An Improved Electric High and Low Tension Fuse Head for Blasting, Mining, and the like Purposes.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Sept., 1898-Accepted, 22nd Oct., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Electric High and Low Tension Fuse Head for Blasting,
Mining, and the like Purposes.
I, WILLIAM HENRY TAYLOR, of Swan Chambers, 69, Market Street, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Consulting and Mechanical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement;-
This invention relates to an improved construction of electric high and low
tension fuse heads such as is used in connection with detonators employed for firing
ammonite, bellite, dynamite, gelignite, roburite and other explosives in blasting
operations, submarine mining and for similar purposes, the object being to provido
a fuse head that can be very readily and simply made and which at the same
time is absolutely free from the danger due to short circuiting, a defect common
to fuse heads as at present employed.
My invention will be fully described with reference to the accompanying
drawings, which are drawn to an enlarged scale and in which
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a fuse constructed in accordance with my invention,
Fig. 2 a longitudinal section of same,
Fig. 3 a plan with the explosive substance removed,
Figs. 4 and 5 two elevations of a tube and leading wires afterwards referred
to and
Fig. 6 a longitudinal section of said tube.
In carrying out my invention I use the ordinary leading wires A for conducting
the electric current for firing purposes and which are insulated in the usual
manner; but instead of stripping these for a short distance at the ends and passing
the stripped ends round a wooden plug, or bending the wires upon themselves
and inserting them into a tapered tube as is now commonly done, I simply strip
the wires A of insulation for a short distance and pass them through a short tube B
made of paper, porcelain or other suitable insulating material until the insulation
is, say, about level with the upper end of the tube, the tube B has a perfectly paral-
lel bore of such a size as just to admit the insulated leading wires, the stripped
ends of which are bent over the upper end of the tube B and folded down the
outside of it in opposite directions as will be readily understood from the drawings.
The inner sides of the bent wires are only a short distance apart but the free
ends of the wires are most effectively insulated from each other by the substance
of the tube B so that when the outer tube C-which may also be made of paper
or other suitable material—is passed over the wires A and tube B, the former are
most securely held in place and absolutely prevented coming so near to each other
as to short circuit, as is the case with the fuses hitherto in use. In fact short
circuiting is impossible as the current has first to pass up the tube B, and the wires
being insulated to the point where the spark is required, no short circuiting can
occur. The tube C may be secured to tube B by shellac, cement, or the like
but in any case it is sufficiently long at the upper end to project beyond the end

page_text: of tube B and form thereby a receptacle for an explosive composition D which
is held in position in the usual way, by a pellet E.
After the explosive composition is inserted between the two wires at the end
of the small tube in the receptacle formed by the projection of the large tube, it
is sealed down by the pellet E. The fuse is then inserted into a detonator, secured
in the usual-manner, and insulated with pitch or cement, and the whole is ready
for use.
Although in the drawings I have shown a fuse head constructed for
high tension currents only it will be readily understood that the fuse may be
used for low tension currents by connecting the ends of the leading wires with
fine platinum wire.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1
1. A fuse head for blasting, mining and similar purposes composed of a tube
of paper, porcelain or other suitable insulating material, provided with a straight
bore through which the leading wires are first passed and then bent down the
outside of the said tube, the whole being enclosed by a larger tube, as and for the
purposes described.
2. A fuse head for blasting, mining and similar purposes constructed and
arranged substantially as described and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 5th day of September 1898.
WILLIAM H. TAYLOR,
Swan Chambers, 69, Market Street, Manchester,
Agent for the Applicant.