Year: 1888

page_text: I CHARLES SHARMAN of 35 Wostenholm Road Sheffield in the County York
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
1 take two or any number more of Hardened steel Iron or Steel or metal plates or
sheets so arranged hard or hard and soft secured together by bolts screws or any other
way, till a plate is built up to any required thickness.
The size form and thickness of each layer of plates, I claim to have the privilege of
adopting as may best serve to stand the greatest resistance.
Armour Plates as now made in one large solid plate when struck by any Projectile
are more or less pierced cracked or shaken through the whole structure. My improve-
ment consists. First in forming a plate having a hardened and tempered steel face
plate secured to a backing plate by mechanical means so that when struck it acts as
a shield protecting the plate from any deep cracking or piercing.
As a further description of my improvement I will give an illustration, say I am
going to make a plate 10 inches thick. I do it in this or similar manner. I make
first a soft plate 24 inches thick the size of the plate required. I then make a
hardened and tempered steel plate inch thick and secure the two together, I
them make another piate in the same way and secure the four plates together thus
making a plate of 6 inches thick. By this arrangement there would be first a hard
steel face backed by the 24 inch tough backing then the hardened and tempere
steel plate, then again the tough backing. Then to give more strength, I affix behind
these a inch hardened steel plate and finish with a 3 inch strong fiborous
annealed steel iron or other metal plate. Thus I make a plate that is distinctly
made up of plates in various strata giving greater strength to the whole plate and
greater resisting power then can possibly be made by the process of fusion, running,
or welding together into one solid block of various mixtures of steel or other
metals. But I do not confine myself to the exact form or method as above described
as it will be seen that the principle of my improvement can be varied in many ways.
And as an illustration in making my hardened steel plates as above described they
might be in one sheet the whole size of the finished plate or in a number of small
Predl

page_text: hardened steel strips or plates secured to the soft backing, the advantage of this is to
lessten the surface damaged by a blow as each stripe or plate being independent, the
cracking could not easely extend beyond the surface of each plate struck.
Having now substantially described the nature of my improvements It will be seen
that I can produce a plate having greater resisting power then plates as at present
made. As I can make the face of my plate of almost any degree of hardness and of
increased strength by my other arrangements.
Dated this 30th day of May of May 1888.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Armour Plates.
I CHARLES SHARMAN of 35 Wostenholm Road Sheffield in the County of York
Gentleman 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 :-
I take two or any number more of Hardened and tempered steel iron or other metal
plates or sheets so arranged hard, or hard and soft secured together by bolts screws
or any other way till a plate is built up to any required thickness. The size form
and thickness of each layer of plates, 1 claim to have the privilege of adopting as
may best serve to stand the greatest resistance. Armour plates as now made in
one large solid plate when struck by any Projectile are more or less pierced,
cracked or shaken throughout the whole structure. My Improvement consists,
First in forming a plate having a hardened and tempered steel faco plate secured to
a backing plate by mechanical means so that when struck it acts as a shield
protecting the body of the plate from any deep cracking or piercing.
And to more sufficiently describe the subject matter of this invention, I will
give an illustration, say I am going to make a plate 10 inches thick, I do it in this
or similar manner. I make first a soft steel iron or other metal plate 2 inches thick
the size of the plate required. I then make a hardened and tempered steel plate inch
thick and secure the two together, I then make another plate in the same way, and secure
the four plates together, thus making a plate inches thick. By this arrangment
there would be first a hard steel face plate backed by the 24 inch tough backing plate,
then the hardened and tempered steel plate then again the tough backing-plate.
Then to give more strength I affix behind these a inch hardened steel plate and
finish with a 34 inch strong fibrous annealed steel iron or other metal plate. Thus I make

page_text: a plate that is distinctly made up of plates in various strata giving greater strength to
the whole plate and of greater resisting power then can possibly be made by the process
of fusion running or welding together into one solid block of various mixtures of stee!
iron or other metals.
But I do not confine myself to the exact form or method as above described as it
will be seen that the principle of my improvement can be varied in many ways.
And as an illustration in making my hardened steel plates as above described they
might be in one sheet the whole size of the finished plate or in a number of small
hardened steel stripes or plates secured to the soft steel Iron or other metal backing
plate. The advantage of this is to lessen the surface damaged by a blow as each strip
or plate being independent the cracking could not easely extend beyond the surface of
the strip or plate struck.
And further I wish to describe before I put together my various plates, I dip cover
or immerse them in a bituminous compound so as to make the various plates adhere
close together and also to prevent corrosion.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
Firstly. The making of a plate having a hardened and tempered steel face plate as
substantially herein before described.
Secondly. The making of a plate composed of a number of hardened and tempered
steel plates, or combined with a number of soft steel iron or other metal plates as
hereinbefore described.
Thirdly. The coating of the various plates with a bituminous substance as herein-
before described.
Dated this 5th day of December 1888.