Improvements Applied to Fire-arms.
Year: 1889

page_text: Improvements Applied to Fire-arms.
We, VICTOR CLAIR, and BENOIT CLAIR, of the firm of Clair frères of No. 14 Rue
Gambetta, St. Etienne, in the Department of the Loire and Republic of France,
Machinists, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in fire-arms, whether portable or position,
guns, small arms, mitrailleuses, or machine guns and ordnance, and it is based upon
the utilisation of the pressure of the gases developed in the barrel for the purpose of
loading but in the case of ordnance for arresting the recoil of the gun.
By applying this system to repeating fire-arms, generally, their working becomes
automatic; that is to say, the shooter in order to discharge the gun has to perform no
other movement than to press the trigger, and when he desires to fire continuously he
has only to repeat this movement without taking the gun from his shoulder until all
the cartridges in the magazine are exhausted.
This automatic and successive loading is due to the actual firing of the gun. In
fact utilising the pressure of the gases enclosed in the barrel, at the moment they are
about to escape, we use it as a motor to actuate the mechanism which causes the
passage of the cartridge from the magazine into the barrel, clearing this latter of the
spent cartridge, case.
The mechanism by which we arrive at this result is arranged in a tube close to
the barrel of the gun and of about the same length and diameter.
It is composed of two small piston cylinders of about four inches in length, placed
at the ends of the tube which holds them; the one towards the mouth of the barrel
the other towards the breech-end, and the rod, about six inches in length, of each of
these pistons is in opposite direction to the other and carries in its entire length out-
side of the cylinder, a spiral or coiled spring. At the end of each of these piston
rods is a small rod or bar of about three or four inches in length; one (that which
forms part of the piston cylinder arrangement which is towards the breech-end) is
rigid and carries at its end a small solid piece, head, or block capable of receiving the
thrust of another small block on the end of the other rod which is flexible forming
spring, and part of the arrangement of the piston cylinder placed towards the mouth'
of the barrel. When the apparatus is not working these two rods are the one under
the other.
The piston of the cylinder which is towards the breech-end of the barrel, carries
on the side opposite to its rod, another rod, which not only comes out of this
cylinder but also of the tube which contains the arrangement, and this rod is that
which directly governs or puts into action the loading mechanism of the repeating
gun to which the system is applied.
A small gas hole is made in the barrel, say at about six or seven inches from the
mouth, so as to communicate with the cylinder placed on this side. The conduit
of this small hole is stopped, when the apparatus is at rest, by the piston of this
cylinder.
This is what takes place on the firing of the gun, which action actuates, as aforesaid,
its loading mechanism.
Directly the ball has passed the orifice for the escape of gas, and before it has
issued from the barrel, the gases which push it enter into the small cylinder existing
towards the mouth of the barrel, driving the piston towards the mouth and compressing
the coiled or spiral spring which is on the rod of this piston and bringing its rod,
which we term the click disengagement, end to end with that belonging to the other
piston.
When the ball has left the barrel the pressure of the gases escaping by the freed
barrel, the spring expands and drives back by compressing it, that spring, less powerful

page_text: than itself, which surrounds the rod of the other piston, by the intermediary of
the contact of the above mentioned end blocks of the two rods. The piston of
the second cylinder has thus advanced, as well as the driving rod of the loading
mechanism which then actuates this latter; then, arrived at the end of its journey,
the block or head of the rod belonging to the first piston meets a stop which causes
it to bend and cause disengagement, by detaching it from the other block which it
was pushing. The second piston then resumes its first position by the action of
the spring wound on its rod, bringing back the rod which drives the loading
mechanism, which rod has thus operated in a very short time, and by the action of
the discharge itself, the come and go movement necessary to the play of the loading
mechanism.
To arrest the recoil in ordnance and assist in bringing the carriage back into
position, we employ a modification of our system of utilisation of the pressure of the
gases developed in the gun by the firing. We only use one instead of two
cylinders that which receives the gases; this cylinder is attached to the carriage
by a strong bar and the piston is fixed, its rod being attached to a fixed point.
When the gases enter the cylinder, by suitably jointed tubes, the cylinder and
consequently the gun itself receives a forward impulsion counterbalancing the effect
of the recoil.
Dated this Twenty third day of February 1889.
Improvements Applied to Fire-arms.
We, VICTOR CLAIR, and BENOIT CLAIR, of the firm of Clair frères of No. 14 Rue
Gambetta, St. Etienne, in the Department of the Loire and Republic of France;
Machinists, 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 in firearms, whether portable or position
guns, small arms, mitrailleuses, or machine guns and ordnance, and it is based upon
the utilization of the pressure of the gases developed in the barrel for the purpose
of loading but in the case of ordnance for arresting the recoil of the gun.
By applying this system to repeating firearms, not revolvers, generally, their
working becomes automatic; that is to say the shooter in order to discharge the
gun has to perform no other movement than. to press the trigger; and when he
desires to fire continuously he has only to repeat this movement without taking
the gun from his shoulder until all the cartridges in the magazine are exhausted.
This automatic and continuous loading is due to the actual firing of the gun. In
fact utilising the pressure of the gases enclosed in the barrel, at the moment they are
about to escape, we use it as a motor to actuate the mechanism which causes the
passage of the cartridge from the magazine into the barrel, clearing this latter of
the spent cartridge case.
The apparatus represented upon the accompanying Drawing is combined so as to
obtain this result. The following is a description thereof.
A gashole a is made at a suitable part of the barrel C so as to place these gases in
communication with the automatic apparatus. enclosed in a tube B close to and
following the barrel.
For the first discharge the gun is cocked by hand, in the usual manner, and before
it is fired the parts of the apparatus occupy the position shown Figure 1 of the
Drawing. The gun having been fired, nothing will move until the ball b shall have
passed beyond the point of communication a; but when it has passed beyond this
point the apparatus will act as represented in Figure 2, to then, as at Figure 3, on the
issue of the ball from the barrel, give to the driving rod T the rectilineal movement

page_text: required to put into action the loading mechanism of the fire arm to which the system
is applied.
Therefore directly the ball 6 has passed beyond the orifice of the gashole a and
before it issues from the barrel, the gases which push it enter into a small cylinder h
(pierced with air holes i at its back part) causing the piston p to act taking the
position shown Figure 2 in compressing the main spring R to which it is connected,
and bringing a click or disengaging piece d forming a continuation of this piston rod
facing a corresponding piece d' on the rod t upon which is set the spring S.
The main spring R is therefore thus compressed before the issue of the ball from
the barrel, but directly it has issued, the pressure of the gases escaping by the free
barrel, this mainspring expands and by the intermediary of the click (the ends d, d
joining) it drives back and compresses the spring S less powerful than itself and the
parts take the position determined in Figure 3; that is to say the driving rod T will
have been violently pushed in the direction of the arrow y.
This rod then rapidly actuates the loading mechanism of the firearm, in a very
short time, as the click having reached the end of its journey meets a fixed
block m suitably placed, which causes it to escape bringing about its disengagement
from the piece ¹.
The result is that the spring S expands and that the parts come back to the
position determined in Figure 1, ready to play again under another pressure of the
trigger.
E is a cylinder in which works the piston e to which is connected the driving
rod T. This piston therefore in moving to and fro obeys the action of the two
springs R. S.
If it is desired not to use the automatic movement in order to load the gun it
is only necessary to close the gashole a by means of a closing screw placed for this
purpose beneath the barrel.
This system may be applied to portable firearms such as mitrailleuses; even to
pieces of artillery, also with the object of arresting their recoil.
To arrest the recoil in ordnance and assist in bringing the carriage back into
position we employ a modification of our system of utilisation of the pressure of the
gases developed in the gun by the firing. We only use one instead of two
cylinders, that which receives the gases; this cylinder is attached to the carriage
by a strong bar and the piston is fixed, its rod being attached to a fixed point.
When the gases enter the cylinder, by suitably jointed tubes, the cylinder and con-
sequently the gun itself receives a forward impulsion counterbalancing the effect of
the recoil.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
1. Taking the gases developed in firing by a hole a made in the barrel of the
fire arm, to bring these gases to actuate under their pressure, and in lieu of the hand,
the loading mechanism possessed by the repeating firearm to which the system is
applied.
2. For this purpose the combination of the two cylinders with piston working in
a tube running along the barrel; the first of which h placed towards the mouth
moves under pressure of the gases and the second E under the action of a spring
wound on the piston rod of the first, by the aid of the rods with click disengage-
ment d, ; the piston of this second cylinder carrying the rod T, the rectilineal play
of which determines automatically the working of the loading mechanism of the
repeating firearm to which the system is applied.
Dated this Twenty second day of November 1889.