Improvements in Fire-arms and Drum-like Magazines for the same.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Nov., 1888
Specification Accepted, 8th Jan., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fire-arms and Drum-like Magazines for the
same.
I, ADOLPH LINDNER, of No. 8 Jäger Strasse, in the City of Berlin, in the Empire
of Germany, Gentleman, 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:-
My invention relates to improvements in fire-arms with sliding breech piece and in
drum-like magazines, which can be arranged beneath the breech receiver, the magazine
drum being so arranged that it lies flush with the shaft of the fire arm and is filled
from above by simply pressing the cartridges into the cartridge receiver whilst the
automatic upward feed of a cartridge is effected at each opening of the breech, or in
other words, the cartridge is brought into such position that when the breech is closed
the cartridge is driven into the cartridge chamber in the barrel.
The mechanism of the breech piece is so constructed that the number of the parts is
reduced to a minimum and the construction of the entire fire-arm so simplified that
the form and action can be readily understood.
The breech piece or bolt is made of one piece and forms a safe closure of the barrel
not only against back pressure from escaping powder gases but also against the pene-
tration of dust and wet so that all danger of the weapon becoming unserviceable is
absolutely precluded.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a vertical longitudinal section of the fire-
arm in fired off condition.
Fig. 2 is a like section of the fire-arm with open breech, the breech piece chiefly in
elevation and the parts at half cock in order to better show the same.
Fig. 3 is a top view with opened breech and with the handle broken away.
Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line x-x in Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line y-y in Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 a section on the
line - in Fig. 2.
Fig. 7 is a view of the lower side of the bolt with the spring in fired off
position.

page_text: Fig. O IS a vertical section of the tail or rear end of the breech receiver or
shoe.
Fig. 9 represents the extractor in side and top view.
Fig. 10 represents the central part of the firing pin with the nose for cocking the
same and the recess for receiving the safety device.
Fig. 11 is a top view of the magazine drum.
Fig. 12 is a section on the line 1, 1 in Fig. 11, showing the spring for operating the
cartridge transporter.
Fig. 13 represents the cartridge transporter or wing F.
Fig. 14 represents in side and top view the spoon or cartridge bearing lever
arranged to swing in the slot in the breech receiver so that it receives a fresh cartridge
at each operation of the bolt.
The breech receiver or shoe a is provided with a longitudinal slot a¹ for inserting the
cartridges and an angular rear open slot a² for the bolt handle b, said slot having an
inclined surface a³ against which the handle of the bolt operates in order to facilitate
the closing of the bolt e against the end of the breech. An absolute safe closure
of the breech is attained on the one hand by the handle being held in snug
contact with the recoil shoulder of the slot a², on the other hand by means of a stud
or projection d of the bolt which enters a recess e in the breech receiver or
shoe a when the handle is turned into the position represented by the dotted lines in
Fig. 3, so that no back pressure of the powder gases however powerful they may be
can drive back the bolt which is securely held on both sides.
The said stud or projection d moves in the groove fin the shoe or breech receiver
and serves as guide for the bolt c, which is also guided by the screw g
which passes
through the breech receiver or shoe into a groove h, in the bolt c and also serves to
retain the bolt in the said receiver or shoe .
C
In order to be able to fully cock the firing pin i and firing spring j in closing the
bolt the firing pin is provided with a nose or projection which protrudes from the
surface of the bolt e and is guided in a groove in the breech receiver a.
In moving the bolt e forwards to close the breech this nose comes in contact with
the nose of the trigger and is thus prevented from moving forward with the bolt thus
compressing the spring and full cocking the firing pin, the holt being provided with
the customary recess with inclined surface so that the firing pin is half cocked by
the action of turning the bolt to the left in opening the breech, the parts remaining at
half cock until the breech is closed as aforementioned.
The firing pin is guided at its rear end in a boring in the screw stopper & screwed
into the end of the bolt c and in the boring of the latter by means of the collar near
the forward end of the pin and the annular enlargement of the said firing pin above
the cocking nose. The screw stopper is securely held in position by means of a
flat spring the foot of which glides in a dove-tailed groove of the bolt, whilst the rear
end fits into a recess in the milled head or flange of the screw stopper k.
A safety device for securing the parts in cocked position is attached to the breech
receiver or shoe a and consists of the part m, Figs. 3 and 4, pivotted to the shoe and
gearing into the slot of the part of the firing pin above the nose i so as to securely
hold the said firing pin and prevent the same from being driven forwards by the
spring when the trigger is pressed back thus avoiding all possibility of a premature
explosion.
The extractor n, Fig. 9, for extracting the cartridge when the bolt is drawn back
and the breech opened is arranged in a groove in the bolt and is provided at both ends
with a hook or claw so that it gears at the one end into a groove in or over a flange on
the head of the cartridge, whilst the hook at the opposite or rear end gears into a
recess in the bolt.
The centre of the extractor is of dove-tail form and fits into a dove-tail groove
in the bolt. If it is desired to remove the extractor from the bolt it is necessary to
raise the rear end out of the recess in the bolt when the extractor can be pushed
forwards and out of the groove.
In order to rapidly eject the cartridge when the breech piece or bolt is drawn

page_text: back and the breech opened an ejector o, which has a limited movement, is
arranged in the groove in the under side of the bolt. The ejector is made in
form of a flat slide with an enlarged hook-like head o', which is so formed that
when the breech is closed the cartridge head will rest in a corresponding recess
in the head of the bolt and in front of the ejector.
When the bolt is drawn back in opening the breech the hooked end of the
ejector o will strike a nose p¹ on the magazine spoon p arranged on the pivot
in the bottom of the cartridge chamber in the breech receiver, thus driving the
cartridge out at the recess in the bolt head and ejecting the discharged shell from
the fire-arm. The nose p¹ of the spoon p glides in the groove of the ejector
when the breech is closed the bolt being provided with a groove in which the
said nose p' glides when the bolt is fully closed.
The spoon p receives a springy action through the springs which lays itself
against the rear end of the spoon and presses same upwards. This spring s serves
also as trigger spring and is screwed to the lever fixed to the breech
receiver a the trigger arm and trigger being in connection with the said
'lever t.
ין
As will be evident from Figure 2 the spring s has the tendency to raise the
forward end of the spoon so that the cartridge laying on the same will have an
inclined position with the tip of the ball immediately in front of the centre of the
cartridge chamber in the barrel so that when the bolt is pushed forwards and the
breech closed the cartridge will be automatically forced into the said cartridge
chamber.
The spoon or cartridge lever p is of a peculiar form as represented in Figures 1,
2 and 14, so that the cartridge is not only held in exactly correct position for
being forced into the chamber in the barrel, but so that when the said spoon or
lever is depressed by the action of closing the breech it will take up a fresh
cartridge out of the magazine, the lateral lug or projecting side p² serving to
securely hold the cartridge in correct position when the breech is opened and the
empty shell ejected.
My improved magazine consists of a drum A provided at its end with a holder
or attaching device B, through which the screw runs at the upper end of which
is firmly screwed into the breech receiver a. This drum contains the hollow axle D
and its spindle, said axle being operated on at the one end by means of a spiral or
ordinary watch spring E and held in the rear wall of the drum by the spindle to the
said hollow axle. The spring E is attached at the one end to the axle D and at the
other end to the drum A, said axle D being further provided with a radial ledge or
wing F which serves to transport the cartridges onto the spoon or lever p.
The device is so arranged that when the bolt of the arm is pushed forward to close
the breech the cartridge on the spoon or lever p will be pushed into the cartridge
chamber in the barrel and the spoon or lever p so depressed that it will take up the
next cartridge in the magazine and bring the same up ready for charging into the
cartridge chamber as soon as the bolt is drawn back to open the breech and eject the
discharged shell. The spoon or lever with the cartridge lying on the same is com-
pelled to rise when the bolt is drawn back as the lower projection or stud to the
ejector o forces the nose p¹ to the rear so as to bring the cartridge on the spoon or
lever into the correct position for being charged into the chamber in the barrel. The
loaded cartridges in the magazine A are, as shown in Figure 6, grouped around the
axle D so that the first cartridge inserted in the magazine lies on the transporting
ledge or wing F attached to the axle D and are brought up one after the other onto
the spoon or lever p by the combined action of the spring E and the transporting
ledge or wing F until the magazine is emptied.
My improved magazine is loaded from above the cartridges being either laid
successively on the spoon or lever p and pressed downwards into the magazine, whilst
the spoon or lever recedes laterally to allow the same to pass, the spring E being
subjected to increasing tension as the cartridges are inserted, but I prefer to pack the
said cartridges in sheet metal frames, the walls of which are so cut away that although

page_text: the cartridges are held firmly during transport, the same can be simultaneously pressen
into the magazine by inserting the edges of the metal packing into the longitudinal
opening in the breech receiver and pressing all the cartridges at one time into the
magazine. In this way the magazine can be almost instantaneously loaded.
The spoon or lever can also be readily rendered stationary by means of a small 5
catch or slide. so that the fire arm can be used as single loader and the magazine be
retained filled and ready for use in case of emergency, but the magazine can be
charged by using the aforedescribed packing with such rapidity that the soldier can
as a rule fire with cartridges taken from the magazine.
If it is desired to employ my improved fire-arm as single loading arm without
magazine, it will be evident that the spoon or lever p can be dispensed with and the
breech receiver made full, id est, without the slot in the lower surface. In this case
an ordinary well known spring or rigid ejector can be employed or the rear end of
the spoon or lever p with the nose can be retained and also the ejector as
represented in the accompanying drawing.
One of the main features of my improved fire-arm, that is, the construction of the
sliding breech piece or bolt of one piece can, as a matter of course, be applied to
other breech receivers without in any way departing from the nature of my invention,
and I desire it to be furthermore understood that instead of half cocking the firing
pin in opening the breech and fully cocking the same in closing the said breech, my
improved firing pin can be cocked solely in closing the breech, in which case
the inclined surfaces c', ², are omitted and the bolt provided with a suitable
transverse groove so as to allow the said bolt to turn whilst the firing pin remains
stationary. The enlarged central part of the firing pin can also be prolonged to the
rear and hollowed out to receive the firing or helical spring in such manner that the
said spring is in all cases kept out of view and all dust or sand prevented from
entering the bolt.
Furthermore I also in some instances prefer to use a trigger arrangement in
which the trigger is jointed to a short rod surrounded by a spiral spring and
provided at its upper end with the nose for engaging with the nose or notch of
the firing pin for the reason that this device will prevent all access of Just and
sand to the parts
It will be evident to all versed in the art that the form and arrangements of
the parts can be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit of my
nvention.
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 breech loading fire-arms, the construction of the bolt or sliding breech piece c
provided with handle band a stud or projection which latter gears into a recess in
the breech receiver so as to form a recoil shoulder on both sides of the breech receiver
or shoe, substantially as and for the purpose set forth in the foregoing specification
and shown in the accompanying drawings.
2. In fire-arms, the construction of the sliding breech piece or holt of one piece of
metal with slots or recesses for the passage of the projecting part of the firing pin,
substantially as described i the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying
drawings.
3. In breech' loading fire-arms, compressing the firing pin spring j in two operations.
for the one half in opening the breech, by means of the inclined surface c² for the
other half in closing the breech of the nose i being detained by the trigger nose
straight line substantially as
the firing pin moving backwards and forwards only in a
described in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.
4. In breech loading fire-arms, the use of the extractor a with dove-tailed central par
and hooked or claw-like forward and rear ends the rear claw or hook gearing into
recess in the bolt, whilst the forward claw or hook grasps the cartridge, substantially
as described in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 5. In breech loading fire-arms. the use of an ejector o moving in a groove in
the bolt c. said ejector receiving a limited movement when the breech is opened
by its foot striking against the nose p¹ of the spoon or lever p, thus causing the
empty shell to be ejected from the fire-arm, substantially as described in the
foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.
6. In breech loading fire-arms, the device for securely holding the parts in
cocked position by means of a movable flap which is so operated upon by a suitable
spring that the nose of the flap will gear into a groove in the firing pin and
prevent the fire-arm from being discharged until the flap has been placed out of
gear with the firing pin, substantially as described in the foregoing specification
and shown in the accompanying drawings.
7. In breech loading fire-arms, the use of the laterally arranged spoon or lever p
with nose p and curved edge p³ said spoon or lever turning on the pivot 9 and
operating so that one cartridge will be taken up by the lever or spoon p for insertion
in the chamber of the breech whereas the other cartridges are prevented from leaving
the magazine, substantially as described in the foregoing specification and shown in
tlie accompanying drawings.
8. In breech loading fire-arms, the magazine consisting of the drum A the axle D
of which carries a ledge or wing F which, in connection with the spring E serves
to transport the cartridges in the magazine onto the spoon or lever p, the bent
edge of which serves to retain the cartridge in such position that the cartridge on
the same is forced into the chamber in the barrel when the breech is closed, sub-
stantially as described in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying
drawings.
1000
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant