IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING RIFLES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING RIFLES."-A com-
munication from abroad by William H. Kerr and Charles J. Brydges,
both of Montreal, Canada:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd June 1871.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co:,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING RIFLES,”
a communication, to be as follows:-
--
This Invention has reference to improvements in breech-loading rifles,
and is designed for simplifying their parts, rendering them more durable
and capable of being loaded and discharged with greater ease and
rapidity than those at present in use.

page_text: The barrel may be of ordinary construction and made in one piece
with a box or breech shoe, or screwed into it in any suitable manner.
The said box at its rear extremity is provided with extensions for
attaching the stock. The aforesaid box consists of two flat sides having
a space between them, in which the trigger and other parts are placed.
The top edges of the sides of the box are curved upward at the rear to
form a projection; at this point the sides meet, forming a resistance for
the breech block, which is attached by its end to the box at this point
by a pivot. The top side of the said breech block is made to conform to
the curved configuration of the side, and of such a length that when it is
raised to cover the end of the barrel it will do so closely but without
friction. Through the body of the breech block a hole is bored for a
necdle constructed in the ordinary manner for this class of arms and
provided with the ordinary spring. A pin projects from the side of the
breech block to act on the extractor as the said block rises. The needle
is actuated by a pin sliding through a hole bored in the resistance piece,
and so situated that its inner end will be in the proper position to act on
the end of the needle, and its outer end to be struck by the hammer.
As this pin and the needle are not in the same line, the inner end of the
pin is rounded to insure certainty of action. The hammer, secured to
the box by a pivot is actuated by a spring held in position by a pro-
jection curved at the inner end to receive the arm of a link attached to
one fork of the lower end of the hammer; to the other fork is secured
the tumbler, which is slotted to allow it to work upon the fixed pin,
and provided at its forward end with a pin, which works in a slot formed
in a flange, which is carried down from the under side of the breech
block. The trigger is of the ordinary form; it is secured on a pivot pin
and pressed by a spring against the front side of the hammer with the
notches on which it intermeshes at the different positions of "half-cock"
.and "full-cock." A spring is let in flush with the top of the breech and.
turned down to fit into a notch on the breech block for assisting to hold
it in place during the explosion of the cartridge, and helping to throw
out the shell when it is acted upon by the extractor. This extractor
works on a pivot; the back is cut away to fit the end of the barrel, and
the sides are provided with projections to catch the rim of the cartridge;
from the back projects downwards a tongue set at any convenient angle
with the rest of the extractor to be acted upon by the end of the
tumbler. The cock being drawn back after discharging the arm, the
tumbler is by the action of the hammer pushed forward, the slot in the

page_text: said tumbler sliding upon the fixed pin, and the pin in the tumbler
working in the slot in the flange of the breech block, cause the said
block to fall. The upper portion of the extractor is thrown forward,
catching the rim of the shell, and throws out the exploded cartridge.
A new cartridge being inserted and the breech block raised, the hammer
is released and strikes the firing pin, which drives the needle against the
centre of the cartridge, and discharges the piece.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th December 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING RIFLES," a communication to me from abroad by William
H. Kerr and Charles J. Brydges, both of Montreal, Canada, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my
exccutors 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
Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW IF, at 1, the sand WIRIAU PODGORJ
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, forming a part of this Specification.
This Invention has reference to improvements in breech-loading rifles,
and is designed for simplifying their parts, rendering them more durable
and capable of being loaded and discharged with greater ease and
rapidity than those at present in use.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the breech of a rifle constructed
according to these improvements; Figure 2 is a plan of the same;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the said rifle with the parts in the
position they assume when the piece is discharged; Figure 4 is a similar
section with the parts in the position assumed in extracting an exploded
cartridge; Figure 5 is a plan; Figure 6, a side view, and Figure 7 a
Like letters indicate the same parts
front view of the extractor.
throughout the Drawings.
a is a barrel of ordinary construction which may be made in one with
the box 6 or screwed into it in any suitable manner. The box b at its
other extremity is provided with the usual extensions c, c², for attaching
the stock. The box 6 consists of two flat sides of the form indicated
in the Drawings having a space between them in which the trigger
and other parts are placed. These are constructed in the following
manner: The top edges of the sides of the box b are curved in the form
shown at c³ forming a projection c³; at this point the sides meet across
forming a resistance c' for the breech block d attached by its end at
this point by the pivot d. The top side of the breech block d is made
to conform to the curved configuration of the side at c³, and of such a
length that when raised to cover the end of the barrel a it will do so
closely but without friction, being then in the position shown in Figure 3.
Through the body of the breech block da hole is bored for holding the
needle e constructed in the ordinary manner for this class of arms, and
provided, as shown, with the ordinary spring; d³ is a pin projecting
from the side of the breech block. The needle is actuated by a pin e¹
sliding through a hole bored in the resistance piece c' and so situated
that its inner and will be in the proper position to act on the end of the

page_text: needle e and its outer end to be struck by the hammer; as the pin e¹
and the needle e are not in the same line the inner end of this pin e¹ is
as shown, rounded in order to insure certainty of action. The hammer ƒ
secured to the box b by a pivot f¹ is actuated by a spring ƒ held in
position by a projection f and curved at the inner end to receive the arm
of a link f* attached to one fork of the lower end of the hammer; to the
other fork is secured the tumbler g of the peculiar configuration shown,
it is slotted at g' to allow the lever to work upon the fixed pin 9* and
provided at its forward end with a pin 9³ which works in a slot h formed
in a flange h¹ carried down from the under side of the breech block d.
The trigger i is of the ordinary form secured on a pivot pin and
pressed by a spring against the front side of the hammer with the
notches on which it intermeshes at the different positions of "half cock"
and "full cock." At k is a spring let in flush with the top of the
breech and turned down as at k¹ to fit into a notch in the breech
block & for assisting to hold it in place during the explosion of the
cartridge and helping to throw out the shell when it is acted upon by
the extractor l. This extractor is of the form shown in Figures 5, 6,
and 7, and works on a pivot l; the back is cut away as shown in
Figure 7 to fit the end of the barrel, and. the sides are provided with
projections to catch the rim of the cartridge; from the back / pro-
jects downward a tongue set at any convenient angle with the rest of
the extractor to be acted upon by the end of the tumbler g.
I will now proceed to describe the operation of this Invention
presuming that the rifle has first been discharged and the parts are in
the position shown in Figure 3; the manner in which the exploded shell
is thrown out and the breech thrown open for loading is as follows :—
The cock being drawn back to the position shown in Figure 4, the
tumbler g is by the action of the hammer pushed forward, the slot g¹
sliding upon the pin g³ and the pin g' working in the sloth causes the
breech block d to fall to the position shown in Figure 4. The end of
the tumbler g in its forward movement strikes sharply at the end of its
stroke the tongue l' of the extractor 1. By this action the upper portion
of the extractor is thrown forward and the projections catching the
rim of the shell throw out the exploded cartridge, the curved line of
the top of the breech block d and the projection ' at the end of the
spring ke assisting materially in its removal. The rifle is now ready
for the insertion of a new cartridge; then by pulling the trigger the

page_text: hammer is released and by the action of the spring f is caused to
spring back and strike the pin e' which drives the needle e against the
centre of the cartridge and discharges the piece; then all the parts
resume the several positions shown in Figure 3, the extractor / being
pushed back to its former position by the pin a pressing against it as
the breech block rises.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I claim,—
First. The novel combination of the barrel a, box b, extensions c, c',
curve of sides c³, projection c³, resistance c³, breech block d, pivot ď³, 1
pin d³, needle e, pin e¹, hammer f, pivot f', spring fs, projection f³,
link f, tumbler g, slot g², fixed pin g³, pin g³, slot h, flange ³, trigger i,
pivot pin ¹, spring, spring k, projection k¹, extractor 1, pivot A, back ³,
projection, and tongue &, all working together substantially in the
manner and for the purpose described.
Second. The pin e¹ in combination with needle e, tumbler g, slot g¹,
pin 9³, flange h³, slot h, pin g³, extractor 1, pin P, projections ♬³, and
tongue l³, arranged, constructed, and working together substantially in
the manner and for the purpose described.
Third. The extractor 2 on pivot , back, projections P, and tongue 1, 2
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth. The novel formation of the tumbler ġ with slot g³, flange h',
with slot h, and pin g³, constructed, arranged, and operating substan-
tially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here- 2
unto set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of December
in the year of our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
Witness,
EDWARD CLARK JACKSON.
W¼. ROB™. LAKE. (L.S.)