Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 16th Jan., 1900-Accepted, 17th Feb., 1900
We, ARTHUR. TREVOR DAWSON, late Lieutenant of the Royal Navy, and LOUIS
SILVERMAN, Engineer, both, of 32, Victoria Street, in the County. of London, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
-
Our invention relates to automatic guns and is chiefly designed to provide
improved mechanism for transferring the cartridges from the magazine or
hopper to the barrel or charge chamber.
A well known variety of such guns is that wherein the automatic action is so
limited that the insertion of the cartridges into the barrel is performed by hand,
"semi-
this limited automatic action being commonly known and classed as
automatic" or "quick-firing." The breech block is usually arranged to move
vertically in a chamber at the breech-end of the gun. The said block is forced
downward clear of the barrel by the act of placing a cartridge by hand on the
upper surface of the block and is held down by the extracting device till the
cartridge is pushed home in the barrel. The flange of the said cartridge then
coming in contact with the extracting device causes it to release the breech
block which is raised by a spring and closes the breech.
This operation of 'inserting the cartridge by hand is inconvenient and dangerous
as the gunner if not very expert and careful is liable to have his hand seriously
injured by the rising block. Therefore it has been sought to provide guns of
the class above indicated with mechanism whereby the insertion of the cartridges
into the barrel can be automatically performed.
The Specification of Letters Patent No. 23689 of 1895 granted to Hiram
Stevens Maxim describes various arrangements of automatic transferring
mechanism in which there are the usual features of the hopper or magazine
placed over the breech end of the gun and the cartridge carrier in such a position
relatively to the said hopper that a cartridge being transferred from the one to
the other cannot pass directly into the carrier but must first be pushed or thrown
in one direction or another from the hopper into a position from which it can
subsequently drop or slide into the carrier.
In one form or modification of the apparatus described in the said former
specification the carrier is pivoted upon the hollow rod of the shoulder-piece so
that it does not participate in the recoil of the gun. When the barrel is in its
forward or firing position the carrier is held by a pivoted finger with its open
forward end or mouth opposite the lowermost cartridge in the magazine which
is arranged above the breech of the gun. In combination with this hollow rod is
arranged a piston which is fitted to slide in the rod and is pressed forward by a
spiral spring enclosed within the said rod. In the recoil this piston is forced
backward against the resistance of the spring as a cartridge from the hopper
enters the carrier, until a spring catch on the latter engages with the rim of the
cartridge thereby preventing its rebounding. The piston at the same time
engages with the shoulder of an arm pivoted to the hollow rod and is therefore
temporarily restrained from moving forward while the cartridge remains in the

page_text: lever of the piston and thereby moves the said lever out of engagement with the
rod or stem of the shoulder piece thereby releasing the spring which immediately
drives the piston forward and the piston, being by means of the said lever engaged
with the cartridge, forces it forward into the charge-chamber.
A small arm is. pivoted on the breech end of the gun at the top of the breech
block chamber at one side of the block, its free or rear end resting thereon. This
arm supports the cartridge carrier when the breech block is raised, the carrier
being provided with a small ledge or projection at its forward end to rest upon
the arm the carrier being thereby held in the proper position to receive the
cartridges from the hopper. The said arm descends with the breech block in
opening the breech but in order that the carrier may not move downward until
the proper moment we provide on the upper side of the breech a surface on which
the carrier remains supported until the barrel has returned to its firing position.
By this device we prevent any possibility of the premature descent of the carrier
by the release of the spring to drive the cartridge from the carrier into the charge
chamber.
In some instances we arrange below the pivoted arm on which the carrier
rests, a small stud or projection with a curved or bevelled surface in contact
with the arm. The said arm cannot therefore, without a slight lateral movement,
pass this stud. But the said arm is sufficiently elastic to yield to a slight pressure
so that although it does not, in all cases, drop freely at the moment when the
block descends yet a very slight pressure or vibration is sufficient to cause it to
pass over the said stud and drop down. This arrangement prevents the difficulty
which has, in some instances, been caused by the cartridge from the carrier.
following too quickly the preceding cartridge being ejected from the gun.
To prevent any inconvenience from the ejected cartridge-cases as they are
thrown rearwardly from the gun we prefer to use a curved shield which we
attach to the cartridge-carrier so that it hangs vertically from the pivot of the
said carrier. The said cartridge-cases will be arrested by this shield and by the
vibration due to their impact therewith the pivoted arm that holds up the carrier,
if detained by the aforesaid small stud, will be caused to pass over the same and
permit the carrier to turn downward.
The breech-block and firing and extracting mechanism may be of any con-
venient and efficient construction and arrangement and the gun is provided with
a lever or handle at one side for operating the same by hand in the usual manner.
Our said invention also includes the use of the pivoted carrier without the
spring operated piston the cartridges being then transferred by hand from the
carrier to the charge chamber.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
We, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, late Lieutenant of the Royal Navy, and Louis'
SILVERMAN, Engineer, both of 32, Victoria Street, in the County of London, 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 automatic guns and is chiefly designed to provide
improved mechanism for transferring the cartridges from the magazine or
hopper to the barrel or charge chamber.

page_text: Figures and S are transverse sections taken respectively on the lines 3, 3,
and 4, 4, of Figure 6.
Figure 9 is. a detail sectional view of the cartridge releasing device with which.
the hopper is provided.
In all these figures like letters of reference indicate similar parts.
A is the breech block which slides in a vertical plane to open and close the
breech when the gun is working automatically or when the handle A' is operated
as is well understood. B is the recoiling barrel; the cartridge magazine or
hopper; the cartridge carrier, hinged at D' to the stem E of the shoulder
piece or crutch E, and supported in its elevated position by a pivoted arm ti
which is carried by the barrel and lies just above the breech block. F is the
spring-piston located within the stem E which is made hollow for its reception,
the said spring-piston operating at the proper time to expel from the carrier the
cartridge it contains and so throw it into the breech chamber of the gun.
The aforesaid hopper C is (as already stated) according to our invention situated
immediately above the carrier D and arranged vertically or at an inclination to
the vertical as shewn in Figure 3 It is detachably connected with the gun by
an arm C thereon fitting into a socket E2 with which the said stem E is pro-
vided; if desired however the said hopper may be permanently fixed in position.
The cartridges fall by their own weight from the hopper when the releasing
device thereon is actuated by the carrier as the latter assumes its elevated position
represented by the full lines in Figure 1. In the drawings we have represented
the said releasing device as consisting of a pivoted piece c having two members c'²;
the former of these protrudes outside the hopper and lies in the path of a projec-
tion on the carrier. The other member which is normally pressed inward
by a spring c³ is adapted to lie against the flanged end or base of the lowermost
cartridge in the hopper against which it is kept firmly pressed by the tendency
of the said pivoted piece to turn inwardly under the weight of the cartridges.
The said lowermost cartridge is thus jammed between the pivoted piece c and the
opposite end of the hopper and consequently its falling from the hopper will be ⚫
prevented (see Figure 9). When however the member is acted upon by the
aforesaid projection d on the carrier, as the latter rises into its
elevated position represented by the full lines in Figure 1, the
said pivoted piece is shifted into the position represented by the
dotted lines in Figure 9, and SO liberates the lowermost cartridge,
which consequently falls directly into the carrier, the other cartridges in the
hopper at the same time descending. Then immediately the said carrier com-
mences to move downward, the member of the pivoted piece c is released
whereby the other member is caused to assume its original position under the
action of the spring and prevents the cartridge that is now lowermost in the
hopper, from escaping. c* is a nose on the pivoted piece c for limiting the extent
to which the latter can turn inwardly.
The aforesaid piston F is in the form of a tube with a head f at the forward
end thereof, such head being provided with a horizontal hole to receive the
pivot fi of a catch f. The said pivot is provided with a rectangular portion to
receive a short arm f³ which lies in a cavity provided for its reception in the
head f. This arm is formed with a recess to contain a spring which acts to
normally keep the said arm pressed upward and the catch in engagement with
a fin or lug on the aforesaid stem E. The pivot fi of the said catch fis
retained in place in the said piston-head f by a cross pin f which is made long
enough to extend a short distance beyond the head at each end where said pin is
formed with shoulders to engage with guide surfaces EE on the aforesaid
stem E. The piston is thereby prevented from turning about its axis during its
reciprocating movements. Within the said piston is arranged the spring F
which bears at one end against the aforesaid head and at the other end against
the base or rear end of shoulder piece E. When the barrel of the gun recoils,
it strikes against the aforesaid head f and pushes the piston backward into the

page_text: for inspection. A slight pressure of the hand on said carrier will however cause
the arm to pass the protuberance and the carrier to descend if desired.
H is the shield which forms part of and moves with the carrier. The blow
struck against the said shield by the ejected cartridge case will supply the
necessary force for causing the carrier to descend should it for any reason be
restrained too long from so doing.
When it is desired to effect the loading of the gun by hand the aforesaid
hopper C is removed and the cartridges are placed one by one into the carrier by
the gunner and will be brought opposite the breech chamber of the gun and be
projected therein, as already explained.
We may also if desired use the hinged carrier without the spring piston and
project the cartridges therefrom into the barrel by pushing them by hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. Cartridge feed mechanism wherein the magazine or hopper is situated
directly above a hinged carrier which is adapted to release a cartridge from said
hopper each time the carrier is lifted into a position to receive the same sub-
stantially as described.
2. The provision of a friction piece on the gun, acting in conjunction with a
flexible arm for retarding the descent of the carrier substantially as and for
the purpose specified.
3. The combination with the spring-piston of a spring pawl or catch con-
structed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purposes specified.
4. The combination with the pivoted carrier of a shield adapted to move
therewith and to be struck by the ejected cartridge cases substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
5. The improved cartridge feed mechanism having its parts constructed arranged
and operating substantially as described with reference to the accompanying
drawings for the purposes specified.
HASELTINE. LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.