US331618A - de bange - Google Patents

Description

.2 sheets-sheet 1.

ed Deo. 1, 1885.

(No Modl.)

C. T. M. V. DE BANGE.

GUN CARRIAGE.

Pat .a.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

C. 'Ilv M. V. DE BANGE.

GUN CARRIAGE.

Patetd Dec. 1, 1885. @s

`der the chassis. vthe chassiswhich support it efficiently on a CHARLES TIMOTHE MAXIMILIEN VALRAND DE RANGE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

GUN-CARRIAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,618, dated December 1, 1885. Application led December 4, 1884. `Serial No. 149,460. (No model.) Patented in France May 27, 1884,No.162,396.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES T, M. V. DE RANGE, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing in Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gun- Carriages, of which the following is a specication.

I will describe the invention as applied to an ordinary chassis; but it may be applied in part to guns mounted in barbette and in any desired situation.

Great improvements have been made inV artillery, permitting, among other advantages, the discharge of heavy'projectiles from light guns; but it has heretofore been difficult to apply such improvements to guns of large caliber. Even by the employment of the revolving tracks knownas chassis77 the firing is limited to smallvertical angles. I have devised a new construction of the carriage (Zaft) which supports the gun upon the chassis. The inclined rear portion is curved, allowing a greater depression of the breech of 'the' gun than would be otherwise practicable. "Ihls part is largely composed of curved plates,

which yield by increasing their curvature under the strong force of recoil when the gun is fired. I support the front of the carriage on rollers and connecting yokes arranged to accommodate the elastic yielding of the carriage when the gun is fired. I use rollers mounted eccentrically at the rear and subject to the force of springs peculiarly arranged. An inclined link attaches the front of the carriage to an efficient brake. I employ a chain connecting the rear of the carriage with the chassis,.and arranged to serve the double purpose of restraining the motion of the recoil in case the other provisions fail, and of restraining its forward motion at the right point. The parts are so arranged that the pivot of the chassis comes under the center of gravity of .the parts when the gun is in battery. Ihis reduces the necessity for rollers or wheels un- Shoes are employed under suitable circular way. I make use of a pecu- Early-efficient packing in connection with the cylinders of the hydraulic brake. I provide a lever to elevate the projectile to the breech of the gun. An opposite arm of the lever has a cross-bar adapted to be operated bythe weight of the attendants, which they throw thereon at the proper time.

The following is a description of what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

The drawings represent the novel parts, with so much of the ordinary parts as is necessary to show their relation thereto.

It will be understood that the portions not represented may be of any ordinary or suitable construction.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a duplex figure. On the right is a transverse section on the line x a: inV Fig. 1, and on the left is a longitudinal section showing more particularly the eccentric bearings of the rollers. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section, partly in front elevation. The left side is a cross-section on the line y y in Fig. 1. The right side is sectioned a little farther rearward, so that the plane of action at one point passes through the centers of one pair of wheels. Fig. 4 is on a larger scale. It is a longitudinal section through one end of the hydraulicbrake cylinder.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the iigures where they occur.

Contrary to the construction heretofore geuerally adopted for carriages or chasses, my carriage presents a form strongly curved. It is composed of two parallel sides or parts formed each with two upright plates, A A, and curved plates B C D, strongly united by angle-irons. The front of the carriage is mounted on two trucks having. each four wheels, J. The connecting-yokes H carry upright-s E, which support the trunnions of the cannon. The parts E are each formed with curved grooves, which receive corresponding side pieces bolted on the parts H and form a flexible connection.

F is a plate, which re-enforces the junction of the uprights E with the curved and elastic portion of the carriage.

N is a grooved rail, whichguides the wheels J in traversing backward and forward on the chassis. Liberty is allowed for a slight transverse yielding movement of the parts when necessary. The two yokes H on each side are united by a shaft, G. Ihis shaft is tied stronglyl and stiffly to the rear extremity of the carriage by a plate, K. The rear extrem- IOO ity of the carriage is furnished with two wheels, P, turning loosely on eccentric bearings on a shaft, L. This shaft is mounted loosely in the plates A, so that it is capable of a partial revolution, and carries a iinger,M,which in turningin one direction acts against the center of a plate, O, which presses against three springs,-

raising the eccentric bearings of the wheel, f

lets the carriage down, so as to make a strong friction on the chassis. the recoil movement the springs O' operate the finger M and compel the shaft L to partially turn in its bearings, so as to depress the center of the wheels P and induce an elevation of the rear of the carriage, so that it shall not rest on the chassis except through the intervention of the wheels. At the moment of firing the force of the recoil acts on the carriage, and through it on the wheels P, giving a partial rotation to theshaft L, against the force of the springs O, sufficient to raise the wheels and allow the rear of the carriage to press directly on the chassis. This is the condition which obtains during the recoil. 1 After the recoil the elastic force ofthe springs O gives a partial revolution to the shaft L in the reverse direction and again depresses the wheels P, so that they relieve the carriage from friction, and make it easy to againmove the gun into battery. This movement may be rendered automatic by clination to the chassis. I esteem this animportant advantage of my invention.

The chassis is composed of two side frames formed each of two upright plates, Q, joined by two horizontal plates, R, vstrongly united` by angle-irons. The side frames `are united at their extremities by strong cross-pieces S, and in the intervals by two cross-pieces, T. The chassis carries at its front end a hydraulic brake, to which the pistons are fixed by means of rods U, secured to the two cross-pieces S, and the two movable cylinders V, lying side by side near the center line, are joined together at the front and rearandallowed a longitudinal movement guided at the rear by slides X, fixed to the cross-pieces T, and at the front by slides Y on the inner faces of the chassis. The stout cross-piece Z, which joins the front end of the cylinders V of the brake, carries the front end of the stronglink W, extending rearward and upward, and taking` hold of vthe stout cross-shaft Gr, which connects the yolres H, before described. connection of the carriage with the chassis through inclined links and the hydraulic brake opposes` the lifting of the front of the carriage at the moment of the firing. When the gun is moved again into battery, it is ar- At the termination of giving a sufficient inn It will be seen that this 7o subject to the action of springs b. These parts are so proportioned that in moving the gun forward into battery it is brought to rest in the exact position desired. The inclined position of the chains at that moment aids to prevent the lifting of the rear of the carriage, when, as is sometimes the case, the gun moves forward rapidly and strikes strongly against the ordinary buffers (not shown) to effect the sudden stoppage. The arrangement is also such that the chains arrest the movement of the carriage rearward during the recoil in case the brake is not sufficiently effective. The buffers c, mounted on the rear o f the chassis, also contribute to this end. In my system the 8 5 pivot d of the chassis is placed under the center of gravity of the entire mass when the gun is in battery. Under these conditions the snpporting-wheels, ordinarily mounted beneath, to support the rear end of the chassis, may be omitted, and the entire weight may be supported on the pivot d and on the shoes f, which rest on a circular way, e. The friction is easy to overcome by reason of the smal-l diameter of this circular way.

I provide means (notshown) for supporting the rear end `of the chassis after it has been turned in the required direction, so that .it shall reliably support the carriage and the cannon during the recoil.

I provide very efficiently for the tightness of the packing of the hydraulic brake at the point f where the rod U of the piston (not shown) extends through the ends of the cylinder V. I use a plastic packing.` (Represented detached in Fig. 4.) In order to give it the necessary tightness, I compress'it by a screw, j, having a packing at its front and inserted in a screwthreaded aperture, v3. By means of this screw I force additional plastic matter into the packing, as required, and thus replace any packing which may be lost.

I facilitate the charging of the gun by employing a bent lever, k, turning on a xed center, l. At one of the extremities of this lever is suspended a frame, m, to receive a projectile and cartridge. At the other end is fixed a transverse bar, n, which is conveniently placed to be pressed down by the attendants, and thus rapidly raise the charge to the breech of the gun. A catch, Q, provided with a counter-weight, p, engages in notches in a segment attached so as to hold the lever k in any position desired while the charge is thrust forward into the gun by the same or other attendants.

The form and construction of the curved elastic portion of the carriage has the effect to l greatly relieve the carriage and its connections from shockat the moment of ring. It also allows the gun to be operated at much greater inclinations than usual.

Modifications may be made in the forms and proportions of the details.

The charging-lever k may be mounted on a fulcrum independent of the'carriage, if preferred. In either condition it serves to raise the charge rapidly by the weight of the attendants applied on the cross-piece n.

The side plates, A A, of the carriage may be made in many pieces, or may be omitted at certain points to increase the capacity of the carriage to yield elastically by removing the stiffness due to the upright plates E E at the sides.

There may be other forms of flexible connection of the yokes II to the uprights E. It is essential that the connection be strong, to support the weight and the concussions to which it is subjected, and be capable of yielding to allow theupper ends of the uprights E to be deflected rearward at the moment of the recoil, and still allow the wheels J to remain firmly bearing on the chassis.

Parts of the invention may be used successfully without the whole.

I claim as my inventionl. In a gun carriage, substantially as described, the trail formed of curved spring. metal plates B C D, arranged one above another, and secured together and to the carriage, and extending first downward and then rearward, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a gun carriage, substantially as described, the trail formed of curved metal plates B (l D, arranged one above another and secured to side plates, A, by angle-irons, riding- Wheels, as P, journaled in said side plates and arranged upon eccentric bearings at the rear of the trail, an arm rigid with the shaft of said wheels, and a spring arranged to be compressed by said arm, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The trail formed of the curved metal plates B C D and side plates, A, the trucks J I, supporting the body of the carriage and carrying the uprights E, and connecting-yokes H, flexibly connected with each other, in combination with the plate F, arranged to re-enforce the flexible joint, the wheels P upon the rear of the trail, and the tie-plate K, connecting the truck-shaft G to the rear of the trail, as set forth.

4. In a gun carriage, substantially as described, the combination, with the curved trail and its carried wheels P, having eccentric bearings, and with the shaft L, having finger M, of springs O', arranged in the path of said finger, and means, as O2, for adjusting the force of the spring, as set forth.

5. In a gun carriage, as described, two trucks or sets of wheels, J, arranged under the trnnnions of the gun and supporting the same by yokes H and uprights E, as described, in

, combination with each other and with a springcurved trail, and a tie, K, connecting such trail with the shaft of the trucks, as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The charging-lever k, projectile-support m, transverse bar n, and fulcrum-pivot Z, in combination with each other and with a guncarriage and gun, and with the click g and CHARLES 'HMoTHEE MIXIMILIEN VALERAND DE RANGE.

Witnesses:

EUG. DUBoIs, CRMERs.

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