Improvements in Pistols and other Small Arms.
Year: 1896

page_text: Improvements in Pistols and other Small Arms.
I, GEORGE VINCENT FOSBERY, of 279 Vauxhall Bridge Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Colonel V.C. do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to further improvements in automatic revolving small arms
of the kind or class described in the Specifications of Letters Patent No. 15453
of 1895 and No. 12470 of 1896 granted to me.
According to my present invention instead of making that part of the frame of
the pistol which surrounds the stock in two parts screwed together as shewn in
Figure 2 of the drawings accompanying Specification No. 15453 aforesaid or solid
as shewn in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings accompanying the aforesaid Specification
No. 12470, I now form it in two parts hinged together at the rear end of the grip
so that when a pin which holds the parts together at the top is removed the rear
portion can be thrown back and the sliding portion of the pistol be withdrawn.
My present improvements also relate to means for turning or revolving the
cylinder of the pistol whereby the said cylinder may be positively started each
time and also may be effectively controlled and prevented from being thrown too
far. For this purpose I furnish the cylinder with equidistant stops or studs and
I provide a pivoted piece having on one side an inclined plane or face and on
the other side a flat surface nearly parallel to the axis of the chambers. This
piece is firmly attached to the lower or non sliding-portion of the pistol.
When the pistol is fired one of the aforesaid studs or stops is by the recoil
forced against the inclined face of the pivoted piece, and the cylinder as it travels
backward is thereby compelled to turn. When it has travelled the required distance
the next stop prevents further revolution by striking against the Hat rear face
of the pivoted piece which piece is thereby forced outward to the limit of its
movement and is then brought up and the usual cylinder stop then comes into
play.
Instead of the above method of starting and controlling the cylinder, I sometimes
form inclined surfaces on the cylinder itself and make use of a single stop
attached to the non-sliding portion of the pistol. The said stop may be thrown
into and out of gear in the same way as the stop G shown in Figures 1 and 2
of the drawings accompanying the Specification No. 12470 above referred to.
These inclined surfaces are formed by grooves into which the stop projects.
A step is formed at the end of each groove. The end of the stop passes over
these steps, and thus the cylinder can only revolve in one direction.
Each portion between two chambers has two grooves in it; therefore when the
sliding portion of the pistol recoils the stud causes the cylinder to revolve one
half the distance between any two chambers and when the sliding portion returns to
its original position the rotary movement is completed and a fresh cartridge brought
opposite to the barrel.
Again, in order to control the cylinder so that it shall not be movable when the
hammer is at half cock and so that when the hammer is let down from full cock to

page_text: half cock, the chambers shall not be revolved by recocking the weapon, and also to
prevent the weight of the cartridges in one side of the cylinder from causing the
said cylinder to revolve in a backward direction when the pistol is half empty, 1
provide a second ratchet or its equivalent on the surface of the cylinder, and a stop
so made that the cylinder can only revolve past it in one direction. The said stop is
attached to a spring which causes it to press lightly on the surface of the cylinder.
I also so construct the pawl that it shall not touch any one of the teeth of the rack
on which it operates when the hammer is at half cock, but shall lie about midway
between two of them.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
I, GEORGE VINCENT FOSBERY, of 279 Vauxhall Bridge Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Colonel, V.C., 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 further improvements in automatic pistols and other
small arms of the kind or class described in the Specification of prior Letters Patent
No. 15453 of 1895 and No. 12470 of 1896 granted to me.
According to my present invention one improvement consists in making the stock
with a hinged portion at the rear end thereof so that by the removal of a suitably
arranged pin or catch the hinged rear portion can be thrown back and thus permit of
the sliding portion of the pistol to be readily withdrawn when desired.
Another of my present improvements relates to means for turning or revolving the
cylinder of the pistol, whereby the said cylinder can be positively started to revolve
each time the pistol is discharged and also can be effectively controlled and prevented
from being turned too far. For this purpose the means I employ may consist of a
number of equidistant stops or studs on the cylinder which act in conjunction with a
pivoted or movable piece having an inclined side or face as hereinafter explained.
Instead of the above means I sometimes form the cylinder itself with inclined
surfaces or grooves and make use of a spring controlled stop attached to the non-
sliding portion of the pistol. A step is formed at the end of each groove over which
the end of the said stop passes and thus ensures that the cylinder shall revolve in
the proper direction.
In order to control the cylinder so that it shall not be movable when the hammer
is at half cock, and so that when the hammer is let down from full cock to half cock,
the said cylinder shall not be revolved by re-cocking the weapon, and also to prevent
the weight of the undischarged cartridges in the cylinder on one side thereof from
causing the said cylinder to revolve in a backward direction when several of the
cartridges have been discharged, I provide a second ratchet or its equivalent on the
surface of the cylinder, and a stop so made that the cylinder can only revolve past it
in one direction. The said stop is attached to a spring which causes it to press
lightly on the surface of the cylinder. I also so construct the pawl that it shall not
touch any one of the teeth of the rack on which it operates when the hammer is at
half cock, but shall lie about midway between two of them.
In order that my said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into

page_text: ing drawings in which:-
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a revolver of the kind referred to in the
Specification of my aforesaid prior Patent No. 12,470 of 1896 and provided with my
present improvements.
Figures 2 and 3 are transverse sections taken respectively on the lines 1. 1. and 2.2.
of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is another sectional elevation of the pistol illustrated in Figure 1 but with
the section so taken as to more clearly shew the means employed for revolving the
cartridge cylinder.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of a similar pistol shewing a modification of the means
employed for revolving the cartridge cylinder.
Figures 6 and 7 are detail views of the last mentioned means; Figure 6 shewing
the cartridge cylinder developed to more clearly illustrate the grooves therein and
Figure 7 being a section taken on a line passing centrally through the grooves in
Figure 6.
A is the revolving cartridge cylinder; B the barrel; C the hammer and C¹ the
main spring. These parts are carried on the movable portion D that is capable of
sliding to and fro on the part Ex of the handle or stock E as explained in the
Complete Specifications of my aforesaid patents.
E is the hinged portion of the stock E such portion being pivotally connected
thereto by a pivot pin E2 and having at its upper end a detachable pin or screw E³,
or a catch, by which the said hinged portion can be rigidly connected to the
portion E of the stock and firmly held in its closed position, that is to say the
position in which it is represented in Figure 1. When the aforesaid pin or screw is
removed, or the catch released, the hinged portion E' can very readily be turned
outwardly and downwardly about its pivot pin E whereby, after removing the lever d¹
and its spring dt, the entire sliding portion of the pistol can be readily detached
from the stock by withdrawing it rearwardly. The internal mechanism can then be
easily inspected and cleaned or otherwise attended to.
The means shewn in Figures 1 to 4 for positively starting the rotary movement of
the cartridge cylinder consist of a series of studs or stops a projecting radially from
the said cylinder, and of a pivoted piece a' with which these studs or stops co-operate.
The said pivoted piece is connected by a pin a² to a block a forming part of the non-
sliding portion of the pistol, so as to be capable of lateral movement against the
resistance of a blade spring a. The upper side of the pivoted piece is formed as
an incline or cam surface, so that when the pistol is fired and the sliding part thereof
recoils, one of the aforesaid studs a is forced up the incline or cam surface a³, whereby
the cylinder A is started moving angularly, the pawl F (Figure 1) completing the
movement as explained in the Specification of iny aforesaid Patent No. 12,470 of
1896. As the said cylinder performs this partial revolution during the recoil, the
next succeeding stud of the series a comes against the back face of the pivoted
piece a¹ thereby stopping the further revolution of the cylinder A and causing the
said pivoted piece to move laterally away from the cylinder against the resistance of
its spring a. Then, as the sliding portion of the pistol regains its firing position,
this stud escapes from the pivoted piece, which consequently regains its normal
position ready for the next succeeding pin on the cylinder A to be acted upon, when
another recoil takes place.
In order to prevent the cylinder from turning in a backward direction I provide a
spring controlled stop a which engages with ratchet like recessses a' in the
cylinder A. One face of the said stop is flat to resist the backward movement of
said cylinder but its opposite face is curved so that said stop will be depressed by the
cylinder when the latter performs its forward partial rotary movement.
a is another spring stop engaging with a second series of ratchet like recesses a³ in
the cylinder A, these recesses being twice the number of the aforesaid recesses a', so
that when the cylinder has been turned for only a portion of its partial revolution the
said stop engages with one of the said recesses a' and thereby prevents any rearward

page_text: rotary movement of the cylinder A, while the first mentioned stop a is in its dis-
engaged position. In this manner I avoid, as already stated, the rearward inoveinent
of the cylinder when the hammer is at half cock or when the hammer is set from half
cock to full cock, and also avoid as aforesaid the rearward inovement that might take
place when half the cartridges have been discharged and there exists on one side of
the cylinder a preponderating weight of the undischarged cartridges, tending to turn
said cylinder backwardly.
In Figures 5, 6 and 7 I have shewn modified means of starting the partial
revolution of the cylinder A, wherein the said cylinder is formed with inclined or
zig-zag grooves A' into which projects a spring stop A2 carried by a non-recoiling
part of the pistol. At each end of the aforesaid grooves a step A³ is formed by
making
the bed of the grooves inclined as best seen in Figure 7. The said spring
stop A², as the sliding part of the pistol recoils, causes the cylinder A to partially
revolve in the direction of the arrow, the aforesaid step A³ preventing the rotation of
the cylinder in the reverse direction as will be readily understood on reference to the
said Figure 7. There are two of the aforesaid grooves A' between two of the cartridge
chambers in the cylinder A. Consequently when the sliding portion D of the pistol
recoils the stud A² causes the cylinder to revolve one half of the distance between any
two of the cartridge chambers and when the sliding portion D returns to its firing
position under the influence of the spring d and lever d¹, the partial rotary
movement of the cylinder A is completed and a fresh cartridge brought opposite to
the barrel....
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.
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:
By providing means for starting the revolution of the cylinder A as above stated, .I
avoid the liability of damaging or breaking the pawl F which might otherwise occur
by reason of the sudden blow such pawl would receive at each discharge of the
pistol..
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 in an automatic pistol or other automatic small arm of the revolver type, is :-
1. The construction of the stock with a hinged or pivoted rear portion for the
purpose specified, the said portion being provided with a detachable pin or a catch to
securely retain it in its closed position."
2. The combination with the cartridge cylinder of radial pins or stops which act
in conjunction with a pivoted or movable incline substantially as described and for
the purpose specified.
3. The cartridge cylinder formed with zig-zag grooves which are stepped at their
ends and with which a stationary spring stop engages for the purpose specified.
4. The cartridge cylinder formed with two series of ratchet-like recesses with
which engage spring stops carried by a recoiling part of the fire-arm substantially
as described and for the purposes specified.
5. A pistol of the kind specified having my present improvements applied thereto
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings and for thé
purposes hereinbefore stated.
Dated this 30th day of August 1897.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.