IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the .
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."-A com-
munication.
Sealed the 29th August 1854, and dated the 3rd June 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd June 1854.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Clyff Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS " to be
as follows:
In this improved construction of fire-arms, the charge in the form of a
cartridge is inserted through the open breech of the barrel, which is then closed
by means of a sector breech, which turns on a fulcrum pin below the barrel.
One face of this sector is nearly radial, and provided with a short plug, which is
forced into and closes the rear end of the barrel. The sector face is fitted to
work in a concentric chamber in the metal breech of the arm, and the
required motion for opening and closing the barrel is effected by the guard,
ounty
gi
mereny
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS" to be
as follows:-
In this improved construction of fire-arms, the charge in the form of a
cartridge is inserted through the open breech of the barrel, which is then closed
by means of a sector breech, which turns on a fulcrum pin below the barrel.
One face of this sector is nearly radial, and provided with a short plug, which is
forced into and closes the rear end of the barrel. The sector face is fitted to
work in a concentric chamber in the metal breech of the arm, and the
required motion for opening and closing the barrel is effected by the guard,

page_text: which operates as a lever, and which is connected with the said sector breech
by means of a joint link and clamp bolt jointed to each other, the former to
the guard lever and the latter to the sector breech. The face of the sector
breech does not come in contact with the rear end of the barrel, so that, in the
event of dirt accumulating on either face, the plug will not be prevented from
entering the barrel, and effectually enclosing the charge. The touch-hole
passes through the sector breech and through the centre of the plug, which is
provided with a projection, that is thus pressed against the rear end of the
cartridge, to concentrate the fire. To avoid the necessity of having this project
too far beyond the face of the plug, and therefore in the way when inserting
the cartridge, the face of the plug is recessed, and the projection stands out
from the bottom of the recess.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd December 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I,
the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, 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," being a
communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
In the improved construction of fire-arms, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, the charge, in the form of a cartridge, is inserted
through the open breech of the barrel, which is then closed up by means
of what the Inventor denominates a "sector breech," which turns on a
fulcrum pin below the barrel. One face of this sector is nearly radial, and
provided with a short plug which is forced into and closes the rear end of the
barrel.
The sector face is fitted to work in a concentric chamber in the metal
breech of the arm, and the required motion for opening and closing the
barrel is effected by the guard, which operates as a lever, and which is
connected with the said sector breech by means of a joint link and clamp
bolt jointed to each other, and the former to the guard lever and the latter to
the sector breech.
The face of the sector breech does not come in contact with the rear
end of the barrel, so that, in the event of dirt accumulating on either face,
the plug will not be prevented from entering the barrel and effectually enclosing
the charge.
The touch-hole passes through the sector breech and through the centre of
the plug, which is provided with a projection, that is thus pressed against the
rear end of the cartridge, to concentrate the fire. To avoid the necessity of
having this project too far beyond the face of the plug, and therefore in the
when inserting the cartridge, the face of the plug is recessed, and the
projection stands out from the bottom of the recess.
way
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a partial side elevation of a gun
constructed according to this Invention; Fig. 2 is a top view of the same;
and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken at the line A, a, of Fig. 2. The same
letters indicate like parts in all the Figures. a represents the barrel, the rear
end of which is screwed into the front end of the breech piece b, which is
recessed back of the barrel, to receive the sector breech c, the rear part of the
recess being concentric. The sector c is hung on a fulcrum pin d, the axis of
which is below the barrel, and in the plane of the rear face thereof. The face
è of this sector is nearly radial, and provided with a plug f, which fits the rear
end of the bore of the barrel accurately. The inner face of this plug is
excavated or recessed, and from the centre of this recess there is a projection g,

page_text: somewhat resembling a nipple, through the centre of which passes the touch-
hole from the nipple h. The object of this projection is that it may be im-
pressed into the rear end of the cartridge to concentrate the fire, the recess in
the face of the plug f admitting of this, without the necessity of making it
project so far as to be in the way when putting in a cartridge.
The face of the sector when the plug is in place in the barrel does not come
in contact with the rear end of the barrel, so that any accumulation of dirt on
either will not prevent the complete operation of the breech. The curved or
concentric face of the sector breech fits accurately the rear and concentric face
of the recess in the breech piece. The bottom of the sector is cut out to
receive the clamp bolt and link, to be presently described; and also the guard
and trigger plate i, which answers the purpose of a lever to operate the sector
breech, and which for that purpose turns at its forward end on a fulcrum pin j,
secured in the breech piece, its rear end being provided with a spring catch k,
for holding it in place when the rear end of the barrel is closed and ready for
the discharge.
The guard plate i is also jointed by a pin 7 with a joint link m, which is
in turn jointed by a pin n with a clamp bolt o, that turns on a fulcrum pin p
in the sector breech. When the breech is closed and the arm is ready for
the discharge, the fulcrum pin of the guard lever, the pin 7 that connects the
guard lever with the link m, and the pin n, which connects the link to the
clamp bolt, are all in a line, and the clamp bolt is forced back against the rear
face of the recess of the breech piece, to hold the sector breech with its plug in
the barrel, so that the force of the recoil cannot force back the plug. When
the guard lever or plate i is pushed down, the link m is drawn down, which
draws the clamp bolt o out of the recess in the breech piece, and then the
two act as one link to turn back the sector breech c; and as the guard lever is
drawn up the sector is turned, the plug forced into the rear end of the barrel,
and then the clamp bolt is forced back to clamp the whole firm, the guard
lever and link acting as a toggle joint lever, to force back the clamp bolt and
secure the sector breech.
The guard lever i is recessed, as represented in the Drawing, to receive the
link in the closed position. The nipple can be capped either by hand or by
any appropriate capping apparatus, as may be desired.
Having now described the nature of the Invention of " Improvements in
Breech-loading Fire-arms," as communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent, and set forth the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish
it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent
I claim,―

page_text: First, the sector breech, which does not close up the rear end of the barrel,
but which is provided with a plug, fitted to and which closes and opens the
rear end of the barrel, when the said sector is fitted to and combined with the
sector recess in the breech piece and with the guard plate lever, by means of
the link and clamp bolt, or the equivalents therefor, by means of which the
sector breech is operated and locked, and firmly held during the discharge.
And, secondly, I claim making the face of the breech plug concave with a
central projection, through which the touch-hole passes for the purpose of
concentrating the fire, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
W. E. NEWTUN.
(L.S.)