An Attachment to Guns for Taking a Photograph or Image of the Object Aimed At.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Aug., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Apr., 1891-Accepted, 2nd May, 1891
PROVISIONAL DE
An Attachment to Guns for Taking a Photograph or Image of the
Object Aimed At.
I, VICTOR FREIHERR VON KALCHBERG, of 1, Seilerstätte, Vienna, in the
Austrian Empire, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to rifles and other guns, and has for its object to provide
means for taking a photograph or image of the animal or other object aimed at, an
instant before the shot is fired.
According to the invention, a suitably small and light camera, provided with an
instantaneous shutter is fixed to the underside of the barrel near the muzzle, and
along the barrel is arranged a system of longitudinally movable rods, the rear end
of which is geared with any suitable part of the lock, while the front end is geared
with those parts of the camera, which operate the instantaneous shutter and the
mechanism for changing the sensitized plates or advancing the continuous film.
The connection between the said parts is arranged in such a manner, that the
shutter is operated an
instant before the shot is fired, in order to avoid
obstruction of the field of view by smoke and displacement of the apparatus by the
recoil.
In cases when considerable elevation is given to the weapon by means of a high
breech sight, the rear end of the camera should be hinge-jointed to the barrel and
its front end be movable along a graduated are to which it can be clamped by a
screw; then the front portion of the system of connecting rods may be mounted on
the camera, and a lever be interposed between the said front portion and the rest.
The interposition of similar levers is in some cases necessitated by the nature and
shape of the breech action and lock. Springs may be provided for automatically
withdrawing the said connecting rods to their former position, when the breech is
opened and the gun cocked, or the said rods may be withdrawn by hand.
Dated this 19th day of August 1890.
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Attachment to Guns for Taking a Photograph or Image of the
Object Aimed At.
I VICTOR FREIHERR VON KALCHBERG of 1 Seilerstätte, Vienna in the
Austrian Empire Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention 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 means for controlling the correct aiming of guns and
has for its object to provide the gun with a photographic apparatus having an
instantaneous shutter in such a manner that the shutter of the camera is brought
into operation immediately before the shot is fired, by the action of the hammer or
of some other part of the lock.
According to this invention a suitably small and light camera or photographic
apparatus provided with an instantaneous shutter is fitted to the underside of the
barrel of the gun as far back from the muzzle as is practicable without the end of
the muzzle of the gun appearing in the field of view of the camera and along the
barrel is arranged and guided in suitable bearings, a system of longitudinally
D
1

page_text: movable rods, the rear end of which is geared with the lock, whilst its front end
is made to act upon the instantaneous shutter of the camera.
The construction of the gun, the nature of the lock, the system of the instan-
taneous shutter and the focussing arrangements of the camera form no part of this
invention and all these parts can be arranged in any suitable manner.
In the accompanying drawings which show how my invention can be carried into
practice:
Figure I is a side elevation of a rifle provided with the rods as hereinbefore
described and a photographic apparatus in accordance with my invention.
Figure 2 is a view of the underside of the same.
Figure 3 represents the muzzle of the rifle and the photographic apparatus in
front elevation.
Figure 4 is a top view of the photographic apparatus representing the position of
the instantaneous shutter immediately before the firing of the rifle.
In the case represented on the drawings the rifle is a double barrelled one. The
rear ends of the rods must therefore have a bi-forked shape in order to enable the
rods to be acted upon by either of the locks.
As can be seen from the drawings, in the vicinity of the hammer a a lever is
arranged, which at each firing of the rifle is caused to move from the position
shewn by dotted lines into that represented by full lines and in this movement
pushes forward the rod d movable endwise in the guiding-rings c, c.
This move-
ment of rod d is transmitted to a rod e arranged in a similar manner beneath the
front part of the barrels guided in suitable bearings and provided at its front end
with a shoulder e¹. As soon as the photographic camera F has been suitably
arranged on the barrels by having it pushed upon the rib projecting from the
underside of the barrels, the should er e' of the rod e engages a sliding bolt which puts
in operation the instantaneous shutting device of the camera F. The connection be-
tween the shoulder e' and the sliding bolt fis established by means of a pin f', Figure 1,
or in some other suitable manner as for instance by means of a spring-click or the like.
It is obvious that the mechanism for transmitting the motion of the lock by
means of the rods d, e must be suitably arranged in accordance with the construc-
tion of the shutting device employed.
1
In the arrangement of the apparatus shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4 for instance the
shutting and opening of the lens is effected by means of radial slides f2 fastened to
the bent arms which are pivotted to the axial pin Figure 4 the motion of the
rods d, e being transmitted from the sliding bolt f to the arms f³ by means of a
bi-forked guide/
The photographic apparatus is preferably arranged in such a manner that the
sensitized paper upon which the photographs are to be taken is wound upon a
roller from which it is wound off when the photograph has been taken, upon a
second roller fe, rotated by means of a handle. When the roller is turned
a sufficient extent a fresh portion comes behind the lens and the camera is ready for
a new operation.
For taking a new photograph the hammer (or hammers) a has (or have) to be
cocked again and the rod e is placed in its original position by pulling back the
button e fastened to the same for the purpose.
Of course the photographic apparatus may also be advantageously arranged in
such a manner that the motion of the rods d, e operates the instantaneous shutting
device and at the same time produces the necessary change of the position of the
sensitized paper with respect to the field of view of the lens.
When the manipulation of the shutting device does not render it necessary, as in
the case described above, to leave the rods d, e in their forward position until after
the charging of the rifle, the backward motion of the rods can be effected auto-
matically by means of a spring provided for the purpose. In single barrelled
rifles the rods d, e may of course be replaced by one single rod. It is also obvious
that in some particular cases the shape of the stock may render necessary the
interposition of intermediate levers in the described mechanism.

page_text: In breech bolt rifles such as shown in Figure 5 the transmission of the motion to
the rod d which is in this case provided with a button e' is effected by means of a
shoulder h. When the rifle is fired the forward motion of the percussion bolt or of
the nut of the percussion pin i causes the shoulder h to bear upon the rear end of
the rod d and to push it forward.
In cases where considerable elevation is given to the fire arm by means of a high
breech-sight it is necessary in order to enable the photographic apparatus to be
used to arrange the latter in such a manner as to afford the possibility of bringing
its optical axis in a parallel position to the line of sight. For this purpose the
rear end of the apparatus is hinge-jointed to the barrel of the rifle whilst its front
end is arranged moveably along a graduated scale showing the distances in an
analogous manner to the breech sight. The apparatus on being brought into the
required position is fixed by means of a set screw. In such cases the front portion
of the rod e must be mounted on the hinge-joint of the camera and a suitable inter-
mediate lever interposed, or the shoulder e' may be provided with a connecting piece
for putting it into gear with the slide f.
As is quite obvious, the use of the described device attached to guns for photo-
graphing the object aimed at does not by any means depend upon the use of the
fire arm as such .e. the device can be operated without the gun being fired. In
such case the gun will only serve as a handy supporting or carrying device for the
photographic apparatus which when aim has been taken will be operated by simply
pulling the trigger. The application of such supporting devices is comprised in iny
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A device attached to guns by means of which a photograph is taken of the
object aimed at immediately before the gun is fired, or when the trigger is pulled
(without firing the gun the said device consisting of a photographic camera
arranged beneath the front end of the gun barrel and provided with an instan-
taneous shutter, and of a system of rods longitudinally movable along the barrel
and connecting the lock of the gun with the instantaneous shutter of the camera
in such a manner as to put the latter in operation immediately before the firing of
the gun or when the trigger is pulled substantially as described and shown.
2. In a device as set forth in Claim 1 the arrangement of the rods d, e which are
pushed forward by a part of the firing mechanism advancing at the moment of
firing, the backward movement of the said rods being effected either by hand or
automatically by the action of a spring, the said rods being provided with a pro-
jecting shoulder for operating the instantaneous shutter of the camera, substantially
as described and shown and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 31st day of March 1891
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agent.