US45227A - Improvement in scraping- disk or wad for ordnance car - Google Patents

Description

of india-rubber.

J. M. OONNEL, 0F NEWARK, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT INECRAPING: DISK OR WAD FOR ORDNANCE CAR- TRIDGES.

Specification formingpari; of Letters Patent No. 45,227, dated Woumber 29, 1864.

To all whom it may concern 'Be it known that I, JAMES M; GONNEL, of Newark, county of Licking, State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Cartridge for Ordnance; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 isa diametrical section through the improved ordnance cartridge, having ascraper applied withiujit. Fig. 2 is an external View of the cartridge. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are views showingthe construction of the scraper which is contained within the improved cartridge.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several figures.

The object of my invention is to construct ordnance cartridges, or powder-bags, as they are commonly termed, of a material which will be impervious to water, and at the same time of such character as will not ignite, or leave sparks in the gun after the discharge, as will be hereinafter described. Another ob jeet of my invention is to apply within ordnancc powder-bags a device which will prevent the gun from fouling, and thus render it unnecessary to frequently swab the gun during active service, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

Cartridge-cases, or powder-bags, which contain the charges of powder for ordnance are generally made up of woolen bags of a ey'lin drical form, adapted o the size of the guns for which they are intent ed. The object of using wool in the manufactureof the powder-bags is to prevent sparks from being left in the gun after the discharge; and as woolen material is less liable to ignite, or retain its fire, than many other substances, it is therefore used, for the want of a better material. Wool is not so liable to-ignite as cotton; still, accidents frequently occur in consequence of the premature discharge of cannon, caused in most instances by a spark of. fire in the gun. Instead of this woolen material I employ bags which are made The bags are made of the proper 'form and site, according'to the differentsized -,eharges required for the same or for different guns, and then filled with powder and secured or sealed by drawing one end together and wrapping it with fine wire or twine, as represented in Figs. 1 and 2, in which a represents an india-rubber water-proof envelope which is made of one piece, filled with powder, and sealed with the wire I), or in any othersuitable manner. These bags may be readily made by spreading the rubber, while in a soft condition, over suitable molds, in the usual manner of making thin rubber bags for other purposes. It will be necessary to have the open ends of the bags ofsullicient pliability to allow of these ends being drawn tightly together when the bags are filled with powder and secured as above described. The advantage in the use of the rubber for ordnance charges is, that the powder will be preserved intact from moisture or dampness; and, while these bags areimpcrmeable to water, they are perfectly safe, so far as preventing powder contained in them from premature explosion or taking fire through carelessness of persons visiting a magazine with fire. As a. safeguardagainstpremature explosions of can non during rapid firing, my rubber powderbags are superior to woolen or other fabrics, for the reason that the rubber cannot be readily ignited, nor will it leave sparks of fire in the cannon after the discharge.

l'nclosed within the breech-end of thepowderbag a, I have represented a scraper which is intended for scraping the interior surface of thegun from one end to the other at every discharge,-thus preventing the gun from fouling to a great extent, and also obviating the necessity of a frequent use of the swab. This scraper consists of two circular concave-convex disks 0 c, united together by a rivet, d, in such manner as to form the annular groove or chainberc. The edges of the two plates 0 care turned over, as indicated at gg,Figs. 1,3, and

5, so as to form rings or cylinderswhich, when the powder is ignited in the gun, are forced outward against the interior surface of the gun, and in this condition discharged therefrom. The length of the forward ring 9 may be very much increased, if desired, and this will keep the'scraper in its proper position during its passage into and out of the gun.

It will be seen by reference to Fig. 1 that the powder is on both sides of the scraper, and thatthereisnoneinthechambere'. Thepowder which is in the breech of the bag a communicates with that which is forward of the scraper; hence, when the powder in the gun is ignited, the pressure of confined gases will partially collapse the sides of chamber e,and thus expand the scraper against the walls of the gun,

.so'that the forward edges of the portions 9 g will scrape and clean the gun, as above stated. When the rubber-gum bags 41 are filled with powder and furnished with the scrapers herein described, and then firmly secured at one end, i as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the contents of the bags will be tightly held in place by the contraction of the elastic bag around them. Now, as the rubber bags are stretched tightly, it will be seen that when these bags are punctured in the gun by the vent-needle, the rubber will instantly contract and expose the powder to the spark of the percussion-cap. This is another advantage attending the use of rubber for ordnance powder-bags.

A special advantage appertains to the-use of an elastic sack or bag, as described, in that the sack will yield and conform to the-pressure upon it in the act of. ramming the charge home.

without a liabilityto rupture the same.

It should be stated that the metal of which my scraper is composed should be softer than the metal composing the piece of ordnance in which said scraper is to be used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters J. M. OONNEL.

Witnesses:

L. J. HAUGHEY, HENRY I. KING.

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