Improved Firing Appliances for Small Arms.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Mar., 1897-Accepted, 15th May, 1897
Improved Firing Appliances for Small Arms.
1, FREDERICK BEESLEY, of 2 St. James's Street, in the Administrative County
of London, Gunmaker, 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 improvements on and additions to an invention for
which Letters Patent were granted to me numbered 10133 and dated 22nd May
1895. The object of the improvements is first, to provide means whereby the
operator may select either barrel of a single trigger gun for the first discharge, and
secondly, to modify the construction of the firing appliances described in the
specification of my aforementioned patent for the purpose of simplifying the
mechanism thereof.
In the accompanying drawings, which are furnished in illustration of my
invention,
Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively elevation and plan of a trigger plate and mechanism
fitted with means for selecting either barrel of a single trigger double barrelled gun
for the first discharge, and Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of a modification thereof
only part of the trigger mechanism being shown.
Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively elevation and plan of a simplified form of the
firing mechanism described in my aforementioned Patent Specification No. 10133
of 1895, and
Figs. 7 to 9 show details of construction.
In these drawings the same letters of reference where they occur are used to
denote the same or corresponding parts in all the figures.
According to the first part of this my present invention, I make the trigger
blade A thick enough to allow a vertical spindle C to pass through it. A short
arm C² is keyed on the lower end of said spindle C, outside the trigger plate F, for
band manipulation, and a projection C¹ is fixed to its upper end. A rotary motion
of the vertical spindle C through a small angle to the right or left will place the
projection C thereon under the sear tail M or M' of the lock which it is desired
shall he first operated. A set spring D is provided which bears on the vertical
spindle C and maintains it in either position. A box lever G is pivotted to the
axis of, and so as to surround, the trigger A, and carries a spring detent H for
taking into notches A', in the back of the trigger. A slide J operated by a push
rod K is provided for throwing said detent out of gear with the notches in the
trigger, in the same manner as is described in the specification of my aforementioned
prior patent. Whichever lock of the gun is first operated through the spindle C
the remaining one will follow in succession by the box lever operating its sear tail
in the same manner as is described in the specification of my aforementioned
patent, in which, however, the mechanism only provides that one lock shall always
lead off.
As an alternative to the regulator described in my aforesaid Patent Specification
No. 10133 of 1895, a simple spring L of any pattern may be used to urge forward
the slide J; steps J¹ and J2 being provided on the slide J instead of an inclined
plane, said steps corresponding to the notches A' in the back of the trigger, and
into these steps J' the downward projection g on the rear of the box lever G takes

page_text: successively as the slide is urged forward by its spring L, which latter operates
when the trigger is pulled.. So that on firing the first barrel the reaction of recoil
will be absorbed by an involuntary and useless pull checked by a step, and then a
further pull will discharge the second barrel.
In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the vertical spindle C is placed in
front of the finger piece A2 of the trigger instead of behind it as in the first
described example. In these figures A represents the trigger as before, B the
trigger box, C the vertical spindle, C2 the short arm and C₁ the top projection
thereof; D is the set spring bearing on the spindle C, and M and M' represent the
sears of the right and left hand locks of the gun respectively. In the plan view
Fig. 4 the top projection C on the vertical spindle C is shown thrown over to the
sear M of the right hand lock, under which it is shown ready to lead off firing the
gun by selecting that lock first.
In Figs. 5 to 9 I have shown a modification of the firing mechanism described in
my Patent Specification No. 10133 of 1895 and which modification forms the secon:1
part of this my present invention. In this modification the rear of the trigger A is
provided with three angular notches a¹ a² an a³; see Figure 7, which is a detached
view of the trigger shown in Figures 5 and 6. A standard or pillar F' forms part
of or is fixed to the trigger plate F in such a position that its flat top f2 is at the
same height as the top notch a³ in the rear of the trigger, but is stepped more
towards the rear. Fig. 8 is a detached view of the trigger plate F and the standard
or pillar F', and Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the trigger A, trigger plate F and the
standard or pillar F1 and shows the relative positions of the standard or pillar F1
and the trigger, when the latter is in its normal position. The other step f¹ in the
pillar or standard F¹ is on a level with the augular nose between the notches a¹
and a² on the rear of the trigger, and this step falso is more towards the rear of
the gun than the notches in the trigger. The lever G carries a spring detent H,
to engage in these notches, and which normally rests on the lowest and rearmost
part of the bottom notch a¹ in the trigger. On pulling up the trigger to discharge
the first barrel the detent H is, by the lower notch a' in the trigger, carried up
with its nose pressing against the vertical front of the step f¹ in the pillar or
standard F, and when it reaches the level of said step f', the detent is by its spring
urged forward thereinto and also into the lower notch a' in the trigger. Here it
remains until the pull on the trigger is released when the latter under the pressure
of the usual spring falls to its first position. The detent however remains on the
step in the pillar F¹ and holds up the lever G; when the trigger falls the angular
nose between the notches a¹ and a² passes under the detent H which then slips part
way into the second notch a² in the trigger. This uotch a² being deeper than the
first notch a' allows the detent H to pass further to the front, as far as the step
in the standard will allow. The reaction of the recoil then lifts the trigger, and
the detent passes on to the flat top or second step of the standard or pillar F1;
when the trigger again falls, the detent passes into the top notch a³ in the trigger.
By another pull of the trigger, the trigger and the lever G rise together and
operate the other sear and actuate the discharge of the secoad barrel, as by the
series of movements herein before described the lever G has been brought up into
position to effect that object. K is a spring controlled push rod for releasing the
detent when the gun is recharged, the parts then under their usual springs resuming
their initial position.
By making the trigger thick and making the lever to surround it box-form as in
the example shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the modified form of my invention shown in
Figs. 5 to 9 may be made to select the lock to lead off in firing the gun.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In firing mechanism for small arms of the indicated kind, the arrangement of
a spindle passing vertically through the trigger, and fitted so as to be manipulated

page_text: from outside the gun to select either the right or left lock of a single trigger two
barrel gun for the first discharge, substantially as herein described.
2. In firing mechanism for small arms of the indicated kind, the combination of
a trigger, a surrounding box lever pivotted on the trigger axis, and a spindle
passing vertically through the trigger and adapted to be manipulated from outside
the gun to select either the right or left lock of a single trigger two barrel gun for
the first discharge, substantially as herein described and illustrated by way of
example in Figs. 1 and 2 or 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.
3. In firing mechanism for small arms of the indicated kind, the combination of
a trigger plate carrying a fixed post or standard and a trigger and lever arranged
in parallel slots in said trigger plate one carrying a spring detent for taking into
notches in the other as well as into steps in the said fixed post or standard while
the trigger is being operated to discharge the barrels of a two barrel gun,
substantially as herein described and illustrated in Figs. 5 to 9 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dato thin t
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1 1007
F. W. GOLBY,
36 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent. Agent for the Applicant.