IMPROVEMENTS IN GUN CARRIAGES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Noble of the Elswick Works in the City and
County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Manufacturing Engineer for an Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN GUN CARRIAGES
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Noble at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th February 1883.
"
ANDREW NOBLE of the Elswick Works in the City and County of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne Manufacturing Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN GUN CARRIAGES
This Invention has for its object improvements in gun carriages.
The carriage is arranged as a three-pivot carriage, i,e, it may be pivotted
centrally, or at a forward point, within the carriage, or at an external point by
use of pivot bars, whose length may be arranged to suit the circumstances of
the case.
The rollers on which the carriage trains can be set to any required horizontal
angle to suit the position of the several pivots. These rollers are cylindrical, but
are divided into discs, so as to suit more nearly the various radii on which they
may be worked.
The recoil force is taken up by a pair of recoil presses. The recoil presses are
on each side of the carriage, and are cast in the carriage cheeks. The presses are
bored and fitted with pistons and rods, the rods pass through glands at the front
ends and are fixed to brackets on the front of slide. The pistons are fitted with
spring loaded valves, which allow the water to pass from one side of the piston to
the other, and to overcome the energy of recoil.
Tanks are cast in the carriages above the presses, and clack valves fitted
communicating with the front and rear of piston in order to fill up the space
which occurs on recoil, and to get rid of the surplus water in running out. The
piston rods may be carried right through the presses, in which case the tanks
would be rendered unnecessary. The slide face is inclined and the action is
automatic, the gun returning by gravitation immediately on completing its recoil.

page_text: A hand pump is attached to one or both of the recoil presses for the purpose of
pumping the gun out or in when desired.
In other cases the elevating gear is so arranged that it may also be employed for
running the gun in and out.
The elevating gear consists of a hand wheel and spindle working into a worm
lying between two jaws on the carriage.
A worm wheel carried on the carriage gears into the worm, and is keyed to a
spindle on the end of which is a pinion gearing into a toothed rack fixed to
the gun.
The spindle which works the worm is supported at the rear end from a bracket
on the slide, and the other passes through the two jaws on the carriage between
which the worm is placed; a key is fixed in the worm, and a long keyway cut into
the spindle which allows the worm to travel back on recoil, so that the spindle
remains fixed to the slide, while the worm travels freely along the spindle, and
thus enables the elevating gear to be worked without danger until the gun
is fired.
The elevating gear is made available for running the gun in and out, by means
of another worm wheel carried on the carriage which gears on the under side of
the elevating worm, and can be engaged into a rack at will, this rack may be fixed
-to the slide or made portable, or hinged at one end, or lifted up or down-by-means..
of levers or eccentrics.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Andrew Noble in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th August
1883.
"
ANDREW NOBLE of the Elswick Works in the City and County of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne Manufacturing Engineer " IMPROVEMENTS IN GUN CARRIAGES
This invention has for its object improvements in gun carriages.
The carriage is arranged as a three pivot-carriage i.e. it may be pivoted
centrally or at a forward point within the carriage or at an external point by use
of pivot bars whose length may be arranged to suit the circumstances of the case.
The rollers on which the carriage trains can be set to any required horizontal
angle to suit the position of the several pivots. These rollers are cylindrical but
are divided into discs so as to suit more nearly the various radii on which they
may be worked.
The recoil force is taken up by a pair of recoil presses. The recoil presses are
on each side of the carriage and are cast in the carriage cheeks. The presses are
bored and fitted with pistons and rods the rods pass through glands at the front
ends and are fixed to brackets on the front of slide. The pistons are fitted with
spring loaded valves which allow the water to pass from one side of the piston to
the other and to overcome the energy of recoil.
Tanks are cast in the carriages above the presses and clack valves fitted
communicating with the front and rear of piston in order to fill up the space
which occurs on recoil and to get rid of the surplus water in running out. The
piston rods may be carried right through the presses in which case the tanks would
be rendered unnecessary. The slide face is inclined and the action is automatic the
gun returning by gravitation immediately on completing its recoil.
pump
A hand is attached to one or both of the recoil presses for the purpose of
pumping the gun out or in when desired.
In other cases the elevating gear is so arranged that it may also be employed for
running the gun in and out.
The elevating gear consists of a hand wheel and spindle working into a worm
lying between two jaws on the carriage.
A worm wheel carried on the carriage gears into the worm and is keyed to
a spindle on the end of which is a pinion gearing into a toothed rack fixed to
the gun.
The spindle which works the worm is supported at the rear end from a bracket
on the slide and the other passes through the two jaws on the carriage between
which the worm is placed; a key is fixed in the worm and a long key way cut into
the spindle which allows the worm to travel back on recoil so that the spindle
remains fixed to the slide while the worm travels freely along the spindle and
thus enables the elevating gear to be worked without danger until the gun
is fired.
The elevating gear is made available for running the gun in and out by means
of another worm wheel carried on the carriage which gears on the underside of the
elevating worm and can be engaged into a rack at will this rack may be fixed to
the slide or made portable or hinged at one end or lifted up or down by means of
levers or eccentrics.
Figure 1 shews a plan view and Figure 2 a side elevation of a naval gun
carriage arranged as above described as a three-pivot carriage and also for the
recoil force to be taken up by a pair of recoil presses the pistons of which are fitted

page_text: with spring loaded valves and also with hand pumps for pumping the gun out or
in as hereinbefore described.
As will be seen from Figure 2 the carriage can be pivotted centrally at A or at a
forward point B or at an external point by the use of the pivot bar C. D D are
the recoil presses one connected to each trunnion of the gun and forming the gun
carriage proper. The. piston rod of each press is carried right through the press
and is firmly held at each end of the slide face. The piston of each press has the
spring loaded recoil valve or valves arranged within it as above described―
E E are hand pumps by which water may be pumped from one end of the presses
to the other in either direction desired so that by them the gun may be pumped 1
either out or in. The way in which the plungers of the pumps can be worked to.
and fro by hand levers F is clearly shewn by the drawings. The slide face is
inclined so that the gun may return by gravitation immediately on completing its
recoil.
Each of the rollers on which the carriage trains are as shewn capable of being 1
set to any required horizontal angle each roller is also as shewn made up of a
number of discs capable of turning independently one of the other.
_Carriages constructed as above described can be trained so as to bring the muzzle
of the gun within a broadside port for housing. The carriage is provided with a
rear flap for housing or change pivot; when fired on the pivot bars C there would 2
be a clip fitted to the carriage suiting a clip rib fixed to the deck. The carriage
may be change pivotted from one broadside to another or from one point to
another by a suitable arrangement of racers if desired. A. steel screen G may if
desired be mounted at the front of the carriage as shewn.
The elevating and training gear are not shown in Figures 1 and 2 it may be 2
made in the way illustrated at Figures 3 and 4.
At Figures 3 and 4 I have shown a plan view and side elevation of another gun
carriage in which the recoil force is similarly taken up by a pair of recoil presses
the pistons of which are (as in the gun carriage shewn at Figures 1 and 2) fitted
with spring loaded valves. The piston rods of the recoil presses are in this a
arrangement carried through glands at the front ends only of the cylinders and are
fixed to brackets on the front ends of the slides.
Tanks are cast in the carriages above the presses. A passage passes from each
tank to the front end of its cylinder and this passage is fitted with a valve
opening inwards into the tank to allow water to pass freely from the front of the 3
cylinder to the tank. Another passage is formed from the tank to the rear end of
the cylinder and is fitted with a valve opening outwards from the tank to allow
water to pass from the tank into the rear end of the cylinder.
His the hand wheel for working the elevating gear which can also be used for
running the gun in or out as herein before described. I is the hand wheel for
working the training gear-this gear may be arranged to be worked from either or
both sides J is the training pinion-it can be raised clear of the racers when
changing from side to side.
The way in which I prefer to carry the spring loaded valves by the pistons of
the recoil presses is shown at Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 shews the cylinder with
double piston and Figure 6 the cylinder with single piston and tank
Having thus described the nature of my invention and the manner of performing
the same I would have it understood that I claim as my improvements in gun
carriages :-
First The construction of gun carriages substantially as herein before described
with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings.
Second-The construction of gun carriages substantially as herein before
described with reference to Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings.
Third-The use of a spring loaded valve or valves in the pistons of the recoil
cylinders substantially as described.
E
Fourth-The use of a spring loaded valve or valves in the pistons of the recoil

page_text: cylinders in combination with a reservoir or tank above the cylinders substantially
as described.
Fifth The combination of a hand pump with the recoil cylinders substantially
as and for the purpose hereinbéfore described.
In witness whereof I the said Andrew Noble have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Tenth day of August in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.
A. NOBLE. (L.B.)