Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Cartridge Shells with Gun Powder.
Year: 1895

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by LARS GUSTAF OHMAN, Mechanic, of Marieburg,
Stockholm, Sweden.]
Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Cartridge Shells with
Gun Powder.
I, GUSTAF Roos, of Montford House, Sunbury-on-Thames in the County of
Middlesex, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus for charging cartridge shells with powder.
For this purpose rows of empty cartridge shells are placed upon a table which can
be slid forwards step by step so as to bring each row in succession under a row of
feed shoots. These leed shoots are supplied from a hopper above, through a
horizontal measuring cylinder which has through it a number of transverse holes
From a shaft which can be turned
corresponding in position with the feed shoots.
by hand or any suitable motor, and which has on it suitable cranks eccentrics or
cams, motion is given to the table advancing it step by step, and reciprocating
motion is given to the measuring cylinder, which in one part of its reciprocation
presents its transverse holes upwards to receive powder from the hopper, and when
it is turned partly round, presents the holes downwards discharging the powder
into the shoots. Each hole has an adjustable bottom so as to regulate the charge.
The shaft is provided with an automatic clutch which is engaged only when the
table carrying the shells is in position to move under the shoots; at the end of its
travel, the clutch becomes disengaged so that the feed of the powder ceases, and is
not resumed until a fresh table carrying shells is put into position to have the shells
charged.
Dated this 13th day of September 1895.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COME BUITIO
Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Cartridge Shells with
Gun Powder.
I, GUSTAF Roos, of Montford House, Sunbury-on-Thames, in the County of
Middlesex, Merchant, 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 a machine for automatically charging cartridges as I
shall describe referring to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a side view and Figure 2 is an end view of the machine,
Figures 3 and 4 are respectively longitudinal and transverse sections of the
measuring cylinder, Figure 4 shewing it modified so that the charges delivered may
be varied.

page_text: On the sliding table T are placed rows of cartridge shells C which pass through
holes in an upper plate T₁ attached by bolts to the table T. One edge of the
table T is made with ratchet teeth e² with which engages a pawl el jointed to a
levere which is worked by an eccentric E on a rotating shaft S. On the same
shaft S is fitted a clutch sheare L so that it can slide along but must revolve with
the shaft, and loose on the shaft there is a crank disc Khaving a crank pin K¹
which is connected by a link K² to an arm M fixed on the end of a measuring
cylinder M. In the crank disc K there is a hole having fitted in it a spring pin k
the end of which projects into a hole in the clutch sheave L. When the pin is thus
engaged the crank disc K is caused to revolve and the measuring cylinder M is
caused to reciprocate within a casing M². The hole in L for the pin k is so
situated that the clutching of the crank dise K is suited to the setting of the
eccentric E on the shaft S in such a manner that the measuring cylinder M is
receiving powder while the table T is advancing, and is discharging while T is
at rest.
Above this casing there is fixed a feed hopper H from which several tubes lead
down to the casing M2; through the measuring cylinder M are bored a corre-
sponding number of holes M³ cach forming a receptacle for powder supplied from
the hopper M. When it is desired to vary the capacity of these holes; thus
varying the charge to each cartridge, each of the holes in the cylinder is provided
with a moveable bottom which by means of a screw m can be advanced or retracted
so as to make the capacity of the hole less or greater as may be desired. When
the cylinder M is caused to reciprocate, the transverse holes M³ present themselves
towards openings m' to which the tubes are connected, and while they are in that
position they become charged with powder, then when the cylinder M is turned so
that its holes M³ present themselves to other openings m², the powder falls from
them into the funnel mouths of tubular shoots F which are fixed in suitable
position being clamped between two bars fi secured together by screws f2. Below
the tubular shoots F¹ there is a set of lower shoots F having funnel mouths
immediately under the upper shoots Ft. The lower shoots are fixed in a
cylindrical barf which can be turned more or less round in its bearings and then
clamped in such position that the lower mouths of the shoots F are immediately
above a row of the shells C and thus the powder which descends the shoots F1 and F
pours into the shells C. When a row of shells C is thus filled, the table T is
moved onwards so as to bring another row of shells C under the shoots F ; this
advance of the table T is effected as above mentioned by the pawl et moved by the
eccentric E.
The shaft S is driven slowly by reducing gear S₁ from a more rapidly revolving
shaft S2 provided with a fly wheel which may be driven by hand or from any
convenient motor. As this shaft goes on continuously it is necessary to provide
that when the last row of cartridges is filled as shewn in Figure 1, the reciprocation
of the cylinder M and the consequent feed of powder should cease until a fresh
table T carrying empty shells shall have been substituted for the table carrying
the charged shells.
This stoppage of feed is effected by unclutching the crank disc in the following
manner. The groove of the clutch sheave L is engaged by a fork lever / to which
is loosely jointed another lever ; the lower end of this lever is jointed to a pin 2
which can slide in a hole in the framing, being urged by a spring which presses it
against the edge of the table T. While the table is sliding, this pin 12 is kept in
the position shewn holding the clutch L nearly close to the crank disc K with the
pink engaged in it, consequently the crank disc K revolves working the measuring
cylinder M.
But when the end of the table T passes beyond the pin 12, this pin
urged by the spring moves to the right moving the levers 1, and the clutch
sheave L withdrawing it from the pin k, and consequently the crank disc K ceases
to revolve and the measuring cylinder M remains at rest. When a fresh table T
is introduced, the pin is moved to the left by an inclined part on the end of the
table; the clutch sheave L is thus moved up to the crank disc pushing back the

page_text: pin k until the hole of L comes round to coincidence with k which thereupon springs
into the hole, the crank disc then revolving with L.
Although I have described the apparatus as applied for charging cartridges
with gunpowder, similar apparatus could obviously be applied to supply them
with shot.
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 machine for charging cartridges, wherein a table carrying a number of
rows of shells is moved step by step under a row of shoots delivering charges from
a reciprocating measuring cylinder which has its cavities supplied from a hopper
above.
2. In the machine referred to in Claim 1, the combination of the crank disc K
and its spring pin k, the clutch sheave L the levers and land the spring pin l
with the table. T, whereby the crank disc and consequently the measuring
cylinder M is worked only when there is a table T in its place in the machine.
3. The modification of the measuring cylinder by making the bottoms of its
cavities adjustable by screws, so that their capacity can be varied to suit different
charges of gunpowder.
Dated this 10th day of June 1896.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.