IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTS AND SCREW NUTS OR COLLARS FOR ORDNANCE, WHICH LATTER IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Palliser, of the Army and Navy Club,
Pall Mall, in the County of Middlesex, a Major in Her Majesty's
Amy, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTS AND SCREW
NUTS OR COLLARS FOR ORDNANCE, WHICH LATTER IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Pallisor at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
the 20th May 1869.
I, WILLIAM PALLISER, of the Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, in
the County of Middlesex, a Major in Her Majesty's Army, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTS AND
SCREW NUTS OR COLLARS FOR ORDNANCE, WHICH LATTER IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
APPLICABLE TO SCREW BOLTS AND NUTS GENERALLY," to be as follows:-
My improvements in vents for ordnance consists in making the lower
cud of the vent separate from the upper part, and composed eithor of
platinum or of an alloy of platinum and iridium, which separate lower
portion I screw in from the inside of the gun, making it fit with a
D

page_text: countersunk head into a corresponding recess in the gun.
The upper
end of this lower portion of the vent fits into the recessed end of the
upper part of the vent, which is screwed in from the outside and is
formed either entirely of copper or of steel or iron, with a lining of
copper screwed in from the lower end. 1 prefer to make the vent hole
through the copper lining somewhat sinuller that the finished dimension
and I enlarge it to the required degree by drawing through it a steel
wire or mandril, thereby compressing the metal and enabling it better
to resist the action of the gases.
My improvements in screw nuts or collars for securing the tube or
lining of my converted or compound guns consists in forming the
bearing surfaces either of the screw thread or of the nut or collar
with such an incline that in being screwed up they shall exercise a
wedging action sufficient to prevent the nut or collar from unscrewing
through the jarring effect produced by firing, and at the same time to
produce an accurate and tight fit between the tube, the uut, and the
casing, and thus neutralize the effect of vibration, which is apt to crack
the tube if loose in the muzzle of the gun. For this purpose I split
the nut or collar, and I form the bearing surfaces of the male and female
screw threads at such an angle that the screwing up of the nut will cause
it to jam both outwards against the casing of the gun and at the same time
internally against the surface of the tube. Or in place of the above
arrangement 1 employ an ordinary screw thread, and make the inner
surface of the split nut or collar conical, fitting over a similarly coned
portion of the tube.
In applying this part of my Invention to ordinary bolts and nuts,
the nut is not split when the 'screw thread is formed of a wedge shape,
the scrow thread being formed at such a small angle with the axis
of the bolt that when pressure is applied the female screw thread will
override or slip up the male thread in a longitudinal direction and
remain there, owing to the friction between the surfaces boing sufficient
to prevent the nut from slipping back into the position in which it
would be loose on the bolt. In order to increase such friction I prefer
to make the bearing surfaces rough, which object is best attained by
cutting small channels or grooves upon the bearing surfaces running
in the same direction as the thread, and thereforo across the direction
in which there is a tendency for the nut to slip. In applying
the before-described arrangement with sptit nuts to bolts and nuts I

page_text: either split the nut and form it with a conical bearing surface fitting into
a corresponding recess formed either in a washer, a second screw nut, or
in the surface of the object to be secured; the latter arrangement is
peculiarly applicable to fish plates. Or the nut may be made solid (i.e.
not split) with a conically recessed bearing surface, fitting over a split
conical washer, or over a conical projection on the surface of the object to
be secured.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Palliser in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th November 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PALLISER, of the. Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, in the County of
Middlesex, a Major in Her Majesty's Army, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her beirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
saidilliam Palliser, Her special licence, that I, the said William
Palliser, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Palliser, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention fo "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTS AND SCREW NUTS OR COLLARS FOR ORDNANCE,
WHICH LATTER IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO SCREW BOLTS AND NUTS
GENERALLY, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Palliser, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Palliser, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to bo
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by tho
following statement thereof, referenco be had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say:-
My improvements in vents for ordnance consists in making the lower
end of the vent separate from the upper part, and composed by preference,
either of platinum or of an alloy of platinum and iridium, which separate
lower portion I screw in from the inside of the gun, making it fit with a
countersunk head into a corresponding recess in the gun. The upper end
of this lower portion of the vent fits into the recessed end of the upper
part of the vent, which is screwed in from the outside, and is formed either
entirely of copper, or of steel or iron, with a lining of copper screwed in
from the lower end. I prefer to make the vent hole through the copper
lining somewhat smaller than the finished dimensions, and enlarge it to
the required degree by drawing through it a steel wire or mandril, thereby
compressing the metal, and enabling it better to resist the action of the
gases.
My improvements in screw nuts or collars for securing the tube or
lining of my converted or compound guns consists in forming the bearing
surfaces, either of the screw thread or of the nut or collar, with such an
incline that in being screwed up they shall exercise a wedging action
sufficient to prevent the nut or collar from unscrewing through the
jarring effect produced by firing, and at the same time to produce an
accurate and tight fit between the tube, the nut, and the casing, and thus
neutralize the effect of vibration, which is apt to crack the tube if loose
in the muzzle of the gun. For this purpose I split the nut or collar, and I
form the bearing surfaces of the male and female screw threads at such an
angle that the screwing up of the nut will cause it tjum both outwards
against the casing of the gun, and at the same time internally against
the surface of the tubo. Or in place of the above arrangement I
employ an ordinary screw thread, and make the inner surface of the split
nut or collar conical, fitting over a similarly coned portion of the
tube.
In applying this part of my Invention to ordinary bolts and nuts
the nut is not split when the scrow thread is formed of a wedge shape,
the scrow thread being formed at such a small augle with the axis of

page_text: the bolt that when pressure is applied the female screw thread will
override or slip up the male thread in a longitudinal direction, and
remain there, owing to the friction between the surfaces being sufficient
to prevent the nut from slipping back into the position in which it
would be loose on the bolt. In order to increase such friction I prefer
to make the bearing surfaces rough, which object is best attained by
cutting small channels or grooves upon the bearing surface running
in the same direction as the thread, and therefore across the direction
in which there is a tendency for the nut to slip.
In applying the before-described arrangement with split nut to
bolts and nuts I either split the nut and form it with a conical bearing
surface fitting into a corresponding recess formed either in a washer,
a second screw nut, or in the surface of the object to be secured; the
latter arrangement is peculiarly applicable to fish plates.
Or the nut
may be made solid (i.e. not split) with a conically recessed bearing
surface, fitting over a split conical washer or over a conical projection
on the surface of the object to be secured.
Having thus set forth the nature of my Invention I will now proceed
more particularly to describe the manner of performing the same,
for which purpose I shall refer to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Figure 1 shews a part longitudinal section of my improved veut for
guns. The upper part A of the vent is formed by preference of steel
or iron screwed in from the outside of the gun and provided with a
copper lining B, which is screwed in from the lower end of A in order
to prevent any setting up of the lining by the force of the explosion on
firing, whereby an interstice might be formed between the end thereof
and the end of the lower part C of the vent. This lower part of the
vent, which is by preference of platinum or of an alloy of platinum
and iridium, is screwed in from the inside of the gun, being by preference
formed with a relieved screw thread, as shewn, in order to prevent any
racturing of the countersunk head C' thereof. The upper end of this
part of the vent fits into a recess formed in the lower end of the copper
ining B, as shewn, so as when screwed in tight to make a perfect joint
herewith, preventing any escape of gas at such joint. As before stated
he upper part A of the vent may also be made entirely of copper if
lesired.
Figures 2 and 3 shew respectively a section and an end view of one
rrangement of my improved screw nut or collar for securing the lining.

page_text: of converted or compound guns. The screw collar D is for this purpose
split (as indicated at a, Figure 3), and has a screw thread of such an
incline formed upon it that when screwed into the correspondingly
formed female screw thread in the casing E, so as to bear against the
shoulder on the tube or lining F, the end pressure thus exerted will
cause the collar D to be pressed tightly against the tube F, while at
the same time the screw threads of the collar will jam against the screw
threads of the casing E, and thus effectually prevent any loosening
of the parts thus secured together by jarring or vibration on firing.
Figure 4 shews another modification of this improved system of screw
nuts or collars. Here tho screw threads on the split collar D and
casing E are of the ordinary rounded form, but the inner surface of
the screw collar is formed of a slightly tapering diameter fitting on to
the correspondingly tapered end of the tube F, so that on forcibly
screwing in the collar D over the end of the tube the tapered form of
the latter causes the split collar to be pressed outwards firmly against
the screw threads of the casing, while the taper of the screw collar
and of the tube is such as to cause these to jam upon each other,
thus, as in the previous case, effectually preventing any loosening through
vibration.
Figures 5 to 14 shew the application of this improved system of screw
nuts to ordinary bolts and nuts.
The nut d
Figures 5 to shew one arrangement of the same.
(shown in section at Figure 5, and in front view at Fig. 6) is formed
with a conical or tapering recess at its front end, into which fits a
tapering or wedge nut (shewn in section at Figure 5, and in detached
side and front views at Figures 7 and 8), which is split at a. The incline
or taper of the recess and wedge nut is such that when the nut has
been screwed up tight, and the nut is then screwed into the recess,
a jamming or wedging action will take place, whereby the nut (on
account of its being split) is pressed forcibly against, the screw bolt 1),
so as to firmly nip the same, while the nut d' by being jammed or
wodged upon the nut will prevent the latter from releasing its nipping
hold on the bolt, even when by any jarring or vibrating action the
pressure exerted by the nut against the fish plates or other objects
held thereby is for certain short intervals of time entirely or partially
removed, and thus the unscrewing of the bolt, which usually takes
place with ordinary nuts through such alternate applying and releasing

page_text: the pressure in
any vibrating action, is entirely prevented. In order to
enable both the nuts to be turned by the same spanner the upper end of
the wedge nut may be formed of the saine diameter as the nut d', as
shewn in dotted lines in Figure 5.
In place of arranging the split and recessed nuts as shown at Figure 5,
their position may be reversed, as shown at Figure 9, the split nut d² being
screwed on first, so as to take a bearing against the object C to be secured,
and the recessed nut being screwed on over d², or d may be simply a
washer not split, but held in a recess in C, or it may be a conical pro-
jection on C. the nut being wedge tight upon it in being screwed
down; or in place of the nut d' a recessed washer 3 may be employed,
as shewn in section and plan at Figures 10 and 11; or agaiu a conical
recess may be formed in the object C to be secured, (such as a fish
plate for rails,) as at Figure 12, into which recess the split nut is
screwed.
In place of splitting the nut in its entire depth it may be split only
on the conical or tapering portion, in which case it may be split partially
on two opposite sides, as indicated in side and end view of the nut
at Figures 13 and 14. This arrangement is preferable in cases where
the split nut is the only nut employed for securing the bolt, as at
Figures 10 to 12.
It will be evident that this improved construction of nuts to screw bolts
may be applied with great advantage in all cases where the bolts are sub-
ject to a jarring or vibrating action. such as for fish plates, for rails,
plummer blocks of crank shafts, &c.
Having thus described the nature of the several parts of my Invention,
and in what manner they are to be performed, what I claim under the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. Constructing vents for guns of an upper part screwed in from
the outside of the gun, into the recessed lower end of which upper part
fits the end of the lower part of the vent, formed, by preference, of
platinum or of an alloy of platinum and iridium, and screwed in with
a countersunk head from the inside of the gun, substantially as herein-
before described with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Second. Securing the tube or lining of converted or compound guns

page_text: aro formed with such an incline that they will jam upon the corre
spondingly formed screw threads of the casing, substantially as and for the
purposes herein-before described with reference to Figures 2 and 3 of the
Drawings.
Third. Securing the tube or lining of converted or compound guns by
means of a split screw nut or collar, the inner surface of which is formed
tapered, fitting over the correspondingly tapered end of the tube, arranged
and operating substantially as herein before described with reference to
Figure 4 of the Drawings.
Fourth. The construction and employment of a split or partiall split
conical or tapering wedge nut for securing nuts on screw bolts, arranged
and operating substantially as herein-before described with reference to
Figures 5 to 14 of the accompanying Drawings.
Fifth. Constructing screw bolts and nuts with screw threads whose
bearing surfaces are inclined at such an angle as to cause them to
jam. owing to the tendency of the nut to override the thread of the
bolt.
Sixth. The employment of split or partially split tapor screw nuts
fitting into a corresponding taper hole in the object to be secured,
so as to become wedged into the same, substantially as herein-before
described with reference to Figure 12 of the Drawings.
Seventh. Constructing nuts with a tapering recess fitting over a tapering
washer or projection on the object to be secured, substantially as herain
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Palliser, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
ninc.
W. PALLISER. (L.s.)