Patent GB-191110419-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Automatic Fire Arms.
IPC: F41F1/10
Filed: 1911-04-29
Granted: 1912-05-29
Abstract: 10,419. Marks, E. C. R., [Ges. zur Verwertung von Feuerwaffen-Patenten.] April 29. Machine guns; cartridge hoppers.-Relates to multi - barrel automatic guns of the kind in which the barrels contained in a barrel body, are brought into the firing position, in turn, by the rotation of the barrel body. The invention consists in providing a gun having two alternately - acting breech blocks, and a cartridge magazine slidable upon the gun-casing and comprising a number of vertical compartments with means whereby the act of feeding the magazine forwards on the guncasing to bring a fresh compartment into position, simultaneously rotates the barrel body to aline another pair of barrels with the breechblocks. The breechblocks, auxiliary recoil springs, and means for adapting the springs for large or small charges are as described in Specification 24,129/11. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the gun, Fig. 4 is a central vertical section, Fig. 8 a sectional plan on the line G-H, Fig. 4, and Fig. 9 a similar section on the line J-K, Fig. 4. The gun-casing comprises upper and lower parts 2, 1, between lugs at the front ends of which the rear end of the barrel bodv 3 is held. Ratchet teeth 15 are formed on a collar on the body 3. The cartridge-magazine 21 has a number of transverse vertical compartments in which the cartridges lie horizontally, and is slidablymounted in guides 75 on the top of the casing. Ratchet teeth 74 on the sides of the magazine are engaged by pawls 78 on two rocking arms 79, one of which arms is shown, pivoted to the casing. An arm 80 is connected to the axis pin of the arms 79, and has connected to its outer end a rod 81 which is pressed upwards by a spring 82. When the magazine compartment above the cartridge guide 23 is empty, the spring-pressed cartridge follower in the magazine depresses two spring-controlled rods 84, Fig. 1, arranged on both sides of the casing 2, and cams 84<a> on the rods rock arms 85 outwards, and thereby move stops 86 inwards, so as to block the forward motion of the breech-blocks, and stop the action of the gun with both breechblocks withdrawn. A handle 8 is then rotated in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 1, and an eccentric 9, Fig. 4, on the handle spindle withdraws a locking-bolt 6 from a recess 7 in the barrel-body 3. At the same time, a nose 8<a> on the handle releases the rod 81 and allows the spring 82 to act upon the arms 80, 79, and to move the pawls 78 into engagement with the next teeth of the racks 74. At the end of its forward swing, a pawl 16 on the handle 8 engages one of the ratchet teeth 15 on the barrel-body 3, and rotates the body to aline two fresh barrels with the breech-blocks 4. In the return swing of the handles, the nose 8<a> depresses the rod 81 and rocks the arms 79 and pawls 78 forwards, and thus draws a full compartment of the magazine above the guide 23. At the same time, the eccentric 9 drives the bolt 6 into the recess 7 in the barrel-body, and the inclined under-face of the bolt acts upon the head of a vertical stud 13, and draws the top part 2 of the casing tightly on to the barrelbody 3 and casing part 1. The cartridges from the guide 23 are received by two pivoted feeders 25, Fig. 8, both of which gear with a sector 26 which receives a rocking motion, on the axle 27, from an ejector 31, Fig. 9, actuated by projections 33 on the breech-blocks 4. The two feeders are thus alternately moved from a transverse into a longitudinal position, and the cartridges are forced by spring fingers 56 downwards on to the ejector 31, from which position they are driven into the barrels by the advance of the breech-blocks.