Reduced Energy Cartridge and Method of Making Same

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a cartridge comprising providing a cartridge body with forward and rearward cavities interconnected by an aperture, providing a piston with a primer retaining cavity, inserting primer into the primer retaining cavity, securing the primer, placing a seal member around the piston, inserting the piston and seal member combination into the rearward cavity of the cartridge body, and crimping at least a portion of the cartridge body to the piston.

1 . A cartridge comprising:
 a piston, the piston having a top end and a bottom end, a portion of the bottom end defining a primer retaining cavity, and a portion of the piston defining a gas passageway extending from the primer retaining cavity to the top end of the piston;   a cartridge body, a first portion of the cartridge body defining a forward cavity and a second portion of the cartridge body defining a rearward cavity, the forward and rearward cavities being interconnected by an aperture, the cartridge body configured to be disposed about at least a portion of the piston;   a primer arranged in the primer retaining cavity;   a seal member arranged around the piston and forming a seal between the piston and an inner surface of the rearward cavity of the cartridge body;   the piston having two positions, an unfired position wherein the top end of the piston is adjacent the aperture, and a fired position wherein the piston has sealingly slid rearward in the rearward cavity;
 wherein at least a portion of the second portion of the cartridge body is crimped about the piston, and 
 whereby upon firing, the gas created by the primer flows through the gas passageway, a portion of the gas flows through the aperture, and a portion of the gas fills the rearward cavity between the seal and the aperture, which causes the piston to sealingly slide rearward. 
   
     
     
         2 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , further comprises a propellant. 
     
     
         3 . The cartridge of  claim 2 , wherein the propellant is distributed within the gas passageway. 
     
     
         4 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , further comprising a projectile. 
     
     
         5 . The cartridge of  claim 4 , wherein the projectile comprises a marking material. 
     
     
         6 . The cartridge of  claim 4 , wherein the projectile is selected from the group consisting of a rubber bullet, a blank, and oleoresin capsicum spray. 
     
     
         7 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the crimped portion of the cartridge body is crimped so that the inner diameter of the rearward cavity in the crimped portion is less than the inner diameter of the rest of the rearward cavity. 
     
     
         8 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the cartridge body further comprises a chamfer. 
     
     
         9 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the cartridge body further comprises at least one vent hole. 
     
     
         10 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the cartridge body further comprises at least one rupture disc. 
     
     
         11 . A method of manufacturing a cartridge for use in a firearm, the method comprising:
 (a) providing a cartridge body, a first portion of the cartridge body defining a forward cavity and a second portion of the cartridge body defining a rearward cavity, the forward and rearward cavities being interconnected by an aperture, the cartridge body configured to be disposed about at least a portion of a piston;   (b) providing the piston, the piston having a top end and a bottom end, a portion of the bottom end defining a primer retaining cavity, and a portion of the piston defining a gas passageway extending from the primer retaining cavity to the top end of the piston;   (c) inserting primer into the primer retaining cavity of the piston;   (d) securing the primer in the primer retaining cavity;   (e) placing a seal member around the piston;   (f) inserting the piston and seal member combination into the rearward cavity of the cartridge body; and   (g) crimping at least a portion of the second portion of the cartridge body to the piston.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising inserting a projectile into the forward cavity of the cartridge body. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein inserting the projectile comprises:
 (a) inserting a cup into the forward cavity;   (b) distributing a marking material into the cup; and   (b) inserting a cap into the cup and marking material combination.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein inserting the projectile is performed prior to the inserting the piston and seal member combination into the cartridge body. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising inverting the cartridge body prior to inserting the piston and seal member combination into the cartridge body. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein securing the primer in the primer retaining cavity comprises staking the piston. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein crimping is performed by two partially annular jaws. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein crimping comprises crimping the bottom portion of the cartridge body so that the inner diameter of the rearward cavity in the crimped portion is less than the inner diameter of the rest of the rearward cavity. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein (c) and (d) are performed by a first machine and (e) thru (g) are performed by a second machine. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising inspecting the piston for damage. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein inspecting the piston is performed immediately after securing the primer in the primer retaining cavity. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein (c) and (d), and inspecting the piston are performed by a first machine and (e) thru (g) are performed by a second machine. 
     
     
         23 . A method of manufacturing a cartridge for use in a firearm, the method comprising:
 (a) providing a cartridge body, a first portion of the cartridge body defining a forward cavity and a second portion of the cartridge body defining a rearward cavity, the forward and rearward cavities being interconnected by an aperture, the cartridge body configured to be disposed about at least a portion of a piston;   (b) providing the piston, the piston having a top end and a bottom end, a portion of the bottom end defining a primer retaining cavity, and a portion of the piston defining a gas passageway extending from the primer retaining cavity to the top end of the piston;   (c) inserting primer into the primer retaining cavity of the piston;   (d) securing the primer in the primer retaining cavity;   (e) inspecting the piston for damage;   (f) placing a seal member around the piston;   (g) inserting a projectile into the forward cavity of the cartridge body;   (h) inserting the piston and seal member combination into the rearward cavity of the cartridge body; and   (i) crimping at least a portion of the second portion of the cartridge body to the piston.