THE IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF GUNS AND CANNONS AND MANUFACTURE OF CARTRIDGES FOR THE LOADING OR CHARGING 89778-8
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME I
MATTHEW URLWIN SEARS of No. 36 Burton Crescent in the Parish of
St. Pancras in the County of Middlesex send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by
Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland bearing date at Westminster the Eleventh
day of January in the thirteenth year of Her reign did, for Herself
Her heirs and successors give and grant unto me the said Matthew
Urlwin Sears my exors admors and assigns Her special licence full
power sole privilege and authority that I the said Matthew Urlwin
Sears my exors admors and assigns should at any time agree with
and no others from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed should and lawfully might make use
exercise and vend within England Wales and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed and in the Islands of Guernsey Jersey Alderney Sark
and Man and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad my Invention for "THE IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF GUNS AND
CANNONS AND MANUFACTURE OF CARTRIDGES FOR THE LOADING OR CHARGING
89778-8.

page_text: THEREOF
"in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso
that I the said Matthew Urlwin Sears shall cause a particular descrip-
tion of the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal
to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent and by the same reference being thereunto had
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE that in compliance with the said proviso I the
said Matthew Urlwin Sears do hereby declare that the nature of my
Invention and the manner the same is to be performed are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed and to the
figures and letters thereon (that is to say)
My Invention consists Firstly In a new and improved construction of
guns that are loaded at the breech and fired by the protrusion of a
needle or pin into a priming contained in the interior of the cartridge
wherewith such gun is charged, this improved construction being
applicable to military muskets rifles carrabines fowling pieces, and
pistols and as far as concerns the loading at the breech also to cannons
and secondly in. an improved cartridge for charging or loading such
guns.
Fig 1 Sheet First of the Drawings is a full sized. horizontal sec-
tion of a-rifled gun at half cock and with the cartridge put in. A.
is, the. stock. The barrel B B. ends in a cone at a a its bore is
enlarged here so as to form a convenient lodging for the cartridge C¹.
This part of the barrel is screwed at bb to a tube D: D: of which
Fig: 2, 3, 4 give different crossections and Fig: 5. a ground plan:
This: tube is truly bored inside and has a longitudinall. slit c. c. c.
extending to the point & where it is enlarged so as to form the oblong,
opening or hole d: e, fg just behind the screw threads the tube. D.
has a small enlargement which serves for collecting. powder dust and
like impurities. E is a'cylinder accurately turned so as to move very:
truly but with little friction in the tube D. The different crossections.
of this sliding cylinder which in fact forms the breech of the gun'and'

page_text: :
therefore is called the sliding breech appear in Fig: 2. 3. 4 its upper
part in Fig: 6 and its lower in Fig: 7. It is provided with a handle/
Fig 1. 3. 6 by which it may be moved forward and backward in the
tube D or be pressed up against the conical part a a of the barrel in
the position shown in Fig: 3. The lower part of the handle abuts with
its back face against the shoulder de of the tube D. which shoulder is
¡made somewhat slanting in order to favor the locking up while the
valve-shaped fore part of the sliding breech E lays firmly hold of the
.conical part of the barrel and shuts the same but when the handle is
turned upwards to unlock it from the shoulder de and then drawn
backward to the point c of the slit c. c. the barrel will be opened and
the cartridge may be put into its chamber through the opening or
loading hole de fg. The dotted lines in Fig: 3 show how far the
handle must be turned upwards in order to unlock it from the
shoulder d. e. The fore part of the interior of the sliding breech E is
enlarged conically, and ground to the conical part of the barrel so as to
form a kind of valve shutting and a small ring of copper or soft brass
ii Fig: 1 is introduced to improve the shutting. Just behind this
ring there is a space k. k. called the back chamber. Its use is not only
to receive the residum of the burnt powder but also to contain a
quantity of air which, by its elasticity eases the recoil of the gun and
being strongly heated, and consequently dilated by the explosion of the
powder augments the force wherewith the bullet is driven out of the
barrel. In the middle of the back chamber there stands out of
the diaphragm the needle guide a small tube whose office is
shown by its name, it is square outside in order to be held by a.key
when it is to be screwed into the diaphragm. The back part of the
sliding breech E contains another sliding tube F. seen in longitudinal
section in Fig. 1 in crossecsion in Fig: 3. 4. from above in Fig: 8 and
from below in Fig: 9 and called the spring barrel. It is shut behind,
where it bears the knob w rising upwards but open in front and
contains the main spiral spring m the needle bar a with the nut o and
the needle p. The spring barrel is flattened on the lower side and has
a slit there q Fig: 1. 3. 9 for the teeth 1 and 2 of the nut o to work
in. The greater part of the upper side is fluttened also. as seen in

page_text: Fig: 1. 3. 4. 8. By this last flattening and a little hollowing out of the
sliding breech E. a space is formed for the reception of a stout spring r.
Fig: 1. 3. 4. The spring r has two teeth sand whereby it is held
to the spring barrel F. and two catches which interlock with the sliding
breech thereby fastening the spring barrel to the latter. It has
moreover a hook at the back end standing up above the tube D
by pressing down this hook so as to disengage the catches u. " and
using the knob w of the spring barrel as a handle. F may be moved
forward and backward in the sliding breech or be drawn entirely out of
it and pushed in again. The spiral main spring is to be made to bear
a weight of sixteen to eighteen pounds and of a length somewhat
greater than the space included between the narrow part of the spring
barrel and the nut o when this last is not held back by the detent
lever a but is in contact by its little copper ring y with the diaphragm
of the sliding breech. In other words the spring m must be so
long that it cannot be put into its chamber without using some force
and it is held there when the spring barrel is drawn out by the tooth s
The detent lever
engaging with the upper tooth three of the nut o.
a swings on a small pin or axle in a slit of the sliding breech see
Fig: 1. 4. 7. There is a spring z riveted to & abutting against the
lower flat side of the spring barrel and serving to engage the detent lever
with either of the two lower teeth of the nut o. The trigger mechanism
formed no part of this Invention and may be varied according to
convenience.
The movements for loading and firing this gun are as follows:
The lock being at rest that is the small copper ring y being in contact
with the diaphragm of the sliding breech E. the needle or pin p
standing out forward of the needle guide 2, and the handle h being
locked to the shoulder de hold the gun with the left hand just so as
if you were to put a percussion cap upon the nipple of a common gun
and then with the right hand. Firstly press down the spring by
means of the book and draw out backwards the spring barrel F. till
the detent lever a catch the tooth 1 of the nut o Secondly unlock
the handle of the sliding breech E from the shoulder de and draw
it back to the point c of the slit in the tube D whereby the loading

page_text: hole def g will be opened. Thirdly, put in the cartridge. Fourthly,
shut the loading hole by pushing forward the handle and locking it
to the shoulder de Fifthly, puch the spring barrel home into the
sliding breech. In this state the gun is at half cock as shewn in Fig: 1
and may be handled and carried about with safety. Sixthly. To bring
the gun to full cock repeat the movement N° 1 but draw back the
spring barrel so far that the detent lever a may engage with the tooth 2
of the nut o and instantly repeat the movement No. 5. If now the
trigger be drawn the tooth 2 escapes from the detent lever the needle
bar and needle are forcibly pushed forward by the main spring and the
needle piercing the cartridge sets the priming on fire which explodes
the powder. It need scarcely be mentioned that for quick firing the
bringing the gun to half cock may be omitted by drawing out the spring
barrl so that the detent lever may at once engage with the tooth 2
of the nut o.
The Drawings of Sheet Second show another arrangement for
carrying out the Invention. Fig: 10 is a longitudinal section of a
rifled gun. half cocked with the cartridge put in. The barrel with A
the stock. The barrel B with its enlarged chamber for the reception
of the cartridge C¹ is made conical at a. a. and screwed at b. b. into the
tube D. D. Fig: 11 is a crossection of the barrel, to show in what
manner I prefer to dispose the grooves internally but without laying
any claim to it. The tube D is accurately bored and there is also a
small recess in it just behind the screwed part for collecting any
impurities that might obstruct the movements of the sliding breech E.
The tube D is shown in crossection in Fig: 12 and 18 and in a plan
but the under side turned upwards in Fig: 14-It appears from the
Figures that the slit c. c. for the admission of the handle of the sliding
breech together with the loading hole d e f g are placed not at the
upper but at the lower side and that of course the cartridge must be
put in from below the tube D and sliding breech E. To make this
putting in of the cartridge more easy there is a recess H worked out
in the stock. When the gun is loaded in this manner the loading
hole d e f g need not be made so broad consequently there is re-
tained a greater quantity of iron in the tube D and the fore part of

page_text: the sliding breech is more fully encompassed by and more securely
lodged in it. The construction of the sliding breech E appears
from Fig: 10. 12. 13 and 15 the latter Figure shewing its under side.
The larger part is cylindrical with the exception of a prismatical
prominence or ridge on the lower side marked which in sliding
When
It is
the breech lengthwise through the tube D enters the slit c. c.
the sliding breech is thrust forward as far as possible and then turned
sideways downwards this ridge will stand in the middle of the loading
hole de f g as shewn by the dotted lines in Fig: 14-In this position
the back face of the ridge ¹¹ abuts against the slanting shoulder d e
of the tube D while the valve-shaped forepart of the sliding breech
'with the metal ring i are jammed fast to the conical part of the
barrel conversely the sliding breech being first turned upwards to
unlock the ridge h¹ h¹ from the shoulder de and then drawn back;
the cartridge may be put into its chamber through the loading hole d
ef g The handle for performing these movements of the sliding
breech is rivetted to the ridge ¹³ or fastened to it by screws.
seen in longitudinal section in Fig: 10 in crossection in Fig: 12 where
it is shown going up at the right side of the tube in a recess of the
stock it is further seen in a horizontal projection of the under side in
Fig: 16. The lower part of this handle is a curved plate serving as an
additional cover to the loading hole and its upper part has the shape of
on oblong ring. The dotted lines Fig: 12, show how far the handle /
is to be turned upwards in order to unlock the ridge / from the
shoulder de. There is a recess in the stock serving for the recep-
tion of the handle when the sliding breech is drawn back to open the
loading hole. The valve-shaped mouth piece of the sliding breech E
with its copper or brass ring ii back chamber K needle guide / and
diaphragm are the same as those already described but the after
part of the sliding breech is of a different construction there being
particular spring barrel and the large flat catch spring marked r in the
Drawings of Sheet First with all it apendages being ommitted. The
construction hereby is much simplified there being a single hole only to
be bored through the back part of the sliding breech E for the recep-
tion of the main spiral spring m needle bar 2 and o and the needle or

page_text: pin p. This hole is closed at the back by the screw 4 Fig: 10 and
17 it is perforated to allow the needle bar n to pass through and
between it and the nut o the main spring m may be compressed by
drawing the needle bar backwards. The slit q in which the teeth
1 and 2 of the nut o and the detent lever are working is continued
through the back part of the sliding breech in such a manner that the
needle bar with the main spring nut and needle may be drawn out
or replaced after having removed the screw 4. The spring of the
detent lever abuts against the lower side of the smaller part of the
sliding breech E. The drawing back of the needle bar u independently
whereby in this construction the gun is set to half or full cock may be
performed by different mechanical means but the arrangement which I
prefer because it forms a convenient shutting for the after part of the
tube D is shown in a longitudinal section in Fig: 10 and in plan in
Fig: 17. This cocking frame consists of a ring 5 screwed into a
sheave 6 which by two bars 7 and 8 is connected to a short cylinder 9.
The sheave 6 and the cylinder 9 are to be of such a diameter as to
exactly fill the calibre of the tube D. The bottom of the cylinder 9
has a hole through which the needle bar passes which is prevented
from slipping of by the screw nut F. The upper connecting bar y has
a small recess in which the point of the screw 10 may slide and the
lower bar 8 bears a small spring 11 by which means the cocking frame
is kept to its place in the tube D.
Movements for loading and firing this gun. Firstly put the fore-
finger of the right hand into the ring 5 and draw,back the cocking
frame and needle bar untill the detent lever catch the tooth 1 of
the nut o. Secondly unlock the ridge of the handle of the sliding
breech from the shoulder de and draw it back to open the loading
hole. Thirdly put in the cartridge. Fourthly shut the loading hole by
pushing forward the handle of the sliding breech and locking it to the
shoulder de. The gun is now at half cock and Fifthly to bring the
gun to full cock draw back the needle bar by means of the cocking
frame so far that the tooth 2 of the nut o come to be engaged with
the detent lever & and instantly push the cocking frame into the
tube D. The trigger mechanism is the same as that shewn in Fig: 1
Sheet first.

page_text: Fig: 18 Sheet Third shows in what manner the shutting up of
the sliding breech E against the back part of the barrel is to be
effected when the latter is not screwed into the barrel D but both
barrel and tube are in one piece. In this case for the sake of
.convenience in workmanship and also in cleaning the valve face and
ring i are in the barrel and the fore part of the sliding breach is made
conical at the outside. Moreover, it appears from this Fig. and the
crossections Fig: 19 and 20 that my improved construction is appli-
cable to guns of comparatively small calibre and by Fig: 21 that
double barrelled guns may be made according to this principle both
loading holes in such a case being either at the top or at the bottom of
the breech. Fig: 22. 23 and 24 show how according to my Invention
a cannon may be made to load at the breech. Fig: 22 is a longitudinal
section. Fig: 28 a crossection and Fig: 24 a plan of the back part
of a cannon. D. D. that part of the barrel which serves as a tube to
the sliding breech E. c tho slit de the shoulder d e f g the
loading hole the valve ring and the back chamber and the
handle of the sliding breech. It.need scarcely to be mentioned that in
large cannons the movement of the sliding breech cannot well be
effected by hand only but that some mechanical means to gain a pur-
chase upon the handle such as a rack and pinion or worm screw and
wheel must be used. Fig: 25 Sheet Second is a longitudinal section
of a cartridge for loading or charging my improved guns. 1 is the
powder 2 a thin washer of pasteboard or millboard containing in
the middle a percussion cap 3 and 4 is the bullet. The powder the
washer with its cap and the bullet are put in the order here stated
into a cylindrical case of fine paper and, lastly this is tied to the bullet
with a cotton thread. The cartridge afterwards is to be smeared with
tallow. The bullet has three rings round its cylindrical part projecting
as far as fully to fill the groves of the rifled barrel while the cylindrical
body of the bullet has a diameter fully equal to the calibre. By this
means the bullet in its passage through the barrel not only prevents
any loss of the gases evolved by the exploding powder but acquires that
spiral or spinning motion round its own axis which is necessary for
guiding it in its flight. This arrangement of the cartridge has more-

page_text: over this advantage that the ignition of the powder is begun at its
foremost part and consequently its perfect combustion secured. As to
the percussion caps to be used they should be as flat as is consistent
with their being well- fastned into the middle part of the washer and.
about a tenth of an inch in diameter. They should be primed with a
well-made composition of fulminate of mercury and the priming should
be covered in with a thin piece of copper. Cartridges made with such
percussion caps may be handled with as little danger as common soldiers'
cartridges and are not liable to miss fire or to corrode the interior of
the barrel. If small shot is to be used instead of a bullet the barrel is
not to be rifled and a second washer not perforated is to be put in.
between that washer which contains the cap and the shot.
What I claim as my Invention under these Letters Patent is
Firstly in regard to small fire-arms the general arrangement of the
mechanical means to be used and employed as herein-before set forth
for loading or charging such guns at the breech and firing them by
means of a needle or pin protruding into the priming contained in the
cartridge itself and particularly a the construction of the various
sliding breeches drawn and described with valve shaped mouth pieces
and rings and detent levers attached to them 6 the shutting up of the
back of the spring barrel marked F in the Drawings of Sheet first.
c the construction of the needle bar with its nut allowing the gun to
be half cocked & the construction of the tube marked D by which
the gun may be loaded or charged from the lower side of the breech
together with the handle forming a cover to the loading hole.
Secondly in regard to cannon the loading them at the breech and
locking up of the sliding breech in the manner shown.
And thirdly in regard to the cartridges their arrangement in general
and the peculiar form of copper caps described to be used as a priming
in the cartridges.
In witness whereof I the said Matthew Urlwin Sears have here-
unto set my hand and seal this Ninth day of July Eighteen
(L.S.) MATTHEW URLWIN SEARS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED that on the Tenth day of July in
the year of our Lord 1850 the aforesaid Matthew Urlwin Sears came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid and all and every thing therein contained
and specified in form above written. And also the Specification afore-
said was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
Enrolled the Tenth day of July in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty.