IMPROVEMENTS IN REVOLVING SMALL ARMS
Year: 1885

page_text: "
I HARALAMB DIMANCEA of Bucharest, Roumania, but now residing at N° 299
Aston Lane, Witton near Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Captain in
the Roumanian Artillery, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN REVOLVING SMALL ARMS to be as follows :—
"
My invention consists of the construction and arrangements of the parts of
revolving small arms herein after described, whereby great simplicity in the con-
struction of the said small arms and efficiency in their action are secured.
I will describe my invention in connection with a revolving pistol.
On the underside of the rear end of the long fixed or non-revolving barrel, is a
block or bracket carrying the pin or axis on which the short revolving cylinder,
containing the charge chambers, turns. Below the hole or bearing in which the
said pin or axis is fixed, is another hole or bearing parallel thereto. In this last
named hole or bearing a pin or axis forming a prolongation of the lower part of
the body of the pistol engages. Upon this pin or axis the block or bracket carrying.
the fixed barrel and the revolving cylinder turns, so that by turning the said
bracket through a quadrant, either to the right or left, the rear end of the revolving
cylinder is exposed. The cases of the exploded cartridges can now be extracted
and the cylinder recharged.
The discharging or extracting of the cases of the exploded cartridges is effected
by sliding the bracket on the axis on which it turns. The extractor, which
is engaged with the rims of the cartridges, is fixed to the body of the pistol and
retains the cases of the cartridges while the revolving cylinder by the sliding
motion referred to, slides from off the said cases which are thereby extracted.
When the bracket, after charging the cylinder, is restored to its normal position,
the frame in which the revolving cylinder works may be locked to the body of the
pistol by a bolt. This bolt on being withdrawn effects the withdrawal of the
striker sufficiently far to permit of the revolving cylinder being turned aside
without obstruction.
The intermittent rotary motion of the cylinder, the cocking of the striker and
the discharge of the pistol are effected by mechanism constructed as follows-In
the body of the pistol is a double wheel consisting of two series of equi-distant
and nearly similar radial arms, equal in number to the number of charge chambers
in the revolving cylinder the said two series of arms being parallel and turning

page_text: together. The arms of one part of the double wheel are somewhat shorter than
those of the other part and I will distinguish them as long arms and short arms.
The double wheel is mounted upon an axis crossing the body of the pistol and on
the same level as the axis on which the revolving chamber turns. The said wheel
can only rotate in one direction.
The intermittent rotary motion of the cylinder is effected on pressure of the
trigger by one of the long arms acting upon a ratchet wheel at the base of the
cylinder. Having turned the cylinder through the required angle, the arm escapes
from the ratchet wheel and the upper end of the raised trigger takes into one of a
series of notches on the edge of the cylinder and fixes it in position during dis-
charge The upper arm of the trigger is so jointed that while in its advance motion
it acts on the arm of the wheel, on its return motion the said upper arm turns upon
the joint and passès under the arm of the wheel without moving it.
The striker, which has a sliding motion in the line of the axis of the fixed barrel
and is urged forward by a coiled or other spring, is forced back on pressing the
trigger by the action of that long arm of the wheel which for the time being is
vertical. This long arm bearing against a shoulder on the striker forces the striker
back and compresses the main spring. The striker is temporarily fixed in position
or cocked by one of the short arms engaging with the top of a short lever turning
independently on the same axis as the trigger The discharge of the pistol is
effected by further pressure on the trigger. This further pressure causes the long
arm which cocked the striker to press it beyond its cocked position. The short
arm which held the striker cocked is now disengaged from the short lever described,
and the long arm escaping from the shoulder of the striker, the latter is urged
forward by the compressed main spring and the pistol is discharged. By repeated
pressures on the trigger the actions described may be repeated until all the
chambers are discharged when the pistol may be recharged by unbolting the frame
carrying the revolving cylinder, turning it aside and withdrawing the cases of the
spent cartridges as already described.
The application of my improvements to revolving guns differs in no essential
respect from its application to pistols as hereinbefore described.

page_text: 'Improvements in Revolving Small Arms.
I HARALAMB DIMANCEA of Bucharest, Roumania, but now residing at N° 299
Aston Lane, Witton near Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Captain in the
Roumanian Artillery, 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:
My invention consists of the construction and arrangements of the parts of
revolving small arms herein after described, whereby great simplicity in the con-
struction of the said small arms and efficiency in their action are secured.
.
I will describe my invention in connection with a revolving pistol.
On the underside of the rear end of the long fixed or non-revolving barrel
is a block or bracket carrying the pin or axis on which the short revolving cylinder
containing the charge chambers turns. Below the hole or bearing in which the said
pin or axis is fixed is another hole or bearing parallel thereto. In this last named
hole or bearing a pin or axis forming a prolongation of the lower part of the body
of the pistol engages. Upon this pin or axis the block or bracket carrying the
fixed barrel and the revolving cylinder turns, so that by turning the said bracket
through a quadrant the rear end of the revolving cylinder is exposed. The cases
of the exploded cartridges can now be extracted and the cylinder recharged.
The discharging or extracting of the cases of the exploded cartridges is effected
by sliding the bracket on the axis on which it turns. The extractor which is
engaged with the rims of the cartridges is fixed to the body of the pistol and
retains the cases of the cartridges, while the revolving cylinder by the sliding.
motion referred to slides from off the said cases which are thereby extracted.
When the bracket after charging the cylinder is restored to its normal position
the frame in which the revolving cylinder works may be locked to the body of
the pistol by a bolt. This bolt on being withdrawn effects the withdrawal of the
striker sufficiently far to permit of the revolving cylinder being turned aside
without obstruction.
The intermittent rotary motion of the cylinder the cocking of the striker and
the discharge of the pistol are effected by mechanism constructed as follows:-In
the body of the pistol is a double wheel consisting of two series of equidistant and
nearly similar radial arms equal in number to the number of charge chambers in
the revolving cylinder the said two series of arms being parallel and turning
together. The arms of one part of the double wheel are somewhat shorter than
those of the other part and I will distinguish them as long arms and short arms.
The double wheel is mounted upon an axis crossing the body of the pistol and on
the same level as the axis on which the revolving chamber turns. The said wheel
can only rotate 'in one direction.
:
The intermittent rotary motion of the cylinder is effected on pressure of the
trigger by one of the long arms acting upon a ratchet wheel at the base of the

page_text: cylinder. Having turned the cylinder through the required angle the arm escapes
from the ratchet wheel. The upper arm of the trigger is so jointed that while in
its advance motion it acts on the arm of the wheel on its return motion the said
upper arm turns upon the joint and passes under the arm of the wheel without
moving it.
The striker which has a sliding motion in the line of the axis of the fixed barrel
and is urged forward by a coiled or other spring is forced back on pressing the
trigger by the action of that short arm of the wheel which for the time being is vertical.
This short arm bearing against a shoulder on the striker forces the striker back
and compresses the main spring. The discharge of the pistol is effected by further
pressure on the trigger. This further pressure causes the short arm which cocked
the striker to press it beyond its cocked position. The short arm which held the
striker cocked escaping from the shoulder of the striker the latter is urged forward
by the compressed main spring and the pistol is discharged.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation and Figure 2 in longitudinal vertical section,
a revolving pistol containing my improvements; Figure 3 represents the pistol in
side elevation with the rear ends of the charge chambers of the revolving cylinder
open or exposed for loading or inspection and Figure 4 represents the same in plan
after the revolving cylinder has been drawn forward for extracting the empty
cartridge cases; Figure 5 represents in side elevation the fixed barrel and its block
or bracket detached from the pistol, the said Figure 5 also exhibiting an end eleva-
tion of the said bracket; Figure 6 represents in side elevation and Figure 7 in end
elevation the body or shoe of the pistol detached; Figure 8 represents an elevation
of the rear end of the revolving cylinder; Figure 9 represents in side elevation,
partly in section and end elevation, the extractor detached, together with the pin
or axis of the revolving cylinder. The other Figures represent details of the pistol
as herein after described. The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in
the several Figures of the Drawings.
The
a is the revolving cylinder of the pistol and b the long fixed barrel on the
underside of which is a bracket on block c having in it two longitudinal and
parallel holes c², c³ between which is a vertical slot c (see Figure 5); d is the shoe
or body of the pistol; e is the fixed pin or axis on which the revolving cylinder a
turns the said pin or axis e being situated and working in the bearing or hole c² in
the bracket c. The said cylinder a is not supported directly on the pin or axis e
but is carried by the fixed tubular sleeve f surrounding the said axis. The said
'sleeve is fixed to the bracket c by the screw cap f screwed on the end of the said
sleeve. The said tubular sleeve f is shown detached in plan and longitudinal
section in Figure 10. The said sleeve fis furnished with a longitudinal slot f³ for
permitting of the sliding of the bracket c in extracting the cartridge cases.
rear end of the sleeve has a collar f' which engages with the revolving cylinder a
(see Figure 1) On the end of the pin or axis e the extractor g is fixed, the said
extractor g taking into a recess in the rear face of the revolving cylinder a as
usual, guide pins on the extractor engaging in holes in the said cylinder a so that
the cylinder a and extractor g rotate together. The rear end of the pin or axis e
carrying the extractor g takes a bearing in a quadrant slot in the face of the body
or shoe d and the rear end of the said pin or axis has secured to it the ratchet
wheel h. It is through the ratchet wheel h operated in the manner herein after
described that the intermittent rotary motion is given to the revolving cylinder a.
In the face of the body or shoe d a quadrant slot and depression d' (see Figure 7)
is made for receiving the reduced end of the pin or axis e and the ratchet wheel h.
The said slot and depression at d permits the revolving cylinder a carried by the
bracket c of the fixed barrel, being turned aside for exposing the rear ends of the
charge chambers in the said cylinder a for charging thein and for extracting
the empty cartridge cases.

page_text: The turning aside of the said revolving cylinder is effected in the following
inanner. On the body or shoe d is a pin or axis d³ forming a prolongation of the
lower part of the said body of the pistol (see Figure 6). The pin or axis d³
engages in the second and lower hole or bearing in the bracket c on the fixed
barrel b. Upon the lower pin or axis d³, the block or bracket c carrying the fixed
barrel b rotates so that by turning the said bracket (by grasping the fixed barrel a)
through a quadrant, the rear end of the revolving cylinder is removed from the
face of the fixed body or shoe d and the rear ends of the charge chambers in the
said cylinder thereby exposed as illustrated in Figure 3 and when in this position
the cases of the exploded cartridges can be extracted and the cylinder recharged.
As the revolving cylinder is turned aside the end of the axis e and the ratchet
wheel h move in the quadrant slot and depression d in the face of the fixed body or
shoe d. The two parallel rods or axes e and d³ are coupled together by the connecting
piece c (see Figure 2) having forks or loops at the top and bottom which are
engaged with the annular depressions or necks in the ends of the said rods, thereby
permitting of the rotation of the said rods in the forks but preventing the sliding
of the said rods. The vertical slot c³ in the bracket c and the slot f' in the fixed
sleeve work over the fixed coupling piece c¹ in extracting the empty cartridge
cases.
In order to extract the empty cartridge cases when the rear ends of the charge
chambers of the revolving cylinder a are exposed as represented in Figure 3, the
bracket c, by means of the barrel b carrying it, is pulled forward so as to slide the
said bracket c on the axis or pin d³ on which it turns, the revolving cylinder a
sliding with the said bracket. By this sliding motion of the revolving cylinder a
it slides from off the cartridge cases which are retained by the non-sliding
extractor g and the said cases are thereby extracted from the chambers of the
revolving cylinder as illustrated in Figure 4; i is the spring sliding bolt (shown
separately in Figure 11) for locking the revolving cylinder a in its place after each
intermittent motion. The said bolt i works through the hole d in the face of the
body d and in succession takes into the recesses a², a² in the rear end of the
cylinder a (see Figure 8). The barrel b is locked to the body d by the lever bolt m,
shown separately in Figure 13, turning on the cross pin or axis n, the free end of
the said lever bolt working in a curved recess m² in the rear end of the body or
shoe d. The lever bolt m is pressed into its acting position by the striker k which
is urged forward to discharge the pistol by the strong main spring 1. The front
end m³ of the lever bolt m. when pressed forward takes into a recess in the
strap of the fixed barrel b and thereby fastens the body to the barrel. The
striker k is represented separately in Figure 12. The spring bolt is withdrawn
to permit of the revolving cylinder a being turned aside by means of the lever
bolt m the said lever bolt m also at the same time slightly withdrawing the
striker k to bring its nose flush with the face of the body d. The front end of
the hand lever m engages with the recess in the side of the bolt i and also bears
against the shoulder * on the striker k so that when the free end of the lever
bolt m is pressed down into its slot m³ in the body or shoe d, the forward end of the
said lever bolt simultaneously, withdraws the bolt i and striker k and the body d
is unfastened from the fixed barrel b and the revolving cylinder a can be turned
aside as herein before described.
The spring bolt i and striker k are guided in their motions by feathers on their
sides working in longitudinal grooves in the cheeks of the body d.
P. p² is the double wheel turning on the same centre n as that on which the
lever bolt m turns. The double wheel p, p² is shown separately in Figure 14. By.
means of this double wheel the intermittent rotary motion is given to the revolving
cylinder a the bolt i and striker k withdrawn to permit of the motion of the said
cylinder, the striker k cocked and released and the pistol discharged. The said
double wheel consists of two series of equi distant and nearly similar radial arms,
the arms of one series being longer than those of the other series. The long arms

page_text: "
11
are marked p and the short arms are marked p (see the separate view of the
wheel Figure 14). The long armsp of the double wheel operate upon the ratchet
wheel h and withdraw the bolt i and the short arms p' withdraw and cock the
striker. The long arms p work through a vertical slot in the face of the body d
to reach the ratchet wheel h. The said wheel is driven or advanced by the trigger
acting upon the short arms p' of the said wheel and the back motion' of the wheel
is prevented by one of the short arms p2 bearing against the underside at 4 of
the striker k. The trigger is marked' and has jointed to it a loose upper arm or
pawl which operates the arms p² of the wheel." When the trigger is pulled
the advance and rise of its upper jointed arm or pawl q, acts on one o
of the short
arms p³ of the wheel, which arm q2 of the trigger in its return motion passes
under the next arm p¹ of the wheel without moving it.
17.
On the advance of the double wheel p, p' by the action of the trigger, the bolt i
is withdrawn by the extreme end of the long arm p which for the time being is
vertical acting against the rib 3 on the underside of the bolt i (see Figure 11).
By the same motion of the double wheel, the short arm p² slightly withdraws the
striker by acting against the shoulder ³ on the said striker. As soon as the
bolt and striker I have been withdrawn to unfasten the revolving cylinder a,
another of the long arms p of the wheel p, p³ acting upon the ratchet wheel
moves the revolving cylinder through the required angle. This further advance
motion of the double wheel causes the arm p2 which is bearing upon the striker /
to force it back and compress the main spring . The continued advance of the
double wheel causes the long arm p first to escape from the rib ³ on the bolt i
(which advances and locks the revolving cylinder a) and the short arm p³ after-
wards to escape from the cocked striker which is now disengaged and being urged
forward by the main spring 7 discharges the pistol. By repeated pressures on the
trigger q the actions described may be repeated until all the chambers of the
revolving cylinder a are discharged, when the pistol may be recharged by unbolting
the frame or shoe d from the part carrying the revolving cylinder, turning the said
cylinder aside and withdrawing the cases of the spent cartridges as herein before
described and illustrated.
The application of my improvements to revolving guns differs in no essential
respect from its application to pistols as herein before described and illustrated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention of "Improvements in revolving stnall 'arm
ور
First The construction and combination of parts substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, whereby the revolving
cylinder can be turned aside for exposing the rear ends of the charge chambers of
the said cylinder for reloading or inspection.
Secondly The construction and combination of parts substantially as herein
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings for extracting the
spent cartridge cases from the chambers of the revolving cylinder by the sliding
motion of the barrel, revolving cylinder and parts carried by them from the body
or shoe of the pistol or small arm.
Thirdly Fixing the body or shoe to the barrel and locking the revolving
cylinder in its place during discharge by means of the spring lever bolt m and
spring sliding bolt & and withdrawing the said sliding bolt and the striker by means
of the lever bolt m substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
Fourthly Discharging. the cartridges in the charge chambers of the revolving
cylinder by means of the spring sliding striker k,l the said striker being arranged
and operating substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.

page_text: Lastly Giving the intermittent rotary motion to the revolving cylinder, with-
drawing and releasing the locking bolt and cocking and releasing the striker by
means of the double wheel p, p³ used in conjunction with and operated by the
loose upper arm trigger q, q substantially as herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings.