IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE- ARMS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Palmer, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-
ARMS."
Sealed the 1st April 1859, and dated the 1st November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Palmer at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
November 1858.
I, WILLIAM PALMER, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:
My Invention relates to those fire-arms which cock and discharge by one
pull of the trigger, and my said Invention is applicable with single-barreled
or revolving chambered or repeating fire-arms. I make use of a hammer or
cock, properly located, to strike the nipple or cone receiving the cap to be
exploded; this hammer is propelled by a suitable mainspring. The trigger
is located in such a position that a slotted plate or its equivalent between the
hammer and the trigger acts to cock the piece, and then slides off a knife
edge or is otherwise disconnected or relieved from the trigger or cock, so that
said cock would be free to descend and explode the cap, were it not for a seer
or hair trigger that takes a notch in said cock maintaining the same while
the user, by a momentary pause, takes aim; and then, on continuing the pull-

page_text: on the main trigger, the said seer or hair trigger is moved by the main trigger
coming against the same, and the piece is discharged. Thus precision of aim
is provided for in a self-cocking fire-arm. Where this Invention is applied to
a chambered or repeating fire-arm, the chambers are locked by a projection
and slot in the trigger.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Palmer in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PALMER, of the City and State of New York, United States of America, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Palmer, Her special license that I, the said William Palmer, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Palmer, my 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, tho
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Palmer, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Palmer, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to: be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
In several repeating fire-arms that have heretofore been constructed the
chambers have been revolved by the pull of the trigger, which at the same
time cocks the hammer and discharges it, firing the piece. In other fire-arms

page_text: the hammer is cocked by hand, and then the trigger is pulled to discharge
the piccc. In the former instance, the fire-arm is self-cocking and revolving,
possessing advantages in this respect over the latter instance; but in this case
there is an advantage in being able to take better aim, and requiring less
power to discharge the piece than where the continuous pull cocks and
discharges.
My Invention combines the advantages of both the foregoing characters of
repeating fire-arms, and consists in an arrangement of seers, hammer, and
triggers, whereby the commencement of the pull on the trigger cocks the
hammer and revolves the piece, and then it is disconnected from the other
parts and gives a pause in which to take aim, and then the continuation of
the pull on the trigger disconnects a second or hair trigger by a very easy
pull, which causes the hammer to fire the piece.
In Figs. 1 & 2 of the Drawing, a is the stock; b, the barrel; c, the
chambers or breeches on the centre pin d; all these parts may be of any
usual form or size. e is the hammer, actuated by the mainspring f, and
taking the nipples or cones 1, 1, as usual; g is the trigger, on the centre pin
2, formed as a slot at its rear part, carrying a kuife edge pin 3 that passes
through a slotted link h that is jointed at 4 to the hammer e, and formed with
an off-set in said slot setting over the said knife edge pin 3; and i is a spring
keeping the link towards the knife edge 3. On pulling the trigger, the off-
set of the link h, taking over the knife clge 3, causes said hammer e to be
thrown to the rear, cocking the piece; and the seer or hair trigger k falls into
the notch 5 on the tumbler of the hammer, holding it in the cocked position;
at the same moment the part 6 at the rear of the chambers forces the off-set
of the slotted plate h off the knife edge 3, and the trigger is free from all
strain, and by a momentary pause the party firing the piece is able to take
correct aim, when upon continuing the pull the two triggers and k coming
in contact the latter is disengaged and the piece discharged. 7 is the spring
which returns the trigger to its forward position, and 8 is the spring to the
hair trigger. The revolving of the barrels is accomplished by the pawl
attached to the tumbler of the hammer taking the ratchet teeth 9 on the rear
of the chambers c, and the blocking of the chambers in place is effected by
the forked part 10 of the trigger g coming on each side of the division 11;
between the recesses for the cones 1, 1. 12 is the spring that keeps the
pawl to its work. It will be apparent that the slotted plate or seer h might
be slightly varied in its construction or formed like a toggle joint, so long as
it becomes disconnected or relieved immediately after the hair trigger k takes
the tumbler of the hammer e; and the said hair trigger may be placed near
9

page_text: to or farther from the trigger g, so as to allow a greater or less pause between
the cocking and discharging, as set forth. In Fig. 3 a pistol is shewn of a
slightly varied form, the operation of the parts being substantially the same
Es in Figs. 1 & 2. In this instance, however, the seer is differently
positioned, and the trigger g has a seer h jointed thereto at 3 that takes a
notch 4 in the hammer tumbler; and i is a spring having a limited motion, so
that when the hammer is in the position shown, the said spring i tends to throw
the end of out of the notch 4 in e which, when accomplished, leaves the
entire force on the trigger or seer k to be discharged by the further pull of
the trigger 9; and in order to make the discharge instantaneous a small
turning arm 13 may be used; but when not in use the pause for aim, prior
to discharging, is as before specified. When the hammer is down on the
cone, and the trigger is thrown forward again to take the notch 4, the seer k
turns on the joint 3, when the spring i, coming against the other side of
the slot 14, in which the end swings, causes the seer h to enter the notch,
and the piece is ready for cocking and firing by the pull of the trigger, as
before; but when desired, the hammer may be cocked by hand, the seer k
holding the same, in which instance I cause a pin 15 that is set in the
hammer tumbler e to rise under and take the strain off the trigger spring p,
so that the light spring 7 can keep the trigger back to place, and avoid lost
space in pulling the same back by hand. is a spring, lying over or formed
with the trigger spring p, and has a projection 10 on its end, taking into
cavities in the chambers (c) to hold them in place, so that when the trigger
spring is strained by drawing back the hammer or trigger, said spring is
thrown up into said cavities, and when released it again descends from out of
said cavities, permitting of the chambers being revolved. From the foregoing
it will be seen that my pistol possesses the same advantages as the self-cocking
and revolving fire-arms, and also the advantages of those repeating pistols that
are cocked by hand, because the first part of the pull cocks the piece, and
then the trigger is almost entirely relieved, so that a correct aim can be taken,
and then the piece discharged by the further motion of the trigger; and these
operations can be repeated without changing the grasp on the stock, whereas
in those pistols that are cocked by hand the thumb or fingers have to be moved,
precluding a steady aim.
What I claim as my Invention, and desire to secure. by Letters Patent is,
the combination of the trigger g, hammer c, seer or hair trigger k, and slotted
plate h, or its equivalent, substantially as specified, whereby the hammer is
cocked by the pull of the trigger, and then disconnected or relieved therefrom
so that the strain is transferred from the trigger 9 to the hair-trigger k, and

page_text: then the latter is disconnected by the further pull of the trigger g, as set
forth.
I also claim the arrangement of the spring i and seer h for the purposes,
and as specified.
And lastly, I claim the trigger spring p and locking spring for the pur-
poses, and as specified, and in combination therewith the pin 15, acting as
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Palmer, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witnesses,
THOMAS G. HAROLD,
289, Broadway,
New York.
CHA. H. SMITH,
289, Broadway,
New York.
WILLIAM PALMER. (L.S.)