IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH- LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN THE CARTRIDGE HOLDERS OR PANNIERS AND MEANS
Year: 1874

page_text: · LETTERS PATENT to James Durell Greene, of 38, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lanc, London, late Brevet Brigadier-General,
United States Army, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-
LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN THE CARTRIDGE HOLDERS OR PANNIERS AND MEANS
4
caled the 5th May 1874, and dated the 4th March 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Durell Greene
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th March 1874.
I, JAMES DURELL GREENE, of 38, Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, London, late Brevet Brigadier-General, United States Army, do
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN THE CARTRIDGE HOLDERS OR PANNIERS AND
MEANS OF ATTACHMENT TO THE FIRE-ARM," to be as follows:-
This Invention is for improvements in breech-loading firc-arms and
in the cartridge holders or panniers and means of attachment to the fire.
arm, and consists in improvements in the breech-loading fire-arms

page_text: ridges with metallic heads or bases, and in the panniers for using
therewith.
My improvements consist in,-
Firstly. An improved arrangement of the mortice of the barrel, |
whereby the cartridges may be received for loading, pushed forward,
drawn back, and discharged with facility and certainty.
Secondly. An inclination on the front apron within the mortice for
correcting any slight derangement of the sleeve hooks out of their
proper position.
Thirdly. An inclination or bevel in the sleeve mortice to more readily
allow the scre to enter if the sleeve should be slightly varied from its
relative position with the scre groove in the bolt, and to a slight pro-
jecting stud or a groove in the sleeve to lodge and hold the cartridge by
the rim of the base or head.
Fourthly. An improvement in the action of the firing pin when dis-
charged, caused by limiting the stroke of the spring and force upon the
firing pin to a certain limit, but allowing the firing pin to proceed
beyond that limit by its acquired momentum, and in locking the pin
from possible contact with the cartridge by means of the scro when the
gun is uncocked, the sere also holding the firing pin free from the stress
of the main spring or helix.
Fifthly. An improvement in the panniers for holding the cartridges
and in the spring for attaching the panniers to the breech-loader.
My first improvement consists in an an arrangement of the mortice of
the barrel, whereby the rim of the cartridge head is confined between
four checks or ledges in the mortice during the propelling forward or
retracting backward, the ledges being cut away where the cartridge has
to be entered or to be dropped out.
My second improvement is an inclination on the front apron or part
of the gun within the mortice, upon which rests the projecting bullet of
the cartridge when the charged cartridge is dropped into the mortice
ready to be propelled into the chamber of the gun. The inclination is
given to both sides of this apron, and if the hooks of the sleeve for with-
drawing the cartridge are not in correct line these inclines correct them

page_text: and bring them to their horizontal position when the bolt is thrust
forward.
My third improvement is an inclination given to the base of the sleeve
in the sere mortice, which enables the sere to correct any slight deviation
of the sleeve on its axis, and enables it to enter casily and bring the
sleeve in truc position with the sere mortice of the bolt. The sleeve is
also made with a slight projection or internal groove to receive or lodge
the head or rim of the cartridge.
My fourth improvement is in the firing pin. I restrain the action of
the spring on the firing pin by means of a loose collar round the pin.
The loose collar acted upon by the helix when the gun is discharged
presses against a shoulder on the pin and carries it forward until arrested
by a stop in the bolt. At this point the firing pin would not reach the
cartridge, but the pin having acquired momentum is urged forward
against the cap, the loose collar round the pin, though itself arrested,
allowing the pin to proceed onwards. I also form a bevel and squaro
shoulder on the firing pin, so that when the gun is uncocked the scro
presses on the bevel and draws the firing pin back. The sere then
catches in the square shoulder and locks the firing pin, so that there is
no stress of the main spring upon it, and no accidental momentum given
to the firing pin can explode the cartridge.
My fifth improvement is in the panniers for holding the required.
number of cartridges and attached to the side of the mortice, the cart.
ridges being placed in a kind of continuous way or trough, so that as
cach rolls forward the next behind follows, and consists in making the
said panniers open in part, so as to expose the cartridges therein to
inspection; and in a double action spring applied to hold the pannier in
position, made thus, the spring, say about three inches long, is loosely.
attached to a base, screwed to the side of the gun even with the mortico
by two headed pins at about one inch from each end, the pins them-
selves being firmly fixed in the base. Between the two pins the
spring is filed away to a narrow slip. It is obvious that any pressure
applied to depress one end will, acting on the nearest pin as a centre,
raise the thin slip between the two pins, and consequently depress
the other end. Each end being furnished with a catch enters into
corresponding notches in the pannier sides, and hold the pannier
securely.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Durell Greene in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
DURELL GREENE, of 38, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
London, lato Brevet Brigadier-General, United States Army, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Durell Greene, Her special
license that I, the said James Durell Greene, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Durell
Greene, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN THE CARTRIDGE
HOLDERS OR PANNIERS AND MEANS OF ATTACHMENT TO THE FIRE-ARM," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Durell Greene, 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
samo was to bo performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Durell Greene, 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 thereof, that is to say :—
This Invention is for improvements in breech-loading fire-arms and
in the cartridge holders or panniers and means of attachment to the
fire-arm, and consists in improvements in the breech-loading fire-arms
known as bolt guns, with a firing pin, using metallic cartridges or cart-

page_text: ridges with metallic heads or bases, and in the panniers for using
therewith.
I divide my improvements into five heads, and I will describe them
conjointly with the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 is
a view in elevation of part of the gun barrel, with the bolt in place and
ready to discharge the firing pin; this is also the side of the gun to be
held horizontally downwards when loading or withdrawing cartridges.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the same part of the barrel,
the several parts of the bolt, and the sleeve and trigger mechanism, the
firing pin being shewn in elevation only.
Figure 3 is a plan of the sleeve developed, shewing the outer
circumference.
Figure 4, a similar developed plan of the main part of the bolt,
shewing the outer circumference.
Figure 5, a section through the bolt at the part indicated by the dotted
lines.
Figure 6, also a section through the bolt at the part indicated by the
dotted lines.
Figure 7, view of the open cartridge pannier ready to attach.
Figure 8, view of part of the gun from the upper side when the gun
is charged and the side to which the pannier is attached, the spring for
holding pannier shewn partly in dotted lines.
Figure 9, side view of double-acting spring for attaching pannier, with
the base plate attached.
Figure 10, section through gun, middle of mortice, and end view of
pannier, the end removed.
The parts in section are shaded; the like parts indicated by the like
letters in all the Drawings.
My first improvement consists in an arrangement of the mortice of
the barrel, whereby the rim of the cartridge head is confined between
four cheeks or ledges in the mortice during the propelling forward or
retracting backward, the ledges being cut away where the cartridge has
to be entered or to be dropped out,
;

page_text: In Figure 1 the side of the mortice is shown at which the cartridge
falls out, this side of the gun being held downwards when discharging
the cartridge or shell from the barrel, the ledges a', a', contracting the
aperture so that only the body of the cartridge can pass through them.
When the cartridge head has been drawn back to the aperture a² both
head and body escape by the aperture, the shell falling by its own
weight..
In Figure 8 is shown the view of the mortice. by which the cartridge
'enters; this side is also provided with two ledges a', a', sufficiently apart
only to admit the body of the cartridge. The ledges cut away at a³, as,
allow the head to drop in. In Figure 10 the four ledges are seen in
:section a¹, a', à¹, a¹.
When the cartridge with a projecting ball is dropped in for loading,
the bullet falls upon the apron a', the head passing through the
aperture a falls upon the sleeve c behind the small projection c² and
between the hooks c¹, c', the sleeve preventing the cartridge from falling
through the lower opening a², a³. (The small projection c³ may be
replaced by a small groove in the sleeve.) The cartridge is now thrust
forward by the bolt, which is turned by means of the handle g, and
locked in the usual manner with bolt guns. The bolt protruding
beyond the sleeve in the action of thrusting the cartridge into the
chamber carries the head over the projection c³. In withdrawing the
bolt the projection c remains behind the cartridge head, the projecting
head of the screw ³ catches on the sleeve at c³, and the hooks c¹, c¹, comc
into play; and when the shell has by their means been drawn to the
opening a, a, the cartridge or shell drops out.
My second improvement is an inclination on the front apron or part.
of the gun within the mortice, upon which projection the bullet of the
cartridge rests when the cartridge is dropped into the mortice ready to
be propelled into the chamber of the gun. The inclination is given to
both sides of this apron, and if the hooks of the sleeve, shewn in
Figure 2 and Figure 3, c¹, c¹, for withdrawing the cartridge are slightly
displaced by partial rotation of the sleeve, these inclines correct the
deviation and bring them to their horizontal position when the bolt is
thrust forward.
The apron is shewn in Figure 8, a. It has the form of the lower half
of a tube cut obliquely from its edges to the circumference so as to tako

page_text: away the two corners, the longest part left forming the ledge or apron
upon which rests the bullet.
My third improvement is an inclination given to the sere mortice in
the base of the sleeve, which enables the serc to correct any slight
deviation of the sleeve on its axis, and enables the sere to enter the
mortice easily and bring the sleeve in truc position with the sere mortice
in the bolt. The sleeve is also made with a slight projection, or in place
of it an internal groove to receive or lodge the head or rim of the
cartridge.
The inclination in the sleeve is shewn in Figure 3, c³, the mortice
opening in the sleeve in the same Figure at c' being in a direct line with
the sere mortice of the bolt shewn at 62, Figure 4. The projection c³ is
shewn in Figure 3; its action has already been described under my
first improvement when describing the loading of the gun. The sleeve
is slit so as to give the projection the character of a spring.
My fourth improvement is in the firing pin. I restrain the action of
the spring on the firing pin by means of a loose collar round the pin.
The loose collar acted upon by the helix when the gun is discharged
presses against a shoulder on the pin and carries it forward until arrested
by a stop in the bolt. At this point the firing pin would not reach the
cartridge, but the pin having acquired momentum is urged forward
against the cap, the loose collar round the pin, though itself arrested,
allowing the pin to proceed onwards. I also form a bevel and square
shoulder on the firing pin, so that when the gun is uncocked the sere
presses on the bevel and draws the firing pin back. The sere then
catches in the square shoulder and locks the firing pin, so that there is
no stress of the mainspring upon it, and no accidental momentum given
to the firing pin can explode the cartridge.
In Figure 2 the firing pin is shown held back by the sere h, the full
force of the helix, shewn in section, acting on the collar e and against
the pin. On pulling the trigger j against the force of the spring i
the sere his drawn down and the firing pin released, then the collar e is
carried farward, taking the pin with it, till the collar is arrested by the
shoulder 6. At this point the pin is still about one-twentieth of an
inch short of the cartridge, but its momentum carries it forward,
sliding through the collar e till finally arrested by the cap and the
shoulder &

page_text: When it is intended to put the gun on half cock the serc is depressed
by pressure on the trigger, and the bolt thrust forward and locked. On
releasing the pressure on the trigger the sere strikes against the bevel
edge of the pin at and draws the bolt back, the sere lodging against
the pin at d and against a square shoulder or face between the bevel d¹
and round part d². The pin is then locked in security from any pressure
of the spring through or by the collar e, and guarded against any action
on the cartridge from any accidental momentum that might be given to
it on account of the play of the pin by the scro lodged against the
shoulder between d¹ and d².
My fifth improvement is in the panniers for holding the required
number of cartridges, and in the means by which it is attached to the
side of the mortice, the cartridges being placed in a kind of continuous
way or trough nearly fitting in its width to the length of the cartridge
but not deep enough to allow the cartridge to turn, so that each must
roll on its side, the one behind following. This pannier, in which
consists my improvement, is made open, so as to expose the cartridges
therein to inspection. The means of attachment is by a double action
spring applied to hold the pannier in position. This spring is made, say,
about three inches long; it is loosely attached to a base by two headed pins
at about one inch from each end, the pins themselves being firmly fixed
in the base. Between the two pins the spring is filed away to a narrow
'slip. It is obvious that any pressure applied to depress one end will,
acting on the nearest pin as a centre, raise the thin slip between the two
pins, and consequently depress the other end. Each end being furnished
with a catch enters into corresponding notches in the pannier sides,
when the pannier is slid in under the ledges on the base plate, depressing
the catches till they are opposite the notches.
In Figure 7 is shewn a view of the pannier the opening, my improve-
ment being shewn at k¹, the notches to receive the catches shown at .
In Figure 8 is shewn the spring 1, carried under the plate m. In
Figure 9 is shewn the edge view of the spring 7, the clevation of the
plate m, with its projecting ledges m³, m³, to hold the projecting edges
of the panniers ³, with the catches 1, 1, to lock into the notches 1, k,
of the pannier. Pressure on the spring at 1, Figure 8, depresses both
· catches, and the pannier can then be slid back and be detached.
The Figure 10 shews the cartridges in place toroll after one another into
the mortice, 6 only are shewn, but the number may be increased by

page_text: adding another division or more to the pannier, as viewed in the
Drawing. The next opening into the partition would be at the top, and
if another division still were added the opening would be at the bottom
of the partition, and so on.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of tho said
Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would
have it understood that what I claim is,-
Firstly. The mortice with its ledges cut away to receive and expel the
cartridges, substantially as described under my first improvement.
Secondly. The inclination on both sides given to the apron to correct
deviation in the sleeve hooks, substantially as described under my second
improvement.
Thirdly. The inclination in the sere mortice of the sleeve and the pro-
jection or groove in the sleeve for the cartridge head, substantially as
described under my third improvement.
Fourthly. The means by which I allow the required momentum of
the firing pin to pass on freely to explode the cap and the means of
locking back the firing pin out of contact with the cartridge and free
from the stress of the helix, substantially as described under my fourth
improvement.
Fifthly. The open cartridge pannier and the means employed for
attaching and detaching the same to or from the gun, substantially as
described under my fifth improvement.
In witness whereof, I, tho said James Durell Greene, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.