Improvements IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL ARMS
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Middleditch Scott at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th January 1872.
I, WILLIAM MIDDLEDITCH SCOTT, of the Firm of W. and C. Scott
and Son, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “Improvements
IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL ARMS," to be as follows:―
My Invention has reference to breech-loading small arms of the kind
called drop-down guns or guns in which the barrels turn in a vertical
plane upon a joint on the body, and my said Invention consists of the
arrangements or combinations hercin-after described of the parts of
mechanism for actuating or withdrawing the spring sliding bolts by
which the barrels of the said drop-down guns are fastened to the body.
The spring sliding bolt works in a horizontal slot in the body of the
gun, and takes into a recess made in a lump on the under side of the
barrels to fasten down the said barrels, the said lump being situated a
short distance from the breech ends of the barrels. The lump described
when the barrels are shut down takes into an opening in the body,

page_text: pushing back the sliding bolt, which bolt on the complete shutting down
of the barrels snaps into the lump and fastens down the said barrels.
In actuating or withdrawing the said spring sliding bolt according to
my Invention, I place in the break off and parallel with its face a
vertical axis capable of a partial rotation. The upper end of the said
axis is provided with a thumb plate or handle which is situated on the
tang of the break off, and has motion in a horizontal plane that is
parallel to the said tang. On the bottom of this vertical axis and on one
sido thereof is a tooth or projection which occupies a notch or cut away
part near the edge of the rear end of the spring sliding bolt. By turning
aside the handle or thumb plate on the tang a partial rotation is given to
the vertical axis, and its tooth or projection is made to work in the notch
described in the bolt, and by the excentricity of the said tooth or
projection to withdraw the bolt and unfasten the barrels for charging.
In the arrangement described the axis requires to be of large diameter
to give the necessary range of motion to the bolt. In order to diminish
the size of the axis and to obtain the required range of motion in the
bolt a vertical lever may be interposed between the vertical axis and the
spring sliding bolt. The arms of this vertical lever are of unequal
length, the lower arm being considerably longer than the upper arm.
The long lower arm of the lever engages in a notch or recess in the
sliding bolt, and the top of the short upper arm occupies a depression or
recess in the bottom of the vertical axis and at one side thercof. By
turning aside or giving a horizontal motion to the thumb plate or
handle on the tang the vertical axis is partly rotated and the vertical
lever turned on its centre by the excentric connection of the said axis
with the upper arm of the said lever. As the upper arm of the lever is
moved by the axis towards the face of the break off, the bottom arm is
moved in the contrary direction and withdraws the sliding bolt. Thus in
consequence of the unequal length of the arms of the vertical lever the
motion of the thumb plate and axis through a small angle produces
sufficient motion in the long arm of the lever to give the required range
of motion to the bolt to effect its withdrawal.