US708123A - Cartridge-shell-gaging machine. - Google Patents

Description

' No. r708,|22.. Patented sept. 2, |902.

P. BUTLER. l 'A CARTRIDGE 'SHELL GGING MACHINE.

3 Shees--Sheet (N0 Model.)

"Il m" I l I l mll Nu. 708,I23. Patented Sept. -2, |902.

P.; BUTLER.

CARTRIDGE SI'ELI G-AGING MACHINE.

' (App'xi'cmon med Api. 2e, '1897.1

(no- Model.)

a' sheen-sheet 2.

Tg4: Nanms persas mgamno. wAsHmaau, mfc.

No. 708423. 1 Patented' sept. |902.,

l V l P BUTLER.

CARTRIDGE SHELL GAGING MACHINE.

' (`App1ication med Apr. 2e, 1897.)

Guo Model.)

3 Sheet's-Sheet 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL BUTLER, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

CARTRIDGE-SHELL- GAGING MACHINE.

.SPECIFIcATIoN forming part of Letters'. 'Patent No. 708,123, dated september 2, 1902. Application filed April S6, 1897. Serial No. 635,902. (No model.)

T0 all wwwt it Wawy concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL BUTLER, of Lowell, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Car tridge-Shell-Gaging Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aj specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a gaging or asserting machine for cartridge-shells or analogous articles, and is adapted to operate upon such articles when presented to it to separate and assort them according to the shape or dimensions thereof or of a certain part thereof and to collect together those which are of a given predetermined size or shape apart from-those which differ therefrom, and the operation is capable of being extended to an indefinite number of classes or sizes, the articles of each class being collected together and separated from the arti-V cles of all other classes.

The machine embodying the present invention is especially intended for use with cartridge-shells, the shape and dimensions of which must be of a certain standard in order Y to fit the breech-chambers of the guns with which they are intended to be used, and the object of the machinev is to separate those shells in which a certain part is of a standard v size and shape from those in which the same part differs in any respect from the standard, the machine being adapted to collect together the standard shells in one place and also, preferably, to separate and classify those which differ from the standard and collect those of each class by themselves. f

In another application, filed April 2G, 1897, Serial No. 633,901, I have shown and described a gaging-machine having a similar objectviz., that ofV gaging and assorting cartridgeshells-the said machine operating to assort said shells according to the thickness of the lianges thereof-4'. e., to separate and collect those having flanges of standard thickness from those having flan ges of thickness greater or less than standard. The machine of the present invention embodies some of the combinations of said prior machine; and the present invention consists, mainly, in appliances for assortin g the shells according to the diameter of the flanged ends thereof to separate those which are not of standard diameter from those which are; and it further consists in novel feed mechanism and in various combinations that will be hereinafter specified.

' The machine embodying the present invention is provided with a gage-opening adapted -to allow a shell having a iiange of standard diameter to pass through when presented to it endwise, but to exclude a shell in which the diameter of the vflange is greater than Vstandard and arrest the said shell at the opening of said passage. Thus a shell of standard size or smaller than standard size properly presented to said opening and operated upon by suitable instru mentalities, as will be described, will pass through the same, and a second gage-passage is provided to which are presented, shells which have passed through vthe irst gage-passage, and the said second gage-passage is adapted to arrest a shell of standard size, but to allow one of less than standard size to pass through it. Thus shells l presented to the machine will, if larger than standard, be arrested at the mouth of the first gage-passage, if of Vstandard size will pass vthrough and beyond said rst gage-passage and be arrested at the mouthof the second,

and if of less than standard size will pass through both gage-passages to still a different position, so that the shells will thus be sepai rated into three classes,it being obvious, moreover, that by increasing the number of gagepassages the asserting operation might be carried to an indefinite number of classifications. The shells thus presented to the gage-passages are operated upon by a feeler having a yielding actuator, as a spring or gravitation, said feeler tending to move them toward said gagepassages, but adapted to be stopped if resistance is offered to its movement, so that 'as each is presented to the foremost gageopening it will be engaged by said feeler, which follows said shell until it is stopped `by.one or the other of the gage-passages or passed completely through both and controls subsequent operations of the machine in accordance with the position in which it is thus stopped. Ejecting devices are also provided, there being a separate ejecting device at each IOO position which can be assumed bya shell Y adapted to operate after the shell has been positioned by the gages, and said ejecting devices are so arranged that each one operates to eject a shell so that it will fall in a different position from those ejected by the other devices.

While the operation of the machine to gage and assort the shells as above described is not dependent upon any particular means for presenting the shells thereto, a device for automatically feeding the said shells from a promiscuous mass is preferably provided, the generic features of the feeding device herein shown being similar to those of the feeding device described in my other application above named, said device, however, having certain novel features which form part of the present invention.

Figure l is an elevation of a machine embodying the present invention, showing what for convenience will be called the righthand side of the machine; Fig. 2, a similar elevation on a plane at right angles to Fig. l-tl e., a front elevation; Fig. 3, au elevation of the left-hand side, part of the framework being broken away to better show the operating mechanism; Fig. 4, an enlarged horizontal sectional detail on line 0:4 of Fig. 3 looking down, showing the shell-ca rriage in plan; Fig. 5, a similar horizontal sectional detail on the line mi, Fig. 3; Fig. G, an enlarged detail showing the gaging and ejecting devices in elevation with portions ot' the framework in section; Fig. 7, a view showing a longitudinal section through the axis of the gage passages; Fig. 8, an enlarged front elevation of the portion of the machine shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 9, a top plan View of the overturning device forming part of the feed mechanism, the parts of the machine above and below said device not being shown; Fig. 10, a side elevation of the same, and Figs. 1l and 12 details which will he hereinafter referred to.

In the operation of the machine the shells are presented one by one, with the head or anged end down, at the opening of a gagepassage a, herein shown as a circular' opening in a disk a2, as best shown in Fig. 7, secured in any suitable way to a bracket A3, supported on a base-plate A2at the top of the post A. As herein shown, the said gage-disk is secured to said bracket by means of a metal strap a3, Fig. 2, extending around the periphery of the gage-disk and fastened to the bracket by a bolt a* and nut a5. The said gage-passage a is substantially equal in size to the size of the flanged end of the standard shell, so that such a shelllwhen presented thereto may be passed through said passage, while if it is larger than standard size it will be stopped at the mouth of the same, where it will remain during one complete operation of the machine. If, however, the shell is of standard size and capable of passing through said gage-passage a, it will be presented to a similar gage-passage b in line with passage a, the said passage b being somewhat smaller than the flanged end of a standard shell, so that a standard shell will be stopped at the mouth of said passage, while one smaller than the standard will pass through the same to the level of the base-plate A2. The passage b is formed in a disk b2, secured by metal strap b3, bolt b4, and nut b5 to the bracket a3, being similar in these respects to the gage-passage a above described. In orderto prevent the shells thus presented to the gage-passages from falling through the same by gravity, which might result in their not being properly positioned with relation to the said passages, a reciprocating support or pedestal d is shown as beinglongitudinally movable through said gagepassages,the movementthereof being so timed with relation to the other parts of the machine that the said pedestal stands, when a shell is presented, in the position shown in Fig. '7, so as to support the said shell at the mouth of the gage-passage a. After the shell is thus presented the said pedestal d moves downward and the shell supported thereon, if small enough to pass through either or both gage-passages, follows the said pedestal, there being also provided a follower or feeler (Z2, movable with the said pedestal, the said feeler having a tapered end adapted to enter the mouth of the shell and center the same with relation to the gage-passage and insure its movement through the said gage-passage, provided it is of the proper size to pass through. The said reciprocating pedestal is positively actuated in its upward movement or movement toward the mouth of the gage-passage a by means of a cam d3, carried on the main shaft B of the machine, its downward movement, however, being non-positive and due, for example, to gravitation, assisted, if necessary, by the force of a spring, herein shown as an elastic band d, connected at one end to an arm d5, secured to the post A, and at its opposite end to an arm d6, with which the reciprocating pedestal (Z is connected.

The pedestal and feeler are preferably mounted, respectively, upon the arm d6 and a similar arm d?, both connected to a rod d8, having a bearing in the base-plate A2, which thus forms a guide for the said pedestal and follower, which move in unison.' Thus when a shell is presented at the mouth of the passage a it is supported upon the said pedestal, while if the said shell is not properly centered, and therefore does not follow the pedestal by gravity, it is engaged by the feeler d2, which thus exerts a slight pressure upon the shell to press itdowuward, but is supported thereby if the flange is too large to readily enter the gage-passage. The feeler and pedestal are thus supported by the shell during the further operation of the machine until again lifted by the cam to their normal position,

thus leaving the shell in position determined by the size of its flange with relation to the size of the gage-passages. The said pedestal and feeler also coperate with ejecting devices for shells which stop at the mouths of IIO either of the passages a and b, as will be hereinafter described. l

VThe shells are presented to the gage-pas sage a bypmeans of a reciprocating carriage e, having at one end a pair of jaws e2, adapted to move to and from the gage-opening a, the shells being fed to the said carriage when in one position, as from a chutef, and moved forward therebyto a position over the opening ct, the movement of the carriage being so timed with relation to the movement of the pedestal d as to present a shell over the openingd when the said pedestal is at its highest position.

To cause the reciprocating movement of the carriage e, the said carriage is connected by a projection-e3 with a-lever-arm e4, having an elongated opening e5, into which the said projection e3 extends, said arm e4 being mounted upon a rock-shaft e6, Fig. 3, having a bearing A4 on the base-plate A?. The said rock-shaft -in turn is connected by a leverarm e7 and pitman e8 to a vwrist-pin on a disk e9 on the main shaft B, which is rotated, as by a pulley B2, in the direction of the arrow, Fig. l, thus causing at each complete rotation of the pulley B2 a complete forward-andbackward movement of the carriagee. The said carriage maybe mounted or supported in any suitable way, being herein shown as traveling in a track or guideway A5, Fig. 4,'

formed inthe standard A6, vwhich is mounted upon the base-.plate A2.

After the shells vhave been presented to the gage-passage and are properly positioned with relation thereto according to the sizes of their lianges it is necessary that they should be ejected to make way for the next operation of the machine, the machine being provided with a separate chute or receptacle for shells ejected from each of said positions.

In order to cooperate properly with the other instrumentalities which operate to position the shell presented to the machine, adifferent ejecting device is arranged to operatev at each position which may be assumed -by a shell, and the said ejecting devices will be described in order and their relation to the other portions ofthe machine individually pointed out, itl being understood, however, that the` invention isnot limited to thespecific construction shown and described, since modifications might obviously be made without departing from the invention.

Assuming first that a shell presented at the gage-opening a is of greater than standard size, so that it will stop at the mouth of said opening, it will be engaged by the-downward movement of the feeler d2, the said feeler entering the mouth of .the shell and holding it in position while the carriage recedes, and in order that the said shell may be ejected at the proper time or before another shell is presented an ejector cw, Fig. 4, is provided, consisting of-a yielding gate or springextending across the mouth of the jawse2 in the said carriage in front of a shell contained in the vthe plunger.

said jaws, the said springyieldingl to the shell held by the feeler d2 during the backward movement of the carriage, but operating to push'thesaid shell before it as the carriage moves forward. As has been stated,

the feeler (Pis so timed with relation tothe movement of the carriage that 'it will be in its uppermost position substantially at the time when the said carriage reaches its extreme forward position, so that the shell will no longer be engaged by the said feeler and will be ejected into a suitable chute L and directed thereby to a receptacle, while the shell which has been received from the feeding device at the previousA rearward move'- ment of the carriage is then presented to the gage-opening a.

f The camds, as shown in Figs. l and 3, has a steep incline toward the rear wit'hrelation to its direction of rotation, and the cam is'so related to the carriage-actuating means'that the said steep incline comes under the'frame bearing the pedestal and follower just as the carriage reaches its Aextreme forward position. The follower d2 thus falls suddenly and engages the shell before the backward movement of the carriage begins, preventing the shell from-bein g withdrawn thereby and forcing the ejector-spring el to yieldbefore it in the backward movement of the carriage.

To eject standard shells or those which pass through the passage n, and stand at the mouth of the passage b, a spring-plunger g is utilized, said plungerbeing shown as carried by` a slide g2, longitudinally movable'in a guideway g3,-Fig.v 7 in the bracket A3 and actuated in a direction to eject the shell by a spring g4, connected at one end to said bracket and at the opposite end to said spring-plunger. The said-plunger is retained in its guideway g3 in any suitable way, as by a pin g5, extending into a slot gw, Fig. 5, in the guide portion of The said plunger co'perates IOO IOS

IIO

with the Vpedestal d, having any inclined surv` face g, adapted to be engaged during the upward movement of said pedestal, which car- -ries ity back to a position readyto operate, or, in other words, sets it, and in order to retain it set an arm or holder QT, Fig. 5, mounted on a pivot g8, is moved to a position in front of the said plungerg, the movement of said arm Q7 being provided for in any suitable way, as by-a double cam 99, cooperating with the arm'e4, `which actuates the carriage e. The 'saidholder also constitutes a guide for the' shells which pass through the passage @,'the end glo thereof being, `as shown, convex or semicylindrical, embracing the shell and preventing it from falling out;

As shown in Fig. 5, the arm g7 is thrown into engagement with the plunger g by the engagement ofthe arm e4 with the cam-surface gm, whichloccurs just before the carriage reaches' its forward position, and'V remains by the engagement of the arm e4 with the there until actuated in the opposite direction i when the carriage e has nearly reached its extreme backward position. As the carriage recedcs, therefore, and the pedestal d travels downward the plunger g will be retained set by the arm gl, and the shell following, if of standard size, will be stopped at the mouth of the opening l), while the feeler d2, extending into the said shell, will retain it against lateral displacement until said feeler is removed by the upward movement caused by its actuating-cam, as above described. Thus when the carriage has reached or nearly reached its extreme rear position the arm 97 will be removed from the path of the plunger g, the said plunger thus being held by the shell itself, which in turn is held by the feeler d2, and in the further movement of the machine the said feeler will be raised by its actuating-cam until it passes out of the mouth of the shell, there then being nothing to retain the plungerg in its said position, so that it will move sharply forward in response to the spring g11 and eject the shell into the chute S, Fig. l, said chute being preferably provided with a guard S2 near its upper end to prevent the shell from being thrown be yond the pathway aorded thereby. A shell which is smaller than standard will pass completely through the passages tt and b, remaining on the pedestal d until the latter reaches its lowermost position, in which the end or supporting,r portion thereof is substantially on a level with the base-plate A2. The shape of the actuating-cam d3 is such that the pedestal d will dwell for an instant in its lowermost position, and during this dwell the shell standing below the passage b will be struck a blow by an ejector-linger h, pivoted at h2, Figs. 2 and 3, upon the post A. To actuate the said ejector-finger h at the proper time, a spring-arm h3 is shown as carried by the disk e9 on the main shaft B and adapted during the rotation of said shaft to engage the projection h4 from the lower end of the ejector-finger 7L, so as to rock the same on its pivot, causing the upper end thereof to move to the right (see Fig. 3) and eject the shell into the chute T. The projection 7i,4 from the said ejector-nger and the portion of the pedestal-carrier which engages with the cam d3, herein shown as a cam-roll dio, mounted on a projection (131 from the arm d6, are on the same side of the axis of rotation of the main shaft B, while the engaging portions of the cam 07,3 and spring-arm 71,3, respectively, are on the opposite sides of said shaft, so that the arm h3 will operate the ejector h when the pedestal d is in its lowermost position. Thus a shell larger than standard will be retained at the mouth of the gage-passage a and laterally supported by the feeler cl2 during the rearward movement of the carriage e and ejected by the springewduring the forward movement of the carriage, which is accomplished by an upward movement of the pedestal and feeler, so that the shell is no longer laterally retained thereby. A shell of standard size will be retained at the opening of the passage Z1, where it is laterally supported by the feeler d2, until the latter is actuated in an upward direction by its actuating-cam d3, and said shell will be ejected by the spring-plunger g as soon as released by the upward movement of the follower dg, the retaining-arm g7 for said plunger having in the meanwhile been removed from the path thereof by the engagement of the arm e4 with the cam-surface 992. A shell which is smaller than standard will remain on the surface of the pedestal d until said pedestal reaches its lowermost position, at which time the ejector-arm 71, will be actuated, striking and ejecting the said shell.

As has been previously stated, the shells are fed to the reciprocating carriage c through a chutef, down which the shells are fed in a colu mn and supported upon the upper surface of the carriage until the opening between the jaws e2 comes under the said chute, when the lowermost shell will drop between the said jaws and be pushed forward by the forward movement of the said carriage. It is necessary, however, for the proper operation of the machine that the shell should be presented to the carrier head down, and while it is obvious that the shells might be fed in any suitable way to the said chute or directly to the carrier, provided the shells were supplied by said chute or introduced into the carrier with the flanged end down, it is preferable to provide feeding mechanism which shall be entirely automatic and in which the shells may be fed from a promiscuous mass in a hopper and automatically arranged in uniform position before reaching the carrier e, no matter what position they may be in when they first fall into the receiver. For this purpose the feed mechanism also comprises a second chute f2, adapted to receive shells from the hopper f3, and the shells coming through said chute f2 are supported upon the upper surface of a traveling receiversuch as the rotating diskf4, having along its periphery a series of openings f5, each adapted to receive a shell as it passes under the end of the chute f2. Underneath the said disk is a support for the shells,shown as a stationary platformf,upon which the shells fed to the openings f5 rest and along which they travel in the receiver f4. Thus a shell passing out from the chute f2 falls into one of the openings f5 and is carried along in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 9, until it reaches the mouth of the chutej", which extends upward into or directly beneath an opening in the support or stationary platform f, the mouth of the said chute being indicated atfl. As soon as the shells arrive over the said mouth f7 in the rotation of the diskf4 they will drop down into the same and be fed through the chutefto the reciprocating carriage e. In order that shells presented to the said rotating disk wrong end up-'. c., with their mouths down-may beinverted so that they will be presented to the chute f head downward, as is necessary, the

IOO

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stationary platform]c6 is provided with an engaging portion or cam, the nature of which is such as to engage the smaller or mouth end of a shell, but to allow the larger or flanged end of the shell to pass without beingengaged, such cam being herein shown as the inner edge f8 of a groove in the surface of the support, the said1 edge extending from a point behind the path of travel of a shell when carried forward by the rotating disk to a point near the periphery of the stationary platform.

The said groove is somewhat narrower than the diameter of the flanged end of the shell, and when the said shell is presented flange down it will travel across the said groove, owing to the larger diameter of the flanged end, which will reach across the groove and not be engaged or caught by the edge thereof. It is not, however, essential that the said iianged end should absolutely straddle the groove, since the said flanged end is heavier than the open end, so that there is but little tendency for the shell to tip, and the hanged end can project across the groove for a considerable distance without affecting the stability of the shell. Furthermore, the rounded edge of the flanged end will not readily catch the cam, so that a shell presented anged end down will never betipped from its vertical position. If, on the vother hand, the shell is presented with the open end down, it is obvious that -in view of the fact that the closed or flanged end is heavier a very slight lateral movement of the open end, upon which the shell is supported, will cause the shell totip. As the open end of the shell travels across the groove it will naturally tip slightly into the groove, (being topheavy and a very slight movement will cause the sharp edge to catch the cam f8, which will cause a lateral movement of the said lower end toward the periphery of the carrier, which movement, however, will not be imparted to the shell as a whole, since the said shell has already slightly left a Vertical position. The lower end of the shell,therefore,will be pushed outward, while the flanged end settles down into the recess, and the shell will soon fall on its side, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 9. In order to prevent the shell thus tipped over from passing endwise out of the opening f5, the side of said opening toward the periphery of the disk through which the body of the shell projects when tipped is made somewhat narrower than the main portion of the opening, the distanceacross the said portion being less than the diameter of the flange of the shell. The shell thus tipped downward will be carried along on its side with its outer end projecting out beyond the periphery of the disk f4, the said outer end being engaged during the further movement of the said disk by an inclined surface or cam fg, rising from the surface of the stationary platform,- so that the outer end of the shell will ride up the said inclined `surface until the shell is nally tipped up upon its closed or flanged end.

Thus each opening as it passes the chutef2 receives a shell, and the said shells if presented with their closed ends down are carried forward in that position and if presented with their openends down are inverted by the engaging portion f8 and cam ff, so that beyond the cam 7"9 each recess f5 contains a shell properly righted or with the flanged end down, and said shells are dropped consecutively intothe chute f as the openings f5 pass the mouth thereof. It is obvious so far as relates to this feature of the invention that other articles might be fed and arranged by substantially the same devices-as are herein shown, it being necessary only that the opposite ends ofeach article should have different characteristics. In other words, any article so shaped that one end thereof will be engaged by the portion f8, which practically constitute a cam, while the other end will not be engaged thereby,can be operated upon by this mechanism, so that a number of said articles may be uniformly arranged, although supplied to the carrier either end up. The rotating disk is mounted upon the end of an upright shaftf10,provided at its lower end with a `f6 is mounted at the top of a standard A8,

-mounted on an extension A9 on the bracket A6, and the shaft]10 passes upward through said standard, which forms a bearing therefor.

To keep the shells agitated in the hopper, so that they will be continually presented to the chute f2, a supplemental chute f20 is provided, telescoping with the chute f2 and-having a reciprocating movement within the hopper, the said chute f2() being mounted in a guide j"21 in the upright which supports the hopper f3 and being connected by a rod]22 with the wrist-pin on the rotating disk e9 upon the shaft B. One or more arms f23 are preferably4 connected with the said ch ute fzo, thus having a reciprocating motion therewith Within the hopper.

`In order to prevent a shell not properly fed to the disk f4 or the carriage e from catching and clogging the machine, gatesf16 are shown as pivotally supported at the ends of said chute, adapted to yield before a shell not fully discharged from the chute. These gates are best shown in Figs. 1l and 12 and are pivoted at f1? to thebody of the chute and provided with springs fis, whereby they are normally maintained closed, the pivotal supports for the gates being so arranged, however, that the gates will open against the stress of their springs in the direction of Arotation of the shell-receiver below. Itis ob- IIO vious, therefore, that if a shell is caught by the carrier before it has fully come out of the chute the spring will yield, allowing the gate to open and the shell to pass out laterally. Both chutes, moreover, are provided with longitudinal slots f2, through which a wire may be inserted to disengage a shell if one becomes caught or stuck.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The shells with which the hopper is supplied descend in a column through the chute]T2 and fall into the recesses in the arranging device either end up, as the case maybe. Each recess receives one of the shells, and as the arranging device travels those shells which stand upon their open ends are engaged at the bottom and tipped on their sides, a's described, the open end then being lifted in the further movement of the arranging device until the shell stands on its anged end. rlhe shells thus arranged then drop through the chutefand are engaged and pushed forward by the carrier to a position over the line of gage-passages. The shell-support then moves downward in conjunction with the feeler, each shell being arrested at the proper position according to its size, and the several ejecting devices operate as soon as the shell is disengaged by the feeler in the upward movement thereof, so that the shell then in the machine is ejected into the proper chute.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific construction shown and described, since such construction may obviously be modified without departing from the invention.

iVhat l claim isl. Inagaging-machinefor cartridge-shells, the combination with a gage-passage adapted to admit articles of a predetermined size or smaller but to exclude articles of a larger size, of a succeeding passage or passages in alinement with said gage-passage each smaller than and independent of the one preceding it, means for positively moving an article toward said series of passages until stopped by one of them, and ejecting devices for ejecting an article standing in any of the positions determined by the gage-passages, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a pair of gage-passages, of a support longitudinally movable therein, a feeler adapted to engage a shell stopped at the mouth of either passage, ejecting devices adapted to operate on said shell when released by said feeler, and connecting mechanism whereby said parts are caused to cooperate, substantially as described.

3. In engaging-machine for cartridge-shells, the combination with a gage-passage,of a supportlongitudinally movable through said passage, a feeler movable with said support and adapted to engage a shell which will not pass through said passage, an ejecting device for said shell adapted to operate when the shell is disengaged by the said feeler, and connecting mechanism whereby said parts are caused to cooperate, substantially as described.

4. The combination with the gage-passages and means for presenting a shell thereto, of the means for controlling the movement of the shell with relation to said passages consisting of a supporting-pedestal for the shell movable through said passages, and a feeler movable with said pedestal to engage a shell which will not pass through said passages or either of them, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a gage-passage, of a reciprocating carriage adapted to present a shell thereto, a pedestal to receive and support a shell thus presented, means for moving said pedestal to permit the shell supported thereon to enter said passage, a feeler movable with said pedestal to engage a shell which is too large to enter said passage, and a portion of the carriage adapted to yieldingly engage a shell during the movement of said carriage in the opposite direction, substantially as described.

6. The reciprocating carriage e provided with the jaws e2 and the ejector-spring elo, combined with the gage-passage a, and the feeler d2, as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination with the different-sized gage-passages in alinement with each other, of the reciprocating support adapted, when free, to move through said passages away from the openings thereof to which a shell is presented, the feeler movable with said support, and means for positively actuating said support toward said openings, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a gage-passage and means for presenting a shell thereto, of a second gage-passage in line therewith, a support or pedestal movable through said passages, a feeler adapted to engage a shell stopped by either passage, a spring-operated ejecting device for shells stopped by the second passage adapted to be set by said pedestal in its movement in one direction, and means for maintaining it set during the movement thereof in the opposite direction, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a gage-passage and means for presenting a shell thereto, of a second gage-passage in line therewith, a support or pedestal movable through said passages, a feeler adapted to engage a shell stopped by either passage, a spring-operated ejecting device for shells stopped by the second passage adapted to be set by said pedestal in its movement in one direction, an engaging member adapted to maintain said ejector-set until engaged by a shell stopped by the passage and held by the feeler, and means for disengaging said member after the shell is so held, substantially as described.

10. The combination with the gage-passage and the reciprocating carriage for the shells, of the movable support and feeler, an ejecting device comprising a spring-actuated plun- IIO ger adapted to be set by said movable support, a retaining device for maintaining said plunger'set, and an operating-cam for said retaining device coperating with the reciprocating carriage,substantially as and forA carriage adapted to receive a shell and pre-v sent it to a suitable gage-passage, of a movable support for the shell, a cam for positively moving said support to a position Io receive a shell presented by the carriage, means for yieldingly producing the return .movement of said support, a feeler movable with said su pport, and actuating mechanism for said carriage and cam whereby the downward movement of the support and feeler takes place su bstantially when the carriage is in position to present the shell to the gage-passage, substantially as described.

13. In a machine foroperating on cartridgeshells, the combination with a feed-chute adapted to receive said articles from a suitable hopper, of a traveling receiver for said articles; cams in the path of a shell carried by said receiver for-overturning and righting said shell if presented to said receiver wrong end up while said shell is still in the receiver,

and anopening in the path of the shells carried by the said receiver, through which opening said shells are fed to the machine, substantially as described.v A14. In amachine for operating on cartridgeshells, the combi-nation with a feed -chute adapted to receive said articles from a suitable hopper, of a traveling receiver for said articles, a cam adapted to engage the mouth of a shell traveling in said receiver and draw it aside until the shell falls on its side Without leaving the receiver; and means for righting said fallen shell. in the receiver, substantially as described. n

15. In a machine for operating on cartridgeshells, the combination with a feed -chute adapted to receive said articles from a suitable hopper, of a traveling receiver for said articles, a cam adapted to engage the mouth of a shell traveling in saidreceiver and draw it aside until the shell falls on its side in the receiver; an inclined surface beyond said cam adapted to engage the mouth end of a shell during the onward movement o f -the traveling receiver and lift said end until the shell stands on its iianged end in the receiver, and an opening in the path of shells carried by the traveling receiver through which all of the shells in the receiver are fed to themachine, substantially as described.

16. The combination with the chute f2, of the support'j"6 provided with an opening f7, the traveling receiver f 4 having recesses f5,

Athe cam f5, and the inclined surface fi adjacent to the said receiver and in the path of an article carried thereby, substantially as herein shown and for the purpose described.

17. The combination with a feed chute adapted to contain acolumn of shells end wise, witha support for the shells below said chute, means for moving said shells along the surface of said support, a cam in the path of,

shells thus moved, arranged to engage the mouth of a shell but not the flanged end thereof and inclined to the direction of travel of the shell, whereby the mouth of the shell is drawn from under the center of gravity to tip the shell upon its side, an inclined rightingsurface so positioned with relation to the receiver as to be in the path of the shell thus tipped; and an opening in the said support yto which the shells are finally carried, substantially as described.

18. The combination with a feed chute adapted to contain a column of shells endwise, of a traveling shell-receiver below said chute having recesses each adapted to receive and carry along a shell dropped therefrom, a lateral opening in said chute of sufficient size to permit a shell to pass out laterally in the direction of movement 'of the traveling receiver, and a normally closed gate for said shells, the combination with the feed-chute adapted to receive said articles from a suitable hopper, of a traveling receiver for said articles adapted to receive the articles endwise from the feed-chute, a support for the articles along which they are propelled by the receiver, and a cam adapted to engage the end of an article as it is propelled yby said receiver and deiiect the same until the said article falls from its end upon its side, substantially as described.

20. In a machine for operating on cartridgeshells, a rotating feed-disk having radial recesses, means for presenting articles to said recesses either end uppermost, a support for the articles along which they arecarriedl by said disk, and ak cam stationary with relation to said disk and adapted to engage and deiiect one end of an article traveling along the support but not the other whereby the arti- IOG IIO

cles will remain on endupon the support or originally presented, substantially as dey scribed.

2l. In a machine for operatin g on cartridgeshells or other articles the opposite ends of which differ in shape, the combination with a traveling carrier adapted to receive one `of such articles in a substantially vertical position, 'of a support for said article below said carrier, and a cam formed on said support and so shaped and arranged as to engage and deiiect an article traveling along the support on one end but not an article traveling along the support on the other` end.

22. The combination with a disk having radially-arranged shell -receiving recesses; of means for feeding shells thereto either end up; and cams so arranged with relation to said disk as to coperate therewith in rearranging the shells after they have been fed thereto to secure a uniform end arrangement thereof in said disk.

23. In a machine for operating on articles the longitudinal dimension of which is greater than the lateral dimension, the combination with a traveling receiver adapted to receive one or more of such articles vertically positioned, ofa support below the said receiver for said article, a cam or deflecting surface so arranged with relation to said receiver as to engage an article propelled thereby at a point near one end thereof, and means for substantially preventing a lateral movement of the other end of the article in the same direction While it is engaged by the cam, whereby said article is tipped from a vertical to a horizontal position upon said support, substantially as described. f

24. In a machine for operating on articles the longitudinal dimension of which is greater than the lateral dimension, the combination with a traveling receiver having laterallyopen recesses along its periphery each adapted to contain and forward one of such articles, of means for tipping said articles from a vertical to a horizontal position in the travel of the receiver, and means for preventing the articles thus tipped from escaping endwise from the recesses, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 4o name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PAUL BUTLER. Vitnesses:

H. J. LIVERMORE, N. l. FORD.

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