US999470A - Projectile. - Google Patents

Description

JJB. SE

MPLE.

PROJEGTILE.

APPLIGATION I'ILED NOV. 28, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SH Pateted Au EET 1 Q V Q N e o o a N J. B. SEMPLE.

PROJEGTILE.

APPLIGATION FILBD NOV.28, 1910.

Patented Au 1, 1911 V 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PIE-2-4- Atty' JOHN B. SEMPLE, OF SEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROJECTILE.

shanc.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patente Aug'. 1, ,1911.

Application filed November ta, 1910. Serial Ne. 59450837 gheny and State of Pennsylvania a citizen of the United States, have invented 'or discovered a certain new and useful Improvement in Projectiles, of which improvement the following is a specification.

In Letters Patent of the United States, No. 694932, I have described and claimed an igition device for a combustible charge earried by a projectile, and operated, after the projectile leaves themuzzle of the gun from which it is fired, by the expansive power of the gases generated within the gun on the explosion of the propelling charge.

My present invention consists in a device superadded to the device of my earlier pat ent referred to, which, while serving asa guard or safety attachment to prevent the accidental operation ofthe ignition device, ceases to 'be effective when the `projectile is fired, and leaves the ignition device free to operate in its normal manner, described in the said patent.

It has been found in the use of projectiles equipped with the ignition device of my said earlie patent, that the ignition device may be accidentally discharged, as by a more than ordinary fall of the projectile or ot a Cartridge containing it and it is against such accidents that- I guard, by the device of my present invention.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Fgure 1 is a view in longitudinal section of a projectile provided With a tracer and having-an ignition device such as is described and claimed in my 'prior patent referred to above, No. 694932, to which ignition devce thesafety attachment which constitutes my present invention is applied; %is a like View, but on larger scale, of the detached tracer, with its ig'nit-ion device and safety attachment; and Fig. 3 isa plan View of the base of the tracer on equal scale with Fig. 2. Figs. 4' and 5 are' views corresponding to F ig. 2, .but illustrating my invention in modified forms. F ig. 6'isa fragmentary view in longitudinal section, and on sdscele more nearly corresponding to 1, of a project-ile, carrying in its base an eccentrically placed qtracer, with its ignition device provided with the safety device of my present invention; and in this instance a 'further' alternative formiis shown.

. highly compressed gases. v

plate -8 is relieved; and, since the Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, the project-ile 1 '(in ,thi-s instance. an explosive shell) will be seen to be equipped with a tracer; this tracer consisti'ng'of a charge of combustible material contained in a chamber carried in the body of the projectile and opening to the rear thereof. The body of combus'tible material within the chamber burns during the flight of the projectile, and, as it burns, aii'ords means by which the gunner may follow, with his eye, the path offlight. The ignition devce, by the 'operation of which the charge of cembustible material is ignited as the projectile leaves the gun, consists of a. plate 8., a frictionally i'gnit'ed primer 5, and a primer rod 6. The plate 8 closes a chamber formed in the body of the projectile, in this case a space earward ofthe tracer charge within chamber 2, and .a gas passage way is`provided, preferably as a perforav tion or passageway 10 through the plate 8 itself, to the chamber closed by the said plate. The primer 5 is embedded within the charge of combustible material, cha-rge is held to the anterior end of the chamber 2 by a plate or cwad 7 and the primer red 6 extends across the interval which separates .the plate 8 from the wad 7. The inner end of the rod extends within the primer 5, where it is enlarged and roughened, and its outer end engages the plate 8, as by a nut 9. Upon the explosion of the propelling charge at the rear of the' project-ile, gases under enormous pressure gain access through the passagewa'y 10 to the intel-val, which lies within chamber 2, between plate 8 and wad 7. The projectile leaves the gun With this s &ce filled with 'mmediately on the passage of the projectile from the muzzle of the gun, the pressure to rearwafd of as passageway 10 is insflicient in size to a ord immediate relief, the pressure of gases confined in front drives plate 8 rearward from .its seat' in the projectile; and in 'so doing draws primer md 6 rearward, through the ward 7, and fires the primer 5; thereafter, as the projectile flies, combustiblematerial stored in chamber 2 burns end aflt'ords the light or smoke by which' its path and strikin point may be traced.

have found that the ignition device, which I have here briefly' described., and which is described atgreater length inmy which. I

said earlier Patent, No. 694932, is liable to accidental ignition, there being no means, external to the ignition device itself, for holding plate 8 in place. Because of its mass, plate 8 may be accidentally displaced by a Shock or jar incident to handling projectiles or cartridges, and the ignition device prematurely fired. My invention consists, as stated above, in means for guarding against such accident; and, in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, my preferred means to that end are illustrated. Generally stated, my invention consists in providing means for preventing accidental movement 'of any parts which would cause the premature 'ignition of the tracer charge', the said means being ad-apted to be rendered inefl'ective by forces, such as heat, pressure, or movement, generated by or due to the combustion of the propelling charge in a gun. More specifically, it consists in an additional obstruction to the rearward movementof plate 8, this additional obstruction being removed on and by means of the'firing of thepropelling charge within the gun. In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, this means or obstruction consists of a body of conbustible substance 20 (black owder for example) c'ompressed into the nterval within chamber 2 between the wad 7 and the plate 8, and engaging both the chamber wall'and' the sh ank of primer rod', which last named member will preferably be roughened, as shown,

to increase 'the hold of the filler upon it; Upon the explosion of the firing charge, the flames of explosion will gain access through the passageway 10 and set fire to the filler 20, which will immediately burnaway, and the projectile will pass from themuzzle 'of the gun 'with this' space, previously occupied by filler, now occupied by highly compressed ases, substantially as though the interval 'ad been initially an empty air space. -The further operation of the ignition device will be precisely what it was efore my present inventioniwas superadded "to it.

In the 'specific embodiment of the invention which is shown in Fig." 4, the additional obstructions to' the rearward dis 'lacement of plate 8 are pins or bolts 30 -there are preferably two or more of them),`movab1e radially with respectto plate 8, in chambers 31 formed to receive them' in the head o'f the tracer stock. These chambers 31 are so ar- 'ranged and the bolts 30 are, in the assem.-

bling of the parts, so placed that normally they overlap the edge of the plate' 8- tothe rear thereof, That the bolts may be brought securely to place in the assembling of the parts, small beveled grooves are preferably made in the rim of plate 8, and the bolts 30,

.advanced upon these beveled surfaces, bind thereon. Further, as shown, the plate-engaging tips of these bolts arepreferably of reduced size, while their enlarged bodies propelling charge drives these bolts outward along chambers 31, thus leaving plate 8 free to perform its normal operation.

In the specific Construction shown in Fig. 5, the bolts 40 (which have the same oifi'ce as pins30 of Fig. 4) are arranged to be driven outward, not as the bolts 30 of Fig. 4, by the pressure of gases, but by the centrifugal force' of the rotating projectile. Accordingly, the chambers 41, in which these bolts 40 are movable, are in substantially free communication with the powder chamber, as by passageways 44, and the bolts are initially held .in advanced position by backin'g springs 42.

The obstruction to rearward movement of the plate 8, in the form shown in Fig. 6,

co'nposed, for example, of fusible metal or snokeless powder, preferably in the form of a ring 50, carried in the body of the projectile or of the ,tracer stock, and overlapping plate 8 to the rear. The heat of the explosion of the driving charge will immediately destroy'this stop; and leave plat-e 8 free to operatein normal manner.

It will be observed of these several embodiments, of' my invention that there is in each instance a corporeal obstruction to the movement of plate 8, effective upt'o the time of the explosion of the drivin g charge; and that, in each instance, the obstruction is removed bythe energy made-active in .the explosion. In the specifidforms of the invention, shown in Fi'gs. 1-3' and 6, it is the heat of the gases of explosion which is the effective means of removing the obstruction; i'n Fig. 4 it is the presjsure of 'the gases which 'effects the end, and again in Fig. 5 it is the expensive ower of the. ases which withdraws the olts, madee ective however to this end by the rotatio'n of the projectile as it is fired from a rifled gun. v The structure of Fig. 5 will be fully efl'ective only in case the pla'te 8' is concentric with the projectile itselfythe structures of the other figures do not depend fortheir operation on the exact position whichthey oc-. cu'py in the rear surface of the projectile,

'in the wall of tlhis chamber. This is my preferred construction, the wud-being in this case formed of an easily fusible metal; the dovetailing holds the wad in place, and as the tracer composition burns the wad will g radually be melted away and the orifice,

through which't-he tracer burns, gradually eniargcil. In such case the, Wad 7 is preferably faced rearwardly by a plate 7 ot refractory character, tormed for example of brassor steel, to shield it against the blast ot incandescent. gases, which, on the explosion of the propelling charge, enters port lU,

,and which Would otherwise pert'crzte Inc wad "Flat once.

When the pac-king or ller 20 of 14% is cmployed, it will p'eterably not till completely the space ?between the wad 7 and the plate 8, but, as indicated in the drawings, a small space 21 will be left at the rear in which the flames may have more ready access to the filler. 'The rear surface of the fi ler will preterably be coated With shellac to' exclude moisture. e

Fig. 4 illustrates a further modification, and one which reduces the necessary dimensions of the tracer chamber and accordingly adapts it 'better tocthe conditions of certain applications. The chamber 'for the reception of the gases, which, as the projectile 'leaves the gun, are effective to blow plate 8 from its seat, is not, in this instance, the rear portion of the chamber which contains the tracer composition (as it is in the other figures),

but is a separate chamber 60, laterally placed With respect to the main trcer chainber, and is preferably, as shown, an annnlar chamber formed in the stock of the tracer and :surrounding the main chamber. In this case the Wad 7 lies in immedizte contact With pinte 8, and the length of primer rod 6 is orrespondingly reduced. The lip of the pening of 'the chamber `is preterably sivaged qv'er, as is indicated in Fig. 4, to retain wad 7 as in the other instances it is retained by dovetailing.

I have described my invention in .its application to an ignition device for a tracer. It will be understood, as 'is explained in my earlier patent referred to, thatthe fact that the ignition device is, for purposes of illustration, shown in connectionwith a tracer is immate'rial. Such an gnition device is adaptedto the ignition of substa nces within a flying projectile other than a charge of tracer compound; and, whatever be the specific use of this ignition device, my safety attachment, which constitutes the present invention, is applicable to it.

E ciaim herein as my invention:

The combination of a projectile prod With a chamber opening at the rear of vrojectile, a combustible non-explosive chnic compound arranged in said means `for igniting said compound discharge of a gun, and means, rene inefi'ectia'e on and bythe discharge of pun, tor normally preventing operation of the said ignition means, substantally as described. 2. TE* vided a ch 33, of a movable member essere e e mbination with a projectile pro ble material` a triction primer for igniting said material, means operative to gnite the primer en reduction of the propelling pressr against the projectile, and means normaliy effective to prevent ignition of said primer, but rendered inetfective by the discharge when the projectile, equipped therev with, is .tired from a gun.

4. The combination of a projectilean ignitibie substance carried thereby, an. ignition device carricd by said projectile, and means, rendered inetiective by heat, for normally preventing operation of said ignition device and carried by the projectile in a position exposed to the heat of discharge When the projectile is fired from a gun, substantially as described.

The combination of a project-ile, an ignitible substance carried thereby, an ignition device carried by said projectile, and a member forined of combustible `material nermally preventing operation of said ignition levice and carried by the projectile in a position exposed to the heat of explosion when the projcctile is tired from a gun, substan- -tially as described,

The combination of a projectile provided with a chamber,-a port for the entrance of gases to said chamber, a movable member adapted to be shifted by the expansion of gases stored in said chamber, a primer ignitible by movement ot said movabie member and a member opposing'by its own body the movementof said movable member and itself removable froni such opposing position by or through the discharge, when the projectile equipped therewith is fired from a gun, substantialiy as' described.

7. In combination with a projectile carrying an ignitible substance, of an ignition device including a member normally closing a'chamber in said projectile and provided with connection to, an ignition primer, such connection extending through said chamber, a combustible packing within said chamber engaging at once the chamber wall and the aforesaid connection, and a gas passageway to said chamber, substantialiy as described.

8. projectile, an ignit hle substance carried thereby, an ignition i 'mer lying within said body of ignitible i. i fitance', a movable member, operative connec in between said morable member and said igntion primer,

means rendered inefiective by the firingef said proectle rom a gun for preventng movement of said movable member, and

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means for applying the expansivepower of 'gas to Shift said movable member on the firrear surface of saidpwad, substantially as' descrbed.

10. A projectile provided With a ehamber opening to the rear thereof and closed 'earwardl b a movable Plate, a body of tracer materal' eld by a`fusib1e wad to the anteas described.

rior end of said chamber, the well of said chamber overlapping the margn of said wad to the rear thereof, means rendered in-.

effective on the discharge of the projctilefrom a gun for normallyholdng said plate in its position of closure for sad chamber, and means for applying the expensive power of gas to move said plate on the-fi'ing of the p-ojectile from a gun, substantially In testimony whefeof, I hare hereunto set Inv hand.

JQHNVB. SEMPLE.

\Vitnesses: i

PAUL N. ACIRITCHLOW,

FRANCIS J. TOMASSON;

Images