Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 7th Oct., 1893

page_text: yielding for any inequalities, unevenness, or vibrations it holds the strips so that the
wedge will remove the cartridges from the prongs.
A narrow opening 10 is made from the interior of the hopper through the side
opposite the cartridge opening, and in the walls of the hopper on the lower side of
this opening mortices 11 are cut. Along the middle of the bottom wall of this
opening between the mortices is a dovetail tenon 12 (Figs. 2 and 3) and secured on
this is a hard metal wedge 13. The upper surface of this wedge is almost flat,
while the lower surface increases in thickness approximately on the arc of revolution
of the perimeter of the carrier cylinder 9, and the point of the wedge is adjusted to
a position very near but slightly below the end of the spring plate that projects from
the opposite side. Grooves 14 are cut in the lower inner corners of the walls of the
shelf, and at any time the surface of the shelf may be extended by inserting a plate
in the grooves.
The underside of the shelf 7 has a dovetail tenon 15 (Fig. 2) and
on this is slipped and secured a guard 16 which throws out the exploded cartridge
shells that have been forced from the lock blocks and carrier by means of the
usual plow 17 (Figs. 4 and 5)..
The
The frame, barrels, lock cylinder, lock blocks, and mechanism for revolving and
reciprocating them, are the same as in the common form of Gatling gun.
cartridge feed strips of indefinite length are cut or stamped to shape from thin cheap
sheet metal, preferably tin or brass, that has some resiliency but which is pliable
under sufficient tension. Rows of U-shaped slits are cut each side of the centre
along the strips, and opposite each slit a small rectangular socket, recess or slot 19
is punched. Usually at the time these slits are cut the tongues are bent outward
forming the circular prongs 20 which have a loop of a diameter slightly smaller
than the cartridges they hold. When the cartridges are thrust into the clasp of
the prongs a portion of the rims of their heads enter the rectangular slots opposite
the prongs, so that the cartridges cannot slip or slide end wise. The front ends of the
strips are bent or curved upward so that when thrust into the large opening in the
hopper they will not catch under the wedge but pass out on the other side through
the thin opening above the wedge.
These strips, which are very cheap and easily formed, may be transported or
stored in packages without ammunition, as shown in Fig. 8, so that a large supply
can be kept in a small space until desired for use, or the prongs may be bent out at
the factory or arsenal and the cartridges slipped into their clasp. When filled with
cartridges the strips may be packed in bundles of any desired size as illustrated in
Fig. 7, where four such strips are shown, and then wrapped in a covering of thin
paper or the like.
As the strips are stiff a paper board box is unnecessary, and the
package will occupy but little more room than the ammunition alone. When it is
desired to use such a package, the wrapper is torn off and the curved end of the
strip thrust into the large opening of the hopper. The front edge of the opening in
the hopper is curved so as to be only large enough for the passage of the ball ends
of the cartridges and not of a size that will admit the butts, to prevent any chance
of the strips being inserted into the hopper wrong end foremost, which would clog
the mechanism and disable the gun. The strips can only be inserted right end first,
and as the successive edges of the grooves in the carrier cylinder come around when
the gun is in action, they catch the successive cartridges as presented and push
them forward until by contact with the wedge the cartridges are forced from the
clasp of the prongs of the strip. The strip then passes out through the narrow slit,
the prongs travelling through the mortices while the cartridges drop into the grooves
of the carrier cylinder and are fed to the barrels by the common reciprocating lock
mechanism of such a gun.
Usually, after firing, the cheap sheet tin strips with the prongs bent out as shown
on the right of Fig. 2, are left on the ground where they drop, but of course they
can be picked up and the prongs bent down so that they may be used again to
receive and conduct cartridges into the gun. The prongs clasp the cartridges with
a slight resiliency and hold a portion of the edge of the rim in the small rectangular
slots in such manner that they cannot slip end wise from the strips but are presented

page_text: evenly to the gun, regardless of the angle of elevation or depression at the time of
use. Of course, if desired, these strips may be of indefinite length, or may be
attached one to another to form a continuous belt, but on account of the stiffness of
the strips they can be readily handled aud quickly fed to the gun in ordinarily
short lengths to permit of very rapid firing.
The plate which covers the cartridge opening into the hopper and extends to the
centre, is curved and somewhat elastic so as to bear upon the top of the strips with
a yielding pressure and hold them in position; and while giving to inequalities and
unevennesscs it holds the strips so that the wedge will surely pull the cartridges as
they are presented from the grasp of the prongs. The wedge is easily adjusted so
that it may be made to come into the exact position to pull the cartridges from the
strips, and is removable at any time so that it can be sharpened, cleaned, or replaced
with a new wedge should it become damaged. The whole hopper is simple, cheap
and readily adjustable so that the metallic plates referred to holding the cartridges
may be surely and positively fed through the gun during action, with great rapidity,
without danger that any of the cartridges will miss fire, or that they will get into
the gun in such a manner as to disable the mechanism.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a machine gun a feed hopper hinged at one side to the frame and provided
with a catch at the opposite side said hopper having an opening through it for the
passage of feed strips bearing cartridges a yielding plate covering the top of the
opening for a portion of the distance through the hopper and a wedge for removing
the cartridges from the strips substantially as specified.
2. In a machine gun a feed hopper hinged at one side to the frame and provided
with a catch at the opposite side said hopper having an opening through it for the
passage of feed strips bearing cartridges and a wedge movably secured to a portion
of the hopper below the path of the strips but in the path of the cartridges
substantially as specified.
3. In a machine gun a feed hopper hinged at one side to the frame and provided
with a catch at the opposite side said hopper having an opening through it for the
passage of feed strips bearing cartridges a yielding plate covering the top of the
opening for a part of the distance through the hopper and a movable wedge secured
to a portion of the hopper below the path of the strips but in the path of the
cartridges substantially as specified.
4. In a machine gun a feed hopper hinged at one side to the frame and provided
with a catch at the opposite side said hopper having an opening through it for the
passage of feed strips bearing cartridges the front part of said opening being
narrower than the diameter of the butts of the cartridges used a plate covering the
top of the opening for a part of the distance through the hopper and a wedge
secured to a portion of the hopper below the path of the strips and in the path of
the cartridges substantially as specified.
5. A. cartridge feed for machine guns consisting of a metallic plate provided with
rows of hook-shaped prongs for encircling the cartridges each of which prongs is
attached to the plate at one end only so as to grasp the cartridges from one side
only substantially as specified.
6. A cartridge feed for machine guns consisting of a metallic plate provided with
rows of hook-shaped integral prongs for encircling the cartridges each of which
prongs is attached to the plate at one end only so as to grasp the cartridges from
one side only substantially as specified.
7. A cartridge feed for machine guns consisting of a metallic plate provided with
rows of prongs adapted to clasp the cartridges and slots for receiving a portion of
the rims of the cartridges opposite the prongs substantially as specified.
8. A cartridge feed for machine guns consisting of a plane metallic plate having
an upturned front end and rows of hook-shaped prongs for encircling the cartridges

page_text: each of which prongs is attached to the plate at one end only substantially as
specified.
Dated this 5th day of September 1893.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.