IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the firm of Haseltine Lake
& Cº, Patent Agents Southampton Buildings, London for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS' Communicated to him from
abroad by William Gardner, of Hartford, Connecticut, United States of America
but now residing temporarily in Berlin, Prussia
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd November 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS"
[A communication to him from abroad by William Gardner, of Hartford,
Connecticut, United States of America but now residing temporarily in Berlin,
Prussia]
This Invention relates to improvements in breech-loading guns and is designed
to provide means for ensuring the highest possible speed in tiring.
A gun constructed according to the said invention comprises four principal
parts viz-The barrel; a cartridge receiver; the breech bolt; and a cartridge-feeder.
The barrel is rifled and contains in its rear end a cartridge chamber; it is tightly
screwed into the said receiver. This receiver is of peculiar shape; the fore part
thereof into which the barrel is screwed is round and carries the trunnions; the rear
part of the said receiver is also round and both these round parts are connected by
two parallel bars. In the rear round part of the said receiver is pivotted, on a pin,
the cartridge feeder. This feeder is provided with a hook at the top and with a
projection at the bottom, the shape of both these parts exactly corresponding to the
diameter of the bead of the cartridge. The cartridge is inserted by hand into the
feeder. When the breech-bolt is pushed forward, a roller on the feeder rests upon
it, and when the breech bolt is drawn back the feeder falls as far as a stop or piece
provided in the receiver permits and allows the cartridge to drop between the two
parallel bars. The space between these bars is equal to the largest diameter of the
cartridge body, but the bars are rounded to conform to the diameter of the head of

page_text: the cartridge in line with the axis of the bore. A groove in both bars permits the
cartridge to fall until the axis of the projectile corresponds with the axis of the bore.
By the pushing forward of the breech-bolt the feeder is again lifted until it occupies
its former position upon the breech-bolt, and the cartridge is pushed forward into
the cartridge-chamber of the barrel.
After the shot has been fired the empty cartridge-case is, by retracting the breech-
bolt, drawn back by the extractor until it reaches the grooves in the two bars;
here the flanged head of the cartridge loses it support and the cartridge case falls
-out-of-the receiver, while, by reason of the feeder falling at the same time, a fresh
cartridge is fed into the receiver.
The extractor which has a lug thereon lies in the groove of the breech-bolt; it is
provided on its front end with a hook and is pressed against the periphery of the
breech-bolt by a spring. The extractor and spring are guided in a groove in the
receiver.
The breech bolt forms the breech closure of the barrel. For this purpose it is
provided with a screw-thread, and a corresponding female screw thread is situated
in a box in the rear round part of the receiver; a screw thread in the receiver, as
also that in the breech bolt, is cut away in order to enable the pushing forward and
drawing rearward of the breech-bolt in the receiver. For the effectual guidance of
the breech-bolt within the receiver a screw is provided which enters a corresponding
groove in the breech-bolt. The turning of the breech-bolt in order to execute the
closure, is effected by handles and by means of screws which are screwed into the
hub of the said handles. By turning the handles the cooking of the firing pin lying
within the breech bolt is effected in the following manner, that is to say, upon the
firing pin is screwed a guide-piece passing through a slot forming a rectangle in
the side of the breech-bolt; it is guided in the extractor grove and thereby
prevented from turning. A spiral spring presses the firing pin forward.
The rear end of the firing pin extends through the bottom of the handle hub and
is provided with two pins opposite to each other. On the bottom piece is fixed a
cam piece which has two inclined planes. By a third turn of the handles, or of the
handle piece, both pins are brought upon the inclined planes and the trigger slide,
always pressed upward by the spring, can catch in the notch of the firing pin thereby
retaining it in the cocked position. The two screws which are screwed in the hub
of the handle, and which, on the turning of the handle, effect the moving of the
breech-bolt extend with their points into two grooves in the periphery of the breech-
bolt. These grooves are of such a length that the said screws only reach the ends
of the grooves after a third turn of the bandle, and then, only after a further sixth-
turn, operate the breech-bolt along with them, and thereby loosen the same. The
trigger slide is moved downward by a pressure of the hand and thus the cocked
firing pin becomes free, snaps forward, and explodes the cartridge.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd May 1883.
33
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, " IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS
A communication to me from abroad by William Gardner, of Hartford,
Connecticut, United States of America, but now residing temporarily in Berlin,
Prussia.
This invention relates to improvements in breech-loading guns, and is chiefly
designed to provide means for ensuring great rapidity in their working.
The said improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which
Figure 1 represents a gun in longitudinal section, with its breech closed.
Figure 2 is partly an exterior view and partly a longitudinal section of the same,
showing the breech-bolt drawn back.
Figure 3 is a plan partly in horizontal section, showing the breech closed.
Figure 4 is a rear end view of the said gun.
Figure 5 is a transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a transverse section on a plane to the right of the line, x,
Figure 2.
Figure 6 is a transverse section on the line g, y Figure 3.
Figures 7 and 8 are longitudinal and transverse sections of the parts which effect
the cocking of the firing pin.
Figure 9 is a side view of the breech-bolt detached from the gun.
Figure 10 is a transverse section on the line z, z, Figure 9.
My improved gun has four principal parts, was the barrel A, the receiver B, the
breech-bolt C, and the cartridge-feeder D. The barrel has in its rear end the
cartridge-chamber a and is tightly screwed into the receiver. The said receiver is
constructed in the following peculiar manner, that is to say:-The fore part, into
which the barrel A is screwed, is round, and the trunnions A¹ are fixed or formed
thereon; the rear part is also round; these round portions are connected by the
parallel sides or bars b, b', (Figure 5). In the rear round portion of the said
receiver is pivotted on the pin c the cartridge-feeder D) (Figures 1. 2 and 5). This
feeder is provided at its front end or edge with a hook d and a projection; the
width of the space between the said hook and projection corresponds with the
diameter of the beads of the cartridges. The said feeder is provided with a small
roller g so arranged that, when the breech-bolt C is pushed forward, the said roller
rests upon it, but, when the breech-bolt is drawn back, the said roller permits the
feeder to drop on the inclined surface h, which is formed on a part of the receiver
and serves as a stop. This novel and peculiarly constructed feeding device allows
the cartridges to be conveniently and rapidly inserted therein by hand. Moreover,
the peculiar construction of the feeder with the parts d and ƒ relatively arranged
as herein described will ensure the retention of the cartridge therein while the
feeder remains in the position shown in Figure 1, but will also ensure the release of
the cartridge as the feeder falls from this position, so that the said cartridge may
escape therefrom and fall between the two bars or sides b, b' of the receiver. The
width of the space between these bars is slightly greater than the diameter of the
cartridge case or shell; the surfaces of the sides are adapted to the diameter of the
cartridge so that the same will lie in line with the axis of the barrel. When a
cartridge drops from the feeder into the receiver it lies with the projectile resting
on the part B¹ of the receiver and the cartridge flange resting on the part
mmediately in front of the vertical grooves k; and it is kept from moving back.
out of this position by the lower part of the feeder.

page_text: The breech-bolt C is properly constructed and arranged to effect the closure of
the barrel. For this purpose it is provided with the screw-threads q, and corre-
sponding female screw-threads are formed in the box r, which is fixed in the rear
round part of the receiver B, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 6. These screw-
threads are formed in segments, that is to say, they are interrupted by plain
portions or spaces as shown in Figures 2, 3, 6 and 9, so that, when the said breech-
bolt is turned on its axis in one direction a sixth part of a revolution, the screw-
threads thereon will pass between those in the box and thereby permit the
longitudinal movement of the breech-bolt in the receiver; when the bolt is pushed
forward, the closure of the breech is effected by turning the said bolt on its axis in
the opposite direction a sixth part of a revolution, thereby causing the screw-threads
of the bolt to engage with those of the box r. For the effectual guidance of the
said breech-bolt within the receiver, I provide in the latter the screw 8 whose point
enters a groove t in the bolt. The said groove extends longitudinally from near
the forward end of the bolt rearward and terminates in a lateral extension t'.
The turning of the breech-bolt to close the breech is facilitated by the arrange-
ment of the handle F in combination with the screws u¹ and u³, which pass
through the boss of the handle and have their points projecting into the grooves d',
d in the bolt. By turning the said handle, the cocking of the firing pin G is
effected by the aid of the following devices, that is to say, upon the said firing pin
is secured the guide-piece v, which extends through a slot v in the side of the
breech bolt C into the groove p. The said guide-piece slides in this groove and it
and the pin are thereby kept from turning on the axis of the latter. The spiral
spring w, which drives the firing pin forward, is arranged and acts between this
guide-piece and the screw-plug at the rear end of the breech-bolt, as clearly shown
in Figures 1 and 3.
The rear end of the firing pin G. extends through the part of the boss of the
handle and is provided with the two radially projecting pins y and y¹. On the said
part is fixed or formed a cam-piece which has two inclined planes 2', 2ª
(Figures 1, 3, 7 and 8). By turning the handle F one third of a revolution, the
pins y, y are brought upon the inclined planes z', 2, and thereby thrust backward
and the trigger-slide 6" (which is fitted to slide in a groove as shown in Figure 3
and is always pressed upward by the small spring a¹) can then catch in the notch
or neck j of the firing pin and keep it cocked. The two screws u', u², which are
fixed in the boss of the handle F and whose points extend into the two
grooves d, d in the breech bolt, form the medium through which the handle acts
to turn the bolt. But these grooves are of such length that the handle has to be
turned a third of a revolution before the said screws reach their ends, and then, by
continuing the turning of the said handle through one sixth of a revolution, the
breech-bolt is turned on its axis to open the breech, and is then free to be drawn
back in the receiver.
The extractor E (Figures 3 and 9) has a lug which is fitted in the groove m of
the breech-bolt; it is provided at its forward end with the hook n and is pressed
against the breech-bolt by the spring o to ensure the engagement of the said hook
with the head or flange of the cartridge case.
The said extractor at the end is so fitted in the groove m as to allow the
hook n an outward movement equal to the width of the flange of the cartridge
case, and the extractor and spring are guided in the groove p of the receiver
(Figures 2 and 3).
4
After a shot has been fired, the empty cartridge case is drawn back by the 5
extractor E until its head or flange reaches the grooves k (Figures 2 and 5) in the
two bars b, b; the flange being then unsupported, the cartridge case falls out of
the receiver through the bottom of the same; the feeder D at the same time
dropping a fresh cartridge into the said receiver. The fresh cartridge, in falling,
will assist the escape of the empty case if the latter does not fall freely by its own 5
weight. The guide-piece v and slot v¹ constitute an effectual safety device, that is
to say, at the moment of firing the gun, the said guide-piece is in the longitudinal

page_text: part of the slot and prevents any slackening or loosening of the bolt which might
otherwise occur by its turning on its axis from the effects of the concussion. And
furthermore when the firing pin has been cocked and the breech-bolt slackened
or unlocked the guide-piece v lies in the lateral or transverse part of the slot, and,
while in this position, prevents the action of the firing pin.
The operations of the above described parts in working the gun are performed
successively or consecutively as follows, that is to say, the gun is loaded, the breech-
bolt is pushed forward and turned to close the breech, the firing pin is cocked, and
a cartridge is placed in the feeder. The trigger-slide is depressed, thereby releasing
the firing-pin and firing the cartridge in the barrel; a third of a turn to the left is
given to the handle, whereby the firing-pin is again cocked. A further sixth of a
turn is given to the handle (so that the said handle now has made a half-turn in
all) thereby releasing the breech-bolt from the segmental screw-threads whereby it
is held during the closure of the breech, The breech-bolt is then drawn back, at
the same time extracting the empty cartridge case, and a fresh cartridge is dropped
by the feeder into the receiver. The breech-bolt is then pushed forward thereby
inserting the said cartridge in the chamber a of the barrel; then a half turn to the
right is given to the handle to close the breech and again a fresh cartridge drops
into the feeder, these operations being repeated throughout the time during which
the gun is in operation.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim-
First. In a breech-loading gun, the cartridge-feeder constructed substantially as
described and arranged and operating to receive the cartridges and deposit the
same in the proper position to be inserted in the barrel.
Second In a breech-loading gun, the combination of parts comprising the firing-
pin provided with the guide-piece v, the slot v in the breech-bolt, and the
groove p in the receiver, in such a manner as to maintain the tight closure of the
breech in the act of firing and to prevent the firing of the gun except when the
breech is properly closed.
Third In a breech-loading gun, the devices comprising the guide-piece extending
through the rectangular groove ², the handle fitted with the cam-piece z, the
pins y, y to be acted upon by the said cam-piece, the screws u¹, u³ working in the
grooves d', d, the neck or notch j in the firing pin, and the spring trigger-slide bu
all combined and arranged substantially as described and operating as, and for the
purposes, specified.
Fourth In a breech loading gun, the combination of parts comprising the
receiver B, the cartridge feeder D, the breech-bolt C, the handle F, the firing pin G
and the means for cocking the firing pin, substantially as above described.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this twenty second day of May in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.