IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING SMALL ARMS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Ellis, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Gun Maker, and Henry Scott, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Gunlock and Action
Filer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING SMALL
ARMS."
Sealed the 2nd January 1880, and dated the 10th July 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Ellis and Henry
Scott at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th July 1879.
RICHARD ELLIS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Maker, and
HENRY SCOTT, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Gun Lock and Action Filer. IMPROVE
MENTS IN BREECH LOADING SMALL ARMS."
"
Our Invention has reference to breech loading small arms of the kind commonly
called drop down guns, and our said Invention consists of the arrangements or
combinations of parts hereinafter described for cocking the concealed or internal
hammers of the said guns, and also of the arrangement of the parts hereinafter
described of safety apparatus for preventing the accidental discharge of the said
gunя.
In constructing cocking mechanism according to our Invention; we arrange the
internal hammers upon lock plates let into the sides of the body as usual, and on
the underside of the tang of the break off we place a slide capable of motion to and
from the break off. The said slide is worked by a thumb plate on the upperside of
the tang. The front end of the slide, or that end nearest the break off, is jointed to
the upper end of a vertical arm situated at the middle of the back of the break off.
The lower end of this middle arm is connected to a cross axis turning in the body
of the gun. On each end of this cross axis another vertical arm is fixed. These
latter arins are for the purpose of cocking the internal hammers, and we will herein-
after call them the cocking arms. When the slide on the tang is in its normal or
forward position, the cocking arms lie in recesses at the sides of the body, and are
out of contact with the cocked hammers, and the latter may fall to discharge the
gun. When the hammers are in their discharged positions, side shoulders or pins
upon them are in contact with projecting pins or shoulders on the sides of the
heads of the cocking arms.

page_text: In order to cock the gun after discharge, the thumb plate of the slide is moved
- back towards the butt end of the gun. The axis carrying the cocking arms is, by
this back motion of the slitte and-its-connecting-arm, turned through the required
-angle, and the hammers are thereby lifted to full cock by means af the projections-
-on-the-cocking arms acting against the studs on the hammers. The lifted hammers
-are-held-in-their cocked position by the ordinary sear mechanism. On loosing the
the thumb plate of the slide, after cocking the hammer, it is returned to its normal
position-by-a-spring, and the cocking arms are removed from the cocked hammers,
and the latter are ready to discharge the gun.
Instead of operating the cocking arms by means of a slide under the tang of the
break off as described, the said-arins may be worked by a hand lever on the side or
underside of the gun. In this case the middle arm is dispensed with, and the hand
lever is furnished with a square hole which takes upon a square part of the cross axis
carrying the cocking arms; or a hand lever on the tang having a side or horizontal
motion may be used.
In this modification, the axis of the hand lever is made to operate upon a short
arm at the middle of the axis of the cocking arins, to move the said cocking axis
through the required angle, to cause the said cocking arms to lift the hammers to
full cock. For the purpose of preventing the accidental discharge of the gun, we
combine with the cocking mechanism described a safety slide or slides, situated and
working under the tang of the break off, and operated by the cocking arms. When
the cocking arms rise for cocking the hammers, the said arms at the same time push
back the safety slides into such a position that they bear upon the triggers and
prevent the latter rising to discharge the gun.
On the cocking slide or hand lever taking its normal position, the safety slides
are left behind, and the hammers cannot be liberated to discharge the gun.
fore the gun can be discharged, these safety slides are pushed by hand towards
koff. The triggers are now free to rise, and by pressing the triggers, the
gun may be discharged.
tl
Our improvements may be applied to single and double barrel drop down guns.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Richard Ellis and Henry Scott in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th January 1880.
14
RICHARD ELLIS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Maker, and
HENRY SCOTT, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Gunlock and Action Filer. IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH LOADING SMALL ARMS."
Our Invention has reference to breech loading small arms of the kind commonly
called drop down guns, and our said Invention consists of the arrangements or
combinations of parts herein after described for cocking the concealed or internal
hammers of the said guns, and also of the arrangement of the parts herein after
described of safety apparatus for preventing the accidental discharge of the said
guns.

page_text: In constructing cocking mechanism according to our Invention, we arrange the
internal hammers upon lock plates let into the sides of the body as usual, and on
the underside of the tang of the break off we place a slide capable of motion to and
from the break off. The said slide is worked by a thumb plate on the upperside of
the tang. The front end of the slide, or that end nearest the break off, is jointed to
the upper end of a vertical arm situated at the middle of the back of the break off.
The lower end of this middle arm is connected to a cross axis turning in the body
of the gun. On each end of this cross axis another vertical arm is fixed. These
latter arms are for the purpose of cocking the internal hammers, and we will herein
after call them the cocking arms. When the slide on the tang is in its normal or
forward motion, the cocking arms lie in recesses at the sides of the body, and are
out of contact with the cocked hammers, and the latter may fall to discharge the
gun. When the hammers are in their discharged position, side shoulders or pins
upon them are in contact with projecting pins or shoulders on the sides of the heads
of the cocking arins.
In order to cock the gun after discharge, the thumb plate of the slide is moved
back towards the butt end of the gun. The axis carrying the cocking arms is, by
this back motion of the slide and its connecting arm turned through the required
angle, and the hammers are thereby lifted to full cock by means of the projections
on the cocking arms acting against the projections on the hammers. The lifted
hammers are held in their cocked position by the ordinary sear mechanism.
loosing the thumb plate of the slide, after cocking the hammers, it is returned to its
normal position by a spring, and the cocking arms are removed from the cocked
hammers, and the latter are ready to discharge the gun.
On
The cocking arms may be worked by a hand lever on the side or underside or
tang of the gun, instead of by a slide.
For the purpose of preventing the accidental discharge of the gun we use a safety
slide under the tang and operated by the hand lever by which the locking bolt is
worked. On unlocking the gun the safety slide is forced by a spring into such a
position that it bears upon the triggers and prevents the latter rising to discharge
the gun.. Before the gun can be discharged the safety slide is pushed back by
hand. The triggers are now free to rise, and by pressing the triggers the gun
may be discharged. Our improvements may be applied to single and double barrel
drop down guns.
We will now describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner
in which our Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in vertical longitudinal section the breech end of a drop down
gun containing cocking mechanism constructed according to our Invention. Figure 2
is a plan of upperside of the body of the gun; and Figure 3 is a transverse vertical
section of the same (the internal hammers being omitted) taken behind the break
off. Figure 4 represents a part of the cocking mechanism detached. In Figures 1
and 2 the internal hammers are represented cocked.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
a, a, are the internal hammers carried by the lock plates b, b, let into the sides of
the body; c is the cross axis turning in the said body. The said axis c has at each
end a cocking arm d, the heads of the said arms being provided with shoulders
de, d, for engaging with the shoulders a², a², on the internal hammers a, a. On
the middle of the cross axis c a vertical arm e is fixed, the said arm e extending
upwards to the underside of the tang of the break off. Under the said tang is a
slide worked by the thumb plate g on the upper side of the tang, and capable of
motion to and from the break off. The front end of the slide f is jointed at h to
the upper end of the vertical arm e. When the slide f is in the normal or forward
position represented in the Drawing the cocking arms d, d, lie in recesses in
the side of the body, and are out of contact with the cocked hammers a, a, as
represented, and the said hammers may fall to discharge the gun.
After the gun
has been discharged the side shoulders a², a, on the hammers a, a, are in contact
with the side shoulders d², d², on the heads of the cocking arms d, d. In order to

page_text: cock the gun after firing, the thumb plate g of the slide ƒ is moved back towards
the butt end of the gun. The said slide f, acting through the vertical arm e, gives
motion to the cross axis c, and the cocking arms d, d, on the said axis are thereby
made to throw-back the haminers-to-full-cock_by_the_shoulders d³, d², of the said
arms bearing against the shoulders a², a², of the hammers. The hammers are
--retained in their cocked positions by the sear mechanism carried by the lock plates
b, b,.as usual. On loosing the thumb plate g of the slide it is returned by the
locking bolt to the normal position represented in the Drawing, and the cocking
-arms-d, d, are at the same time removed from the cocked hammers, and the gun is
ready to be discharged. The locking bolt is worked by the middle vertical arm e,.
through which it passes, so that the motion of the slide f to cock the hammers
at the same time withdraws the locking bolt i, to unfasten the barrels. A spring
gives the back or snapping action to the lock bolt i, and the back motion of the
said bolt causes the return of the slide f and cocking arms d, d, to their norinal
positions. We have represented hammers having curved noses.for striking directly
on the cartridges, but flat hammers acting upon strikers may be used with our
improved cocking mechanism.
•
Instead of operating the cocking arms d, d, by means of a slide f, g, as described
and illustrated, the said arms may be worked by a hand lever on the side or under-
side of the gun. In this case the middle arm e is dispensed with, and the hand
lever is furnished with a square hole which takes upon a square part of the cross
axis e carrying the cocking arms d, d; or a band lever on the tang having a side
or horizontal motion may be used. In this modification the axis of the hand lever
is made to operate upon a short arm at the middle of the axis of the cocking arms
to move the said cocking axis through the required angle, to cause the said cocking
arms to lift the hammers to full cock.
Instead of cocking the gun by hand it may be cocked by the rising of the breech
ends of the barrels for reloading the gun. In this case the cocking mechanism is
modified so that the middle arme (Figure 1) instead of being situated above the
cross axis c is situated below the said cross axis, as represented in Figure 5, where
the middle arm below the cross axis is marked k. The said arm k works in .a
recess in the middle of the body as represented. The rear lump on the underside
of the barrels is furnished with a recess or curved seat m upon which the extreme
end of the arm k bears. When the breech ends of the barrels rise from the break
off for charging the gun the seat m on the lump raises the arm k and thereby turns
the cross axis c carrying the cocking arms d, d, through the required angle, and the
said arms d, d, effect the cocking of the bammers a, a, in the manner described
with respect to the hand worked arrangement. On shutting down the barrels the
arm is carried down with them to the position represented in the Drawing, and
the cocking arms d, d, are removed from the cocked hammers.
· Our improved safety apparatus is represented in Figures 5 and 6. In Figure 5
_the_safety apparatus is represented in action, and in Figure 6 withdrawn out of
action.
:
The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 5 and 6. n is the safety
slide working in the box p fixed under the tang, the said slide being pressed
ontwards when at liberty to move by the coiled spring p². The outer end of the
safety slide n is provided with a peg n², the bottom of which is situated on a level
with the shoulders q, q, of the triggers so that when the said peg n² bears upon the
said shoulders, as represented in Figure 5, the latter cannot rise to discharge the
gun, and when the said peg n² is withdrawn from off the said shoulders of the
triggers, as represented in Figure 6, the gun may be discharged. Near the outer end
of the safety slide n is a notch r, and working at the front face of the box p is a
vertically sliding catch s (shown separately in front elevation in Figure 7) having an
opening in it through which the slide n works. This catch is pressed upwards by the
spring t, and when the safety slide n is withdrawn by means of the thumb plate n³
on the upperside of the tang, the notch r is brought opposite the opening in the said
catch, and the latter snaps. into the notch and holds the slide n in its withdrawn

page_text: position, as represented in Figure 6. The safety slide n is put into action on un-
bolting the gun in the following manner :-u is the hand lever on the tang by which
the locking bolt is withdrawn, the said hand lever having a side or horizontal
motion. In the underside of the head of the hand lever u is a hemi-spherical hole or
recess v, and on the top of the catch s, and working in a hole in the tang is a stud 8³
having a rounded end. After the gun has been loaded and the barrels shut down,
the hand lever takes the position represented in Figures 5 and 6, that is, the hole v
in the head of the hand lever is brought opposite the stud 82 on the catch 8. On
withdrawing the safety slide m. to permit of the discharge of the gun, the rising
of the catch s to retain the slide in its withdrawn position causes the stud 8² to
enter the hole v in the head of the hand lever, as illustrated in Figure 6. After
the gun has been discharged the side motion of the hand lever u to unbolt the gun
causes its head to act upon and depress the stud s¹ of the catchs and cause the
latter to be disengaged from the notch in the safety slide n. The safety slide
being thus released is forced outwards by the action of its compressed spring p²
into the safety position represented in Figure 5, and its peg n² bearing on the
shoulders of the triggers prevents the accidental discharge of the gun.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our
Invention of improvements in breech loading small arins of the kind called drop
down guns,
First. The arrangement or combination of parts hereinbefore described and
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying Drawing for cocking the
internal hammers of the said drop down guns, that is to say, the combination of
the cross axis c carrying a cocking arm or cocking arms d and a middle arm or link c,
with the slide f, g, or other appliance for operating the same by hand, also the
modification herein before described with respect to Figure 5 of the Drawing.
Secondly. The combination or arrangement of the parts of the safety apparatus
herein before described and illustrated in Figures 5, 6, and 7 of the accompanying
Drawing, for preventing the accidental discharge of the gun.
In witness whereof, we, the said Richard Ellis and Henry Scott, have hereunto
set our hands and seals, this Sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
RICHARD ELLIS. (L.S.)
HENRY SCOTT. (L.S.)