IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED THEREWITH AND WITH OTHER PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gustav Bloem, of Dusseldorf, in the Kingdom
of Prussia, and Ernst Scheidt, of New York, in the United States
of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING
FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED THEREWITH AND WITH OTHER
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Gustav Bloem and
Ernst Scheidt at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 29th March 1869.
We, GUSTAV BLOEM, of Dusseldorf, in the Kingdom of Prussia, and
ERNST SCHEIDT, of New York, in the United States of America, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED THERE WITH AND
WITH OTHER DESCRIPTIONS OF BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as
follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in breech-loading fire-
arms, and in cartridges to be used therewith and with other descriptions
of breech-loading fire-arms, and relates, firstly, to improvements in
[Price 8.]

page_text: breech-loading fire-arms whereby great simplicity of parts is obtained.
For this purpose a suitable cylindrical chamber or shoe is fixed to the
breech end of the barrel to receive a bolt or moveable breech piece
which is capable of being moved to-and-fro therein by means of a
handle or knob fixed thereto, the cylindrical chamber or shoe being
formed with a suitable opening to receive the cartridge when the breech
piece or bolt is moved back so as to leave the breech end of the barrel
open. This cylindrical chamber or shoe is also formed with a suitable
slot to permit of the to-and-fro motion of the bolt or moveable breech
piece and to hold such plug or moveable breech piece in either position
as required, the knob or handle coming against suitable stops for this
purpose. Within the bolt or moveable breech piece is a suitable
chamber to receive a bolt or piston, to the forward end of which is
fixed the igniting needle, there being a suitable hole in the forward end
of the bolt or moveable breech piece to permit of the igniting needle
passing therethrough. In the rear end of the bolt or moveable breech
piece is an opening through which the bolt or piston with the igniting
needle is inserted into the chamber formed in such bolt or moveable
breech piece, and in order to secure such bolt or piston and igniting
needle in position a screw plug is employed, which takes into a screw
thread formed within the bolt or moveable breech piece. A recess is
formed within such screw plug to receive the rear end of the bolt or
piston carrying the igniting needle and to act as a guide thereto. The
screw plug has a large head in order that any gas which might pass
between the bolt or moveable breech piece and the shoe or breech case
may be prevented passing in that direction, and the screw plug is
prevented from turning or becoming detached by means of a catch or
stop which is capable of turning on an axis of motion carried by the
head of the screw plug and is acted upon by a spring to hold it in the
required position, the upper and lower ends being capable of entering
notches formed in the end of the bolt, or if desired a set screw may be
employed for this purpose. When it is desired to hold the parts secure
against an accidental discharge of the gun when loaded the upper end
of such catch or stop is pressed forward so as to enter the slot in the
top of the shoe at the breech end thereof. In the shoe or breech case
a groove or recess is formed to receive the cartridge extractor and a
safety catch, and at the same time permit of their moving to and fro
with the bolt or moveable breech piece, a suitable circular groove
being formed around the front end of the bolt or moveable breech piece

page_text: to receive a projection from the cartridge extractor, and thereby com-
municate motion thereto in the to-and-fro motion of the bolt or
moveable breech piece. There is also an inclined groove or recess in
the bolt or moveable breech piece to give motion to the safety catch
when it is required to withdraw the end of the igniting needle within
the moveable breech piece and thereby prevent the accidental discharge
of a cartridge in the act of loading, a projection on such safety catch
coming against the forward end of the bolt. or piston carrying the
igniting needle. When the bolt or moveable breech piece is forced up
to the breech end of the barrel and turned on its axis, such safety
catch is moved forward by the inclined groove or recess acting upon a
projection thereon so as to permit of the igniting needle moving to its
full extent when the trigger is pulled, a spiral spring being employed
to act upon the bolt or piston carrying the igniting needle, and force it
forward to ignite the cartridge. The trigger is attached by pin joint to
a spring fixed underneath the shoe or breech case, and has a projection
thereon bearing against such breech case. There is a catch or stop
attached to such trigger; so that when the bolt or moveable breech piece
is moved back to withdraw the spent cartridge case in readiness for
reloading a projection on the bolt or piston carrying the igniting needle
passes over the catch or stop on the trigger and is retained thereby, so
that in the forward motion of the bolt or moveable breech piece in the
act of reloading the spiral spring is compressed. Thus when the trigger
is pulled and the catch is released from the bolt or piston the igniting
needle is forced powerfully forward against the rear end of the cartridge
by means of such spiral spring, and in order to prevent the discharge
of the gun until the parts are in the proper position the catch last
described is formed with an undercut recess, into which a projection
from the bolt or moveable breech piece passes so as to prevent the
action of the trigger until the bolt or moveable breech piece is turned
into the proper position. When the upper end of the catch or stop at
the rear end of the bolt or moveable breech piece is pressed forward into
the slot in the shoe or breech case the bolt or moveable breech piece is
turned slightly round so as to bring the catch and projection just
described into the position to prevent the discharge of the gun until the
parts are again placed in the proper position. The rear end of the slot
in the shoe or breech case is bevilled off so as to facilitate the entrance
of the parts. The ordinary lock and hammer are dispensed with.
By the use of this Invention upon an emergency arising the action

page_text: can be removed and the gun left useless on the field.
We also form a
projection on the trigger, which passes up into a slot in the bolt when
the trigger is pulled, thereby taking off the strain of the discharge from
the more delicate front part of the trigger action.
The Invention relates, secondly, to improvements in cartridges to be
used with such and with other description of breech-loading fire-arms
whereby such cartridges are rendered more secure and more certain in
their action, and if desired they can be made to ignite the charge at
either end or in the middle of the charge. For this purpose the case
is formed either of metal or of paper as desired, and a paper or
copper wad is employed at the rear end, but such wad is according to
the present Invention strengthened inside the outer case with a metal
thimble or cup completely covering the end and passing a short distance
up the side thereof. In the centre of the wad is fixed a metal tube or
chamber closed at its forward end and having two or more openings in the
side thereof near the front end to permit the flash from the percussion
cap or detonating material to pass to the charge; such tube is formed
with flanges to bear against the rear end of the wad, and has placed
therein at its front end a percussion cap or a suitable quantity of
detonating material, and at its rear end a pointed anvil. The metal end
and rim of the cartridge is entire, having no hole formed therein as
is commonly the case with central-fire cartridges, but being entirely
closed so as to offer an effectual protection against any accidental
discharge, and prevent the escape of gas at that part. The metal tube
or chamber in the centre of the cartridge and the anvil therein may be
made of any length desired, thereby enabling cartridges to be made so
that the charge of powder may be ignited either at the middle, or at the
rear, or at the fore end thereof, or at any desired part. Metal case
cartridges constructed as above described are perfectly impervious to
moisture.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Gustav Bloem and Ernst Scheidt in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 29th September 1869.
rsuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Gustav Bloem and Ernst Scheidt in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 29th September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GUSTAV
BLOEM, of Dusseldorf, in the Kingdom of Prussia, and ERNST SCHEIDT,
of New York, in the United States of America, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victória, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second 1 year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Gustav Bloem and Ernst Scheidt, Her special
licence that we, the said Gustav Bloem and Ernst Scheidt, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Gustav Bloem
and Ernst Scheidt, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE
USED THEREWITH AND WITH OTHER DESCRIPTIONS OF BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARME,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Gustav Bloem and
Ernst Scheidt, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Gustav Bloem and Ernst Scheidt,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say:
J
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the breech end of a gun con-
structed according to the first part of our Invention, and Figure 2 is
an end view thereof; Figure 3 is a plan, Figure 4 is a longitudinal
section, and Figure 5 is an end view of the breech end of the barrel;
and Figure 6 is an outside view of the bolt or moveable breech piece and
parts carried thereby; and Figure 7 is a side view of the cartridge
extractor and of a stop or catch hereafter referred to.
a is the barrel of the gun, to the breech end of which is fixed, as
shewn, a cylindrical chamber or shoe b to receive a bolt or moveable
breech piece c, which is capable of being moved to and fro therein by

page_text: means of a handle or knob c¹ fixed thereto, the cylindrical chamber or
shoe b being formed with a suitable opening to receive the cartridge
when the moveable breech piece or bolt c is moved back so as to leave
the breech end of the barrel open. This cylindrical chamber or shoe b
is also formed with a suitable slot or opening to permit of the to-and-fro
motion of the bolt or moveable breech piece c, and to hold it in either
position as required, the knob or handle c' coming against suitable stops
69, 6, for this purpose. Within the bolt or moveable breech piece c is
formed a chamber to receive a bolt or piston d, to the forward end of
which is fixed the igniting needle e, there being a hole in the forward
end of the bolt or moveable breech piece c to permit of the igniting
needle e passing therethrough. In the rear end of the bolt or moveable
breech piece c is formed an opening through which the bolt or piston d
with the igniting needle e is inserted into the chamber formed in the
bolt or moveable breech piece c, and in order to secure such bolt or
piston d and igniting needle e in position a screw plug f is employed,
which takes into a screw thread formed within the bolt or moveable
breech piece c. A recess is formed within the screw plug to receive
the rear end of the bolt or piston d, and to act as a guide thereto. The
screw plug has a large head f¹, in order that any gas which might pass
between the bolt or moveable breech piece c and the shoe or breech case
b may be prevented passing in that direction. The screw plug f may be
prevented turning on its axis or becoming detached by means of catches
or stops attached to the upper and lower ends of a lever g, which is
capable of turning on an axis of motion g' carried by the head f¹ of the
screw plug f, and is acted upon by a spring g' to hold it in the required
position, such catches or stops being capable of entering notches formed
in the end of the bolt or moveable breech piece c, or, as shewn by dotted
lines in Figure 1, a set screw g³ may be employed for this purpose.
When it is desired to hold the parts secure against an accidental dis-
charge of the gun when loaded, the upper end of the lever g is pressed
forward so as to enter the breech end of the slot in the top of the
shoe b, and thereby turn the bolt or moveable breech piece e partly on
its axis and thereby, as herein-after described, prevent the possibility of
the trigger accidentally acting. In the shoe or breech case 6 a recess
or groove 65 is formed to receive the cartridge extractor i and the safety
stop or catch (shewn separately at Figure 7), and at the same time
permit of their moving to and fro with the bolt or moveable breech
piece c, a suitable groove being formed around the front end of the

page_text: moveable breech piece c to receive a projection from the cartridge
extractor i, and thereby communicate motion to it in the to-and-fro
motion of the moveable breech piece c, whilst by such groove & facility
is afforded for the moveable breech piece c being turned on its axis and
at the same time retaining its hold on the cartridge extractor i. The
safety stop or catch j is provided with a pin j¹ to enter a hole formed in
the extractor i to assist in guiding it. There is also an inclined groove
or recess c in the moveable breech piece c to give a short backward
motion to the safety catch or stop when the upper end of the lever g
is, by being pushed into the slot or opening 6, caused to turn the move-
able breech piece slightly on its axis, by which means the catch j is
moved backwards a slight distance so as to prevent the possibility of the
point of the igniting needle e passing beyond the front end of the move-
able breech piece c, and thereby exploding the cartridge even should the
trigger by any means be pulled. This inclined groove c³ also acts to
withdraw the point of the igniting needle e within the moveable breech
piece c, and thereby prevent the accidental discharge of a cartridge in the
act of loading, a projection j on such safety catch j coming against the
forward end of the bolt or piston d for this purpose. When the moveable
breech piece c is forced up to the breech end of the barrel and turned on its
axis into position for the weapon being discharged, the safety catch j is
moved forward by the inclined groove acting thereon, so as to permit of
the igniting needle e moving to its full extent when the trigger is pulled, a
spiral spring & being employed to act upon the bolt or piston and con-
sequently upon the igniting needle e to force it forward to ignite the
cartridge. The trigger is attached by pin joint to a spring 1 fixed
underneath the shoe or cylindrical chamber b, and has projections k¹
thereon to bear against the cylindrical chamber b. A catch or stop m is
attached to the trigger spring 1, so that when the bolt or moveable
breech piece c is moved back to withdraw the spent cartridge case in
readiness for reloading a projection on the bolt or piston d passes over
the catch or stop m and is retained thereby, so that in the forward motion
of the bolt or moveable breech piece c in the act of reloading the spiral
spring is compressed. Thus when the trigger is pulled and the catch
or stop m is released from the projection on the bolt or piston d the
igniting needle e is forced powerfully forward against the rear end of the
cartridge by means of the spiral spring d', and in order to prevent the
discharge of the gun until the parts are in the proper position the catch
or stop m is formed with an undercut recess m¹, into which a suitably

page_text: formed projection c' from the moveable breech piece c passes so as to
prevent the action of the trigger until the moveable breech c is turned
in the proper position when the catch or stop m is opposite a space or
recess in the moveable breech c. A groove or slot c is formed in
the moveable breech c in which the stop or catch m is received to permit
of its sliding to and fro when ejecting a spent cartridge and when
charging the gun. When the upper end of the lever g is pressed
forward into the slot or opening 6 (the rear end of which is bevilled off
as shewn to facilitate the entrance of the parts), and the bolt or move-
able breech piece is thereby turned slightly round, the catch or
projection is brought into the undercut recess m' in the stop or catch
m to prevent the discharge of the gun until the parts are again placed in
the proper position. A projection is also formed on the trigger kin
order that when the trigger is pulled such projection may pass up
into a slot or opening c in the moveable breech c, by which means the
strain of the discharge is taken off from the more delicate front parts
of the trigger action.
It will be seen that by the use of this Invention the ordinary lock
and hammer are dispensed with, whilst should an emergency arise
the action can be removed and the gun left useless on the field.
Figure S is a longitudinal section of a military cartridge constructed
according to the second part of our Invention. These cartridges, which
may be used with the foregoing or with other descriptions of breech-
loading fire-arms, are more secure and more certain in their action than
those heretofore in use, whilst if desired they can be made to ignite the
charge in the middle or at either end thereof.
The case p, as shewn in the Drawing, is formed of metal, but if
desired paper may be used, and a paper or preferably a copper wad q is
employed at the rear end, but such wad is according to the present
Invention strengthened or further secured inside the outer case by a
metal thimble or cup r (shewn by red lines) completely covering the end
and passing a short distance up the side thereof. In the centre of the
wad q is fixed a metal tube or chambers (shewn separately at Figure 9)
closed at its forward end and having two or more openings s' in the side
thereof near the front end, as shewn, to permit the flash from the per-
cussion cap t or detonating material to pass to the charge.
The tube s
is also formed with flanges to bear against the rear end of the wad q
and has placed therein a suitable anvil z extending from the percussion

page_text: capt to the rear end thereof.
The metal end and rim of the cartridge
is entire, having no hole formed therein, as is commonly the case with
central fire-cartridges, but being entirely closed so as to offer an effectual
protection against any accidental discharge and prevent the escape of
gas at that part. The metal tube or chamber s in the centre of the
cartridge and the anvil therein may be made of any length desired, as
shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 8, thereby enabling cartridges to
be made so that the charge of powder may be ignited either in the middle,
at either end, or at any desired part.
Figure 10 is a longitudinal section of a sporting cartridge constructed
in a similar way to that shewn and described with respect to Figure S,
similar parts being marked with similar letters of reference to those
employed in Figure 8.
Metal case cartridges constructed as above described are perfectly
impervious to moisture.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the
mode in which we carry the same into effect, we would have it under
stood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein
shewn and described, as such may be varied without departing from the
peculiar character of our Invention; but what we do claim is,―
First. The peculiar combination and arrangement of the parts of a
central-fire breech-loading gun, substantially as herein shewn and
described.
And, secondly. We claim the combined improvements in cartridges,
substantially as herein shewn and described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Gustav Bloem & Ernst Scheidt,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-eighth day of
July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-nine.