Year: 1895

page_text: I, CLAUS HERMANN RICHARD CLAUSIUS, of No. 1. Margarethenstrasse
Hamburg, Germany, Retired Captain, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-.
tion to be as follows:-
This invention relates to means for closing the breech between the barrel and
the lock of an automatic firearm adapted to be both loaded and freed from spent
cartridge cases with the aid of the backward pressure of the gases of explosion.
Means for this purpose according to this invention comprise a peculiarly constructed
breech closing head located between the barrel and the lock, and specially
formed projections in the rear mouth of the barrel..
The movable barrel is guided in the usual manner in rings along the stock, and a
stock spring has a tendency to keep the barrel in its forward position or to return
it thereto. A stop is provided to limit the forward and rearward movements of
the barrel.
The lock chamber is also movable and is connected to the rear of the barrel in
the usual manner.
On firing, it is coupled to the barrel and is moved towards the
rear together with the barrel by the action of the explosion gases, after which it
first of all remains behind whilst the barrel alone is shot forward by the stock
spring over the loading-space and the cartridge-magazine (if such be used). The
arrangement is such that the lock-chamber is held back by a stud that catches the
front of a nose on the rear end of the said chamber, whilst the barrel, in shooting
forwards, becomes automatically uncoupled from the chamber, as hereinafter more
particularly described. There is thus produced between the barrel and the lock
chamber, a vacant loading-space into which a cartridge is inserted by being raised
up it may be, from an underlying magazine. Then pressure is applied to the
outwardly projecting knob of a lever which is mounted in the stock and carries
the aforesaid stud whereby the latter is depressed in front of the aforesaid nose of
the lock chamber. A spring arranged in one side of the stock now shoots forward
again the lock chamber, which is thereby caused to push with its front breech-
closing head, the cartridge that has just been inserted into the loading space, from
behind into the barrel and is connected with the barrel by means of the breech-
closing head in a manner hereinafter described.
The firearm is now loaded and ready for firing, for on the shooting forward of
the lock chamber, a nose projecting from the striking bolt will have struck against
the upwardly projecting end of the trigger-lever and in consequence thereof the
firing pin of the striking bolt is held back with the firing spring in compression, to
such an extent that it does not yet enter the cartridge contained in the barrel.
Whilst the lock chamber is shooting forward, and pushing the cartridge into the
barrel, the breech closing head, which has a hole through it along its axis, projects
beyond the firing pin and prevents the latter from entering the cartridge. During
the last instant of the forward movement only, the striking bolt with its firing pin
and the breech-closing head are held back (the striking bolt by the trigger-lever
as already mentioned and the breech-closing head in a manner hereinafter
described) and the lock-chamber moves forward alone to such an extent that after

page_text: the disengagement of the trigger-end from the nose of the striking bolt, the latter
can be shot forward by the firing spring in its guide slot sufficiently to cause the
firing pin to penetrate the cartridge in the barrel and to fire the same. The barrel
and the breech-closing cylinder connected therewith are now immediately moved
back again by the backward pressure of the gases and at the completion of their
backward movement the cylinder is retained by the aforesaid stud which engages
with the nose of the lock-chamber, and the barrel is disconnected and shot
forwards by the stock-spring. The spent cartridge-case has meanwhile been held
back in the loading-space (thus opened) and been ejected in the usual manner by
means of an extractor on the breech-closing head which engages in the rear annular
groove of the cartridge.
In the space hollowed out of the stock for the trigger lever and the..lever that
carries the stud that engages with the nose of the striking bolt, there is also
mounted a third lever a centrally grooved end of which projects into the path of
the nose of the lock chamber and passes up behind the said nose when it is shot
forward, in order that the said chamber shall not be thrown back again by the
strongly strained firing-spring so long as the gun is not fired.
:
During the forward movement of the lock-chamber, the nose thereof slides over
the inclined back of the said grooved lever end and the nose of the striking bolt
passes through the groove thereof. In the same manner, when the lock chamber
moves back, its nose moves over the inclined back of the aforesaid stud with which
it then engages.
The small lever having the grooved end lies under the trigger lever and can be
pressed down independently by means of a knob that projects laterally through the
stock, so as to cause the grooved end of the lever to release the nose of the lock-
chamber, whereupon the said chamber shoots back slightly, without the shot being
fired. Then the breech-closing cylinder can be drawn back completely by means
of a knob on the chamber, the said cylinder being thereby uncoupled from the
barrel (which remains at rest) and the chamber being caught by the stud at the
rear. Then the cartridge, which has remained undischarged and has been drawn
back into the loading space by the lock, can be taken out-that is to say, the gun
can be unloaded without firing. In consequence of the shooting back of the lock-
chamber, the firing spring is uncocked, so that the firearm is thereby secured
against being fired whilst the chamber is in this position.
But if the shot be fired by moving the trigger, the trigger lever pushes down-
wards the lever with the grooved end, so that the end just mentioned is held down
out of the path of the lock, which is driven back with the barrel, because the
backward pressure of the explosion gases is exerted instantaneously and whilst the
finger of the marksman is still holding down the trigger lever.
The forwardly propelling spring of the lock-chamber and the firing spring have
a certain peculiar mutual relation during the last instant of the forward movement
of the lock chamber, the propelling spring is capable in consequence of the kinetic
energy it has received, of still compressing the firing-spring although by that
time the resistance of the firing spring has become greater than the pushing force
of the propelling spring and is overcome only with the aid of the aforesaid energy.
Consequently as already stated, the cocked firing spring is able to push back the
lock-chamber to some extent in opposition to the cocked propelling spring, after
the grooved end of the stud is depressed-in order to enable an inserted cartridge
to be taken out without being fired.
It is, however, not absolutely necessary that the cocked firing-spring should be
more powerful than the uncocked propelling spring, because the lock can also be
drawn back by hand (without having been first pushed back by the firing spring),
after the grooved end has been depressed by pressing with the finger upon the
corresponding knob. Indeed, it is very desirable that the propelling spring of
the lock, and also the propelling spring of the barrel, (hereinbefore referred to as the
stock-spring) should be as weak as possible, in order that powder-charges of very
slight backward pressure and very light projectiles may be used. Consequently

page_text: the propelling spring of the lock should not be made more powerful than is
necessary, in view of the described relations between it and the firing-spring.
For the purpose of making the propelling spring of the barrel as weak as
possible, and of consequently being able to employ powder-charges having a very
weak recoil and projectiles of any desired lightness, the lateral surfaces of the usual
projections on the breech-closing head are not axially rectilinear, but are in the
shape of a helix which has an equal but opposite pitch to that of the groove in
the breech-closing head, in which groove engages a pin projecting inwardly from the
wall of the lock-chamber. The inner projections in the rear mouth of the barrel
have a pitch similar to that of the projections just described. The helical groove
in the breech-closing head terminates at the rear in a groove which extends
perpendicularly to the axis of the cylinder and with which there connects the
entering groove for the aforesaid pin."
When the breech-closing head, which closes the rear mouth of the barrel,
couples together the barrel and the lock-chamber, the front end of the said head
strikes against a shoulder in the rear mouth of the barrel, the projections of the
breech-closing head are then situate in front of the projections of the barrel, and
the pin of the wall of the lock-chamber is situate in the forward part of the first
mentioned helical groove of the breech-closing head. Thus connected, the barrel
and the lock are thrown to the rear by the backward pressure of the gases, and
the lock is temporarily caught by the aforesaid stud. The barrel which shoots back
again at once, pulls the breech-closing head forward with it and thereby also moves
the front helical groove of the head forwards over the pin of the chamber. In
consequence, the breech-closing head is rotated and its projections move in front
of the passages between the projections of the barrel, which now slide forwards
along the projections of the head, and rotate them in the same direction as that in
which the breech-closing head is rotated by the helical groove aforesaid. Thus
all possibility of jamming between the barrel and the breech-closing head is
obviated, and the former can be projected forwards by a weak spring, thereby
rendering possible the use of powder-charges having a small recoil, and of light
projectiles.
As soon as the pin of the lock-chamber has entered the perpendicular groove
of the closing-head, the latter is held back and is rotated, still without jamming,
only to such an extent that two opposite projections of the head, which extend out
of the rear mouth of the barrel, rest on sliding-bars which are extensions of the pro-
jections of the barrel-mouth, and are guided by two sliding-bars of the breech-closing
chamber. The projections that lie on the first mentioned bars prevent the further
rotation of the breech-closing head, which, consequently, unrotated and undisturbed
moves forward rapidly with the lock chamber, when, but not until, the latter is
liberated by the aforesaid stud. Hereupon the projections of the breech-closing
head pass in between those of the barrel, and the breech-closing head, now rotating,
strikes against the shoulder in the barrel. It then remains stationary in a
longitudinal direction and is only in consequence of the further forward movement
of the lock-chamber and its pin, rotated to such an extent that its projections again
catch the front of those of the barrel and again couple the lock chamber with the
barrel.
The coupling cannot be unfastened by striking against the forward-surfaces of
the breech-closing head, whilst on drawing the barrel from the chamber or
vice versa the uncoupling takes place quite easily.
D
01
1007

page_text: 3
Improvements in Breech Loading Small Arms.
I, CLAUS HERMANN RICHARD CLAUSIUS, of No. 1 Margarethenstrasse,
Hamburg, Germany, Retired Captain, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion 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 breech loading fire-arms especially of
that class in which the barrel and the breech-bolt are movably arranged so that
they may recoil together in firing, but may be independently forced forward again
by spring power for the purpose of opening or laying bare the loading chamber
of the breech frame, which class of breech loaders is known as straight-pull
bolt, guns.
The invention comprises a peculiarly constructed breech closing head arranged
between the breech bolt and the barrel and adapted to make a turning and sliding
movement which are utilized for coupling or uncoupling the breech bolt and the
barrel accordingly; and the object of the improvement is to secure a reliable
closing of the breech by coupling the said movable closing head of the breech
bolt to the barrel and to permit on the other hand an easy and ready uncoupling of
the barrel from the temporarily retained closing head when the said barrel alone is
shifted forward by its spring after the recoil.
To enable the present invention to be properly understood I will proceed to
describe, as an example, a small arm arranged in accordance with the same,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference
marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.
Referring to the drawings
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of so much of a breech loading gun as
will be necessary to illustrate my invention, the parts being shown in their
respective positions after firing.
Figs. 14 and 1B are cross sections on the lines. 1-1 and.2-2 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 is a detailed view shewing the closing head in longitudinal side elevation
and illustrating the co-operation of the same with the breech-bolt.
Fig. 2 is a top plan view partly in section of the improved breech loading gun
shown by Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a similar sectional elevation as Fig. 1, the parts being shewn in their
respective positions before firing.
Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 3;
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of Fig. 3, partly in section;
Figs. 5 and 6 are views, partly in section, illustrating the mode of. co-operation
of the breech-bolt, the closing head and the barrel during the forward motion of the
latter, in order to uncouple the locked breech-bolt or its movable closing head
respectively from the barrel ;
Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views showing the structural features of the closing head
and the breech-bolt respectively.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
The movable barrel a arranged in a suitable groove of the stock 6 is guided in
the usual manner in rings attached to the stock; (the rings being not shewn in the
drawings). Upon the rear end of the barrel a is screwed a socket a provided on
its interior wall with lugs or projections a'. From the rear end side or surface of
this socket there are extending two Σ shaped slide-rails a engaging a dove-tail
shaped guide-groove of the breech-frame or breech-plate r sunk into the stock b,
and forming at the same time a part of the path of the breech-bolt e and its

page_text: movable closing head l, as will be described later on.
A recoil spring c arranged
in a suitable recess of the stock 6 and acting upon a shoulder a³ of the barrel has
the tendency to keep the barrel in its forward position or to return it thereto. A
stop d striking against suitable shoulders as a' on the barrel is provided to limit the
forward and rearward movements of the barrel (Fig. 1).
The socket like breech-bolt e carrying a handle e and adjoining the socket a* of
the barrel is adapted to slide on the framer and on the rearwardly extending
rails a of the said socket at. In order to guide the breech-bolt e in a reliable
manner during its sliding motion, the breech-bolt is furnished at its lower front
part with two interior grooves e engaging or embracing the upper edges of the
Σ shaped rails a³ (see Figs. 14 34 and 8). The breech-bolt e contains the firing
mechanism and the movable closing head ĺ both of which will be explained more
particularly hereinafter. A spring k placed in a recess k¹ of the stock or the
framer and adapted to act upon a projection of the breech-bolt e tends to keep
the said breech-bolt e in its forward position or to return it thereto.
On firing, the breech-bolt e being coupled to the barrel by means of the movable
head I, which closes the breech of the said barrel, is recoiled together. with the
barrel by the action of the gases of explosion. The breech-bolt e being thus
forced to the rear for a sufficient extent is caught by a stud or nib which slips in
front of a nose e¹ on the rear end of the said breech-bolt. Accordingly the latter
is locked in its rear position, whilst the barrel a is moved forward again under the
action of the spring c and thereby becomes automatically uncoupled from the
breech-block e and its movable head I respectively, as hereinafter more particularly
described. Thus between the barrel and the unlocked and retracted breech-bolt
is produced as clearly shown by Figs. 1 and 2, a free loading space or loading
chamber, into which a cartridge may be inserted by hand or by raising it up
through a suitable slot of the frame r from a lower magazine by means of any well
known cartridge elevator u. When pressure is applied to the outwardly projecting
knob of the lever i, which is mounted in a suitable chamber or recess in the stock
and carries the aforesaid stud or nib g, the latter is depressed in front of the nose e¹
of the breech-bolt, so that the same is released or unlocked from the said nib g and
the breech-bolt thereby enabled to slide forward under the action of the lateral
spring k. By this forward movement of the breech-bolt e, the closing head!
carried along with it is caused to push the cartridge that has just been inserted
into the loading chamber finto the barrel and the cartridge chamber respectively
and to couple or connect the breech-bolt e with the socket at of the Baid barrel a
in a manner hereinafter described.
The fire-arm is now loaded and ready for firing, for on the shooting forward of
the breech-bolt e, a nose m¹ projecting from the firing pin m movably supported in
the breech-bolt will have struck against the nib ol of the trigger lever o (Fig. 3)
and in consequence thereof the point m² of the said firing pin will be held back
with the firing spring m³ in compression, to such an extent that it will not then
enter the cartridge contained in the barrel. Whilst the breech-bolt e is thus
moving forward, and pushing the cartridge into the barrel, the cylindrically shaped
breech closing head 1, which is movably inserted into a recess e provided in the
fore part of breech-bolt e, and which head has a hole through it along its axis,
projects beyond the firing point m² of the firing-pin and prevents the latter from
entering the cartridge. During the last instant of the forward movement only,
the firing pin m with its firing point m² and the breech-closing head are held back
(the firing pin by the nib o' of the trigger lever as already mentioned and the
breech closing head 7 in a manner hereinafter described) and the breech-bolt moves
forward alone to such an extent that after the disengagement of the trigger nib o'
from the nose m' of the firing pin m, the latter can be shot forward by the firing
spring m³ in its guide slot m sufficiently to cause the firing point m² to penetrate
the cartridge in the barrel and to fire the same. Immediately after the firing, the
barrel and the breech-bolt connected therewith are moved back again by the
backward pressure of the gases, and at the completion of their recoil movement

page_text: the breech-bolt is retained by the aforesaid nib g which engages with the nose e¹ of
the breech-bolt e, whereupon the barrel is disconnected and shot forwards by the
stock-spring c. The empty cartridge-case bas meanwhile been held back in the
loading chamber (thus opened) by means of an extractor on the breech-closing
head and which engages in the rear annular groove of the cartridge case.
cartridge case may then be ejected in the usual manner.
The
In the space hollowed out of the stock for the trigger lever o and the lever i that
carries the stud or nib g, there is also mounted a third lever p a centrally grooved
nib pl of which projects into the path of the nose e¹ of the breech bolt and passes
up behind the said nose when the breech bolt is shot forward, in order that the said
breech bolt may not be thrown back again by the strongly strained firing-spring m³
so long as the gun is not fired.
During the forward movement of the breech bolt the nose e¹ thereof slides over
the inclined top of the grooved nib p¹ the nose m' of the firing pin m passing along.
through the groove thereof. In the same manner, when the breech bolt recoils, its
nose e¹ moves over the inclined top of the aforesaid stud or nib g with which it then
engages.
The small lever p having the grooved nib p¹ lies under the trigger lever o and is
capable of being independently pressed down by means of a knob p³ (Fig. 2) that
projects laterally through the stock b, so as to cause the grooved nib p¹ of the
lever p to release the nose e¹ of the breech-bolt, whereupon the said breech-bolt
will move back slightly, without the cartridge being fired. Then the breech-bolt
may be drawn back completely by means of the handle e on the breech bolt, the
latter or the head thereof being thereby uncoupled from the barrel (which
remains at rest) and the breech-bolt being caught by the nib g engaging the
nose e¹. Then the cartridge, which has remained undischarged and has been
drawn back into the loading space or chamber by the extractor / may be taken
out that is to say, the gun may thus be unloaded without firing. In consequence
of the shooting back of the breech-bolt, the firing spring m³ is uncocked, so that
the firearm is thereby secured against being fired whilst the breech-bolt is in this
position.
But if the shot be fired by pulling the trigger o², the trigger lever o pushes
downwards the lever. with the grooved nib p², so that this grooved nib is
held down out of the path of the breech-bolt, which is driven back with the
barrel, because the backward pressure of the explosion gases is exerted
instantaneously and whilst the finger of the marksman is still holding down the
trigger lever o.
The forwardly propelling spring k of the breech-bolt and the firing spring m³
have a certain peculiar mutual relation during the last instant of the forward
movement of the breech-bolt; the propelling spring k is capable in consequence of
the kinetic energy it has received, of still compressing the firing-spring m³ although
by that time the resistance of the firing spring m³ has become greater than the
pushing-force of the propelling spring k and is overcome only with the aid of the
aforesaid energy. Consequently as already stated, the cocked firing spring m³ is
able to push back the breech bolt to some extent in opposition to the propelling
spring k, after the grooved nib p¹ is depressed—in order to enable an inserted
cartridge to be taken out without being fired.
It is however, not absolutely necessary that the firing spring m³ should be more
powerful than the uncocked propelling spring k, because the breech-bolt may also
be drawn back by hand (without having been first pushed back by the firing
spring), after the grooved nib pl has been lowered by pressing down the knob p²
attached to the lever p. Indeed, it is very desirable that the propelling spring k of
the breech bolt, and also the stock spring c of the barrel, should be as weak as
possible, in order that powder-charges of very slight backward pressure and very
light projectiles may be used. Consequently the propelling spring k of the breech 5
bolt should not be made more powerful than is necessary, in view of the described
relations between it and the firing spring m³.
:.

page_text: For the purpose of making the stock spring c of the barrel a as weak as possible,
and of consequently being able to employ powder charges having a very weak
recoil and projectiles of any desired lightness, the lateral surfaces of the usual
projections or locking wings on the breech closing head are not axially
rectilinear, but are in the shape of a part helix or screw thread which has an equal
but opposite pitch to that of the groove 13 in the breech closing head Z, in which
groove engage pins or shoulders projecting inwardly from the wall of the
breech bolt (see Figs. 1, 3 and 8). The ioner projections or lugs a' in the rear
socket a cf the barrel a have a pitch similar to that of the wings 12 just described.
The helical grooves in the breech-closing head terminate at the rear in a
groove which extends at a right angle to the axis of the head 7 and with which
there connect the entrance grooves 15 for the aforesaid pins e³ of the breech bolt
(Figs. 4 and 7).
When the breech closing head 1, which closes the rear mouth of the barrel,
couples together the barrel a and the breech-bolt e, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the
front end of the said head rests or bears against the rear surface a² of the
barrel a, the wings of the breech closing head are then in front of the lugs a¹
of the socket at, and the shoulders or pins e of the wall of the breech-bolt are in
the fore part of the first mentioned helical grooves 13 of the breech-closing head 7.
Thus connected, the barrel a and the breech bolt are recoiled to a sufficient extent
by the backward pressure of the gases, for effecting the passage of the nose e¹ of
the breech bolt behind the nib g, whereby the said breech bolt is caught, as
hereinbefore stated. The barrel a which shoots forward again at once, pulls the
breech-closing head forward with it, so that thereby the front helical grooves (³
of the head slide along or over the pins of the breech bolts. In consequence
of this the breech closing head is rotated and its wings 12 turned in front of the
passages between the projections or lugs a¹ of the socket at, whereupon these
lugs a slide forwards along the projections or wings 12 of the head and rotate
them in the same direction as that in which the breech-closing head is rotated by
the action of the pins e in the helical grooves 13. Thus all possibility of jamming
between the barrel or socket at and the breech closing head is obviated, and the
barrel can be projected forward into its firing position by a weak spring, thereby
rendering possible the use of powder charges having a small recoil action and of
light projectiles.
.
As soon as the pins e of the breech-bolt have entered the perpendicular or
circular groove 14 of the closing head I, the latter is held back and is rotated,
still without jamming, only to such an extent that two of the wings leaving the
rear mouth or socket a¹ of the barrel, rest on the sliding bars a³ which are
extensions of the socket at or its lugs a¹ and are guided as already described by
means of a dovetail shaped groove of the breech-plate r. The two opposite wings
that lie on the first mentioned bars a³ therefore prevent further rotation of the
breech-closing head 1, which consequently, also in this position that is to say
unrotated and undisturbed, will be moved forward again with the breech bolt,
when, but not until, the latter is liberated by depressing the nib g. The wings
of the breech-closing head when moved forward by the released and returning
breech bolt e pass then in between the locking lugs a¹ of the socket a and the
breech-closing head 1, now rotating, strikes against the rear surface a³ of the
barrel a.
The head then remains stationary in a longitudinal direction and is
only in consequence of the further forward movement of the breech-bolt and its
pin rotated to such an extent that its wings again pass in front of the locking
lugs a provided in the socket a behind the cartridge chamber of the barrel and
again become coupled with the socket at and barrel a.
The parts thus connected and locked cannot be disconnected by shocks exerted
or imparted against the forward surface of the breech-closing head 1, whilst on
drawing the barrel from the breech-bolt or vice versa the uncoupling takes place
quite easily.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
The herein described locking device between the barrel and breech-bolt of a
breech-loading small arm of the kind in which the loading-chamber is laid open
by the recoil action of the explosion gases, the said locking-device comprising a
cylindrical closing head 7 provided with locking-wings and movably arranged in
a suitable recess of the breech-bolt e, and locking-lugs a' provided in the rear
mouth of the barrel behind the cartridge-chamber, the lateral faces of the said
wings and lugs having a helical or screw like outline with an equal but opposite
pitch to that of groove in the breech closing. head 1, with which grooves 1³
engage pins or shoulders e³ on the breech-bolt and with which groove ³ connects a
groove extending at a right angle to the axis of the said breech closing. head 1,
the arrangement being such that the breech closing head during the uncoupling of
the barrel effected by its returning to the firing-position receives by the retained
breech-belt a rotation corresponding to the pitch of the said wings and lugs, so
that all possibility of jamming between the disengaging wings and lugs, which
would render difficult the forward movement of the barrel, is effectually obviated,
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 21st September 1896.
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.