IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Jones, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 28th November 1862, and dated the 29th August 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Jones at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 29th
August 1862.
I, HENRY JONES, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to such breech-loading fire-arms as are opened at the
breech for charging by the barrel or barrels turning upon a joint, the muzzle
end of the barrels being depressed and the breech end elevated and separated
from the face of the body.
In making breech-loading fire-arms of the kind described I effect the
locking and unlocking of the barrels by means of a slight sliding motion. A
bolt below the breech of the barrels is made, by the said sliding motion, to
engage in a hole or recess in the face of the body, and a bar formed in the
body at the same time engages in a horizontal slot in the lump on the under
side of the barrels. The barrels are thus fixed in a horizontal position at two
points during discharge and prevented from turning upon their joint. This

page_text: bolting of the barrels is effected when they are made to slide horizontally
towards the face of the body, and when they are made to slide in a contrary
direction they are unbolted and can be turned upon their joint. The sliding
motion of the barrels and the holding of the breech ends firmly to their
bearing against the face of the body during the discharge of the gun is effected
by means of a lever on the under side of the body, the said lever having
motion in a vertical plane. When the said lever lies horizontally on the
under side of the gun it holds the breech end of the barrels against the face of
the body, and as the said lever is depressed into a vertical position it liberates
the barrels and gives them sufficient sliding motion to unbolt them and permit
them to turn upon their joint. The construction and action of the said lever
and parts connected therewith is as follows:-The head of the said lever is
excentric to the axis on which it turns, the part of longest radius being towards
the breech end. The head of the lever engages in a curved recess in the
lump on the barrel, and as the lever moves, its eccentric head acting on the
said lump, gives a sliding motion to the barrel. The head of the lever does
not, however, act directly on the lump on the barrel, a saddle piece riding on
the head of the lever between it and the said lump. The said saddle piece
moves during the greater part of the lever's motion with the head of the lever,
performing therewith a partial rotation, and thereby effecting the sliding of
the barrels, but when the lever is very nearly pressed down on the gun the
saddle piece is detached from the head of the lever and no longer rotates with
ít. The part of the lever head of longest radius now acts through the saddle
piece on the lump on the barrels and wedges or locks the said barrels firmly
against the face of the body. The engagement and disengagement of the
saddle piece with the head of the lever is effected by means of a detent in the
saddle piece acted upon by the curved surface of the lump on the barrels.
After discharge the lever is depressed, when it first unlocks or unwedges the
barrels, and then engaging with the saddle piece causes the said saddle piece
to slide the barrels so as to disengage the bolts which prevented them from
turning on their joint. The barrels may now be turned on their joint and
re-charged. The joint on which the barrels turn is formed so as to permit of
the sliding motion described. In making the fore end and body of breech-
loading fire-arms the barrels of which turn upon a joint, I connect the said
fore end with the body by means of a joint instead of making the body and
fore end separate; and by my method of constructing the said joint the angle
which the barrels can make with the body is not diminished by raising the
fore end from the barrels in order to separate the barrels from the body of the
gun. The joint by which the fore end is connected with the body resembles

page_text: generally an ordinary hinge joint, the two outer parts of the joint being made
on the body and the middle part being made on the fore end; the two parts
are connected by a pin or axis. The middle part of the joint does not fill up
the space between the two outer parts, but allows room for a ring to be placed
on the axis between it and one of the outer sides of the joint. This ring has
two projections on it, situated very nearly at right angles to one another. One
of these projections engages in a slot in the fore end, and has play through
a small angle in the said slot. This projection also engages laterally in a
quadrant recess in the outer side of the joint. The other projection fits in a
notch or depression in that edge of the fore end which bears against the lump
on the barrels. When the barrels are turned upon their joint to open the
breech end for loading, the motion is limited by one projection bearing against
the bottom of the quadrant recess in the outer side of the joint, and the other
projection bearing against the lump on the barrels. When the fore end is
lifted from the barrels the angle to which the barrels have been turned is
preserved by the bearing of the last-named projection against the lump on the
barrels. In turning barrels having a joint made according to my Invention
there is no danger of pinching the fingers, which commonly happens with
joints of the ordinary construction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
February 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
JONES, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, dil, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Jones, Her special licence, that I, the said Henry
Jones, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Jones, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention. for "IMPROVEMENTS: IN

page_text: BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Henry Jones, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Jones, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to such breech-loading fire-arms as are opened at the
breech for charging by the barrel or barrels turning upon a joint, the muzzle
end of the barrels being depressed, and the breech end elevated and separated
from the face of the body.
In making breech-loading fire-arms of the kind described, I effect the
locking and unlocking of the barrels by means of a slight sliding motion. A
bolt below the breech of the barrels is made by the said sliding motion to
engage in a hole or recess in the face of the body, and a bar formed in the
body at the same time engages in a horizontal slot in the lump on the under
side of the barrels. The barrels are thus fixed in a horizontal position at two
points during discharge. This bolting of the barrels is effected when they are
made to slide horizontally towards the face of the body, and when they are
made to slide in a contrary direction, they are unbolted, and can be turned
upon their joint. The sliding motion of the barrels and the holding of the
breech ends firmly to their bearing against the face of the body during the
discharge of the gun is effected by means of a lever on the under side of
the body, the said lever having motion in a vertical plane. When the said
lever lies horizontally on the under side of the gun, it holds the breech end of
the barrels against the face of the body, and as the said lever is depressed
into a vertical position it liberates the barrels, and gives them sufficient sliding
motion to unbolt them, and permit them to turn upon their joint. The con-
struction and action of the said lever and parts connected therewith are as
follows: The head of the said lever is excentric to the axis on which it
turns, the part of longest radius being towards the breech end. The head of
the lever engages in a curved recess in the lump on the barrels, and as the
lever moves, its excentric bead acting on the said lump, gives a sliding motion
to the barrels; the head of the lever does not, however, act directly on the
lump on the barrels, a saddle piece riding on the head of the lever between it

page_text: and the said lump. The said saddle piece moves during the greater part of
the lever's motion with the head of the lever, performing therewith a partial
rotation, and thereby effecting the sliding of the barrels, but when the lever is
very nearly pressed down on the gun the saddle piece is detached from the
head of the lever, and no longer rotates with it. The part of the lever
head of longest radius now acts through the saddle piece on the lump on the
barrels, and wedges or locks the said barrels firmly against the face of
the body. The engagement and disengagement of the saddle piece with the
head of the lever is effected by means of a detent on the saddle piece working
in a curved recess in the body of the gun. After discharge the lever is
depressed, when it first unlocks or unwedges the barrels, and then engaging
with the saddle piece, causes the said saddle piece to slide the barrels so as to
disengage the bolts which prevented them from turning on their joint. The
barrels may now be turned on their joint and re-charged; the joint on which
the barrels turn is formed so as to permit of the sliding motion described.
In making the fore end and body of breech-loading fire-arms, the barrels of
which turn upon a joint, I connect the said fore end with the body by means of
a joint instead of making the body and fore end separate; and by my method
of constructing the said joint, the angle which the barrels can make with the
body is not diminished by raising the fore end from the barrels in order to
separate the barrels from the body. The joint by which the fore end is con-
nected with the body resembles an ordinary binge joint, the two outer parts
of the joint being made on the body, and the middle part being made on the
fore end; the two parts are connected by a pin or axis. The middle part
of the joint does not fill up the space between the two outer parts, but
allows room for a ring to be placed on the axis between it and one of the
outer sides of the joint; this ring has two projections on it, situated very
nearly at right angles to one another. One of these projections engages in a
slot in the fore end, and has play through a small angle in the said slot; this
projection also engages laterally in a quadrant recess in the outer side of the
joint. The other projection fits in a notch or depression in that edge of the
fore end which bears against the lump on the barrels. When the barrels are
turned upon their joint to open the breech end for loading, the motion is
limited by one projection bearing against the bottom of the quadrant recess in
the outer side of the joint, and the other projection bearing against the lump
on the barrels. When the fore end is lifted from the barrels the angle to
which the barrels have been turned is preserved by the bearing of the last-
named projection against the lump on the barrels. In turning barrels having

page_text: a joint made according to my Invention, there is no danger of pinching the
fingers, which commonly happens with joints of the ordinary construction.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe,
with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 represent my improvements in locking
and unlocking the barrels of fire-arms of the kind described. Figure 1
represents in longitudinal vertical section, the barrels being in elevation, the
breech end of a double breech-loading rifle containing my improvements, the
several parts of the said rifle being in the positions which they respectively
assume when the barrels have been locked, and the rifle ready for discharge.
Figure 2 represents the same, the several parts being in the positions which
they respectively assume when the barrels have been unlocked, and the breech
ends ready to be raised for the insertion of the cartridges or charges into the
said breech ends. Figure 3 is a plan of the under side of the rifle; Figure 4
is a plan of the upper side of the body; and Figure 5 is an end elevation
of Figure 4; Figures 6, 7, and 8 represent portions of the rifle, as herein-after
described. In Figure 2, the breech ends of the barrels are shewn slightly
raised from the body. The stock, lock, and other portions of the rifle are
omitted in Figures 1, 2, and 3, in order that those parts constituting this
part of my Invention may be the better exhibited; the parts not represented
are of the ordinary kind, and constitute no part of my Invention. The same
letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, and 8.
a, a, are the barrels of the rifle turning on the joint 6; c is the body, and
is the face against which the open ends of the barrels a, a, are made to
bear with great force, and are removed therefrom by a slight sliding motion
effected in the manner herein-after explained, the said sliding motion also
locking and unlocking the barrels. On the under side of the barrels a, and
below the breech end is a bolt d, and in the fixed body c of the rifle is a
bar e. By sliding the barrels towards the face of the body c, the bolt d
engages in a hole or recess d' in the face c', and the bar at the same time
engages in a horizontal slot e³ in the lump f on the under side of the barrels
the said barrels are thereby locked at two points d, e, and their faces male
to bear firmly against the face of the body c. By sliding the barrels in the
opposite direction, the bolt d is withdrawn from the hole or recess d³, aud
the lump advanced from under the bar e, when the barrels are unlocked,
and free to turn upon their joint for loading. The respective positions of the

page_text: bolt d and bar e, when the barrels are locked and unlocked, will be understood
by referring to Figures 1 and 2. The sliding motion of the barrels and the
holding of the breech ends against, the face of the body during discharge is
thus effected. On the under side of the body c is a lever g. turning on an
axis h, the said lever having motion in a vertical plane. The upper part of
the said lever works through an opening in the body c.
When the lever g
lies horizontally on the under side of the rifle, as represented in Figure 1, it
holds the breech ends of the barrels against the face, and as the lever g is
depressed into a vertical position, as represented in Figure 2, it liberates the
barrels, and gives them sufficient sliding motion to unbolt the parts & and e,
and permit the said barrels to turn upon their joint b. The construction and
action of the said lever g and parts connected therewith, are as follows:-The
head g of the lever 9 is excentric to the axis h on which it turns, the part of
longest radius being towards the breech end, as represented. The said
excentric head g³ carries a saddle piece i, 3, of the form represented, which said
saddle piece engages in a curved recess in the lump ds, d', on the under
side of the barrels. By raising or depressing the lever g, the said saddle
piece i, is, is made to act in the manner herein-after explained, upon the said
curved lump d³, d, and to give a sliding motion in one or other direction to
the barrels a. To the end i of the saddle piece i, i, a detent 1 (shewn ini
dotted lines in Figure 2) is connected, the said detent turning on a pin or
axis on the said saddle piece. The lower end of the detent / carries an
antifriction roller 1, the said roller working in a curved recess * in the
lever g, when the said lever is raised or depressed. The saddle piece i, i³, is
shewn separately in edge view in Figure 6, and in combination with the
detent 2, in side elevation in Figure 7, and edge view in Figure 8.
In raising the lever g to lock the barrels, the head g* acts upon the part i
of the saddle piece and gives motion thereto, and causes the said saddle piece
to act upon the lump d³, and to slide the barrels a towards the face c³ and to
lock them in the manner berein-before explained. During the raising of the
lever g the roller of the detent is made, in the manner herein-after
explained, to travel in the recess , and when the said. lever has been raised
nearly under the rifle and the barrels locked, the detent lifts the end i of the
saddle piece from the excentric head 9 of the lever g, and thereby further
raises that end of the saddle piece of greatest radius, and causes it to act upon
the lump d³, and wedge or lock the barrels a firmly against the face of the body,
as illustrated in Figure 1. The motion of the roller of the detent along
the recess is thus effected. The said detent works in a curved recess P
made in one side of the body c (see Figures 2 and 3). So long as the

page_text: detent does not touch the upper side of the recess 1, it has no motion upon
its axis ; but when, by the motion of the lever g, the upper end of the said
detent is brought against the upper part of the recess P, the said detent
turns upon its axis 1. The said axis being raised vertically, and the upper
part of the detent 1 being unable to rise, excepting to a much less extent than
the axis ³, the said detent turns upon its axis, and the roller traverses the
slot, and when the excentric head of the lever g ceases to act upon the
saddle piece i, the said saddle piece is further raised by the continued motion
of the detent 1, and the wedging of the barrels effected, as before explained.
After discharge the lever g is depressed, the detent 1 descends by travelling in
the recess l, and the saddle piece is thereby re-engaged with the head of the
said lever, and the barrels at the same time unwedged from the face of the
body. The further depressing of the lever 9 causes the excentric head g² to
act through the part of the saddle piece upon the lump d', and give a sliding
motion to the barrels and to disengage the bolt d and bar e which prevented
the barrels turning upon their joint, as illustrated in Figure 2. The barrels
can now be turned on their joint and re-charged. By an examination of
Figures 1 and 2 the motions of the lever g, saddle piece i, t, and detent 1, 1,
may be readily traced, and their mutual actions understood. The joint b
works in a slot f in the lump f, the said slot being of the length proper to
permit of the sliding of the barrels, and the joint or tail piece 6 has a slot b³,
in which the staple a³ on the barrels a works as the barrels are moved back-
wards and forwards.
The improvements represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 may
be applied to single-barrelled as well as to double-barrelled breech-loading
fire-arms.
Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the accompanying Drawings
represent my improvements in making the fore end, body, and joint of breech-
loading fire-arms, the barrels of which turn upon a joint.
Figure 9 represents in side elevation (partly in section) a breech-loading
fire-arm, the fore end, body, and joint of which are made according to my
Invention; Figure 10 is a plan of the under side of a portion of the same;
Figure 11 is an elevation of the body separately; Figure 12 is a side elevation
of the same, partly in section; Figure 13 is a plan of the upper side of the
fore end and tail piece of the fire-arm; Figure 9 and Figure 14 is a plan of
the under side of the same; Figure 15 is a front elevation and side elevation
of a portion of the joint. The same letters indicate the same parts in
Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.
a is the fore end of the body, the said fore end being connected to the

page_text: เ
body b by a joint; c is the tail piece, made in one piece with the fore end a, a
staple d on the barrels passing through a slot in the said tail piece in the
ordinary way. The joint of the tail piece and body consists of two outer
parts e, f, made from the body b, and a middle piece g made on the fore end a.
The said parts e, f, and g are connected together by a pin or axis h. The ends
of the parts e, f, of the joint are curved, as represented, and the fore end a is
concave, and bears against and turns upon the said curved ends of the
parts e,f. The middle piece g of the joint does not fill up the space between
the two outer parts e, f, in the interior of the joint, but allows room for a
ring i (shewn separately in Figure 15) to be placed between it and the outer
side 6 of the joint. The said middle piece 9 and ring i work in a semi-
cylindrical recess in the end of the lump n on the under side of the barrels, as
seen in Figure 9. The said ring i has two projections k, l, made on it,
situated very nearly at right angles to one another. The projection l engages
in a slot in the fore end a, and has play through a small angle in the said
slot, as will be understood by an examination of Figure 9. The said projec-
tion also engages laterally in a quadrant recess (see Figures 11 and 12)
made in one of the outer sides of the joint. The other projection k fits in a
notch or depression m on the top or upper side of the fore end a (see
Figures 9 and 13), and bears against the lump n on the under side of the
barrels. The ring i, middle piece g, and fore end a move together when
the barrels are depressed; the parts e, f, pin h, and body 6 having no motion.
When the barrels are turned upon the joint for loading, the angle at which
the barrels can be inclined to the body is limited by the projections k, l; the
projection l, on the depressing of the barrels, tail piece c, and fore end a, works
in the quadrant recess in the side of the body 6 until the said projection bears
against the bottom of the said recess, the other projection k bearing against
the lump n. The barrels are thus fixed in that position during loading. On
raising the muzzle ends of the barrels after loading, the projection / rises in the
recess, the projection k bearing against the lump n. When the fore end is
required to be separated from the barrels to remove the said barrels from the
body, the barrels are depressed, as before described, and the inclination of
the said barrels is preserved during the separation of the tail piece c from the
barrels by the projection k bearing against the lump n on the barrels; the
slight motion of the tail piece c to separate it from the barrels being provided
for by the slot in the fore end, the top of the said slot on moving the tail
piece coming against the top of the projection l, as will be understood by
referring to Figure 9. On the separation of the tail piece c from the barrels,
the parts g and i can be withdrawn from the semi-cylindrical recess in the

page_text: end of the lump n, and the barrels removed from the body. When the
barrels are removed from the body, the said body and fore end remain con-
nected together instead of being separated. By constructing the joints of
breech-loading fire-arms in the manner represented, there is no danger of
pinching the fingers during the lifting of the barrels.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention; but I
claim as my Invention,―
Firstly, the improvements in breech-loading fire-arms, the barrels of which
turn upon a joint, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 8,
4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, locking and
unlocking the barrels of the said fire-arms by giving the said barrels a slight
sliding motion in a horizontal direction; the said sliding motion being effected
by mechanism actuated by a lever acting against curved lumps on the under
side of the barrels; the said mechanism being constructed and worked essen-
tially in the manner herein-before. described and illustrated.
Secondly, the improvements in constructing the body, fore end, and joint of
breech-loading fire-arms, the barrels of which turn upon a joint, herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Jones, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of February, in the year
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
HENRY JONES. (L.S.)