IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Rock Cooper, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 22nd November. 1867, and dated the 21st September 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION filed by the said Joseph Rock Cooper at
the, Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition on the
21st September 1867.
I, JOSEPH ROCK COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object the prevention of the accidental discharge
of fire-arms, and consists, of the adaptation or use, as herein-after explained,
of a bolt or pin made to pass transversely through such part or parts of the
fire-arm as will cause the said bolt or pin to. fix the hammer, or to fix such
other part of the fire-arm as will prevent the discharge of the fire-arm.
In applying my Invention to central-fire breech-loading fire-arms I make a
hole on one side of the fire-arm, the said hole being at right angles to the axis
of the barrel, and passing in front of the place occupied by the hammer when
it is in its raised or cocked position. To the trigger guard or other part of the
fire-arm I attach by means of a chain or otherwise a bolt or pin of a size
the
proper to fit the said, hole. When for any purpose it is wished to prevent
discharge of the fire-arm the said bolt or pin is passed into the said hole,
when

page_text: the fire-arm can no longer be discharged. The bolt or pin may be made to
fit the hole tightly, or may be made to screw into the said hole; or a hole
may be made on either side of the fire-arm, the position of the holes being
respectively such that the pin being put in one of them the hammer and the
whole of the breech-loading mechanism are fixed, and being put in the other
the hammer only is fixed, the closing block and parts not concerned in the
discharge being at liberty to move. In fire-arms having a needle or striker
working in the line of the axis of the barrel the hole may be so situated that
when the bolt or pin is introduced into it the said bolt or pin passes through a
hole made across the needle or striker, or engages in a groove or depression
made in it. In the case of double guns the bolt or pin may pass through a
hole which permits it to fix the discharging and breech-loading mechanism of
both barrels, or a separate bolt or pin and hole may be used for each barrel.
When the bolt or pin is not in use it may be fixed in a hole in the trigger
guard.
Although I prefer to connect the bolt or pin to the fire-arm by 'a chain or
otherwise, yet I do not limit myself thereto, as the bolt or pin may be detached
from the fire-arm and carried in the pocket 'to be used as occasion may
require.
My Invention is applicable to muzzle-loading as well as to breech-loading
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Rock Cooper in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th March 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 'I, JOSEPH
ROCK COOPER, 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-first day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant 'unto
me, the said Joseph Rock Cooper, Her special licénce' that I,' the said Joseph
Rock Cooper, my executors, 'administrators, and assigns, or such others as 'I,
the said Joseph Rock Cooper, "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'

page_text: make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Joseph Rock Cooper, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 Joseph Rock Cooper, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:―
My Invention has for its object the prevention of the accidental discharge
of fire-arms, and consists of the adaptation or use as herein-after explained
of a bolt or pin made to pass transversely through or bear against such part
or parts of the fire-arm as will cause the said bolt or pin to fix the hammer
or to fix such other part of the fire-arm as will prevent the discharge of the
fire-arm.
In applying my Invention to central-fire breech-loading fire-arms I make a
hole on one side of the fire-arm, the said hole being at right angles to the
axis of the barrel and passing in front of the place occupied by the hammer
when it is in its raised or cocked position. To the trigger guard or other part
of the fire-arm I attach by means of a chain or otherwise a bolt or pin of a
size proper to fit the said hole. When for r any purpose it is wished to prevent
the discharge of the fire-arm the said bolt or pin is passed into the said hole,
when the said fire-arm can no longer be discharged. The bolt or pin may be
made to fit the hole tightly, or may be made to screw into the said hole; or a
bole may be made on either side of the fire-arm, the position of the holes
being respectively such that the pin being put in one of them the hammer and
the whole of the breech-loading mechanism are fixed, and being put in the
other the hammer only is fixed, the closing block and parts not concerned in
the discharge being at liberty to move. In fire-arms having a needle or striker
working in the line of the axis of the barrel the hole may be so situated that
when the bolt or pin is introduced into it the said bolt or pin passes through a
hole made across the needle or striker, or engages in a groove or depression
made in it. In the case of double guns the bolt or pin may pass through a
bole which permits it to fix the discharging and breech-loading mechanism of
both barrels,
or a separate bolt or pin and hole may be used for each barrel.

page_text: When the bolt or pin is not in use it may be fixed in a hole in the trigger
guard.
My Invention is applicable to muzzle-loading as well as to breech-loading
fire-arms.
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, and 5 represent a breech-loading gun to which my
Invention is applied, the said gun being constructed according to one of the
arrangements described and represented in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to me bearing date the 12th day of September 1867, No. 2587,
Figure 1 representing a side elevation, Figure 2 a plan, Figure 3 a longi-
tudinal vertical section, and Figures 4 and 5 horizontal sections of the said
gun.
In order that the application of my Invention to the said gun may be readily
understood I will briefly describe the parts of the said gun.
9
a is the barrel; b, the breech chamber or shoe; c, the hinged breech block;
d, the striker in the said block; fis the hammer, and g is an arm or lever at
the back of the breech chamber. The lever g turns on the same centre as
the hammerf; on the hammer f is a pin f. On pulling down the lever it
strikes against the said pin f2 and carries the hammer f down to its cocked
position; the said lever g also serves to lock down the breech block c and to
operate the cartridge case extractor. h is the hammer spring, and i is the spring
for raising the lever g into its original position. The bolt or pin constracted
according to my Invention which I use for preventing the accidental discharge
of the gun is marked Z. Near the head of the said bolt or pin a screw lis
made. The said bolt or pin is shown separately in Figure 6. The said bolt
is attached by a chain m to the trigger guard. In the sides of the rear end
of the breech chamber b at n, p, screwed holes are made of a size proper to
receive the screwed part 2 of the said bolt or pin l, and in the hammer fand
lever g holes q, r, are made of a size proper to receive the plain stem of the
pin or bolt 1.
When the bolt or pin is screwed into the hole p in the right
and side of the breech chamber, as represented in Figures 1, 2, and 5 of the
Drawing, it enters the holes q, r, in the lever 9 and hammer f, and fixes the
sáid parts down, and thereby makes the whole mechanism of the gun incapable
When the
of motion, as will be understood by an examination of Figure 5.
liammer f bas been cocked and it is wished to fix it in its cocked position the
bolt or pin is screwed into the hole n in the left hand side of the breech
chamber, as illustrated in Figure 4. The bolt or pin in this case passes

page_text: transversely in front of the cocked hammer f and prevents its accidental dis-
charge, the lever 9 being at liberty to move so that, if necessary, the breech
block c may be raised, and the breech chamber 6 and the contents of the
barrel be examined before the discharge of the gun. If the bolt / be made
sufficiently short, or when it is of the length represented and it is not pushed
or screwed home the said bolt may be made to engage with and fix down only
the cocking lever 9 by which the breech block c is held down, the hammer f
being free to move. When the pin is thus used it constitutes an additional
means of securing the block c down during the use of the gun; or a bolt or
pin of the kind represented may be passed through a hole in the breech
block c and made to engage in a hole or depression in the striker d, and
thereby prevent the advance of the said striker should the gun be accidentally
discharged. When the bolt is not in use it may be screwed in a hole 8,
Figure 1, in the trigger guard or other convenient part of the gun. In the
case of double guns the bolt or pin may pass through a hole which permits it
to fix the discharging and breech-loading mechanism of both barrels, or a
separate bolt or pin and hole may be used for each barrel. Instead of making
the bolt or pin screw into the hole in the breech chamber or other part
of the gun the bolt or pin may be made plain and be made to fit the hole
tightly.
Although I prefer to connect the bolt or pin to the fire-arm by a chain or
other connection, yet I do not limit myself thereto, as the bolt may be detached
from the fire-arm and carried in the pocket to be used as occasion may
require; or the bolt or pin may be made incapable of removal from the hole
in the breech chamber or other part of the gun. The said bolt or pin in this
case has either a limited screwing motion or a limited sliding motion in the
hole in the gun. When the bolt or pin is pushed or screwed in one direction
it is made to enter the hole in or bear against the part of the mechanism to be
fixed, and when the bolt or pin is pulled or screwed in the opposite direction it
is removed from the said part of the mechanism and the latter is at liberty to
move.
My Invention is applicable to all kinds of single and double muzzle-loading
and breech-loading guns and pistols.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, 1 wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the
Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
my Invention; but I claim as my Invention, the improvements herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings in preventing the

page_text: accidental discharge of fire-arms, or preventing accidents during their, discharge,
that is to say, by means of a bolt or pin made to pass transversely, through or
bear against such part or parts of the fire-arm as will cause the said bolt or
pin to fix the hammer, or to fix such other part of the fire-arm as will prevent
the discharge of the fire-arm or prevent accident during discharge.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Rock Cooper, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JOSEPH ROCK COOPER. (L.S.)