US37279A - Improvement in serving ordnance - Google Patents

Description

'2'Sheet5-Sheet 1. J. H. COON. Gun Carriage.

Pan-med Jan. 6, 1863.

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JAMES H. COON, OF DEPOSIT, NEYV YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN SERVING ORDNANCE Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.37fl79, dated January 6, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES H. Goon, of Deposit, in the county of Delaware and State of New York, have invented Improvements in Breech-Loading Cannon, of which the follow ing is a specification.

My invention is more immediately intended to be applied to vessels of war and to permanent fortifications; and it consists of the following parts: First, a provisionfor placing. the charge in a cradle prepared for its reception, the said cradle being,whcn in its normal position, at a convenient height from the floor or deck to allow the said charge to be so placed, together witha contrivance for elevating the charge when so deposited, to such a height as to allow it to be rammed into the breech, as will be more fullydescribed hereinafter; second, a further provision or contrivance by which .the barrel of the cannon is formed in two portions, the after portion or breech being hung upon a trunnion, and so disposed and arranged that it can be made to vibrate downward upon the said trunnion as an axis through a small vertical arc, the consequence of such vibration being that the forward end of the breech is lowered so far as to bring the whole of it in a direct line with the cradle,before described, upon which the charge is placed, thereby bringing the said cradle and the breech into such relative positions with respect to each other as to allow the charge to be smoothly rammed into the breech, as will be more fully described hereinafter; third, a contrivance by which, when the cradle containing the charge is raised and the forward end of the breech is lowered, each to its proper position, a raminer is set in motion, which, being conducted in the proper direction by means of slides, rams the charge into the breech, as more particularly hereinafter described; fourth, a system of machinery consisting of wheels, cranks, pulleys, &c., by the operation of which the several motions before described are performed, and by a continuance of which operation in the same direction the several parts before described are returned each to its original position, thereby enabling the gunner to fire the cannon and get ready for another charge, as hereinafter will be more fully set forth; fifth, a device in the manner of applying the first mover to operate the machinery, which allows the said operating to continue during the recoil of the piece, so that no interruption takes place in the operating of the machinery, but, on the contrary, the machinery is preparing the piece for another discharge while the recoil and pushing forward of the piece are being proceeded with, as will be more fully described herein; sixth, a contrivance consisting of a toothed wheel and a horizontal piece of ratchet work, by means of" which the piece may be easily moved into its proper position for another discharge after the recoil, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my cannon with all the parts in position before the charge is placed in the cradle. Fig. 2 is an end elevation, looking toward the breech. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the line 011 Figs. 2 and 4, looking toward the inside, the muzzle of the cannon being toward the left-hand. Fig. 4 is an end elevation looking toward the muzzle.

Myimproved cannon is supported on framework which is composed of two distinct parts. The lower part or base, which supports the whole of the superstructure, is denoted on the several drawings by the figures 1 1, &c., and the remaining part of the framework, inside of which the most part of the machinery open ates, and which slips inside of the lower part, being supported thereon by the axis 3, and retained at the proper degree of inclination by the said axis, and the upright screw 4, is designated by the figures 2 2, 850. The whole is intended to run on wheels, as in an ordinary gun carriage, but it was not thought necessary to introduce these into the drawings. Motion is communicated to the whole machinery by means of a universal joint. The action of this joint is so well known to mechanics that it has not been thought necessary to show it in the drawings, the inventor believing that a description of its position and mode of action would be' all that would be required. It is partially shown in Fig. 1 hanging below the frame-work. The upper arm of this joint is hollow, so as to allow it to he slipped onto the hanging shaft 5, with liberty to slide upward until stopped by the shoulder shown upon the drawings. A screw passing through this up of the frame-work.

ings.

' it from beingdrawn off. A connection is then formed between the universal joint and the engine, by which the former is rotated, and, as

it cannotrotate'around the shaft 5 in consequence of the screw which has entered the slot, it. must, of necessity, operate the shaft and rotate it also. The shaft 5, being thus rotated,

operatesthe horizontal bevel -pinion 6 attached to it as to an axis, which bevel-pinion meshes into the vertical bevel-pinion 7 and iotatesit. Concentric with this bevel-pinion 7, and at-' tached to the back of it on the same axis, is the spur-pinion 9, which meshes into androtates the large spur-wheel 10, fixedupon the axis 11, which takes abearing upon both sides The shaft 5 works in a hollow cylinder or box, 12, formed upon the fixed shaft 3, and is supported in position by means of a shoulder formed upon its upper extremity, as shown in Fig. 3. The bevel- .pinion 7 and the spur-pinion 9 also work upon the same shaft in a depression which serves to keep them in position. The spur-pinion 9, in addition to meshing into the large spurwheel 10, meshes also into the small spur-pinion 14, fixed upon the axis 15, which latter pinion, being rotated, rotates the spur-pinion 16, the latter pinion being attached to the outer extremity of the same axis. This pinion 16 meshes into a portion of the circumference of the large spur-wheel 17, which it keeps in a state of continual revolution while the moving power is applied to the universal joint.

The cylindric portion of the spur-wheel 17 that is to say, its convex surfaceis divided laterally into three portions, forming, asit were, three shallow cylinders, marked 18, 19,- and 20 on Figs. 2 and 4. The portion 18, being the outer one of the three, is toothed all round the circumference, as show-n upon the draw- The second or middle portion, 19, is toothed for a part only, rather more than onefourth of the circumference, and for the remainder of the circumference is sunk into a groove equal in depth to the depth of the teeth, the teeth in this portion, as far as they go, corresponding and agreeing with the teeth in the outer portion, 18, and the third or inner portion, 20, of this wheel presents on the outside a cylindrical surface without any teeth and flush with the outer extremities of the teeth in the other divisions. The inner or concave surface of this portion, 20, of the circumference has a part of it cut out into teeth and the remainder hollowed out to a depth .equal to that of the-teeth, so as to present for theremainderof the circumference a plain concave surface. The toothed part of the opposite. side.

to which it is jointed at the point 31.

middle portion, 19, of the spur-wheel 17 meshes into the teeth of the small wheel 23 hung upon the shaft 24, which shaft also extends across the frame-work and takes a bearing upon the The teeth upon the inside or concave surface of the remaining portion 20 of this wheel 17 mesh into the small wheel 25 hung upon the shaft 29. v tends across the frame-work, but at the middle of its length is. manipulated into a crank, as

will be more fully described subsequently.

The small wheel 23 meshes into the small wheel- 27 hung upon the shaft 28. This shaft, in the same manner as the shaft 29, is fashioned into a crank at the center of its length. The wheel 25, which meshes into the concave circumference of the wheel 17, has its axis 29 fashioned intoa crank, 27, (shown in Figs. 2 and 3,) as

before mentioned. The rod 28 is jointed to this crank by one of its extremities at the point 29. The other extremity of this rod. is bifurcated for the purpose of receiving the arm 30, The other extremity of this arm is jointed to a bifurcated projection, 32, which springs from the lower surface of the breech 33 of the cannon. The joint-pin 31, which connects the crank-rod 28 with the arm 30, is made suffrciently long to admit of the links 34 and 35 being also jointed onto the said pin. The lower extremities of these links are jointed to an axis, 36, which is secured to the rail 37, which reaches across the machine. This jointpin 31 also'receives the ends of the arms 38 and 39, so as to admit them to move freely upon it. form a continuation of the chains 40 and 41, which pass over the pulleys 42 and 43. These pulleys are hung in two bifurcated pieces, 44 and 45, which extend downward a little below the level of the axis 11 of the large wheel 10. The bifurcations of these pieces-44 and 45 embrace also the two sides 46 and 47 of r the irregularly-shaped quadrangular hollow casting; a section of which is shown in Fig. 3, the ends being 48 and 49 in that figure, the inner arms of the bifurcations being securely fixed to the sides 46 and 47. This'irregularlyshaped quadrangle is itself securely fixed to the crown of the irregular arch 50, which spans the whole of the upper framing, and is securely bolted to the two sides. The upper extremities of the pieces 44 and 45 being thus securely fixed in position, their lower extremities are alsokept in position by being stayed to the sides of the frame-work, various methods of doing which will suggest themselves to the. mind of any intelligent mechanic; The bifurcated piece 51 is also bolted to the lower end, 48, of the irregular quadrangular piece before alluded to, as shown in Fig. 3. The other extremity of this piece 51 is fixed to the axis 52, which is attached to the rail 53 of the frame-work, immediately under the forward part of the cannon. The bifurcation of this piece 51 is sufficiently wide to allow the link This shaft also ex- These arms are connected with and -movable around all these points.

54 to be introduced between its arms and fixed upon the axle 52. The upper extremity of this link is itself bifurcated, so as to receive a tongue made upon the upper extremity of the link 55, and both these links 54 and 55 are received into the bifurcated link 56, and all three are jointed together at the point 57,

' so as to move freely in vertical angles around it. The link 56 is a crank-rod, jointed at the point 58 to the crank 59, the said crank 59 being formed upon the axis 28 of the small wheel 27, as before stated. The lower end of the link 55 is jointed to the end of the rammer 60 at the point 61, sothat when the crank 59 is depressed the joint 57 follows it, and the rammer is forced upward in the direction of the cannon. Two slides, 62 and 63one on each side of the rammerare each of them attached by one extremity to the bifurcated piece 51, and at the other extremity to the upper cross piece orhead, 49, of the irregular quadrangular piecebeforealluded to. Twobandsorclippingpieces, 64 and '65, each formed of two portions, part circular, to clip the rammer 6O closely, and part plain, with grooves in the surfaces which come into contact, so as to admit the slides 62 and 63 to be introduced between them, are provided, fixed, and bolted together, so as at once to clip the rammer 60 and, the slides 62 and 63, the former tightly, so

that the bands and rammer must move together, and the latter loosely, so that the rammer and clipping-pieces may move together easilyon the slides. The chains 40 and 41, after passing over the pulleys 42 and 43, are brought down in front of the bifurcated pieces 44 and 45, and are attached to iron rods 66 and 67. These rods are carried down along the front of the bifurcated pieces 44 and 45, and have attached to their lowerends two pieces, 68 and 69, each piece being formed of three sheets, a transverse section of which would show three sides of a rectangle. Each of these pieces clips three sides of the bifurcated pieces 44 and 45-that is to say, the inner surface of each of these bifurcated pieces and the two contiguous sides. These clipping-pieces do not fit tightly upon the pieces 44 and 45, but are left a little slack, so that they may be easily slid up and down. The

bifurcated pieces 44 and 45 are united by a cross'piece, 70, at the bottom, in which crosspiece the pin or axis 71 is inserted, which passes through the two lower blades of the lattice-work elevator 72. Thislattice-work ele- .vator is, as its name imports, formed of blades crossing each other like lattice-work, united at their centers by the pins 73, and at their extremities by the pins 74, the blades being It is evident from the peculiarity of this construction that the bottom of this lattice-work remaining fixed at the point 71, the elevation of the two halfblades attached to this point, or the elevation of any of the other blades, necessarily involves the elevation of the whole lattice-work, and

that to as great an extent as the blades can be safely extended toward a position parallel to the line of their motion. The lower of the pins (marked 73) not only passes through the blades, but is also attached internally to the clipping-pieces 68 and 69, and as these pieces are also attached, as before described, to the rods 66 and 67 the elevation or depression of these latter will evidently involve the elevation or depression of the lattice-elevators 7 2. Between the bifurcated pieces 44 and 45, supported upon the highest of the pins, (which are marked 73,) and attached and jointed to the said pin, the cradle 75, for receiving the charge, is fixed. This cradle, it is evident, will be elevated by raising the rods 67 and 68 until it reaches the inside of the irregular quadrangular frame before described, the beveled part 76, or heel of this cradle, will strike against the end 48 of the quadrangular piece, while-the upper surface of the toe 77 will strike against the lower surface of the other end, 49, of the same quadrangular piece, the cradle be ing made longer than the internal length of the quadrangle. By means of these two points of contact not onlyis the farther ascent of the cradle prevented, but it is also brought into the proper position for allowing the rammer 60 to pass along it, it being then in a direct line with the slides of the rammer.

The revolution of the wheel 25 draws the crank 27 downward from the position shown on Figs. 1 and 3, and toward the rear end of the machine. The consequence is that the crank-rod 28 is drawn toward the same parts, and as the revolution of thewheel continues and the crank is drawn still farther toward the rear, the crank-rod 28, in following the motion, draws the two links 35 and 30 into an angle which becomes more acute the farther the crank-rod is drawn. The link 35, being fixed at its lower extremity at the point 36, can only follow the motion of the crank-rod with its upper extremity, 31. This involves the displacement of the lower extremity of the link 30, and by consequence of its upper extremity also, and this upper extremity being attached to the lower portion of the breech, the latter is forced to revolve downward vertically upon the axis 78, until its central line, parallel to its length, is in a line with the shoe and the rammer. The revolution of the wheel 27 removes the crank 59 toalower positionthanthatshown'on the drawings, and toward the rear end of the machine. This involves the removal of the crank-rod 56 toward the same parts, and the upper extremity, 57, of this rod, acting upon the angle formed by the links 54 and 55, causes itto become more obtuse as the crank-rodfollows the motion of the crank; but the lower end, 52, of the link 54 being fixed involves the necessity of the link 55 diverging. Its lower extremity, 61, must therefore separate more and more from the crank-rod 56, according as the latter descends; but this lower extremity, 61, being attached to the lower extodescend by their own gravity.

tremity of the rammer 60 by the pin or axis 61, the displacement of this link 55 pushes therefore the rammer 60 upward toward the breech of the cannon, in which motion it is guided 1 by the slides 62 and 63. The cannon is sup- :ported on the upper part of the frame-work by means of the trunnions 78 and 79. It is formed in two portions, which are connected and held together by two strong iron plates, .80 and 81, The breech 83 turns upon the trunnion 78 as an axis, and is united to. the remaining part in such a manner that the surfaces in contact with each other are portions of a cylindric surface, the axis of which passes through the center of the trunnion 78 in a direction at right angles to the length of the cannon.

Having thus described all the most essential parts of my said invention, it now remains to- .show the manner in which it is operated and the combined action of its different parts.

The wheel 17, being revolved in the direction indicated by the arrow, operates, by means of the teeth on its internal or concave surface, the wheel 25, and this wheel, operating the crank 27, pulls the crank-rod 28 downward and also toward the rear of the machine, as before described, and with it the links or arms 30 and 35 and the chain 41. This chain, being drawn in that direction, necessarily revolves the pulleys 42 and 43, thereby shortening the portion of the chain in front of the rods or forked pieces 44 and 45, and therefore raises the lattice-elevators 72, and with them the cradle 75,

up to the position in the hollow of the irre'gular quadrangle-before described; and while this is going on the arm 30 is pulling down the breech of the cannon into the position previously indicated herein, so that the arrival of, the cradle at its highest point and the depression of the breech to its lowest are simultaneous. When the cradle 75 is in this position, or rather shortly before it arrives at it,

the teeth on part of the center portion of the wheel 17 have got into such position as to enable them to operate the wheel 23,which wheel (being only used for transferring motion) operates the wheel 27, which, as more particu- .larly described before, forces apart the arms .54 and 55, and thereby slides therammer 60 upward, and the different parts of the machinery being so adjusted to each other as to make this motion simultaneous with thelowering of the breech and the raising of the shoe,the chargeis at once rammed from the shoe into the breech.

and the whole machine be left as at the commencement. 'The large spur-wheel 10 works -into a toothed rail or rack below, securely fixed and properly located, and serves the following purpose: When the piece recoils in consequence of the discharge, the universal joint before described is pulled along th'e'shaft 5, and the machinery is therefore kept in motion, notwithstanding the recoil; and at the end of the recoil, the machinery being still in motion, the wheel operates upon the rack and brings the gun back to its proper position, and while doi g so is at the same time preparingit for another discharge.

before the gun reaches the proper position, so that when it does reach that position the wheel 10 is revolving clear of the rack.

The recoil drives it back upon the rack, the

coil, to depress the breech, to elevate the 1 charge, and to ram it home, and all without any attention on the part of the assistant further than that of placing the charge in the cradle.

For the purpose of preventing the cranks 27 and 59 from rotating when their action is not required, I provide two springs, 81 and 82, which are worked by cams upon the axis 26 of the wheel 17. Each of these springs is fastened at. one extremity to the framework of the machine, and has the other extremity turned down, as shown at 84 in Fig. 3. This spring is released by the cams shown on the axis 26 in the same figure, and the spring being at liberty, the turned-down extremity shown at 84 falls into the notch 85 of the wheel 83, fixed upon the axis 29 of the crank 27, and thus holds it in the proper position until its services are again required.

The operation of the spring 82 (shown in Fig. 1) is precisely similar to that already described, the wheel which it stops being fixed upon the axis 28 of the crank 59. This wheel is hidden by wheel 27 in Fig. 1, being immediately behind it, and the spring 82 is operated by another pair of cams fixed upon the other extremity of the axis 26.

Having now described my said invention and the mode of operating it, I claim- 1. The device composed of the two arms 54 and 55 and the crank-rod 56, when combined and arranged in the manner'hereinbefore described, and operated by the crank 59,

so as to move the rammer 60, for the purpose set forth, and in the manner. indicated.

2. The device composed of the arm 30, and the two arms 34 and 35, the chains 39 and 40, in connection with the rods 66 and 67 and the cradle 75, and the lattice-elevator 72, all combined with each other in the manner he- The rack -or toothedrail terminates a short distance fore described, and operated by the crank rod 28, for the purpose of lowering the forward end of the breech 33 and elevating the cradle 75 simultaneously with each other, as hereinbefore described and set forth.

3. The combination of these two motions with each other by means of the machinery hereinbefore described, so as to cause the depression of the breech 33, the elevation of the cradle 75, and the ascent of the rammer 60, simultaneously, together with all the minor and subsidiary operations, as hereinbefore described, and for the purposes set forth.

JAMES H COON.

Witnesses:

L. A. Ronnnrs, M. 0. SMITH.

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