Year: 1886

page_text: I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of the firm of W. P. Thompson and Boult of 323 High
Holborn; in the county of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of this invention
(a communication from abroad by George Peck Gunn of Herkimer, County of
Herkimer, State of New York, United States of America, Gun. Manufacturer) and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in air guns, and the invention consists in
the construction and arrangement of a magazine for holding a supply of balls, and
a shut off or stop for the same, so combined with the other parts as to be operated
automatically in the act of opening and closing the arm to compress the spring
which operates the air piston, as hereinafter more fully set forth.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, showing the parts in position ready for
firing.
Figure 2 is similar view, showing the gun in the act of being charged and
Figure 3 is a cross section on the line x-x of Figure 1.
In constructing a gun on this plan, in the stock directly in rear of the barrel, an
air chamber is located in which is placed a reciprocating piston with a spring for
driving it forward when released by pulling the trigger T and which piston is
connected to the rear end of a guard lever L the front end of which is pivoted to
the barrel A as shown, so that when the barrel is swung down as represented in
Figure 2, it will force back the piston and compress the spring, these parts being
essentially the same as heretofore made.
As originally constructed the gun had to be charged by hand for each shot. The
object of the present invention is to provide it with a magazine that will contain
numerous projectiles or balls, from which they shall be fed one at a time into the
bore of the barrel and the opening through which they pass from the magazine to
the bore be automatically opened and closed by the movement of the parts in the
act of compressing the spring which operates the air piston.
To accomplish these results a magazine is formed by cutting a longitudinal
groove a, in the upper surface of the barrel A, as shown in the several figures, and
which is continued rearward in the form of a longitudinal hole or bore through the
receiver to which the barrel is secured, to near its rear end where it is connected by
a vertical hole with the central bore r of the barrel, as shown in Figures 1 and 2;
or in case the barrel and its receiver be made integral, as they obviously may be,
ED
า

page_text: the construction will be the same; that is to say, the rear portion of the magazine
will be a tubular hole, while its front portion will be a simple groove open along
its top. Over the barrel a thin sleeve or tube C is slipped, of such a length as to
cover the grooved portion of the magazine a, as shown in Figure 1, the barrel of
course being turned off round and smooth for that purpose as shown in Figure 3.
This sleeve C is held against longitudinal movement by the shoulder at its rear
end, and by a small screw t at its front end, or by any equivalent means, but is
left free to turn on the barrel. A hole b is made in the side of this sleeve B near
its front end, as shown in Figures and 3 so that by turning the sleeve on the
barrel, this hole b may be made to register with the groove a as shown in Figure 1,
or by turning it to one side as shown in Figure 3 it may be made to close the
opening to the magazine. For greater convenience in inserting the balls v the
hole bin the sleeve is made considerably larger than the width of the groove a and
at a point where the hole b is brought over the groove a, the latter is enlarged by
cutting away the metal at each side, thus forming an enlarged chamber cas
represented in Figures 1 and 3 into which the balls can be more readily inserted
through the hole b which is also much wider than the groove a. The chamber c
being made concave with its bottom on a line with the bottom of the groove a, or
nearly so, it will be seen that when the balls are placed therein, they will naturally
gravitate to the centre in line with the groove a, down which they will roll at
once, if the muzzle be held slightly elevated.
At the rear end of the magazine a, an opening i is made through which a ball
can drop down into the bore r as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the bore being of such
á size as to prevent the ball from rolling forward until moved by the sliding
plug I in its rear, and as the ball is thus held directly under the hole i until it is
pushed forward by the plug I, it follows that but a single ball can enter the bore
at a time.
To shove this ball forward and at the same time close the opening i a plug I is
provided the front portion of which is of a diameter to correspond with the bore
as shown in Figures 1 and 2, its rear portion being somewhat larger, and having
an annular groove cut in it, in which the rear bent portion of a slide J engages as
shown, the rear end of this plug I being provided with an annular projection or
shoulder which fits into a corresponding recess in the rear end of the barrel when
the arm is closed and thus holds the plug secure against any forward movement
when the gun is fired.
At its front end the slide J is connected to the front end of the guard lever L,
either by the teeth n and m as shown, or by any equivalent connection, which as
the barrel is swung on its journal G (which connects it to the stock B) will force
the slide backward, and thereby force the plug I back as shown in Figure 2, so
that its front end will be drawn back of the hole i, thus opening the same and
permitting the rearmost of the balls in the magazine to drop down into the bore.
As the gun is closed by bringing the barrel back into position as represented in
Figure 1, the slide J and plug I are given a reverse movement, whereby the ball v
that has entered the bore is shoved forward by the front end of plug I which at
the same time slides under the hole and closes the same and prevents any more
of the balls from entering the bore until the hole is re-opened by moving the plug I.
back again.
By this construction and arrangement of the parts it will be seen that every
time the barrel is moved to compress the spring in the stock, the hole i is opened,
a ball delivered from the magazine into the bore, and as the barrel is swung back
into position the hole i is closed, all automatically and by the same motions as were
required to charge the original arm, and without stopping to insert a ball separately
each time as was formerly necessary.
To lock the barrel to the stock when closed, a latch & is pivoted to the top of the
barrel by a pin g, under the front end of which a flat spring e engages as shown in
Figures 1 and 2, this spring being, held in place at its opposite end by the sight
which screws into the barrel or receiver. Near its rear end this latch is provided

page_text: with lateral shoulders which engage against the rear side of a vertical projection f
on the stock, and which has a recess at its centre for the latch d to rest in.
While the tubular breech-plug I is shown as being used in a gun having a
hinged barrel with means for automatically moving the plug it is obvious that it
may be used in other styles of air guns of which there are many now manufactured
as for instance in those in which the air piston is moved by a rod projecting at the
rear, or those in which it is moved by a sliding movement of the barrel the plug in
such cases being provided with means for moving it to and fro by hand, to open
and close the magazine, and for that reason its use is not limited in connection
with this particular style of gun only.
So too, instead of the annular groove in the plug, a simple recess with the bent
end of slide J engaging therein, will serve to connect them; or the plug may have
a lug formed on one side and the slide be connected thereto by a pin, the result and
operation being the same. In like manner the front end of slide J may be
connected to the end of lever L by a single tooth or projection of proper length
formed on the lever, and made to engage in a hole in slide J, or they may be
connected by a link pivoted at one end to the slide, and at the other end to the
front end of lever L, the only requisite being that they shall be so connected that
when the barrel is tipped to and fro on its pivot, it shall impart to the plug I a
reciprocating movement as herein set forth, the manner of connecting the parts
being a mere matter of choice for the manufacturer. The plan shown is however
simple and cheap, and is therefore preferred.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In combination with the barrel A, the magazine a, inore or less of which shall
consist of an open groove, the rotating sleeve C provided with a hole b said sleeve
being arranged to turn on the barrel and open or close the magazine, substantially
as shown and described.
2. In combination with the magazine a and the rotating sleeve C having a
hole b therein, the concave chamber or enlargement c in the magazine arranged to
register with the hole 6 of the sleeve when the latter is turned into position to open
the magazine, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. The combination in a gun, of the magazine a connected to the bore of the
barrel by a transverse passage i and the reciprocating plug I connected to lever L
by the slide J, said parts being constructed and arranged to operate substantially
as described, whereby the passage from the magazine to the bore of the gun is
automatically opened and closed in the act of swinging the barrel to compress the
spring in the stock as set forth.
4. The combination of the barrel A having a magazine a arranged thereon, and
connected with the bore thereof by a transverse hole i with the reciprocating
plug I the slide J connected to said plug and provided with the teeth m, and the
lever L provided with corresponding teeth n, all constructed and arranged for joint
operation, substantially as described.
5. The combination in an air gun of a magazine a barrel with a transverse
opening leading from the magazine to the bore of the barrel, and the reciprocating
tubular plug arranged to close and open the passage from the magazine to the
barrel and admit the air for propelling the projectile, substantially as set forth.
בד
ALFRED J. BOULT.