Improvements in Drop Down Guns or Small Arms.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Aug., 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Drop Down Guns or Small Arms.
We, HENRY ALFRED ALEXANDER THORN, trading as Charles Lancaster, of
151, New Bond Street, and WILLIAM BODIN. of 148, Portnall Road, Paddington,
both in the County of London, Gunmakers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to a means of holding the tripping rod working in the
body of the action in its forward state for the purpose of tripping ejecting
mechanism carried in the fore end, such holding forward not being dependent on
the hammer being at cock or at bearer at the moment of tripping. By this means
we are able to regulate the tripping of the ejector mechanism to any moment during
the opening of the gun. To effect this we pivot in the body of the action a spring
lever so formed as to engage at one end with the lump of the gun and at the
other with the tripping rod; on the firing of the gun the rod is carried forwards
in the usual manner and allows the one end of the pivotted lever to engage with it
by means of an operating spring and hold it rigid. On closing the gun the lump
coming in contact with the other end of the pivotted lever, rotates it out of contact
with the rod and allows the tripping rod to be returned.
Dated the 30th day of November 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Drop Down an
We, HENRY ALFRED ALEXANDER THORN, trading as Charles Lancaster, of
151, New Bond Street, and WILLIAM BODIN, of 148, Portnall Road, Paddington,
both in the County of London, Gunmakers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to a means of holding the tripping rod working in the
body of the action in its forward state for the purpose of tripping ejecting
mechanism carried in the fore-end, such holding forward not being dependent ou
the hammer being at cock or at bearer at the moment of tripping. By this means
we are able to regulate the tripping of the ejector mechanism to any moment during
the opening of the gun. To effect this we pivot in the budy of the action a spring
locking lever so formed as to engage at one end with the lump of the gun and at
the other with the tripping rod; on the firing of the gun the rod is carried
forwards in the usual manner and allows the one end of the pivoted lever to engage
with it by means of an operating spring and hold it rigid on the opening of the
gun. On closing the gun the lump coming in contact with the other end of the
pivoted lever, rotates it out of contact with the rod and allows the tripping rod to
be returned.

page_text: To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
roll
Figure 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section of the
breech portion of a drop down gun in which the ejector is operated by a
over" hammer in the fore-end directly actuated by a tripping rod; and,
Figure 2 is an underside view of the same:
Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Figure 1 certain parts being removed;
and,
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 but shewing the breech open and the
other parts of the mechanism in a corresponding position :
Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 but shewing the position of the parts when
the breech is open :
Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 are views hereinafter described of our improved spring
lever and of the tripping rod :
Figure 10 is an elevation partly in section shewing the application of our
invention to a gun in which the ejector is operated by means of a hammer normally
held by a sear or like lever:
Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10 shewing the position of the parts when
the breech is opened:
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a, a are the barrels, b is the fore-end strap, c the frame or body of the gun and
d the lump of the barrels, which lump when the gun is closed enters a corre-
spondingly shaped slot or aperture d¹ in the body; e is the extractor rod, f the
hammer or cam by means of which the rod is operated and g the tripping rod
sliding in the body and serving to actuate or cause the release of the cam or
hammer f, all of which parts are of ordinary construction and require no further
description..
his our tripping or locking lever which is pivoted at i on the underside of the
body c and provided with two lugs or projections j, k at its ends the former of which
two projections is designed to enter the notch 7 which we form in the tripping rod
whilst the latter k is designed, when the barrels are dropped down and the lump d
consequently withdrawn from the aperture d¹ to project into the said aperture.
The construction of this lever h will be most clearly understood by reference to
Figures 6, 7 and 8 which are respectively a side view, an underside view and an
end view of the said lever; and the arrangement of the notch in the rod y will
be clearly understood by reference to Figure 9 which is an elevation of the tripping
rod
detached. It will be seen by reference to these figures that the locking
lever consists in this instance of a flat lar having at one end the upturned
projection for engaging the tripping rod y and at the other end the upturned
projection having a bevelled or cam surface for engaging the barrel lump.
mis a spring which acts to move the tripping rod so as to draw it projecting
end into the body of the gun when the gun is closed and is a spring which
normally tends to move the lever so that its end; shall engage with the notch /
in the tripping rol.
0
In the arrangement of our invention shewn in Figures 1 and 2 the tripping
rod, which nets directly upon the spring operated "roll over" hanmer f to
throw it over the dead centre so that the usual spring will act upon it to operate
the ejector, has one end reduced in diameter and the spring m placed upon this
reduced portion in such a manner that the said spring normally tends to hold the
projection
rear end of the tripping rod within the body or frame against a piu or
upon the hammer o', whilst in the arrangement of our invention shewn in Figures 10
and 11, wherein the tripping rod operates to move the sear or like lever which holds
the hammer f, the spring m is represented as engaging with a notch in the tripping
rod in such a manner as to tend to normally draw the said tripping road within the
body or frame of the gun and hold a projection upon the tripping rel in contact
with the hammer of.
P
The operation of the incchanism hereinbefore de-cribed is as follows:-No long

page_text: as the hammer o' is in the cocked position the tripping or locking rod g is wholly
within the body or frame of the gun and our locking lever is in the position shewn
in Figure 2, that is to say, in a position in which the end ; is out of engagement
with the notch in the tripping rod. If now the gun is fired the hammer o causes
the tripping rod to be projected forward so that its end projects beyond the end
of the body or frame and so that the notch in the tripping rod I is brought
opposite to the end of the lever h.
When in opening the gun, for the purpose of ejecting the empty cartridge cases,
the lump d commences to move out of the aperture d¹ the support is taken away
from the end k of the lever / whereby the latter is allowed, under the action of
its spring n to move so that its end j engages with the notch in the tripping rod g
as shewn in Figures 4 and 5, the other end k projecting into the aperture d¹. The
tripping rod is then firmly held against longitudinal movement so that it will
operate the ejecting cam or hammer f notwithstanding the fact that the complete
opening of the gun causes the cocking of the hammer or striker o' in a well known
manner. When the gun is again closed the lump d by pressing against the end k
of the lever moves the latter to draw the end out of engagement with the
notch whereby the tripping rod is free to move back, under the action of its
spring, into the position as shewn in Figure 1 in which it will be again moved
forward by the hammer of when the gun is again discharged.
In order that the end k of the lever which projects into the aperture d' shall
not form an obstruction to the proper closing, the surface of the said projection k
against which the lump d first impinges is bevelled as before stated and as shewn
clearly in Figures 3 and 8.
The operation of the arrangement shewn in Figures 10 and 11 is the same as
that herein before described except that the tripping rod instead of operating
directly upon the "roll over hammer operates against the sear or like lever
which releases the hammer f.
"
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a drop down gun, the combination with the ejector and ejector operating
mechanism, of a trip rod operatively connected with the hammer and adapted to be
forced into operative relation with the ejector operating mechanism, by the falling
of the hammer and a locking lever for locking said trip rod in operative position
when the gun is opened, substantially as described.
2. In a drop down gun, the combination with the ejector and ejector operating
mechanism, of a trip rod operatively connected with the hammer and adapted to be
forced into operative relation with the ejector operating mechanism, by the falling
of the hammer, and a locking lever, having a part for engaging and locking said
trip rod in operative position when the gun is opened and a part in position to be
engaged by the barrel lump when the gun is closed, substantially as described.
3. In a drop down gun, the combination with the ejector and ejector operating
mechanism, of a trip rod operatively connected with the hammer, and adapted to
be forced into operative relation with the ejector operating mechanism by the falling
of the hammer, a spring for normally holding said trip rod out of operative position,
and a pivoted locking lever having a part for engaging and locking said trip rod
in operative position when the gun is opened, and a part adapted to be engaged
by the barrel lump to disengage said lever from said trip rod, substantially as
described.
4. In drop down guns in which the empty cartridge cases are ejected by means
of an extractor operated by a hammer the movements of which are produced by
the end of a tripping rod projecting out of the body of the gun, the combination
with the said tripping rod of a lever adapted to engage at one end with the
tripping rod and at the other end to be operated by the contact therewith of the
lump upon the barrels, the said lever having arrangel in conjunction with it a

page_text: spring which tends to cause the said lever to engage with the tripping rod,
substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
Dated the 23rd day of August 1895.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.