IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th June 1870.-A communication from abroad by Charles Edward
Sneider, of Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office,'
Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING
FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME,' a communication, to be as
follows:-
"
This Invention relates, first, to a breech-loading fire-arm which has
the barrel or barrels pivotted near the breech, so as to swing up the
rear of the said barrel or barrels to receive the cartridge and then swing
back into proper position for firing. And this part of the said Invention
consists mainly in the mode of hinging the barrel or barrels, and in
firmly and securely locking them down in position for firing and for
ejecting the empty cartridge cases or what is left of them in the act of
recharging the fire-arm or raising up the rear of the barrel or barrels for
so doing.

page_text: The said Invention further relates to the construction of shot cartridges,
which as heretofore made have been loaded into and fired from a chamber
in the rear of the barrel. The making of such a chamber, which involves
the making of a shoulder, so weakens the barrel of the arm at the point
where it has to endure the greatest strain as to cause it to rupture, crack,
and burst.
This second part of my Invention consists in a shot cartridge,
the shell or case of which is partially cut through, creased, punched,
or so weakened at a point in the line of its length as to part at such
weakened point or part when fired, and the part of the case or shell
forward of the said weakened line goes out with the charge of shot, by
which construction I can use and fire the said cartridges from a non-
chambered gun, and thus preserve the strength of the barrel where it is
most required.
It further consists in cutting a flap in the rear disk or head of the
cartridge case and bending it inward to form a support for the firing
pin, which avoids the necessity of an extra chamber or disk or bottom
for securing the cap and pin as heretofore.
And it further consists in making an opening through the shot wad,
over which a thin wad may be placed to prevent the shot and powder
from getting together, the said wads leaving the gun with the shot and
the portion of the case that contains the shot, the effect of which con-
struction is that the shot will not "ball," that is, be thrown in an almost
solid mass like a leaden ball, but will scatter sufficiently for sporting
purposes, and be thrown with immense force and to a great distance.
The breech piece is firmly attached to the stock and hinged to the
barrels. The said breech piece is provided with a raised block or ledge
near its middle, which serves as a breech block. The rear ends of the
barrels rest upon the breech piece and abut against a shoulder thereon.
From the shoulder arms extend back, being countersunk in the upper
and under surfaces of the neck of the stock and attached thereto by
screws in the usual manner.
For the purpose of using centre-fire cartridges needles extend through
the breech block, and are struck and forced forward against the cartridge
by an adjustable block or head affixed to the shank of the hammers by
a pivot and having a friction spring under or behind them, partially
countersunk in the said shank to hold them in place. By turning this
head up or down on its pivot it can be made to strike the needle and

page_text: explode the cartridge, or to strike the bulge of the breech block above
the needle and protect the cartridge from explosion. The same device
may be used as a guard when pin-fire cartridges are employed, allowing
the hammer to descend upon the pin when the pivotted block is in one
position and preventing it when in another.
There is a longitudinal depression or cavity in the upper surface of
the breech piece, which is bridged by a solid piece near its centre.
Two stout blocks attached to the stock plate between the barrels sink
into this cavity, one before the bridge and the other behind it. The
block before the bridge is provided with a hook or shoulder at its rear
lower corner, which when the breech of the barrels is thrown up comes
up against the projecting head of a bolt attached to the breech piece,.
and keeps the breech from being opened to any further extent; the
object of this device being to take up a great part of the strain and
shock of arresting the motion of the barrels, and to that degree to save
the pivot from strain and danger of breaking or starting. The aforesaid
bolt is provided with an excentric head, one side of which projects out
so far as to extend over the shoulder of the block before the bridge
when the bolt is turned in the proper direction; the other side being
cut away, so that when that side of the bolt is turned forward it does
not come in contact with the said shoulder, and the breech can be
opened to any desired extent. There is a handle under the stock by
which the bolt may be turned so as thus to intercept or allow the
opening of the breech.
ر
The barrels are pivotted to the breech piece and thereby to the stock
in a peculiar manner. The fixed pivot passes across a vertical gain in
the forward end of the breech piece. The block is provided with a
semicircular notch in its forward side, which fits around the rear side
of the pivot, and serves as the bearing upon which the barrels swing.
A brace lies directly in front of the breech piece, being held up against
the barrels by a lug and pin. The rear end of the said brace is enlarged
and fits closely against the front end of the breech piece, the former
being concave and the latter convex, so that in connection with the
curved bearing in the block it forms a socket in which the pivot works
when the breech is being opened or closed. By taking the pin out of
the lug, removing the brace, and turning the bolt, the barrels can be
detached from the stock. If only the bolt is turned the pivot is so
held and the barrels are so prevented from swinging on the pivot that

page_text: they cannot be detached; and if the brace block be removed, the bolt
not being turned, the bolt and the pivot will prevent the barrels from
being detached.
The barrels are locked down by means of a bolt which extends
vertically through the stock, or more properly through the breech
block, and is provided with a lever for convenience in turning it to
unlock the barrels, and a screw to tighten it in place. The upper head
of this bolt, or the forward end of the lever, forms a lock similar to
that made by the head of the other bolt, which fits over a teat or
projection on the rear end of the barrels when turned in a certain
position, and thereby holds the barrels down; but when turned in
another position its projecting edge leaves the barrels free to swing on
their pivot. The lower part of the locking bolt has another projection,
which locks over the shoulder of the rear block when the bolt is properly
turned, and thereby helps the head to hold the barrels down. The
same turn of the bolt locks the barrels at their upper and their lower
edges simultaneously.
It is only necessary to apply the hand to the lever in opening the
breech; in closing it the locks work automatically by the following
means: A pin extends back from the locking bolt through an opening
in the wall or shoulder of the breech block forming a lever for turning
the bolt. Against this pin a spring presses, tending to spring the bolt
back as soon as the breech is opened. This is prevented, however, by
a spring trigger or stop. When the breech of the barrels is brought
smartly down to its place the lower end of the rear block throws the
spring trigger down releasing the locking bolt; the spring then turns
the bolt setting one flange over the shoulder and the head over the
projection and firmly locking the breech. This head is so formed that
when locked a shoulder comes against the projecting corner of the
breech block arresting its motion in that direction, while the wider
part of the head entirely covers the joint beneath it, perfectly excluding
water from the joint.
In connection with the apparatus herein-above described I employ a
cartridge extractor, and devices for attaching it and its supporting plate
to the barrels and for operating it, which I will now proceed to describe.
A strong plate is cast in a single piece with the two blocks and lies
close against the under side of the barrels, its rear extremity being
flush with the butt of the barrels. It is attached to the barrels by

page_text: means of the blocks, which pass up through mortises in the tin joint or
barrel connection, and are upset or provided with countersunk heads at
their upper end. This contrivance avoids the necessity of brazing to the
barrels the plate or the catch blocks that project down into the breech
piece. The said plate thus constructed and attached to the barrels is
provided with two longitudinal grooves, one extending the whole length
of the plate, and the other extending only a part of its length, both
grooves lying adjacent to the blocks on opposite sides thereof. A sliding
cartridge retractor works back and forth on the under side of this plate,
being guided by the grooves. It is simply a bifurcated plate having
one long and one short arm, the long arm lying in one groove and
the short one in the other groove, and having at its rear end a bent-up
lip, one corner of which engages under the rim of one cartridge and
the other under the rim of the other. When the retractor is in place
the cartridges cannot be inserted without catching and holding it
behind their rim, so that when it is pushed backward it forces them
back with it.
In connection with the retractor thus formed is a spring catch lying
partially countersunk in the upper side of the breech block just above
and behind the pivot. This spring catch is in such a position that when
the breech is open the retractor can be slid into place without coming in
contact with the catch; but when the retractor is in place and the barrels
down the barb or hook of the catch hooks over the end of the retractor,
which can be entirely withdrawn by hand when the breech is open.
In a modification of the locking mechanism a circular projection is
formed on the under portion of the head of the locking pin, and when this
pin is turned to lock the barrels to the frame this ledge or projection
takes into or under a recess made in the frame and keeps the said pin
from rising out of the frame. The under portion of the locking pin or
locking mechanism which carries the projecting latch or bolt and the pin
for bearing against or taking the pressure of the spring to throw the
locking mechanism into action after the barrels have been or are in the
act of coming to their seats is made separate from the upper portion, and
has in its upper surface a square socket into which a square shank on
the under portion of the stem or shaft fits snugly, so that the turning of
the upper portion by means of the lever also turns the lower portion
through this key and key seat arrangement. The upper half of the

page_text: locking mechanism is preferably let in from the top of the frame and the
under half is let in from below and keyed or otherwise secured so
as to freely turn but not drop out, and when the square portion of the
upper half finds its seat in the correspondingly shaped seat or socket of
the under half the two parts turn together by the action of the lever as
readily as they would if made out of one piece of metal.
the case.
My improved shot cartridges are made as follows:-The cylinder or
case is preferably of pasteboard, but may be made of any other material
in whole or in part, and this cylinder is united to a metallic head to form
A flap is cut or punched in the metal head and then bent
inward and pinched or punched before it is bent with a hole for the firing
pin to pass through, and be supported in the said firing pin resting in a
cap in the cartridge case. The opening in the head of the cartridge
made by cutting the flap and bending it inwards is afterwards closed by
a paper or other diaphragm suitably varnished or waterproofed to keep
out moisture. By making a support for the firing pin out of a portion
of the head of the cartridge I avoid the use of a pasteboard bottom or
a separate chamber for the firing pin. The cartridge case so made is
punched, creased, partially or entirely cut through, or made in two parts
and united, so that when fired or discharged the forward portion of the
case shall part from or leave the after portion, and go out with the shot,
the after portion remaining in the gun and backed out or ejected in any
of the usual ways of ejecting empty cartridge cases. By weakening the
case at the line of division the cylinder or shell is allowed to easily sever
or part at that line. The rear of the bore of the gun need not be
chambered for this construction of cartridge, but is so made as to allow
the cartridge to freely slide into the bore and may be slightly and very
slightly tapered for that purpose. There is no regular chamber made in
the barrels for this cartridge, and there being no chamber there is no
shoulder as heretofore used for the front of the cartridge to abut against.
When the cap and firing pin are arranged in the case, the charge of
powder is first put in, then a wad, on that the charge of shot, then a
disk or wad, on which latter the end of the case is bent over or crimped
down to hold the charge to the case. In some instances, the crease,
puncture, or w akened line of the cartridge case or shell is in front of
the shot wad, whilst in others this weakened point or line is behind the
shot wad.

page_text: In the latter modification the tendency is to prevent too close shooting
or "balling" the shot as it is termed. In this case the shot wad must
have an opening through it, which opening when the case is filled or
charged should have a thin wad placed over it.