Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Mar., 1894-Accepted, 28th Apr., 1894
15
H
A communication from THE BETHLEHEM IRON COMPANY, a corporation under
the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, of Bethlehem, Northampton County,
State of Pennsylvania, United States of America.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to breech mechanism for guns, and more particularly to
that class of breech mechanism wherein the breech-block or plug is unlocked,
withdrawn and swung to one side of the breech by a continuously operating
mechanism, and whereby the breech-block or plug is swung into position before the
breech, inserted therein and locked, also with one continuous motion of the
mechanism, and it has for its object to improve the construction and arrangement
of such breech mechanism, whereby the breech-block or plug can be more quickly,
easily and certainly operated by means which are substantial in structure, positive
in operation and mechanically simple of construction, and to these ends this
invention consists in the various features of construction and arrangement of parts
adapted to operate in the manner hereinafter set forth.
Referring to the accompanying drawings
:-
Figure 1 is an end view of a gun, with the breech closed ready for firing;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same;
Figure 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section of the same;
Figure 4 is an end view of the breech-block or plug ;
Figure 5 is a detail view showing the racks attached to the plug ;
Figure 6 is a plan of the same;
Figures 7 and 8 are, respectively, side and plan views of a wheel adapted to be
used with the rack;
Figure 9 is an enlarged detail; and
Figure 10 is a partial side view showing the breech-block withdrawn.
As before indicated this invention relates more particularly to breech mechanism
for ordnance, although, of course, it may be applied to guns of various sizes and
styles, and while it is common to provide some sort of means for accomplishing the
general purposes
of this invention, and various mechanisms have been provided for.
doing this, it is the object of the invention to improve on all these means known to
my correspondents, and to provide mechanism which shall overcome some of the
difficulties inherent to the usual construction.
It is common to lock the breech-block or plug in the breech of the mechanism,
by means of interrupted screw-threads and I have shown the invention as applied
to a gun of such construction, in which, in order to remove the breech-block, it is
first necessary to partially rotate the plug, and then withdraw it longitudinally
from the breech. This has heretofore been accomplished in various ways and by
various nieans, in some of which there has been a torsion strain upon the plug as
it is withdrawn from the breech onto the tray for supporting it, and one of the
principal objects of the invention is to provide a mechanism which shall avoid
this torsion strain, and thereby facilitate the movement of the plug, and the
operation of the mechanism.
The invention further contemplates improvements in the means for starting the
plug and overcoming its adhesion with the breech, especially in connection with

page_text: guns in which a gas-check is used, and in which it requires a greater amount of
force to start the breech-block, and the greatest strain is exerted at that moment,
and while this and other objects are accomplished by the mechanism which I am
about to describe, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the
precise details of construction set forth, as these may be varied by those skilled in
the art, without departing from the essential features of the invention, and parts of
the invention may be used in combination with each other or with other equivalent
devices.
In the breech A of a gun, of any desirable construction is an opening with
interrupted threads for the reception of the plug, and upon the removable breech-
plug B, are correspondingly interrupted threads, whereby the breech-plug may be
inserted and secured by a partial rotation, as usual.
At the rear of the breech a tray C, is provided for the reception of the plug,
which tray is suitably supported so that it may be swung to one side with the plug,
after the latter is withdrawn from the breech onto the tray.
As shown the tray is supported by an arm a extending from a sleeve t pivoted to
the bracket D as for instance, through the medium of a vertical shaft E passing
through bearings in the bracket D, and rotated through the medium of a worm
wheel E' on the shaft, and a worm H upon a shaft H', turning in bearings on a
bracket H bolted to the breech; the said shaft H' being revolved by any suitable
means. When revolved by hand, the shaft H' is provided with a crank arm H³.
Upon the tray C are parallel ribs or rails c c adapted to longitudinal grooves b b
in the plug which grooves are in a position to coincide with the rails when the
plug is turned to position to disengage its threads from those of the breech, ready
for removal, and the said grooves bb are of such length that the ends of the
grooves will abut against the ends of the rails when the plug is withdrawn to its
full extent.
In order that the swinging tray C may be held fixedly in place to receive the
plug it is provided with a locking device of any suitable character, that will lock
the tray in position against the breech, and in order that the plug may be
expeditiously swung out of position opposite the breech when it is fully upon the
tray, means are provided whereby when the plug reaches this position, the said
locking device will be released.
Different forms of locking devices, arranged to effect these results may be
employed. As shown, there is pivoted to the tray a lever of the first order C',
having at one end a hook which when the tray is in position against the breech,
engages a hook al upon the breech and locks the tray to the breech, a spring c
tending to hold the parts in this position, while the projecting end or handle cof
the lever permits the latter to be manipulated by hand.
A lug with the inner corner bevelled, extends upward from near the outer end
of the lever C' into position to be struck and depressed by the plug B, as it
arrives at its outer position upon the tray, so that the lever C₁ is thereby tilted
to disengage its locking end. Upon the lever C¹ is another lug which normally
is below the upper face of the tray, but which when the plug is fully out and the
outer end of the lever C¹ is depressed, is brought opposite a shoulder, not shown,
on the plug and holds the latter in position upon the tray, preventing it from
sliding forward when the parts are swung back into place to insert the plug.
In order to lock the lever C¹ with its inner end in an elevated position to hold
the plug with certainty in place, my correspondents make use of a second locking
device of a suitable character. For instance, a cross-bolt c sliding in a slot
extending transversely through the lever C¹ extends beyond one side of the lever
in position to engage a shoulder c on a projection of the tray, when the inner end
of the lever C' is elevated. In order to automatically remove the bolt from the
shoulder when the tray is swung inward, the bolt is provided with a rod clo
extending forward and projecting beyond the end of the lever, so as to make
contact with the breech of the gun when the tray reaches its inner position,
thereby forcing back the bolt and permitting the end of the lever to drop. A

page_text: spring normally throws the bolt inward. Any other suitable lock for locking.
the lever C' may be substituted for that shown.
In order to remove the plug from the breech of the gun in the present construc-
tion, the plug has to be first turned or partially rotated in the breech to release the
interlocking mutilated screw-threads and then withdrawn longitudinally from the
breech and the invention is directed more particularly to the means whereby these
operations are accomplished and my correspondents make use of what they term a
compound operating wheel, which is arranged to engage suitable racks applied to
or formed on the plug. The compound wheel is constructed so as to operate as a
worm-wheel and as a spur gear or pinion, substantially as hereinafter described.
The plug is shown as provided with a segmental rack G, and with a longitudinal
rack g by means of which the rotary and longitudinal movements of the plug.
may be accomplished, and the compound operating wheel is arranged to co-operate.
with both of these racks. The wheel may be made so that it can be turned one.
or more revolutions to the extent necessary to turn the plug as far as desired,.
acting in this respect solely as a worm wheel, and after the plug is turned:
to the necessary extent, the wheel will present spur or pinion teeth or faces.
of a proper character and arrangement to engage the teeth of the rack_g'.
and draw out the plug; or the wheel may be of such a size that a portion
of the teeth engage the rack G to turn the plug, and another portion engage the.
rack gto draw out the plug, depending upon the extent of rotation of the plug,.
and the pitch of the teeth of the wheel. To this end, the compound wheel E has
practically two sets of teeth. That is, it has projections which may be of any
suitable character and arrangement, with inclined faces v, that engage the inclined
faces of the correspondingly inclined teeth v¹ of the rack G, and acting thereon
as worm-threads to turn the plug in one direction or the other, and the projections
on the wheel E have also vertical faces e which when the rack g is brought into
line with the wheel, engage the vertical faces w of the teeth of the rack g' acting.
as spur or pinion teeth.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the worm faces of the wheel are formed by
providing said wheel with inclined or broken spiral projections corresponding to
sectional threads of a regular worm wheel of proper character, the faces being of
proper pitch to engage those of the teeth o' of the rack G while the spur or pinion
faces are formed by cutting vertically through the worm teeth, as shown, so that
the upper and under sides of the projections on the periphery of the wheel E,
have a proper pitch and angle to act as worm threads, and the vertical faces of the
projections have the proper pitch and are properly spaced to constitute spur or
pinion teeth and engage the faces of the teeth of the rack 9%. In order that the
pinion faces may engage the teeth of the rack at the proper moment, it is
preferred to provide the rack G with a lug or stop g¹ so arranged as to make
contact with the top face of the wheel E, at the moment that one of the vertical
or pinion faces of the wheel E is brought against the first of the vertical faces w
of the rack when the wheel E will then at once begin to act as a pinion to draw
the rack and its plug longitudinally outward. If the periphery of the wheel E is
greater than the length of the rack g' it is not necessary to sub-divide the worm-
threads throughout the whole extent of the wheel.
While the construction and arrangement illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 are
effective to the end desired, the teeth of the compound wheel E in some cases,
would be too much weakened by securing the vertical or pinion faces by sub-
dividing the worm-threads at close intervals, and my correspondents, therefore, for
this purpose, prefer the construction of wheel and rack illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 7
and 8, in which the worm thread sections ff overlap each other, as shown, each
having upper and lower faces of proper pitch, but each terminating in a vertical
end face e, which acts as a spur or pinion face, and the teeth of the rack g' are
sub-divided instead of being continuous, each tooth having an inclined slot across
it, adapted to receive a portion of one of the worm thread sections, so that the
ends of said sections bear on the faces w of the said teeth, while the intermediate
J

page_text: portions of the said sections will enter the slots u. By this means the teeth of the
wheel E may be made of a size to secure all the strength necessary for effective
operation under all circumstances.
Greater strength may be imparted to the teeth of the rack 92 by forming only
side notches, instead of continuing the groove u entirely across the tooth, leaving
an intermediate web, as shown at u³, Figure 5, each of the worm-thread sections
being cut away to form a vertical recess u* (dotted lines Figure 7) to receive the
web u' and this will not materially weaken the teeth of the wheel E.
It will be seen that the action in withdrawing the plug, and also in inserting it,
is a continuous action, resulting from the revolution of the wheel E in each case
continuously in one direction. Thus, when the plug is in place, the revolution of
the wheel E will first cause the teeth of the wheel to act as worm-threads to turn
the rack G and the plug until the stop g¹ is in contact with the face of the wheel,
when the latter continuing its movement, will act as a spur or pinion upon the
rack o³ to draw out the plug, and when the latter is fully out, its contact with the
lug will tilt the lever C¹ and unlock the tray from the breech, and the tray will
then swing around carrying the plug from opposite the breech, the lever C¹ being
then locked in place by the bolt c.
When the movement of the wheel E is reversed, the plug being locked upon the
tray, cannot be moved thereon and therefore, the plug and tray will swing together
until, the tray is in contact with the breech, when the bolt c will be thrown back
and the locking lever C¹ will, engage the hook a', releasing the plug, which can
then slide inward upon the ribs cc under the pinion action of the wheel E, until
the plug is fully in place, when the continued' revolution of the wheel E will cause
it to again act as a worm and turn the plug until it is seated in the breech.
It will be observed that while the plug is being withdrawn longitudinally, there
is no torsional strain or. tendency to rotate the plug and it slides freely upon the
ribs of the tray.
In order to overcome the adhesion of the plug, which is apt to occur after firing,
especially when a gas check is used as shown, and relieve the strain upon the teeth
of the wheel E, a projection or starting lug O is provided which is arranged
preferably upon the side of the wheel E in such a position as to engage an extension
or projection P of the curved rack G at the moment the plug reaches the proper
position for the spur or pinion teeth to engage the rack to withdraw it from the
breech. Thus it will be seen, at this moment not only does the face of one or more
of the teeth e impinge upon the face of the teeth w of the rack and exert a pressure
tending to withdraw the plug longitudinally, but the tooth O also impinges upon
the face of the extension P and operates to aid in starting the plug and overcoming
its adhesion, so that the strain is divided between the teeth e and the prolonged
tooth O. In this way, my correspondents are enabled to exert the greater strain
necessary in starting the plug, without danger of injuring the teeth of the wheel,
as the additional tooth O furnishes a greater wearing surface and takes a part of
the strain at the moment of starting the plug.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said
invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :--
1. The combination with the breech and plug of a gun of a curved rack and a
straight rack upon the plug and a compound operating wheel E provided with
teeth having both worm faces engaging the curved rack and spur or pinion faces
engaging the straight rack substantially as set forth.
2. The combination with the breech and plug of a gun of a curved rack and a
straight rack upon the plug a compound wheel having teeth provided with worm
faces adapted to the teeth of the curved rack and spur or pinion faces adapted to
the teeth of the straight rack and a projection or stop upon the plug arranged to
make contact with the face of the wheel when the plug is turned to bring the
straight rack in position to engage the teeth of the wheel substantially as set forth.

page_text: 3. The combination with the breech and plug of a gun of a swinging tray
arranged to receive the plug a curved rack and a straight rack upon the plug and
a compound wheel having teeth with faces adapted to engage the teeth of the
curved rack and other faces adapted to engage the teeth of the straight rack
substantially as set forth.
4. The combination with the removable plug of a gun of a curved rack and a
straight rack and a compound operating wheel provided with worm teeth sections
engaging said curved rack and arranged to overlap each other, the said sections
having faces at the ends adapted to the faces of the teeth of the straight rack
substantially as set forth.
5. The combination with the breech and plug of a gun of a curved rack and a
straight rack and a plug-operating wheel having worm teeth sections overlapping.
each other and with vertical end faces the teeth of the straight rack having recesses
adapted to receive portions of the said worm thread sections substantially as set
forth.
6. The combination with the breech and plug of a gun of racks secured to the
plug, a wheel having teeth engaging the racks the wheel being provided with a
starting lug arranged to engage a projection on the rack substantially as described.
7. The combination with the breech and plug of a gun of a curved and straight
rack upon the plug a compound wheel having worm and spur teeth to engage the
respective racks and provided with a projection or prolonged tooth to engage a
projection on the rack substantially as set forth.
Ol
CL 1004
wwwww
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
London, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester,
Agents for the Applicant.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
London, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester,
Agents for the Applicant.