Sixth. The arrangement for effecting the to and fro motion of the cutter
spindles C and D, consisting in the cams E and F, in combination with the vertical
axes q, q', levers t, t, and x, x', and the springs y, y'.
Seventh. The combined arra igement whereby all the moving parts are actuated
from one and the same shaft T.
In witness whereof, I, the said Wilhelm Lorenz, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty two.
WILHELM LORENZ. (L.S.)