Year: 1899

page_text: I, JOHN ROBERT HINTON, of Petersburg, in the County of Dinwiddie and State
of Virginia, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The improvement which forms the subject of this patent is directed to provisions
whereby what is known as the " cannon-cracker" is rendered safe and certain
in its use and more attractive as a pyrotechnic.
Ti is of frequent occurrence in firing the cannon-cracker as a pyrotechnic that
the fuse fails to quickly ignite the powder charge or that the fuse only partially
burns and apparently goes out, but retains fire likely at any instant to ignite
the powder charge. In such cases accidents have happened from handling it
and in going near it by reason of its unexpected explosion.
It is the purpose of my improvement to provide cannon-crackers with means
whereby they are caused to give certain evidence that the fuse has gone out and
that there can be no explosion except it is preceded by a harmless combustion
giving a loud whistling sound produced by a chemical composition, thereby
rendering the use of a pyrotechnic dangerous for men harmless for children.
The provision of a combustible whistling device to a cannon-cracker involves
a construction in which such device, which contains the chemical composition,
projects into space in the chamber containing the cannon charge, which only
partially fills the cannon chamber, and as this whistling compound constitutes à
fuse for igniting the cannon charge it is important that provision be made for
certainly and quickly igniting the whistling compound and for causing it as
certainly to ignite the cannon charge. In these particulars my improvement
will be specifically set out in the concluding claims, in connection with the
accompanying drawings, which illustrate what I term a "whistling cannon-
cracker and in which:-
Figure 1 shows in longitudinal section my improved whistling cannon-cracker
wherein the device containing the combustible whistling compound is shown
as projecting into the cannon-chamber space. Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken at
the plug in which the combustible whistling device is seated. Fig. 3 is a like
section showing the combustible whistling device projecting into space in the
cannon-chamber; and Fig. 4 shows the whistling device, in which the combustible
whistling compound is at its junction with the firing-fuse combined with an

page_text: initial igniting powder charge and a terminal igniting powder charge for igniting
the cannon charge.
The cannon-body is preferably formed of paper suitable for the purpose in
cemented wrappings, producing a hollow cylindrical body of strong walls, within
which a chamber for containing the cannon charge of powder is formed by a
plug 2 of suitable material at or near one end and a plug 3 of fire-clay near the
firing end.
In this clay plug is centrally seated the whistling device, which
consists of a tube 4, formed of hard paper wrappings cemented together, open at
both ends, of less diameter than the powder-containing chamber, and seated so as
to stand entirely within the firing end of said chamber. This tube contains the
combustible whistling compound (indicated by the numeral 6) which when
fired burns with a loud whistling noise and emits a volume of both smoke and
flame. For this purpose the chamber containing this chemical compound is
comparatively small and the compound must be famped solidly within it. The
whistling compound in its ingredients, proportions, and mode of manufacture
is described in the United States Patent of Antonio Del Grande, No. 111714,
dated September 24, 1889, and the process of producing which consists in dis-
solving pieric acid in hot water, adding earbonate of magnesia thereto to form a
solution of pierate of magnesia, then dissolving nitrate of potash in water, and
mingling the latter solution with the former, producing a precipitate consisting
of pierate of potash, and finally reducing said precipitate to a granular or condition
of powder in which it is used as stated: but it will be understood that any
suitable chemical composition may be employed so long as it has the capacity
when ignited of producing the results stated. This combustible whistling com
pound does not fill the tube to its ends, but a spaer is left at each end, withia
which a small quantity of fine black powder is tamped in a wet condition, so as
to form thin end plugs 6 and 7, to bind and hold solidly against the ends of the
chemical whistling composition, thus supplementing a combustible whistling
compound made solid in a long body with a comparatively thin layer of powder,
which at one end forms an igniting medium 6 for this whistling compound and
at the other end of the compound forms an igniting medium 7 for the cannon-
cracker charge.
The whistling composition is fired by a fuse S. which is seen as seated and
confined partially within but preferably does not pass through, the powder layer 6.
and is preferably secured by cementing to a paper wrapper cemented to the
end of the tule. The fuse may, however, he otherwise secured to the end of
the tube so long as its end is in contact with or is surrounded by a layer of
powder of sufficient thickness to certainly and instantly communicate by a flash
the fire of the fuse to the joining end of the combustible whistling compound.
The powder layer at the inner end of the whistling-tube on being fired by the
burning of the whistling compound ignites by a flash or by sparks the powder
joosely contained in the chamber of the cannon-cracker.
It is important to note that the whistling-tube extends within the cannon-
chamber, free of contact with its walls, a sufficient distance to render certain the
delivery of and diffusion of the flash or sparks to ignite the charge contained,
because by reason of the rapid movement of the fire in consuming the whistling
compound the effect of the contact of the fire with the powder layer abutting
the compound will be to project the powder layer from the end of the tube in
sparks into the powder charge of the cannon-cracker.
•
The powder used for the cannon charge and for the igniter layers of the
whistling device is very fine, and as shown in Fig. 3, only partially fills the
cannon-chamber, and it is by reason of the partial filling of the chamber that
the force of the explosion is increased, and the advantage of combining a terminal
powder-igniter layer with the whistling-tube is apparent.
The projection of the whistling-tube into the cannon-chamber places its firing
end practically over the powder charge, increases the duration of the whistling
sound, and forms an ejector for sparks into the chamber charge. This is one of

page_text: the features of my improvement, and it is obvious that the misting tube so
projecting may be used in the cannon-cracker without the powder layers, which
supplement the whistling composition.
Another important feature of my improvement is the closure of the whistling-
tube entirely within the chamber formed by the cylindrical body, whereby said
tube is protected at its fuse-connected end from liability to be broken from its
seat connection in the charge-containing chamber, and particularly as such seat
is formed of a clay plug.
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 a cannon-cracker, the combination with the chambered body closed by
end plugs and partially filled with powder, of a tube open at both ends. of less
diameter than said chamber, seated centrally in one of said plugs, extending
therefrom into said chamber and containing a composition capable of emitting a
large volume of smoke and flame with a loud shrill whistling sound.
2. In a cannon-cracker, the combination with the chambered body closed by end
plugs, and partially filled with powder, of a tube open at both ends, of less
diameter than the chamber, entirely inclosed by it, centrally seated in one of said
plugs, extending into the chamber and outward from said plug, and containing
a combustible whistling composition and an igniting-fuse at its firing end.
3. In a cannon-cracker, and in combination with the chambered body thereof
partially filled with powder, of a tube supported centrally in a plug closing one
end of said chamber, said tube being of less diameter than the chamber, open at
both ends, extending into the chamber and outward from said plug. containing
a combustible whistling composition, an igniting-fuse at its firing end and having
a layer of powder between the end of the firing-fuse and the end of said com-
position.
4. In a cannon-cracker, and in combination with the chambered body thereof
partially filled with powder, of a tube of less diameter than the chamber, supported
centrally in a plug closing one end of said chamber, said tube being open at both
ends, extending into the chamber and outward from said plug, containing a com-
bustible whistling composition, an igniting-fuse at its firing end and having a
layer of powder in its end opening into the chamber and abutting the end of the
whistling composition.
5. In a cannon-cracker, and in combination with the chambered body thereof
partially filled with powder, of a tube of less diameter than the chamber supported
centrally in a plug closing one end of said chamber, said tube extending into
the chamber and outward from said plug, containing a combustible whistling
composition, an igniting-fuse at its firing end and having a layer of powder
between the end of the fuse and the end of said composition and a layer of powder
in its end opening into the chamber and abutting the end of the whistling
composition.
6. In a cannon-cracker and in combination with the chambered body thereof
partially filled with powder, of a tube of less diameter than the chamber, supported
centrally in a plug closing one end of said chamber, extending into the chamber
and outward from said plug, containing a combustible whistling composition,
supplemented at its firing end by a layer of powder and having the igniting-fuse
embedded in the layer of powder.
7. In a cannon-cracker and in combination with the chambered body thereof
partially filled with powder, of a tube centrally seated within the end of said
chamber, opening into it, containing a combustible whistling composition supple-
mented at each end of the tube with a layer of powder, and an igniting-fuse in
contact with the laver of powder at the firing end of said fuse.
8. A whistling-fuse device for cannon-crackers consisting of a tube open at
both ends containing a combustible whistling composition, an igniting-fuse at

page_text: one end, a layer of powder between the end of the fuse and the end of said
composition and a layer of powder in its other end abutting the end of said
composition.
Th
1800
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.