IMPROVEMENTS IN MAGAZINE FIRE ARMS.
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alois Schneider, Gunsmith, and Thomas Glendening
Elliott, Manufacturer, both of the City and County of San Francisco, State
of California, U.S.A., for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAGAZINE
FIRE ARMS.'
"
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Alois Schneider and Thomas
Glendening Elliott at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
29th May 1880.
ALOIS SCHNEIDER, Gunsmith, and THOMAS GLENDENING ELLIOTT, Manufacturer,
both of the City and County of San Francisco, State of California, U.S.A.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MAGAZINE FIRE-ARMS."
Our Invention relates to certain improvements in breech loading magazine fire
arms, and it is especially adapted to be used in cases where the magazine extends
beneath and parallel with the barrel of the arm.
Our Invention consists in the employment of a vertically sliding solid breech
block having the lower front cut away to receive the head of the guard lever,
while the rear or vertical portion is perforated to receive actuating pins which
project from the convex head of the guard lever, and which draw the block down
when the lever is moved.
The shell extractor is operated from the head of this lever, and an arm from the
opposite side of this head connects with the hammer and cocks the gun. A spring
arm or plate upon the top or at one side of the breech block takes an inclined
position when the block begins to move downward and acts as a guide to the
ejected shell, and the same device or devices act to prevent the fresh cartridge from
being thrown out after it leaves the magazine and before it enters the barrel.
hammer is caused to rebound after striking and firing the cartridge by a simple
contrivance and without any spring.
The
Referring to the accompanying Drawings for a more complete explanation of our
Invention and the details of construction,-
Fig. 1 is an exterior view of the gun; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section
showing the side of the breech block and link or arm for cocking the gun; Fig 3

page_text: is a section showing the opposite side of the breech block and shell extractor ;
Figs. 4, 5, & 6, are detailed views of operating parts of the gun.
A is the barrel of our gun, and B is the magazine, which we have shown in the
present case as extending beneath the barrel, and opening into the space in the
frame behind the barrel in which the breech block works.
The breech block C is a solid piece of metal, its upper part having a length
sufficient to fill the space in the frame in which it moves, and the rear portion
extends downward to about an equal length. This leaves a space at the lower
front portion, so that the block resembles a small carpenter's square in outline, the
under surfaces of the top portion being slightly curved or arched, as shown, so as
to admit the head D of the guard and operating lever E. A pin or screw passing
through the lower part of this head serves to hold it in place in the frame, and also
as a fulcrum about which it moves. The upper back portion of the head is curved
about this pin as a centre, so as to form a segment nearly equal to one quarter of
a circle, and two pins F, F, projects from the face of this curve. The rear vertical
portion of the breech block has holes or sockets G formed in it to correspond with
the pins F, and it will be seen that when the guard lever is thrown down these
pins will successively enter their corresponding holes and draw the breech block
down. The distances between the pins upon the head is, however, greater than
the distance between the holes into which they are to fall, so that when the first
or lowest pin has moved the block down to the point where its upper surface is
just below the opening into the barrel of the gun, it will leave its hole, and the
breech block will remain stationary. A further movement of the guard lever causes
the head to rotate until the second or upper pin arrives at a point where it will enter
its hole in the block, and finish the downward movement of the block. During
the time while the block remains stationary, the extractor H is thrown back to
eject the shell by the continued movement of the head D. This is effected by
means of a pin I upon the side of the head D, this pin projecting so as to act upon
a projection J on the extractor arm near its point of support. After the extractor
has been thrown entirely back, the second pin enters its hole in the breech block,
and the further movement of the lever E completes the downward movement of
the breech block, as before described, depressing it until it is low enough to allow
a cartridge to pass from the magazine upon the top of the block, which thus acts
as a carrier. A spring K upon the rear of the breech block causes it to fit snugly,
and holds it at the point in the frame where it is to remain motionless, so as to
ensure the proper fitting of the pins into their respective holes when the head has
turned far enough to bring them to that point.
A spring arm L within the side of the frame prevents the cartridge from being
thrown out before it reaches the barrel, and by a slight change in form this same
arm might be made to serve as a guide in ejecting the empty shell. In the present
case we have shown an arm M fitting into a slot or groove in the top of the breech
block, and having its front end pivoted and actuated by a spring so that its normal
position is flush with the top of the block, but as the breech block commences to
move down the rear end of this arm engages a spring catch N, which projects
slightly from the rear of the frame. This catch holds the rear end of the arm M
so that as the block continues to descend this arm assumes an inclined position, and
when the breech block has reached a point below the chamber of the barrel, and
the extractor operates to throw the shell out, the shell is guided by the arm M and
thrown clear of the gun. When the breech block continues its movement is
downward, the arm M is disengaged from the catch N, and falls into its groove so
as to be flush with the top of the block again.
The firing pin O passes through the upper end of the of the breech block so as to
stand in line between the hammer and the priming on the cartridge when the breech
is closed, and it is actuated by a blow of the hammer when it falls, as is usual in
such guns, but in our gun there are no intermediate pins or mechanism between
the hammer and the firing pin, or the firing pin and cartridge.

page_text: The hammer P is thrown back, and the gun cocked when the lever is thrown
down by the action of the arm Q. This arm has a pin at its end which engages
with a hole in the side of the head D, and the opposite end presses against a pin
upon the side of the hammer above its centre of motion, so that it will force the
hammer back until it reaches fullcock. The return of the lever withdraws the arm Q
and leaves the hammer free to fall.
The shell extractor H is moved by an arm, which is situated within a narrow
slot or chamber upon the opposite side of the space in the frame, separated from
the breech block by a thin plate in order to prevent friction between the two. This
plate has a curved slot from its lower edge, through which the actuating pin from
the head D extends to move the extractor arm.
The lower end of this arm has one edge above the projection J notched in cam
shaped curves R, upon which the pin acts when the breech block is rising to force
the extractor behind the rim of the shell after the latter is seated in the chamber
of the barrel, after the breech block has raised it to a point opposite to the chamber
as follows: When the breech block has reached its lowest point its upper surface
will be just below the level of the magazine, so that a cartridge will enter the
space above the breech block. The arm or plate M if situated as in the present
case upon the top of the breech block will lie flush, and the spring arm L projects
just enough to prevent the cartridge from being thrown out.
The head H of the extractor is entirely in the rear of the chamber, having been
thrown back to that point by the pin acting upon the shoulder J, as before
described, and it is held there by a slight spring S. Everything being in this
position the lever E is drawn back, and the upper pin upon its head will raise the
breech block until the cartridge is opposite the barrel. This pin now becomes
disengaged from the breech block, and the continued notion of the lever rotates the
head D, and by the action of the pin upon the projection J the head H of the extractor
is thrown forward, and thus seats the cartridge in the barrel. The second pin F then
engages its hole in the breech block, and the latter continues its upward movement.
As it does so it strikes the edge of the head H and forces it to one side in an appropriate
depression so as to allow it to pass the rim of the cartridge. At the same time the
pin on the lever head strikes the curve R upon the back of the extractor arm, and
thus forces the head H beyond the rim, where it is allowed to spring out into
position to retract the shell when the lever is again thrown down.
A small projection T at the lower front edge of the breech block prevents the
cartridges from being forced out of the magazine into the space below the breech
block when closed, but at the same time allows the magazine to be charged through
the rear end by pressing them in through a spring plate opening at U. To enable
this plate to be pressed inward to admit the cartridges when the lever E is up and
the breech closed, the top of the lever head is filed off from one side at X, so that
the space between it and the upper part of the breech block is sufficient to
admit the plate to be pressed back, but the curve of the head will prevent the
plate from being pressed back at any other time. To allow the top of the head to
be filed off, as described, without interfering with the upper pin F the latter is set
over to one side a short distance.
The hammer is actuated by a main spring V, which is secured to the frame
behind the hammer by a link, in order to make what is known as a rebounding
lock, and return the hammer to the safety notch, so that it will not rest upon the
firing pin after it falls at a point where the end of the main spring will just strike
it as the hammer reaches the point opposite the safety notch of the tumbler.
causes the hammer to strike the firing pin by its momentum, and the recoil will
bring it back into the safety notch, as the spring does not follow it all the way
down.
This
It will be seen that this gun may be used as a single breech loader, and the barrel
charged directly without using the magazine by simply throwing the breech block
half way down; this ejects the empty shell, throws the extractor back, but does

page_text: not uncover the magazine. The cartridge may be introduced from the top after
each discharge without using those in the magazine.
The rear of the frame is grooved out, so that when the breech block is down this
groove is in line with the barrel, and the interior may be inspected and cleaned
from the rear.
This construction enables us to place the spring catch N so low that the arm M
is not raised from its seat in the breech block until the latter has been depressed
below the bore of the gun. This allows the cartridge to be thrown out with
certainty every time, which would not be the case if the standing breech or rear
of the frame was carried up to the full height. This construction also enables us
to load the gun from the rear in using it as a single breech loader, without making
the breech block chamber longer than the cartridge, which could not otherwise be
done.
We are aware that single breech loading guns having a sliding breech block have
been made with the standing breech cut away to admit of the introduction of the
cartridges, but we are not aware that any magazine arm has been thus constructed,
and we claim that this construction enables us to use the gun as a repeater or
single breech loader at will, without unduly lengthening the frame.
Having thus described our Invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure
by Letters tent is,-
1st. Ti
raise ?
T
lever E with its curved head D having projecting lugs F adapted to
depress the breech block by engaging corresponding holes in said block,
the ce between the lugs being greater than that between the holes, so that the
mr ment of the breech block shall be made intermittently, substantially as herein
✓scribed.
2nd. The shell extractor H swinging in a slot at one side of the breech block
chamber, and having the arm formed with the projection J and curved outline R,
in combination with the pin I upon the head of the lever, whereby the extractor is
caused to swing forward by an intermittent movement, substantially as and for
the purpose herein described.
3rd. The vibrating extractor H and lever head D, and pin I in combination with
the vertically moving breech block C provided with a housing having a recess h
adjacent to the end of the barrel, whereby the operation of the breech block passes
the extractor around the rim of the cartridge, substantially as set forth.
4th. The diagonally arranged spring arm L fitted into the side of the breech
block chamber and one end secured between the chamber and the barrel, so that it
prevents the rising cartridge from being thrown out, the said spring being pressed
back into its seat by the upward movement of the breech block, substantially as
described.
5th. The combination in a magazine gun of a vertically sliding breech block C, a
pivoted lever D provided with pins F, and the spring K, all constructed and operated
substantially as described.
6th. In a gun having the vertically moving chambered breech block C, the operating
lever E, and the curved head D with its actuating pins, as shown, the arm Q, said
arm extending from a point upon the head to a pin upon the hammer, so that the
rotary movement of the head will throw the hammer back and cock the gun,
substantially as herein described.
7th. In a gun having the vertically moving chambered breech block C, the
barrel A, and subjacent magazine B, the projection or lug T upon the front of
the breech block to act as a stop and retain the cartridges in the magazine when
the breech block is closed, substantially as herein described.
8th. In a gun having a vertically moving chambered breech block C, and a
curved rotary actuating lever head D, the side spring plate opening U adapted to
allow cartridges to be introduced in combination with the flattened top portion X
of the head, whereby the spring plate may be pressed back to admit cartridges
only when the breech block is closed, substantially as described.

page_text: 9th. In a magazine fire arm a vertically moving breech block in combination
with an operating lever provided with means for giving the block an intermittent
movement for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alois Schneider and Thomas Glendening
Elliott, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirtieth day of April,
in the year of our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
Witness,
0
S. H. NOURSE.
ALOIS SCHNEIDER.
THOMAS GLENDINING ELLIOTT.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)