IMPROVEMENTS IN REPEATING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1884

page_text: I HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REPEATING FIRE-ARMS "to be as follows:-
This invention relates to repeating fire-arms and more particularly to pistols
baving several barrels, and principally characterized by the articulation of the
barrels upon the stock and by the rotation of the firing-pin or striker which acts
successively upon the annular primings of the cartridges. The articulation of the
barrels upon the stock enables them to be folded underneath the latter; my pistol
therefore occupies very little space in the pocket, and by reason of the multiplicity
of the barrels it presents the same advantages as the revolvers at present in use.
The particular features of my invention will be readily understood from the
following description.
The four barrels are formed by a single piece of metal having four bores. This
piece (which to facilitate the description of my invention I will term the barrel-
piece) is provided near its point of articulation with a hinged cover-plate. This
plate can be turned around upon the rear end of the said piece so as to prevent the
falling out of the cartridges when the pistol is open, that is to say when it is not
The said cover-plate is secured by a hinge upon the left-hand side of the
said barrel-piece or upon the same axis as the barrel. In the first case the said
cover-plate opens to one side, whilst in the latter case it opens rearwardly.
in use.
In the centre of the barrel piece is arranged an extractor-rod provided with a
spiral spring which tends to hold a star-shaped piece of metal in a cavity in the
rear-end of the barrel-piece. By pressing upon the extremity of the extractor rod,
the said star-shaped piece can, at will, be removed from the rear-end of the said
barrel-piece.
When the pistol is to be used the barrel is held to the stock by a catch engaging
with a groove formed in a closing piece fixed to, or forming part of, the barrel
piece; this catch is pivotted to the stock; a spring tends to hold the said closing
piece constantly horizontal in such a manner that, in order to open the pistol, it is
necessary to lift the free end of the said piece to release it from the said catch.
n

page_text: The movable firing pin carries a firing point or striker. By pressing upon the
trigger a pivotted piece acts upon the hammer so as to draw it rearwards, whilst
the firing pin is retracted by the action of the aforesaid spiral spring.
When this pressure upon the trigger is discontinued the main spring which has
been bent by the rearward movement of the hammer, unbends and imparts to the
latter a forward movement which is transmitted to the firing point or striker
through the medium of the firing pin.
Each time the trigger is pulled, a pawl or piece actuated by the trigger revolves
the firing-pin a quarter of a turn to bring the firing point or striker opposite the
bore of the barrel next to that in which the cartridge has been fired. When the
pressure upon the trigger is relaxed, a compressed spring expands and forces it
back into its original position.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
"
I HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the county of Middlesex, do hereby declare the naturo
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REPEATING FIRE-ARMS 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 repeating fire-arms and more particularly to pistols
having several barrels, and principally characterized by the articulation of the
barrels upon the stock, and by the rotation of a firing-pin or striker which acts
successively upon the annular primings of the cartridges. The articulation of the
barrels upon the stock enables them to be folded underneath the latter; my pistol
therefore occupies very little space in the pocket, and by reason of the multiplicity
of the barrels it presents the same advantages as the revolvers at present in use.
The particular features of my invention will be readily understood from the
following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which,
Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved pistol, the dotted lines indicating the
position of the barrels when the pistol is folded.
Figure 2 is a plan and
Figure 3 is an end view of the same.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the repeating pistol showing the same partially
folded and,
Figure 5 is a front end view of the cover plate and star-shaped extractor herein-
after described.
In the centre of the barrel-pieco which has four bores a a a a, is arranged an
extractor-rod B provided with a spiral spring 6' which tends to hold the star-
shaped metal piece b in a cavity or recess in the rear-end of the barrel-piece. By
pressing upon the extremity 6 of the extractor rod B, the said star-shaped pieco b
can at will be removed from the rear-end of the said barrel-piece.
When the pistol is to be used, the barrel is held to the stock by a catch M
engaging with a groove N formed in a closing piece C fixed to, or forming part of,
the barrel piece; this catch is pivotted at c to the stock; a spring c¹ tends to hold
the said closing piece C constantly horizontal in such a manner that, in order to
fold the pistol, it is necessary to lift the free end of the said pieco C to release it
from the catch M. This piece C serves also to prevent the cartridges from leaving
their chambers when the pistol is folded. For this purpose it can be turned down
upon the rear end (as shown in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 4) and it is held in
this position by the same spring c which presses upon the outer part of the
piece C.
The movable firing pin D carries the firing point or striker d'. By pressing
upon the trigger H, the pivotted piece J acts upon the hammer F so as to draw it
rearwards, whilst the firing-pin is retracted by the action of the spiral spring E.
When this pressure upon the trigger H is discontinued, the main spring G which
has been bent by the rearward movement of the hammer, unbends and imparts to
the latter a forward movement which is transmitted to the firing point or striker d'
through the medium of the firing pin D, thereby firing a cartridge in one of the
barrels.

page_text: Each time the trigger is pulled a pawl or piece I actuated by the trigger,
revolves the firing-pin a quarter of a turn to bring the firing point or striker
opposite the bore of the barrel next to that in which the cartridge has been fired.
When the pressure upon the trigger is relaxed the compressed spring K expands
and forces it back into its original position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
First: The improved repeating fire-arm with the articulated barrels and central
rotating firing pin, which after having rotated to a suitable extent, acts successively
upon the primings of the cartridges in the various barrels of the said repeating
fire-arm.
Second: The above described mechanism for effecting the rotation of the firing
pin, by pressing upon the trigger to cock the hammer which strikes upon the
firing pin, which mechanism consists of a spring K and the pieces J and I actuating
at the same time the hammer and the firing-pin,
Third: The connection of the barrel with the stock by a spring and a hinged
closing piece having a notch or groove with which a catch on the barrel is adapted
to engage; the said piece serving as a closing piece to prevent the cartridges from
being removed when the pistol is folded.
Fourth: The combination of the extractor-rod, the star-shaped piece, and the
spiral spring.