USRE791E - Improvement in breech-loading ordnance - Google Patents

Description

G. W. BISHUP. BREBGH LOADING ORDNANGB.

` No..791. Reissued Aug. 16, 1859.

muuu-lill UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

e. vf. BIsHUr, or BROOKLYN, Nrnvroin.

IMPROVEMENT iN Vedel-:r-:c'n-l-I oAolNe ORDNANCE Specification forming pai-tof Letters Patent No.. 15,632, dated September il, 18456 Reissue No. 79h. dated August it, 1359;

fto'the accompanying drawings, making part `of this specification', in Which- 'Figure l is alongitudinal-eentral section of al breech-loading cannon with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a transverse,` section of thesame in the line :l: 1f, shown in Fig. l. Fig.

' 3 is a side view of the breech-pin detached.l

4Similar letters ot'l reference indicate corresponding parts "1n the several figures.

My said invention relates to a method of opening the bore of acannon at the breech for the reception of the charge, and then in closing the charge by a movable breeclrpin, which is internally secured by abutting pieces or braces to resist the force of the discharge; and to this end my invention consists in combining a movable breech-pin with the bore of a cannon; by means of movable abutting braces or segments, which, when placed' in one position, will permit the breech-pin to. be taken out and in- 'sert-ed, and when placed in another position will lock the breech-pin in place and form abutments or braces, which will effectually resist tlie force ofthe discharge. l

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use 'my'inventioin I will proceed to describe its constructionv and operation.

The gun A is bored truly and parallelfrom the muzzle to the line a a., (see Fig. 1,) where the face of the breech-pin meets the bore.'- From the point a. a toward the rear of the' gun the bore is enlarged gradually, or in aslightlyconical form, to b b, from whence it is again enlarged more suddenly thanfrom a, and then suddenly contracted nearly to the same size as at b b, thus forming a conical groove, b c, all around the interior. From the line c the bore is again enlarged in a conical form to the rear extremity of the gun. The enlarged portion of the bore in the rear of theline a a constitutes the seat for the breech-pin. B C is Ithe breech-pin, which, in order to obtain a closed cavity, D, in its interior to receive the mechanism for operating its expandtightly into the gun. -in black outline in Fig. 1 drawn into the ing or spreading segments, is made in two parts, of Wh'ch the front part, B,"which is bored ont -for so'me'distanee from its rear extremity to form the aforesaid cavity, D, is screwed into the front of therear part, C. The front portion ofthe part B is turned to abonical shape and ground to tit the part ab of the boreiof the gun, and thepartG is turned and ground to fit the conically-enlarged portion of the bore at the'extreme rear of the gun.

Opposite to the conical'groove b c there isa groove, d d', turned in the eiterior of the breech-pin, to receive the expanding segments E E. These segments, of which there may be three o r more, are made of stout steel or iron, andare iitted to the groove dd in the breechpin, sothat they-will lie snugly within it, to allow the breech-pin to be inserted into the gun as far as desirable. They are confined to the breech-pin at the front of the groove d d by means of pins e e, rigidly attached to them, and entering holes provided in the breech-pin to receive themfas shown in Fig. 1.l These pins serve as hinges,fupon which the segments arel capable of expanding cr spreading ont- Ward, so asztoenter-i-nto the conical groove b c when the breech-pinis in its place. The segments `are of suclrlength as to reach from the front d of the groove dd in the breech-pin to the back part, '0, of the groove b c in the gun' when they are spread, while the breech-pin is in the gun, andftheir ends are so formed as to have agood solid bearing in the'said grooves d d' and b c. The end-d of the groove d d may be square with the axis of the pin; but the end c of the groove b cis tapered or curved in such a manner that by forcing out the segments in contact with it the segments will produceva slight drawing action, to draw the breech-pin- Thesegments are shown groove d` d' in the breech-pin in condition for the insertion of the breech-pin into or its removal from the gun, and they are shown in lred -outline in the'same figure 'expanded into the groove b c, in which condition they hold the breech-pin iirmly inplace and prevent it being driven back from the gun by the'force of the explosion, which force is met directly by the segments and 'transmitted to the shoulder c at the back part of the groove b c. The expanding or spreading of the 'segment-i3 and the dmwing ofthem into thebreeupin is effected by their connection with links f f, which work through slots hh inthesidesf the cavity D of the, breech-pin, .and are connected with a loose collarg, on a, screw-rod, i, which,

Works through the part C of the breech-pin, `in

. one part of Whichis ai'emale screw to receive the male lscrew onthe rod. The collar g is iitted to aiplain part of the screw-rod in such manner as4 to allow the latter to turnfreely within it, but to have no longitudinal movementindependently of it. Consequently by turning thescrew, and thereby causing it to move longitudinally, the collar-is moved, longitudinally also, and by thatnieans acts upon the links after the fashion ofY a toggle movement, and forces the segmentsoutwa'rdfrom the breech-pin or draws them inward, accord ing to the direction in Which'th e screwis turned. The screw is provided with a vheel, j, or handlc at the back part of the b'reechpin, by which it is turned. Thebree'chpin, when the v'segments are drawn into the groove d d', may be moved into and 4from its place in the gun by any suitable mechanical means, which do not require to be now described; and, although I have described the breechpin as conical, Iv

would havev it understood that this is merely to facilitate the putting of it in and taking it discharge, as set forth.

out, and that my invention is not limited to V.

the form vof th'ebrleeclrpin. Nor do l wish to be understood as limiting my claim of inventionto the structure and arrangement of the abutting pieces or segments or to the mechanical vcolmections by which they are moved, vnor to the special relations of the segments with the breech-pin and bore of the cannon, tls all these may be varied by the substitution 'of equivalents Without changing the principle or mode of operation of my said invention so long as segments or` abutting pieces are employed to 'lock the. breech-pin when inserted,

and to actas stops or braces to resist the force of the discharge;

' What I claim as my invention, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

Combining the niovablell'zl'eech-pin ivith the y bore of the cannon by means' of movable lock- -ing or abutting pieces or segments, substantially such as described, and which, after the i breech-.pin is inserted, are shifted and made to cross the joint of the breechpin and bore, to hold the breechpin against the force of the G. A XV. BISHUP.

` Witnesses: 4

WM. H. BisHoP, ANDREW DE LACY.

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