Improvements in Ammunition Hoists for War Vessels, Armoured Turrets, and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Aug., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 3rd May, 1900-Accepted, 9th June, 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ammunition Hoists for War Vessels, Armoured
Turrets, and the like.
I, AUGUST REICHWALD, of 9, New Broad Street, in the City of London, Steel,
Iron, Metal and Mineral Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion (a communication to me from abroad by the Firm of Fried. Krupp, of Essen,
in the Empire of Germany, Cast Steel Manufacturers), to be as follows:
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This invention relates to a pawl hoist, for supplying ammunition in warships,
armoured turrets, and the like.
In pawl hoists as at present constructed, such for instance as are described in
Patent Specification No. 8887 of 1898, all the lifting pawls are the same distance
from each other, corresponding to the vertical travel of the lifting rod. When
now the guide tube of the hoist is filled with cartridges, the whole of the cart-
ridges are lifted simultaneously by the lifting rod, and likewise simultaneously
deposited upon the supporting pawls. It will thus be seen that the weight of
the whole of the ammunition in the hoist, is suddenly and violently thrown
upon the motor, a result which, especially in the case of electrically driven hoists,
is attended with serious disadvantages.
The present invention therefore has for its object to obviate the disadvantages
above described. According to this invention the pawls are so spaced, that the
cartridges are started one after the other and deposited in the same manner upon
the supporting pawls.
The guide shaft of the hoist is formed of a tube, having a longitudinal slot
through which project the spring pressed lifting pawls of the lifting rod. The
lifting rod which travels in suitable guides, has a rising and falling motion
imparted to it by any suitable motive power:
Upon the side of the guide tube opposite to the longitudinal slot therein, are
mounted spring pressed supporting pawls which project into the interior of the
tube through short slots in its walls. The lifting pawls are set at an uniform.
distance from each other, and also the supporting pawls are set at an uniform
distance from each other, but the distance apart of the lifting pawls is greater
than the distance apart of the supporting pawls.
When now the lifting rod rises, the topmost lifting pawl only will lift a cart-
ridge, the other cartridges remaining at rest upon the supporting pawls. Then
the second and third lifting pawls come into action successively and finally the
whole of the cartridges are raised simultaneously. On reversing the motion of
the lifting rod, the cartridges are deposited upon the supporting pawls, one after
the other, beginning with the lowest.
By this method of operation it will be seen that the load is gradually and
uniformly applied to the motor driving the hoist, and shocks are thereby
prevented.
It is not absolutely necessary that the distance of the lifting pawls be greater
than the distance of the supporting pawls, it might equally well be less, and
further, the relative distances between the lifting and supporting pawls need not

page_text: be uniform. The relative distances of the lifting pawls and the supporting
pawls must however be such with respect to each other, that when one pair of
pawls (lifting and supporting) are at the same level, the remaining pairs must
be out of alignment with each other.
Improvements in Ammunition Hoists for War Vessels, Armoured
Turrets, and the like.
I, AUGUST REICHWALD, of 9, New Broad Street, in the City of London, Steel,
Iron, Metal and Mineral Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion (a communication to me from abroad by the Firm of Fried. Krupp, of Essen,
in the Empire of Germany, Cast Steel Manufacturers), and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement; -
:
The present invention relates to improvements upon that type of ammunition
hoists or war ships, armoured turrets and the like, such as is described in the
Specification of Letters Patent, No. 8887 of 1898, granted to myself (a. commu-
nication from the Firm of Fried Krupp, of Essen, in the Empire of Germany,
Cast Steel Manufacturers) and by the present improvements a more favourable
distribution of the load upon the motor driving the feed rods is obtained.
In the device described in the aforesaid Specification, No. 8887-8, all the lifting
pawls are the same distance apart corresponding to the length of stroke of the
rods, the result of which is that as soon as the supply shoot is filled with cart-
ridges, or the like, all the cartridges are lifted simultaneously by the rods, and
deposited simultaneously upon the supporting pawis. By reason of this action,
the load is thrown upon and taken off the motor suddenly and violently, a cir-
cumstance which causes serious disadvantages in the case of electric motors, as
well as being prejudicial to other forms of power driving machinery. These
above described disadvantages are avoided according to the present invention,
and the object aimed at is attained principally by arranging the lifting pawls
out of alignment.
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings, whereon:-
Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the hoist.
Fig. 2 a cross section on the line 2-2 (Fig. 1) and
Fig. 3 a cross section on the line 3-3 (Fig. 1).
As described in the Specification of Letters Patent 888798 aforesaid, a tube a
serves as the guiding shaft for the ammunition, and through the longitudinal
slot therein the spring pressed lifting pawls c, c¹, c², carried by the rising and
falling lifting rod d, project into the interior of the tube. The lifting rod d
slides in a suitable guide a¹, and receives reciprocating motion from any suit-
able source of power, as for example that described in the Specification of Letters
Patent No. 888798.
Upon the side of the guide tube a opposite the slot b, are mounted the spring
pressed supporting pawls e, e¹, e³, projecting through openings into the interior
of the tube. The lifting pawls c, cl, c, are set at equal distances from each other
and similarly the supporting pawls e, e¹, e², are equal distances apart.

page_text: On the other hand the mutual distance of the lifting pawls, which is denoted
by the letter X, is greater than the mutual distance y. of the supporting
pawls e, e', e, by the part marked z.
The working of the hoist is as follows:-
Supposing that in the position shewn, the lifting rod d is moving in the upward
direction, the lifting pawl will consequently first raise the cartridge 12, while
the other cartridges remain at rest upon the supporting pawls, and the last cart-
ridge brought into the hoist is still upon the table (not shewn). When the dis-
tance z has been traversed, the lifting pawl c' comes into engagement with the
cartridge P1; after traversing the distance marked Z2, the lifting pawl c takes
under the cartridge P, and after a distance equal to three times that marked Z
has been traversed by the lifting rod, this distance hereafter in this specification
being referred to as 3%, (supposing that there is only the table beneath the pawl e)
the next lower pawl lifts the lowermost cartridge.
It will thus be seen that while the rod d traverses the distance 3Z, the cart-
ridges are raised separately one after another. Then for the first time they are
all lifted further simultaneously, till the supporting pawl e takes beneath the
fresh cartridge coming into the position of P; for this purpose a further move-
ment equal to the portion y is necessary, so that the total length of the stroke
is equal to the length y + 3%.
When the movement of the rod is reversed, the cartridges are deposited upon
the supporting pawls one after another.
By the above described method of operation, the load is gradually applied to,
and taken off the motor, so that shocks are prevented to the utmost possible
extent. It is not absolutely necessary, for the desired end, that the distances x
be greater than the distances y, they might equally well be less. In like
manner the distances of the lifting pawls from each other, and those of the sup-
porting pawls need in no wise be equal..
On the other hand however the important point is, that the relative distances
of the lifting pawls from the relative distances of their co-operating supporting
pawls, must be so differently chosen, that when one pair of pawls (lifting and
supporting) are at the same level, the pawls of the remaining pairs are out of
alignment with each other.
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. In that type of ammunition hoists described in the Specification of Letters
Patent, 8887 of 1898 for warships, armoured turrets and the like; an arrange-
ment whereby the relative distances of the lifting pawls are different from the
relative distances of the supporting pawls in such manner, that the cartridges
are not raised simultaneously, but one after another by the lifting pawls, and
deposited in the same manner substantially as set forth.
2. The particular construction and arrangement composing my improvements
in ammunition hoists of the type described in Specification 8887 of 1898 com-
bined and acting substantially as and for the purposes described with reference
to the accompanying drawing.
ונ..
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