Year: 1886

page_text: magazine.
Figure 6 is a plan of the same.
Figure 7 is an elevation of the rifle with breech open and magazine attached at
the moment when a fresh cartridge is about to fall into the loading space.
Figure 8 is a transverse section along the line y-z Figure 7.
Figure 9 shows the slide or cartridge carrier in perspective.
Figure 10 is a perspective view of the cartridge feeder of the repeating
mechanism.
The work of conversion consists, first in the attachment of a socket piece B on
the right hand side of the breech chamber A into which the stem C₁ of the attach-
able magazine is inserted and secured by means of its spring C³. The attachable
magazine consists of a small and compact contrivance intended for the reception of
the carton of pasteboard or tin which contains the cartridges. A cylindrical
chamber C is fixed upon the stem C³ and on the upper side of the chamber C there
is a rectangular frame C furnished on the right hand side with a snap door or
-

page_text: t
snutter Co.
Into this frame the cartridge carton D is inserted. This carton has
below a projecting tongue which is bent upwards and is caught and held fast by
the snap shutter C³.
In the cylindrical chamber C is the rotating cartridge feeder E which is
provided with a spoon shaped hollow for the reception of a single cartridge, and
which can rotate so far as to deliver the cartridge which it has received in its
hollow through the opening c in the chamber C into the loading space of the rifle.
The rotation of this feeder E is brought about by means of a bent rod e which is
jointed to the feeder E and imparts to the latter the motion it receives from the
working lever F to be presently described. The rod e is let into a groove in the
tongue C¹ and it can slide endwise in this groove. A small spring c¹ is fixed on
the chamber and its front end passes through the wall of the chamber and
catches into a groove on the outer surface of the feeder; it both prevents the
latter from rotating too far and from falling out of the chamber. A small spring c
is also attached to the tongue C¹ which on the insertion of the magazine into the
socket B snaps out below the lower edge of the latter and holds the whole
apparatus firm until on removing or detaching the magazine, it is pressed in by the
finger and the magazine released.
The arm is furnished with the same mechanism as the ordinary Martini rifle
with the exception that the working lever G of this rifle is shortened and is
partially sunk into the neck of the stock and the underside of the breech chamber.
A second working lever F is added and forms a handle, its end lying under and
closing onto the neck of the stock. In front this lever is forked and embraces the
breech chamber between its arms and two joint pins one on either side attach it to
the breech chamber A. The two arms of the fork of the lever F are continued on
beyond their point of attachment and form working arms F¹ and F. In order to
ensure first of all that on moving the lever F the whole breech mechanism of the
gun shall be set in action the working lever G has a knob like attachment (here
formed by a large headed screw g) which entering a slot g¹ in the lever F ensures
the movement of the lever G with the lever F until the screw head g runs out of
the slot g¹; then the lever G remains stationary in the position shown in Figures 3,
7 and 8 whilst the lever F travels on to the position also shown in the same
figures. The opening functions of the breech mechanism being completed the
lever G remains stationary until the lever F coming back to its former position
strikes again against the lever G and carries the latter with it. The screw head g
once more enters its slot g¹ and slides along it, so that when the breech is next
opened it as before is carried with the lever F in its movement. The working
arm F1 of the lever F has an eccentrically curved flange engaging with the notch e¹
at the lower end of the rod e. By this means on the movement of the lever F on
its fulcrum a the rod e must move up and down with that lever arm; it thus sets
the feeder E in the chamber C of the repeating mechanism in operation. On
the opening movement of the lever F the feeder E is turned or rotated so as to
bring its hollow space or cavity into correspondence with the opening c of the
chamber C; it then allows a single cartridge to fall into the loading space of the
rifle. On the closing movement of the lever F the feeder E turns or rotates in
the opposite direction closing the opening c in the chamber C and coming into such
a position that a fresh cartridge from the carton D can descend into its cavity or
hollow.
In order to cause the cartridge, discharged by the feeder E into loading space of
the chamber H of the rifle, to be carried forward direct into the loading place of
the barrel a further contrivance is brought into operation. In the left hand wall
of the breech chamber A an oblique slot f (Figures 4, 5, 7 and 9) is made and a
small slide h travels in it. This little slide h (Figure 9) has a small peg projecting
inwards into the breech chamber and the piece h¹ is jointed to it. A small knife
spring h² acting at the joint serves to retain the piece h¹ either in an upright or
horizontal position according as it may have been previously placed. On its outer
side the little slide h is furnished with two projections h between which the
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page_text: arm F2 of the working lever F enters. In its movements the lever F carries the
slide backwards and forwards.
When the breech is closed, the hinge piece h¹ stands upright in the left hand
front corner of the opening in the breech chamber; it is brought to this position
from the horizontal by the breech piece X which in its upward movement strikes
on h¹ and causes it to move about its joint.
When the breech is opened the lever G is moved by the lever F and thereby the
breech piece H is depressed. By means of the ordinary cartridge extractor of the
Martini rifle (which is omitted from the drawing) the empty cartridge case is
extracted and thrown out. The lever arm F2 of the lever F now catches between
the two projections h³ of the slide h and moves this latter backwards with it in the
oblique groove or slot f and the slide of course carries the hinge piece h¹ with it. The
hinge piece remains still in an upright position inside the chamber wall, until it
comes against the steep slope a³ at the binder part of the breech chamber A, when
the hinge piece travelling along this oblique edge is gradually forced down into the
horizontal position. Meanwhile by the rotation of the feeder E a fresh cartridge
has been dropped into the loading place of the chamber. When the breech is
again closed, the lever arm F' moves the slide h in the slot fin a reverse direction,
i.e. forwards, and the hinge piece h¹ which now lies horizontally and extends over
the breech piece H comes against the hinder end of the cartridge and pushes it
forward into the barrel. When this has been accomplished the lever arm F leaves
the slide h and this therefore remains stationary. On the further or continued
movement of the lever F the lever G is once more brought into operation, the
breech piece H is moved upwards and brings about the locking or closing up of
the breech, at the same time forcing the hinge piece h¹ once more into the upright
position.
If it be desired to dispense with the ordinary extractor of the Martini rifle, it is
only necessary to connect notched or hooked spring with the hinge piece h¹ so
that when the breech is closed such spring may catch over the rim of the cartridge
(as with the present extractors) and then on the backward movement of the
slide h, the cartridge case will also be drawn backwards and thrown out.
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. In the conversion of the Martini into a repeating rifle, the addition of an
attachable repeating mechanism on the right hand wall of the chamber, which
works in such a manner that the cartridges contained in a carton or holder which
can be inserted into this contrivance, fall one by one into the hollow of a cylindrical
feeder, which by a partial rotation discharges them successively as required
through an opening into the loading space of the rifle, where they are caught by a
further contrivance and automatically pushed forwards into the barrel, all such
mechanism together with that belonging to the usual working of the Martini rifle
being actuated by a working lever on the underside of the chamber of the gun.
2. In the conversion of a Martini into a repeating rifle, the arrangement of a
socket piece B, on the outside of the breech chamber A, in which the tongue C¹ of
the repeating mechanism C is received and secured such tongue supporting a
cylindrical chamber C and a frame C into which a cartridge carton D can be
inserted and secured in combination with the feeder E rotated by means of a
hinged rode which itself receives motion from the lever arm F1 by means of the
eccentrically curved head of the latter with its lateral fillet which catches in the
groove e of the rod, and moves this up or down as the case may be.
3. The alteration of the working lever of the Martini rifle into a short lever G
partially sunk in the neck of the stock and partly received into a new working
lever F, which shortened lever G is provided with a projection catching in a groove
or slot g¹ of the lever F in such manner that the lever G is carried with the lever F
to a certain point corresponding with the completion of the motion of the breech

page_text: piece, and then released until on the closing of the breech, it again connects with
the lever F and brings about the closing movement of the breech piece.
4. In à rifle so altered as specified in claims 1 or 3 the arrangement of
mechanism accomplishing the thrusting forward into the barrel of the cartridge
which has been dropped into the loading space of the rifle by the feeder E of the
repeating mechanism; such mechanism consisting in an oblique or sloping slot f cut
in the left hand wall of the chamber of the rifle and a slide h travelling in this slot
and having on its inner side the hinge piece h¹ and on its outer side projections or
pegs h³ between which the arm F' of the lever F catches and carries the slide h
backwards and forwards; the whole so arranged that on the backward movement
of the slide h (i.e. on the opening of the breech) the hinge piece h¹ catches against
the sloping part a² of the chamber wall and is forced down into a horizontal
position and on the forward movement (i.e. on the closing of the breech) pushes
forward the cartridge which has been dropped into the loading space of the rifle,
and thrusts it home into the barrel. So also that on the rise of the breech piece H
the hinge piece h¹ is caught by the breech piece H and forced back into an upright
position.