Improvements in Apparatus for Loading Heavy Guns.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 28th May, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 27th Feb.. 1895-Accepted, 30th Mar., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Loading Heavy Guns.
We, Sir ANDREW NOBLE, K.C.B., F.R.S., of Jesmond Dene House,
Newcastle-on-Tyne, and CHARLES HENRY MURRAY, of Elswick Works,
Newcastle-on-Tyne, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
he as follows:-
The apparatus is a modification and improvement of one described in the
Specification No. 12391, of 4th July 1892, wherein we employ a telescopic
hydraulic rammer actuating a carriage (with or without wheels) and make it to
advance with the ammunition upon it over the space in which the gun recoils,
and cause it to insert a loading tray into the breech of the gun, and afterwards
cause the rain head to advance and thrust the ammunition off the carriage into
the gun.
And wherein the ammunition hoist, with delivery door at the side is so arranged
that as the door is opened it permits the ammunition to roll out of the cage on to
the carriage which conveys it to the breech of the gun, and wherein the moving
receiving trough of the ammunition carriage automatically tilts to one side when in
position to receive the ammunition and is brought back as the carriage advances to
the gun.
In the present invention the movable receiving trough is hinged on a pin at its
rear end, so that when in a position to receive the ammunition the trough, in the
direction of its length is horizontal, and as the carriage advances to the gun, an
inclined plane below the carriage forces the trough to take an inclined position
before it reaches the gun.
0
To accommodate this new movement of the trough, the method of tilting it is
modified. We now provide on the under side of the trough two rows of cog teeth,
into which two small pinions are geared.
These pinions are carried on a shaft, the rear end of which is provided with a
bevel pinion which gears with a short piece of fixed rack. The tilting of the
trough is thus accomplished by its rising and falling, which is caused by the action
of the incline.
We also modify the door at the side of the ammunition hoist by making it in two
flaps, one of which opens upwards, and the other downwards.
The flap turning downwards forms a bridge over which the ammunition rolls on
its way to the carriage, and by lowering it gently the ammunition can be quietly
and steadily manipulated. The two flaps are connected and work together.
Dated this 24th day of May 1894.
A. NOBLE.
C. H. MURRAY.

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Loading Heavy Guns.
We, Sir ANDREW NOBLE, K.C.B., F.R.S., of Jesmond Dene House,
Newcastle-on-Tyne, and CHARLES HENRY MURRAY, of Elswick Works,
Newcastle-on-Tyne, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The apparatus is a modification and improvement of one described in the
Specification No. 12391, of 4th July 1892, wherein we employ a telescopic
hydraulic rammer actuating a carriage (with or without wheels; and make it to
advance with the ammunition upon it over the space in which the gup recoils,
and cause it to insert a loading tray into the breech of the gun, and afterwards
cause the ram head to advance and thrust the ammunition off the carriage into
the gun.
And wherein the ammunition hoist with delivery door at the side is so arranged
that as the door is opened it permits the ammunition to roll out of the cage on to
the carriage which conveys it to the breech of the gun, and wherein the moving.
receiving trough of the ammunition carriage automatically tilts to one side when
in position to receive the ammunition and is brought back as the carriage advances
to the gun.
In the present invention the movable receiving trough is hinged on a pin at its
rear end, so that when in a position to receive the ammunition, the trough, in the
direction of its length, is horizontal, and as the carriage advances to the gun, an
inclined plane below the carriage forces the trough to take an inclined position
before it reaches the gun.
To accommodate this new movement of the trough, the method of tilting it is
modified. We now provide on the under side of the trough two rows of cog teeth,
into which two small pinions are geared.
These pinions are carried on a shaft, the rear end of which is provided with a
bevel pinion which gears with a short piece of fixed rack. The tilting of the trough
is thus accomplished by its rising and falling, which is caused by the action of the
incline.
We also modify the door at the side of the ammunition hoist by making it in two
flaps, one of which opens upwards, and the other downwards.
The flap turning downwards forms a bridge over which the ammunition rolls on
its way to the carriage, and by lowering it gently the ammunition can be quietly
and steadily manipulated. The two flaps are connected and work together.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of an apparatus constructed according to this
invention.
Figure 2 is a transverse section of the ammunition hoist.
Figure 3 is a transverse section of the carriage showing the position of the.
trough when it enters the gun.
Figure 4 shows the hydraulic cylinder, cranks and rods for operating the doors
of the hoist and
Figure 5 is a plan of the apparatus.
a is the gun and b the incline down which it recoils. c is the carriage supported
on the wheel c¹ and pivotted at c² to the slide d working in guides d' e is the trough
supported on rollers pivotted to the carriage and having on its underside two
rows of teeth e gearing with the pinions on the shaft which works in bearings c
fixed to the carriage c. The rear end of this shaft carries a bevel pinion e' gearing

page_text: with the rack d² on the slide d.
is the hydraulic ram by which the ammunition
is pushed up to the gun; its end is fixed to the slide d and f¹ is the rammer whereby
the gun is loaded in the manner described in the above mentioned Specification.
g is the cage of the ammunition hoist, it is made in three compartments one for the
shot h and each of the other two for a half powder charge j. Each compartment
is furnished with a door or flap g' which is normally kept closed by reason of its
lug bearing against the wall of the hoist. kk are the doors of the hoist one
being pivotted at the top and the other at the bottom. These doors are operated
(see Figure 4) through the cranks and rods by the hydraulic cylinder L.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-The parts being in the positions
shown in full lines at Figures 1 and 2 the doors are opened assuming the
positions shown in dotted lines at Figure 2 and the shot rolls out into the trough e
raising the door g¹. The ram f now pushes the slide a carriage c and trough e up
the incline b. During the first part of this motion the wheel c is running on the
lower and steeper incline 6' and the carriage c is therefore gradually turned about
the pivot c² from a horizontal to an inclined position parallel to the incline b. This
angular motion causes the pinion c to traverse the rack d thereby rotating the
shaft and pinions and turning the trough e axially from the position shown in
Figure 2 into that shown in Figure 3. When the parts reach the positions shown
in dotted lines in Figure 1 the ram f, slide d, carriage c, and trough e are arrested
whilst the rainmer continuing to move forward rams the shot home. The
parts then return to the positions shown in full lines in Figures 1 and 2 and the
two half powder cases j are successively put into the gun in a similar manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. The combination with a hoist in which the ammunition lies in a horizontal
position of a trough which when it receives the ammunition is horizontal and is then
automatically tilted to the same angle as the gun.
2. The combination of the inclines b and 6 substantially as described.
3. The combination with the inclines band 6' of the slide d carriage c and trough e
substantially as described.
4. The combination of the trough e, teeth e¹, pinion c, shaft c³, pinion e' and
rack d² substantially as described.
5. The doors of the hoist substantially as described.
6. Apparatus for loading heavy guns substantially as described and shown in the
drawings.
Dated this Sixth day of February 1895.
A. NOBLE.
C. H. MURRAY.