US2565474A - Positive case emptying device for cartridge disassembling machines - Google Patents

Description

1951 F. E. COSTELLO' 2,565, 74

POSITIVE CASE- EMPTYING DEVICE FOR CARTRIDGE DISASSEMBLING MACHINES Filed April 22, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l g JNVENTOR.

1E FRANK E. COSTELLO. Q l k u". H: 9' 33 R TTORNEYS.

Aug. 28, 1951 F. E. COSTELLO 2,565,474

7 POSITIVE CASE EMPTYING DEVICE FOR I CARTRIDGE DISASSEMBLING MACHINES Filed April 22, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o KS) INVENTOR. FRANK E. COSTELLO. BY

ORNEYS.

Fig. 2.

Patented Aug. 28, 1951 POSITIVE CASE EMPTYING DEVICE FOR; CARTRIDGE DISASSEMBLING Frank E. Costello, Philadelphia,-P a. AppIication'AprilZZ, 1949,-Serial No'.'89,074 1; Claims. (cree -.1). (Granted under the act or "March 3, 1883, as

The inventionclescribed herein may be manufactured by and-usedby orifor the'Government for governmentalpurposes without the payment .ponent parts which essentially are: .a "bullet, a

cartridge case, and a .charge of propellent powder.

'This invention i s-an improvement on or an addition to those-disclosed in my U. S. Patent 2,349,248 grantedMay 23, 1944, and in my U. S;

Patent 2,449,059 granted September 14, 1948.

It is an object'of this invention to provide, in a machine for separating bullets from cartridge .cases and for emptying those cases of propellent powder charges contained therein, mechanism for assuring positive andcomplete emptying of the powder from all the cartridges so disassembled.

Itis a further object; of this invention to provide a machine "for disassembling cartridges which will assure that when the component parts thereof are disassociated no propellent powder will remain-in thecases or will'be mixed with the separated cases in the receptacle provided therefor.

It is a still further object of this invention to eliminate the safety hazard which results when the casesfrom disassembled cartridges are not entirely drained of propellentpowder, as a result of which subsequent handling of the cases could result in injury to operator personnel through unexpected detonation of the residual propellent charge.

An additional object of this invention is to increase the speed and decrease the labor with which cartridges may be so disassembled.

These objects and others, which willbe readily apparent to those skilled .in 'the art, may be learned from a consideration of the annexed drawings and specification which contain a full description-of one embodiment of this invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 isa top or plan View. of my improvements in a cartridge disassembling machine;

Fig. 2 .is a side view taken from line '2 2 of Fig. land-on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section taken from line44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken from line .5-5 of Fig. 2.

One embodiment of my present improvements "amended Alflil 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) in a cartridge disassembling machine which I have chosen for illustration in the drawings and description in the specification'is as follows:

The cartridge disassembling machine shown in my prior Patent 2,349,248 includes the followin elements: (1) A frame of table A which forms a support for parts of the machine. (2 A feeding mechanism B on-which the cartridges to be disassembled or separated into their component parts are placed by hand. (3) A conveyor'C in the form of a disc'having a notched or grooved edge into which the cartridges are fed in a vertical position and aroundthe perimeter of which the cartridges are conveyed'by the rotation of the conveyor. (4) A bullet pulling mechanism D which pulls or lifts the bullet or projectile (not shown) from a cartridge case -(5). A bullet discharge mechanism E including a'hopper orbin'33 into which the pulled or extracted-bullets fall. (6) A discharge station .F intojwhich the cartridge cases (from which the bullets have been removed) are toppled'upside down or with their open ends lowermost so that the powder charge will tend to ran out of the cases as they are conveyed along the chute as which forms .part of the discharge station.

My present improvements to the just described cartridge disassembling machine, by virtue of which theobjects earlier set forth are achieved, are as follows:

A pair of vertical supports 6!) and GI, spaced as shown in Fig. 2, are secured to the machines 'lo'wer frameiplate 16 by means of screws 63 and dowel pins 64. These supports carry a pair or helica'lly grooved conveyor rolls666l mounted as. shown inFig. 2 insuita'ble'bushings 68 therefor. The. groove in roll'fi'ii is a left-hand helix and the groove lin' roll 61 is a right-handhelix.

'Roll'lifi is shown toh'ave'm'ourited on one 'of its ends a"lsheave B9 and adjacent thereto a gear 70.] The other roll 6'! has no counterpart sheave, but does have a gear H which meshes with gear TU.

sheave 69 is connected by'belt 13 (see Fig. 1)

to another sheave i l-mounted on the machine's main drive shaft 75. .By virtue of this conn'e'c- .tion,. pow' er supplied "(by means "not shown) to the main drive shaft .15 energizesro'll 66 and, "in turn, roll 61, causing these rolls to rotate opposite directions. 'The grooves in these rolls are so designed that when the rollsare rotated they serve-to convey objects resting 'thereon'from right to left (asviewed by 'theread'er).

It will be noted, particularly from Figs. '2, 3

.and 5, .that 'ra pair of guide plates 'lB-"l"1 are shown) 3 supplied, the former mounted above roll 88 while the latter is mounted in between rolls 66-451. The purpose of these guide plates is to guide and support the cartridge cases CC when they are being conveyed along the moving rolls. Guide plate 16 is secured at its ends to vertical supports 88-4, respectively, by means of screws 19 (see Fig. 3). Guide plate 11 is similarly secured to support member fill-6| by means of screws 88 (again see Fig. 3).

The earlier mentioned chute 34 which leads from the cartridge case discharge station F has a flange 8| which is secured to the underside of table A by means of screws 82 (see Fig. 2). The exit end of this chute 34 is fixed in required position with respect to rolls 66B| by means of lugs 83 that are fastened with screws 84 to guide plate 18 (see Figs. 2, 3, 4)

A retaining plate 86 is, by means of screws 81, secured to vertical support member 6| as shown in Figs. 2-3. This plate serves to maintain cartridge cases CC on rolls 66-8'l until all the propellent powder has been drained therefrom, as will be explained more fully below. On the side of retaining plate' 86 which faces roll 81, there are mounted a stop bar 99 and a spacer bar 9|. The former is secured by means of screws 89, the latter by means of screws 92. The stop bar serves to limit the downward fall of the cartridge cases as they drop from chute 34, and also to jar the cases so that an initial loosening of the powder therein results. The spacer bar serves to hold the narrowed portions of the cartridge cases against roll 61 in order that there be no tipping of the cases as they are conveyed along the rolls.

A funnel-shaped powder receiving chute 94, whose mouth is wide enough to cover substantially the entire distance over which retaining plate 86 extends, is provided immediately therebelow. A continuation 95 of one wall -of chute 94 projects upwardly behind the rolls above the exit opening leading from chute 34. This continuation 95 acts as an apron to assure that any powder which may fall out of chute 34, while the cartridge cases are dropping on to the rolls, is caught by the funnel-shaped chute 94 for delivery to an appropriate receptacle (not shown) somewhat removed from the machine for purposes of safety. As best shown by Figs. 2-3, the funnel-shaped chute 94 is supported in the just described position by its being fitted in a 'hole through the lower frame plate I6.

Still another chute 98 is provided, this one for receiving and transferring the emptied cartridge cases CC to an appropriate receptacle (not This chute 98 should have an adequate entrance opening to receive the cartridge cases therein as they fall down from the rolls, and it is preferable that this chute be mounted in contact with the adjacent side of powder receiving chute 94 to avoid any possibility of the cases falling between the two chutes. Further assurance in this regard is provided by having retaining plate 86 extended beyond chute 94 over past the beginning of chute 98, thereby preventing the cartridge cases from falling off the rolls until they are in a position over the entrance to the cartridge case receiving chute 98. The

'manner of support for case receiving chute 98 is clearly indicated in Fig. as a simple bent plate of sheet metal 99 which is welded to the chute as at I89 and secured by screws Hll to the machines lower frame plate I6.

" "The operation of my improved mechanism is as follows: After the cartridges are disassembled (by means adequately described in my prior Patent 2,349,248) the cartridge cases pass through the discharge station F (Fig. 1) down, mouth first, through chute 34 on to the rolls as shown in Figs. 2-3. The falling cases strike stop bar and the impact serves to shake loose any caked powder which may be in the cases. Having landed on the rolls 66--B1, which are constantly rotating in opposite directions during the entire time the machine is in operation, the cartridge cases CC begin to move from right to left along the conveyor mechanism. Because the cases are held at the sharp angle indicated in Fig. 3, and further because adequate time is allowed during the traverse of the cases along the stop bar 98 and retaining plate 86 portions of the conveyor system, ample opportunity is afforded for a positive emptying of the powder charges from the cases.

Unlike the case emptying means provided in my original machine of Patent 2,349,248, this action is positive and foolproof. In my prior mechanism, difiiculty was occasionally encountered in completely emptying out certain propellent powders, particularly those of very fine granules, which tended to stick to the insides of the cases. Another difiiculty in my prior art device was the fact that the cases sometimes managed to turn in a position other than the required mouth-downward direction. My present invention, as will be obvious, completely avoids the difiiculties of my original device since, at all times, the empty cases are held in appropriate position for positive powder discharge.

As will be clear from reference to the drawings, the thus emptied cases are conveyed by the rolls 66-45! until they pass the free ends of retainer plate 86 and stop bar 90. At this point, there being nothing to prevent the cartridge cases CC from sliding off the rolls, the cases drop down (as shown in Fig. 2) through chute 98 into an appropriate receptacle (not shown) therebelow.

From the foregoing it Will be evident that I have provided, in a machine for separating bullets from cartridge cases and for emptying those cases of propellent powder charges contained therein, a mechanism for assuring positive and complete emptying of the powder from all the cartridges s disassembled; that I have provided a machine for disassembling cartridges which will assure that when the component parts thereof are disassociated no propellent powder will remain in the cases or will be mixed with the separated cases in the receptacle provided therefor; that I have eliminated the safety hazard which results when the cases from disassembled cartridges are not entirely drained of propellent powder and as a result of which subsequent handling of the cases could result in injury to the operator personnel through unexpected detonation of the residual propellent charge; and that I have increased the speed and decreased the labor with which cartridges may be disassembled.

Thus it will be seen that my inventive improvements are extension in their adaption and are not to be restricted to the specific form here disclosed by way of illustration. For example, the cartridge cases represented in the drawings are of the well-known bottle-necked military design. Obviously, non-necked or other type of cases can just as readily be acted upon by my invention. Y

I claim;

1. In a machine for separating cartridges into the projectile, case and powder components of which each is made up, the combination of a rotatable dial having cartridge-receiving notches spaced around its periphery, means at a feeding station for placing cartridges in said notches with their case heads down and their projectile ends up, means at a pulling station for separating said projectiles from said cartridge cases while the latter are still in said notches, an ejector at a discharge station for pushin each of said cartridge cases from the dial notch by which it is carried in such a way that it falls mouth-end-down out of said notch, a stop bar for abruptly limiting the fall of said cartridge cases, a pair of revolving rolls arranged so that a tangent thereto would form a sharp decline for supporting said cases at a sharp angle mouth-end-down while conveying them some distance from the point where they originally strike said stop bar, a powder receiving chute, a case receiving chute, and a retaining member which serves to keep the cases on the rolls over a length of travel adequate to permit the powder to drain from the cases down said powder receiving chute after which the cases are unrestrained and permitted to, fall down saidcase receiving chute by action of gravity.

2. In a machine for separating cartridges into the projectile, case and powder components of which each is made up, the combination of a rotatable dial having cartridge-receiving notches spaced around its periphery, means at a feeding station for placing cartridges in notches, means at a pulling station for separating said projectiles from said cartridges while the latter are still in said dial notches, means at a discharge station for ejecting each of said cartridge cases mouth end down from the dial notch by which it is carried, means for jarring each so ejected case to shake loose the powder contents thereof, conveyor means for supporting the ejected cases at a sharp angle mouth-enddown and thus moving them a distance adequate to allow for the powder contents to drain therefrom by action of gravity, and a retaining means for keeping the cases on the conveyor means while the powder is draining therefrom, where' upon the emptied cases are allowed to fall from the conveyor means by action of gravity.

3. In a cartridge disassembling machine, a positive cartridge case emptying device, including, a helically grooved driving roll, at least one helically grooved driven roll geared to said drivn.

ing roll so that rotation of the driving roll causes rotation of the driven roll, said driven roll mounted parallel to the driving r011 so that a tangent to the two rolls would form a sharp decline, and a retaining plate serving to hold for a portion of their travel therealong the cartridge cases that drop onto said rolls mouth end downsaid ward so that as the cases are conveyed along by the moving rolls the case contents will fall out prior to a point past the retaining plate when the cases will drop off the rolls by action of gravity.

4. In a cartridge disassembling machine, a positive cartridge case emptying device, including, a helically grooved driving roll, means associated with the machines drive mechanism for rotating said driving roll, a helically grooved driven roll geared to said driving roll so that rotation of the driving roll causes rotation of the driven roll, said driven roll mounted parallel to the driving roll so that they coact to form a horizontally moving but declined conveyor, and a retaining plate for holding during a portion of their travel therealong the cartridge cases that drop onto said rolls mouth end downward so that as the cases are conveyed along by the moving rolls the case contents will fall out prior to a point past the retaining plate when the cases will drop ofi the rolls by action of gravity.

5. In a cartridge disassembling machine, a positive cartridge case emptying device, including, conveyor means for supporting cartridge cases at a sharp angle mouth-end-down and for thus moving them a desired distance in a substantially horizontal direction, guide means for additionally supporting and guiding said cartridge cases on said conveyor means, and retaining means for holding the cartridge cases on the conveyor means during part of their travel therealong without obstructing the case mouths so that the case contents can fall out prior to a point past the retaining plate when gravity will cause the cases to drop oil said conveyor means.

6. In a machine for disassembling bottlenecked cartridge cases, a positive cartridge case emptying device, including, conveyor means for supporting cartridge cases at a sharp angle mouth-end-down and for thus moving them a desired distance in a substantially horizontal direction, a spacer member for holding the necked portion of the cartridge cases against said conveyor means in order to avoid tipping of the cases as they are moved by said conveyor, and retaining means for holding the cartridge cases on the conveyor means during part of their travel therealong without obstructing the case mouths so that the case contents can fall out prior to a point past the retaining plate when gravity will cause the cases to drop off said conveyor means.

FRANK E. COSTELLO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 635,072 Hurd Oct. 17, 1899 2,349,248 Costello May 23, 1944

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