Patent GB-190920126-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Apparatus for the Loading of Ordnance.
IPC: F41A9/42
Filed: 1909-09-02
Granted: 1910-06-30
Abstract: 20,126. Armstrong, Whitworth, & Co., Sir W. G., Matthews, R., and Wale, C. Sept. 2. [Cognate Application, 4909/10.] Loading - appliances. - Relates to chain rammers for ordnance of the class which work in a curved guide and will coil in one single direction only, and particularly to rammers mounted on a loading-arm attached to the gunslide. According to the present invention, (1) the chain is driven from the tail end; (2) the noise of working is reduced by dispensing with the usual driving-pinion gearing with the chain and providing the chain with rollers and the bracket with guide surfaces, or the rollers may be carried by the guide bracket; (3) the stroke of the rammer is adjustable for the projectile and powder charges respectively, and it is returned automatically to its home position after either stroke, thus reducing the time required for loading. In the construction shown in Fig. 1, the guiding-bracket b is attached to the loading-arm c and is formed at its outer end with a straight guide-portion equal in length to one link of the chain, thus forming a guide for the chain and for the rammer head in the direction of thrust. The ram i, Fig. 6, is driven by the hydraulic cylinder h, and the head carries a pinion i<2> gearing with a fixed rack j and with a movable rack a' connected to the chain a. To absorb the energy in the chain when returning to the home position, the ram has a prolonged piston i<1>, Fig. 9, fitting the cylinder h at each end, and having a reduced central part and provided with a valve i<2Î> through which passes a fixed taper rod i<3>. The stud i<4> limits the lift of the valve i<2Î>. The pipe k connects the end of the cylinder h to the control valve shown in Fig. 10. The pressure fluid enters by the passages n<7>, k, and exhausts through passages n<6>, k. The lever n<4> occupies the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 10, during admission and returns to the position shown in full lines during exhaust. For ramming, pressure fluid passes through ports i<6>, Fig. 9, and the valve i<2Î> and forces the piston i outwards. In returning, the exhaust passes through the pipe k to exhaust n<6> until the pipe k is covered by the piston i. The fluid then trapped in the end of the cylinder h can only escape by way of the central orifice of the valve i<2Î>, and this is gradually closed by the taper rod i<3>, thus bringing the rammer to rest without shock. The means for returning the rammer automatically comprise a bolt n<2>, Figs. 6 and 10, engaging a latch m<2> capable of sliding in the box m and operated from the hand-lever l by means of a rod l<1>. The upper surface of the latch is formed as a cam and engages the lower arms of bell-crank levers o, p, which are free to move independently and are connected by rods o<2>, p<2> to trip-levers o<1>, p<1> mounted in the bracket b. The hand-lever l is provided with a catch-lever l<5> which may be set by means of the handle l<6> in such positions that the first movement to the right of the handlever l for ramming the projectile is arrested by the notch l<9>, and the second movement for ramming the powder charges is arrested by the notch l<8>. In the former case, moving the handlever to the right allows the cam on the latch m<2> to glide past the lever p, which is then forced back by the spring bolt m<4> to lift the toe of the lever p<1> clear of the head i<7> of the ram i during the ramming stroke, but the lever o is raised by the cam and the toe of the lever o<1> thereby depressed into the path of the head i<7>, so that the head, upon reaching the lever o', lifts it and consequently rotates the lever o about its pivot, thus depressing the latch m<2> from engagement with the bolt n<2>, which can then fly backwards to close the pressure valve and open the exhaust valve. When the powder charges are to be rammed, the lever l is arrested by the notch l<9>, the lever p is thus raised by the cam on the latch m<2>, and the lever p<1> is tripped by the head i' to release the bolt n<2>. A shorter stroke of the ram is thereby obtained for the powder charges. In a modification, the pinion on the head i<7> of the ram gears with teeth formed on the links of the chain. When the space behind the rammer head is limited, the straight-guide portion of the bracket b is provided by a sliding bar, which extends as the rammer moves outwards and is pushed home as the rammer returns. Any tendency of the rammer head to upset during ramming is prevented by means of a catch which automatically locks the head to the chain when the second link comes into line with the first as the rammer extends. A construction in which the rollers are carried by the bracket is also illustrated. The rammer may be independent of the gun-slide.