IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINE-GUNS
Year: 1879

page_text: ss
LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the Office of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINE-GUNS." A communication from abroad by
Edward Granville Parkhurst, of Hartford, Connecticut, United States of
America, Gentleman.
Sealed the 30th May 1879, and dated the 2nd April 1879.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd April 1879.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Office of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINE-GUNS." A com-
munication from abroad by Edward Granville Parkhurst, of Hartford, Connecticut,
United States of America, Gentleman.
These improvements relate to machine guns such as are usually furnished with
one or more barrels, and are automatically loaded and fired by mechanism at the
breech, and which is operated by turning a crank so as to discharge the gun with
great rapidity.
The particular form of gun to which the said improvements are more particularly
applicable has been heretofore known as the "Gardner gun."
The object of the present Invention is to render the gun more efficient and
serviceable by providing a better and more positively acting feeding and ejecting
mechanism than has heretofore been used.
In the accompanying Drawing,
Figure 1 is a vertical section through the breech mechanism and part of one of
the barrels of a gun embodying my improvements, and showing the working parts
of the said mechanism.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the breech and part of the barrels,
and showing a plan of the breech mechanism.
Figure 3 is a plan upon a larger scale of the sliding feed-plate which regulates
the feeding of the cartridges into the barrels.
Figure 4 is a side view of the same.
Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section upon a larger scale taken through the
case which contains the cartridges to be fed to the gun and the feeding mechanism,
and on the line x, y, of Figure 1.
3
Figure 6 is a bottom view of the case or box which contains the cartridges to be
fed to the gun.

page_text: Figures 7 and 8 are details of my improved mechanism which will be hereinafter
described.
Similar letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A is the outside case of the breech of the gun, forming a box within which the
mechanism for loading and firing operates.
B and B are the barrels, of which only a part is shewn in the Drawing; they
may be of any ordinary length and construction. These barrels are screwed into or
otherwise attached to the front end of the case A. C is the cascabel, which is
constructed so as to unscrew and release the top of the case A so that it can be
raised to get at the interior containing the working parts.
The case A is hinged to the carriago at A¹ to serve as trunnions for the gun. The
carriage is constructed in the usual manner. D is a crank, the turning of which
operates the mechanism of the gun. E and E¹ are the lock bars which are alternately
driven forward and back by the cams G and G. These lock-bars push the cartridge
into the barrel to be fired, and withdraw the empty shells so that they drop down
through the opening H in the case A. The forward ends of these lock bars are
.furnished with firing pins and a spring hook for retracting the shells in the usual
manner. J is the hammer lever furnished with a spring J for driving the firing
pin and discharging the cartridge when its rear end slips off a suitable projection
on the cam G.
It is not necessary to more minutely described the foregoing parts, as they are
all well known in the said "Gardner " gun.
I will now proceed to describe those parts more particularly in which the present
Invention lies.
K is a removable feed-box which is placed in a socket in the case A filled with
cartridges in the position shewn in Figure 1 and is replaced with another when
exhausted. A section of it is shewn in Figure 5, and a bottom view in Figure 6.
Directly under this feed-box are openings in the case A of sufficient size to admit
a cartridge.
Lis a reciprocating sliding feed-plate, more particularly shewn in Figures 3, 4,
and 5, which moves from side to side in suitable guides in the fixed case A, and
serves to force the successive cartridges down into the proper position to be pushed
into the barrel by the lock-bar E. This sliding feed-plate is furnished with two
inclined longitudinal slots M and M₁ of just sufficient size to pass the cartridge.
The middle part of the plate is cut away so as to rest upon the abutment N, and the
sides are cut away so as to slide in contact with the projections O and O. These
projections extend nearly the whole length of the cartridge.
The operation of a cartridge passing through this feed-plate is as follows, that is
to say, In Figure 5 of the Drawing the feed-plate has passed to the left, and the
row of cartridges in the right side has passed down so that the bottom one rests
between the projection L2 and the abutment N. Now as the feed-plate passes to
the right the part L' enters between the two lower cartridges and forces the lowest
one down into the receptacle below from whence it is pushed into the barrel. This
lowest cartridge cannot be pressed out of position on account of the projection O',
and must move down under the influence of the incline upon the part L'. The
second cartridge is caught and held upon the top of the part L', as shown in the left
side of the Figure. As the part L¹ arrives at the opposite end of its throw, or to
the right, the bottom cartridge on the left falls down and is held between the pro-
jection L³ and abutment N ready to be forced down by the feed-plate at its
next movement. The feed-plate is furnished with suitable guides P in the fixed
case or frame upon which it slides. It receives its motion by means of a lever R,
which is shown in the Drawing as forked at its rear end, and it is thrown
alternately to one side and the other by the cam projections S and S¹ on the lock-
bars.
When the loaded cartridge falls into the receptacle below the feed-plate ready to
-be pushed into the barrel, it is held there by its forward end resting upon a shelf
and its rear end being supported by the enlarged rim, the opening in the bottom of

page_text: this receptacle not being large enough to let the rim pass through until the shell is
drawn further back than this position.
T and T are the ejecting levers which serve a double purpose of holding the
shell in the receptacle by means of their enlarged ends T until it is retracted
sufficiently to pass through the bottom when they strike upon the side and expel it.
This is effected by making the lower corner of the front end of the ejector at T
strike the shell a little above the middle. This forces it out of the gun with great
certainty.
These ejecting levers are pivoted to the sides of the case as shown in the
Drawing, Figure 2, and are operated by the dogs E³, E³, upon the lock-bars E
and E. When the lock-bar arrives at its most rearward position the dog engages
the cain or projection upon the rear or shorter end of the lever and throws the front
end forcibly inward to eject the shell; this position is shown on the left of Figure 2.
When the lock-bar moves to its most forward position the dog strikes the forward
or longer arm of the lever and throws it back to allow the lock to pass and push
the shell home into the barrel.
The cartridge is deposited in its receptacle back of the barrel while the forward
end of the lever is inward so that the cartridge cannot move to the rear.
When
the spent shell is drawn back by the extractor upon the lock-bar the ejector strikes
it after it has passed farther to the rear than the position in which it entered, so
that the enlarged rim upon the shell comes over an enlarged portion of the slot
through the bottom of the case and allows the shell to fall freely out.
U is a plate which is screwed upon the abutment N when the gun is to be used
with cartridges having a reduced end smaller than the chamber of the shell so that
the ball can be of smaller diameter. This plate serves to support and direct the
front end of the cartridge so that it will be in the exact position required to enter
the barrel.
Another part of my Invention is a device for retaining the cartridges that may
be in the case K when for any purpose it is lifted out of its socket in the case A
before all the cartridges are expended.
In the middle of the case K between the two channels which contain the
cartridges are two small arms V and V¹, see Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, which spring out and
retain the cartridges as soon as the case K is lifted. These arms are hinged to n
plunger W moving in a cylindrical hole in the case K which is pressed downwards by
a spring X. The arms V and V' are provided with inclined slots Y and Y' through
which passes the pin Z, the ends of which are set in the case K.
When the case K is lifted up out of its socket the spring S presses down the
plunger W, and the arms V and V₁, guided by the slots, are forced outwards and
hold the remaining cartridges in the case. When the case is replaced the arms V, V¹,
come in contact with the bottom of its socket and shut the arms into the position
shown in Figure 5. These arms thus act automatically whenever the case K is
removed to be filled or for any other purpose.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The reciprocating sliding feed plate L having inclined openings M, M¹,
operating as above described.
Second. The combination of the reciprocating parts L₁, L³, L³, with the fixed
parts 0, 0, of the feeding mechanism, whereby the cartridges in the colums above
are held and successively forced downwards into the receptacle beneath, as above
set forth.
Third. The combination of the reciprocating feed plate L with cams on the lock-
bars, and an intermediate locking lever by which it receives its motion from the
operation of the locks.
Fourth. The ejecting lever operated as described by a dog on the lock-bar and
serving as a rear stop for the cartridge, as herein set forth.
Fifth. The combination of stopping mechanism with the feeding case Ķ to hold

page_text: the cartridges in the case while it is removed from the gun, and to let them pass
when it is in place, as above described.
Sixth. The projecting arms V, V, hinged to the plunger W and pressed down by
a spring so that the pin Z acts upon the slots Y, Y', to force out the arms and stop
the descent of the cartridges when the case is removed from its socket, as above
described.
Seventh. The plate U in combination with the abutment N for supporting the
reduced end of the cartridge, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Harris Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
H. H. LAKE. (L.S.)