IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Hanson, late of Tottenham Court Road, in
the County of Middlesex, now of Haymarket, in the said County, Gun
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND
ORDNANCE."
Sealed the 17th April 1860, and dated the 20th October 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Hanson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th
October 1859.
I, CHARLES HANSON, of Tottenham Court Road, in the County of Middle-
sex, Gun Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE," to be as follows:-
In one arrangement of breech-loading piece I employ a cone or closing-in
piece, travelling in a box attached to the inside of a hinged or jointed cap,
and shaped convex on the side next to the recess behind the barrel or charge-
chamber, which is of concave shape to correspond, and has a bevelled part or
seat at the back end corresponding with a bevelled part or shoulder at the
back end of the cone or closing-in piece. To the latter the thumb-piece or
handle is attached by a collar or otherwise, and has to-and-fro travel in a
slot across the cap. When the cap is closed, after inserting the charge, the
handle is moved along the slot, pushing the charge forward into the barrel.
The cone or closing-in piece and box are so shaped as completely to fill up
the recess. The bevelled parts coming together, the whole forms a solid metal
block, as it were, and the handle is firmly locked. The breech is opened by
pulling back the handle, and moving it into a slot cut, say, at right angles to
receive it, and the breech cap is then opened back, moving with it; its "cone",

page_text: or closing piece and box clear away from the concavity. The slot is not cut
straight across the cap, but at a certain inclination, as are also the bevelled
parts before referred to. To provide for the expansion of the metal, according
to which the handle and "cone" adapt their position by a self-adjusting
action, the latter and its box may be tapped or threaded on their contiguous
surfaces, if preferred. The breech-loading arrangements and barrel may be
connected together, so as to be fitted to and bodily lifted away from the stock
in like manner as ordinary fowling pieces.
My lock consists of three limbs. To the lock plate is secured, by a pin or
otherwise, the cock, hammer, or striker, which has a shoulder at back, on which
the fore extremity of the mainspring rests, being secured at the other end
to the lock plate. In my trigger arrangement I dispense with sear and
several other ordinary parts. The cock or striker has a toe at back, corre-
sponding with the notches or bents which are cut in the blade of the trigger,
which works in a reverse direction to what is usual, being centered at the
opposite side of the blade.
In another arrangement of fire-arms, instead of screwing breech and barrel
together, the former, with nipple and percussioning arrangements, may be
constructed in a piece or block attached to the stock, but independent of the
barrel. The whole, when combined, may form an arm for loading at muzzle;
as usual, or may have the barrel or barrels slidden away from the breech to
form a breech-loading piece. For this purpose a slotted carrier or frame is
attached to the breech for the barrel or barrels to slide on; a stud fixed to the
latter, free to travel along the slot in the frame holds frame and barrel
together. To the latter is attached a lever or locking piece, centred at back
in a double shoulder fixed to the barrel. To open the breech, the lever is
pulled down; its heel abuts against the guard and back part of the shoulder,
and pushes the barrel forward away from the breech, and thus opens it. To
close it, the lever is returned to position abutting in front against a shoulder
or solid part in the carrier frame and at back (being cut away for the purpose).
against the fore part of the back shoulder, and so securely locks. Hitherto
breech-loading arms have been constructed with back-work or back-action
locks, but by the employment of the last-described arrangement a bar lock or
forward action lock may be applied. For keeping the joint gas-tight, a cup
having a certain flexibility and freedom to expand, is employed, having its
open end towards the barrel, and its closed or back end connected to the
breech.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Hanson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th April 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
HANSON, late of Tottenham Court Road, in the County of Middlesex, now of
Haymarket, in the said County, Gun Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,.
the said Charles Hanson, Her special licence that I, the said Charles-
Hanson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the-
said Charles Hanson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Charles Hanson, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to-
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Hanson, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
66
ני
In one arrangement of breech-loading piece I employ a cone or closing-
in piece travelling in a "box" attached to the inside of a hinged or jointed cap,
and shaped convex on the side next to a recess behind the barrel or charge
chamber, which recess is of a concave shape to correspond, and has a bevelled.
part or seat at the back end to correspond with a bevelled part or shoulder at
the back end of the "cone" or closing-in piece; to this cone or closing-in piece
a thumb-piece or handle is attached by a collar or otherwise, and has to-and-fro
travel in a slot across the cap. When the cap is closed after inserting the
charge, the handle is moved along the slot, pushing the charge forward into

page_text: the barrel; the "cone" or closing-in piece and box are so shaped that when
the cap is closed they completely fill up the recess; the bevelled parts coming
together the whole forms a compact body, just as if it were a solid metal
block, and the handle is firmly locked. The breech is opened by pulling back
the handle, and moving it into a slot cut at right angles to receive it, and the
breech cap is then opened back, moving with it the cone or closing-in
piece, and box clear away from the recess or concavity. The slot is not cut
straight across the cap, but at a certain inclination, as are also the bevelled
-parts before referred to; to provide for the expansion of the metal according
to which the handle and cone adapt their position by a self-adjusting action.
The cone and its box may be tapped or threaded on their contiguous surfaces
if preferred. The breech-loading arrangements and barrel may be connected
together, so that they may be fitted to, and bodily lifted away from the stock
in like manner as in ordinary fowling pieces.
My lock consists of three limbs; to the lock plate is secured by a pin or
otherwise the cock, hammer, or striker, which has a shoulder at back on which
the fore extremity of the mainspring rests, the mainspring being secured at
the other end to the lock plate. In my trigger arrangement I dispense with
sear and several other ordinary parts; the cock or striker has a toe at back
corresponding with notches or bents cut in the blade of the trigger, which trigger
works in a reverse direction to what is usual, being centered at the opposite
side of the blade.
In another arrangement of fire-arm, instead of screwing breech and barrel
together, I construct the former with its nipple and percussioning arrangements
in a piece or block attached to the stock, but independent of the barrel, so
that the whole, when combined, may form an arm for loading at the muzzle,
or may have the barrel or barrels slidden away from the breech to form a
breech-loading piece, if preferred; for this purpose a slotted carrier or frame is
attached to the breech for the barrel or barrels to slide upon; a stud fixed to
the latter, and free to travel along the slot in the frame holds frame and barrel
together. To the barrel is attached a lever or locking piece centered at back
in a double shoulder fixed to the barrel. To open the breech the lever is
pulled down, its heel abuts against the guard and back part of the shoulder,
and pushes the barrel forward away from the breech, and thus opens it.
When the breech is closed, the lever returns to position abutting in front
against a shoulder or solid part in the carrier frame, and at back (being cut
away for the purpose) against the fore part of the back shoulder, and so
securely locks breech and barrel together. Hitherto breech-loading arms
have been constructed with back-work or back-action locks, but by the

page_text: employment of the last described arrangement a bar lock or forward action lock
may be applied thereto. For keeping the joint (between breech and barrel) gas-
tight, a cup having a certain flexibility and freedom to expand is employed
having its open end toward the barrel, and its closed or back end connected to
the breech.
I now proceed to explain my Invention more particularly, and exemplify
the mode of performing the same with reference to the accompanying
Drawings.
Figures 1 to 6 inclusive refer to my improved moveable cone arrangement
first herein-before described; Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a
gun shewing this arrangement; Figure 2, plan; Figure 3, longitudinal section,
and Figure 4, perspective view shewing the cone in the position of closing the
breech. In Figure 1 the cone is in the position it occupies when the breech
is open. A is the gun stock; B is the barrel of usual construction; d is a
concave or hollow recess in the breech piece behind the barrel; c is a cap or lid
connected to the breech by a hinge c' in such a position that when closed down
it completely covers over the recess d. b is a box formed on the inside of
the cap or lid c; this "box" is a tubular piece, staple, ferrule, or chamber,
convex on the side next to the recess d, so as to correspond to the concave
configuration of the latter. a is the cone. or closing-in piece, also shewn
detached in two modifications, Figures 5 and 6, which more clearly exhibit its
shape and arrangement. This piece or cone is shaped convex or rounded on
the side next the recess, and has a bevelled part or shoulder f at the end
farthest from the barrel; it is only conical at the extremity a next the barrel,
and at that part serves the same purpose as the usual fixed cone of breech-
loading guns; but this my improved cone is moveable, being placed in the
box 6, and capable of travelling to and fro therein when actuated by a handle g.
Where the word "cone" is used in this Specification in reference to the
arrangement represented in Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, it must of course be
considered as signifying the whole of the piece a, that is to say, the non-conical
or..back part as well as the conical extremity a. is a recess or collar formed
on the inside of the cap c, to receive the back end of the cone. The cone in
the modification shewn in Figure. 5 consists of an outer tubular or hollow
piece a¹, wormed on the inside surface, and working on an internal screw, rod,
stem, or bolt a', threaded on its outer surface to correspond with the thread on
the inside of a¹. The handle g is attached to the piece a³ (by a collar g¹). so
that by moving the handle the piece a¹ may be worked forward or backward
on the screw a³. The cone shewn in Figure 1 is solid throughout, and does

page_text: not work on an internal screw, but is screw-threaded on its exterior surface,
the inside of the box 6 being tapped with a corresponding screw. In Figure 6
the outer surface of the cone and the inner surface of the box are smooth.
g, Figures 1 and 5, is a collar, by which the handle g is attached to the
piece a; h is a slot cut in a slightly oblique direction across the cap or lid,
in which slot the handle may be moved in either direction, to actuate the cone;
e is a bevelled seat, step, or raised part at the back end of the recess, corre-
sponding to the shoulder f on the cone. Both e and fare cut on the slant.
h¹ is a square orifice formed in the lid at right angles to and at one end of the
transverse slot h, into which the handle is shifted when it has traversed the
slot h, though where the cone is threaded outside, or works on an internal
screw, this second slot may not be required to complete the action, and may
be dispensed with. When expansion of the metal takes place the handle
accommodates its position to such expansion by shifting itself in the sloth, and
thus adjusts the position of the cone accordingly. To open the breech the
handle is drawn along the slot h, across the cap c in one direction, drawing
back with it the cone a. When the handle is at the end of the slot h or in h¹
the cap can be raised or opened, lifting with it the cone piece a, and clearing
the cone and box away from the recess d, and so exposing or opening the
breech in order to charge the gun. To close the breech the lid is shut down
and the handle pulled across it in the slot in the opposite direction to that in
which it was drawn before driving the end of the cone into the barrel, and so
closes the breech and locks the cone in position. i is an ordinary "hut" for
connecting the breech to the break-off; and j, a locking pin or catch that may
be added, if desired, to secure the cone in its closing position; of course when
employed it would have to be slipped back to free the cone, when the breech
is to be opened. k is an ordinary percussion cap nipple.
Figure 7 is a plan of my improved lock, and Figure 8 side view of my
improved trigger arrangements. The lock consists of three limbs, namely,
a lock plate l, cock m, and mainspring n. 9, Figure 8, is the trigger. The
cock is secured to the lock plate by a pin l, and has at back a shoulder m²,
on which the front end of the mainspring rests, the other end of which is
fastened to the lock plate by a screw n¹. When the cock is actuated to cock,
half cock, &c., the piece, a toe or tooth o, Figure 7, on the cock takes into
and out of "bents," dents, or notches 92, 93, cut in the blade q¹ of the trigger q
(Figure 8). The trigger is centered at the opposite side of its blade to what
is usual, and so works reverse to the usual direction. The arrangement and
configuration of the parts are such that the ordinary sear, sear spring, and

page_text: tumbler are dispensed with. The breech and stock are connected together,
and may be lifted together bodily from the barrel, as is done in ordinary
fowling pieces.
Figures 9 to 13 inclusive relate to my arrangement of sliding-barrel gun.
Figure 9 is a side elevation of a portion of a double-barrelled gun, and Figure
12, sectional view of a portion of a single-barrelled gun, constructed according
to this part of my Invention; Figure 10, view of the under side of the double-
barrelled gun; Figure 11, plan of Figure 9, with the barrels removed. A is
the stock, and B the barrels; R is the breech; r, r, nipples; r¹, r¹, fixed cones;
L, L, hammers. The breech with its nipples and percussioning arrangements
is in a solid block of metal attached to the stock, but independent of the barrel,
so that the latter may be slidden away from it, when desired, to load the gun
at the breech, but, if preferred, it may be loaded at the muzzle. S is a metal
frame or carrier attached to the breech, and intended for the barrels to slide
upon; the frame is slotted at s¹, s2, the two slots being separated by a solid
part s³; s is a stud, which is fixed to the under surface of the barrel (or
barrels, if there are two), and is capable of travelling along the slot s¹, beyond
the edges whereof it laps, and so holds frame and barrel together; T is a lever
or locking piece centered in a double shoulder t¹, fixed to the barrel. To open
the breech, the lever is pulled down, its heel t² abuts against the spring t*
attached to the guard t³, and the part t* of the shoulder t¹, and so disengages
the barrel and pushes it forward away from the breech piece, so as clear the
cones and open the breech; if not sufficiently open, the barrel can be pushed
further by hand. To close the breech, the barrel is pushed back, and there-
upon the lever T moves up into its former position, and stows itself away in
the slot s², as in Figure 10, its back end (which is cut away as shewn) bearing
against the part to of t¹, and its front end to against the solid s³, so that it
securely locks breech and barrel together. The lock, shewn in Figure 12, is a
modification of the one shewn in Figure 7, consisting like it of three limbs
only, a lock plate 1, mainspring n, and hammer L, but the dents, bents, or
notches q instead of being cut in the trigger blade as in Figure 8, are cut in a
shoulder or blade 12, which is a prolongation or part of the cock; and the toe
or tooth o which takes into them, instead of being on the cock, is part of the
trigger blade q'; in other respects the lock works in a similar manner to that
shewn in Figures 7 and 8, being equally without sear, sear spring, and other
complicated parts; the trigger q acts in the reverse direction to what is usual,
and is so placed and arranged that it serves instead of a sear; its spring is of
additional strength, to compensate for the absence of the sear spring Z. In
Figure 9 is a bar or forward action lock, which may be used in this arrange-

page_text: ment instead of the usual back-work or back-action lock. Figure 13 is a
detached sectional view of a cup v, employed for keeping the joint between
breech and barrel gas-tight, that is, for preventing the escape of the gases
resulting from the discharge; and Figure 13ª shews the cup as applied in place.
This cup is of silver or other thin flexible metal, and expands to some extent
on the discharge taking. place; its open end is towards the barrel, and its
closed or back end towards the breech, to which it is connected by a screw v¹;
vis a communication leading from the nipple to the inside of the cup.
Although I have only shewn in the Drawings my improvements as applied
to guns, they may also be applied to pistols or other small arms, and the
arrangement of moveable cone exemplified in Figures 1 to 6 may also be
applied to cannon and such like pieces of ordnance.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,
First, the arrangement of parts for opening and closing the breech first
herein-before described and exemplified in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive of the
Drawings, in which a moveable "cone or closing-in piece is employed, con-
nected to a hinge or jointed cap or lid, and arranged and operated in the
manner herein set forth.
Second, the improved arrangement of lock and trigger herein-before
described and exemplified in Figures 7 and 8 of the Drawings.
Third, the arrangement and combination of slotted frame or carrier for a
sliding barrel or barrels, with lever or locking piece contrived and operated in
the manner set forth, as herein-before described and exemplified in Figures 9
to 12 inclusive of the Drawings.
Fourth, the combination with the foregoing arrangement of a flexible cup
for keeping the joint gas-tight, arranged in the manner herein-before described
and represented in Figures 13 and 13ª of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Hanson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
.
Witness,
M. HENRY, Patent Agent,
84, Fleet Street, E.C. London.
C. HANSON. (L.S.)