US801719A

US801719A - Torpedo-launching apparatus.

Info

Publication number: US801719A
Application number: US23681904A
Authority: US
Inventors: Albert Edward Jones
Original assignee: Whitehead & Co
Current assignee: Whitehead & Co
Priority date: 1904-12-14
Filing date: 1904-12-14
Publication date: 1905-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1922-10-10

Description

PATENTBD OCT. 10, 19.05.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THE FIRM OF IVHITEHEAD CO.

TORPEDO-LAUNC Specification of Letters Patent.

, OF FIUME, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

HlNG APPARATUS.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905.

Application led December 14, 1904. Serial No. 236,819.

To rrl/ wiz/mt it 'nm/y concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT EDWARD JONES, managing director of the torpedo works of IYhitehead & Co., of Fiume, Empire of Austria-Hungary, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Fiume, Empire of Austria-Hungary, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Broadside Under-Tater T orpedo-Launching Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

AHy invention relates to broadside underwater torpedo-launching apparatus, and more particularly to such apparatus of that class in which a supporting' shield or bar is pushed out from the ships side, together with the torpedo, such shield or bar supporting thc torpedo while it is being pushed out from the ships side against the fore-to-aft water-pressure due to the movement of the ship.

According to my invention the torpedo is while it is being pushed out rigidly connected to a part operated by but movable relativelyv to the shield or bar, the latter being actuated in any suitable mannerwsay by fluid-pressure-so that when the shield is moved outward or inward the said part is moved in the same direction, but at a greater speed. I so arrange the mechanical connection between the said part, (carrying with it the torpedo, the shield or bar, and the fixed casing or guides in which said shield or bar runs,) that for every position of the shield or bar in its casing or guides the torpedo is positively caused to occcupya corresponding definite position in relation to the shield or bar. In this way I insure that when the shield or bar has been pushed out from the ship so as to be in proper position for slipping' the torpedo the torpedo is also in the proper position relatively to the shield or bar for being slipped.

One way in which this invention may be carried out is indicated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a sectional plan of apparatus in the position ready for launching. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the apparatus at the moment of slipping' the torpedo, and Fig. 3 is a detail on a larger scale.

A suitable projection a on the torpedo and the rudder-fra1ne engages fore and aft between l lugs 7) c on a part, preferably constructed, as shown in the drawings, as a rack d, which is capable of longitudinal motion in the shield or bar e. A pinion f, journaled in the shield, meshes with the rack (l and with a rack g, which is parallel to rack il and fixed to the stationary guides or casing i of the shield or bar, the said guides or casing being rigidly attached to the ship.

The apparatus shown is of the type having doors on that side of the shield nearest to the stern of the ship, and these doors are indicated by /t /t /t and are shown shut and locked in Fig. l and open in Fig. 2. These doors are substantially the same as those described in the United States patents to John lVhitehead, Nos. 608,8lst and 697,906, and are controlled in the same way as described in those patents.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The shield or bar e is pushed out of its casing by air-pressure or other suitable means, carrying with it pinionf, which by rolling along the liXed rack f/ causes the rack d to advance relatively to the shield or bar, this rack by means of the lugs and c and projection (t forcing the torpedo forward in the shield. The proportions of pinion f, which is not necessarily a simple pinion, but may consist of two pinions of different diameter rigidly connected and turning on the same axis and engaging the racks Z and g, respectively, and the proportions of the other parts of the apparatus are so chosen that when the shield or bar has come into slipping positioninthe example shown when the doors L of the shield e are clear of the ships side-the torpedo is in proper position for slipping through the doors /L, now unlocked and open, the torpedo being' released from the lugs 7) c by the fore-to-aft water-pressure. In order to enable the torpedo to be slipped when launched from a standing or slowly-moving ship, in which case it would not be disengaged from the iug's by the water-pressure, I so arrange the lug I; that it is disengaged from the projection a on the torpedo automatically when the latter has reached the slipping position, allowing the torpedo to run over it. This may be done by constructing the lug b in the form of a lever fulcrumed to the part d, engaging with one o f its ends the projection a, on the torpedo and sliding with its other end along a guide-rail on the shield or bar t, so that it is held in engagement with IOO the projection c on the torpedo. The said guide-rail is so proportioned that when the torpedo and the shield have reached the slipping position shown in Fig. 2 the lever comes out of engagement with the guide-rail h, so that it can be turned over by the projection a, owing to the momentum of the torpedo, thus permitting the latter to run over it, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

By the arrangement above described the advantage is obtained that the shield or bar e and the torpedo are positivelycaused to come exactly simultaneously into the position for slipping the torpedo, whereby any deflection to the latter from the fore-to-aft pressure of the water is avoided, besides the time re`quired for bringing the torpedo into slipping position-that is to say, for launching the same-is notably diminished.

I claiml. In a broadside under-water torpedolaunching apparatus the combination of a casing in the ships body, a shield adapted to slide longitudinally in such casing, a part adapted to move longitudinally relatively to such shield, means operated by the shield for moving such part and means carried by such part and adapted to hold a torpedo in engagement with the said part, substantially as described.

2. In a broadside under-water torpedolaunching apparatus, the combination of a casing in the ships body, a shield adapted to slide longitudinally in such casing, a part adapted to move longitudinally relatively to such shield` means carried by such part and adapted to hold atorpedo in engagement with such part, a rack on the casing, a rack on the said part parallel to the former rack, a pinion or pinions journaled in the shield between the said racks and meshing with the latter and means for moving the shield longitudinally substantially as described.

3. In a broadside underwater torpedolaunching apparatus the combination of a casing in the ships body, a shield adapted to slide longitudinally in such casing, a part adapted to move longitudinally relatively in such shield, means operated by the shield for moving such part, a projection on the torpedo, a lug on such part, and means for holding such lug in engagement with the forward end of such projection while the shield is moving outward, and means for releasing such projection from such lug at the extreme outward position of the shield, substantially as described. f

In testimony whereof I aftix my signature in presence ol two witnesses.

ALBERT EDWARD JONES.

Witnesses:

' C. HAPENTIN, Jr., C. WEICHTNER.