CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR GUNS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN SHAW, of Glossop. in the County of Derby, Musical Instrument
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
late at Westminster, the First day of August, in the thirteenth year
of Her reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and forty-nine, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Shaw, Her especial license, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Shaw, my exors,
adiors, and assigns, and such others as T, the said John Shaw, my
exors, adñiors, or assigns, shall 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 and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in
all the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also
within all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Inven-
tion of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR GUNS," in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, that 1, the said John Shaw, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-

page_text: diately after the date of the said in part 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 John Shaw, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed; is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed.
and the following explanation thereof, that is to say:
My improvements in air guns consist in the novel combination and
arrangement of a condensing syringe or pump, and a spring attached
to and forming parts of the gun, whereby am enabled to procure
instantly, at the pull of the trigger,-sufficient pressure of air for one
discharge, without any previous pumping or condensation of air as
hitherto required in ordinary air guns.
In order that my Invention may be fully detailed, and the practical
application of the same perfectly understood. I have attached to these
Presents a Sheet of Drawings, in which the several Figures repre-
sent my improvements complete, and drawn at about one half the
real size, and also in detail, several of the parts being drawn upon
3 larger scale for the sake of more perfect illustration: Fig. 1,
represents a longitudinal section of an air gun, the parts being in the
position as when loaded and ready for discharge. A, A, is the barrel
of a condensing syringe or air pump, to which (at the end next to
the trigger) the air has free access (through suitable openings); and
to the other end of which the block B is closely fitted, as herein-after
described, which block has two holes through it, one in the middle with
a steel bush screwed into it, nicely fitted for the steel piston ród C tó
work through, and the other hole near the top of the block, into which
the end of the shot barrel D is screwed. E is the piston tightly
-screwed-on-to-the end-of-the-piston rod 6-that part of the piston
next to the trigger is of brass, with a steel bush in the middle for the
trigger to catch in the opposite side of the piston is of leather, and is
kept from slipping up the piston rod by the small metallic nut F. G is
an endless vulcanized india-rubber band, extended to about six and a
half times its original length. so as to become or act as a spring of
considerable power; one part of which, as at g, is attached by a linen
.

page_text: thread loop to the hooked end of the piston rod, and the opposite
portion of which, as at b, is similarly attached to the steel hook H,
which is soldered to the inside of the muzzle and of the barrel casing
E. In this Figure only one of such endless india-rubber bands is
shewn, but any number of them sufficient to form a spring of the
requisite strength may be used. I, is the bullet, which until the
moment of discharge is detained in the situation shewii by a slight
contraction of that end of the shot barrel, by which contraction the
bullet is also prevented from being rammed down into the syringe or
pump A. J, is the trigger, ou pulling which the piston is disengaged,
and by the reactive force of the india-rubber spring G, it rushes to the
opposite end of the pump or syringe barrel, thereby condensing the air
in the barrel, which condensed air forcibly ejects the bullet. K, K, is a har-
dened steel bush screwed into a recess in the rear of the piston; the hole
in the middle of the bush is widest on that side next to the trigger, and
the recess in the piston is wider than the hole in the bush, so that in
"cocking" the guu, as herein-after described, the catch of the trigger
is depressed until the inner edge of the bush bas passed over the catch of
the trigger, the trigger is then, raised by the spring Q at its 'back, the
piston being then secure until the trigger is pulled. L, L, L, L, is a
casing; which, with the exception of a narrow slot M, M; incloses the
shot barrel D, and india-rubber spring G. M, M, is a slot in the case
into which an instrument is to be introduced for the purpose of cock-
ing" the gun, as herein-after described. N, is a moveable cap which
closes the end of the case, and supports the muzzle end of the shot
barrel, for which purpose the cap is perforated near its upper edge.
O, is a metallic loop soldered to the casing for the reception of the bolt
that holds the gun in the stock U, U and also holds the casing L, L, L, L;
in its place. When the gun is taken from the stock the casing.as far
as P, P, can be slidden off the syringe or pump barrel, taking along
with it the block B, the piston rod C, and the piston E. R. is the
breech to which the rear of the pump case or syringe case is soldered.
and in a slot of which the trigger oscillates on the steel pin S. Tis
a knob or bead of brass soldered on to the piston rod C, on to which
bead the "cocker" is hooked when cocking the gun. W is a slot in
the case, through which the trigger is introduced after the
gun is put

page_text: in the stock. Fig. 2, represents an underneath view of the exterior
appearance of the gun taken from the stock, shewing the slot M, M,
through which are visible the piston rod C, the bead T, and a small
portion of the india-rubber spring G, as they appear after the gun is
discharged, and prior to their preparation for another discharge; and as
similar letters are used to denote corresponding parts in all the Figures
of the Drawing this will not require furtlier explanation. Fig. 5, repres
sents a perspective view of an instrument for "cocking" the gun, and
is made of steel, and hooked on to a portion of the piston rod C, and
the bead T. In order to cock the gun the "cocker" here represented
must be introduced into the slot M, M, and fitted on to the piston rod
between the hook and the the bead, in the manner plainly indicated by
Fig. 3. When the cocker is thus fitted the butt end of the gun must
be supported on the top part of the thigh or other suitable part of the
person, the cocker must then be pulled by the hooks V, V, in the
direction of the breech till the trigger catches and holds the piston in
the position represented in Fig. 1. Fig. 4, represents a side view of
the air gun complete. X, is a hole in the case through which the
trigger pin is introduced; this hole and the slot W also serve to admit
the air to the back of the piston when the gun is being discharged.
Should the bullet be rammed down before the gun is cocked air is
admitted into the syringe or pump barrel through the small hole Y.
Fig. 5, is a full size sectional view of such parts of Fig. 1, as are indi-
cated by corresponding letters of reference, with this exception, that the
piston in this Figure is shewn as just released from the trigger. In
this Figure the portion of the case that slides off the syringe or pump
barrel is indicated by a darker shade to the right from P, P. Fig. 6,
represents a full sized sectional view of the breech R, detached and
turned quarter way round, so as to shew the trigger slot Z.. Fig. 7,
represents a full_sized_sectional. view of the block-B, detached-and-
turned quarter way round; the shaded parts c, are the steel bush for the
piston rod to work through, as herein-before described in the explanation
of Fig. 1. Fig. 8, is a full size perspective view of the muzzle cap N,
detached; one of the two openings in the inside shell is to make room
for the shot barrel, and the other to make room for the hook II. , is a
hole into which, and a corresponding one near the end of the case, a pin

page_text: is screwed to keep the cap N in its place. With the exception of the
stock, the materials of which I have made the herein-before described
articles is brass, when not otherwise described. And I will here observe
that it will be necessary occasionally to drop a small quantity of oil
into the shot barrel. It will be evident that various kinds of triggers,
or escapements, or locks may be employed or applied to the above
description of air gun, and also that various forms or constructions of
springs may be therein employed, in place of the india-rubber band
above mentioned, and also that other simple modes of "cocking" or
drawing up such springs may be adopted without departing from the
principles of my Invention, or altering the nature thereof.
Having now described my improvements in air guns, and fully
explained the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I
desire it to be understood that I claim as my Invention the condensing
of the air in air guns at the instant of discharge by one stroke of an
air pump or syringe, actuated by a previously extended or compressed
spring or other suitable elastic means.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Shaw, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty.