Improvements in Projectiles for Carrying Life Lines, and in Receptacles for the latter.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Projectiles for Carrying Life Lines, and in
Receptacles for the latter.
We, WILLIAM PARK SHAW, of Cameron Street, Carpenter, and JOHN SHEARMAN,
of 6, Homer Street, Builder, both in the City of Boston, in the County of Suffolk
and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:
1
Our invention relates to improvements in projectiles for carrying life lines, used
in life saving apparatus.
The invention consists of a solid projectile having at its breech end a slot into
which is loosely fitted a block or hinge held in place by a pin passing through
the projectile and through an elongated hole in the hinged or pivoted breech
block, said hinged or pivoted breech block having attached to its lower end a rod
that when inserted into the gun lies in a longitudinal groove formed in the pro-
jectile, so that its end extends some distance from the mouth of the gun, and
to which rod the life line is attached; and in the construction and formation of a
box or case for holding the life line.
The body of the projectile may be of any desired shape, the rear of which is
formed with a recess that extends from the bottom to near the top. In this recess
is loosely fitted a hinged or pivoted breech block curved transversely on its base
to conform to the curvature of the projectile, and round at its upper end, and is
provided with an elongated hole. A pin passes through the central portion of the
projectile and through the elongated hole, retaining the hinged or pivoted breech
block in place when inserted into a gun, and forming a fulcrum for it to turn
upon as soon as it is out of the mouth of the gun.
The lower front corner of the hinged or pivoted breech block is formed with a
hole, through which a rod is passed and there secured; this rod (when the pro-
jectile is inserted into the gun) lies in a longitudinal groove formed in the pro-
jectile, and said rod extends some distance beyond the mouth of the gun, and its
outer end is formed with a loop to which the end of the life line is secured. When
the projectile is to be placed into a gun the hinged or pivoted breech block is pushed
upwards so that its lower end completes the circle of the breech end of the pro-
jectile; thus the full force of the explosion is imparted to the breech of the projec-
tile, the rod lying in its groove in no way interfering with the efficiency of the
discharge. As soon as the gun has been fired and the breech of the projectile
leaves the mouth of the gun, the hinged or pivoted breech block will instantly fall
the distance allowed by the elongated hole, thus releasing the rod, which then falls;
and when the shot has passed sufficiently far from the mouth of the gun so that
there is a tension on the line, then the said rod, and with it the hinged or pivoted
breech block, is turned into the position in line with the shot, and carries the line
to its destination.
A box or case for containing the life line is employed, constructed so that said
line will be drawn out evenly without snarls or kinka This box

page_text: "
case consists of a tapering trough with open ends, the dimensions of
which would vary according to the length and size of the line employed. To
the upper ends of the side of the box are secured angle irons, the top of the sides
and the inwardly projecting flange of the angle iron forming grooves in which
are fitted short sections of boards that form the cover of the box or case.
small, or front end, is also fitted with angle irons, into which a board is slid, to
close that end. In order to fill the box with line, it is stood upon the small end
and the line coiled in.
The
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Improvements in Projectiles for Carrying Life Lines, and in
Receptacles for the latter.
We, WILLIAM PARK SHAW, of Cameron Street, Carpenter, and JOHN SHEARMAN,
of 6, Homer Street, Builder, both in the City of Boston, in the County of Suffolk
and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, 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:
-
Our invention relates to improvements in projectiles for carrying life lines used
in life saving apparatus.
The invention consists of a solid projectile having at its breech end a slot into
which is loosely fitted a block or hinge held in place by a pin passing through
the projectile and through an elongated hole in the hinged or pivoted breech
block, said hinged or pivoted breech block having attached at its lower end a rod
that when inserted into the gun lies in a longitudinal groove formed in the pro-
jectile, so that its end extends some distance from the mouth of the gun, and
to which rod the life line is attached, and in the construction and formation of a
box or case for holding the life line.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1, represents a longitudinal vertical section of a projectile embodying our
invention ready to be inserted into a gun.
Fig. 2, is a view of the underside of the same.
Fig. 3, is a side view of the same, as it would appear after being fired from a gun.
Fig. 4, is a view of the breech end of the projectile.
Fig. 5, is a cross section taken on line x, x, of Fig. 1.
Fig. 6, is a top view of a box or case for holding the life line.
Fig. 7, represents a cross section taken on line y, y, of Fig. 6.
Fig. 8, represents a perspective view of the box or case, looking from the large
end.
A, represents the body of the projectile which may be of any desired shape,
the rear of which is formed with a recess a, that extends from the bottom to, near
the top, as shown. In this recess is loosely fitted a hinged or pivoted breech
block B, curved transversely on its base to conform to the curvature of the pro-
jectile and round at its upper end, and is provided with an elongated hole b. C, is
a pin that passes through the central portion of the projectile and through the
elongated hole b, retaining the hinged or pivoted breech block, B, in place when
inserted into a gun, and forming a fulcrum, for it to turn upon as soon as it is out
of the mouth of the gun.

page_text: The lower corner of the hinged or pivoted breech block B, is formed with a
hole b¹, through which a rod D, is passed and there secured; this rod (when the pro-
jectile is inserted into the gun) lies in a longitudinal groove a¹, formed in the
projectile, and said rod extends some distance beyond the mouth of the gun, and its
outer end is formed with a loop to which the end of the life line is secured. When
the projectile is to be placed into a gun the hinged or pivoted breech block B,
is pushed upwards so that its lower end completes the circle of the breech end of
the projectile; thus the full force of the explosion is imparted to the breech by
the projectile, the rod D, lying in its groove in no way interfering with the
efficiency of the discharge. As soon as the gun has been fired and the breech
of the projectile leaves the mouth of the gun, the hinged or pivoted breech block B,
will instantly fall the distance allowed by the elongated hole b, as shown in dotted
lines in Fig. 1, thus releasing the rod D, which then falls, and when the shot has
passed sufficiently far from the mouth of the gun so that there is a tension on
the line, then the said rod D, and with it the hinged or pivoted breech block B,
is turned into a position in line with the shot as shown in Fig. 3, and carries the
line to its destination.
A box or case for containing the life line is employed, constructed so that said
line will be drawn out evenly without snarls or kinks. This box or case con-
sists of a tapering trough with open ends, the dimensions of which would vary
according to the length of the line employed. A box or case to hold say, five
hundred yards of Number 7 shot line would have to be about four feet long,
twelve inches square at its large end and four inches square at its small end.
E, represents the bottom of the box or case, F, the sides to the upper end of
which are secured angle irons G, the top of the sides and the inwardly projecting
flange of the angle iron forming grooves H, H, in which are fitted short sections
of boards I, that form the cover of the box or case. The small or front end, is also
fitted with angle irons G¹, into which a board J, is slid to close that end. The
front section board I', is permanently secured in place, so as to hold the small
end of the box in place. In order to fill the box with line, it is stood upon the
small end and the line is coiled in until the coil is as high as the front section
board I, then one of the boards I, is slid into place and the rope coiled until it
is of an equal height, when another board I, is put in place, and so on until the
box or trough has been filled with line.
A line coiled into a box or case in this manner.and drawn out at the small end
of the box or case will not snarl or kink as the line, when drawn upon, is not held
back by the box or case as each succeeding coil of rope is of a slightly larger
diameter than the coil that is being drawn upon.
Instead of employing the hinged or pivoted block B, the rod D, might be bent
up at its inner end and secured to the pin C, but this arrangement, although
cheaper, would not be so efficient as where the hinged or pivoted block B, is
employed, and the breech end of the shot may be made square or rounding as desired.
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. A projectile for carrying life lines, consisting of a body having a recess at
its rear end, a hinged or pivoted breech block fitted in said recess, and a rod
attached to said hinged or pivoted breech block, substantially as set forth.
2. A projectile for carrying life lines, consisting of a body having a longitudinal
groove and a rod fulcrumed to the rear end of the body and fitting into said groove
and extending beyond the mouth of the gun, substantially as set forth.
3. In a projectile for carrying life lines, a body having a hinged or pivoted
breech block fitted in its rear end, said block being formed with an elongated
hole, and secured to the body by a pin, in combination with a rod attached thereto,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
4. In a projectile for carrying life lines, a body, A, having a recess a, at its

page_text: rear end, and a longitudinal groove extending from said recess to its front end,
in combination with a hinged or pivoted breech block B, having an elongated
hole b, at its upper end, and a hole b¹, at its lower front end, said block being
held to the body by a pin C, and a rod D, attached to its lower front end, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes set forth.
5. In combination with a projectile for carrying life lines, a tapering box or
case in which the line is coiled and drawn from the small end of said box or case,
substantially as set forth.
6. In combination with a projectile for carrying life lines, a tapering box con-
sisting of a bottom and two sides, angle irons secured to the upper edges of the
sides and forming grooves between said angle irons and the upper edges of the
sides, and section boards to fit into said grooves, substantially as set forth.
7. A box or case for containing a life line, consisting of a bottom E, sides F,
angle irons G, G¹, section boards I, and front board J, arranged substantially as
set forth.
n
Dated this 28th day of February 1898
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.