Improvements in Fuses for Blasting Cartridges.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 12th Nov., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fuses for Blasting Cartridges.
I, WILLIAM PROCTOR FERGUSON, of No. 253, Broadway, in the City of New
York, State of New York, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to an improvement in fuses for dynamite cartridges, in
which provision is made for forcing the fuse into the explosive charge of the cart-
ridge, without the necessity of first making an opening for it by some instrument
other than the fuse itself.
A practical embodiment of iny invention is represented in the accompanying
drawings, in which—
Figure 1 is a view of the cap in side elevation;
Figure 2 is a view in longitudinal section; and
Figure 3 is a top plan view.
The shell of the fuse in which the fulminate is located is denoted by A. It is
developed into a pronounced point a at its lower end, for the purpose of readily
forcing its way into the explosive charge, when pressure is applied to it.
At its opposite end, the shell A has crimped therein, above the fulminate B,
the lower end of a handle C. The handle C is preferably made of wood, which
may be readily indented by the action of the crimper, which forms
the crimps a¹, at the end of the shell A. The handle C extends
from the shell A a distance sufficient to enable the operator to push
the shell A to the desired depth within the explosive charge, and is
conveniently provided at its end, opposite the shell A, with an enlarged bearing
surface c, on which the finger or hand of the operator may press.
The handle C is provided with a small central bore c', through which the electric
wires D, D, for exploding the fulminate B, extend, the ends of the said
wires D, D', within the charge of fulminate B, being connected by a filament d
and the wires D, D', held apart by a clip d', of any well-known or approved form.
In order to keep the ends of the wires D, D¹ out of the way of the operator,
in pressing the fuse into the explosive charge, I provide the outer end of the
handle C with a transverse slot c2, communicating with the central bore c¹, so that
the positive and negative wires D, D¹, may be turned in opposite directions, after
reaching the slot 2, and pass away from the cap below the end of the handle,
leaving the latter free for exerting the necessary pressure thereon.
This structure admits of inserting the fuse into position for firing the charge
in a moment of time, and of placing it at such a depth as to do effective work,
and at the same time holds the wires separated, where they may be readily manipu-
lated for connection with the opposite poles of the battery.
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. An electric fuse for dynamite cartridges, comprising a casing for the fulmi-
nate, the said casing being developed at one end into a well-defined point for

page_text: insertion into the explosive charge, a handle fixed to, and projecting away from,
the opposite end of the shell, along the line of its axis, for pushing the fuse into
the explosive charge, and wires extending through the said handle into the
charge of fulminate, for exploding it, the said wires being so arranged as to leave
the end of the handle free for the reception of the finger in pushing the fuse into
the cartridge, substantially as set forth.
2. An electric fuse for dynamite cartridges, comprising a pointed shell for
receiving the fulminate, a handle fixed to, and extending away from, the shell,
along the line of its axis, the said handle being provided with a longitudinal
bore and a transverse slot, and wires extending from within the charge of fulmi-
nate along the longitudinal bore, and thence along the transverse slot in the
handle, substantially as set forth.