USRE652E - Improvement in revolving fire-arms - Google Patents

Description

UNITED l STATES' PATENT OFFICE.-

JOSIAH EELS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN Rt-:vo'LvlNG FIRE-ARMS.

`Specitication forming part of Lct'ters Patent No. 1,812, dated April 25, 1854; Reissue No. 652, dated February 1, 159.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, J estan ELLs, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in 'revolving-breech tirearms, applicable to guns, rides, and pistols; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referv ence being had to the annexed drawings, forming part ot' this specification, in which- Figure l is a sectional side `view of Aapistol constructed with my improvements, a portion of the lock-plate being removed to exhibit the parts composing the lock, which are shown in their position before the pistol is cocked or fired. Fig. 2 sa side view of the pistol, showing the outside of the barrel and breech, and exhibiting the parts of4 the lock in their posi-- tion when the trigger is pulled half-way back. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the lock-frame and exhibits theseveral parts of the lock in their position when the trigger is fully drawn back'. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are side views of the lock-frame,` showing the several parts of the lock, excepting the spring-bolt l, which is removed to exhibit the other parts more clearly. In Fig. 4 the parts of the-lock are in a state of. rest before firing. In Fig.5 the hammer is raised by the trigger to full-cock and is on the" point ot' tiring. In Fig. 6 the hammer has fallen to tire the' pistol and the trigger'is in the act of regaining its posi-tion for the ,p urposelof repeating the fire. Fig. 7represents the lock-frame with all `the parts of the lockA removed, showing the position of the recess in which the finger k works. Fig. 8 represents the hammer, a part of which is removed to exhibit'its vibrating tooth; and Fig. 9 is similar to' Fig. 8excepting that the vibrating tooth is Y, `pressed bachi Figs. 10, 11, 12, and 13 represent the revolving breech. Fig. 10 is a side view; Fig. 11, alongitudinal section through its axis. Fig. 12 isa view of the back end 5 and-Fig. 13 is a view of the front end, showing how Imuch of the face of the breech is covered by the lbarrel. Fig. 14 is a perspective vview of the spring-bolt, and Fig. 15 is a plane'side view of the, saine. Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the strigger, designed to show more clearlyr the shoulder ,on which its spring rests and the stud 'by which the spring-bolt is operated. Fig. 17'

is a sectional View of the breech and '0f the i barrel, designed to exhibit the shape and position o'f the-recess which receives the tubular extension and collar vof the breech.

The similar parts o1' the pistol are in the several gures referred to by the same letters.

My invention consists in certain improvements in that class of tire-arms w-hich are furnished with a revolving many-chambered breech, which may be summarily stated as follows: so constructing and arranging the parts of the lock that by drawing back'the trigger lhammer has fallen 3 also, in the use of a tubular extension in front of the rotating breech, extending beyond and underneaththe breech end of the stationary barrel, throughgwhich tubular extension the spindle passes and into which it fits closely-for the protection of the spindle from fouling-by the residuum of the smoke in firing and in the use of a collar at the end of the tubular extension fitting into a recess in the stationary barrel, for the purpose of connecting the breech and barrel' and snstaining the recoil of the breech; also, in making that part of the spindle which enters the breech of two diameters, in combination with a correspondingly-shaped bore in the revolv-` ing breech to aid in preventing the foulingof I the spindle and in sustaining the recoil of the breech; also, in the use of a bracket "and spring extending in front of the lock-plate for the purpose of connecting and locking the barrel and breech tothe stock.

In the several drawings, a ispthe lock of the pistol. bis the lock-plate,.vwh1`ch is made in the usual manner. c is the barrel. d is'the revolving chambered breech. From the lockplate b extends (in a suitable position and parallei to the. axis of the barrel) the spindle e,

which, passing through the rotating breech d,-

extends, it' desired, though this is not necessary,) into the brac et h of the barrel. The rotating breech, so far as relates to the position and shape of the chambers to receive the charges and of the nipples for the percussioncaps, is of the usual form of that part of repeatin g tire-arms, but differs from the ordinary construction in the following particulars: On the fore end of the breech l make a short cylinder or tubular extension, t, which, when the breech is in place, extends forward beyond and underneath the breech end of the stationary barrel c. The spindle e, as before stated, passes through the axial bore of the'revolving breech' d, and, extending also through and fitting in the tubular extension, passes into the bracket h of the stationary barrell c. The breech end of thestationary barrel c, passing over the tubular extension t, tits closely against the fore end'of the revolving breech d, so that the axis of the bore of the barrel c coincides with the axis of each of the chambers in turn as the breech is rotated. The object ot' this arrangement is to prevent the fouling of the spindle by the residuum of the smoke after firing, caused bythe passage of the smoke into the bore of the revolving breech and around the spindle, which is a great impediment to the action of the rotating breech, which ought to move smoothly and freely, and makes it neccssary for the spindle and bore of the breech, as ordinarily constructed, to be frequently cleaned. This tubularextension (either with or without the collar g, hereinafter described) e'ectually prevents this fouling by covering over the spindle at the junction ot' the end of the chambers in the revolving breech and the stationary barrel. At the forward extremity of the tubular extension t is a circular collar or flange, g, which further aids in preventing the fouling of the spindle' by deecting the smoke, should it reach so far. This collar gis,

, however, principally designed to form a locking connection of the rotating breech with'the stationary barrel, and also to sustain or preventthe recoil of the barrel at time of the discharge. Y

In the bracket h of the stationary barrel cis a recess, b', of the exact shape to receive the upper half ot the tubular extension t and collar g. Into this recess the tubular extension t and collar g fit closely, and the end of the spindle @passing through the tubular extension, enters the bracket h of the barrel c, and thus a locking connection is formed between the revolving breech and stationary barrel, keeping those parts in place, and yet permitting the free rotation of the breech. (See Fig. 17, where the breech end of the barrel is shown in .section to exhibit the position and shape of the recess b! and the' hole for. the en trance of the end of the spindle e.)

The spindle e, which carries the revolving breech, is not made of uniform diameter throughout; but that portion of it which enters the revolving breech is made of two or more different diameters, forming one, two, or more 2 can steps at diierent points within the breech, the

diameter being uniform between these steps.

(See Fig-3.) The rotating breech d has a bore of exactly corresponding shape, the bore decreasing in diameter at different points in its length, so as to lit exactly on its spindle. It is manifest that when the rotating breech d is in place on its spindle e it cannot be forced farther back, and therefore when the pistol'is fired the recoil of the breech will be sustained, or, rather, any actual recoil prevented', the breech being completely sustained by the spindie; but the main object and design of this arrangementis to prevent the passage of the residuum of the powder, after tiring, from penetrating between the spindle andthe inside of the bore of the breech and fouling the spindle, so that even without 'the tubular extension and collar the spindleconstructed as Lhave described would to that extent answer a similar purpose. .The form and construction of the rotating breech will be seen more clearly by reference to Figs. 10, 11, and 12.

At the upper extremity ofthe rotating breech are ratchets i t', Svc., equal in number with\the number of chambers in the breech, situate at equal distances apart, with a space between each. These ratchets en ter arecess in the lockplate around the spindle e, and it is against themy that the linger k 'works to rotate the breech,and between themthe head ofthe springbolt l passes to secure the rotating breech in its position during the discharge of the pistol,

as hereinafter described. Immediatelybeyond -the recess in the barrel is the bracket h, which extends down at right angles to the barrel as far as the extension m of the lock-plate. This extension of the lock-plate projects just so far that its extremity passes through a small hole in the bracket of the barrel.

In a recess or groove in the under side of the extension mis a spring, n, with a head at its extremity which projects beyond the extension m far enough to catch on the outer side of the hole o in the lower part of the bracket k of the barrel, (see Figs. 13 and 17,) and thus securely attach the barrel and'rotating breech to the lock-frame. speedy attachment and removal of the barrel and breech, it being only necessary to grasp the barrel in the hand and with the thumb press-v the head of the spring u, when, by pulling the barrel from the stock, a separation at once ensues.

It now remains to explain the construction and operation of the several parts of the lock of the pistol, which are shown in a state of rest in Fig.1,in which p is the hammer, which turns on the hammer-pin a. At the heel ot' thehammer is a friction wheel or roller, q, againstv which presses the end of the mainspring r.

The mainsprng r is attached to the lower extremity of the lock-plate, passing up through the hollow part of the stock of the pistol. 'The mainspring ris designed to force thehammer, after it is released from the trigger, down against the ninnle of the breech to explode then This-arrangement secures the percussion-cap. The hammer is represented in Fig. 1 as lying in vits recess in the upper part of the lock-plate, the space between the dotted lines and the under Side ot' the hammer showing the depth of the recess, its width being such as just to permit of the easy play of the hammer. In the lower part of the hammer and extending nearly to its heel is a. slit to re.

ccive a. vibrating tooth, t. (See Figs. 8 and 9.) This vibrating tooth is hung in the hammer ou the hinge-pin a?, .and a slot in -thc lower part of the tooth, through which the hammer-pin a' passes, prevents the hammer-pin interfering with its action. The length ofthe slot also determines the extent to which the vibrating tooth projects from the hammer. One end of the slot, pressing against the hammer-pin a', sustains the pressure of the trigger when the hammer is being raised, as will be more clearly seen hereinafter. In the slit in the hammer and behind the vibrating tooth t is a slight spring, s, which presses the vibrating tooth 'it forward whenever it is released from the'back-stroke of the trigger.

The trigger u, of the shape shown in Fig. 16,

is hung on the trigger-pin a3; Immediately in front of this pin a3 is a shoulder, o, on which rests the point of the spring w, which is placed in and secured to the lock-plate, as shown in the several Figs. l to 6. This trigger-spring 'w enables thetrigger to recover its position after being pulled back. The position of the point of the trigger before firing in relation to the hammer and vibrating 'tooth is shown clearly in Fig. 4. The toe of the vibrating tooth rests on the trigger, near its point. As the tri gger is drawn back its point, 'pressing against the extremity of the vibrating tooth,raises the hammer to full-cock, (see Fig. 5,) which presses down the mainspring fv. When in this position (shown in Fig. 5) the slightest touch on the trigger causes its point to pass the extremity of the foe of the vibrating tooth t, and the hammer immediately descends, striking forci- `bly against the cap on the nipple ofthe rotating breech and firing the pistol. So soon as the pressure `of apersons linger is removed from the trigger the spring w causes it to recoverl its first position. In doing this it must pass on its back-stroke the end of the vibrating tooth, which yields to the pressure of the point -v of the trigger, as shown in Fig. 6, the vibrating tooth receding, as shown in Fig. 9, and the trigger, regaining its rst position, is ready for repeating the operation of firing. The arrangement of the position ofthe hammer-pin a', the triggerpin a and .the hinge-pin az o'f the vibrating tooth is such as to be peculiarly adapted to produce ease in tirin g, and also epables the yhammer p to stand at full-cock if the trigger u he carefully drawn back to the position shownl in Fig.'5that is, not quite far enough t'o pass the end of the vibrating tooth tin the toe of the hammer. In repeating ire arms as ordinarily constructed the 'mainspring is so arranged that the greatest amount of force` is required in raising the hammer -asgit approaches the point of full-cock, and when itis As the hammer rises the point of bearing of t-he mainspring ou the heel ot' the hammer is brought gradual-ly more into a perpendicular lille with the center or turning point of the hammer, while the effective power or leverage ,of the trigger to overcome the pressure of the springis graduallydiminished, and at the point o f full-cock the center-pin .al of the hammer andthe point of pressure of the spring are 'brought almost in a perpendicular line. lt is evident thatif the point of pressul'e q of the spring were brought immediately nndertheceln ter-pin a2 ofthe hammer the hammer would have no tendency to fall, and. the nearer it appreaches that point theless force is required to overcome the pressure of the lnainspriug. So, also, as the hammer faljsthe elfective lever ,age of the mainspring increases, and the ham,v

mer has its greatest force when it reaches the percussion-cap on the breech. The result of this arrangement is that the hammer may be raised to full-cock and there allowed to stand,

and the trigger be held in a. drawn position ready to be tired by a slight touch, because although the force of the main'spring ou the hei-l of the hammer is not entirely neutralized by bringing the point q directly under the hammer-piu a2, yet the slight remaining pressure isl sustained and held in equilibrio by the pressure of the point of the trigger 'u against the toe of the hammer when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 5. i

- Where the pistol has been tired and the trigger and other parts have resumed their first position,it is necessary that in raising the hammer again by pulling the trigger the breech should be turnedso far as to bring the next loapdedchamber in a line with the barrel. This rotation of the breech `is eected by the finger k, which is connected with the trigger by a pin projecting from its side at the lower extremity and which enters into a corresponding circular hole in the side ot' the trigger, near its point, immediately opposite the stud x. The tinger Mies in the recess c' in one side ofthe lockplate shown in Fig. 7, and a spring, z, on the back of the finger k presses against the wallof the recess andkeeps the finger pressed forward. This recess extends(see' dotted-lines in Fig. 7) so far as to open into and connect with ,the circular recess around the spindle e, into which the ratchetszl i, 8vo., on the'rotatiug breech enter. When the trigger is in the po sition shown in Figs. 1 and 4 the finger k does not at all interfere with the ratchets but in rising to the position shown in Fig. 5 it enters the recess around the spindle, and, coming in contact with one of the ratchets i, causes the rotation of lthe breech, and on` attaining "the point at which the pistol is at full-cock it has turned the breech so far as to bring 4another chamber into exact coincidence with the bore of the barrel, in which position it is retained in the manner hereinafter set forth until the pistol is fired, after which the trigger returns to its first position and withdraws the linger k from contact with the ratchets. s The springbolt (see Figs. 14 and l5) is designed to lock the rotating breech in its proper position during trin g, and is so consi ructed and arranged as to release the breech and allow of its rotatingso soon as the finger k comes in contact with one of the ratchets i. In Fig. 14 that side of the spring-bolt l is turned toward the eye which is concealed from view in Figs. 1,` 2, and 3. This spring-bolt l is'attached to the lock-plate by a pin, a, (see Fig. 1,) which passes through the slot or pin-hole in the side of the bolt, (seen in Fig. 14.) The center part of this bolt is composed of two leaves or springs, one of which, nearest tothe eye in Fig. 1, rests against one side of the lock-plate, and one edge of the other leaf rests against the stud m on the point of the trigger. (See'Fig. 1.) As` the trigger is drawn back its point rises and the stud a', still pressing against the edge ot' the inner leaf of the spring-bolt l, turns it on its center-pin a* so far as to release the head of the bolt from the position which it occupies in Fig. 1, where it is represented as entering into. the recess around the spindle eand passing between two of the ratchets i ton the neck ot the rotating breech, thus locking it-in its place. The position then assumed by the head of the spriug-boltl isshown in Fig. 2, where it is drawn back, so las to release the ratchet and allow the breech to rotate. In Fig. 2 it will he seen that just as' the head of the spring-boltis cleared from thev ratchet the finger 7c is coming in contact with the ratchet t" in the circular recess around the spindle.- v y Until the tluger khas risen so far as to turn the rotating breech, the stud a: retains itspo sition on the edge of the leaf of the' spring against which it rests; but so soon as the breech is rotated the stud'a: reaches a point on the edge of the leaf of the spring where the edge of the leaf is beveled or chamfere'd; (see Figs. 14 and 15 and the dotted lines on the springbolt lin Fig. 2,) where it is so-thin that the stud a: slips over onto the side ofthe leaf of the springA and passes round thel projection. (See lFig. 14.) The spring y, pressing on the back of the spring-bolt l, forcesit up to its place and again locks the rotating breech before the trigggr has risen far 'enough to release Ithe' hammer and iire the pistol. The trigger then falls back to its iirst position, and when it is so d'o-.

ingthe studpassesover `the side of the leaf ofthe spring, which yields sidewise to allow it-to pass without disturbing its position or withdrawing it from its locking connection `with the ratchets i t', and when the trigger has ,'clltirely recoveredl its tirst position the studs:

f es oil' from theside of the leaf-of the spri'pgandresumes its position on' the odge.

- It is manifest that the pistol may be loaded without removing the rotating breech or barrel, for by a slight pull ofthe trigger the springbolt l may be unlocked from the ratchet, and the breech can then be freely turned when the parts are in the position shown in ig. 3) by hand and the chambers iu the breech successively loaded, as will be seen by-Fig. 13, where in a breech of six chambers, two of them (one on each side of the barrel) are entirely clear, andinay be charged without diiculty and the breech turned round till all are loaded.

rotating chambered breech with a. barrel and forth. Neither do I claim the use of the recoilshield as such, the collar on thetubular extension, or, if the collar is not used, the spindle of or preventing the actual recoil of the breech. I also disclaim originality in the use of the vibrating tooth and spring in the hammer.

I do not claim the use of the'vibrating tooth and spring in the hammer. Neither do I claiim the use of a revolving chambered breech, in combination with a barrel and lock, excepting in the manner described; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a revolving breech as that the trigger used to lire the pistol when drawn back raisesV the hammer to full-cock and there holds it, the revolving breech being at the saine time rotated so faras to bring one of the chambers in a direct line with the bore ot' the barrel and fastened in that lposition preparatory to tiring the piece, substantially in the manner described.

A2. The peculiar arrangement of the parts of the heel ot' the hammer, or the point against which the mainspring bears, is brought so nearly under the center of motion of the hammer that the-force ofthe mainspring is counterbalauced by the pressure of the trigger on the 'toe of the hammer, and thus it will stand at full-cock or may be tired at once, as maybe desired.

3. The use of a tubular extension on the fore part of the rotating breech, extending beyond and underneath the breech -end of the stationthe spindle fits closely, for the purpose ofpreventing the fouling of the spindle by the re- `sidunm of the smoke in firing.

4. 'The use :of acollar at the'end of the tucombination with the spindle,a locking con- -nection between the 'revolving breech and the stationary barrel, which is fnrnishedffwith a corresponding recessfor the-reception of.

collar, as hereinbefore set forth.

t I disclaim originality in um combining of a lock, excepting in the particular manner set the shapel hereinbefore described, sustaining and stationary barrel with a lock so constructed mylock hereinbefore described, whereby as the A the trigger is drawn back to raise the hammer ary barrel,"through which tubular extension the end ofthe spindleprojects, and into which bular extension for the purpose of 'tibi-ming, in

A5. Forming that part of the spindle which enters the bore of the rotating breech of smaller diameter at the front extremity than at the end nearest the lock, not by making it uniformly tapering, but by reducingits diametersuddenly, so as to form a step or shoulder atene or more points within the rotating breech, in combination with the rotating breech having abore of correspondinglydiminished diameter, for the. double purpose of sustaining the recoil of the breech in firing and of aiding to prevent the fouling of' the spindle by presenting an obstruction to the passage of the smoke between the spindle and the surface of the bore of the rotating breech.

6. The connectingand locking the barrely and breech to the lock-plate by means of a bracket land springextending in frontof the lock-plate, in the manner described.

JSIAH ELLS. Witnesses l W. DUDLEY KING, W. BAUEWELL.

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