IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Durell Greene, of 38, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, late Brevet Brigadier General
in the United States Army, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 6th December 1875, and dated the 18th June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Durell Greene at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 18th June 1875.
I, JAMES DURELL GREENE, of 38, Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, London, late Brevet Brigadier General in the United States
Army, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:
-
These improvements in fire-arms consist,―
Firstly. In the application to a bolt gun or other guns having
a reciprocating motion, and more especially to the gun Patented by me
under the No. 785, 1874, in Great Britain, of an internal pannier or
cartridge carrier.

page_text: Secondly. To the means by which such pannier is rotated to bring
the cartridges in the line of the barrel and the bolt, or kept stationary
when only single cartridges are placed in the gun and fired.
And, Thirdly. In a three-arm tilting lever, one end connected with
the sear, and the other projecting into slots in the breech bolt when the
sear is depressed by pulling the third or trigger arm of the lever,
thereby locking the bolt at the moment of firing and also rendering a
premature discharge of the lock impossible.
The pannier is constructed with radial flanges dividing it from its
central axis to the circumference into the required number of divisions
for the number of cartridges required. Its length is suited to the
cartridge to be used; and its outer lines on its circumference form a
slight cone corresponding with the interior of the breech piece or
receiver so as to conform to the conical outline of the cartridge at each
end. The axle projects and rests in bearings in the breech piece or
receiver, or as in the gun described in my before-mentioned Patent of
1874, in the slotted space for inserting the cartridges; with this
difference that the slot in that was horizontal in the present it is
vertical, the interior of the breech piece being enlarged to receive the
pannier, and forming with the bottom casing a truncated cone, upon the
interior and lower surface of which the cartridges are rolled by the
rotation of the pannier.
The pannier is so mounted that when a cartridge is lying in the
uppermost division, it is exactly in the line of the traverse of the bolt
and in the line of the bore of the gun. The thrust of the bolt forward
projects the cartridge into the breech, and the usual turn of the bolt as
in bolt guns fixes the bolt in its proper position for firing. The
withdrawal of the bolt draws the cartridge shell back in the usual
manner and throws it out, but having completed this operation the
mechanism for rotating the pannier begins to act by the still further
withdrawal of the bolt; and by means of a projecting pin on the under
side of the bolt or sleeve of the bolt, which acting on a corresponding
helical groove cut in the hinder axle of the pannier rotates the pannier,
turning downwards the empty division of the pannier and bringing up
the full one, the thrust of the bolt again carries the full cartridge
forward, and so on. Besides the helical grooves of the axle of a number
corresponding to each division, there are an equal number of straight

page_text: grooves for the return stroke of the bolt, in which straight grooves the
pin returns in its passage over or along the axle when the bolt carries
the cartridge into the barrel.
To insure the continuous action of the pin in rotating the pannier it
is fitted with a spring which presses it constantly against the bottom of
the groove.
At the end of the helical groove in the axle there is a
slight square step into the straight groove so that the pin cannot return,
but when the bolt is thrust forward must follow the direction of the
straight groove, which being inclined upwards presses up the pin which
at the end of the straight groove falls into another helical groove. In
this way continuous rotation of the pannier is secured.
When it is desired to charge the pannier the bolt is drawn back, tho
sear is depressed, and the bolt slightly rotated, which throws the
pin out of gear and allows the pannier to be rotated and filled by
hand.
If it is desired not to rotate the pannier a stop pin is provided which
enters into the under groove of the bolt and restraining or shortening
the stroke, that is, preventing the lengthened stroke before described.
The mechanism for turning the pannier is then not brought into play
and the bolt is worked upon the upper division only of the pannier,
cach cartridge to be fired being inserted by hand. There is therefore
always in reserve the cartridges contained in the pannier, which the
withdrawal of the stop-pin brings into use by permitting its rotation, as
before described.
It is evident that the pannier can be, if desired, connected with a
tube or cartridge holder extending under the barrel and containing an
additional supply of cartridges, which can be fed into the pannier as
it becomes discharged.
0
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said James Durell Greene in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
DURELL GREENE, of 38, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
London, late Brevet Brigadier General in the United States Army, send
5 greeting.

page_text: Figure 5, cross section through breech at the rear of the pannier, and
through axle of pannier cartridges in view.
Figure 6, cross section of forward part of breech and pannier.
Firstly. In the application to a bolt gun, and more especially to the
gun Patented by me under the No. 785, 1874, in Great Britain, of an
internal pannier or cartridge carrier.
Secondly. To the means by which such pannier is rotated to bring
the cartridges in the line of the barrel and the bolt, or kept stationary
when only single cartridges are placed in the gun and fired.
And, Thirdly. In a threc-arm tilting lever, one end connected with
the sear and the other projecting into slots in the breech bolt when the
sear is depressed by pulling the third or trigger arm of the lever,
thereby locking the bolt at the moment of firing and also rendering a
premature discharge of the firing pin impossible.
The First and Second Improvements. The pannier as shown in view,
Figure 11, in section, Figures 5 and 6, and in position in Figure 1, is
constructed with radial flanges dividing it from its central axis to the
circumference into the required number of divisions for the number of
cartridges and of the length required. Its outer lines on its circum-
ference form a slight cone corresponding with the interior of the breech
piece or receiver; its axle projects at each end and rests in bearings in
the breech piece in the slotted space for inserting the cartridges, the
slot being vertical but provided with a bottom in the shape of a cone,
upon which the cartridges roll by the action of the pannier.
The pannier is mounted so that the uppermost division is in the line
of the action of the bolt and in the line of the bore of the gun, and the
uppermost division when the bolt is drawn back is exposed so that a
cartridge may be dropped into it through the vertical opening or slot in

page_text: the breech piece, or each compartment may be filled with a cartridge by
rotating with the fingers after pulling down the stop pin and sear and
turning the bolt so as to throw the pannier rotating pin out of gear.
As the bolt is thrust forward the pin a (as shown through the sleeve of
the bolt in Figure 8, or in another arrangement, as shown in Figure 12)
rises up the inclined groove d and falls over by a step into and along
the groove b. When the bolt is withdrawn the pin a returns by the
groove or straight part of the axle 6 until it enters the helical or
transverse groove c where it rotates the pannier, bringing another
cartridge in line with the barrel; the pin a now falls into the straight
groove d¹ and prevents further rotation of the pannier. If the bolt is
thrust forward the pin a slides up the incline d¹ and down again on to
the straight groove in the line of the axle between the flanges, thrusting
the cartridge into the barrel, and so on.
The pin a is shown in Figure 8 attached to the bolt and forming part
of a spring, surrounded by the sleeve or loose collar, Figure 9,
on the end of the bolt, the sleeve carrying the cartridge hook or
extractor.
In Figure 12 the bolt carries the cartridge hook or extractor attached
and forming part of a spring e, which spring e in this case operates on
the pin a, which pin a is made of two diameters of cylinders with
eccentric axles, so that it cannot rotate; it is also slotted to allow the
firing pin to pass through it, and the slot is deep enough to allow the
pin to play up and down; one spring therefore serves the purpose for
the extractor and also for the pin a, constantly pressing it against the
grooves in the pannier axle.
If the pannier is not to rotate but the upper division only to be used,
and the cartridges inserted one at a time, the stop pin is thrust upward
and the head f¹ arrests the bolt in its backward travel by means of
striking against the end of the slot in the bolt, which then only travels
to and fro in the upper division of the pannier.
The Third Improvement is shown in Figure 1.- is the three-armed
tilting lever, the lower part forming the trigger, the forward end
entering into the sear which restrains the firing pin, and which scar is
drawn down by this end of the lever. The rear end of the lever carrics
a pin g¹, entering at the moment of firing into the hole in the bolt,
see Figures 1 and 4; when the bolt is rotated over and drawn back or

page_text: pushed forward, but not fully rotated, the head of the pin g' is kept
in the position shown in Figure 1 by the round part of the bolt so that
the trigger cannot depress the sear when the bolt is thrust forward and
the spring is on the firing pin until the bolt has been fully rotated and
locked in its safe position for firing.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the
said Invention and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would
have it understood that what I claim is,-
Firstly. The pannier with conical outline applied to the interior of
the breech of a bolt gun, substantially as described.
Secondly. The manner of rotating such pannier by the grooves in the
axle of the pannier and by the pin attached to the bolt, substantially as
described.
Thirdly. The manner of arresting the rotation of the pannier by
means of the stop pin, substantially as described.
Fourthly. The safety locking arrangement of the trigger in a bolt
gun to prevent a premature discharge of the gun before the bolt is in
proper position for firing, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Durell Greene, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five.
JAMES DURELL GREENE. (L.S.)
Witnesses,
W. MORGAN-BROWN, 1 38, Southampton Buildings,
A. B. KITCHENER,
}
Chancery Lane.