SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE- ARMS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Pierre Tronchon, of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline,
Paris, Empire of France, & of 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, for
the Invention of "SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE-
ARMS."
Scaled the 19th June 1863, and dated the 24th December 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Pierre Tronchon
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th December 1862.
I, ALFRED PIERRE TRONCHON, of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline, Paris, Empire of
France, & of 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FIRE-
ARMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention is applicable to guns, carbines, and pistols, and consists in
forming a hole through the entire length of the stock, so as to communicate
with the barrel, this hole is filled with cartridges which are continually pushed
towards the barrel by means of a spring. The hammer is provided with a
piece which shuts hermetically, and on which the percussion takes place. The
hammer in falling produces the percussion on the cartridge and prevents the
advancement of the cartridges behind. When it is loaded it allows another
cartridge to advance and so on successively, a lever placed on the side of the
barrel and held there by a spring serves as a bolt for preventing the derange-

page_text: ment of the hammer by the shock, it is only necessary to press on this spring
to disengage the hammer when it is wished to load. I can also have the
hammer piece to slide in a groove which guides it. When the cartridges
are spent, in order to refill the hole or cartridge holder, I push back the spring
by means of a rod passed through the barrel and refill the hole in the stock
with cartridges. I can thus employ the revolver system of battery in which
the tumbler serves for arming without touching the hammer, the difference
between this system and that of the revolver consists in the chambers being
suppressed, and in the cartridges being placed in the stock.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Pierre Tronchon in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd June 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
PIERRE TRONCHON, of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline, Paris, Empire of France, and
of 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Pierre Tronchon, Her special licence, that I, the
said Alfred Pierre Tronchon, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Alfred Pierre Tronchon, 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 "SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Pierre
Tronchon, my executors and 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 inmediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Pierre Tronchon, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly. described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereto annexed, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon:-
My improvements consist in forming a hole through the entire length of
the stock, so as to communicate with the barrel, this hole is filled up with
cartridges. Several means may be employed to facilitate the pushing of the
cartridges and their introduction into the barrel, the annexed Drawing
representing one of these means, and which I intend employing as it gives
the most satisfactory results.
Fig. 1 is an external view; Fig. 2, longitudinal section; Fig. 3, transverse
section on the line 1, 2, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, transverse section on line 3, 4,
Fig. 2.
In the above Figures a represents the stock of a gun; b, the barrel, the
hammer c is provided with a tumbler d, which at a given moment draws with
it a spring lever e, carrying the boss f, which by advancing raises the
chamber g, hinged at h, and continually drawn towards the bottom of the
barrel by a spring set underneath. The chamber remains raised whilst the
cartridge is advancing, and is shut when the latter has arrived at its proper
place, the tumbler d relieves the spring lever c, which is drawn on one side by
the spring i, and on the other side by the spring which acts on the chamber.
The advancement of the cartridges takes place as follows:-The tube L which
contains the cartridges is internally provided with a metallic tube l, the upper
part of the tube is furnished with the springs m, m, and the lower part is
split in the whole of. its length, underneath and in the whole length of the
wood I cut a grooven, for the sliding in of the metallic piece o, having the
carrying springs p, the piece o receives an alternate motion from the lever q, set
on the axis r, having at the other end the small lever s, which is put in motion
by the pin t fixed on the hammer, a screw spring u serves to continually drive
back the piece o towards the butt end. Now, suppose the gun to be uncocked
and the cartridge gone, by cocking the gun the hammer in its course will
raise the chamber, which having reached a certain elevation will be kept
stationary by the tumbler d, and the cartridge will advance in the barrel, this
is effected by the action of the pin t, fixed to the hammer, and which by its
rotative motion acts on the levers q and s, and causes the piece o to advance,
and consequently to draw with it all the cartridges, the springs m in order to
return to their places, will hold the cartridges whilst the springs p, p, sliding
over them will return and take hold of those placed behind. The several
movements of the hammer are so arranged that the chamber only falls down
at the moment that the piece o has performed its retrograde motion. The

page_text: levers s and e are provided with stop springs to keep them still when the hammer
falls and also to prevent it operating on several pieces. The centre of each
of the cartridges carries a pin, and the percussion is also produced by means
of the small lever y, Fig. 5, placed in the chamber, and which lever is
articulated at 2, and kept in its place by the spring 2².
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details herein laid down and shown in the Drawing, but
what I claim and wish to be secured by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is,―
First, the combination of the several organs by which a certain number of
cartridges may be discharged from a single barrel without reloading as herein-
before described and represented in the annexed Drawing.
Secondly, the employment of a hole in the whole length of the stock to
receive the cartridges as herein described.
Thirdly, the application of the moveable chamber, as herein described and
represented in the annexed Drawing.
Fourthly, the percussion in the centre of the cartridge by means of a
hinged lever.
And, fifthly, the mode of moving forward the cartridges as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Pierre Tronchon, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
A. P. TRONCHON.
(L.S.)