Improvements in and relating to Breech Loading Fire-arms.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Dec., 189!
Complete Specification Left, 30th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 31st Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Breech Loading Fire-arms.
I, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM of Crayford Works, Crayford in the County of
Kent, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
:-
My invention has reference to improvements in and relating to breech loading
fire-arms.
The object of my said invention is to provide an arm in which without inter-
ference with the mechanism for operating the weapon by hand, simple and
advantageous automatic mechanism is provided which is operated by the powder
gases in the barrel in such a manner as to open the breech after a discharge, eject
the spent cartridge and cock the firing-pin, and which, whether the breech be
opened automatically or manually, will automatically reclose the breech on the
insertion of a fresh cartridge in the chamber.
My said invention is applicable to fire-arms of various kinds but is chiefly
designed for application to breech-loading rifles and other fire arms of like calibre
and can be adapted with particular advantage to fire-arms of the Martini type, to
which it may be applied with very slight modification of minor parts of the
mechanism of such weapons, in which the arrangement and operation of the cocking
and firing mechanism would remain unaltered.
According to my said invention a hand lever for opening the breech by hand is
provided so that the automatic mechanism may be operated manually at any time,
for instance to enable a cartridge to be inserted in the rifle to commence firing and
to start the automatic action.
On the barrel of the rifle in a position forward of that occupied by the head of
the projectile when inserted in the barrel a small hollow cylinder or tube is firmly
secured. The said cylinder communicates at one end with the interior of the barrel
through a small orifice and its other end is closed by a screw plug.
Through a projection on one side of the said cylinder a small hole is bored in
which a piston or plug fits closely and is free to move endwise. The inner end of
the said piston or plug is acted upon by the powder gases which enter the cylinder
from the barrel, when the projectile has passed the aforesaid orifice in its passage
through the barrel. Any suitable fluid or other material such as tallow for example
may be placed in the said cylinder for the purpose of receiving the pressure of the
gases and transmitting it to the said piston or plug.
The outer end of the said piston or plug acts upon one arm of a two-armed
lever which is pivoted between two cheek plates secured in a recess in the stock of
the rifle.
Between the said cheek-plates is a cylindrical guide supported on trunnions and
adapted to receive one end of a rod the other end of which is caused to exert
pressure upon the said arm of the lever by means of a spring which surrounds the
rod, and bears at one end upon a collar formed thereon and at the other end bears
upon the said guide. The other arm of the said two armed lever is connected by
a suitable connecting rod to an action-lever which forms part of my invention and
is hereinafter more particularly explained. The said action lever can be turned
freely upon the axis-pin, to open the breech by lowering the breech block in the
same manner as that in which the said block is operated by the ordinary action
lever.
The said breech block when lowered effects the cocking of the firing-pin and
operates the extractor in the customary manner, but according to this invention the

page_text: extractor is provided with a hook which engages with the breech block when the
said block is lowered and keeps it down or open in opposition to the action of
the aforesaid spring which is compressed during the automatic opening of the
breech..
The said hook upon the extractor releases the breech-block when a fresh
cartridge is pushed into the chamber and allows the said spring to actuate the two
armed lever so that the latter returns the small piston or plug to its normal position
in readiness for further operation, and, through the medium of the connecting rod
and action lever raises the block to close the breech.
The action-lever is a double or twin lever the two parts of which are situated on
the cylindrical portions of the usual axis-pin on either side of the ordinary cocking
tumbler, which is secured upon a squared portion of the said pin. The twin portions
of the action lever are connected by a cross piece, and the said lever is so formed.
- and arranged relatively to the hand lever, that the action lever when operated
automatically in the manner hereinbefore described moves away from the hand lever
and does not affect it. The said hand lever, however, bears upon the action-lever
when the breech is closed, and, if at that time the hand lever be moved it will
operate the action-lever and effect the opening of the breech and other operations
exactly as if the said action-lever had been operated automatically.
The rod which connects the action-lever with the aforesaid two armed lever is
bifurcated so as to lie close to the sides of the trigger-guard and the hand lever is
so formed that the tumbler and the twin parts of the action lever occupy no greater
width within the chamber below the block than that occupied by the mechanism of
existing Martini rifles of the ordinary type.
The head of the screw plug which as hereinbefore stated closes one end of the
cylinder receives a pin to which a shackle for the leather strap or band of the rifle
is secured and which assists in supporting a light sheet-metal cover. The said pin
and the shackle prevent the displacement of the screw. The said cover is secured
to the stock hook by a screw, and encloses such of the improved mechanism as lies
outside the stock and forward of the trigger guard.
This invention is applicable to machine guns and to ordnance, in a manner
substantially similar to that hereinbefore described with reference to a rifle.
The automatic mechanism herein described is cheap, simple and efficient and is
very easily applicable to existing weapons to enable them to be worked with much
greater ease and rapidity than is at present possible.
Dated this 31st day of December 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Breech Loading Fire-arms.
I, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of Crayford Works, Crayford, in the County of
Kent, Mechanical Engineer, 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 :-
My invention has reference to improvements in and relating to breech-loading
fire-arms.
The object of my said invention is to construct an arm which, though capable
of being operated by hand, is provided with simple and efficient automatic
mechanism which the pressure of the powder gases in the barrel will operate to
open the breech after a discharge, eject the spent cartridge and cock the firing pin,
and reclose the breech on the insertion of a fresh cartridge in the chamber.
.
My said invention is applicable to fire-arms of various kinds but is chiefly
designed for application to breech-loading rifles and other fire-arms of like calibre.
1

page_text: In order that my invention may be clearly understood I will now proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of a rifle of the Martini type with
improvements according to my invention applied thereto, shewing the weapon ready
for firing.
Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but with the parts of the mechanism in
the positions they assume after the discharge of the weapon.
Figure 3 is a transverse section of the rifle shown in Figure 1, and will be herein-
after particularly described.
Figure 4 is a plan of apparatus carried between cheek plates in the rear part of
the stock of the rifle, and
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views of details of my improved apparatus hereinafter
particularly referred to.
Figure 8 is a sectional view showing a modification of parts of my improved
mechanism hereinafter explained.
Similar letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
With reference first to Figures 1 to 7, A is the stock, B is the barrel, C is the
breech shoe, D is the breech block, E is the extractor provided with a hook E¹
adapted to engage with the breech-block for the purpose hereinafter specified.
FF are two cheek plates secured in a recess in the stock. G is a small hollow
cylinder, firmly secured on the barrel. The said cylinder is placed in a position
forward of that occupied by the head of the projectile when inserted in the barrel;
it communicates at one end with the interior of the barrel through a small orifice G¹
and its other end is closed by a screw-plug G. Through a projection G³ on one
side of the cylinder G a small hole G is bored, in which a piston or plug H fits
closely and is free to move endwise. The outer end of the said piston or plug
bears against the under side of the said projection so that the piston cannot be
forced upward out of proper position when the parts of the mechanism are in the
position indicated in Figure 2. I is a two-armed lever pivoted between the cheek-
plates F upon a pin J secured in the stock A, as shown in Figure 3 which is a
transverse section on the line of Figure 1, with the lever I and pin J in
elevation. The piston or plug H bears upon the shorter arm 1' of the said lever
as clearly shown in Figure 1.
K is a guide, supported on trunnions K' which are formed in one therewith, and
are arranged to turn in suitable bearings provided in the cheek-plates F. The
said guide receives one end of a rod L, which at its opposite end is provided with
a collar L'. M is a spring which surrounds the said rod and bears at one end upon
a shoulder on the guide K and at the other end upon the collar L' in order to
cause the rod L to maintain pressure upon the arm l'of the said two-armed lever I.
N is a rod which connects the arm 12 of the two-armed lever to the action lever O,
which is a double or twin lever arranged and operating as hereinafter set forth.
The said rod N is bifurcated so as to lie close to the sides of the trigger-guard V,
as shown in Figure 5. P is the axis pin, upon which the said action lever is fitted
so that it can turn freely thereon to open the breech. by lowering the breech-
block C in the same manner as that in which the said breech block would be
operated by an ordinary action-lever.
The said action lever, as above stated, is duplicate or made in two parts, 01 0³,
to which the bifurcations of the rod N are jointed. The said two parts are fitted
to turn freely on cylindrical portions of the axis pin and have a locking tumbler Q
formed on each of them. The twin portions O'O of the action-lever are connected
by a cross-piece O³.
R is a hand lever, which may be of the usual or other convenient, form, pivoted
to turn upon the axis pin P. It is shown separately, in plan and side elevation, in
Figures 6 and 7 respectively. By means of the said hand lever the breech can be'
opened by hand, independently of the aforesaid automatic mechanism.
hand lever is forked as shown in Figure 6 so that it, and the tumblers Q, and the
parts O'O' of the action lever, occupy no greater width within the breech frame
The said

page_text: than that occupied by the mechanism of existing Martini rifles of the ordinary
type, for instance.
The portion R¹ of the hand lever is arranged to bear upon the rear edges of the
parts 0 0 of the action lever in order that the action lever may be operated by
the hand lever in the manner hereinafter set forth.
The head of the screw plug G2, which, as herein before stated, closes one end of
the cylinder G, receives a pin S to which a shackle T for the leather strap or band
of the rifle is secured and which assists in supporting a light sheet-metal cover U.
The said pin and the shackle prevent the displacement of the screw. The said
cover is secured to the stock hook by another screw, and encloses such of the
aforesaid improved mechanism as lies outside the stock and forward of the trigger
guard.
The operation of the said improved mechanism illustrated in Figures 1 to 7 will
now be explained :-In Figure 1 the parts of the weapon are shown in the positions
they occupy just previous to the firing of the cartridge W. When the cartridge is
fired the powder gases from the barrel have access through the orifice G' to the
cylinder G when the projectile has passed the aforesaid orifice in its passage
through the barrel. The powder gases act upon the inner end of the piston or
plug Hand force it outward; they may act upon the said piston or plug either
directly or through the medium of any suitable fluid or other material such as
tallow, for example, which may be placed in the said cylinder for the purpose
of receiving the pressure of the gases and transmitting it to the piston or plug H.
When the piston or plug H is moved outward as aforesaid, it turns the lever I
upon its pivot pin J. The short arm I' of the said lever compresses the
spring M by moving the rod L end wise in the guide K. The loug arm I'
simultaneously operates the rod N to turn the action-lever O upon the axis
pin P, so that the said action-lever by means of the tumblers Qturns the
breech block down and opens the breech. The action lever, when operated
automatically, moves away from the hand-lever R and does not affect it, as the
said hand lever is kept stationary by the usual catch, or by any other suitable
means. By the above-described operations the parts of the mechanism assume the
positions in which they are indicated in Figure 2. The breech block when
lowered effects the cocking of the firing pin and operates the extractor in the
customary manner but the look E' on the extractor engages with the said block as
shown in Figure 2 and keeps it down, in opposition to the action of the spring M
which therefore remains compressed as long as the breech block is down. The
said hook releases the breech block when a fresh cartridge is pushed into the
chamber, and allows the spring M to extend, and to actuate automatically the two-
armed lever I so that the latter returns the small piston or plug H to its normal
position in readiness for further operation, and, through the medium of the rod N
and action-lever O, raises the block to close the breech.
The part R of the hand-lever R bears upon the action-lever O, and when the
breech is closed the hand lever can be moved to operate the action-lever and
effect the opening of the breech, the compression of the spring M, and other
operations herein before set forth, exactly as if the said action-lever had been
operated automatically by the piston or plug H. Thus the automatic mechanism
can be operated manually at any time, for instance to enable a cartridge to be
inserted in the rifle to commence firing and to start the automatic action.
Figure 8 illustrates a modification of a portion of my improved apparatus
suitable for use in fire-arms in which quick-burning powder is employed.
In this modification a non-return or check valve X loaded with a spring X is
placed at the end of the orifice G', in the cylinder (t, and an aperture G' is
provided in the projection G³ to enable the gases from the cylinder G to escape
therethrough under the conditions hereinafter explained.
5
When the cartridge is fired, the powder gases obtain access to the cylinder G 5
through the orifice G¹ by forcing the valve X away from its seat at the end of the
said orifice. The said gases not only act upon the piston or plug H while they are

page_text: entering the cylinder but they continue to act upon the said piston or plug after
the pressure of gas in the barrel has subsided, for the valve X acts automatically
to close the orifice G¹ as soon as the pressure in the barrel is less than that in the
cylinder so that the gases are retained in the cylinder, and act, in expansion, upon
the piston or plug to complete its movement.
The aperture G' is so situated that the piston or plug H uncovers the same as
soon as it has moved sufficiently far to actuate the breech mechanism by such
means as are hereinbefore explained; the pressure within the cylinder is then
relieved by the escape of gas through the said aperture.
The area of the piston or plug is suitably proportioned with regard to the
variation of pressure in the cylinder. By utilizing the expansive force of the gases
I am enabled to operate the breech-mechanism of weapons using quick-burning
powder by my said automatic mechanism, without injurious shock.
The automatic mechanism herein described is cheap simple and efficient and is
very easily applicable to existing weapons to enable them to be worked with much
greater ease and rapidity than is at present possible. It can be adapted with
particular advantage to fire-arms of the Martini type with very slight modification
of minor parts of the mechanism of such weapons, in which, as may be seen from
the explanations hereinbefore given, the arrangement and operation of the existing
cocking and firing mechanism would remain unaltered.
This invention is applicable to machine guns and to ordnance in a manner
substantially similar to that herein before described with reference to a rifle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A. fire-arm provided with means whereby the movement of a piston by the
pressure of the powder-gases is utilized to operate the breech action to effect the
opening of the breech, in combination with a breech-closing spring, and with means
whereby the said spring is prevented from closing the breech until a fresh charge is
manually inserted in the chamber of the weapon.
2. The combination of the said piston, the spring, and the extractor having a
hook, substantially as herein before described for the purpose specified.
3. The modification of a part of my said invention, substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings.
4. A hand-lever for operating the breech-action manually to effect the opening
of the breech, so arranged as to remain stationary when the breech mechanism is
operated automatically, and adapted to engage at any time with the action-lever to
operate the same manually, substantially as hereinbefore described for the purpose
specified.
5. A fire-arm provided with mechanism consisting of the parts constructed com-
bined and operating substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings, for the purposes specified.
Dated this 30th day of September 1892.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.