Improvements in Machine Guns and Mountings therefor.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 6th May, 1898-Accepted, 10th Dec., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machine Guns and Mountings therefor.
I, ISBON BENEDICT SCOTT, of 32-34, Park Place, New York, in the County
and State of New York, United States of America, Publisher, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to rapid-firing magazine fire-arms and the objects
sought to be attained are the production of a device of this character for general
army use which shall be compact in form, light in weight and of comparatively
few parts, which will not be liable to get out of order and which will be com-
paratively inexpensive to manufacture. A further object is to produce a device
of this kind which may be readily carried either in the hand in a manner
similar to a travelling case or which may be readily attached to a bicycle, or
to a saddle bag of a cavalryman and which when required for use may be
quickly placed in condition for active service.
The ordinary magazine guns of the rapid-firing variety are exceedingly heavy
and particularly cumbersome owing to their necessary shape, while on the other
hand the mechanism for the operation of such arms are of necessity quite
complex and liable to disorder.
In my invention I contemplate the use of a casing of light sheet metal which
shall serve as a magazine for a number of cartridges connected either by cords,
wire, or by webbing, and a pair of feed rollers so constructed that they form
firing chambers, when the rollers are revolved to carry the cartridges into
position to discharge them through the firing chamber and out of the barrel
attached to the outer side of the casing. With such a device the barrel and the
crank for operating the feeding and firing mechanism are practically the only.
parts exposed to view, when the device is ready for use, and these parts may
be detached and placed within the casing in a moment when it is desired to
carry the fire-arm from place to place. For some purposes it may be found
desirable to mount the casing upon a tripod, and in order that a universal move-
ment may be given to the weapon so that an accurate aim may be attained,
some universal joint may be used, as a ball and socket, or similar means.
I also contemplate using a tripod formed of telescopic tubes which may be
elosed one within the other in compact form and carried within the casing. It
will also be noticed that a fire-arm of this character affords considerable protec
tion to the individual using it owing to the fact that he may stand behind the
casing and be shielded to a considerable extent. I also contemplate the use
of a series of these fire-arms placed either in alignment or in the arc of a circle
and connected by drive chains or belting so that one person may set the entire
series into operation and in this manner do very destructive service.
In its broadest aspect my invention consists of a casing made either of
aluminium or other light material of the desired size to accommodate a given
number of cartridges at the bottom and to have journaled therein a pair of

page_text: feed rolls and an automatically-operated firing-pin which is so timed as to dis-
charge a cartridge at the precise moment that it is fed into alignment with the
gun-barrel. The accompanying drawing illustrates one of the forms of my
invention.
Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of one form of my invention placed upon a
tripod stand or support.
Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the casing and showing the crank handle for
operating the feed rollers in place.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on a line through the center of the feed
rollers and the barrel.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the casing taken on a line just at the
rear of the gear wheels and showing a cartridge-strip suspended from the feed
rollers in position to be fed to the firing-chamber and discharged through the
barrel.
Fig. 5 is a detail view of the firing-pin and spring to which it is attached
and a broken view of a portion of the cam which operates the same.
Fig. 6 is an isometric view of a cartridge strip which I may use.
Fig. 7 is a broken view of the feed-rollers showing them in the position
which they assume to form the firing-chamber between them.
Fig. 8 is a broken plan view of said rollers showing the cam teeth in section.
Fig. 9 is a side view of my tripod stand.
Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the tubular joints forming the legs of said
tripod and
Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing the telescopic sections of the tripod closed,
one section within the other.
In the various views of the drawing like figures of reference indicate like
parts wherever they occur.
1. is a casing which may be made of light sheet metal such as aluminium
and which is designed to bo of the exact dimensions necessary to contain the
working parts of the fire-arm and be provided with sufficient space to contain
cartridge strips, the barrel, the crank handle and the tripod stand for supporting
the device. This size may of course vary under different conditions. The top
or upper portion of the casing is depressed centrally to form a sight-groove 2,
which is in exact alignment with a raised sight 3, near the end of the gun-
barrel. Mounted within this casing are the feed rollers 4 and 5. These feed-
rollers are provided with corrugations 6, which run longthwise of the said
rollers and are adapted when the rollers are revolved by means of a hand crank
or handle 7, to form a firing chamber 9 between them, and to carry the car-
tridge-strip and its attached webbing up and out through the slot 10 in the
casing, as shown in Fig. 3 at 11. The feed-rollers may be provided with alter-
nately arranged teeth 12 designed to mesh or fit into the depressions 13 in each
alternate rib. However, this construction may be dispensed with provided the
gear wheels 14 shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are used. It will be noticed that when
the feed-rolls are brought together as shown in Fig. 7, they form a complete
firing chamber between them. The firing pin 15 is timed to strike the cart-
ridge at the moment it is centered in the firing chamber. The firing-pin 15 is
secured to the end of a spring arm 16 loosely mounted upon the shaft 17 which
carries the feed-roll 5. Upon the face of this roll a ratchet cam 18 is secured.
This circular cam is provided with a number of teeth corresponding to the
number of corrugations in the feed-rollers, and it will be noticed that the
shoulder 19 on each of these teeth is so arranged in relation to the corrugations
in the feed-rolls that the arm 16 will slip off the inclined portion 20 of the
teeth at precisely the right moment to strike the cartridge when the circular
firing-chamber has been formed between two contiguous corrugations in the feed-
roll. Shelves or projections 21 may be formed upon the inside of the casing
to insure the proper feeding of the cartridge strip 22. 23 indicates the cart-
ridges. The barrel 24 may be secured to the casing by a screw threaded con

page_text: nection 25 or similar means. This barrel may, of course, be detached and
carried in the casing, or for some purposes the barrel may be entirely dispensed
with.
I have provided a tripod of novel construction upon which my fire-arm may
be mounted. This tripod is composed of legs made up of three telescopic
sections 26, 27, and 28. These sections are provided with screw-threads at their
outer extremities, as at 29, to hold them in extended position and the section 28
may be a rod, and provided at its lower end with a pointed enlargement 30,
which when the leg is closed together, as shown in Fig. 11, covers and encloses
the sections within the outer tube 26. These three legs may be secured by
hinged joints 31 to a small table or platform 32. Mounted upon this table is a
socket 33, one part of which is hinged at :34 to permit the same to be opened
sufficiently to allow the ball 35 to enter. The ball 35 may be secured to the
bottom of the casing 1. A set screw 36 may be used for tightening the socket
upon the ball when the casing has been adjusted to the desired position for use.
I may however, adopt different means for attaching the casing to the tripod
stand. In fact, any universal joint would answer my purpose. By means of
such adjustment the operator may attain more or less accurate aim by sighting
through the groove 2 in alignment with the sight 3 on the barrel, or I may,
if found desirable, use a telescope sight or any other well known device for
this purpose.
A door 37 is provided at the bottom and in rear of the casing to
permit access to the magazine compartment 38. A handle 39 may be attached
at any convenient point for carrying the fire-arm.
It will be seen from the foregoing that I provide a very simple and efficient
device for its purpose, of comparatively few parts, which cannot readily get out
of order, which would be ready for action at a moment's notice, and which could
be mounted on a stand, or used upon the ground, or from a horse, or from any
point of vantage. When a series of these arms are to be used, they may be
connected by an ordinary drive-chain or small belt and they may be so arranged
as to sweep a very large area of field, and when operated in this way would
obviously be very destructive while the entire series could be operated by one or
two persons and at the same time form an extensive fortification or shield for
the operator or operators.
I do not desire to be limited to the precise details shown, as I am well aware
many changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A repeating fire-arm comprising a casing, a pair of feed-rollers journaled
therein, a firing-pin loosely mounted upon the shaft of one of said rollers, and
means for revolving the rollers, substantially as described.
2. A fire-arm comprising a metallic casing having a magazine within its lower
portion for containing a cartridge strip, a pair of corrugated feed-rollers mounted
within said casing, a spring firing-pin for discharging the cartridges, a circular
cam for operating the firing-pin and means for revolving the feed-rollers and
firing the cartridges at intervals, substantially as described.
3. In a magazine fire-arm a pair of longitudinally corrugated feed rollers
mounted side by side and adapted to carry a cartridge strip in position for
firing the same, in combination with a spring mounted firing-pin, and a cam for
operating said pin at intervals, substantially as described.
4. A fire-arm comprising a casing having a sight-groove in its top, a barrel
secured upon said casing and provided with a sight, in combination with feed-
rollers designed to carry the cartridges into alignment with said barrel and
means to explode them, substantially as described.
5, A fire-arm consisting of a metallic casing having a magazine compartment,

page_text: F
feed-rollers journaled therein, a spring firing-pin and means for operating it,
said casing being mounted by a universal joint upon a tripod, substantially as
described.
6. In a magazine fire-arm, a casing, longitudinally corrugated feed-rollers within
the casing, a spring arm mounted upon the journal of one of said feed-rollers,
an annular ratchet-cam surrounding the journal of said feed-roller, and means
for revolving the rollers simultaneously to form firing-chambers between them
and to explode the cartridges as they successively come into position in the firing
chamber, substantially as described.
7. A magazine fire-arm comprising a casing and means for successively dis-
charging cartridges therefrom, in combination with a tripod stand, and a universal
joint between the casing and the tripod, substantially as described.
8. A tripod consisting of a series of telescopic sections having screw-threaded
terminals, in combination with a casing mounted thereon.
9. A tripod having telescopic legs, the lower section of said legs being each
provided with a combined point and cap for covering the sections when closed
together, substantially as described.
ISBON BENEDICT SCOTT,
By George Barker,
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents,
Agent for Applicant, 77, Colmore Row, Birmingham.