Improvements relating to Apparatus for Pointing Guns.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 10th July, 1891-Accepted, 22nd Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by DIE ACTIEN GESELLSCHAFT GRUSONWERK, of
Magdeburg Buckau, in the Empire of Germany.]
Improvements relating to Apparatus for Pointing Guns.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus for pointing guns, and is designed to afford
the means whereby a gun mounted in a minimum-embrasure or an armour-plated
gun-carriage will be automatically retained in any position to which it may be
adjusted, without the employment of a counterweight.
The elevation of the gun in such carriages is usually effected by raising and
lowering the gun in arc-shaped guides in the cheeks of the gun-carriage. The
centre of these arc-shaped guides are in a horizontal line extending through the
embrasure and constituting an imaginary or virtual pivot or axis about which
the gun is turned for vertical pointing or elevation.
In order to facilitate the pointing of the gun in carriages of the kind or class
above referred to, the gun has heretofore been balanced by a counterweight. In
this manner the material advantage was obtained that the gun was retained at
any angle of elevation to which it was adjusted, thus permitting the lowering of
the gun to be effected without danger.
In heavy guns this arrangement presents, however, the defect that the counter-
weight is necessarily very heavy, and that the total weight of the movable parts is
consequently considerably increased. Moreover the space at disposal often renders
the use of a counterweight impracticable.
Now if the counterweight be dispensed with, the raising of the gun either
involves a greater expenditure of power, or it takes place more slowly; but both
of these circumstances are of slight importance in the case of heavy guns, the
firing of which cannot be effected with great rapidity under any circumstances. It
is, however, necessary in this case, to provide a device whereby the gun will be
retained at any angle of elevation to which it may be adjusted.
For this purpose use has heretofore been made, in some cases, of a brake com-
prising an ordinary friction-strap passed around a pulley on one of the shafts of the
elevating-gear, and applied to the said pulley by means of a lever when the gun
was to be secured in position, the said strap being somewhat relaxed when the gun
was to be raised or lowered.
In this arrangement, there was always danger that, when the brake was not
properly worked, not only might the gun move downward with great velocity
and destroy or injure the mechanism, but the hand-wheel upon the operating shaft
of the elevating-gear being rapidly rotated by such downward movement might
injure the attendant.
These inconveniences are obviated by the present invention, as it provides for
the automatic checking of the descent of the gun.
In applying the present improvements to an armour-plated gun-carriage wherein
the elevation of the gun is effected by turning a horizontal shaft upon which is fixed
a toothed pinion geared, through a toothed wheel, a shaft, and another pinion, with
a toothed sector secured to the gun, the centre of the said sector coinciding with
the virtual horizontal pivot of the gun, I find it advantageous to proceed as
follows, viz.
The said toothed sector is attached to the gun at a point approximately in a
vertical line intersecting the centre of gravity of the gun.
Upon one of the said shafts is arranged a pulley around which a friction-strap

page_text: is passed. When this strap is applied to the pulley, the gun is rigidly secured in
the position to which it has been adjusted. This brake is, however, applied only
when the gun has been elevated or depressed as required and is about to be
fired.
A second brake-mechanism which is provided upon another of the said shafts is
always operative, and comprises a ratchet-wheel which is loosely mounted upon the
said shaft and with which a pawl is adapted to engage. A brake-disc is pressed by
a cottar against the said ratchet-wheel. Should the said cottar be so tightened
that a complete coupling of the brake-disc with the ratchet-wheel is effected, the
gun could be raised but not lowered, as the pawl permits the turning of the shaft
only in one direction. The cottar can, however, be tightened to such an extent
that while the weight of the gun alone is not sufficient to overcome the friction
produced between the ratchet-wheel and brake-disc, a slight exertion of force upon
the hand-wheel is enough to move the gun slowly downwards.
By this means, the danger of any sudden downward movement of the gun by
reason of inattention during the service is entirely avoided.
Moreover the arrangement is of great practical value for the pointing of the gun,
as the gun can not only be raised slowly, but can be lowered to the desired eleva-
tion and then retained in position, and can therefore be adjusted very accurately.
The cottar may also be tightened so that the brake permits the gun to move
slowly downwards. In this case, a reciprocal action takes place between the
strap-brake and the automatic brake, inasmuch as the strap-brake serves for entirely
stopping the gun, whilst the automatic brake serves as a safety device and assists the
strap-brake.
This arrangement of the automatic brake obviates various defects in the
arrangements hitherto used, and enables armour-plated gun-carriages to be used for
heavy guns with advantage.
The construction of the automatic brake is susceptible of various modifications.
For instance the cottar may be replaced by a screw, whereby the necessary
pressure can be produced, and the ratchet-wheel can be held in position by other
means than the pawl above described.
The essential feature of the invention does not consist in the special construc-
tion of the brake itself, but in the employment of the same for facilitating the
accurate pointing of guns in armour-plated gun-carriages without danger.
Dated this 5th day of January 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Apparatus for Pointing Guns.
1, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 apparatus for pointing guns, and is chiefly designed to
afford the means whereby a gun mounted in a minimum embrasure gun-carriage
or in an armour-plated gun-carriage, will be automatically retained in any position
to which it may be adjusted for vertical pointing or elevation, without the employment
of a counterweight.
The vertical pointing or elevation of the gun, in such carriages, is usually effected
by raising and lowering the gun in arc-shaped guides in the cheeks of the gun-
carriage, the centres from which the arcs are struck being in a horizontal line
extending through the embrasure, so that the gun is turned, for vertical pointing or
elevation, about an imaginary or virtual pivot or axis coinciding with the said
horizontal line.

page_text: My said invention relates chiefly to gun-mountings wherein the vertical pointing
or elevation is effected by the rotation of a horizontal shaft upon which is fixed a
toothed pinion connected through suitable gearing with a toothed sector secured to
the gun, the centre of the said sector coinciding with the virtual horizontal pivot of
the gun.
To facilitate the pointing of the gun, in carriages of this kind or class, the gun
has heretofore been balanced by a counterweight. In this manner, the material
advantage was obtained that the gun was retained at any angle of elevation to
which it was adjusted, thus permitting the lowering of the gun to be effected
without danger.
In the case of heavy guns, this arrangement presents, however, the defect that
the counterweight is necessarily very heavy, and consequently the total weight of
the movable parts is considerably increased by the use of such counterweight.
Moreover the limited space at disposal frequently renders the use of a counterweight
impracticable.
Now if the counterweight be dispensed with, the raising of the gun either involves
a greater expenditure of power, or it takes place more slowly; but both of these
circumstances are of slight importance in the case of heavy guns, the firing of which
cannot be effected with great rapidity under any circumstances.
In this case,
however, it is necessary to provide a device whereby the gun will be retained
at any angle of elevation to which it may be adjusted for vertical pointing or
elevation.
For this purpose use has heretofore been made, in some cases, of a brake
comprising an ordinary friction-strap passed around a pulley on one of the shafts of
the elevating-gear and applied to the said pulley by means of a lever for the
purpose of securing the gun in position, the said strap being somewhat relaxed to
permit the raising and lowering of the gun.
In this arrangement, there was always danger that, when the brake was not
properly worked, not only was the gun apt to move downward with great velocity
and destroy or injure the mechanism, but the hand-wheel upon the operating-shaft
of the elevating-gear, being rapidly rotated by such downward movement, was
liable to injure the attendant.
These inconveniences are obviated by the present invention, which provides for
the automatic checking of the descent of the gun.
In the accompanying drawing, I have shown an armour-plated gun-carriage
having my present improvements applied thereto.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in vertical central section, and
Figure 2 is a front elevation, partly in vertical section, drawn to an enlarged
scale.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation, and
Figure 4 a side elevation, partly in vertical section, both drawn to an enlarged
scale, illustrating details of construction.
A is the armour-plate, shield or crown, which is rigidly connected with the two
walls or cheeks B of the gun-carriage. These cheeks are united at their lower ends
by a strong connecting-piece C, and are balanced upon the pivotal column D, which
is fitted to turn in the conical support E, and is intended to be slightly raised by
any suitable device when the armour-plated gun-carriage is to be turned for
horizontal pointing or training.
The gun a is provided on both sides with arc-shaped projections a' which slide in
corresponding guide-ways B' in the cheeks B of the gun-carriage.
The toothed sector d is attached to the gun at a point approximately in a vertical
line intersecting the centre of gravity of the gun, and is geared with a toothed
pinion e formed or fixed on a shaft e. This shaft receives its motion through the
medium of a toothed wheel f, and pinion g, from another shaft h arranged to be
rotated by means of a hand-wheel i. Upon the shaft e is fixed a pulley k around
which is passed a friction-strap l. When this strap is applied, by means of the
lever 1, to the pulley k, the gun will be rigidly secured in any position to which

page_text: it may have been adjusted for vertical pointing or elevation. This brake is,
however, intended to be applied only when the gun has been elevated or depressed
as required, and is about to be fired.
A second brake-mechanism, which is always operative, is provided upon the
operating-shaft of the elevating-gear. This brake mechanism is represented in
detail in Figures 3 and 4. In these figures, m is a ratchet-wheel which is loosely
mounted upon the shaft h, and with which is adapted to engage a pawl m³ pivoted
at m² to one of the cheeks of the gun-mounting, and acted upon by a spring m³
attached to the said cheek. n is a brake-disc which is secured upon the shaft h by
means of a cottar o, whereby it is pressed against the said ratchet-wheel m. Should
the said cottar o be so tightened that a complete coupling of the bråke-disc n with
the ratchet-wheel m is effected, the gun could be raised but not lowered, the pawl m',
under these circumstances, permitting the rotation of the operating-shaft / only in
the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 4. The cottar o can, however, be
tightened to such an extent that, while the weight of the gun alone is insufficient to
overcome the friction produced between the ratchet-wheel m and brake-disc n, only
a slight exertion of force upon the hand-wheel is necessary to rotate the shaft h
and move the gun slowly downwards.
By this means, the danger of any sudden downward movement of the gun, by
reason of inattention during the service, is entirely avoided. Moreover the
arrangement is of great practical value for the pointing of the
gun, as the gun can
not only be raised slowly, but can be lowered to the desired angle of elevation and
then retained in position, and can, therefore, be adjusted very accurately.
The cottar o may, if desired, be so tightened or adjusted that the brake permits
the gun to move slowly downwards under the action of gravity. In this case, a
reciprocal action takes place between the strap-brake and the automatic brake,
inasmuch as the strap-brake serves for arresting and permitting the downward
movement of the gun as required, whilst the automatic brake serves as a safety
device and relieves the strap-brake. It is obvious, therefore, that this strap-brake
need not be so strong as the strap-brakes hitherto employed for checking the
descent of guns.
The use of the automatic brake obviates various defects in the arrangements
hitherto adopted, and enables armour-plated gun-carriages to be used with
advantage for heavy guns.
The construction of the automatic brake is susceptible of various modifications.
For instance, the cottar o may be replaced by a screw or nut whereby the necessary
friction can be produced between the disc n and ratchet-wheel m.
The ratchet-
wheel m can, if desired, be held in position by other means than the pawl above
described. Moreover, the continuously applied brake, instead of being arranged
upon the operating-shaft of the pointing apparatus, may, if desired, be arranged in
any other convenient manner for the purpose of my invention.
The modifications are not shown in the drawing, as the essential feature of the
invention does not consist in the special construction of the brake itself, but in the
employment of the same for facilitating the accurate pointing of guns in minimum-
embrasure or armour-plated gun-carriages without danger.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I wish it understood that I claim :-
First. The herein described method of facilitating the vertical pointing or
elevation of a gun, in a minimum-embrasure or armour-plated gun-carriage, by the
use of a continuously applied brake which resists more or less the descent of the
gun, for the purposes above specified.
Second. An apparatus for pointing a gun, wherein the operating-shaft is provided
with a brake, the action of which is either such that, for depressing the gun, more
or less force must be applied to the said shaft, or such that the gun can slowly
descend by its own weight and may be stopped and secured in any desired position
4

page_text: by means of a supplementary or auxiliary brake, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Third. A minimum-embrasure gun-carriage having my improvements incorporated
therewith or embodied therein substantially as described with reference to the
accompanying drawing.
Dated this 10th day of July 1891
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.