Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1886.
Complete Left, 17th Jan., 1887.
.Complete Accepted, 18th Feb., 1887. ..
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN of Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, London W.C.
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to Improvements connected with the sighting and directing of
guns whereby certain advantages are obtained.
At present a great amount of inconvenience exists through the accumulation of
smoke at or near the muzzle of guns after firing. This is especially the case with
machine guns or after rapid and repeated firing of other guns, and great delay,
attended generally by very serious results, occurs through the necessity of waiting till
the smoke has cleared off before the sighting and directing of the gun can again take
place. The object of my invention is to remedy these defects.
In carrying my invention into effect I may employ an electro-static generator of
any convenient type or kind and I may put this in electrical connection with suitable
terminal conductors arranged at or near the muzzle of the gun.
The said terminal conductors may be of any suitable size or form, for example they
may consist of plates or sheets or rods, or wire netting or gauze, and studded or not
with points or projections. They may be placed at any suitable distance apart, and
this distance may be capable of regulation or adjustment.
The electrostatic generator may be placed at or near the gun, or at a distance there-
from. It may be worked by hand or by power, for example by a steam, gas,
pneumatic or hydraulic engine, or by an electro-motor, or by a wind vane or the like.
Or it may be worked by the recoil of the gun, and that with or without the intervention
of intermediate transmitting or modifying mechanism.
When desired condensers may be interposed in the circuit of the electrostatic
generator."
The action of my invention is as follows:-When the electrostatic generators are
worked a discharge takes place between the terminal conductors which causes a con-
densation and segregation of the smoke particles thereby clearing the air and rendering
it again transparent.

page_text: .
Improvements Connected with the Sighting and Directing of Guns.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN of Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, London, W.C.
Consulting 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 :-
My invention relates to Improvements connected with the sighting and directing of
guns whereby certain advantages are obtained.
At present a great amount of inconvenience exists through the accumulation of
smoke at or near the muzzle of guns after firing. This is especially the case with
machine guns, or after rapid and repeated firing of other guns, and great delay;
attended generally by very serious results, occurs through the necessity of waiting till
the smoke has cleared off before the sighting and directing of the gun can again take
place. The object of my invention is to remedy these defects.
In carrying my invention into effect I employ an electro-static generator of any
convenient type or kind and I put this in electrical connection with suitable terminal
conductors arranged at or near the muzzle of the gun.
The said terminal conductors may be of any suitable form and they may consist of
sheets or rods of metal or of metallic wire netting or gauze or the like and studded or
not with points or projections. I prefer to employ a light wire netting with projecting
points. These terininal conductors are placed during the action of the apparatus at
any suitable distance apart and this distance is preferably capable of regulation or
adjustment by means of any convenient device. The said terminal conductors must of
course be well insulated from each other. The projecting points of the terminal
conductors point towards the space between the terminal conductors. The object of
the points is to obtain point brush or silent discharge as will be readily understood.
Condensers may when desired he employed in the circuit of the electro-static
generator but it will be generally found that they are unnecessary as the insulated
leads themselves acts as condensers.
Any convenient known type of electrostatic generator may be employed but I find
an ordinary Wimshurst machine preferable to most others as it is less affected by
damp. The electrostatic generator may be placed near the gun or it may be placed at
a distance therefrom. If at a distance highly insulated leads must be employed to
connect the electrostatic generator with the terminal conductors. The electrostatic
generator may be worked by any convenient source of energy as by hand or by a
fluid pressure engine or the like. On board a war ship it is convenient to keep the
electro-static generator or generators in a special compartment this special compart-
ment being preferably kept airtight for the exclusion of damp and having within it a
drying reagent to absorb moisture. If the electro-static generators in this compartment
be driven by steam power the shaft or shafts on which they are mounted preferably
pass through the wall of the compartment in an air tight manner and are fitted with a
driving pulley outside in order that no steam may enter the compartment.
however an electro-motor or a compressed air motor be employed to drive the
If

page_text: electrostatic generators they may be in the same air tight compartment the leads for
the electricity or the pipes for the compressed air passing through the walls of the
said. compartment in an airtight manner. For use in the field it is convenient to have
a separate electro-static generator to each gun and enclosed in an airtight chamber or
box constructed of insulating material such as ebonite or the like and containing a
drying reagent the shaft of the generator extending through the side of the chamber
in an air-tight bearing and provided with a crank and handle for the purpose of
enabling the generator to be operated. From this chamber or box the leads also pass
in an air tight manner. This chamber with its contained electro-static generator thus
constitutes a convenient portable generating apparatus and is preferably mounted on
wheels or on a light strong carriage. In conjunction with the light hand frames
hereinafter mentioned this forms a useful and complete field apparatus.
The action of my invention is as follows:-When the electro-static generators are
operated electrical discharge takes place between the terminal conductors which causes
a condensation and segregation of the smoke particles between the said terminal
conductors thereby clearing the air and rendering it again transparent.
Having thus described my invention in general terms I shall now proceed to
describe it more in detail and for that purpose shall refer to the annexed sheets of
drawings which I desire to be understood as being diagrammatic rather than
illustrative of actual apparatus employed.
Figures 1 and 2 show one manner of applying my invention to an ordinary ship of
war. Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 a cross section through a part of the
ship's side A and a porthole A'. Wooden frames B B are attached to the ship's
side by pins which drop into the B² B². These frames are kept in position by
ropes 133 B3 passing through blocks as shewn. Across the outer part of the frame B
is stretched wire gauze constituting one of the forms of terminal conductor herein-
before referred to. A similar gauze is carried by the frame B and the two gauzes
are respectively connected with the poles of an electrostatic generator. The muzzles
of the guns are shown at E E.
Figure 3 shows a somewhat similar frame B carrying wire gauze Cand rigidly
attached to a spar D by means of which it can be thrust out from the port hole or held
in any desired position in front of the mouth of the gun. A light frame of this form
is useful as a hand frame for field use two of them one in electrical connection with
each pole of the electrostatic generator being waved about by hand in front of the gun
wherever the smoke is most dense. Figures 4 and 5 are an elevation and section
respectively of another form of frame suitable for field batteries a wooden frame being
supported on a stand D by posts and stays E. This frame carries a metal plate Č
studded over with numerous points CC. This plate with its points constitutes
another form of the terminal conductor described above. In all cases the terminal
conductors are in electrical connection with the poles of the electrostatic generator one
of each pair being connected with the positive pole and the other of the pair with the
negative pole. In figure 3 a lead from the electrostatic generator is shown connected
to the terminal conductor by means of the binding plate F.
It will be readily understood that it is not always necessary to have two terminal
conductors as one pole of the electrostatic generator may be connected with earth.
Discharge may then take place between the one terminal conductor and earth or a
body in electrical connection with the same.
My invention is based upon a discovery made in 1850 by Guitard and again
independently by Dr. Oliver Lodge. I desire it to be understood that I do not make
any broad claim to the deposition of smoke by means of electrostatic electricity.
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. The improvement connected with the sighting and directing of guns consisting
in the use of an electro-static generator and a terminal conductor or conductors
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. The improvement connected with the sighting and directing of guns consisting

page_text: in the use with an electro-static generator or generators of an air-tight compartment
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
3. The improvement connected with the sighting and directing of guns consisting
in the portable generating apparatus substantially as and for the purpose specified.
4. The improvement connected with the sighting and directing of guns consisting
in the combination of a portable generating apparatus and a hand frame or hand
frames substantially as and for the purpose specified.
5. The improvenient connected with the sighting and directing of guns consisting
in a hinged or movable frame bearing a terminal conductor substantially as set forth
with reference to figures 1 and 2.
6. The improvement connected with the sighting and directing of guns consisting
in the spar frame bearing a terminal conductor substantially as set forth with reference
to figure 3.
7. The improvement connected with the sighting.and directing of guns consisting
in the hand frame substantially as and for the purpose specified.
8. The improvement connected with the sighting and directing of guns consisting
in the field battery frames substantially as set forth with reference to figures 4 and 5.