US12510338 - Bullet feeder
The invention relates to a bullet feeder designed for ammunition reloading devices, featuring a rotary ring with pockets that sort bullets based on their orientation. It includes a sorting bridge that separates incorrectly oriented bullets, allowing only correctly oriented ones to be conveyed to a die for insertion into cartridge cases, and can be adapted for various bullet calibers and shapes.
Claim 1
1 . A bullet feeder for use in ammunition reloading devices, the bullet feeder configured to sort bullets which are substantially cylindrical in shape and have a substantially conically shaped head and a rear portion shaped substantially as a flat surface, such that incorrectly oriented bullets fall back into a container by gravity, while correctly oriented bullets are conveyed by gravitation to a die for inserting the correctly oriented bullets into cartridge cases, wherein the bullet feeder comprises: a static support structurally configured to hold individual components of the bullet feeder, a rotary ring having a plurality of pockets for receiving bullets, the rotary ring being pivotally fixable with respect to the static support, a container for bullets which is fixed to a front face of the static support and positioned under the rotary ring, wherein a front wall of the container covers at least a bottom portion of the rotary ring, a sorting bridge movably positioned on the static support around an upper portion of an inner circumference of the rotary ring, wherein the sorting bridge is configured to separate the incorrectly oriented bullets from the correctly oriented bullets when the plurality of pockets in the upper portion of the rotary ring pass over the sorting bridge, a guide for conveying the correctly oriented bullets to the die for inserting the correctly oriented bullets into a cartridge case, and a drive of the rotary ring, wherein the drive is fixed with respect to the static support and is coupled to the rotary ring to allow rotation of the rotary ring in a defined direction at a defined speed; wherein the plurality of pockets for receiving bullets are formed around the inner circumference of the rotary ring wherein each of the plurality of pockets has an inlet opening which faces an axis of rotation of the rotary ring, and each of the plurality of pockets extend into an interior of the rotary ring, wherein a diameter of each pocket is essentially the same throughout its depth and is greater than a diameter of a bullet but smaller than a length of a bullet; and wherein the static support comprises a slot, through which the sorting bridge is inserted, and an adjusting screw adapted to move the sorting bridge in the slot, with dimensions of the slot being adapted to dimensions of the sorting bridge to allow rotation of the adjusting screw in clockwise or counterclockwise direction, enabling the sorting bridge in the slot to be moved forwards or backwards, respectively, in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotary ring, and to regulate by how much the sorting bridge extends with its upper surface over part of the inlet openings of the pockets. a static support structurally configured to hold individual components of the bullet feeder, a rotary ring having a plurality of pockets for receiving bullets, the rotary ring being pivotally fixable with respect to the static support, a container for bullets which is fixed to a front face of the static support and positioned under the rotary ring, wherein a front wall of the container covers at least a bottom portion of the rotary ring, a sorting bridge movably positioned on the static support around an upper portion of an inner circumference of the rotary ring, wherein the sorting bridge is configured to separate the incorrectly oriented bullets from the correctly oriented bullets when the plurality of pockets in the upper portion of the rotary ring pass over the sorting bridge, a guide for conveying the correctly oriented bullets to the die for inserting the correctly oriented bullets into a cartridge case, and a drive of the rotary ring, wherein the drive is fixed with respect to the static support and is coupled to the rotary ring to allow rotation of the rotary ring in a defined direction at a defined speed; wherein the plurality of pockets for receiving bullets are formed around the inner circumference of the rotary ring wherein each of the plurality of pockets has an inlet opening which faces an axis of rotation of the rotary ring, and each of the plurality of pockets extend into an interior of the rotary ring, wherein a diameter of each pocket is essentially the same throughout its depth and is greater than a diameter of a bullet but smaller than a length of a bullet; and wherein the static support comprises a slot, through which the sorting bridge is inserted, and an adjusting screw adapted to move the sorting bridge in the slot, with dimensions of the slot being adapted to dimensions of the sorting bridge to allow rotation of the adjusting screw in clockwise or counterclockwise direction, enabling the sorting bridge in the slot to be moved forwards or backwards, respectively, in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotary ring, and to regulate by how much the sorting bridge extends with its upper surface over part of the inlet openings of the pockets.
Google Patents
https://patents.google.com/patent/US12510338
USPTO PDF
https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/12510338