IMPROVEMENTS IN MAGAZINE AND OTHER FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, &
Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MAGAZINE AND OTHER FIRE-ARMS." A communication
from abroad by James Herbert Bullard, of Springfield, Massachusetts,
United States of America, Machinist.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry 'Harris Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd September 1881.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lako, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAGAZINE AND OTHER
FIRE-ARMS." A communication from abroad by James Herbert Bullard, of
Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of America, Machinist.
This Invention relates more particularly to that class of fire arms which are
provided with a magazine wherein the cartridges are stored for use. The main
objects of the said Invention are to rapidly transfer the cartridges from the said
magazine to the barrel of the arm to be exploded, to prevent any premature
explosion of the cartridge by the forward movement of the hammer, to ensure the
secure locking in place of the bolt against the cartridge when the latter is exploded,
and to provide for the rapid loading and discharging of the arm by the simple
movement of a lever to and fro..
My Invention comprises a swinging lever which operates a pivoted arm, and is
connected with and moves a carrier, the said swinging lever being also connected
with a link which carries a pinion that gears with a stationary rack, which pinion
moves the bolt to and fro to carry the cartridge from the carrier into the barrel.
The said swinging lever is also connected with an arm pivoted to a lock used to
secure a vertically moving breech-block firmly up against the bolt, the latter being
adapted to move the said breech-block in both directions. A projecting or pivoted
piece on the handle of the swinging lever, and adapted to strike against the pawl
of the trigger, permits the arm to be discharged rapidly by the simple movement of
the said swinging lever to and fro, as more fully hereinafter described.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a portion of the frame and barrel
of a fire-arm constructed according to this Invention, showing the operating
mechanism with the swinging lever thrown back, and all the parts in the position
they occupy when the hammer is down or thrown forward.
Figure II. is a similar section showing the swinging lever thrown forward, the
carrier moved up to carry a cartridge into position to be forced into the barrel,
and the hammer thrown back at full cock.
Figure III. is a side view of the forward end of the said swinging lever.
Figure IV. is a side view of the link which connects the swinging lever with
the travelling pinion.
A represents the frame of a firearm having a magazine connected therewith;
B is the barrel, and C is the magazine, designed to contain any desired number of
cartridges; D is the carrier which moves in a vertical recess C", and is provided
with a recess C¹ (shown in dotted lines) to receive the cartridge; G is an arm
which is pivoted in the frame at v, the forward end of this arm engages with the
carrier D, and moves the same; the rear end of the said arm is provided with two
shoulders cand c; H is the swinging lever also pivoted at v, and provided at its
forward end with a pin or projection i, as shown in Figure III.; to this lever is
pivoted at o a spring pawl or latch h. The rear end of this swinging lever H
forms the trigger-guard, and also the handle by which the said lever is operated;
to this handle is pivoted, if desired, a piece t, the purpose of which will be herein-
after explained.
The link I, which is shown separately in Figure IV., is also pivoted at v, and is
provided with an elongated hole as shown at i, through which when the parts
are in place the projection i on the forward end of the lever protrudes, so that tho
latter may have a slight movement without moving the link and pinion, as herein-
after described.
The forward end of the link is pivoted to the piece F in which is held a pinion f,
arranged to travel to and fro in the stationary rack f". The bolt a is arranged to
move to and fro in the frame and is actuated by the said travelling pinion f whose
teeth engage with similar teeth on the lower side of the said bolt a This bolt is
also provided with teeth or projections a" at its rear end, which when the bolt is
moved forward engage with similar teeth e on the breech-block E pivoted at e³;
this block when the bolt is moved forward is brought up against the rear end of
the bolt to lock it in place. The arm L is pivoted at its front end to the projection
or pin i on the forward end of the lever H; this projects through the link I. The
rear ond of the said arm L is pivoted to a lock N which is arranged to swing upon
the hammer-pivot ³, the upper end of this lock occupying such a position beneath
the block E as when the latter is raised to hold it firmly up and against the rear
end of the bolt a, as clearly shown in Figure L
The hammer may be of the ordinary construction, and may be arranged to strike
against a pin in the block E, which pin communicates the blow to a firing pin
extending through the bolt, as shown in dotted lines; or the said hammer may be
arranged in any other convenient manner in the frame.
A projections' is formed on the rear side of the trigger 8, so that when desired
the trip t pivoted to the handle of the lever H may be thrown open, as shewn in
Figure II., and when the lever is brought up into the position shown in Figure I.
the said trip will strike against the projection a' and release the hammer from the
position it occupies when at full cock. The lower end of the pawl is pressed'
outward by a spring, as shewn, so that as the lever H is moved up the lower end
of the said pawl will strike against the shoulder x of the frame, as hereinafter
further explained.
The operation of my improved firearm is as follows, that is to say:-Assuming
that the parts of the arm are in the position shown in Figure I. and that the

page_text: •
magazine c is charged with cartridges, one of the latter is thrown back by the
magazine spring into the recess C' in the carrier D. The lever H being then moved
downward and forward the projection i, the arm. L, and the lock N are moved
back until the said lock passes from beneath the block E, and during this movement
the lower end of the pawl h, which thus far has rested against the upper part of
the shoulder and served as a latch to hold the lever up in place, is pressed in as
it passes downward until it has passed below the said shoulder, when its spring
forces the lower end out again until the upper end passes to a position beneath tho
lower end of the link I, as clearly shown in Figure II. The projection i on the
forward end of the lever H then takes a bearing against the link I in the lower
end of the hole i', and as the long arm of the lever still moves down and forward
the link F and pinion fare moved back, so as to draw back the bolt a, the latter
moving twice as fast and as far as the pinion. The lock N having at this time
moved back from beneath the block E, the bolt a as it starts back moves the
block E.quickly into the position shown in Figure II. by means of the teeth a".
As the said lock N starts to move back it impinges against the hammer K and
moves that back also, and the hammer and block E now being entirely out of the
way, the bolt as the movement of the lever H continues is free to move back to the
position shewn in Figure II. In this downward and forward movement of the
lever H, when the pin i or the extreme forward end of the arm L reaches the
shoulder o' on the rear end of the arm G the forward end of the latter and the
carrier with which it engages are thrown upward, bringing the recess C¹ and
cartridge therein directly behind and in line with the bore of the barrel B, when
the forward movement of the lever H is completed.
When the parts are in this position, that is to say, in the position shown in
Figure II., the upper end of the pawl h is beneath and rests against the lower end
of the link I., and if the lever H be now moved back the link I, the arm L, the
lock N, the pinion f, and the bolt a will be moved forward until the teeth all
(which extend downward a little below the lower line or surface of the bolt) reacli
the teeth e on the block and engage with them, and the said block is thereby moved
up into place against the rear end of the bolt; when this is done the bolt has
reached its foremost position and the forward end of the bolt having moved
along the length of the recess c³ in the carrier has forced the cartridge into the
barrel and remains with its forward end against the head of the cartridge.
As the backward and upward movement of the lever is continued the lower end
of the pawl h rides against the shoulder of the frame and the upper end of the
pawl is thereby forced rearward or outward from beneath the lower end of the
link I, so that the latter and the pinion cannot be forced farther forward. As the
pin i or the forward end of the arm L reaches the shoulder c on the rear end of the
arm G the forward end of the latter is moved down and forces down the carrier
into the proper position to receive another cartridge, the pin i meanwhile moving
along the elongated hole in the link and the arm Land lock N being also drawn
forward until the latter is in place beneath the block E. The hammer K being
then at full cock the arm is discharged by the trigger as usual, or if desirable the
pivoted trip t in the handle of the swinging lever H may be opened out into the
position shown in Figure II., and if the handle be brought back and up against the
frame the said trip will strike against the projection 8 of the trigger and will
thereby release the hammer; by this means the arm, after having been placed in a
desired position for the range, may be rapidly loaded and discharged automatically
by the simple swinging movement of the lever H to and fro.
It will be perceived that by reason of the above described construction of
firearm it will be impossible to let down the hammer into a position to strike the
firing pin until the bolt a, the block E, and the lock N are all moved entirely
forward into position for firing after the cartridge is fully and entirely in place in
the barrel, so that no danger from premature explosion can exist.
If it should be desired to insert the cartridges in the barrel by hand from above,
that is to say, not to transfer them from the magazine to the said barrel, the small

page_text: stop 1 may be swung forward upon its pivot, which secures it to the lever H, so
that its forward end may impinge against the shoulder 2 on the lower side of the
frame. This stop and shoulder will prevent the operating lever H from being
swung forward far enough to operate the arm G and carrier D, and yet sufficiently
far to operate all the other parts of the firing mechanism, and the arm may thus
be used as an ordinary breech-loader.
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 in a firearm,-
First. The operating lever, the link, the stationary rack, and the pinion gearing
with the said rack, all so combined as to move the bolt to and fro, substantially as
above described.
Second. The combination of the operating lever, the pivoted carrier-actuating-
arm provided with two engaging shoulders, and a pin or a projection on the said
operating lever to engage with the said shoulders, so as to move the carrier up and
down within the frame, substantially as above described.
Third. The combination of the operating lever, the lock for locking the breech-
block in place, and the arm connecting the said operating lever with the said lock,
so as to move the said lock from and into position beneath the block, substantially
as above described.
Fourth. The combination of the bolt, the block for holding the said bolt in place
against the cartridge, and the lock for locking the said block in place behind the
bolt, substantially as above described.
Fifth. The combination of the operating lever and the spring pawl pivoted
thereto, the link, the rack and pinion, the bolt, the breech-block, the lock and the
arm connecting the said lock with the operating lever, substantially as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Harris Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty third day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.