IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING AND WORKING ORDNANCE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING AND
WORKING ORDNANCE." - A communication from abroad by John
Thomas, of Melbourne, in the Colony of Victoria, Gentleman.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd March 1872.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
MOUNTING AND WORKING ORDNANCE," a communication, to be as follows:-
I first construct a strong framing, and in the upper portion thereof
I provide bearings for an axle which has eccentrics thereon; to the
latter are attached two or more elevators or depressers, the other ends
being connected to opposite ends of the gun. On this axle I also place

page_text: a strong iron beam, or number of such beams, with a counterpoise at
one end and the gun at the other, so as to dispensé entirely with any
gun carriage. On the framing I place springs and brakes for assisting
to absorb the force of the recoil.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said
William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st October 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING AND WORKING ORDNANCE," a communication to me
from abroad by John Thomas, of Melbourne, in the Colony of Victoria,
Gentleman, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office on or before the Second day
of October, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same.
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification :-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the method of
mounting and working ordnance, the essence of which consists in the
absorption of the recoil between two shafts placed transversely across
the gun carriage; the gun itself having two counterpoises so attached
to it as to enable them to be brought into action simultaneously, the one
to rise in front of the gun and the other at the back of it.
One of these shafts bears the whole weight of the gun, and the other
is the shaft on which the hinder counterpoise is suspended. The prin-
ciple upon which ordnance is mounted, according to my Invention, is
that the gun shall be mounted at one end of a lever working freely on
a shaft supported in suitable framings, and that the counterpoise which
is intended to rise in front of the gun shall be placed at the other end
of it. And further, that a cam lever shall be attached to the back of
the aforesaid lever, which shall travel on and act upon another lever
connected to the other counterpoise, in such a way as to raise it behind
the gun while the other one is raised in front of it.
Moreover I have devised a new contrivance for the purpose of
adjusting or sighting the gun, and, regulating the position it shall
assume when recoiling after being fired. One great advantage of this.
contrivance over others is, that after the recoil is completed and the gun
is reloaded and swung up in a position for re-firing, it assumes precisely
the same position that it did at the previous shot, so that if the first one
proved effective there is no need for re-sighting the gun.

page_text: The trunnions A of the gun rest in pillow blocks on the top of
standards B which rest on the shaft C, and extending downward are
both connected to the front counterpoise D. On the same shaft and
connected to the standards B are cam levers E which travel (when the
gun recoils) on levers or fingers F attached to the hinder counterpoise G
working on the shaft H. At one end of the shaft C is a wheel I (see
Figure 2), upon which a circular brake is made to close by means of a.
lever J; K is a hand wheel for working bevel gearing L, M, on the
shaft N which rests in bearings O attached to the side of the framing.
P is a screw working in a box or bracket Q, the end of which is caught
by a trigger or catch R. S is a pin travelling in a slot, as shewn, and
attached to a female screw through which the screw P passes. T, T, aré
sliding weights upon pendulums U which are fixed to each end of the
shaft V, on the centre of which is an eccentric W having a forked
lever X attached thereto and connected to the breech by a joint Y.
Referring to the method of absorbing the force of the recoil, it will
be seen at once that immediately the standards B depart from their
perpendicular position, the counterpoise D must come into play rising
in front of the gun; whilst at the same time it is equally a matter of
necessity that the counterpoise G should rise behind it by the action of
the cam levers E on the levers or fingers F.
In order to elevate or depress the gun, it is only necessary to turn the
hand wheel K one way or the other. By turning it one way the screw P
with its box Q is pushed forward. This screw carries with it the pin S
which pushes the pendulums U out of the perpendicular, and they being
fixed to the shaft V partially revolve it. And as the eccentric W is
fixed to the shaft V it must also partially revolve, thereby raising the
lever X and consequently depressing the gun. By turning the said hand
wheel in the opposite direction the opposite result is obtained.
The trigger or catch R acts as the resistance to the box Q, and so
enables the operation of sighting or adjusting to be performed thereby,
and when the gun is swung back into position for re-firing, this trigger
will catch in the box Q and keep it in the position it occupied before, thus
preserving the gun in the same degree of elevation or depression that it
formerly possessed. The weights T bring the shaft V back to its normal
position after the gun has been fired.
The shaft N is movable to and fro through the bevel wheel M by

page_text: means of the lever at the end, and it is revolved by means of a feather
fitting into a nick provided for it in the said bevel wheel. A gutta
percha or other suitable brake may be applied to the bottom of the
counterpoise D towards the extremity of its movement, by attaching the
said brake to the upper portion of the front of the framing.
Having thus fully described my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
I would have it understood, that I do not confine myself to the precise
details herein described, so long as the nature of my said Invention is
retained. And I claim,
First. The mounting of ordnance in such a way that the force of the
recoil shall be absorbed between two counterpoises, substantially as
herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The method of sighting or adjusting pieces of ordnance, and
enabling them to retain such adjustment after firing by the use of the
parts marked K to Y inclusive, substantially as herein described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
"Witness,
F. MILLION.
WM. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)