Improvements relating to Quick-firing Guns.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application. 21st Feb., 1889-Accepted, 15th June, 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by DIE ACTIEN GESELLSCHAFT GRUSONWERK, of
Magdeburg-Buckau, in the Empire of Germany.]
Improvements relating to Quick-firing Guns.
1, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
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 :-
The invention hereinafter described is designed to facilitate the working of breech-
loading guns wherein the breech-block slides in a vertical or approximately vertical
path, by equalizing the force which has to be exerted in depressing and raising the
breech-block to open and close the breech.
This result is accomplished by the employment of a spring acting upon a crank for
operating the breech-block, or upon a separate crank, in the manner hereinafter
specified, so that it will resist the downward movement of the said block and will assist
in the raising thereof.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a gun having the present improvements
applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a section on the line y, y, Figure 1, showing details of construction.
Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section illustrating another form or modification
of my said invention.
Figure 5 is a transverse section on the line a¹, a, Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a side elevation, and
Figure 7 a transverse section on the line 2, x2, Figure 6, illustrating a further
modification of my said invention.
Figure 8 is a side elevation, and
Figure 9 a transverse section on the line 3, 3³, Figure 8, illustrating a still further
modification thereof.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the first reinforce which is, in some instances, provided with the trunnions A¹.
B is the breech-block which is arranged to be moved up and down by means of a
crank a.
In the gun shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and in that shown in Figures 6
and 7, the shaft a¹ of the said crank is supported in one of the trunnions A' on the
reinforce A. The said crank a is turned about its axis by means of a hand-lever C
and transmits movement to the breech-block through the medium of its pin a² which
slides in a groove B¹ formed in the said block. When the breech is closed, the breech-
block rests upon the said crank-pin a².
Now in order to diminish the concussion caused by the falling of the breech-block,
and, at the same time, to store up energy in the descent of the said block to be sub-
sequently utilized for assisting in the raising thereof, the crank-shaft a' in Figure 2 is
provided with a torsional spring as hereinafter described.
For this purpose, the said crank-shaft is bored as shown and a sleeve 6 is fitted into
the same.
The spiral spring c is arranged within the said shaft and one end of the
said spring is inserted into a hole in the said shaft, the other end being inserted in the
sleeve b, which is supported in the bore of the crank-shaft so that it can be turned
therein. The sleeve 6 is provided with a head or flange bl formed with a hook b²
which bears against a pin or stud A2 fixed in the trunnion A¹ in which the shaft a¹ is
supported, and the said sleeve is prevented from turning in one direction by the said
pin or stud.

page_text: The inner end of the spiral spring c, being firmly connected with the crank, takes part
in the turning movement of the same. By the turning of the said crank to open the
breech, the said torsional spring is wound up or put under tension, thus preventing too
great velocity being imparted to the breech-block in its descent. The spiral spring c, by
its reaction, assists in the next operation of raising the breech-block by means of the
hand-lever C. The said spring, therefore, balances or equalizes the force required for
effecting the downward and upward movements of the breech-block.
In Figures 4 and 5 is represented another modification of my invention whereby I
adapt it for a gun in which the trunnions are not on the first reinforce, and there is
consequently not space enough for a sufficiently long spiral spring arranged as above
specified.
The desired result is accomplished, in this modification, by the employment of a
separate crank d, the pin of which slides in an oblique groove A³ formed in the wall of
the reinforce.
The crank d is pivotted in the breech-block and its hub or boss is formed with a
square hole in which a torsional spring c composed of plate-springs is inserted. The
other end of this spring is secured in the boss of a lever e which is supported in a
cavity of the breech-block and is secured by means of a screw fin a position corre-
sponding to the desired initial tension of the spring c. A sleeve arranged on the boss
of the lever e surrounds the spring and prevents undue bending of the latter.
In the lowering of the breech-block, the crank d is turned by the sliding of its pin
in the oblique groove A³ and the torsional spring e is put under tension. This
spring, by its reaction, assists in the next upward movement of the breech-block,
so that, in this modification also, a balancing or equalizing of the force required for
raising and lowering the breech-block is obtained.
Figures 6 and 7 illustrate the solution of the problem by means of a pressure-
spring. This spring is supported upon the shaft a¹ of the crank a, which is provided
at its free end with screw-threads of rapid pitch. On this screw-threaded part of the
shaft is fitted a correspondingly screw-threaded sleeve or nut b which is capable of
being moved endwise in one of the trunnions A¹ of the gun, but cannot be turned
therein. If the crank-shaft a' is turned, through the medium of the hand-lever C, the
sleeve bis, by the action of the screw-threads, moved into the trunnion and caused to
compress the spiral spring c. In the return movement of the hand-lever, the said
spiral spring expands, and, by its pressure upon the nut b, facilitates the raising of the
breech-block B.
In the gun shown Figures 8 and 9, the problem is solved by means of a powerful
spiral plate-spring or involute spring e arranged in a recess in the reinforce, the outer
end being secured to the reinforce and the inner end to a sleeve 6 placed upon the
square part of the shaft a¹. A disc g is used for closing the said recess and forming a
bearing for the sleeve bor the crank-shaft a'.
The mode of operation of this device is substantially the same as repeatedly herein-
before described.
The number of modifications described might be increased, but this would be super-
fluous, as the nature of the invention, namely, the balancing of the breech-block by a
crank which is under spring pressure, has been made sufficiently clear by the examples
selected.
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 above described method of providing for equalizing the force required
to depress and raise the breech-block to open and close the breech, by the employment
of a spring acting upon the crank used for operating the said block or upon a separate
crank.
Second-The combination, with the breech-block and the crank for raising and
lowering the same, of the torsional spring arranged within the shaft of the said crank

page_text: and connected at one end thereto, the sleeve to which the other end of the said spring
is attached, and the stop engaging with a projection or hook on the said sleeve,
substantially 'as described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 and for the purpose
specified.
Third The modification of my invention wherein I employ the additional crank
and the plate-springs, substantially as described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 and
for the purpose specified.
Fourth The modification of my said invention wherein I employ the spring sur-
rounding the shaft of the crank for operating the breech-block, and the nut fitted upon
a screw-threaded part of the said shaft and prevented from rotating but free to move
endwise thereon, substantially as described with reference to Figures 6 and 7 and for
the purpose specified.
Fifth The modification of my said invention wherein I employ an involute spring
arranged to be wound up during the downward movement of the breech-block, and,
by its reaction, to assist in the raising of the said block, substantially as described with
reference to Figures 8 and 9 and for the purpose specified.
Dad thi
L
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.