IMPROVк- MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Ancion, of the City of Liége, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, Gunmaker, for the Invention of "IMPROVк-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 14th January 1870, and dated the 17th July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Ancion at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th July 1869.
I, ALFRED ANCION, of the City of Liége, in the Kingdom of Belgium,
Gunmaker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of an improved method of extracting cart-
ridges from fire-arms and closing the moveable breech piece thereof as
follows: The cartridge extractor, which has the form of a bent lever, is
fixed in the breech piece or shoe. When the moveable breech piece
is raised the longer arm of this lever is caused to move from the front
towards the rear, bringing with it the cartridge. This may be effected
by a cam working in a notch made in the forward face of the moveable
breech piece; the said cam catching the end of the short arm of the

page_text: extractor gives it a rocking motion, the effect of which is to sharply
expel the cartridge. It is proposed to place a lever at the rear of the
moveable breech piece to form a safety apparatus against the bursting
open of the said breech piece by gases escaping from torn or otherwise
defective cartridges. The aforesaid lever is connected with the percus-
sion pin, and its action is as follows:-On its short arm a shoulder is
formed by a slot. The blow of the hammer upon the pin throws back-
ward the long arm of the lever into a mortice or staple in the rear end
of the breech knob. The hammer being raised to half-cock a spiral
spring pushes back the lever into a groove formed in the moveable
breech piece. The aforesaid lever is attached to the breech piece by a
screw, which also serves as an axis; the head of this screw may be
placed either on the under or upper side of the breech piece. In order
to keep the moveable breech piece closed when the hammer is raised I
form that portion of the percussion pin which is near its rear end
enlarged so that its surface is flat. In this surface is cut a channel,
which by the action of the aforesaid spiral spring is made to take into a
hook placed at the upper and lower part of the breech piece, thereby
holding the said breech piece firmly closed; or the same result may be
obtained by a safety pin or latching stud with a spiral spring placed in
the lower portion of the breech knob. The pin or bar on which the
moveable breech piece works is held in position by a small screw, by
unscrewing which the bar can be withdrawn without removing the
screw; or the aforesaid pin or bar may be held in position by the screw
or axis of the cartridge extractor, the hole for this screw being bored to
correspond with that of the bar, the said bar being cut away at the point
where it meets the shank of the screw, so that it cannot be withdrawn
without first taking out the extractor screw. The extraction of the
cartridge may also be effected by a rectilinear motion, the extractor
being formed in two parts, one of which slides in a hole or groove
parallel to the axis of the bore of the barrel actuated by a bent lever
similar to that herein-before described. The two aforesaid parts may be
connected together by a mortice and tenon, or in any other suitable
manner; or the cartridge extractor may be actuated by a spring in the
breech piece working upon a shoulder made upon the opposite side of
the short arm of the extractor for the purpose of bringing it back into.
position.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Ancion in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
ANCION; of the City of Liége, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Gunmaker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alfred Ancion, Her special licence that
I, the said Alfred Ancion, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Alfred Ancion, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Alfred Ancion, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Ancion, 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, that is to say :-
This Invention consists of an improved method of extracting
cartridges from fire-arms and closing the moveable breech piece thereof
as follows:-The cartridge extractor, which has the form of a bent
lever, is fixed in the breech piece or shoe. When the moveable breech
piece is raised the longer arm of this lever is caused to move from the
front towards the rear bringing with it the cartridge; this may be effected
by a cam working in a notch made in the forward face of the moveable

page_text: breech piece; the said cam catching the end of the short arm of the
extractor gives it a rocking motion, the effect of which is to sharply
expel the cartridge. It is proposed to place a lever at the rear of the
moveable breech piece to form a safety apparatus against the bursting
open of the said breech piece by gases escaping from torn or otherwise
defective cartridges. The aforesaid lever is connected with the per-
cussion pin, and its action is as follows:-On its short arm a shoulder
is formed by a slot. The blow of the hammer upon the pin throws
backwards the long arm of the lever into a mortice or staple in the
rear end of the breech knob. The hammer being raised to half-cock
a spiral spring pushes back the lever into a groove formed in the
moveable breech piece. The aforesaid lever is attached to the breech
piece by a screw, which also serves as an axis; the head of this screw
may be placed either on the under or upper side of the breech piece. In
order to keep the moveable breech piece closed when the hammer is
raised I form that portion of the percussion pin which is near its rear
end enlarged so that its surface is flat. In this surface is cut a channel
which by the action of the aforesaid spiral spring is made to take into a
hook placed at the upper and hinder part of the breech piece, thereby
holding the said breech piece firmly closed; or the same result may be
obtained by a safety pin or latching stud with a spiral spring placed in
the lower portion of the breech knob. The pin or bar on which the
moveable breech piece works is held in position by a small screw, by
unscrewing which the bar can be withdrawn without removing the
screw, or the aforesaid pin or bar may be held in position by the screw or
axis of the cartridge extractor, the hole for this screw being bored to
correspond with that of the bar, the said bar being cut away at the
point where it meets the shank of the screw, so that it cannot be with-
drawn without first taking out the extractor screw. The extraction of
the cartridge may also be effected by a rectilinear motion, the extractor
being formed in two parts, one of which slides in a hole or groove
parallel to the axis of the bore of the barrel actuated by a bent lever
similar to that herein-before described. The two aforesaid parts may be
connected together by a mortice and, tenon, or in any other suitable
manner, or the cartridge extractor may be actuated by a spring in the
breech piece working upon a shoulder made upon the opposite side of
the short arm of the extractor for the purpose of bringing it back into
position.

page_text: And in order to explain this Invention more fully I now proceed to
describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same
into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Sheet of
Drawings accompanying these Presents, and to the numeral figures and
letters of reference marked thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Firstly. My cartridge extractor has the form of a simple bent lever,
as at Figures 19 and 20, or its longer arm may be jointed, as at
Figures 21, 22, 23, in which the letter C shews the bent lever, and D
the jointed head which siezes the rim of the cartridge. This lever
extractor is fixed in the breech piece or shoe, as at Figures 3, 4, 5, 6.
When the moveable breech piece is raised the longer arm of this lever
is caused to move from the front to the rear, bringing with it the
cartridge case; this is effected by a cam E, shewn at Figure 8, working in
a notch made in the forward face of the moveable breech piece; the said
cam taking the short arm of the extractor gives it an oscillating motion
by which the cartridge is sharply expelled. The extraction of the
cartridge may also be effected by a rectilinear motion, the extractor
being formed of two parts, one of which slides in a groove or hole parallel
to the axis of the bore of the barrel and actuated by a bent lever similar
to that above described and shewn at Figures 19 and 20, the two parts
thereof being connected by a mortice and tenon or in any other suitable
manner.
Secondly. At the rear of the moveable breech piece shewn at
Figure 9 is placed another lever, shewn at Figures 24 and 25, which
forms a safety apparatus against the blowing open of the moveable
brecch piece by the escape of gases from ruptured or otherwise defective
cartridges. This lever is connected with the percussion pin shewn at
Figures 15 and 16, and its action is as follows:-On its short arm G,
shewn at Figures 24 and 25 a shoulder is formed by a slot F. The blow
of the hammer upon the pin throws backward the long arm of the lever
into a mortice or staple H in the rear end of the shoe, or rather in the
breech knob, shewn at Figure 14. The hammer being raised to half-
cock a spiral spring, shewn at Figure 26, pushes back the lever into a
groove J, shewn at Figure 9, in the moveable breech piece. The afore-
said lever is fixed to the moveable breech piece by a screw, shewn at
Figure 28, which also serves as an axis; the head of this screw may

page_text: be placed either on the under or upper side of the moveable breech
piece.
Thirdly. In order to keep the moveable breech piece closed when the
hammer is raised, I give to that portion of the percussion pin which is
near its rear end K, shewn at Figures 15 and 16, an enlarged section,
so that its surface is flat, and I cut in the said surface a circular
channel L, M, which by the action of the spiral spring, shewn at
Figure 26, is made to take into a hook placed at the upper portion of the
rear of the shoe, as at N, Figures 1, 3, 4, 5, thereby holding the move-
able breech piece firmly in position; or the same result may be obtained
by a safety pin or latching stud with a spiral spring placed in the lower
part of the breech knob, as shewn at Figure 12, letter O', which spring
presses the latching stud or safety pin on the moveable breech piece,
shewn at Figure .9.
Fourthly. To facilitate the introduction of the cartridge into the
chamber I cut away the lower sharp edge formed by the cutter in the
chamber to receive the rim of the cartridge, so that when the centering
of the bullet is not perfect in the cartridge case the flange of the head
of the cartridge case instead of encountering a sharpe angle meets only
an inclined plane, and consequently enters more easily into the chamber.
This arrangement is shewn at Figures 3, 6, 30, 33, and 35.
Fifthly. On the under side and at the forward end of the moveable
breech piece is placed a conical tooth or projection, as at P, Figures 7, 8,
9, and 11, which on the breech piece being closed presses the cartridge
well up against the extractor, dispensing with the use of the thumb to
push the cartridge home into the chamber. The hollow P, at Figure 6,
made in the side of the shoe receives the projection P.
Sixthly. The bar, shewn at Figures 17 and 18, on which the moveable
breech piece rotates, is held in position by the screw or axis of the
cartridge extractor, the hole which receives this screw being bored to
correspond with that in the bar, this bar being cut away at the part
where it meets the shank of the screw, so that it cannot be withdrawn
without first taking out the extractor screw. At the point at which the
head of the bar meets the shoe it is hollowed out to the form of the shoc
in order that it shall always fall into the same place when meeting the
extractor screw.

page_text: Seventhly. Figures 29, 30, 31, and 32 represent other plans of a shoe
to replace, if preferred, that shewn at Figures 3, 4, 5, 6. This shoe is
nearly solid at its rear part, and has no breech knob. Figure 29 is a
back view of this shoe shewing in its upper portion a recess or hollow
of a funnel shape, which by being continued into the stock allows of the
cartridge being placed thereon, and from thence to be easily pushed by
the thumb into the chamber of the barrel. Figure 30 is a section of this
shoe; at the bottom there is a small apparatus Q, Q, shewn open, it has
an inclined surface on which the cartridge slides; this apparatus is
lowered upon the moveable breech piece being closed, and rises on its
being opened. After the shot is fired and upon the extraction of the
cartridge case by opening the moveable breech piece, the above apparatus
effects the expulsion of the cartridge case from the shoe by means of the
spring R, shewn at Figure 30, placed on the under side thereof. The
apparatus, which is of steel, and split in the direction of its length, is
attached to the shoe by a pin or axis S, shewn at Figure 31, carried
through the thickness of its sides. The split portion forms a spring
which opens and closes, enabling it to work when placed on its axis, and
allowing of its removal at will without dismounting the arm or the
action, of which it is quite independent. It may in fact be removed
entirely if out of order, it not being a necessary adjunct of the arm, the
action working without it the same as with the shoe shewn at Figures 3,
4, 5, 6. The safety lever also works the same as with the shoe and
moveable breech piece, shewn at Figure 9, only that it is placed in a
more vertical position; a screw passing through the stock from the
head of the trigger guard into the under side of the rear portion of the
shoe T, at Figure 30; the aforesaid screw replaces the breech nail
through the stock used with the shoe, shewn at Figures 3, 4, 5, 6. The
rear and lower portion of the moveable breech piece U, shewn at
Figure 32, is slightly hollowed out to receive the end of the ap-
paratus QQ, shewn at Figure 30, which is not quite flush with the
inner surface of the shoc. The small latching stud placed in the lower
portion of the breech knob O', at Figure 12, is in this case placed in the
moveable breech piece, as at O", Figure 36, and latches into the shoe.
Although the shoe at Figures 30 and 31 has no breech knob (it being
unnecessary), one of small diameter can be added to it, and be screwed
into the rear portion of the shoe; or if made on the principle of the
break-off sporting guns it may be screwed on the rear part of the shoe

page_text: instead of using the hook ordinarily employed with such guns. In this
breech knob, whatever the form of it may be, the hollow is made as in
the wooden stock for placing the cartridge upon, and through the tail
piece of this breech knob is passed the breech nail, as at Figure 3, to
replace that going through the stock in front of the trigger guard, and
terminating at the point T in the shoe.
Eighthly. Figures 33, 34, 35, 36, shew plans of another form of shoc
with a moveable breech piece in which I dispense with the safety lever,
shewn at Figures 24 and 25, actuated by the blow of the hammer on the
percussion pin; and I employ in its stead the hammer W, which taking
directly into the slot V, V, V, V, made in the rear of the moveable breech
piece, prevents it from rotating on its axis or from opening. Figure 33
is a vertical section of the shoe on a line with the axis of the barrel;
Figure 34 is a back view of the shoe; Figure 35, a cross section of the
same; Figure 36, a plan of the shoe.
Ninthly. The lever cartridge extractor may be further modified by
adding on the opposite side of its short arm another branch, giving it
the form of the letter T, the said branch being applied to press upon a
spiral or other spring for the purpose of bringing back the long arm
into the shoe. The band of the shoe into which the barrel is screwed
may be either of a round or octagonal form.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of
my said Invention for "
Improvements in Breech-loading Fire-arms,"
together with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that I hereby
declare my Invention to consist in and I claim, the mode, above
described, of extracting the cartridge and closing the moveable breech
picce either by means of the safety lever, shewn at Figures 24 and 25,
or by the direct action of the hammer W.
Also the cutting away the lower sharp edge of the recess formed to
receive the rim of the cartridge, as described under head four.
I also claim the mechanical arrangement above described in com-
bination with the moveable breech piece for pressing home the cartridge,
as described under head five, letter P.
r
And lastly. I claim the apparatus Q, Q, placed at the bottom of the

page_text: shoe, as above described with reference to Figure 30 of the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Ancion, have hereunto set.
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
ALFRED ANCION. (L.S.)