ORDNANCE FIRE-ARMS, CARTRIDGES IMPROVEMENTS AND AND AMMUNITIONS OR PROJECTILES, AND MODE OF MAKING UP OR PREPARING THE SAME
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bonneville, of the British and
Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, France,
and 6, Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for
the Invention of
IN ORDNANCE
FIRE-ARMS,
CARTRIDGES
IMPROVEMENTS
AND
AND AMMUNITIONS OR PROJECTILES, AND MODE OF MAKING
UP OR PREPARING THE SAME."-A communication from Alexandre
Alfred Biennait, residing at Grenelle, France, Manufacturer.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 14th April 1873, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRI
ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Ruc
de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, France, and 6, Piccadilly, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ORDNANCE AND FIRE-ARMS, CARTRIDGES AND AMMUNITIONS OR PROJECTILES,

page_text: AND MODE OF MAKING UP OR PREPARING THE SAME," communicated to
me by Alexandre Alfred Biennait, a person resident at Grenelle,
France, Manufacturer, and have petitioned Her Majesty to graut
unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters
Patent for the same, and made solemn declaration that it is a
communication.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
scal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference being had
to the accompanying Drawings and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:—
The Invention relates to improvements for manufacturing combustible
fire-arms cartridges, cannon cartridges, quick matches, minc saucisses,
war or hunting projectiles, and pyrotechnical pieces to render them
waterproof and enabled to be almost indefinitely kept. These improve-
ments consist in making the envelope, percussion cap, powder case, and
the base of the cartridge with impervious or waterproof materials which
may during several days be moistened or even immerged into the water,
the powder and the prime not being altered.
These improvements applied to fire-arms cartridges are shown in the
accompanying Drawings in which Fig. 1 represents longitudinal,
sectional, and external views of a cartridge with an envelope and detailed
views of the same; Fig. 2 is an external longitudinal view of the same
modified, and an isolated fastening piece, and Fig. 3 is an external
longitudinal view of another modification and isolated parts of the
same with the ball cut. In the several Figures the same letters indicate
corresponding parts.
The cartridge consists of a fatty disk a, the base b, the percussion
cap c, the powder case d, a pasteboard disk e, another fatty disk f, the
ball g, and envelop h. The base, percussion cap, powder case, and
envelop are made with sheep gut or with goldbeater's skin, as hercin-
after described.
The cartridge envelop is made with sheep gut and closed at the front
part by placing on a wooden mould the one upon the other, and by
fastening or glueing together two pieces of gut cut at a required length.
The thickness of the envelop is trus doubled and its strength greatly

page_text: creased, is uniformly divided, the envelop is then closed at the base or
e cartridge. The guts of all animals in general may be used in
aking the said envelops, and also the cannon cartridges, quick matches,
itrailleuse cartridges, mine saucisses, and pyrotechnical pieces, thereby
c use of the said guts for the said making is also claimed. To
crease the imperviousness the said envelops are immerged into
ollodion and afterwards let to dry.
The percussion cap is made with goldbeaters' skin the resistance of
hich is much greater than that of the guts of all other animals. The
iameter of the percussion cap changes according to the size of the
artridge. Several pieces of goldbeaters' skin at first are placed the
nes upon the others on a wooden or metal mandrel and then let to dry.
They are afterwards kept away from the mandrel and cut on the sides of
the latter in such a manner that an elongated square is obtained, in
which small disks are cut by means of a cutting press at required size,
which then are stamped into matrices of exact percussion cap shape;
the percussion cap is afterwards stamped and completed by means of a
punching tool. To load the percussion cap the ordinary process is used,
The
that is to say, the fulminating powder is placed in the bottom of the
percussion cap and therein fastened by a powerful pressure.
percussion cap loaded is immerged into a collodion bath and let to dry.
By the said plunging all parts of the percussion cap retract and thus are
tightened so that a great firmness of the percussion cap is attained.
Besides, the percussion cap is waterproof and could be immerged into
the water without injury. Although the goldbeaters' skin is indicated
for the making the said percussion cap the guts and blisters of all
animals can be used for the same.
The powder case is made with the sheep gut. The proceeding process.
is about the same than that of the envelops. Two pieces of gut are
O placed the one upon the other on a wooden or metal cylindrical mould,
the diameter of which must be the same than that of the cartridge,
then they are let to dry; the mould afterwards covered with the gut
pieces is immerged into a collodion bath and let to dry, and the tube
thus produced is then cut at the required length. The base of the
35 cartridge is made with the goldbeaters' skin by the same manner than
the percussion cap, except that the same shape is not given by the
punching, the outside edge of the base being vertically lifted up so tha
it enters in the powder case with which it is fastened or glued to giv

page_text: to the sides of the latter a sufficient resistance to resist to the pressure
produced by the raming of the powder into the case. The base and the
case can be glued together by the gluc, ordinary past, or other
adherent substances. The collodion can also be used.
The large cases of the cannon cartridges and of the pyrotechnical
large picces will be made by preference with guts of ox, calf, or other
animals of great size.
The modification shown in the Fig. 2 relates to the simplified manu-
facturing the cartridge when it is daily used and must not be preserved
during a long time, and consists in suppressing the envelop h, and in
keeping the ball and the powder case connected together by means of a
thin lead disk, having a central hole and set round the upper part of
the powder case, and the lower part of the ball therein inserted by means
of an energetic pressure made by a grooved tool having the conical
sliape of the ball.
The modification shown in the Fig. 3, as the modification of the
Fig. 2, is without the envelop, but the powder case is closed and the
said powder case and the ball are fastened or connected together by
another way. In this case the upper part of the powder case is scized
and twisted by means of a peculiar tool in such a manner that an
clongated projecting point is formed about of a quarter of an inch
long, which is then dipped into the collodion so that it will be made
waterproof and hard, and the ball is provided with a small conical
hollow corresponding to that projection which is therein inserted, and
the lower part of the ball will afterwards be compressed upon the
projecting point by means of a setting tool shaped like the ball. By the
said pressure the ball and the powder case are firmly fastened or
connected together.
As above described and shown in the Drawings, two fatty disks are
enclosed in the powder case, the one a, the smallest, placed at the
bottom of the cartridge facilitates the working in its box of the breech
bolt of the fire-arms constructed according to the principle on which the
French war fire-arm is based, the fatty disk f, the diameter of which is
the same of the powder case, lubricates the inside of the barrel at
every fire.
The lubrinstinc

page_text: high temperature, the fatty body being inside enclosed, and thereby
secured from the moisten and the atmospherical influences.
When the fire-arms are not provided with a breech obturator, a
nelallic primed base could be adjusted to the modified cartridge shown
in the Fig. 2 and 3 which should act as an obturator. The said
modified cartridge could be put advantageously in the place of metallic
or semi-metallic cartridges since it should be cheaper and less heavy.
Having thus described the said Invention and the manner of carrying
it into effect I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details above enumerated, as these may obviously be
modified without departing from the principle of the Invention, but
what I claim and desire to secure by the said Letters Patent is, the
manufacturing of combustible fire-arms' cartridges and of cases or boxes
of other pyrotechnical pieces, with guts, blisters, or goldbeaters' skin,
the said cartridges, cases, and boxes being immerged in a collodion bath
and dried to render them waterproof and enabled to be almost in-
definitely kept unaltered, substantially as above described and represented
in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, have
hereto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy.
three.