Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 30th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 30th Apr., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 8th June, 1889
I, HENRY WYMAN JEFFRYES, of No. 7 John Street, Adelphi, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In certain kinds of machine guns such as those of the Gatling and Gardner class,
the mechanism for feeding in the cartridges, forcing them and extracting the empty
cases is actuated by a crank handle to which rotary motion is given by hand, whereby
the aim of the gun is disturbed.
According to my present invention I obviate this defect by automatically imparting
motion to the apparatus that effects the above operations by a spring mechanism
that is wound up from time to time and is put in motion and stopped at the required
moment by hand.
For this purpose according to one arrangement, I attach to the rotating or driving
shaft of the gun, one end of a coiled spring the other end of which is attached to a
cylindrical case or drum which has on its periphery a toothed ring or wheel. With
this toothed ring gears a toothed pinion by rotating which the drum is turned so as
to wind up the spring, the shaft on which the drum is mounted being prevented from
rotating while this is done, either by passing a pin through it and into a lug on the
framing, or by applying a friction brake to the shaft. The shaft of the pinion carries
a crank handle for rotating it, and also a ratchet wheel with which gears a paw!
carried by the framing, so that when the spring is wound up, the said pawl and
ratchet wheel prevent the drum from turning backwards so as to unwind the spring,
the inner end of the latter being thus made to rotate the shaft when this is released
by the before mentioned pin or brake.
The above described automatic feed or driving mechanism is fitted to any gun having
a rotary feed motion, in such inanner that it does not interfere with the firing of the
gun by the ordinary crank handle when desired.
•
The arrangement of wheels connected with the firing mechanism described may
be variously modified for obtaining a slower or quicker movement or for regulating
the same.

page_text: Thus, instead of driving the shaft directly by the spring, the drum carrying the
latter can be separate from the shaft, and be made to drive the same by suitable
toothed gearing.
In the first described arrangement the inner end of the spring may be fixed to a
socket which can be slid on and off the shaft so that the mechanisın can be detached
from the gun when not required, the socket being held by any suitable contrivance
so that the spring can be wound up before the mechanism is placed upon the gun.
Dated this 30th day of July 1888.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
Automatic Action for Machine Guns.
I, HENRY WYMAN JEFFRYES, of No. 7 John Street Adelphi, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, 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 :-
In certain kinds of machine guns such as those of the Gattling and Gardner class,
the mechanism for feeding in the cartridges, firing them and extracting the empty
cases, is actuated by a crank handle to which rotary motion is given by hand, whereby
the aim of the gun is disturbed.
According to my present invention 1 obviate this defect by automatically imparting
motion to the apparatus that effects the above operations by a spring mechanism that
is wound up from time to time and is put in motion and stopped at the required
moment by hand.
For this purpose according to one arrangement, I attach to the rotating or driving
shaft of the gun, one end of a coiled spring the other end of which is attached to a
cylindrical case or drum which has on its periphery, a toothed ring or wheel. With
this toothed ring gears a toothed pinion by rotating which the drum is turned so as
to wind up the spring, the shaft on which the drum is mounted being prevented from
rotating while this is done, either by passing a pin through it and into a lug on the
framing, or by applying a friction brake to the shaft. The shaft of the pinion carries
a crank handle for rotating it, and also a ratchet wheel with which gears a pawi
carried by the framing so that when the spring is wound up, the said pawl and
ratchet wheel prevent the drum from turning backwards so as to unwind the spring,
the inner end of the latter being thus made to rotate the shaft when this is released
by the before mentioned pin or brake.

page_text: The above described automatic feed or driving mechanism may be fitted to any
gun having a rotary feed motion, in such manner that it does not interfere with the
firing of the gun by the ordinary crank handle when desired.
The arrangement of whools connected with the firing mechanism described may
be variously modified for obtaining a slower or quicker movement or for regulating
the suine.
Thus, instead of driving the shaft directly by the spring, the drum carrying the
latter can be separate from the shaft, and be made to drive the same by suitable
toothed gearing.
In the first described arrangement the inner end of the spring may be fixed to a
socket which can be slid on and off the shaft so that the mechanism can be detached
from the gun when not required, the socket being held by any suitable contrivance
so that the spring can be wound up before the mechanism is placed upon
the gun.
On the accompanying drawings are shewn by way of example two arrangements
for carrying out my above described invention. Figs. 1, 2 and 3 shew respectively
a front view, a section at V V, and a section at W W of an arrangement in which
the revolving shaft A of the gun B fits with a square end into a socket formed on
the axis carried by the casing D attached in any suitable manner to the gun. The
axis (carries a barrel E loose upon it, containing a spiral spring F, the inner end
of which is fixed to the axis. C, while the outer end is fixed to the barrel. The
latter has a toothed ring E¹ formed on it, with which gears a pinion G fixed on a
spindle H that can be rotated by a crank handle I; the spindle H_also_carries a
ratchet wheel J with which gears a pawl K pivotted to the casing D. From this
arrangement it will be seen that when the pinion G is rotated by the crank handle, so
as to cause the barrel E to revolve, the spring F will be wound up, the shaft A hoing
held stationary during that time by a suitable clamping device L, and it will be
maintained in this wound-up position by the pawl K which prevents the barrel E
from turning back again.
When it is desired to operate the gun, the clamping device. is loosened so as
to allow the shaft A to be rotated by the spring, and such motion is stopped at will
by again tightening the clamping device.
Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 shew respectively a longitudinal section, and cross section on
lines XX, YY, and ZZ, of another arrangement, in which the barrel E of the
spring F is fixed, the spring being wound up by rotating the shaft A of the gun
itself.
For this purpose the shaft. A has ratchet teeth A' formed in it, with which gears
a spring pawl M carried by a sleeve N fitting loose on the shaft, so that when the
sleeve is turned in the direction of the arrow Fig. 6, it carries the shaft A with it,
but when it is rotated in the contrary direction it leaves the shaft stationary. To
the sleeve N is fixed the inner end of the coiled spring F, the outer end of which is
attached to the casing D, fixed to the gun B, the spring being so arranged that when
the sleeve is rotated in the direction contrary to the arrow while the shaft is held
by the clamping device L, it winds up the spring, this being maintained in the wound
position by the spring pawl M taking into the ratchet teeth A' on the shaft, until,
on releasing the shaft by the clamping device L the spring is free to rotate the
shaft in the direction of the arrow, such rotation continuing until the shaft is again
arrested by the clamping device. This may conveniently consist of a pair of nipping
levers LL, pivotted to the gun at L' and having at their outer ends a tapered
screw O, screwing into semicircular tapered holes in the levers I so that by screwing
in the screw the ends of the levers will be forced apart, causing the other ends to
nip the shaft A between them. The sleeve N is rotated by a crank handle P. for
winding up the spring, and in order to prevent the handle from revolving with the
shaft when firing, the socket of the handle is made to fit loose on the cylindrical end
of the sleeve, but carries a spring pawl Q, which takes into ratchet teeth R formed
in the cylindrical end, such teeth being arranged as shewn at Fig. 7 so that the

page_text: handle carries the sleeve round with it when turned in the direction for winding-up,
but allows the sleeve to rotate within it when firing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
The use in combination with machine guus of the "Gattling" and "Gardner"
class, of mechanism having a coiled spring connected either directly or indirectly to
the revolving shaft of the gun and so arranged and actuated by a crank handle that
the spring can be wound up by the crank handle before firing, the shaft of the gun
being during that time prevented from rotating by a suitable device, while on
releasing the shaft, it is rotated automatically by the spring for firing, substantially
us herein described.