Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Sept., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 19th June, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 3rd. Aug.. 1888
1, THORSTEN NORDENFELT of 53 Parliament Street in the City of Westminster,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to time fuzes for projectiles and to time and percussion fuzes
combined and is applicable with most advantage to projectiles in which it is necessary
to make the fuze perfectly safe against accidental ignition during transport without
the necessity of using safety pins as is generally done. When the improved fuzes
have a percussion arrangement this is contained within a chamber of cylindrical
shape formed in the plug or piece which screws into the nose of the projectile. This
chamber is closed at its inner end by a screw stopper in which is a cavity filled with
powder or explosive to make a magazine. The cylindrical chamber contains within it
a pellet primed with fulminate and a split ring or mantlet which embraces the pellet
and rests upon a shoulder on the pellet which it holds in its place. On firing the
inertia of the split ring or mantlet causes it to slide along the cylindrical surface of
the pellet so as to leave the pellet free within the chamber. On the projectile striking,
the pellet with the mantlet upon it passes to the front end of the chamber within
which it is contained, and a point fixed in the end of the chamber strikes the priming
of fulminate and fires it. The flash passes to the composition in the cavity of the
stopper which closes the chamber, and the fire from this composition enters the
interior of the shell and fires the bursting charge. These arrangements are very
similar to what is described in the Specification of a former patent granted to me
No. 3235-1884. Any other arrangement of percussion fuze can be placed instead
in the inner chainber. I now provide a second mantlet or split ring resting on a
shoulder upon the exterior of the cylindrical chamber containing the percussion
mechanism, and this second mantlet or split ring, when the projectile is fired from the
gun, is caused by its inertia to pass towards the rear end of the chamber, and in doing
so it strikes upon and fires percussion caps or other like priming. These percussion
caps are set in a ring which, in the usual way, can be turned round for the purpose of
adjusting the time which the fuze shall burn before igniting the bursting charge
within the projectile. In the ring, on its rear face, there is a groove charged with

page_text: fuze composition, and this face of the ring abuts upon another face in the plug which
is screwed into the nose of the projectile. Beneath the ring of fuze composition a
passage is formed which itself is charged with gunpowder or other explosive. This
passage leads to the central cavity previously referred to which is also charged with
explosive material. When the composition in the adjustable ring is ignited it burns
until it reaches the passage leading inwards to the central cavity and then the
explosion takes place. The time occupied in reaching the passage depends of course
as in the ordinary time fuse upon the position of the ring. The ring is kept in its
place by a conical cover which in turn is held in position by a nose plug which screws
into the head of the cylinder containing the percussion apparatus. When the com-
position in the time ring burns, the gases produced pass up within the conical cover
and find a vent by perforations in the nose piece or an escape may be otherwise
provided.
Dated this 26th day of September 1887
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I, THORSTEN NORDENFELT, of 53 Parliament Street, in the City of Westminster,
Civil Engineer, 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 :-
-
This invention relates to time fuzes for projectiles and to time and percussion fuzes
combined and is applicable with most advantage to projectiles in which it is necessary
to make the fuze perfectly safe against accidental ignition during transport without
the necessity of using safety pins as is generally done. When the improved fuzes
have a percussion arrangement this is contained within a chamber of cylindrical shape
formed in the plug or piece which screws into the nose of the projectile. This chamber
is closed at its inner end by a screw stopper in which is a cavity filled with powder
or explosive to make a magazine. The cylindrical chamber contains within it a pellet
primed with fulminate and a split ring or mantlet which embraces the pellet and
rests upon a shoulder on the pellet which it holds in its place. On firing the inertia
of the split ring or mantlet causes it to slide along the cylindrical surface of the pellet
so as to leave the pellet free within the chamber. On the projectile striking, the
pellet with the mantlet upon it passes to the front end of the chamber within which it
is contained, and a point fixed in the end of the chamber strikes the priming of
fulminate and fires it. The flash passes to the composition in the cavity of the stopper
which closes the chamber, and the fire from this composition enters the interior of
the shell and fires the bursting charge. These arrangements are very similar to what
is described in the Specification of a former Patent granted to me No. 3235-1884.
Any other arrangement of percussion fuze can be placed instead in the inner
chamber. I now provide a second mantlet or split ring resting on a shoulder upon
the exterior of the cylindrical chamber containing the percussion mechanism, and this
second mantlet or split ring, when the projectile is fired from the gun, is caused by
its inertia to pass towards the rear end of the chamber, and in doing so it strikes upon
and fires percussion caps or other like priming. These percussion caps are set in a
ring which, in the usual way, can be turned round for the purpose of adjusting the
time which the fuze shall burn before igniting the bursting charge within the
projectile. In the ring, on its rear face, there is a groove charged with fuze com-
position, and this face of the ring abuts upon another face in the plug which is
screwed into the nose of the projectile. Beneath the ring of fuze composition a
passage is formed which itself is charged with gunpowder or other explosive.
This passage leads to the central cavity previously referred to which is also
charged with explosive material. When the composition in the adjustable ring is
ignited it burns until it reaches the passage leading inwards to the central cavity
and then the explosion takes place. The time occupied in reaching the passage
depends of course as in the ordinary time fuze upon the position of the ring.
The ring is kept in its place by a conical cover which in turn is held in position
by a nose plug which screws into the head of the cylinder containing the per-
cussion apparatus. When the composition in the time ring burns, the gases
produced pass up within the conical cover and find a vent by perforations in the
nose piece or an escape may be otherwise provided.
In order that my said invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the drawing hereunto annexed.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
The drawing shows (enlarged) a longitudinal section of a time and percussion
fuze constructed in accordance with my invention.
a is the piece which screws into the projectile and a¹ is a hollow pillar or
chamber formed in connection with it. is the plug which closes the chamber a¹
it is hollow and perforated on all sides as the drawing indicates and its interior
at is filled with rammed powder or other suitable explosive. Within the
chamber a I arrange mechanism for firing the shell by percussion. That which I
here show I have employed for some time past, it consists of a pellet c bored
through and cylindrical externally; it is loaded with rammed powder or other
suitable explosive at c¹ and is tipped with fulminate at c³. The pellet is cylindrical
externally but slightly reduced in diameter at its outer end; here it is embraced
tightly by the mantlet d consisting of a metal ring which is split longitudinally
from end to end. The inertia of this ring causes it, on firing, to pass completely
on to the pellet and the momentum of both pellet and mantlet when the projectile
strikes brings the fulminate against the point a² at the fore end of the chamber a¹
and explodes it firing the composition of and 64, and so the fire passes to the
bursting charge of the shell. The chamber or cylindrical pillar a¹ likewise receives
upon it a split ring e; this on firing passes along the pillar a and in so doing it
strikes upon a percussion cap or primer f¹ which is inserted into a perforation in
the time ring ff is a groove on the rear face of the time ring, it also is
loaded, as usual, with rammed powder or other explosive. The groove does not
pass completely around the ring and the primer f¹ when exploded fires the com-
position at one end of the groove. The fire burns along the groove until it
reaches the passage a³ in the piece a which passage is also rammed full of
composition and the fire passing along the passage ignites the composition and
the ignition of the bursting charge of the shell immediately follows. g is a packing
inserted beneath the ring f, it is of such a nature as to be readily burnt through
as the composition is consumed. is a conical cover serving to hold the ring f
in place but allowing it to be turned to adjust the time which the fuze shall
burn before igniting the bursting charge. is the nose plug which screwing into
a socket at the end of the pillar a securely holds the cover.
The plug and the
pillar a are perforated to allow the escape of the gases resulting from the
burning of the fuze composition in the passages and parts of the fuze.
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. The combination in a time fuze of the piece a to be screwed into the nose
of the projectile; the chamber or pillar a projecting therefrom the split ring e
on the said pillar or chamber; and the time ring with its primer f¹ and com-
position filled groove leading the fire from the primer f to a passage a³ in
tho piece a and so to the bursting charge.
2. The combination in a time and percussion fuze of the piece a; the chamber a¹ ;
the perforated plug closing the base of the chamber a¹; the pellet c and the
split ring mantlet d within the chamber; the split ring e on the exterior of the
chamber a; and the grooved time ring with its primer fl and passages
conducting the fire therefrom to the bursting charge.
3. Fuzes substantially as described and illustrated by the annexed drawing.
Data: 101. L
ST 1000