USRE806E - Improvement in revolving fire-arms - Google Patents

Description

J. ELLS.

. Revolver. No. 806. Reissued Sept. 6. I859.

Witnesse N,PETERS, PHOTD-UTNOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. u c.

-tive view of the locking-bolt. M

yUNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSIAH ELLS 0F PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WM. S. LAVELEY AND JAMES M. COOPER.

IMPROVEMENT IN REVOLVING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 11,419, dated August 1, 185-1; Reissue'No. 806. dated September 6, 1859.

" reeuce being bad to, the annexed drawings,

forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a sectional side view'of arevolving pistol-constructed with my improvements,

excepting that the locking-bolt is removed to exhibit the other parts more clearly.. Fig. 2 is a side view of a similar pistol, exhibiting the several partsof the lockin their position when the trigger is drawn back and the pistol is cooked ready for firing. Fig. 3 is a sectional .view of the stock and lock-frame of the pistol,

showing the reverse side of the interior of the lock, the several parts being in their position when the trigger is fully drawn backyimmediately after firing and-before the trigger is released. Fig. 4 isa sectional view of the lock-' frame with all the parts removed excepting 'the locking bolt and its spring. Fig. 5 is a view of the under side of the lockframe, all the works of the lock being removed. In

Fig. 1 the partsof the lock are in a state'of rest, in the'position they occupy before the trigger is pulled. In Fig. '2 the hammer is raised-by the action of the vibratingstud on the cam-shaped toe of the hammer, and is at full-cock, and the cam-shoulder of the trigger,

pressing the level face of the locking-bolt against the squared surface of the neck of the I revolving chamber, looks it in the proper position. The slightest touch on the trigger would now fire the pistol. In Fig. 3 the hammer has fallen, and the trigger, it: released, would instantly regain its position for repeating the.

fire. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the hammer, designed to show more clearly the cham- ,fered edge against which the vibrating stud on the trigger works. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the trigger, exhibiting the position of the vibrating-stud and of theshoulder on which the trigger-spring rests. Fig.8 is a perspec- In the several figures like letters of reference denote similar parts of my pistol. My improvement consists in the use .of a

biiiiation with a beveled edged hammer, for the purpose of raising the hammer to stand at cock, or firing itatonceby simply pulling the trigger; andin the combination and use of a beveled-edged hammer and trigger with vibrating stud, and cam on the triggerspring, for the purpose of operating thepistol and realso, the combination of the notch or depression in the toe of the hammer, in combination pose of preventing the slipping or displacement of'the stud when the hammer stands at full -cock, and indicating that point to the finger of the operator; also, in the use ofa locking-bolt operated by the trigger, in combination with ahexagonal neck to the breech, for

allowing it to be rotated by hand at other times; also,'in the use ofa double'triggerhereinafter set forth. v

In the several drawings, a is the stock of the pistol; bis the lock-plate, constructed in the ordinary manner; 0 'is' the barrel; d is the rotating chambered breech, which are constructed and'connected'together inthe manner described in the specification accompanyin g Letters Patent of the United States granted to me onthe 25th April, 1854, and which 1 need not here more particularly describe.

- The spindle 6 passes throughthe exact center volves around it. The mode of fasteningthe barrel and breech to the frame of the pistol is, however, somewhat diti'erent from that deformer-patent. "The lock-plate b, being of the shape shown in Fig. 4, does not extend as far as the bracket h of the barrel 0, but has a projecting pin, g, which enters intoa corresponding groove in the pistol-frame. The; bracket h of the barrel, being attached to the rotating breech by the tubular extension and sustained by the spindle, as described in my former pats'ud in thetrigger,vibratinglaterally,in-comtaining the parts in their positionof full-cock;

with the laterally-vibrating stud, for the purlocking the breech at the time of firing and.

spring; or spring and lever, for the purpose of the rotating chambered breech d, which re;

scribed in the specification attached to mythe toe.

ent, is fastened to the lock-plate b byascrew, s, which may readily be removed, when the barrel and rotating breech may be taken apart.

The shape and construction of the rotating breech d is seen in Fig. 2 and in section in Fig. 1. The neck of the breech enters into a circular recess in the lock-plate around the base of the spindle. (Shown clearly in Fig. 4.) At the extremityof the neck of the rotating breech are ratchets it, equal in number to the number of chambers in the breech. These ratchets or projecting points need not project i'ar, being onlyintended to catch against the point of the finger it, which operates, as hereinafter de scribed, to rotate the breech.

Near the extremity of the neck of the rotating breech c thecircumference of the neck, which elsewhere is circular, is of the shape shown at lin Fig. 2, with flattened sides, the number of sides being the same as the number of chambers in the breech, that portion of the rotating breech thus forming a sortof polygo nal cylinder, so. that a section of that portion of the-neck at right angles to the axis of a chambered breech in a pistol with six chambers would give a regular hexagon, there be ing one flat side immediately opposite each chamber in the breech.

The several pieces of the lock are shown (with the exception of the lockiugbolt) in Fig.

1, thelocking-bolt, with itsspring, being shown in Fig. 4. The reverse side of the several parts is shown in Fig. 3.

m is the hammer, which turns on the hammer-pin ct.

f is the inainspring, attached to thelock- "frame and passing upthrough the hollowed stock of the pistol. The extremity of the mainspring rests on a friction-roller, n, at the heel of the hammer, which forces itdown when released from the trigger.

The under side of the ham mer is broad and curved, and comes to a' point, or nearly so, at The front edge of the hammer is chamfered or beveled, and from being broad at the base gradually'narrowsto an edge at the top of the recess in the side of the'hammer, (see Figs. 3 and 6,) made toallowof the passage of the trigger.

passage of the toe of the hammer m. In this recess, and near the point of the trigger, is the vibrating study, which is a short steel rod or stud, with a rounded projecting point and flat head,inserted in a cylindrical bore in the trigger. It is kept in its place in the trigger by the fine spring 0, inserted in a groove in the trigger, (shown in Fig. 3,) thehead of the stud preventing its being forced out of the trigger by the spring 1'. This stud is fitted nicely into ,its hole, so that, while it vibrates backandforth when pressed in the direction of its axis, it remains firm when the projecting side of the stud presses against the toe of the hammer..

The camshoulder 1 serves as a bearing-point of the spring-lever t, which transmits to the trigger the force of the spring u, the springlever resting on a friction-roller, c, in the shoulder. The spring-lever t and spring u form a double spring, which is very useful Where a strong spring is required, and where a great deal of play is also necessary, being more eflicient and less liable to get out of order. The arrangement is as follows: The spring-lever t is placed, with its point resting on the frictionroller '0, in the shoulder of the trigger, and the other extremity, which has a circular hole through it, slipped over a pin, to, (see Fig. 5,) in the base of the lock-plate. This spring-lever is not screwed or otherwise fastened down, but is kept in place by the point of the strong spring u, the base of which is fastened to the under side of the lock-plate (see Fig. 5) by a screw, 8', which screws into a small hole, at.

In Fig. 1 the relative position of the hammer and trigger before firing and the position of As the hammer rises, the turnii'ig-point a be-,

ing stationary, the point a, (being the center of the friction-wheel at the-heel of the hammer,) which receives the whole pressure of the mainspring f, gradually descends until the trigger is drawn back so far as'to to raise the hammer to the point of full-cock, (shown .in Fig. 2,) when the center a? is almost immediately under the center a, thus gradually reducing the pressure of the mainsprin'gfon the heel of the hammer, so that the. force required to raise the hammer gradually diminishes as the hammer rises to full-cock, at which point (at-' tained in Fig. 2) a very slight touch on the trigger is enough to fire the pistol. This ar rangement of the centers at and a? is the same,

substantially, as described in the specification to my patent of April 25,1854, and forthe same purpose. When the hammer is thus raised to full-cock the pieeeis tired by a slight touch on the trigger, which is suflicient to press the vibrating stud p upward over the toe of the hammer, which im mediately'falls with increasing force against the nipple of the breech. As soon asthe trigger is released after firing it recedes or flies back to its first position, the vibrating stud p sliding up the chamfered edge of the hammer until it comes to the position shown in Fig. 3, when it passes over the edge of the hammer at the point marked z in Fig. 6, where the edge-istl innest, and slipping down the beveled side ('thespring 1' allowing the stud p to reccde into the trigger as the thickness of the hammer increases) until it reaches the base of the hammer, the stud slips olf-its edge and the trigger-resumes its place, as shown in Fig.

'1, with the edge of the stud lying under the toe of thc hammer, ready for repeated action.

Although the hammer thus raised by pulling the trigger will stand at full-cock, as just described, if the trigger be carefully drawn back until the pressure of the inainspring is nolonger perceptible to the finger, yet, as this requires a delicate touch, in order to render it,

easier to cock the hammer by the t1 igger and insure it standing in that position, if desired, I

make a slight notch or depression, 2', in the under side of the toe of the hammer, (seen in Fig. 2 immediately in front of the vibrating stud,) which operates as follows: When the hammer is raised by the vibrating studp in pulling back the trigger to the position shown in Fig.

2, the edge of the vibrating stud is near the notch 11, and in drawing the trigger a little farther back the stud p slips into the'notch with a slight click, causing a sensation very perceptislight pull of the trigger will raisethe hammer slightly, and the vibrating stud 1) will passout of the notch i and over the extremity of the hammer, when the hammer, being liberated, immediately descends and fires-the pistol. This notch t" in. the toe of the hammer is not designed to be used in combination with a pawl or othermechanical contrivance to sustain the hammer at full-cock, for the hammer constructed and arranged as described will stand cocked without any notch. Its function is, in combination with thelaterally-vibrating stud, the more easily to retain the hammer at cock by preventing the liability-of the toe of the hammer slipping off the side'of the stud, which, owing to its capacity to rotate on its axis in its socket, is apt to slip away from itsbearing, and also to denote by a slight motion and click perceptible to the finger of the operator, when the hammer arrives at the point of full-cock, as before stated. This notch i in the toe of the hammer presents no obstacle to the firing of the pistol by raising the trigger without pausing at full-cock, as the pistol will fire it the trigger is pulled back to its full extent at once.- The pistol may thus be cooked by simply pulling the trigger, and afterward fired, or fired at once without standing cocked,

as described, either with or without anotch in the toe of the hammer. It will be noticed that the purpose of this notch in the toe of the hammer att'ullcock, and render the pistol less liable to unintentional discl'iarge. After the pistol has been fired and the parts have resumed their first position the breech is rotated for a second discharge by means of a finger, is, operated by the trigger; This finger It has a pin, c project-ingt'rom one side, near its lower end, which enters into a correspondingcircular hole in the side of the trigger, between the vibrating stud and the center-pin a The finger It lies in the recess y in the. side of the lockplate, (see Fig. 3,) and when the trigger is not drawn back does not come in contact with the ratchets i t on the rotating breech, as seen in Fig. 1. This recess opens into a circular recess around the base of the spindle, in which recess around the base of the spindle the neck of the rotating breech is inserted. The spring 0 at the back of the finger k rests against the wall of the recess and presses the finger k forward. As the trigger is drawn back in firing the pistol it raises the finger 7c, causin it to enter the circular recess in which the ratchetsit are situated, and, pressing against the nearest one of them, raises it up, thus, with the aid of the locking-bolt j, as hereinbefore explained, turning the ro1at'ing breech just far enough to bring another loaded chamber ex actly on a line with the barrel, in which position the rotating breech is retained by the pressure of the edge of the locking-bolt against the polygonal neck of the breech, which pressure is efi'ected by the action of the shoulder g of the trigger on the locking-bolt when the .pistol is cooked and until the pistol is fired,

after which the part-s'resume their first position for repeated action. 'Thus, when the pistol is cocked by raising the trigger, not only is the trigger held back in a drawn position,

ready to',fire at the slightest touch, but the breech also is retained in its proper position and prevented from rotating or getting out of place until the pistol is fired. By the falling of the trigger after firing the finger 7c is withdrawn and resumes its first position. The locking-boltj (the shape of which is more clearly shown in Fig.8) is designed to lock the rotating chambered breech in its proper position at the moment of firing, leaving it at all other times free-to be rotated by the finger k or by hand, at pleasure.

In Fig. 4 the locking-bolt j is shown in placein a recess in the side of the lock-plate, made for its reception. The spring 0?, which fitsinto a notch in the wall of the recess, presses against the leg of the locking-bolt and presses the head 0 of the bolt through an opening, 6', (see Fig. 5,) in the circular recess around the spindle e. The locking-bolt j is supported and turns on the center-pin a. It will be seen by Fig. 8 that the head 6 of the locking-boltj has a flat surface. This surface rests against the sides of one of the hexagonal parts lot the neck of the rotating chambered breech, which enters the T the breech, whenever the breech is turned round, by. hand or otherwise, the tlat head of the locking-bolt j, pressing, by means of the spring 0 on the hexagonal neck I, causes the breech always to rest in such a position that one of, the chambers is in exact line with the barrel, and the spring 0 is strong enough to prevent the breech turning round accidentally, and yet permits it to be rotated l'reely when desired. When the trigger is drawn back to the poiit of full-cock, or nearly so, as in Fig. 2, a hump or cam-shoulder, g, on the top of the trigger comes in contact with the under side of the head 0 of the locking-bolt, as in Fig. 2, and presses the face of the head of the bolt firmly against one of the flat sides of the hexagonal neck of the rotating breech, thus preventing the possibility of the rotating of the breech during the firing and until the trigger is released.

This arrangement is peculiarly convenient, as it enables a person in loading thebreech to rotate it freely without touching the trigger, whereas in fire-arms as ordinarily constructed the,trigger must be drawn part way back to release the locking apparatus, and held in that position before the breech canbe turned by hand. x

The advantages which my improved pistol possesses over other revolvin g-breech fire-arms with which I am acquainted are its simplicity 1 of construction, which renders itless liable to get out .of repair or miss fire, the ease and rapidity with which itmay be loaded, and the facility with which it may be made either to stand at fullcock or fire at once by simply pulling the trigger.

' Having thus described my improvement in revolving-breech fire-arms, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent', is

1. The use of a stud in the trigger, vibrating laterally, in combination with a beveledged hammer, for the purpose of raising the hammer to full-cock and firing the piece by simply pulling the trigger, which, after the discharge of the piece, will regain its position for repeated action; or, as a mere modification of arrangement, the use of a stud in the hammer, vibrating laterally, in combination with a bevel-edged trigger, for the purposes above specified.

2. The use of a bevel-edged hammer, with or without a notch in its toe, and trigger with vibrating stud,and cam for the trigger-spring, constructed and arran gcd substantially as hereinbefore described, for the purpose of causing the hammer, trigger, and revolving breech to assume their proper relative positions at fullcock by simply pulling the trigger, and retaining them in that position and securing the breech from rotation or displacement preparatory to firing.

3. The notch or depression in the toe of the hammer, at the point of contact of the stud and edge of the hammer, in combination with the laterally-vibratin g stud, for the purpose of preventing the slipping of the stud and the more easy retention of the hammer at the point of full-cock, substantially as described.

4. The mode hereinbefore described of looking the rotating breech at the moment of firing by means of the locking-bolt operated by the trigger, in combination with the hexagonal neck of the rotating breech, which nevertheless permits the breech to be freely rotated, by

hand or otherwise, when the trigger is not drawn back.

5. The use of. a double trigger-spring or spring and lever, for the purpose hereinbet'ore set forth.

MARTIN- G. OUsHING.

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