Improvements in Locks for Fire-arms.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 15th Oct., 1890-Accepted, 13th Dec., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locks for Fire-arms.
THEODOR BERGMANN, Iron Works, Gaggenau, Germany, Director of Iron Works,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
My invention relates to locks for fire arms in which the percussion of the cartridge
is effected by means of a hammer or of hammers and has for its object the peculiar
construction and arrangement of certain parts of the lock in order to form a safety
device by means of which the main spring or springs may be at will tightened or
relaxed at any time. This arrangement is of special importance for fire arms the
hammers of which are situated inside of the lock and for breech bolt fire arms of any
kind having a hammer.
It is also specially applicable to the breech bolt patented to me on March 30th 1889
No. 5483.
This improved lock is constructed as follows:-
The hammer may be of any suitable form and mounted as usual. The place or
notch in or on the hammer or its nut or tumbler where the main spring rests is by
preference made somewhat wider than usual and the main spring is at this end bent
downward and then upwards again so as to resemble in shape that of an imperfectly
bent hook. In place of this bend of the said end of the main spring the latter may
at this place be rolled in as springs generally are.
This bent or rolled-in end of the
main spring rests in the aforesaid notch of the hammer in which however it has some
play. The other end of the main spring is as usual held fast to the frame by a
suitable screw or screws or in any other suitable way.
Underneath the main spring or springs a pin or an arbor passes transversely
through the lock and is pivotted or journalled in the lock plate or frame at either
side. On one side, by preference on the right the said arbor is outside of the gun
provided with a lever or handle by means of which it may be turned. This arbor is
at the place where it crosses underneath the spring or springs cut out, flattened or
formed as an excentric so that in one position the main spring or springs of the gun
will be raised or tightened while when the arbor is turned in the other, opposite
position, the spring is relaxed or lowered. When this is the case the hammer of the
gun receives a downward pressure of the spring and is consequently unable to strike
or fall forward, while in the first position the spring is raised and tightened and will
cause the hammer to strike when released by the trigger.
This arrangement permits not only to render a gun perfectly safe, but also to keep
its spring or springs in good order as they may always be untightened or relaxed
when the gun is not in actual use.
The outside handle of the arbor passing underneath the spring is so arranged that
by it a half turn may be given to the arbor in either direction. When for instance
the handle points forward the springs are relaxed and the hammer or hammers
are in a cocked position, but firmly held down by the spring. As soon as
the handle is turned back in the opposite position the arbor receives half a turn and
its higher or thicker side stands upward whereby the spring is tightened. This
device is easily applicable to hammer guns of any kind as well as to small arms.
Dated this 15th day of January 1890.

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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locks for Fire-arms.
THEODOR BERGMANN Gaggenau Iron Works Gaggenau Germany Director of
Iron Works 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 locks for fire arins in which the percussion of the cartridge
is effected directly or indirectly by means of a hammer or of hammers and has for
its object the particular construction and arrangement of certain parts of the lock in
order to form a safety device by means of which the main spring or springs may at
will and at any time be tightened or relaxed, or more properly speaking be made to
act upon the hammer or hammers in one or the other direction.
This arrangement is of special importance for fire arms, the hammers of which
are situated inside of the lock and for breech bolt fire arms of any kind, having a
bammer.
It is also specially applicable to the breech bolt, patented by me on March 30th 1889,
No. 5483.
My invention further relates to a special construction of the above breech bolt,
adapting it to be employed in connection with a hammer lock of the kind described.
In the annexed drawing the improvements to be described are shown.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a gun provided with our
improvements, with the hammer in its backward position.
Figure 1 is a vertical cross section through the breech receiver of the gun along
the line x, y, of Figure 1 with the hammer drawn back or cocked and with unlocked
breech bolt.
Figure 1 is the same cross section with locked breech bolt and the hammer in its
forward position, after having been fired.
Figure 1 shows the rear part of the breech bolt as seen from below in its unlocked
position, corresponding to Figure 1ª.
Figure 1 shows the same view as Figure 1°, with the breech bolt in its locked
position, according to Figure 1b.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the gun shown in Figure 1 with the
hammer drawn back and at rest.
Figure 3 shows the lock alone with the hammer drawn back and at rest.
Figure 4 also shows the lock with hammer drawn back, but cocked.
Figure 5 shows in two views the lever and pin for regulating the spring.
The lock essentially consists of the hammer h, pivoted upon pin h¹, of the main
spring and of the trigger i. Hanmer turns upon a pin and is acted upon by
the main spring k, which is attached to the frame of the lock in any suitable manner,
by preference by a screw k¹. Spring k, contrary to all existing main springs of fire
arms, in its natural position acts upon the bammer in a direction contrary to that in
which the hammer is to strike. Spring k engages either into a suitable notch in the
hammer h or against a pin or projection upon the latter. Trigger i and its spring
as well as its other parts are immaterial and may be of any known and suitable con-
struction. Underneath spring k a pin passes transversely through the lock and is,
outside of the latter, provided with a lever , by means of which it may be turned in
one or the other direction. At the point, where the spring crosses said pin 1, the
latter is cut away, or excentric shaped (12), so as to permit the spring to sink into its
lowest natural position, shown in Figures 2 & 3, in which it holds the hammer firmly
down in its rearward position. In this position the hammer is perfectly immovable
and the pulling of the trigger would naturally not have any effect, neither can the
hammer fall forward by its own weight.
When pin is reversed by.its lever (Figure 4), its higher part comes in contact
with spring k, which is thereby raised and its direction of force reversed, so that it
will now act upon the hammer in the usual way, with the tendency of throwing the
hammer forward, when the latter is released by pulling the trigger. The hammer in

page_text: this position of the main spring now acts and may be used in the regular and well
known way; hammers situated on the outside of guns may be cocked and fired as
usual and hammers situated inside of guns are cocked either by the well known
mechanism in opening the barrels or by the breech bolt being opened and drawn back
as shown in my drawings. In the latter class of guns, that is in guns having their
hammer or hammers situated inside, the latter, when once fired could not be cocked
again, without going through the process of opening and closing the breech again.
This is avoided in our construction, for by reversing lever the hammer may, at any
time, be turned back by its spring k and when lever is once more reversed, the
hammer is cocked again and ready for firing. Our improved lock therefore offers
the great advantage of rendering the gun perfectly safe and of allowing the hammer
to be turned back and cocked or uncocked at will by simply turning lever in one
or the other direction.
In order to make the cock just described applicable to the breech bolt patented to
me by Letters Patent No. 5483 of March 30th 1889, the alterations shown in
Figures 1, 1, 1b, 1°, 1ª and 2 of the drawings are necessary. The breech bolt B,
which slides in the breech receiver A, consists of the bolt proper B with the
cylindrical shank B2 upon which turns the locking piece B' with locking lugs b b, and
which carries the oscillating lever C and cap D. Inside of the breech bolt is situated
the firing pin m with coiled spring n, which only serves to keep the rear end of the
firing pin projecting from the bolt, so that the hammer may strike and drive it
forward.
In order to permit the hammer to swing forward and to strike the firing pin m,
breech receiver A is provided with a slit and part B', as well as shank B2 are also
provided with corresponding slits and s³ (Figure 1).
Slits and are just wide enough to permit the passage of the hammer through
them, whereas slit s¹ of the rotary locking piece B¹ must be wider, that is wide
enough to permit piece B' to turn with its lugs b b from the corresponding recesses in
the breech receiver in order to unlock and permit to withdraw the bolt. To prevent
the hammer from striking forward, before the bolt is locked, which would be possible
in consequence of slit s' being wide enough, the latter is at its forward end narrowed
by an oblique surface s, which is in the way of the hammer as long as the bolt is
not locked. This oblique surface s also serves to start the hammer back, when the
breech bolt is unlocked, in acting upon the edge of the hammer as part B₁ is turned.
The withdrawing of the breech bolt subsequently turns the hammer down into its
full cock position.
The herein described lock, although shown in connection with our breech bolt, may
of course be employed in any system of fire arms.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:
1.) In hammer locks for fire arms a main spring or springs k, placed into the
lock in such manner, as to act upon the hammer or hammers in a direction opposite
to that in which said hammer is intended to strike, a cut or excentric-shaped pin
underneath spring or springs k, reversible by means of a handle on the outside of
the fire arm, serving to reverse said spring or springs k, so as to make it or them act
upon the hammer in the proper direction when desired; substantially as and for the
purpose herein described."
2.) In hammer locks of the kind herein described in combination with the breech
bolt described in Letters Patent of March 30th 1889 No. 483, a slits in the breech
receiver A, a slits in the shank B and a slit s' in the locking part B¹; slit s¹ being
provided with the oblique surfaces, substantially for the purpose and as herein
described and shown.
11
1
1000
E. EATON,
Agent for Applicant.