US2048267A - Shotgun shell - Google Patents

Description

July 21, 1936. w. c. KEITH 7 2,048,267

SHOTGUN SHELL Filed Dec. 13, 1954 71.767 ji'ez'ih Patented July 21, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to shotgun shells and has for its primary object to provide a shell whose surface will have only a very limited contact with the surface of the gun barrel and yet which is so designed as to be held rigidly in the gun.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a shotgun shell having only slight frictional engagement with the surface of a gun barrel, but in which the walls of the shell have sufiicient strength for all practical purposes.

A still further object of the invention consists in providing a shotgun shell adapted to normally fit a gun of a particular gauge, and which is so designed as to be received and ejected in such gun even when swelled to a substantial extent by dampness.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a shotgun shell having reinforcing projections or protuberances over a major portion of its surface and a plain portion adapted to be closely encircled by the cylindrical wall of the metallic head or container, whereby the seepage of moisture into the container is prevented.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a shotgun shell having a degree of flexibility in the direction of its length as well as circumferentially thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the novel shotgun shell.

Figure 2 is an end view of the shell, and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary View of the shell showing one wall in vertical section.

Referring to the drawing in more detail, the numeral I indicates the metallic head or container of the shell, the numeral 2 the body, and numeral 3 the sealing disc which is held in place by the inturned edge 4 of the outer end of the body.

The body 2 is formed of paper as is customary and may be produced by rolling a sheet of paper into a cylinder of the desired number of layers, or in any other preferred form. This body is then passed through a die or the like, so as to produce a series of vertical grooves 5 and horizontal grooves 6 as clearly shown in the several figures of the drawing. These grooves cooperate to provide pyramidal protuberances having rectangular bases as indicated by numeral I and shown more clearly in Figure 1.

The grooves 5 and 6 are formed over the entire surface of the shell body except the extreme lower end which enters the metallic head 5 and. a portion immediately adjacent thereto as indicated by numeral 8. This lower portion of the shell body is left plain so as to provide a snug fit with the head and prevent the entrance of moisture thereto. 1 10 The pyramidal portions I serve not only to reinforce the shell body but also as spacing elements to maintain the major portion of the body out of contact with the wall of the gun barrel, thereby reducing sliding friction when the shell is charged into the gun, and yet providing sufiicient contact to maintain the shell rigidly in position.

Moreover, it will be obvious that a shell as constructed herein to fit a gun of a particular gauge may be readily caused to enter the barrel even though swelled slightly by moisture.

The circumferential grooves 6 provide a certain amount of flexibility or resiliency longitudinally of the shell, while the longitudinal grooves 5 produce the same efi'ect circumferentially of the shell. This particular phase of the invention is of importance especially when the shells are used in automatic or pump guns. In the use of such guns the shells are not always presented to the barrel in exact alignment, i. e., the longitudinal 3O axis of the shell is sometimes at a slight angle to the axis of the barrel. In such circumstances the gun will become jammed when shells of the ordinary construction are used. With the present shell, however, with the longitudinal and circular grooves, a desired amount of flexibility or resiliency is provided in the body of the shell, and when presented to the barrel at a slight angle the shell will give slightly at certain points and thus facilitate its entrance into the barrel. 40

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described what I now believe to be the preferred form of the invention, but inasmuch as minor changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention it is intended that such changes be in- 'cluded within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shotgun shell including a base and a nonmetallic body, said body provided with longitudinal and circumferential series of grooves, extending over the same area of the shell body, whereby the shell is rendered slightly flexible to facilitate entrance into a gun barrel.

2. A shotgun shell including'a base and a mm metallicbody, said body provided with longitudinal and circumferential series of grooves, each extending throughout substantially the entire surface of the shell body, whereby the shell is rendered slightly flexible to facilitate entrance into a gun barrel.

3. A shotgun shell including a base and a nonmetallic body, said body being provided with a smooth inner surface and with longitudinal and 10 circumferential series of contiguous substantially pyramidal protuberances on its external surface.

4. A shotgun shell including a base and a nonmetallic body, said body being provided with longitudinal and circumferential series of protuberances arranged in juxta-position throughout the exterior surface of the body, whereby a substantially sinuous surface is provided throughout the shell body.

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