Improvements relating to Gun Mountings.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Gun Mountings.
I, AXEL BREMBERG, of Thames View, Abbey Road, Belvedere, in the County of
Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to various improvements in gun mountings such
improvements being more especially intended for use with automatic or quick firing
guns.
One of my improvements has reference to the contrivance which is provided for
enabling the gunner to lock the gun in its aimed position. This contrivance
usually comprises a split collar carried by a bracket on the mounting and a
depending rod pivotally connected to the gun, the said rod sliding through the split
collar as the gun is elevated or depressed and a lever handle being provided on the
split collar for causing the latter to grip the said rod to lock the gun. The
aforesaid split collar is, according to my invention, formed near its lower end with
lateral studs or trunnions and near its upper end with curved shoulders. When the
said split collar or socket is in place these curved shoulders normally lie on
correspondingly curved portions formed on the bracket and the aforesaid trunnions
engage with semi-circular recesses in the lower part of the bracket. The curvature of
the said curved portion of the bracket is equal to an arc described from the centre of
the collar trunnions, and the axis of these trunnions passes at right angles through the
longitudinal axis of the depending rod.
By constructing and arranging the split collar in this manner, any thrust on the
rod due to the kick of the gun on firing is counteracted in a most satisfactory inanner,
and, furthermore, when it is desired to detach the said rod from the mounting this
can be readily effected by removing a bolt connecting the rod to the gun and then
turning the split collar about its trunnions until its curved shoulder comes out of
contact with the curved portion of the bracket.
Another of my present improvements has reference to means for operating the
lanyard for firing the gun. According to this part of my invention I provide a sliding
handle on the "crutch" and connect thereto the free end of the lanyard, so that when
the gunner is grasping this handle and working the gun, he can at any moment
actuate the said sliding handle to fire the gun, without releasing his grasp of the
handle or shifting his position. I prefer to provide the sliding handle with a spring
which is so arranged that it offers sufficient resistance to the movement of the
sliding handle to prevent the latter from being unintentionally operated.
According to another part of my invention I construct the piston of the brake-
cylinder in such a manner that the usual tail or elongated end of the piston rod
which ordinarily projects through the cover of the cylinder, can be dispensed with.
For this purpose I form a portion of the piston rod in proximity to the piston,
hollow, and I provide on the cylinder cover a tubular socket which enters the
said hollow portion of the piston rod through a hole in the piston. This socket
is hollow and receives a tubular rod having a circular flange at its inner end.

page_text: Between this flange and the inner end of the said socket I provide packing material
and the opposite or outer end of the said tubular rod is furnished with a screw
nut, so that by turning this nut the said flange can be caused to press with
more or less force upon the said packing material. I also form the tubular rod
with a longitudinal groove to receive a key for preventing the said rod from
revolving when the nut is turned. By this construction the piston works
telescopically on the hollow socket so that practically no alteration in the capacity
of the cylinder on each side of the piston takes place during the movements of
the piston. The aforesaid tubular rod being open at both ends, allows of the
entrance of air to the interior of the hollow piston rod and thereby avoids any
tendency to a vacuum within the hollow piston.
Dated this 17th day of July 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
I, AXEL BREMBERG, of Thames View, Abbey Road, Belvedere, in the County of
Kent, 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 various improvements in gun mountings such improve-
ments being more especially intended for use with automatic or quick-firing guns.
One of my improvements has reference to the contrivance which is provided for
enabling the gunner to lock the gun at any elevation, such contrivance usually
comprising a depending rod pivotally connected to the gun, and capable of sliding
through a split collar on the mounting, as the gun is elevated or depressed, the said
collar being furnished with means for enabling the gunner to cause it to grip the
depending rod and so lock the gun in the desired position. The said split collar and
the bracket that carries .it are, according to my invention, so constructed as to
effectually counteract any downward or upward thrust on the depending rod, due
to the kick or jump of the gun on firing, and furthermore the said rod and split
collar are capable of being very readily removed from the gun and mounting when
desired.
Another of my improvements has reference to means for firing the gun. According
to this part of my invention I provide a sliding handle on the "crutch" or shoulder
piece and connect thereto the free end of the lanyard, so that when the gunner is
grasping this handle and working the gun, he can at any moment actuate the
said sliding handle to fire the gun, without releasing his grasp of the handle or
shifting his position.
Another of my improvements relates to the brake cylinder and its piston, and
enables me to dispense with the usual tail or elongated portion of the piston, which
portion ordinarily works through the cover of the cylinder and is provided for
equalising the variations in the capacity of the cylinder on the opposite sides of the
piston as the latter alters its position.
In order that my said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the same more fully by aid of the accompanying
drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the breech end of a gun and its mounting, with my
improvements applied thereto.

page_text: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the depending rod constructed the manner
I prefer.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 are detail views of the improved split collar; Figure 2 being a
side elevation; Figure 3 a plan and Figure 4 a front elevation.
Figures 5 and 6 are detail views of the bracket to which the split collar is applied;
Figure 5 being a side elevation and Figure 6 a plan.
Figure 7 is a detail sectional view of the firing arrangement.
Figure 8 is a front view of the forked end of the crutch.
Figures 9 and 10 are fragmentary views indicating the position of the sliding
handle and the gunner's hand before and after firing.
Figure 11 is a longitudinal section of the brake cylinder provided with my improved
piston.
A is the gun; B the mounting; and C the crutch all of which are of well known
construction.
Referring more particularly to Figures 1 to 6 a is the split collar which is carried
by a bracket b on the gun mounting. c is the depending rod, pivotally connected
to the gun by a removable pin or bolt c. e is a lever handle which servés to operate
a screw bolt passing through lugs a' on the split collar, for causing the latter to grip
the rod c and lock the gun. Near its lower end, the aforesaid split collar is formed
with lateral studs or trunnions a² whose axes pass at right angles through the
longitudinal axis of the depending rod. Near its upper end, the collar has curved
shoulders a³, which are adapted to lie on correspondingly curved portions b' on the
bracket b, the aforesaid trunnions engaging with semicircular recesses 62 in the lower
part of the bracket. The curvature of the portions 6 of the bracket and of the curved
shoulders a³ is concentric with the trunnions, so that when the collar is in place any
upward or downward thrust occurring on the depending rod when the latter is held
gripped by the split collar will be effectually counteracted by the trunnions a' and
shoulders a³ acting in conjunction with the curved portions 6 and recesses of the
bracket. To absorb the shocks to which the said depending rod and split collar are
subjected I prefer to construct, the depending rod in the manner illustrated in
Figure 1; that is to say I provide the upper end thereof with an annular shoulder c²
and the lower end with a collar c³, and I also surround the said rod with a loose
sleeve c' which has a flanged end at c and at the opposite end a loose cup c. Cavities
are thus obtained at each end of the said sleeve for the reception of india-rubber or
other buffers e' which receive and absorb the longitudinal shocks on the rod when the
gun is fired. When it is desired to detach the depending rod c it is only necessary
to remove the pin or bolt c' and to turn the split collar about its trunnions until its
curved shoulders a³ come out of contact with the curved portions b¹ of the bracket, as
represented by dotted lines in Figure 1.
g (Figures 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10) is the sliding handle with which the crutch C of the
gun is provided, the said handle working on a rod gl carried by a fork C at the lower
part of the crutch. The rod g' is hollow or tubular io contain a spiral spring g2 and
is slotted at g to permit of the passage of a pin g' upon which the said spring acts to
keep the handle g pressed towards one side of the fork (Figures 7 and 9). is the
lanyard which in the example illustrated consists of a wire cord passing through the
crutch and around pulleys g' and is connected at one end g³ to the said handle and at
the other end to a sliding rod g by a nut g". The extremity of the said rod has a
finger go by which the firing lever g is actuated. The said sliding rod is also
provided with a spring g", which normally tends to keep the rod in its forward position
as represented in the drawings.
The spring g is made sufficiently strong to prevent unintentional operation of the
handle, but as an additional security, I provide a fixed thumb piece gl on the fork C',
which piece is so situated that the gunner can keep his thumb upon it as represented
in Figure 9, until he desires to shift the handle to fire the gun, when he raises his
thumb and slides the bandle backward as represented in Figure 10. Thus when the
gunner is grasping the handle and working the gun, he can as already stated, at any
moment fire the gun without releasing his grasp of the handle or shifting his position

page_text: D is the brake cylinder provided with a piston D' whose rod D2 extends through
the stuffing box D³ of the cylinder and is connected to the lug D on the recoiling
part of the gun by a nut D as is well understood. D is the recoil spring.
Instead of providing the side of the piston opposite to the rod 12 with the ordinary
extension or tail working through the contiguous end of the cylinder, I form the
rod D2 with a hollow enlarged portion d the internal cavity of which has a diameter
approximately equal to that of the piston rod and is open at the front side of the
piston, its length being of approximately the length of the stroke of the piston. Into
the said portion d fits a tubular socket or projection d' formed on the inner face of
the cylinder cover d, of approximately the same diameter as the piston rod. At the
inner end of this socket is arranged a ring of packing material d² which is capable of
being compressed. between the socket and a circular flange or collar d³ acting as a
gland. This flange is formed on a hollow rod d' which extends through the socket d¹
and is screw threaded at its outer end to receive a nut d', whereby the flange d³ at
the inner end of the hollow rod can be drawn up tightly against the aforesaid
packing d². To prevent turning of this rod during the tightening up of the nut; I
provide a key d in the hollow socket d', this key entering a slot d in the hollow
rod d. As this rod is open at both ends, the air has free access to the space inside
the hollow portion d of the piston and consequently the setting up of a vacuum
therein as the piston works is avoided. The parts are so arranged that the enlarged
portion d of the piston does not extend as far as the end cover of the cylinder in the
forward movement of the piston, and since the piston rod D² and the hollow socket d'
are of the same diameter it follows that during the travel of the piston, the increase
in capacity of the part of the cylinder at one side thereof is exactly equal to the
decrease in capacity at the other side thereof, and vice versa.
D7 is a liner with which the brake cylinder is provided, such liner being provided
with one or more longitudinal passages D for the liquid within the cylinder to pass
from one side of the piston to the other during the working of the gun.
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, in a
gun mounting, is :-
1. The pivotal split-collar provided with curved shoulders and trunnion pins and
adapted for use with a bracket formed with curved surfaces and recesses, substantially
as described and for the purposes specified.
2. The sliding handle arranged on the crutch and connected with the firing
mechanism of the gun substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
3. In the brake cylinder the combination of a tubular socket or projection on the
inner face of the cylinder cover, a hollow piston rod in which said socket or projection
works, and a hollow flanged rod capable of longitudinal adjustment in the said socket
all substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
4. A gun mounting provided with my improvements substantially as described
with reference to the accompanying drawings and for the purposes specified.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.