IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bonneville, Patent Agent, of the
British and Foreign Patent Offices, 24, Rue du Mont Thabor, Paris, in
the Empire of France, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN
DESCRIPTIONS OF BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS." -A communication from
Adolphe Jean Victor Marcet, residing at 24, Rue du Mont Thabor, Paris,
in the Empire of France.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Decla-
ration, on the 18th July 1863, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent
Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRI
ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, Patent Agent, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices,
24, Rue du Mont Thabor, Paris, in the Empire of France, send greeting..
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," a communication from
Adolphe Jean Victor Marcet, a person resident at 24, Rue du Mont Thabor,
Paris, in the Empire of France, and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant
unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent
for the same, and have made solemn declaration that it is a communication.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and seal

page_text: fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing, that is to say:-
These improvements consist in the suppression of the hammer and lock by
means of a system of interior percussion of the cartridge from below, and in a
modification of the key or lever piece, by means of which the barrel is turned
over; in the system of trigger guard which opens and shuts at will; in the
system of percussion which allows the whole of the cartridge to leave the barrel;
in the system which allows of the barrel being removed; and in the safety
trigger. The arm is thus charged from the breech, the explosive point of
the cartridge being placed downwards.
Fig. 1 of the annexed Drawing représents these improvements together and
in detail.
The barrel A of the fire-arm rests on and in an iron box divided into two
parts; B, B', the first of which, with the barrel to which it is fixed, turns on the
hinge C when the piece is to be loaded; this box is provided with a counter
fort D, which receives the shock of the charge. The turning over of the
barrel is performed by means of the key or lever piece E, E', which traverses the
part B¹ of the box and plays on the pin F. The head of the key carries a
notch G, in which the tooth H in the lower part of the barrel enters; this head
may be united to the tooth by means of a hinge. The other extremity of the
key has a crotchet I, which places itself in a notch I', worked in the part B
of the box, in order to hold the key in its place; this crotchet is worked either
by a finger piece J, which slides in the interior of the key against a spiral or
other spring, or, as in Fig. 2, by a finger piece J¹ working up and down on its
hinge L, and by means of a spring K'. The percussion of the cartridge is
performed by means of a straight spring blade M, M', placed in the part B¹ of
the box; this spring M, M³, works up and down on the pivot O, and is placed
in the part B of the box; its extremity M has a slight projection which enters
a crotchet formed in the bottom of the barrel, so that the spring is influenced
by every movement made by this latter, except during the process of cocking,
which operation is performed when the other extremity of the spring M', which
terminates in the form of a tooth, is held in the crotchet N of the trigger
spring, and in that case it suffices for the purpose of bending it to lower the
barrel. The percussion spring may also be composed of two blades as in
Fig. 3, the upper one straight, having the form, place, and movement of the.
blade M, M', and the other slightly bent, and one of the extremities of which
is fixed to the box by means of a screw P. The percussion takes place at the
junction of the two blades. The percussion spring may otherwise be bent and

page_text: unbent by means of an outside winch, which replaces the projection existing at
the extremity M of the spring on or under which it is placed, so, that the piece
may be cocked or uncocked without causing the barrel to turn over and with-
out touching the trigger, the winch indicating outside the cocked or uncocked
state of the piece. Again, the percussion spring may be placed above and.
parallel to the trigger guard instead of being under the barrel, as above
described; in this case it is fixed to the interior ironwork which is covered by.
the trigger guard, and is bent and unbent by means of the winch, which is
then placed in the cavity existing above the trigger guard from whence it pro-
jects. The trigger spring N, N¹, above which exists a spring Q, intended to.
maintain and bring it back into its place, is fixed on an iron plate forming part
of the trigger guard R. This plate, the trigger spring, and the trigger guard.
are raised or lowered by means of the hinge S, and form a cover to the cavity
indicated by the points from T to T, containing the inside ironwork of the
piece, fixed by a screw to the part B₁ of the box: This blade is kept
shut by a crotchet U, worked by a sliding finger piece V, and which places
itself in a notch in the corresponding part of the ironwork. The trigger spring.
turns over on the hinge X, by which it is attached to the trigger guard,
between the two branches of which it projects in the form of a trigger Y. Its
front and upper extremity N forms a crochet, and receives the tooth M¹ of the
percussion spring when the piece is cocked. It may be broken at the point
where it forms the trigger, which thenceforth becomes a distinct piece. The
trigger spring instead of working upwards may work right and left. This
system of spring seen apart and from above, Fig. 4, allows the trigger guard to,
open and shut, in the same way as the preceding; it is composed, firstly, of a
spring properly so called, N, N, turning on the pivot X, and the extremity
N of which carries a crotchet, which catches in a notch worked at the
extremity M of the percussion spring; and, secondly, of a spring Q', which
holds it in and brings it to its' place. The trigger Y', only the extremity o
which is seen in the Drawing, by pressing on the end N¼ of the spring, turns
it, and its, crotchet N, then releases the notch of the percussion spring.
The detent and the percussion may be performed as is represented in Fig. 8.
The hinder extremity of the percussion spring A, A¹, being fixed at the point K
by a screw, its front end is provided with a spiral spring on which a projection
existing at the side of the notches B of the barrel presses downwards, which
pressure constitutes the cocking. When the trigger C is pressed it pushes.
forward the lower end D of the trigger spring D, D', which is hinged at the
point E, and the upper end D¹ of which then presses backward the spiral
spring of the percussion spring, which slides under the crotchet of the barrel,.

page_text: and thus allows the piece to be either uncocked or fired, according to whether
it is shut or open.
A spring blade puts the whole of these parts in their
places. The herein-after described safety trigger may replace this blade. The
trigger and trigger spring must form one piece or be separated at the point R,
and a spiral spring similar to that of the percussion spring may be adapted to
its upper end. To indicate the cocked or uncocked state of the piece other-
wise than by the winch, a piston Z is placed near the extremity M of the per-
cussion spring, which at the moment of cocking passes through the bottom of
the part B of the box.
By placing the piston on the percussion spring and
causing it to appear above the counterfort D, the uncocked state of the pièce
will be indicated. This piston instead of being fixed to the percussion spring
may be placed as in Fig. 5 at the extremity of a blade a, fixed to the box and
giving way under the pressure of the extremity of the percussion spring, when its
appearance outside the box would indicate the cocked state of the piece. The
pressure of the percussion spring on the blade a may be effected from the side
instead of downwards, and in this case the piston instead of appearing under
the box would project by an opening made for that purpose in one side of
the box.
As a means of security a safety trigger, seen separately in Fig. 6, may be
adapted to fire-arms constructed according to the plans above described. This
trigger placed behind the trigger guard is composed of two blades b, c, tied by
a rod. d which passes through the trigger guard, so that their movements are
similar. The lower blade, slightly bent in front under the trigger, works up and
down on a hinge e fixed to the trigger guard, and consequently communicates
the same movement to the upper one. This last fixed to the trigger guard at the
pointf forms a spring, and is divided for double-barreled guns at its front end
into two branches 9, which are placed behind the crotchet N of the trigger
spring. The form of this crotchet is slightly modified, so as to serve as a stay
to the branches and to a spring h, intended to keep it in its place.
The various plans of percussion and of turning the barrel over, and the
various kinds of keys or lever pieces above described, may be replaced by the
one represented in Fig. 7. In this system the barrel is hinged to the iron-
work of the piece. It carries at its lower part a lengthened crotchet n, placed
in front of the trigger guard, and receiving the head of the key or lever piece O
I when the piece is shut, or butting against the ironwork at the moment of
cocking, so as to prevent the barrel from falling too low. The trigger spring
is composed of a double blade, the straight branch p of which carries at its
upper part a crotchet, intended to receive the extremity of the upper branch 9.
while the other bent branch prests against the crotchet n, and forms a spring.

page_text: This trigger spring lodges in the hollow part of the crotchet n. The percussion
spring, composed of two branches, the upper one q, the extremity of which is
held by the crotchet of the trigger spring, and the other and lower one q',
cedes to or opposes the pressure of the trigger r, according to the state, cocked
or uncocked, of the piece, is fixed as well as the trigger to the ironwork of the
fire-arm. When the cartridge is made with a nipple the percussion operates
directly on the nipple by the upper branch 9 of the spring; when the cartridge
is without nipple this branch carries a piston s, dotted in the annexed Drawing,
which strikes the fulminating point of the cartridge. In either of these
systems two small holes are pierced in the breech of the barrel, the one above
and the other below; the first, t, intended to receive a small rod fixed to the
cartridge, which thus indicates the loaded state of the piece; and the latter, t¹,
which either receives the nipple of the cartridge or serves for the passage
of the piston fixed to the percussion spring. To fix and hold the barrel to
the part B' of the box, it is provided with a crotchet 1, see Figs.-1 and 9,
which places itself in a cavity worked for this purpose in the box. This
crotchet is stopped by a piece m, hinged to the point m, which places itself
when pushed behind the heel of the crotchet. In order to take the arm to
pieces it is only necessary to move the piece m in the direction indicated by
the dots m, m³, to draw the barrel back a little and then lift it off.
Having thus described the nature of the said improvements, and the manner
of carrying them into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details of construction and arrangement herein laid down,"
as these may be modified without deviating from the principle which forms the
basis of the Invention; but what I claim is,-
Firstly, the suppression of the lock and of the hammer or cock in the con-
struction of breech-loading fire-arms.
Secondly, the mode of interior percussion of the cartridge by means of a
spring, which is bent by the lowering of the barrel or by means of a winch,
placed for that purpose outside.
Thirdly, the mode of cocking or uncocking derived from this mode of
percussion.
Fourthly, the trigger guard opening and shutting at will without the use
of tools.
Fifthly, the trigger spring moving up and down or right and left.
Sixthly, the mode of construction of the key or lever piece with the stop
crotchet and spiral or flat spring, or with a falling hinge.
Seventhly, the ferm and placing of the safety trigger.

page_text: Eighthly, the different methods of indicating the cocked or uncocked state
of the fire-arm.
Ninthly, the method indicated for the removal of the barrel.
Tenthly, the mode of percussion permitting the use of cartridges to be fired
off whole.
And, lastly, the whole such as it is above described and represented in the
different Figures of the annexed Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
H. BONNEVILLE. (L.S.)