Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Jan., 1887
Complete Left, 6th Oct., 1887
Complete Accepted, 8th Nov., 1887
The object of the invention is to securely retain the sight bar at any elevation to
which it may have been moved and yet allow of its being moved with ease and
smoothness either upwards or downwards.
The bar is as usual capable of being moved upwards or downwards through a
guiding slot formed through a fixed support and is raised or lowered by turning a
toothed pinion which gears with rack teeth cut upon it.
The pinion and the greater part of its spindle are enclosed within a tube forming
part of the fixed support and the spindle by collars upon it is prevented from moving
endwise in this tubular casing.
On the end of the tubular casing is fixed a disc carrying a coned friction surface.
The spindle projects outwards beyond this end of the casing and has mounted loosely
upon it another friction cone which by being slidden along the spindle can be made to
engage with the fixed friction cone above mentioned but cannot be turned without
turning the spindle with it. Normally the friction cone on the spindle is held by a
spring up to and against the fixed cone, and the spindle is so locked and retained
from turning, and the sight bar retained in any position into which it may have been
moved.
The spring is preferably a dished spring interposed between the friction cone on
the spindle and a milled head which is mounted loosely on the spindle and which
abuts against a nut screwed on to its end. Whenever the sight is to be raised or
lowered the milled head is turned in one direction or the other and as it is turned it is
first caused to draw back the friction cone on the spindle away from the fixed friction
cone and then to turn the spindle.
One way in which this may be effected is to make the rim or circumference of the
milled head to overlap the friction cone on the spindle and to fix into it two pins to
project inwardly on opposite sides of its circumference and enter recesses formed in

page_text: the circumference of the friction cone. The bottom of each recess is formed of two
inclines meeting at its centre. Normally the milled head is held by the nut so near
to the friction cone that the pins are away from the centre of the bottom of the
recess, but if the milled head be turned in one or other direction the pins come against
one or other of the inclines and in this way the friction cone on the spindle is drawn
backwards away from the fixed cone before the spindle commences to be turned so
that by continuing to turn the milled head the sight bar can be raised or lowered as
the case may be without difficulty and immediately that the milled head ceases to be
turned the sight is locked by the friction cone on the spindle again engaging with
the fixed cone.
Another way of effecting the same object is to mount a small triangular lever on
each of the pins which project inwards from the rim of the milled head the pin being
made to pass through a hole in the lever near one of its angles and the opposite base
of the lever being brought into contiguity with the bottom of the recess in the
friction cone which slides on the spindle. In this way when the milled head is
turned in one or other direction one of the angles at the base of the lever will first be
brought against one or other end of the recess in which the lever lies and the lever
will then turn on its pin fulcrum and its angle will be thrust against the bottom of
the recess and will thereby thrust the friction cone on the spindle away from the fixed
conc. When the side of the triangle comes against the end of the recess the friction
cone will be turned and will turn the spindle with it. The ends of the recess may be
made inclined so that when a side of the lover is resting against either of them the
lever may have been brought into such a position that the spring which is pressing
upon the cone may have little or no tendency to turn the lever so have little or no
power to thrust the friction cone forwards.
Dated this 22nd day of January 1887.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in mechanism
Ordnance Sights.
943
I, GEORGE STUART, of the Elswick Works, Newcastle on Tyne, 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:-
The object of the invention is to securely retain the sight bar at any elevation to
which it may have been moved and yet allow of its being moved with case and
smoothness either upwards or downwards.
The bar is as usual capable of being moved upwards or downwards through a
guiding slot formed through a fixed support and is raised or lowered by turning a
toothed pinion which gears with rack teeth cut upon it and the pinion and the
greater part of its spindle are enclosed within a tube forming part of the fixed
support the spindle also by collars upon it is prevented from moving endwise in this
tubular casing.
To retain the sight bar at any elevation to which it may be moved I according to
my invention fix on to the end of the tubular casing a ring having concentric with
and projecting from its outer face a coned friction surface. The spindle is made to
project outwards beyond this end of the casing and through the centre of the cone on
its outer face and has mounted loosely upon it another friction cone which by being
slidden along the spindle can be made to engage with the fixed friction cone above
mentioned but cannot be turned without turning the spindle with it. Normally the
friction cone on the spindle is held by a spring up to and against the fixed cone, and
the spindle is so locked and retained from turning, and the sight bar retained in any
position into which it may have been moved.
The spring is preferably a dished spring interposed between the friction cone on
the spindle and a milled head which is mounted loosely on the spindle and which
abuts against a nut screwed on to its end. Whenever the sight is to be raised or
lowered the milled head is turned in one direction or the other and as it is turned it is
first caused to draw back the friction cone on the spindle away from the fixed friction
cone and then to turn the spindle.
Two ways of effecting this are shown in the drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is a horizontal cross section of one form of the mechanism.
Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 shew views of some of the parts of this mechanism.
Figures 2 are cross section and face view of the ring E.

page_text: Figures 6 a cross section and face view of the spring J.
Figures 4 an end and side view of the spindle D.
Figures 5 an edge and face view of the milled head H.
Figures 6 an edge and face view of the loose friction cone G.
Figuro 7 is a horizontal cross section of a modified form of the mechanism and
Figures 8 an edge and face view of the loose friction cone G of this modified
form.
In Figures 1 to 6 A is a gun metal clamp or holder of the form ordinarily used for
carrying the sight bar. B is the sight bar which can be moved upwards or down-
wards through the clamp and which has a toothed rack on its face B. C is a toothed
pinion gearing into this rack. One end of the spindle D of this pinion passes out
from the clamp or holder A through a screw ring which closes the end of the tubular
portion of the clamp within which the pinion is contained-collars on the spindle
prevent it from moving endwise as shewn. E is a steel ring screwed on to the
exterior of the tubular portion of the clamp and locked by a small screw pin E¹.
F is a conical projection on the outer face of the ring. G is a disc preferably of
manganese bronze, it has a conical recess in it corresponding to the cone F and it can
slide endwise along a square portion of the spindle D. His a hollow milled head
loose on the spindle. I is a nut screwed on to the end of the spindle and bearing
against the milled head. Jis a spring interposed between the milled head and sliding
coned disc G. G G₁ see Figure 6, are two notched recesses formed in the outer
circumference of this disc. K K are two small rollers lying in the recesses and
turning upon pins K¹ screwed into the circumference of the milled head as shown at
Figure 1. The bottom of each recess G₁ is as shown at Figure 6 formed of two
inclines meeting at the centre. Normally tho rollers K are in the centre of the
recesses and the conical recess in the disc G is by the action of the spring J forced
against the fixed cone F and the spindle is consequently locked and prevented from
rotating. If however the milled head E be turned in either direction the rollers K
acting upon the inclined bottom of the recesses G₁ force the coned disc G backwards
against the spring J and release this coned disc from the fixed cone F, so that when
the rollers come against the end of the recesses the spindle can be turned freely with
the milled head and the sight bar so raised or lowered according as the milled head is
turned in one direction or the other. In the modification shown at Figure 7 small
triangular levers L are substituted for the rollers K on the pins ¹ and the
recesses G¹ are made of the form shown at Figures 8. The base of each lever is in
contiguity with the bottom of the recess G in which it lies. When the milled head
is turned in one or other direction one of the angles of the base of the lever will first
be brought against one or other end of the recess in which the lever lies and the lever
will then turn on its fulcrum and its angle will be thrust against the bottom of the
recess and will thereby thrust the friction cone G on the spindle away from the fixed
cone. When the side of the triangle comes against the end of the recess the friction
cone will be turned and will turn the spindle with it.
The ends of each recess are as shown made inclined so that when a side of the lever
is resting against either of them the lever has been brought into such a position
that the spring J has little or no tendency to turn the lever and so has little
or no power to thrust the friction cone forwards so that the milled head may be turned
with ease.
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 construction of mechanism for adjusting and retaining ordnance sights
substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the drawing annexed.
2. The combination with the holder A, sight bar B, pinion C fixed on spindle D and
gearing with rack on sight bar, of the fixed cone F-cone G sliding along spindle D-
milled head.H, spring to press loose cone G up to and against the fixed cone F and
mechanism for first drawing back the loose cone to disengage it from the fixed conc

page_text: and then turning the spindle whenever the milled head is turned in one direction or
the other.
3. The combination with the holder A, sight bar B, pinion C fixed on spindle D
and gearing with rack on sight bar, of the fixed cone F, cone G sliding along spindle D,
milled head H, spring J, recesses G' G₁ formed at the bottom with two inclines meeting
at the centre and rollers or projections K carried by the milled head H and entering
these recesses substantially as described.
4. The combination with the holder A, sight bar B, pinion C fixed on spindle D
and gearing with rack on sight bar, of the fixed cone F, cone G sliding along spindle D,
milled head H, spring J, recesses G' and triangular levers L lying in the recesses and
carried by the milled head H substantially as described.