IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING POWDER FOB CARTRIDGES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING POWDER FOB
CARTRIDGES."-A communication from abroad by Stephen Davis Tucker,
of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 21st January 1868, and dated the 11th August 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th August 1862.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING POWDER FOR
CARTRIDGES," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improved machinery for compressing powder for cartridges
relates to an arrangement of machinery whereby powder may be compressed
in moulds, so as to cause the grains to adhere together in the form of
cartridges.
The Invention is applicable for making cartridges of all sizes, both for rifles
and ordnance. The machine consists principally of a horizontal revolving
table, which carries a series of moulds open at the bottom, of suitable shape
for forming cartridges, and provided with moveable bottoms. This mould

page_text: table is rotated by means of a toothed rack or racks, which gear into teeth
cut round the periphery of the table or of a plate below it. The table also
has a rising and falling motion communicated to it, so as to bring the contents
of the moulds under stationary plungers, whereby the powder in the moulds
is first compressed and then discharged from the moulds by being pushed out
through the bottom. One of these plungers is adjustable by means of a
screw, so that it may be set with accuracy to the proper point and adjusted
to suit cartridges of various sizes. The mould table is raised and lowered by
means of a toggle joint worked by a crank which is driven by suitable
gearing. The operation of the machine is as follows:-The attendant first
fills one of the moulds, in which he will have previously put a moveable.
bottom to support the powder. When the mould has been filled. the table
will be moved round one quarter of a circle, so as to bring it under one of
the plungers, the table with its moulds will then be raised by straightening
tho toggle joint, and will thus forco the powder up against the plunger and
compress the former to such an extent as will cause the grains to adhere
together; the next mould will then be filled, and the powder therein com-
pressed in the same manner, and so on, a mould being filled for every quarter
of a revolution of the mould table. The powder having been compressed in
the moulds, the latter will be brought in succession under a second plunger,
and a solid block of wood having been previously placed on the powder the
compressed cartridge will be pushed down out of the mould when the table
is raised. It will of course. be understood that moulds of different sizes may
be adapted to the table, so as to make cartridges of various sizes. For
making rifle cartridges the machine, although somewhat different in some of
its details, is constructed on the same principle; but it is proposed to place
the bullet in the mould as a bottom piece and then compress the powder
thereon. In consequence of this compression, and of the concave or hollow
space in the base of the bullet, the powder will be made to adhere to the
bullet sufficiently to admit of the cartridge and projectile being handled.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors; administrators, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR COMPRESSING POWDER FOR CARTRIDGES,"
being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, 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 month's next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the' said William' Edward Newton; do hereby
declare the nature of the said! Invention, and in what manner the same is'
to be performed, 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 thereön (that is to say):-
This Invention of improved machinery for compressing powder for cartridges
relates to an arrangement' of machinery whereby powder may be compressed
in moulds, so as to cause the grains to adliere' together in the form of
cartridges.
The Invention is applicable for making cartridges of all sizes, both for rifles*
and ordnance. The machine consists principally of a liorizontal' revolving
plate, which carries a series of moulds open at the bottom and of suitable'
shape for forming cartridges. These moulds are' provided' with moveable"
bottoms, and the plate is rotated by means of a toothed rack or racks 'which"
gear into teeth cut round its periphery. The revolving mould plate is placed
on a table, which has a rising and falling motion communicated to it, so as' to
bring the contents of the moulds under stationary plungers, whereby the
powder in the moulds will be first' compressed and then discharged from the
moulds by being pushed out through the' bottom. One of these plungers is
adjustable by means of a screw, so that the extent of its action may be

page_text: regulated with accuracy by setting it to the proper point ;. it may therefore
be adjusted to suit cartridges of various sizes. The mould table is raised and
lowered by means of a toggle joint worked by a crank which is driven by
suitable gearing.
." 1
:
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn the mechanical arrangements,
whereby the object of the Invention may be effected. Fig. 1 is plan view of
the machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation; and Fig. 3 a transverse vertical:
section taken through the rotary mould tablo..
1 is the bottom or foundation piece, and 2 the head piece or cross head of
the machine. These parts are connected together by the two upright wrought-
iron columns or standards 3. Two side frames 4, Fig. 2, are bolted to the
bottom piece 1 and the columns 3, and are joined together by the cross
pieces 5, Fig. 1, and serve to carry the driving gearing. The machine is put
in motion by the band pulley 6, mounted on the shaft 7, which carries the.
pinion 8. This pinion gears into the wheel 9, running loosely on the shaft 10,
but drives it when in action by means of the sliding clutch 11, Fig. 1; a
pinion 12 is fixed to the outer end of the shaft 10, and gears into and
drives the large wheel 18, as also the cranked shaft 14, to which it is
keyed. A connecting rod 15 serves to transmit motion from the cranked
shaft 14 to the toggle joint 16, placed between and connected to the bottom
or foundation piece 1 and the sliding table 17. This table is thus made
to rise and fall, and is guided in its vertical motion by the wrought-iron.
columns 8. A brass revolving plate 18 is attached to the upper side of the.
moveable or rising table 17 by a pivot 19 at its centre, and carries four brass
cartridge moulds 20, seated in holes equidistant from each other. These
moulds pass through the rotating plate and rest on the moveable or rising.
table 17, and are kept from lifting out of place by the brass clips 21, Fig. 1.
The plate 18 is made to revolve with an intermittent motion by means of a
lever 22, which receives its motion from a friction roller working in the
grooved cam 23 fixed to the side of the large wheel 18. The lower end of
the lever is jointed to one of the side frames 4, and the upper end gives a
horizontal backward and forward motion to the rack 24, through the adjustable
connecting rod 25, This rack runs through guides 26, 26, one on the side
frame 4, and the other on the upright column 3, and gears into teeth on the
periphery of the plate 18, The motion of this rack 24 is such as to move the
plate 18 and moulds 20 one quarter of a revolution in the direction of the
arrow while the sliding table 17 is at about its lowest position. Two brass
plungers, one of them, 27, Fig. 3, adjustable for compressing the powder, and
the other one, 28, for discharging the compressed powder or cartridge, aro

page_text: fitted in the under side of the head piece 2, and their position is such as to
coincide with opposite moulds on the revolving plate 18, when brought round
into position by the rack 24. As the moveable table 17, the revolving
plate 18, and moulds 20 rise by the action of the toggle joint, the plungers
27, 28, enter into the moulds beneath them just before the revolving plate 18,
is lifted out of gear with the rack 24, and as the revolving plate continues to
rise the rack moves back by the action of the cam 23, and as the table falls
the teeth on the periphery of the revolving plate drop into gear with the
rack ready to be again moved forward one quarter of a turn. Each of the
moulds 20 has a moveable bottom 29, Fig. 3, and a corresponding hole and
recess is made in the sliding table below the discharging plunger 28, through
which hole the moveable bottom 29 and cartridge are forced by the plunger 28.
A screw 31 serves to adjust the height of the compressing plunger 27. In
Fig. 2, 32 is a handle on the shaft 88, that runs from the operator to the
clutch 11, Fig. 1, for stopping and starting the machine; 34 is an air cock in
the moveable table 17, beneath the position of the moulds when the moveable
bottom is dropped in them, and regulates the escape of the air from the
moulds so that the bottoms shall not drop on the table with sufficient force to
injure them. An operator stands in front of the machine, and while the
sliding table is rising and falling, be first drops the moveable bottom into the
first mould that is directly in front of him, and then puts in the proper quantity
of powder to form a cartridge. As the moveable table 17 nears the bottom
of its motion just previous to leaving the plungers, the revolving plate 18
drops into gear with the rack 24, and just as the moulds are withdrawn clear
from the plungers 27 and 28, the grooved cam 28 causes the revolving plate
and moulds to move one quarter of a turn forward, which brings the first or
newly filled mould under the compressing plunger 27, and the powder will be
compressed by the rising of the table 17, while the second mould which has
just taken its place is being filled by the operator. The next revolution of
the grooved cam brings the first mould out midway between the two plungers
27 and 28 on the side opposite to the operator, while the second mould is
brought under the compressing plunger 27 to be pressed, and the third mould
is brought round in front to be filled. While the moveable or sliding table 17
is again rising and falling with the moulds in this position, another attendant
drops into the first mould on top of the compressed powder a wooden
cylinder 35, Fig. 2, of sufficient length to pass freely under the discharging
plunger 28, to which position it is brought by the next revolution of the grooved
cam, and the second mould takes its place, while the third mould is brought
under the compressing plunger 27, and the fourth mould is brought in front

page_text: to be filled.
As the table now rises the discharging plunger 28 forces the
wooden cylinder 35, with the cartridge and moveable bottom, down through the
hole in the table, where they are received by the attendant and the moveable
bottom handed to the operator to be again dropped in the same mould as the
next revolution of the grooved cam again brings it round in front to be filled,
and so with all the others in succession. Of course, moulds of other sizes may.
be used for making the various sizes of cartridges. The adjusting screw over
the compressing plunger 27 has only about half of an inch range, and- to
make the thinner kinds of cartridges thickening pieces are fixed to the under
side of the moveable bottoms. For making rifle cartridges the machine,
although somewhat different in some of its detals, is constructed on the same
principle, but the bullet is to be placed in the mould as a bottom piece, and
then the powder is compressed thereon. In consequence of this compression
and of the concave or hollow space in the base of the bullet, the powder will
be made to adhere to the bullet sufficiently to admit of the cartridge and
projectile being handled and wrapped up in a proper or suitable covering.
Having now described this Invention of improved machinery for compressing
powder for cartridges, and having explained the manner of carrying the
same. into effect, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I
claim. as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid the
mechanical arrangements herein set forth for compressing powder or manu-
facturing. cartridges of any desired size.
I claim particularly mounting a series of moulds on a revolving plate or
table for the purpose of bringing the moulds in succession under the com-
pressing and discharging plungers.
I also claim imparting to the moulds or the revolving table or plate or its
equivalent a rising and falling motion for the purpose of bringing the powder
or cartridge under the action of the compressing and discharging plungers.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand. and seal, this Eleventh day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. .E. NEWTON. (L.S.)