US420170A

US420170A - Gun-carriage

Info

Publication number: US420170A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1890-01-28
Anticipated expiration: 1907-01-28

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(-No Model.)

S. SEAB'URY. GUN CARRIAGE.

No. 420,170. Patented Jan. 28, 1890.

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N PUERS Phomljlbogmpher. WashinglurUDI'G llffll Inn/0102 01 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Jan. 28, 1890.

s. SEABURY.

' GUN CARRIAGE.

(No Model.)

iinesses N. PETERS. Fhelb-Lilbogmphur. Wilhihgton. 01c.

Y UNITED STATES SAMUEL SEABURY, OF BERGEN POINT, NEW JERSEY.

GUN-CARRIAG E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 420,170, dated January 28, 1890.

Application filed March 16, 1889- Serial No. 303,599- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL SEABURY, lieutenant United States Navy, residing at Ber= gen Point, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gun-Carriages, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention is more especially intended for naval guns, but may be applied wholly or in part for guns for fortifications. Its principal objects are, first, to reduce the dimensions of the carriage and the space occupied in working it to a minimum; second, to reduce the strain produced on the platform by the recoil; third, to provide for a more perfect control of the gun under all circumstances 5 fourth, to simplify themechanism for training and elevating the gun.

The first of these objects I accomplish by supporting the lower carriage in the manner hereinafter described entirely on a pivot which not only bears all the weight, but affords resistance to recoil, and which thereby dispenses with the cumbrous training-tracks commonly employed.

The second object I attain by means of a novel hydraulic recoil resisting apparatus and by the use ofroller-beds of novel construction between the upper and lower carriages, whereby I am enabled to employ on the lower carriage a level instead of an inclined slide or track for the upper carriage and gun to recoil upon.

The third object I accomplish in part by a valve which forms. part of the hydraulic recoil-resisting apparatus above mentioned, and which is operated by the gun in its recoil and in part by a novel friction apparatus hereinafter described.

The fourth object I accomplish by combinations of mechanism in which a single shaft is made to operate both the mechanism for training and the mechanism for elevating.

I will now proceed to describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, and afterward point out its novelty in claims.

Figure 1 is a side view of a gun and a guncarriage embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a horizontal section of the carriage, taken below the gun in the line 00 0c of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan, partly in' section, of the valve hereinabove mentioned as part of the hydraulic recoil apparatus and of the means of adjusting its operation. Fig. 4: is a rear view of the gun and carriage. Fig. 5 represents a transverse vertical section taken through the center of the carriage-pivot and through the trunnions of the gun. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the friction apparatus by which the position of the gun is in part controlled. Fig. 7 represents a 1ongit-udinal section of part of the mechanism for training and elevating the gun. Fig. 8 represents a side View, partly in section, of one of the roller-beds by which the upper sliding or longitudinally-moving carriage is supported on the lower trainingcarriage thereof. Fig. 9 represents a transverse section of one of the said roller-beds and the parts of the carriage supporting and supported by it. Figs. 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are on'a scale about double that of Figs. 1, 2, 4:, and 5.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates the pivot, on which the gun is entirely supported, consisting of an upright cylinder of large diameter-say five or six times that of the caliber of the gun. This cylinder is provided at the bottom with a broad circular flange a, through which to bolt it to the deck 13 of a vessel or other foundation, and around this flange is provided an internally-toothed upwardly-projecting rim a, which is concentric with the cylinder and which constitutes a stationary gear in which works a pinion b, to behereinafter more fully described, for the purpose of training the gun.

O O designate the lower or training carriage, and E the upper sliding or longitudinally-moving carriage running on ways provided on the lower one. The lower carriage consists of a cylinder 0, which fits over the cylindrical pivot A, and the head of which is extended to form a table O. The said cylinder is provided at the bottom around the pivot A with a stuffing-box c, which is packed to confine within the upper part of the cylinder above the pivot a quantity of water, oil, or other liquid which is employed to resist the recoil of the gun. In the upper end of the cylindrical pivot is a concentric circular groove d to receive a number of balls cl, which constitute a ball-bearing upon which the weight of all the movable portions of the carriage is supported.

D D designate two hydraulic cylinders arranged upon and firmly bolted to the table 0, parallel with each other and at equal distances from a vertical plane passing through the axes of the pivot and of the bore of the gun. These cylinders are fitted with pistons G G, connected by rods G G with the upper carriage E, the said rods passing through stuffing-boxes G in the rear ends of the cylinders D, which are in other respects closed.

The said cylinders are, however, provided near their rear ends with small lateral openings 6, (see Fig. 2,) which communicate with thespace between the top of the pivotA and the head of the cylinder 0 through longitudinal passages e in the walls of the cylinders and a transverse pipe or passage e and vertical passage 6 provided in the table 0. These passages may be understood by reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 5.

- I have shown in Fig. 1 attached to the cylinderC a hand-pump 1?, for filling the space in the upper part of said cylinder and in the back parts of the cylinders D with water, oil,

' or other liquid.

The upper carriage E, which contains the bearings for the trunnions f of the gun V, does not slide directly on ways on the lower carriage or on trucks fixed relatively to one carriage or the other, as is usual, but is supported on roller-beds, which run on parallel horizontal ways g, supported or provided 011 the table C of the lower carriage. These ways are represented as constructed on the tops'of the hydrauliclcylinders D. The rollerbeds consistv each of rollers I and asaddlepiece h. The rollers are constructed as best shown in Figs. 8 and 9, each with two circular headsi of uniform diameter and a connecting-jonrnal 'L" of a diameter half that of theheads 'L'. The journals 2" bear upon the ways g on the lower carriage, and the upper carriage is supported 011 the. heads 1; The saddle-pieces consist of bars fitted between the heads 1' of the-rollers, and have on their under sides bearings for the journals t". These, saddles serve the purpose of keeping therollers properly spaced and prevent them from fouling or interfering with each other. As the upper carriage and the gun move backward with the recoil and move forward again, after the recoil, the journals of the roll ers roll on the ways g, and the upper carriage runs on the heads 2' of the rollers; but,

owing to the difference of diameter between the heads of the rollers and their'connectingjournals, the rods only run back half the distance that the gun and the carriage E run back, and hence I am enabled to usea larger number of rollers and a longer bearing or roller-bed for the upper carriage than would be possible with simply cylindrical rollers without having the roller-bed run beyond the ways g at each end. In order to hold the up.

per carriage down, it is provided with inwardly-turned flanges j, which run under rabbets on the lower carriage.

Within the cylinders D, in frontof the pistons, are arranged springs J, for the purpose of checking the rebound after the recoil and of serving as buifers to prevent a too violent forward movement of the gun. These springs may be of any suitable kind, and are represented as composed of cylinders of india-rubber surrounded by coils of steel. The front against which the springs J abut, are provided with open ings to allow free access of the atmosphere to the cylinder in front of the pistons.

The act-ion ot' the carriage under the recoil is as follows: As the upper carriage 0 runs,

back, the pistons G connected with it are met the resistance of the water, oil, or other fluid behind them in the cylinders D, which runs out slowly from the said cylinders through the passages e c e e into the upper part of the cylinder 0 of the lower carriage. By this action of the liquid the lower carriage is slowly raised on the pivot, so that the final resistance of the recoil is that due to the sum of the weights of the gun and the upper and lower carriages. This weight serves to produce the rebound or final movement of the gun by causing the liquid to be forced back from the upright cylinder G into the horizontal cylinders D, behind the pistons G. In order to better control the recoil, I employ a piston-valve 70, for the purpose of more or less contracting the opening of the passage 6 as shown in the sectional view.Fig. 3, and also shown in dotted outlinein Fig. 2. Iconnect the stem of this valve with a horizontal slideway K, which is attached to the gun-carriage by arranging the head 7a of said. stem in a slot k in the said slideway K, which is secured to the bottom of the upper carriage The slot in this slideway being arranged obliquely in a-lateral direction to the ways 9, the valve, 70 is caused to move over the opening of the passage 2 as the gun re- .coils, and so to contract the communication between the horizontal cylinders and the vertical cylinder, so that as the recoil is gradually checked the freedom with which the liquid leaves the recoil-cylinders D is also checked. In order to regulate the degree of contraction of the opening in the passage 6 by the valve 70, the slideway K is made ad,- justable at different degreesof obliquity to the ways g to produce a greater or less movement of the valve. For this purpose the said slideway is pivoted at its rear end by a pin Z to the carriage E, and at its front end is movin different which the slideway is fitted and which may be screwed up against the front end'of the said carriage.

In order to hold the gun and its upper carriage in any position upon the lower carriage, a horizontal toothed rack L is connected with the upper carriage on one side thereof (see Figs. 1 and 5) and gears with a toothed wheel L, which isarranged on an upright axle it, carried by the lower carriage. This wheel has applied to it a friction-brake n M, to which pressure is applied to produce the friction by means of a spiral spring a The axle n is fitted with a square to an opening of corresponding form in the table-O in such manner that it may move vertically, but is prevented from turning, and it has one member n of the friction-brake firmly'secured to it, the other member n being secured to the wheel L, and both it and the said wheel being capable of turning on the axle 'It. The

lower end of the axle it passes through a hollow screw or, which screws through a fixed bearing 01 secured to the outside of the cylinder O of the lower carriage. The upper end of this screw n serves as a bearing for the spiral spring nfithe upperend of which presses against the lower member n of the'frictionbrake. A washer n is shown interposed be tween the screw 01 and the spring. By screwing the screw n upward or downward the pressure of the spring upon the friction-brake and the degree of friction produced are adjusted. In the normal eonditon of the carriage the spring presses the lower member 91 of the brake against the upper member a and presses the upper face of the wheel L against the under side of the table 0 in the lower carriage. The friction thus produced prevents the wheel L from turning, and so causes the pinion to hold the rack and prevent the upper carriage from moving on the lower one. For the purpose of liberating the upper carriage when necessary a hand-lever M is provided, working on a fulcrum-pin n secured to the table 0 of the lower carriage, the said lever bearing upon the top of the axle it. By applying manual pressure to the rear end of this lever the axle n is depressed and the lower member n of the friction-brake is pushed down from the upper member 71*, leav ng the latter and the pinion L entirely free to be turned by the rack.

I will now proceed to describe the mechanism for training and elevating the gun, which operations may be both performed by power applied by hand to a horizontal shaft 1), arranged on one side of the carriage parallel with the ways g, on which the upper carriage runs. This shaft 1) and'its appurtenances, including a hand-wheel p for turning it, are shown in Fig. 7, partly in section. The training is effected through the medium of an endless screw 1) on the said shaft, and the elevation through the medium of an endless screw q thereon. These endless screws b and q are neither of them fast to the said shaft,

but are on sleeves b and g, respectively, the said sleeves and the shaft being so fitted that the shaft may turn independently of the sleeves, but that either of the said "sleeves may be thrown into gear with the shaft, so as to be compelled to turn with it by means of a third sleeve or, clutch 4', which is fitted to slide lengthwise upon the said shaft, .but incapable of turning thereon, and which is provided at its opposite ends with clutchteeth 0", to gear with corresponding clutchteeth at the ends of the sleeves b and q, respectively. The clutch-teeth r, for gearing with the sleeve 19 are fully shown in Fig. 7, in which the clutch r is outof gear with the sleeve 6 but the clutch-teeth of the. sleeve 19 and those of corresponding ends of the clutch r are not so well shown, because the latter teeth are in gear. The sleeves b and q constitute the bearings in which the shaft 19 is supported,..the sleeve b being itself supported to turn, but confined lengthwise in a bearing b, secured to the lower carriage O O, and the sleeve q beingsupported to turn, but confined longitudinally in a bearing 1 provided on the rear portion of the upper carriage E. The bearing (1 is free to Slide upon the shaft 19, as the upper carriage runs back and forth on the lower one, so that the shaft is always properly supported.

The turning of the lower carriage for training the gun is effected by means of the pinion ?9, hereinbefore mentioned, gearing with the stationary circular toothed rack a. The pinion b is fast on the lower end of the upright shaft 17, which is carried by the lower carriage in a lower bearing 17 in a bracket, attached to the lower part of the eylinder.C and an upper bearing in the table 0'. This shaft 1) has fast to it a worm-gear b gearing with the endless screw bicarried by the horizontal shaft 10, for the purpose of turning the shaft 1) by the shaft 19 for training the gun.

The elevation of the gun is effected through a transversely-arranged shaft 5, supported 'in bearings in the carriage E near the bottom of the rear portion thereof. This shaft 3 has fast upon it two pinions s, which gear with two toothed racks 3 depending from the gun,

the said racks being kept in gear with the said pinions by means of two guide-rollers s on a shaft 8 supported in the carriage Ein rear of the shaft 8. The shafts is furnished at one end with a worm-gear 8 which gears with the endless screw (1 on the sleeve q of the shaft 13.

In order to provide for the moving of the. 'clutch- 7' into gear with either the sleeve 12 or that q, according as it is desired to train or to elevate the gun by means of said shaft, the said shaft is made hollow for the reception of a long rod 2, the front end of which is connected with the clutch bya transverse pin IIO provided in the shaft, as shown in Fig.7.

The rear end of the said rod, which protrudes through the rear end of the shaft 13, is furnished with a handle 6 by which the said rod is moved longitudinally to bring the clutch r independently of the shaft 19, the sleeve q is provided with a crown-piece g to serve as a handle for turning thesaid sleeve when the clutch r is out of gear with it. This permits the sleeve q and the endless screw q to be turned for elevating the gun at the same time the gun is being trained by turning the shaft 19, the clutch being then in gear with the sleeve b In order to provide for turning the guncarriage more rapidly than it can be turned by the endless screw q, means may be provided by uncoupling the worm-wheel b from the shaft p to permit the said shaft to be turned by any suitable appliance-as, for in stance, a hand-wheel upon it.

By combining both the mechanism for training the gun and for elevating it with a single shaft not only is the mechanism for training and elevating simplified, but the chances of the destruction of the mechanism by an enemys shot are reduced. It may be understood by reference to Fig. 2 that the table 0 of the lower carriage 1s made wide enough to receive a shield for the protection of the upper part of the carriage and operating mechanism and of the men working the un.

b 'What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, i s

l. The combination, in a gun-carriage, of a pivot, a lower carriage turning on the said pivot, a ball-bearing on the head of the pivot for the support of said carriage, and an upper carriage on which the gun is mounted and which is fitted to run backward and forward on the said lower carriage, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination, in a gun-carriage, of a cylindrical pivot, a lower turning carriage comprising an upright cylinder fitted to said pivot, an upper carriage fitted to run in the direct-ion of its own length on said turning carriage, hydraulic cylinders 011 said turning carriage, each communicating at one end with a space forliquid between the head of the pivot and the head of said upright cylinder, and pistons connected with said sliding carriage and working in said hydraulic cylinders to force the liquid therefrom into the said vertical cylinder, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

The combination, with the pivot A and the lower training carriage comprising an upright cylinder 0, fitted to said pivot, of the hydraulic cylinders D D, placed on the said lower carriage and having a communication with the water-space within said upright cylinder, and a valve in said communication, substantially as herein set forth.

4. The combination, with the upper longitudinally-moving carriage and the lower carriage comprising an upright cylinder and ways upon which the longitudinal movement of the said upper carriage takes place, of horizontal cylinders on the said lower carriage, pistons working in said horizontal cylinders and connected with said upper carriage, communications between said upright and horizontal cylinders, avalve in said communications, a slideway on said upper carriage, arranged laterally oblique to the said ways, and a sliding connection between said valve and slideway, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

5. The combination, with the upper longitudinally-movin g carriage and the lower training-carriage comprising an upright cylinder, of horizontal cylinders on the said lower carriage, pistons working in said horizontal cylinders and connected with said upper carriage, communications between said upright and horizontal cylinders, a valve in said communications, a slideway pivoted at one end of said upper carriage and laterally adjustable thereto at its other end, and a sliding connection between the said valve and said slideway, substantially as herein described.

6. The combination, with the lower carriage provided with straight ways and the upper carriage adapted to run on said ways, of a series of rollers, each having a portion of its length of a smaller and portions thereof of a larger diameter, the portions of smaller diameter being fitted to the said ways and the portions of larger diameter supporting the upper carriage, and saddle-pieces containing bearings for the portions of said rollers of smaller diameter for spacing said rollers, all substantially as herein described.

7. The combination, with the lower carriage and the upper carriage capable of lon gitudinal movement thereon, of a toothed rack-secured to the upper carriage, a pinion gearing with said rack to be rotated by the longitudinal movement of the said rack with the upper carriage, an axle for said pinion supported on the lower carriage, a frictionbrake applied to said pinion, a spring applied to said brake to restrain the rotary movement of the upper carriage, and a lever for relieving said brake from the said spring and liberating said pinion, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

8. The combinatiomwith a gun and a guncarriage consisting of a lower carriage, a pivot upon which said carriage turns, and an upper carriage arranged to run lengthwise on said lower carriage, of a fixed circular rack surrounding the pivot, an upright shaft carried by said lower carriage and geared with said rack, racks attached to and dependent from the gun, a horizontal shaft and pinions carried by the upper carriage, arranged transversely thereto, and geared with said dependent racks, a third shaft supported in one bearing on the upper carriage and in another bearing on the lower carriage, sleeves on the said third shaft geared one with said transversely-arranged shaft and the otherwith said upright shaft, and a clutch on the said third shaft for engaging with either of said sleeves, as may be desired, for training or elevating the gun, substantially as herein set forth.

9. The combination, with upper and lower carriages O, C, and E, of the upright shaft b and its pinion b and worm-wheel 71 for training the gun, and the transverse shaft 8 and its pinions s and Worm-gear s for elevating the gun, the hollow shaft 10 and its loose herein described.

SAMUEL SEABURY. Witnesses: r

FREDK. HAYNES, L. M. EGBERT.