Improvements in Breech Mechanism for Quick Firing Guns.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Apr., 1905
Complete Specification Left, 27th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 28th Dec., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 27th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 28th Dec., 1895
i fudur
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by LA COMPAGNIE ANONYME DES FORGES DE
CHATILLON ET COMMENTRY, of 19 Rue de la Rochefoucauld, Paris,
France.]
Improvements in Breech Mechanism for Quick Firing Guns.
I, HAROLD IMRAY, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows :-
This invention relates to mechanism for opening and closing the breech of a
quick firing gun, which can be worked either by hand or automatically. For this
purpose, a hollow screw plug is fitted into the breech which is internally screw
threaded to receive it. This plug projects from a disc which can be turned nearly
quite round by a crank handle, its rotation each way being limited by a stop. In
front of the screw plug a stud projects into the slot of a plate which is fitted to
slide transversely. When the crank disc is turned in the one direction the plate is
slid to such a position as to open the breech, so that a cartridge can be introduced;
when the crank disc is turned in the opposite direction the plate is slid so as to
cover the breech. The stud after acting so as to open the breech can move in a
circular part of the slot without farther moving the plate, and then a spring pawl,
released by a cam slope on the plug operates the extractor causing it to eject the
shell of a fired cartridge. In the body of the plate is on the rear side a recess in
which is pivotted a hammer. When the plate is in the position closing the breech
this haminer is immediately under a vertical spring striker rod which is held up by
a detent. When this detent is released by pushing a button on a lerer which
retains it, the spring rod descends striking the hammer which fires the charge.
The detent also may be released by electricity from a distance, for which purpose
the detent lever is provided with an armature facing an electromagnet fixed
on the gun. The lever which releases the detent has a projecting stud which is
engaged in a circular groove of the crank disc, the lever being thus held stationary
while the disc is being turned until it has come to the position completely closing the
breech, the stud then finding an outlet from the groove. The mechanism; so far as
described, is worked by hand. In order that it may be worked automatically, the
circumference of the crank disc is toothed to gear with a pinion which can be slid
and held out of gear when the mechanism is to be worked by hand, or which can be slid
into gear for automatic working. This pinion is clutched on a sleeve through which
can slide a spring rod having helical flats, grooves or ribs fitting corresponding
helical guides in the interior of the sleeve. When the gun recoils a latch on the
rear end of this rod latches over a stationary bolt which holds it while the gun is
advanced to firing position, the rod being thus caused to slide rearward relatively
to the gun, compressing the spring and, in virtue of the helical guides, turning the
sleeve and pinion. The crank disc is thus turned causing the breech to be opened.
After introducing a cartridge the bolt which holds the latch of the rod is.
withdrawn and then the rod is caused by the spring to slide forwards, turning the
pinion and crank disc in the opposite direction and closing the breech.
Dated this 19th day of April 1895.
ABEL & IMRAI,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: PROCESI or Quick Firing Guns.
I, HAROLD IMRAY, of No. 28 Sonthampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, 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 :-
This invention relates to breech mechanism of a quick firing gun which can be
worked either by hand or automatically. In the latter case the mechanism is so
arranged that the breech opens automatically either during the return into the
battery or during the recoil of the gun after a certain movement, the cartridge
shell being ejected during the opening movement. Also part of the energy of the
recoil is stored in a spring so as to provide for the closing of the breech on merely.
releasing a bolt which holds this spring strained. The working of the breech may,
however, be done by hand in the usual way.
For the sake of clearness I shall first describe the closing mechanism to be
worked by hand, and then the automatic mechanism.
Fig. 1 is an end view of the gun shewing the breech closed.
Fig. 2 is a view of the left side of the rear part of the gun.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the lines 4-4 and 4-4' of Fig. 3..
Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the lines 4-4 and 5-5 of Fig. 3; it is similar
to Fig. 4 the breech plate being supposed removed.
.
Fig. 6 is a plan of the rear part of the gun.
Fig. 7 is a sectional plan on the line 7-7 of Figs. 1 to 5.
Fig. 8 is a view of the internal face of the breech screw..
Fig. 9 is a side view on reduced scale shewing the automatic opening and closing
mechanism.
.
The other figures shew details hereinafter referred to.
:
A is a sliding block which bears against a hollow screw plug B, worked by a
crank plate C which is fixed to the screw. The screw has a projecting stud Di
(Figs. 4 and 8) which is engaged in a partly curved slot. E in the plate A.
This arrangement of hollow breech screw connected by stud and slot to a breech
block has been already described in the Specification No. 4571 of 1895..
Stops F and N limit the extent of rotation of the screw in the closing and
opening movements respectively.
When the crank plate C. is turned to the dotted position C¹ the stud D is
in the dotted position D1 (Fig. 4) and the breech is quite open; the hollows K
of the breech block being then in line with the charge chamber. But the.
curved part of the slot E allows the screw to be farther turned till the crank
attains the position the stud D being then at D2 (Fig. 4). In this additional
movement of the crank from C¹ to C' the slot E in which D moves having become
concentric with the axis of the breech screw, there is no farther movement of the
breech block..
i
The extractor consists of an arm and two fork arms Pall pivotted at as it.
carries a pawl O with spring b, the pawl being pivotted at c in a projection
from 0. When the breech screw is turned in the direction of the arrow fto.
open the breech, a cam shoulder Q in the front of the screw B moves away 4
the arm 0, moving the pivot e to the left (and with it the pawl 0, the tooth d
of this pawl acts on the boss e which is integral with the arms P of the extractor.
When the end of the pawl O' meets the end of the recess g formed for it in the..
gun (see Fig. 7) the pawl O' is stopped, but the arm being still pushed by
the cam Qapproaches the pawl O, and finally the tooth d escapes from the 5

page_text: shoulder of the boss e as shewn in Fig. 7. The fork arms P are no longer
held back by d but can be moved forward into their recess when the gun is
charged as shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 7B and the cartridge can be
pushed fully in before the closing of the breech. It is not, till after the closing
that the arm and pawl O' being no longer acted on by the cam. Q return to the
position shewn in Fig. 7.
The firing mechanism consists of a hammer R hinged to the breech block A, it
is pressed by a spring rod S the spring bearing at one end against a screw
plug T, and at the other end against a shoulder h. This shoulder bears on a cam
segment G (Fig. 8) formed on the front of the breech screw. When it is turned
to open the breech in the direction of the arrow the cam segment G moves the
rod S outwards, and then the nose of the sear W acted on by a spring engages in
j
a notch k of the rod S holding it in cock while the screw is turned back to close
the breech. Under the rear end of the sear W (see Figs. 1 and 6 and enlarged
view Fig. 10) is arranged the trigger Y a stud of which is engaged in a safety
groove m (shewn by dotted arcs in Fig. 1) formed in the crank plate C concentric
with the axis, this groove preventing release of the sear except when the breech is
quite closed, in which case there is deepening of the groove which allows the
stud sufficient freedom for effecting release of the sear when the button Z of
the trigger is pressed. In case of failure to fire, the cocking can be effected
without opening the breech by pulling up the rod S the head of which is formed.
with a hook or eye n.
The manual operation of the breech mechanism is as follows.
The breech being assumed to be closed and the hammer R forward as after firing,
on turning the crank plate C till it meets the stop N (Fig. 1) for opening, the cam G
cocks the striker, the breech opens and the cam Q actuates the extractor which
ejects the shell of a fired cartridge shell backwards. A fresh cartridge can then
be introduced and by a backward movement of C the breech is closed; the
hammer R is then quite close to the spring rod S. It is then only necessary to
press the button Z of the trigger Y in order to fire.
'
Fig. 6 shews a simple arrangement for firing electrically from a distance, by
sending an electric current through the coil of an electromagnet V, the poles of
which attract an armature on the tail of the sear W causing its release.
The opening of the breech is facilitated by the shape of the stud D which is
flattened at o giving certain play to the breech screw in the opening direction
without moving the breech block, so that the breech screw can act with a blow.
The shape of D nevertheless ensures the exact position and firm holding of the
breech block in its two extreme positions.
:
For automatic action the crank plate C has teeth L at its circumference to gear
with a pinion M mounted on the gun which operates as will hereafter be described..
The gun X is carried on a slide H running on suitable rollers.
The pinion M, shewn to an enlarged scale in section Fig. 11 and front view
Fig. 12, is mounted loose on a sleeve p through which passes a bar g having helical
flats as shewn in Figs. 13 and 14 which are respectively sections on the line 13-13
of Fig. 11, and 14-14 of Fig. 9. The bar q has at its end, a head s which serves
to hook the bar q to a spring bolt t on the carriage slide; s¹ is a collar on q against
which abuts a spring u which surrounds the bar q. This shoulder also prevents.
the bar from turning, and when at rest butts against the shoulder of the
carriage H.
The pinion M is free on the sleeve p but both have clutch teeth which are
held engaged by a fork placed behind the pinion and the rear shoulder of p.
The bar 9 as shewn in Figs. 13 and 14 has three flats helically formed on it, but
instead of flats they might be helical ribs or grooves of various forms.
During recoil, the gun X carried by H slides back carrying with it the bar q
the sleeve p and the pinion M. The head of the bar having an inclined face,
pushes down the bolt t as it passes; this bolt then rises and holds the heads of the
bar q when the gun is advanced to firing position, so that the bar o̟ is made to slide

page_text: back relatively to the gun. This causes the sleeve p which accompanies the gun
in its advance to turn round upon the stationary bar qin consequence of its helical
guides, and the sleeve p'turns the pinion M which is clutched to it, and which,
through the teeth L, causes the crank plate C to tura thus automatically opening
the breech. The advance movement of the gun while the bar p remains stationary
also causes compression of the spring u.
When the gun is loaded, it is only necessary to lower the bolt t by pushing z,
then the spring u draws forward the bar à to its original position, which, eausing
rotation of the pinion M backwards, effects automatic closing of the breech.
In order to work the breech by hand the pinion M is disengaged from L by
removing the fork .
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. Mechanism manually operated for opening and closing the breech of a quick
firing gun, consisting of a hollow screw plug actuating by a stud engaged in a slot
a sliding block in combination with firing and extracting appliances substantially
as described.
2. In the firing mechanism the combination of the hammer hinged to the sliding
breech block and the spring striker substantially as described.
3. The pivotted extractor actuated by the escape pawl substantially as
described.
4. The special construction of the stud. which moves the breech block its flat
part giving certain freedom to the breech screw in the first part of the opening
movement substantially as described.
5. The automatic mechanism consisting of the sliding spring bar made with
helical guides, its latch head, the sleeve and pinion thereon gearing with teeth on
the crank plate, and the spring bolt for catching the head of the bar, arranged and
operating, substantially as described.
Dated this 27th day of November 1895.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for Applicant.