IMPкOVE- MENTS IN OR RELATING TO BREECHLOADING ORDNANCE to be as follows:
Year: 1884

page_text: I JOSIAH VAVASSEUR of the London Ordnance Works Southwark in the County
of Surrey, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of any invention for "IMPкOVE-
MENTS IN OR RELATING TO BREECHLOADING ORDNANCE to be as follows:-
"
This invention has for its object improvements in or relating to breech loading
ordnance.
The improvements relate to the protection of the elastic pad of the obturator
known as the De Bange.
The canvas exterior of the pad gets cut through very quickly at the exterior
particularly at the front part.
I cover the surface of the pad at the periphery with thin sheet metal forming a
hoop and the ends of the hoop are folded down over the front and back faces of
the pad the edges being cut to a form suitable for this folding. This metal hoop is
sufficiently elastic to be pressed against the gun by the expansion of the pad when
the gun is fired.
Otherwise I protect the canvas cover of the pad by covering it entirely or on the
exterior and front and rear faces by gauze of copper or other suitable wire.
Or I protect the canvas cover of the pad by strips of metal folded over it either
attached thereto or otherwise secured in place.

page_text: I JOSIAH VAVASSEUR of the London Ordnance Works Southwark in the County
of Surrey Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OR RELATING TO BREECHLOADING ORDNANCE" and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in or relating to breech loading
ordnance.
The improvements relate to the protection of the elastic pad of the obturator
known as the Do Bange.
The canvas exterior of the pad gets cut through very quickly at the exterior
particularly at the front part.
I cover the surface of the pad at the periphery with thin sheet metal forming a
hoop and the ends of the hoop are folded down over the front and back faces of the
pad the edges being cut to a form suitable for this folding.
This metal hoop is sufficiently elastic to be pressed against the gun by the
expansion of the pad when the gun is fired.
Otherwise I protect the canvas cover of the pad by covering it entirely or on the
exterior and front and rear faces by gauze of copper or other suitable wire.
Or I protect the canvas cover of the pad by strips of metal folded over it either
attached thereto or otherwise secured in place.
Figure 1 of the drawings hereunto annexed shews an end view and Figure 2 a
side view partly in section of the elastic pad of an obturator protected in the
manner above described.
A is the metallic head of the obturator B its stem which passes back through
the centre of the breech piece to its rear end C is the elastic pad which is inserted
between the head A and the front face of the breech piece as is usual D is a
metallic ring interposed as is also usual between the head A and the outer portion
of the front face of the elastic pad.
The elastic pad itself may be formed in the ordinary way of a mixture of
asbestos and mutton suet enclosed in a wrapping of canvas and moulded to form
and compressed by heavy hydraulic pressure.
E is the covering of thin sheet metal by which the outer circumference of the
elastic pad is surrounded-this covering is formed either from a cylinder of thin
sheet metal with notches cut out from its ends as shewn in the side view of a
flattened portion of such a cylinder shewn at Figure 3 or it may be formed from
a strip of sheet metal similarly notched along its edges and bent into the form of
a cylinder. The cylinder formed in either of these ways is placed around the
elastic pad and its notched portions are bent inwards and made to tie closely
against the sloping faces of the outer portions of the back and front of the elastic
pad as shewn at Figures 1 and 2.
At Figure 4 I have shewn a side elevation partly in section of an obturator
fitted with an elastic pad, the metallic covering of which is formed from closely
woven wire gauze in place of from a cylinder or plate of thin sheet metal.

page_text: At Figure 5 I have shewn an end view and at Figure 6 a side elevation partly
in section of an obturator the elastic pad of which is provided with a metallic
covering formed from a number of separate strips of sheet metal or wire gauze one
of such strips is shewn separately at Figure 7.-Such strips may as shewn at
Figure 5 be secured at their ends to the canvas covering of the elastic pad by
stitching the stitches in this figure are represented by the dotted lines F.
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. Forming the outer casing of elastic pads of obturators used for making a
tight joint at the breech of breech loading ordnance of thin metal substantially as
herein described.