AN IMPROVED COCK TO BE APPLIED TO THE LOCKS OF GUES, PISTOLS, FIRE-ARMS, OR ORDNANCE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FIRING THE SAME BY PERCUSSION, ACTING EITHER BY SELF- PRIMING OR OTHERWISE, AND WHEREBY THE PRIMING IS RENDERED WHOLLY IMPERVIOUS ALIKE TO THE WIND, RAIN OR DAMP
Year: 1824

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
THOMAS CARTMELL, of Doncaster, in the County of York, Gun Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Sixth day of November, in the fifth year of
His reign, did for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Thomas Cartmell, His especial licence that I, the
said Thomas Cartmell, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Cartmell, my exors, adñors, or 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 night
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED COCK TO BE
APPLIED TO THE LOCKS OF GUES, PISTOLS, FIRE-ARMS, OR ORDNANCE, FOR THE
PURPOSE OF FIRING THE SAME BY PERCUSSION, ACTING EITHER BY SELF-
PRIMING OR OTHERWISE, AND WHEREBY THE PRIMING IS RENDERED WHOLLY
IMPERVIOUS ALIKE TO THE WIND, RAIN, OR DAMP;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Thomas

page_text: Cartmell, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particu-
larly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said recited
Letters Patent, as in 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 Thomas Cartmell, do hereby declaro the nature of my said Inven-
tion to consist in a new pan or receptacle for the priming of a percussion
gun lock, such receptacle being formed in the cock, as also in a new
magazine for the same, connected with and thereby forming a part of
the cock; and in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Cartmell, do hereby describe the manner in which I perform
my said Invention by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings annexed, and the figures and letters marked
thereon; and I do hereby also declare that my said Invention consists
of three several improvements on the cock of what is usually termed a
percussion gun lock, that is to say:
First, in a receptacle for the printing formed in the cock, and the
incans by which the said priming is retained there and preserved from
wet. Secondly in a self-acting lifting magazine, connected with and
forming part of the cock, which by its rise and fall deposits the
requisite priming in a receptacle, as aforesaid; and, thirdly and lastly,
in a magazine fixed upon and forming a part of the cock, and from
which priming is taken by means of a feeder and deposited in a
receptacle, as aforesaid. And first, of the receptacle for the priming
formed in the cock, and the means by which the said priming is retained
there and preserved from wet. This improvement is described in the
Drawing marked N° 1, Figures 1, and 2. Figure 1, represents a per-
cussion gun lock applied to a gun with my improved cock; the part
colored blue is, in fact, the ordinary cock, at the end of which a small
hollow is made, marked in this Figure by the letter A. and which I call
the receptacle. This receptacle should he just large enough to admit
vasily the end of the exploding peg S. and no larger. C. is a cap turning

page_text: on a pivot at E, and having a check Y, on its inner side, which check
striking against the fence T, as the cock descends raises the cap C, so
as to expose the priming in the receptacle to the exploding peg. V, is
the upper end of a small spring G, at the back of the cock, acting upon
the knob W, thereby retaining it in its risen and fallen position
alternately. When this cock is to be used it should be brought to half
cock, the cap C, should be raised by the finger and thumb, and the
detonating priming droped into the receptacle by hand or from a
charge or otherwise, and the cap shut down over it, when it will remain
secure and preserved from wet, as aforesaid, until the gun is tired.
Figure 2, is a representation of the said improved cock, supposed to be
primed and with the cap shut down; the same letters are used in this
Figure as in the last to denote the same parts. And now, secondly, of
the self-acting lifting magazine, connected with and forming a part of
the cock, which by its rise and fall deposits the requisite priming in a
receptacle, and which said magazine is described in the same Drawing
and by the Figures 3, 4, and 5. Figure 8, represents my said improve-
ment in section; the part coloured blue is the head of an ordinary cock,
with a hollow cut in its upper surface for the small spring m; the part
colored purple is the cap with the magazine on the top of it, which is
colored yellow; the little pink colored balls represent the detonating
powder or priming, which for the purposes of my Invention should be
made into very small balls, as here represented. A, is the receptacle,
and it will be seen that there is a small hole cut through the top of the
cap to form a passage for the balls from the magazine to the receptacle.
The cap
turns upon a pivot at E, while the spring m, acts as from a
pivot at X; the different arcs, therefore, described by the cap and the
spring m, in consequence of the difference in the centres from which
they will be described, causes the end of the spring m, when the cap
raised, to be advanced so far under the hole where the balls pass through
as to prevent the passage of any while the cap is raised, but when the
cap is put down the same arrangement causes the spring m, to' with-
draw itself from the hole, and thus allows a ball to pass down from the
magazine into the receptacle; but it should be observed that the recep-
tacle should only be made of sufficient size to hold one ball, or of course.
is

page_text: while in the position shewn in this Figure as many balls as the
receptacle would hold would of course drop through. Figure 4,
represents a section of the same parts as were shewn in the last
Figure, but in a different position, the cock being here shewn in
the act of falling on the exploding peg to fire the gun, and the cap
consequently raised, for it should be stated that there is a check R, on
the inner side of this cap, similar to that described in Figures 1, and 2,
of this Drawing by the same letter, for the same purpose, and acting
in the same manner, and by a reference to this Figure it will be scen
that the cap being raised the detonating ball is exposed to meet the
peg, and the spring m, passes sufficiently far under the hole in the cap
where the balls pass to keep them in the magazine, for it should be
observed that if the hole be only just large enough to admit the ball a
very small action of this spring will effect the purpose required. Figure
5, represents the whole cock, G, being the spring at its back to act upon
the knob W, on the cap, as described in some of the foregoing Figures;
from this Figure it will be seen that the magazine slides on to the top
of the cap in a dovetailed groove, and may be filled either through a
hole in the top or by turning it and the gun upside down, when the
magazine is filled and slid on to the cap while in that position. The
effect produced by this arrangement is as follows:-When the cock is
at half cock or whole cock the magazine will be in the position shewn
at Figure 3, the spring m, will be kept down by the cap, and thus
withdrawn from under the hole where the balls pass down, which will
allow oue ball to drop into the receptacle, and the receptacle being
filled by this one ball no more can leave the magazine. And it will
be seen in this Figure that if the spring could be pushed forward a
little it would pass between the ball in the receptacle and the ball next
above it. Now the raising of the cap does throw the spring forward
this required distance, as shewn at Figure 4, therefore when the trigger
is pulled and the cock falls, the cheek R, strikes against the fence 'T',
and raises the cap; the raising of the cap causes the spring m, to retain
the balls in the magazine, and leaves the one in the receptacle exposed
to the blow from the peg, which blow of course explodes it; the cock
should then be drawn back again to half cock and the cap pushed down

page_text: with the finger, when another ball will be deposited in the receptacle,
and thus the gun will be again primed. And now, thirdly and lastly, of
the magazine fixed upon and forming part of the cock and pan, which
priming is taken by means of a feeder, and deposited in a receptacle.
This said third and last improvement is described in the Drawing marked
N° 2. In this Drawing, Fig. 1, represents my said last mentioned
improvement applied to a gun. The dotted figure represents the cock
at full cock, and the colored figure turning on the same pivot represents
the cock when follen on the peg, which is supposed to have exploded.
the detonating hall. In this Figure C, is the magazine, screwed into:
the top of the cock, and the small pink colored balls represent the
detonating balls or priming. E, is a bolt passing through the cock under
the magazine. This bolt is driven back by the peg when the cock falls,
and when the cock is pulled back from the peg the spring, F, pushes it
forward again. This bolt is what I call the feeder, for it has a small hole
bored through it, which forms a chamber in it at X, just large enough to
hold one of the detonating balls. When the cock falls on the peg the bolt.
is driven so far back that the hole or chamber X, comes under some of
the balls in the magazine and one drops into it; then when the cock
is pulled back, either to half or full cock, the spring F, pushes the bolt
forward, and the bolt carries the ball which is in the hole or chamber
forward with it till the hole in the bolt comes over the receptacle A,
when the ball drops through the hole and falls into the receptacle; the
manner in which the ball is kept in this receptacle is explained hereafter
by a description of the other Figures, but it will be seen by this arrange-
ment, and by reference to the colored cock in this Figure, which shews
its position when fallen, and the dotted cock which shews its position
when at full cock, that each time the gun is fired and the cock falls a
ball will be received from the magazine into the bolt or feeder, and
each time the cock is drawn back to half or full cock, again this ball
will be deposited by the feeder in the receptacle, and thus the gun will
be primed every time it is cocked or half cocked, so long as there are
any balls in the magazine. Figure 2, is a plan of or section of the
upper part of the cock supposed to be cut off at the dotted line A, B,
in Figure 1, of this Drawing. E, is the bolt or feeder, and X, is the

page_text: hole or chamber before described; A, is the receptacle, and L, is a
small spring with a triangular piece of steel at one end, which forms a
front to the receptacle and holds the ball in its place till the cock falls
on the peg, when the peg striking against the inclined plane of the
triangular piece of steel pushes it to one side and detonates the ball
before it has time to leave its position in the receptacle; P, is the peg;
Figure 3, is another plan of the same section, shewing the position of
the triangular catch when the peg P, is actually in the receptacle and
has detonated the ball. Figure 4, is a side view of the whole cock,
and shews the external appearance of the spring L. Now my said
three several improvements, to wit, a cock with a receptacle for the
priming formed in it as shewn in the Drawing marked N° 1, at Figures
1, and 2, a cock with a self-acting lifting magazine, which by its rise
and fall deposits priming in the required situation, as is shewn in the
same Drawing at Figures 8, 4, and 5, and a cock with a magazine,
from which priming is taken by means of a feeder and placed in the
required situation, as shewn in the Drawing marked N° 2, at Figures
1, 2, 3, and 4, being to the best of my knowledge and belief entirely
new, and never before used in these kingdoms, I do hereby declare
this to be my Specification of the said improvements, and I do verily
believe that this my Specification doth in all respects fully, and without
reserve or disguise, comply with the proviso in the said herein-before
in part recited Letters l'atent contained; wherefore I do hereby claim
to maintain exclusive right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Cartmell, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-four.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirty-first day of
December, in the year of our Lord 1824, the aforesaid Thomas Cartmell
came before our said Lord the King, in His Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Specifica-
tion aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made
for that purpose.