OR IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR DISCHARGING BOTH LOCKS OR BARRELS OF A DOUBLE-BARRELLED GUN BY ONE TRIGGER
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Seth John Wallis, of Spalding, in the County
of Lincoln, Gun Manufacturer, for the Invention of "NEW OR
IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR DISCHARGING BOTH LOCKS OR BARRELS OF A
DOUBLE-BARRELLED GUN BY ONE TRIGGER.”

page_text: unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters
Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that I am the
true and first Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Seth John Wallis, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the
following statement :-
My present Invention relates to the discharging of double-barrelled
gun, and has for its objects the prevention of the accidental or unin-
tentional discharge of both barrels at one and the same time; also to
render it impossible to pull the wrong trigger when one barrel has been
discharged, and to insure the regular and more equal wear of both locks
and barrels. The means by which I propose to attain the said objects
of my Invention I will now proceed to explain with the aid of the
accompanying Drawing, which forms part of this Specification.
Figure 1 is an elevation of my said improved mechanism, full size;
but in order that the several parts may be more clearly indicated and
understood the other Figures are drawn to a scale of double the size, or
twice the dimensions of Figure
•
Figure 2 is an elevation of my said mechanism, shewing the trigger
in its normal position before discharging the gun by black lines, and the
same trigger by red lines when the gun is discharged; also the position
of the indicators, one on each side of the gun, that shew which barrel
or lock is set for going off.
Figure 3 is a similar elevation without the said indicator, and with a
different mode of indicating.
Figure 4 shews a partial modification of my improved mode of
operating both locks alternately.
Figure 5 shews in plan the positions of the two said indicators of ;
Figure 2; the black lines give their positions when the locks are not
set for going off, and the red lines shew their positions when the locks
are set for going off, or for being discharged. This Figure also shews
the tracks of the wheels herein-after described, which actuate the said
indicators.

page_text: In the following description the same parts are indicated in cach
Figure where the same index letters and figures appear: —
The trigger a of the lock is pivotted at 6' to the metal block b, which
block is fixed to and upon the trigger plate c. On an after or rear
vertical projection of the said block 6 I mount on a square axle, having
cylindrical ends or journals, a central metal wheel plate or disc formed
with eight teeth or notches, as shewn, and which will herein-after be
termed the "ratchet wheel." On each side of this ratchet wheel e, and on
the same axle d, I also mount a metal plate ƒ and g of the same diameter
as the ratchet wheel e cut to four point, arms, or noses; that plate on
the right-hand side of the gun, and shewn in or by black lines, will
herein-after be termed the right-hand sear releaser f, and the other
plate on the left-hand side of the gun, and shewn in or by full red lines
or dotted red lines, will be called the left-hand scar releaser g. These
sear releasers are so arranged or fitted on the said axle d as to have the
outer ends of their respective teeth or arms flush or nearly so alternately
with the teeth of the ratchet wheel e, as shewn.
Immediately under and in the track of these wheels e, f, and g, I form
or fix a circular block or lump of metal h (see Figure 2), slotted or mor-
ticed to allow the ends of the arms of the said wheels to move and-
operate therein. Within this slot or mortice I fix in holes formed
through the sides of the block han indicator i for each lock to shew
when it is set for going off; these indicators are kept or maintained in
their normal position within the said block h by small springs i. When
the ends or points of the arms of the sear releasers during their rotations
reach the lower part of their tracks in the block / they force out their
respective indicators i, so that the said indicators can be seen in the
light and can always be felt, and thus shew at all times which lock is
set for going off. The springs of these indicators may be fixed outside
the block h, as shewn in the lower part of Figure 5, or the right-hand
side of the gun.
Another mode of indicating by sight which lock is set for going off is
shewn in Figure 3, where I dispense with the block of metal h, and
allow the ends of the arms of the sear releasers to be seen between the
arm a' of the trigger and the trigger plate c, the ends of the four arms
of the right-hand sear releaser being marked with the letter R, and those
of the left-hand sear releaser with the letter L, as shewn, so that as the
said arms arrive at the lower part of their rotations or tracks they display

page_text: their respective letters alternately, and thereby shew which lock is set
for going off.
The ratchet wheel e, and with it the two sear releasers fand g, are
moved or operated as follows:-To the free end of the arm a¹ of the
trigger is pivotted at a³ a piece of solid metal or ratchet a³, as shewn,
which is lightly held or pressed to or against the edge of the ratchet
wheel e by the small spring a*. The trigger is shewn in its normal
position by the black lines in Figures 2 and 3. When the lower arm a
of the trigger is pulled backwards in the usual way the trigger and
ratchet a³ are moved to the positions shewn in red (see Figure 3), and
the ratchet wheel and sear releasers are thereby moved round one-eighth
of a rotation, or the extent of one notch of the ratchet wheel e, and the
uppermost arm j of the sear releaser f is moved to the point or part k,
and during its passage it operated the arm or lever of the sear of the
right-hand lock so as to release the tumbler thereof, which thus dis-
charges the lock in the usual way; and the end of the said arm j of the
sear releaser f passes under the said arm or lever of the said sear, which
prevents any backward or return movement of the said wheels e, f, g.
This movement also brings the alternate arm of the left-hand sear
releaser g into position (at the part j on the opposite or left-hand side of
the ratchet wheel e) for operating the left-hand sear by the next similar
motion of the trigger, and at the same time exhibits the letter L in the
said opening between the trigger and the trigger plate, thus indicating
that the left-hand lock is set for going off.
When the trigger is liberated from the pressure of the finger it is
forced back to its normal position, as shewn by the black lines, by the
springs m and a', when the ratchet a³ engages in the next notch n of
the ratchet wheel e. By now pulling the trigger as before the three
wheels e, f, g, are moved another eighth of a rotation, or one notch of
the ratchet wheel e, and the left-hand lock is discharged by the left-
hand sear releaser in the same way as herein-before described for the
right-hand lock, and so on alternately, thus insuring the regular and
equal wear of both locks and barrels, and rendering it impossible to
discharge the wrong lock, or to let off both locks or barrels at one and
the same time, thereby entirely removing a prolific source of minor and
serious accidents.
If desired the two sear releasers may be dispensed with (see Figure)
by substituting for them the four proiections or notches shewn in black

page_text: on the right-hand side of the ratchet wheel e, and the four similar pro-
jections shewn in red, fixed on the opposite or left-hand side of the
ratchet wheel e, these notches operating the arms or levers of the sears
and the indicators shewn in Figure 3 in the same way as by the said sear
releasers.
Having thus fully described the nature and objects of my said
Invention, and the mode of carrying the same into effect, I would have
it understood that, as the same or similar results may be attained by
various modifications of the size and forms of the several parts of
my said mechanism I do not confine myself to the exact forms and
dimensions thereof; but I claim as my Invention, and desire to secure
by Letters Patent, the mechanism substantially as and for the purpose
herein described and shewn in the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Seth John Wallis, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.